"Beauty and the Beast"

Symbols of the One-World Church

Rev. 17:1-6

 

This book is not all in chronological order.

 

Chs 17/18:  we go back in time a bit earlier in the tribulation [one world church/government]

 

These 2 monstrosities are both referred to as “Babylon”

Religious/political

 

This is just 1 bite of a big elephant we have set before us to feast upon!

 

This chapter is rich in symbolism:  let’s look at them…

 

The woman [whore/prostitute]

The strange creature w/ 7 heads and 10 horns

        So…this is beauty and the beast!

 

Looking beyond the mascara, we should call it ugly and the beast!

 

This woman is symbolic of the one world church which will exist during the tribulation, as all religions of the world will come together under 1 banner/umbrella…every ism/cult/religion, etc. 

Every Buddhist/Moslem/Hindu/roman catholic/mormon/jw/Satanist/…Baptist who wasn’t saved!

 [may have walked aisle, filled out card, prayed a prayer or been baptized, but haven’t been born again!]

1 world church will be an enormous perversion of religion.

 

v. 1          [last phrase]   

v. 15        worldwide!

 

So, the great whore is symbolic of the 1 world church.

 

More symbolism [pictures/illustrations] associated w/ her…

 

v. 2          Throughout the Bible, worldliness and false religion are both referred to often as spiritual adultery…to embrace either is whoredom.

        Just as a prostitute attempts to steal away the affection of a man…false religion will try to steal away our affection from God!  And the great whore will succeed in this in the tribulation.  To embrace it is whoredom…and God equates such actions to sleeping w/ the enemy!

 

James 4:4  “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the

                 world is enmity with God?  Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the 

                 world is the enemy of God.”

 

Isaiah 1:21  “How has the faithful city (Jerusalem) become a harlot!”

 

Jeremiah 3:1  “…thou (Nation of Israel) hast played the harlot with many lovers;

                    yet return again to me, saith the Lord.”

            Vs. 2  “…and thou hast polluted the land with the whoredoms and with thy

                  wickedness.”

                        Vs. 6  “…Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done?  She

                  (Israel) is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green

                  tree, and there hath played the harlot.”

            Vs. 8  “And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel

                  committed adultery, I had put her away, and given her a bill of

                  divorce…”

 

Deuteronomy 31:16  “And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with

                              thy fathers; and this people (Israel) will rise up, and go a

                              whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, and will

                              forsake me, and break the covenant which I have made with

                              them.”

 

God told Israel not to make agreement or have anything to do w/ others who don’t believe like them [some interpret as inter-racial…but it’s truly inter-faith!]

        Joshua blew it when he aligned himself w/ those at Gibeon.

 

God takes adultery seriously…I believe it to be the only Biblical grounds for divorce…it is the ultimate hurt/heartache/insult to the spouse

        And spiritual adultery is even worse w/ God!

 

And in the tribulation most of the world will convert to wholesale apostasy!

 

Beware of ecumenicalism…a greased slide toward the 1 world church!  [Let’s tear down the walls of denominations!]

        [It’s hard to align myself w/ those who would ordain and perform ceremonies for homosexuals/or teaches people to pray to Mary, light candles for the dead, pay indulgences to the coffers!/refer to a man as father, though scripture forbids it/baptize babies, giving false assurance they are saved/deny trinity, resurrection/7^th day, who teach 10 commandments as basis for salvation, and that mark of the beast is worshipping on Sunday/Bible based churches who interpret salvation as by works!]

 

“Leave your doctrine at home” they say…and it sounds logical and it’s not PC to not go along w/ it, but look…

 

Romans 16:17  “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions

                      and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and

                      avoid them.”

 

I Timothy 1:3  “I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into

                    Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other

                    doctrine.“

 

I Timothy 4:6  “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt

                     be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of

                     faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.”

 

I Timothy 4:13  “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to

                       doctrine.”

            Vs. 16  “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for

                     in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”

 

I Timothy 5:17  “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour,

                       especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.

 

I Timothy 6:3-4  “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome

                        words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the

                        doctrine which is according to godliness; he is proud, knowing

                        nothing…”

 

Titus 2:1          “But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine.”

 

II John 10        “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him

                        not into your house, neither bid him God speed.”

 

I’m not saying we’ve got a corner on spirituality…we’re not the only church preaching the gospel…we’re not for everyone.  There’s several around who have sound doctrine, even if our preferences differ a bit [peripheral issues].

        But whether the Bible is inspired is not a peripheral issue! [works or grace]

[Sadly, some who are doctrinally sound make almost everything a test of fellowship, and won’t even talk to us if you have pants on, ladies, or if you have a big screen, use soundtracks, etc!]

        But let's be clear:  No matter how they feel about us, we love them!

 

 

Another symbol:  Babylon…another symbol for the 1 world church.

 

v. 4-5       Why does God use Babylon for the symbol?

How are the 2 similar?  What parts of Babylon will the 1 world church emulate?

 

Brief lesson on Babylon in scripture:

It’s beginning [fountainhead] is in Gen. 11

[read 11:1-6]   Babel=Babylon

Genesis 11:4  “And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top  

(wrong motive)   may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name…”

 

Wrong motive:        glory of man, rather than God…just like 1 world church will be.  Antichrist will use the church for his own purposes, then will ask for a divorce!

