There is a sense in which Karl Marx statement that ’religion is the opium of the masses’ is true, states John MacArthur. People are religious because God created them to be worshippers. If they will not worship the true God, they will worship someone or something else. We look around and we think America is getting less religious. Actually, she is becoming more religious. Just less Christian.
Sadly, man’s longing to know God has been corrupted by his love of sin. In steps Satan, with the promise to bring man into the spiritual realm without having to give up sin and the pleasures of the world.
How does he do this? Through false religions. It is no wonder that as we study the end times, all false religion will be reunited into one great world religion. It will be known in its finished stage as BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. Now that is quite a title. I will just call her THE GREAT HARLOT.
To understand Babylonian false religion in the future, we need to understand Babylon’s role in the false religion of the past.
A. The Ancestry of the Harlot. (1)
’great whore’ is a metaphor for false religion.
The story of Babylon begins with the Tower of Babel, recorded in (Genesis 11:1-9). After the flood, the descendants of Noah arrived at a place called Shinar. There they decided under the leadership of a man named Nimrod to build a monument to themselves for the glory of man. Nimrod means ’rebel’. Babel means ’gate to God’. So they were rebelling in trying to make their own way to heaven. Behind all false religion is the denial of God’s way to heaven and a trust in ones own strength and abilities. In other words, to become as God.
Babel later became known as Babylon. The city of Babylon was ruled by 2 people: Nimrod ruled over politics and economics and his wife, Semiramis ruled over religion.
It was here that the cultic practices of worshipping mother and child began. Semiramis became the first high priestess of idolatry. The legend goes that Semiramis gave birth to a son, Tammuz, who was conceived by a sunbeam. Tammuz was promised to be the deliverer of the earth, the first false Messiah. But Tammuz was killed by a wild boar. Semiramis wept for 40 days and Tammuz came to life again. The power of the resurrection was attributed to the mother; Semiramis, and she began to be worshipped as the Queen of Heaven. And Tammuz was worshipped as the resurrected deliverer. Thus becoming the first mother/child worship.
The celebration of Tammuz resurrection was called the Feast of Istar at which the participants exchanged eggs to signify new life. The word Istar, which was one of the names of the queen of heaven, has been borrowed by Christianity and changed to EASTER to commemorate the true resurrection. You can see how eggs got into Easter, though.
Babel became known not as ’gate to God’, but a word meaning ’confusion’ because God made their one language into many. When their tongues were confused, they dispersed, carrying their false religious system into all the world. As the mother/son worship spread to other cultures the names changed but the practices did not.
In Phoenicia, the mother was know as Astoreth and the son as Baal. The Egyptians knew the mother as Isus and the son as Osiris. The Greeks’ Aphrodite and Eros. The Romans; Venus and Cupid. This kind of worship even sneaked into Israel. (Jere. 44:19)
All pagan religions can be traced back to Nimrod and his wife, Semiramis. 260 times in Scripture the Babylon is used to represent the system of false religions that spun off the first one in Genesis. That is why v. 5 refers to her as the ’mother of harlots.’
John connects the judgment on this harlot to the last 7 judgments called bowl or vial judgments. And we will see the judgment worked out in our next message.
’sitteth’ authority. The authority of the false church during the Tribulation is universal. The entire world will be committed to the worship of the Babylonian system under the Antichrist.
B. The Alliances of the Harlot. (2,3)
The false religion and the state will marry up. It will be state religion supported by political power. And governmental decisions supported by the false church’s moral authority.
’women’ There are 4 women given to us in the Book of Revelation. All 4 are religious symbols. In Ch. 2, Jezebel symbolizes all pagan religions. In Ch. 12, the women clothed with the sun and the moon symbolizes Israel and her religion. In Ch. 19, we will meet the Bride of Christ which is the true church. Here the woman is introduced to us as a harlot. Because it speaks of spiritual adultery. Outwardly, appearing to worship God but really worshipping other gods.
The woman is both a religious system and a city. The city is Rome (9). It is a religious system headquartered in Rome.
This religious Babylon under the False Prophet will unite with the political and economic Babylon under the Antichrist. They will work together to rule the world. At first, religion will be in control. Until the Antichrist feels he no longer needs her and then will turn upon the woman and destroy her.
C. The Affluence of the Harlot. (4)
The reward of operating in the world in a worldly manner will be the accumulation of worldly wealth.
D. The Analysis of the Harlot. (5)
I am going to pull out some characteristics and see if you can make a connection in modern times.
1. Her Presence.
(1) ’many waters’ does not refer to a geographical location but rather to the fact that the false church is world wide. (15) Her influence and presence is in the midst of all the peoples.
2. Her Politics.
’with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication’ (2) To what church does the United States have an official ambassador? This same church today has a vote in the United Nations. This same church has an embassy in most nations of the world.
3. Her prosperity.
’gold and precious stones and pearls’ (4) What church has almost $35 billion in assets in the U.S. and close to $100 billion world wide. Someone has said this church can never say as Peter said; "Silver and gold have I none but such as I have I give thee." Neither can they say, "Pick up thy bed and walk."
