Babylon is Fallen! - Part 2

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Well, I invite you to turn with me to Revelation 17, as we continue to study this wonderful book and see the future unfold. We're looking at the ultimate destruction of evil: Babylon is fallen is the theme of this passage, and tonight we deal more specifically with the destruction of all false religion. C. S. Lewis wrote a book entitled The Screwtape Letters, in which Screwtape, an older wiser demon is giving advice to his nephew, a younger demon named Wormwood. The final section of the book is entitled, “Screwtape Proposes a Toast,” and Screwtape's toast includes these words:

All said and done, my friends, it will be an ill day for us if what most humans mean by religion ever vanishes from the earth. Nowhere do we tempt so successfully as on the very steps of the altar.

Lewis' point in that poignant quote is that false religion in all of its forms is inspired by and is used by the devil like no other weapon in his arsenal. False religion has always been Satan's greatest tool. It's not lust, that's part of the world system he created. His greatest deception is to deceive the minds of people from the truth as 2 Corinthians 4:4 says, to “blind the minds” of the ungodly to the gospel. How does he do that? He does that through religion; he does that through false religion.

During the coming seven year tribulation, false religion will have its greatest day. We're looking, then, at 2 chapters that unfold that reality. In Revelation chapters 17 and 18, we learn in detail of the destruction of Antichrist's false religious system, his political empire, and his capital city. These two chapters really step away from the chronological flow of the events of the end of the tribulation to enlarge on a theme that John only mentioned in passing in the seventh seal. Look back at 16:19, “The great city was split into three parts and the cities of the nations fell.” And here it is, “Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.” 

That is a summary of what happens with the seventh seal, or the seventh bowl, as it is poured out. And in that bowl, we see the destruction of Babylon. And so as a result, chapters 17 and 18 describe in detail that destruction; the destruction of Babylon the Great. Chapter 17 is the destruction of religious Babylon, which will happen at the midpoint of the Tribulation, as we'll see tonight. And chapter 18 is the destruction of political Babylon, which will happen at the end of the Tribulation, in conjunction with the seventh bowl and the Second Coming.

Now last time we began to examine the destruction of religious Babylon. And he began with its description as a harlot in 17:1-6a. An angel describes to John this massive, worldwide, false religious system that will be available and will dominate the Tribulation. And he understandably describes that false religious system as a harlot, or as a prostitute, because we were made to worship the true and living God, and Satan provides instead of the worship of God, every kind of imaginable substitute; that's the idea. So with that description, he begins with the scope of the harlot's influence in verses 1-2:

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, ‘Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality.’

So, the angel describes this false religious system, where all of the great world religions will come together in one great, ecumenical false system of worship. As he describes that, he says the entire world and every level of society from the rulers, the “kings” there in verse 2, to the common people will be under the power and influence of this final false religious system. That's the scope of it. It's massive, it's worldwide, it dominates everything: every unbeliever will buy into the system. 

Secondly, the source of the harlot's power comes in verse 3, “And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast.” This is the same woman from verses 1 and 2; this is the harlot, this is that false religious system of Antichrist. she was “sitting on a scarlet beast,” and the beast was “full of blasphemous names having seven heads and ten horns.” She's sitting on, which implies being supported by, a scarlet beast. And we noted last time that when you look at the description, it has to be the Antichrist. For a time, Antichrist and this false system will coexist, and Antichrist himself will be the source of its power. Verse 4, you have the symbols of the harlot's prosperity, “The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality.” This false religion, this ecumenical faith, will be no different than all false religion throughout history. It will use its power and influence over the souls of people to enrich itself. 

And then in verse 5 and the first part of verse 6, we learned the secret of the harlot's name. Notice verse 5: 

“And on her forehead a name was written, a mystery,” that is, something that was not previously clear but is now made clear, “‘Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and the abominations of the earth.’ And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus.”

In other words, she persecutes true believers. So the name of this future, false, worldwide amalgamated, religion is Babylon. Just as the ancient city of Babylon spawned all the false religion that has unfolded throughout history, from the tower of Babel throughout history, this future Babylon will be the mother, that is the source and the sustainer, of every false religion that exists during that time. 

