Revelation
17 – The Woman
John
is talking directly to one of the angels who had poured out one of the bowls.
He takes John in spirit to see the judgment of the woman who sits upon many
waters. This harlot is the false church, the ones who took the mark of the
beast. They claimed to be rich in goods and in need of nothing. There are those
who never trusted in Christ as their savior. The many waters are masses of
peoples and nations. This church will control the world. This will be more
dangerous than any political or other movement. It will have the world under
the influence of the wild beast, which is the anti-Christ. Then the Angel
carried John into the wilderness. This is both Babylon and Rome. The woman is a
city, and the city is Rome, the religious capital of the world. The seven heads
are 7 mountains which Rome sits. Full of names and blasphemies reveals how far
religion has departed from Christ. Purple and scarlet were the main colors in
the Roman Empire. The emperor's robes were purple and Roman Catholic
Catholicism wore scarlet. Gilded with gold shows it is pretty in outward
appearance and on the inside is a fake gospel and a failing system. On her head
is her name, Mystery Babylon. It is a mystery to John because he did not know
of this false church until the angel showed him. Babylon is known for false
religion. Therefore, she is known as the mother of the harlots and of the
abominations of the earth. Today sex and false religion are intermingled. Those
who have not kept their bodies pure for marriage and stands before an altar
before God to make their vows was and is an abomination to God. Drunken with
wine speaks of Babylon who persecuted God's people. It was Babylon who put Shadrack,
Meshach and Abednego into the fiery furnace. The Angel tells John of the wild
beast and the past history of the Roman Empire which today has fallen apart and
cannot be put together until the anti-Christ comes and succeeds but only for a
short time. Then he and the Roman Empire will go to Hades upon the return of
Christ. Among those are 7 kings who are named by John Vernon McGee in his
commentary as Julius Caesar-assassinated Tiberius-poisoned or smothered.
Caligula-assassinated. Claudius-poisoned. Nero committed suicide. These 5 kings
along with the Antichrist who was the 6th, came out of the abyss (Hades)
with satan who is the 7th to come to earth to fight against Christ. These seven
will destroy Babylon and the Roman Empire with fire so that God's word will be
fulfilled. We as Christians should have thankfulness in our hearts that we will
be spared this period and still have concern for those who will be faced with
it.
Please read the chapter listed so that you can
understand God’s Word better.
If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God
Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.
Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.
Dr. David Jeremiah Study Bible. J. Vernon McGee
Through the Bible.
No comments:
Post a Comment