Revelation17:7 But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

The mystery is explained

Most Christians I talk to do not read the book of Revelation. They say that it is too confusing, and they do not understand it. I admit that I also was in this group. But after years of listening to great teachers and the help of the Holy Spirit, I have found that this is one of the most self-explanatory books there is in the Bible. We have to view it from the eyes of John; in his time and the way he would explain it. It would be like us looking two thousand years into the future and explaining what we saw. Then the angel helps him with commentary.

Revelation 17:8 “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. We have learned that the beast is the anti-Christ. A beast in the Bible also represents one with great power given to him by God for His purpose. He was and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit, this is just Satan imitating what he has seen. Jesus says in Revelation 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Ties to the empire

Revelation 17:9 “Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. The seven mountains speak of the Roman Empire. The seven hills of Rome are Palatine, Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelin and Aventine. The woman is the great harlot in which we just studied in the last devotional, a false religion that has been around since the times of Nimrod.

Satan will imitate the Holy Trinity with his unholy trinity. He will use false religion to rule over the world. The seat of his power will be the old Roman empire. There is nothing new under the sun. Just like Satan uses his same tricks to entice man to sin, he uses the things in which he has seen to rule. Ultimately, he just wants the worship of man that is due to God.

What side will you choose?

Holy or unholy? Righteous or unrighteous? Heaven or hell? We know that the world is full of choices. But what we are choosing here does not just affect our life on this earth. The choice we make will affect our eternity. Heaven and hell are real. Your soul will be one of the two eternally. Not choosing is still a choice. There is no way around this question. Choose wisely!