02.52. LECTURE No. 52 -- Rev_17:15-18
LECTURE No. 52 -- Revelation 17:15-18
Wise Men Would Be Wiser If They Would Study the Book of Revelation - Signs Which Point to the Soon Fulfillment of These Prophecies Recorded in the Book of Revelation - Ten Kings Will Give Their Power to the Beast or Antichrist and Will Oppose the True Christ - God Will Set Up a Kingdom That Cannot and Will Not Be Destroyed - The Ten Kings Will Destroy All Religion Except the Worship of the Antichrist - What Has Happened - Other Countries Makes Us Feel That These Things Are Very Near at Hand
A Wise Thing to Study This Book SO many people have the idea that the Book of Revelation is a closed Book and that it has no message for us who are living in these days and times, but exactly the opposite is true. The word, “Revelation” means “to reveal, or to make known,” in the sense of unveiling something, thus bringing it into full view. Certainly, the study of this Book is bringing hidden truth to light for all of us, whether we be Jews, Gentiles or Christians.
Certainly, this Book contains truth that we all need to know. No man is so wise but what he would be wiser if he understood the things that are written in this Book, which have been given to us, both for our instruction and our comfort.
Therefore, let no man who has not made a study of these things boast either of his wisdom or place a premium upon his ignorance concerning the important things which are given to us in this last book of the Bible.
I am more and more convinced that the days are fast approaching when the things recorded in this Book will come to pass and will be fulfilled exactly as they are written. The Falling Away
One reason I feel this way is because we seem to be in the midst of the great falling away spoken of by the Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, where he said,
“Let no man deceive you any means: for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.”
I am sure that no thinking person who has understanding of the religious situation throughout the world will deny that men are falling away from the truth and are being turned unto fables The Church Is Lukewarm
Another reason I feel we are nearing the end of the church age is that we seem to have reached the Laodicean period of the church, which is declared to be one of lukewarmness and of material prosperity and of spiritual poverty.
This is confirmed in Revelation 3:15-18, where it says,
“I know thy works, that thou are neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” The Return of the Jews an Important Sign A third reason I believe that the fulfillment of these things is drawing very near is because of the present desperate effort on the part of the Jews to return to their own land while still in unbelief with the purpose of reestablish a new Jewish State in Palestine.
This is causing trouble, and will continue to do so, which fact is confirmed in the Scriptures. This is confirmed in Jeremiah 30:3-7, where it says:
“For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. For thus saith the Lord; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it; it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.”
Dictators Are Arising
Another very convincing reason for believing that we are living in the days just preceding the coming to pass of these things is the rise to power of a small group of dictators, who seem to be succeeding in their purposes against all opposition of conservative forces. That such dictators would arise is well confirmed in the scriptures. In Revelation 17:12, it says, “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.”
Military Preparedness
Still another reason I believe that the events recorded in the Book of Revelation will be fulfilled in the not far distant future is because of the great military preparations which are being made throughout the world for the present conflict. In Jeremiah 25:31-32, it says,
“A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.”
Generally speaking, it is the nations who have rejected Christ already, such as Russia, and Germany, who are attacking other nations and by their own show of strength are forcing other nations into the present conflict.
With such things as these which have been prophesied in the word of God coming to pass in the current events of our day, what man is there among men, be he college professor, or a religious leader, who dare gainsay and deny that the scriptures are not being fulfilled and that the Book of Revelation does not have a message for us in these times?
Indeed, my friends, with all faith and confidence in the Word of God, we are making a study of these things, and in keeping with the promise recorded in Revelation 1:3 we are receiving blessing from the Lord in doing so.
We have progressed in our present study to Revelation 17:15, where our lesson will begin. The Ten Kings In our last lesson which was based upon Revelation 17:12-14, we studied chiefly concerning the ten kings which have received no kingdom as yet, but which will receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
In our lesson study, we learned that these ten kings will make war with the Lamb; that is, against Christ when He comes in His revelation to establish His kingdom.
