Why Do You Marvel? | Revelation 17:7-18 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (5/17/26)

The direction of our message today is actually given to us very plainly in a single verse in Revelation chapter 17. And it's the verse where we stopped in our study of that chapter, which was verse seven. And I invite you to turn there with me in Revelation 17 verse seven. And just by reading it, we'll know exactly what God's word will provide for our spiritual nourishment this afternoon. But the angel said to me, why do you marvel?

I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with seven heads and 10 horns that carry her. If you were with us last week, you may have had and still have the response that John shows us here when he reacted to the vision that he encountered in the previous verses. Great wonder. Isn't that what he says there at the verse six, the end of it? Where we'd read here that he marveled greatly.

Yeah, the word marvel there actually speaks about perplexity. It speaks about bewilderedment. You see, John understood some of the elements of that vision that we explored together last week, but he he couldn't make sense of how all of that worked together. What is the message of all of these ingredients coming together in this spectacular encounter? And what's so wonderful about this is that by God's grace, the Lord did not want John nor does he want us to remain in a mystified state.

As we just read there in verse seven, he is going to provide clarity. He's gonna give us help, and he's going to do so by explaining to us at least four things about this incredible teaching and message given to us by way of prophecy and vision. The first thing and the first feature that the angel is going to expound on is the beast. You've been here long enough to know who the beast represents, and yet, there's still more for the Lord to reveal about him. The second thing that's going to be highlighted are the seven heads that are connected to the beast.

What do those heads signify exactly? Well, stay tuned. Moreover, we see here thirdly that there is the component of the 10 horns on the seven heads. So you can tell that we're zooming in to this vision. Why are they given special attention?

Well, it's more than just describing how grotesque this beast is. There's actual meaning even behind the horns. And fourthly and lastly, there are a few things that the Lord wants us to know about the prostitute that we decoded last week. And so before we begin, let's pray yet again, ask God's help to understand these things because let me remind you that you and I are at the deepest part in the book of Revelation. This is the deep end of this large prophecy known as the the book of Revelation.

Lord, we ask you that there be no distraction, not one that would rob us of exactly what you want to say. Lord, we pray, we pray for your power, we pray for your illumination. Foolish is the preacher who depends on his eloquence. Ignorant is the man who thinks that he can do this without your help. And Lord, we are equally foolish for thinking that we can hear and read and study without your help.

So help all of us in this place to know your mind so that we can worship you from our hearts. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's look at these things one by one. Let's read again verse seven and come down to verse eight.

Again, my goal is no different than last week's. My aim today is offering clarity. Clarity. And we will seek that together now. But the angel said to me, why do you marvel?

I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with seven heads and 10 horns that carries her. The beast that you saw was and is not and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast because it was and is not and is to come. Now up to this point, John has already received information about the beast back in Revelation chapter 13. Yet the Lord evidently intended to reveal even more especially concerning the beast alleged death and resurrection.

There is an important phrase that is repeated twice in verse eight alone. Once at the beginning and once at the end. Look at it again. The beast that you saw was and is not and is about to rise from the bottomless pit. Scroll down.

Because it was and is not and is to come. What does this phrase imply exactly? Well, number one, it should remind us that this is very close to a description that God gives of himself in this book. Here's one example in Revelation four eight. You don't have to turn there, but there we have a description of the living creatures, the four living creatures, with their six wings and they're full of eyes outside and within and they repeat repeat this refrain, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come.

That statement says something about the eternality of God and his constant holiness throughout all ages. And interestingly, something similar is granted to the beast who is the Antichrist, but with a very important distinction. Look again at the end of verse eight of Revelation 17. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast because it was and is not and is to come. Here's what this means when we break it down.

The beast was, suggesting that he had a prior existence or position of power. He was. But then we we read here that he was not or is not. Speaking of the beast's apparent defeat, absence, or even death. And then finally, we read that the beast is to come indicating that he will return in some form again.

