One of the many mighty aspects and characteristics of God is that He is the ultimate Craftsman.  He is the perfect project manager.  He never does something half-way, He never stops short and says, “aaaa, good enough!”  He is faithful.  Always and absolutely.

What we’ve seen, since the beginning of Chapter 6, is God’s process of judging sin…rooting it out, annihilating evil utterly.  We saw the title deed to the earth, wrought with sin.  Given to man there in the Garden but then man handed it over by our own free will to the serpent, Satan…and since then the earth has been under the sway of evil as Paul would say in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that Lucifer is the “god of this age.”  What age?  The age of evil, man…but that is all about to come to an end.

The seals holding the title deed closed…have been opened (Chapters 6 and 7) revealing the true form of the earth…fallen and destitute.  Then the trumpet judgments were sounded (Chapter 8) and the earth was struck…the consequence of sin was seen upon the earth through chapters 9, 10, and 11.  Then the bowl judgments that we have looked at in depth over the last few weeks where the full passion of God’s righteousness has been poured out on a Savior rejecting world…as we heard the people curse God time and time and time again, three times…as truth and faithfulness finally came forth…

And so the earth has been reaped.  Just as we read back in Chapter 14 verse 16…the earth has been judged…but God is not through yet…why?  Because the root of it all is next.  You see, God does everything 100…100 percent…and since the Garden, since the moment that sin entered the world…there has been false worship.  That is what sin really is…it’s simply and spiritually put…false worship.  Time, attention, obedience to something or someone other than the only God that is even real…the only God that even has any power…Yahweh alone…Isaiah 45:5 says, “I alone am God, there is none other…”  Yet worship of false gods has been the story of man since the garden…

To offer false worship, there must be an object of worship.  A person, a place or a thing…many false gods are mentioned in the Bible.  Baal or Baalim or Nimrod or you may have heard of Osiris, Zeus, Saturn…all the same dude, all the same false god.  Ashteroth, Semeramus, Diana, or you may have heard of Juno, Isis, Isthar (where we get our word Easter), all the same false goddess…but again, God is in the business of getting right to the root of the matter and behind all of these man-made false gods, powering all of these objects of false worship which has robbed God of the praises of His people…is a manifestation of evil…a spirit of false worship…

The Bible calls it the “great harlot.”  The spirit of false worship.  The religion set up by Satan and fueled by sin.  This false worship that has tainted this world, led many men and women to eternal separation from God, has been judged in the form of consequence upon all those who took her in…all those who chose her over Him…and now, God, as He completes everything He starts…as He is always and without ceasing faithful to not just address sin but also to root it out…is about to do away with her forever.

Chapter 17 we’ll see the religious aspect, the spiritual side of this idol destroyed and then in Chapter 18 we’ll see the political, the physical, the consequential side destroyed…what it boils down to is that we will see her destroyed entirely and eternally as God sets the scene for all things to be made purely new, without evil, without sin and without death…

Revelation Chapter 17 Verses 1 – 2

• This angel says this is THE great harlot who sits upon many waters.  And we know from our previous studies in Revelation that this term “many waters” means all of the nations…and notice the angel here mentions the kings and the inhabitants of the earth had communed with her…and so this is the one man…the one who from the beginning has been intoxicating, tempting and devouring God’s children…the children have been judged, time for the mother the angel says…
• And note the universal power and presence of the false religious system…false worship of false gods…whether it’s Buddhism, Islam, Mormonism, Hinduism, Rastafarianism, Wicca…doesn’t matter…its all the great harlot!  Any worship that is not offered directly to God Almighty through the intercessory blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God Himself in the person of the Savior, is fornication on God man…cheating on Him.  Jesus said, “Noone comes to the Father except through me…” and so note this universality of this great harlot…
• And so check this out.  I’d like to offer you another name of this great harlot…religion.  Think of it that way.  Religion is man-made.  It is man-centered and no matter what religion it is…if it is not a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and your life hidden in Him…it IS the great harlot!

Revelation Chapter 17 Verse 3

• We’ve seen seven heads and ten horns before right?  Revelation Chapter 13 Verse 1 and we identified him at that time, remember?  Who is he?  The anti-Christ!  And who’s riding him?  Religion, man! 

Revelation Chapter 17 Verse 4

• Where’d she get all that?  All those garments and garnishments of royalty?  Where did sin and false worship and rebellion and religion (all the same things), where did she get all of that?  From men!!!  Payment for her services.  For indulging their flesh and filling them with what their flesh craves…sin! 
• Note the unlimited prosperity and the unholy passion as she is adorned with the treasures of this world which are the gravel of the world to come…the treasures of the world to come are love man…peace…joy…gentleness, kindness, pure and undefiled worship, man…not these trinkets, not these elements that are only temporary…and the golden cup that she carries is filled with abominations, filthiness and fornication on our God…

Revelation Chapter 17 Verse 5

• So two cities dominate the scriptures.  One is Jerusalem of course.  The city of God.  Founded by God.  The capital of Israel, literally the people that are governed by God.  The other city is Babylon.  Mentioned over 300 times in the Bible.  The city of revolt.  Founded by Nimrod whose name literally means, “one who rebels.” 
• You see this is the Book of Revelation, man.  Here it is revealed what is the evil even behind Babylon…even behind revolt, rebellion, false worship…it’s the harlot man and she represents this spirit that has been at work in the hearts of men since the fall…the spirit of selling yourself and abomination! 
• And notice she is intoxicated.  She appears drunk.  In a stupor…from what?  Look at verse 6…

Revelation Chapter 17 Verse 6

• Teaching in the synagogue in Jerusalem on the Sabbath, Jesus raised His head and Mark writes for us in Mark 6:6 that Jesus marveled at their unbelief.  I bring that up because I don’t want you think John is admiring this beast and this evil that rides upon him.  Jesus didn’t admire the unbelief of the people, He mourned over it…to the point that He had to take a step back and say, “what is the problem?  I don’t get it…these folks are lost, blind, weak and weary and yet they harden themselves…” and so He marveled.  Great grief came upon Him and He departed…
• Here something clicks.  John, filled with the Holy Spirit for 50 or 60 years by this time has seen great evil, great cruelty, great stupidity as folks have chosen to rebel against God, harden their hearts in refusal to humble themselves and choose Jesus and He has watched people be destroyed because of it…and now it has been revealed…this evil that has been at work the whole time…pride, rebellion, selfishness, religion…and he wonders in amazement that the whole time…every circumstance was spiritual…every argument he witnessed, every child he saw dirty and hungry, every single parent, every abandoned wife, every boasting religious elite…all the same…all spiritual…
• And the angel sees that he gets it…sees that he sees…and so what’s next?  What’s always next when truth is revealed and you face it…more revelation!!