(tm)The Judgment of Babylon the Great
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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: 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. 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. 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: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. (Revelation 17:1-5)
The "great whore" is organized religion, as we understand it. Organized religion, particularly in the case of the Christian religion, is a whore because it sells to the highest bidder that which God has given to His people as an act of love. The spirit of Babylon is in every religious organization from the largest to the smallest.
When considering the Christian religion we must keep in mind that God never intended Christianity to be a religion separate from Judaism. The one true religion of the world is Judaism. All the prophets and apostles of the Scriptures were of Israel.
The Lord Jesus Christ did not come to create another religion. Jesus came to bring eternal life and spiritual fulfillment to the elect of God. The Gentiles do not constitute a separate church. The elect Gentiles are to be grafted into the one true olive tree, into Judaism.
By Judaism we do not mean the body of traditions that have proceeded from the rabbis. We are referring to that which came from God through the Prophets. We believe the Hebrew-Greek Scriptures are the voice of God to man. They do not point toward two religions. There only is one religion, one Body of Christ, one Anointed of God.
In the last days the true saints will return to Israel; not to the Israel of the Talmud but to the Israel of the holy Scriptures. God has spoken in the Scriptures, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. But men have grievously changed the Scriptures in favor of religions understandable to men and which can be operated by human wisdom, talent, and effort.
The great whore "sitteth upon many waters." Organized Christianity can be found in many different countries of the world.
Throughout the Christian Era the large denominations have engaged in murder and politics. The Roman Catholic Church has an atrocious record of murdering the saints of the Lord. Multitudes of dissenters have been murdered by the Catholic Church. One wonders if the Catholic hierarchy ever has truly repented of the blood of Jesus’ lambs that is on its hands. Or does it justify the slaying of the innocent as being the will of Christ?
Our God, the Judge of Heaven, has never forgotten the torture and murder of the little ones who placed their trust in Jesus. The Day of Vengeance is at hand. Woe to those who have tortured and slain the innocent who trusted in God’s Son!
The Christian Church, the Bride of the Lamb, has no business torturing and murdering people or engaging in politics. The world is the world and the Church is the Church. The Church is the prophet of God among men and represents the Kingdom of Heaven—the Kingdom governed by God in Christ and which soon is to be installed on the earth.
Even today the major denominations, being of the spirit of Babylon, seek to influence the secular governments in order to obtain security and advantage. The true task of the Christian churches is to reveal the moral light of good works and to bear witness to the leaders of the world of the righteousness of God and the soon coming of the Divine Kingdom (Revelation 10:11).
"The inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication" means that the intercourse of the Christian organizations with the world leaders causes moral drunkenness, confusion, and instability, on the part of earth’s people. Like a drunken person the nations stagger about in their own moral vomit, all because the Christian organizations are not willing to keep themselves as pure virgins before the Lord Jesus Christ.
John was carried "into the wilderness" in order to see the great whore.
The purpose of organizing the Christian people is to produce order and system, to keep out false doctrine, to prevent the people from being scattered, to promote the preaching of the Gospel.
To the administrative eye it may appear the organization has attained its goal. But in the spirit realm the opposite is the case. Christian organizations often dwell in a wilderness of their own making. Instead of order there is confusion. Instead of system there is waste. There is an abundance of traditions and false doctrine. The people are "drunk," being spiritually and morally confused. The Gospel of the Kingdom is not preached. In its place the plans and ambitions of the organization are stressed.
The great whore sits in a spiritual wilderness.
The woman rides on a "scarlet-coloured beast" because Babylon sometimes encourages the secular governments to murder God’s true saints, just as the Pharisees encouraged the representative of Rome to murder the Lord Jesus. Organized Christianity often persecutes those individuals whom God calls to Himself because they do not come under the control of the organization. They are a threat to the security, to the hierarchy of power, of the organization.
The leaders of organized Christianity perceive themselves to be God’s spokesmen. They resist anyone who is not submissive to the ranks of authority of their hierarchy. They believe that all who do not submit themselves to them are of the devil—and often say so. In the past they have enlisted the help of the government in suppressing all those of whom they do not approve. They may do so again in the future.
As we stated previously, whenever Christian people seek to serve God in their own soul apart from "losing their life" for Christ’s sake and the Gospel’s, they have a weak spot in their personality through which Satan can enter. This is why violent persecution of Christian people who actually are abiding in Christ sometimes comes from other Christian people who are living in self-will.
It is not often that God speaks through the leadership of a Christian organization. Rather, God tends to warn and guide His Church through the night by means of His "stars," His gifted apostles and prophets.
