Revelation 18:19-24

19 And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and grieved, exclaiming, Woe and alas, for the great city, where all who had ships on the sea grew rich [through her extravagance] from her great wealth! In one single hour she has been destroyed and has become a desert! 

20 Rejoice (celebrate) over her, O heaven! O saints (people of God) and apostles and prophets, because God has executed vengeance for you upon her!

21 Then a single powerful angel took up a boulder like a great millstone and flung it into the sea, crying, With such violence shall Babylon the great city be hurled down to destruction and shall never again be found.

We are plainly shown that money and commerce will never again be the thing for humans to trust in. The root of all evil will be done away with! 

22 And the sound of harpists and minstrels and flute players and trumpeters shall never again be heard in you, and no skilled artisan of any craft shall ever again be found in you, and the sound of the millstone shall never again be heard in you.

23 And never again shall the light of a lamp shine in you, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall never be heard in you again; for your businessmen were the great and prominent men of the earth, and by your magic spells and poisonous charm all nations were led astray (seduced and deluded). 

Once again we are shown that all nations participated in Babylon, which is the worlds economy. Not all nations will participate in the anti-christ’s church, that is why there will be so many wars during the last 3 1/2 years of this period in earths history. There is a belief by many that in the end there will be one world government. If that were the case then why are we shown so much war? Why are we shown that the anti-christ’s kingdom is built on the sand? Our Father will never allow man to join together as one without Jesus being the Head of the union. 

24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all those who have been slain (slaughtered) on earth.

Remember how Paul was persecuted by the statue makers in Corinth because they lost money when the town accepted Jesus through His preaching, Acts 19:18-34. The love of money and power, Babylon, has always been the force behind killing the saints.

Revelation 18:11-18

11 And earth's businessmen will weep and grieve over her because no one buys their freight (cargo) any more.

12 Their merchandise is of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; of fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet [stuffs]; all kinds of scented wood, all sorts of articles of ivory, all varieties of objects of costly woods, bronze, iron, and marble;

13 Of cinnamon, spices, incense, ointment and perfume, and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, fine flour and wheat; of cattle and sheep, horses and conveyances; and of slaves (the bodies) and souls of men! 

14 The ripe fruits and delicacies for which your soul longed have gone from you, and all your luxuries and dainties, your elegance and splendor are lost to you, never again to be recovered or experienced! 

15 The dealers who handled these articles, who grew wealthy through their business with her, will stand a long way off, in terror of her doom and torment, weeping and grieving aloud, and saying, 

16 Alas, alas for the great city that was robed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, bedecked and glittering with gold, with precious stones, and with pearls!

17 Because in one [single] hour all the vast wealth has been destroyed (wiped out). And all ship captains and pilots, navigators and all who live by seafaring, the crews and all who ply their trade on the sea, stood a long way off,

18 And exclaimed as they watched the smoke of her burning, What city could be compared to the great city!

The main thing that so many in this world have put their faith in is gone and they have no idea what to do. If you remember, our Father ordered that the wine and oil not be harmed in Revelation 6:6. Here we see that the wine and oil is lost, so there has to be a difference between the two. The wine and oil in Revelation 6 has to be speaking of the Holy Spirit and the Blood of Jesus, these things are not harmed by our Father’s wrath. But physical wine and oil are! 

Also notice that the souls of men are lost to Babylon. No longer will our Father allow governments, businesses, or false religions to appear to control people. Jesus will now openly and visibly control all things. He always has, but now it will be plain for everyone to see, Colossians 1:16. Our Father will never again allow anything but our Groom to be the one that people look to and trust in.   

Revelation 18:9-10

9 And the rulers and leaders of the earth who joined her in her immorality (idolatry) and luxuriated with her will weep and beat their breasts and lament over her when they see the smoke of her conflagration.

 

What else will the worlds leaders of the world be able do, they gave the Pope their power, and He will have told them that He would make everything alright. He will have told them that these so called Christians who would not join the Catholic Church were evil, yet they will be the only ones prospering enough to give things away during these times, Matthew 24:45. The people of the world will have cried out for the anti-christ, and yet everywhere his followers are dying and cursing each other and fighting! The economy that they trusted in and said would never fail is gone and it all happened in what seemed to be a single hour!

 

The children of God will absolutely be hated by the world during this time, John 17:14. There will be so much jealousy towards us because our Father is using us in such a miraculous way. There will be millions of people who are demon possessed and they will be allowed by our Father to come against us and kill us. You ever wonder why our Father would allow this to happen? I have and here is the peace in why He would: our deaths will be used as a testimony for Jesus and it will work. The lost will seek death, but they will not find it, they will be scared of death. Every aspect of their lives will be filled with fear. But they will see us, they will see the whole world and every government against us, and they will see true joy in-spite of it all. Those who are to be chosen will see us glorying even in death and it will witness to millions. So whether in life or death we will be used to show the power and glory of our Father, just like with Stephen, Acts 7.

 

10 They will stand a long way off, in terror of her torment, and they will cry, Woe and alas, the great city, the mighty city, Babylon! In one single hour how your doom (judgment) has overtaken you! 

