REVELATION 17 MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT2011 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Revelation 17 Mystery Babylon The Great

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2011. An angel who is giving Ezekiel some vision tells Ezekiel to fix his mind on the things that he's about to see.

He tells him that he was brought there for a reason so that he could see, so that he could write down, and then that he could pass on the things that God is going to show him. And I think that's a really appropriate thing to consider for you and I as we gather together to spend time in the Word. And this morning as we go through chapter 17 of Revelation, I want to encourage you to fix your mind on the things that we'll be studying.

There's going to be some challenges this morning. Chapter 17 has a lot of different directions that you could go, that you could allow your minds to work on. There's a lot of different speculations and ideas about how these things will be fulfilled and what it will look like.

But I want to encourage you not to get lost, not to get distracted, not to get, you know, overwhelmed by the details, but fix your mind. Stay focused on these things that God will be sharing out of chapter 17, because there's some things that he wants to work in your hearts. But then also, like the prophet Ezekiel, there's some things that he's going to want you to pass on and share with others as you come in contact with them this week.

And so I want to encourage you to pay attention this week. Maybe pull out a paper and a pen and take some notes and stay on track with these things. They are somewhat technical and difficult. I will do my best not to get too sidetracked and not to go, you know, in too many different directions and just give us a good overview and a grasp of the passage. But there's a lot of depth here that we could go into.

and that you could spend time on your own as well. So take some notes, pay attention, stay focused, and see what God will do in your heart.

Well, as we start out here in chapter 17, I want to take us back once again to the outline of the book of Revelation that's found in chapter 1, verse 19, where Jesus tells John to write down three different things or three different parts to the book of Revelation. First, the things dealing with the past. Jesus tells John to write down the things which he had already seen. And we find that recorded in chapter 1 of Revelation.

And then Jesus tells John to write down the things which are, that's dealing with the present time. And that continues and extends even to the day that we're living in today. It's the present time, the time of the church, and it extends until the rapture of the church. And so chapters 2 and 3, those seven letters to the seven churches, deal with that church age and the present time.

Well, then Jesus tells John to write down the things in regard to the future, the things which will take place after these things he said. And that's chapters 4 through 22 of the book of Revelation. Pretty much the whole book is dealing with these future events that are yet to happen.

And what are those events that will come to pass? Well, we've been looking at this list over and over again. We start out looking at Revelation chapter 4, the rapture of the church. That time when the church will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and then we will forever be with the Lord, Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.

At that time, with the church out of this world, the earth is going to then go through seven years of tribulation. And that's recorded here in Revelation in chapters 6 through 19. The seven years of tribulation we've been studying for the past many weeks. It's going to be a time of great devastation and destruction with all of the things that will be going on, and we'll talk more about that in just a few moments.

Well, the seven-year tribulation period comes to an end with the return of Jesus Christ. He comes back, sets foot on the earth, and establishes his kingdom here on the earth for 1,000 years.

The saints who were caught up to be with the Lord come back with him at that time, and we rule and we reign with him during that thousand-year reign of Christ. During that time, the earth is renewed, there's peace, there's righteousness, and Satan is bound in the bottomless pit for that thousand years. However, he is released for a short time at the end of the thousand-year reign, and he leads one final rebellion against God.

Don't have to sweat about that. Don't worry about it. That rebellion will fail. He cannot defeat God. And that failure in that last rebellion or that last attack against God will bring about the final judgment of Satan and his angels. It's called the Great White Throne Judgment. And at that time, Satan and his demons will be cast into the lake of fire.

And Revelation chapter 20 verse 15 also tells us that whoever is not written in the book of life will also be cast into the lake of fire at that time. It's the final judgment for those who have rejected God and His Savior Jesus Christ.

Well, then the end of the book, chapters 21 and 22, then go on to look at the rest of eternity, the new heavens, the new earth, the new Jerusalem that descends out of heaven, and then the rest of the ages that is in store for those who have walked with God. And there's some great things in store, and we get a glimpse of that in those final chapters.

And so these are the things which must shortly take place. They're going to happen. There's no getting around that. And they could happen at any moment. These things could begin to transpire, begin to be fulfilled at any moment, at any instant.

Well, as we're here in chapter 17, where we're at in the book is we're still working our way through the tribulation period. Just for a couple more chapters, we'll be spending this time in the tribulation period. And if you remember, the tribulation period began with the opening of a scroll that had seven seals.

And as Jesus opened each of these seals, there was judgments and events that were happening in the earth as well as in heaven. When he opened the first seal, the Antichrist came forward upon the earth, conquering and to conquer. He rises to power at that time. The second seal is opened and there's war that breaks out all around the world. The third seal is opened and there's a worldwide famine that goes on.

