Revelation 17: 1-18 “1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”
You know what gets me? Some people don’t believe what’s written in Revelations. They think it’s like a riddle we have to figure out. But I know Jesus never spoke in riddles, even though He spoke in parables. He spoke in terms that the people in that day could easily understand, in language they could understand, never speaking above their heads, but in parables so the people who didn’t believe in Him would not understand and be saved. He used real life examples (such as farming) for understanding, and He said “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Matthew 11:15
Ears to hear may be those that want to hear. Those that are on people who love God and seek Him, and ask Him for understanding; who aren’t afraid to CALL OUT TO HIM and publicly praise His name by speaking about His precious Son, Jesus! Perhaps it’s those ears that catch the hidden ‘gems’ in His Word such as that which is written in verse 8 above. Did you catch it? Read it again.
We have to ask for understanding of His Word. It’s not for us to know who those people are, whose names were not written in the book of life “from the foundation of the world!” It’s just awesome to recognize the infinite power of God! He created you and I, and we must be drawn to Him by Him, and some are not.
And what about verse 17? God can put in our hearts what He needs us to do to fulfill His will! But He won’t force us to Him, like the devil will force those left behind to take his mark to purchase necessities of life. And the devil will know where everyone is through satellites, cell phones & internet!
God allows free will, so we’ll go to Him with our hearts open to His love, forgiveness and salvation. As parents, don’t we hope our kids “want” to call or come see us? If we try to force them they become belligerent and contrary. There’s no love in that method. Manipulation is of the devil.
Ladies and gentlemen, we must not allow pride to steal our salvation. There is freedom in Christ Jesus. If you go to Jesus, He will tear down all barriers the devil has set up between you and Him. We should all get down on our knees; fall prostrate to the ground as Jesus did when He prayed to God our Father, and ask for forgiveness and salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. We’d better ask Him to draw us and our seed, too; and read His Word so we’ll know the Truth, and not be misled by false teaching!
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