When we consider the world today we would all agree that things don’t look good. People are still warring with each other, famines still exist, earthquakes are still killing people and no one seems to fear God.

And yet, compared to what things will be like during the last half of the Great tribulation this world is experiencing a cake walk. We’ve spent the last few weeks studying the Scriptures concerning the second coming of Christ as we’ve considered the times leading up to the physical return of our Lord: the rapture of the Church, the covenant the anti-christ makes with Israel, the beginning of the seven year period Daniel spoke of, together with anti-christ’s broken covenant with Israel and the abomination of desolation.

Last week in Revelation 6 we saw the first seven of twenty one judgments from God on the earth. But what we also saw was the amazing grace and mercy of God being shed abroad throughout the world as, even in the midst of great judgment and tribulation, our Lord is sending a variety of witnesses to warn the earth as well as give the earth hope which is found in Christ alone.

We saw how God will give the earth two very special witnesses who proclaim the truth of not only who the anti-christ is, but also who the real Christ is and the salvation He offers. These two witnesses would actually be sharing the gospel for almost the entire second half of the great tribulation.

We also saw how our Lord sent three angels to proclaim to the earth the everlasting gospel and to warn everyone in the earth not to take the mark of the beast which would seal them for eternal damnation.

And then of course, the 144,000 Jewish witnesses whom the Lord seals and sends out to proclaim the truth of the gospel and who also are allowed to bear witness for most of the last part of the great tribulation. And so, the last three and a half years are not only tremendous judgments on the earth from God, but some of the most spectacular evangelism this world has ever known, as the Lord provides the witnesses.

Of course, during this time there will be many people who come to faith in Christ and many of these will give their lives as martyrs. In fact, it is during the first 7 seal judgments that we see this.

REV 6:9 "When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.
10 They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?"
11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed."

The last of the first seven seal judgments open the door to the next seven judgments from God which is what we ended with last week. These will be terrible times for the inhabitants of the earth, but they are all meant to turn people away from themselves and seek the living God who not only brings these judgments, but is also simultaneously offering salvation to all who would repent of their sin as they turn to Christ, and not take the mark of the beast.

The next seven judgments are referred to as the seven trumpet judgments. But before we move to these judgments we need to touch on another player in this great scheme where mankind comes against the living God.

We saw two players last week: the anti-christ and the false prophet. These two work together as the anti-christ gave power to the false prophet to promote the anti-christ with miracles and signs as he encouraged everyone in the world to worship the anti-christ.

And so, in these two people we have both political and economic power figures who rule the world, but we also have in them a spiritual side which entices mankind to follow them as one would follow a Messiah. This is why the designation, anti-christ, or anti-messiah.

As we noted a couple of weeks back the term "anti" means not only against, but also, in place of. And so, the anti-christ, though certainly against the one true Christ, will be viewed by most of the world as the one who is in place of Jesus Christ and is accepted as the true savior of the world.

But, as religious as this anti-christ and false prophet may appear to be, they will still need a mechanism to promote their religious agenda. And this mechanism will be the false religious system through a false church. Remember, every true believer prior to the seven year tribulation, will be raptured out of the world to meet Christ and so the true church will be taken to be with the Lord.

But, this doesn’t mean that "a" church doesn’t remain in the world. There will still be church buildings and in many cases entire congregations which will be in tact because these churches will have been those who had rejected the true gospel of Christ and were and continue to be part of the great apostasy or falling away from the truth.

It will be a church which will not promote Christ Jesus but will promote itself and mankind as the end-all. The gospel of Jesus Christ will not be central, but the glorification of man will be. Paul warns the Thessalonians of this very thing.

2TH 2:1 "Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers,
2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come.
3 Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the [apostasy] occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction."

This of course would be fully revealed at the end of the first three and a half years of the tribulation. But, it doesn’t mean that the process won’t start before that time. In fact, this is why Jesus Christ and the apostles spent so much time warning the church of false teachers and prophets who would come in with sheep’s clothing to undermine the very foundation of the Church, who is Jesus Christ Himself.

