Mystery of Babylon

Revelation 17: 5-9 - This title was written on her forehead: MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.  I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished.  Then the angel said to me: "Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns.   The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come.  "This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits.

I am trying to process the most confusion chapter of revelation yet. John told me I would need wisdom to figure this one out….and since I admit that I have none….I will have to rely on the wisdom of God and his ability to help me to understand just the part that I need to understand.  As I read last night…I thought I was reading a riddle…one one of those horrible math word problems …. that I never seemed to get right. And the commentaries I searched through seemed just as confusing as the chapter itself… so I just prayed…that God would open my eyes…and help me see …help me understand what I needed to remember about this woman and her relationship with the beast.

My heart began to hang on the word prostitute…the word the angel used to describe the woman. She was beautiful on the outside…yet full of ugliness on the inside.  She held all her wickedness high for all to view…proud…even drunk on the blood that had been shed as she seduced the saints and Kings of the world.  She sits on 7 hills…and I quickly googled my thought ….that we have 7 continents…just to be sure my social studies lessons had been remembered. Then I looked though those commentaries again..most agree that Babylon was the center of idolatry in John’s time..the source of what they called religious Godlessness. A prostitute…one who sells herself for money…one who exchanges her talents…abilities or name for an unworthy purpose.

When I really started to think about it…maybe I had become just like this woman to some degree… before Jesus…before God started to change my heart. I became astonished at the ‘prettiness’… was somewhat ‘seduced’ by the world and the tricks that Satan has placed in just the right places to catch my eye….and I began to trade the blessings God intended for me …for the worldly pleasures that were right in front of me. It was easier to me to just do what Satan made look right…instead of … praying…really searching.. ‘waiting’ on God’s timing to reveal the great blessings he has in store for me.  It is hard to relate myself to the word prostitute….for I have never fit the world’s definition …but I have to admit…that  I did allow myself to get tricked by Satan to exchange my time… talent…money….and other abilities to many things that were not given me to do by God. …they were just the things that seemed right to do…at the time.

I saw a poster of a Francis Chan quote  yesterday…it said, Do you know that nothing you ever do in this life will ever matter…unless it is about loving God, and loving the people he has made!” I believe that quote…more than ever in this season of life.  I have to stop selling out to the world…I have to stop settling for what looks good at the moment…and pray…and seek God…with all my heart and soul and mind and strength…just like Mark told us in Mark 12:30…just like Moses told the Israelites just before he died in Deuteronomy 6:5…just like Jesus told that man of the law in Luke 10:25-27.  I have to stop being seduced by the Great Mystery of Babylon…I must begin to take a stand for what God says…not what I think is right for me at the moment…so he can begin to use me to spread his word to the ones who have not decided to ask Jesus into their heart…so their name can be written in the lamb’s book of life with mine.

Father…I am astonished at your great wisdom…how you can reveal to me at just the right moment…exactly the part I need to understand…for me…because I sought you…and I asked for your help.  I thank you for taking this complicated scripture and helping me to see one more sin in my life that I need to turn over to you.  I ask you this morning to wash any remnants of the world from my heart…so I can have more of you living there. I thank you for the peace and freedom this cleansing gives my being…and I pray for your strength to continue to search for the other wisdom you have hidden for me in your great book.  And God….while I continue to search for you….give me some “Satan vision goggles” you know …like those night vision goggles you allowed someone to invent….so I can see more clearly the tricks and schemes of Satan that are slowing down my journey to you. Amen.