MYSTERY BABYLON
(continued)
“So
he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit
upon a scarlet colored beast…having seven heads and ten horns” (Rev.
17:3).
In
oriental symbolism a horn or horns stands for power and strength with their
attendant glory and honor. The ancients
thought of the horns of animals as being the focal point of their power, as
well as their adornment or glory. They
remind us of the rhinoceros, unicorn, bull, etc. Therefore majesty and might were often
adorned with various horns, such as the turbans of the Magoi of Persia which
were twisted into the shape of great horns, to indicate their power and glory. Furthermore,
since animals used their horns in acts of aggression and defense, the horn was
also used symbolically to speak of war and defiance. More than once the scriptures speak of the
horns, or power, of God’s enemies. On
the positive side, the scriptures speak of the horn, or power, of God’s judgments,
and the horn, or power, of His salvation within His people. Not only are horns used symbolically to speak
of military strength, of a proud and arrogant spirit blasphemously exalted
against God, and of the saving power of the Lord towards His elect, but they
are also used as Bible symbols for kings and their kingdoms. Of course this is in keeping with the horn as
a symbol for strength and majesty as already noted.
The
beast has seven heads and ten horns.
Some have questioned the relative position of the seven heads and the
ten horns — how many horns were upon each head?
Were there one horn upon four heads and two upon each of the remaining
heads — or one of several other possible configurations? The question is actually irrelevant. John tells us nothing about their relative
position, so the way they are arranged on the beast is not the point and
therefore has nothing to do with any spiritual truth. Rather, it is the fact of the “heads” and the “horns” together with their “number” or
quantity that is significant to us. That
is what the Holy Spirit is impressing upon us!
The numbers seven and ten are symbolical numbers. They do not refer to ten kingdoms, or ten
kings, or to seven kings literally; but they denote the authority and power of
the carnal nature and the carnal church systems
of man. Heads are the symbol of authority.
When the scripture says that Christ is the “Head” of the church, and
that the man is the “head” of the woman, it bespeaks a headship which expresses
itself through a sphere of authority.
Christ is the AUTHORITY over the church!
He is the Leader, the Chief, the Commander, the Captain, the Controller,
the Administrator, the Master — the LORD!
That makes Him the Head of this body!
The seven heads represent the realm of thoughts, plans, and
designs. The seven heads of the beast
bespeak the usurpation of the mind of Christ and the plans and purposes of God
as the carnal mind within the Lord’s people and within the carnal church
systems of man seeks to dominate their thinking and their spiritual life. The powers of man’s spiritual thoughts,
desires, and plans are prostituted to the purposes of the great whore!
The
Lord gave to Israel
a covenant of AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS when He said to them, “The Lord shall open upon thee His good
treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless
all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou
shalt not borrow. And the Lord shall
make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath…” (Deut. 28:12-13). This is also why prophets, priests, and kings
were both anointed and crowned upon their heads — it signified the absoluteness
and supremeness of their authority!
Horns, on the other hand, are the symbol of might, strength, and power.
The beast carrying the harlot has seven heads of authority and ten
horns of power! Seven and ten are both
complete numbers. Seven is a sacred
number in this respect, that it generally is used of the perfection of
spiritual realities and the completeness of God’s purposes and kingdom. It denotes fullness in the things of God.
In our text, however, it is used with a negative application, signifying
the fullness of that authority which purports
to be, claims to be, pretends to be the authority of Christ,
but is in reality the fullness of the carnal mind usurping the place of
Christ’s authority in the church!
Now,
the number ten denotes the measure of time or space or power as it is allotted
and limited to any creature by God’s decree.
It is a full number, denoting that which is complete, yet of limited
duration. It is completeness or
fullness on the human, worldly level, the limit of man’s power within
himself. Ten stands for the maximum
limit to which man can reach — ten fingers, ten toes, ten commandments —
fullness in a limited realm! Ten is a
number which is frequently employed in scripture, and it often occurs in the
book of Revelation. Ten horns is the
fullness of power, yet it is a power that is limited — it can only reach so far
and continue so long according to God’s allotment. The ten horns of power signify that the beast
carrying (thus including) the woman has just exactly as much power as God has
allowed him — no more and no less. They
are not ten separate, literal kingdoms anywhere on earth at any time, but
bespeak the usurpation of the might and power of the Holy Spirit by the
strength of the flesh in any man or in any movement of the Lord’s people! And when God’s time comes for Great Babylon
to fall within us and within the world, fall she will!
It is not in the gross sins of the flesh that the
harlot is known, for she has a name written in her forehead — MYSTERY BABYLON
THE GREAT. She is very mystical, so that
indeed, upon
the workings of her mind and the intent of her soul there is written
“MYSTERY”. This whore works in a
mystery, that is, in an enigma, a puzzle, a riddle, in ambiguousness —
inscrutableness. You find her where you
don’t expect and in a way that seemeth right, and therein lies the deception!
Now,
as we consider this truth, we should especially notice these significant
statements made a little further
on in chapter seventeen concerning these same ten horns. “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. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
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” (Rev.
17:12-14). Some portions of this passage
we will address later, but at this time I would draw your reverent attention to
the statement, “These shall make war with
the Lamb.” Now I query this of you:
How do these “kings” make war against Christ, the Lamb of God? Do they make war against Him in the flesh, as
the Jews did? Are they literal armies of
nations coming against the Lamb of God with tanks and guns and bullets and
bombs? They cannot, of course, seeing He
is risen and ascended up far above all heavens!
Everywhere in the Revelation the Lamb is seen only in heaven and upon the heavenly mount Zion! Therefore, I would ask you, how these ten
kings make war against the Lamb, unless it be in the spirit — against His
light, against His truth, against His life, against His spirit, against His
nature, and against His will, way, and purpose!
