THE DESTRUCTION OF THE MOTHER/CHILD RELIGION

Revelation 17:1-18

Bill Dudley, a Missouri Baptist Evangelist has written some notes on the Revelation. I am going to quote him here.
“In his book THE TWO BABYLONS, Alexander Hislop traces the development of Mystery Babylon through the centuries to the present time.
NIMROD was the founder of Babel (Gen. 10-11), and the kingdom of Babylon. His wife’s name was SEMIRAMIS. In Gen. 3:15 God had promised to deliver the race through the “seed of the woman”. Because of this promise, when NIMROD’S wife, SEMIRAMIS, gave birth to a son, she said he was miraculouly conceived by a sunbeam and she preseented him as the promised deliverer of the earth.
The son’s name was TAMMUZ. When TAMMUZ was grown, so the story goes, a wild boar slew him; but after forty days of his mother’s weeping, he was raised from the dead. This ancient story of SEMIRAMIS and her son, TAMMUZ is the origin of the cult of mother/child worship that has spread throughout the whole world.
In ASSYRIA and NINEVEH she is called ISHTAR and her son was still known as TAMMUZ.
In PHOENICIA she was called ASTARTE or ASHTEROTH, and her son, still TAMMUZ.
In EGYPT she was called IRIS and her son is OSIRIS or HORUS.
In GREECE she was called APHRODITE, and her son was called EROS.
Among the ROMANS she was called VENUS, and her son was called CUPID.
As this mother/child worship spread through the earth, she was worshiped by the offering of a wafer (a little cake) to her as the queen of heaven. The worship always included forty days of Lent, of weeping over the destruction of TAMMUZ, before the feast of ISHTAR, at which time his resurrection was celebrated. The sign of TAMMUZ was an ISHTAR egg, a symbol of his restoration to life.
The Old Testament prophets rebuked the mother and child cult. In JEREMIAH 44:19-30 he rebukes the people for worshiping the queen of heaven and in EZEKIEL 8:5-18 the prophet sees the people, v. 14, observing the forty days of Lent during which they afflict themselves and weep for TAMMUZ, the child that was slain by the wild boar.
This ancient worship of the mother and child passed down from BABYLON to ASSYRIA, to PHOENICIA, to PERGAMOS, and finally, to ROME.
In ROME the Emperor was PONTIFEX MAXIMUS, the high priest of all the idolatrous systems of the Roman Empire. When there were no more Roman Emperors the title of high priest of the rites and mysteries of the cult of mother and child, the Babylonian mystery religion, was assumed by the BISHOP OF ROME.” pp. 55 & 56 of Bill Dudley’s notes.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: 2 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. 3 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. 4 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: 5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. 17:1-6 (KJV).

In these verses we have a description of religious Babylon.
In the book of the Revelation there are four women of four different visions who have a relationship with religion:
1. In the letter to the church in Thyatira “Jezebel” was a false prophetess corrupting the church in this city (2:20);
2. In 12:1-6 the mother of the man-child was the nation of Israel, the people of the Old Covenant;
3. In our present chapter Babylon is seen as a religious system centered in man rather than God – a woman riding the beast;
4. And, in 21:9, the Bride of Christ represents the saints of the Church joined to Christ who redeemed them.
This false religious system is seen sitting “upon many waters”. NOTE: In most other cases water, in the Revelation, is to be taken literally, but here, the text itself gives it a symbolic meaning by its interpretation of verse 15.
This shows how false religion has covered the earth and influenced and condemned many to destruction.
Verse 2 has this “harlot” in an act of spiritual adultery. God has accused, and rightly so, Israel of being a harlot (Hosea). Spiritual adultery is the pretense of worshipping the one true God in ceremony, while at the same time honoring other god’s in heart.
In this case the “whore” has power in government. She has sold out every spiritual principle for political power. Our verses here describe her as riding a “scarlet colored beast”. This beast represents government, and by its color, an evil government – scarlet represents the devil.
This “great whore” is seen as full of wealth (v. 5). She is also seen as a “mystery”. A mystery only those to whom God gives the interpretation can understand. It is godly wisdom that causes understanding. She is proud to even call herself, “THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATION IN THE EARTH” – Religious Babylon (Babel). There has always been an attempt to join all religions. The apostate religions of earth want the Church to join with them, to lay aside the truth of sin, Jesus, the cross, the resurrection, the ascension, the second coming and be in unity with them. The apostate church accepts all beliefs.
This “MOTHER OF HARLOTS” is guilty of shedding the blood of God’s saints. John is astonished. He knows about persecution, but it has come from the government. However, what he saw was the apostate church – professing to know Christ – in the end time, drunk on the blood of the saints of God.

