SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/21/2015
9:04 AM
My Worship Time Focus: More on The
Exposure of the Harlot
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Revelation
17:4-6
Message of the
verses: In today’s SD I wish to
cover two more of the sub-points under “The Exposure of the Harlot” which
actually covers Revelation 17:1-6 and 15.
The Apparel of the Harlot (Rev. 17:4a): “The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet,
and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls.”
What we are looking at is how a prostitute usually
dresses for her trade, as she wants men to see who she is so that they can pay
for the pleasures that she will give to him, but if the woman was dressed in
normal clothes then she would not stick out and would not get any
business. I think of Judah in the book
of Genesis who had two sons who had married the same woman because the first
son died and the second son was suppose to raise a family for his deceased
brother. He did not want to do this and
so the Lord caused him to die. Judah had
one more son who was very young, too young to be married and so he told the
woman that after the son grew up that they could get married. Judah had already lost two sons and so he did
not allow the third son to get married to this woman, and so she was upset
about this. The woman’s name is Tamar
and the story is in Genesis 38, and it is important as this speaks of the
bloodline of our Lord Jesus Christ, but the point that I want to make from this
story comes from 38:14-15 which says “14
So she removed her
widow’s garments and covered
herself with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gateway of
Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah had grown up,
and she had not been given to him as a wife. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, for she
had covered her face.”
Prostitutes dress in certain ways so that men know who they are just as
Tamar. The story actually ends with
Judah fathering a son through Tamar and all of them are in the bloodline of
Jesus Christ. Romans 8:28 in action.
John MacArthur writes that “metaphorically the harlot
Babylon will be no different.” She will be
no different than a regular prostitute. “That
she is adorned with god and precious stones and pearls portray her as a
prostitute who is both attractive and has plied her trade successfully and
become extremely wealthy.”
The Abominations of the Harlot (Rev. 17:4b-5): having in her hand a gold cup full of
abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality, 5 and on her forehead a name was written, a
mystery, "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS
OF THE EARTH."”
Prostitutes
try and get what they can from the men that they do business with even trying
to get them drunk so that, if possible they can steal and take things from
them. We see that this prostitute was
rich as she has a gold cup and in that cup is abominations of the unclean
things of her immorality. The metaphor
of a prostitute being like a false religion is very accurate as people get
excited over their new found “religion” and give everything to it. Donald Grey Barnhouse comments on this
graphic description in John MacArthur commentary as he writes:
It is also highly significant that the abominations and
filthiness should be spoken of as coming from a golden cup. ‘Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord’s
hand, that made all the earth drunken; the nations have drunken of her wine;
therefore the nations are mad’ (Jer. 51:7).
To those who are acquainted with the history of ancient religions this
significance is heightened by comparisons with the rites of the pagan religious
mysteries. A French scholar, Salverte,
writing on The Occult Sciences, tells
of the drinking in connection with demon ceremonies. ‘To drink of mysterious beverages,’ he says, ‘was
indispensable on the part of all who sought initiation in these mysteries. These mysterious beverages were composed of
wine, honey, water, and flour, with various other ingredients used
locally. From the nature of the ingredients
avowedly used, wand from the nature of other not avowed, but certainly used,
there can be no doubt that they were of an intoxication nature; and till the
aspirants had come under their power, till their understandings had been
dimmed, and their passions excited by the medicated draught, they were not duly
prepared for what they were either to hear or see.’”
We can look at a few verses
in the OT to show that all idolatry is abominable to God. “22 Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they
provoked Him to jealousy more than all that their fathers had done, with the
sins which they committed. 23 For they also built for themselves high places
and sacred pillars and Asherim on every high hill and beneath every luxuriant
tree. 24 There were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according
to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD dispossessed before the
sons of Israel (1 Kings 14:22-24).” Next
we will look at 2 Kings 21:1-9 “1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became
king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was
Hephzibah. 2 He did evil
in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the
LORD dispossessed before the sons of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah
his father had destroyed; and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah,
as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and
served them. 4 He built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had
said, "In Jerusalem I will put My name." 5 For he built altars for
all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. 6 He made
his son pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and used divination, and
dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD
provoking Him to anger. 7 Then he set the carved image of Asherah that he had
made, in the house of which the LORD said to David and to his son Solomon,
"In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes
of Israel, I will put My name forever. 8
"And I will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the
land which I gave their fathers, if only they will observe to do according to
all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that My servant
Moses commanded them." 9 But they did not listen, and Manasseh seduced
them to do evil more than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the sons
of Israel.” There is not a lot written
about Manasseh in the OT, and most of what is written is not good, however we
do see that he did become a believer in his old age as 2 Chronicles tells
us.