 

The Roman Catholic Church and the anti-christ will still be around, but the economy of the world won’t be! Rejoice when you hear the term “global economy.” Rejoice because Babylon must be unified for all of this to happen and a global economy means the end times are being set up. 

Revelation 18:8

8 So shall her plagues (afflictions, calamities) come thick upon her in a single day, pestilence and anguish and sorrow and famine; and she shall be utterly consumed (burned up with fire), for mighty is the Lord God Who judges her. 

Everything will happen fast when our Father releases His Four Horsemen, it will seem like it all comes down in a single day, everything on the earth as we know it will change instantly. Jesus told us however, that for our sakes these days will be shortened.

And unless the Lord had shortened the days, no human being would be saved (rescued); but for the sake of the elect, His chosen ones (those whom He picked out for Himself), He has shortened the days. Mark 13:20

Look at who shortens these last days, Jesus does. Who is the first Horseman released, the only one with a crown. 

Can you see why the worlds system of economics and government will fail when a war arises that consumes a fourth of the earth, when natural disasters come from nowhere that consume a third of the earth, and then a spiritual war that will kill off another third of the earth? Remember too, that all of this happen in only a couple of years. These things are released in rapid succession, just when man thought that they had it right, the world is rocked as it never has been, in all a single hour! Can you see why wheat and basic supplies will cost so much? Can you see how famine and disease will rise so rapidly? Think of how the world puts their trust and faith in money and when all of this is released by our Father, it all becomes totally worthless. Think of how the world will have glorified the anti-christ, who they heralded into power, and they will now really need him. He will tell them to kill and they will do it. He will tell them to bow down to him and they will. And it all happens so fast.

But the chosen ones of God shall be right here on the earth, being used in the full might and power of our Father. No weapon formed against us will prosper and all the while we will be fed, clothed, protected, and watered by Jesus Himself! Miracles will be abounding through us, discernment, healing’s, miraculous faith, tongues, interpretation of tongues, will all be abounding through us during this time! The Gospel of the Kingdom of our Father will be being preached to every nation, tribe, and tongue. There will be so many people saved that they cannot be counted. There will be 144,000 special messengers of Israel, there will be two mighty witnesses, and there will be millions upon millions saved and loudly proclaiming the Truth. Jesus told us in the parable of the ten virgins that five of the virgins, fifty percent, had oil when He returns. There will be many saved during this time of the worlds great distress!

Revelation 18:6-7

6 Repay to her what she herself has paid [to others] and double [her doom] in accordance with what she has done. Mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed [for others].

7 To the degree that she glorified herself and reveled in her wantonness [living deliciously and luxuriously], to that measure impose on her torment and anguish and tears and mourning. Since in her heart she boasts, I am not a widow; as a queen [on a throne] I sit, and I shall never see suffering or experience sorrow--

People believe that America is great because of its free market economy and so many believe that it will always stand. China is now even trying free markets, so is Europe, and most of the world. But free markets are very fragile and the weakness of putting ones faith in the world’s economy will show plainly when our Father orders Babylon to fall! 

Here is another sign of the end. Business and the economies of the world will be enjoying skyrocketing profits and growth right before our Fathers begins to pour out His wrath! Man will believe that his regulations and ideas have finally come into maturity. People who trust in the world and themselves will believe that they have finally developed the right mix of business and regulation and they will be arrogant about it. They will believe that it never will fail. People who have been falsely claiming to be saved will leave the church in droves to follow a man who claims that man is the engine that drives faith. They will leave for the anti-christ’s church that seems so hip and has such a great leader, who can speak so greatly. The Roman Catholic Church at this time will even bring in other cultures. They will see a sound economy and see a Pope who is uniting the world and they will leave Jesus for it. Jesus will be passe, He will not be needed, there will be a great falling away, and people will persecute and ridicule those who they believe are uneducated and so simple to believe in Jesus. They will proclaim that we are hate mongers, and bigots because the Holy Spirit will cause us to speak out against what they are doing. We will be looked upon as fools and people will leave Christ. But amen, Christ will not leave them! They may have never been chosen to be His Bride, but Jesus has been given all, John 17:2,  and He will not lose any that He has been given, John 6:39. Our Father will clean His house during this time of preparation for harvest!

Let no one deceive or beguile you in any way, for that day will not come except the apostasy comes first [unless the predicted great falling away of those who have professed to be Christians has come], and the man of lawlessness (sin) is revealed, who is the son of doom (of perdition), 2 Thessalonians 2:3

But always remember this glorious Truth, that all who our Father has given to Jesus will come to Him, John 6:37 and Jesus has been given all, John 17:2. Our Father will burn away the chaff that covers up the wheat, Matthew 3:12, but He will not burn away the wheat, 1 Corinthians 3:15.

Revelation 18:4-5

4 I then heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out from her, my people, so that you may not share in her sins, neither participate in her plagues.

