Revelation
17:1-18
The Punishment of the Great
Prostitute
Begin
Text:
Today,
we continue our verse-by-verse study in the book
of Revelation with chapter 17. This chapter does
not qualify as an apocalyptic prophecy because
this chapter doesn’t have a chronological
sequence in it. Rather, Revelation 17 contains a
commentary on the punishment of the
Great Prostitute.
You
might be surprised to know that the great
prostitute is not introduced in Revelation 17.
That’s right, she is introduces earlier in
Revelation under a different name. I’ll say
more about this in a moment.
Do you
remember in Daniel 9, that the angel Gabriel was
sent to Daniel with additional information on the
vision that he received in Daniel 8? I ask this
question because the situation in Revelation 17
is identical.
One of the seven angels
having the seven bowls was sent to John to
amplify certain matters that he had previously
seen. As you might expect, the angel’s visit
was brief and to the point.
Revelation 17 has puzzled
Bible students for many centuries because valid
rules of interpretation were unknown. Now that
the book of Daniel has been unsealed and we have
the four rules of interpretation, this chapter is
not very difficult to understand.
Here’s why:
Valid rules of
interpretation produce a matrix and this
matrix forces every prophetic element in
the books of Daniel and Revelation into a chronological
position.
A Very
Common Matrix (the game x & o)
O
X O
¾¾½¾¾½¾¾
X
O O
¾¾½¾¾½¾¾
X
O
X
A Prophetic Matrix
Bowls:
1234567
Trumpets:
1 2 3 4
5 6 7
Seals:
1 2 3
4
5
6
------------------------------------------Time---------------------------------à
When all the prophetic
pieces are properly assembled with respect to
each other and placed accordingly to their
location in time, the books of Daniel and
Revelation will make a lot of sense just as they
read!
In
fact, the more we study the amazing matrix with
the books of Daniel and Revelation produces, the
more we recognize and appreciate the wisdom and
intelligence of God – He says so much with
very few words!
OK, before we get started
with Chapter 17, I want to make sure that you
understand two key points that were
covered in our study on Revelation 13.
Point
#1:
The composite beast in
Revelation 13, the beast having seven heads and
ten horns that rises out of the sea, represents a
crisis government called “Babylon
the Great.”
The second angel’s
message gives the composite beast its
name:
Revelation 14:8 A
second angel followed and said, “Fallen!
Fallen is Babylon the Great, which
made all the nations drink the
maddening wine [intoxicating doctrine] of
her adulteries. [This language means that all
nations will embrace the erroneous doctrine
advanced by the world’s religious leaders
that God’s wrath can be appeased by
legislating and enforcing moral behavior that is
acceptable to God.].”
About
two months after the censer is cast down, the
fourth trumpet will sound and at this time,
Babylon the Great will form. Because death and
destruction will be everywhere, religious and
political leaders the world over will be moved to
humbly unite in a global effort to appease God so
that His wrath will cease.
The seven heads on the
composite beast represent the seven religious
systems of the world and the ten horns
represent ten kings that will be set up by
Lucifer during the sixth trumpet. Revelation 13:7
says that the composite beast, Babylon the
Great, will be given authority over all
nations.
The global reach and the
composite nature of Babylon is important to
understand because Babylon’s authority over
the nations will not come through military force.
No, Babylon’s authority over all nations
will come through an intoxicating doctrine.
Religious and political leaders will submit to
a false doctrine out of panic and fear.
Think about this: Religious
leaders from every nation will agree that God’s
wrath has come from all mankind because we are
degenerate and offensive to God. The flip-side of
this coin is that God’s wrath will be
appeased if we stop living degenerate lives and
force people do “right.”
Therefore, religious leaders
will plead with political leaders to quickly
enact and enforce legislation so that God’s
wrath will cease or God will destroy
everyone within a few weeks.
This is how the 42 months of
persecution will begin.
We have to remember this
crucial fact: Babylon will arise out of
necessity. Babylon is not a conspiracy
government. It is not the brainchild of the
Illuminati nor the product of a secret order of
some kind.
No. No.
No.
