I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered with great amazement.  Revelation 17:6  WEB

The woman hardly spoke any English. When she tried, her accent was strong and her choice of words was different. She had just arrived in the USA and anyone could tell. She was curious and had a wonderful sense of humor. People loved her instantly. But they all wanted to know the answer to one question. “Why would you move from your home in Europe and settle in this little town in the foothills?”  They could not fathom her choice of living there when she could have chosen anywhere in the world to live. Have we ever wondered about the woman described in Revelation 17?

The views of different religions and popular culture differ greatly on who she is and what she represents. We would violate the warnings in Revelation 22:19 if we add words to the prophecy or come up with our own version. But one thing most theories have in common is that, whether in bodily form or religious trends, the woman is of a spirit of thought contrary to the will of God. She would seduce hearts into lusts. She would lead anyone astray that is not actively seeking their Lord with all their heart. We could all stand to pray that Christ will come especially close to us now in our dark times. Let us ask that our hearts will refuse to be seduced away from God and turn to chase after the lusts of our day!

Dear Lord,

No matter how confident we are in our interpretation, please be near us and keep us from any lust that does not bring us closer to You, we pray!

Amen