We see this process at work even in our day. There are many people and groups who name the name of Christ and yet are false teachers. How many of the cults name the name of Christ? Mormonism, Jehovah’s witnesses, Unity, Christian Science, and even many of the eastern religions.

But simply naming the name of Christ makes no one a Christian any more than you or I trying to convince people that we’re potatoes makes us part of a particular food group. And yet, there is a movement in the world today which is trying to unify all religious groups under the name of Jesus Christ while, in practice, denying the only true gospel.

This movement has been around a long time and has gained tremendous momentum in the last 10-20 years. It’s known as the ecumenical movement. The word ecumenical simply means universal. And the objective is to take away any barriers, at any cost, to unite all religious systems universally.

This is why many Protestant groups are now uniting, for example, with the Roman Catholic Church and even many other religious institutions which would be considered cults. This is why the Robert Schullers of the world can a preach a gospel of self-esteem rather than a gospel which says to die to self as we embrace a Savior who forgives us of the penalty of sin.

This is why Mormons are invited to be a part of Promise Keepers and are then encouraged, by the leadership in Promise Keepers, to go back to their own churches to promote the unity of men rather than a true gospel found only in Christ.

This is why Pope John Paul II "in November of 1986 in Assisi Italy called a convocation of the leaders of 12 religious groups to pray to their gods for peace. One of those was the Dalai Lama who is considered to be a god himself. The show was stolen by an American Indian chief who danced and [screamed] to his god." (Dr. David Reagan, Lamb and Lion Ministries)

You see, the issue with this ecumenical movement isn’t, are we going to follow the only truth which leads to salvation in Christ, but how do we get everyone to be unified and get along in a peaceful environment? I don’t know anyone who is against peace and unity, but Jesus made it very clear that unity without truth is no unity at all.

Pilate once confronted the Savior, as he stood before him to be judged for crimes He never committed, "You are a king, then!" Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." "What is truth?", Pilate answered. (JOH 18:37,38)

It seems today that the truth is what you want it to be and that goes for many in the "Church" as well as they desire to embrace anything but truth while calling it the truth. There is only one truth when it comes to salvation and that’s the truth that there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. That is Jesus Christ whom we must embrace by faith alone.

And yet, one of the largest of religious organizations, the Roman Catholic Church, which names the name of Christ, clearly states in its Declarations of the council of Trent at its sixth session regarding the canons concerning justification: "If anyone says that justifying faith is nothing else than confidence in divine mercy, which remits sins for Christ's sake, or that it is this confidence alone that justifies us, LET HIM BE ANATHEMA" (Canons Concerning Justification, Canon 12).

They’re saying, that if you believe on Christ alone for your justification before God, which alone remits all sin, then you are considered to be anathema and eternally lost. And yet, it was the apostle Paul who put it into perspective concerning this salvation.

GAL 1:8 "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned [anathema]!
9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned [anathema]!"

Let me just say up front that this has nothing to do with picking on people of different faiths. It has everything to do with promoting the only truth which saves unto eternal life. We are to love all people with the truth. Because if there is only one truth, according to God’s word, then all others will condemn men to a Christless eternity.

But this brings up the issue of who this third character is, along with the antichrist and false prophet, as it relates to the last days before Christ’s return, because, as I said earlier, there will be a one world government ruled by the anti-christ and the false prophet, but there will also be a needed religious system which will bring everyone under the same banner, while maintaining its sense of religiosity. Let’s look at this third character. Turn with me to Revelation 17.

REV 17:1 "One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.
2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries."
3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.
4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.
5 This title was written on her forehead: MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished.
7 Then the angel said to me: "Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns."

REV 17:9 "This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits.
10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while."

We’re going to concern ourselves with the 7 hills this morning, because this begins to identify where this woman, this mother of prostitutes, resides. But, we’re also given a clue from the name of this city which is referred to as Mystery Babylon.

We’re also given more information about this woman in REV 17:18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth."