With thousands of cities in
ruins and 1.75 billion people dead, a
global effort to appease God will appear to be a highly
rational decision – thus the rise and
dominion of Babylon the Great will be though
necessary by most everyone.
Point #2:
Eight hundred ninety days
after the censer is cast down [remember, 890 days
is 2/3 of 1,335 days] the devil will be
released from the abyss [spirit realm]. He
is permitted to leave the spirit realm so that he
might physically appear. This is the fifth
trumpet.
Paul says “the man of
sin” will be “revealed” because
people refused to love the truth and be saved.
For this reason,” Paul says,
“God sends them a powerful delusion.” This
delusion is the devil and his angels
masquerading as Almighty God and his angels.
This is important: During
the Great Tribulation, the gospel will reach a
saturation point. By the 890th day,
most everyone will have taken a position on
the testimony of Jesus – which was
proclaimed throughout the Earth by the 144,000.
But, Jesus knows that
a few sincere and honest hearted people remain in
Babylon and He knows that some of them would
repent of their rebellion if only they could
better understand the differences between the
ways of God and the ways of Lucifer.
So, Jesus releases the devil
upon the world in the fifth trumpet. When people
behold the actions of the devil with their own
eyes, this will cause a few hardheaded people to
stop and think and ultimately, choose Jesus as
Lord and Master!
The devil with millions of
his angels will come down to Earth from the
clouds. The wicked will think the Second Coming
has taken place! The devil will arrive with two
objectives in mind:
First, he intends to take full
control of Earth.
Second, he intends to destroy
the people of God in the process. In order to
accomplish these objectives, the devil will
initiate a great campaign of deception.
The devil will claim to be
Almighty God. To back up his lie, he will perform
amazing counterfeit signs and miracles! These
displays of supernatural power will dazzle and
astonish the inhabitants of Earth. Many will say
of this glorious being, “Who else can do
these miraculous things but Almighty God?”
To gain control of Earth in
a mere five months, the devil will (a) flatter
the leaders of Babylon and (b) he will
gain the affection of billions as “the
Savior of the world” through wonderful
signs and miracles.
Consider
his clever strategy:
The devil will flatter the
leaders of Babylon by endorsing and
supporting their ongoing efforts to enforce
“sin-less” laws. The devil will praise
and reward the religious and political leaders of
Babylon for persecuting those who refused
to obey “good laws” and “live
right.”
The leaders of Babylon will
be pleased with themselves, thinking that God
Himself has commended them for their bold
efforts to appease Him through legislative force.
At the same time, the
devil will be working huge crowds of people all
over the world. For five months, the devil will
razzle-dazzle suffering people with counterfeit
signs and wonders to win their confidence.
The devil will appear
to heal the sick and raise the dead, he
will at various times, call fire down out of the
sky to prove his assumed divinity. But,
many non-religious people will not step over
the line and worship the devil.
The devil will demand that
rebellion against Babylon cannot go unpunished.
So, the devil will “justifiably”
torture the non-religious with pain that hurts
like the sting of a scorpion.
(Note:
the devil will not harm his own followers and he
is not allowed to harm those having the seal of
God – this includes the 144,000 and those
who have also received the seal of God. So, the
only people the devil can harm are non-religious
people. This process forces all non-religious
people to become religious. Some will choose
Jesus many will follow Lucifer. The idea here is
that Lucifer eliminates who are straddling the
fence in terms of worship. Everyone is forced to
take a side.)
Profound statement: At the
end of the five-month allotted to the fifth
trumpet, the devil will abruptly change
character and course. Overnight, the devil will
change from a charming God,” to “a
stern-faced king.”
He will reveal himself to be
the tyrant that he really is. He will suddenly overthrow
the religious leadership of Babylon. He will dissolve
the constitution of Babylon and evict the
leaders of Babylon from their posts.
Even the pope will be
dethroned as a leader of Babylon! Even worse,
the pope will no longer be the head of a church
because the Catholic Church and all other
religious systems will be dissolved!
The devil will declare the
establishment of a new world order based on
global unity. Instead of seven religious
systems telling the 220 nations of the world how
God must be appeased, the devil will insist that
Babylon become a unified government with
one lord, one faith and one baptism.