Now, all of this lines up perfectly with the extensive introduction to the beast back in chapter 13, where we learn that this man who will be the world ruler at the time will actually be assassinated or at least there will be an attempt to kill him. And what happens after that attempt will cause the world to marvel. Go to Revelation 13 and look with me at verse three. Revelation 13 verse three, one of its head seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. You see?

Something's gonna happen to this man. He will seem to have recovered from it, and it would be so unlikely, so impossible that it's going to captivate the world. And I bring this up to confirm the angel's explanation in this new vision. This coming world ruler will exercise power, will apparently be killed, and will seemingly come back to life. But why repeat something that we already know in Revelation chapter 13?

I'll tell you why. Because in this new vision in Revelation 17, the Holy Spirit wants us to know the turning point in the relationship between the beast and the Babylonian system that we discussed together last time. Something is going to shift when this man who was, will no longer be, and then come again. While we're in Revelation 13, look at verse one. John says, and I saw a beast rising out of the sea with 10 horns and seven heads, with 10 diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.

So if you were there when we were studying this chapter, hopefully you recall that the beast rising out of the sea symbolizes and teaches that he is emerging from the world. The sea in this context speaks about the nations, peoples, languages. So this affirms that this beast is not an actual beast, that's a symbol, but in reality, he will actually ascend among humans. He will be a real man, specifically a gentile. But did you pay attention to where the beast will come from in Revelation 17?

In case you miss it, look again at verse eight. The beast that you saw was and is not and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. Do you know what the word bottomless pit is? Abyss. How do we make sense of this?

Is he coming from the sea? Is he coming from the world or is he coming from the underworld? Here's how we explain it. Simply put, it suggests that immediately following his apparent death, this beast who is a real man will imitate Christ's resurrection and at that point, he will actually be empowered by Satan. He will be infused with a force and in wickedness from hell itself, from that point forward.

So originally, yes, he he emerged from men, but when he received this mortal wound, he will in a sense descend and he will become another person. He will actually be coming from the bottomless pit, not that he'll actually go there and come back, some have weird ideas about what that may mean, but all it really is saying is that he will receive something from Satan that comes straight from the abyss and this will lead to the greatest delusion that the world has ever experienced as the Antichrist begins demanding worship for his apparent victory over death. And in doing so, he will undermine the Babylonian system that once dominated the religious sphere. Babylon, which is a picture of this new world faith that will precede the Antichrist, will not be able to compete with him after this stunt, after this performance. And again, Revelation 17 is explaining exactly how this is going to transpire.

Now, let's think about how this relates to us today. This important characteristic about the Antichrist dispels all the notions that people have come up with about who the Antichrist could have been or who he might be today. This single prophecy eliminates virtually every option. Why? Because you and I can't even begin having discussion about somebody being the Antichrist, capital A, unless they have experienced what this prophecy says.

A mortal wound. He seems to have died and he seems to have risen from the dead. Anybody like that that you know? Okay. Then stop debating people online about who the antichrist is.

None of these candidates even fit this. So you see why it's important to understand prophecy, right? Because you're gonna save yourself a lot of unnecessary debate and arguments with people who don't read their Bibles. So we see here that there is something so so clear about the beast. Now putting that aside, I want to mention something instructive from all of us.

Here's where he gets practical. Did you notice who will marvel at the beast? Who was and is not and will be again. Read again verse eight. The beast that you saw was and is not and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction, and the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast because it was and is not and is to come.

Plainly put, those who will be spellbound by this powerful event will be those who are not saved. Which also means that those whose names are written in the Book of Life will be able to see through this deception. The believers and the Christians who will be alive during that time will not fall for this. But there's a broader truth in this truth. Listen carefully, you know this well and if you don't let me remind you.

This world marvels at people, marvels at ideas and events that believers do not. What distinguishes followers of Christ are many things and it includes this. What awakens our awe and sustains it is something that the world does not value and vice versa. The object of our adoration and love and devotion and amusement is far different than the world's. You know, I stumbled upon a clip of a documentary of a pop star, a musician.

