Daily Devotional For October 12, 2025
And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And I was amazed, gazing at her with great amazement. The angel said to me, “Why are you amazed? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast who is carrying her, the one who has the seven heads and the ten horns. The beast which you saw was and is not and is about to come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. Those who live on the earth, those whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will be amazed when they see the beast which was and is not and yet is. Rev 17:6-8.
It should be no surprise to us that John is astonished when he sees the woman (Rev 17:6). The fact that she is in the desert recalls chapter twelve. There God’s faithful woman fled to the desert to escape the dragon. Here is the next appearance of a woman and she is also in the desert. And as the previous devotional notes, her dress is quite reminiscent of Israel’s High Priest.
Although the woman of Babylon resembles the true woman of Revelation 12 and dresses like a High Priest, she clearly represents a power that opposes the true people of God. She is the enemy of God’s End-time saints. This is parallel to the death decree and economic boycott imposed on those who do not worship the beast or his image (Rev 13:15-17). Has the woman of Revelation 12 been transformed? Or is she some sort of new entity? John’s reaction strongly suggests the former. The great end-time opponent of God’s people is a power that at one time was the true people of God. End-time Babylon has a Christian face.
The vision ends with verse six and a confusing series of interpretations begins with verse seven. This may be the most difficult single part of Revelation to interpret. Riding on the beast portrays a position of dominance. The woman represents a worldwide union of religion. The beast represents worldwide political union. So Revelation predicts that the world will be more united than ever in its history just before the End. At that time, interestingly, religion will be in control of the political agenda, something that has not been true until recently.
Not only was John astonished at the prostitute, the End-time inhabitants of the earth are astonished at the beast. If the events that Revelation describes take place in our lifetimes, we will truly be astonished. In today’s world, the world-wide political union is not a reality or even close to it. The New World Order proclaimed by the first President Bush looks a lot more like the New World Disorder in retrospect. But as we give careful attention to the message of Revelation, we will be prepared for future developments.
Lord, there are many things in this passage that leave me a bit puzzled. I pray for clarity on the points that will see me through the crisis to come.