Now that's where we left off last time. John, having seen its description, now learns from the angel its defense by the Beast and his allies. He begins by reminding us of the Beast, that is the Antichrist. Verse 6 says, “When I saw her,” this is John, when I saw this false religious system, “I wondered greatly.” The Greek word for wonder contains the concepts of both being appalled by dismay and fear, and being confused. John is appalled and confused. Verse 7, “And the angel said to me, ‘Why do you wonder?’” The angel says, there's no reason to be dismayed and confused. “I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.” John apparently didn't understand the relationship between the false religious system here, and the Antichrist, since that's where the angel focuses his explanation moving forward. He probably already knew what they represented, so he needs to know what their relationship is. 

As we discovered last time, verse 8 says, “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction.” Now, as we discovered last time, the scarlet beast on which the harlot rides has to be Antichrist, because verse 8 that we just read briefly reviews the more detailed account that we studied back in 13:1-10. Back in chapter 13, we learned about the faked death and resurrection of Antichrist. Look at Revelation 13:3, “I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast.” Go to verse 12, this is the second beast, this is the false prophet, “He exercises all the authority of the first beast,” that's Antichrist, “in his presence. And he [the false prophet] makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast [Antichrist], whose fatal wound was healed.” So here you have this supposed resurrection, and as a result of this supposed death and resurrection of Antichrist, the False Prophet will then go on to deceive the world into worshiping Antichrist. Look at 13:14-15:

 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

So that's what's condensed in our text, go back now to 17:8; “The beast that you saw was,” that is he existed, “and is not,” that is for a time it seemed he did not exist, that he was dead, “and is about to come out up out of the abyss.” This refers to his staged miraculous resurrection. And as we learned back in chapter 13, at that time, a demon who comes from the abyss where demons are imprisoned will indwell Antichrist, and he will become a massive, spiritually-demonically inspired ruler. But Antichrist’s story doesn't end with his temporary apparent success. Instead, verse 8 adds, he will “go to destruction.” As we will learn, Christ himself will send Antichrist to the lake of fire, 19:20, “And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.” But notice 17:8 goes on to say, “And those who dwell on the earth,” that is as we've learned, Revelation's normal description for all unbelievers, and that becomes clear in the next phrase, “whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world.” I love that expression, and if we hadn't already studied it, I'd spend time to remind you again, but you know what this is describing; God's elect, their names are all recorded in the book of life, but the names of unbelievers are not written there. So, verse 8 says that all unbelievers alive at the time of Antichrist’s staged death and resurrection, notice verse 8, “Will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.” In other words, they're gonna be amazed at what appears to be his miraculous recovery. 

So that is just really, a review of what's already been taught back in chapter 13. Having reviewed this crucial episode in the life of the Beast, the angel continues by explaining Antichrist's seven heads in this vision, his seven heads. Go to verse 9, “Here is the mind which has wisdom.” This expression tells us that what follows is gonna be difficult to understand, it's gonna require wisdom to interpret. In fact, it's frankly possible that only those living at the time of these events will fully comprehend them. But let's consider the explanation he gives, verse 9, he says, “The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.” Now, if you're familiar with Revelation, if you've heard any teaching, you know that many commentators, especially older commentators, tended to associate these seven mountains with the seven hills of Rome. They point out that a number of ancient writers refer to Rome as the city on seven hills, writers such as Cicero, Virgil, and so forth. And they go on to argue that the harlot in this chapter, therefore, must be the Roman Catholic church. Now obviously, the Roman Catholic church teaches a false gospel, but I don't think that this is solely about the Roman Catholic church. After all, the need for wisdom to understand this passage would be unnecessary if the seven mountains are a simple geographical reference to the city of Rome. In addition, it's interesting in the text, the harlot sits on the hills, but the seven hills actually belong to the Beast, not to her. I think it's far more likely that when Antichrist's false religious system is described as sitting on seven mountains, it is metaphorical, in the same way that her sitting on the waters back in verse 1, and her sitting on a scarlet beast in verse 3 are also metaphorical. But what's the metaphorical meaning? What are these seven mountains? Well, John tells us, verse 10, “And they are seven kings.” 