Then the fourth seal is opened and a quarter of the earth dies as a result of all these things that are happening. The fifth seal opens and John sees martyrs under the throne of God being comforted and told to wait just a little bit longer. Then the sixth seal is opened and there's some catastrophic events that hit the earth. A great earthquake, an asteroid or a star falling from the sky.

The sun turns black or dark and the moon turns blood red at this time as well. Some cataclysmic events that are going on. Then the seventh seal is opened and there's silence in heaven for about 30 minutes. In that silence come forth seven more angels. And these seven angels, each of them has a trumpet and as they sound the trumpet...

There's more judgments that are being poured out upon the earth or taking place upon the earth. And so these are the seven trumpet judgments. The first trumpet sounded and a third of the trees are burned. The second trumpet sounded and a third of the sea is turned to blood. The third trumpet sounded and a third of the fresh water is made bitter.

The fourth trumpet sounded and a third of the stars are darkened. The fifth trumpet sounded and there's five months of torment upon mankind by these demonic locust-type creatures.

Then the sixth trumpet sounds and there's four angels who are released and they lead an army to kill one-third of mankind. Then the seventh trumpet sounded and the ark or the temple in heaven is opened, the ark is seen and out from the temple comes seven more angels, each of them having a bowl, bowl filled with the wrath of God. And as each one pours out their bowl upon the earth, there's...

Corresponding judgments and events that take place. That's what we looked at last week in chapter 16. And so these are the seven bold judgments. The first one is poured out. And there was a foul and loathsome sore that broke out upon those who had the mark of the beast. The second bowl is poured out and the sea became blood. The third bowl is poured out and the rest of the fresh water became blood. The fourth bowl is poured out and the sun begins to scorch mankind with great heat.

The fifth bowl is poured out and there is darkness on the kingdom of the Antichrist. The sixth bowl is poured out and the kings of the earth are gathered together at Armageddon for the final battle. And then the seventh bowl is poured out and there's a great earthquake and hail and all is done. Preparation is fully made now for the return of Jesus Christ.

And so in these things, the seven seals, the seven trumpets, the seven bowls, we have the totality of the tribulation period. And now as we're looking at chapter 17, we're kind of amplifying, we're going back into that tribulation period and looking at a little bit more detail about the things that were going on during the tribulation period. And so we're looking at the subject of Babylon this morning in chapter 17.

It's a subject that we will continue next week as we continue on into chapter 18. Look with me, please, going back to chapter 16 for just a moment. Look at verse 19 with me. And it says this. Keep in mind, this is during that seventh bowl, the final judgment being poured out. In verse 19, it says, Now the great city, that's Jerusalem, was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell.

And great Babylon was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. Here in verse 19, in this final judgment, the cities are being judged and things are happening around the world. But Babylon is mentioned by name. And it says that God gives Babylon the fullness of his wrath, the fullness of the fierceness of his wrath.

And so there's going to be a great judgment that is given specifically to Babylon. Now that subject, Babylon, is what we'll be dealing with today as well as next week. There's two parts to this idea of Babylon and what Babylon is. The first part we'll look at today in chapter 17. Babylon is a religious system.

It's the Babylonian religious system. And this religious system, identified with Babylon, will be destroyed in the middle of the tribulation period. We'll talk about that as we study through chapter 17 today.

Then next week in chapter 18, we'll look at Babylon and the subject of the Babylonian commercial system, the idolatry, the materialism that's tied with that. And that Babylon, that aspect of Babylon will be destroyed at the end of the tribulation period. So the idea of Babylon is something that isn't just a location or a city, it's a system that

of false religion, a system of idolatry and materialism that extends back way to the beginning, way to ancient history, back to the times of Abraham and before that. It's the system of false religion and idolatry that's against God.

And so what we're looking at here in chapter 17 is something that God's going to be dealing with, but it's more than just a place or a city or a denomination. It's something that extends back, and we'll talk about that as we go forward here in chapter 17.

So there's six things I want to share with you this morning or point out from chapter 17 of Revelation and this vision that John has. And the first thing that we see is found in verses 1 through 3, and that is a woman on a scarlet beast. Verse 1 says, Then one of the seven angels, who had the seven bulls, came and talked with me, saying to me, Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters. And he said to me,

with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication. And so what we're seeing here is a visual image, a picture, and then the angel is going to take John and give him insights about what this picture means and what these different elements of this image represent.

But he says to John, he's one of the angels, by the way, who had those last seven bowls that were poured out on the earth. And so he pours out his bowl and then he goes over to John and he says, hey, John, I want to show you something. I want to show you the judgment of the great harlot. Now, who is the great harlot? What is he talking about here?

Well, harlot used throughout the scriptures really is speaking of spiritual harlotry. It's a common way of dealing with or referring to false religion and idolatry throughout the scriptures. Because you and I are God's creation. For us as the church, he purchased us with his own blood to be his bride.

