The Hatred of the Ten Horns Revelation 17:16

After showing John the apostle the “great whore” who was sitting upon a “scarlet colored beast” and was “arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls”, the angel asked him, “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 ten horns. The beast that you saw was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. And here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he comes, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into perdition. And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. And he said unto me, The waters which you saw, where the whore sits, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” In chapter seventeen and verse sixteen of Revelation the angel tells John how these “ten kings” “shall hate the whore” where we read:

And the ten horns which you saw upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

The verse reads, “And the ten horns which you saw upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, ...” John began with the words, “and the ten horns” which means “the ten kings” “which you saw” or “that John perceived, noticed, discovered and discerned”, “upon the beast” which means “on the ferocious being which is the antichrist”, “these shall hate” or “the ten kings will pursue with hatred and detest” “the whore” which refers to “the harlot which is spiritual Babylon or Rome the chief seat of idolatry”. John was told how the “ten kings” who give their homage to the antichrist will “hate” Rome which is the “chief seat of idolatry”.

The verse continues, “... and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.” John added the words, “are shall make her” which means “and will produce, render, put forth and lead the whore” “desolate” or “wasted, despoiled, stripped and ruined” “and naked” which means “ill clad, bare and nude”, “and shall eat” or “and will consume and devour” “her flesh” which means “the whore's body and sensuous nature”, “and burn her” or “consume the whore fully and utterly” “with fire”which refers to “with fiery lightning and fire”. The “whore” or “great city” shall not only be made “bare”, but also shall be “consumed” and “burnt” with “fire”.

When we meditate upon John's words in this verse, we see the destiny of this “whore” or “great city” which is established in the tribulation period. This pinnacle city, which draws the people of the world, shall be consumed and burnt with fire. Because the “ten kings” “hate” this city, they shall destroy it and everything that is within it. God knows these things in advance and gave John the apostle and those who read these words a preview of things to come. God desires to have a relationship with every person through His Son Jesus, and those who will yield themselves to Him not only will be “saved”, but also will never be a part of the destruction of this “idolatrous” city. May all who read these words know and understand, “today is the day of salvation” before all of these things come to pass.

Next time the angel shares how “God has put in their hearts to fulfill his will” that John saw, 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.