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Passover to Tabernacles - Part Thirty Five

Aug 21, 2022 by: John Herbert | Series: Passover to Tabernacles

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Re 17:5 And on her forehead a name was written:
MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

We will continue to look at the 'mystery' of the great harlot today.

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Sunday August 21st 2022
Passover to Tabernacles
Part 35

1). Re 17:1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” 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. 4 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. 5 And on her forehead a name was written:
MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6 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.

We had seen last time, the second of the two representations of Israel as a woman to be found in the Revelation. And in the second representation here in Chapter 17, we see Israel as the great harlot. Her harlotry has come through her assimilation into the kingdom of this world under the god of this age over centuries of time stretching back to the Babylonian captivity, an assimilation that will reach its apex under the rule of the Antichrist, the one who is the seed of the serpent.
	a). And the great harlot in Chapter 17 is in striking contrast to the woman clothed with the sun, who we saw in Revelation Chapter 12. But as we know, these are both the same woman, and even in her harlot status, she is still seen in connection with regality – Re 17:18 And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over, [Lit. Which has regal authority over] the kings of the earth.

And there is only one nation of whom this can be said – Ex 4:22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Israel is My son, My firstborn.

And as we had seen last time – Ro 11:29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

God has never, nor will ever, change His mind concerning the statement made to the Pharaoh at the time of Israel’s inception as a nation. This is the way in which He will fulfill the promise given to Abraham – 
Ge 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Israel is at present an estranged prodigal son and a divorced woman, because of the nation’s disobedience and unfaithfulness, but nonetheless the position that the Jewish people hold in relation to the Gentile nations, a firstborn son, has never changed. It only awaits the fulfillment of that brought about through the nation’s adoption, fulfillment based upon national repentance.
	b). Israel had previously held the scepter of rulership from the time the Theocracy began at Sinai in the days of Moses until it ended during the final phase of the Babylonian captivity. And with the ending of the Theocracy, the scepter of rulership passed to the Gentile nations and the times of the Gentiles began and have continued ever since.
	c). And although the Gentile nations have held the scepter of rulership instead of Israel for some two-thousand-six-hundred years, they have this position under Satan, a rebel ruler, with their authority emanating from his throne, under his jurisdiction, an authority that he will place in the hands of one man, described as ‘the beast’, during the final three and a half years of the Great Tribulation – Re 13:1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. 2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.

Satan’s power and authority that will be given exclusively to the ‘beast’, has been in the hands of various Gentile nations, through those nation’s angelic rulers, throughout the times of the Gentiles – Da 10:20 Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? And now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come.

The Jewish people, however, have never been counted among the Gentile nations, remaining completely separate from them – Nu 23:9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, And from the hills I behold him; There! A people dwelling alone, Not reckoning itself among the nations.

From the foundation onwards, it is the Jewish people alone who have a God – Ge 9:26 And he said: “Blessed be the LORD, The God of Shem…….

Ex 3:15 Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’

And this status separates the Jewish people from all other nations on the earth.
	d). The Gentile nations may have their own gods, whether it be materialism or demonic entities, but it is Israel alone who is in possession of the One true and living God. And it is only through Israel that the Gentile nations can ever have access to God and His spiritual blessings, as was clearly stated in His promise to Abraham and as was set in the foundation Ge 9:27 May God enlarge Japheth, And may he dwell in the tents of Shem;
And may Canaan be his servant.”

And in the angelic realm this profound division between Israel and the nations is exemplified through the conflict between Satan’s fallen angels and Michael, Israel’s prince, and his unfallen angels – Da 10:13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia……21 But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. (No one upholds me against these, except Michael your prince.

Jude 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses…………

Re 12:7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.

Even throughout the millennia of Israel’s disobedience, Michael has remained their prince, and Michael and the angels with him, have no part whatsoever with Satan’s rule over the Gentile nations of the earth, and no part with respect to his kingdom.
	e). And this alone will give us an understanding of why Satan has continued to do all he can to destroy the Jewish people, and why there will be one last attempted genocide on a scale that has never been seen before.
	f). But when the time comes for Israel to be brought to repentance, when the attempted genocide begins – Da 12:1 “At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book.

