Augustine, an early church father and theologian, said to God, and I quote, you have made us for yourself, O Lord, and the heart of man is restless until it finds its rest in you. C.S. Lewis said something similar. when he said, and I quote, if I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world, end quote. These two statements capture the truth at the core in each one of us. that there is a God-shaped vacuum in every man, an emptiness which only Jesus Christ can fill. Everyone who has ever been created is created in the image of God. And being made in the image of God, we are spiritual, relational, worshiping beings designed by God to worship Him alone, the one true God. But since the fall of man into sin in Genesis chapter 3, there is none who seeks for God. until the Father draws him to himself. Therefore, to not worship the one true God is to necessarily depend on, to live for, to worship someone or something other than the one true God, the Lord Jesus Christ. And to do that, it's a false god, which the Bible calls idolatry. But Solomon tells us that to pursue soul satisfaction in any earthly, temporal thing is vanity and striving after wind in Ecclesiastes. Also, Jeremiah declares that to turn from God and to walk in vanity or to walk in emptiness is to become vain or to become empty. We pursue emptiness, and in that pursuit, we become even more empty. No wonder Satan's primary weapon is to permeate the world with false gods, false religions, that promote soul satisfaction, but leave people empty, that promise salvation, but damn people's souls to an eternal hell. Therefore, this morning, as we continue on in our study of Revelation, we're gonna begin by looking at the worst false religion the world has ever seen. The last time we saw the beginning of the seventh bowl judgment, which is chronologically followed immediately by the second coming of Christ to end the battle of Armageddon and to establish his earthly millennial kingdom. But since the fall of Babylon was already declared back in chapter 14, verse 8, as well as last time we saw in chapter 16, in verse 19, we now come to an interlude. We come to an interlude that expands and explains Babylon's destruction in more detail. in chapter 17, verse 1, all the way through chapter 19 and verse 10. And then in 1911, chronologically, it goes right back into Christ's coming. So that's how this passage is laid out. It's more we're gonna be looking at beginning chapter 17 that can be divided into three parts. And the first part of chapter 17 is what I call the disclosure of the harlot in verses 1 through 6. In Revelation chapter 17, verses 1 through 6, we see six aspects disclosed about the great harlot of Babylon. And the first aspect is this, her position of influence. her position of influence. Look what John says in verse one. Then one of the seven angels who have the seven bowls came and spoke with me saying, come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters. Now it's impossible to know which of the seven angels that have poured out these seven bowls is saying this, because the text doesn't say. So we don't want to speculate. Some say, well, it's got to be the seventh angel who poured out the seventh bowl, because this has to do with Babylon, and chapter 16, verse 19 had to do with the seventh angel. Well, again, that makes sense, but it doesn't say. But notice that this angel invites John to witness the judgment of the great harlot. Who's the great harlot? What's he talking about? The great harlot is applied here to Babylon, but this is not talking about an actual prostitute. The word harlot is used figuratively here as a metaphor to describe false religion. spiritual fornication or immorality, religious apostasy, which all has to do with idolatry, looking to someone or something other than God Himself for life for our soul, soul satisfaction. Now, this matches the sexual immorality attributed to Babylon that we saw back in chapter 14 in verse 8. And three times, three times sexual immorality is stated in verses 2 and 4 in this chapter. Sexual immorality that is stated has to do with spiritual immorality, spiritual fornication. It has to do with looking to something else other than God. That's idolatry. So we need to understand that right from the start because that's what is being talked about here. Now, besides Babylon, the Old Testament prophets charged the cities of Nineveh, Tyre, and even Jerusalem with harlotry. Because of their idolatrous pursuit, of a false god, of false religion. The ancient city of Babel or Babylon, which was founded by wicked Nimrod, was the city where false religion began. It was the birthplace of idolatry and the building of the Tower of Babel. Tower of Babel is a monument to man's evil rebellion. his spiritual immorality against God. Again, from there, the seeds of idolatrous false religion were scattered around the world when God confused the people's language. And so when, again, they all spoke the same language and God gave them all of these different languages, They would kind of group together because they could understand various people. They couldn't understand the rest. And then he scattered them. And so, again, that false religion, that commitment inside to find life apart from God was carried with them around the world. And then throughout history, satanic-inspired false religions have continually plagued the world. because that is Satan's primary weapon, to get people to look to someone, look to something other than the one true God, to make life work for them, to find life for their soul, to find salvation. Now, in the tribulation, the great harlot is the false religious system. centered again in Babylon. Again, the birthplace of idolatry, where it began was the Tower of Babel, Babylon way back in Genesis chapter 10 and 11. But now as we come to the tribulation and revelation, The great harlot is the false religious system centered again in Babylon, which is a central part. This religious system is a very central part of the Antichrist worldwide religious, political, and economic empire that is fiercely opposed to God and his people. Therefore, Babylon is the capital city and headquarters of the Antichrist's final world empire. As we will see when we get to verse 18, it says, and the woman whom you saw is the great city, which has a kingdom over the