In this section of Revelation we have the name of this
prostitute or harlot “Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and of the
Abominations of the Earth.” That is some
name for this false religious system that John takes one whole chapter in
Revelation to tell us about, and how it was eventually destroyed. Now the word Mystery should be added to this
name: John MacArthur writes “The harlot
is called mystery Babylon to indicate that Babylon in this context does not
refer to a geographical location. This
is not ancient Babylon, the Babylon of John’s day, or the rebuilt city of
Babylon in the end times. The details of
this vision can’t be applied to any actual city. Here is a previously undisclosed Babylon, a
secret reality to be revealed in the end times.
This Babylon is the symbol of all worldly resistance to God; it is
described as ‘The Great’ because of its far-reaching influence. In fact, so great will be its influence that
it is called “The Mother of Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth. Babylon will be the source of all the false,
idolatrous, blasphemous worship in the end times. Her designation as the Mother of Harlots is
appropriate, since harlotry in Scripture often symbolizes idolatry. So Babylon, the city that spawned the system
that corrupted the world with false religion, will do so again.”
Well we have one more
sub-point that is not too long so I think we will tackle it too.
The Accusation of the
Harlot (Rev. 17:6): “6 And I saw the
woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses
of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered greatly.”
I would suppose that drinking is something that most
harlots do as part of their trade, however this harlot was not drunk on wine,
but on the blood of the saints and also on the blood of the witnesses of
Jesus. One of the goals of this false worship
which is headed up by Satan is to make is so everyone has to take part in it
the way that will cause those who are true believers not to be able to take
part in it. We have seen this kind of
thing throughout the Old and New Testaments.
For instance in the book of Daniel we read of three Hebrew men who would
not bow down to a statute of Nebuchadnezzar and so they were thrown into the
furnace. In the New Testament times we
have seen those who would not bow to Caesar and were thrown to the lions. This same kind of thing will happen in the
Tribulation period and it will have to do with the mark that people will have
to take to be a part of being able to buy and sell and to live, and those who
don’t will be put to death. I believe
that this mark is a part of this false worship as it is the false prophet and
the Antichrist who will cause people to take it. When we look at this verse we can see that
throughout history as I have tried to describe here in a brief way that people
who stood up for the Lord were sometimes killed. Today there are more people being killed for
their faith in Jesus Christ than t any other time in the history of the
world.
John MacArthur comments:
“While the world becomes drunk with the lust for her, the harlot becomes
drunk with the blood of God’s people.
The vision was so appalling that when John saw her, he wondered greatly;
expressing that he was confused, shocked, astonished, and frightened by the
ghastly vision of such a contrastingly magnificent figure of the woman and such
a deadly intent.” Is it no wonder that
when John had eaten the scroll with the prophecies on it and the fact that he
had to see and write about these things that it caused is stomach to become
sick?
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: Jesus said in the 25th chapter of
Matthew as He spoke about this time on earth that for the sake of the elect
that He would return to rescue them otherwise the entire world would be
destroyed. For the sake of the elect
shows to me how much love that the Lord has for true believers and there are
times when even the elect have a hard time not being fooled by the types of
things that are going on as described in this 17th chapter of
Revelation.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Pray that God will give me the wisdom so that
I will not fall prey to things that are not a part of His plan for my life.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Jesus” (John 4:32).
Today’s Bible
question: “From which mountain did Moses
view the Promised Land?”
Answer in our next SD.
8/21/2015 10:48 AM
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