If
these ten symbolical kings cannot war against the Lamb in the flesh, if you
confess that He is exalted high above all principalities and powers, then do
not such war against Him in His life, and against Him in His light, and against
Him in His purpose, and against Him within
His people? Indeed, the powers of the flesh and the
carnal mind warring against the spirit of Christ, and against the spiritual
mind, and against the spiritual life, bringing a man into captivity to the
flesh, and to the fleshly mind, and to the fleshly life, with its law of sin
and death — just there the battle rages! Obviously
these kings are not outward kings of literal nations on earth! Obviously
they have nothing to do with the outward warfare of military machines! Nearly all expositors of the book of
Revelation assert that they are
earthly rulers — either historical characters, or future rulers still to arise
at the end of time. Many have been the
efforts to identify them historically, or to speculate who they will be in some
future “end-time” scheme of things. The
revealing fact is that there are as many opinions about their identities as
there are expositors!
The
same crowd is all about us today. They
look for an outward warfare between the kings and the Lamb, with an outward
victory. They want deliverance from the government, from
persecution, from socialism, from the antichrist, from terrorism, from the
Jews, from the Moslems, from the Catholics, from the banking system, from the
abortionists, from liberal politicians, and from all kinds of political
conspiracies that are steadily pushing our nation and the world down into the
dark abyss and nightmare of godlessness and tyranny. But I do not hesitate to tell you that none
of these are the problem! The most
powerful kings that rule in the world today are those that rule inwardly — and it is only as the kingdom of God
takes its rightful place in our lives, that these kings are subdued and
deposed. In the soul-realm we have the
dominant king of self-will which has usurped control and ridden roughshod over
the ways of God. There are religious
kings of static creeds, false doctrines, traditions, commandments of men,
carnal-minded methods, and sectarianism.
There are kings of passion and desire, bringing the dominion of the
flesh. There are kings of emotion which
usurp unholy sway over people of God.
There are kings of ruling thoughts and imaginations which exalt
themselves against the knowledge of God.
There are kings of doubt and fear that destroy faith and rob men of
victory. But, praise God! There is a Lamb upon the throne in the
heavens of the Spirit of the Lord and He is mighty within — King of kings, Lord
of lords — and He arises within us in the power of righteous conquest and
dominion. This means victory! The old Roman conquerors, when celebrating a
brilliant conquest, rode down the avenues of the Imperial City
upon a snow-white steed, and received the plaudits of the people. And so Jesus Christ, in the spirit and by the
spirit, astride a snow-white charger of righteousness and power rides in
swiftness and strength into our earth, into our inner land. I have heard the hoofs of His horse
thundering through the corridors of my soul as He has marched into my land conquering and to
conquer, bringing all into submission to Him.
The harlot’s beast with his ten horns of fleshly power, might, and
strength are no match for the King of kings and the Lord of lords!
How
easy it should be for the devout mind to understand that the Revelation was sent
and given from Christ to His church — His body on
earth. How easy it should be for the
devout mind to understand that the Lord’s message to His people does not
concern itself with such unspiritual things as the kings of Europe,
past, present, or future, but with spiritual
realities and divine dealings of
God in the lives of His called and separated people! The great truth that I pray may grip your
hearts, my brethren, is simply this: these seven heads and these ten horns will
exert their carnal wisdom
and fleshly powers right in the exercise of your spiritual performances and
sacrifices to the Lord! If you can
discern, you will see them appear in prayer, in humiliation, in fasting, in
service, in giving, in preaching, yea, in all your efforts to fulfill the will
of God and perform the work of God. You
will see your desire for recognition, the pride of ego, arise right in your
giving and service to the Lord. You will
see your own desires and they will exert themselves right in your praying,
asking, and seeking. You will see your
own wisdom
and abilities subtly steal your heart from the Lord, by enticing you to walk
after your own reasonings, ingenuity, and strength, rather than by the mind of
Christ and the power of the spirit. Ah,
therein lies the deception of the whore within us, in those things where we
would not expect her she deceives us, and herein is plainly seen her mystical
apparition. This whore and her
beast with his heads and horns meet you, precious friend of mine, in the
walking out of your spiritual life, and there she attributes all the goodness
that is done to her self, usurping the glory, and you give consent to it, and
thereby commit fornication with her.
All
the way from the moment of our new birth to glorification and exaltation this
inner antagonist — the seven heads and the ten horns — is present. This is why every revival that God has sent
through the ages ended in apostasy. The
flesh — that inward devil of fleshly wisdom,
carnal understanding, sense-knowledge, soulish zeal, and spiritual pride has a
subtle way of identifying himself with every move of the Spirit of God, so as
to corrupt it from within. Many years
ago F. J. Huegel wrote: “Students of the great Welsh revival (1900 — 1903) say that the
wonderful stream of divine life little by little lost its saving efficacy, as
another stream from a very different source, naturally very filthy, began to
mingle with the river of the water of life proceeding from the throne and from
the Lamb. ‘Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves
before the Lord, and Satan came also
among them.’ Beware the false
fire! Beware the counterfeit glow! When the soulish
takes the place of the pure working of the Holy Spirit, you have a
‘revival’ whose fires, though they purport to be from heaven, are more likely
to be kindled in hell.”
From
the mists of the long ago Eden we read, “Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast
of the field which the Lord God had made.
And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of
every tree of the garden?” (Gen. 3:1).
The word “serpent” in our language comes from the Latin serpo meaning “to creep,” but the Hebrew
term has no relation to the form or motion of any external attribute of a
serpent. The word used here for serpent
is the Hebrew word nachash which is a
primitive root meaning “to hiss or whisper.”
