REVELATION Chapter 17 "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots Revealed." This Bible Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's transcription is provided with written permission by http://www.theseason.org Chapter 17, like all the others, was written in symbology. We are taught here by the use of idioms, and symbols. Though these terms are covered over in symbols; each of these terms are explained as to their identity. There simply is no mystery to these symbols when we have the explanation. As we unravel the mysteries in this chapter, many other mysteries of God's Word will also be revealed at this time. Revelation 17:1 "And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials [bowls], and talked with me [John], saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore [harlot] that sitteth upon many waters: Remember, the seven seals, vials, plagues, trumpets, and thunders are all the same acts. Only a different vision of John's, giving a different profile of the same occurrence, or event. This angel is one of the seven angels that "he" [John] has seen before, and the discussion John and this angel are having is about this "one world religion" that sits, or rules over the peoples of the earth. The "great whore" is a religion, while the "waters" represents the people that follow after the whore, or religion. This "whore" is identified as "Mystery, Babylon", as we look ahead to the 15th verse. We will also establish in our minds exactly what the "waters", or "seas", or "rivers" truly represents. These bodies of water are peoples, and nations, tongues and languages right here on earth. This harlot is not the Catholic church, or any other church now in operation, but it is a deception created by these Kenite scribes that will so change your church, or any church, to accept the one world political and religious beasts. In the end, it will be the Antichrist's religious system. The approach the Kenites will use to draw you and your church into their system, will be through your own doctrines like the "rapture theory", or another false doctrine spun out to draw certain churches in to their deceptions. To the Roman Catholics, they will use idols, miracles, or even a statement from the pope, to make the Catholics accept. To Buddhist and the Hindus it will be something different, but all religions will be open and willing to allow themselves to enter into the Antichrist's system. Why then is the Christian world the focus of Satan's attacks over all other religions of the world? Christianity is the only religion where it's Messiah and founder claims to be the "Son of the Living God". All other forms of religious practice are created by man for man. Any supernatural action then would automatically draw the other forms to that supernatural entity. Christianity is the only religion that is exact and absolute, Jesus said, you either come to the Father by Me, or you are not saved and have eternal life. Jesus said in John 14:6; "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh to the Father but by Me." So this angel is about to tell John exactly what these terms and idioms mean. Revelation 17:2 "With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication." This is the answer given to John, by the angel. The "people" of the earth have become intoxicated on her [this one world religious system's] wine, which is confusion and false doctrine. They are being drawn to accept this religious system that these Kenites will devise upon the arrival of the Antichrist to earth. Revelation 17:3 "So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns." John was taken by this messenger in the spirit, to a time of the end. The wilderness is the same as Joel spoke of; where before the locust arrived, it was like the Garden of Eden, lush and flourishing; and behind the locust army it became a wilderness. [Joel 1:19-20] So this "wilderness" is a "time", not a place, when all truth of God's Word has dried up. Amos 8:11 "Behold the day come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:" When Satan comes, he comes bring peace and prosperity to everyone that buys into his system. Amos 8:12 "And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they [the people of the earth living in their flesh bodies] shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." So what are these people looking for? The truth of God's Word, it simply will not be found. As we see today, Christian churches are even bringing in the heathen religious forms such as TM and other forms, and trying to use them and call their methods of those eastern religious forms "of God". This "Scarlet colored beast" religious system will be out to please everyone, including you and your church. However, the churches that are of the Smyrna and Philadelphia type will not buy into that system. The other five types of churches will. This "woman" then is a "false religion", and she sits on "the religious beast" of the one world system. Think of this religious system in today's terms as the "World Council of Churches", this old whore caters to any heathen cause coming down the line. The "Scarlet" color represents royalty, and a very high political power, and that is exactly where the World Council of Churches sits. The "blasphemy" she is spouting out is against our Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit of God. In Revelation 13:1, we were given the seven dominions, or continents which cover the entire earth, with it's ten rulers, or authoritative agencies. All these powers are riding under a beast, which is a world wide government. When this government started, it was in a political form following a world war. However, after the United Nations was established, then a troubling spiritual time came. The Political form of this world wide system will die, and out of it's destruction a religious order, or religion which the entire world will accept will come into being. We will be told later when this form will come into power. Revelation 17:4 "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:" The "woman" is the religious order, or church system, that is riding on this beast. Again she is wearing the royal clothing, showing the strength of her power. The "gold and precious stones" that she will be wearing, show her attempt at priestly duties, which is a copy of the breast plate that one of God's priests would wear. The "cup" is filled "with abominations", which in the Greek text are "bdelugma", and in the plural, its of "idolatry". It is unclean practices of worship. The "cup" in the communion holds the wine, that represents the blood of Christ, and it is taken to our lips. The "cup" represents the purity of Christ's blood, and the sacrifice that was shed for our sins. So the "cup" of this world system calling