“And [the angel] bore me away [rapt] in the Spirit into a desert (wilderness), and I saw a woman seated on a scarlet beast that was all covered with blasphemous titles (names), and he had seven heads and ten horns.” Revelation 17:3 ->me: This verse comes from the account of John being taken by one of the seven angels who had the bowls to see the doom that would become the great harlot. The great harlot -> Babylon – civilized man apart from God, man in organized but godless community. What I am about to say is what came to my mind as I read this passage – something I know God has revealed to me for me, but not necessarily all that there is to this passage to be taken away. The angel swept John up ‘in the spirit’ and took him into the wilderness…and there he was then able to see the true power behind the prostitute…the beast. Isn’t this what God has done for us that seek Him daily in His word and follow Him? This world and all of its identities it wants me to take for myself, to define me, are found in the city and as long as I live there I cannot see the harlot for who she is and who she represents. It is when I am chosen by God and whisked to the wilderness that all of the influences of the city are removed and I can see the prostitute and her steed. I can see the wickedness in idolatry of possessions, self-worth, secular identity, and who “I” wanted to be. Now, in the wilderness alone with God, my mind is clear to understand that He is Who I live for—looking to Him, not others in the city, for my identity and purpose. I am not my own – I am His and can now see the idols for what they are->intoxicating immoral wine from the prostitute I can easily become intoxicated on if I don’t stay retreated to the shelter of God’s sacred tent for me in the desert.
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