CHRISTIAN FINE ART GALLERY > SIGNS OF THE TIMES SERIES > Come Out of Her, My People (Babylon The Harlot (Revelation 18)
Original Artwork: ONFS, 140cm x 80cm (55″ x31.5″), Acrylic on Canvas
I join the countless other Christians who throughout the ages interpret Babylon The Prostitute as the false ‘Christian’ church who is spiritually adulterous to Jesus. She is a counterfeit version of the Bride of Christ. In my painting, Babylon is dressed as a harlot and has adorned herself with every outward luxury (Revelation 17:4; 18:7-9). Juxtaposed to Babylon The Harlot, in the front of the line on the right side is the modestly dressed Bride of Christ (confer 1 Peter 3:3-6). She symbolizes the full number of those who belong to Jesus and who will come out of Babylon. Individually, each member of the “Bride of Christ” is coming out of Babylon The Harlot.
Artist’s Reflection:
“One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.’
Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. This title was written on her forehead: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus…
After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. With a mighty voice he shouted:
‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.’
Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
‘Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Mix her a double portion from her own cup. Give her as much torture and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never mourn.’ Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.’” (Revelation 17:1-6, 18:1-8)
The visions of John (and the visions of other Biblical End Times prophets such as Daniel, Ezekiel and Zechariah) are highly symbolic and sometimes multi-layered in meaning. These visions can only be properly interpreted through the Bible, its imagery and its own definitions of that imagery, which runs consistent throughout. (For example, horns symbolise kings/authority in the Bible.)
When God speaks in the Bible about the relationship of his people to himself he refers to them, symbolically, as his Bride or wife (see Ephesians 5:22-33 and Isaiah 54:5). This is because he is in a covenant relationship with them. When they are unfaithful to God by worshiping other gods and participating in idolatry, God uses the terms “adultery”, “prostitution”, “fornication”, etc., to describe their unfaithfulness to him. Countless Scriptures in the Bible deal with the subject of spiritual adultery, and it is hardly ever used in reference to the pagan nations but almost exclusively to God’s own people, those who have entered into a covenant relationship with him.
In Revelation 17:9,18, the angel gives the interpretation of Babylon The Harlot, “The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” Elsewhere the angel says of the scarlet beast, upon which the harlot sits, “This calls for a mind of wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits” (Revelation 17:9).
Rome was commonly known in ancient times as being the city on seven hills (and was referred to as such by the writers around that time period). It is significant that the center of the Roman Catholic Church, the Vatican, is located in Rome. According to the Scriptures, this is where Babylon the harlot is seated.
One of the most popular and respected Bible commentaries explains this further (Commentary Critical and Explanatory on The Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset, Brown; 1871.):
[Commentary on Revelation 17:1-2:] “…The whore is the apostate Church…[Babylon the Harlot] cannot be Pagan Rome, but Papal Rome, if a particular seat of error be meant, but I incline to think that the judgment (ch 18:2) and the spiritual fornication (ch. 18:3), though finding their culmination in Rome, are not restricted to it, but comprise the whole apostate Church, Roman, Greek, and even Protestant, so far as it has been seduced from its “first love” (ch 2:4) to Christ, the heavenly Bridegroom, and given its affections to worldly pomps and idols…the invisible [true] Church, is latent in the apostate [false] Church…”
The commentary further explains “Babylon the Harlot” in its entry for Revelation 18:4:
4. Come out of her, my people–quoted from Jeremiah 50:8 51:6, 45. Even in the Romish Church God has a people: but they are in great danger; their only safety is in coming out of her at once. So also in every apostate or world-conforming church there are some of God’s invisible and true Church, who, if they would be safe, must come out. Especially at the eve of God’s judgment on apostate Christendom: as Lot was warned to come out of Sodom just before its destruction, and Israel to come from about the tents of Dathan and Abiram. So the first Christians came out of Jerusalem when the apostate Jewish Church was judged. “State and Church are precious gifts of God. But the State being desecrated to a different end from what God designed it, namely. to govern for, and as under, God, becomes beast-like; the Church apostatizing becomes the harlot…[AUBERLEN]. “The harlot is not Rome alone (though she is pre-eminently so), but every Church that has not Christ’s mind and spirit. False Christendom, divided into very many sects, is truly Babylon, that is, confusion. However, in all Christendom the true Jesus-congregation, the woman clothed with the sun [Revelation 12], lives and is hidden. Corrupt, lifeless Christendom is the harlot, whose great aim is the pleasure of the flesh, and which is governed by the spirit of nature and the world” [HAHN in AUBERLEN]. The first justification of the woman is in her being called out of Babylon the harlot, as the culminating stage of the latter’s sin, when judgment is about to fall: for apostate Christendom, Babylon, is not to be converted, but to be destroyed. Secondly, she has to pass through an ordeal of persecution from the beast, which purifies and prepares her for the transfiguration glory at Christ’s coming (Revelation 20:4 Luke 21:28).
