These are my personal notes on Revelation 17, but the Final Woes
continue into and through chapter 20:15
The Final Woes: 17:1-18-20:15
Doom of the Harlot
17:1-18
There
are two systems that are represented by Babylon in the 17th and 18th
chapters of Revelation. The first is
that godless system of religion, which since its inception has been an affront
to God and an insult to humanity. It was
born in rebellion against God and has remained there ever since. So there are a couple of things basic to our
understanding of these difficult chapters:
1 – Religion false and true are described
in Scripture as a woman. Israel is
described as the wife of God, the Church is described as the bride of Christ,
and here this phony religion is described as an harlot.
2 – Satan’s means and methods of deception
are always made to look like the true.
The counterfeit is very close to the genuine, and sometimes much more
readily received.
This
system of false religion had its beginning in Babylon around 200 years after
the flood, with Nimrod and his wife, Semiramis, as its founders. Nimrod originally built Babylon for the
purpose of defying God and His Word. The
great power of the people as demonstrated in their attempt to build a tower was
an act of rebellion and defiance against God.
Nimrod and his followers established a religious center for pagan
worship.
Nimrod’s
wife, Semiramis, is reputed to have originated the mystery religion and to have
been the first high priestess of this idolatrous system. It was filled with secret rites, which even
consecrated prostitution.
Semiramis
outlived Nimrod by 42 years. According
to Babylonian teaching, due to her licentious living she gave birth to a son
after the death of Nimrod. She claimed
this son was miraculously conceived ans she called him Tammuz. He was hailed as a savior of his people and a
false messiah who was to be the fulfillment of the promise given in Genesis
3:15.
Semiramis
was pictured as the “Queen of Heaven” with the babe in her arms. The basic rites of worship can be traced to
the religions of Canaan, Egypt, Phoenecia, Assyria, Greece, and Rome. All feature a mother called the “Queen of
Heaven” and a virgin born son who was supposed to have been slain by a wild
beast and later brought back to life.
The Identification of the Mystery 17:1-6
Twice
before has the fall of Babylon been introduced by way of anticipation (Re 14:8
and Re 16:19) but in this and the
succeeding chapter we are to have a detailed account of it. The time referred to is that immediately
preceding the second coming of Christ.
The Harlot’s Disclosure 17:1
1 And there came one of the seven angels which
had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will
shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
This is the 2nd of three “come hither(s)” in the
book (4:1; 17:1; 21:9). It is God who
has determined the judgment of this evil system of idolatrous worship. The term “many waters” indicates that the
influence and affects of this harlot span the globe.
The Harlot’s Debauchery 17:2
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed
fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the
wine of her fornication.
Understand
that the use of the word “fornication” or sexual impurity is the clearest and
closest counterfeit of what God originally inteded. Go intitiated sexual relations between
husband and wife before the fall. That
closeness of becoming “one flesh” was to give us a physical illustration of
what true worship and spiritual communion really are. Here God’s purpose for man has been
prostituted (sold out cheap).
The Harlot’s Deception 17:3
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the
wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names
of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
The
“In the spirit” occurs several times in the book to describe the way God gave
this vision to John. The beast upon
which se sits is the final Gentile world empire of blood-thirsty Antichrist. The seven heads represent the 7 continental
land masses, and the 10 horns are the 10 kingdoms (13:1-2); Dan 7:24). In other words, the authority and affect are
universal.
Harlot’s Description 17:4
4And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet
colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden
cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
This
woman is extremely prosperous. In fact,
she has an insatiable desire for wealth and power. Remember how influential this religion is in
the Middle East, and in the revived Roman Empire. The picture here is of a woman adorned in
luxury and drinking wine from a golden goblet.
This goblet is filled with all that is detestable to God – idolatry and
immorality.
The Harlot’s Designation 17:5
5And upon her forehead was a name written,
MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE
EARTH.
