Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast. (Rev. 17:3)
I recently attended a major college football game with my son. A friend had provided tickets about thirty rows from the field; we were excited to be so close to the action. When I looked at the rows behind and above us, I realized that some of the most expensive seats—the executive seats—were the furthest from the field, high above all the others. The distance from the action allows those fans to see the whole game unfold, while the rest of us can only see it from our limited perspective.
Revelation 17 is full of dramatic imagery. It’s set in Babylon, a cosmopolitan city, like New York or Tokyo. There’s so much happening in it, that an angel carries John away to the quiet desolation of the wilderness. Only there can John see what God needs him to see.
There are power dynamics in play all around us. Others use power in a way that affects us at home, work, church, in government, and in our children’s schools. We use power of our own, even if we’re not aware of it, in these domains as well. God cares about how we use our power and respond to the power of others. Let the Spirit bring you above the chaos, so you have a clear picture of what is true and what God is prompting you to do.
Ask God to give you clarity on the issues that concern you.
Steve Norman is a Wesleyan pastor, speaker, and author. He lives in West Michigan and serves the Great Lakes region.
© 2022 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