It, furthermore,
means “to search or scrutinize closely, to find out by experiment, to practice
divination, augury, incantation, or enchantment.” According to Webster incantation means “the
chanting of special words or a formula in magic spells or rites.” Incantation may speak in addition to
hypnotism. The serpent, then, is a
HISSER, a WHISPERER, a DIVINER, an EXPERIMENTOR, an ENCHANTER, a MAGICIAN, and
a HYPNOTIST! And all this activity takes
place from within! Now we
understand how it was so easy for mother Eve to be deceived! The “inner voice,” the “carnal
reasonings,” the “soulical suggestions” of the natural mind, yea, the religious
mind, sounded so plausible, so logical, so spiritual, so divine
— it just had to be the word of God and the way of the Lord! It had to be the very highest truth! As she listened to this voice Eve was
enchanted, hypnotized, mesmerized — by this high revelation!
We
do well to consider also the word translated “subtle” in this passage. “Now the serpent was more subtle than any
beast of the field…” The Hebrew word for
“naked” in Genesis 2:25 is arom. The English word that describes the
serpent’s nature is “subtle,” and the
Hebrew word for this is arum. Both arom
(naked) and arum (subtle) are
derived from aram which means “to be bare, to be cunning.” Hebrew scholars say that originally these
three words were the same word. Now, why
should the expression “naked” and the term “cunning” be the same word? What is the connection? We can answer with only one word:
SEDUCTIVE. By way of illustration, a naked woman may be a seductive woman! There is a close connection between the two. The
ideas of naked and cunning come together in the words
SEDUCTIVE and SEDUCE. Can we not see by
this that the serpent was actually more seductive than anything in the
bestial (fleshly) realm! Ah, when Satan
transforms himself into an angel of
light, he is the most seductive thing
in the world! Under a different figure,
that of the cunning serpent, even in that long ago Eden the lewd,
alluring, tempting, enticing, tantalizing,
bewitching, seductive harlot of CARNAL REASONING AND MAN-MADE RELIGION came
riding upon her beast with the seven heads and the ten horns!
“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. These have one mind, and shall give their
power and strength unto the beast” (Rev. 17:12-13).
From
these statements of divine revelation we learn the great truth that the
ten-fold powers of the flesh have no kingdom
in their own right. It is only as they are given expression
through the life of the bestial system of
man that they truly have power. As an
example, let us suppose a man who is possessed of a carnal desire to build a
little religious kingdom over which he can be the ruler. Now that carnal desire has no kingdom as yet,
nor can it have one of itself. It is a king without a kingdom! Only when the man goes out and is successful
in gathering
around him some people whom he can form into a movement, and then dominate
them, does his desire for kingship “receive power.” It is only as the “kings” within are given
expression through the system that they have power. These have one mind — the ego — and give
their power and strength “unto the beast” of the worldly system. Thus they “receive power as kings” — but,
notice, how limited is their power!
“They…receive power as kings one
hour with the beast.” The “ten
horns” and the “one hour” taken together express absolute limitation!
The
word “hour” appears various times throughout the book of Revelation. To the church in Philadelphia the Spirit says, “”Because thou
hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come
upon all the world, to try them that
dwell upon the earth” (Rev. 3:10). Does
the “hour” of temptation mean that the testing will last literally for one
hour? Not at all! “The hour of temptation” is a metaphor indicating something of limited duration — it comes and
soon it passes, with no indication
whether the actual time is short or long, as man conceives time. In relation to a man’s life ten years of
hardship might define the “hour of testing,” whereas in the history of a nation
a hundred years or even more could bespeak their “hour of trial.”
Later
we read, “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the
everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth…saying with a
loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come…” (Rev. 14:6-7). “The hour
of His judgment is come.” Does this
signify that God’s judgment lasts only for one
hour? Certainly not! Again, the expression indicates something of limited duration —
the “hour” is simply the time period during
which God’s judgments are manifest and apparent to the consciousness of
men. Can we not see by this that the
bestial systems of man, and the rule of the flesh in the lives of God’s people,
is of limited scope and duration — it shall not last forever, it is not an
eternal, indestructible, undefeatable, unchangeable, unending state or
condition. Oh, no! O that men might see that the significance of
the “one hour” of the rule of the
flesh is explained by the verse which follows our text: “These (the ten horns) shall make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is
Lord of lords, and King of kings!” (vs. 14). That is how and when their “one hour” of fame
ends — with the triumph of the Lamb within!
Isn’t it wonderful!
THE ATTIRE OF THE HARLOT
“And
the woman was arrayed in purple and
scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having
a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her
fornication” (Rev. 17:4).
This
passage gives us the picture of a prostitute in the days when the Revelation
was written. She is not clothed in white
(as is the bride of the Lamb), but her dress is the same color as that of the
animal which she rides, showing both her connection to the “beast nature,” and
the origin of her pollution. Let us,
then, meditate upon her pretentious appearance as a woman. The text
makes a distinction between her outward appearance and her essential
character, a distinction which comes down to this, that she appears as a woman,
but that her essential
character is that of a prostitute. She
is richly and beautifully arrayed with all that is glittering and luxurious in
the world, decked with precious stones and pearls and arrayed in purple and
scarlet, while holding in her hand a golden cup. Purple and scarlet were colors of royalty and
magnificence in Bible times. The dyes
were extremely expensive, and only the wealthy could afford them. Thus the woman’s clothes and all her
adornments speak of all the external signs of success that the worldly church
seeks.