If I named him, you would all know him. And in the little clip that I watched, I was stunned because it was a montage of the stadiums that this man filled, the concerts that he put on, and they just panned into the crowds. And to see the hysteria, to see the fascination, people fainting, people diving, people getting arrested, people beating each other up. And I'm like, for what? This is madness over a man.

And I can go on with example after example, but let me do the great honor of bringing to your attention afresh what should cause us to marvel more than anything else. It's the same word that we found here that Paul gives to the Thessalonians in second Thessalonians chapter one. Listen to these words in verse 10 of second Thessalonians one. When he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints and to be marveled at among all who have believed. Because our testimony to you was believed, Christ.

If you have never marveled at Christ, I'm afraid you have never seen him the way you should. But if you've really seen him for who he is, if you really experience his love, his power, his mercy, then there will be nothing that can compete with just how amazing he is. And if you find yourself finding greater thrill or enjoyment than anything or anyone more than him, you need to marvel again. You've lost sight of him. Your vision has become dull.

We Christians marvel at Jesus while the world marvels at virtually everything else. So this is what we see here with the beast. Remember, we're looking at four things that this angel commissioned by God is going to explain about this vision in Revelation 17. And hopefully now we understand a little bit more about the antichrist. But we now come to the second thing.

Back here in our text, let's read from verse nine down to verse 11. This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated. They are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is and the other has not yet come. And when he does come, he must remain only a little while.

As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth, but it belongs to the seven and it goes to destruction. Look at the beginning of verse nine again. For the angel to say this calls for a mind with wisdom is a prompt for the reader to really pay attention to what's about to be said. It's an admission that this aspect of the vision is actually going to be challenging. It's going to require spiritual discernment and patience.

This phrase is not common in the Bible but here we have it here. This calls for a mind with wisdom. In other words, you actually have to think and study and be cautious. Don't be aimless in how you interpret this and don't be so willing to give up on it. So how do we make sense of these seven heads that are connected to the beast?

Well, we find out here that they're not just seven heads, they're also seven mountains. And this reference to mountains has led many to believe that what is being spoken of here is the city of Rome. Why? Because the city of Rome is famously and historically known as the city on seven hills. Have you heard of the term?

Since the ancient city was originally built on seven prominent hills, many have made this connection and though many use this as their strongest, at least one of their strongest arguments to say that the Babylonian system is going to perhaps be the Roman Catholic church or at least very much linked to it, it's unlikely that the seven mountains being explained here actually points to a geographical area for a couple of reasons. Number one, for the angel to say that this calls for a mind with wisdom would be unnecessary if the connection would be this obvious. There's actually a spiritual element to these mountains. It's not so much about topography. Number two, these seven heads referred to as seven mountains are also identified as seven kings.

Did you see that in verse 10? So right there we know that we're not actually talking about literal hills. They are interconnected with rulers and this is where knowing the rest of our Bibles helps. Because what you'll find sometimes, especially in the Old Testament, is that mountains are used as metaphors for kingdoms, and governments, and rules. So if you're a note taker, here are a couple of references to confirm this.

Listen to how God speaks about Babylon in Jeremiah 51 verse twenty four and twenty five. I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion, declares the Lord. Verse 25 of Jeremiah 51, behold, I am against you, oh destroying mountain, declares the Lord, which destroys the whole earth. I will stretch out my hand against you and roll you down from the crags and make you a Burnt Mountain. Is he talking about an actual mountain in Babylon?

No. Once again, mountains sometimes speak to kingdoms. Here's another text, a very familiar one in Daniel two verse 35. Another vision of kingdoms, successive kingdoms. It says here in Daniel two thirty five, then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all emblems symbolizing different empires, all together were broken in pieces and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them could be found, but the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

That's the kingdom of God. And we can look at the Psalms and we can look at other prophetic literature. It's all their mountains, depending on the context, can symbolize kingdoms. So we know that that's what this vision revelation is speaking about because mountains are linked to kings. Representatives of those mountains.

Those kingdoms embodied in people. So how do we understand these seven heads that are connected to the beast? Very simple. These seven mountains are seven kings speaking about seven successive kingdoms represented by their leaders. And once we've established that, here's the natural question following it.

