Wednesday Night Bible Study of Revelation
Chapter 16:17 Thru Chapter 17
Last week we finished up in chapter 16 and verse 16 where we found that God is going to judge the earth with a final seven judgments listed here as bowl or vial judgments.
They were in order;
(1) noisome and grievous sores [verse 2];
(2) the sea becoming as the blood of a dead man [verse 3];
(3) the river and all fresh water turning into blood [verse 4];
(4) The sun heating up to the level that it scorches men with fire [verse 8];
(5) Darkness and pain [verses 8-9];
(6) The drying up of the river Euphrates River and the releasing of the three unclean spirits into the world and gathers them together for one final battle [vv.12-14];
Verse 15 is a warning to the world of the imminent return of Jesus and to be prepared and watching “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.
Verse 16 is the fore-warning that the world is on a collision course with Jesus the King “And He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon.”
Tonight, we begin with verses 17 thru 21, the pouring out of the seventh vial that will finish or fill up the wrath of God on unregenerate mankind.
Beginning with verse 17 we find the final judgment on the earth and its effects.
(7) This will be the seventh vial judgment and the seventh catastrophe on the earth and its inhabitants. A giant earthquake that moves the islands, along with great hail that weighs a talent each [about 100 lbs.] “And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air: and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, it is done. 18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. 19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. 20
And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.”
Two major calamities occur on the earth due to the judgment of God:
1. A great earthquake that shakes the entire world. This earthquake is of such magnitude that:
(a) the great city of Babylon is divided into three sections (verse19);
(b) And, the cities of the nations fell. This means that major destruction in all cities of the world will happen due to this earthquake (verse19).
(c) all the islands fled away could mean that either they were covered with water due to a giant tsunami or completely flattened and devastated that they essentially ceased to exist; but more likely means that they were moved out of their place (verse 20).
(d) All of the major mountains were leveled. This in itself, is unimaginable. Just in our country, the Appalachians and the Rockies will be no more. World-wide the great Swiss Alps would be leveled (verse20).
2. A hail fell from the sky that each stone weighed about talent, or 100 pounds each. Think about the devastation this would bring. It would seem to crush anything or anyone in its path.
Also, in that verse we find that Babylon is to be brought into remembrance before God and He will give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. When the angel says “it is done” means that the last judgment on the earth is finished. The next occurrence that takes place will be the Battle of Armageddon.
Being brought into remembrance does not mean that somehow God had forgotten it; it just means that God now has brought judgment on it. This devastation by the earthquake and hail would cause widespread blaspheming of God by those remaining on earth.
Will men repent? No! Quite the opposite! They will blaspheme God. It seems that they blame God, rather than see their own sin that has brought their misery.
Chapter 17
So, let’s begin chapter 17. Chapters 17 and 18 is a more detailed account of the judgment of this Babylon. We are told in these two chapters not only the fate, but also the reason for its judgment.
This reason for judgment involves the of Babylon the Great; the Scarlet Beast; and the armies that follow them and make war against the Lord Christ at His return.
We will not be taking this verse by verse because I get a better understanding of this chapter when I study the several different topics given in this chapter. I believe that if that is the best way for me to understand it, then it is the best way I can teach it and the best way for you to get the most from it. One more thing before we begin, understanding this chapter will help us to understand chapters 18-19.
Tonight, I will be explaining what the several topics in this chapter mean and then we will go to each topic and examine each verse associated with them and give a brief explanation of what or who this could be by different bible scholars. Then we will dig deeper into the reasoning behind each theory. I want all to understand the different ideas and why they are given and then each person can decide on which theory they want to hang their hats on.
If you have studied this book of Revelation or read other material on it, you may already have your minds made up of what these different topics point to. If you have, that is alright. I am not going to attempt to change anyone’s mind but rather simply give you what I have studied and understand, along with biblical interpretations and historical evidence. This chapter is a deep and very misunderstood chapter as well as being much debated and can be decisive. We will not try to take it all in one week.
So, let’s begin chapter 17.
There are five topics that are given in this chapter;
1. The woman described as a whore verses 1-7, 9, 15, 16, 18.
2. The waters verses 1 and 15.
3. The scarlet colored beast verses 3, 8, 11.
4. The ten horns verses 3, 12-14, 16.
5. The seven heads verses 3, 7, 9.
We will take them in that order.
