Today's reading is Revelation 17. And the angel carried me away in the spirit into a wilderness, where I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead a mysterious name was written, Babylon the Great, the mother of prostitutes, and of the abominations of the earth. I could see that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and witnesses for Jesus, and I was utterly amazed at the sight of her. Why are you so amazed? said the angel. I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that you saw it was and now is no more, but is about to come up out of the abyss and go to its destruction. And those who dwell on the earth whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see the beast that was and is not and yet will be. This calls for a mind of wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. But when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. The beast that was and now is not is an eighth king, who belongs to the other seven and is going into destruction. The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive one hour of authority as kings along with the beast. These kings have one purpose, to yield their power and authority to the beast. And they will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is the Lord of lords and King of kings, and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen and faithful ones. Then the angel said to me, the waters you saw where the prostitute was seated are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. And the ten horns and the beast that you saw will hate the prostitute. They will leave her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by uniting to give their kingdom to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled. And the woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth. This is God's word. Some people crave political power. They desire to get it either personally by becoming a ruler or collectively by associating with a party that is in power. Humanity has a long history of using political power to oppress people, particularly people in a disfavored group. In this chapter, the rulers of the earth, the kings of the earth as the NIV calls them, formed an alliance first with the great prostitute as verses 1-2 describes, and then with the beast as verses 12-14 describe. Both of these alliances were oppressive and destructive to God's people, according to verse 6 and 14. The beast is defined for us as an eighth king, according to verse 11, while the great prostitute is identified as the great city. God ultimately pits the beast and the prostitute against one another as enemies, as we see in verses 16 and 17. And despite the beast's best efforts, Jesus triumphs over all of these powerful forces, according to verse 14b, because he is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Those are the words of the NIV's translation. This is something to remember when you don't like the powers that control our government. Ultimately, all of these powers will fight against Christ and His kingdom, but they will not win. So we should never get too attached to any ruler or any political group, whether in power or seeking power. Our allegiance is to Jesus. He is our hope, and His kingdom is the one we're waiting for. I don't know what bad news we may read about today, but I can predict there will be something in the news that you don't like. Don't get discouraged. Ask God to establish his kingdom. Set your mind and your hope there. Lay up treasure for yourself there, as Jesus said. And if we're persecuted, rest in the justice of God, which will be done when Jesus reigns. If you found this devotional helpful, please sign up to receive it every day in your email by going to dailypbj.com slash subscribe. This is all free, and every day you'll receive a transcript of these devotionals as well as link to the video and audio, and so you can be in God's word every day that way. I'm also looking for financial support. If you can help me there, please go to dailypbj.com slash support. Please share this with someone who might grow from it in their faith, and I'll see you next time. May God bless you. Hope you have a great day.