Okay. If there are kingdoms, which ones? I'm glad you asked. So these seven kingdoms are indeed real historical empires and the way we can identify them is by reminding us that the Bible is not a book with general information. That's where a lot of skeptics get themselves in trouble and think that they actually have an argument.

They look at what's not found in the Bible and they ask Christians, well, where is this? And where is that? And what about this historical event? And what about those kind of animals? Not realizing that the scriptures are interested in one main thing, giving us the history of redemption.

And whatever detail is helpful in understanding what God has done and how it relates to our salvation and his nature and his glory will be found in the scriptures. So don't be frustrated if you don't find things in here that you would hope the Bible would speak about. And that even comes down to kingdoms. There have been many kingdoms over the millennia, But the kings that we have here are connected to God's story and his people and once you figure that out and stay within that lane, then you know exactly who these mountains represent. What did he say about these seven mountains?

Something very important. In verse 10 it says, they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen. So those are past kingdoms. One is the kingdom or the empire in existence during John's day, and one that is yet to come, a future kingdom. If you think about God's story, his people as revealed in biblical history, what five kingdoms come to mind throughout the pages of scripture?

I'll tell you them. The first one is Egypt. Egypt was an empire. Does Egypt play an important role in Bible story and Bible history? Yes.

Following Egypt, there was Assyria. Assyria. Thirdly, there was Babylon. And after Babylon, there was Medo Persia. And then, fifthly, there was Greece.

Greece? Yeah. Read the book of Daniel. Greece is mentioned over and over again. So this makes sense, does it not?

These five kingdoms, these mountains that have fallen, with the history of these kingdoms and how they treated the people of God in the past. But then we see that there is one who is. That's speaking to John's present. Which empire was in power in John's day? Very good.

Rome. Absolutely Very good. Rome. Absolutely. So what's the one to come?

Well, we're we're told which one it is to come because we see here that this one that is to come will only rule look at this last part of verse 10, and when he does come, he must remain only a little while. So we're not talking about China, we're not talking about India, we're not talking about The United States. We're talk There's a description here that reigns us in and confirms which kingdom John is telling us about that is yet to be. Does this not line up perfectly with how the kingdom of the Antichrist is described back in Revelation 13? In Revelation 13 verse five, we're told there that he will reign for forty two months, which equates to three and a half years.

And I'm not sure about you, that's not very long for an empire to be in power. So let's pause for a moment and review. The seven heads signify seven world empires from biblical history. Five of them have already fallen. We just named them.

There is one who is and that was Rome in John's day and there is one to come which will be the final empire ruled by the Antichrist. The fact that all these heads are connected to the beast means that throughout history, though they are unique in their own way, they all operate under the spirit of the Antichrist. They were anti God, anti redemption, anti salvation, and it will reach its full manifestation with the empire of the antichrist. And just when we thought we figured it all out, and we can close our bibles and go have lunch, Angel gives us another piece of information that makes things even more complex. Look again at verse 17 of Revelation.

Verse 11 of Revelation 17. As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth, but it belongs to the seven and it goes to destruction. Okay. So we just confirmed that the seventh, the seventh head, the seventh mountain, the seventh king is the Antichrist and his empire. But then verse 11 tells us that the beast that was and is not, he's an eighth.

He's an eighth king and he is belonging to the seventh. So is he the seventh or is he the eighth? And if he's the eighth, then who is the seventh? Do you see? Here's the answer.

He's both the seventh and the eighth. Saying, Preacher help me please. That's what I'm here to do. Here's how we make sense of this. He is both and the key to arriving to that conclusion is what we saw earlier about the beast repeated again in verse 11.

Look at how verse 11 starts, as for the beast that was and is not. What does that speak to? His death. So here's how the puzzle comes together now. The Antichrist will be the seventh king.

He will rule and reign the revived Roman Empire, but he's going to die or at least appear to have died. And when he comes back to life again, he will be a different kind of ruler. It's almost as though the Antichrist will be so different after his deceiving miracle that it will be as though he were another king altogether. Remember, based on Revelation six, the Antichrist will appear on the world scene with a bow without arrows. He's going to come peaceably.

