RELIGIOUS BABYLON PT. II
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Intro:
Intro:
last week we started an intro into the systems that will be in place that will help to set up or establish the anti-Christ during the tribulation period. And we spoke about the fact that throughout history, when you have seen men come into power and conquer land, their are systems in place before hand that help the person get into that position of power.
many times throughout history it has been a religious system or a political system that have been a big help to establish men… and at times it has been both the religious system and a political system that that been been the help.
as we discussed the anti-christ coming into power, we talked about that this is the case for him. There will be both a religious and political system that is put in place that will actually help the anti-christ come into power.
and this is what we will talk about in chp. 17., the religious system and its fall and in chapter 18 we will see the political and economic system.
Religious System
Now you remember that we talked about in Rev. 4:1, we see a transition. We see the church is raptured at that point and no longer is it the church age but the start of the tribulation period.
and we talked about last week how the church is that which actually is restraining the complete takeover of satan, and the pouring out of complete wickedness and evil.
not just the church in it’s own power, but 2 Thes. 2:3-8 , tells us that the Holy Spirit is the one who restrains him, and that the Anti-christ cannot come into power into until the holy spirit is taken out of the way.
or the Holy spirit working through the church is what is restraining the full work of Satan and the rise of the anti-christ and once the church is removed in the rapture and the Holy Spirit is not working through the church, it will open the door leaving a vacuum that will be filled with this religious system.
Babylon
now we talked about what John saw in verse 1 &2 . An angle called John to come with him and he would show him the “great Harlot” and the judgement to come
and we talked about who this great harlot was.
And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”
so this woman was the city of babylon. Now we talked about the fact that John was not specifically speaking about the city of babylon, but those that were connected to her, those that had a connection to the city.
much like “hollywood”. We use that city to describe not a real city, but to speak of those that are associated with the city.
Babylon was a city where all of the false religion and idolatry started. The place where a counterfeit religion would be established by Satan in order to draw people into compromise and to draw people away from worshiping the one true living God.
and we looked at this in detail last week as our intro. We spoke about Nimrod and Babylonian religion and there are many roots of compromise and false religion even today that stem from the Babylonian religion.
Transition
This is where the word “harlot” fits in. That word speaks of someone who goes outside of the approved married relationship to give their love and affection to someone other than their husband.
this is what you would call spiritual adultery or a spiritual harlot. This is what the Babylonian religion was, this false and counterfit religion. So this city that John sees, is in reference to the false religious system that will be establish during the tribulation period. Possibly a combination of many religions becoming unified as one. A one world religion. This establishes the Anti-christ into power.
now we took the time to address how this temptation is not just something that existing in the past, it is not something that will only exist in the future, but this is a dangerous temptation that is even at work today.
Satan is trying hard to deceive you and i into believing a lie. Trying to get us to compromise and to add and mix different things into our faith, worldly practices. He understands that if he can get you and i to neglect our faith and to buy into the narrative of the culture, he can get us little by little to have spiritual erosion, which leads to compromise which leads to spiritual death.
spiritual neglect, will lead to spiritual erosion, which leads to spiritual compromise, which leads to spiritual death. We have seen this take place in church history as we discussed last week with the Catholic Church.
but you see evidences of this same thing in some of the churches of our day. Pastors who have compromised in the pulpit, in their moral standards. Even worse, you see this in the lives of Christians , even Christians we know. The willingness to compromise in our beliefs and biblical standards for the sake of buying into the approved cultural narrative.
READ CHP.
I. JOHN’S VISION (V. 3-6)
Now we are going to do things a bit differently than we are used to. We are going to jump around in this chapter from verse to verse because in this section, John will see and describe what he is seeing with the woman. But then later on he will actually get a breakdown of what the vision he is see is.
so in some sense, it will make it easier for us to know what John is talking about because he will also describe it.
So the first thing we want to look at is the description of the beast.
A. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE BEAST (V. 3, 7-12)
we are told that this woman the great harlot is sitting on a beast. We already know who the woman is, now lets look at who the beast is.
in Rev. 13 we see this picture of a beast who rises out of the sea. This beast we are told is the Anti-Christ who receives power from Satan. And John will describe what he saw and you can see from Rev. 13 that who he is talking about , it the Anti-Christ.
THE BEAST IS BEING RIDDEN BY THE GREAT HARLOT (V. 3)
It is interesting to see that this woman riding the beast. She appears to be controlling the beast. Remember this is the religious system that has helped to set up the anti-christ into power. So in some way, i’m sure there is a feeling of having some sort of control of this man. Yet we will see that this will all change.
