Revelation Sermon - 42

Revelation: Falling, Falling, Falling

Revelation 17:7-18

1. Introduction – Back at the end of November, we studied Revelation 17:1-6. It was a weird scene – full of grotesque images and weird symbols…

a. And the last words of v.6 say this…and I stared in complete amazement at her.

i. Remember in these verses John was taken in the Spirit to the wilderness.

1. He saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast. The beast had obscenities and blasphemies written all over it. It is the same beast that we were introduced to in chapter 13.

a. Remember how John writes – he drops an idea or a concept or a figure early with little to now introduction only to develop it further down the line.

i. That’s what is happening here.

b. The woman is decked out in fancy clothes and jewelry – she is holding a gold cup.

i. Her was is a strange on – Babylon the Great: Mother of all Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World.

1. And when we studied these verses, we learned that Babylon was a code word for any city or empire or government who leaves God out of their existence.

a. A country or city or empire who promotes humanity to a place of divinity – is resurrecting the spirit of Babylon.

i. At the time Revelation was written, Babylon was manifesting itself in Rome – the capital and the empire.

c. We also learned that in this vision we see the world as it really is. Sure, it looks fancy, beautiful and well-dressed on the outside…

i. The cup of gold is alluring – one would think it contains the most precious drink the world can offer…

1. But when this woman is stripped of her fancy adornment – it is nothing more than a harlot.

a. When the content of the cup is revealed…it is full of abominations and obscenities…

i. Anything and everything that is offensive to God and distracting to God’s people.

d. It’s a grotesque scene – no wonder John stared in amazement. He won’t be the only one!

i. But this scene in Revelation is unlike other. Because instead of john simply seeing a vision and recording his description of it…

1. In this scene John has an interpreter. An angel took him in the Spirit out to the wilderness.

a. And now the angel tells him to snap out of his amazement and listen to what these images mean.

i. However, even though there is an angel interpreter here, this is still a very difficult passage.

1. Symbols and metaphors get mixed, the angel says he will interpret the harlot, but actually ends up talking about the beast

e. There’s a lot going on here, a lot of interpretative work that needs to be done, but once we sort a few things out, once we make a few decisions along the way…

i. We’ll begin to see that this passage is full of hope for Christians and can actually bring comfort to God’s people.

2. The Beast – So the interpreting angel starts by telling John what the woman is all about.

a. But the angel starts off by giving John a description of the beast. Again, the scene is strange.

i. The beast is the one who was once alive, is currently not alive, but will soon be alive again only to go to eternal destruction.

1. This is what I want to highlight about the beast – it once again shows that he is a counterfeit.

a. His name, his description shows that he is an impostor. Back when we studied chapter 13, we studying the infamous mark of the beast…666.

i. We saw that 666, the numerical symbol of the beast’s name – symbolized that the beast was trying to be God, but he was always falling short.

1. He was completely incomplete in his efforts.

b. Well, here to, the name and description, and his actions, mimic that of Jesus and the Father.

i. Throughout Revelation God is called the “One who is, was and is to come.”

1. But the beast’s name mimics God’s name.

a. The one who once was, is now not, but will go to destruction.

c. Also, the beast appears to go through a resurrection of sorts…when we were first introduced to the beast, one of his heads received a deadly blow, but it looked as if it had been resurrected…mimicking Jesus.

i. But unlike Jesus, this beast isn’t raised to new life, never to die again, the beast isn’t sitting at the right hand of God the Father Almighty judging the living and the dead…

1. The beast once was, currently is not…but when he does manifest himself again…it will only lead to his eternal destruction.

3. Comfort? – How is this comforting and hopeful?

a. Well, I think it’s comforting to know that the beast, evil, has no ideas of their own.

i. All the beast ever does is mimic Jesus in a counterfeit way.

1. He sets himself up as power, simply by mimicking the one who is absolutely power.

a. He mimics Jesus with a pseudo-resurrection, he mimics Jesus by building a following.

i. Did you catch these words as we read – people from every nation and language.

