A Scarlet Colored Beast Revelation 17:3

As John continued to share concerning the events during the tribulation, He wrote about the antichrist, the false prophet and the angels who were involved in the reaping of the harvest of believers who received the Lord Jesus during that time. John wrote about seven angel who “poured out” their “vials” filled with the “wrath of God” upon the earth, sea, atmosphere and cities. He added, “And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come here; I will show unto you the judgment of the great whore that sits upon many waters: with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”, and in chapter seventeen and verse three of Revelation John shared how he was“carried” “away in the spirit into the wilderness” where he “saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast” where we read:

So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

The verse reads, “So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness:” John began with the words, “so he carried” which means “also, even and indeed the angel bore or brought” “me away” or “John out of that place into another” “in the spirit” which refers to “within the spiritual realm, breeze or breath” “into the wilderness” which means “towards the solitary, lonely, desolate and uninhabited place”. John was taken by the “angel” in the “spiritual realm” to a “desolate and lonely” place.

The verse continues, “and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.” John added the words “and I saw” which means “and John perceived, noticed, discerned and discovered” “a woman” or “a female” “sit” which means “seated, fixed and occupied” “upon a scarlet colored beast” or “on a wild, savage and ferocious being that appeared as the color of crimson”, “full of” which means “swollen and filled with” “names” or “everything which the name covers including the thoughts or feelings of which are aroused in the mind by mentioning, hearing and remembering” “of blasphemy” which means “slander, detraction and injurious speech to divine majesty” “having seven heads” or “owning and possessing seven chief and prominent positions” “and ten horns” which refers to “and ten apexes or pointed extremities in the shape of a horn which are symbols of strength and courage”. John saw this “woman” seated upon the “crimson colored living beast” which had “seven heads with ten horns”.

When we consider John's words in this verse, we notice how this woman is much like the “beast” to which were were introduced in chapter thirteen of Revelation. (Revelation 13:1) This woman is the representation of the “false religion” with which people commit “spiritual idolatry” during the tribulation. John is taken into the “spiritual” world to see the influence of this “woman” upon the earth and it's inhabitants, and rather than seeking a relationship with God Almighty through His Son Jesus, people will worship her. God has given us these warnings in advance of their occurring upon the earth, and those who are wise will establish a personal relationship with Him today before they become deceived by this or any other “false religious system”.

Next time angel shows John how, “the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls ”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.