During the 3 1/2 years of the Great Tribulation, the worlds economic and political systems will be failing miserably. During the end times there will be super high inflation, financial markets will all crash, money will be useless, there will be massive wars and societies will completely destruct. So what does our Lord do about it for His Bride? He removes us out of the Babylonian system. He doesn’t remove us from the world, He keeps us in Himself even while we are still in the world, John 17:15. During this time we will be fed by our Father, protected by Him, and we will receive clear clean water from our Lord, Revelation 12:14. The chosen of God will be standing by the glassy sea during all of this, sealed with the Holy Spirit. Jesus teaches us on the Sermon on the Mount to take no thought for our own lives, but to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and our Fathers righteousness and everything else will be added unto us, Matthew 6:33! The time of the Great Tribulation is the perfect time for this Truth to be lived and realized through the chosen of God.

Babylon, the worlds economic system, includes false religion, governments, and business. Just look at the world today and you can clearly see the lies and deceit and love of money each of these entities have. So Babylon is just more than one fake church, it is the whole worldly system of doing things. 

5 For her iniquities (her crimes and transgressions) are piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her wickedness and [her] crimes [and calls them up for settlement]. 

Our Father is not pouring out His wrath on the world just because of one church. He is pouring out His wrath because of all of the earth’s wickedness. Babylon, the woman, effects and controls Catholics, Church of God, Church of Christ, Muslims, Buddhists, Assemblies of God, Baptists, businessmen, and non-believers. Babylon's evil is far greater than just one church.

Revelation 18:1-3

1THEN I saw another angel descending from heaven, possessing great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his radiance and splendor. 

2 And he shouted with a mighty voice, She is fallen! Mighty Babylon is fallen! She has become a resort and dwelling place for demons, a dungeon haunted by every loathsome spirit, an abode for every filthy and detestable bird. 

3 For all nations have drunk the wine of her passionate unchastity, and the rulers and leaders of the earth have joined with her in committing fornication (idolatry), and the businessmen of the earth have become rich with the wealth of her excessive luxury and wantonness.

This angel has been given great power to profess openly and loudly that the worlds economic system has collapsed. It will be plain and clear to see and there will be no one who believes that it can be brought back to life. The wicked and demon possessed have destroyed it with excessive luxury, greed, ponzy schemes, deception, and fraud. Doesn’t this sound like the Pope, the false religious leaders of today, and the developed countries financial markets? Notice the verse does not say luxury, but excessive luxury.  Jesus never taught us not to have a coat, but He did say that if we had two coats to give one away, Matthew 5:41-42. Look at all of the huge elaborate churches of today. The Vatican is loaded with billions of dollars of art work. Mega churches are monoliths of worldliness. Companies make billions of dollars of profit and only give a fraction back to help those in need. Profit isn’t bad, but what we do with it can be. 

There are a lot of people who believe that Babylon the Great is an apostate church, the Roman Catholic Church, under control of the anti-christ. But look at what Jesus shows us here in these verses: all nations have drunk the wine of her unchastity, the leaders of the world and the businessmen of the world have become rich with the wealth of her excessive wantonness. Babylon has to be the worlds economic system. The Roman Catholic Church today does not yield such influence and when the anti-christ takes over, our Father will have released the Four Horsemen, the Plagues, the Seals, the Thunders, and the Trumpets. So the businessmen of the world will not have become drunk with excessiveness through the anti-christ. These things are happening now on Wall Street, in the Asian Stock Markets, and in the European financial markets. These wicked things are happening right now in the oil and real estate markets and they have happened for centuries. 

The Holy Spirit taught us that right before the end times come the world will be saying peace and safety. 

When people are saying, All is well and secure, and, There is peace and safety, then in a moment unforeseen destruction (ruin and death) will come upon them as suddenly as labor pains come upon a woman with child; and they shall by no means escape, for there will be no escape. 1 Thessalonians 5:3

There is coming a time when this peace will happen. Our Father will allow things to calm down for a brief season. The true Church will be walking in power and demonstration of the Spirit as we are being prepared for our service during the Great Tribulation. We will be glorious, without spot wrinkle or blemish. During this time of peace we will be being used by our Father to do miraculous and wonderful works. The world will be taking credit for it; they will credit their government and business policies. The world will credit men who they want to elevate and they will be saying peace and safety. And when they do this, sudden destruction will come upon them and unless they are sealed with the Holy Spirit, there will be no escape.

Revelation 17:17-18

17 For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His own purpose by acting in harmony in surrendering their royal power and authority to the beast, until the prophetic words (intentions and promises) of God shall be fulfilled. 

As always we see that our Father is in total control, even in wrath and tribulation. A great example of our Father controlling people without their knowledge can be found in Isaiah 10. 

I send [the Assyrian] against a hypocritical and godless nation and against the people of My wrath; I command him to take the spoil and to seize the prey and to tread them down like the mire in the streets. However, this is not his intention [nor is the Assyrian aware that he is doing this at My bidding], neither does his mind so think and plan; but it is in his mind to destroy and cut off many nations. Isaiah 10:6-7

I love these verses and there are so many more that say the same sort of things. Far too many people love to talk about our free will, when we should be talking about our Father’s free will. He alone is Sovereign and He alone rules all things. To believe that we can have a will that is going to disappoint or go against His will is simply foolish. 

