If you could not fail...
Revelation 17:1-18
[1] Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, [2] with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” [3] And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. [4] The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. [5] And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” [6] And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.
When I saw her, I marveled greatly. [7] But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. [8] The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. [9] This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; [10] they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. [11] As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. [12] And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. [13] These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. [14] They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”
[15] And the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. [16] And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, [17] for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. [18] And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.” (ESV)
Big Idea: Throughout this book, we have learned this basic lesson—Jesus wins, and his followers will win with him because He loves us. The Spirit uses three words to describe the followers beloved by King Jesus who will celebrate victory over evil with Him at the end of history: called, chosen and faithful. Together those words explain how no one can ultimately fail who follows Christ.
- Chosen (vv. 1-7, 14-17)
The word translated “chosen” is eklektos. Elsewhere in the New Testament it refers to the elect, those God predestined to eternal life before history. The Bible makes much of God’s sovereign choice of us because it overwhelms us with how much he loves us. The longest hymn of praise to God for his love for sinners is in Ephesians 1. Paul praises God the Father, “for he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” And why did He choose us? Because we were good or because he foreknew we would be wise enough to choose Him? No, it was “in love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (4-10).
Consider/Discuss:
- What are some of the implications of the fact that God chose you to be His own, despite anything you have or have not done?
- Called (vv. 8-14)
Although it is the first word John uses to describe disciples, we look at “called” (kletos) secondly because it is the next thing that happens chronologically in the life of someone God chooses. Those whom God chose before the foundation of the world, He irresistibly calls to Christ for salvation. First look at the miserable state of those who do not follow Jesus. They are ultimately unknown because their names are “not written in the book of life from the creation of the world” (8). That means they are destined to eternal death. The “beast” represents every person, worldview and movement opposed to Christ and inspires most every political government in the history of the world. How very different is the calling God issues to those He has chosen. Having loved us before the creation of the world, He calls us to live in the experience of His Fatherly love (1 Jn. 3:1; Jude 1), knowing that because of His love, everything that happens to us is for our good (Ro. 8:28-30).
Consider/Discuss:
- What difference does it make for the way we can view pain, struggle, disappointment, suffering, longing, etc. when we know that we have been called by God to be His very own?
- Faithful (vv. 6, 9, 14, 17)
Finally, John says it will be Christ’s “faithful followers” who celebrate His victory alongside Him over the Evil One. The word πιστός (“followers”) is supplied by the translators and means “trustworthy, dependable or reliable.” It primarily describes something or someone that can be trusted. John teaches that faithfulness requires three things. First, it requires a “mind of wisdom” (9). Wisdom describes a Christian’s mind trained by God’s word and catechized theologically (Pr. 2:6; 1 Co. 2:7). Second, faithfulness requires confidence in God’s sovereignty. In v. 17, John affirms that the devil is God’s devil. Though He is never the author of evil, He overrules evil in such a way that it accomplishes “his purpose” and “fulfills his word.” The third and most important requirement for faithfulness is to go to Jesus first for it. Paul commands us to “put on the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ep. 6:16), because “the “Lord is faithful, and will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one” (2 Th. 3:3).
Consider/Discuss:
- Which of the three requirements for faithfulness most resonated with you? Why?