The Harlotry of Babylon

Transcript

GR 1557
02/21/10
The Harlotry of Babylon
Revelation 17:1-6
Gil Rugh

We're ready to look into Revelation 17 together and I want to just read a couple of statements to you as a background. It ties together with what we've been studying in our studies earlier today in the book of Romans and where we're going in Revelation 17. It has to do with apostate religious activity. In our day there is a great move to bring everybody together, unity is the though. A thought that has been prominent in our day is joining Catholics and evangelicals together. Some years ago a book was written about evangelical Catholics which are an oxymoron. I don't believe it is possible if the word “evangelical” carries its full biblical weight and being a Roman Catholic carries its full significance. But this evangelical writer writing the introduction to this book says, “Only in recent years have the terms evangelical and Catholic been joined. The church has often been plagued by wars within her walls, crippling her in her battle against the encroaching armies of secularism.” So you see now the great enemy of the church is secularism and the church is broad. And that would include Catholics and Protestants. “But if we are battling together we can't stand against secularism. But at root those who are called of God whether Catholic or Protestant are part of the same body. What they share is a belief in the basics, the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, His bodily resurrection, His imminent return and the authority of His infallible word. They have also shared the same mission presenting Christ as Savior and Lord to a needy world.” That is not true. We've seen in our study of Romans 3:21 and down into Romans 4, the evangelical Christian in the biblical sense is one who understands that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And yet the Roman Catholic church still holds to the dogmas of the Council of Trent that say anyone who teaches that salvation is by faith alone is anathema. And you cannot be evangelical and be Roman Catholic because you believe that if you teach that salvation is by faith alone you are cursed of God to hell. And yet that's the very teaching of the book of Romans.

This person goes on, and again you would recognize his name if I mentioned it to you, within the evangelical world. “It is high time that all of us who are Christians come together regardless of the difference of our confessions and our traditions, and make common cause to bring Christian values to bear in our society.” Is that what the church is about? Bringing Christian values? I thought we were bringing Christ to our society, that God justifies the ungodly as we were told in Romans. Bringing Christian values, you try to get the world to live like Christians regardless of whether they've experienced the power of the gospel in changing lives? “When the barbarians are scaling the walls, there is no time for petty quarreling in the camp.” So now battles over justification by faith alone are reduced to petty quarreling because the barbarians are scaling the wall. The barbarians are those who deny justification by faith alone, they're the great threat to evangelical Christianity.

So this evangelical says the Roman Catholic writer of this book is truly orthodox in his adherence to Catholic doctrine and fully evangelical in his relationship to Christ and His creation. That is not possible. I was almost late coming in this evening because I was reading my Roman Catholic Catechism. I was reading on justification, reading on being in grace. If you are truly orthodox in your adherence to Catholic doctrine, you cannot be evangelical in your relationship to Christ. You don't believe in salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. How can you be evangelical? How can a person make such conflicting statements? A person can’t be truly orthodox in Catholic doctrine and fully evangelical in his relationship to Christ. Not possible.

But he says he is doing a wonderful work building alliances against our mutual enemy. So now the enemy is secular society, secular humanism, whereas when we come to the word of God the enemy is always those who corrupt the truth of God's plan of salvation and deny it.

We come to Revelation 17 and we have man in his rebellion against God reaching its climax. Come back to Romans 1:18-25: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power, and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds, and four-footed animals and crawling creatures….For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

Remind ourselves that in man's rejection of the true and living God, he does not stop being religious, he does not give up worship. I know we have organizations promoting atheism and so on. But basically man is given to worship. But we don't want to get confused. The issue is not are people religious or not religious, do they have faith or not have faith. The issue is do they worship the true and living God by having their faith in Him and the Savior He has provided. Man rejects God as He has revealed Himself but creates his own god. And the climax of that is in Revelation 17 where we come to the culmination of this world's rejection of the true and living God and God's ultimate judgment on that religious system.

We are in the final series of judgments in the seven years leading up to the return of Christ to the earth. The return will take place in the last part of Revelation 19, the seven bowl judgments and the seventh bowl is the final one in those judgments. It will bring judgment on Babylon as well as other judgments that will take place. But we read in Revelation 16:19: “And the great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.” And Babylon, the city of satan, where all of his work in establishing a kingdom to usurp the role of Christ is now focused. The religious activity of the world, the political activity, the commercial activity, will all center in Babylon and the false Christ that Satan has established there.

