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Revelation
Chapter 17:
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Overview to the
Judgment of Babylon (Laodicea):
The evolution of the Woman in White of Chapter
Twelve into the Harlot of Babylon is complete today. It
has been the story of an ongoing cycle of apostasy undergone by the
Christian Church since the first Christians were baptized.
Each time a church
is founded on fixed doctrine, it goes apostate.
This happens
because while the founder of a church may have believed he or she has
all truth, new truths will always be discovered by a Bible
student through the Holy Spirit that make that church's doctrine
obsolete. In the meantime, many believers who have come to follow the
original doctrines of the church stubbornly cling to them.
Next, that Bible
student, who was moved by the Holy Spirit finding new truths, begins another
church with fixed doctrine based on new truths that he or she believe
to be all truth.
After many
repetitions of this pattern, inspired men and women have yet failed
to create the doctrine of perfect Christianity.
Finally we end up
today with more than 2,000 denominations of Christians, many in
complete apostasy, and many Christians of organized religion
themselves doubting God's Power.
The actual
Judgment of the Harlot Babylon is said by John in Chapter
Eighteen to last one prophetic hour. In other words, the Spiritual
Babylon represented by Apostate Christianity in the United States
will cease to exist within a period of 15 literal days. This
prophetic hour is repeated 3 times in Chapter Eighteen for emphasis.
After
judgment, the Harlot of Babylon, consumed by fire, repentant, and
sanctified, becomes the Bride of Jesus' dressed in White Raiment in
Revelation Chapter Nineteen.
Be sure to read
the comments on Chapter Thirteen
before reading the comments on this Chapter, since this chapter is a
continuance of Chapter Thirteen - after the effects of the Seven Last Plagues.
I'm rendering this
Chapter first in the hopes that people will believe, spread the word,
and prepare, Jesus willing...
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"And
there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and
talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the
judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: 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." (Revelation
17:1-2 KJV)
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The
judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: The
angel explains below in verse 15 that the waters here are peoples
and tongues. So the "great whore" oppresses many people.
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With
whom the
kings of the earth have committed fornication: See the
comments on Chapter Thirteen. Today nearly all denominations of the
Christian Church are tied monetarily to the government. They accept
the bribe of tax-exempt status, in return for which they keep silent
about government actions performed using God's name ("In God We
Trust"). In the meantime, churches been stripped of
representation, and so many are changing their own doctrines to be
more in line with government rulings on morality than God's.
As Laodicea is
described, most don't even see it yet. They are well-paid,
comfortable, and in need of nothing. They are now
"non-profit" corporations operated completely devoid of the
Holy Spirit. They have abandoned the mandate God gave them to care
for the poor. They have abandoned Jesus teachings in favor of
materialism. They have fornicated belief in Jesus into patriotic
belief in the USA. They've exchanged country for God by their silence.
Yet Jesus loves us
all still.
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Inhabitants
of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication:
"Patriotism" has replaced religious fervor at the
encouragement of these Churches. Their members see more spirit in the
love for country encouraged by their churches than they get from
their churches for the Love of God and Jesus' teachings.
"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." (Revelation
17:3 KJV)
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He
carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness, and
I saw a woman: The wilderness is where John last left the
Woman in White of Chapter Twelve.
Centuries of apostasy have taken their toll. Isaiah Chapter Forty
Seven relates her story. Here is an excerpt:
"Come
down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the
ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou
shalt no more be called tender and delicate. Take the millstones, and
grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh,
pass over the rivers. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy
shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee
as a man. As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the
Holy One of Israel. Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O
daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady
of kingdoms. I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine
inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no
mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke..."
(Isaiah 47:1-6 KJV)
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Sit
upon a scarlet coloured beast... having seven heads and ten horns:
Since there are no crowns on this Beasts horns, the woman sits upon
the Image of the
First Beast of Chapter Thirteen, at the reins, as it were.
"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: And upon her
forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER
OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
(Revelation 17:4-5 KJV)
"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. 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."
(Revelation 17:6-7 KJV)
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Drunken
with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus:
The Harlot of Babylon began as the Woman in White - the true
Christian Church of the Apostles. Although described as a Harlot
because of continued and mounting apostasy over the centuries, she
has served a most important purpose in Plan of Salvation.