Yet
— purple is a mixed color — it is compounded of blue and red. And what a revelation that is! In its spiritual significance it represents
the mixture or confusion of the heavenly blue
with the earthly red of Edom. And at this time all the church systems of
man unite the earthly and the heavenly, joining flesh with spirit, mingling the
anointing with carnal efforts and methods, mixing truth with error. False doctrine is for the most part a
corruption of divine truth — error overlaid with a thin layer of truth, like
base metal gilded. That very mixture
yields a royal
purple which is so awe-inspiring, powerful, and captivating to the souls of
men! Gold, precious stones, and pearls
are emblematic of spiritual truths and of the wondrous revelations of the
riches in Christ Jesus. And who can deny
that all the believers in all the churches have truly received from the Lord gifts
of grace, truth, and salvation! Oh, yes,
God Himself has enriched them with multiplied blessings according to their
faith. The problem is, however, that even
these are now employed by this woman, along with her other attire of the
harlot, to attract people to her lewdness, thus prostituting even those beautiful truths and graces she has
received and proclaims!
As
we examine the rich and luxurious attire of this woman it is plain to see that
this is no cheap street whore — she is beyond question what we would call today
a high-class call girl! Her services would demand thousands of dollars per night! The message is just this: both the flesh
nature and fleshly religious systems will
take everything you’ve got! She certainly makes the impression of being
rich and powerful, enveloped in a halo of worldly glory. The rich, beautiful, royal colors, with their
attraction for the eye skillfully woven into her overall seductive appeal, reveal
that she certainly knows her business well, how to make herself appear
desirable! A woman in her profession
often commands the finest jewelry, usually as gifts from her lovers. Her personal physical beauty of face or form
is not mentioned. Her power to entice is
pictured as lying in outward finery designed to capture the eye, the mind, the
emotion, the imagination, the passion, and the heart of men. She is indeed a very rich,
powerful, and successful woman!
The
harlot religious systems have indeed
been phenomenally successful when measured in terms of untold millions of
members, inestimable wealth, costly buildings and ornate temples, impressive
rituals and ceremonies, pomp, splendor, and worldly honor. It is successful because it is worldly
minded; it loves pleasure more than it loves God; it loves feasting more than
it loves fasting; it loves entertainment more than it loves repentance and
waiting upon the Lord. It compasses land
and sea to make one proselyte and frequently the proselytes are two-fold more
the children of the devil than they were in the beginning. Previously they were sinners; now they have become deceivers. Caught in her web of enchantment, those
whom the harlot system “wins to the Lord” by teaching them the word of God
according to the precepts of men, these babes are imprisoned within her fortress
of forms, traditions, religious works, and organizational structures until they
become hideously dwarfed and but grotesque caricatures of what a child of the
living God should be like!
The
entire church system is full of professional beggars who will fleece your money
and steal your time and consume your talent in the name of their program just
as a street beggar will beg in the name of his infirmity. From time to time through the years I have
received these lying letters from men
I have never
met nor seen nor known, who tell me how the Lord has laid me and my family upon
their hearts, how they are praying for me, personally, every day, and what
wonderful things will happen to me if I will just send them an offering for
their work. One dear friend shared a
letter with me from a well known evangelist in which he informed her that he
had seen a vision of her house with the angels of God ascending and descending
upon it. He was scheduled to be in
Africa within a few days for a great healing campaign, but the Lord had told
him, he said, to postpone the campaign until he could write to her and get her
most urgent prayer requests to take with him to Africa. If she would only send an offering of $20.00 along with her prayer requests, he would
carry them to Africa where they would be prayed over during the great crusade
and she could expect miraculous results…as though God answers prayer more
effectively from Africa than in the United States
of America!
These letters are mailed out by the thousands, monthly and weekly, all making the same
claims. At my friend’s query I suggested
to her that she write to this so-called evangelist and tell him that she had
her $20.00 ready to send just as soon as he would describe to her what her
house looks like and what color it is — since he had seen it in a vision! More than one widely known evangelist
of our day has become a multi-millionaire, and
that by peddling the whore’s religious con-games to gullible Christians
devoid of understanding, and deceived by their religious guile, though their
wicked devices should be evident to the simplest mind.
Cursed
be such wicked men! Cursed be the whore
upon her beast! Cursed be the seven
heads and the ten horns! Cursed be her gaudy
garments of seductive enticement! The churches
today are filled to overflowing with programs hatched out of carnal minds. It is not easy to write these things, my
beloved, for I would rather share out of the storehouse of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge
that are hidden in Christ Jesus. Yet,
were it not necessary to establish these truths in the hearts of all hungry men
who sense a call to something deeper in God, and who hear within themselves the call to come up higher to the high calling
of God in Christ Jesus where sons of God follow the Lamb to the heights of
mount Zion, then the Holy Spirit would not have dwelt for two whole chapters of
the Revelation upon this important theme.
Ah, wicked Babylon,
the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth! She professes to know God, and in a measure
she has known Him, but in works she denies Him, being abominable and to
all the true riches reprobate. No wonder Jesus said, “Many will say to me in
that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name done
many wonderful works? And then will I
profess unto them, I NEVER KNEW YOU: depart from me ye that work iniquity
(lawlessness, that which I have not commanded)” (Mat. 7:22-23). No wonder the Spirit inspired John the
beloved to pronounce destructive judgment
against the great whore and all her filthy daughters!
This
woman isn’t gold (as is the New
Jerusalem bride of the Lamb) but she is decked out with gold. All her appearances of godliness are external
things. The adornment is only on the
surface, and her character is the opposite of the beauty that she presents to
the world that is under her influence.
