The book of Revelation is a sealed book to many. Primarily, I think that is because
the whole of God's word is sealed to them. But also because we
have just been taught by the bombardment, the constant bombardment
of false religion that this book is all about the mysteries concerning
governments and kingdoms and nations. Folks tell you that
it's talking about Russia and it's talking about China and
folks tell you it's talking about Saddam Hussein and Iraq and talk
about the world running out of oil and all that nonsense. All that doomsday, money-making,
book-selling stuff, you know. I'll lynch it, write him another
book, scare everybody to death, and make a million dollars. Well,
that's not what it's about. That's not what it's about. John
tells us in the opening verses of Revelation that this book
is written to tell us what has been, is, and shall be. To tell us what's going on in
this world. from the time of Christ's first
coming to the time of his second advent. That's what Revelation's
all about. It's describing for us the events
of history, the events of prophecy, the events of providence, from
the first coming of Christ unto the last coming of Christ, the
second coming of Christ, in the last day when he shall set in
judgment over all the earth. And the book is written to give
us a word of assurance to give us a word of confidence, to give
us in the midst of unstable circumstances, in the midst of astonishing events,
to give us stability in heart and understand that in all things,
God's will is being done. God's purpose is being accomplished. The Lord Jesus Christ is yet
on his throne and the truth of God, the cause of God and the
people of God shall prevail at last. Now we're over in chapter
17. Chapter 17. Hold your Bibles
open to this chapter. We read it earlier in connection
with Genesis chapter 11 for good reason. I will not try to read
the entire chapter as we go through, but I want to show you what we
have read in this chapter. When John was carried away to
see the judgment of the great whore, he was carried away in
the spirit into the wilderness, he tells us in verse three. You
see, wherever false religion occupies the place of true worship,
wherever false religion occupies the place of true worship, the
worship of the one true and living God, that place is a desolate,
barren, empty wilderness. Listen to the prophecy of Amos.
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will say
it. Not it's just going to happen.
Not it's just going to turn out that way. God says the days come
that I will send a famine in the land. Not a famine of bread,
nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. And they shall wander from sea
to sea and from north even to the east. They shall run to and
fro and seek the word of the Lord and shall not find it. We live in that day. We live
in that day. But preachers, there are churches
on every hand. I know. There are churches on every street
corner. I know. I know. They put this
building up right across from us and somebody said, does that
bother you? I said, no, it's like putting a brothel up inside a bottle shop. Doesn't
bother me any. No. There are churches on every street corner.
There are preachers everywhere in abundance, in abundance. But
to hear the word of God, you won't find that much. I realize that the day has come
when religion has become very popular. And the religion of
this world may show great worldly wealth and glory. There may be
a tremendous fullness of power, influence and approval. There
may be purple and scarlet and gems and gold and pop and luxury
and ceremony, everything to gratify all the carnal lust of men. There
may even be worldwide acceptance, influence, and domain. Set up the moral majority and
get presidents elected. And then they'll go to palm readers,
find out what to do. Great influence, great power,
cathedrals, man alive, cathedrals, beautiful, expensive, elaborate,
ornate things. The whole world looks at it.
Oh, look at that, look at that. Yet where the word of God and
the gospel of his grace and the worship of Christ in all the
fullness of his redemptive glory are despised and trampled underfoot. That place, that society, that
day is a bleak, barren, desolate, empty, poisonous wilderness. And this great harlot false religion
is called by the name Babylon the Great. both here in Revelation
17 and in chapter 18 and in chapter 19. We've seen her name before.
Both times we've seen it before in chapters 14 and 16. She is
described as being the object of God's wrath, the object of
God's judgment. And now in chapters 17, 18, and
19, the Lord God tells us of the certainty of her doom and
overthrow. Now let me try to raise and answer
three questions with regard to this passage. Number one, who
is this woman? This great whore. You can read
about her in Proverbs 7. You can read about her many places
in scripture. Without question, there is in
this vision a representation of Rome It's pagan culture, it's
pagan government, and it's pagan religion. Romanism is not Christianity,
it is paganism. But that's not just true of Romanism.
