The Great Whore's Execution

“The Great Whore's Execution” 

REVELATION 17:14-18

THEME: In highly metaphorical language the filthy religious prostitute and her judgment by the Lord Jesus are described. Be assured that God hears the prayers of his persecuted, justice is a divine priority, and martyrs will eventually be vindicated. 

INTRODUCTION: 

John describes the Lamb’s phased and progressive victory over "the beast" and his kingdom. Here the religious system is destroyed; then later the political and economic systems fall also (Rev 18). Afterwards, the Lord Jesus returns to earth; condemns Satan, "the beast" and the false prophet (Rev 19:19-20); and then establishes His kingdom.

Likewise, every age has featured a "Babylon," a rebellious political and economic system that has sought to control people’s minds and destinies. Just as the contrast to the "whore" is the pure bride, so the contrast to "Babylon" is the City of God, the New Jerusalem, the eternal home prepared for the Lamb’s wife (Rev 21:9). Each generation of believers must keep itself pure from the pollution of both the "whore" and "Babylon."

In these two chapters, John prophesies two divine judgments. In Revelation 17 and 18 John revisits that destruction and deals in detail with the fall of Babylon.

MESSAGE:

III. The Great Whore Executed (Rev. 17:14-18)

 The scarlet woman is both a religious system and a city (Rev. 17:18) which will “ride the beast” for a while. However, in the days when John’s prophecy will be fulfilled, an amazing thing will happen: "the harlot" will be made desolate by the very system that carried her!

A.  HER EXCLUSION BY ANTI-CHRIST (Rev. 17:16) 

    1. Finally, when the worship of the Beast is set in place (Rev. 13:4, 14, 15).

    2.  The coalition of kings “these will hate the whore” will resist her choke-hold on their freedom and finances and react with vengeance.

    3.  These kings will destroy the woman but will themselves be destroyed by the Lamb (Rev. 17:14-18). 

QUOTE: “It is important to note that "the beast" carries "the harlot" Satan (and Antichrist) will use the apostate religious system to accomplish his own ends (i.e., attain world power); but then he will do away with "the harlot" and establish his own religious system. And all of this will be the fulfillment of God's Word (Rev 17:17).

Since "the beast" sets up his image in the temple about the middle of the Tribulation, we can assume that "the harlot" and "the beast" work together during those first three-and-a half years. This is corroborated by the fact that the ten kings assist him in desolating "the harlot" (Rev 17:16). These are the same ten kings associated with "the beast" when he sets up the "United States of Europe" during the first half of the Tribulation.”  —W. W. Wiersbe

B.  HER ELIMINATION BY THE BEAST (Rev. 17:16)

Their antagonism to Christ will drive these 10 kings to war against Him but they will be soundly defeated (v. 14) by the Lamb—the Lord of lords and King of kings (1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 19:16). They will meet their demise in this battle.

    1.  After using the false religious system to unify the world kingdoms and gain control of all, the Antichrist—with the help of his 10 sub-rulers—will turn against the system, plunder and destroy it, and seize all power and worship for himself.

QUOTE: “Throughout history, political systems have "used" religious bodies to further their political causes. At the same time, church history reveals that religious groups have used politics to achieve their purposes. The marriage of church and state is not a happy one, and has often spawned children that have created serious problems. When dictators are friendly with religion, it is usually a sign that they want to make use of religion's influence and then destroy it. The church of Jesus Christ has been most influential in the world when it has maintained a separated position.

Compare the description of "the harlot's" desolation with that of the death of Jezebel (2 Kings 9:30-37).”     —W. W. Wiersbe

    2.  The vivid picture of evil that the angel showed John -- Beast, kings, Whore -- also displays the destructive nature of selfishness. Past and future kings give their authority and power to the Beast with greedy desire for even greater power. The whore depends (sits on) the Beast. The Beast, the kings, and the whore are allies until the Beast and kings turn on the whore and betray, humiliate, sacrifice, and consume her. Faced with doom, they turn on each other.

    3. Evil proves to be vicious and destructive. It hates everything good that God has made. Evil people may profess values such as loyalty and unity, but in the end, they will destroy their allies to preserve themselves.

    4. Compromises and alliances with evil, to accomplish a "greater good," also prove to be deceptions. Satan uses an effective tactic. He tried it with Jesus himself (Matt 4:1-11) by tempting him to use his power to make a "shortcut" to a good goal. The temptations were real. Jesus could have gained the whole world in a moment, but he would have also abandoned God's plan. Christians face the same kinds of temptations today.

     5.  But "good ends" accomplished by evil means serve Satan, not Christ. Only what we do for Christ and by his power will last.

