Revelation 17:6b-8 – When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. 7 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. 8 The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its 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 it once was, now is not, and yet will come.
“When I saw her, I was greatly astonished.” There are different reasons that are thought why John was astonished when he saw this woman. Perhaps it is the shock of seeing something that is truly evil. She is proudly wearing filthy sin, she is full of pride as she considers her adornments beautiful and adding to what she thinks is her beauty. Her mouth and actions are blasphemous. To John, who walked with the Lord and loved Him still, the sight of this horrible woman mystified Him. How could anything, or anyone, be so evil and talk so evil. He was taken aback. When I first saw the movie The Ten Commandments (1956 version) I remember my shock and repulsion at the scenes of the people rebelling as they were reveling in sin as God was in the process of giving Moses the gift of the law to give to them. At the time, I didn’t understand all the sin being represented. Yet, I was horrified that they could so blatantly sin against God. I was horrified, and maybe even, traumatized. I could not understand what kind of people would so rebel against God. I also remember the first time I saw a man dressed up as a woman, not a costume, but a person who dressed to represent the life he was living. Then I was also taken aback. No one had said anything to me, whether it was right or wrong, but I thought he looked filthy and evil. That a man would dress and act like a woman and that he would love men in a way that was naturally so wrong, shocked me to my core. It wasn’t funny to me, it was another one of the traumatizing sights of my life. Both of the above frightened me that people could be so lost as to what was so wrong that even a child could understand. I wonder if what John felt was similar, to a greater degree, to what I felt. It would seem that to see such evil as this woman would astonish and shock me. I wonder if this woman who did and spoke evils, and propagated to the evil to the world, shocked John by the depth of her depravity. I dare not to even imagine the sight he saw.
“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.” Seeing the look of astonishment on John’s face, the angel was puzzled. We see, this side of physical death, the physical playing out of evil. Yet the true vision of the evil that happens on earth is spiritual. As the Word states, battles are fought in the spiritual (Ephesians 6:12). The angel has seen with spiritual eyes the ugliness of sin, but we have only seen the physical side of sin. As horrid as the physical side can be, it is the spiritual eyes, with spiritual perspective, that sees sin in its truly horrible reality. John, seeing the spiritual ugliness of sin, was stunned.
Family, let us not allow our eyes to become accustomed to the evil in this world. Let us view the world through the perspective given to us by the Word of God and by His Holy Spirit. May we always call it as God calls it. May we always stand with God. May we always love and serve God first and may He have no rivals in our hearts or minds. Our God is good, and He loves us, may we be faithful. Our lives on earth are short and every day is precious. Let us receive the gift of today, of every day, with great appreciation and my we not waste it, but may we be sure to have our lives be a testimony to the beauty and wonder of our God the Father, Jesus, and His Holy Spirit. Praise God! Look to the future with certain knowledge that Jesus is with us and leading us home to be with our Almighty and All-loving God. Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.