Chapter 17
What do we mean
exactly when we refer to ecumenical religion? Ecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. These intiatives are often referred to as interdenominational. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice. Within this particular context, the term ecumenism refers to the idea of a Christian unity in the literal meaning: that there should be a single Church. Not to be confused with Nondenominational Christianity.
The word contrasts with interfaith dialogue or interfaith pluralism aimed at unity or cooperation among diverse religions and referring to a worldwide "religious unity" by the advocacy of a greater sense of shared spirituality.
The word is derived from Greek οἰκουμένη (oikoumene), which means "the whole inhabited world", and was historically used with specific reference to the Roman Empire. The ecumenical vision comprises both the search for the visible unity of the Church (Ephesians 4.3) and the "whole inhabited earth" (Matthew 24.14) as the concern of all Christians.
By now one is aware that the revelation received by John deals with different events which do not always proceed in chronological order. Occasionally John is drawn aside to receive additional information about something previously introduced but now more fully explained. On these occasions a chapter or two is inset into the narrative. That is the case with chapters 17-18.
In Revelation 14:8 the destruction of Babylon is foretold. Now John is given greater detail about its fall. Chapters 17-18 deal with the destruction of Babylon, which represents religion and government in the end of the age. Revelation 17 records the destruction of ecclesiastical Babylon, and Revelation 18 records the destruction of political Babylon.
These two events do not take place at the same time. The destruction of Babylon, as representing the false religion of the future world church best fits into the period of the first three and one-half years of Tribulation.
When Christ raptures His church and we go to live forever with Him, it doesn’t mean the end of religion. Many churches and religious orders will function with “business as usual,” for the Lord Jesus Christ is not even a part of them today.
When as born-again believers we are taken to heaven, these religions will continue to thrive and Satan will even permit them to grow. The devil will use false religion for his own evil purposes until he no longer needs it. With the rise of the Antichrist, in the middle of the Tribulation, religious activity of all forms, except that instituted by the beast, will cease, and the great ecclesiastical Babylon will be overthrown. This event is described in chapter 17.
1. ¶ 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:
We are immediately faced with the problem of
identifying this great whore or harlot who is about to be judged. Scripture tells us in verse 5 that this
harlot is Babylon the Great.
Here we begin to see the end of ecumenical religion. God is pinpointing His judgment. He calls ecumenical religion “the great
whore.” The Bible portrays life like it is. This is reality.
Ecumenism is a
vile and corrupt system.
Money and lust play a great part in the whoredom of
religion. This system involves men with lust to do human good and get
power. This is an attractive system.
“The great whore” is the false religion system.
“Come hither” means John was permitted to see this
great false system.
“Judgment” means God’s mighty wrath.
“Sitteth” means the place or throne of the false
religious system.
“Many waters” refers to people, nation of people. Read Ch. 17:15, this verse refers to races –
nations refer to geographical areas – tongues refer to language – national
units.
2. 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.
The leaders of the earth operate in this system under a
strong delusion. They give lip service
to this false system.
This is the international religion of the Tribulation.
This is the state and religion operating together.
God never intended for religion to control a state and
He never intended for a state to seize authority over the church. Both are separate and both are free.
They can exist side by side without either losing their
identity, but they cannot join together without one or the other losing their
identity.
We see in this that the leaders of the earth joining up
with false religious system and they become intoxicated with power and soon
were engulfed by it.
For the mechanics of this system look at:
1.
2 Thess. 2:7
a.
We already have these false
religious systems in the earth. They are
known by many names such as World Council of Churches, Romanism, Ecumenical
Religion, New World Order, etc.
b.
At present time, the ministry of
the Holy Spirit is restraining or holding them back.
c.
This system of false religion has
not been able to conquer the world.
d.
When the Holy Spirit is removed
from the earth in church capacity, the false religions will come in full force.
2.
2 Thess 2:8
a.
This is the dictator of the
revived Roman empire and he plays an important role in the last days.
3.
2 Thess 2:9
a.
How does this dictator operate?
b.
Satan works through him.
c.
Matthew 4 – Satan offered Christ
the kingdoms of this world if He would bow down and worship him and Christ
refused.
d.
Here, Satan offers these kingdoms
to this dictator and he accepts the offer.
e.
