Babylon was a literal city on the Euphrates River. Genesis 11:1-10 shows that right after the flood, Babylon “was the seat of the civilization that expressed organized hostility to God.” I shared last time the origin of Babylon at Shinar and the evil family of Nimrod. Babylon was later the capitol of the empire that cruelly conquered and took captives from Judah. “Babylon, to the Jewish person was the essence of evil, the embodiment of wickedness, the enemy of God’s people, and a type of sin and carnality greed.

The book of Revelation indicates in the seventeenth chapter, that there will be a one world religion in existence, dominating the whole kingdom of Satan and his Antichrist at the end. That kingdom, that religion will be destroyed by Christ when He returns and binds Satan. John is writing this during the apex of Roman power and control. It is Rome that is its’ Satanic imitation.
…continue from last week

II. The Exposure of Wicked Babylon (17:2-7)

1. According to 17:2, she has committed fornication with the kings of the earth . . . and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. This indicates she has the support of world leaders, and her teachings are so enticing they are described as “intoxicating.”

2. The people of the Tribulation are drawn into her deception. They are made drunk with the wine of her immorality. He’s not talking about real wine and he’s not talking about real sexual immorality. He is talking about becoming a part of the false form of religion. They all get intoxicated with passion for this religion. They are absorbed into it and it is their lives. They give their hearts to this abominable religion. Satan devises this whole thing… all the leaders come together in this great world religion.

3. The most deceptive religion the world will ever know will exist during the Great Tribulation as Satan with his doctrines and demons and seducing spirits do their intoxicating controlling of the leaders and the masses…

It is no wonder that all false religion will be reunited into one great world religion, a one – world church at the end times. Babylon the Great spawned all manner of harlots which are forms of idolatry giving birth to all forms of false religion across the world.

This is the mother of them all. This is the source of all earth’s idolatries. She spawned them all way back in Genesis, we see that. In the end they all come home to mamma and they’re all collected around her again. She is the unholy counterpart to the bride of Christ, whether, Hinduism, Spiritism, Buddhism, Confucianism, mysticism, Islam, or whatever else; she mothered them all. They all had the same source all come back together in the end.

4. In verse three John says, and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. The beast is the antichrist, and the fact she sits upon him suggests a religious / political economical coalition. The beast supports her, and at first is controlled by her. It will be the religious system that pulls the whole world together. Religious power Satan will use as his controlling power.

5. We see in our day that economic, military power and politics are collapsing. There seems to be no solution to the world conflicts. So, in the end the world will turn to religion. Dr. Barnhouse said concerning this passage back in his day, “Our world is strong with the philosophy that it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you believe, is prepared for the harlot’s seduction”. We see the casual disregard for the truth crippling the church today.” Churches today are tethered to the world and not separated.

The Bible says of the beast, “He was full of blasphemous names.” It is hard to believe but the world will identify him as God. In chapter 13 and verse 1, on his horns are ten diadems and on his heads were blasphemous names. It says on his heads were blasphemous names, here it says full of blasphemous names. They are all over this maniac who is identifying himself as God.

6. In verse three it appears that John is translated back in time (in the spirit) prior to the judgments described in chapter 16, perhaps to the earlier part of the tribulation before the man of sin overthrows religion and requires everyone to worship him.
5. The harlot is described in verse four as arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls …, implying her wealth and influence. What is the riches Religious organization in the world?

The total worth of just the Vatican treasure is estimated at around 16 billion – not a figure to be laughed at – so you can imagine just how extravagant and atrocious this is. On average walking around the entire Vatican Museum will take you a solid four hours if you were to try and see everything. Did you know it boasts an incredible 9 miles of art? Nero’s bathtub is considered one of the most precious works in the Vatican Museums and worth 2 billion.

Among the 200-plus artifacts are papal jewels; bone fragments belonging to Saint Peter and Saint Paul; personal effects of Pope John Paul II; and swords, armor, and uniforms of the papal Swiss Guard. The cost per person at the Vatican Museums is $17-25 and millions go there every year.

What would Jesus do with this horde up wealth that just brings more wealth daily to the Vatican cougher’s? I think he turn those exhibits over and say sell all this to Museums around the world and get out of this business and feed the poor, help the sick, reach the lost…The golden cup in her hand fill of abominations and filthiness of her fornication refers to her gross infidelity to God and His Word. It may also indicate she will use the Bible but will distort it to deceive people. (17:5a).

6. The harlot is called MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER and HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH (17:5). This is its descriptive name… This final form of world religion described here in chapter 17 is, first of all, called a mystery. That is it is more than physical, it is more than geographical, it is more than human, it is more than that which is devised by men. It is mystical, it is supernatural, it is demonic.
This final form of world religion has not yet been revealed, so it is still a mystery. This prostitute is the mother of all spiritual prostitutes and is the source, or the womb, that gives birth to all historical spiritual deception and resistance to God.

7. She is the unholy opposite of the bride of the Lamb described in 19:7-8. All the cults, false teachers, and false prophets of history are her children, for she is the Mother of all ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. This could also mean many groups will join together under the harlot to form one federated world religion.

The great harlot is really a metaphor for spiritual false religion, spiritual defection, idolatry, religious apostasy. In prophetic language prostitution, fornication, adultery equals idolatry or apostasy. And we noted last time Christianity of the Roman Empire which became known as Roman Catholicism is not to be considered the same as biblical Christianity. It is the old paganism of Rome surviving under facade of Christian form.
8. The mother of all harlots found her way to Rome and will find her way back to Rome again and the final form of world religion may well be centered there. It should further be noted that the Roman religious system also confuses salvation by grace as do all other false religions, and also confuses the work of Christ. That is precisely why there was a Reformation. There had to be a Reformation to sort out true Christianity.

9. Verse six describes her crimes as she is drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus … of one who has shed blood or murdered profusely. While the world becomes drunk with lust for her, she becomes drunk too with the blood of God’s people. She’s getting drunk on something else. You can look back and the best estimates are that the Roman system itself has killed fifty million through the centuries. One million were killed in the Inquisition alone. The same “mother harlot” who has been the prime mover behind the killing of all saints throughout history will participate with the beast in the slaughter of the Christians during the Great Tribulation. (John Carols book the Trail of Blood records many.

Verse seven reads… And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? This word “admiration” John used mean to wonder greatly or exceedingly. The angel declares I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carried her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. We will look at this next time.

Conclusion:

The world we live in is becoming less and less Christian but more and more pagan in its belief. This irreligious world will become utterly religious, totally religious. But this false religious system is bound for destruction as are all who follow it. Don’t believe the lies of the devil that say you can enjoy the sins of the world without consequence. Christian, make sure that you haven’t become an idolater. —Remember an idol is anything that takes the place of God. Spend some time alone with God to examine your heart.