And so for us to worship any other God is adultery or fornication or spiritual harlotry. And so as he talks about this great harlot, he's speaking of a religious system or a system that's leading people to worship anything else other than God.

Now this is a specific harlot. There's lots of false religions, but this is a specific one. This specific system is the future Babylonian religious system. It's going to be a system that is in place there in the end times, and it's going to be worldwide. The great harlot here is pictured as sitting on many waters there at the end of verse 1. Those many waters are explained later on in verse 15.

as many peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues. He says in verse 2, the kings of the earth committed fornication with her, that is they're practicing this false religion with her, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

And so this is a religious system that is worldwide, it's international, and it involves the kings as well as the inhabitants. It's from the highest royalty to the lowest of humanity will be involved in this worldwide worship system, this false religious system that will be in place during the tribulation period. Verse 3.

So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. So the angel tells John, hey, I want to show you something, the judgment of this great harlot. And so he takes him and then he brings him in. And John sees a woman sitting on top of a beast. The beast has seven heads and then ten horns.

And so we have four components to this vision or this image that John sees. First, you have the woman. Second, you have the beast. Third, you have the seven heads. And then fourth, you have the ten horns. And the angel will go on and talk about each of these components here in chapter 17. And so we'll work our way through them as we seek to understand this vision that is given to John.

The first thing we see, it's point number two for us this morning, that is the mystery of the woman. The mystery of the woman, found in verses 4 and 5, it says, "...the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written,

Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and the abominations of the earth. Here in verses 4 and 5, now we begin to deal with the woman and we get a little bit of insight and understanding about who or what this represents. First of all, we see the woman is arrayed in purple and scarlet, but also is adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls.

Now this woman, again, it represents a religious system that will be in place. And so this religious system, the idea here is that on the outside, the religious system is going to look really, really good. There's going to be great wealth there. There's going to be, you know, beauty there. However, on the inside is going to be a completely different story.

It describes her as having a golden cup that's full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. So on the outside, she'll be adorned very nicely, but what's in her cup, what's within this religious system is going to be wickedness and filthiness, idolatry and things that are fully not of God. So it will look good on the outside, but inside it will be filled with abominations.

This religious system is described as Babylon or mystery, Babylon the Great. We'll come back and deal with that in just a moment. But it's also referred to as the mother of harlots and the abominations of the earth. And so what we're dealing with is a false religious system that is really the source of

Now what is that source? Well, it takes us back to the ancient Babylonian religion.

Back in the area of Babylon, we have really the beginning of false religion and idolatry that took place there in the region of Babylon around the time of Nimrod. These things were established. You might remember Nimrod from the book of Genesis. Well, his wife and his son became the objects of worship for this world.

false system that is set up there in the region of Babylon. And so we need to take a couple minutes and look at some of the background to this ancient Babylonian religion because it has some important ties to things that we know and understand and practice today, but also things that will be in that tribulation period and parts of the judgment that God will be pouring out that we're reading about here in chapter 17.

So the ancient Babylonian religion centered around a woman and her son. The woman was named Semiramis. She was called the Queen of Heaven and her son was called Tammuz.

Now, they were real people. It was the wife of Nimrod and the son of Nimrod. But they were later worshipped as gods. They were deified. And Semiramis claimed that Tammuz was virgin born, that he was born without having a father.

They would, in practicing this religious system, have several feasts and celebrations throughout the year. Two prominent ones that you might be familiar with is they would celebrate the birth of Tammuz, that was the son, and they would celebrate his birth on or around December 25th. And they would celebrate with trees and decorations and I'm not going to get into all those details there.

They would also celebrate the resurrection of Tammuz, who again was the son, because he was killed by a wild boar, and several days after that he rose again, according to their beliefs. And so they would celebrate the resurrection of this son, of this god that they worshipped, in the springtime. They called it Ishtar, and as languages varied throughout the years, it morphed into what we call today Easter.

And so these celebrations in the springtime and in the wintertime correspond with what we practice today as Easter and Christmas.

Now also part of this Babylonian religion that was existing there in Babylon was a priestly order. It was a hierarchy of priests and they existed in order to be part of this worship system. The priests were clearly identified by their particular hats as well as their scarlet and purple robes and clothing that they wore.

And this worship system was practiced in Babylon, but then it spread throughout the ancient world to pretty much all of the different regions. And all throughout the ancient world, this religion and this worship system was practiced, but the names were changed according to the languages that each region spoke. And so in the land of Canaan, where the children of Israel came in and dwelt, the land of Canaan, they worshiped, they practiced this religion, worshiping Ashtoreth,

as the Queen of Heaven, and Baal as the son who is born, supposedly virgin born, according to Semiramis. And so they worshipped Ashtoreth and Baal. Now you remember the prophets of Baal in the Old Testament? Those were those who were practicing this ancient Babylonian religion.

