The Great Harlot
Revelation Part 27, Revelation 17:1-4
INTRODUCTION
- Admittedly, not traditional Mother's Day message
- God challenges us to draw closer to Him
- Chapter 17 shows us some very unique perspectives from all of history
-- If you ever wanted a quick look at Satan’s work, this would be the chapter
- This msg. is primarily a teaching message; really an understanding for us
-- The church needs t be able to recognize who they fight against
-- Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
- What Chapter 17 shows us is the religious system that Satan uses
-- Remember: It began at the beginning of the second half of the Tribulation
-- Abomination of Desolation (claiming to be God) in the Temple
Ω - Common question we have: Why is Satan so successful?
-- Since the rapture of the church, many people are confused and seeking answers
-- This is the primary reason why the world is able to be united under one religion
-- Because of the confusion and chaos, people will be looking for answers
-- APP: Satan knows who we are and what are needs are, so he uses those
- He knows that we are willing to follow any trend of the day
-- So with that in hand, he is able to take control (b/c we give it so easily)
- IMP APP: As Christians, we need to understand this and be able to explain
-- It IS the church’s job (not just the preacher) to be able to explain this to others
-- When you KNOW the battle plan of the enemy … you CAN fight and win!
- Read Revelation 17:1-4
- Pray
Ω Point 1 – The Great Harlot (v1-2)
- After the 7 bowl judgments, one angel invites John to see his religious system
-- Why? So that we (today) can have knowledge of what Satan is planning
-- Again, when you KNOW the battle plan of the enemy … you CAN win!
- Throughout the bible, women are predicted in two ways:
-- There are either reflected as spiritual purity or as being causes of defilement
- Example: The book of proverbs has two definitions for women:
-- Adulterous (Proverbs 5) or as a faithful wife (Proverbs 31)
- Here, the angel is clearly defining the role this woman is playing
-- The Greek word used to describe this woman is “porneo”
-- Root word for pornography; so the term “harlot” (or prostitute) is acceptable
- Ezekiel also saw Jerusalem as an “adulterous wife”
-- The city was seeking out to leave God, to go its own way
-- They desired to cling to anything that would make them happy - CAUTION
- Ezekiel 16:30-33 says, “How degenerate is your heart!” says the Lord GOD, “seeing you do all these things, the deeds of a brazen harlot. “You erected your shrine at the head of every road, and built your high place in every street. Yet you were not like a harlot, because you scorned payment. You are an adulterous wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband. Men make payment to all harlots, but you made your payments to all your lovers, and hired them to come to you from all around for your harlotry.”
- This harlot is well equipped to deceive
-- What we see is that her work is world-wide
-- She is working with the kings of the Earth
-- They have led the people they are responsible for into this deception
- Harlotry is considered the same as spiritual adultery
-- It is also referred to as idol worship in the scriptures
-- Remember: Idol worship is worshiping anything OTHER than God
- As the church, we must uphold God and remain pure
-- We cannot fall into the trap of seeking out things to make us feel better
-- We need to align with the Word and nothing else.
-- APP: This is our challenge today!
- Remember that Satan has been given control of the entire earth
-- 10 countries have pledged their resources to devoutly support him
- They’ve changed their laws, ordered their citizens, and demanded obedience
-- In short, the people under the Kings of the Earth are now in bondage as well
-- They have been deceived to believe this world religion
- TRANS: So, why is this important? Why does God use such strong words?
Ω Point 2 - The Woman on the Beast (v3-4)
- John is about to be treated to a journey that only a few have experienced before
-- He is being taken away in his spirit to a different location
-- If you will remember, Ezekiel was taken away “in the spirit” into a valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1) and Paul was also taken up into the third heaven and was given a thorn in his side to keep him humble (2 Corinthians 12:1-6)
-- APP: Being in the spirit John sees a vision in the spiritual wilderness
- The beast the woman is sitting on is the same beast that Daniel sees
-- This is the same beast mentioned all over Revelation
- This beast has 10 horns (representing the 10 kingdoms of the Earth) and,
-- 7 heads (representing the 7 nations that will come out of the Tribulation)
-- Revelation 12 and 13 covered this beast in detail …
- This is Satan and represents his kingdom
-- The same who empowers the anti-Christ to rise to power
-- The same who takes his place as supreme ruler of the Earth
- Do not be caught up in the “Halloween/worldly-image” of who Satan is
-- He is an incredibly dangerous figure and worthy of our acknowledgement
- He has no authority over us (by the blood of the lamb we are triumphant)
-- But we have an enemy and we need to know who he is and what he is capable of
- Her clothing is significant and actually appealing to mankind
-- Purple signifies royalty as does scarlet, and so she is respected by man
- IMP: Do you see how Satan uses the same colors as the Lord to trick us?
-- Purple is on the cross at Easter to signify royalty
-- We are made clean by the blood of Jesus (color red)
-- APP: Satan uses these same colors to falsify who he is
- The woman is also wearing gold and precious stones
-- This is to show how worthy she is to the world, and even her cup is gold!
- Inside the cup though, are all the impurities that make up who Satan is
-- She tricks the world into drinking from her cup because she is so beautiful
-- APP: This is the deception of this world
- Think of this:
-- Note how the woman is dressed
-- Now remember the two witnesses that God sent back dressed in rags
-- VERY IMP: God seeks humbleness, Satan seeks arrogance and exaltation
- APP: This is where we have to see how we should be living today
-- Be wary of things that agree with every way you think. God challenges us, ALWAYS!
- The challenge for all is: Are we living pure for God, or for ourselves?
-- Do we seek the world’s ornaments for glory our God’s approval in our lives?
- We are going to go ahead and stop here today
-- Next few verses really cannot be broken up
Ω Big Ideas
- You can see though, the stage is set:
-- Satan is using the vision of a beautiful woman to seduce the nations
-- What is important is the men AND women are buying into it
-- After all, she is beautiful. She is appealing. She appears trust-worthy.
- She is someone or represents something so pure and innocent that surely this would be from “god” … Do not be deceived by this!
- Here is our charge (from Wed night): see Rev 16:15 … Are we awake?
- Pray