If you think this through,
this transition is easy to understand because
“God” presence on Earth changes
everything. Think about this: When God Himself
dwells among men, there is no room for
religious or political diversity. This sudden
transformation of Babylon is described in
Revelation 13:14.
“Because of the signs
he was given power to do on behalf of the first
beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth [for
five month. Then,] He ordered them
to set up an image in honor of the beast
who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.”
What is the image
that Lucifer sets up? The image will be a theocratic
government. A theocratic government is a
government where God Himself rules as King of
kings and Lord of lords. For four hundred years,
Israel had a theocratic government, but they
eventually rejected God as their King.
1 Samuel 8:5 They
[the elders of Israel] said to him [Samuel],
“You are old, and your sons do not walk in
your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such
as all the other nations have.”
1 Samuel 8:6 But
when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,”
this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord.
1 Samuel 8:7 And
the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the
people are saying to you; it is not you they have
rejected, but they have rejected me as
their king.”
The point here is that
Israel had a theocratic government at one time,
but they eventually rejected God as their king.
However, Lucifer has deceived mush of the world
into thinking that he is God; he will order the
establishment of a theocratic government.
This government is called
“an image” because it will be a replica
in some ways to the seven heads. Instead of
seven religions, there will be one. Instead
of 220 kings, queens and presidents ruling over
the nations of Earth, the devil will divide
the world into ten sectors and appoint ten kings
to rule over the world.
We will see later on in
today’s study that the “image to the
beast” and “the great prostitute”
in Revelation 17 is the same thing.
When the devil changes from
“Charming God” to “Demonic
Dictator,” there will be a great deal of
consternation throughout the Earth, but mankind
will not be able to thwart the devil’s
authority, goals and objectives.
A one-world church/state
will be set up and I hope you can see that a
theocratic government becomes a theological
necessity when Lucifer declares himself to be
“King of kings and Lord of lords.”
Babylon’s transition
from a composite government (diverse religions
and governments) to a theocratic government (a
unified church/state government) is described
in Revelation 13.
Revelation 13:14
Because of the signs he [the lamb-like beast],
was given power to do on behalf of the first
beast [the composite beast], he deceived
the inhabitants of the earth.
He ordered them to
set up an image in honor of the beast who
was wounded by the sword and yet lived.
Revelation 13:15
He [the lamb-like beast] was given power [from
God*] to give breath to the image of the
first beast, so that it could speak [make
laws] and cause all who refused to worship
the image to be killed.”
Remember, 2 Thessalonians
2:11 says that God sends Lucifer as a
delusion because they [the wicked] refused
to love the truth and be saved. God
empowers the devil to set up a theocratic
government so that the devil can eliminate the
religious diversity that keeps some people from
accepting the testimony of the 144,000.
All who refuse to
participate and abide by the laws of Lucifer’s
theocratic government will be killed. Period.
Rebellion cannot be tolerated. To make sure that
everyone understands that he means business and
that everyone quickly conforms to his authority,
the devil will kill a third of mankind.
Lucifer’s angels will
be released to kill a third of mankind and
this eliminates all resistance to Lucifer’s
theocratic government.
Revelation 9:15 And
the four angels who had been kept ready for this
very hour and day and month and year were
released to kill a third of mankind.”
This enormous purge of human
life is scheduled. The appointed time has
been set and it will take a few weeks to purge
Earth of all resistance. The deadly purge in the
sixth trumpet corresponds with two developments: (a)
the opening of the fifth seal and the
wholesale martyrdom of God’s people and (b)
the implantation of the mark of the beast.
A total of –1.75
billion people will die in this purge. This
will leave about 3 billion people on Earth and –2
billion people will receive the mark of the
beast. Millions of saints and most, if not all,
of God’s 144,000 prophets will eventually be
killed. The sixth trumpet will last for 222 days.
(1,260 minus 890 days minus 148 days =
222days)
All of the non-religious
people will be gone by the of the sixth
trumpet. (As I calculate this, there will be
about 5.25 billion people on Earth at the time of
the sixth trumpet. The devil will divide the
people of Earth into groups of 1,000 for purposes
of rations and administration. The devil will
then kill one-third of mankind – about 1.75
billion people and this will leave about 1
billion saints and 2 billion wicked people alive.