God
Himself designated this harlot as the mother of harlots. The tower of Babel (Babylon) is where it all
began and it is all about to end. All of
the cheap imitations of true worship are about to meet their doom. All that god detests about this idolatrous
and immoral system is about to be brought to a final conclusion. It is God’s judgment!
The Harlot’s Desire 17:6
6And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the
saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I
wondered with great admiration.
“The
blood of the saints is the seed of the church.”
Look at the stoning of Stephen by religious folk. Read Fox’s Book of Martyrs to discover the
horrible massacres of Christians through the years. History is replete with accounts of murders
in the name of religion. Recent examples
are the bombing of buses, the trouble in Yemen, Sudan, China, Philippines, and
on and on and on. Look at the World
Trade Center - Terror in the name of Allah.
Look in America at the attitudes of many toward the “Christian right,”
those who are not radical extremists, but committed to moral purity, honesty,
and decency. Good riddance to this
strange woman this mother of harlots.
The Interpretation of the Mystery 17:7-18
This “mystery” is a truth previously concealed that has been
or is about to be revealed. So here is a
religious system that has ridden the back of a political one, as seen by the 7
heads and 10 horns.
The Characters 17:7-15
The Obscure 17:7
7And the angel said unto me,
Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of
the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
The 10 horns here are the 10 toes of Daniel 2:40-44 and the
10 horns of Daniel 7:7. Long before they
existed God told Daniel of 4 great world empires, describing them as parts of a
man’s body and different animals. These
were: Babylonian, Medo/Persian, Grecian,
and Roman empires. The final one will
lay dormant for centuries, then be revived and worse than ever.
The Origin and Ovation 17:8
8The beast that thou sawest was,
and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition:
and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in
the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast
that was, and is not, and yet is.
It
is interesting that this “beast” shall come from hell and go to hell. Those who follow him and who shall be lead by
him into damnation shall laud him.
Again, this is a devil manipulated world system that is doomed and
damned and headed for destruction. If we
consider this system as a “revived” Roman Empire, the language becomes clear –
it was (then), and is not (now), and shall ascend (future).
The Observation 17:9
9And here is the mind
which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman
sitteth.
There
are some very interesting facts to consider regarding this verse. We have established that this harlot is a
counterfeir religion that had its rots in the Babylonian mystery religion and
the “Queen of Heaven,” Semiramus and Babylon.
The Contraternity Edition of the Roman Catholic New Testament (New York,
1963, page 337) claims that Rom is Babylon.
If that is the case, the seven hills here could speak of the Roman
Church, which has flourished for over 1500 years.
The Obvious 17:10-11
10And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and
one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must
continue a short space. 11And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and
is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
When
John received this vision, five of the seven kings had fallen. They were Julius Caesar, Tiberius, Caligula,
Cladium, and Nero. The “one is” was
obviously Domitian, the last of the Caesars who was alive when John wrote. Pagan Rom is the forrunner of Papal
Rome. At the reveval of the roman Empire
(which will be the seventh), shall come the man of sin, the son of perdition,
who shall be of the seventh but become the eighth.
The Opportunity 17:12-13
13These have one mind, and shall
give their power and strength unto the beast.
Their Authority “power for an hour”
12And the ten horns which thou
sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power
as kings one hour with the beast.
When
we compare this verse with Daniel’s prophecy (2:44; 7:8,20,25), we discover
that these rulers are mere pawns in the hand of the beast. The “one hour” here is not a designation of
60 minutes, but rather an “appointed” time, a specific, limited, brief period
of time.
Their Harmony “one mind”
If
only the people of God were as unified as the people of the world. This is all a Satanic counterfeit for what
God has for the true Church. One doesn’t
counterfeit play money! Can you imagine
what would happen here if we were all of one mind, giving our influence and
strength to the Lord for His glory only?
The Overthrow 17:14-15
The
battle of the ages rages and races to its final hour when the Sun of
Righteousness, the Daystar, the Bright and Morning Star shall arise and with
healing in His wings. There will be no
concession, no compromise, no co-existence…no time, no how, no way!