18 And the woman that you saw is herself the great city which dominates and controls the rulers and the leaders of the earth.

The woman is a great city that dominates and controls all of the rulers and leaders of the earth. You ever hear of Vatican City? Our Father directs the leaders of the world to give up their power to the anti-christ, whose headquarters is among the seven hills. There just happens to be seven hills that surround Rome. And in a world that is being ravaged by war, natural disasters, and super inflation, the Catholic Church will have the wealth and unregulated infrastructure that the countries of the world will need, and the anti-christ will control the purse strings. The anti-christ will dominate and control the leaders of the world, because he will have the wealth that they need and he will not have the laws and regulations of a country to bind him. 

You do not need to be an economist to know that the governments of Europe and America right now are spending far more than they have. Their citizens are demanding that they do it. At the first sign of trouble people demand their governments to act and they do, even if they do not have the money to do it with. The seeds are being sown right now in Europe and America for their governments to look towards the Roman Catholic Church to bail them out. It will take billions of dollars and the Catholic Church has billions of dollars. 

Revelation 17:15-16

15 And [the angel further] said to me, The waters that you observed, where the harlot is seated, are races and multitudes and nations and dialects (languages). 

The worlds economic system, which is the harlot, encompasses every nation of the world. Only money, in whatever form, and the love it encompasses every nation, language, and race. 

16 And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will [be the very ones to] hate the harlot (the idolatrous woman); they will make her cheerless (bereaved, desolate), and they will strip her and eat up her flesh and utterly consume her with fire. 

The anti-christ and the ten rulers, have no love for the people. They love themselves and their actions and plans only bring grief to those who join in. The ten leaders are jealous and they also want control, so they hate the woman, they hate free trade and commerce and the power that it brings. Remember that we studied in Revelation 16:10, that the anti-christ’s kingdom was plunged into darkness. The anti-christ is a terrible leader. Remember that the Four Horseman have taken peace from the world, which means that they have also taken peace away from anti-christ. The ones who take the mark of the beasts are sick, hungry, scared, and tormented night and day, there can be no real peace amongst them. 

These ten kings will hate anything that threatens their own glory and power. They will hate commerce because it allows people to have power and they want it all, these rulers will be true socialist. These leaders will have probably believed that they were going to use the anti-christ, and he ends up using them, and they are angry about it. In their anger they will strip free commerce and trade apart, there will be no free market, commerce will be totally destroyed. Just look at a country today that has the government totally controlling the economic system and you will see the destruction that is coming. Whenever a dictator is in control, there is war, poverty, and disease. 

Remember here though, that the Holy Ghost is using the saints to preach to every nation and He is using us with great power to do it. The lost are freely joining in with the anti-christ, even after hearing and seeing what our Father is doing through His chosen ones! 

The ten kings and the anti-christ want total and complete control and the lost want them to have it. The lost will be following blindly a group of leaders who have absolutely no love for them and who want to enslave them. Sound like governments today? Sound like people today? Just look at America today in 2012, and see how the masses want the government to do everything for them. Look at the leaders and see how they seek their own glory and power. Today we are not in all of that much trouble. Just think how people will react when the Four Horsemen have been released, when the Abyss has been opened, and when the Seven Seals, Trumpets, Bowls and Plagues have been released! They will want these leaders to take complete care of them. They will listen to these leaders words and they will be blinded to the results of their actions. It will all happen so fast too, no one will be able to think about what is happening. Excessive laws and regulations will be rammed down peoples throats. Freedom will be taken away in the twinkling of an eye. 

Revelation 17:14

14 They will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them; for He is Lord of lords and King of kings--and those with Him and on His side are chosen and called [elected] and loyal and faithful followers.

Satan loses and those who join with him lose as well. All who join with him will suffer destruction. These leaders will wage war on Truth. During this time the people of the world will be scared to death, so they will want religion. The anti-christ and the false prophet will give it to them, but Jesus, while mentioned, will be moved to the background, and man will elevated. God will be spoke of, but to bring the muslim world in, I believe that the predominance of Jesus will be removed. They will focus on man, and what we can do if we are unified under one man. There will be miracles and people will be deceived by them. They will preach about how Christianity never unified when Jesus was the focus, so they will wage war on the Truth and those of us who have the Truth. We will be hated, but the Truth that has set us free, is that we are standing beside the glassy sea, empowered and sealed with the Holy Spirit until the day of our redemption. We may be required to be martyred for our Father, but that yoke will be easy and that burden will be light! And Jesus will win!

It is easy to see that we will be hated during the end times. But the glory of it all is that while we will be hated, we will be empowered by our Father to love those who hate us. Our Father will cause us to bless those who curse us. Feed those who despise us. Intercede for those who despitefully use us. We will forgive them as often as they need it. Our Father will never allow us to abandon them and the love of our Lord will flow from us as rivers of living water. Even if they are killing us, we will insure that they are never held accountable for it. Just as our Lord was empowered to cry out for the lost, so will we be empowered. 