The 'Gospel of
Jesus in its Purity' is: Jesus Christ died on the cross in order
to provide salvation and eternal life to those who believe on Him,
and by so doing also worship God.
All of the
apostate doctrines that Christian Churches have added to this Gospel,
although causing innumerable divisions in the Christian religion as a
whole, have actually acted as a literal protection against
the lies Satan - even though many actually are the lies of Satan.
Satan does not
work only outside of the church, through governments and
evil people. His main goal is to exalt himself as equal or above God,
and this is best accomplished within the churches themselves.
Through his
apostate doctrines that have eventually been introduced into all
denominations over the years, Satan has attacked every church that
inspired men or women have established through the Holy Spirit.
In this way he has
succeeded in adding harsh doctrines, changing God's Law of the Ten
Commandments, and steering religions themselves away from Jesus' government
of brotherhood.
Today Satan
believes he has succeeded, and thinks he has so defiled and weakened
organized Christianity that Christianity will eventually
disappear of its own accord.
He is wrong.
Because, weak as they are and apostate as they are, nearly every
organized Christian religion still carries with it the only
doctrine necessary for salvation in the end: The Gospel in its Purity.
The Harlot of
Babylon, of course, is actually the Woman Clothed with Sun
from Chapter 12 of Revelation,
wearing a disguise approved by Jesus. Her 'job' in the Plan of
Salvation was to protect His Gospel from Satan himself.
Thus, all of
the saints and martyrs who died for their beliefs - apostate or
not, no matter how they died, no matter who put them to death - they
died to protect and carry on the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its Purity.
All are true
martyrs of Jesus Christ.
"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." (Revelation
17:8 KJV)
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The
Beast... shall ascend out of the bottomless pit: The Bottomless
Pit that the First Beast of Chapter
Thirteen ascended from is the sanctuary where the
sacrificial blood of sin offerings was sprinkled. Since man's sin is
endless, the sanctuary is represented as a pit that is bottomless. In
some translations the pit is rendered as the "abyss". The
sacrificial system was created to point forward to the Messiah,
"the Lamb of God". See the page on the sacrificial
system of Israel.
Because the Beast
represents the unholy alliance of church and government run by man,
and Jesus founded the church, He is indeed the basis of the First
Beast - and the Image to the First Beast - because of the way we
portray Him. He takes full responsibility for our portrayal as well.
See the page on
the Fourth Beast Daniel Chapter Seven,
which also portrays the Messiah expected by the Jews as a Beast.
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And
go into perdition: Our view of Jesus as a Beast will go
into perdition - not Jesus himself...
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The
beast that was, and is not, and yet is: The Beast is our
imaginary - rather apostate - portrayal of Jesus' teachings:
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Jesus
really was...
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But
He is not
what we have portrayed Him to be...
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And
our portrayal of Him participating in the alliance of Church and
State, is.
"And
here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven
mountains, on which the woman sitteth."
(Revelation 17:9 KJV)
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The
seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth: These
seven mountains
represent the Seven Churches, whom the Harlot Babylon
persecutes and dominates. The Seven Churches also begat her.
"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. And the beast that was, and is not, even
he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition."
(Revelation 17:10-11 KJV)
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There
are seven kings: These seven kings represent the Spirits
of the Seven Churches as seen earlier before God's throne.
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Five
are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come:
Five of the Kings, or Spirits, are spiritually inactive, or apostate. Ephesus,
Smyrna, Pergamos,
Thyatira, and Sardis.
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The Sixth King
that 'is' represents the King (or Spirit) of the Church of Philadelphia,
and is now very much active in preparing the way for Jesus. The
people of this church will be the 144,000 with palms in their hands.
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The Seventh King
who 'is not yet come' will be the Spirit of the Church of Laodicea,
this will be the Spirit of Jesus Himself when He returns.
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And
the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven:
This is the confirmation that Jesus is the Seventh King that is yet
to come:
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The Beast is our
portrayal of Jesus that 'is not': He does not participate in
the alliance of Church and State, nor does He allow His name to be
used by same.
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The Beast is the 'eighth'
King because Laodicea expects
that He does participate.
