God gives us Bible Prophecy to warn mankind that there are consequences to our sinful actions — Judgement. Take the 7 Deadly Sins for example. You have…
- pride
- greed
- vanity
- gluttony
- sloth
- lust
- wrath
- envy
All of these are covered in the next 3 chapters of the Book of Revelation chapters 16, 17 and 18. Before we look at Revelation, let’s take a look at a couple of passages in the book of the prophet Isaiah…
For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
has a day of reckoning.
He will punish the proud and mighty
and bring down everything that is exalted.Human pride will be humbled,
Isiah 2:12 & 17 NLT
and human arrogance will be brought down.
Only the Lord will be exalted
on that day of judgment.
The Big Picture
These next 3 chapters of Revelation contains a lot of symbolism and you can dig deeper if you want with these two resources:
God’s Wrath is Poured Out in the 7 Bowl Judgements
Here are the last 7 of God’s judgements on those humans who don’t repent of their sins and turn to Jesus. Be aware that the Rapture of His born-again Christian believers already happened. He also harvested the rest of the Tribulation Saints — the wise folks who realized what was happening when all the Christians disappeared and then believed in Jesus. Who’s left in the world are the people who worship the beast — the Antichrist — and took his mark. Remember, the mark of the beast happens halfway through the Great Tribulation. If the Rapture hasn’t happened yet, it’s not the mark of the beast! We’re not there yet!
Revelation 16
Then I heard a mighty voice from the Temple say to the seven angels, “Go your ways and pour out on the earth the seven bowls containing God’s wrath.”
So the first angel left the Temple and poured out his bowl on the earth, and horrible, malignant sores broke out on everyone who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue.
Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse. And everything in the sea died.
Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs, and they became blood. And I heard the angel who had authority over all water saying,
“You are just, O Holy One, who is and who always was,
because you have sent these judgments.
Since they shed the blood
of your holy people and your prophets,
you have given them blood to drink.
It is their just reward.”And I heard a voice from the altar, saying,
“Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty,
your judgments are true and just.”Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, causing it to scorch everyone with its fire. Everyone was burned by this blast of heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had control over all these plagues. They did not repent of their sins and turn to God and give him glory.
Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. His subjects ground their teeth in anguish, and they cursed the God of heaven for their pains and sores. But they did not repent of their evil deeds and turn to God.
Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great Euphrates River, and it dried up so that the kings from the east could march their armies toward the west without hindrance. And I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs leap from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. They are demonic spirits who work miracles and go out to all the rulers of the world to gather them for battle against the Lord on that great judgment day of God the Almighty.
“Look, I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for me, who keep their clothing ready so they will not have to walk around naked and ashamed.”
And the demonic spirits gathered all the rulers and their armies to a place with the Hebrew name Armageddon.
Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. And a mighty shout came from the throne in the Temple, saying, “It is finished!” Then the thunder crashed and rolled, and lightning flashed. And a great earthquake struck—the worst since people were placed on the earth. The great city of Babylon split into three sections, and the cities of many nations fell into heaps of rubble. So God remembered all of Babylon’s sins, and he made her drink the cup that was filled with the wine of his fierce wrath. And every island disappeared, and all the mountains were leveled. There was a terrible hailstorm, and hailstones weighing as much as seventy-five pounds fell from the sky onto the people below. They cursed God because of the terrible plague of the hailstorm.
Revelation 16 NLT
Even after these plagues and destruction, the people still don’t repent. Though God closed Heaven, I’m sure if even one person would believe, repent, sincerely ask forgiveness — our God would let them in. He is the God of Second Chances. But they didn’t.
Who is the Great Prostitute?
In Revelation 17, we meet the Great Prostitute. Who does she represent? John tells us exactly who she is and what will happen to those who worship what she represents: the world systems — wealth/capitalism, false religion, kings and politicians. This doesn’t mean that all commercialism is bad — just the greedy and corrupt parts of it. It’s when it takes over our lives and greed, lust, gluttony, pride and vanity rule. We end up worshiping the creation rather than the creator. That stirs up God’s wrath.
Revelation 17
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.”
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.
“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
The Great Prostitute is “Babylon”. Babylon factors greatly in the Bible as a representation of power, oppression, selfishness, an economic system, immorality and war. She is beautiful, dressed to the nines, decked with fine jewelry and sitting in a high position partnering with the beast — the Antichrist. Babylon is a place. It’s a major city where the Antichrist will set up shop. The fact that it mentions 7 hills infers that it may be Rome. Now, there are different studies that say different things. I won’t get into that argument here. Just know that their fun will soon end — and end badly.
Babylon is Fallen
Revelation 18
After all this I saw another angel come down from heaven with great authority, and the earth grew bright with his splendor. He gave a mighty shout:
“Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen!
She has become a home for demons.
She is a hideout for every foul spirit,
a hideout for every foul vulture
and every foul and dreadful animal.
For all the nations have fallen
because of the wine of her passionate immorality.
The kings of the world
have committed adultery with her.
Because of her desires for extravagant luxury,
the merchants of the world have grown rich.”Then I heard another voice calling from heaven,
“Come away from her, my people.
Do not take part in her sins,
or you will be punished with her.
For her sins are piled as high as heaven,
and God remembers her evil deeds.
Do to her as she has done to others.
Double her penalty for all her evil deeds.
She brewed a cup of terror for others,
so brew twice as much for her.
She glorified herself and lived in luxury,
so match it now with torment and sorrow.
She boasted in her heart,
‘I am queen on my throne.
I am no helpless widow,
and I have no reason to mourn.’
Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day—
death and mourning and famine.
She will be completely consumed by fire,
for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.”And the kings of the world who committed adultery with her and enjoyed her great luxury will mourn for her as they see the smoke rising from her charred remains. They will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will cry out,
“How terrible, how terrible for you,
Revelation 18: 1-9 NLT
O Babylon, you great city!
In a single moment
God’s judgment came on you.”
It goes on. If you want to read the rest of the destruction of Babylon, the Antichrist and all their sin, click here. God doesn’t waste time. All the plagues will overtake her in a single day. You reap what you sow. What goes around, comes around. Call it karma or whatever…
Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.
Galatians 6:7
Who do you Worship?
Basically, what it comes down to, is who do you worship? Are money and fame the most important things in your life? Do you follow a man-made church system rather than Jesus? Judgement Day is coming whether you like it or not. Clean up your act or face the consequences. Jesus warns us…
“Look, I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for me, who keep their clothing ready so they will not have to walk around naked and ashamed.”
Revelation 16:15
I’m going to borrow some wisdom from the Prophetic Gallery Series…
Jesus says to be careful or we will be caught naked and not ready when Jesus returns. Because each of these centers can take our eyes off of Jesus and His return – economics, politics, and religion. Satan will use them to unite people against God’s rule. He will use them to take our eyes off of Jesus. Each of these systems reject the rule of Jesus. Do not get caught in them. God will destroy these.
Prayer
Father, we do not rejoice at the death of people. However, this woman represents a demonic system that is full of oppression. I am glad that it is destroyed. I rejoice that justice comes. Right now we live and work in the midst of this system because there are many that will come to salvation if we are faithful despite all we face. That is what You call us to do. But I still look forward to the day of celebration! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Prophetic Gallery Series, https://aaec.ae/
Soli Deo Gloria — to God Alone be the Glory!