The wicked will be tattooed with “666”
is 2/3 of 1,000. In other words, by the time we
reach the 7th trumpet,
the world will be divided into two groups of
people. One-third will be worshiping the Lamb and
two-thirds worshiping the Lamb-like.)
By now I hope you
understand that the image of the beast will
be a unified theocratic form of Babylon
where Lucifer rules as King of kings and Lord of
lords.
>>>Lucifer’s
theocratic government is also called the great
prostitute because those who submit to Lucifer’s
one world church/state will have to sell their
souls to the devil for the sake of survival.
Here’s
a crucial fact to keep in mind: Each trumpet
judgment has been deliberately designed by a
thoughtful and loving God to open the eyes of
ignorant people to the truth about His love, His
gospel and His will.
In other words, when the
devil sets up his one-world church/state (the
theocratic government), sincere but ignorant
people will not be able to cling to their traditional
leaders, beliefs or churches any longer. People
will NOT be allowed to follow
after their “trusted”
spiritual authorities. Thus, anyone still
hanging on to the religion of their forefathers
will be forced to make a tough decision
because their religion and religious traditions
will be forbidden.
So, at the time of the sixth
trumpet, the options will be simple: Death or
worship the devil. By the time we reach the end
of the 1,260 days allotted to the Two Witnesses,
everyone will have been forced to abandon
his church.
The devil will eliminate
all religious diversity. He will set himself up
as THE religious authority of the whole
world. This is the meaning of this text:
2 Thessalonians 2:4
“He will oppose and will exalt himself over
everything that is called God or is worshiped, so
that he sets himself up in God’s temple [God’s
place], proclaiming himself to be God.”
The devil will also abolish
all the nations of the world. He will divide the
world into ten geographical sectors and he will
appoint ten kings as “puppet kings”
that will rule under him. (These are the ten toes
in Daniel 2 and the ten horns on the composite
beast.)
Lucifer’s theocratic
government is called ‘the great prostitute”
because people will sell their souls to
the devil for the sake of rations.
The government of Lucifer is
called a prostitute because prostitutes are
willing to exchange their moral integrity
for material or financial gain.
So, those who “sell out”
to the devil for food and water are an
abomination to God. Ok, now that we have reviewed
the big picture, I am going to read through
Revelation 17 and as we go along, I will make
some comments. (I can’t help myself.)
Revelation 17:1 One
of the angels who had the seven bowls came and
said to me, “Come [with me John and],
I will show you the punishment of the great
prostitute, who sits upon many waters.
The angel arrived at John’s
side and immediately began talking about the punishment
of “the great prostitute.” This
is the first time the term, the great
prostitute, is mentioned in the book of
Revelation, but it is not the first time she is
referred to!
Notice how this connects to
the Two Witnesses . . .
Revelation 11:8 Their
bodies will lie in the street* of the
great city, which is figuratively called
Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was
crucified.
[*Did you notice there is
only one street in the great
city… “Enter through the
narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad
is the road that leads to destruction,
and many enter through it. But small is the gate
and narrow the road that
leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew
7:13,14]
Remember
Rule 3?
Apocalyptic
language can be literal, symbolic or analogous.
To reach the intended meaning of a prophecy, the
student must consider (a) the context, (b) the
use of parallel language in the Bible and (c)
relevant statements in the Bible that define the
symbol if an element is thought to be symbolic.”
The
term “the great prostitute” is a
symbolic term because the angel told John a few
verses later that the prostitute is the
great city.
Revelation
17:18 The
woman you saw is the great city that rules
over the kings of
the earth.”
And
the prostitute sits on many waters!
Revelation
17:15 Then
the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute
sits, are peoples,
multitudes, nations and languages.
What does this language
mean?
The
prostitute is the great city that rules over the
kings of the Earth and she sits upon many waters.
In a sentence this means: Lucifer’s theocratic
government rules over the world and everything in
it.
Revelation
17:2 With
her the [ten] kings
of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth
were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”
What
does this mean?
