Wednesday, October 21, 2015
REV 1:3 Blessed or Happinesses belong to the one who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy in found in this book, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.
Point 5. America and Biblical Prophecy and the Role of the Pivot in the Last Days.
The First Beast mentioned is related to the Great Harlot or Whore of Babylon in Rev 17 and 18, and it is none other than the Roman papacy or the Roman Catholic Church and it also refers to the pope.
There are at least eight major identifications and descriptions of the beast and the Great Harlot or Whore of Babylon which are intimately related.
What is the main lesson behind the symbol of this woman riding the beast? The Identification Marks of The Harlot or the Whore of Babylon.
IDENTITY 1 - is found in REV 17:1 which says "Come here, I shall show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,
The waters represent the people and nations around the world.
When you sit upon something, you are being supported by that which you're sitting upon. - This is an ecclesiastical or religious organization that has support from all different people and nations, a world-wide support.
JOH 6:28-29; They said therefore to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them,
"This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."
MAT 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.
JOH 6:40 "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life;
MAT 5:17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.
Pleroo: a. To fill up a deficiency. b. To fully possess. c. To fully influence. d. To fill with a certain quality.
1. To fill up a deficiency means that TLJC came to fulfill up the deficiency that we all had to accomplish or obey the Holy Scriptures.
2. To fully possess means that TLJC fully brought out the full meaning of the Holy Scriptures in His life.
3. To fully influence means that TLJC brought the Scriptures to their intended completion by fully influencing what they were made to do for mankind.
4. To fill with a certain quality means that TLJC emphasized that the Scriptures point to him as the Messiah and are fulfilled in His salvation work.
ROM 8:8 Those who are in the flesh (and we are) cannot please God.
The Expositor’s Commentary on Matthew concluded by saying: "The best interpretation of these difficult verses says that Jesus fulfills the Law and the Prophets in that they point to Him, and He is their fulfillment.
Law = reveals sin but cannot fix it. (ROM 3:20) Faith would be irrelevant. (ROM 4:14) Law - brings wrath upon those who follow it. (Rom
4:15) Purpose = to increase sin. (ROM 5:20) Christians are not under the law. (Romans 6:14)
Christians have been delivered from the law. (ROM 7:1-6) The law is good, perfect and holy but cannot help you be good, perfect or holy. (ROM 7:7-12)
The law which promises life only brings death through sin. (ROM 7:10) The law makes you sinful beyond measure. (ROM 7:13) The law is weak. (ROM 8:2-3)
Strength of sin = Law (1CO 15:56) Law = a ministry of death. (2CO 3:7) Law = a ministry of condemnation. (2CO 3:9) Law = fading away.
(2CO 3:11) It produces a mind-hardening and a heart-hardening veil. (2CO 3:14-15)
The law cannot justify anyone. (Gal 2:16) Christians are dead to the law. (GAL 2:19) The law frustrates the grace of God. (GAL 2:21) To go back to the law after embracing faith is “stupid”. (GAL 3:1)
The law curses all who practice it and fail to do it perfectly. (GAL 3:10) The law has nothing to do with faith. (GAL 3:11-12) The law was a curse that Christ redeemed us from. (GAL 3:13)
If the law worked God would have used it to save us. (GAL 3:21) The law was our prison. (Gal 3:23) The law makes you a slave like Hagar. (GAL 4:24)
Christ has abolished the law which was a wall of hostility (EPH 2:15)
Paul considered everything the law gained him as “skubala which is Greek for “dung”. (PHI 3:4-8)
It was made for the unrighteous but not for the righteous. (1TI 1:9-10)
The law is weak, useless and makes nothing perfect. (HEB 7:18-19) It is obsolete, growing old and ready to vanish. (HEB 8:13) It is only a shadow of good things to come and will never make someone perfect. (HEB 10:1)
IDENTITY 2 - REV 17:2 "The kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality."
There have been many leaders of nations who was convinced by the RCC and papacy that the Jews were evil people and they had their part in the holocaust as well as the kings and rulers in the Middle Ages.
The Middle ages or the Medieval period began with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery.
This is a church that has influenced kings and world rulers throughout the past 2000 years and continues to have 'diplomatic relations' with nations all over the world.
It is the ONLY religious institution that can have diplomatic relations with the 'kings of the world,' in fact, right now it has diplomatic relations with over 180 nations.
The inhabitants of the earth have certainly been made drunk with the false teachings (wine) of the Catholic Church.
IDENTITY 3 - REV 17:3 "I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns."
Revelation 12 tells us that the dragon is Satan, 'that old serpent called the devil.'
Why does the dragon have seven heads and ten horns?
Revelation 17 tells us that those ten horns represent kings and-or kingdoms.
REV 12:4b And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.
REV 12:5 tells us that he was "caught up to God and His throne."
Who did Satan use to try and kill Jesus when He was born?
He tried and used the ruler of ROME, who, of course failed, even though a Roman ruler, Herod had all male infants killed;MAT 2:16.
Which civil power does Revelation 17 tell us the woman gets her 'seat' and 'authority' from? It is Rome!
Who is the whore of Babylon? The Roman Catholic Church.
There is a great ecumenical movement happening today that is trying to unite all churches and faiths together who are called by many "Babylon's daughters."