As we mentioned earlier this woman is riding the beast, which means that she piggy-backs the power and authority of the beast, who is the anti-christ. And since this is a mutual agreement the woman is used by the beast to take control of the religious aspect of his rule and reign over the world.

So, to quickly recap. This woman is identified as one who is a great prostitute, who sits on many waters.
2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth...

This woman is dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls... She has a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. This woman is drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. This would suggest that though she is a religious figure under the control of the beast she will not tolerate true believers in Christ.

Let’s start with what we’ve got. One of the first things we notice is that Jesus Christ identifies the location of the power base of this woman as residing in a city that rests on 7 hills and she reigns over the kings of the earth.

Notice it is a city, not a country she resides in, and so it narrows the search dramatically. Babylon is mentioned but we know it can’t be ancient Babylon because ancient Babylon is not located on 7 hills. There are a few other cities in the world which are built on 7 hills but none of those fulfill the other criteria set before us here in Revelation.

The name Babylon was a name commonly used for one particular city during the time of the apostles. In fact, Peter addresses this name as the place from which he was writing. At the end of his first letter he gives a final greeting to all the saints.

1PE 5:12 "With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.
13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark.
14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ."

The "she" who is in Babylon is commonly referred to as the Church. What Peter is doing here is identifying the Church who resides in a particular city who is sending her greetings to the rest of the saints scattered around the world. But what city is Peter referring to?

Most historians and commentators know this to be a name which was given to Rome. In fact, "Catholic apologist Karl Keating confirms that Rome was known as Babylon and cites this passage in 1Peter." (Dave Hunt)

Also, the Catholic Encyclopedia states, "It is within the city of Rome, called the city of seven hills, that the entire area of Vatican State proper is now confined."

The evidence points to Rome as the city of the seven hills mentioned in Revelation. But the woman in this city is referred to as a whore or prostitute. There are only two cities in the Bible which can be identified with this description. One is Jerusalem. Jerusalem is indicted by the prophets on numerous occasions for committing spiritual adultery as they went after other gods.

In referring to Jerusalem the prophet Isaiah says in ISA 1:21 "See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her - but now murderers!"

Jerusalem certainly whored after other gods and turned her back on the Lord, but Jerusalem is not built on 7 hills. There is only one other city which meets this description and that is Rome. "Vatican City, which is located in Rome, claims to have been the worldwide headquarters of Christianity since its beginning. Her pope claims to be the Vicar (or head) of Christ (on earth) and his church the true Church and bride of Christ." (Dave Hunt)

Many don’t realize that the Roman Catholic church has always taught that unless you belong to her you do not belong to the true church and you will be lost forever. This is a doctrine they teach which in the Latin is Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus. Those Latin words mean, outside the church there is no salvation.

Not outside of Christ, but outside the church there is no salvation. Pope Innocent III at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 stated very clearly, "There is but one universal church of the faithful, outside of which no one at all is saved."

Pope Boniface VIII, delivering the Bull, Unam Sanctam in 1302, said, "We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff."

This has not changed today. The Roman Catholic Church still holds to all of the statements which these former Popes have "infallibly" stated as being the truth.

Dave Hunt in his book, The Woman Rides the Beast states, "Christ said His kingdom was not of this world, otherwise His servants would fight. The popes have fought with armies and navies in the name of Christ to build a worldwide empire. Vatican II states that even today the Roman Catholic church ceaselessly seeks to bring under its control all mankind and all their goods."

All mankind and all their goods. By the way, Dave gives the exact source which says this. He takes it from Vatican Council II, ed. by Peter Flannery, (Costello Publishing, 1988) volume 1, revised edition, pages 364-65.

If you look at the history of Rome’s alliances you know that the Popes were instrumental in ruling over the kings of the earth. History bears this out, whether it was kings in Europe or England. Many of those kings submitted to Rome.

It’s interesting that John records for us in Revelation the colors of this woman. REV 17:4 "The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls."