The
10 kings committed adultery with her: The kings
allowed Lucifer to use their civil powers to
enforce religious behavior.
….
and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated
with the
wine of her adulteries.”
The
intoxicating wine of her adulteries represents
false doctrines. The idea here is that the wicked
have rejected truth and righteousness. They have
chosen to submit to the devil’s authority
and hope for the best.
They
cannot think straight. Totally deceived.
Revelation
17:3 Then
the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a
desert. There I saw a woman
sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous
names and had seven heads and ten horns.
Revelation
17:4 The
woman was dressed in purple and
scarlet, and was
glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls.
She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with
abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.
Revelation
17:5 This
title was written on
her forehead: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE
GREAT, THE MOTHER OF
PROSTITUTES AND OF THE
ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Revelation
17:6 I
saw the woman was drunk with the blood of
the saints, the blood
of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw
her, I was greatly astonished.
Revelation
17:7 Then
the angel said to me: “Why are you
astonished? I will explain to you the mystery
of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten
horns.”
Ok, let’s gather up the
ten specifications:
1. The great
prostitute will be punished by God
2. She is “the
great city”
3. She sits on
many waters
4. She
rides/directs the composite beast
5. The kings of
the Earth committed adultery with her
6. The people of
Earth were intoxicated with the wine of her
adulteries
7. She wears
purple and scarlet
8. She has a
golden cup, full of abominable things and the
filth of her adulteries
9. She is drunk
with the blood of the saints
10. She wears the
title: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE
MOTHER OF
PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE
EARTH.”
Who is she?
In a
sentence, she is the bride of Lucifer, his
one-world government, a theocratic church/state.
Each specification highlights a fact about her
that God wants us to know. Let’s go through
them carefully:
1. “….Come,
I will show you the punishment of the
great prostitute, who sits on many waters.”
The great prostitute is a system
of government. Those who participate in its
administration will be punished with seven
bowls and ultimately; they will be destroyed by
fire.
(This is why one of the
angels having the seven bowls was sent to John.
In the previous chapter this angel had
participated in the punishment of the
prostitute.)
2. Revelation
17:18 “The woman you saw is the
great city that rules over the kings
of the earth.”
The term, “The Great
City” is a parallel concept from the Old
Testament….
Under Plan A, God
designed that Jerusalem would eventually become
“The Great City” from which He would
rule over all the Earth.
Psalm 48:1 A
song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. Great is the
Lord, and most worthy of praise, in the city
of our God, his holy mountain.
Psalm 48:2 It is
beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the
whole earth. Like the utmost heights of
Zaphon [Hebrew: the North] is Mount Zion, the
city of the Great King.
Psalm
48:3 God
is her citadels; he has shown himself to be her
fortress.”
Under Plan A, Jerusalem
would have become so great in size that it
would encompass much, if not all of the land of
Canaan.
Remember this passage?
Zechariah 2:1 Then
I looked up—and there before me was a man
with a measuring line in his hand!
Zechariah 2:2 I
asked, “Where are you going?” He
answered me, “To measure Jerusalem, to find
out how wide and how long it is.”
Zechariah 2:3 Then
the angel who was speaking to me left, and
another angel came to meet him,
Zechariah 2:4 and
said to him: “Run, tell that young man,
‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls
because of the great number of men and livestock
in it.
Zechariah 2:5 And
I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’
declares the Lord, ‘and I will
be its glory within.’”
If Plan A had been
carried out, Jerusalem would have forever been
the city of God! Notice the words of Jesus:
Matthew 5:34 But
I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by
heaven, for it is God’s throne;
Matthew 5:35 or
by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by
Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great
King.”
Because
Israel failed to keep God’s covenant, Plan A
was abandoned. Jerusalem is no longer the city of
God. The city of God is now called “New
Jerusalem.”
The great prostitute is
defined as “the great city” that rules
over the kings of Earth because the parallel here
is obvious.
Lucifer claiming to be
Almighty God will rule over the world when he
sets up his theocratic government. The
Great City will not have walls, because it
will be a universal government.
Lucifer will rule over the
kings of Earth. They will use their civil
authority to enforce religious laws. This is the
result of Babylon’s intoxicating wine.