1. We’ve heard these words before – previously they described the people who were gathered around God’s throne worshipping.

ii. While Jesus is building his true church from people of every nation and language and tribe – Satan is building his anti-church in the very same territory.

1. In a strange way, I find that comforting…not that people are deceived, but that even the beast himself is proving the truth about Jesus by imitating his life and work.

a. Indeed, this calls for wisdom, just as the next verses says. We need wisdom to see how the beast is moving and working and deceiving – and we need wisdom to stand against it.

4. 7 Heads – I find it interesting that both times in the book of Revelation when we are interpreting issues about the beast – Revelation explicitly calls for wisdom.

a. Again, back in chapter 13, when we studied the mark and number of the beast’s name, 666, there was verse of warning – this requires great wisdom… and we see that sometimes when people interpret 666 wisdom seems to go right out the window.

i. Well here too, we are diving in to interpreting what the 7 heads of the beast mean. And again, Revelation explicitly calls for wisdom…and guess what???

1. Throughout history, this passage has been the victim of some creative interpretation and wisdom again, seems to have been tossed out the window.

b. Before we dive into interpreting the 7 heads – there’s something else we must figure out. The interpreting angels says, “The seven heads represent seven hills.” What does that mean?

i. Well, the 7 mountains are a clear reference to Rome, the capital city of the empire.

1. I saying clear, because at the time of Revelation’s writing, Rome was built on 7 hills.

a. There was a festival celebrating those 7 hills.

i. The city of Rome was founded when 7 individual cities on each hill amalgamated into 1 city.

1. But not only Rome – at the present time, Rome is the manifestation of the spirit of Babylon – a city without the living God.

c. So what does this sequence of 7 mean? The angel says the heads are hills, they represent 7 mountains – Rome was the city of 7 mountains.

i. But now the angel says, 5 have fallen, 1 reigns now, one will reign in the future. What does all that mean? Well, there are three main ways to interpret this section.

1. Some view this sequence of 5+1+1 as successive earthly empires.

a. 5 have fallen – that would be Egypt, Nineveh, Babylon, Persia and Greece.

i. One is reigning now…that would be Rome. And one to come isn’t know yet.

1. Some say it is the Christian Empire under Constantine.

a. Others say it is a collection of anti-Christian governments.

ii. It’s a plausible interpretation, but when it’s pressed it just doesn’t hold up.

1. Which kingdom’s get included? Especially the one that is to come…which one is that?

a. Also, the Greek word in this verse ALWAYS refers to kings and never to kingdoms.

d. The next possible interpretation of 5+1+1 sequences is that it refers to Roman emperors.

i. But the problem with this interpretation is that Domitian, the man who was emperor at the time Revelation was written, was the 12th emperor, not the 6th.

1. If Roman emperors were to fit in this sequence of 5+1+1 – one would have to do some historical revisionism, or get creative with which emperors to include and which ones to leave out.

e. So that brings us to the 3rd possible interpretation. Not Empires, not emperors.

i. What’s meant by this? Well, like all numbers in Revelation, this number is symbolic, not a statistic.

1. We treat the 7 kings as a picture of the whole. What’s 7? In Revelation it’s the number of completeness.

a. The beast with 7 heads symbolizes all of Roman history – all of Babylonian history…all history that has stood in opposition to God.

ii. Yes, evil, Babylon, is manifesting itself in Rome – not only Rome. The 7 heads, 5+1+1 – more symbolizes Babylon-ness, the spirit or essence of Babylon, then it symbolizes one particular empire or head of state.

f. Then… we’re told there’s an 8th – not another king, but this is the beast himself.

i. The 8th is like the other 7, only worse. When all the world powers have come and gone… in one final attempt to wipe out God’s church, the beast himself will come on the stage.

1. He had been the power behind the rise and fall of the evil empires, but eventually he will come out from behind the scenes and into the light.

5. Comfort? What does all of this mean?

a. Well, the point is this. Evil empires rise and fall. It’s the cycle of history. We previously looked at the fact that at the cross of Jesus, evil has been dealt a death-blow. It was a decisive blow, but it is not complete yet.

i. Evil is violently lashing out in its death throes.