Revelation 17:11-13

11 And as for the beast that [once] was, but now is no more, he [himself] is an eighth ruler (king, head), but he is of the seven and belongs to them, and he goes to perdition. 

This simply shows us that the anti-christ, who I believe will be the last Pope, is also considered a ruler and that he and the other rulers are all working together. The anti-christ, is one of the seven, so he is a Pope as well. What we are shown here again that is really powerful is that he fails, right along with the other’s. We are shown that even though our Father is using him and the kings to carry out His will, that they are not one with Him. The anti-christ, the last Pope, will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. 

The Bible calls this last Pope, the anti-christ. We are told in the Bible that in the last days there will be people who claim to be Christ. This Pope, will allow himself to be called the Christ, but the Truth is that he is the anti-christ. He will perform miracles and many will be deceived by them. He will seem to be the only one who is able to unify the world. The lost, who will be our guests for eternity, will marvel at his power of speech. He will be able to communicate as no other leader ever has. The lost will make images of him and worship him even though the world will be falling apart around them. They will do this because they need to hold on to something as all is being lost around them. Now this is a real turn around for the Catholic Church, because right now it doesn’t do these things, or make these images, for a living Pope. But during the last 3 1/2 years they will be deceived into believing that he is the Christ and images will be made! 

12 Also the ten horns that you observed are ten rulers (kings) who have as yet received no royal dominion, but together they are to receive power and authority as rulers for a single hour, along with the beast.

None of the countries that make up Europe are ruled by a King today, and here we are shown ten rulers who have no royal dominion. But when they join together with the anti-christ, they will have great power for a very brief time. Keep in mind as we study about the end time how all of these things happen in just 3 1/2 years. People come into power and lose power very quickly! 

13 These have one common policy (opinion, purpose), and they deliver their power and authority to the beast. 

The leaders of the revised Roman Empire make this last Pope the leader of their union. Even though there are ten kingdoms, they will attempt to work together as one. Yet their kingdom has been built on sand and it will repeatedly fail, Revelation 13:1. We however, are built on the Rock of Jesus Christ Matthew 7:24. He is our firm foundation and there is no weapon that will ever prosper against us, Isaiah 54:17. We are always more then conquerors through Christ Who loves us, Romans 8:37. We will never be put to shame, Romans 5:5. 

Revelation 17:9-10

9 This calls for a mind [to consider that is packed] with wisdom and intelligence [it is something for a particular mode of thinking and judging of thoughts, feelings, and purposes]. The seven heads are seven hills upon which the woman is sitting; 

There are seven Hills that surround Rome, this where the Vatican is, the home of Roman Catholicism. In 1929 Italy gave the Catholic Church the land where the Vatican sits. Today the land is called the Papal States and the Pope is allowed to have an army and other stately organizations. 

What is really cool is that there has been seven Popes since this all happened in 1929. The seven hills are referred to as seven heads, and in Bible Prophecy heads are referred to as leaders or kings. In verse 11, we will read about an eighth and final leader! Also in verse 10, we will read that the seventh leader, only serves a short time. How cool is that, the current Pope is the seventh Pope since 1929, and the seventh leader only serves a short time. Our Father loves to use symbolism. Just as America only serves a short time in history, so does the seventh Pope. Pope Benedict XVI was 78 when he was appointed, he cannot help but serve a short time.

Here is a great place to preach some Truth, Jesus told us in John 14:12 that we would be used by our Father to do even greater works than He did through Jesus. We are told in Ephesians 5:27, that Jesus is going to present us to Himself as a glorious Church, without spot, wrinkle, or blemish. Jesus told us that there is coming a great falling away of fake believers and then the Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached to every nation, tribe, and tongue. None of this has happened, but it will before the end. So if the end is near, don’t look for an anti-christ, look for the power of the Chosen and Called of God. Look for the power of our Father being poured out as never before through us, and when you see that, then the end is near! A-men! 

10 And they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one still exists [and is reigning]; the other [the seventh] has not yet appeared, and when he does arrive, he must stay [but] a brief time. 

These hills, or heads, also represent seven other kings. We are shown that five kings have fallen, they have lost their power, and we are shown that one kingdom still exists, and that one is coming, who will only be around for a short time. There are five kingdoms that the Bible talks about that have fallen: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Roman, and the Pope’s first reign of power from 538-1798, which ended at the hands of Napoleon. The sixth king, France, that dethroned the Pope, is still in existence and America the seventh kingdom is the youngest and historically speaking will only be around for a short time. 

Revelation 17:7-8

7 But the angel said to me, Why do you wonder? I will explain to you the [secret symbolic meaning of the] mystery of the woman, as well as of the beast having the seven heads and ten horns that carries her. 

8 The beast that you saw [once] was, but [now] is no more, and he is going to come up out of the Abyss (the bottomless pit) and proceed to go to perdition. And the inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been recorded in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will be astonished when they look at the beast, because he [once] was, but [now] is no more, and he is [yet] to come.

