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"Come, I will show
you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.
With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants
of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries."
Revelation 17:1
She is beautiful, for God
has created her that way. Her beauty was meant for Him, but she has used
it as an instrument of power and control. Her ruby soft lips invite you
to come. Her bed has been adorned with rare perfumes, promising
fulfillment and pleasure. Her body is young. A perfect figure. Long
flowing, golden hair—eyes that are wild and free. She rides a beast
that has great power. In her right hand, she holds a cup filled with
abominable things and the filth of her adulteries (Rev 17:4). The
kings of the earth have become her lovers. They have tasted from her
golden cup, intoxicated with her insatiable desires.
She has gained control
over the entire earth. ...where the prostitute sits, are peoples,
multitudes, nations and languages (Rev 17:15). The wealth of the
world will be spent on her bed of pleasures. Lust has no cultural
barriers!
As time passes, she will
grow old. Terminal disease as a result of her affluent life, will eat
away at her heart. Blush and rouge will be unable to cover a beauty that
has been used up like an old wine skin. Her lovers begin to hate her and
so will the beast on which she rides. She will see their hatred and
laugh, knowing that they are in her control. Her once soft eyes will
become hard and callous, filled with pride.
Drunk with the blood
of the saints (Rev 17:6), she senses a shift in the spiritual
realms. She looks up with an expression of terror. Far above, a silence
falls over heaven. The universe holds its breath, Who is worthy to
break the seals and open the scroll (Rev 5:2). Before the throne of
God, enters ...a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain (Rev 5:6).
As the seals are broken
by the Lamb, God's wrath begins to be poured out upon the prostitute.
The terminal decay within her takes its toll. The beast and the ten
horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and
leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire (Rev
17:16).
Fallen! Fallen is Babylon
the Great.
Revelation 18:2
Who is this harlot in
Revelation, this modern–day Babylon?
In the Old Testament, the
image of a prostitute is given to unfaithful Israel. Modern Babylon in
Revelation is described as a prostitute. This reveals that her spiritual
roots are in New Covenant Christianity. The image of the Harlot riding
the Beast, is a Christian people that have compromised a marriage
covenant with God for the pleasures and power rewarded by the Beast.
the merchants of the
earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries...'Was there ever a city
like this great city?' (Rev
18:3,18) Modern Babylon will be the most powerful economic nation in
the world. She will import from around the globe. The world's economy
will be tied into her unquenchable desire for materialism. When Babylon
falls, it will send a shock wave that will cause economic chaos across
the earth. The merchants and the kings of the world will stand shocked
and terrified at her demise. How could a nation, so affluent and
economically stable, fall with such violent swiftness? (Rev 18:18,19)
The woman you saw is the
great city that rules over the kings of the earth (Rev 17:18).
In our modern day technology, to rule over all the kings of the earth,
Babylon would have to possess the strongest army and the most powerful
nuclear weapons. Because of the extent of her political power, the beast
will not be able to rule until Babylon has fallen. (Rev 17: 15–18)
She rides on top of the beast, in control, using the beast to establish
her authority. The waters you saw where the prostitute sits are
peoples, multitudes, nations and languages (Rev 17: 15). As in the
days of Daniel, the tentacles of Babylon's authority will reach to the
ends of the earth (Daniel 4).
Prophecy teachers have
been in a quandary over why the United States, the single most powerful
nation in the world, is not found in prophecy. This is because there has
been a misunderstanding of the interpretation of modern–day Babylon.
Babylon will be a world superpower, politically and economically strong
with Christian roots. There is only one nation that fits this
description. Babylon is the United States of America!
The USA has more churches
and Christian denominations per capita than any other country in the
world. She has sent missionaries into the far reaches of the world,
affecting the culture and ideals of the most isolated communities. Her
money proclaims, In God we trust. The USA is a Christian Nation.
On April 29, 1607, the
first English settlers claimed a new land that would become a home for
their children and children's children. When their feet first touched
the Atlantic shore, they erected a seven foot high oak cross in the sand
and bowed in prayer proclaiming a new nation for the glory of God and
his Son, Jesus Christ. The law and culture of America was founded on
the knees of godly men and women.
During the American
Revolution, a British officer became separated from his unit. Silently,
he walked through the forest trying to make his way back to camp.
Entering a clearing, he was shocked to see an American General on his
hands and knees, his face buried in the ground in fervent prayer. Tears
came to the officer's eyes when he realized that it was General George
Washington, commander of the American forces. He proclaimed later, When
I saw that sight, I knew we were defeated for any army whose commander
was so humble before Almighty God could never lose the war.
On Sept. 17, 1787, George
Washington became one of the founding fathers of the American
Constitution that would become the cornerstone of the United States'
law, rights, and moral and ethical values. This constitution
acknowledges the Lordship of Jesus Christ and America as a Christian
nation.
The Delaware Constitution
of 1776 expresses, everyone
appointed to public office must say, I do profess faith in God the
Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ His only Son, and in the Holy
Ghost... and I do acknowledge the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New
Testaments to be given by divine inspiration.
During the early revivals
in the 1700's, America looked upon herself as being the Holy City on
a Hill, the New Jerusalem, a Light to the World.
On March 30, 1863,
President Abraham Lincoln and the United States Senate officially
proclaimed a Day of National Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer. In
this powerful proclamation, this most loved and respected President
stated the Supreme Authority and Just Government of Almighty God.
Lincoln was convicted that America had become proud and had forgotten
that her strength, peace and prosperity came from obedience and humility
before God.
Intoxicated with
unbroken success, we have become too self–sufficient to feel the
necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the
God that made us.
Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln was well aware
that the United State's unusual blessing and affluence were there
because her moral values, laws and social behaviors were founded on a
reverent fear of an Almighty God. Even in those early years, he saw a
pride and corruption that were beginning to fester in the fabric of
America. This could only result in inevitable judgment by the hand of
God. An image of America from coast to coast on their knees in humble
fasting, prayer and repentance is a stark contrast to the present–day,
brazen, proud, ungodly, country that laughs and shakes its fist
defiantly in the face of the Almighty. The success that Lincoln referred
to, has not only intoxicated America, but has spread its corrupting
influence over the entire earth. With her the kings of the earth
committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated
with the wine of her adulteries (Rev 17:2).
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