4. Her Persecution.
’drunken with the blood of the saints and the blood of martyrs’ What church has killed millions of Christians in the name of Christianity?
5. Her Practice.
Out of the Babylonian false religion of Semiramis and Tammuz came these concepts which you can identify in a modern church.
1. Holy Water.
2. The sign of the Cross made with the hand which originated as a T sign for Tammuz.
3. Celibacy of priests.
4. Virgins dedicated to serving the church.
5. Lent is the 40 days of mourning leading up to the resurrection of Tammuz.
6. Purgatory.
All people are going to heaven, but most (excepted for the sainted) will have to spend time atoning for past sins in a way station of suffering called purgatory. The amount of time spent can be reduced by contributions to the church.
7. Worship of the mother while constantly keeping the Son in a lesser role as a baby.
By now you have alread concluded that this is referring to the Roman Catholic church. So I will point out that on 3 occasions the present Pope John Paul II has consecrated the world to Mary. He has stated that he has dedicated his time on earth to OUR LADY. The robe he wears in most ceremonies has written in it in Latin, "Mary, I am all yours."
The Feast of Assumption teaches that Mary was carried body and soul up into heaven. Mary, not Christ, is the center piece of Catholicism.
6. Her Place.
’seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth’ (9) Rome has always been known as the city of 7 hills. Ovid wrote "Rome looks around on the whole globe from her seven mountains, the seat of empire and abode of the gods."
7. Her Priests.
’purple and scarlet’ (4) Are the colors worn only by bishops and cardinals. 300 years ago the Pope Marcellus ruled that it is illegal for anyone other than a Cardinal to wear a scarlet hat.
The Roman Catholic church did not exist when John wrote this. The Catholic church came into being in 312, when Roman Emperor Constantine baptized his whole army and then declared that all who wanted Roman citizenship must be a Christian first. With one act, Christianity merged with government and became paganized. The temples became churches, the pagan priests became new Christian leaders, the festivals were given new names; but really it was just the old system with a new name. Four Caesars before Constantine had used the title "PONTIFEX MAXIMUS" (greatest bridgemaker - between God and man) to describe themselves as the head of all pagan religions. When the Archbishop of Rome, whose name was Damascus, took upon himself the foll of Pope in 378, he adopted the name to himself and it has continued to be used by all popes since. The popes are not the successor to Peter, but the successor to the pagan religious leaders of Rome.
I want to make clear that I am talking about a system of religion and not the individual Roman Catholic. I don’t want you to think I am caught up in Baptist bias.
Can a person be a Roman Catholic and still be a true believer? Yes! Most Catholics have no idea of their own traditions and history. Nor do they understand the rituals and holy days they practice. If they have faith in the virgin birth, perfect life, death for our sin and resurrection of Jesus Christ, they have met the only criteria for salvation. Unfortunately, the church itself imposes a system of works for salvation rather than grace, that keeps many from true faith.
I do believe that once a Roman Catholic has been exposed to the truth of God’s Word in its entirety, it will be difficult for them to remain comfortable within that system. I had lunch with a former Roman Catholic from Cajun Lousiana. He told me he was raised in the Catholic church, but in his 50’s (he is in his 70’s now) he discovered he could read the Bible for himself. And what he read led him away from that church into a Bible teaching Protestant church.
The Catholic church and the Bible can never be reconcilled for salvation because most Catholic practices are unbiblical.
Two examples:
The Roman Catholics teach that Mary never had any children after Jesus and remained a virgin into eternity. Yet we know 2 of Jesus’ younger brothers wrote books of the Bible.
The Roman Catholic church teaches that Mary is a co-mediator of the faith with Christ. In St. Mary’s Cathedral in Rome, Jesus Christ is shown crucified on the Cross. The other side of the Cross shows Mary also crucified.
E. The Aggression of the Harlot. (6)
False religion has always been the murderer of the true saints.
The INQUISITION was a church court ’for detection and punishment of heretics’. It had secret proceeding. Consfiscation of properties by the church. It was designed to crush the Reformation. From 1540 through 1570, 900,000 Protestants were put to death. Many of them tortured and burned to death by men proporting to be spokesmen for God.
Let me give you my thoughts on how this will work out in the Tribulation. The true church will be raptured before the Tribulation, including many Roman Catholics. Churches of all denominations will continue to meet every Sunday as though nothing had happened. The False Prophet will use the political power of the Antichrist to form a one world religion.
Why will people come to it? It will be supernaturally engineered. Remember that behind all false religions is one person, Satan. Through lies, and deception and supernatural power he will draw men of all different religions spawned out of Babel together into one. Just as they were scattered at the time of confusion, they will be recollected. I also believe that these verses indicate that the Roman Catholic church, which like all other churches will be without any true believers, will be the instrument that Satan will use. It already meets most of the qualifications of geography, wealth and power.
Satan has always desired to be worshipped and during this period he will be. But this false religious system is bound for destruction as are all who follow it.
Don’t believe the lies of the devil that say you can enjoy the sins of the world without consequence. Or that you don’t need Jesus as the only way to heaven.