Before I begin with this verse, notice that our names were written or not written in the Book of Life before the foundation of the world. Paul wrote that our Father called him before he was born, Galatians 1:15. King David wrote that all of his days were recorded before the world was, Psalm 139:16. Many are called, but only a few are chosen, and we were chosen to be the Bride of Christ before the world ever was! The Truth sets us free! Our Father knew exactly who He was going to have serve with Jesus for all of eternity.  

The Pope once was the most powerful man on Earth, from 538-1798, then our Father empowered Napoleon to end the Catholic churches reign in 1798. But here we are shown that during the last days, the Pope will come back into being the most powerful ruler on the earth. And it will astonish the world. Just think if right now, the Pope, became the leader of the world, and the President of the United States was second to him. The world would be greatly astonished! 

Notice something here that is very neat as well, Jesus tells us that the beast is loosed from the Abyss. Let me ask you a question, does the Word of our Father tell us that the anti-christ will actually be a man? We have seen that he has a number of a man, 666, but the Word does not tell us that he is a man. Now we see that he is loosed from the Abyss. The Bible teaches us that we can entertain angels unaware, Hebrews 13:2. I have always wondered why Jesus told John that the anti-christ would have the number of a man? Why would Jesus need to say this, was there a doubt that the anti-christ would be a man? It always just stuck out to me. 

Later we will study about the Lake of Fire and it will further bring this point up, that the Bible seems to show us that the anti-christ will be a spiritual being posing as a man. Don’t freak out about this, because it really doesn’t matter all of that much if the anti-christ is a man or a spiritual being. The Truth is that he will be allowed by our Father to attempt to destroy the earth, he will be a vessel of our Father’s wrath on the ungodly. The Truth is that he will exist and that he will come into power.

The lost will marvel at how this Pope, the anti-christ, seems to unite the world, even the muslim world. They will marvel at how religion seemed so passe and unrefined in the Western World, yet this Pope is the answer and has come into power. Think of how in America right now, that the President is placing in power and bringing in laws that are angering the Catholic Church. Then think of the Pope being the more powerful leader, the lost will marvel at it all. And as the lost have always done, they will follow after who they believe is the most powerful, bragging about how wise they are. 

Notice that we are also shown in verse 8 that the inhabitants of the earth, not the people of the earth marvel at the anti-christ. We were shown in Revelation 12:13 that satan and those angels that followed him were cast to the earth. Clearly these fallen angels names are not in the Book of Life and clearly they would marvel if satan once again seemed to have power on the earth after Jesus took it all away from him at the Cross. Satan was powerful, then Jesus came and he wasn’t, then he will be again.  

Revelation 17:6

6 I also saw that the woman was drunk, [drunk] with the blood of the saints (God's people) and the blood of the martyrs [who witnessed] for Jesus. And when I saw her, I was utterly amazed and wondered greatly. 

Remember when our Father had Paul preach in Corinth, Acts 19, how the makers of idols rebelled against him because they were losing money? Babylon, which is the worlds economy, has killed off millions of saints throughout its history and the members of her have always gone right along with it. And after they kill the saints, they make graven images of those who they have killed to sell. Then Babylon tells its citizens who buy the images, to pray to them. So not only did Babylon kill the saints, it then tried to totally destroy the message that our Father spoke through them.

We have now read over 16 chapters in the Book of Revelation. I hope that you have noticed a couple of things through our studies together. First, the Revelation of our Lord is not hard to understand; our Father actually repeats Himself a lot while explaining what He going to doing. Second, our Father gives us more hope then wrath in His revelation and third, our Father controls everything that is happening. Satan and man never control the punishment, our Father does. He will use satan and man, but only to the degrees that He sets.  

Also, I hope that you see the anti-christ and his followers will all seem very religious. They will have a form of godliness, but they will always deny the power of our Father by claiming that it is actually man who is controlling what our Father is doing. The seeds of this false teaching have been sown from the beginning. Look at how so many say that they accepted Jesus as their Lord, when the Truth is that He first chose and drew us to Himself, John 6:44. We talk about our faith, when the Truth is Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith, Hebrews 12:2. We talk about our works, when we can do nothing without Jesus, John 15:4. We can only do what our Father first empowers and directs us to do. Our righteousness is as filthy rags. We are only more then conquerors because Christ loves us, Romans 8:37.      

Always remember that we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit, Ephesians 4:30. If our Father wants us here on the earth during these end times, we will plainly see who and what the anti-christ is. We will be used by our Father to help those in need and we will never be left or forsaking by our Him. Remember also, the Holy Spirit will empower us to read this Revelation out loud in a group. Our Father pours out such a blessing on us when He does. Faith is the evidence of things hoped for, so I pray that you are overtaken with hope to read the Revelation of our Lord to others.   

Revelation 17:4-5

4 The woman was robed in purple and scarlet and bedecked with gold, precious stones, and pearls, [and she was] holding in her hand a golden cup full of the accursed offenses and the filth of her lewdness and vice.

