“The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who live on the earth, whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was, and is not, and will come” (Revelation 17:8).

The illusion is that Satan has power.  All power and authority belong to our Lord.  The devil is a liar.  He lies about everything, especially about having power.  The beast who was and is not.  He is rebellion itself and comes to steal, kill, and destroy.  Those who do not know the Lord wonder and look for something in which to hope.  The lie will do.  But you have the hope of the Lord and so the truth is your hope.

Lord, why do I fear these things?  You have come and You have all authority and power.  That liar may be able to convince another human to kill me, but that just hastens the day when I will meet You face to face.  You have created my soul.  Not only that, but You have redeemed me from the pit.  Lead me, O Lord, in the eternal way of heaven so that I may not be fodder for the wicked one.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for redeeming me.  You have a purpose for me, and I pray that You hold me to that purpose now and forever.  Guide me this day in those steps I need to take to become more like You.  You alone are the One who was, who is, and who is to come.  Lead me in the truth of eternity and hold me fast so that I may abide in You as You abide in me.  Amen.

“And the angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? 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).

Why do you wonder?  The Lord is telling us these things.  You look at Hollywood, Bollywood and the entertainment of the world and what is it?  We go to amusement parks (look up the meaning of the word amuse).  We have pumped into us all day long the garbage of the whore of Babylon and then we wonder at the state of the world.  If it is garbage in, then it means garbage out.

Lord, it is right in front of my eyes.  You are not talking about us being prissy, prudish, or uptight, for indecency and decadence is right before our eyes all the time.  I may not be able to do anything about what is out there, but I can do something about what goes on in my mind.  Perfection is in the Lord and not in what happens in this world.  Do not be deceived.  There it is:  do not be deceived.

Lord Jesus, You saw this world first-hand.  You see it for what it is.  Lead me, O Lord, to hold fast to Your goodness and mercy.  Guide me away for the prostitution of this world to live a life that is holy.  Teach me purity and decency and then help me to live that way in my daily life.  Keep me wondering about the decadence of this world and then begin pondering the goodness You have revealed through the Gospel.  Amen.  

“And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered greatly” (Revelation 17:6).

Our sin is the wine of the demons.  We give them what they desire every time we wallow in the death of sin.  Our entertainment sells it.  Our companies merchandise with it.  Our books, stories, and education is filled with it.  The garbage is everywhere.  We breath it, eat it, see it and we often act as if unaware of the situation.  Cry out to the Lord and let Him strip you of the garbage in order to be cleansed.

Lord, I cry out to You amidst all the garbage of this world.  You have come, lifted me up, and what I see, when I am lifted up, is You.  You give me a new life.  You give me a clean life.  You remind me what I was made for and Who’s I am.  I no longer need to eat, breathe, nor live the life of garbage.  I can live a life that is holy and dedicated to becoming like You.  Lead me in the hope of this promise, Lord Jesus.

You died, Jesus, so that I could be redeemed from the pit of death.  You have called and I have heard Your voice.  You have lifted me up and given me a new life.  Guide me in the way You would have me go.  Lead me according to Your purposes to become more like You each day that I live in this age.  Let me know today and every day that I am Yours.  Teach me to love You as You love me. Amen.

“The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls, holding in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her sexual immorality, and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery: “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”

How much will it take for you to sell you integrity?  It is not a matter of whether or not you will, but of looking to the Lord to save you.  Those who believe they would never do such things lie to themselves more than the ones who know they are wicked.  We all have a price that is enough to cause us to sell out.  The tug of this age is strong.  It may be worthless and nothing, but it still tugs at us.  The prostitute will do whatever she can to strip us of decency.

Lord, keep me from the place where I would sell my soul.  Let me be neither rich where I believe I would not need You, nor poor, where in desperation I would commit all kinds of sin.  I am weak, Lord, though I want to pretend I am strong.  I need to be saved though I often act as if I do not need to be saved.  The abominations of this earth are strong and they daily tug at me to sell out to them and not live the life of grace You have given me.

Lord Jesus, hold me fast to what You have revealed as true.  You are truth.  This world is full of illusion.  I know that every time I give into sin, it does not satisfy.  Guide me, Lord, to live fully awake, ready, and expecting the attacks of the wicked one.  Lead me by grace to see what is right and true in every situation.  Let me not put Your name to shame, nor be indecent, but live a holy and pure life by Your grace.  Amen.

“And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns” (Revelation 17:3).

Oh the tangled webs we weave.  But are they so tangled?  How often is it the same story of sex, lust, and indecent behavior?  Throughout history, the mighty fall because of the same indecent harlotry.  Like Esau, we sell our birthright for a moment of nothingness.  The Lord has come offering everything and we give it away for nothing.  This is a blasphemy of this age.

Lord, help me to better understand the predicament.  Nothing has changed.  People fall for the same thing over and over.  We give away what is good and right for things that do not matter.  Help me, Lord, so that I see through the devilish tricks that are used over and over again.  Guide me away from the way the world thinks to think as a child of God.  Lead me up and out of this age’s way of doing the same thing and expecting a different result.

Lord Jesus, You died so that I could be freed from this age’s trap of death.  Grant me knowledge of the peace You have already given me.  Let me live freely in the grace which is mine which enables me to learn how to live into the eternal life which is promised in and through You.  May I never give away the new birth right of grace by faith for the pottage of nothingness this world offers.  Keep me in You, Jesus.  Amen. 

