Babylon according to John
John in the Book of Revelation named Babylon as the mother of harlots:
“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, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication’. And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Rev. 17:1, 2, 5, NKJV, emphasis added).
Take note the following:
- The seven angels are sent by God to judge the world with seven bowls judgment(Rev. 16). One of these angels will judge the great harlot.
- The great harlot is Babylon, the mother of harlots. Spiritually speaking, the mother of harlots is the harlot Church; harlots are members of the congregation who worship in the harlot Church.
- “Many waters” or “sea of glass” (Rev. 4:6) symbolizes the crowd in every nation, tongue and people. Spiritually speaking, the great harlot is in control of the harlot Church throughout the whole world!
An angel said to John concerning the Church of Jesus Christ towards the end of this age:
“Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still” (Rev.22:10, 11).
Notice that the Book of Revelation is written for God’s people, the Church. John was commanded not to seal his prophecies because it will soon be fulfilled. The angel told John, a time will come when there will be a line of separation and departure of ways and characters among God’s people. Those who are wicked will become more wicked; those who are righteous will become more righteous. The difference between those who are in darkness and those who are in the light will become more distinct as a testimony for all to see before the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is never the intention of God to confuse His people. He wants to make it very clear to us that the righteous will receive His reward but the wicked will miss it all!
The Old Testament Spiritual Harlot
The Old Testament prophets identified the harlot as backslidden people of God:
“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. So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees” (Jer. 3:8, 9, emphasis added).
Both Israel and Judah had committed spiritual adultery or spiritual harlotry and defiled the land by worshipping idols.
God said, “They have had a harlot’s forehead” (Jer. 3:3)
Notice that this can be identified with the forehead of the scarlet woman what John saw
(Rev.17:5).
Ezekiel said the same thing regarding Jerusalem’s harlotry:
“But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it” (Ezekiel 16:15).
Isaiah said Zion, the city of David, had degenerated:
“How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; righteousness lodged in it, but now murderers” (Isaiah 1:21).
The word “Zion” speaks of the Church in the New Testament. Therefore, in a way, Isaiah prophesied that a section of the Church will become a spiritual harlot!
The New Testament Spiritual Harlot
The harlot Church is a Church defiled by allowing the infiltration of the world into the sanctuary. This defilement of the sanctuaries of the Lord’s house was described by Jeremiah:
“We are ashamed because we have heard reproach. Shame has covered our faces, for strangers have come into the sanctuaries of the Lord’s house” (Jer. 51:51, NKJV, emphasis added).
“Strangers” speaks of “sinners” or “unsaved people of the world”.
In the Tabernacle of Moses or the Temple of Solomon strangers or sinners were allowed in the Outer Court. Only those who were set apart, received the blood sacrifice at the Brazen Altar and cleansed at the Brazen Laver, were allowed to come into the Holy Place.
In the New Testament Church as described in the Book of Acts, only born again, water-baptized believers were allowed into the sanctuary to worship the Lord. But in all of today’s Churches unbelievers are welcomed into God’s Holy sanctuary. Man’s rationalization says that, “by letting unbelievers into the Church and by letting them listen to the preaching of God’s Word they might believe and repent of their sins”. But, the truth is that the Word of God is Spirit and the spirit of the unbeliever needs to be regenerated and quickened by the Spirit of God before he can understand things of the Spirit. In other words, the person needs to be born again by the Spirit of God. In many cases unbelievers come to the Local Church to seek blessings instead of the Savior and Lord!
Babylon, the Harlot Church
Babylon is the Harlot Church whose members are all professing Christians who love the world. It consists of those who love the world’s favor than its reproach. It consists of those who have seen the honor of the world rather than its shame; self indulgence rather than self denied.
Babylon is all who professed to be Christ’s little frock but they denied Christ as the Chief Shepherd. They denied Him by the way they live and by their action and deeds. Babylon is any Church, any ministry, minister and any Churchgoer who love the world system. It is made up of certain pastors, evangelists, Bible teachers and multitude of Christians who have been seduced by the spirit of the world. It is a religion that has been polluted by worldly methods. The world is trying to turn God’s people into spiritual harlotry. The world is trying to make the Church to do God’s work with world methods. Ministers begin to copy the ways and methods of the world – in the area of music and choreography. People come to Church to be entertained instead of ministering to the Lord in praise and worship.
The Lord said through Jeremiah, “And my people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end” (Jer. 5:31)?
John heard the cry of an angel, “And he (an angel) cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, ‘Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury’” (Rev. 18:2, 3).
John heard another voice from heaven, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities” (Rev. 18:4, 5).
God is warning his people to come out of Babylon because God will judge Babylon!
Babylon, the harlot is falling
Babylon is falling and John’s prophecy in Revelation is going to be fulfilled before our very eyes. God is going to bring down every unspiritual lukewarm Local Church, every unspiritual ministry, every backslidden preacher and every lukewarm Churchgoer.
“I know your works and what you are doing; you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth! For you say, I am rich, I have prospered and grown wealthy, and I am in need of nothing; and do not realize and understand that your are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked” (Rev. 3:15 – 17).
We are going to witness the fall of some of the harlot ministers who were polluted by the world. Mega-Churches with their multimillion projects to compete with the world are going to come crashing down. Some Churches and Church projects built by those who have no clear mandate from God are going bankrupt. Only the genuine spiritual ministry is going to pick up the pieces.
God is about to do a new thing in the backslidden Church (Isaiah 43:19). He is going to bring down the proud, the famous and the self-centered ambitious “men of God”. God is about to raise up humble and God-fearing ministers who seek the Lord to bring the Church back to repentance and holiness.
God said, “My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray; they have turned them away on the mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place” (Jer. 50:6).
A Call to Repentance
When God’s people were captives in Babylon they quit singing, they quit rejoicing and hung their harps upon the willows (Psalm 137:1 – 3) because they thought God had forgotten them. Babylon had taken away their harps and their songs. His people could not sing the Lord’s song in a strange land (Psalm 137:4). Babylon is a strange land for the true Church.
But God is calling the harlot Church to repent and to return to the Lord:
“Turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with morning” (Joel 2:12).
Joel, the prophet continued to comfort His people, “So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Who knows if he will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him – a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God” (Joel 2:13, 14, NKJV, emphasis added)?
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