Truth Matters 011322: Babylon and the Scarlet Woman

This is Truth Matters! Daily devotion with Dr. Cheryl Davis. Truth Matters is a ministry of The Truth Project, whose mission is to empower men and women in the Christian faith to teach Biblical truth in the culture and the marketplace of ideas, using the Bible as a sacred trust of truth in sharing the message of Jesus. Learn more about the ministry of The Truth Project at www.projecttruthmatters.com. Today, more about Babylon and the Scarlet Woman.

Hello, I'm Dr. Cheryl Davis, and you are listening to Truth Matters. Let's talk about the universal power of the woman. John, in the last verse of the chapter, identifies the Scarlet Woman, the great city which reigns over the kings of the earth. Rome is the only city that would fit that description in John's day. Rome had a vast political and religious system in Rome, who is clearly who John sees when he sees the Scarlet Woman.

In the east of the river Tiber is the geographical heart of Rome, which is within the walls of the city. The woman who sits on many waters in verse 1, which are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues, which we know in verse 15. She sits above all other peoples on the earth, which was true of Rome in John's day.

While Rome's power today is not as great as it was, the Roman Church is the only religious body in the world that is recognized as its own independent country. What other religion has that kind of political power? We also see the unique position of the woman. The woman's posture in the world is her alliance with the beast.

They have a political-religious partnership, which is unique in the world. The seven heads and the ten horns of the beast suggest political positions that he has established during the tribulation, positions with which the woman is tied through partnership with the beast. We also see the unlimited prosperity of the woman. Verse 4 details the wealth of the religious system in the tribulation, and that is indicated by the golden cup in her hand, and the woman is portrayed as very wealthy. Next, let's look at the unholy passions of the woman.

The cup the woman holds in her hand is filled with abominations and the filthiness of her fornication, which is a reference to spiritual adultery. Her name is Mystery, Babylon the Great, which calls to mind the ancient and pagan roots of her idolatrous religious practices, which we discussed before, which has its origins in Nimrod and his wife, Semiranias. John identifies the woman as Rome and connects the ancient Babylonian mystery religion with the church in Rome. We also know that when Constantine made Christianity the religion of Rome in the fourth century A.D., many of the Babylonian practices were transferred right into the church. Some of these were the queen of heaven, Mary, purgatory, holy water, priestly absolution, which is confession and forgiveness that is imparted by the priest, bells and candles, celibacy of the priesthood, and dedicated versions. All of these were pagan practices of the Babylonian religion that were infused into the church at the time in the fourth century A.D. In verse 6, the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints. He saw Rome kill true believers during the tribulation. All of this really is symbols and imagery of events that we have studied before in previous chapters, which are being shown in different symbols to John in verses 1 through 6. But now let's get into the monster of Babylon as that is verses 7 through 15. The beast that you saw was and is not and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition.

Those who dwell on the earth will marvel whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world when they see the beast that was and is not and yet is. You've been listening to Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis. Truth Matters is a ministry of The Truth Project, a North Carolina-based ministry dedicated to teaching biblical truth and sound theology to those inside and outside of the church. If you'd like to listen to these messages on demand, go to projecttruthmatters.com and click on the podcast link. Dr. Davis is also available to speak to your ministry group or church function. She can be reached by email at CherylDavis at projecttruthmatters.com. Or if you'd like to send a letter, the address is Project Truth Matters, Post Office Box 159, St. Paul's, North Carolina 28384. You can hear Truth Matters weekdays on this radio station at 8 20 a.m. and 5 20 p.m. with a full-length teaching program on Saturday afternoon at 12 30. Until next time, let's all work together to teach a biblical truth to assist, equip, edify, and encourage one another and bring the gospel to the world because truth matters.