Now, that's not surprising, since the Old Testament sometimes uses mountains as a metaphor for rule or power. So in this passage then, the seven mountains represent seven kings. But that raises another question, and that is, who are these seven kings in Revelation 17:10? Well, there are several common interpretations of what or who these seven kings could be. There are some commentators who argue that it's talking about the first century, and it's a chronological series of Roman emperors in the first century. And, wow, you should read how creative they can get in trying to identify which of the seven it should be. Another group of commentators say, no, it's not all the Roman emperors, it is a selection of Roman emperors; those who especially persecuted believers. Both of those explanations fail to fit our text, however, because verse 11 clearly says that the Beast, the Antichrist, will be both the seventh king and the eighth. He wasn't a Roman emperor in the first century, so that doesn't fly. A third view is that these seven kings are actually kings or rulers who are contemporaneous with Antichrist, and will rule during the Tribulation. But that appears to conflict with verses 12 and 13, and the ten horns, which clearly describe rulers who are contemporary with Antichrist. So who are these seven kings? Well, it's impossible to know for sure, but I lean toward an interpretation that's very common, that is, that it really represents seven Gentile world empires. Most likely, these seven kings symbolize seven gentile world empires, because notice how the angel goes on to describe the seven kings in verse 10, “Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come.” By the time of John's vision at the end of the first century, five great gentile world empires had arisen and fallen: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo Persia, and Greece. Now of course, there have been other empires throughout human history such as India, China, the Incas, but the five I just named are the ones who dominated the Mediterranean world and who had the greatest impact on God's people, Israel. And so, often, that's where the focus comes. 

So, “Five have fallen, one is,” at the time John wrote, that one was Rome, “and the other has not yet come.” That is a reference to Antichrist’s final world empire. So it really fits, and fits well, I think this is the most likely interpretation; that these seven heads, who are seven kings, are in fact seven representative gentile empires. Notice how he describes the one who has “not yet come” Antichrist’s final world empire, verse 10, “and when he comes, he must remain a little while.” When Antichrist arises, he will remain for a little while. He will come to power at the beginning of the Tribulation shortly thereafter, and he will be destroyed 7 years later at the second coming. Verse 11, “The beast which was and is not,” again a reference to his staged miraculous resurrection, “is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven.” Now there's a riddle for you: How can he be both the eighth and one of the seven? Well, with his supposed death, his kingdom, the seventh, appears to come to an end. But with his supposed resurrection, he returns to an eighth, and to another three and a half year reign. But his apparent victory will be short lived because after just three and a half years, verse 11 adds, “he goes to destruction.” So if I'm right, and these seven mountains representing seven successive gentile empires is right, then why? Why is this metaphor used? I like the way Henry Morris explains it in his commentary on Revelation. He says, quote, “All six of these were not only legitimate heirs of political Babel, but also of religious Babel as well. Babylonia, Egypt, Assyria, Persia, Greece, and Rome were all strongholds of the world religion of evolutionary pantheism and idolatrous polytheism. Thus, they appropriately are represented as six heads on the great beast that supports the harlot.” In other words, Antichrist's empire, think of it this way; Antichrist's empire, when it comes during the Tribulation, will be the culmination and the final manifestation of both the political and religious evil of all of the world empires, and all of the rulers that have spanned human history. He will be the coup de grace; there we have his seven heads. 

Verses 11 and 12 describe Antichrist's ten horns. Verse 12, “The ten horns which you saw,” back in verse 3, where the beast is described as having ten horns, “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings.” Now, here the angel explains that these are contemporaneous with Antichrist. These ten kings are not from the past, they're not even from John's time, the first century, these ten kings will not exist, will not come to power, until the time of Antichrist. Look at verse 12, “Who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.” It's clear then that these ten kings will be part of the future empire of Antichrist. They will receive authority, by God's permission, to rule as kings with the beast, with Antichrist, for one hour; that is, their power and influence will be extremely short-lived. But while they rule, they will be allies and under the control of Antichrist himself. Look at verse 13, “These,” that is these ten kings, “have one purpose and they give their power and authority to the beast.” They will be entirely devoted to the person and plan of Antichrist. Now I won't take you back there, but Daniel 7:24, and if you weren't here when we studied through Daniel, you need to go back and study with us through that magnificent book, but in Daniel 7:24, Daniel talks about these rulers and he gives us more details. There we learn that Antichrist appears, he appears on the scene after these other ten kings have come to power, after the empire, or the federation has been established. He comes on the scene and quickly surpasses them in power. Three of these ten kings will resist his rise to power, but he will conquer them by force. So he'll start small, but he will grow to subdue three of the ten nations and then to lead the other seven,  so in reality, he ends up leading all ten. And, of course, in the three that he captures by force, he will install puppet leaders who will join the other seven. So there will be ten of them, and he will gain control over this entire federation, this entire empire. So Antichrist then, and these ten kings who will rule with him and really under him as his lackeys, as his puppets, will establish, promote, and protect the great harlot, a worldwide false religious system organized and run by the False Prophet. And, it will seem completely unstoppable and untouchable. It reminds me, while I'm not a huge movie buff, it reminds me of a scene in a gangster movie where the people who were in charge were thought of as untouchable, and one of them is killed and written in blood in the elevator is: touchable. These leaders may think they're untouchable, but they're touchable.