1. 5 have fallen, but evil continues to fight, with its 6th head….and will continue again when the sixth dies with its 7th.

a. In other words, we’re getting closer to the end. With the rise and fall of evil empires, we are getting close to the end.

i. We are getting closer to the end of evil, getting closer to the return of Jesus, getting closer to the victory of Jesus, and getting closer to the vindication of God’s people.

b. The point of this part of the vision is this – history is drawing to a close. There will be more persecution coming, but God’s people have nothing to fear, because Jesus has already won the victory.

6. Ten Horns – And finally, what’s the deal with the 10 horns?

a. Again, some try to interpret this historically. Prophecy gurus had a field day when the EU was starting to form, saying that it was the fulfillment of this verse.

i. The problem, was there were only 8 or 9 charter countries…

1. But when that tenth country joined… there was chaos thinking that the EU was the ten horns of Revelation 17.

a. But now that there are 20 something countries in the EU, that interpretation doesn’t really hold up.

ii. I don’t think it’s important who these kings ARE…what’s important is what they DO.

1. They work in conjunction with the beast – the give the beast their power.

a. They follow the beast wherever he goes, they do whatever the beast does.

b. 10 is also a number for completeness – it doesn’t point to 10 specific kings, or 10 European nations or a revival of the Roman Empire…

i. But to the totality of forces in allegiance with the beast and in opposition to Jesus.

1. They are willing colleagues of the beast who are united in their opposition of Jesus.

7. Wrapping Up – Honestly, we’re just skimming the surface of this chapter. It’s rich in meaning, deep in imagery, but there is really important information in here for us.

a. What should be focus on? Well, John stood in amazement at the woman sitting on the beast. But the angel averts his attention, and shows him what he should be look at. What’s so amazing about this chapter isn’t the harlot on the beast, it’s not the beast with 7 heads and 10 horns…

i. That’s not what the angel shows John – the angel tells John to focus on the self-destructing nature of evil.

1. Don’t look over there…look here. Was it Inspector Gadget “This message will self-destruct.”

a. Well chapter 17 tells us that’s what always happens to evil.

i. No matter how powerful it becomes, God has built a self-destruct mechanism into evil.

ii. When you are ruled by hated and jealousy…eventually evil people and nations become suspicious of each other and turn on one another.

b. The evil are not a happy band of brothers…the climax of evil will always result in mutual hatred and mutual destruction.

i. The woman is destroyed by the ones who were once loyal to her…they turn on destroy the object of their desire.

1. And God has made it this way because the promises and pleasure of sin never deliver.

a. They never bring fulfillment…only pain. And eventually the source of that sinful pleasure will turn on you.

c. And finally, focus on this.

i. The title of this sermon is “Falling, Falling, Falling.” Another title could have been “Always Falling,” because that’s the truth of it.

1. Because Babylon, in all of its Babylon-ness – whatever form it takes, is always falling.

a. A world devoid of the living God will always fall apart.

ii. We saw words of hope right at the beginning this morning. The beast…who will come up from the bottomless pit…and go where??? To eternal destruction.

1. He will cause chaos and confusion along the way, but his fate is sealed.

d. The nations join the beast in war against Jesus, but the war never really happens because Jesus shows up and the whole thing is over.

i. Falling, falling, falling, even when evil looks invincible…it is in a state of collapse.

1. Remember, things aren’t as they seem. Revelation reminds us of that. Even though evil seems powerful and moving at will.

a. In John’s day Rome was as powerful as they came, but eventually it too fell, in one week – because it was in a constant state of falling.

e. And Revelation tells us that when the rise and fall of empires happens, when people mount up against God’s people…they are actually working out God’s plan.

8. Next week – Next week when we gather, we are going to study parts of chapter 18.

a. Chapter 18 answers the question, “What are we to do?’

i. In light of what is going on on this earth, in light of governments being manipulated by the beast, persecuting Christians…

1. While we are in this time of waiting, waiting for God’s word to be fulfilled, waiting of Jesus to return, waiting for our vindication…what are we to do?

b. Read chapter 18 this week, and we’ll study it in detail when we gather together again next Lord’s day.