The great whore HER CHARACTER Revelation 17v4.
"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. "
Attention is now drawn to her public garb through which she presents her public image. In scripture clothing represents character. In Romans 13v14 Paul speaks of "putting on the Lord Jesus Christ." In Colossians 3v8-12 he uses the imagery of clothing to describe true character. There he speaks of "putting off the old man with his deeds, and "putting on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him." In verse 12 he says "put on therefore as the elect of God ....tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering....etc." This book written by the spirit of God uses the same imagery all the way through. What we have here are two main ideas to describe her character.
- The pomp and splendour of her public appearance.
- The poisoned cup of gold which she offers to the world.
Under these two headings we shall understand the character of this woman. In the first of these it is stated that she was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour. The word for "arrayed" (periballo) literally means "to throw all around." She is enrobed in splendour. These colours were used by God to dress his high priests and has become the colours of many modern day religions. The purple speaks of royalty and the scarlet of authority. We know that kings and queens wear purple; we know that judges wear scarlet. The language she uses in chapter 18v7 "I sit a queen" reveals the pompous and arrogant state of her heart. All this is contrary to the garb of the man who was described by Jesus Christ as "the greatest of those born of woman"; his attire was camel's hair and a leather girdle. The attire of Jesus Christ was of the common people and the apostles demanded modesty in dress because they were so dressed. In contrast this woman is gaudy and full of vanity. In addition it says she is decked with gold and precious stones and pearls. She has amassed great wealth. The prophet Jeremiah predicts this in chapter 51 referring to Babylon "thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures." The vast wealth which she has accrued is referred to throughout chapter 18; verse 3 "the abundance of her luxuries;" verse 7 "how much she hath glorified herself and lived luxuriously; verse 17 "in one hour so great riches is come to naught;" verse 19 "that great city wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness." Instead of using her vast resources to alleviate the poor, she became rich through their poverty. As far back as the apostle Peter's day in 2nd Peter chapter 2 he warned of false teachers who would "through covetousness with feigned words make merchandise of you". Beware of all religious organisations which seek you only for your possessions.
She holds in her hand a golden cup, but the cup is full of abominations and filthiness of her treachery to God. She presents her teachings to the world as divine, but in truth her teachings are toxic and harmful to anyone who will listen to them. Again in Jeremiah chapter 51v7 "Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations hath drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad." The strange expression "she hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand" just means that because she has rejected the Lord, and the Lord through her is putting the world to the test. We are all invited to try the spirits to see if they are of God or not. This woman has been spreading satanic doctrines throughout the world. proclaiming it to be a golden cup but indeed it is the source of the now famous world phrase "a poisoned chalice." The meaning of this phrase is the promise of something good, but the reality is toxic and harmful to the human spirit. We may note that the Roman Catholic church, as to it's hierarchy, are divided into bishops and cardinals. The bishops wear purple, the cardinals wear scarlet. In addition the Roman Catholic church is reputedly one of the wealthiest organisations in the world. However this is just one example. Other churches like the orthodox churches of Greece and Russia, the charismatics, the liberal protestants, and many of the cults including a number of evangelical ones all display similar characteristics. In addition there are many world religions with vast numbers of followers like Islam, Buddhism, and a host of near and far eastern religions which manifest similar characteristics. The clear call from Old and New Testaments is "come out of her My people." We should be keenly aware of the harmful doctrines that are being propagated across the world even today and in the end times this will come to a head under the term used by Paul in 2nd Thessalonians 1v3 "let no man deceive you by any means for that day shall not come until there come the apostasy (RV) and the man of sin be revealed." before the man of sin is revealed there first be a mass falling away from the true doctrines of Christ. These two things find their ultimate answer in Revelation chapter 17.
Amazon bookshelf George Neilly
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