The events described here in Daniel take us to the mid-point in the tribulation and beyond. That which we see in Daniel corresponds to that seen when war broke out in heaven in Revelation Chapter 12.
	g). And hopefully, the significance will not be lost on us, that it is Michael and the angels with him, those angels directly connected to Israel, who are responsible for throwing Satan and his angels out of the heavenly realm of the Kingdom in anticipation of the new order of rulers who are to occupy it, the Seed of Abraham and Abraham’s spiritual descendants in the heavens and the Seed of Abraham and His physical descendants on the earth. It is Israel’s total separation from the Gentile nations of the earth and their irrevocable status as a firstborn son that not only makes this possible but also guarantees its certainty.
	h). We will also note from Daniel 12 that it is Michael, and the angels with him, who stand watch over the Jewish people and therefore, through angelic activity under God’s sovereign control, that the Jewish people will be delivered from the ‘time of trouble such as never was.’

2). Let’s go back to the verses we began with today for a moment - 5 And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH

There are three things written on the harlot’s forehead that we would take note of, the first of which is the word ‘Mystery’. Now, we know from our previous studies that the word mystery, as used in Scripture, refers to something that is to be found in the OT Scriptures that has been concealed there until it is then opened fully to our understanding.
	a). And so, as the woman is described figuratively as ‘Babylon the Great’ and ‘the Mother of Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth’, we would expect to find her in the OT inseparably connected with Babylon and harlotry and the abominations that come from it. Past history that reveals future prophetic fulfillment.
	b). And in case we might be unsure as to who we are looking for, God has stated clearly in the Scriptures, who this woman is - Re 17:18 And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over, [Lit. Which has regal authority over] the kings of the earth.

Note the clarity of the statement, ‘the woman whom you saw is….’ And she is said to be ‘that great city’, which has regal authority over the kings of the earth. And references to ‘the great city’ are made nine times in Revelation Chapters 11-18, with the first of these references, connected to the deaths of the two witnesses, making obvious which city is being spoken of – Re 11:8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

There is only one city ‘where also our Lord was crucified’, and that is Jerusalem.
	c). But it is not the city of itself that is being referred to. The city of Jerusalem is often used as a synonym for the Jewish people – Lam 1:1 How lonely sits the city That was full of people! How like a widow is she, Who was great among the nations! The princess among the provinces Has become a slave! 2 She weeps bitterly in the night, Her tears are on her cheeks; Among all her lovers She has none to comfort her………… 8 Jerusalem has sinned gravely, Therefore she has become vile. All who honored her despise her Because they have seen her nakedness;

The city itself could not weep bitterly in the night, nor could the city itself have sinned gravely but is used to personify the Jewish people who did weep bitterly and did sin gravely leading to their captivity.
	d). And we can find another example of this in – 
Mt 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

Jerusalem, the city, was a collection of buildings, roads, thoroughfares, and the Temple and as a physical entity it could not have killed the prophets and stoned those who were sent to her, but the Jewish people did. And this we can see if we back up a few verses in Matthew 23 – Mt 23:34 Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Stephen also drew attention to this in – Acts 7:51 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers……

And we find it again in – 1 Th 2:14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men…..

Now, in conjunction with this, let’s remember what we read about the great harlot as we began today – Re 17:6 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 then, for us to be clear, the city of Jerusalem is inseparable from the Jewish people. To talk of the city is to talk of the people. And within our context here, the great harlot.
e). And we will also notice, if we go back to Revelation 11:8, that the great city, Jerusalem is spiritually called ‘Sodom and Egypt’, and as we have previously seen, Babylon as well. And of course, it is not the city itself but the Jewish people who are in view. And through the combination of these three metaphors, Sodom, Egypt, and Babylon, we have revealed to us the end result, of Israel’s disobedience.
	f). Sodom is synonymous with degenerate sexual activity, which is the focus given to the Woman presented in Revelation Chapters 17 through the first part of Chapter 19. The sexual degeneracy here of course being harlotry.
	g). Egypt is always used to represent the world and it was into the world, into the Gentile nations, that the Jewish people found themselves having been removed from their land into Babylon. And the Babylonian captivity was a foreshadowing of the future captivity that is still to come at the hands of the Antichrist. The Babylonian connection is seen through Nebuchadnezzar, the first Babylonian king to bring the Jewish people into captivity. And he anticipates the last king of Babylon, the Antichrist, an Assyrian, through whom God’s purpose for His people will be accomplished – Mic 5:6 They shall waste with the sword the land of Assyria, And the land of Nimrod at its entrances; Thus He shall deliver us from the Assyrian, When he comes into our land And when he treads within our borders.

