Why We Marvel at Evil Things?

 "I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement. But the angel said to me, why did you marvel? ... And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life...."Revelation 17:6,7,8

The word translated as marvel is the same word in the Greek in all three verses. It is the Greek word thaumazo. This word basically means to be amazed at, to wonder at, to be surprised. It is to see something that shocks and surprises and amazes you. The word marvel is closest to the original meaning.

So what did John see that surprised him and made him stare in wonder when he saw the woman, Mystery Babylon? Did he see something that excited him? Did he see something beyond what he expected to see? Was Mystery Babylon beautiful to behold? Was she grotesque beyond description? John saw something that surprised, and astonished and made hm wonder at what he saw. I suspect that she was beautiful.

Whatever it was, the angel with John challenged him and asked him why he marveled at her. In verse 7 it says, why did you marvel? And then the angel proceeds to tell John about the nature and future of this evil woman. He makes a strong point by saying that only those not in the book of Life will marvel at Mystery Babylon and the beast that she rides upon. 

Angels seem to be unaffected by things that tempt us. And they know what we face and what we must be aware of and the connection between the physical and the spiritual.

Bullinger says that this word involves what he calls a supernatural prodigy. Mystery Babylon, like her sister Jezebel, was able to seduce men by her make up and the outward mask of beauty. This text warns us that there is something ugly and dangerous behind that pretty face and alluring figure. The mother of harlots and abominations is lurking there.

"And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." Rev.17:5