This dictator will use his
personality to get ahead in the world.
f.
He will employ tongues and all
kinds of miracles to impress people and this world is charmed by his miracles.
g.
Even today, people are elated by
the works of Satan, but during the Tribulation, they will fall head over heels.
4.
2 Thess 2:10,11
a.
Strong delusions – means God
removes all restraint from negative decisions.
b.
When we read the “God hardened
Pharaoh’s heart,” it simply means that God removed all restraint and took off
the brakes and allowed Pharaoh to go completely over to negative choice.
3. 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.
We have been studying the 7 deadly drinking cups and
the judgment of God poured out on the earth during the last part of the 7-year
Tribulation.
The 7th drinking cup judgment was poured out
on interdenominational religion.
In the next verses, we see this religion compared to a
prostitute. Power lust and lust for
money are both involved in this operation.
In this verse, John is carried away in the spirit to
Rome, not literally, but in a vision.
Remember the Bible never has anything good to say about
religion.
Remember also, what religion is, it is man’s effort to
do only what God can do.
Religion emphasizes human works and ignores God’s grace
(Matt. 23).
The worst people in the world are not immoral people,
but they are religious people.
“Wilderness” refers to wasted area or spiritual
desolation under satanic rule.
“Scarlet coloured beast” is the dictator of the revived
Roman empire. The Roman army wore scarlet colored coats. This place is Rome.
“Full of names of blasphemy” simply means something
that contradicts Bible doctrine. A name can refer to a person or a principle
and here it refers to a principle that is anti-biblical.
“Seven heads” refers to the seven nations that have
inflicted discipline unto the Jews in the past. They are Egypt, Assyria,
Chaldea, Persia, Greece, Rome and the revived Roman empire.
“Ten horns” are the 10 nations making up the federation
of the nations. If the United States is
in Bible prophesy, it will be one of the 10 nations or part of one of the ten
nations.
The revived Roman empire will have two legs, they are
religion and politics.
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:
“Woman was arrayed.”
This is the glamor of this interdenominational religious-political
system.
“Arrayed” is in the perfect tense and means purple and
scarlet are her permanent type of apparel.
“Purple and scarlet” these were the two royal colors of
the ancient world, representing religion and politics.
“Decked” means to wear something. It is an old English
word for dress.
This woman was “decked out” as we say in her expensive
robe.
This woman is the dictator of Rome.
“Gold and precious stones and pearls” refers to her
fabulous wealth.
“Having a golden cup in her hand” refers to her
pleasure.
“Abomination” refers to sensual pleasure and means she
only lived for pleasure.
“Filthiness” refers to that which is contrary to true
Bible doctrine.
5. And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON
THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Why is this in capital letters? There is nothing in the original language
that would suggest this passage should be in capital letters.
The reason was someone who was translating this passage
when the King James translation was made put these words in capital letters and
they have remained ever since.
The Church of England at that time was having a great
struggle with the Roman Catholic church and that fact accounts for these
letters being placed in large type.
“Upon her forehead was a name written” means upon the
seat of her thinking.
“Mystery” refers to a doctrine not known in the Old
Testament which was revealed in the New Testament. This part of Tribulation was
never revealed in the Old Testament.
Read Colossians 1:25, 26 and Romans 16:25, 26.
“Babylon” means confusion and is the title given her
because Babylon is where religion started.
The matter of identifying this great city is a subject
of much debate. There are many good
Bible scholars who believe that this refers to the once great capital of the
Babylonian Empire, now lying in ruins.
They maintain that the city will one day be rebuilt and become both the
religious and commercial center of the world (Her 50-51). However, this may not
be the case. Babylon is frequently used
in Scripture to refer to a system of idolatrous religion. It is important to bear in mind that in
Revelation Babylon refers to both a city and a religious system, just as Wall
Street refers to both a street and a system of free economy. It is highly likely that this Babylon
represents another city and religious system which displays the characteristics
of the once evil Babylon.
Therefore it very well may be that the city of Babylon
doesn’t exist, but her spirit lives on in Rome and in this verse Babylon may speak
of Rome.
6. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and
with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with
great admiration.
Religion always persecutes the truth.
In the Tribulation, they will use their power to
eliminate those who are born again and who believe the truth.