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of sexual immorality, and those who live on the earth became drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality” (Revelation 17:1-2)

Our world is steeped in immorality.  Pumped out on the airwaves for a generation, we have become numb to the ever increasing debauchery that tears down the family and preaches pleasure and self-fulfillment in place of duty and right behavior.  Do you not suspect that past generations would look at our world and gasp in horror at how bad things are?  It is possible that in some cases even the Romans would blush.

Lord, it does not matter who is the worst, what You are saying is that those who follow You should hold fast to the eternal truth of right behavior.  Though the world sells us this pablum, we do not need to buy it.  Guide us so that we live according to the goodness of Your word.  Help us to bear whatever encumbers us that we not be one those who sell out to the whore of Babylon.  Keep us faithful by Your grace, Lord.  Amen.

Lord Jesus, each day has its own difficulty.  You know what I need, for You know what I will face.  Thank You for preparing the way before me to learn from You how to be faithful.  Guide me in the way of truth and help me to be faithful to living the truth.  In You I have hope.  In You I have promise.  Though I suffer for a while, it shall be but a moment, for You have redeemed me and given me promises.  Keep me in Your promises.  Amen.

“And huge hailstones, weighing about a talent each, came down from heaven upon people; and people blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because the hailstone plague was extremely severe” (Revelation 16:21).

God, do what I want!  Is this not how many act?  Even those who call themselves Christians are conditional in their behavior.  But it ought not be so with you.  To be faithful is to endure whatever may come.  If the Lord takes care of the sparrow, will He not take care of you?  And in taking care of you, this does not mean that you will not have to pick up your cross when you follow Jesus.

Lord, in this world where the lie is believed as the truth, You have shown reality by dying on the cross.  It is a lie to think that I will not suffer.  I am thankful when I do not suffer.  Lord, help me work through the struggle between the lie of this age and the reality You have placed before me.  Though I die, no, when I die, I will still live.  Because You live, I too have the hope of the resurrection before me.

Lord Jesus, You have completed the path of salvation before us so that all who are faithful may live eternally with You.  No matter what befalls me in this age, even hailstones raining down on me, grant that I would look to You with thankfulness for all things.  Lead me in the way of truth and help me to follow You always.  You have the words of eternal life and nothing I experience will ever take that away.  Keep me in You.  Amen.

“And every island fled, and no mountains were found” (Revelation 16:20).

Finally, as Isaiah foretold in chapter forty, the mountains shall be brought low and the valleys made level.  Everyone is on the same even and level field.  There will be no greater or lesser, only those whom the Lord has made.  There are not these differences now, we only pretend there are.  From Presidents to paupers we put our pants on one leg at a time.  Why do sinful humans pretend otherwise?

The haughty will be humbled.  The prideful will be destroyed in their conceit.  Those who act as if they have power will be shown to have none.  The rebellion of this age is based upon false things.  The Lord has all power and authority.  We have only what He gives.  We are only stewards of what is already His.  Has He not invited you to come and reason with Him?  Yes, not to win favor, but to receive His grace and mercy.

Lord, You are Lord of All, and what do I have to bargain with You?  Nothing.  Guide me to understand fully that You are Lord and that in You alone is my hope.  You have already leveled the playing field.  We are all in the same situation.  I am not better, nor worse than any around me.  I may be appointed to a different station, but I am no different in Your eyes.  Lead me, Lord, so that I may learn what faithfulness means in living here and now.  Amen.

“The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath” (Revelation 16:19).

Babylon the great has fallen.  We gather around world cities, thinking them to be the centers of civilization, and drink their wine.  Some might say that we drink their Kool-Aid.  We drink the poisons of this world and wonder why there is a price to be paid.  Judgement is not God getting even, it is the reality of paying the price for doing things wrong.  God desires us to be whom He has made us to be.

Lord, my mind is often a mixed-up mess.  Help me to understand that You love us so much that You desire for us eternal joy in the love You share.  Guide me, O Lord, in the way of eternal life.  Help me to live life as it is meant to be lived.  Lead me to know that only in You is there hope and an eternal future.  Direct me away from the ways of Babylon and into the way of eternity.

Lord Jesus, You have told me that the way which leads to salvation is narrow.  You are the expert, and You show the steps that need to be made in order not to fall.  Direct me in the way You know I need to go.  Guide me in Your grace to humbly walk following Your lead.  Keep me close to You and protect me from the sinfulness that is all around me.  Let me never taste the fierce wrath of judgement.  Amen.

“And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since mankind came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty” (Revelation 16:18).

There have been earthquakes and the number of them seems to be increasing.  We witness the birth pains.  The end will come, and it will not be a good day.  The Lord will make a new heaven and a new earth.  These things are shared with a reason so that You and I might believe.  We have the Creeds to tell us in whom to believe.  We have Scripture to tell us what to believe and how to behave.

Lord, You have provided all things necessary so that when the great and terrible day comes, whether it be my death, or the death of the earth, I shall be prepared.  I won’t like it, but I will be ready.  Guide me, Lord, so that in Your goodness and grace I may continue while there is time to prepare myself for all that is to come.  You know what is needed, I do not.  Help me to live with You leading and me following.

Lord Jesus, I have experienced so many things and I know there are so many more things that I need to experience.  Guide me in the way You would have me go.  Guide me to live in the truth which You have revealed and, knowing these things, humbly accept what You have set before me.  In Your grace and mercy, may all that You intend for me be accomplished in me according to the Father’s will.  Amen.