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The Beast is also 'of
the seven' because it represents, Jesus. The true Jesus
is the Seventh King, the true King of the Church of Laodicea in this context.
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And
goeth into perdition: Again, our apostate view of
Jesus as a Beast will go into perdition - not Jesus himself!
"And
the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have
received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one
hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall
give their power and strength unto the beast."
(Revelation 17:12-13 KJV)
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The
ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings: The ten horns,
these ten Kings, are the Ten Commandments as explained in Chapter
Thirteen.
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Which
have received no kingdom as yet: In Chapter
Thirteen the First Beast of Revelation had ten crowns on its
horns, which indicated that Jesus had 'overcome' the Ten Commandments
by keeping the Law perfectly.
Since these horns
have no crowns, or "no kingdom as yet", the Beast that the
Harlot of Babylon rides is the Image to the First Beast of Chapter
Thirteen.
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But
receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind,
and shall give their power and strength unto the beast:
The Image to the First Beast will receive the Power of the Ten
Commandments for one prophetic hour (15 days). The Ten Commandments
are the Law of God which, if followed, allows us to live perfectly
under His government
of brotherhood if all are followed. Thus they are of
"one mind". |
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"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 that are
with him are called, and chosen, and faithful."
(Revelation 17:14 KJV)
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These
shall make war with the Lamb, and
the Lamb shall overcome them: Only Jesus has the power to
'overcome' the Ten Commandments.
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They
that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful: Part
of the sealing process of the 144,000 is to repent and submit
completely to the salvation of Jesus. They are described thusly:
"These
are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins.
These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.
These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God
and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they
are without fault before the throne of God." (Revelation
14:4-5 KJV)
If all men have
sinned, and are sinners, then the only people who could stand before
the throne of God without fault, and in their mouth no guile, are those
accept Jesus' completely as their savior and their sole source
of righteousness. These are Spiritual virgins, having accepted
Christ. They are not defiled with women - as in the churches that
make up the Harlot of Babylon.
These 144,000 follow
only Jesus Himself, the Lamb of God, whithersoever He goeth.
They are born again through repentance and Love.
However, the
efforts associated with attempting self-perfection are to be put
aside, guilt and remorse distracts people from the Holy Spirit within
them. The light they are to be unto the world grows dim. Instead of
self-searching and self-recrimination, Jesus' Grace is sufficient
for them in the task ahead.
His
message to the Church of Philadelphia is 'hold fast that which
thou hast'.
They must
recognize that they are sinners, and totally accept His salvation
with no reservation, because it is time to preach the Gospel in its
Purity again.
Jesus Christ
overcame the The Commandments for us, and we live in His perfection:
"Jesus
answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth
sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house
for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore
shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." (John
8:34-36 KJV)
"And
he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore
sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
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. For God hath put
in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their
kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled." (Revelation
17:15-17 KJV)
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Are
peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues:
Spiritual Babylon (the Church of Laodicea) is made up of all
Christians of all nations and languages.
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And
the ten horns...
these shall hate the whore: The Harlot Babylon no longer
stands by the Ten Commandments! She is apostate, breaking God's Law,
and guiding the Beast with her own home-made laws and doctrine.
"How
much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much
torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a
queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow." (Revelation
18:7 KJV)
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And
shall make her desolate and naked: When
judged by the 144,000, the Church of Philadelphia,
the Harlot of Babylon (Church of Laodicea)
will have no defense: For her corrupt morals, greed, oppression, and
lies will not stand when confronted by the Ten Commandment Law of God.
The fact that her
sins have led the earth to near destruction will be indefensible.
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And
shall eat
her flesh, and burn her with fire: When judged by God
with His Ten Commandment Law which the Harlot Babylon has changed,
broken, and ignored, the people that make up Babylon will be refined
as by fire, they will repent, and be sanctified His Love.
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For
God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and
give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled:
The people of the Church of Philadelphia, or the 144,000, are
outside of the churches, being 'virgins' and 'not defiled with
women'. Thus the Judgment of the Harlot of Babylon is initiated from
the Beast, which the 144,000 are still a part of while wearing Jesus'
Robe of Righteousness.
"And
the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which
reigneth over the kings of the earth." (Revelation
17:17-18 KJV)
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