1. The woman:
(a). Her description;
In verse 1 it says that she is a whore or prostitute verse 1. In this context it means differently than selling her body. It means that she has sold her soul. It means that she not only has gone away from God, but also caused many to fall away and not know the true God of heaven. Whoever or whatever this woman is, her identification of being a prostitute shows that she is unfaithful to God and His prescribed method and manner of worship. We find in the Old Testament when God refers to Israel and Judah as prostitutes he is referring to the idolatry and false worship with the gods of the land. This is probably what is meant here by her being a prostitute; she is engaged in idolatry and false worship.
She sits upon many waters verse 1 We find what that means in verse 15 “And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” This is to be understood as this woman is the head of a very large amount of people from every corner of the world. We don’t need to spiritualize this verse because the meaning is given and is quite clear.
The kings of the earth has committed fornication with her verse 2 “With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”
She sits upon a scarlet-colored beast verses 3 and 16 “So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-colored beast full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.” She sits on the beast or rides on his back. This shows either that she is going along with the beast for the ride or that she is in the driver’s seat and is in control of this beast. In the context of these verses and later verses it is most likely that she is in control of the beast.
She was dressed very expensively and worldly Verse 4 “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication.”
She had her name written on her forehead verse 5 “And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth.”
This is probably the most telling thing about her. Upon examining what “Mystery Babylon” is referring to we find a most interesting line of thought and study. This harlot is somehow connected to or with the Babylon of the Old Testament as found in Genesis chapter 11.
The first Babylon was founded by Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the Lord. He began to build his tower to heaven and is usually credited with the first organized false religion and system. He was prevented from completing his project when the Lord confused the languages of the people. Before this all people spoke the same language. This is where we get the term “babbling.” This false religion was carried over after the flood to the Babylonian Empire. This also will be discussed in detail later.
She was drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus verse 6 “And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
The word admiration should not be understood as that John admired this prostitute but rather he marveled at what he was shown. The words wondered, admiration and marvel in verse 7 are all the same Greek word “thou-mod-zo.” This can be understood and should be understood as this woman or system is responsible for the deaths of many saints. We will research this later. It also says that she is “drunk” with the blood of these martyrs which tells me that she is intoxicated with the power she holds over the many peoples and is in control of their lives.
Verse 7 “And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns".
We will skip verse 8 for the time being. It deals with the beast which will be explained later.
She sits upon seven mountains verse 9 “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth.”
Skip down to verse 15.
She sits upon the waters. “And he saith unto me, The waters where the whore sitteth are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.”
She is an allegory or representation of a literal city verse 18 “And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”
Here we find that this woman is an allegory or representation of a city. Many bible scholars have ascribed this city with places that are contemporary with their times. The most popular idea or theory is that this city is the literal Rome. It has been taught for many years and by many well- known scholars that the Anti-Christ will come out of and lead the revived Roman Empire. This is the basis for the thought pattern that Rome is this city mentioned here in this verse.
We find a further argument for this position in verse 9 “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth.” It is a well known fact that Rome does indeed sit on seven hills or mountains.
So, it would seem that this woman is both a literal city and a system of false worship that includes idolatry.
So who is this woman?
This is the most controversial of the many topics given in this chapter. The reason that this is so controversial is that there is no definite explanation given as to who she is; only what she is and what she does. Most of the early scholars taught that this woman is none other than the Roman Catholic Church and more precisely the leadership, led by the Pope. Among the legendary scholars with this view point is Clarence Larkin author of at least four books; The Book of Revelation; Daniel; Dispensational Truths and Rightly Dividing the Truth. I have read them all and have much respect for Mr. Larkin.
Henry Ironside which many have heard of, holds this same viewpoint. I have referenced his book on several occasions for this study. Mr. Ironside was not only a prominent pastor, preacher, evangelist but also an author of much acclaim.
Albert Barnes author of the scholarly work Barnes’ Notes also believes that this latter-day whore is the Papal system.
Reverend Alexander Hislop makes a very strong case for the same theory in his very deep and
insightful book “The Two Babylons.”
Bob Utley author of “Hope in Hard Times”, a commentary of the book of Revelation. However, it should be noted that for the most part these authors are from the distant or recent past.
David Levy author of the book Revelation: Hearing the Last Word alludes to that theory.