She is decorating herself, and none can doubt that the church systems of
today are gaudily bedecked with external works of righteousness, with pomp and
ritual and ceremony and program and music and preachings and outreaches of all
kinds which appear as godliness but in truth are not born of God at all. In our past religiousness have we not all
been there! We decked ourselves with
gold and precious stones and pearls and had all the appearance of the wealth
and riches of God by the Spirit, but like the Pharisees of old we were
impoverished in spirit and full of dead men’s bones and all manner of
uncleanness. Only the deep dealings of
God can strip away the garish adornment of the whore and transform us into the
pure gold of HIS DIVINE NATURE. Of the
beautiful bride of Christ it is written, “…and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass” (Rev.
21:18). The harlot wears gold. The bride is gold. The harlot puts on an appearance, a façade. The bride exists as a state of being — in the gold of divine nature and the dazzling
glory of incorruption. That is the
mystery!
In
the days of the Old Testament prophets the supreme mission of the prophet Elisha was to destroy that which had destroyed the
anointing and work of God in the land
of Israel. So Jehu (the king) went into Jezreel and the
scripture says that when he arrived Queen Jezebel got her face all painted, her
hair tired, and looked out of the window high upon the wall. The painted face wasn’t what made her Jezebel
— she was Jezebel before she put the paint on and had already done great damage
by killing the prophets of God and leading the people of Israel into
abominable idolatries. But she had
herself all made up this day because she heard that something was going to
happen in town. The painting of the face
has the meaning of painting the eyes.
Painting the eyes has the meaning “to allure, to look more
appealing.” What Jezebel was actually
doing was appearing at the window high upon the wall with the tawdry appearance
of a harlot. She counted on Jehu being a
man,
and she thought she could seduce her way out of her
problems. Jezebel tried all her alluring
and deceptive ways to dissuade Jehu from his appointed task! King Jehu, whom Elisha had anointed, was on his way to get
her! Jezebel hoped to flatter her way out of King Jehu’s advance
to take her captive or destroy her! She
plotted to get into a high place, up on the wall of the city, into a high and elevated
position in the church, as it were, where she could see all that was going on
and manipulate and control and create a resistance to the thing the prophet of
God had said he was going to accomplish.
But Jehu was on a mission for Yahweh and he wasn’t having any of it!
Terry
Crisp wrote once about the marks of harlotry.
“In the natural, the spirit of harlotry was generally evidenced in a
woman’s countenance, and in her attire.
It was easy to spot a prostitute by her appearance; by the way she excessively
painted her face, and seductively dressed herself, the message she sought to
convey was unmistakable. This is why the
Lord admonished Israel
to ‘clear her face of the marks of harlotry.’
He knew that as long as she adorned the countenance of an available
woman, seeking to enhance her features in order to attract the attention of
others than her husband, she would not be true to Him. No matter what she told Him, or how she tried
to convince Him that she was doing it all for Him, the intents of her heart
were obvious; the image she projected told
the story! It was a manifest token that
she was not committed to a
monogamous relationship; and she was not
ready to settle down and become one with
Him. The underlying truth was that she
sought independence
from her Husband!”
THE CUP OF ABOMINATIONS
“And
the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and
precious stones and pearls, having a
golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication” (Rev.
17:4).
The
blessing of chapter seventeen lies to a great extent in the contrasts which it
suggests. One can hardly think of the
cup in the harlot’s hand without being reminded of “the cup of the Lord.” His cup is full of new covenant blessings,
the divine and spiritual inheritance of His elect. It speaks of the remission of sins, and the
knowledge of God revealed in love through the sacrifice, resurrection,
ascension, and glorification of the firstborn Son of God. It is filled with heavenly, spiritual blessings,
poured out upon all who are raised up to sit in union with Christ in the
heavenly sphere. It ministers cleansing
to the heart, peace to the conscience, joy to the soul, righteousness to the
life, transformation to the mind, redemption to the body, and glory and power
beyond comprehension to all who overcome to share His throne. But the harlot’s cup is “full of
abominations” — the common scripture word for what is idolatrous; that is, it
is “the cup of demons” (I Cor. 10:14-21).
And it also contains “the unclean things of her fornication.” Being unfaithful and corrupt herself,
prostituting the holy things of God, she can only bring men under the influence
of unholy intimacy with the religious spirit of the world, the flesh, and the
devil. Instead of offering the world the
cup of salvation, she offers carnal satisfaction in the name of religion.
A
golden cup entices to drink; for one
expects the most precious drink from such a vessel. This is a figurative expression that means
the apostate church systems use every device possible to entice all men to
partake of her false doctrines and practice her flesh-oriented programs and
promotions. The cup contains corrupt and
false teachings, fleshly and perverted practices, pagan rituals, sacraments, and
holy days, fittingly represented by harlotry.
Many writers reveal the way the transference from pagan Rome
to papal Rome
was made. Eusebius in his Life of Constantine
declares, “In order to render Christianity more attractive to the Gentiles, the priests adopted the exterior vestments and
ornaments used in the pagan cults.” Pope
Gregory, instructing Augustine, is credited with saying, “Destroy the idols, never the temples. Sprinkle them with holy water, place in them
relics, and let the nations worship in the places they are accustomed to.” Cardinal Baronius is said to have made the
statement, “The Holy Church was
permitted to appropriate the rites and ceremonies used by the pagans in their
idolatrous cult since she (the church) expiated them by her consecration.”
Many
works have been written revealing and documenting the pagan roots of
practically every custom associated with both Christmas and Easter. The method of the church was simply to adopt
the pagan customs, “Christianize” the pagan holy days, keeping the same old
feasts with their rituals and ceremonies, under the new face of now employing
them to honor and worship the Lord Jesus.
Our text
characterizes them as “filthy things,” comparable to the disgusting activities
of a man lying with a whore. The
figurative speech is an allusion to a cup of drugged wine with which lewd women
inflame the passions of their lovers.