kings of the earth. So therefore, Babylon is both a city and a system or an empire. And the city of the great harlot, Babylon, stands in stark contrast, as we will see as we go. It stands in stark contrast to the New Jerusalem, the city of the Bride of Christ. We'll see that in chapter 19, as well as chapters 21 and 22 of Revelation. Now, although more attention is given to the great harlot than to the bride, it is the bride that endures while the great harlot is destroyed. Notice that the angel then describes the position of the great harlot at the end of verse one. It says, the great harlot who sits on the many waters. What's that mean? Well, first of all, the word sits pictures her in a position of authority, of sovereignty, like a king that is sitting on his throne. This harlot is sitting on many waters. Well, the phrase on many waters does not refer to her geographical location near a source of water. by the ocean, by a river, by a lake. That's not what it's talking about. We see what on many waters means in verse 15. It says, and he, the angel, said to me, John, the waters which you saw where the harlot sits are peoples and crowds and nations and tongues. So this means that the great harlot will have great influence, powerfully promoting and controlling her worldwide false religion over all of the unredeemed people and nations of the world. This then brings us to the second aspect disclosed about the great harlot of Babylon, her sin of immorality. The second aspect is her sin of immorality. The angel continues to tell John in verse two, with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality. And those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality. Remember, as we've already said, sexual immorality in this context refers to spiritual immorality, idolatry, looking to something other than God, Christ alone. And it's talking about false religion. It is the Antichrist's false religion. Now obviously, sexual immorality, as we've already seen, as we've gone through Revelation, is rampant during the tribulation time. But in this context, it's spiritual immorality that's being focused on. It pictures the entire world as unfaithful to God. And the great harlot's spiritual immorality is committed at all levels of society, from the very top, clear down to the lowest level of society. Notice, from the kings of the earth to those who dwell on the earth. The kings of the earth are all of the world's political leaders that commit idolatry by becoming a part of the false religious system. And their alliance with the great harlot inevitably leads to those who dwell on the earth or the earth dwellers. Again, that phrase, those who dwell on the earth, we've seen that throughout Revelation. It's a technical term for unbelievers. So all unbelievers worldwide are doing the same thing. as the kings are doing. We see that at the end of verse two, where it says, and they all were made drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality. At every level of society, all unbelievers in the world during this time are spiritually drunk with the Antichrist's false religion. They're all looking to him Everyone imbibed the wine, or they drank the poison Kool-Aid of the seductive harlot and continue on their course of spiritual defection from God. The third aspect disclosed about the great harlot of Babylon is her unifying Antichrist empire. her unifying Antichrist's empire. John says in verse three, and he, the angel, carried me away in the spirit into a wilderness. Then I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and 10 horns. John is now transported in the Spirit, by the Holy Spirit, into the wilderness, a deserted, desolate wasteland, where he is given more understanding of the great harlot. And notice here in the wilderness, John sees her as a woman sitting on a scarlet beast. Her position pictures again the great influence that false religion has over this scarlet beast. She's sitting on the scarlet beast, who is the Antichrist, who is supporting her. The color scarlet indicates the royalty, luxury, the splendor of Antichrist political power, though also signifying the color of his sin. the blood that he sheds. And whereas Antichrist controls his world empire politically, the woman representing its false religion gives spiritual unity to the empire. I like what John MacArthur said about this. And I quote, the initial unifying and controlling factor of Antichrist's kingdom will be religion. With the heavens and the earth being ravaged by God's judgments and the world's political, economic, and military might crumbling, people will turn in desperation to the supernatural. The beast and the woman will coexist for a while. That is, the religion will be separate from the kingdom of Antichrist at first, but eventually, The beast will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. And we'll see that when we get to verse 16. It will be at that point that the false prophet will make the whole world worship Antichrist and everything will be one in the beast's universal and comprehensive rule, end quote. Satan's agenda is ultimately the idolatry of a one-world religion. And that one-world religion ultimately will be Antichrist worship. So much so that if you don't worship the Antichrist, if you don't take the mark, and we've seen that in chapter 13, you don't take the mark, you don't bow down and worship the image, you will be killed. And because that's true, that's Satan's agenda. Don't be surprised today by the worldwide emphasis on unity and tolerance, the attempts to eliminate the absolute truth of the Word of God. that clearly distinguishes truth from error, moral from immoral, true believers from unbelievers. And because we see that even happening in our day, the way is being paved towards what Satan's agenda ultimately is. Notice how the antichrist is described in verse three. full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns." Now, whereas in chapter 13, verse 1, the blasphemous names were on the Antichrist's seven heads, here they cover his entire body. In his prideful arrogance, the Antichrist not only blasphemes God by cursing and speaking evil against him, but he also does this by claiming himself to be God, taking upon himself the very names and titles that belong only to the one true God. In 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 