It is true of all false religion. And certainly the passage here
speaks of Roman Catholicism and the superstitious idolatrous
religion of papacy. It is surely involved in the
picture before us, but it is a serious mistake to apply this
prophecy as being that which speaks of Rome alone. It speaks
of both the great whore and all her daughter harlots. It speaks
of both Romanism and all false religion. This woman is called
the great whore that sits upon many waters. And upon her forehead
was the name written, Mystery Babylon, the great mother of
harlots and abominations of the earth. You see this woman, Babylon,
the great harlot represents all false religion in all the world,
in all ages, no matter what name she bears. People today seem
to think there's some great distinction in religions. I've been telling
you for a long time, it shocks people to death. I had folks
out in California just seem to be just utterly amazed when I
tell them that, you know, the religions are all the same. They're
all the same. They're all the same. Teach exactly
the same doctrine. Romanism and Mormonism teaches
exactly the same thing. Romanism and fundamentalism teaches
exactly the same thing. Romanism and Islam teaches exactly
the same thing. Romanism and Judaism teaches
exactly the same thing. Well, Preacher, you've lost your
mind. No, the world's lost its mind. That's what I'm saying.
What are they teaching? They're declaring that God's
in your hands and salvation is your doing. That's the essence
of it. Now they wear different costumes,
they put on different charades, and they have different programs,
but they teach the same thing. You see, there are only two religions
in the world. Mark it down. All religions,
when reduced to their essential elements, must be categorized
under one of these two things. Free grace and free will. Free grace is the religion of
Abel. Free will is the religion of Cain. The religion of God
and the religion of man. The church of God and the synagogue
of Satan. Only two options. Only two options.
Either this assembly here is the church of the living God,
and this man the messenger of Christ who speaks to you. Or
this assembly is the synagogue of Satan, and this man the messenger
of Satan. And you better find out which
it is. You better find out which it is. And the same is true of
the church down the road and the preacher down the road. Exactly
so. You see, the religion of this
world is not even similar to the religion of Christ. The synagogue
of Satan is not even similar to the church of God. The seat
of Antichrist and the seat of Christ are not even alike, not
at all. Paul spoke to the Galatians and speaks of the gospel the
Judaizers came preaching. He said, that's another gospel,
not the same one. He spoke to the Corinthians and
said, he said, these pretended apostles of Christ, they're Satan's
messengers. And they come and preach Jesus,
but he's another Jesus. They preach the Holy Spirit,
but it's another spirit. They preach God, but it's another
God. They preach righteousness, but it's another righteousness.
And if you follow them, they'll take you to hell. It's not just
a mistake. It's not just a lack of understanding.
It's a following of a false God with a false hope to an eternal
damnation. These two religions, free grace
and free will, are represented to us in the book of Revelation
by two women. And they're represented that way many times in the word
of God. In Revelation chapter 12, you'll see the church of
God described as a woman persecuted of the devil. Persecuted from
the inception to the end. Fleeing to the wilderness, help
to the Lord in all the earth, but that's the church of God.
Here in chapter 17, we see the religion of Satan, free willism,
man-centered works religion represented by the great whore Babylon riding
upon the beast who persecutes the church of God. You see the
character of all false religion is described here in John's vision
of the great harlot. Remember the picture is a symbol. It is an allegory. It is a word
picture. If you're trying to get an idea
that somehow this is, let's get a vision, let's get a vision.
You know, some of you have seen these religious charts, dispensational
truths, dispensational lies. They got big cartoons and comic
book characters look like some kind of hideous monster and try
to draw these pictures. Don't pay attention to that nonsense.
This is not intended to be an artist's sketch, it's a writer's
sketch. There's a difference. An artist
uses a brush, a writer uses a pen. And John is here giving us a
vision of that which he has seen by the revelation of God of what
God's doing. So the picture is not of a literal
woman or of a literal city, but rather it is a picture of something
far, far more serious. The features of this woman, are
given to us and we're instructed to be warned concerning her,
lest we be deceived by the great harlot. I encourage you to read
at your leisure Proverbs chapter 7 and understand that the horror
that Proverbs 7 is talking about is not that streetwalker you
pick up on the streets of LA or San Francisco or Lexington.
Oh no, it's that streetwalker you walk by every time you go
to church. It's that street walker you walk by every time you see
some religious fella passing out his literature, trying to
turn you away from the gospel. This is what he says. Don't be
deceived with her much fair speech and the flattering of her lips.
She's caused many to follow her like an ox going to the slaughter. Don't be so foolish. Now the
angel here calls her the great whore. Boy, that's strong language. We shouldn't talk like that.