And so that was something that was going on even amongst the children of Israel. In Egypt, it took the names Isis and Horus. And so Isis was the queen of heaven. Horus was the son who was born to her. In Greece, it was Aphrodite and Eros. And they practiced the same system, but with these names. And then in Italy, it took the names Venus and Cupid.

And that's just kind of a quick sample of, you know, it was practiced in all these different regions, but the names were according to their own language. This religion was based in Babylon, but if you remember, historically, Babylon was conquered by the Medo-Persian Empire. King Cyrus came in and he conquered Babylon. And when he did...

the priests there who are based in Babylon practicing this system moved from Babylon to the city of Pergamos and they stayed in Pergamos for a while that was kind of the center of that that religious system because the priests moved that's where now the center was but soon after there was problems around Pergamos as well and so the priestly order moved from Pergamos to Rome and

That was back in the days of the Roman Empire. And so there in Rome was the capital politically, and it became the capital religiously for this system as well. And so this priestly order moved into the city of Rome. They were well established there. And then Constantine takes the throne. He becomes emperor of the Roman Empire. And as emperor of the Roman Empire, he...

He claims to be a Christian and so what he does is he first of all legalizes Christianity which was, it was, you know, the Roman Empire was persecuting Christians prior to that. And in legalizing Christianity he tried to make it acceptable and kind of join everybody together and so they began to merge the practices of the pagans relating to this Babylonian religion as well as the practices of the Christians. And so he

Christianity kind of became the religion of the Roman government or the Roman Empire. And in order to get everybody to get along, they just kind of changed the names a little bit and merged things together. And that is how some of the things that we are familiar with today in the Roman Catholic Church got developed. The priesthood that exists in the Roman Catholic Church has its roots back in this Babylonian practice. The

The priests in that day, you know, they wore scarlet, they wore purple, they were celibate and those types of things. And those practices carried into and started to become part of the church at that time. That's also how the worship of Mary was developed. Because part of the Babylonian religion was the worship of the Queen of Heaven.

And so they just kind of morphed it in. And so, okay, now Mary is the queen of heaven. And that is how that worship became, you know, into the church. And there's many other practices. There's a lot more that I'm not getting into here, just trying to give the highlights. But if that is interesting to you and you want to dig more into that, there's a good book called The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop.

It's the two Babylons by Alexander Hislop. And he goes through all of the details and looks at, you know, the practices of the Babylonian religion and how those things correspond and came into the church during the time of Constantine and then later on. And so if you want to, you know, dig into that a little bit more, you're welcome to do so.

So I want to make a point here though, because many times you hear this passage and as it's taught, it's really taught with a strong connection to the Catholic Church for the things that, you know, I just shared and those practices that were carried over. And so a lot of times, you know, there's a big emphasis on the Catholic Church as this chapter is being studied and taught. And there is some parallels and there are some things that connect. There's many similarities and

However, I really do think that it's misleading to say that this woman is the Catholic Church. I think it's misleading because the Catholic Church in the present condition is not the same as this religious system that will be in place during the tribulation period.

For sure, the Catholic Church will probably be a large part and have a large influence in this final religious system. But in its present condition, it's not the same thing. It's comparing apples to oranges in some senses. It's still in the same line of fruits, but it's not exactly the same. And there's a couple of reasons for that.

This woman that we're studying in the future is a religious system that has its roots in the ancient Babylonian religion, but it's a system that is in place after the true believers are gone. Now, please understand, you know, we're not against religion.

We're not against other people. We're not against other, you know, the Catholic Church or the Catholic Church is not the devil and it's not 666 and it's not the mark of the beast and all of those types of things, okay? Now, the Catholic Church has some really off and bad doctrine and yet...

in the midst of the Catholic Church are those who are believers. And they believe in Jesus Christ. They're not caught up in the works that is taught, the works-based relationship with God. They believe in Jesus Christ. They know who He is. They walk with Him. And they have faith in Jesus Christ. And they're saved. And when the rapture of the church takes place, they'll go with us. Same is true within the Mormon church.

There are those who, in spite of the religion and the false teachings that are going on, who have really found Jesus Christ and are walking with Him and are trusting in Him for salvation. The same is true within the Jehovah's Witnesses. The same is true within Calvary Chapel Living Water. There are those who know God, they walk with Him, they have faith in Jesus Christ, and as a result they're saved, and at the rapture of the church they'll be gone.

Now, when the church is gone, all the true believers are gone, all real believers are gone, then there's going to be some changes in the religious systems of the world. Especially if you consider and include, factor in, Ezekiel chapter 38 and 39, which we studied a couple of weeks ago on Wednesday. God is going to deal a severe blow to the Islamic nations.