Many of the authors of today do not agree that this is the city of Rome or that the lady described as a prostitute is the Roman Catholic Church. These would include Raymond Duck and Larry Richards authors of “The Smart Guide to the Bible series; and some others in my bible software.
I will present the evidence and let you, the jury decide.
Her attire Verse 4 “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication.” This would be an indication of her great wealth, and living in luxury. It also shows that she has connections with many merchants of the world.
2. The waters:
This is sufficiently explained in verse 15, they are the multitude of people from every country and language of the world.
3. The scarlet colored beast verses 3, 8, 11.
We have met this personage before in every chapter of this book from chapter 11-20 with the exception of chapter 12. This is no doubt Satan. It should be remembered that while it is Satan, it is also indicative of both his person and his work. His work is personified in the evil man of sin, the Anti-Christ. His work is also shown to be in his system of control; the one- world government that he establishes in order to receive the worship that he desires and demands. So, when we talk about the beast we also could be referring to either Satan, Anti-Christ or his system.
We see from verse 8 that this beast is described as coming out of the bottomless pit. “The beast that thou sawest was,and is not: and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”
This is pretty much repeated in verse 11. There is not much that can be added; it is pretty plain who and what this beast is and where he came from. However, it seems like a riddle in how he is described. “Was, and is not, and yet is.” There has been some discussion by scholars [not direct discussion, but rather in their writings] over this portion of scripture and some disagreement.
In their book “Revelation, Smart Guide to the Bible, Duck and Richards has this to say; “The beast existed prior to John’s lifetime- once was, did not exist when John received this revelation, now is not, but will reappear at some unspecified time in the future. The beast will have satanic ties to the subterranean abode of demonic spirits since he will come out of the Abyss. He will eventually go to his destruction since God will cast him into the Lake of Fire. And he will take his followers, the inhabitants of the earth, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the creation of the world, with him. End of quote.
However, Clarence Larkin in his book “Dispensational Truths” takes a different viewpoint. He goes deeper into this verse and explains that this beast is none other than Judas. He makes a very strong case for his viewpoint and uses scripture and logic. We looked at this theory previously.
4. The ten horns verses 3, 12-14, and 16.
Verse 3 “So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. In this verse we are introduced to the ten horns. These horns are not only explained but described in verses 12-14. “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of Lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, chosen, and faithful.”
These ten horns are the same as the ten toes in Daniel 2:41-42. The words “which have received no kingdom as yet,” either refers to them not having their kingdoms at the time of John, or at the end time of which this prophecy is intended, probably the former. This is based on the rest of the verse that explains that these kings give their authority to the beast and make ware with Jesus at His return, as King of kings and Lord of lords. It is interesting to see that their loyalty and submission to this beast is short-lived and doomed not only to failure but also for an eternity.
In verse 16-17 explains their real intentions to the prostitute that is riding on the back of the beast with which they have submitted to. “And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.” At some point in the Tribulation Period, the ten kings that have been given a temporary position as world leaders, will turn on the false religion of the day and will destroy her (it). It will no doubt be because she commands much worship that the beast, the Anti-Christ, demands. He will not allow any worship to exist except that which he commands for himself.
5. The seven heads verses 3, 7 and 9
We have seen in verse 3 that this beast has seven heads. It is repeated in verse 7 “And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.”
The explanation is given in verse 9. “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.” Here again is much controversy and disagreement over what the seven mountains are. If we take it literally then we find that there is a city that sits on seven mountains. Rome.
Our last lesson we covered this chapter explaining what these verses mean and showing that the Bible gives a limited amount of information regarding these topics.
We found that the topics were:
1. The woman described as a whore; verses 1-7, 9, 15-16, and 18.
2. The waters; verses 1 and 15.
3. The scarlet colored beast; verses 3, 8, and 11.
4. The ten horns; verses 3, 12-14, and 16.
5. The seven heads; verses 3, 7,and 9.
We also saw a sixth; the seven mountains, which was a part of the seven heads.
Tonight, we will try to see some of the possible answers to these unexplained events, people and places. My purpose tonight is not to cause animosity toward any Catholic person, but rather to just enlighten according to scripture and history. This is not an indictment of any Catholic person any more than it would be to accuse all or any Southern person guilty of crimes that happened before or during the Civil War.
