Ok, so you thought Revelation Chapter 16 was wild, welcome to Revelation Chapter 17!
Church history is littered with attempts to identify the various characters John sees in his vision. No wonder John was flabbergasted enough that the angel realized John needed someone to explain what his vision meant!
Is “Babylon the Great” in Revelation 17:5 the literal Babylon or does it refer to Rome or some future world power? Which Roman Emperors does Revelation 17:9-11 refer to – should we number beginning with Julius Caesar or with Caesar Augustus or with Nero or with the two or three other Roman emperors that a variety of people have suggested? And who are the 10 kings who haven’t yet come to power? Are they the 10 nations in the European Common Market? Except now there are 27 nations, and that number keeps changing.
If you’re like me, I’m not finding the angel’s explanation all that helpful!
Rather than trying to decode the text – which isn’t the way to read apocalyptic literature like Revelation anyway – let’s focus on the most important verse in the chapter, verse 14:
Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him.
Did you catch that?
The angel told John the end of the story is clear – the Lamb wins! Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords!
Is it kind of fun to play games and speculate who the seven horns in John’s vision refer to? Sure! But don’t let speculation obscure the truth – Jesus wins!
Questions for reflection
- Are you surprised that the message of Revelation is simply Jesus wins? How is this different from what you thought Revelation was about?
- If you believe Jesus wins, how does that change how you live your life?
- If you believe Jesus wins, how does that change how you relate to other people?
Old Testament reading: Micah 4-7