In verses 1-6 we have had revealed to us the mystery. In the following eight verses the angel gives the interpretation.

And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. vv. 7-8 (KJV).

The Beast 1) “Was” that means, had lived prior to this day [John’s], 2) “Is not”, that is, was dead during the time of action involved, 3) “Shall ascend out of the bottomless pit”, that is, to come to life and appear on earth [at the time of God’s appointing], 4) “To go into perdition”, that is, to be appointed to death and confined to eternal torment.
The beast comes out of “the bottomless pit”. There are several references to this pit in the Revelation – 9:1-2, 11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1, 3.
The Beasts’ destiny is to perdition. Eternal torment awaits him and all those who follow him. Remembering the “Beast” as a government; governments are represented by leaders and, of course, it would be these leaders of whom this would be speaking.

And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. 10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. 11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. vv. 9-11 (KJV).

In these verses we have the interpretation of the “seven heads”. Rome is often called, “The city of seven hills” and may be somewhat implied.
Sometimes mountain also refers to a kingdom, this seven kingdoms. Since “seven” is the number for completion, maybe this is reference to world government, all Gentile governments, and most likely they have reached the end.
Prior to John’s day five empires had fallen [five kings]: 1) Egypt, 2) Assyria, 3) Babylon, 4) Medo-Persia, and 5) Greece. One king was then present – Rome. The seventh was yet future, and an eighth comes out of the seventh.
The last world ruler could be the seventh and the eighth. When he begins at the beginning of Daniel’s “seventieth week” he is a man greatly influenced by satan. However, in the midst of the week he is killed, ending his rule, only to be seemingly raised from death as the incarnation of satan, totally possessed by him, thus, making the eighth king. This is a possibility, however, there is no way to be dogmatic about it. Only God truly knows.

And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. 13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. 14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. vv. 12-14 (KJV).

The “ten horns” are ten kings.
These unite to make war with the Lamb. They will be defeated by the Lamb, because He is the “Lord of lords, and King of kings”.
There are four descriptions of the people of Christ: 1) They are with Him, 2) Are called, 3) Chosen, and 4) Faithful.

And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. 18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. vv. 15-18 (KJV).

The fall of Religious Babylon is described in these verses. The sovereignty of God is seen throughout all of Scripture and it is none the less so here. God using a wicked political system to put away the wicked religious system. God hates hypocrisy and destroys all religion that opposes His plan and will for mankind.
When these political rulers think they are serving their own purposes and plans they will actually be carrying out the judgment of the Holy God upon the unholy harlot.
Any religion that bases salvation of man upon works, rather than by grace through faith, is a false religion and will fall under the judgment of our holy God.
The keeping of sacraments, indulgences, confession, rosary, witnessing, saying empty words, are works and not grace provided by the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. To claim works obtain salvation is to make void the cross of Christ, and commit “spiritual adultery”.

WORKS ARE THE FRUIT OF SALVATION, NOT THE CAUSE.

This will be THE DESTRUCTION OF THE MOTHER/CHILD RELIGION. Let me pose a question. Could this beast be the beast of democracy? Religion rides highly in democratic governments, in most cases. Just think about many of the political campaigns of our day. Somehow “god” always comes into the picture.