STUDY IN REVELATION 27
Vision 3 Rev. 17: 1-6
The Judgment of Religious and Political Babylon
Part I
In the first six verses of chapter 17 we are given the description of religious Babylon or false religion.
If anything is false we consider it a lie, which is the opposite of the truth.
False religion has done more to destroy people than any other thing known to man. How can this be true?
Through deception, false religion promises life, salvation, peace and hope in some kind of life hereafter.
In verse one John is approached by an angel. Remember that John is having a vision of the last days of human history. He has just been shown, in his vision the final battle, which is called the battle of Armageddon. The angel tells John to come with him and he will show John the future judgment of false religion.
In verse one John see two things.
v. 1 John sees Babylon [false religion] as a great harlot.
In scripture the term harlotry is seen as false gods, false worship, and false devotion. It stands for worshipping something other than the only living and true God.
A person commits spiritual prostitution when he/she,
1. Makes an image of God, whether it be real or simply in the mind and follows that image.
2. Follows an earthly religion, instead of following the Jesus of the Bible.
Spiritual harlotry means to follow a false religion and worship a false god.
Scripture: Rom. 1: 22 - 23 * 1Tim. 4: 1 * 1Jn. 5: 21 * Dt. 11: 16 * Is. 42: 8 * Is. 45: 20
2 Timothy 3: 5 says: “Having a form of godliness [ritual, ceremony, worship], but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
v. 1 John sees false religion sitting on many waters.
Do you remember what the term “many waters” means? [Look at verse 15 for the answer]
The picture we are given is one of false religion literally filling the world. Millions of people from all parts of the earth will be caught up in some form of false religion.
Let’s bring this closer to home. Think of how many people who profess Christ and yet they refuse to believe or teach Christ and the Word of God.
We use the term Christian in such a way that everybody is a Christian yet not everybody believes in the Christ of the Bible. My question is. How can one profess to be a Christian and not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? FALSE RELIGION!!!!!!
In other words, “I’m saved because I said so, not because of anything Jesus could do for me.”
v.2 False religion will be supported by the kings of the earth.
In the last days, the governments of the world will encourage the worship of the antichrist and his false religion.
Think about this. How many people, today, would rather belong to a religion or church that allows worldliness and that does not teach or preach separation?
Scripture: Rom. 12:1-2 * 2Cor. 6: 17-18 * 1Jn. 2: 15-16
v. 3 False religion will receive power from the beast or the antichrist.
The false religion of the end time will be supported by the antichrist and his government. Notice 3 things.
1. Religious Babylon sits upon a scarlet colored beast. When you sit in a chair you are supported by the chair.
The term here shows that by sitting on the beast, religious Babylon is supported by the beast.
2. The scarlet colored beast is the antichrist. How do we know this?
The beast is full of names of blasphemy. The governments of the world will be unified in rebellion against God.
3. The beast has seven heads and ten horns. We saw that the seven heads are seven nations that will voluntarily surrender to the antichrist. Remember that the antichrist has already conquered three nations. The three conquered nations and the seven surrendered nations will give the antichrist the power of ten horns or nations.
For many, even today, religion is and will be determined by their desires for the world. The world and its possessions are put first and they use religion like a salve to ease their consciences.
Scripture: 1Cor. 6: 19-20 * Lk. 21: 34 * Col. 3: 2 * Tit. 2: 12 * Jas. 4: 4
v. 4 The wealth and corruption of false religion will in the end time will be tragic.
1. The false religion of the end time will be extremely wealthy.
Today one of the hottest topics is the amount of money you can make serving God.
What concerns me is the fact that every 5 seconds a child, somewhere in the world, dies from hunger. That comes to somewhere in the neighborhood of 16,000 every day.
Some 923 million people go to bed hungry, even though there is enough food produced to feed the world.
They can’t eat because they can’t afford to pay for the food.
Can you imagine any religion that is wealthy in the worlds possessions and allowing those in such desperate need to starve to death. Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t have a problem with ministers making a good salary but when the salaries of ministers rival those [already too high] of ball players, you be the judge.
Scripture: Mt. 19:21 * Lk. 9: 23 * Lk. 14: 33
2. The false religion of the end time will be corrupt. It will claim to offer help to the world but the cup that is offered will be full of abominations and filth.
False religion can only offer: idolatry, polluted and corrupt worship. Scripture tells us that if we feed on false religion, we are feasting on abomination and filth.
Is any of this happening today?
Below is just one of many of the televangelist compounds and the cost of each home. Today evangelism is a
multi- million dollar BUSINESS. Notice I didn’t say ministry.

1. Main house where the “minister” lives. Cost $795,000 * 10,000sq. ft. * $1.1 million in improvements
The ministry headquarters sports a $23,000 toilet seat, $30,000 conference table and a $11,219 French clock; just to name a few.
2. Belongs to a daughter and cost $400,000 * 5,000sq. ft. $250,000 in improvements
3. Belongs to a son at a cost of $725,000 * 4,000sq. ft.
4. Daughter at a cost of $350,000 small with only 2,350sq ft. * only $3,000 in improvements
5. Son at a cost of 200,000 * a meager 2,000sq ft. with $33,000 in improvements.
The Ministry pays all expenses, including landscaping and lawn care, property taxes and rehab work. The minister, her husband and each of their four married children live in the homes, free of charge. And this is just one of many who are getting rich off the backs of those who are hurting and desperate for God to change their situation.