And in verses 14 to 18, we discover its destruction by God. Notice first of all in these verses, John describes the predictable end of, notice the key word, political Babylon. He just gives us a glimpse in verse 14, the predictable end of political Babylon. Notice verse 14, “These,” that is Antichrist, and his ten minion kings, “will wage war against the Lamb.” Like Satan and Antichrist, these ten rulers will hate Jesus Christ with a passion, and their agenda will be to confront Him in battle and destroy Him, a plan which comes to its culmination in the plain of Armageddon. As we learned back in chapter 16, three deceptive and disgusting demons will come on the scene, which will deceive and convince these rulers and the rulers of the rest of the world, together in Palestine against the Lamb, and it is a fool's errand. Notice the angel simply says in verse 14, “And the Lamb will overcome them.” The Greek word overcome is the word from which we get the word Nike: conquer, He will conquer them, He will destroy them. As A. W. Pink so powerfully explains about God's power and the power of Christ, he writes this, “Were all the denizens of heaven and all the inhabitants of Earth to combine in open revolt against God, it would cause Him no uneasiness. It would have less effect upon His eternal, unassailable throne than the spray of the Mediterranean's waves has upon the towering rocks of Gibraltar.” Christ's victory, only mentioned here in verse 14, “The lamb will overcome them” is explained in much greater detail in chapter 19, and we'll get there at the Second Coming. It won't be a battle, folks, the battle of Armageddon is falsely named: it will be a slaughter. And what guarantees His victory? Verse 14, “Because he is the Lord of lords, and King of kings.” You remember this is the name that Christ will wear at the Second Coming, 19:16 says, “On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.’” He is the Lord of all other lords, no one above Him; and he is the King of all other kings. Earlier in this chapter, John described the allies of Antichrist, those ten kings who will support him. Now he describes the allies of the Lamb. I love it, verse 14, “And those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.” At the Second Coming, all believers who have died to that point in history will return with Christ, and that will include every one of us who are in Christ. And I love that the angel says we will be with him. Pay attention when that expression occurs, I absolutely love it; in John 14:3, Jesus said to His disciples and to us, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” In 1 Thessalonians 4:17, the point of that passage about the rapture isn't to build your eschatological theme, although there's a lot there about eschatology and the future; the rapture of the church. But the point is, verse 17, “We shall always be with the Lord.” But notice how the angel describes all true believers here: us, who will come back with Christ at the Second Coming. First of all, notice we are called, “The called.” That's a reference to the effectual call we talked about this morning when God, through the gospel, calls us to himself. As I often say, maybe you grew up in the church, and you'd heard the gospel many times before, and you really had never responded to that gospel. But there came a day when you heard the gospel, and you heard it a different way. The Holy Spirit was at work in your heart, God the father was in that gospel message drawing you to Himself, and that day you really heard the gospel and you responded: that's the effectual call. You are, along with all believers, the called. God called you to himself, don't you love that? 