He's going to deceive the masses, seeming to be like a savior, a messiah for the tumultuous world leading up to the last days. And so, everybody's gonna love this man. Look at all the things that he's accomplishing. Look at all the peace deals. Look at all the wonderful solutions that he has to bring.

And then, when somebody seeks to kill him with the sword according to Revelation 13 and he comes back to life, it's a different man. Then he's gonna enforce worship, he's going to behead people, he's going to hunt down Christians. This is how we make sense of the fact that he's both the seventh and the eighth. So we clarified hopefully who the beast is. We have some understanding about the seven heads which are seven mountains, which are seven kings.

What about the 10 horns? You can be at ease because this is much more straightforward than the seven heads. But let's read about in verse 12 down to verse 14. And the 10 horns that you saw are 10 kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour together with the beast. These are of one mind and they hand over their power and authority to the beast.

They will make war on the lamb and the lamb will conquer them for he is Lord of lords and King of kings and those with him are called and chosen and faithful. So let's do some process of elimination here. These 10 kings, we know with absolute confidence are not speaking about 10 historical kings. Not like the seven heads where some of them were from the past, one present, one to come. It's not that complicated.

All of these 10 kings that are mentioned here are future. They are future. Why? Because he tells us here plainly that they have not received power yet. Isn't that what verse 12 says?

Moreover, we know that they are not kings who will be in succession. They're not following one another in their reign, but they're actually going to reign simultaneously. They will all come to power at the same time. How do we know that? Because we read here that they will, at the end of verse 12, together with the beast.

So these 10 kings are gonna be a confederacy, they are yet future, they will come up at the same time and they will work with the Antichrist. And this suggests perhaps that the Antichrist is going to divide things and have this administration in zones of a total of 10 and have one ruler govern each of those sections of his regime. Now if we go further than that, then we're just entering into the land of speculation, so I will I will stay away from it. But what's clear here is that they are actually politicians, rulers who will be under the leadership of the Antichrist. They're organized.

They're only going to strengthen and intensify his agenda. But despite the sophistication and the apparent unity of the Antichrist and his system, it will be toppled by Christ himself. He will dismantle it. Think about it. These rulers will be under such a delusion that they will actually be convinced by the Antichrist to wage war against the land.

That's what we read in verse 14, to actually take up arms and fight Christ. You have to remember the Antichrist is going to be really Satan incarnate, and he will understand, he will have some idea of when Christ return will come about. And so he will recruit these 10 kings, they will surrender their authority to him, and they will actually stand side by side against Jesus Christ, which will be an utter and complete failure. I love verse 14. They will make war on the lamb and the lamb will conquer them.

It would have made sense if it said the lion will conquer them but no, the lamb is going to conquer them. But notice this title, there are many heart stirring truths of this one. You can do a whole sermon on verse 14 alone. But look at this glorious declaration, for He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Do you know why that should stir you?

I mean, it's powerful just to say it, but it's actually something that is echoed from the Old Testament that reaffirms the deity of Jesus Christ. Because something similar is ascribed to Yahweh alone, And here we find in the New Testament that it is crowned upon Jesus, the Lamb. So if you are one who really wants to know how to prove that Christ is God, lean in and pay attention to these references. You can even prove Jesus being God here from verse 14 of Revelation 17. Let me prove it to you.

Listen to what God says about himself in Deuteronomy 10 verse 17. You can turn there if you want or you can just listen. For the Lord your God is God of Gods and Lord of Lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who is not partial and takes no bribe. God of Gods and Lord of Lords. Deuteronomy ten seventeen.

Daniel two forty seven. The king answered and said to Daniel, truly your God is God of gods and Lord of kings and a reveal of mysteries for you have been able to reveal this mystery. Listen to Psalm one thirty six two and three. Give thanks to the God of gods for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords for his steadfast love endures forever.