I get a little upset when folks are too holy to speak what God
says in his word. Something's wrong with your concept
of your righteousness. She's called the Great Whore, not only
the harlot herself, but the mother of spiritual harlots and abominations
throughout all the world. Now, this is the standing symbol
of false religion throughout the word of God, both the Old
Testament and the New. It's the standing symbol. In
Jeremiah 3, the Lord God speaks of Israel playing the harlot
and Judah following after her committing adultery, playing
the harlot also. Speaks of looking upon whoredom
as a light thing and committing adultery with stones and stocks. Now, that's not talking about
a woman going out and sleeping with rocks. It's talking about
false religion. Worse than that. I can think
of only one thing on this earth more despicable to sane people
than a harlot. Only one thing, more despicable.
And that's a gal who doesn't charge any money. That's a gal
who's just so base, so vile, so corrupt, that she just gives
herself to this fella and that. And then when that's not enough,
she can't be satisfied, she'll pay to get her lovers. Now listen
to what God says about the religion of this world. It's the work
of an imperious, whorish woman. You've not just been a harlot,
Cause you scorned higher. Like a wife committing adultery
which takes strangers instead of her husband. You give, they
give gifts to whores, but you give your gifts to your lovers
and hire them for your pleasure. Now James, let's talk about the
religion of this age. As a matter of fact, most places
in the scripture where warnings are given concerning adultery
and fornication, vile as those things are in the actual physical
act of them, it's not really talking primarily about that,
but rather something far worse. It's talking about men and women.
Creatures of God Almighty, given the benefit of God's creation
and God's bounty and God's providence using that which God has given
them to go a whoring after other gods. And that's the warning. This woman is called the great
whore and the mother of harlots because she is the embodiment
and representative of all idolatry, false worship, false doctrine
in this world. To give an indication of her
vileness, She's given the name Babylon the Great. Now again, this is not a prophecy
that the ancient city of Babylon is going to be rebuilt and restored,
not at all. It's not a prophecy that you
have to worry that Saddam Hussein's over there fixing to resurrect
that terrible great city of Nimrod and it's going to rule the world
again. That's not what it's talking about. This is far more sinister
than Saddam Hussein ever thought about being. Far more dangerous,
far more wicked. God swore in his wrath when he
destroyed Babylon, she would never be inhabited again. So
we know it's not talking about a literal city. This Babylon
is any and all religious systems that are opposed to God. Babylon
is the religion of man. It's the religion which teaches
salvation by works rather than grace, by the work of man's hands
rather than the work of God's, by the will of man rather than
the will of God. It's seen in the sacrifice of
Cain, yes. But it began as an organized
religion, an organized system of worship, an organized system
of religion in opposition to God in the fourth generation
after Noah. Noah's generations numbered down
four generations. There was a man born to the sons
of Ham, Noah's cursed son. This man is Noah's great, great,
great grandson. His name was Nimrod. And the
scripture tells us that Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the
Lord. Actually, that's a very poor
translation. Nimrod was a mighty rebel before the Lord, the mightiest
rebel before the Lord in all the earth. His name means a rebellious
panther, a rebellious panther, a rebellious panther. Oh, what
a description for the religion of this world and all its leaders.
He was called a rebellious panther because Nimrod built the city
of Babel or Babylon and began the religion of confusion. The
people were all of one language and one speech. Well, boy, what's
that signify? Read Genesis 11 in the context
of Revelation 17 and understand what it signifies. The whole
world talked the same talk. The same thing. Same thing. All of one language. All united
in one common cause and one common doctrine. They sought to make
themselves a name and to build themselves a city and a tower
which would give them reputation that would reach up to heaven.
Come on boys, we can do it. Come on, let's leave our footprints
in the sands of time. Let's make an impression on the
world. Let's build something here the
world can look at and see that we built it and glorify God. Make us a name, make us a name. And God came down and he said,
let's confound their language so they can't understand each
other. And they went away speaking the same things that always spoke,
but they couldn't understand each other talk. They were saying
the same thing, but they couldn't understand each other. What a
picture of the religion of the world. All teaching the same
doctrine and yet fighting with one another because nobody understands
what anybody else is saying. Constantly bickering, but united in one
cause. United in opposition to the message
of God's free grace. Idolatry, you see, is not a gradual
decline from truth by well-meaning, unenlightened men. Oh, no. It
began at Babylon in an intentional rebellion. It was the invention
of a proud race who refused to come to God by faith in Jesus
Christ, the sinner's substitute, as portrayed to them from Adam
and down through the ages of Noah. And they said, no! We'll
build ourselves a city and we'll build ourselves a tower with
our brick and our slime. A good word for it. With our
brick and the slime of our righteousness, we will ascend up to God. Babylon was born in defiance
of God and his word. The men of Bible despised God's
sovereignty. They despised blood atonement.
