Don’t be Surprised
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. Revelation 17:7
I’ve seen a lot of things in my lifetime. Some bad and some good. Some real and some produced from imagination. I have a choice with whatever I look at, and the choice is to believe it or not believe, to follow or not to follow, to yield to or not give into. Mostly, whatever I am looking at whether real or made up, I have the option to choose the emotion I will attach to it. The things I let into my thoughts and my heart can produce happy or sad emotions. I can feel inspired or stunted. I can even experience faith for the future or fear of the unknown. All of these emotions will determine what I will do next and how I will walk out the purpose of my life.
What a person looks at in life is actually putting a lens over their vision. Even though they may not even know it, they will process every decision through the lens of what they are taking in whether good or bad. That is why we are warned in the Proverbs to guard your heart above all because everything flows out of what you have put into it.
In today’s reading, we pick at the vision that John saw of the spirit of Babylon. There is an angel showing John this spirit and offers to give him an explanation of what he is looking at. The angle asked John: “Why did you marvel?” John was in utter shock as he saw a great beast carrying a seductive woman on it’s back. The woman is spewing obscenities and drunk on the blood of God’s people. John can see the power that this spirit has been given because of the people of the world yielding to the pleasures and desires that this spirit has lured them with. This harlot spirit is boasting great blasphemies and riding around on a beast that is fierce and intimidating. She is carrying on like a drunkard out of control with obnoxious words and gestures to the degree that John cannot believe what he is looking at.
The angel explained to John that the beast would come out of the bottomless pit and awe the people of the world with his appearance and extraordinary deeds. Those who are in the world but not in the Book of Life will yield and surrender all to the beast and he will grow in power and dominion over the earth and cause great darkness, confusion and corruption to cover the entire planet.
This reminds me of a warning that Paul gave to the Romans. He said in Romans 6:16 that whomever you yield your ways to is who you are servant to. If you are giving in to the temptations of the evil one, you are a slave to that evil. If you surrender your will to the Holy Spirit of God, you are His servant fit for the service of the King of kings. The bottom line is that whatever you are giving your time, attention and life to is who you are giving power to in your life. If you are giving into temptations that lures you away from God, then you are giving power to the evil one to have more access to your life and to pull you deeper into his pit of darkness. If you are giving your life to God and following the direction and leading of the holy Spirit, you are giving Him the power to direct your life and keep you from the attacks of the enemy.
This is the explanation for the drunk spirit in John’s vision. This spirit has pushed it’s way into the lives and hearts of every person in the world that does not name Jesus as Lord and has great power because of the people that have let their lives be dominated by it. They are not possessed, but they are oppressed. This is happening in the world today on a great level, but not as it will be when that evil comes out of hell. We have a choice each day and that is to yield to the One who saved us and loves us or give in to the bait of the enemy to lure us into his dark clutches. Choose to make the Spirit of God your master and then follow His ways and will. That is when you will be giving all your power to Him and that power will flow to influence the lives of those around you.
Today I want to encourage you to make a plan not to yield to your enemy. Surrender your heart and your life to the God and Father of heaven that created you and loves you. Ask Him to lead you in the ways of righteousness and receive His empowering grace to be able to follow His ways. Turn over every area of your life to Him so that you will not be lured away by material things or pleasure that this world would offer. Instead, fill up your life with the oil of gladness and the joy of the Lord by pressing into Him each day as soon as your feet hit the floor!
Today’s scripture reading: Revelation 17:7-8
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.
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.
The Daily Dose 