And then you come to the New Testament and John, a close companion to Christ, dares to say that Jesus, the Lamb, no question here, we're talking about the second person of the Trinity, is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Now some argue, because they will present objections to this, that this can't mean that Jesus is God because he is not referenced explicitly as God of gods like Yahweh is in the old testament. Did you notice that? However, nowhere in the New Testament is God of Gods applied, even to the Father. Instead, there is in each passage an emphasis based on the context.

You see, the reason why God of Gods is repeated is because of many of those references I just brought to your attention, it speaks about how the Lord is superior to all other idols, all other false deities. He is God above all the gods. What are we speaking about here in Revelation 17? Kings, mountains, rulers. And it's fitting then for Jesus to be highlighted and praised as the King of Kings.

It makes sense. Both statements are declarations of absolute supremacy and it has a ring to it enough that affirms Christ shares equal status with Yahweh. Put that in your pocket, more importantly put it in your heart if anyone should challenge Jesus Christ being God in the flesh. And as much as I would love to speak about how we are identified in this verse, let's just read it. I can't explain it because I want to I want to keep in view the supremacy of our God and carry us let that carry us into the final part of this message.

But let's just read it. Here's how you are spoken of in this prophecy and those with him That's interesting. So there's gonna be some people with Jesus in this final battle between good and evil. We'll talk about it in another message. And those with him are called and chosen and faithful.

We talked about the beast, we talked about the the seven heads, we talked about the 10 horns. Now we finally come to a familiar image, the woman, the prostitute. Verse 15. And the angel said to me, the waters that you saw where the prostitute is seated are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. And the 10 horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute.

They will make her desolate and naked and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and hand handing over their royal power to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled. And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth. Remember what's being clarified here as we come to a close. John is receiving divine help to understanding how the beast, which is the Antichrist, and the Babylonian system represented by this woman are going to work together and operate and function at the same time.

And up to this point we realize that they will work together. The Antichrist will support this world religion. Everybody's gonna buy it. He's going to endorse it, but not for long. At some point he's going to turn on Babylon.

And we know the turning point when he imitates Christ's resurrection. And once he does this, he will absolutely obliterate Babylon. Did you notice the descriptive nature of her demise? It's actually quite graphic. It says here that she will be desolate, naked, devouring her flesh.

She will be burnt up with fire. Why why this kind of language? For one, it's meant to convey just how devastating her destruction will be. She will be naked. Remember, she was all decked out, right?

She had royal garbs and jewelry. Well, all that's gonna be stripped away from her. I think that alludes to her financial ruin and that's gonna be elaborated on in chapter 18. She's gonna lose all her prosperity. She's gonna be naked.

I believe that can speak to her exposure. Just imagine the media coverage of the scandals of all the hidden hideous things that Babylon has has kept from the public eye. It'll come to the surface. Her flesh will be devoured. She'll be burned up with fire.

This could even mean that the physical infrastructure that Babylon has raised up across the world will be vandalized, will be destroyed, will be brought to rubble. All in all, this speaks about a complete erasure, just a sweeping destruction of the system showing just how powerful Antichrist will be. But more importantly, this staggering imagery is meant to communicate how God feels about Babylon and how God is the one who's actually behind her downfall. Did you read it in verse 17? For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over the royal power to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled.

Never forget this. Without being the author of evil, God can use wicked agents and instruments to perform and accomplish a righteous outcome. In the Old Testament, he raised up Babylon to discipline Israel. In this prophecy, we read that he will raise up kings to destroy Babylon. I was meditating on this and you know what I thought about?

As you come to the end of the end of the Bible, you learn that God can do amazing things with the human heart. That he is intimately and intricately involved with the seat of our hearts. We know this very well, but I wanna remind you with a passage that you perhaps never read before. And it's gonna shock you at first, but it confirms what I am speaking about. So I'm gonna ask you to turn to this passage in Psalm one zero five and look at a couple of texts with me beginning in verse 23.

Psalm one zero five verse 23. This whole Psalm is a poetic review of Israel's history, especially with their deliverance from Egypt. And notice what it says here in Psalm one zero five verse 23. I'm telling you, you're gonna be shocked at first, but it will make sense in a moment. Then Israel came to Egypt.

Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham and the Lord made his people very fruitful and made them stronger than their foes, he turned their hearts to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants. Does that shock you as much as it shocked me? He turned whose hearts? The hearts of the Egyptians to hate his people. Now you can see how we can come to very dangerous and strange conclusions about the nature of God from a text like this.

Right? In no way can we interpret verses like these to teach that the Lord infuses heart with sin or that he produces evil within a person that is contrary with the totality of scripture as it relates to his nature. It's not as though these people are innocent and God and his sovereignty generates wickedness and if he hadn't done that, they would have remained pure. Do you think that the Egyptians would remain friendly towards Israel if God had not mentioned this to us? Absolutely not.

The idea is not that God creates that hostility, creates that perversion, creates that envy. Instead, it speaks about the Lord permitting existing pride and hostility to develop and withdraws restraint. In other words, what the psalmist and other passages like it teach is that the Lord may at times intensify sinful disposition that already was there. And he will do so as an act of judgment against the one who harbors such sin and at the same time uses it for the good of those who belong to him. And in the case of Psalm 105, he used the hatred in the hearts of the Egyptians to bring about the deliverance of Israel from Egypt.

And these kings back in Revelation 17 have already determined that they will make war on the lamb, that they will serve Antichrist instead of Christ, and here's God in heaven saying, you want that? Okay. Fine. Here. And he will harden and solidify their hearts in that direction so that they bring judgment upon themselves and fulfill his will whether they want to or not.

But let's end on an encouraging note, shall we? Here's another thought that came to my mind. If God can produce good out of hearts like these, What can you do with a heart that desires to love him and love like him? He can do miracles. And the text that came to mind, and it will be the closing prayer of this session in Revelation 17, is in in second Thessalonians chapter three verse five, one of my favorite prayers in all of the New Testament.

If you've never heard about it before, you can turn there and see it and I hope you make it your prayer as well. Second Thessalonians chapter three verse five. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. It's up to God how he would deal with the hearts of the wicked, but you're responsible for your own heart, as am I. And I find in this verse permission to take my heart and to go to the Lord and say, Lord, would you direct my heart to your love?

Would you direct my heart to the steadfastness of Christ? Would you do something? Would you strengthen my love for you? Would you open my understanding of your love for me? Why would Paul pray this unless you believe God can do it?

And here you are frustrated with your heart. Here you are disappointed with your own heart, your affections, your commitments, your devotion. You don't marvel as much as you know that you need to marvel, and here I am to tell you, be encouraged brother and sister. Take your heart and come before God who can direct it, who can inspire it, who can chisel it and shape it. Don't limit your understanding of God's work in hearts to the wicked that are already bent on hating him and his purposes.

Let's end on this note that God can take your heart with those seed form desires and your I just wish it would blossom. I wish it would flourish. I'm frustrated with myself. Well, talk about it to the Lord. Say, Lord, please help me.

And he will help you. So much so that you find yourself falling more and more in love with him as time goes on. Can we ask the Lord for that? Yes. We learned about the beast.

We learned about the seven heads. We learned about the 10 horns, and we learned about the woman. But let's end with our hearts being given over to the Lord again. We ask you, Lord, in thanksgiving for helping us understand this prophecy, also that you would help us deal with our own hearts. Lord, we know that we are capable of waking up tomorrow loving other things more than Christ.

We admit that. Being more passionate and excited for other matters, and we pray that you would protect us and that you would direct our hearts to you again. And Lord, as as we close, we pray that we would be able to testify leaving this place. I feel my heart more inclined to the love of God and that you would receive glory for that work. We pray, Lord, that as we sing, we would feel that change in our own hearts.

And Lord, at the same time, we rejoice that you have been so good to us in giving us an understanding of your ways to come. Your words will be fulfilled no matter what. No one can thwart prophecy. No one can change your end time program. And thank you that we are with you and because we are with you, we are called, chosen, and faithful.

Receive our worship and song now in Jesus' name. Amen. Stand, church.