Again, Dave Hunt quotes from the Catholic encyclopedia which describes the primary vestments of the clergy in the Roman Catholic church. In describing the cassock we read, "The close fitting, ankle length robe worn by the Catholic clergy as their official garb... The color for bishops and other prelates is purple, for cardinals, scarlet..."

The precious metals and stones which are found in the headgear of many of the clergy, especially the Pope, include the ones mentioned in Revelation. And though the description John gives of the "woman holding a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries." (REV 17:4), could very well be taken symbolically it must not escape our notice that it is the golden cup of the priesthood which is central to the Roman Catholic church.

Again, the "Catholic Encyclopedia calls the golden chalice the most important of the sacred vessels." (Dave Hunt)

But Rome’s wealth often comes on the backs of those who would pay for their salvation, literally. This practice is known as indulgences and has been around for centuries. The practice is basically paying money to the Church so that she will mediate on your behalf for the souls of loved ones in Purgatory.

In fact, even today, if you want a Mass said on behalf of a loved one there is a cost involved. Someone in our family had a Mass said on behalf of a deceased relative recently and it cost her $25. You multiply that by millions of people who are faithful to pay for masses for their loved ones and you can see how this would keep people in bondage into believing that somehow you can buy God’s grace and salvation.

If this isn’t an abomination which has filled up her cup, I don’t know what is.

REV 17:6 "I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished."

One of the worst periods in history, where in the name of Christ people were put to death for not following the Roman Catholic church, are the inquisitions which were orchestrated by Rome and the popes.

The leading 19th century Catholic professor of church history wrote this in 1869: "The view of the church had been...[that] every departure from the teaching of the church... must be punished with death and the most cruel of deaths, by fire... Both the initiation and carrying out of this must be ascribed to the popes alone... who compelled the bishops and priests to condemn heretics to torture, confiscation of their goods, imprisonment and death..." Dave Hunt).

Hundreds of thousands suffered death at the hands of those who represent Christ, the same Christ who told us that we are to love our enemies. This practice of murdering those who opposed Rome will be reinstated as an official position during the last three and a half years of the great tribulation.

But it will not be limited to the church in Rome because all religions will be willing accomplices in rejecting the truth as they worship the beast, Rome and the harlot. This will be a revised form of emperor worship with the antichrist as the Emperor.

But what do we do with this information today? I mean it could appear that we’re simply trying to vilify a religious institution and in the process we’re only placing a wedge deeper into the possibility of bringing unity between them, other religions and the evangelical world.

But, remember, this is not about driving a wedge between two groups with the one true gospel found in Christ. Rome has always taught a gospel based on good works to attain salvation. And so, for men like Chuck Colson, Bill Bright, Dr. James Dobson, Billy Graham and others to publicly embrace Rome as an equal partner in the deliverance of the gospel of Jesus Christ only verifies what Scripture says would happen in the last days with deception abounding.

Does this mean we despise the Roman Catholics or any other group who would not preach the true gospel? If I may borrow a phrase from Paul, "may it never be!" As a former Roman Catholic I could not imagine abandoning them when we have the truth.

But unless we have the compassion for such people we will never bring them this truth. If we resign ourselves that what they believe is sufficient for their salvation we will never reach out to them with the only gospel that saves.

Uniting with them is not the answer. Nor will it be during the Great tribulation when our Lord says in REV 18:4 "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues;
5 for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes."

The battle is for the souls of people. The anti-christ, the false prophet and the whore are all part of the plan to come against the one true Christ during those dark days of the great tribulation, but the spirit of anti-christ, the false prophet and the whore exist today and many are dying in their sins as a result of it.

May we love the world with the truth. And may we show them that despite their religious affiliation, which is contrary to the word of God, there is still a God in heaven who has commissioned us with the greatest news this world has ever known and this world needs to hear it. "I am the way, Jesus says, and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by Me."

Our unity comes from being united in the Spirit by placing our faith in Christ alone for salvation. Let's not be deceived with the "wisdom" of man or the attempts man makes to bring unity based on anything but the truth of God's Word and the gospel of Jesus Christ.