Heaven rejoices over the fall of the Great Prostitute

The Great prostitute, also known as Babylon the Great who deceived nations and raised up a system of religion that was in rebellion against God has an ugly end. She would be destroyed and her dominion over the religious and commercial systems of the world will be taken away from her. In the vision John saw, this event was revealed to him. The Great Prostitute with all her glories experienced a two-way fall. The first began as an internal rebellion from the beast and the ten horns and this rebellion destroyed the power of the prostitute in dominating the false religion. The final destruction was orchestrated by heaven and “with such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again” (Revelation 18:21). The fall of the Great Prostitute also known as Babylon was followed by celebration in the throne room of God. This how the downfall of the Great Prostitute was celebrated;

“After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants. And again they shouted: “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.” The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: “Amen, Hallelujah!” (‭‭Revelation‬ ‭19:1‭-‬4). The victory was celebrated with a threefold Hallelujah from the throne room. The Living creatures and the twenty-four elders who stand before God celebrated this victory. Right after the defeat of the Great Prostitute also known as Babylon the Great, the sound of a great multitude like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns” was heard (see Revelation‬ ‭19:6‬)‭. ‬‬

for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”‭‭ (Revelation‬ ‭19:2‬)

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭19:7‭-‬9‬ explains the reason for this great joy: “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.) Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” The wedding of the Lamb takes place after the fall of the Great prostitute. As we established in previous posts, the church is the bride of the Lamb. Thus, the restraint of the marriage between the Lamb and His bride was the presence of the Great Prostitute. No wonder she did all in her power to redirect people from God to false religious systems. No wonder she controlled kingdoms, commerce and all other activities of humanity so that people would put their trust in her and abandon God, their creator and sustainer. No wonder the Great Prostitute indulged in all sorts of immorality to deny the bride of the Lamb her fine linen which is bright and clean. This fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people and the Great Prostitute introduced vile and evil lifestyles to draw as many as possible far away from righteous acts.

God’s holy people, the bride of the Lamb faced so much persecution from the Great Prostitute and her affiliates (the Beasts, the ten horns among many other antichrist systems). The fall of the Great, also known as Babylon the Great, was therefore a cause for celebration in heaven and on earth. Not everyone who calls themselves a believer will get access to the wedding supper of the Lamb. It is only those who are righteous in the sight of God. In Revelation‬ 19:9‬, the angel said to John: “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” As these events are yet to be fulfilled, we still have to contend with the Great Prostitute and her vile lifestyles. However, God has given us the way we should live even in a vile system and these are written in his Holy Book, the Bible. We also have the Holy Spirit to help us walk the ways of God. God still expects us to demonstrate righteous acts even in the midst of evil. We have been admonished to come out from among the vileness of the Great Prostitute and be separate unto God.

“Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” ‭‭(Revelation‬ ‭19:9‬). Let’s ponder over this, “Whose camp do I represent?” Will I get an invitation to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” or “Will I be thrown away with the Great Prostitute into eternal punishment and doom? Watch out and be ye ready!

Mary and her alabaster box: Anointing Jesus

When you understand the full package of our salvation through the finished works of Christ, you will be compelled to live daily to please Jesus Christ. Imagine committing the worse of all sins, one of which you are liable to imprisonment and you plead guilty. Then the judge handling your case declares you quilty worthy of imprisonment. While you were patiently waiting for the judge to declare the terms of your sentence and how long you will spend in jail, the judge says: ‘You are guilty as charged but I have laid your sin on my only son. He will take the sentence on your behalf. You are free, go but do not commit those things that you did again.’ I believe until someone taps you to show that you are not dreaming, you might find it hard to believe. How can this be? Is this possible? This story is very related to what God did for us through the atoning death of His Son Jesus. Before Jesus died for us, some people were set free from bondages and others also received forgiveness from their sins. This post will consider one woman who received so much from the Lord Jesus Christ and out of her heart gave out her precious possession.

A woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. (Matthew 26:7)

Jesus’ ministry reached out to the sinners and those who the religious leaders of his day shunned. He ministered to maniacs, demon possessed, adulterous people, those with leprosy and blood issues (all tagged unclean by the religious leaders) among many others. According to Luke 7:36, Jesus was invited by a Pharisee to a dinner in his house at a town called Bethany. Jesus accepted the invitation and went and reclined at the table as was the practice. The Pharisee represents the self-righteous religious leaders. While Jesus was there, “a woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.” (Luke 7:37‭-‬38). I can imagine the shock on the face of the Pharisee. John’s gospel even gives more details. This woman is Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus (John 11:2). John also gives details of perfume: “Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” (John 12:3).

Mary did not pour any oil, she poured expensive oil and this act caught the attention of Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed Jesus). Judas objected to Mary’s action and said, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” (John 12: 5). Mary’s worship, which was the anointing of Jesus, was worth a year’s wages! Mary understood what it meant to be loved irrespective of your past. She didn’t hold on to her alabaster jar, she poured it on Jesus’ feet. Judas on the other hand, although had been with Jesus all this while, cared not about worshiping Him with his best. In fact, according to the gospel of John, Judas didn’t make that comment because he really cared about the poor. Judas was a thief and as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it (John 12:6). Judas lived with Jesus, travelled with Jesus, ministered with Jesus and even was sent to heal the sick and share the Good News but he was not transformed, and Judas couldn’t lay before the feet of Jesus what matters most to him. Mary encountered Jesus, received a transformation and gave out her most expensive perfume to honour Jesus.

Even the Pharisee who had invited Jesus said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” (Luke 7:39).
“Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” (Luke 7:40‭-‬47).