I suppose that in order to correctly understand the remainder of this last vial or bowl we must let God the Holy Spirit unravel the mystery that has been set before us in this chapter; that of “Mystery Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.”
The first thing that we must understand is what the word “mystery” means. I will quote in part what Spiros Zodhiates, a Greek scholar from Greece explains is the meaning; It denotes in general something hidden or not fully revealed. 2 Thessalonians 2:7 speaks of the “the mystery of lawlessness” which began to work in secret but was not then completely disclose or revealed; Some sacred thing hidden or secret which is naturally unknown to the human reason and is only known by the revelation of God [1 Timothy 3:16; see 1Corinthians 15:51. It denotes a spiritual truth hidden in an external representation or likeness and concealed or hidden thereby unless some explanation be given. Unquote.
So, we see that this “Mystery Babylon the Great” was hidden from or unexplained to the early Old Testament believers but revealed to early Christians and will be accomplished in the last days of the Great Tribulation. Some of these mysteries will only be fully revealed after the rapture of the church. With that understanding it may only be supposition to try to unravel this mystery.
We must note that there are four characteristics that we need to pay attention to:
1. She sits upon many waters;
2. She is full of abominations;
3. She is drunk with the blood of the saints:
4. She resides in a city that sits on seven mountains.
We have already saw that the Catholic church is active in most nations of the world. We also note that this verse does not say that she sits upon all waters, but many waters. There are Islamic countries that do not allow any religion except Islam. There are nations that are communist, that do not allow free expression of religion, and there are also Hindus, Buddhists countries.
the Catholic church certainly does fit that description.
And we have seen that this Catholic church is headquartered in Rome, that it does indeed sit upon seven hills or mountains. So, the Catholic church does indeed qualify in this respect.
The only two characteristics that remain are; she full of abominations and is drunk with the blood of the saints. Let’s take the first one to begin with.
Most commentaries, with very few exceptions, agree that this false religion is embodied in the Catholic Church. But are they correct? Let’s look at some of the Catholic Church doctrines and practices to see if they originate from the Word of God or from paganism that is forbidden by God. I have prepared a list of some of these doctrines and practices.
The biggest question is, is the Roman Catholic Church sufficiently paganistic in her rituals and, teachings to refer to her as a harlot and being full of names of blasphemy?
Refer to handout that explains when certain traditions and rituals began in the Catholic Church. Many of these rituals did not originate with the Catholic Church but were rather incorporated into it from paganism. Also, it must be noted that according to many of my resources, these pagan rituals and practices came from those practiced in Babylon. History shows that more than 75% of the Catholic rituals and teachings came from pagan practices originating from Babylon.
We know from biblical history that Babylon was the first false religion and God was so displeased with it that He stopped the building of its temple the Tower of Babel. We know also from both biblical history and from general history that the work or worship that was began at Babel continued on in many forms.
We know from the Bible that Babylon was began by Nimrod. We can also see from history that Nimrod took a wife by the name of Semiramis, they had a son named Tammuz. In the ancient practice of paganism, Semiramis became the “Queen of Heaven.” (this in itself is noteworthy).
According to the Bible in Jeremiah 7:18, many people in Israel had joined in the worship of this queen. “The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
According to history and the Bible, they had a son named Tammuz. He supposedly was killed and brought back to life. We find in Ezekiel 8:12-14 these words; “Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? For they say, The Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth. He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord’s house which was toward the north; and behold there sat women weeping for Tammuz.
The resurrection of Tammuz began a worship of him and was signified by the sign of the Tau or T. This practice was brought into the Catholic Church in 310 by the Pope in order to appease those that he wished to baptize into Catholicism. It had its beginning in heathenism.
While many well-meaning Catholics hold to the practice as the sign of the cross, this was not known to the Apostolic fathers and would have been forbidden by them. This would have been classified as being superstitious.
It should also be noted that the Catholic Church also has named Mary the mother of Jesus as the “Queen of Heaven.” St. Bernard stated that she was crowned “Queen of Heaven” by God the Father, and that she currently sits upon a throne in Heaven making intercession for Christians.
1Timorhy 2:5 tells us that “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ.”
This shows that there is only one mediator, Jesus, not Jesus and Mary; It shows that this mediator is a man, Jesus, not a woman, Mary.