Back in Revelation 14 an announcement was made in anticipation of the destruction of Babylon and we read in verse 8: “And another angel, a second one followed saying, ‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.’” And that's what we'll be picking up with in chapter 17. Babylon and the Babylonian system has been the source of corruption, spiritual corruption as well as corruption in all areas. Now it will come under judgment.

Come back to Revelation 17. This judgment is drawn out; it has been announced in anticipation. We saw in chapter 14 the seventh bowl, part of the judgment of the seventh bowl is the destruction of Babylon. That will take all of chapter 17, all of chapter 18, and the first ten verses of chapter 19. So God draws out in some detail His final judgment on this satanic system that has been the source of satanic corruption in the world for so many years.

What he's going to do is in the first six verses John sees a vision of the harlot on the beast and then in verses 7-18 he gives the interpretation of what it means. So it's not going to be difficult because the interpretation will be given for us. We won't get it all in tonight, but we'll look at the first part of chapter 17.

Look how it begins, verse 1: “And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me saying…” So what we have in the destruction of Babylon as recorded particularly in chapters 17-18 is part of the seventh bowl, it's fitting that one of the angels who had poured out the seven bowls comes to explain it and show it to John in its detail. This becomes an indication that the seventh bowl judgment is continuing on here, and we'll see it continues on really into chapter 22. And we'll note more of that as we move along. So this is part of the seventh bowl. It was announced in Revelation 16:19 when the bowl is turned over, “Babylon the great was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.” Now one of those seven angels, we don't know whether it's the seventh angel, who poured out the seven bowls, it just says one of the seven. Revelation 17:1 continues: “Come here I shall show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters.”

Turn over to Revelation 21:9: “And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls…” which again is an indication that even over here now with the revelation of the New Jerusalem, this is part of what was contained in the seven bowls, which complete the judgments of the seven-sealed scroll and all that it contained. And it's the exact same expression at the end of verse 9, “come here and I will show you.” That's the statement we had in Revelation 17:1, “come here, I will show you.” And in 17:1, I show you Babylon and its destruction. In Revelation 21:9: “…Come here, I shall show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb” which is the New Jerusalem. So a number of commentators talk about this portion of John as being the tale of two cities—Babylon the great and the New Jerusalem. Babylon the great, the city of this world, the satanic focus of satan's work in the world and the New Jerusalem, a culmination of God's plan for His redeemed creation. What a stark contrast there is.

Babylon, back in chapter 17, is identified as the great harlot who sits upon many waters. This is the judgment of the great harlot. That's the theme of chapters 17-18. The great harlot, Babylon the great, it is coming under judgment. That's what all of chapters 17-18 will be about—judgment on Babylon and its destruction. This woman, the harlot, down in verse 18 is identified as “the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.” So again the interpretation given to us, we know what this harlot represents. And it's a harlot because of the corruption that she has brought.

She sits on many waters. Now turn back to Jeremiah 51, which is all about the destruction of Babylon. That will continue the theme of this judgment. But look at verse 13, talking about the judgment on Babylon. The chapter opened up, verse 1: “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold I am going to arouse against Babylon…” Then you come down to verse 13: “O you who dwell by many waters, abundant in treasures, your end has come, the measure of your end.” So the destruction of Babylon is identified as the one who dwells by many waters. Babylon is on the Euphrates and the many canals and lakes that were drawn off that puts Babylon there at the waters.

But back in Revelation 17 the waters are significant. Now with Babylon being identified with that prophecy in Jeremiah 51 as the city that sits on many waters, but here the waters are identified as representing something. We saw that down in verse 18, “the woman who you saw is the great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.” Back up to verse 15: “…The waters which you saw where the harlot sits are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.” So the waters represent a people here, specifically peoples, multitudes, nations, tongues. Verse 18 says that this woman reigns over the kings of the earth. So very prominent and dominant role this woman plays.

Back in verse 2: “with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality.” This great harlot, the great whore has been shown to be involved in her immorality, her corrupting of the kings of the earth. Nations are corrupted by their involvement with her. That word for harlotry or immorality is used five times in chapter 17; there is a strong emphasis here on this immoral corrupting influence. It's not new. In the Old Testament prophets often a pagan city is identified as a harlot because of its corrupting influence on people.