Here we see the attitude of religion toward Bible
truths.
“Drunken with the blood of the saints” means that she
was saturated with power and ruthlessness. This speaks of the martyrs of the
Tribulation.
“When I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.”
This really means, “When I saw her, I was utterly shocked.”
Shocked at her tremendous power and at the slaughter
she brought to the world.
In the next few verses, John is going to explain why he
was shocked and amazed.
7. ¶ And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I
will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her,
which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
“Angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel” or,
John, why are you shocked?
“I will tell thee the mystery of the woman.” The woman
is the dictator of the revived Roman empire.
“That carrieth her” is the interdenominational
religious system.
“Ten horns” are the ten federated nations that make up
the revived Roman empire.
8. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend
out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the
earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the
foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and
yet is.
This beast is the same one referred to in 11:7 as
coming out of the abyss. It is said to
carry the harlot, and is described as having seven heads and ten horns.
Remember, John wrote this in A.D. 95.
This was toward the end of the Augustine era of Rome.
Julius Caesar had been killed and replaced by the Flavian Caesars. They will
rule from A.D. 96 to 192. This was Rome’s greatest era. Other rulers came to Rome and the Roman
empire lasted until A.D. 476.
“The beast that thou sawest was” Was is in the imperfect tense and it means came to a close.
“Was” until A.D. 476.
“And is not” came to a close.
“Shall ascend out of the bottomless pit” means it shall
arise. This is the revived Roman empire at the end time.
“Bottomless pit” refers to satanic forces. Bottomless
pit is used because the dictator has a league with Satan and is evil as Satan.
“Perdition” refers to judgments that are coming. Christ will come and destroy him and throw
him into perdition.
“They that dwell on the earth shall wonder”
“Whose names were not written in the book of
life.” Every member of the human race
has his name written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. But if one does not believe in Christ, his name
is rubbed out of the book, and at the end time those names in the book of life
are only those who have been born again.
Book of life in eternity, only names of believers. It ends up as the “Lambs Book of Life.”
Book of works in Revelation 20:11-15 contains the names
of unbelievers.
“From the foundation of the world.” This phrase simply
means from the ultimate source of God.
“Beast that was” refers to the Roman empire that
existed until A.D. 476.
“And is not” refers to the Roman empire coming to a
close.
“And yet is” refers to the future of the Roman empire,
it will rise again.
9. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are
seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
The scripture here interprets itself. The seven heads of this beast are seven
mountains.
Rome is called the city of seven hills because the city
is built on seven mountains.
“Here is the mind which hath wisdom.” Here is one who
has been listening.
“Seven heads” refers to the seven nations that have
ruled Israel. (Discussed in verse 3).
“Seven mountains.” In history mountains symbolized
empires or governments, but in this verse, it means nations.
10. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and
the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
The identification of the seven heads of the Beast,
however, is symbolic of seven kings.
These apparently have something to do with Rome.
“Seven kings” are heads of seven nations. The same
seven that has ruled Israel.
“Five are fallen.” They are Egypt, Assyria, Babylon,
Persia, and Greece.
This must indicate a selective list of kings prior to
John’s day (more than seven had ruled); one is John’s contemporary, and one is
yet to come.
“And one is” The one that is, is the one that existed
during the moment that was spoken to John and that being the Roman empire that
ruled in A.D. 95.
The Beast himself is identified as the eighth king,
whose doom is certain.
“And the other is not yet come.” This is the revived
Roman empire at the end time.
“When he cometh,
he must continue a short space” means the revived Roman empire will only rule a
short time at the end time. This refers
to the seven year Tribulation.
11. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth,
and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
“Beast that was” Roman empire that ruled in the time of
John.
“And is not” came to a close in A.D. 95. It did not
completely die, because it will be revived.
“Even he is the eighth.” This beast comes out of the
seventh thus it is called the eighth.
“And is of the seven” means he comes from the seventh
kingdom.
12. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which
have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the
beast.
The horns of the Beast are ten kings (Dan 7:23-24).
These form the nucleus of the Beast’s power.
Their power is subject to the Beast’s.
“Ten horns” refers to the ten federated nations that
make up the revived Roman empire.