I read an interview with one very well known young man who said he doesn’t get into controversial subjects like sin and judgment. False religions such as Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism don’t concern him. He doesn’t really know who’s going to hell and who isn’t.
I say, “If you want to keep the money coming in you better not step on any toes!!!!!!!!! Who cares if they die an go to hell!!!!!!!!! Just keep sending your money!!!”
ARE WE GETTING CLOSER TO REVELATION OR IS IT JUST ME?
Scripture: Tit. 1: 16 * 2Pt. 2: 1-2 * 1Jn. 5: 21 * Dt. 11: 16
v. 5 False religion, or Babylon has a pretty long name:
Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth, is written on
Her driver‘s license personal license tag forehead
1. Religious Babylon’s name is mystery and many don’t realize that they are worshipping a false Christ.
Look at what just one of our “preachers” is teaching
Christ "had no innate supernatural powers. He had no ability to perform miracles until after He was anointed by the Holy Spirit." (Kenneth Copeland, "Question & Answer," Believer’s Voice of Victory, August 1988, 8.)
Comment: This means Jesus was not God. Phil 2:6-7 "who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men." The phrase means he did not cease being God, but took on another nature as man adding it to his nature of God. He had the ability, he just chose not to use it.
Jesus "has got to be all man. He cannot be a God and come storming in here with attributes and dignities that are not common to man. He can’t do that. It’s not legal." ("The Incarnation", side 1, audiocassette #01-0402, emphasis in original, Fort Worth, TX: KCM, 1985.)
Jesus Christ supposedly told Copeland in the following prophecy: "Don’t be disturbed when people put you down and speak harshly and roughly of you. They spoke that way of Me, should they not speak that way of you? The more you get to be like Me, the more they’re going to think that way of you. They crucified Me for claiming that I was God. But I didn’t claim I was God; I just claimed I walked with Him and that He was in Me. Hallelujah." (Kenneth Copeland, Take Time to Pray, Believer’s Voice of Victory 15, 2 (February 1987) .
Comment: If Jesus did not claim to be God then the Pharisees certainly misunderstood him by saying he did in Jn.5 and 10, and all he had to do is correct them.
Why didn’t Jesus openly proclaim Himself as God during His 33 years on earth? For one single reason. He hadn’t come to earth as God, He’d come as man." (K. Copeland, Believer’s Voice of Victory magazine, Aug. 8, 1988. p.8)
Comment: Copeland proves that he does not hold to the fundamentals of the faith by denying God came in the flesh Jn.4:1-3, 1 Tim.3:16.
"Jesus existed only as an image in the heart of God, until such time as the prophets of the Old Testament could positively confess Jesus into existence through their constant prophecies." (Kenneth Copeland, The Power of the Tongue, pp. 8-10) So Jesus did not exist prior to the prophets words manifesting him. how did he come to be? By the words of their mouths, glory be to man!
"God is injecting His Word into the earth to produce this Jesus," Copeland explains. "This [sic] faith-filled words that framed the image that’s in Him...." (Kenneth Copeland, The Image of God in You III, side 2.)
Comment: This contradicts what he previously attributed to the prophets. What does the Bible say," Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever " Heb.13:8.
"He [Jesus] allowed the devil to drag Him into the depths of hell....He allowed Himself to come under Satan’s control...every demon in hell came down on Him to annihilate Him....They tortured Him beyond anything anybody had ever conceived. For three days He suffered everything there is to suffer." (Kenneth Copeland, "The Price of It All," 3.)
"For three days He suffered everything there is to suffer. Some people don’t want to believe that. They want to believe that after His death, Jesus just stayed in that upper region of Sheol that the Bible calls paradise, but they’re mistaken! If He had simply stayed there, there would have been no price paid for sin." (Believer’s Voice of Victory, Vol. 19, No. 9, Sept. 1991)
"Jesus was dragged down into the bowels of Hell where He was beaten and bruised by Satan and his demons until Jesus could finally fight His way out of Hell 3 days later.
(Believer’s Voice of Victory, September 11, 1991) (Classic Redemption, p.13)
Comment: How does he know this? The Bible does not hint at any of this, so who is telling these revelations?
How did Jesus then on the cross say, ‘My God.’ Because God was not His Father any more. He took upon Himself the nature of Satan. And I’m telling you Jesus is in the middle of that pit. He’s suffering all that there is to suffer, there is no suffering left . . . apart from Him. His emaciated, little wormy spirit is down in the bottom of that thing and the devil thinks He’s got Him destroyed. But, all of a sudden God started talking." (Kenneth Copeland, Believer’s Voice of Victory (television program), TBN, 21 April 1991.)
What Jesus are we teaching today?
2. Religious Babylon is the mother of false religions and abominations on the earth.
In essence religious Babylon is the mother of all false religion. But there will be one major difference with the end time religion: man’s dream of a one world government and a one world religion will become a reality.
v. 6 The power and bigotry of religious Babylon will be fierce.
A numberless multitude will be persecuted and killed for refusing to worship the antichrist.
Scripture: Mt. 10:17-18 * Mt. 24: 9-10 * Lk. 21: 12 * Jn. 15: 20-21 * Jn. 16: 2-3 * 2Tim. 3: 12 * Rev. 2:10
