The Most Dangerous Game

As one looks at the ungodly, anti-Christian philosophy that is in the world, one sees absolute wickedness. Yet, when you look at the various mindsets, there is a semblance of spiritual thoughts. For years, living with your lover before marriage, has been considered acceptable by many, and even promoted by some. In fact, marriage was considered to be just one option. The logic was to make certain a mistake would not be made that both would regret later.

Those promoting homosexual lifestyles would have us believe they are truly interested in the world becoming more tolerant and accepting of people. Several have suggested that Jesus would have completely accepted the homosexual lifestyle, since He supposedly created them the way they are.

Individuals supporting abortion and/or euthanasia, would have us believe they are truly concerned with a quality of life. They would denigrate those who would try to save lives as people trying to “play God.“ After all, an individual’s private desires and wishes are really what matters in life.

Many individuals have described Christians as cold-hearted and unfeeling. They have relegated us to the ranks of those who do not have a Christ-like heart.

In each of the examples I just listed, there can be found a somewhat warm ring to the logic, if one doesn’t know the Bible or even basic logic. However, comparing it to God’s Word, should lead you to recognize that it’s a lie.

Understand that Satan does not necessarily portray himself as wicked. Satan wants humanity to believe that he truly has the right answers and everyone’s best interest at heart. As a result, we find the false religious system in chapter 17. This false religious system has been developing for centuries. It is nothing new. The scary part is how a large segment of churches seems to have adopted it.

As believers, we want to be sure that our life is rooted and real in Christ.

She Looks Real, but She Is Rotten.

Revelation 17:1–2 (NASB95)

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality.”

As one looks back at the Old Testament, we read about many situations in which the prophets said that Israel had become the harlot or the prostitute. In each situation, this was a description of the result of Israel’s, spiritual unfaithfulness, more appropriately named adultery. That is what the angel is describing to John. It is what is happening today, but in a much more intense manner during the Tribulation Period.

Today, we can see this in the professing, yet apostate church. This describes the false church. This is the church organization that does not truly possess Christ, but merely professes Christ. This is the church that chooses to ignore the biblical mandates, while doing its own thing. This is the church that is so busy oiling the machinery and making sure everything is correct according to man standards, it loses perspective on what Christ has called the church to actually be. This is the church, which is full of people who shout, “Lord, Lord,“ yet the people are unwilling to follow the path of discipleship and servanthood. This is the church, where the needs of people, spiritual and physical, are not important unless it is to make an impression.

Sadly, the great prostitute has her sensuous fingers in many churches. She is doing her utmost to entice people to follow her. Her silky, smooth tongue, can deceive many people to believe that what she is doing is what God really wants. She will offer herself to whomever will carry out her bidding. My friends, this might seem good and pleasurable for the moment, but the disaster that awaits everyone who plays church is horrific. It is one of the most dangerous games a person can play. That is why it is essential that the true believer in Christ makes sure that their life is rooted and real in Christ. Anything else will result in an eternity separated from Christ.

She Looks Beautiful, but She Is Bad.

Revelation 17:3–6 (NASB95)

And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality, and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus.

In these verses, John sees a woman sitting on a scarlet beast. From the description and explanation, this beast is what we would commonly call the antichrist. The woman, we can safely assume to be the prostitute, or the apostate church.

What a terrible contradiction in word pictures! The beast was covered with blasphemous names. He had seven heads and 10 horns which does carry some symbolism.

However, the woman is dressed beautifully. She has purple and scarlet; rich colors. She was covered with gold, precious stones, and pearls. She carried a golden cup. Yet, within the cup, was the reality of who she truly was. This cup was filled with the garbage of what she was actually representing. She was trying to come across as the true church. However, according to the title written on her forehead, she is the apostate church. Just as Ephesians describes the true church as a mystery, so it is with this fallen church.

So, why the use of the name of Babylon? It helps if we consider Genesis 11. It is there that Noah’s great grandson, Nimrod appears. Nimrod appeared to be a man’s man. He was fiercely independent, even to the point of being independent from God. He attempted to establish his own religious system. So, he began work on building the tower of Babel. Even though God had already provided the instructions about how to worship, Nimrod felt there should be a better way or another way. In fact, it has been noted that there were at least 180 shrines dedicated to the goddess Ishtar, who was known as the Queen of heaven. God destroyed that attempt just as he will ultimately destroy the final attempt by man when he tries to be religious on his own terms. Throughout history, false religious systems have always carried the stigma of being a “Babylon.“ That is what is represented here. It is not a particular city or location. Rather it represents false religion.

Not only that, but for all the outward beauty, she was drunk with the blood of the saints. She had participated and led in destroying the lives of those who belong to Jesus Christ and who had boldly proclaimed His message.

Notice something else here. This woman is on top of the beast. She is in control. The beast is actually supporting her. This is almost like a symbiotic relationship from one to the other. The government, in support of the false religion, gives prominence to this false religion. This false religious system enables the beast to rise to power without much, if any, opposition.

How can we relate to this today? Traditionalism and denominationalism can also become false religions. One can end up having a sense of false security. There is even a sense of pride and nobility about what what has done or are currently being done. In other words, it can become easy to be quite pretentious in our “religious systems.“ A church can seem to have all of its ducks in a row and have everything looking neat and pretty; but still be a rotting corpse inside.