Worldliness possesses great wealth and looks very attractive. Look at the wealth of the Roman Catholic church, the woman who sits on the seven hills. Look at the wealth of many of the mega churches, the daughters of the harlot, in the world today. They claim to be rich, but instead they are naked and in actuality possess nothing. Remember what Jesus told the church of Laodicea? All of this wealth is an offense to our Father, because it is placed above our Him. It causes men to lie, to cheat one another, and to kill one another. The deceitfulness of riches and the cares of this world choke out the production of righteous fruit, Matthew 13:22! Worldliness dominates the thoughts and hearts of all who join with it, 1 Timothy 6:10. The precious stones, pearls, and gold are praised and they are morned. Wealth is written about every day in every language. Every nation cares about these worldly things and they fear what these things can do to them if they are not cherished and stimulated. There is no other force in this world that effects every nation and every leader like worldly possessions and look at how the harlot and her children are gathering them! 

5 And on her forehead there was inscribed a name of mystery [with a secret symbolic meaning]: Babylon the great, the mother of prostitutes (idolatresses) and of the filth and atrocities and abominations of the earth.

The worlds economic system, its money and power have corrupted so many and Babylon, which is another name for the world system, has caused all kinds of blasphemous things to occur throughout the centuries. People and rulers join right in with it to find favor and grace. Babylon even has a form of godliness, just enough to tickle the ears, but it is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, seeking whom it may devour! If you doubt that it does have a form of godliness, just look at how it claims to help those in need, but it is blasphemous and it denies the true power of our Father. The love of money is the root of all of this evil. And the Catholic Church and all of the other fake religions in this world love money! Babylon, which is the worlds economy, the love of money, the root of all evil is written on the harlots forehead, it is what she is all about, the love of money encompasses her every thought. It will be plain for the children of God to see her and her followers during the last days.

Revelation 17:2-3

2 [She] with whom the rulers of the earth have joined in prostitution (idolatry) and with the wine of whose immorality (idolatry) the inhabitants of the earth have become intoxicated.

During the last days of this world, the anti-christ, who I honestly believe will be the the last Pope, and the false prophet, who will be the last American President, will join forces. The world’s economy will be headed up by these two instruments of our Father's wrath. But amen, even though we will be in this world, we will not be of this world, John 17:16. John is told here that the rulers of the world will have joined in these two’s prostitution. Now think about what prostitution and immorality would be to God? Prostitution to our Father would be making statutes and worshipping them, praying to our brothers in Christ, instead of Christ Himself. Immorality would be creating businesses and bank accounts and then trusting in them, creating portfolios and having faith in them, these things are true prostitution and idolatry to our Father. The lost have always been intoxicated with placing their love and trust in churches, wealth, and money. People worship the leaders of these harlots and they worship those who have succeeded in business or who have accumulated great wealth. Remember when Peter told Cornelius, I am just a man, do not bow down to me, Acts 10:26? People all of the time bow down to what the world deems successful. People are extremely arrogant and prideful about worshiping of such men. We are going to be shown by the angel what happens to the lost who are willing to follow the whore of worldliness and the anti-christ, who they will have heralded into power. 

3 And [the angel] bore me away [rapt] in the Spirit into a desert (wilderness), and I saw a woman seated on a scarlet beast that was all covered with blasphemous titles (names), and he had seven heads and ten horns.

John is taken to a desert place, the wilderness. John is shown a woman who is seated on a beast. We have seen before in Revelation that the beast is the anti-christ and John is taken into the wilderness because the Pope has been out of being the worlds dominate authority and power for hundreds of years. The revised Roman Empire, the ten kings, have lost their worlds dominance and power, they have been severally weakened after WWI and WWII, so they are in the wilderness. Other countries, Russia, China, and America have taken their place at the head of the table. These European countries have power, but not the controlling power of the world that they once had. But in this desert place is coming the power that our Father will use to bring in His final wrath. In this desert place is where the Revised Roman Empire and the anti-christ, empowered by satan, will take control of the world! 

Look at countries like France and Germany now, they boast of so much, but in reality they have very little power in the world. They are gaining it back, but still they are nowhere near what they used to be in history. Look at the Catholic Church right now, it has trillions of dollars and trillions of dollars of value in other assets. The Catholic Church has this right now in a world where wealth is king. Our Father will release great inflation on the world during the time of the Great Tribulation, money will be worthless, but gold, precious stones, and power will still be of great value, and the Roman Catholic Church has tons of it. They may not seem to have the power and influence now, they may seem to be in the wilderness, but not for long! And when our Father anoints them to carry out His wrath, the world will marvel at how they rise to it so quickly. 

Revelation 17:1

1 ONE OF the seven angels who had the seven bowls then came and spoke to me, saying, Come with me! I will show you the doom (sentence, judgment) of the great harlot (idolatress) who is seated on many waters,

We are shown here the doom of the idolatress woman, which is the worldly system of commerce and economics; and all who have joined her, the many waters. We will study that this woman is a force that effects every world leader. We will be shown that she has intoxicated the inhabitants of the earth. We will see that she is very well off, adorned with gold, fine linens, and costly apparel. We will also study later in this Chapter the the ten horns of the anti-christ hate her and that she has been the driving force that has always killed the saints. There is only one thing in this world that fits all of these descriptions and it is the lust of worldly wealth and power: money, the love of it, pride, greed, and the idolatry and the worship of it all, this is the great harlot. Worldly wealth is Babylon the Great! The love of money will always and has always been the root of all evil, 2 Timothy 3:2.