And we might remember the origins of Babylon – Ge 10:8 Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.” 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, 12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city).

And of course, the tower built at Babel – Ge 11:4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

The rise of Nimrod a mighty hunter of men, a foundational type for the ‘beast’, and the building of the tower ‘whose top is in the heavens’ are sandwiched between Noah and his family coming safely through the worldwide flood and the lineage of Shem that introduces Abraham.
	h). This then, gives us an inseparable connection between the kingdom of Babylon, the ‘beast’, the Jewish people and the nation’s harlotry. It is in the past events of Jewish history, particularly the reason for the Babylonian captivity and Israel’s continued illicit involvement with the kingdom of this world that followed, in which the ‘mystery’ of the woman seen in Revelation Chapter 17 is to be found.
	i). And the harlotry that gives rise to the great harlot, harlotry at its apex, can be found throughout the OT Scriptures – De 31:16 And the LORD said to Moses: “Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. 17 Then My anger shall be aroused against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured.

Jer 3:8 Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also.

Eze 16:28 You also played the harlot with the Assyrians, because you were insatiable; indeed you played the harlot with them and still were not satisfied. 29 Moreover you multiplied your acts of harlotry as far as the land of the trader, Chaldea; and even then you were not satisfied. 30 “How degenerate is your heart!” says the Lord GOD, “seeing you do all these things, the deeds of a brazen harlot.

And Israel’s harlotry can also be poignantly seen in the NT, at the Lord’s first Advent – Jn 19:15 But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”

Israel’s harlotry then, throughout her history, is opened and revealed in its fullest and final extent within the Revelation in anticipation of the fulfillment of God’s redemptive purpose. Redemption, as we have seen, that will come through judgment – Re 17:12 “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 beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 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.” 15 Then he said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.

Once again, we see the harlot out among the Gentile nations within the kingdom of the beast. And we see that the nations will hate the harlot, they will make her desolate and naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
	j). The figurative language used here describes the days that the Lord had spoken of in – Mt 24:21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.

The days foreshadowed in the brickyards of Egypt and through the actions of Haman – Est 3:5 When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath. 6 But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him of the people of Mordecai. Instead, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus—the people of Mordecai.

And the days prophetically revealed through Ezekiel – Eze 16:35 “Now then, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD! 36 Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because your filthiness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your harlotry with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, and because of the blood of your children which you gave to them, 37 surely, therefore, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved, and all those you hated; I will gather them from all around against you and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness. 38 And I will judge you as women who break wedlock or shed blood are judged; I will bring blood upon you in fury and jealousy. 39 I will also give you into their hand, and they shall throw down your shrines and break down your high places. They shall also strip you of your clothes, take your beautiful jewelry, and leave you naked and bare. 40 “They shall also bring up an assembly against you, and they shall stone you with stones and thrust you through with their swords. 41 They shall burn your houses with fire, and execute judgments on you in the sight of many women; and I will make you cease playing the harlot, and you shall no longer hire lovers.

But we see in Revelation 17:17, that God will put this unprecedented persecution of His people into the hearts of those in the kingdom of the beast, to fulfill His own purpose, a purpose we know so very well – 
Eze 22:15 I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and remove your filthiness completely from you.

We will continue with this next time if we remain and the Lord is willing, and we have prayed.

Passover to Tabernacles - Part Thirty Five

Refresh A Recap from the Sermon

Passover to Tabernacles - Part Thirty Five

Aug 21, 2022

Speaker: John Herbert

Series: Passover to Tabernacles

Category: Sunday Morning

Refresh
A Recap from the Sermon