itself a church will be filled with all sorts of heathen impurities. Those abominations includes filthy practices, such as sodomy, abortion and other unclean things being accepted. This religious "woman" form will rule over all the peoples of the world that will listen to her deceptions. The "Mother of Babylon" is the head of all confusion, and deception. Revelation 17:5 "And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." This was actually written on her forehead. She, this one world religious system is the queen of all of Satan's dirty tricks and fornications. Though it will look like God is blessing this harlot, and that this religious system is a pillar of the truth, but the system you see is a lie, and from the pit. Satan's religious order will enter prosperous and successful, yet, it well be very short lived [five months], as we read in Revelation 9:5, 10. Daniel also spoke of this time when Satan would come to the earth. Daniel 8:23 "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up." When the one world political system [United Nations] created by the Kenites has come to completion and is accepted by the peoples of the world, then it will cease as a political government because this "king of fierce countenance and understanding dark sentences" will arrive here on earth. That king is Satan. Daniel 8:24 "And his [Satan's] power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people." We know that Satan will be supernatural, because in Revelation 9:1, we saw that God gave Satan the power and authority to do those things that he shall do. Remember that God put limits on Satan and he will only be allowed to deceive those that do not have the seal of God in their foreheads, their minds. Daniel 8:25 "And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand." The policy of any company or organization sets the limits to what the entity will do, or how it will function. It sets the nature of the entity. Satan's policy will be to bless those that follow him, and destroy those that will not. Satan's "policy" is to "magnify himself" in his mind, and that is done when people bow to him, and call him God. That is the "Abomination of desolation" that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24:15. Revelation 17:6 "And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration [wonder]." This "woman" [One world religious system] is drunken with the pride of deceiving the saints of God who were not prepared to face her, or could they even understand how Satan would mold his church. These "martyrs" for Jesus are God's two witnesses. [See chapter eleven.] This word "admiration" is one of the sickest translations in the whole Bible. In fact it is an outright insult. "Admiration" as used here means "to be shocked", or "to wonder in astonishment in disbelief". This religion, or "woman" was the depth of blasphemy. How could an intelligent and educated world, in this century accept the simplicity of all the Kenite, and Satanic lies and perversions as of God. This shows just how low the religious world will sink. The lies and practices of idolatry, and perversions will be molded into the minds of this generation through the strict control of the four hidden dynasties, which the Kenites control now. They will shape your thinking and your lifestyle to where you will willingly accept it, if you are not sealed in your mind with the truth of God's Word. Revelation 17:7 "And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns." This angel is going to tell us the mystery of the woman, the beast, the heads, and the horns. Satan will work differently in this second earth age, than he worked in the first earth age [given in Revelation 12:1-6]. Then the crowns of power was given to the kings that sat over the people, where as in Revelation 13:1-3 we saw that it was the ten agencies of power that wore the crowns of power, not individuals. Revelation 17:8 "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is [shall come]." This "beast" was in the Garden of Eden deceiving [beguiling] Eve; he is not here now, for he is in heaven accusing the saints before the throne of God, now. He [Satan] will ascend out of the bottomless pit, as we saw in Revelation 9:1, and 2, and "he will go to perdition", following the judgment at the end of the Millennium kingdom age. Friend, "he" spoken of here, is Satan, and don't let any one tell you any different. Satan is the "son of perdition" as recorded in II Thessalonians 2:1-4, and he will be the first Christ to come at the end of this earth age. "Perdition" means to "perish", and only Satan has had that sentence passed on him at this time. We are told that those "whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world", [that first earth age], will wonder, or follow after Satan. They fell in the first earth age, and they will also fall in this earth age. Those of who were chosen in that first earth age stood against Satan then, and they will also stand now. They are God's elect. When the last of the elect, and the 144,000 of Israel are sealed, then Satan will arrive as the Antichrist. This age is a repeat of the first earth age. Now, what about the other Christians? They will follow false doctrine, and go into Satan's camp. The deception will cover the whole earth, yet the truth is in your hands to forewarn those around you in this generation. There will be no equal to the deceptions that are going to come, in the history of all mankind. Yet the sermons of today are full of nonsense, with no sense of urgency given even as this great hour of deception is at our doorstep. The Church sleeps, while the Kenites steal the sheep. Revelation 17:9 "And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth." If you understand God's prophecy, then you have "wisdom". The "Mountains" are seven nations, or dominions. They are areas of land, and all seven dominions comprise the entire earth. They will make up Satan's earthly kingdom. A "kingdom" is "a king and his domain". The "woman", or this false religion will sit and rule over all seven of these dominions. "She" is the religion of Satan created by the Kenites, and the eighth verse told us it is Satan [the beast] that will sit over the woman. Revelation 17:10 "And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space." Now we get to something a little different. When we go back to verse eight, we will understand it. There were ten kings at first, but this deals with seven different kings. These seven kings have been over their dominions for some time. There is only one king that Christ has given power over all the earth in the past two thousand years, and that king is Satan. These seven kings represent the seven offices that Satan has held, from the "dragon" in the first earth age, "serpent" in the garden, all