Why did God effectually call us through the gospel to himself? Notice it's because we are the “chosen.” I don't know if you know this or not, but our word elect comes from this Greek word. In fact, in Greek, when it says we are the chosen, it says we are the “eklektos”. So we just brought a Greek word over into English. We are the elect, we are the “eklektos.” He called us because He chose us in eternity past, Ephesians 1:45, God the Father “Chose,” and it's the verb form of elect, He “chose us in Him [Christ] before the foundation of the world,” that means it wasn't because of anything in us, “that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.” Just think about that for a moment, believer, God called you to Himself and here's why: because in eternity past, He set his love upon you and predestined you for adoption. That's the one I'm going to adopt. Romans 8:29-30:

“For those whom He foreknew,” that is, those whom God invested in a relationship with, “He also predestined,” He predetermined their destiny, “to become conformed to the image of His son so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.” And here's what's called the golden chain of redemption, “And those whom He predestined,” to be like Christ, “He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”

 It's certain just like we were talking about this morning; if He began the work, He's gonna finish it. If He predetermined to set His love on you, to know you in eternity past, if He predestined you to be like His Son, if He called you through the gospel, if He justified you, He will also glorify you. We are the called, and we are the chosen. But notice the angel adds that we are the faithful. God chose us that we would be holy and blameless before Him and that we would be remade in the image of His son as we just heard. And that means that all of those God chose and all of those He called, all of those who have true saving faith, will persevere, will endure in faith through the power of the Holy Spirit who sealed us, Ephesians 1. And when Christ comes at the Second Coming, don't miss this believer, when Christ comes at the second coming, we, the called, the chosen, the faithful will come with Him. 

So here in our text in verse 14, when political Babylon arrogantly wages war against the Lamb at Armageddon, at the end of the tribulation, the end is totally predictable:  it will be a slaughter. The King of kings and the Lord of lords will conquer, He will be victorious. But let's consider in verses 15 to 18 the surprising end of religious Babylon, the surprising end of religious Babylon. Look at verse 15, “And He said to me, ‘The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.’” Now we considered this verse last time as we were studying the first half of this chapter, but here's the point: the harlot's influence, that is this false religious system that Antichrist will create, will blanket this entire planet like the world's oceans do. It will be universal, it will be everywhere. The entire world will be under the power and influence of this final religious system, it will dominate all levels of society. Again, it will seem unstoppable, untouchable, so how will such a system be brought to an end? Verse 16, “And the ten horns which you saw,” those 10 kings who rule with Antichrist, “and the beast, these will hate the harlot.” So here's how it unfolds. During the first half of the tribulation, during the first three and a half years of the tribulation, Antichrist, his political allies, these ten kings, and the false prophet, will gladly partner with and will use all of the existing world's false religions who have come together into one great ecumenical force. They'll be happy to use them. But after the Antichrist's supposed death and resurrection, somewhere near the midpoint of the tribulation, everything changes. He will then set up an image of himself in the temple in Jerusalem, what Daniel and our Lord called the abomination of desolation, and from that point on, he will demand that all other worship ceases and that he himself be the sole object of worship. It's described in 2 Thessalonians 2:4, he “opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” In other words, during the first half, he's happy to use all the false world religions. But at the midpoint when he stages this death and resurrection, he and his allies will hate that false religious system, and set himself up as the only object of worship.

As Robert Thomas notes, and I love this in his commentary, he says, “In the end” and he's borrowing Jesus' comments about a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. By the way, it was Jesus who said that, not Abraham Lincoln. Not that Abraham Lincoln didn't say it, but he wasn't the first to say it. As Thomas notes, “In the end, Satan's kingdom will be divided against itself, signaling that its demise is near.” That's what we're reading here, these ten kings, allies of Antichrist and Antichrist himself, will turn on the world's false religions that have come together into one great ecumenical force. And they will destroy every other religion to make Antichrist alone the sole object of worship. Notice how the angel describes their destruction, verse 16, they will “make her desolate.” That language is used in the Old Testament to mean they will plunder the incredible wealth accumulated by the world's religions. As I shared with you recently, the Roman Catholic church is one of the wealthiest entities on the planet. False religion is always finding a way to squeeze money out of poor, hopeless people. And when Antichrist and his cronies pounce on the world's religions, they will squeeze them dry, they will plunder their wealth. Notice, and they will make her “naked.” The idea in that expression, again the concept comes from the Old Testament, they will fully expose these false religions, they will expose their hypocrisy, they will expose all the corruption connected to these false religions. Verse 16 goes on to say, “And they will eat her flesh.” That graphically portrays their destruction as exceptionally hostile and extremely violent. And then it says they “will burn her up with fire.” That powerfully pictures that when Antichrist and his allies finish with the world's religions, there will be absolutely nothing left. They will wipe them off the planet. Why? Why will Antichrist and these ten kings destroy religious Babylon? Well, in part because sinners naturally hate one another, right? Titus 3:3, they are “Hateful, hating one another.” But it also serves their ends. Remember what they're about to do, they're about to set Antichrist alone up. And what does Antichrist mean? Remember the expression means, not only one who is against the real Christ, but one who sets himself up instead of the real Christ. So it doesn't work to have all of these other religions, he has got to be the one. 

