Revelation 17:18 (KJV)
And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
My wife and I have this standard joke between us that neither of us can remember well (I am pretty sure I remember better than she does) so it’s not worth arguing over who remembers an event correctly.
My memory may be off slightly but as I remember it, Pastor Scudder preached out of this passage the very first Sunday I ever attended church. I was amazed and, as John did, wondered at what I saw in this chapter. I went to work the next week and told everyone. One of those men was Forest. He was an apprentice on my crew. His dad was our foreman. Forest had been raised Seventh Day Adventist but was engaged to a Catholic girl. He was taking their classes to convert to Catholicism before the wedding. My pastor’s teaching describing Vatican City as the object of Revelation 17 struck a chord. With Forest. He went to the public library and did some personal research and then came back to report to me that he agreed with my pastor. Not long after, he made a profession of faith in Christ. His dad, upset with me, began to pressure me. Nervous, I made a mistake at work that has left me injured and in pain ever since. I was laid up and off work for a month. When I came back Forest was gone. I have never seen him again.
Times have changed in the almost forty years since then. Islam has risen to be a much more visible religion and a greater threat than it seemed to be back then. Catholicism, a religion that unquestionably qualifies as an enemy of simple Christian faith, seems to have faded to a great degree. Many these days would call Islam rather than Catholicism Mystery Babylon. I have my opinion but that is not the issue. The issue is that this monster, this great whore, this Mystery Babylon is only a temporary threat.
I am reminded of Jesus’ words,
Matthew 10:28
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
To my readers:
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Revelation 17:18 (KJV) A Temporary Threat
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