They despised salvation by grace. They attempted to build a tower
to heaven by the works of their hands with no regard for God's
glory. All the time talking about it.
All the time talking about it. Oh, the glory of God, the will
of God. It's kind of like, I was sitting
there trying to think how to begin the message, get your attention.
I was thinking, it's sort of like our president. In God's good providence, he's
placed over our nation a man with absolutely no moral scruples
at all. And folks who don't even have
any recognize it. All those who don't recognize
it. Man, I hate running into one of them. No moral scruples
at all. But a man who sits around and
talks, dares to talk in public, on national television, on radio,
talk about moral decisions, talk about moral principles.
That's the religion of this age. Defy God's glory, defy God's
word, defy God's rule, and then talk about God's will and God's
glory and serving God. This woman, has made the inhabitants
of the earth drunk with the wine of her fornication. The kings and inhabitants of
the earth from one generation to another were told in verse
two, commit fornication with her and drink from the cup until
they are thoroughly drunk beyond the reach of reason with the
intoxication of free will religion. But she holds a golden cup. Man, that thing got gold plated.
That's 100% 24 karat gold. Look at that thing. Oh, God's
gotta be in there. Well, God wouldn't bless like
that if he wasn't there, would he? God wouldn't give them those
things if he wasn't with them, would he? But the cup is full
of abominations, filthiness, and fornication. Now, this fact
can't be disputed. Wherever false religion gains
popularity and acceptance, moral corruption follows. The doctrines
of self-righteousness, freewillism, and work salvation always produce
moral degradation. The cup is always the same. The
old harlot only has one cup. It is always filled with the
same head-spinning wine of freewill, self-righteous, works religion. Look at verse six. The woman's
also drunk. She's drunk with the blood of
the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. In chapter
18, verse 24, in her was found the blood of prophets and of
saints and of all that were slain upon the earth. You see, throughout
history, persecution and the murder of God's saints and prophets
has always been the work of this great harlot. Always. Always. Just open a history book.
Open a history book. I know they use presidents or
kings and princes and governors to accomplish their end. But
the work of persecution is the work of this harlot. Now, children
of God, understand this. Not our work. Not our work. Our business is not to persecute
the harlot. Leave her alone. She'll kill
herself. Our business is not to sit and take up the cause
of trying to do this or that to stop the harlot. Leave her
alone. Leave her alone. You're not going to stop her.
You're not going to stop her. It's not trying to stop prostitution.
It's not going to happen. Just leave it alone. Just leave
it alone. Our business is to preach the gospel and let the
harlot do what she will. Persecution is not the work of
God's church. It's always the work of Babylon.
In verse one, we're told that this woman sits upon many waters.
In verse 15, we're told plainly that these many waters are the
peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues of the world. That
simply says false religion is the universal religion of mankind. The prostitution of divine truth
is supported and accepted by all the fallen sons of Adam.
wherever they're found upon the earth. John describes this woman
in verse three as being one who sits upon a scarlet beast. Sits
upon that beast empowered by Satan himself. Paul says the
same thing in 2 Corinthians 11. Has seven heads. The number simply
represents completion. It speaks of the collection of
all anti-Christian power and might, both political and ecclesiastical,
throughout the gospel age, sitting upon seven mountains everywhere
with ten horns. The beast, the ten horns of this
beast are the kings and rulers of the earth, raised up by Satan
himself for just a little period of time, just a little period
of time, to make war, verse 14, with the Lamb. But don't worry,
don't worry. What's going to become of this
woman? In verse six, John said, when I saw her, I wondered with
great admiration. Oh, I looked at her and I wondered. A better translation would be,
I was astonished with great terror. And where might he be? But the
angel of God comforted and encouraged him by the realization that this
great harlot shall be brought to destruction by the will of
God, and that even she's under the dominion of our great God
and Savior. We're told in verse 17, God has
put in the hearts of these kings to fulfill his will. Children
of God, take courage. Christ shall prevail. He said, I'll build my church
on this rock, speaking of himself, and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it. Not going to happen. Not going
to happen. None of those whose names are written in the book
of life from eternity can be deceived, but they shall overcome
through Jesus Christ, the Lord. This mother of harlots can never
deceive God's elect. Their names were written in the
book of the light. They're called with a heavenly
calling. They're chosen by an immutable grace. They're redeemed
by the blood of the lamb. And they're faithful, made faithful
by God's grace. In the end, by the will of God,
this woman is gonna be destroyed. Just as God overthrew Egypt,
and Babylon, Assyria, and Rome. In God's time, Babylon too shall
fall. Babylon shall prove at last to
have been the great servant of God to perform his will just
like Pharaoh was. Just like Pharaoh. Her number,
the number of the beast is 666. Now, don't pay any attention.
