This presentation takes a look at 2 major signs of Babylon found in the book of Revelation chapter 17. Prophecy helps us stay on the path.
The transcript of this message can be found here. Transcripts of all messages can be found here.
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:
Revelation 17:1 (KJV)
Note: Revelation 17:1-2 is connected to Revelation 16:19 which says:
And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Revelation 16:19 (KJV)
It is important to note that “judgment” has 3 aspects.
- Investigative
- Judicial (Verdict)
- Executive (Execution of that verdict)
The judgment in Revelation 17:1 is the sentence or what the sentence is going to be for the female prostitute. A female prostitute is someone who prostitutes themselves out for financial gain. A women in Bible prophecy represents a church (Jer 6:2; 2Co 11:2; Eph 5:23-27; Eze 16:15-58; 23:2-21; Hos 2:5; 3:1; Rev 14:4.) So here in Revelation 17:1 we have a church that is prostituting itself out for financial gain of some sort and God is going to pass a sentence or judgment upon her. Now we come to verse two:
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.
Revelation 17:2 (KJV)
There is an immoral action going on between a church (“with whom”) and state (“kings of the earth”). There is always some action going on between church and state but it should NOT be an immoral action. What is the result of this immoral action? The result is drunkenness.
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. (4) And 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:
Revelation 17:3-4 (KJV)
The word “decked” means to be golden. This women in other words is golden with gold. Verse 4 shows another powerful mark of Babylon “full of abominations”. What is an abomination in God’s eyes? Here are a few Scriptures dealing with abominations.
ABOMINATIONS TO GOD
- Homosexuality (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13)
- Cross Dressing (Deuteronomy 22:5)
- Marrying a Defiled Woman (Deuteronomy 24:4)
- Playing Favorites (Deuteronomy 25:13-16; Proverbs 11:1)
- Being Devious (Proverbs 3:32; 11:20)
Abomination means something that is detestable. The bottom line is that sin is an abomination to God.
These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: (17) A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, (18) An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, (19) A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Proverbs 6:16-19
The information above gives us a broad overview of various abominations found in the Bible. We will now look at a few more abominations to God.
6. Offering a blemished sacrifice (Deuteronomy 17:1). Paul says we should offer ourselves a living sacrifice. But if we are offering ourselves with all this known sin that we are clinging onto, is not that an abomination to God? Yes, it is. He wants us to let go of these things.
7. Heathen practices like divination (Deuteronomy 18:9-14)
8. Engraven images (Deuteronomy 27:15)
9. Worshipping false gods. Worshipping God like the heathens (Deuteronomy 7:25; 12;29-32; 17:2-5; 1 Kings 11:5, 7; 2 Kings 23:13). For example, what does Easter have to do with the resurrection of Christ.
Deuteronomy 13:1-4; 6-9, 13-18
If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, (2) And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; (3) Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (4) Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
Deuteronomy 13:1-4
Based on the verse above, if a prophet came and said to you “let’s worship other gods” what should be our answer? “Absolutely not.” What about if someone said “let us worship a Trinity.” What should we say? “Absolutely not.”
If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; (7) Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; (8) Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: (9) But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
Deuteronomy 13:6-9
“neither shalt thou conceal him” – what this person says is to be revealed for a disciplinary action.
Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known; (14) Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you; (15) Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword. (16) And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the LORD thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again. (17) And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers; (18) When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD thy God.
Deuteronomy 13:13-18
God is saying that there are some that have gone out from us and are worshipping false gods. And God is saying do not follow them. Here we see a very powerful identifying mark of Babylon: Worshipping false gods.
And 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:
Revelation 17:4
“full of abomination.” Notice that it is plural “abominations.”
BLASPHEMY
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.
Revelation 17:3
A basic definition of blasphemy can be found in Revelation 13:6 means to speak against or to slander. Another definition of blasphemy based on Matthew 26:65; John 10:33; Mark 14:61-63; Mark 2:7; Revelation 2:9 is claiming to be something you are not. The Babylonian system claims Jesus to be the original God and not the Son of God. In a sense this fits under the definition of blashphemy – claiming Him to be something he’s not. Is Jesus God? Yes He is.
John 1:1 destroys the Trinity doctrine. The verse says “…the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” How can Jesus be the God that He’s with? He cannot. That destroys a Trinity doctrine right there. But it clearly says that Jesus is God. In John 20:28 Thomas answered Jesus and said unto him “My Lord and my God.” Does that mean Jesus is the Father? No, He is not the Father but He is God. Even God said so in Hebrews 1:8 “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever:” and in Titus 2:13 “the great God.” But is Jesus the original God? No, He is the express image of the original. He is 100% divine but He is the express image of the original. To claim Jesus to be something that He is not would fit under blasphemy.
Blasphemy is also seen when attributing the power of God to someone other than God (Matthew 12:24, 28, 31 compared to Luke 11:20) The Babylonian system says that it is not the power of God. It’s not the power of the Father. It’s the power of another entity. Another individual god. God the Spirit. That, according to this definition is blasphemy.
People will sometimes say “your in danger of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. But if they are saying that the power of God, instead of it being the Holy Spirit it’s God the Spirit, that’s attributing the power of God to someone other than God and by what I see, that is blasphemy. This is a powerful identifying mark of the Babylonian system.
In Revelation 18:4 God calls “come out of her my people.” Are you willing to come out of her? Are you willing to come out of this system and his theologies?