Fulfilled

DEVOTION

THE REVELATION

FULFILLED

Rev 17:15-18

15 Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. 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. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth."

NIV

If this prostitute were either the Latin Church or Papal Rome and had its power over all the many nations but is not overthrown by these ten kings, or monarchs this all would make a certain amount of sense, at least human sense. But we have to remember this all calls for a mind of wisdom which only God actually has and therefore we need to see this with the mind of Christ, not men. First if we continue with the thought that this woman, this great prostitute is not the Roman Catholic Church, or Papal Rome, but rather another power that rules over the hearts and minds of peoples of all nations and languages. This may well be that power of riches, wealth, and the struggle for economic authority in the world. At one time some men thought when the European Common Market first was being formed it might be the beginning of the end. Yet there were only six original members then nine and it was looking more like these ten, but then three more joined and it now stands at twelve and its power is rather weak at that. Yet there are ten kings or world leaders who will band together in some sense to destroy the world economy for their own personal and combined gain. Some thought it would be OPEC, the oil producing countries that control costs of oil, but they too have twelve members. These organizations are current, in our lifetime, but will perhaps once again be nothing but history should the Lord tarry and then men will be looking back at them as many do now at kingdoms and powers of the past. Yet this has not been the prophetic fulfillment of this revelation as the end did not come, because God’s words have yet to be fulfilled. What this beast is and whoever these ten kings are, they will rise and fall in power over a period of time. Nations will gather strength on the world stage endeavoring to be the world leader. Perhaps Global climate change is the driving force of their leadership, once again trying to prove mankind is more powerful the God. Maybe it is by military might each king will have his turn at world domination, or at least try. We certainly have had some try that in the past one hundred years, but not ten. It might be possible these kings represent the major religions of the world, and at some time they will move to destroy the economic power of nations in the name of religion, but more than likely their power is in the economic sector, becoming world leaders in trade, each trying their best to bring down the others. Sooner or later they will hate the whole system and try to bring about a new world order, either based on one economic standard, or one world religion. The point is all this will happen some day in order to fulfill the words of God. Then God decides the world will end. The world that we know as earth, with all its inhabitants, which are all that God created in the first place will be destroyed. When we start to focus on our own lives, thinking only in terms of self, and how everything affects us, we might be in danger of losing sight of God. Man cannot replace God. Man cannot exist without God. The world cannot exist without God, yet the great powerful men of ages past and of this age and if the Lord tarries, the ages to come, try their hardest to consider mankind as the power to save themselves and this earth. But God’s words will be fulfilled. Man can do whatever he thinks he can, striving for power as a world leader, bringing the peoples of the earth united for a single cause, but all will fail, because they cannot fulfill their own words, own thoughts and desires, all men, all people are not one hundred percent of the time always truthful, all lie and their words will not be fulfilled. But God’s word will be fulfilled. This is the truth we always need to have at the forefront of our thinking. This is the reason we trust him, we obey him, we look to him for all things, because his word will be fulfilled.