Why Should We Talk About Sin? (Revelation 17)
GIST: Sin is seductive & destructive, and it pulls us away from God’s glorious grace!
Today, we’re picking up in Revelation 17. From here until chapter 19 verse 15, we have a continuous picture of the impact and fall of sin. Of course, John is inspired to use several images to describe sin, but they all point to a contrast between lives destroyed by sin and lives redeemed by Jesus. The impact of sin is symbolically called Babylon, the great city of sin, which comes in direct contrast to the “city of God” imagery we’ve seen and will continue to see describing people belonging to Jesus. The more dominant image today is that of a prostitute riding on the beast from the bottomless pit. This comes in direct contrast to the Bride and Christ… which happens to be exactly what is described starting in chapter 19 verse 16—right after this section! (Man, I used the word sin a bunch in that paragraph!)
I have often seen these two and a half chapters discussed in one sermon, but that would probably take us at least an hour to walk through ☺️, so we’re going to just camp out in chapter 17 this morning, which, honestly, is still a ton to cover, so let’s dive in!
“1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk." 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. 5 And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: "Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations." 6 And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I marveled greatly. 7 But the angel said to me, "Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. 9 This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; 10 they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. 11 As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. 12 And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with Him are called and chosen and faithful." 15 And the angel said to me, "The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. 16 And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, 17 for God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. 18 And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.”
Again, there is a ton in those verses, but let’s hit our big picture gist statement, then we’ll walk through a couple questions and hit some takeaways. Here’s the gist: Sin is seductive & destructive, and it pulls us away from God’s glorious grace! Now, before I say anything else, let me try to make this clear. Today, we’re going to talk about the impact of sin. However, what I’m not trying to do is tell you how careful all of you should be because you haven’t quite ascended to my level. 100% not. I am just as susceptible to temptation, and I need to hear God’s Word and be transformed by His grace just as much as everyone else, maybe more.
I. Who Is The Beast?
Even though this is technically the second of the images we’re given, let’s talk about the beast first… because we’ve already seen this creature before. Back in Revelation 13, we were shown this same beast. When we talked about those verses, we said this first beast is frequently referred to as the Antichrist, but that it would be better to see this as a broader description of anti-Christs.
Anti-Christs: Direct Opposition (Individual And Systemic) To Jesus. There will be constantly changing faces but the same mission: mislead and deceive the world to distract them from Jesus’ grace. That’s the same image we have here. Let’s look a bit at the details we’re given in this chapter.
A Scarlet Beast Full Of Blasphemous Names. This anti-Christ spirit is defined by blasphemy. Those who directly oppose Jesus are living lives that spit in His face.
7 Heads. Again, seven is a number of completion, so the opposition isn’t half-hearted, but this is also one of the many times we see the sinful world trying to imitate God in this passage. Who is that number typically associated with? God and His perfect plan. Here, the beast has seven heads, as well—and we’ll see more sevens before this chapter is over.
10 Horns. Horns represent power. That’s what we see here for sure. Sin will be in places of power. We’ll see this represented in lots of different ways. Organizations, nations, and individuals will rise up and seem unstoppable… until they’re not. Then, after God defeats them, we’ll see others rise up and seem unstoppable… until they’re not. And this pattern will continue until we see Jesus’ return and the ultimate defeat of sin. That’s what’s in view with the was, is not, and will rise up language.
Those Not Written In Book Of Life From The Foundation Of The World Will Marvel. Ok, there are several points to make here. First, notice that those who are not saved, whose eyes are not on Jesus will be impressed by the rise of sin. That might be convicting for you. How impressed are you with the rise of sinful movements? How much of the koolaide are you willing to drink? The beast will be impressive, but we don’t have to be deceived.
Notice also that salvation has always been in God’s hands! Those who are saved have been written in His book from the foundation of the world. Your salvation is all wrapped up in His love, and His desire to save you, and you have been part of His plan…forever!
7 Mountains & 7 Kings. Let’s look at this verse again because it gets discussed a lot, and it is hard. “9 This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; 10 they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. 11 As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction.” There has been a lot of discussion about this verse, and lots of camps come down in lots of directions trying to use this to point to who the specific Antichrist will be. Let me just share my thoughts on this, though I do not claim any kind of superior knowledge.