C.  HER EXECUTION BY GOD.   (Rev. 17:14-15, 17)

 United, they will gather to make war with the Lamb, seeking to prevent Him from setting up His universal messianic kingdom (Rev. 19:19). Armageddon decides their awful fate.

    1.  The Place is Armageddon.

        A.  The kingdom of Antichrist will “make war.”

        B.  A reference to the battle of Armageddon (Rev. 16:14–16).

        C.  This is where the Lamb will utterly destroy the 10 kings (Rev. 19:17–21).

    2.  The Person is Christ, Jesus the Lord.

“The Lamb,” “Lord of lords and King of kings.” A title for God (Rev. 19:16; 1 Tim. 6:15; Deut. 10:17; Ps. 136:3) that emphasizes His sovereignty over all other rulers to whom He has delegated authority.  The Lamb will overcome and be victorious! 

    3. The People with Him are the Saints of Heaven. (Rev. 17:14)

 The King of kings will bring his chosen ones with him. We will be with Christ then, but we are also with him now. The battle will be won against Satan then, but with Christ in us, we can win the battles against Satan every day.

        A.  If we accept compromise and defeat, we surrender to Satan.

        B.  But if we trust Christ, claim his victory, and live by his power, we can defeat Satan. 

    4.  The Successes of the ‘Whore’ Once Multiplied Globally. (Rev. 17:15)

Rev. 17:1 stated that the woman “sitteth upon many waters.” These “waters” are now interpreted as “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” This indicates that there will be one ecumenical world religious system, embracing all nations and languages.

5. They Will Be Carrying Out God’s Purpose to Condemn Evil (Rev. 17:17).

Gen. 50:20. This is part of God’s sovereign purpose to bring evil leaders into judgment; He has placed it into their hearts to accomplish His purpose by cooperating with the beast to give him their power to rule.

QUOTE: “What do we mean by this expression "the sovereignty of God"? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the godhood of God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that God is God. He is the Most High, doing according to his will, so that none can stay his hand, defeat his counsels, or thwart his purpose.”  —  Arthur W. Pink 

CONCLUSION: 

Finally, note that those who trust the Lord are not influenced by "the whore" or defeated by the kings (Rev 17:14). Once again, John points out that the true believers are the "overcomers.”

Satan's counterfeit religion is subtle, requiring spiritual discernment to recognize. It was Paul's great concern that the local churches he founded not be seduced away from their sincere devotion to Christ (2 Cor 11:14).

In every age, there is the tremendous pressure to conform to "popular religion" and to abandon the fundamentals of the faith. In these last days, we all need to heed the admonitions in 1 Tim 4 and 2 Tim 3 and remain true to our Lord.

If we merely relegate the previous ideas as futuristic or place them geographically in Europe but fail to recognize the source and magnitude of these compromises, then we have missed the entire message the Lord sought to convey to us down through the ages of the Christian Faith. The religious system is a “whore,” who compromises with political systems around the world to serve Satan’s will of securing devotion to himself alone. A whore is not a wife, and she aggressively enters ‘situationships’ with various countries of the world to gain their power and impact in exchange for her control, constraint, and manipulation. These countries are motivated by greed, exploitation, wealth, affluence, power, and control! They will go to extremes to secure or maintain their strength over the masses of humanity. The “whore” will compromise, fornicate, and alley idolatry to keep and maintain her position of influence. She parades herself as useful, enduring, influential, powerful, worthy, and desirable. She can only offer carnal, worldly, temporal, and elevated enticements afforded by the various countries she already influences. Those political systems get what they want with such ‘payments,’ and manipulation is at the heart of the relationship for them. Any religious system presuming to interact with the ‘whore’ and these ‘kingdoms’ must allow the ‘system’ to control their voices and allegiances…not their beliefs or convictions. That religious component cannot say certain things, must toe the line, must stay in their pre-relegated place, and may give mere half-hearted allegiance to Jesus Christ. If certain issues surface occasionally from religious adherents, they are explained away or deem inconsequential by official sanctions, executive procedures, administrative jargon, and approved policies or laws rooted in governmental allegiance! Thus, the political system supports the great whore’s worship and loyalty to the antichrist, Satan. Many ‘Christian movements’ have been seduced into this type of compromise with governments to continue to enjoy certain political benefits, advantages, perks, and bonuses. Most of us are aware of the ‘unholy marriage of the Church and State!’ However, Jesus Christ calls us to worship God alone without any comprise of belief or conviction rooted in the Scriptures. The freedom to which Christ calls us may actually look like bondage in the ‘eyes’ of the sophisticated organizations who punishes anyone for their complete loyalty to Jesus Christ. Beloved, it matters now who you pledge your allegiance to. Antichrist or Jesus Christ…Satan or God. There is no room for compromise.