They bow down to images of Mary and pray to her. She has been given the title also of “Mary mother of God.” This of course is idolatry and paganism. There are many other teachings about Mary that are not biblical: the teaching that she was also born of a virgin, lived her entire life as a virgin and was assumed into heaven supernaturally. We know from scripture that Mary had other children, James the half-brother of Jesus to name one. This does not seem to matter to the Catholic church.
Purgatory: This doctrine of the Catholic Church is also pagan. It did not originate with the Catholic Church nor does it come from sound bible doctrine. It was a known practice to the Greeks before the time of Christ. It was also a doctrine of the Egyptians. It involves many Greek gods and was brought into the Catholic Church by Pope Gregory the Great in 593. The doctrine of purgatory teaches that a soul must burn in purgatory after death until all of their sins have been purged. To speed up the purging process, money may be paid to a priest so he can pray and have special masses for an earlier release. This demonic doctrine has led many people to put off salvation with the idea that they will gain heaven at a later time in purgatory. By the way, this practice has been abandoned; so much for the infallibility of the Pope.
We know from scripture that hell after death of the body is for punishment and it is forever.
We also know from scripture that there is only one way to have sins purged is by the blood of Jesus and not from the fires of purgatory.
The Papacy: The title Pontifex Maximus or Supreme Pontiff is also of pagan origin. The title Pontifex Maximus is mentioned numerous times by the early church fathers (particularly by Tertullian), but it was not applied to a Christian bishop. The early church fathers say that the Pontifex Maximus was the “King of Heathendom,” the evil high priest of the pagan mystery religion of Rome. It is certainly not likely that Christ appointed Peter Pontifex Maximus of Rome. The Apostle Peter was never named as the one to head the church. He was never known to be in Rome. It was Peter that denounced that pastors or bishops should be lord over God’s heritage. Peter was married and the doctrine of celibacy didn’t begin in the Catholic Church.
This goes against what Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 7:5 and 1 Timothy 3:1-2.
It also goes against what Peter himself wrote in his first epistle in 1Peter 5:3 that the leaders of the churches should not be lords over Gods heritage but being ensamples to the flock.
We are also told by our Lord that we are not to call any man father on this earth, but the priests have taken this term to apply to themselves.
Celibacy among priests of the Catholic Church has brought in many instances of child molesting. Celibacy was ordered by the Pope in 1123. It should be also noted that this doctrine of celibacy was one of the doctrines of demons (1Timothy4:3).
The doctrine of the Mass. This was adopted into the Catholic Church as a doctrine of it in the year 375. It is to be a continual sacrifice of Jesus Christ. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia it says “Christ commanded that his bloody sacrifice on the cross should be daily renewed by an un-bloody sacrifice of his body and blood in the Mass under the simple elements of bread and wine. This led to the doctrine of transubstantiation which means that after the blessing of the priest, the wine becomes the actual blood of Christ and the bread or wafer becomes the actual body of Christ. This is so wrong on many levels. First it should be noted that the Bible says that Jesus offered one sacrifice forever and sat down on the right hand of the Father. There was to be no repeat of this either in actuality or in symbolism. The Lord’s Supper was and is a memorial to what He accomplished by His death and resurrection; a remembrance, not a sacrifice.
The rosary began to be a doctrine of the Catholic Church in 1090.It consists of 15 promises of the rosary. These were supposedly promises by Mary to those who faithfully pray the rosary. Among them being, special protection and graces; a special armor against hell, it will destroy vice and deliver from sin and dispel heresy; cause good works and virtue to flourish and will obtain for souls the most abundant divine mercies; those that are truly devoted to the rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church; etc. It also must be noted that these prayers of the rosary are directed to Mary and not Jesus. We need to remember what Jesus said about using vain repetitions in or for prayer.
Infallibility of the Pope. This is explained by the Roman Church as meaning when he is in his special office of pope, or in other words it only means when he is officially acting on behalf of the Church, not his personal life. Even given that, it does not stand to reason that the Pope or any other man can add to the doctrines that were given to us by the Apostles and prophets, or even Jesus Himself. Certainly, we have seen many wrong and sinful doctrines that have been sanctioned by the Popes of the past.
It was during the second Vatican Council of Trent (1545) that the doctrine of tradition equals or supersedes the written word of the bible. It has been unofficially a part of their beliefs for centuries. Over these same centuries many false doctrines have been adopted that are contrary to the Bible. This doctrine gives license for the Pope to grant any sort of new doctrine he desires.
