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SNAP OUT OF IT!

It all started with an invitation to all of us who dream about owning a '55 Chevrolet - customized. Milo invited a handful of people to view a private collection of classic automobiles. When we entered the facility it was like a kid going into a candy store. We could not believe our eyes! This was not somebody with a few nice cars. This was somebody with enough discretionary money to buy and customize several hundred cars as well as a few classic airplanes.
Naturally, we immediately started to drool. My favorite was a 1936 Ford Roadster. You know, the one with a rumble seat. But Bruce, being someone far more familiar with high performance cars than me, was drawn to a 1968 Shelby Mustang. This muscle car grabbed his attention and held it. He marveled not only at the beauty of the car but at how well it had been customized.
After he went home, he begin thinking about how nice it would be to have the "Shelby" and once again experience the thrill of driving such a car. Before too long, the car of his dreams occupied his all his waking hours. He dwelt on it and began calculating what he would have to sell in order to buy it.
One day as he was daydreaming, his wife came up to him and slapped him. Then, with a good deal of authority, said, "Snap out of it!" For she knew there was no way they could afford the car and, furthermore, at his age he wouldn't be able to handle all the attention he would receive from the opposite sex.
Well, perhaps your thing isn't a Shelby Mustang. Maybe you're captivated by the promises made by the casinos. Maybe the attractive store windows at the mall convince you that you could buy happiness. Maybe you want peace of mind at any price and you're willing pay the charlatans who offer it to you. Or maybe you long for the approval of the world so much that you become a people-pleaser.
Whatever the case, however the world tries to squeeze you into it's mold, someone needs to tell you, in no uncertain terms, to "Snap Out Of It!" This is what the angel did for John as he marveled at the woman sitting on the scarlet beast. For he saw a beautiful woman dressed in purple and scarlet wearing the finest of all jewelry. He was captivated by her appearance, even though she gave evidence of being intoxicated. Ironically, he was as intoxicated by her attractiveness as she was by the shedding of the blood of the saints. We pick up the story in Revelation 17:7 - 18. We read,
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. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
"The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers."
Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled. The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth."
In essence the angel is saying to John, "Why are you marveling at the woman? Snap out of it! Let me give you a healthy dose of reality." It is interesting to note that in giving John, and us, this "healthy dose of reality" the angel says more about the beast than the woman. In essence, he's saying that the beast and woman are an item - they belong together. To know the one is to know the other.
The angel either has a nice sense of humor or simply enjoys the irony of what is happening in regards to the beast. For he describes the beast John saw as someone "who once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and will go to his destruction." This parodies what is often said of the Lord God Almighty "who was, and is, and is to come". But it does it in such a way as to make the beast sound pathetic for he comes up out of the Abyss, a neighborhood where nobody wants to live, only to go to his destruction.
The Lord God Almighty is from eternity to eternity, while the beast goes from being to nonbeing to being to nonbeing. He goes from being somebody to nobody to somebody to nobody. In other words, there is no reason in the world to marvel at the beast. It is God who is truly astonishing! Nevertheless, many easy-to-fool people will be astonished by the beast as we saw in Rev. 13:1 - 3. We read,
And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?"
Clearly, even though the angel sees the irony, the beast, the AntiChrist, is no laughing matter for he is Satan's right hand man. In light of his ruthlessness, as we shall see, the angel wants John, as well as us, to never lose sight of the fact that evil will be overthrown. Nevertheless, those whose names have not been written in the book of life will be "astonished" when they see the beast recover from his fatal wound.
In the ninth (9th) verse it's clear that the woman sits on the seven hills of Rome. At least it was clear for the initial recipients of this book for the seven hills were commonly mentioned in ancient literature. In Rome, as nowhere else, the world of John's day could see the city of man bent on its own blasphemous way - opposing with all its might the things of God.
Today, the great city is every city and no city. It's the tower of Babel in places like New York, Paris, and Tokyo. It's civilized man organized apart from God with just enough of a religious system to soothe their conscience. It is the center of seduction at any moment in time.1 It is man's achievement being worshiped instead of doing the hard thing of being obedient to God.
The seven heads also represent seven kings and the beast is an eighth king. But the angel, as seen in the eleventh (11th) verse, isn't concerned with the career path of the beast. He isn't concerned with what he does with his world-wide power. He wants John to know, as well as us, that like former kings, the beast is headed for destruction.
The angel then turns his attention to the ten horns which he equates with 10 kings, though they will have the status of kings for a very brief time. Whether their one-hour of fame will be short as we count time or short as God counts time is not spelled out for us. But, in the overall scheme of things it is a very brief time.2
These ten are evidently not what we would call independent thinkers. Nor are they men who have been forced into a difficult position of power. For they willing give their might and authority over to the beast. At best, we would call them puppet kings.
The ten kings, along with the beast, will wage war against the Lamb. The Lamb of God, of course, will overcome them simply because he is the Lord of lords and the King of kings. What is interesting to note, however, is that he has those who are called, chosen, and faithful following along behind him.
Why? It's not because he needs to muster all the help he can possibly round-up so as to defeat the ten kings and the beast. I think it is simply because he wants us to be with him in what he is doing in the world. He wants us to confront evil along with him. He wants us to see that evil needs to be confronted and it's best not to shrink away from the task. Perhaps, he also wants us to see that, in him, we have the power to confront evil. Then too, he probably wants us to celebrate the victory over evil with him. After all, it's more fun to celebrate one's victory with good friends.
Finally, I want you to note that the beast and the ten kings hate the prostitute. Evil people can't even get along with themselves for a very simple reason. Each one wants what they want and they want it at the expense of others. There is no such thing as sacrificing yourself for the sake of others or for the sake of the gospel.
Leon Morris, in his commentary on Revelation had this to say about the sixteenth verse,3
"It is easy to think of the forces of evil as one united phalanx. But there is no cohesion in evil. Wicked men are not just one happy band of brothers. Being wicked, they give way to jealousy and hatred. At the climax their mutual hatreds will result in mutual destruction. There will be hatred between the ten horns and the whore, a hatred which will issue in deeds. They will make her desolate and naked, i. e. they will strip her of every resource. They will eat her flesh, i. e. they will prey on her and consume her. And they will burn her with fire. She will be completely destroyed.
Whew! Evil in the end will destroy itself. In the meantime, this doesn't mean we ought to ignore it. I believe Jesus would like to see us confront it, as opportunity presents itself. For that is what he has been doing ever since Adam and Eve chose to disobey the one thing God told them not to do.
Then too, you will note that the destruction of the woman was a fulfillment of God's will. He caused the ten kings and the beast to agree so as to destroy the great prostitute. As hard as it is for us to imagine, our prayers do have an affect on God's will. In light of this, we ought to be praying that God would confront evil sooner rather than later and that we too would have the courage to confront evil in our midst.

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