Babylon- Lent 30, 2022

There are two responses to horror and tragedy: one is a desire to be part of the gapers delay and know what’s going on, but then there is also the thought that you really don’t want to see because of what’s coming. In a movie, you cover your eyes until it’s over.

John didn’t have a choice.

Revelation 17:1 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. 2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”

Idolatry (the great prostitute) as always had an adulterous appeal
that entices people away from the One True God.

Revelation 17: 3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. 5 The name written on her forehead was a mystery: BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

If idolatry was personified, here she sits in all her wealth and adornment on the outside, but behind the façade and on the inside, there is a hideous reality. Look at the contrasts: woman sitting on a scarlet beast, dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand…everything rich and royal! But wait, there’s the other side: beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns … cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries … everything disgusting and deplorable.

Revelation 17: 6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished.

Thoughts for today:

John was brought to the wilderness to see the great prostitute punished. Instead, he sees her sitting in finery, luxuriating in all of her idolatrous power and immorality. How do you think John felt, wrapped up in the word “astonished” alternately translated “stunned” or “astounded”?

Then the angel explains “the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides”. In what way is Osborne correct, “While the beast is the political ruler of the empire, the woman represents the blasphemous religion that seduces the nations and the economic system that draws them into its earthly luxury”?

In the end, money, luxury, political power, it all descends into bloodlust and haters are going to hate everyone and everything as unabashed, greedy self-exaltation (every man’s little god for self-worship) takes over.

Revelation 17: 14 They will wage war against the Lamb, … 16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.

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If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014.
Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations. We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17.
ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ. It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.