We also should note what Jesus said about the Pharisees teaching for doctrine the commandments of men.
The doctrine of confessing sins to the priest was instituted in 1215 by Pope Innocent 3rd. in the Lateran Council. The bible does tell us to confess our faults one to another (James5:16). However, the Greek Word for faults (parapatose) is not the same as sins (harmata). This word for faults is referring to our stumbling or making a false step. While this may include sin, it is not exclusively sin. We are told to confess our sin to the Lord and He will forgive us and cleanse us from all un- righteousness. He doesn’t need any help from a human source. Jesus is the only mediator, the one intercessor and one High Priest that we have and need.
The doctrine of Extreme Unction or “last rites was adopted in 526. This ritual was adopted for people that either (a) were too sick to come to the confessional and were on their death beds or (b) had died before they could come to confessional. This rite was performed usually by a priest and it guaranteed that all un-confessed sins was forgiven.
Worship of the cross, images and relics was authorized by the order of Empress Irene of Constantinople in 788. Her son Constantine VI called a church council at the request of Hadrian 1st., Pope of Rome at that time. This is called idolatry in the Bible and is severely condemned.
I think there is sufficient proof that the Catholic Church qualifies for the charge of blasphemy and idolatry.
Therefore, it remains to see if she is full of the blood of the saints and martyrs. This scripture here in Rev. 17 could be referring to those saints martyred during the tribulation period, However, it should be noted that this same Catholic Church is responsible for untold millions of true Christians that died during the dark ages of the Inquisition (1200-1500) because they would not join in the heresies of the Catholic Church. Baptismal regeneration; infant baptism, Christianity without being born again; salvation by works were a few of the many false doctrines that the saints objected to and died for.
The Catholic Church directly did not murder anyone but it was complicit and the instigator of the inquisition. They pronounced that anyone that didn’t agree with the Catholic Church was a heretic. And since they were the controlling rulers of the civil government, they ordered all civil authorities to kill the heretics. This was done mainly by burning and drowning. It seems they had an objection to literally shedding blood. However, blood of saints, stain their hands.
For further information on this read Foxe’s Book of Christian Martyrs by John Fox, and The Trail of the Blood.
Does she indeed hold a gold cup in her hand? (Pages 5-6 of the Two Babylons). I also believe that this gold cup can be seen at every Mass that the Pope is leading.
Is she adorned in purple, and scarlet and precious stones and pearls? It depends on what rite that the Pope is conducting. In some he is wearing purple and some red, some white. His crown has many jewels in it.
Does the pope resort to paganism? Has the Church that he represents been responsible for the deaths of true Christians, is the Church of Rome resorting to false teaching and doctrines? You be the judge.
This mystery of the Babylon the Great, the Mother of all Harlots and abominations of the earth has spread her false teaching to all the world. She does not go into heaven and prevents those that would (Matthew 23:13 “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for ye neither go in yourselves. Neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in”).
Most of our “Christian” holidays were formed by the Catholic Church:
Halloween or “all saints day” is pagan.
While Christmas, the birth of Christ is a legitimate time of celebration, the day of December 25, was set by the Catholic Church. It could not have been at that time of the year. Winter in Israel was cold and raw, the shepherds would not have had their flocks out at that time of the year. To further show this, Jesus warned His people that during the time of the Great Tribulation they were to pray that their flight not be in the winter. Also, we know from scripture that at the time of the birth of Jesus, there was a decree that all people go to the city of their own city. It would not seem plausible that the governor of Syria would have them to do this in mid-winter when traveling would be difficult. He needed for all to go. We know from history that the Catholic church chose the date of December 25 because of the winter solace and it being the beginning of longer sunlight. This was a pagan holiday celebrating the end of the short days and the beginning of longer days. It was chosen by the Catholic church to appease the many pagans that the church desired to baptize and bring into the church. Besides all of this, Christmas has pretty much been given over to Santa Claus, gifts, and Christmas trees (which is also pagan and Catholic).
It also includes Lent, Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day.
Easter, this also is a time of Christian reflection. However, the Catholic church has brought in the Easter bunny, and eggs. Which originated with pagans.
The word of God warns us “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, that ye receive not of her plagues (Revelation 18:4).
How many Christians today are not Catholic but are partakers of her sins?