Go back to Nahum 3. Here we're talking about Ninevah as the city. Verse 1: “Woe to the bloody city completely full of lies and pillage…” Come down to verse 4: “All because of the many harlotries of the harlot, the charming one, the mistress of sorceries who sells nations by her harlotries and families by her sorceries. ‘Behold I am against you,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘And I will lift up your skirts over your face, and show the nations your nakedness, and to the kingdoms your disgrace.’” You see the picture of the religious corruption: it brings with their sorceries and so on. So Ninevah with its dominance in the world, it also spreads its corruption through the world. And so those nations who become involved with this city, this kingdom, and this power are corrupted by it. And God is preparing to judge them accordingly.

Go back to Jeremiah 51; we talk about Jeremiah 51-52 being about the destruction of Babylon. In Jeremiah 51:7-8: “Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, intoxicating all the earth. The nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are going mad. Suddenly Babylon has fallen, and been broken. Wail over her...” But you see the picture there of intoxicating all the earth. The nations have become drunk with their wine, participating in her harlotry and her corruption pervades. Down in verses 17-18: “All mankind is stupid, devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his molten images are deceitful. And there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of mockery; in the time of their punishment they will perish.” Down to verse 24: “But I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all their evil that they have done in Zion…” God is against them.

God referred to Jerusalem as a harlot as well, for her unfaithfulness to Him in Isaiah 1:21, Ezekiel 16 and 23. The picture of cities being like whores is common out of Old Testament prophecy. Because of the power and influence they exert, they corrupt the world, they spread their influence, they spread their paganism; they spread their idolatry. And the result is the world is being corrupted.

Come back to Revelation 17:2: “with whom the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality.” But pervasive influence, that ungodly corrupting influence has been going on. Now we'll say more about this in just a moment. Obviously the city of Babylon hasn't existed with this kind of power continuously, but that religious corruption that is now centered in Babylon as we get to the end times has found its source in the Babylonian system.

And this corruption is complete. The spiritual and religious corruption is foundational to corruption in every other area then, which leads to a political corruption that we have here in this portion of the tribulation—the worship of the Antichrist, the beast who has declared himself to be god in the flesh by setting up himself in the temple, showing himself to be god. So now the political corruption and commercial activity, everything is corrupted. Sin is pervasive. The rejection of the living God permeates everything.

Look at verse 3: “And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.” Perhaps “carried away into the wilderness” is a reference to Babylon's location. In Isaiah 21, another one of those passages on Babylon, verse 1: “The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea…” Isaiah 21:9: “…fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the images of her gods are shattered on the ground.” But it starts out, the oracle concerning Babylon, is identified the oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea because as you move out from Babylon into the surrounding region you are out in the wilderness. So that may be the significance in Revelation 17:3 where he carried me into the wilderness.

Revelation 13:1: “…I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads and on its horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.” That's the beast she is riding on. So the woman is not the beast, but the woman is in the prominent, dominant position at this period of time in relation to the beast. Riding the beast, like riding a horse that shows the dominant position and influence that this woman has a position of authority. She is being supported by him, but she is exerting influence and authority over him at this point. We saw back in Revelation 13:1 the same thing; the beast has seven heads and ten horns. And rather than review what that is about we'll wait until the interpretation is given to us in the last part of chapter 17, which we won't do in our study at this time, but in our next study. The seven heads referring to kingdoms and the ten kings referring to that final alliance in this seven-year period that will give rise to the Antichrist. But we'll work the details of that out.

This woman’s relation then to the beast is very prominent, very influential, and very powerful. Revelation 17:4: “And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abomination and of the unclean things of her immorality.” Harlotry has paid well, she is a successful whore; she has done well because in the corruption she has spread she has been well paid. And so the kings of the earth have supported her in her immorality.

She has in her hand a gold cup and the cup is full of all the vile things, a gold cup full of abomination, unclean things of her immorality. This woman is characterized by all that is repulsive to God, that activity of man we read about in Romans 1:18 where the wrath of God is being poured out on men as they suppress the truth of God that He has revealed about Himself. But as they reject the living God, they have created their own gods or the idols. And this woman has been important in promoting this, in encouraging this, and drawing people into this worship. So she has this gold cup, but it is filled with all kinds of vileness, her immorality. Constant emphasis on immorality in the picture and that's why you have adultery, immorality. The picture is spiritual unfaithfulness, this is a religious picture here of unfaithfulness to God, opposition to the true and living God, the God to whom they should give their allegiance, their worship, whom they should honor. We know the God who created them; they are drawn into all the vileness this woman offers.

