In the Lord’s Revelation to the churches written down by His apostle John, reference is made to a curious feminine character, “The Mother Of Harlots,” (Revelation 17:5, NKJV). While the Lord has already had me specifically disclose and discuss what is also called “Mystery: Babylon The Great,”1 in this post He leads me to explain the reason this prophetic enigma is not only described as a harlot, but the mother of them. Plainly, this harlot and her daughters have such significance to Christianity as a future development that warning was merited among and beyond the original seven churches of Asia the Lord’s Revelation is first sent to I wrote about earlier this month.2
What is a harlot? Encarta Dictionary and most other dictionaries will say a harlot is the same as a prostitute which is typically a woman (but historically has also included men) paid to provide sex or related acts. Interestingly, Encarta further defines a prostitute in noun form as one “who degrades talent for money;” using “a skill or ability in a way that is considered unworthy, usually for financial gain.” As a transitive verb, to prostitute is to “misuse something for gain” or offer somebody or oneself for sexual or others favors “in exchange for money.” The Bible uses harlot in these ancient, commonly defined ways (Genesis 38:11-18; 1 Corinthians 6:16), but also applies the term spiritually.
Spiritually, God warns Israel in the aftermath of His first two of Ten Commandments and the gold calf affair not to act toward the heathen nations and their gods as one to be serviced by or be to them a harlot (Exodus 20:1-6, 32:1-6, 34:10-17). Israel was also never to incorporate the use of ritual harlots in their worship practices (Deuteronomy 23:17-18). For Israel to invent and/or bow down to worship any so-called god, was not only considered disobedience by God, but also unfaithfulness in spiritual adultery. Israel, however, did not listen and repeatedly played the spiritual harlot as God charged through her prophets (Isaiah 1:21-23; Jeremiah 3:1-10; Ezekiel 16:1-34; Hosea 6:4-11).
In the same way it would be adultery if a married man’s wife prostituted herself, so, Israel married to God spiritually committed adultery against Him--a reality God had Hosea the prophet live out as a true to life demonstration (Jeremiah 3:14; Hosea 1:1-3, 3:1-3). God confronted Israel with her sin and labeled her persistent spiritual adultery “harlotry;” pronouncing her captive to “the spirit of harlotry” (Hosea 2:2-5, 4:11-19). The Lord’s use of “the spirit of harlotry” is not just a descriptive figure for Israel’s continual spiritual adultery, but identifies the very real demon behind it as well since the first unfaithful creature to God was Satan (Ezekiel 28:14-18; John 8:44; Ephesians 2:1-3, 6:12)!
Obviously, to become unfaithful to God, one has to first be close to Him in some way. Satan was once close to God as a trusted chief cherub who rebelled. Israel spiritually was chosen by Him to be His “special treasure above all people” (Exodus 19:5-6). As already stated, their intimacy of relationship in human terms is spoken of as marriage with God as Israel’s Husband; family with God as Father and Israel as sons. And so it remains as Christ returns to fulfill God’s announcement through the prophets to restore the remnant of Israel and relationship with Him after judging them for their unfaithfulness and apostasy (Ezekiel 16:35-43; Hosea 1:4-2:1, 2:6-23, 3:4-5, 4:1-10, 5-6:3).
No other people ever enjoyed the status of the Jews with God until individual Gentiles were saved by grace through faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and like them, brought into His New Covenant; giving rise to the Church He builds (Romans 1:16-17, 9:1-5, 11:1-36; Ephesians 2:11-22). But as the spirit of religion has always deceitfully done cooperating with the spirit of harlotry, corruptions of and departures from God’s Word with ties to pagan practices (such as mother-son cult worship) were introduced to and took hold among many churches.3 By the end of the second century A.D., a great act of harlotry also occurred when priests and a related liturgy of Communion were formalized.4
By the fifth century, this new form of Christianity foreign to the New Testament had become entrenched among the churches of the Western and Eastern Roman Empire, the Middle East and North Africa. The church at Rome soon after exalted herself above all others and became dominant as a mother to them and certainly all that would later come into being as rebel offshoots during the Protestant Reformation. She was Christ’s self-appointed bride and queen on earth. When Rome fell, she took up its place in the world; elevating her head priest to represent her in ruling over kings and engaging in all manner of political intrigue, social engineering and wars of conquest that gained much property and wealth for her as a global empire; murdering saints and prophets along the way.5
As with the mother harlot, so, her daughters; the Lord calls all in the grip of spiritual harlotry to repent! Without repentance, spiritual harlotry leads only to apostasy and judgment as with Israel (Hosea 6:4-7:4a, 8:1-14).6 While in her own eyes “The Mother Of Harlots” sits an untouchable queen favored by her ostensible Husband, He has already exposed her harlotry in His Revelation and announced her end before she came to be (Revelation 14:8, 16:19, 17:1-19:4). Time is nearly up. Therefore, let every guilty professed Christian take heed to the Lord’s warning among “the churches” and repent for He is soon to appear for His faithful and true Bride (Ephesians 5:25-32; Revelation 22:12-17, NKJV). The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
1 Read the August 23, 2015 post, Babylon Is Falling, under the category, Bible Prophecy.
2 See the two-part post, Revelation’s Seven Churches In Time, beginning January 5, 2020 under the category, Bible Prophecy.
3 Read the January 18, 2015 post, Worshipping God Without God, Pt. 3, under the category, Call To Repent and the two-part post beginning August 21, 2016, Chris-
tianity The Religion Of Men, under the category, Instruction.
