Soon!

“Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him.”

Revelation 17:14 (NLT)

Here is a link to last week’s series, Soon!

This week our study in Revelation is bringing us to a rapid conclusion of the tribulation. The next event following chapters 17 and 18 is the return of Christ in his second coming. Don’t forget, the rapture of the Church is quite different from the second coming of our Lord. The two events are often confused.

Let’s begin our study of Chapter 17, which is about Babylon.

In this chapter of Revelation, Babylon is not a location. Most trustworthy sources that study Revelation believe that John’s depiction of Babylon represents the one world government and economic system during the tribulation. Dr Robert Jeffress talks about this in his book, Final Conquest, which I commend to you.¹

This government, as you know, is led by the Antichrist, along with the mysterious harlot. This isn’t a person. This is a reference to a corruption of religion as the universal world religion under the control of the Antichrist.

But you know, corrupt religion is nothing new. One of the worst abominations in America and around the world is the lie perpetrated by the prosperity gospel. Jesus never made the promises that those people have made. Every soul who listens to them is responsible because the truth is available to them.

Returning to this lesson, though, the former world powers, both from ancient times and those that exist today, will serve as kingdoms under the rule of the Antichrist.

Look at the opening two verses of chapter seventeen. The many waters represent the multitudes of nations and tribes that follow the Antichrist and this satanic system of government, idolatry and sexual perversion with its false religion.

One of the seven angels who had poured out the seven bowls came over and spoke to me. “Come with me,” he said, “and I will show you the judgment that is going to come on the great prostitute, who rules over many waters. The kings of the world have committed adultery with her, and the people who belong to this world have been made drunk by the wine of her immorality.”

Revelation 17:1 & 2 (NLT)

Then we are told that John is carried to the wilderness. We don’t know if is literal or a spiritual experience, but whatever it was John had a glimpse of the harlot sitting atop a scarlet beast. Think back to when we studied Revelation 13:1. This is a similar description only this time the beast is described as being scarlet and the harlot is riding on the beast (the Antichrist).

Dr. Jeffress points out that this passage might make you think this system of religion and government controls the Antichrist, but he reminds us they are actually an unholy alliance supporting each other. He reliably points to scripture, when referring to this fact.

So, the angel took me in the Spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns, and blasphemies against God were written all over it. The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls. In her hand she held a gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality.  A mysterious name was written on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World.”  I could see that she was drunk—drunk with the blood of God’s holy people who were witnesses for Jesus. I stared at her in complete amazement.

Revelation 17:3-6 (NLT)

Now, before I leave you with the remaining verses from chapter seventeen, be aware of these highlights:

• The beast will appear to have been assassinated but will live again, but this is a satanic counterfeit. Only God gives life. Once the beast is dead he won’t be reanimated. This is a satanic trick, according to Bible scholars. (Rev. 17:8)
• The kings, hills, and heads in this passage represent kings, kingdoms and nations like Greece, Assyria and Persia that have long since fallen and will be ruled by the Antichrist. (Rev. 17)
• The other kingdom’s include Rome and possibly present-day kingdom’s, maybe even America. Of course the kingdom of the Antichrist is the unified confederacy of all nations. (Rev. 17:9-13)
• And look at verse 14. These wicked kings will give all of their authority to the Antichrist in war against Jesus. And Jesus will crush them all.
• In their defeat, they will turn on the harlot that they once were allied with. Don’t forget, this is simply a false religious system. Not a person. These wicked alliances simply turn on each other, much like wicked systems do in our world today.

 “Why are you so amazed?” the angel asked. “I will tell you the mystery of this woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns on which she sits. The beast you saw was once alive but isn’t now. And yet he will soon come up out of the bottomless pit and go to eternal destruction. And the people who belong to this world, whose names were not written in the Book of Life before the world was made, will be amazed at the reappearance of this beast who had died.

“This calls for a mind with understanding: The seven heads of the beast represent the seven hills where the woman rules. They also represent seven kings. Five kings have already fallen, the sixth now reigns, and the seventh is yet to come, but his reign will be brief.

“The scarlet beast that was, but is no longer, is the eighth king. He is like the other seven, and he, too, is headed for destruction.  The ten horns of the beast are ten kings who have not yet risen to power. They will be appointed to their kingdoms for one brief moment to reign with the beast. They will all agree to give him their power and authority.  Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him.”

Then the angel said to me, “The waters where the prostitute is ruling represent masses of people of every nation and language. The scarlet beast and his ten horns all hate the prostitute. They will strip her naked, eat her flesh, and burn her remains with fire. For God has put a plan into their minds, a plan that will carry out his purposes. They will agree to give their authority to the scarlet beast, and so the words of God will be fulfilled. And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the world.”

Revelation 17 (NLT)

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RESOURCES:

• Jeffress, R. (2020). Final Conquest: A Verse-By-Verse Study of the Book of Revelation. Pathway to Victory. ISBN: 978-1-62040-000-0. 1
  

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1. Final Conquest: A Verse-by-Verse Study of the Book of Revelation
   From the Ministry of Dr. Robert Jeffress
   2020 ↩︎

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.