Jeremiah the prophet used the same metaphor in describing the ancient kingdom of Babylon,
saying, “The nations have drunken her wine; therefore the nations are mad” (Jer.
51:7).
What
an awful stink! What a horrible
stench! That which is corrupt, rotting,
having no life working in it. Her golden
cup is full of abominations — putridness,
beautiful on the outside, golden, appearing as something divine, but
inwardly abhorrent. Ah, yes, this whore
is alluring on the outside, she is indeed
drop-dead gorgeous, a head-turning, sensuous knock-out, but inwardly full of
disease and loathsomeness, signifying the holy things of God profaned by
her. Think of it!
BABYLON —
MIXTURE AND CONFUSION
“And
upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF
HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH”
(Rev. 17:5).
Let
us not pass from this thought of Babylon’s “cup
of abominations” without also noting another of the characteristics of the Babylon system. I do not believe there is any way to fully
explain, imagine, or understand all the ways this MYSTERY BABYLON works. The word “Babylon” means confusion. When
we consider the vast array of church denominations with their varied
organizational systems, creeds, liturgies, disciplines, and methods there is
one title that can be written across the whole — MYSTERY CONFUSION. It is the mixture of good and evil,
of truth and error, of flesh and spirit that brings such confusion. So interwoven is truth with error,
endeavoring to uplift and bless mankind while building a kingdom for self, good
works that are a blessing to many, while promoting one’s own name, reputation,
and power, that it becomes difficult to discern which is right and which is
wrong.
Ray
Prinzing has wisely written: “Yet, even while
we acknowledge all this confusion, be it remembered, Babylon is still in the sovereign hand of God
who controls all. Therefore even Babylon, in spite of all
of its corruption, has been used by God for a purpose. ‘Babylon hath been a golden
cup in
the Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunken’ (Jer.
51:7). And it is when her purpose is
finished, that God has decreed her end.
It is a prophetic word guaranteed of fulfillment! Genesis 11 gives the record of how the people
found a plain in the land
of Shinar,
and proceeded to build a city and a tower, but God intervened, confounded their
language, and scattered them. ‘Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound
the language of all the earth’ (Gen. 11:9).
The Hebrew word for ‘confound’ used here is ‘babal’ meaning: to mix, to mingle, and thus literally to mix self
in. The more self-centered each man
became, with his own expression, the less they could communicate with others,
so frustration took over, and they left off building, and went every one his
own way. Though self had been in
evidence beforehand, now it was turned inward, and thus caused greater
confusion.”
Another
word from my friend Connie
Asbill is so very pertinent and vital right here. She writes, “Fortunately for righteousness,
there is a division in the camp of Babylon,
for regardless of how many organizations she binds her people together with,
regardless of how many council tables she gathers
around, regardless of her clubs, and parties, and treaties, and pacts, and
covenants, each man is out for himself in her ranks and thereby is our hope and
her sure destruction. ‘A house divided against itself cannot
stand.’ SOUL can unite with soul in
every conceivable manner — but it is a false peace — a false unity — for true
unity is in the spirit and where
there is not that unity, through the cross, every
man stands alone, regardless of surface appearances. God, knowing that in unity of spirit, nothing
would be ‘restrained from them to do,’ confused the tongues, confounded the
speech (mixing it with SELF) — and thereby brought division in the psychic
realm so that although there is a cosmic mind, it is loosely thrown together,
lacking the cohesiveness of love. Every man has self as his center, and
because of that, even when he taps into his own psychic resources, his power
will be over-ridden and swallowed up by any man who is moving after the power
of ‘an united life’, for that UNITED
LIFE is God’s ELOHIM and is the very person of God Himself.”
Can
we not see by all this that Babylon
is the spirit of harlotry — mixture.
Mixing the truth of God with the carnal philosophies of the world;
mixing the revelation of Jesus Christ with pagan eastern religions or other
strange voices; mixing the move of the Spirit of God with the promotions of
man; mixing the work of God with the efforts of the flesh; mixing the light of
Christ with the darkness of the carnal mind.
It is the soul joined to anything — except the spirit! It is harlotry. It is the place of corrupt self-proclaimed
ministry. They can’t wait on God to
develop something in them. They must be saying something and doing something for God! They will
prostitute the life of God in them with anything which will be to their
benefit. They care nothing about purity and will accept any mixture so long as
they can profit by it. They receive
their “life-force” from more than one source.
They seek out many lovers — join themselves to many causes, trying to
receive life from each. Bigger crowds,
bigger buildings, bigger television ministries, bigger, bigger, bigger — not better!
Not more godly! Not more mature! Not after God’s own heart! All the works of man are soulish; man’s works
exist in this world for the sensual, for the sole purpose of gratifying the
desires of the carnal souls of all mankind.
Religious soulishness is for the same purpose!
As
we consider this truth we should especially notice the words of the apostle Paul to the saints at Corinth.
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what
fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath
light with darkness? And what concord
hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an
infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God
with idols? for ye are the temple
of the living God; as God
hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and
they shall be my people. Wherefore come
out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the
unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye
shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (II Cor. 6:14-18).
To
live for God’s approval, to walk before Him as sons and daughters of the most
high, is not possible unless we too come out of all wicked, worldly, and
religious mixture. Mixture first leads
to confusion, then to corruption. Under
the Old Covenant the children of Israel were taught and instructed
by the object lessons of the external law to distinguish between the clean and
the unclean in God’s sight. In one of
these object lessons they were warned,
“Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers (two kinds of) seeds: lest the
fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be
defiled. Thou shalt not plow with an ox
and an ass together. Thou shalt not wear
a garment of divers (mingled) sorts, as of wool and linen together” (Deut.
22:9-11).