The last time John told us something required “wisdom” like this, was when we saw the number of the beast (666) which could have been used to point out a particular person in John’s time, but was meant to point to something much bigger—the power of sin over everyone’s lives when they haven’t received the rescue of Jesus. I think a similar message is being conveyed here. Traditionally, scholars have pointed out that the “7 mountains” was an illusion to Rome—the evil empire of John’s day. Therefore, the 7 kings could be seen as 7 Caesars…etc. The problem is, anytime someone tries to follow that logic, the math gets really messy. There are more than 7 Caesars, so you have to get really creative determining where you start and who you’ll skip. However, if this is a bigger picture, it makes more sense to me. I think we’re seeing the power of sin in all ages. This isn’t just Rome, but all the other “Rome-like” institutions that will follow until Jesus returns. There are 7 because this is a complete picture. The eighth that comes from them is then either just expressing that they are “still coming”, or that there will be a final “anti-Christ” that will come and have influence just before Jesus returns but it, like the rest, won’t last long. Which is what we see with the→
10 Kings With 1 Hour Of Power From The Beast. The spirit of anti-Christ will have prominence & importance. It will carry a mighty reputation, but no lasting power. Why? Because it is not Jesus! In fact, it will go to→
War With The Lamb & His People… & Lose! “13 These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with Him are called and chosen and faithful.”
So, that’s the beast.
II. Who Is The Prostitute?
You’ll probably see some similarities here. Let’s hit some key points. First, the image is of→
Prostitute: Deliberately Betraying True Love. We live in a day and age where individuals are forced into prostitution. It’s a serious and terrible reality, so we need to be very clear: that is not what this image is talking about. This prostitute is one on purpose. And this isn’t actually all about sex either. All throughout the Old Testament, prostitute imagery was used to describe God’s people rejecting His love and chasing after their own sinful desires. That’s what we are seeing here. This is a picture of the sinful world betraying true love and seeking fulfillment in, as cliche as it sounds, literally all the wrong places.
Seated On Many Waters & Making Kings & Normal People Drunk On Her Sexual Immorality. What is that imagery about? Influence. In fact, verse 15 tells us “the waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.” Who is outside the grip of sin? No one.
And this sinful life is→
Sitting On The Beast. What does that mean? Embracing sin and opposing Jesus go hand-in-hand.
Notice also, like the beast→
Sin Is Appealing & Powerful. “4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls… 6b… When I saw her, I marveled greatly…. 18 And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.” She’s impressive. People flock to her. Sin seems like the right thing to do. It’s what all the voices in our culture will be pressuring us to embrace. In fact, rejecting sin will feel like doing the wrong thing because embracing it sounds so right. But it’s a counterfeit.
Look at this next image→
Golden Cup Pouring Out Destruction. Do you remember what else we’ve seen in golden cups or containers in Revelation? We’ve seen God’s wrath being pour out of cups, but back in chapter 8, there was a moment of silence in Heaven before that picture of the end, and a golden censer was pour out that held the prayers of the saints. This echoes that moment, but the purpose is very different because the heart is 100% different. Notice we have more→
Forehead Tats. “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations.” Like before, these aren’t literal tattoos, but labels that describe the true natures of our hearts. Sin is completely devoted to self. In fact, look at the end result of sin here→
“Drunk With The Blood Of The Saints, The Blood Of The Martyrs Of Jesus.”
That’s where sin leads. So we have the beast and the woman. Let’s really quickly look at what they’re doing. After this, we’ll also really quickly hit our takeaways ☺️. So→
III. What Are They Doing?
Let me just make 3 observations.
1. Appealing To The World. People will buy in. It won’t seem wrong. Sin will look good and feel right.
2. Trying To Replace Jesus. Brett Davis put this so well in See The Strange: “We’re always being offered counterfeits, and we frequently settle for them. We crave intimacy; we settle for “casual” sex. We thirst for inner peace; we settle for numbing the pain. We hunger for satisfaction; we settle for the next big purchase. We ache to be truly known; we settle for applause and popularity. We yearn for significance—to know our lives matter—but we settle for busyness. We’re parched for True Life; the Enemy offers to quench our thirst with Death. We thirst for the cup of salvation; we settle for the cup of abominable things.”
3. Destroying Themselves. Look at the end here again: “16 And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, 17 for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.”
Here is the great irony of sin—it is sought for pleasure, but only brings destruction. We’ve been told all along that this destruction is going to come in judgment on sinful mankind. Now, we have a little glimpse of how this will come about. Just like in chapters 8-9 where we saw the forces of Satan attacking those following after him, we are told now that God will use the powers of sin to judge...itself. These rulers and institutions and movements, which the culture supports, will lead to their own downfall. Sin might be appealing, but it is self-destructive—and God’s hand is 100% on this destruction. He is in control!
Ok, so that was a lot to chew on. Let’s hit some quick→
TAKEAWAYS
Guard your heart. Are you called, chosen, and faithful? Do you see yourself as set apart for Him?
Evaluate your love. What do you find most appealing?
Devote your life to truth. Know His Word, and don’t be taken in by the counterfeits which will continue to come.
Pray for those consumed by this world. This is serious. Self-destruction is real.
Praise God for His marvelous rescue.