3. The great
prostitute “sits on many waters” –
that is, she sits on (controls) the diverse
nations of Earth.
Why does God use waters to
describe the wicked nations of Earth?
Continents are filled with
people much like oceans are filled with water. In
this analogous sense, waters represent “a
sea of diverse human beings.”
Water conforms to the shape
and dimensions of the container that it is put
in.
The wicked submit to Lucifer’s
government are like water…. They conform to
the situation in which they find themselves in
order to survive. They value only their life,
nothing else – there is nothing greater.
This is in stark contrast to
God’s people who stand firm for the right no
matter what.
Living
by faith means doing whatever is right no matter
what and leaving the consequences to God.
Matthew 10:39 Whoever
finds [a way to save] his life will lose
it, and whosoever loses his life for my sake will
find it.”
So the great prostitute sits
upon many waters. Lucifer’s theocratic
government rules over multitudes, nations and
peoples and languages.
The great prostitute will
control all buying and selling.
4. The kings of
the Earth committed adultery with her
(They will give the
prostitute their civil powers for religious
purposes.)
5. The people of
Earth were intoxicated with the wine of her
adulteries . . .
This language indicates the
wicked are willfully deceived . . .
6. She wears
purple and scarlet. . . .
She is rich. She controls
all the nation’s wealth and she controls all
of life’s necessities.
7. She has a
gold cup, full of abominable things and the filth
of her adulteries . . .
Although her form may be
beautiful and attractive, the prostitute is a
vile woman and is disgusting to those who value
righteousness. . .
8.
She is drunk with the blood
of saints. . .
She is like Jezebel who did
her best to kill all of God’s prophets. . .
.
9. She wears
this title: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE
MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND THE
ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”
The “mystery”
of the prostitute is this: Individuals would
rather rebel against God and willfully violate
their conscious and exchange their soul for
meager rations to survive on this doomed planet
for a few more days.
Such thinking is pure
defiant rebellion, perfect nonsense.
The title given to the
prostitute describes an evil process that ends
with great achievement. This woman is the
terminus, the end result of 6,000 years of false
religion. She, and all within her, are beyond
redemption. She is demon possessed. She has a
soul of a demon. She is the bride of Lucifer.
(I hope you will take time
to review Ezekiel 23. Take a look at the parallel
between ancient Israel and the great prostitute.)
Reviewing. . . .
Revelation
17:6 I
saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of
the saints, the blood of those who bore the
testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly
astonished.
Revelation 17:7 When
the angel said to me: “Why are you
astonished? I will explain to you the mystery
of the woman and of the [composite] beast
she rides, which has the seven heads and ten
horns.
Carefully notice this: The
angel tells John that he is going to explain the
mystery of the woman and the composite beast she
rides, then in the next verse, the angel “jumps”
to another beast – the beast that rises from
the abyss.
He does this because one has
to first understand the great red dragon
(the beast from the abyss) before he can
understand the woman that is Lucifer’s
theocratic government.
So, the angel reviews some
things that John has already seen:
Revelation 17:8 The
beast [the great red dragon in Revelation 12],
which you saw [cast out of Heaven], once
was [visible] now is not [visible], and
will come up out of the Abyss [and become
visible] and go to his destruction. The
inhabitants of earth whose names have not been
written in the book of life from the creation of
the world will be astonished when they see
the beast, because he once was [visible],
now is not [visible], and yet will come [up
out of the Abyss and be visible to everyone].
Revelation 17:9 “This
calls for a mind of wisdom. The seven heads [on
the composite beast] are seven hills on
which the woman sits.
Revelation 17:10
They are also seven kings, five have
fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but
when he does come, he must remain for a little
while.
The angel spoke to John
around A.D. 95. As of that date, five
heads/hills/kings had fallen.
The seven heads are the
seven religious systems of the world….
Atheism
Paganism
Judaism
Islam
Eastern Mysticism
Catholicism
Protestantism
The seven heads are called
seven hills (or mountains) because in ancient
times, it was believed that deity lived in the
mountains.