"There is a common assumption among church leaders and church attendees, that the bigger the church is, the better they are doing
More members, a bigger budget, a new building, additional programs, and better technology are commonly seen as really good things
The common definition of a mega-church is a church that has 2,000 or more in attendance each week.
The majority of church-going Americans attend a church with 200 or fewer members.
The mega-church mentality involves a certain leadership, a kind of personality, a plan for growth and expansion, and a set of goals and priorities, dreams and aspirations.
Mega-church pastors hold the most TV airtime, write the most popular Christian books, and affect more church leaders than any other single group of people.
PHI 1:15-19, "Certain ones, on the one hand, are proclaiming the Christ even from jealousy and strife or discord, but certain ones on the other hand because of good motivation" the former category from the motivation of divisive self-promotion proclaim Christ, not from pure motives, since they presume to arouse mental distress with regard to my imprisonment. What is my conclusion? Only that in every way, whether in false motivation or in true, Christ is being proclaimed; and in this I am happy, not only at this time, but I will continue being happy.
2CO 11:4 For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted,
1TI 4:1, another doctrine, called doctrines of demons or doctrines of devils.
Mega-churches often place an improper emphasis on size and numbers to the neglect of spiritual development.
“The building up of the body of Christ” is true church ‘growth,’ which results in attaining…to mature manhood” (EPH 4:12-13).
The growth of the church should first of all be personal and spiritual, not numerical.
In an effort to avoid this numbers-game pitfall, true spiritual leaders must prioritize spiritual growth above numbers growth.
In addition, they should be hesitant to expand the church’s numerical size without accompanying growth on the spiritual level.
Mega-churches also allow individual members to get lost in the crowd, thus neglecting the specific needs of specific people.
According to the biblical model of church interaction, members should be active serving one another, loving each other, and ministering to one another’s spiritual needs; GAL 6:1-10.
In a mega-church, it is possible for someone to slip in for the service and leave, without forming relationships, exercising his or her gifts, or experiencing the ministry of other members.
Mega-churches tend to foster an entertainment model for church, rather than properly emphasizing involvement and interaction.
They’ve got top-notch musicians, expensive Audio Visual equipment, plush seating, amazing architecture, talented speakers, engaging drama, advanced technological accoutrements, and even good coffee served fresh in the lobby.
Since it is easy for a member to be drawn into the entertainment of the experience rather than the spiritual impact of the service.
Mega-churches are often built and organized based on the interests and desires of the congregation, rather than rowing up into Him in all aspects.
Though there doesn't seem to be anything inherently sinful or wrong about mega-churches, we should occasionally stop to think about whether the mega-church mentality is really the way of doing church.
We know that the early church grew by thousands, and those thousands were added to the church (Acts 2:41- Acts 4:4).
There is more evidence to suggest that the “church” was a loosely organized collection of smaller house churches, not a massive single mega-church.
Whatever our stance on the mega-church model, let us be sure that we make the teaching of the word of God our touchstone for church growth.
"Beware of the dog and pony show!"
Rev 17 talks about this ecumenical movement, and also making churches bigger, joining together with each other, putting aside your doctrinal differences.
Revelation 17 says that Babylon has daughters, and her daughters are the apostate churches that came out of the Roman Catholic Church during the reformation.
IDENTITY 4 - REV 17:4 And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality,
Notice that the main colors of this church, the whore of Babylon is Purple and Scarlet.
It is also a very wealthy church that is decked out with gold and precious stones.
The main colors of the Bishops and Cardinals in the Catholic Church are Purple and Scarlet?
The Roman Catholic Church is one of, if not THE most wealthiest institution in the world?
If you look at some of the coins that the Vatican has had produced, you will see images of a woman with a golden cup in her hand on them. Blatantly boasting of who she is!
The sins of the Roman Catholic Church are immense, with its idolatry, murder, child abuse and so on, that she has committed throughout her history, and CONTINUES to commit.
When the mark of the Papal Church is enforced upon the world, THEN the message of Revelation 18:2 will go out to the world, and her fall into apostasy will be COMPLETE!
IDENTITY 5 - REV 17:5 and upon her forehead a name was written, a mystery, "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
What about Babylon the Great being the "MOTHER of harlots"?
There is no other church that has "harlot daughters" like the Papal Church of Rome does.
Literal Babylon from the Old Testament is the original mother of abominations, but the Roman Catholic Church is the spiritual mother of abominations that took on many of the Pagan customs of original Babylon.
IDENTITY 6 - REV 17:6 And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus.
It says that she is DRUNK with the blood of God's people.
Did you know that the Roman Catholic Church has caused TENS OF MILLIONS of Christians to be persecuted and brutally murdered?
IDENTITY 7 - REV 17:18 "And the woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth."
"Her large diplomatic corps maintains relations with more than 100 nations." (U.S. News and World Report, October 30, 1978, p. 24)
IDENTITY 8 - REV 17:6 And when I saw her, I wondered greatly.
This verse is tied in with the persecution by this power upon God's people.
John already saw great persecution upon God's people at the hands of Pagan Rome when he was alive.
It is because John sees an actual professed Christian church doing the persecution and killing God's people.