In other words, Antichrist and these ten kings will do this because it's what they most want to do, but that's not all of the story. As one commentator puts it, “Antichrist’s self-serving, satanically inspired actions are, however, precisely in the scope of God's sovereign plan.” Look at verse 17, for here's why they'll do it, “For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose.” God says enough. Enough, I am done with the false religions that Satan has established on this planet, they are done. Now don't misunderstand, this doesn't mean that God will tempt them to sin or will make them sin. James 1:13 is clear, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.” Instead, what we learn here is what is at the base of our theology about God's interaction with evil, and that is that God has chosen to permit evil and to direct evil acts, to an end unforeseen and unintended by the sinner. It's like Genesis 50, you meant it for evil, but what? “God meant it for good.” Or read Acts 2 and Acts 4 where they're talking about the crucifixion of Christ, and they say, ‘Evil men did this to Christ, sinners did this to Christ.’ At the same time, they say, ‘But this was to fulfill the sovereign plan and purpose of God.’ God permits evil, and He directs evil acts to ends that are unforeseen and unintended by the sinner, and that's exactly what He does here. These ten kings and Antichrist will do exactly what they want. They hate these false religions, they've used them to their own ends in the first three and a half years, but they hate them. And when the time comes, they will destroy them because they want to destroy them. But guess why? Verse 17, “For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose.” What exactly do these ten kings do of their own choice? Well, clearly, they destroy the false religions that are on the planet. Verse 17 says, “By having a common purpose. and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.” Until God's promised plans are fulfilled. Again, folks, I love this, we're reminded that human history is not random. God has a plan and all things are following that plan until the culmination of His plans are fulfilled and completed. When you read your news source tomorrow morning, don't be dismayed like John, don't be appalled, don't be afraid, don't be confused; God is on His throne, He has a plan and He's marching that plan out in human history. Evil people will do what they want, and they are acting of their own accord, but God is greater than that, and He is using and directing their choices to ends unintended by them to accomplish His eventual plan.

Verse 18, he concludes this chapter with this, “The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.” So, the woman whom you saw, that's the harlot, the prostitute, the false religious system that Antichrist will eventually destroy, that system will be centered at the height of its power in the capital city of Antichrist’s political empire; here called Babylon in this passage. Why is it called Babylon? Well, there are two possibilities. One of those possibilities is, it may be that the name Babylon refers to the site of the ancient city on the Euphrates, the ancient city of Babylon, and that that site will become the location of the capital city of Antichrist’s empire. There are good arguments that can be made for that, and people we respect make those arguments, that is certainly possible. It's also possible that the name Babylon may be used only metaphorically, in which case it could be any of the world's great cities that becomes like ancient Babylon. But regardless, this false religious system will, for the first three and a half years, be so married to Antichrist and his political empire, that their base of operations will be in the very same capital city. And then they're gone. 

So what are the lessons for us? We are not living in these times being described. There's a curiosity right? I mean, it's interesting to learn what God is gonna do and how all of this will unfold, but what is the point? What are the lessons for us? Again, let me give you several. First of all, all false religion is satanic, Satan is always its ultimate source. In Ephesians 2:2, we're told that Satan is the “prince… of the spirit,” that is the spiritual atmosphere that is now at work “among the sons of disobedience.” In other words, he's the prince of all false religion and human philosophy and every ideology set against God: he's the source of it all. Everything you read about that stands opposed to God ultimately traces back to Satan. If it is offered in exchange for the worship of the true God, it stems from Satan himself. 