We know that Christ is coming for this purpose, because in Daniel 7:13-14, Daniel said,
“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
“And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”
God Will Set Up a Kingdom In view of what is stated here, it is significant that in Daniel 2:44, it says,
“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”
What the 10 Kings Will Do! In the meantime, before these things come to pass, some very interesting things are told us about the ten kings, mentioned in Revelation 17:15-18, where it says,
“And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
“For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigned over the kings of the earth.”
These words are rather self-explanatory and should not be difficult of interpretation.
We have already learned from our previous studies that the unchaste woman of this chapter symbolizes all false religion in every age and throughout the world.
True enough, there are many different religious system; throughout the world that are false in their teachings all because they fail to honor and worship God and because they do not teach the truth of God’s Word.
Any one or all of them, therefore, may be symbolized by the unchaste woman because of their spiritual unchastity and because as religious systems, they have been and are still untrue to God.
We have learned also that the beast of this chapter is none other than the coming Antichrist, and that the ten horns are ten kings, who shall have one mind and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
False Religions to Be Destroyed Not only will these ten kings make war against the Christ when He comes to establish His kingdom, but we are told in our lesson text that these ten kings,
“Shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast until the words of God shall be fulfilled.”
In simple language, this means that the time is coming when the political powers of the earth, headed up under the Antichrist, and the ten kings, will become angry at all of the false systems of religion and will destroy them without recourse and without mercy.
We have already seen that for a time, the ecclesiastical powers of the earth will largely control the civil powers, as indicated by the fact that the woman was sitting upon the scarlet-coloured beast, as stated in the third verse of this same chapter, but this will not last long, as indicated in our lesson text. In due course of time, the ten kings, representing the political powers and civil authority of the kingdom of the Antichrist, will rebel against the false, corrupt ecclesiastism of their day and will completely destroy all religion existing upon the earth, except the worship of the Antichrist!
We have already learned in Revelation 13:1-18 that the Antichrist will desire to be worshipped as God, and for this purpose, the false prophet will erect an image of the beast and demand that everyone worship him. The penalty for failing to do so will be death.
It is reasonable, therefore, to believe, that in his effort to obtain the worship of the whole world, the Antichrist, working through the ten kings will seek to destroy all false systems of religion. This will include apostate Christendom; or those in our churches who have denied Christ and who will be left here upon earth after the true church has been resurrected and raptured away to be with Christ. It will include all false cults and systems of idolatry, such as Mohammedism, Confuciousism, Shinto-ism, Hinduism, and all other systems of heathen idolatry. It stands to reason that before men will give attention to the demands of the Antichrist to worship him, all of these false religions, which have been enemies of Christ and foes of the truth as presented in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, must be destroyed!
That, my friends, is exactly what is going to happen, for God hath put it into the hearts of these ten kings “to fulfill His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.”
How Long? When I was a missionary in Japan, Korea, and China, and saw how the people were almost entirely given to idolatry, I used to wonder how long in the plans and purposes of God these idols would stand and be worshipped by those who refuse to hear and to heed the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!
This question is clearly answered in our lesson text. These ancient systems of idolatry will continue in spite of all the missionary work that can be done, until the days of the coming Antichrist and the ten kings, who will give their power unto the beast.
Then when the Antichrist, “exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God showing himself that he is God,” as stated in 2 Thessalonians 2:4.
Then the ten kings will go forth and will exercise their power and authority to destroy all other religions in the world, in their effort to compel men to worship the Antichrist. This Judgment Will Be Deserved This will not be an unjust judgment upon these false systems of religion for in Revelation 17:4-6 of this same chapter it says,
“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 ha full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.”
It is plain to see, therefore, that these false systems of religion will only be receiving their just dues and that their judgment, even though it will be severe, will be justly deserved.
Thus, my friends, we see that the time is coming when God will use an evil system of political power to destroy the evil systems of false religion and that they shall utterly perish from off the earth. We know that in due time, God Himself will judge the Antichrist and the ten kings, but that is a matter of future study.
In the 1th verse of our lesson text says, “And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”
~ end of lecture 52 ~