Daily Thought

The final parenthesis concerns Babylon the great, man and Satan’s city, contrasting with God’s city, Jerusalem. It is spoken of in two ways. In chapter 17 it is a prostitute in a wilderness, contrasting with the true bride of Christ, the church. In chapter 18 it is a commercial and political centre. The prostitute is sitting on the Beast, controlling him and persecuting believers. This is called a mystery, which an angel explains to John as a believer. ‘Mystery Babylon’ appears to be a worldwide religious system which will develop out of apostate Christendom after the rapture of the church. The Beast will allow this evil system to govern his policies during the first half of the tribulation, when, according to verse 18, his capital may be the Rome of John’s day, which had accepted the mystery religion of ancient Babylon. The fifth seal judgement in chapter 6 has already mentioned the martyrs of this period awaiting justice.

But at the mid-point of the tribulation, the Beast with his confederate ten kings will, at God’s instigation, unknown to themselves, turn against the prostitute, destroy her, and set himself up as the object of universal worship. This will occur after his pseudo-death-and-resurrection experience, when he comes up out of the abyss indwelt by Satan, and is therefore worse than before. His seven heads, or mountains, represent seven kings, probably the world empires which have opposed God’s people through history, namely, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the Beast, who becomes the eighth during the terrible second half of the tribulation. The ten kings are those of Daniel chapters 2 and 7, who will briefly receive power and authority from the Beast as part of his empire. They will make war with Christ, the Lamb, at His second coming, but will be defeated at Armageddon, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, infinitely superior to His foes. The church saints will return from heaven with Christ to share His victory. By sovereign grace we are described as ‘called, and chosen, and faithful’. So we see again in this prophecy of future events that, despite all appearances to the contrary, ‘God is still on the throne, and He will remember His own’! Hallelujah!