3 and 4, We're told, let no one in any way deceive you, for it has not come unless the apostasy comes first. And the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called God or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the sanctuary of God, exhibiting himself as being God. in a reference to the Antichrist. And the Antichrist is further described at the end of verse 3 as having seven heads and ten horns. And again, this is a reference to the extent of the Antichrist's political alliances. And we already saw this back in chapter 13 and verse 1. But we're going to discuss this in much more detail in verses 9 through 12 in our next message. The fourth aspect disclosed about the great harlot in Babylon is her attire is elegant. Her attire is elegant. Look at verse 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." Just stop there. The great harlot isn't a woman who is impoverished, but she has attire befitting a queen. This is a prostitute dresses to attract attention and to seduce her prey. So the Babylonian harlot is clothed in purple and scarlet. Purple denotes royalty, nobility. Scarlet denotes luxury and splendor as we've already seen with the Antichrist back in verse 3. And since both colors were very expensive to make, very expensive, this shows the woman's prosperity and her wealth. Notice her wealth is also seen in being adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup. The woman's excessive jewelry is intended to lure the nations to join her. And the gold cup that she is holding, again, shows her affluence and royalty. But her wealth and beauty is only external. It's only external. This external wealth and beauty comes from her idolatry. Therefore, her heart is idolatrous, even though on the outside she's very appealing to people. Reminds us of what God said to Samuel about King Saul in 1 Samuel 16, verse seven. But Yahweh said to Samuel, do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For God sees not as man sees, for man looks on the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart. And notice this prostitute's heart was very filthy, defiled by sin. Look at the contents of her gold cup at the end of verse four. Having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her sexual immorality. Jeremiah used a golden cup to picture the degrading influence, ancient Babylon. had on all those nations around her. In Jeremiah chapter 51 verse 7, Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of Yahweh, intoxicating all the earth. The nations have drunk of her wine, therefore the nations are going mad. This woman is full of abominations. Again, abominations refers to her detestable idolatry, as does the sexual immorality that's mentioned again here. It's idolatry, putting anyone or anything before the Lord in our hearts as a false god, as a false religion. And that is disgusting, filthy, and repulsive to God. No wonder God destroys the religious Babylon. But the angel right up front is telling John to look. The judgment of Babylon, the great harlot, is coming. Brings us to the fifth aspect disclosed about her, is her mark of identification. Look at verse 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. Now, John doesn't say whether this name was directly on her skin, like the mark of the beast that's going to be on the right hand or on the forehead, or The name was on a headband like the Roman prostitutes wore. Again, we don't know. It doesn't say. But either way, the name written on her forehead was a mark of identification. And notice the name written is a mystery. It's a mystery. The word mystery in the New Testament refers to a truth that was once concealed or hidden, but now is revealed. Now, there's some different views on what this is actually saying. Some say the woman's name should be rendered Mystery Babylon the Great. If you have a King James Bible, New King James Bible, you'll actually see that. It's translated by some as saying that to indicate that this Babylon's identity does not refer to any actual city or in a geographical location. It's not talking about any city here, whether you see Babylon as Rome or Jerusalem or the rebuilt Babylon. It's none of that, but rather it's a secret reality that won't be revealed until the tribulation. So it's a mystery. Others say the woman's name constitutes the mystery and is now revealed as the city. Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth. Bottom line, however one interprets the woman's identity here, it's clear that she represents the false religion of the last days. To me, that's the major point. She represents the false religion. of the Antichrist's final world empire. Notice that Babylon is described as the great because it has far-reaching influence all around the world. And her role at the end of verse 5 is the mother of harlots. and of the abominations of the earth. The great harlot of Babylon is the mother or the progenitor of everything that is anti-Christian, which includes all other harlots of idolatrous false religions that have corrupted the world. And this is a very appropriate designation because harlotry in scripture often symbolizes idolatry, which is always an abomination to the Lord. Anytime we put someone or something before the one true God in our hearts, we don't have to be bowing down and worshiping some idol of stone or wood. Ezekiel talks about the idols of the heart. Anytime there's something other than Christ first and foremost in our hearts, it's idolatry, and it's an abomination to God. The sixth aspect disclosed about the great harlot is her atrocities of murder. Look what John says in verse six. Then I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. Stop there. The anti-Christian posture of the great harlot of Babylon is clearly seen in her treatment of faithful believers in Jesus Christ. Not only does she entice others to become drunk with her false religion, She herself gets drunk with the blood of God's people. Why? Because if you don't bow down and participate in this false religion that is taking place, you are killed. The saints and the witnesses of Jesus are not two groups of believers, but two designations that describe every believer, throughout history even. Believers are called saints because we have faithfully kept ourselves pure. We're called witnesses because we have faithfully shared and preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. with unbelievers. And since all true believers are responsible to do both of those things, to keep themselves pure and holy before God, as well as to share the gospel of Christ with the lost. This is why the woman during the tribulation seeks to kill them. But this has taken place throughout history as well. Through the centuries, millions of true believers have been killed by false religions, by apostate Christendom. Remember the Inquisition, the Holy Wars, the Crusades, all under the name of Christ. And yet it was false religion persecuting true believers. But during the tribulation, the Antichrist and his false prophet will create an environment in which the false religious system of the great harlot of Babylon will martyr tribulation believers. And we've already gone through and we've seen where there have been Countless numbers of people come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ during the tribulation time. And they're crying out that God would bring vengeance on their persecutors. But these tribulation believers are murdered on an unprecedented universal scale. by the Antichrist and by the false prophet. And this persecution and martyrdom of faithful believers is a chief reason why God is bringing judgment specifically upon Babylon. And that's why chapter 17 and 18 is focused on in more detail, expanding and explaining the fall of Babylon. And now having seen the disclosure of the harlot and his vision of these six aspects of her, John then says, look at the end of verse six, when I saw her, I wondered greatly. I wondered greatly. In other words, John is so shocked. He is so astonished. He is so appalled by the utter wickedness of the great harlot of Babylon. that he has seen, that he's had revealed to him by this angel. And the Holy Spirit, he is curious and he wants to know what all of this means. And as we will see next time, the angel tells him, I'm gonna show you this. I'm gonna show you the mystery of this heartland. But that's next time. You know, as I've thought about this message, you know, like John, we too are often shocked, astonished, we're appalled by the utter wickedness that we see taking place in our world today, from the highest level down to our own personal lives and things that we see and experience. But we must remind ourselves as believers that Satan and evil are not in control of the world. God is absolutely sovereign. And he alone is in control of everything that happens. And he allows evil to take place, whether it be in our world, whether it be in our own life, as far as being impacted by it. to accomplish His good purposes for us. And God is never surprised by anything. He's never surprised by anything. He not only knows the end from the beginning, but He has decreed and declared it. God has decreed and declared everything that has taken place. I think the question is, do we really believe that? If we believe God is truly sovereign over everything that takes place, not that he is sinning, God can never sin, there is no sin in him, but he uses sin, he uses evil to accomplish his sovereign purposes. We saw that in Acts where it talks about Christ's death on the cross and how that accomplished the predetermined plan of God. And yet, he was not involved in bringing that about through his own sin. For this to truly comfort our souls, the fact that God is sovereign, first of all, We need to repent of our sins and believe in Christ alone as our own personal Lord and Savior. We need to be in a saving relationship with Him. Let me ask you this morning, have you done that? Have you placed your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone as your personal Lord and Savior? And if not, I encourage you to do today what you will be glad you did. when you stand before the almighty judge of the universe. For those of us who have done that, who are born again believers, I think the question for us is are we trusting him alone as the source of our soul's peace and joy and satisfaction? Is Jesus enough for us? Or are we looking to someone or something else? Even good things, even good things. Are we looking to someone or something else to be for our souls what at their best they can never be? Because we've been built, we have been created for a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. I'd like you to think about a question this week. How would you answer this question? If I only had blank, then I'd be happy. Then I'd be joyful. Then I would be fulfilled. I would feel satisfied. I'd feel whole. Secure. We could add a number of things to that. If I only had blank, then. I want you to think about that this week. If only I had a job, if only I had a spouse, if only my kids would just be what they're supposed to be. If only I had money. If only I had a spouse who loved me. If only those I love that don't know the Lord would come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Again, these are good things. But is that the basis of our sense of joy and fulfillment and satisfaction? to answer with anything other than Jesus alone is idolatry. It's idolatry and will inevitably create personal and relational problems. Because whatever I believe I need for life for my soul, I will demand from that to give me what at its best it can never be, it can never give. And when that is blocked, when that is withheld and I don't get that, now I'm furious, now I'm angry. Again, it creates all kinds, all kinds of personal and relational problems. Only Jesus can satisfy our souls. This is why scripture repeatedly points us to the Lord Jesus Christ. For example, David said to him in Psalm 1611, you will make known to me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. Isaiah declared about the Lord in Isaiah 26, three and four, the steadfast of mind, you will keep in perfect peace because he trusts in you. Trust in Yahweh forever, for in Yah, Yahweh himself, we have an everlasting rock. And one of my favorite verses is by Jesus himself, who said in John chapter 17 and verse three, and this is, this is, present tense, eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. In a world that is full of idolaters, false gods, false religions, may we as believers keep the Lord Jesus Christ first and foremost on the throne of our hearts so that he may be glorified in and through our lives.