Let
us recall that it was the mixed multitude
who accompanied the Israelites
out of Egypt that later
caused them to sin in the wilderness by craving for the food of Egypt
to satisfy the flesh (Ex. 12:38; Num. 11:4-6).
Centuries later, Daniel and his companions, taken to Babylon as exiles, resolved not to defile
themselves with Nebuchadnezzar’s rich food and
drink. Though young in age and exposed
to many corruptive influences of a worldly and pagan environment, they understood
that they could not eat from two tables — man’s and God’s — without defiling
their soul and spirit (Dan. 1:5-8). What
is of the flesh will eventually defile the spirit! That explains powerfully why God hates
mixture! The early church was
also assailed by mixture not only from within but also from without. While Gnosticism
tried to corrupt the gospel with its admixture of Jewish, Greek, and Oriental
mysticism, Judaizers within the church sought to corrupt the gospel of free
grace by their insistence on preserving the legalistic rites of the Mosaic Law
— such as circumcision, the feast days, the seventh-day sabbath, and abstaining
from certain foods.
Alas! how few of the Lord’s precious people at this
significant hour in the revelation of Jesus Christ can distinguish between soul
and spirit, between the life of the flesh and the life of the spirit, between
man’s righteousness and God’s righteousness, between darkness and light, between
truth and error, between religious zeal and the unction of the spirit, between
the temple of idols and the temple
of God,
between man-made doctrine and divine revelation, between religion and
spirituality, between those who serve God for self and those who live for God’s
approval!
In
contrast to this, in one of his articles Bob Torango wrote of God’s called and
chosen elect in these descriptive words: “We must, like Abraham, look for
a city, dear hearts. A city with foundations, a rich heritage in God, a place where our children and our
children’s children can learn of the ways of the Lord without fear and
confusion. No more mixture, no more
flesh, no more wanton money grabbing and fleecing, but righteous priests and
honorable kings of the most high God that dispense the riches of His kingdom to
all that are hungry and thirsty. A city
with walls upon which the watchmen of the Lord cry out, ‘The King is in Jerusalem and all is
well!’ In Babylon all is ruined and inwardly
corrupt. In Babylon the priests are there for profit and
fame. In Babylon it is business operated by cutthroats
and crooks. But I see another city, the
mother of all that are born from above, whose children are free. We are that city, and God sits upon the
throne of our hearts. Reign O mighty
King in Righteousness and Peace!”
There
is no Old Testament type or shadow that more graphically illustrates God’s
demand for purity — that which is unmixed
— than the Lord’s commandment to Aaron the
high priest concerning the making of the holy
anointing oil and the subsequent anointing
of the priesthood. The Lord’s word
was very concise and to the point. “Upon
man’s flesh shall it not be poured,
neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy (separated, unmixed) unto you” (Ex. 30:32). This holy anointing oil was not to be poured
upon man’s flesh. It was poured on Aaron’s HEAD after the miter and holy crown had been
placed on him. Although the Aaronic
priesthood was in reality a priesthood in the flesh (a natural order), for Aaron was “taken from among men,” yet there is a
mysterious intimation of another priesthood given in this precept, which was
not to be in the flesh, but in the reality of the spirit and after the power of
an endless life. Flesh, human flesh, is
sinful and corrupt beyond explanation!
There can be no congeniality between it and the graces of the Holy Spirit. The flesh must ever war against the spirit
and the spirit against the flesh, for they are contrary the one to the other
and they cannot agree together. As the
scripture declares, “Ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that
the spirit of God dwells in you” (Rom. 8:9).
In the flesh dwelleth no good thing, the apostle declares. No one therefore can have the Holy Spirit,
unless he reaches beyond the outer realm of the flesh to that inmost sphere where he is born of God.
The
commandment to Aaron that the holy anointing
oil was not to be poured upon man’s flesh was given to reveal to us the great
truth that God does not anoint flesh —
His anointing is upon the inner man of the spirit! Deep within every man there is a secret
sanctum where dwells the mysterious essence
of being. This inmost reality is that
part of man which separates him from every other living creature and makes him
uniquely mankind. This deep hidden power
is what it is of itself independent
of any other part of man’s complex nature.
It is the man’s “I Am,” a gift from the I AM who created him. The deep-in human entity of which we speak is
called in the scriptures the spirit of
man. “For what man knoweth the
things of man, save the spirit of man which
is in him? even so the things of God
knoweth no man, but the Spirit of
God” ((I Cor. 2:11). As God’s
self-knowledge lies in the eternal Spirit, so man’s self-knowledge is by his
own spirit, and his knowledge of God is by the direct union of the Spirit of
God with the spirit of man. “He that is
joined unto the Lord is one spirit” (I
Cor. 6:17). I cannot over emphasize the
importance of this in our forward walk into our destiny as sons of God! This truth denies that man is an earthly,
physical being having a spirit and declares, rather, that he is a spirit having a physical body.
Most
people on earth have forgotten their beginning.
Wonderful words were spoken at the very dawn of civilization, recorded
in the oldest book of the Bible, which state simply and powerfully the reality
of man. “There is a spirit in man: and
the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding” (Job 32:8). It is something great in man, Elihu conceives,
that he is spirit, and because he is,
is capable of being inspired. He is not here speaking of Adam as he was in the primordial glory of Eden,
nor yet of regenerated man in this wonderful age of the Holy Spirit; but,
speaking thousands of years ago in the present tense, he magnifies man as being
able to be inspired, just because he is
spirit. And it is God, who likewise
is spirit, that inspires him!
