Sermon Central
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Babylon And The Prostitute Series
Contributed by Brady Boyd on Oct 26, 2020 (message contributor)
Summary: By now, it should be apparent to all of us that we need to be rescued from three things: 1. From death. 2. An enemy that wants to destroy us. 3. Our sins.
The Last Word – Revelation 17
Babylon and the Prostitute
November 1, 2020
Revelation 17:3-6 NIV
“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.”
By now, it should be apparent to all of us that we need to be rescued from three things:
1. From death.
2. An enemy that wants to destroy us.
3. Our sins.
What is sin?
1. It’s beauty defiled.
The woman’s beauty is outward. Her inner being is dark and corrupt.
The best and most successful lies are the ones that look, at first, like the truth.
Sin promises us luxury but delivers us to slavery.
The golden cup is beautiful to look at but filled with vile and abominable filth.
This is the deception of sin. It always promises to fulfill us, but in the end, leaves us empty.
2. It’s death, not life.
Romans 6:23 NIV
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Sin is work that only pays with death. Jesus is a gift that gives life.
Seven heads (hills)
Ten horns (kings)
Revelation 17:14-16 NIV
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. 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.
When we try to rule our world by force, we mount a beast that will eventually devour us.
V.14 – “The Lamb will triumph”
Beasts, Dragons, and Serpents, beaten by a lamb!
An animal that’s used for sacrifices is the triumphant one!
This is who God is. He holds back. He delays. He forgives.
Exodus 34:6-7 NIV
And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
The extent of God’s mercy is always beyond our comprehension.
God’s always been willing to sacrifice everything for us!