God ordinarily does not fit His apostles and prophets into a Christian hierarchy. Apostles and prophets are intensely personal in their communion with the Lord, looking to Him and not to man for their directions, authority, and power. Can you imagine Elisha as part of a religious organization? Or the Apostle Paul? Babylon, organized Christianity, mistrusts, hates, and murders God’s true apostles and prophets.
The spirit of Babylon has been with the elect since Israel became a nation. Israel always murders her prophets and the same often is true of the Christian churches.
The "names of blasphemy" portray the contempt Christian organizations display toward the Lord Jesus, toward the work of His Spirit, and toward His true saints. The organized churches are devout in their beginning. But they soon begin to despise and condemn every new act of the Holy Spirit. Such contempt for the Lord and His work, for the Holy Spirit of God, has appeared in Christian organizations throughout the Christian Era and is present today.
The seven heads and ten horns of the beast on which the whore sits symbolize her involvement with Antichrist and the governments and kings of the earth.
Babylon is arrayed in purple and scarlet because she considers herself to be a queen. Every Christian organization, with the exception of some of the smaller charitable and missionary groups, believes itself to be God’s favorite—the lord of the universe and the rightful heir of the name and possessions of Christ Himself.
The gold, precious stones, and pearls speak of the desire of the Christian churches for wealth and finery. This desire for wealth and luxury may be observed in the headquarters and major edifices of the larger Christian organizations and in the love of the leaders for wealth and finery—their expectations of the rewards that attend ecclesiastical position. Ordinarily, Christian leaders are not followers of Saint Francis of Assisi.
The "gold cup full of abominations" refers to the fact that the great whore pretends to partake of the life of her Lord but instead is drinking the filth of her own murders and immoralities.
Babylon has been a "mystery" for two thousand years; but now the eyes of the saints are being opened and we can see the difference between being a humble follower of the Lord Jesus, and being an integral part of the ambitions of organized Christianity.
By no means are we ignoring the multitudes of godly souls who labor faithfully in the various Christian organizations. They love the Lord. They give their money, their time, their strength—sometimes their lives in the service of Jesus. In the last days, Christ will withdraw His true saints from Babylon. Then she will be void of the Presence of the Lord, and finally will be burned and totally destroyed.
Babylon the great is the mother of prostitutes. Those who are born of her are lewd, being willing to sell the blessings of God to any who will give wealth and advantage in return.
We hear the spirit of Babylon today as television preachers tell their listeners how much God loves them (although the Spirit of God is crying, "judgment!"), and then beg for money so they may tell other people how much God loves them. The television preachers gain much money and status. They live in fine homes and drive expensive automobiles. They are selling the Lord’s blessing for money.
The "abominations of the earth" proceed in part from the whoredom of organized Christianity. Instead of being the prophet of God among men the major Christian organizations become involved in the amassing of wealth and also in the seeking of political power. The result is confusion and abominations instead of the bearing of the true witness of Christ.
Babylon is the mother of fornication and abominations of all kinds. From ancient times organized religions have competed with secular governments for the allegiance of people and sometimes have worked in cooperation with the governments in order to keep the populace subdued. Organized religion has burned children as sacrifices, promoted temple prostitution, built cathedrals on the backs of the poor, robbed widows, left orphans homeless, and slain prophets and wise men.
It was organized religion that called for the murder of Jesus of Nazareth when the representative of the Roman government would have set Him free. It was organized religion that sought the death of the Apostles. Organized religion has tortured and martyred the godly throughout the Christian Era.
In the last days organized religion will work hand in hand with Antichrist in the seduction of the earth’s peoples, causing them to worship the gods of Babylon. Finally Antichrist himself will declare he is the one true God and require the worship of the inhabitants of the earth. But he will be struck down as was King Herod (Acts 12:23; Daniel 8:25; 11:45).
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. (Revelation 17:16)
The ten kings, being filled with the spirit of Antichrist, finally will turn against the worldwide Christian organization and destroy it from the face of the earth. The God of Heaven will exercise His righteous judgment by permitting wicked men to destroy each other.
We think the world Christian organization that is coming will swallow up the smaller denominations, forcing the sincere believers who are members of the denominations to see through the "mystery" and to flee from the whore with all true saints.
The light of the Holy Spirit of God, and the voice of the Lamb and His Wife, will depart from the whore, from organized Christianity, and never again will be found in her. The spirit of denominationalism, of kingdom building, will be judged and destroyed by the Lord God.
The worldwide Christian organization will be done away for it has no part in the new heaven and earth reign of Christ.
And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in the heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. (Revelation 19:1-3)
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