“Ten kings” are the leaders of these ten nations.
“Which have received no kingdom as yet.” This means
when John was writing this, these nations had not and have not as of now risen
to form the revived Roman empire.
“But receive power as kings one hour.” One hour refers
to the seven year Tribulation and then only will these kings receive power.
This expression is to be understood as meaning unity of purpose not
brevity of time. These ten kings are
unified under the power of the Beast.
“With the beast” The beast here is the anti-Christ or
dictator of the revived Roman empire and these ten kings and nations will reign
for a short time in the dominion of the beast.
13. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength
unto the beast.
“These have one mind.” This means they all have the
same goal, that is to rule the world.
“Shall give their power and strength unto the beast”
refers to their dedication to the beast and displays their strong leadership.
Such unity of purpose will cause the ten kings to give
their power and strength unto the beast.
All the resources and armies of these ten nations and their kings are at
the disposal of the Beast.
They all blended into one international unit or one
world government.
They use whatever means they desire to cause people to
bow down to the beast.
14. ¶ These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall
overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are
with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
“These shall make war with the Lamb” These in this verse are the ten nation
federation or the revived Roman empire and the dictator.
The Beast attempted to proclaim himself king and exert
lordship over the nations of the world, but nothing can alter the fact that
Jesus Christ is Lord of lords, and King of kings.
“Lamb” in this verse is Christ.
The man of sin leads the kings and nations to war with
Christ.
“And the Lamb shall overcome them.” This is the second
coming of Christ.
“Lord of lords” speaks of His deity.
“King of kings” speaks of His humanity.
This is the stone of Daniel 2:45.
“They that are with him are called.” These are the Old
Testament saints.
The
faithful and chosen on the Lord’s side anticipate a complete victor, and they
shall have it.
“Chosen” refers to the church age saints.
“Faithful” refers to the Bride of Christ.
When this happens, all believers will be there.
15. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where
the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
“The waters which thou sawest.” Waters refer to the
nations of people.
Peoples and multitudes refer to races.
Nations refers to geographical units.
Tongues refer to languages and dialects.
The religious system of ecclesiastical Babylon is
described as a harlot sitting on many waters.
She is portrayed as committing spiritual fornication with the
inhabitants of the earth.
We have already noted that in the book of Revelation
the figure of a woman symbolizes religion.
Jezebel represents the pagan idolatry of the past
(2:20), the sunclothed woman represents Israel (12:1), the bride of Christ
represents the true church (21:9), and here we have the great harlot
representing the false church.
The woman is arrayed in purple and scarlot, bedecked
with gold and precious stones and pearls (17:4). That the woman is sitting upon
seven mountains, which usually refers to the city of Rome, makes it difficult
to escape the conclusion that this woman refers to the Roman Catholic Church.
Even though the Roman Church may be the basis for
ecclesiastical Babylon, there are certainly Protestant churches, Moslem
temples, Jewish synagogues and other forms of religions involved here.
This false system of worship described as the great
harlot will include many groups as well as the mother church. This is the interdenominational movement at
its height. Here we see one world
church, based in Rome (religious Babylon) and practicing a system of worship
which began back in ancient Babylon.
The one-world church movement is part of the program of
Anti-christ. Ecclesiastical Babylon symbolizes
apostate religion, religion without the power or presence of the Holy Spirit.
This composite, apostate church will make political
alliances with the nations in order to gain power. The fact that she rules over peoples, and
multitudes, and nations, and tongues is proof positive that this will indeed be
a politically minded interdenominational church.
But what will be the future of this ecclesiastical
Babylon?
What is to become of the one-world church movement and
this idolatrous church?
16. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these
shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her
flesh, and burn her with fire.
“Ten horns” represents the political side of the
revived Roman empire.
“These shall hate the whore.” The political side of the
empire makes a split from the religious side of the empire.
The point is the church and state cannot survive
together.
“Shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her
flesh, and burn her with fire.” This is like a civil war. The political side
will strip the religious side of her wealth, burn her so-called churches and
cathedrals with fire, and try to remove all her power. This will be terrible
and the political side will shed much blood.