4 Read the Encyclopedia Britannica article on the origin of priests in Christianity. It does not matter what form or act of disobedience used in Satan’s scheme to se-
duce God’s people into harlotry, the end is the same: destruction by God! Indeed, take for example, the Nicolaitans Christ spoke of in His Revelation. While it
may be that the Lord was expressing hatred for “the deeds of the Nicolaitans” in Revelation 2:6 as the sins listed in vs.14, these sins were not actually “the doctrine
of Balaam” as the influencing source of the Nicolaitan’s “doctrine,” (vs.15, NKJV). The doctrine Balaam taught Balak was “to put a stumbling block” (vs.14, NKJV)
before Israel through seducing them to commit those sins against God who would be forced to destroy His people in judgment (Numbers 25, 31:14-16). This is a
strategy Satan has repeatedly employed from Eden (Genesis 2:16-17, 3:1-6). Compelling is the translation of Nicolaitans from the Greek by scholars as “people
conquerors.” Men as a formal, ruling class of priests with a supporting hierarchy in the churches is nowhere taught in the New Testament and is a corrupt, hereti-
cal mimicking of Judaism’s priesthood from the law Paul, the apostle to us Gentiles, would have surely condemned (Galatians 2:1-5, 3:1-14)! An eternal spiritual
priesthood of all believers serving God and each other is taught in the New Testament (Mark 10:35-45; 1 Peter 2:4-10; Revelation 1:4-6). With historic idolatry and
rampant sexual immorality mixed in, the manmade Christian priesthood as with all other religious inventions of men has proven to be disastrous to professing
Christianity and conquered many.
5 Saints and prophets were persecuted and murdered at the hands of those professing to represent Jesus Christ as His church after not being willing to back down
from standing up to and crying out against the corruptions they saw and endured. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs tells many of their stories.
6 Read the June 10, 2018 post, God’s Judgment Upon His House, under the category, Bible Prophecy and God’s Creatures.
On this day marking the sanctity of human life beginning in the womb and eve of the nation’s holiday remembering slain Civil Rights leader and martyr for Jesus, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I am challenged afresh about doing God’s will. Dr. King made it clear this was his life aim in what would be his final sermon before being assassinated. He said, “I just want to do God’s will.”1 This conviction does not originate with Dr. King, of course, but is pleasantly consistent with my own heart and multitudes of persons that have through time enjoyed relationship with the living God and His Son, Jesus Christ, who preeminently expressed and carried it out (John 6:38, 17:4).
Pleasing God and doing His will is the heart of the Lord Jesus and what makes Him the Strong Man of God (John 8:29)! From eternity it was known what the will of God would entail for the Lord: a cross (John 3:13-16, 12:27, 32-33). In His perfect Humanity He, even He struggled with this part of God’s will for Him and prevailed through Self-denial (Matthew 26:36-46). The Lord unambiguously charged all that would be His followers to line up behind Him in self-denial to live on purpose to please God and do His will too (Mark 8:31-38).2 This has been the heart of aspiring strong men and great women of God in His image to the point of martyrdom beginning with Stephen (Acts 7:51-60)!3
What is God’s will for Christians since despite the corrupt laxity of Christianity as manmade religion, doing His will remains a biblical requirement (Matthew 7:21)? Continuously Spirit-filled (Ephesians 5:15-18), faithful followers of Christ understand God’s priority will for them after salvation is to cultivate relationship with Him through a growing faith and love even through much tribulation (Romans 5:1-5; Ephesians 3:14-21). His will linked to this is our character development and spiritual growth (2 Timothy 2:15; Hebrews 2:1-4, 5:12-14, 12:3-11; 2 Peter 1:1-11). We are to also fulfill our assigned familial roles while loving and serving fellow saints (Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Peter 4:7-11).
Finally too, we are to be engaged in the mission Christ has commanded (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). In light of the two-part post, Revelation’s Seven Churches In Time, beginning January 5, 2020 under the category, Bible Prophecy, we know with certainty God’s will is for us to continue faithfully doing all of the foregoing. These together are the “works” of Christ we are to diligently keep to whatever end He has permitted for us (Revelation 2:26, NKJV). By His grace and in His strength, I daily press to do God’s will to include my assignment through this Ministry to restore men in the Kingdom cause of the Gospel, revival and the strong man of God among the willing.
Indeed, it is absolutely imperative that men be restored at this late hour because individually they are equipped to walk in the four distinctive characteristics of Christ as aspiring strong men of God in His image. In accepting the roles God has assigned, being willing to obey His will and Word to the death, relying on and trusting in Him for vindication they stand in the evil day. Very importantly too, in their roles as husbands and fathers they appropriately lead their families to stand as persecution and God’s judgments in the earth intensify and going to corporate brick and mortar churches are increasingly not an option.4 Resisting the Lord through me in this cause and work is evidence of your need for repentance, salvation or revival! Otherwise, stand with me in it!5
1 The statement was made in the I’ve Been To The Mountain Top portion of his sermon on April 3, 1968 at the Bishop Charles Mason Temple Church Of God In Christ,
Memphis, TN, while in town to support the city’s striking sanitation workers.
2 Read my two-part 2019 post that begins August 18, Lined Up Behind Jesus, under the category, Instruction.
3 I write and instruct about aspiring strong men and great women of God in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics. Get a print copy or digital download of
the book at major internet booksellers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, ChristianBooks.com and Apple (digital only). You can also get a print copy in the
Strong Man Store.
4 Read the July 30-Sept 3, 2017 six-part series Restoring Men In The Two Minute Drill, under the category, Bible Prophecy to get a sense of the urgent need to restore
men now!
5 Contribute to my salary support in the work at https://fundrazr.com/salarycampaign1. Give either to my support or the ongoing work of the Ministry or both at
https://thestrongmanofGod.org/Give.
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