And they will not have the power that they have today or that they will have in the near future. There's going to be some severe judgment that's brought upon them. And so the nation of Islam and the prominence of Islam is going to change. There's going to be a massive change in the religious views of the world after the church is out of here, after the rapture has taken place.

And so that's why I make the point it's misleading to say that this woman is the Catholic Church because then we kind of tend to think, well, you know, in the present condition. But that's not the reality. This woman is a future religious system that has its roots in ancient Babylon. There's some similarities in closeness because there's much in Catholicism that also comes from the ancient Babylonian religion. But it's not one-to-one. It's not exactly the same.

Verse 6. He says, I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement. So when John sees this vision, he's pretty amazed. He marvels, he wonders at this vision that God is showing to him. And he sees this woman who is drunk with the blood of the saints. And so this religious system that is

in place after the rapture, during the tribulation, is going to be severely persecuting those who are true believers. Those who have turned to God and got right with God and become saved through the tribulation period. This religious system is going to attack them, put them to death, and they are going to be drunk with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And so John sees this and he marvels, he wonders.

But now the angel is going to go on to give him even more insight into this image or this vision that he's getting. So the mystery of the woman, the woman is a future religious system that has its roots in ancient Babylonian religion. As we go on point number three this morning, verses seven and eight, we look at the mystery of the beast. Verse seven says,

And so the angel looks at him and says, Hey, why are you so amazed at this? I'm going to tell you the mystery. I'll tell you what's going on about this woman and the beast that carries her with the seven heads and the ten horns. Verse 8.

The beast that you saw was and is not and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was and is not and yet is.

So now the angel goes on to explain to John who the beast is or what the beast is. And there in verse 8, it makes it all clear and you probably have no questions at all, so we'll move right along, right? No, he explains it, but it does take some work for us to understand and know what this angel is talking about. Summarizing it for you, the beast is the Antichrist, the

And his political system kind of joined together. The Antichrist and that one world government that he will establish in those last days. We know this by looking back at chapter 13.

You don't have to turn there, but Revelation chapter 13 verse 1, when we first started dealing with or talking about the Antichrist there in chapter 13, it says, I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads, ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.

And so you can immediately see the similarities here. He's talking about the same beast here in chapter 17 as he was dealing with in chapter 13 with the Antichrist and the one world government that he will establish. The beast has seven heads and ten horns in chapter 13 as well as in chapter 17. Now he goes on to describe him, well actually starts out describing him as the beast that was Antichrist.

is not and that will ascend out of the bottomless pit and then go to perdition and so what does this mean well the bottomless pit if you remember back in chapter 9 there was a bunch of demonic beings that were released from the bottomless pit and they torment the earth for five months the bottomless pit is a temporary holding place for demonic spirits and

In Revelation chapter 19, when Satan is bound for the thousand-year reign of Christ, he's bound and kept in the bottomless pit. And so this bottomless pit is a holding place for demonic spirits. And so this beast that he sees was...

That means that the beast already was at work in the world. The beast already, you know, has had his influence on the world, is not. And so at the moment as John is writing these things and they're being revealed to him, that beast is not in the world anymore, but will ascend out of the bottomless pit. And so what we're talking about here is a demonic spirit,

that was already at work in the world, that was now bound in the bottomless pit, but will ascend in the last days, in the tribulation period, this beast or this demonic spirit will ascend out of the bottomless pit and possess or influence the Antichrist, that final world leader who will come on the scene. And so we're looking at the workings of a demonic spirit in the world. Now most will look at this and say,

suggests that the beast was, that is this demonic spirit was at work in Caesar Nero. Caesar Nero has passed off the scene as John is writing this, but he was a very wicked and well, it could really only be described as demon possessed in his antagonism and persecution of Christians. The atrocities that he did against those who profess to know Jesus Christ really are their...

They're unmatched in the things that he did. There has been nothing like it. And so he was probably possessed by this demonic spirit. This demonic spirit now is in the bottomless pit, but will ascend out of the bottomless pit with the rise of the Antichrist and will be part of that final work in the kingdom that is established. Now it also says that he's going to go to perdition.

And so, perdition means destruction. It's usually mentioned or referred to in the final judgment. And it's interesting to me that the Antichrist is thrown into the lake of fire, the final judgment, right at the end of the tribulation period, which is actually before Satan is thrown into the lake of fire.