Psalm 43:3 Send
forth your light and your truth, let them guide
me; let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
Psalm
43:4 Then
will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and
my delight. I will praise you with the harp, O
God, my God.”
Daniel 9:20 While
I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and
the sin of my people Israel and making my request
to the Lord my God for his holy hill –
Daniel
9:21 while I was still in prayer,
Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier
vision, came to me in swift flight about the time
of the evening sacrifice.”
The angel also told John the
seven heads are seven kings.
Each religious system has
subjects. If you submit to or obey your religious
authorities, that makes your religious authority
a king and you are its subject. We know from
Revelation 13:3 that when Babylon forms in
response to the first four trumpets, the head
that received a fatal wound will be healed.
This passage refers to the
Roman Catholic Church. When the pope is installed
as the leader of Babylon, the head that was
wounded will be healed.
The angel also said that
five heads had fallen in A.D. 95.
This means that five
religious systems were proven false by A.D. 95.
The birth of Jesus in 4 B.C.
and the teachings of Jesus during His ministry on
Earth confirms that five religious systems were
in fact, false religions. The five fallen
religious systems are:
1.
Atheism
2.
Paganism
3.
Judaism
4.
Islam*
5.
Eastern Mysticism
*Islam refers to the
ancient faith of Arabs who descended from Ishmael
and was later codified by Mohammed in the 6th
century A.D.
The
head “that is” and the one to come that
will last a short time are:
6.
Catholicism
7.
Protestantism
So, the seven heads upon
which the prostitute rides are the seven
religious of the world. Lucifer’s theocratic
government will abolish them.
Revelation 17:11 The
beast [the great red dragon] who once was [visible],
and now is not [visible], is an eighth
king. He belongs to the seven [heads, he
is their Father] and is going to his
destruction. [The “eighth king”
means Lucifer will rule the seven heads. This
language parallels the eighth horn in Daniel 7.
Remember how the little horn uprooted three of
the original ten horns in the monster beast and
it became the eighth horn that ruled over the
remaining seven? The parallel is identical.
Lucifer will arrive and over rule the seven
religious systems of Earth.]
Revelation 17:12
“The ten horns you saw are ten kings who
have not received a kingdom, but who for one
hour [Greek: hora, literally “at that time”]
but will receive authority as kings along
with the beast [from the abyss].
[Note:
Lucifer will give the ten kings authority. They
will reign during the time of his authority.]
Revelation 17:13
They have one purpose and will give their
power and authority to the beast.
Revelation 17:14
They will [join forces with Lucifer and] make
war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome
them because He is the Lord of lords and King of
kings – and with him will be his called,
chosen and faithful followers.”
Revelation 17:15
Then the angel said to me, “The waters you
saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples,
multitudes, nations and languages.
Revelation 17:16
[Eventually] The [composite] beast
and the ten horns you saw will hate the
prostitute. [When the leaders of Earth realize
they the grand deception of Lucifer] They
will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they
will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
Revelation 17:17
For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish
his purpose by agreeing to give the beast
their power to rule, until God’s words are
fulfilled.
Revelation 17:18
The woman you saw is the great city that rules
over the kings of the earth.”
Summary:
1. The devil
will physically appear in the fifth trumpet.
2.
The devil will force non-religious people to make
a decision.
3.
The devil will dissolve all religious systems.
4.
The devil will set-up a theocratic government
(the prostitute, a.k.a. “the image”).
5.
Lucifer will divide the world into ten sectors
and install ten puppet kings. They will serve him
as God.
6.
During the fifth bowl, the devil is unmasked; the
wicked will realize they have been duped. They
will hate and destroy the theocratic government
of Lucifer.
7.
Lucifer then tells the truth: Unless they join
with him to destroy Jesus at the Second Coming,
they will be destroyed. They prepare for battle
on the Mountain of God – Har Megiddo. Jesus
faces his enemies and destroys them.
Why
does God tell us all this in advance?
God
wants the universe to see and understand that the
carnal nature – whether it is in a mighty
angel or the lowest human being – would
destroy God if given the chance. This is the
nature of sin. This is why a loving God has done
everything possible to prevent a second rise of
sin!
End
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