The
word “spirit” means literally, breath, and
denotes a quality of life because, in the case of the spirit of man, God is
able to breathe
Himself into it and through it. The word
“inspiration,” as used here, denotes the act of inbreathing. Anyone who is
inspired is “breathed
into,” visited internally by the power of life, and so quickened in mind, raised
in intelligence, ennobled in nature, and empowered in ability. In this way Bezaleel was inspired when he
“was filled with the Spirit of God, in wisdom
and in understanding, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver,
and in brass, and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving timber”
(Ex. 31:3-5). Anyone is inspired just as
far as he is raised internally, in thought, feeling, perception, or action, by
a divine movement within! It is God’s Spirit quickening — anointing — our spirit, and thus bringing a change,
a release, a raising so that our spirit may function as it was designed to
function.
This
is what Jesus described as being “born again,” the spirit that already existed
as the offspring of God being brought forth into the world, into a new realm, a
new level of identity, a new consciousness, a new expression, a new ability, a
new standing, new rights and privileges and inheritance! We all understand that a baby’s life does not
begin at the moment of birth — it is
simply released into a new dimension
where it can attain to its full potential in that realm. That is what the new birth is! Our spirit did not originate at the moment of
our new birth — it had to already exist in our experience or it could not have
been born! That which is thus “born” of the Spirit
is spirit! It is this capacity of being spirit that qualifies man as an inspirable creature. And in the Old Testament type, God’s holy
anointing oil — the anointing of His Spirit — is not upon man’s flesh, the outer man, but upon the inward man of spirit!
Thus,
“the (God’s) Spirit beareth witness
with our spirit that we are the
children (offspring) of God!” (Rom.
8:16). Oh, the mystery of it! From these statements of holy scripture we
are pointed to the deep mystery of our sonship to God. And “because
ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts (spirit), crying, Abba, Father!” (Gal. 4:6). The message is both clear and startling — we
are not given the Holy Spirit to make us
sons of God. Oh, no! Rather, “because
ye are sons, God hath sent forth
the Spirit of His Son into your hearts.”
Because YE ARE SONS! It is the pre-existing fact of our
sonship to God that prompts the Spirit of the Son to be sent into our
hearts! The Spirit of God does not come into us to give us sonship, but to
quicken our spirit, anoint our spirit, bringing that release or “birth” by
which the inner man is raised up within us to be, express, and manifest all
that he is! Only because you already are a
son, the offspring of God, does God pour His holy anointing oil upon that
“hidden man of the heart (spirit)” dwelling deep within the inner sanctum of
your being! By that anointing the HOLY
PRIESTHOOD WITHIN YOU IS DESIGNATED, APPOINTED, ORDAINED, CONSECRATED, AND EMPOWERED
TO EXPRESS GOD IN THE EARTH! That is the mystery.
The
only “mixture” acceptable to God is the mingling of His Spirit with our spirit! The holy anointing cannot be connected with
man or man’s works. In Babylon men plan, devise, and scheme ways to
accomplish a work for God and then ask God to bless and anoint their plans and
efforts. But this holy oil of God’s
anointing cannot be poured upon man’s flesh!
It is a holy oil and can only
be poured upon that which is holy. It is not given to add something to man
after the flesh to improve or empower him, but on the ground that that man is
entirely set aside and His work is God’s work in the spirit and by the
spirit. It is not given to bless or to quicken or to increase or to glorify or to
sanctify or to make holy the actions or works of men after the flesh — out of
the natural mind. God will not, cannot,
and does not ANOINT FLESH! It is so easy
to miss this point! Millions of people
are zealous toward God, as was Saul of Tarsus in the Jew’s religion before he
encountered the Christ, serving God outwardly in their own soulish excitement
and fleshly strength in a very zealous manner.
Most of the Lord’s people fail to understand that zealously serving God
after the traditions and commandments of religious systems is wholly unrelated to the anointing. Feverish religious activity does not indicate one iota the
call of God or the condition of a person’s spiritual life. All that is not of the Spirit IS OF THE
FLESH!
I
can tell you of a truth that the vast majority of the “power” in the modern
“revival meeting” or “crusade” is nothing at all but soul power — flesh! Have you not noticed yourself that in many
revival meetings and church services a kind of “atmosphere” is first created to
make the people feel warm and excited? A
chorus is repeated again and again to warm up the audience. “Peppy” music is most often employed to accomplish this. The people are urged to “get into the spirit” of the
meeting. Some stirring testimonies are
given. Special music is sung. When the atmosphere is thoroughly heated up, the preacher will
then stand up and preach. He has various
strategies ready to stimulate and maneuver the people. If he does his job skillfully he can
anticipate a large “altar call.” These
are methods and tactics, but they are not the power of the Holy Spirit! Many preachers today think they have power;
but they are merely employing psychological soul
power to influence people.
Spiritual
development comes from the spiritual man’s partaking of spiritual life and
truth and thereby growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ. The outer man, the flesh man may
well enjoy a peppy chorus, a rousing choir piece, or a humorous sermon. The flesh man may well enjoy the church
socials, the outings, the programs, and the froth that so often accompany the
activities in Babylon. The flesh man may well enjoy sentimentalism
and sensationalism, the excitement of great numbers of people, and great
appeals that bring tears to the eyes.
The flesh man may go so far as to enjoy an interesting message from the
Bible, as long as there is no attack on him.
BUT NONE OF THOSE THINGS CONTRIBUTE ONE BIT TO THE SPIRITUAL MAN! There may be nothing wrong with any of those
things in their place, but God will not pour His holy anointing oil upon them
because He righteously hates mixture!
How
we praise God today for that holy priesthood which HE is preparing in the
earth, whom HE is teaching His precepts and His ways; purging, processing,
refining, perfecting, strengthening, enabling, and anointing to exhibit the
precious effects of His grace and glory.
May all who read these lines experience the full working and power of
this anointing! Amen!
To
be continued… J. PRESTON EBY