The Great Harlot! (Part 6) Series

Title: The Tribulation Continued (Part 6)

Text: Rev 17

Pray!!!

Read Text!!!

Introduction:

- Review using power point from the last 5 sermons

- Who is the Great Harlot in Rev 17?

- It is an apostate Church professing Christ yet not possessing Christ.

- Revelation labels the apostate church of the last days as the great harlot who sits on many waters (Rev 17:1)

- Now what is a harlot?

- A harlot is an individual who has been unfaithful in her wedding vows.

- John shows us an apostate church that professes to be loyal and true to Jesus Christ but in fact cleaves to idol worship which will form the false religious system.

- This is essence is spiritual adultery.

- The influence of this church is world wide.

- John shows us by using the term many waters, which is interpreted as people, tongues, tribes, and nations.

- We see in Rev 17:4 that she has influence and is very wealthy.

- To the outward appearance she looks great, but on the inside is full of the devil.

- When we look at Rev 17:5 we see the name and it says, “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Of the Abominations of the Earth.”

- The word mystery in the New Testament does not refer to something mysterious, but rather it refers to truths not revealed to man from God.

- God is trying to show us that in the last days there will be a world wide apostate church that will reject Christ and dishonor God.

- We are seeing that know across our globe when we hear about ministers changing the Bible to accommodate there sinful pleasures.

- We are seeing the apostate church form, when we see ministers marrying homosexual people and blessing them on behalf of God.

- We are seeing the apostate church form, when many churches from different denominations forming a group that calls for the destruction of Israel.

- We are seeing the apostate church form, when people in the pew are not putting up with sound doctrine, saying they will leave the church if they don’t hear what they want to hear.

- I have a saying that goes with that statement; don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

- I as a minister get my messages from this book, (The Bible) and if that offends you, that’s between you and God, cause I am not changing.

- That is the stand ministers need to take in there churches and let God be God.

- But God is trying to tell us that in the last days, an apostate church will form that looks good on the outside, but on the inside is full of the devil.

- People will not be able to tell this is a false religious system because it will look that good.

- The only way people will be able to tell this is false religious system is by discernment from Almighty God and from knowing and living the Word of God.

- Now to identify Babylon we need to go all the way back to Nimrod in Gen 10:8 and 11.

- This individual was the chief apostate and influenced many people to build the tower of Babel for the purpose of casting God and His influence out of the earth.

- We are seeing that in our Government and society now.

- They were building a tower that would reach into heaven so that they could have the benefits of God without submitting to God.

- We know God’s reaction, He went down and confused there language so that they would not understand each other and stop building.

- Now here’s the point, here at Babel was introduced idolatrous, religious world system.

- This is why John calls Babylon the Mother of Harlots.

- Babylon was the birthplace of spiritual adultery.

- So the spiritual adultery of the end times is called by the name Babylon.

- Now I find it interesting that God disbanded the project of the tower of Babel Himself, but in Rev 17:16-17 God uses the Anti Christ and the European Common Market to destroy the Harlot.

Rev 17:16-17 says, “And the ten horns which you saw on the beast (the European Common Market which shall produce the Anti Christ), these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.”

- This shows me that no matter what we go through no matter how big the issue is, God is ultimately in control of every situation.