By comparing other scriptures, we may place this
annihilation of the one-world church midway through the seven years of the
Tribulation. During the first half of
this period religious freedom is extended to all. All the religions of the world, apart from
those who remain true to Christ, will gather in one great world church. The climax of this gathering is seen in the
pomp and ceremony of the harlot riding on the Beast.
With the revival of the Roman Empire, the Beast no
longer needs the church to sustain his power. Thus he destroys the world church
and substitutes the worship of himself.
The false system of religion called Babylon, the harlot, will vanish,
and the Beast will be unchallenged as world leader and his False Prophet as
world religious leader.
Using the power he has over the ten horns, the league
of ten nations, Anti-christ will utterly destroy all forms of religion, even
the apostate Christianity known as ecclesiastical Babylon centered in the
church of Rome.
17. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to
agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be
fulfilled.
Notice whose will is being done. (It is God’s will.)
This verse says God has a plan in history and even
though man tries to rise up and altar that plan, he cannot.
God will win the victory. The devil and all his forces
are losers.
Religion will damn those who hold to it.
All of this is in the will and plan of God. God has never been pleased with systems of
worship which do not give Him His rightful place, and counterfeit or divert the
honor that is due only to God.
Therefore the interdenominational movement and those
Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Moslem, and other groups so intimately
involved in it are doomed to be destroyed by the Antichrist after he has used
them to gain world rulership.
18. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which
reigneth over the kings of the earth.
“Woman” here is the beast and his religious system.
“That great city.” This is the city of Rome, the great
seat of the false religions of the earth.
Just what will be the status of the Roman Catholic
Church at that time, I do not know.
“Which reigneth over the kings of the earth”. This
verse reminds us of the power this anti-Christ has over the powers of this
world.
THE REVELATION: A MOST BELOVED BOOK
The book of Revelation is one of the most beloved books
of the Scriptures. In fact, it seems to have a life of its own, as increasing
numbers of seeking souls all over the world are intrigued by it, endeavor to
delve into it and seek to ascertain its meaning.
The book was given to John about 60 years after Jesus
ascended (Acts 1:9-11) up to Heaven.
This book has 22 chapters, 404 verses and about 12,000 words.
REVELATION IS A BOOK OF SEVENS
There is such a thing as Bible arithmetic “gematria”,
and most of the numbers in the Scriptures have spiritual meanings. One of the
most significant numbers in the Scriptures is the number seven.
The number 7 is especially noticeable in Revelation.
Here we find it 44 times.
·
7 time the “overcomers” are
mentioned.
·
A book or scroll is said to have 7
seals.
·
7 beatitudes and a sevenfold song
of praise.
·
7 churches appear and a letter
addressed to each one.
·
We read of 7 candlesticks or
lampstands.
·
There are 7 spirits and 7 stars.
·
There is a sevenfold description
of Christ, 7 angels, 7 trumpets
·
Sevenfold description of the
locusts which are disguised demons.
·
We note also 7 thunders, 7,000 men
slain, 7 heads and crowns, a 7-headed beast, a sevenfold description of the
144,000 with the Lord
·
7 angels and 7 plagues of wrath, 7
vials poured out upon the earth, 7 crowns of the dragon
·
Babylon the world capital is built
upon seven mountains.
·
7 dooms: Babylon, beast, false
prophet, kings, God and Magog, Satan and the unbelieving dead.
·
7 new things: new Heaven, new earth, new people, new
Jerusalem, new temple, new light and a new paradise.
·
Some of the most important words
in the Bible are found in Revelation 7 times and only 7 times. Some of these are: blessed, church, cloud and
clouds, earthquakes, horses, light, patience, people, prophecy, quickly,
repent, Satan, sharp, sickle, tree, worthy, world, wine, etc.
The name “God” is found 99 times in the Revelation, 7
times in chapters 3, 7, 16, and 22.
The word come
is found 50 times in the book including 7 times in chapter 22.
The word angel
is used 51 times in the book, including 7 times in chapter 8 and also in
chapter 16.
The word angels
is found 23 times in the book.
The word heaven
is used 56 times in Revelation.
References:
Clark, Neal. Survey of the Book of Revelation. Pensacola,
Florida: Thee WFBI Press, 1999. Print.
Falwell, Jerry. Liberty Commentary on the New Testament.
Lynchburg, VA: Liberty Press, 1978. Print.
