2006-7-29 06:28:00
The next verses we shall look at are:
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 shew 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."
(Revelation 17:1-3)
Here we have introduced a woman who, we are told, is sitting upon many waters in verse one and upon the Beast in verse three. So where is she really sitting? On the waters or on the Beast?
Actually both.
Earlier we learned that the Beast rose "up out of the sea." (Revelation 13:1) Apparently the woman is sitting on the Beast, who is sitting upon the sea. So in an indirect way the woman is also sitting upon the sea.
A few verses later we learn the interpretation of the waters:
"The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." (Revelation 17:15)
Water is also a symbol of the emotional nature, so we could say that the woman receives her power from the emotionally polarized people of the planet.
Earlier we learned that the Beast represents unjust, unearned authority -- authority that expects to be obeyed without question. Then we have this woman sitting upon this powerful authority.
What then is the meaning of the woman and why is she called a whore?
First recall from chapter twelve that there was a woman that signified the female side of God. However, in this case the corrupted woman sees herself as a mystery. The magnetic female energy is not understood and misused.
A whore prostitutes her ability to give pleasure to the highest bidder instead of finding a husband. The scriptures often compare God or Christ to a husband. What does this tell us then? We are to assume that instead of seeking to please God or nourish the spiritual side of our nature, the woman is very materialistic and will seek to please those who pay the most in money, authority, power or in a way that appeals to the lower nature or materialism.
This then gives us an interesting picture.
Supported by the emotional nature of the masses (the sea) of people are strong authorities, who expect blind obedience (the Beast). This blind obedience is ridden or manipulated by selfish and materialist people (the woman) who take full advantage of the weaknesses of the masses; neither do they care for their suffering. The woman may even present herself as the true handmaiden of God, but for those who have eyes to see she is only a prostitute willing to sell out for material comfort and possessions.
John could see the true nature of the woman only by being carried away "in the spirit" away from the influence of the material world. He saw that the true power of the female is a magnetic force that can almost magically draw to itself the things of the spirit or material goods. In this case only the material is sought.
"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:" (Revelation 17:4)
Purple and scarlet were the typical colors of the attire of prostitutes in Rome in John's day. Just like you can recognize a prostitute in today's world because of their dress, even so it was in ancient times.
But the meaning goes deeper than this. In today's world those who prostitute their spiritual nature for riches and power also stand out from the crowd, just as does the dress of a prostitute. Instead of dedicating their surplus money for the benefit of the whole they dedicate it to self.
Here are some of the signs of the dress of the modern day prostitutes:
Basically, a person does not have to be wealthy to fall into this trap. Maybe two friends are making an average wage but one goes in over his head and buys a new car with the motivation of feeling superior rather than to merely fill a need.
Whatever the case, those who are motivated toward material benefit over service to the whole are easy to spot by how they spend their money and by the "dress" of their lifestyle.
Next we are told the woman has "a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication."
The golden cup symbolizes the beautiful outward appearance of those submerged in materialism. They seem to have the golden touch. They have a fine home, car, clothes, jewelry, etc. But what was the cost that was paid? Many sell out their spiritual self and all the value they really have is based on illusion, which is the true abomination.
"And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." (Revelation 17:5)
It is interesting that the servants of God receive the seal and name of God in their foreheads and the servants of the Beast receive his mark in their foreheads. Now we see that the woman also receives a mark or name in her forehead.
In Rome in John's day the prostitutes wore a frontlet on their foreheads which had their name written thereon for identification.
Where is the name in the forehead of those wrapped in materialism?
The forehead symbolizes thought and intention. This merely tells us that that those who are part of the female prostitute are identified with "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
Let us analyze each part of the above name of this female prostitute to see what it reveals to us:
John then writes in Verse 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." (Revelation 17:6)
The wrong use of material, goods, money and power causes those caught up in the illusion to see those who follow the path of spirit (the saints) as being the enemy and they will seek to destroy them. Many of the martyrs in the history of the planet have been sacrificed to preserve either the money or the power of the harlot, or materialistic individuals or groups.
When John saw the true reason and the full picture of why his brethren were martyred, he was amazed at how the pieces to the mystery fit together.
The next few verses are some of the most complex in the Bible and to make any sense of them I'll have to give the rest of the chapter for consideration:
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."
(Revelation 17:7-17)
One great mystery we will solve is why the ten horns hate the whore.
Any ideas?
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Copyright © 2006 by J.J. Dewey, All Rights Reserved