Nonsense comes out of Hollywood. And they get their nonsense from
religious folks who don't have any. Antichrist has got nothing to do with using
credit cards. It's all right to use one. It's
got nothing to do with barcodes on your groceries. You folks
laugh. You know people write books about
that stuff? And people bow. Smart folks. Bob, it's got nothing
to do, it's got absolutely nothing to do with the literal number
666. But Maurice Montgomery got a house sitting right down the
road from him, sat for years. Folks tried to sell it, tried
to sell it, tried to sell it, tried to sell it, couldn't sell it. People
come look at it, couldn't sell it. The address was 666. You
know how they sold the house? They changed the address. I mean,
went downtown, got it legally changed to some number besides
666, because religious idiots are more superstitious than folks
who believe in black magic. Got nothing to do with it. Well,
what's this number? It's the number of frustration.
It's the number of failure. It's the number of defeat. Seven
describes God's work. Seven describes completion. Seven
describes success. Seven describes grace. Six describes
man. Six describes incompletion. Six describes failure. And this great whore shall fall. Exactly according to God's purpose. And those kings of the earth
who served her and rode on her and gave to her and paid her
shall in the end hate her and despise her and eat her flesh. Oh, what a place hell will be. Oh, what a place hell will be.
Lost preachers. Going to spend eternity looking
in the faces of lost souls who will spend eternity cussing
them, biting and devouring them. Lost mamas and daddies spend
eternity looking in the faces of their lost sons and daughters
who spend eternity cussing them, biting and devouring them. Because
they led them to hell in the name of religion. Lost husbands spend eternity
looking in the faces of their lost wives, cussing them, biting
them, devouring them. Because they led them to hell.
In the name of religion, self-righteousness, free will, works, God's in your
pocket, and nonsense. A preacher, what do we do with
Babylon? Rex, the language of this book is as plain as the
nose on your face. Come out of her. Come out of
her. Come out of her. Make a clean
break with Babylon. Identify yourself with God's
people, God's calls, and God's truth, and have nothing to do
with Babylon. Nothing. Nothing. People come
around and want you to give a little money to this cause or that,
help us build a church. God's churches don't go begging. Don't
you ever give a dime to one of them. Don't do it. Don't do it. Oh, but they're so sincere. Sincerely
serving the devil himself. Don't do it. The religion of
Babylon, the religion of hell, is not demon worship, it's the
worship of a demon Christ. It's not demon worship, it's
the worship of a demon God. It's not Satan worship, it's
the worship of a satanic spirit. It's the worship of man. Had
nothing to do with it, nothing at all. People ask me all the time, what
will you do if this, that or the other? I've been faced with
it. Several years ago, my niece and
nephew, two of them, five or six years old, they both live
like hell now. It didn't take, but they got talked into a profession
of faith. I was down there. They wanted
us to come to baptismal service. I said, there's no way on this earth
I can go. Because if I go, I'm giving credibility
to it. No, I'm not going. No. Somebody
asked me sometime back, said, what about funerals? Your mama's
funeral? I said, did you preach it? I
said, I wouldn't have gone if I hadn't preached it. I wouldn't have gone. I'm not going to go listen to
somebody butcher the gospel for you, my mama, your mama, anybody.
I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it. I'm not
going to give any credibility to Babylon. I've made my break. I've made a clean, complete,
absolute break. And they say I burned my bridges
so I can't go back. I burned them. I'm not going
back. I'm like those fellas that went
to Mexico. Was it Cortez? No, Cortez, I think it was. Went
to Mexico. They got into the land and he
gave a command, said, burn the ships. They said, how are we
going to get back to Spain? He said, boys, we're not going
back. We're not going back. I've lifted my hand to God and
kissed Babylon goodbye forever. Those who serve God are called
chosen and faithful to Him. Amen.