Revelation 17:5: “and upon her forehead a name was written, a mystery…” Now that word “mystery” is not part of the name. Some Bibles may have mystery capitalized along with Babylon the great. But the name is a mystery, that mystery is not part of the name. Back in 14:8 we read, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great.” That's the name of the woman, Babylon the great. It doesn't say in 14:8, fallen, fallen is mystery Babylon the great. A mystery is something that would not be understood without revelation. A mystery is going to be unfolded regarding the woman who is identified as Babylon the great. Over in 18:2 we have the same statement, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great.” But the mystery is the identification. We wouldn't know and understand this if God didn't tell us. We are getting information to unfold to us the battle that has been going on in the spirit world. Remember Ephesians 6, we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers, against the spiritual forces of this darkness in the heavenlies. Satan's operation and his continued relentless opposition to God to usurp the place of God, and now we have unfolded something of his plan. And it is a brilliant plan. There is even in the angelic world as we have noted a respect and recognition of the position that satan once had. Remember in Jude, Michael the archangel didn't even bring a railing accusation against Lucifer. “The Lord rebuke you.” He's a powerful, brilliant, intelligent spirit being and he has had an ongoing plan for millenniums that he has been working in the world in opposition to God's plan.

So it's Babylon the great. That's the revelation of the mystery. Who is this woman? It's Babylon the great and it's a city, a literal city, but this city is the focal point now in the culmination of all the wickedness, all the opposition to God in false worship in the worship of demons and the devil. As Paul told the Corinthians in I Corinthians 10, all false worship ultimately is the worship of demons. That's why we are to have nothing to do with that. So here it all now is centered, and it is a system that has gone on. But now it is a city because we're told in verse 18, the woman whom you saw is the great city. Now again the city of Babylon hasn't maintained such influence ongoing, but we're talking about Babylon. And it has the beginning, and here we are at its ending. And this city and the corruption of it has been perpetual down through history.

Revelation 17:5: “…Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth.” What does satan want? He wants worship. What did he tell Jesus in the temptation? Fall down and worship me and I'll give you all the kingdoms of this world. What does he want? Worship. Worship me and I'll let you rule the kingdoms of this world under me, of course, because you bow before me and worship me. That's Satan's plan, that has been his continual plan.

I take it what is being identified is Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth. This takes us all the way back to the opening chapters of Genesis and the corruption that started there in its full blown way in being centered in the city of Babylon and has continued to spread itself down to our present day. And we'll come to a culmination with the reconstruction of the city of Babylon on the Euphrates as the center of satan's empire in the world during these closing years leading to the Second Coming of Christ.

Come back to Genesis 10. You have the flood of Noah covered in chapters 6-8. Then in chapter 9 Noah receives what we call the Noahic Covenant. Verses 9-12: “Now behold I Myself do establish My covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every living creature that is with you…And I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth…This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you for all successive generations.” And the rainbow will be the sign. And we see the rainbow. Verse 15: “and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature, never again shall water become a flood to destroy all flesh.” He doesn't say there won't be floods, but there won't be a worldwide flood like there was in the days of Noah to destroy the earth. So wherever global warming goes or doesn't go, but the icecaps aren't going to melt and the earth will not be flooded and everybody is not going to die. We know that because the rainbow guarantees that.

You come to Genesis 10 and you have the records of the generations of the three sons of Noah—Shem, Ham and Japheth. Start out with Japheth and his sons, verse 2, where they settle. You come to verse 6, the sons of Ham and that includes Cush. Then down in verses 8-10: “Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, ‘Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.’ And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel (Babylon)…in the land of Shinar.”

You come over to Genesis 11:1-2: “Now the whole earth used the same language, and the same words. And it came about as they journeyed east…” and what we're going to follow here is the family of Nimrod, because we're told they are in the land of Shinar in verse 2. Well we were told in Genesis 10:10 that the beginning of Nimrod's kingdom was Babylon in the land of Shinar. Verses 3-9: “And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.’ And they used bricks for stone, and they used tar for mortar. And they said, ‘Come let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven and let us make for ourselves a name; lest we be scattered abroad over the whole face of the earth.’ And the Lord came down to see the city, and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, ‘Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do and now nothing which they purposed to do will be impossible for them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language that they may not understand one another's speech.’ So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

So it centers in Nimrod and Babylon, these descendants of Noah moved out together, let's stay together; let's keep ourselves unified. We are going to have one central city, a focal point of worship in the city. God said, ‘this is not good.’ Why not? Isn't it good to have the human race united? Isn't that what we keep hearing today? We ought to bring nations together, races together, people together, and everybody ought to get along. Not a good idea. God knows what happens. You know what happens when we finally get our one-world ruler in the tribulation? We will have one-world religion. Satan's goal here is singular, to replace the plan of God with his plan, which is that he will be god and the world will be united under him, worshiping his man. Not the Son of Man, but the Antichrist. So that's the problem in Genesis 11. Here you have satan moving, it's where Babylon becomes the foundational issue. And out of Babylon will come all kinds of corrupting influences.

