SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/23/2015
9:56 AM
My Worship Time
Focus: PT-2
The Explanation of the Harlot
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Revelation
17:7-14, 18
Message of the
verses: Before I add the verses that
go along with this section I want to give a quote from my Spiritual Diary dated
September 28, 2005 which has to do with verses 7-8 and has a good definition of
the word “mystery” in it. “In verse
seven the angel asks John a question and then he answers the question which I
would imagine to some who read this is still a mystery. The word “mystery” when used in the NT means
that something was hidden, but is now revealed, and it can also carry the
meaning that “the secret will of God: the
secret counsels which govern God in dealing with the righteous, which are
hidden from ungodly and wicked men but plain to the godly.” This is why I said that this could still be a
mystery to some who read it, because they are reading someone else’s mail, and
therefore do not understand it.
“Verse eight speaks of the beast who was, and then was
killed, and then brought back to life again and will then go to his eternal
punishment in hell. “Those who dwell on
the earth will wonder.” Those earth
dweller’s will look at the antichrist with wonder thinking that he is the
answer to all of their problems, but the elect, who are alive at that time will
realize who he really is.”
“7 And the angel said to me, "Why do you wonder? I
will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which
has the seven heads and the ten horns. 8 “The beast that you saw was, and is
not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those
who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life
from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he
was and is not and will come. 9 “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven
heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, 10 and they are seven kings;
five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he
must remain a little while. 11 "The
beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven,
and he goes to destruction. 12 "The
ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but
they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. 13 “These have one
purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. 14 "These
will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is
Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and
chosen and faithful." 18 “The woman
whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth."”
We have mentioned before that the beast that is in this
section of verses is the Antichrist, who is the satanic ruler of the last and
the most powerful empire in human history.
Earlier in our study of Revelation we said that in the middle of the
Tribulation period that a very strong angel will come up out of the abyss and
will possess the Antichrist. We have
also spoken of the fact that Satan hates Israel and mentioned various reasons
for this hatred, mostly because the Lord Jesus Christ was born through the people
of Israel and has defeated Satan at the cross.
We also know that according to Daniel 7:8 which reads “"While I was
contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among
them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed
eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts,” that he
is very intellectual. Daniel 7:20 shows
that he will be an outstand orator: “and
the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head and the other horn which
came up, and before which three of them fell, namely, that horn which had eyes
and a mouth uttering great boasts and which was larger in appearance than its
associates.” Daniel 7:23 shows he will
be a great military leader: “"Thus
he said: ’The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be
different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread
it down and crush it.” Daniel 8:25 and
11:21 shows that he will be a shrewd, calculating, manipulating politician: “"And through his shrewdness He will
cause deceit to succeed by his influence; And he will magnify himself in his
heart, And he will destroy many while they are at ease. He will even oppose the
Prince of princes, But he will be broken without human agency.” “21 "In his place a despicable person
will arise, on whom the honor of kingship has not been conferred, but he will
come in a time of tranquility and seize the kingdom by intrigue.” Then we see that Paul writes in 2 Thess. 2:4
that he will be the ultimate religious charlatan: “who opposes and exalts himself above every
so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of
God, displaying himself as being God.”
John MacArthur writes that “The angel briefly reviews the detailed description
of him given in 13:1-10.”
Now we need to look at a section from verse eight that
reads “was, and is not, and is about to come” again. Now to better understand this verse I wish to
quote from the John MacArthur Study Bible:
“A reference to the Antichrist’s false resurrection (13:3, 4, 12-14).” We have mentioned when we studied that
section that there are some who believe that he will really be dead, and some
that think he fakes his death in order to get more power. I vacillate between the two options, but then
I don’t think that it is that important for the results will be the same either
way as the Word of God tells us. We also
know that the false prophet will use this “resurrection” to deceive the entire
world into worshiping the beast (13:14).
However up until that point the Antichrist will be using this false
religious system, that we have been writing about from the verses in chapter
seventeen, he will use it to get to where he wants to be. The entire world will be fooled by this false
religious system which is called “Mystery Babylon, "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE
MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." People have tried to rule the world through
politics and through power, power of war, but in the end times there will be a
one world religious system that will draw people together and most of the world
will be fooled by it, with the exception of those that God has called for His
own.
The exact timeline of how all of this takes place is not
perfectly explained, but we know that in the middle of the Tribulation Period
or near it that the death of the Antichrist will take place, whether real or
fake, he will go into the rebuilt temple to commit the abomination of
desolation which Daniel speaks of along with our Lord and then it will be near
this time that this false religious system that would have been gone on for
most of the first half of the Tribulation period will be ended as it is
believed that when he comes out of the temple that he will declare himself
god. Chapter seventeen explains the
sixth bowl judgment in more detail, along with chapter eighteen.
We will continue looking at this section in our next
SD. I want to also mention that as I was
listening to John MacArthur’s sermon on a part of chapter seventeen that in the
beginning of it he gave a fairly long review of what we have already covered so
far in the book of Revelation. It is
important to understand that this book is entitled “The revelation of Jesus
Christ,” as it is all about Him, as it should be. It is my desire to quote this fairly
extensive review once we get done with this section so that if anyone who has
not been along our journey through this book that they will at least have a
good idea of where we have been.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I am thankful
that God has told us in His Word what will happen in the future of this world,
and that He is in complete charge, and that all who are now believers in Jesus
Christ will not have to go through the horrible things that we are reading and
studying about. I am thankful for the
certain return of our Lord Jesus Christ as Scripture promises.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I am thankful that the things that I wrote
about in this section yesterday went well.
It was good to catch up on those who I have not seen for many years, to
hear what they were doing in their lives, and to have some small opportunities
to tell others of what God has done in my life.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “The sin of Achan” (John 7:1).
Today’s Bible
question: “Besides the temple what
places of worship did the Jews have in the New Testament?”
Answer in our next SD.
8/23/2015 10:56 AM
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