1. We have been studying Bible prophecy and will look at an interesting one today – one that we are seeing fulfilled in these last days.
2. John is on the isle of Patmos, and he is shown a great vision, a vision so amazing that he "wondered with great admiration" (Rev.17:6).
3. Before we look into this unusual vision, let me remind you that Satan is a master counterfeiter (cf. II Cor.11:4,13-15).
4. The devil has his counterfeit church. The true church is referred to in the Bible as the bride of Christ. Here we see in Rev.17:1 that the false church is called "the great whore."

I. THE WHORE IS EXPOSED.

1. The whore is ecumenical.

1. She is seen "sitting upon many waters" (17:1; cf. 17:15). In other words, she is "universal" or "catholic."
2. The word "catholic" means universal or world-wide. This was the idea behind the phrase "the holy catholic church" in the Apostles (written hundreds of years after the apostles) Creed. The term "Roman Catholic" is a contradiction in terms.
3. The word "ecumenical" has a similar idea; it means "universal," from the Greek word oikoumene, meaning "the entire inhabited earth" (cf. Acts 19:27).
4. We are not to look at the ecumenical movement as something good but rather as something wicked and unscriptural (cf. Rev.18:4). The more Christians read their Bibles, the more they see how horrible the ecumenical movement really is.
5. The only unity that the Bible recognizes is based upon doctrine and obedience to the Word of God (cf. John 17:11,16,17).

2. The whore is political (Rev.17:2).

1. The whore controls the governments of the world through her great wealth, her great power, and her sorceries (cf. 18:23).
2. "The kings of the earth have committed (spiritual) fornication" with her" (17:2; cf. James 4:4; 14:8; 18:3). When the pope came to the USA a few years ago, President Clinton said "all Americans welcome you, Your Holiness." We saw the Clintons, the Gores, Gov. Pataki, Mayor Guiliani, and many other politicians attending Cardinal O’Connor’s funeral. Politicians do not do this for Baptist preachers, only for cardinals and other birds (cf. Rev.18:2).

3. The whore is satanic (17:3).

1. So closely associated is the false church with the beast that the beast is "scarlet colored" (the color of the whore’s attire – 17:4).
2. Also, the "seven heads and ten horns" identify the false church and the beast with Satan and the revived Roman empire (i.e., the United States of Europe, cf. 17:7; Dan.7:7; Rev.12:3; 13:1).

4. The whore is wealthy (17:4).

1. The RCC is the biggest landlord in NYC. They own much real estate, banks (they even have their own "Vatican Bank"), wineries, liquor distilleries, airlines, office buildings, hospitals, factories, businesses, schools, etc.
2. A good book to read is In God’s Name by David A. Yallop, or The Vatican Billions by Avro Manhattan.
3. Romanism is not the only big-money religion. The Mormons and other cults are nearly as bad.

5. The whore is a mystery (17:5).

1. This means unknown in the OT era. This is not literal Babylon, but "MYSTERY BABYLON." Apparently the headquarters will be in Rome (17:9,18).
2. Why is the great whore called "BABYLON"?

1. She is idolatrous, and Babylon was the fountainhead of all idolatry, witchcraft and superstition.
2. Babylon was built by Nimrod (Gen.10:8-10; 11:1-9). We are told that Nimrod’s wife Semiramis was called "the queen of heaven" (cf. Jer.44:17).
3. From ancient Babylon came many superstitions and heathenistic practices such as Mariolatry, praying for dead people, holy water, confessing sins to a priest, worship of relics and images, the use of candles and elaborate vestments, the Dagon the fish god mitre, purgatory, Lent, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and other so-called "holy days."
4. The head of the Babylonian religion was called the Pontiff Maximus and he wore a mitre with the keys to hell inscribed on it. The pope of Rome is called "the pontiff" and he wears the same sort of mitre. However, the great whore is more than just Roman Catholicism. She is called here "THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH" (17:5). Therefore, the "mother church" has many little harlot churches and religions under her sway.

6. The whore is a murderer (17:6).

1. Our Lord said that the devil "was a murderer from the beginning" (John 8:44), and so it should not surprise us if Satan’s church is murderous and drunken with the blood of the saints" (17:6; 18:24).
2. Ever since Cain killed Abel, the unsaved have hated the saved and have even resorted to murder (cf. I John 3:11-13; Matt.23:29-35).
3. Sir Robert Anderson, of Scotland Yard, estimated that the RCC killed 50,000 Christians during the Inquisition.

II. THE WHORE IS PART OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER.

1. In Rev. 13 we are introduced to "the beast," i.e. the antichrist. From the book of Daniel, and the book of Revelation we know that he will head up a revived Roman Empire and establish a "new world order."
2. We see in Rev.17:7 that the whore is "carried" by the beast.
3. The whore will use the beast, and the beast will use the whore. But eventually the beast will demand to be worshipped. This is where the ecumenical movement is headed (II Thess.2:3,4; Rev.13:4,8,12-15).
4. It is evident that the beast will take over the Revived Roman Empire, some form of a united Europe, possibly including the US (17:12,13).
5. The entire one-world government and one-world religion will be hostile to the Lord Jesus Christ and to His church (17:14,15). It is under the curse of God and is doomed to failure.
6. Admittedly there are some true (but mixed-up and disobedient) Christians mixed up in the ecumenical movement but they will leave at the rapture. Then the only ones left behind will be the deluded beast-worshippers.

III. THE WHORE IS DESTROYED (17:16-18).

1. The revived Roman empire will eventually turn against the false church (17:16). She was on their back and they had finally had enough.
2. This will all be according to God’s judgment upon the whore (17:17). More details are given to us in Rev. 18.
3. Worldly, unsaved people make believe that they respect apostate religious leaders but in their hearts they really despise them. They will continue to pamper the harlot church while it is to their advantage but when they have no more use for her they will savagely destroy her (17:16,17).
4. The first time we see the word "Alleluia" in the NT is after the whore is destroyed (19:1-3).

CONCLUSION:

1. Those of us that are saved can start shouting "Alleluia" now because we can be certain God will judge the great whore.
2. But unsaved people need to repent because God will judge all those who have rejected His Son (20:15; 21:8).