Alleluia: For the Lord God Omnipotent Reigneth
Revelation 19:6
And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
In Revelation the sixth chapter we read: “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled” (Revelation 6:9-11).
The prayers of the saints who were killed for their witness of the word of God and the testimony that they held of Jesus Christ are answered in the subject verse. They had prayed that their blood might be avenged on them that dwell on the earth and in the subject verse their glad cry of rejoicing is heard as the voice of mighty thunderings because the days they had so long awaited had finally come. They rejoice because of the judgment of the great whore that sat on many waters (the waters are peoples and, multudes and, and nations, and tongues Revelation 17:15) has come and they are glad that her removal from power and destruction is at hand. The days are coming when the children of God will sing and rejoice at the destruction of every enemy of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Our subject verse is a prerecorded view of the events that will occur at the marriage supper of the Lamb. This is according to the visions that were seen by the apostle John while he was in exile on the isle of Patmos. It is a vision of the church triumphant in the Lamb of God rejoicing in the destruction of the enemies of the cross. For our God is righteous in all His works, as it is written: “Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice” (Daniel 9:14). God will correct his children and destroy His enemies (I Corinthians 11:32; Hebrews 12:6-8).
The righteousness of God is made manifest by the His judgment upon the great whore who made kings and the inhabitants of the earth drunk with the wine of her fornication, as it is written: “With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication” (Revelation 17:2). The great whore of Revelation 17-19 and other places of scripture is false religion which is based on a false Christ, as it is written: “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24). Those who do not preach the true doctrine of Christ “are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works” (II Corinthians 11:13-15).
The wine of her fornication is the worship of false gods which is sponsored by Satan who uses deceived men to set forth his doctrine through the preaching of a false gospel which is based on “another Jesus” as it is written: “For if he that cometh (a false preacher: writer) preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, (the spirit of error: writer) which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him” (II Corinthians 11:4).
The great whore is also called a “strange woman”: “Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: that they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words. For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, and beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house, in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: and, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.) So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows. Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves. For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey: he hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed. With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life. Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death” (Proverbs 7:4-27). This is a picture of false religion, whereby vulnerable individuals who do not know the truth are enticed with a false system of religious beliefs.
The strange woman of Proverbs, the great whore of Revelation 19 and MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT of Revelation 17 are various names for Satan’s counterfeit church. Babylon was the seat of false religion in the days of Nimrod. In those days men attempted to reach heaven by their own works by building a tower to heaven. In after ages the seat of false religion has moved to Rome where false doctrine of every sort is the accepted norm. The decrees of church counsels are the laws of that apostate and adulterous organization and the words of Jesus Christ are refused.
In the apprehension of the writer MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT is Rome namely the Roman catholic church. Babylon was the place of origin of organized false religion. Rome is Babylon in Mystery form and is now the chief place of residence of false religion. The chief place of residence has changed but the allegiance to Satan has not. It is the headquarters of the mother of harlots. For not only is the Roman catholic church a harlot; she is also the mother of other harlots and abominations of the earth. The first few verses of Revelation 17 give a description of that unfaithful religious system: “And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: and upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (Revelation 17:1-6).
The apostle Paul has left a testimony of some of the identifying marks of the false religion that will be thrown down by the judgment of God, as it is written: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer” (I Timothy 4:1-5). The ruin of antichrist is sure, and the perdition of all those who partake of that form of Christ-less religion is certain. Thank God that His children have been delivered from the deceptions of that ungodly and idolatrous religious system.
AJ Ison
See the writers blog at www.Hebrews915.blogspot.com hear the true gospel preached at www.13thstbaptist.org webcasting live at listed service times.