We've looked at some of these things before. It's interesting, some of those who have done research and written on what developed out of Babylon and how things that came out of what would have been identified as the Babylonian system. Ancient history says that the wife of Nimrod was a woman named Semeramus and she is credited with starting what is known as the Babylonian mysteries, religious activity. She claimed to have miraculously conceived a son; the son's name was Tammuz. He died, I don't know how, but they claimed that he miraculously came back to life. And it seems we have focused in these Babylonian mysteries, satan's plan to create his counterfeit system. We say, how much does satan know about the future? Evidently, quite a bit. Remember he was there at the beginning. We're told that he walked in the Garden of Eden before the fall in glory and splendor. He knew something of God's plan and has planned from the early days, Genesis 11, an alternative system. And with the resurrection of Tammuz you have developed a worship of the mother and the child, the child miraculously brought to life and he is the one in whom there can be salvation. This mother and child worship, you've heard some of this but it's true in Phoenicia, Egypt, Greece, Italy. Venus and Cupid, it's a form of that. You chase these down and the names are changed. In Greece it was Aphrodite and Eros. This corrupting system that came down and with it the worship that went along.

Turn over to Jeremiah 7. This involved then Semiramis who gave miraculous birth to Tammuz, became identified as the queen of heaven. And so they would make cakes to offer to her as the queen of heaven. And this comes up in the book of Jeremiah 7:18 as God condemns His people for picking up these pagan practices. In fact Jeremiah is told, verses 16-18: “As for you do not pray for this people, and do not lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with Me; for I do not hear you. Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven…” I mean, Babylonian paganism permeated even among the Jews.

Turn over to Jeremiah 44. We have repeated references to the pagan worship of the queen of heaven. Verse 15: “Then all the men who were aware that their wives were burning sacrifices to other gods…” Look at verse 17: “But rather we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, by burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven…” Jeremiah is rebuking them for their sin, but their response is, verse 16: “As for the message you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we are not going to listen to you!” You see this has been a continual, ongoing pattern. Down in verses 18-19: “But since we stopped burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out libations to her, we have lacked everything…the women said, ‘when we were burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring libations to her…’” Verse 25: “thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel as follows, ‘As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled it with your hands saying, ‘We will certainly perform our vows that we have vowed to burn sacrifices to the queen of heaven, and pour out libations to her…’” You'll note this because we have current present day identification of the queen of heaven. So that's nothing new. I mean, this goes back 2500 years in Jeremiah's writing, and it was ongoing then as part of the paganism of Babylon.

Go over to Ezekiel. We come up on Lent. It was when the church became corrupted by paganism that they began to observe the 40 days. Look at Ezekiel 8:14: “Then He brought me to the entrance of the gate of the Lord's house…behold women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.” This was a 40-day period of mourning, bringing up to the festival of Ishtar, which is another name for Semiramis. They are weeping for Tammuz, the son who had died but then he will be resurrected. You see the satanic system that he has anticipated the coming of the Lord's Christ and what would take place there. Here is a spirit being who sat in the council of God in heaven and was made aware of the awesome plan of God evidently, and knows it, and has determined to create his alternative.

Many other things go on. Let me read you something I've read to you before, but still in effect. This is from a Roman Catholic writing, published by Roman Catholics.
These are statements about Mary and her position. “Mary is the ark of salvation built by God on the deluge of our faults so that whoever desires may enter and be saved. Enter into the ark of Mary. It is as important to be devoted to Mary as it is to enter heaven because no one can enter Paradise who is not devoted to Mary. She herself is the book of life from which God will read the names of the elect on the day of judgment. If you're not in Mary your name is not in the book of life.” There are many of these. “It is necessary for us to have a mediator besides Jesus' mediator. And we will never find one more qualified than Mary.” What about, there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus? “When God deeply loves a soul and finds it stained with sin, He covers it with a beautiful mantle that makes it precious to Him. This mantle is Mary.”