And so the fact that he's ascending out of the bottomless pit, he's going to be at work for a short time, but it mentions that he's going to perdition is really apt because he's going, you know, very quickly as he ascends out of the pit, he'll be on the earth for a little bit, influencing or possessing the Antichrist, but at the end of that tribulation period, he'll be cast into the lake of fire. Well, it goes on to tell us that the people who dwell on the earth will marvel at

Those whose names are not written in the book of life, they're not believers, they're going to be swept up by the deception of the Antichrist, of this beast and the demonic spirit that is involved as well. Revelation chapter 13 verse 8 tells us that the world will worship the Antichrist. Now he also describes him at the end of verse 8 as the beast that was and is not and yet is.

And we dealt with this back in chapter 13. This probably refers to the attempted assassination and the miraculous recovery of the Antichrist. And I won't get into that. We talked about that in chapter 13.

So there's a lot going on here. There's a lot of depth and like I said, there's a lot of distractions that we could start going down that rabbit trail and that rabbit trail. But let's try to keep the focus of this vision that John is receiving so that we can understand what it is that God wants to speak to us. Again, can I remind you, fix your mind on these things. Let's go on, let's pay attention and see what else God has in store for us.

And so the mystery of the beast is that the beast is the antichrist of this political system that will come on the scene. Well, the fourth thing that we see, verses 9 through 11, is the mystery of the seven heads. Verse 9 says, "...here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits."

So now as we start talking about the seven heads, there's a couple different perspectives, a couple different speculations on what these things mean and what it will look like in the end times. Here the angel tells us that the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.

I'm going to share two basic interpretations or understandings of this portion and the seven heads. And the first interpretation or the first understanding is that these seven heads are seven mountains which refers to the city of Rome.

Throughout history, Rome has been known as the city on seven hills. It was on its coins. It was the way that it was called many times. Much like we might say today, you know, the land of the free, the home of the brave. And you know, you're referring to the United States of America. In the same way, if you referred to the city on seven hills, they would know that you were talking about the city of Rome because it was based upon or founded upon originally on seven hills.

And so the idea here is that the seven mountains refer to the city of Rome. And so the meaning of this vision would be that the future religious system is based in Rome because it's the woman who sits on the seven heads. And so she's located on and in the city of Rome.

And that's definitely a possibility and there's lots of support for that. Now the second option, the second idea in looking at understanding these seven heads is that these seven mountains refer to seven world governments. Look at verse 10. He says, there are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time.

And so this idea is that these seven kings are also the seven mountains or the seven heads that they're all related together. And so it refers not specifically to individual kings, but to seven world governments that have existed throughout history. And of those world governments, five have fallen. One is, as John is writing this, and the other has not yet come. And

And so here's a quick snapshot of what that might look like. The seven world governments, five that have fallen as John is writing these things. The first was Egypt. That was kind of the first world power of the known world. It was ruling the world from Egypt. And then Assyria came on the scene, conquered Egypt, and they were the world power to be reckoned with. And they ruled the extent of the known world at that time. And then Babylon came on the scene. They conquered Assyria.

They had a great empire for a season. And then the Medo-Persians gathered together and they conquered Babylon and set up the Persian Empire, which was even more vast. And they ruled the world. And then there came the Greek Empire with Alexander the Great. And he conquered the Persians.

and established the Greek Empire. It ruled the world. Now as John was writing these things, those five had already come and gone. Those nations had risen and fallen. And the nation that was ruling the world in John's day was the nation of Rome. Now the nation of Rome was a strong nation, a powerful nation. And the nation of Rome

But after Rome, there was really no world power like these ones that we see here. Rome splintered into four different nations, basically, and there was all these battles. And, you know, even today, up until this point, there's not been a world power that has controlled the world in the way that these other nations have. And so five have fallen. One is, as John is writing these things,

And then the other has not yet come. And that would be a reference then to the revived Roman Empire, which we talked about and dealt with back in Revelation chapter 13. Possibly the European Union is the beginnings of the makings of this revival of the Roman Empire and the political system that will be in place during the tribulation period.

And so it's possible that these seven mountains refer to these seven governments, these world powers, and that this religious system will be upon this revived Roman Empire led by the Antichrist. And that's the understanding or the meaning of this vision. Now what makes this interesting and a little bit credible is that it's consistent with Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the statue in Daniel chapter 2.

You can check it out later, but you remember he had the dream of the statue and the head was of gold and then the chest was of silver, the stomach was of brass, the legs were of iron, and then it had feet of iron mixed with clay with ten toes. And all of those details are explained by God to be the success of nations today.

so it started with Babylon which that's right there and then after that came the Medo-Persian Empire corresponds exactly then came the Greek Empire and then came the Roman Empire which you know we've gone through and that's that but then there was the feet that were mixed with iron and clay with the ten toes

That has not yet been fulfilled. All the rest has been fulfilled. But that will be a revival of the Roman Empire. And there will be ten toes or ten kings. And that equates with the ten horns that we'll talk about in just a moment.