2. THE BEAST IS FULL OF NAMES OF BLASPHEMY (V.3)
And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.
the anti-christ will speak blasphemies against God, which means that he will speak against God, he will speak things that are offensive and evil against God.
a. Anti-Christ Declares Himself God
who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
this is describing what the anti-christ will do after the 3 1/2 years of some what peace. He will enter the temple and declare himself to be God and to be worshiped as God, the abomination of desolation . Daniel 9 and Matt. 24 would make reference to this.
there is no greater blasphemy, than to declare yourself God. This is completely offensive to God.
b. Anti-Christ Speaks against Heaven
Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.
the Anti- Christ will speak evil against all things that pertain to God, against the temple , and those who dwell in heaven. Just offensive speak against all things that are of God.
in Ps. 73 it says this about the wicked
They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression;
They speak loftily.
They set their mouth against the heavens,
And their tongue walks through the earth.
Therefore his people return here,
And waters of a full cup are drained by them.
And they say, “How does God know?
And is there knowledge in the Most High?”
The scoffer and wicked person is a prideful person. A person who believes that they do not need God, a person who can often times make themselves believe that they are their own God.... thinking that they are in charge of their own lives....
this is the speech and the talk that you will even hear today. People who will make fun of God, who will question God, who speak offensively.... this all comes from pride.
My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.
See how great a forest a little fire kindles!
interesting that pride is the very sin that brought Satan down from Heaven, this is what you see at work in the anti-christ
3. ANTI-CHRIST HAS 7 HEADS AND 10 HORNS (V. 3, 7-12)
READ V.3..... 7-11
a. 7 HORNS (V.3,7,9-11)
now verse 9-11 gives us insight into what these 7 heads are or what their meaning is .
it tells us that these 7 heads are 7 mountains on which the woman sits (v. 9) . it is believed that what this is speaking of is the 7 hills on which the City Rome is built on. This is very possible that this is what it is describing.
we are also told that the 7 heads are the 7 kings (v.10) .
we are told that there were 5 kings that are no longer… or they died. there is who is, one who is to come which would be the anti-christ who makes it 7.
there are different takes on who these kings exactly are. the two best descriptions i saw was that these could be either the 7 Roman emperors who were in power. When John wrote this , there had been 5 who had died already. One who was ruling during John day, Domitian. And one to come, which would be the anti-chirst.
Now (v. 11) speaks of the one who was , and is no more, he is the eighth and is of the 7th. or what is believed is that the anti-christ was the 7th, then he died and came back to life therefore becoming the 8th king.
There is also thought that these kings are speaking of the 7 kingdoms that have been. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia , the Greek empires. During the time of John would be the Roman Empire. And the empire to come would be the new revived Roman empire under the Anti-Christ. This are all possible but we can not say for sure exactly what John is seeing.
b. THE 10 HORNS (V.3, 12-14)
John speaks of the 10 horns now which he says are 10 kings who have received power with the beast for a time.
this is speaking about the political system that is established by the anti-christ. The united one world government that is made up of 10 kingdoms or countries … it says that they will give power to the anti-christ.
as we have mentioned before, this political system is what helps the anti-christ come into power.
we are told that this system will make war against the lamb(v.14) which is Jesus. Yet Jesus will overpower them and destroy them . This is make reference to the 2nd coming of Christ when he will bring judgement on the world and on the rulers of the world including the politcial powers, the religious power, the anti-christ , the false prophet and Satan.
here this war is speaking specifically of the battle of Armagedon that takes place in the valley of Jezreel. In Rev. 14 we saw that this battle takes place and that God destroys all the enemies, that there is so much blood splattered that it appears like grapes on a winepress, that the blood will come up to the bridle of the houses thousands of miles wide.
we will look at this more in chp. 19
now lets back track a little bit and look at the description of the woman
B. THE DESCRIPTION OF THE WOMAN (V. 3-6) 5-6
SITTING ON A BEAST (V.3)
As we mentioned already , this is in reference to the woman controlling or setting up the beast . As a rider controls the horse it rides by the bridle, so the religious system has some appears of control over the anit-christ but this will change
2. WEARING ROYAL GARMENTS (V.4)
the royal garments speak of the authority that the religious system will have on the earth.
3. HOLDING A CUP OF ABOMINATION (V.4)
the woman is holding a cup which has the abominations and filthiness of her fornication we are told.
this is the cup which she entices the world, or deceives the world into drinking. To partake in the evil and wicked practices approved by the enemy. And we talked about this last week, how there is this attempt of Satan even today to get us to be moved spiritually from our current place. And one of the ways is through compromise. Get us to buy into the big lie, by making us accept the little lies.
4. NAMES ON HER FOREHEAD (V.5)
we are told that on her forehead is written a name. And this name is “Mystery Babylon, the Mother of Harlots and of the abominations of the earth”.
this name is a description of who this woman is and of what this woman’s character is
she is herself a harlot, or has given herself spiritually to compromise and to filthiness , but also she has given birth to more who will follow in her footsteps and the same.
she is the system in place all the way from the beginning as we saw last week that gives birth to idolatry and all the false religions of the world. This system is evil and wicked and it influnences the world around it to do the same thing.
5. DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD OF THE SAINTS (V.6)
this is speaking about the death it brings to the saints or those who come to faith in Jesus in the tribulation period. The Church seems to be responsible for the death of many people,we see this this in the woman being drunk with all the blood.
this is not something that is not unknown to us. You can look back in history and see all the people that were persecuted and killed for the name of the church. The times of the Incusitions , the time of the Reformation.
Believers who were killed by the church in the name of Religion. This appears to be the case here. Possibly due to the rejection of the one world religion , leads to many being killed for this rejection
6. SITS ON MANY WATERS(V.15)
we have talked about this before, the many waters is in reference to the many people . What it is talking about is the great influence that this church is going to have on the world
7. SHE WILL BE BETRAYED (V.16)
here we see that while this religious systems has alot of influence and how she had a role to play in establishing the anti-christ, eventually after the 3 1/2” years of the tribulation, when the anti-christ declares himself God in the temple, the anti-christ and the political system will turn on the religious system and take her down.
she was only useful to the him while he got into power, now that he has the power , he no longer needs her, he wants everyone to worship him as God
Transition
now as we look at this religious system i want us to focus on two groups we see. There is great application that we can find within these two groups
II THE CONTRAST IN FOLLOWERS(V.8, 14)
A. THE FOLLOWERS OF THE ANTI-CHRIST (V.8)
the first group is the group that choses to follow the anti-christ and the religious system
REJECT THE MESSIAH
it is obvious that they reject the Messiah, which is Jesus, because all those who placed their faith in him either are gone in the rapture or are persecuted by this system. These men and women willfully reject Jesus as their Lord.
2. MARVEL AT THE BEAST (v.8)
we see that this group marvels or is in awe of this beast. They are captivated by him and will offer their affection to him.... Remember the association with the Harlot, giving that which belongs to God to a false and counterfeit god
3. DECEIVED BY THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE WOMAN (v.2)
We are told that they are made drunk by the harlot and her abominations. in other words , they buy into the lie of this religion and they adopt her practices, those culturally approved practices that we have spoken about. Compromising any moral standard for the approved standard of society.
this comes by deception
does this sound familiar?
4. NAMES ARE NOT WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE (v.8)
as a result of the choices that these people make, we are told that their names are not written in the book of life.
the bible tells us that there is a book of life where the names are written on it. The names of those who are a part of the family of God who have placed their faith in Jesus as their Lord
And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.
the result of not having your name written in the book of life is eternal hell
And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
B. THE FOLLOWER OF CHRIST (V.14)
CALLED
that word “called” speaks of being invited into salvation . God has called us into a saving relationship with Him. Not only has God called us into a salvation, but he has called us to join in His work.. To be used as vessels for His name. 2 Tim 2:20
2. CHOSEN
this speaks of being selected , to chose out of something.
God has chosen us out of the world, in this case , out of suffering ..... in order to bring us into HIs family.... We are His children John 1:12
3> FAITHFUL
We first see the things that GOd has done for us..... He called us into salvation and into his service by His sacrifice and His blood. We are chosen into his family as a child of God. This is everything that God has done for us.
but now we see that there is a responsibility on us. He calls these saints who were with Jesus , Faithful....
that word “faithful” means -
steadfast in affection or steadfast in allegiance
firm in adherence to promises or duty
true to facts, true to a standard
you see the contrast of the two types of people.... those who follow the anti-christ would fall into deception of Babylon.... They would spiritually compromise, they would neglect the spirit and the things of GOd, they would erode spiritually, and they would ultimately be destroyed....
the saints with Christ were the complete opposite. They were steadfast in their affection to the one true GOd, they did not allow ungodly alliances in their lives with sin
they stood firm in keeping to the promises of God, or faithful to do what he was calling them to do.
They held on to the truth and kept a standard according to the truth.
this is a picture of someone who overcomes this world. Someone who finishes well. They are completely in love with and devoted to GOd, they do not compromise their moral standard for the lies of the world and justify it with saying “its my convictions”
Question : WHICH GROUP DO I RESEMBLE TODAY ?
III. WHO IS RULING MY HEART (V.18)
YOU AND WILL EITHER BE RULED BY .....
BABYLON
RULED BY PLEASURE
RULED BY COMPROMISE
RULED BY DESIRING THE PRAISES OF PEOPLE
RULED BY PRIDE
RULED BY THE WORSHIP OF SELF
GOD
RULED BY THE LOVE OF THE SAVIOR OF OUR SOULS
RULED BY THE TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD
RULED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD
WHO ARE YOU RULED BY TODAY???????