 

 

Genesis 11:4  “And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top   (wrong method)  may reach unto heaven…”

Wrong method:       all man made religions try to build from earth up to heaven…but Christianity recognizes salvation is by God reaching down to earth!

[not a boost from beneath/birth from above!]

 

Genesis 11:3  “And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn      (wrong mentality) them thoroughly.  And they had brick for stone, and slime had

                          they for mortar.”

Wrong mentality:    logical, reasonable…a hodgepodge/potpourri of beliefs! [languages]

Also had the wrong man:  Nimrod= “we will revolt”…he’s the first OT picture of the antichrist.

 

Will America have the wrong man in the White House?

 

Babel was not able to stand, neither will the one world church!  Will America?

 

4 words to describe the one world church:

 

1. Powerful

v. 1-2       Notice phrase “sitteth upon many waters”=refers to fact that it’s not localized, but rather everywhere [v. 15].

 

Mental intoxication=people not thinking for themselves/mind control!

        Sound like science fiction?  Look at human history:  Nazi Germany as 1 man controlled thinking of a whole nation!/cult leaders like Jim Jones, leading hundreds to jungles of Guyenne to drink cyanide laced Kool-Aid!  [humans have a built-in desire for leadership]

        Why Bible refers to us as sheep…we need a shepherd!  We are directionless/defenseless…and in the absence of true shepherds the world will follow a wolf in sheep’s clothing!

 

Powerful…

 

2. Perverted

v. 3  who is this?  We’ve met before!

13:1         NO LESS THAN THE ANTICHRIST!  And the great whore is riding upon this beast in 17:3…look again…

 

The 1 world church and antichrist will work together in concert.  He will be to that church what Jesus is to us!

 

“Scarlet colored”…new info…descriptive of his bloody ascent to power…he comes on a platform of peace [Dan. 9—by peace he shall destroy many]…will do something never before done, bring peace to middle east!…but his true colors show before long!  [3.5 years he breaks his 7 year peace treaty between Israel and Arabs]

 

This church is powerful and perverted…in cahoots w/ antichrist!

 

A CONTRAST BETWEEN THE ANTICHRIST AND JESUS CHRIST

 

The Antichrist…                                                         Jesus Christ…

1.  is symbolized by 10 horns                          1.  is symbolized by 7 horns

     representing complete power                          representing perfect power

     (Rev. 13:1, 17:4)                                             (Rev. 5:6)

2.  is King of the earth (Dan. 7:8)                   2.  is Ruler of the kings of 

                                                                                         the earth (Rev. 1:5)

3.  will claim deity (Dan 11:36)                      3.  is Deity (John 20:28)

4.  is proud (Dan. 7:25)                                               4.  is meek (Matt. 11:29)

5.  has blasphemous speech                             5.  has speech controlled by the

     (Rev. 13:5)                                                      Father (John 14:10)

6.  is a deceiver (Dan. 8:23)                            6.  has no guile found in His

                                                                                         mouth (I Pet. 2:22)

7.  will war against the saints                          7.  comforts the saints

     (Dan. 7:21)                                                      (Rev. 7:7-17)

8.  will shed the blood of others                     8.  allowed His own blood to be

     (Rev. 6)                                                                       shed (Rev. 5:9)

9.  will speak great words of him-                  9.  speaks words of life (John 6)

     self (Dan. 7:25)

10.  will break a covenant with                       10.  will fulfill His covenant with

       Israel (Dan. 9:26)                                            Israel (Rom. 11:25-27)

11.  will act according to his will                    11.  acts according to the

       (Dan. 11:36)                                                                Father’s will (Mark 14:36)

12.  will be worshipped by force                    12.  is worshipped by love

       (Rev. 13:4)                                                                  (Rev. 5:8-14)

13.  is the son of perdition                              13.  is the Son of God

       (II Thess. 2:3)                                                  (John 1:14)

14.  is the man of sin (II Thess. 2:3)               14.  is the Son of righteousness

                                                                                           (Mal. 2:1)

15.  is called the Wicked One                         15.  is the Lord of Glory

       (II Thess. 2:8)                                                  (James 2:1)

16.  will gather the armies to                           16.  will bring His armies to

       Armageddon (Rev. 16:13)                              Armageddon (Rev. 19:14)

17.  ascends from the pit                                 17.  descends from heaven

       (Rev. 11:7)                                                                  (Rev. 19:11)

18.  is symbolized as a leopard                       18.  is a spotless lamb

       (Rev. 13:1-2)                                                   (Rev. 5:5-6)

19.  is demon-possessed                                  19.  is Spirit-controlled (Lk. 4:1)

       (Rev. 16:13-14)

20.  comes in his own name                            20.  comes in His Father’s Name

       (John 5:43)                                                                  (John 5:43)

21.  comes to destroy                                      21.  comes to seek and to save

       (Rev. 13:1-10)                                                 (Luke 19:10)

 

It all boils down to a contrast between the pure and the perverted.

This one world church will be powerful, and perverted…

 

3. Prosperous         4.     Persecuted

v. 4/6       next week