And so there's a lot of correlation here, a lot of parallels between the vision of the statue in Daniel chapter 2 and these nations that have come and gone that are referred to here in Revelation chapter 17. And so it could be referring to the seven mountains that is speaking of Rome or it could be the seven world governments that have existed. It could be a combination of both and that's kind of what I tend to think. It'll be a combination of both. Verse 11 says,

The beast that was and is not is himself also the eighth and is of the seventh and is going to perdition. So just in case you weren't confused, now he throws in chapter or verse 11. Okay, so what is he talking about here? Well, the beast that was and is not...

That was the Antichrist. We're talking about the Antichrist. He is also the eighth, but he's also of the seven. So you see there on the right-hand side, the Antichrist is listed there because there seems to be a change that takes place around the middle of the tribulation period. We'll finish off with this as we end up the chapter. But there's a change that takes place around the middle of the tribulation period

where he reorganizes. At first he has the ten nations together and he uses them, he gets the power that he wants, but then he changes everything so that the focus is on him. And so he's of the seven, because he's part of that seventh, the revival of the Roman Empire, but then he uses that power to kind of reorganize and restructure so that he is the world leader, the emperor of the world or the dictator of the world at that time.

And so that's what verse 11 is talking about. You can spend some time wrestling with those ideas later. All right, fifth point, verses 12 through 14. Now we deal with the mystery of the ten horns. The mystery of the ten horns, starting in verse 12, says, "...the ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beasts. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beasts."

So here we have the ten horns representing ten kings or ten nations. These ten nations will be the core of the Antichrist's world government. They'll be the foundation really. He'll use this ten as the catalyst to build his world empire and to rule the world. And so these ten nations gather together.

It says in verse 13 that they will give their power and authority to the beast. And so these ten nations gather together and they say, here you go beast, here's all the power, here's all the authority. We believe you're the one who can bring peace. You're the one who can protect us. You're the one who can solve our problems. So we're going to give you everything and we're just going to do what you say. That's the idea of what's going on here. And so the beast is going to receive power from these ten nations together.

And these are the ten horns that are seen on the beast. Verse 14. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings. And those who are with Him are called chosen and faithful. And so the objective and the goal of these ten nations and this final one world government is

Their objective, their plan will be to defeat the work of God. They're going to be seeking to defeat the plans of God. And they will be fighting against God religiously. That's what we're seeing here in chapter 17. Politically, we'll deal with that more in chapter 18. Even militarily, and we'll talk about that in chapter 19, as they turn their arms against Jesus as He returns in chapter 19.

And so they're going to make war with the Lamb, but of course the Lamb will overcome them. So they will fight against God, but they will not be successful. They will not be victorious. Why? Well, because Jesus is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. You cannot defeat Him. You can't run from Him. You are under His authority. Those who are with Him

For those of you who are believers, He says you are called, you are chosen, and you are faithful. We don't have time to get into that, but I would encourage you to spend some time meditating on that. Those who are with the Lamb are called, chosen, and faithful. Let the Lord speak to you about what that means and His place for you in the things of the future.

Well, the sixth and final point this morning is the judgment of the woman found in verses 15 through 18. Verse 15 says, Then he said to me,

The waters which you saw where the harlot sits are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. And so here we have the insight about the waters and how it represents. This religious system is going to be worldwide and universal. It's going to be international. All religions, all peoples, all tongues are going to be included in this final religion. Verse 16.

And so what we have happening here is the judgment of this woman or this religious system.

And so here's what it seems like is going to be happening during this tribulation period. This religious system will be used, it will sit upon the Antichrist and the kingdom that is established. And so it will be an important part of the kingdom and it will be used to unite the people of the world. But it won't last very long. In fact, probably at the middle of the tribulation period, this judgment occurs where the kings decide

make her desolate and naked and eat her flesh and burn her with fire. Now, it's not talking about, you know, literally killing a woman and eating her. That's not what it's saying. But it's about this religious system that will be dismantled and torn apart because that's what this woman represents. Now, there's an important event that happens

At the middle of the tribulation period. It's called the abomination of desolation. And this is when the Antichrist goes into the temple. He sets up an image of himself and he demands that all of the world worship him as God.

And so it seems at this time that he throws down this other religion, this Babylonian religious system, so that he can demand and call all of the world to worship him. And so this system will last for a season, for a short time, but...

the nations which used and thrived upon this religious system will then cast it down to make way for the beast to be the primary focus of power, of religion, of worship, of everything.

Now it says in verse 17, God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purposes. And so God is the one who is orchestrating this. He's causing it to take place. Notice at the end of verse 17, I love the last phrase there, until the words of God are fulfilled. The words of God will be fulfilled. It will be accomplished just as God said. He will cause it to happen just exactly as He has declared. And so these things are things that will take place.