the way through this age to the Antichrist at the end of this age. There has been five roles that Satan has and is playing to this date, and Satan is our "accuser" before the throne of God today, but in time he will be right here on earth filling the role of Antichrist, which will be for a very short time. Satan's final role starts shortly, very shortly, with Michael casting him out of heaven [Revelation 12:7]. He will have only five months in his final role of this earth age. Revelation 17:11 "And the beast that was, and is not even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition." Remember in verse eight, "he" was the one out of the pit. Satan's "eighth" role is when he goes into perdition. Why, "of the seven"? Because he was over the seven, one entity in all seven positions; and now this eighth is his last. No one except Satan has been judged and sentenced already to perdition, as recorded in Ezekiel 28:18. This beast is the son of perdition, and "perdition" means "to destroy" or destroyer. Revelation 17:12 "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power [authority] as kings one hour with the beast." These "ten horns" are ten kings, and all these kings exists at the same time. They are not like the seven kings of the roles of Satan. They do not rule until a specific time, and then they rule for one hour. The beast [Antichrist] must appear first, then their power will be given to them by the Antichrist. This is after the deadly wound has been healed, the ending of the one world political system. This is the "hour of temptation" Jesus speaks of and warned us of seven times. The warnings are given so that we will not follow, or be deceived by this beast in that final hour [of this age]. The elect and the sealed of God will not be tempted in that hour, for they know who the tempter is [Satan]. This is the time to have your Spiritual armor on and ready for the battle. There is no "rapture" or escape from this hour of temptation here on earth, but God's armor is sufficient to protect you during this spiritual battle. I am aware that this is the point that deceivers use to draw you in; however, it is the very deception that will lead you to the Antichrist. Revelation 17:13 "These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast." There can be no doubt now who rules over the ten kings, or authorities, or agencies: it is Antichrist, the beast. The nations of the world have no borders, or boundaries. The Euphrates has dried up, and Israel and Babylon are one in mind and accord. These authorities must be similar to the ten agencies that now rule the earth, under the United Nations. These are UNICEF [for the children], the World Bank [economics], the World court [to settle disputes], Red Cross [the world health organization], Relief [starvation], the U.N. forces [military], Space, Environment, and the Beast [universal information and control computer], and Education, as well as the World council of churches. Anything you can imagine is covered and governed by one of these ten agencies. Revelation 17:14 "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of Lords, and King of kings: and they [those sealed with the truth in their minds] that are with him are called, and chosen and faithful." Thank God that you can be living in this generation, and understand what it is all about. This is the generation most of the Bible is written about, for it is the final time of testing of those who fell in the first earth age. If you understand, then God's plan makes sense and no deception can come for you. You know that Satan is the first Christ. He will come with his tricks and deceptions. These leaders of the world system will make a war, a spiritual war with the Lamb [Jesus Christ] and they will lose in the battle. All who stand on that day are of the "chosen for God", and they will remain faithful. Are you one called, chosen and faithful. If so the rewards are great in Christ's kingdom. That spiritual armor will be given at the close of this chapter, as recorded in Ephesians 6:10-20. Revelation 17:15 "And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." He continues explaining the symbols. The "waters" are "the people, and nations of all languages of the earth" that the Antichrist will sit upon. Mystery Babylon will control the entire earth, and that means you, unless you have been sealed in your mind, prior to when the Antichrist arrives. Revelation 17:16 "And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire." These ten horns, or agencies of authority will actually hate the people caught up in this satanic religious system. In Revelation 9:4 we saw this army of locust will burn [deceive] all, with the permission of God, except for the elect. "Fire" is the deception, lies, and tricks in this spiritual battle, while God's big weapon is His Holy Word. Hebrews 12:29 states that "God is a consuming fire". They will make Christians "naked" by taking away all their righteous acts, for when they take "the mark of the Beast", they throw away their acts and works before Satan. Our garments in the next age are made up of our righteous act. We will read of this in Revelation 19. Revelation 17:17 "For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled." It is God who puts the will in the hearts of these ten kings, or world rulers to fulfill God's will. It is God's will, and under His control and authority that all that should come to pass; will come to pass, exactly as His Word said it would. We are observers in this generation, with the mission to plant seeds of truth until the arrival of the Antichrist. Then be willing to be used by the Holy Spirit, as he talks through us during this time of the tribulation. The plan of God is right on schedule, and we are in a position to see the awesome workings of God as He moves to fulfill His eternal plan. Unbelievable peace talks are taking place, and enemies around the world are following the lead of the political beast. Why would all this happen? "For God hath put it in their hearts [minds] to fulfill his will, and to agree, and to give their kingdom unto the beast." [verse 17] All things shall come to pass as they are written. Revelation 17:18 "And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." This is a symbolic city. It is made up of one thing, Confusion. A mind set that brings all minds and thoughts of the world into a common bond. They agree to accept the idolatry, and the entire world order, both political and religious. The city is not a city as we think of cities today, but a state of mind, which is in accord and agreement with Satan's religious order. That state of mind will be what rules the authorities controlling all mankind, except God's elect. Got it? I hope so.
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