Dear Student of the Word,
After this post, we will have only six chapters left to cover and then I will be ready to publish. At that time, I will also be done with this blog site, having included a verse-by-verse study on every book in the New Testament that is available to the public anywhere in the world. I thank God that He empowered and enabled me to see this work completed, and I trust it will survive me and bless many until the Lord returns!
This week, we look at the prostitute, Babylon the Great. You should not be surprised that I do not see this as any one individual or movement, but rather a trend throughout history of movements and philosophies that try to overpower the church and overcome the Lamb. You can download this entire study below, but here is what I wrote pertaining to Revelation 17:11:
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11The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
17:11 – This is the key issue: The beast and the kings are heading to their destruction. They may persecute the Church and gain control of the governments of the earth, but they are doomed to failure for the Lord reigns.
Much of this will not make sense until after it all happens, not before. Imagine the confusion produced over the three seemingly conflicting prophecies surrounding the coming of the Messiah. It was said that He would be from Bethlehem, come out of Egypt, and be a Nazarene. Prior to Jesus’ life and death, not many would have understood how all that could be true about one man. Today, however, it makes perfect sense. Eventually, the symbolism of Revelation will make sense.
The question for you is, “What does any particular interpretation produce in your life?” If it stirs up fear, for example, then you must question your interpretation. I read these prophecies and images and it causes me to worship the Lamb. While I am powerless to do anything about these scenarios, He is all powerful. I am glad my name is in His book!
As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For additional Bible studies, check out my website archive, which contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse New Testament studies, along with the daily devotional entitled Your Life Matters: Daily Reflections from the Book of Psalms. Thank you and soon I will begin sending you my edited studies from James' epistle. After that, we will only have the book of Revelation to complete before the entire New Testament is on the site where this study is posted.
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