Before Mary left the house, Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven” and, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Luke 7:48‭, ‬50). Mary left relieved and satisfied. She fulfilled her call to anoint Jesus. Her action was not to gain commendation, according to Jesus, “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” (John 12:7‭-‬8). Remember, after the death of Jesus, by the time the women got to the tomb on the third day to anoint Jesus, He had already resurrected. Imagine if Mary had missed that!

What do you have to pour at the feet of Jesus today? One gospel musician (MOG) said, “we lay our crowns and worship You”. Be ready to lay down that which matters most to you at the feet of Jesus. Your degree, wealth, marriage, job, children etc., should not prevent you from worship. Mary broke her very expensive alabaster jar, and worshipped even when it seemed foolish to the Pharisee and Judas Iscariot. Don’t allow naysayers to disrupt you, worship Christ with what matters most to you (your crown). He deserves it!

The Queen mother of Belshazzar: Light in the darkness

The book of Daniel has two parts: the narration of Daniel’s life in different palaces and an apocalypse of the end time. We don’t find many people mentioned in the book outside the palaces. Daniel served different kings from different kingdoms and Belshazzar was one of them. Belshazzar was not a godly king. Although he might have lived through the era of Nebuchadnezzar or at least heard of the many ways God revealed Himself to Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar did not follow the ways of God. He was pompous and lived to satisfy his own cravings. He cared less about the things of God and He was very proud.  He forgot the lesson that pride took Nebuchadnezzar to the forest. Whether by negligence or forgetfulness, Belshazzar did all the evil that God condemned Nebuchadnezzar for. Belshazzar’s sheer neglect of the righteous living cost him his life. Like many of the kings in Persia and Media, Belshazzar was also a party man. The story about Belshazzar begins with a party: “King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them.” (Daniel 5:1).

The queen, hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet hall. “May the king live forever!” she said. “Don’t be alarmed! Don’t look so pale! (Daniel 5:10)

During his party, the king gave a horrendous request: “While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them.” (Daniel 5:2). What was the king thinking? Did he forget that God humbled Nebuchadnezzar, his predecessor? Was he trying to mock God? Whatever his intentions were, he got more than what he bargained for. After they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem,  the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone (Daniel 5:3‭-‬4). The sheer insolence and disrespect for God cost the king a whole kingdom. For as they continued their party, “suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote.” (Daniel 5:5). Imagine the fear and the anxiety of seeing a finger writing on a wall. The king’s face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking (Daniel 5:6). None of the enchanters, astrologers and diviners of the king could neither read nor explain. The king was terrified. Then, “the queen, hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet hall. “May the king live forever!” she said. “Don’t be alarmed! Don’t look so pale!” (Daniel 5:10).

Now the question is, why was the queen not at the party? Did she avoid the unholy gathering because she feared God? Why would she stay away from what was an affront to God? Now, that is one holy person in the midst of a sinful family. The queen was no doubt a personal friend to the man of God. She said, “There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners. He did this because Daniel, whom the king called Belteshazzar, was found to have a keen mind and knowledge and understanding, and also the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means.” (Daniel 5:11‭-‬12). This nameless queen knew the man of God but her pompous king did not acknowledge the presence of Daniel. When Daniel was called, he gave a vivid account of what happened to Nebuchadnezzar and said, “But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this.” (Daniel 5:22). Belshazzar was doomed and this doom was irrevocable. Daniel 5:30-31 states this, “That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.”

The takeover of the kingdom by the Medes might have resulted in the death of all members of the royal family. The queen might have been slain but she fulfilled righteousness. She knew that godly living was relevant even in a state of poignant idolatry and evil. She knew that value of Godliness. Many women lived in the Palace but none knew what to do. The queen distinguished herself and led the king to the man of God.

As ladies, whenever we find ourselves in compromising situations, we tend to blend in and forget our values. This story teaches us that we can live right even when all around us have chosen the path of evil. The single righteous queen pointed the whole royal family to the truth. You are also the light of the world. Jesus made this profound statement in Matthew 5: 14-15:
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Is your light leading men to the Father? Are you a stumbling block to the Father? You have an assignment and call to fulfill. Don’t turn off your light because others are in darkness. Let your light lead them to the Father!

Do not be yoked with them

A yoke is a wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and then attached to the plow or cart that they are to pull. It will be a difficult task to yoke two different animals. For example, a donkey and a horse cannot be yoked together because they will make the work of pulling the cart that they are attached to difficult. Paul used this example to explain a profound Biblical truth; the message of separation. As believers, though we live and interact with unbelievers, we do not have to be yoked together with them. For example, a believer should not by no means marry an unbeliever. If both were unbelievers and one came to faith, it is a different scenario as compared to a born again Christian marrying an unbeliever. That is unequally yoked!

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 2 Corinthians 6:14)

Paul used the following opposite words to explain this.
1. Righteousness and wickedness- According to Paul, there is no commonality between righteousness (believers) and wickedness (sinful life).
2. Light and darkness- Can there be a fellowship with light (children of God) and darkness (sin/unbelieving hearts)?
The truth is, neither righteousness nor wickedness can dwell in the same abode. Light and darkness do not coexist. It is either you are one or the other. Therefore, if you identify yourself with light, live a life of light. We have been given the world as a field of souls to evangelise but we should make sure not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.

Knowledge of this truth affects our attitudes towards unbelievers. We should first desire their salvation. Every soul is important to God and we should do our best to reach all men with the message of the gospel. However, it is very important to secure the salvation of unbelievers first before we get yoked. If two different animals are pulling the same cart, the unusual balance can cause the cart to topple and even fall. We should be mindful of the people we call our close friends. What advice would you get from them in times of trouble? Would you be led to Christ or to crises? The devil is canvassing for more people into his kingdom. Do not be deceived into an unusual balance. Do not be yoked with them! Come out from among them and be separated! (2 Cor. 6:17).