We must be sure that our life is rooted and real in Jesus Christ. I do not care how much something may look like church. I don’t care how often somebody chooses to mention the name of Jesus. I don’t care how biblically an individual can answer questions and how biblical they sound. I don’t care how strongly one feels about their worship experience. Unless there is a personal relationship with the living Christ, it is of no value. Unless people are living for Christ in every area of life, they may look beautiful, but it is bad.

He Looks Dynamic, but He Is Defeated.

Revelation 17:6–18 (NASB95)

When I saw her, I wondered greatly. And the angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come. “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. “The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction. “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. “These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.” And he said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. “And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. “For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled. “The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.”

The Bible tells us that John “wondered greatly.“ He was amazed and astonished, according to other translations. The angel begins to explain some more information to him. We read that the angel states that this is for “the mind which has wisdom.“ Other translations state, this calls for a mind with wisdom. Whenever this phrase is used, we must understand that the reason is not for geographical or numerical insight. The reason is that one might have theological insight. For example, when the reference of seven heads and seven hills are used, along with seven kings, we must recognize John’s use of the number seven throughout his writings. John’s use of seven invariably relates to completeness or wholeness. Even in our language, we have often heard the phrase, “the seven seas.“ Obviously, this is not dealing with seven specific bodies of waters. Rather, it is dealing with all of the seas in the world. The text actually states that this refers to seven kings.

As we look at these multiple heads, we can see that they belong to the beast. The issue of kings would more than likely refer to the power which is seen, and the rule of the beast against Christ. When we see five heads have fallen, we might wonder, when could this have taken place? Consider that when John wrote this, five world powers had already risen and fallen; Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. At the time of the writing of Revelation, Rome was the world power. Thus, one head, or king is still alive. All of these kingdoms were focused on idolatrous worship of many gods. All of them had the belief that God was in all of nature.

Yet, what about the king who was yet to come? We also recall that Satan will be allowed to return for a short time. Satan will set up his evil empire during the Tribulation Period. He will try to wreak his final outbreak of havoc against God, before Christ finally condemns him permanently to hell.

I understand that following all of this can be difficult. But let me attempt to simplify matters in a way which might be more understandable. Since Christ has killed the monster by his death on the cross, the believer is no longer under the power or control of this evil. Yet, the beast still has life and will attempt one final battle against the Lamb and the Lamb’s followers. In an attempt to gain as many followers as possible, the beast will imitate Christ’s resurrection, which is seen in the eighth king. The beast will seem alive and in control of the world. This is where John adds, in a very comforting manner, that this beast actually belongs to the seven. In other words, the beast is nothing new, just revived. To the believer, this seven headed monster is not the beginning of a new life of a new beast, but a part of the beast whom Christ has already slain.

So why is this so complex? It is a mystery which we need to understand the implications. Satanic deception is real and powerful. Every Christian must be on the alert, even as Peter said, Our enemy, the devil, is indeed prowling about, seeking whom he may devour.

We also must understand that Satan‘s kingdom will be divided against itself. The beast will end up attacking the prostitute, which is the world’s false religious system. Even though the prostitute is against God by its very nature, it pretends to have a connection with God. As a result, the beast cannot allow even this pretense and acknowledgement of God. My friends, evil inevitably is self-destructive. God is going to use Satan’s own evil forces to accomplish his judgment.

Brothers and sisters, it may certainly seem that there are victories being won by those who are bent on unbiblical behavior and lifestyle. It may even appear that Satan has gotten the upper hand. In the words of the commander on Galaxy Quest, “Never give up. Never surrender. Satan is a defeated enemy. There are many things which Satan and his forces may actually accomplish, and it will appear wonderful to some. But to the person who is rooted in Christ, it is an abomination. Don’t compromise. Stand firm in Christ.

Conclusion

I am reminded of the old German story about the Pied Piper. It seems the village of Hamelin (Hameln) had a problem with rats. They had tried all kinds of tricks to rid themselves of this pest, but without any success. Finally, they hired an individual who played such a wonderful sounding flute. He came to the village, playing his flute, and walked away from the village with all of the rats, following behind him.

When he later came to collect his fee, the villagers refused to pay him. They thought he had done this far too easily to receive the money to which they had agreed. Some accused him of setting the whole thing up. So, the Pied Piper left without receiving any compensation.

One day, he came back to the village of Hamelin, playing his flute, beautifully again. This time, all of the children followed him, leaving their homes. They went into a mountainside, disappearing, never to be found again.

The villagers wanted to play the games on their terms. They refused to do what was right and necessary, because it all seemed much too simple. As a result, they lost what was most precious to them; their children.

My friends, could there be anybody here listening to this message, who is involved with playing the most dangerous game? Are there individuals who are playing church, while not having that personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Are there some who are able to manipulate people with smooth talk and spiritual words just to get what they want? Is it possible that someone can make a godly person out to look like a fool to others, by pretending that their way is God’s way, even though you and God know that is not true?

Do not be involved in the most dangerous game. Your eternal destiny is at stake.