The Harlot, the Beast and the World System – Week 10 / March 7th

“So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.”
Revelation 17:3

This passage of scriptures requires careful scrutiny because it introduces us to three important end-time concepts the first of which is:

The Harlot
This Harlot or Woman ( V1) is a picture of a global apostate church that has moved away from the purity and holiness demanded of her by scripture. She embraces theological positions that compromise the true faith and she is proud of it because thereby she wins the favor and approval of the world. Not only does she walk step in step with the world system but she paves the way for the arrival of the Beast.

More astonishing still is the fact that she ” cloaks herself” with the appearance of all things Christian but is in fact responsible, through the centuries, for the murder of God’s people! (V6) Today much of the global church, even so called evangelical ones, have moved away from the truth of the Gospel and from the clear biblical teaching on marriage and sexuality. In the name of love these age old biblical norms are being abandoned with glee and those who defend them are being branded as radicals and bigots. The truths of the Gospel are being neglected since preaching on sin, the wrath of God and hell is considered negative and insensitive and may well offend people! Even the notion that Jesus is the only way of salvation is being questioned and subsequently we hear more and more of interfaith meetings where all the gods are validated and prayed to. The “new church” is politically correct and is paving the way for a new global religious system that will be presided over by the Beast.

The true followers of Jesus must take note, strengthen their hearts and recognize that difficult days lie ahead.

The Beast
This Beast is the head of a global system that will bring to the world a tyranny never seen before. The Beast is an individual, like Hitler, that will hate Israel and all things truly Christian. He will be destroyed by Christ at His second coming and therefore his arrival awaits us but his spirit is everywhere in the world today and is preparing the nations of the earth for his coming. He will be likeable, pragmatic, smart, articulate and he will do remarkable things for the global economy and will solve the Middle East conflict. In short he will achieve in a short time what world leaders could not do in decades. The world will adore him, follow him and worship him. He will thus herald the arrival of a new age and world order and vast segments of the visible Church will endorse him and thereby become his “useful idiot.”

Once again the true and faithful followers of Jesus must take note and strengthen their hearts because very difficult days lie ahead.

The World System
John sees the beast having seven heads and ten horns. This is the world system that is anti-God and dominated by the same evil that lurked behind the Tower of Babel and the Empire of Babylon. It will destroy those who sell their souls to it and it seeks to gain control over every individual on the planet. Globalization with its remarkable technology is more than sinful humanity can cope with; we are therefore moving toward a world where we will be monitored every moment of the day, where transponders embedded in our bodies will be our right of passage to medical treatment, banking facilities and travel and where the true Gospel of Jesus will be outlawed. These things are already in place and just waiting to be implemented.

Once again the true and faithful followers of Jesus must take note and strengthen their hearts because very challenging days lie ahead.

This is the teaching of God’s Word and we must know it but not be frightened by it because our Savior will never leave us and greater is He that is within us than he that is in the world.

Malcolm Hedding.

©Malcolm Hedding Ministries

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