Jesus told us to beware of the wolves in sheep’s clothing, Matthew 7:15. Jesus told us to beware of the leaven of false prophets, Matthew 16:6. The Holy Spirit told us to have no fellowship with those who have a form of godliness, but who deny the power of it, 2 Timothy 3:5. Look at the seven churches that Jesus wrote to in Asia at the beginning of Revelation, only one church, the Church of Philadelphia, did Jesus say that He would take care of. Five were into sexual vice, human works, greed, and false teachings and one was poor and oppressed. The world and its economy had crept into them and a little leaven, leavened the whole lump of dough. You cannot have good and bitter water springing from the same fountain.  

This whole system of the world’s economy and false religion is doomed. So if you are seeking the world’s economic system, praying that you succeed in it, or that you have favor in it, remember that the world is the great harlot, and that it is doomed to be destroyed. The Truth sets us free and the Truth is that we have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to seek first our Father’s Kingdom and His righteousness, and because we are, we have no need of the great harlot. Just look at Jesus’ life, He didn’t need wine to have wine. He didn’t need to make money to pay His taxes. He didn’t need the churches approval to have our Fathers favor. He didn’t need food to feed thousands, and He didn’t need a boat to cross a raging sea! This is the power of our Kingdom and our Kingdom is at hand, Matthew 3:2. The anti-christ and false prophet will say that the saved are not permitted to buy or sell without taking the mark of the beast, so our Father dooms the economy of the world, so that no one can buy or sell.

Revelation 16:15-21

15 Behold, I am going to come like a thief! Blessed (happy, to be envied) is he who stays awake (alert) and who guards his clothes, so that he may not be naked and [have the shame of being] seen exposed!

I know that I have harped on this a lot in these posting of Revelation, but once again we see Jesus speak of the Church here. I heard it preached all of the time, that in the Book of Revelation, the Church is not mentioned after Chapter 4 until Chapter 20, and that is just flat out wrong. If you haven’t heard this, well count your blessings, but if you have heard it preached, I hope that you see now just how wrong the teaching is.

The Truth that brings us peace with this verse is that we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of our redemption, Ephesians 4:30. Jesus is our Shepherd and greater is He that is within us than he that is in the world, 1 John 4:4. We are crucified with Christ and nevertheless we live, yet it is not us who lives, it is Christ within us who lives, Galatians 2:20. Our lives are dead and hid in Christ is God, Colossians 3:3. Our Father has placed His Spirit within us and He causes us to walk in His statutes and He causes us to keep His judgments, Ezekiel 36:27. The Truth for us that passes all understanding is that if we are called and chosen by our Father to be here during the Great Tribulation, then through the power of Christ we will be awake! There is no fear in the perfect love of Christ!

16 And they gathered them together at the place which in Hebrew is called Armageddon. [II Kings 9:27.]

17 Then the seventh [angel] emptied out his bowl into the air, and a mighty voice came out of the sanctuary of heaven from the throne [of God], saying, It is done! [It is all over, it is all accomplished, it has come!]

18 And there followed lightning flashes, loud rumblings, peals of thunder, and a tremendous earthquake; nothing like it has ever occurred since men dwelt on the earth, so severe and far-reaching was that earthquake.

19 The mighty city was broken into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And God kept in mind mighty Babylon, to make her drain the cup of His furious wrath and indignation.

20 And every island fled and no mountains could be found.

21 And great (excessively oppressive) hailstones, as heavy as a talent [between fifty and sixty pounds], of immense size, fell from the sky on the people; and men blasphemed God for the plague of the hail, so very great was [the torture] of that plague.

The two witnesses will have just been raised up before this all begins, Revelation 11:11-12. Great fear will fall on the whole world for they will see them raised from the dead. The anti-christ and his armies have all been gathered to Armageddon by the demons, the worlds water supply is ruined, the sun is scorching millions, the world can see that these things are not touching us, the last days are going to be miserable for the lost.

But amen the world will see Jesus, who will restore all things, returning from the east like a bolt of lightning. The world will see the dead in Christ rising and those that are alive in Him  being caught up. This is the last day’s events! It will come quickly and every last being that took the mark of the beast will be destroyed. Satan will be bound, the anti-christ and the false prophet will be hurled into the Lake of Fire, and Jesus will begin His thousand year rule and reign. Those who are here will finally have their rest. They may have their rest from being transformed as the Bride. They may have their rest by being set free from the devastation of Great Tribulation. But either way, those who are alive at this time will have rest.

Think of 3 1/2 years ago in your life. For most of us it seems like just yesterday. All of the events of the Great Tribulation happens that quickly. The anti-christ and false prophet come on the scene and they are gone just as fast as they came.