Verse 18, And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth. And so kind of a quick recap of this religious system that we've been talking about here in chapter 17. Here's what we know about it. This religious system will be rooted in the ancient Babylonian religion following the practices and things that were practiced many, many years ago.

This religious system is the mother or the source of all false religions. This religious system is closely associated with the beast and that final kingdom that will be established. This religious system kills the true believers, the saints, during the tribulation period.

And this religious system is closely associated with the capital city of the beast's government. He says there in verse 18, the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.

And so perhaps that great city is Rome, perhaps it's Babylon, whatever the actual physical location is, this religious system is going to be based out of that capital city of the Antichrist government. And it will be core and central to the government that will be established by the Antichrist. And so as we look at these things,

Considering this judgment of this false religious system, it's important to understand and know, I think it's quite clear, God hates false religion. He describes it as harlotry. He describes it as fornication. He describes it as adultery. It's spiritually adultery and fornication against God because God has purchased us with his own blood. He has paid the price for us to have life in him and eternal life with him.

And for us to turn away and follow other gods, to follow idolatry or materialism or the things that are not of God, is spiritual harlotry. It's interesting. There is a movement afoot in the world. It's been going on for a while, but we see it more and more as time progresses. There's a movement to lay aside the differences between all the religions and join together as one big happy family.

David Guzik puts it this way. He says, our world with its it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you believe philosophy is ripe for the harlot's seductions. You see, what we see happening in the world around us is the preparation for this final religious system.

The preparation, the idea of tolerance is being proclaimed and saying, look, we just need to get along and put up with each other. Look, we don't have to cast out your beliefs or cast out your beliefs. Let's just find a way to join them all together and we can worship God together. We all worship the same God. He's called by different names. And that is just not the truth. And so as we see the preparations for this final world system coming,

Taking place. I would ask you. Going back to verse 14. He says, These will make war with the Lamb and the Lamb will overcome them for He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings and those who are with Him are called chosen and faithful.

I would ask you as we consider these things that are happening in our world, the preparation for the seductions and the deception that is going to take place in this world religious system that will be established. I would ask you, are you with Him? Those who are with Him, they're called, they're chosen, and they're faithful. But are you with Him? Are you walking with Jesus? Are you in a right relationship with God? Many people want the insurance insurance

without policy of salvation, without the life practice of salvation. That is, they don't want to go to hell, and so they want to come to church and be religious so that they can have the hope of heaven, but they don't want to change their life, and they don't want to turn and follow God with all of their heart and soul and mind and strength. But you know, that's not a biblical option. Jesus said, if you want to follow me, you need to deny yourself, that's lay down your life, take up your cross, and follow me.

It's a daily denial of self and a turning to follow Jesus Christ and obedience to him, walking with him. Are you with him? Jesus said in Luke chapter 11 verse 23, he who is not with me is against me and he who does not gather with me scatters. This is something important for you to consider today. Are you with him?

Because if you're not with Him, you're against Him. That is, if you are not fully engaged in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, you're working against the things of God. Are you with Him? Those who are with Him, they have a great promise. They're called. We're called by God. We're chosen by God. And He counts us faithful, as Paul says in 1 Timothy, and puts us into the ministry and allows us to be a part of His eternal work and then rewards us for that.

We're called, chosen, and faithful. Man, some great things for those who are with Him. Are you with Him? That's the question. Are you being swept up in the Babylonian seduction? False religion or idolatry that's connected with materialism, which we'll deal with next week in chapter 18. Some tough stuff to consider. Yeah, some complicated things in the portion, but more tough, more complicated, more difficult is our own heart. Are you with Him? Are you walking with Jesus Christ?

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray for our hearts right now. God, I pray that you would speak to us and give us insight and clarity to our own hearts. Lord, your word says that our hearts are desperately wicked and we can't even know it. Lord, but you know it. You're the one who searches the hearts. And so, God, I pray that you would speak to us now. Lord, that you would show us if we are not with you. Show us, Lord, those areas where

that we need to correct, where we need to turn and repent and get right with you. God, I pray for those who have never made a decision to walk with you. I pray, Lord, that you would open their eyes, Lord, that they might see your love for them and their need for salvation through Jesus Christ. For those who have known you, God, I pray that you would open their eyes as well. Lord, if they've walked away,

if they've allowed compromise in, if they've been deceived or swept away by these false systems. Lord, I pray that you'd break through the bondage, break through the deception, Lord, that they would be able to see you clearly, to turn and repent and follow you. God, I pray that as we consider these things, Lord, that we would all come to the point that we are with you, Lord, that we're yours.

We're in agreement with your will, your plans, your purposes, and we're living our lives for your glory. I pray you would do this work in our hearts. In Jesus' name, amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.