Friday, January 3 - Revelation 17

THE PROSTITUTE

The prostitute described in this chapter seems to be an image of the fallen/apostate church.  It once knew the truths of God and taught them to men, but got corrupted by the sinfulness of the world and the false theologies that were perpetuated by evil men.  Now, under the guise of "religion" it leads people astray.  It is no longer connected to Christ, but instead is in league with the Beast, the False Prophet, and the fallen/secular powers of the evil world.

How did this happen?

Satan is clever and uses his wiles to mislead even those who have risen to places of leadership in the Church -- in fact, Satan tries especially hard to gain "disciples" from those who once were disciples of Christ.

Let this serve as a warning to all Christians.  There will be a "church" of the future which does not cling to the truths of God's Word, but rather seeks its own ends serving a corrupt leadership.  It will have the sound of religion, but will so twist the meaning of faith that it will bear little resemblance to the actual Church of Jesus Christ.

BEWARE of this church.  It is a prostitute that is sleeping with the Enemy.  It will pander to your sinful desires and mislead you by calling evil "good" and portraying the good as foolishness.

Instead, cling to the Word -- let it mold you rather than being your own judge and jury over it.  And let it always lead you to Christ, the ONLY Savior from sin and death.  With Him as your fortress, you will prevail over Satan's fake theologies.

==================================================

Babylon, the Prostitute on the Beast

  One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. ² With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”

³ Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. ⁵ The name written on her forehead was a mystery:

babylon the great

the mother of prostitutes

and of the abominations of the earth.

⁶ I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.

When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. ⁷ Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. ⁸ The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.
⁹ “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. ¹⁰ They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. ¹¹ The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
¹² “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. ¹³ They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast.¹⁴ They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”
¹⁵ Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. ¹⁶ The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. ¹⁷ For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. ¹⁸ The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”