We begin with the seventh angel pouring out his bowl which cause the natural disasters leading up to the battle...
(Revelation 16:17-21) Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.” 18 And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. 19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. 20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21 And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe.
One of the angels from the last set of seven judgments now explains to John the vision regarding "the great harlot" (Babylon) and "the scarlet beast" (the Antichrist)...
(Revelation 17:1-18) Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality.” 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality, 5 and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” 6 And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered greatly. 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.”
15 And he said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. 17 For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled. 18 The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.”
From this we see:
- the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air (16:17)
- one of the angels from the last set of seven judgments explains to John the vision regarding "the great harlot" (Babylon) and "the scarlet beast" (the Antichrist) (17:1, 7, 15)
- the beast is either a man who is possessed by a demon, or is a demon who looks like a man, who comes out of the abyss (17:8)
- the beast will rule as a king and become the head of a worldwide government (17:11-13)
- it would seem that the beast and everyone who follows him will turn on its own government and/or false religion (17:16-17)
Personal experience: I'm not surprised to know that at the end of the Tribulation, the "unified" worldwide apostate religion and government (the "church"-and-state) will turn on itself, because at the core of a person's sinful nature is pride and selfishness.
And then, very quickly the sinful world will become intent on waging war against God, because this is something huge that they will all have in common.
Even among Christians, we can wind up fighting each other, even though we have something very huge in common. It takes humility and selflessness in order to reconcile. And to avoid these struggles, it takes a unified effort with a common purpose.
Today's takeaway: this is why it is so important for believers to get involved in church, serving each other while staying focused on Jesus and His will, working together with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, in the power of God's love...
(Proverbs 27:17) Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
(1 Corinthians 1:10) Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.
(Hebrews 10:23-25) Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
(Colossians 3:23-24) Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.
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