Secondly, related to that, as we talk about all religion being satanic, not only is Satan its ultimate source, but demons create, energize, and are worshiped through, all false religions. You realize that false religions are demonic? That they energize those religions, and that ultimately when people worship those false gods, they're worshiping demons. It's what the scripture teaches. Deuteronomy 32:16-17 says of Israel: 

They made Him jealous with strange gods; with abominations they provoked Him to anger. They sacrificed to demons who were not God, To gods whom they have not known, New gods who came lately, whom your fathers did not dread.

 Did you notice the swap there? He says, when they worshipped gods, they were in fact worshiping demons. The New Testament makes the exact same point, in 1 Corinthians 10:20, “The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God.” They don't do it knowingly, it's deception. They think they're worshiping a god, and they're worshiping a demon. 

Thirdly, related to this false religion being satanic, is that false teachers and false prophets are the human instruments that propagate that demonic religion. Look at 1 Timothy 4:1-2: 

“The Spirit explicitly says that in latter times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.” How do people come in contact with doctrines of demons? He goes on to say, “By means of the hypocrisy of liars,” he's talking about false teachers and false prophets, “the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron.” 

Listen, understand this: all religions except the true religion, biblical Christianity, all other religions have far more in common with each other than not. They are all satanic, whether you're talking about Islam or Buddhism or Hinduism or the false forms of Christianity like Roman Catholicism, the cults like Mormonism, and Jehovah's Witnesses, they are all propagated by Satan and inspired by demons. And in reality, they're not worshiping gods, they're worshiping demons. 

Number two, not only is all false religion satanic, but God hates all false religion, and He will destroy it. Again, look at our text, verses 16 and 17, “The ten horns which you saw,  and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and they will eat her flesh and burn her up with fire.” In other words, they're gonna destroy every false religion on the planet. Why? ”For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose.” God hates all false religion, and He will destroy it. 

Number three, God will not share His glory with any other object of worship. Isaiah 42:8, “I am Yahweh, that is my name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.” By the way, let me just make a little application of that to us who are Christians. There's a very interesting couple of verses, the beginning of Matthew 6:1-2; it's talking about practicing our righteousness before men to be noticed by them, but it says something very interesting. It says, “When you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men.” You know what that really reads like in the Greek text? “So that they may be glorified by men.” When we seek to attract attention to ourselves rather than to God and His work in our lives, we are really setting ourselves up as replacement objects of worship. We want to be honored rather than God, and God will not share His glory with any other object to worship. 

Number four, one day, God alone will be worshiped and glorified. This is how this book ends. Go to Revelation 21:3, “I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold,’” and this is with the new heaven and the new earth, “‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God himself will be among them.” But go down to verse 8, “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Go down to verses 22-23: 

I saw no temple in it [the heavenly Jerusalem] for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 

In other words, God and the Lamb, they will be the sole objects of worship. So look at 22:3, “There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him.” Go down to verse 15, outside of heaven, outside of the new heavens and the new earth, in hell and the lake of fire, “are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.” God will ensure one day that all false objects of worship are destroyed, and He alone, as He deserves, will be worshiped. 

A fifth lesson is this; God controls and directs even the evil self-serving actions of Satan, of demons, of human rulers, and of every human being to accomplish His sovereign purpose. Look back at 17:17, “For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose… until the words of God will be fulfilled.” Folks, that's our hope. It's, to use the words of the song we sang earlier, our God reigns. He reigns, He has a plan, He has an end, and everything on this planet is marching to that end, that's our God. 

Let's pray together. Father, thank you for our time together tonight. Thank you for this amazing revelation that tells us that one day, You will use antichrist to destroy all of the false religions on this planet, and then you will destroy him, and You alone will be worshiped in that day. Father, we acknowledge that you are the One True and Living God, You are the only One worthy of our worship. Lord, You made us to worship, You wired our hearts to worship. And we thank You, o God, those of us in Christ, that You've saved us and You have made us true worshipers. And we worship You now, and we will worship You then; in Your presence. Lord, we are so grateful that one day, all of the lies that Satan has spread around this planet about You, and about truth and about who God is, and about what ought to be believed, will all be destroyed, and You alone will be God in that day. Lord, until that day, keep us faithful, faithful to You, faithful to Your Son, remembering that your plans will be fulfilled. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.