The Monarch “Lamb…King…Lord”
14These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb
shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that
are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
This
great battle is described in chapter 19:19-21.
Note that the outcome is settled before the battle begins. That is just like Jesus! It is so for each of us also. The battle has been won, so let us live in
the light of the victory. The song says,
“The battle is not over, but the victory has been won.”
The Multitudes “peoples…tongues”
15And he saith unto me, The waters which thou
sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and
tongues.
It
is true that paganism has permeated every village, hamlet, and hut. Satan has blinded the minds of those who do
not believe the gospel, but there shall also be those of every nation, kindred,
tribe, and tongue who respond to the proclamation of the gospel and are saved.
The Conclusion 17:16-18
Heaven
longs for it all to be over. This band
of beligerent brutes shall be beaten and banished from ture believers. Heaven, hell and all humanity shall be
ultimately judged and justice shall prevail.
Time is running out for the pagans who propigate perversion.
Paganism Falls 17:16
16And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the
beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and
shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
There
is nothing more revolting that fake and phony religion. Government with turn on religion, and to save
his hide the false prophet will ally himself with the antichrist. Note the five things he says will happen to
the whore: 1) hated, 2) desolate, 3)
naked, 4) eat her flesh, 5) burn her.
Even hell hates hypocricy. Heaven
hates it too, but humans seem drawn to it.
Prophecy Fulfilled 17:17-18
17For God hath put in their hearts
to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until
the words of God shall be fulfilled.
Not
one jot nor tiddle shall in anyway pass away until all is fulfilled. Again we see the absolute sovereignty of God
and the inerrancy of His Word. He is in
charge and He will even cause the actions of the wicked to prove the truth of
His Word.
18And the woman which thou sawest
is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
If
this “great city” which sits on “seven mountains” is Rome, which calls itself
Babylon, we will continue to see her tentacles reach around the earth to
embrace all religions, which had their origins in Nimrod and Semiramis at
Babel.
·
ADDED NOTE: The resignation
of the first Pope in over 600 years is obviously very important in the scheme
of things for GOD HAS A PLAN THAT HE CONTINUES TO EXECUTE…B U T… we must be
careful NOT to isolate the resignation and selection of a new Pope. So, I proceed with caution and make the
following warning and observations:
1. WARNING: Any mention of The Black Pope has NOTHING
whatsoever to do with the Pope’s race. I
do not have time nor space here and now to deal with it, but you may with to
Google the subject for more information.
2. WARNING: It is possible that, in spite of the FOX NEWS
obvious position against same sex marriage and abortion, that the Roman Church
sees the need for changes in this area in Church doctrine. IF that is the case, it will play an
important part in the selection of a new Pope.
3. Another thing to watch
for is the attitude of a new Pope toward the Muslim faith. Is the time coming very soon when the two
which have been flirting will begin courting because of social and
ecclesiastical pressure?
4. The Roman Catholic Church
is under GREAT PRESSURE from its constituency in the Western World to become
more “accepting” of abortion on demand and same sex marriage. It will be important to see if the new Pope
is willing to compromise in these matters.
5. Finally, it is not for us
to say what the Scripture does not say, but it is sad that far too many
preachers are afraid of the Book of Revelation and Bible Prophecy in
general. Can we name the
Anti-Christ? Of course not! Do we know certain things about him from
Scripture? Of course we do! Can we say emphatically that Roman
Catholicism will be a part of the “Religion” of the Revelation? Of course we can, as well as “Protestant”
churches that are not true to the Word of God.
ALL WHO PLACE THEIR PERSONAL FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST WILL BE SAVED – NO
OTHERS! Whether Protestant, Roman Catholic,
Independent, or ANY OTHER for “THERE IS NO OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVE WHERBY WE
MUST BE SAVED.”
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