You see the queen of heaven has come down to us. We Christianize it but it's been carried into Christendom. We're having the same problem the prophets had to deal with. They were making cakes and worshiping the queen of heaven, and now we're told the queen is Mary. The introduction to this section is Mary is “crowned queen of heaven and earth, dispenser of all graces and our most loving mother. Let us resolve to be devoted to the blessed virgin Mary, asking the gift of perseverance.” She's been crowned queen of heaven. Sounds more like the Babylonian system, doesn't it? We're making cakes to the queen of heaven and God is so offended that He tells the prophet Jeremiah, don't even pray for these people anymore because I won't listen. And yet we're being told by supposed evangelicals that we put aside our differences to combat secularism together.

“All graces pass from God to Jesus, from Jesus to Mary and from Mary to us. Any grace we get from God has to come through Jesus, through Mary to you. Mary is the compliment of the Holy Spirit. Before God she asks not, she commands. No true devotee of Mary will be damned because she is the terrible conqueror of the devil.” Wait a minute, something get lost here? I thought Christ in His death conquered the devil.

“Mary is our co-redemtrix because she gave us Jesus, pledge of our salvation. Furthermore she is co-redemtrix of the human race because with Christ she ransomed mankind from the power of Satan. She redeemed us with the blood of His body, Mary with the agonies of her heart.” She is co-redemtrix, meaning we need two redeemers; we need the death of Christ and the heart of Mary.

“We were condemned through the fault of one woman; we were saved through the merits of another woman. Just as Eve was the root of death for everyone, so Mary was the source of light for everyone. Mary is our co-redemtrix because she suffered in her heart whatever was lacking to the passion of Christ.” Now the death of Christ is not sufficient. Mary with her broken heart brings what is needed.

“As we are obliged to Jesus for His passion, so we are indebted to Mary for her participation in His passion. Mary is the mystical neck which inclined the divine head, Jesus, to show mercy to us. She gave birth to Jesus with joy, she gave birth to us, brothers of Jesus, in anguish and sorrow.”

If this is not blasphemy, I don't know what is. As mother of the word incarnate, Mary was elevated to a type of equality with the heavenly Father. Is that not blasphemy to say that she has been elevated to certain equality with God the Father?

“God has ordained that no grace will be granted to us except through Mary. It is a doctrine preached by all the saints that no grace can come to us from heaven without passing through Mary's hands. No one will be saved or obtain mercy except through you, oh heavenly lady. Remember this well, no one will enter heaven without passing through Mary, as one would pass through a door. She is co-redemptrix of the human race, the church and the saints greet her thus. You, oh Mary, together with Jesus Christ redeemed us. Consideration, queen of heaven. The angels in heaven sang, queen of heaven, rejoice. Hail queen of paradise, the glory of heavenly Jerusalem, the joy of Israel. As the stars are illuminated by the sun; so heaven is illuminated by you, oh Mary.”

I just use that as an example. I think the culmination of Babylon is not focused just in one portion like Roman Catholicism or pagan Protestantism. But this seems to be a clear focus. And remember the Antichrist, now that's not the same as the woman, but the Antichrist will be Roman so he will have connections. And we know that the Roman Catholic religion is very adjustable to where it is. As long as you will commit to certain basic things, foundationally recognize the Pope, you can bring your paganism in with you. And so the Babylonian system has been sanctified and brought in and we have the religions of the world, we have the Pope to meet with the leader of Muslims and supposed evangelicals meeting with various religions. And we are all going to come together in a mixture and the paganism of it all.

I don't know if you ever watch the Roman Catholic channel. I was watching it one night awhile back. There were some individuals on there who had converted to Roman Catholicism from evangelicalism. Do you know what the whole testimony of their life was? I never knew what a real relationship with God was until I came to know Mary. I thought; they never knew Christ.

So we read in Revelation 17 about the woman who has been the source of all this, the satanic system going back to Genesis 11 that permeates the world. That city will be built, it will become the center of religious, commercial, political activity, and God is going to judge it. We are told in Revelation 17:6: “And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And when I saw her I wondered greatly.” And then the interpretation will be given.

It is true believers who are always the object of satanic hatred and so this woman is responsible for the martyrdom of multitudes of God's people down through history.

Let's pray together. Thank You, Lord, for Your word. Lord, we are again reminded that You are sovereign and in the worst of times in this world we are Your people. Lord, when Your people are being martyred and dying horrible deaths, You are sovereign. And ultimately You will bring judgment on the devil, on the Babylonian city and the Babylonian system. Lord, may we be careful to be faithful. What a terrible tragedy that the Babylonian whore should corrupt not only the world, but be allowed to bring that corrupting influence into the church, that which is so repulsive, odious to You. May we be careful that we would be pure and faithful to You. We pray in Christ's name, amen.