Over the centuries, much of professing Christendom (including other sects aside from Roman Catholicism) has displayed its spiritual whoredom through its lust for riches, power, control, adherents and glory as well as through its violence against God’s people, those who truly follow Jesus (as prophesied in Revelation 17:6; 18:24). It is estimated that between 1540-1580 the Roman Catholic Church killed more than 900,000 Protestants [Jamieson, Fausset, Brown, Commentary note on Revelation 18:24].
However, Revelation says immediately prior to Christ’s return, God will destroy Babylon by a world power. Therefore, God’s serious warning to his Bride, his true church, is to “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues…” (Revelation 18:4).
What is the difference between the true church (the Bride of Christ) and the false church (Babylon, The Harlot)? (Hint: It has nothing to do with church denominations, Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical or otherwise.)
The Bible answers this question for us:
“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” (Romans 10:1-4)
In this passage, the Apostle Paul is talking about the Jews (Israelites) who attempted to obey God’s law in order to be righteous. This is the exact same thing many professing Christians do today. The problem is NOBODY can perfectly keep God’s law; therefore, no one would ever be declared righteous by obeying the law. The fundamental reason why God gave us the law was to expose our true nature–that we are sinful by nature and by choice and fall short of God’s standard of holiness.
“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” (Romans 3:19-20)
Exposing our sinfulness and our inability to live a perfectly righteous life points us to our need for a Savior. This is God’s exact plan.
God sent his Son, Jesus, to live the perfectly sinless life none of us could live. Jesus then took upon himself all of our sins and paid the punishment for them through his death on the cross. He rose again three days later making forgiveness and reconciliation with God possible.
Having exposed our inability to attain perfect righteousness by keeping God’s commands, God sets before us his new, and only way of being made righteous in his sight. And that is through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ’s atoning death for our sins:
“But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified [declared eternally righteous] freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice for atonement, through faith in his blood.” (Romans 3:21-25)
Those who have relinquished their own attempts to be righteous by obeying the law and have, instead, trusted in Jesus alone to save them from their sins enter into a covenant relationship with God. They are the true Bride of Christ, his true church (Revelation 19:6-8; Ephesians 5:31-32). Their desire and aim is to remain wholly devoted to Christ as their Bridegroom. They flee from spiritual adultery, which includes worshiping other gods and idols (the god of “self” is the most prevalent) as well as practicing false ‘christian’ religion and indulging themselves in worldliness.
At the core, Babylon, the counterfeit church, consists of churches and systems which uphold Religion instead Relationship. That is, their practices are mostly or fully based upon human traditions, rituals and an outward adherence to rules instead of a personal relationship with the Living God. Empty religiosity is spiritual adultery because it is a counterfeit to a genuine relationship with God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Roman Catholicism has laid the foundation for their false church upon the teachings of the Catholic church instead of the Word of God and the Pope instead of Jesus Christ (See 1 Peter 1:4-8; Ephesians 2:19-22). Upon this faulty foundation, it has constructed a gigantic false religion and church which emphasizes human traditions and religious rituals instead of a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Those who engage in it practice a false ‘christian’ religion, which is an act of spiritual adultery.
But even Protestants and Evangelicals can create and practice their own false ‘christian’ religions. Any one of us can make a false christian religion out of simply going through evangelical religious motions. Though it may sound surprising to some, we can actually commit spiritual adultery by constructing a works-based (rather than relationship-based) false christian religion through things such as going to church, reading our Bibles, serving in ministries, tithing, etc. Anyone can do these religious acts, but if these practices are the summation of a person’s ‘christianity” instead of a genuine personal relationship with Jesus Christ, then essentially, it is false evangelical religion, even though it has the outward appearance of being true Christianity. No one can tell the difference except for God, who knows our hearts (1 Samuel 16:7). He sees straight through our speech and actions and discerns the motives of our hearts.
While Religiosity instead of genuine Relationship characterizes Babylon, the counterfeit church, the Scriptures (Revelation 17-19) primarily emphasize that Babylon is characterized by worldliness, fleshiness, luxuriousness, unholiness, selfishness, etc. The churches and systems which constitute Babylon often have an appearance of being ‘christian’ and ‘righteous’ on the outside; however, on the inside they are filled with everything sinful, self-indulgent, self-serving and self-glorifying. Surely this hasn’t escaped our notice, for there are plenty of Protestant and Evangelical churches and groups whose worldliness, self-indulgence and self-glorification flourish today.
Discerning Babylon the Harlot isn’t as easy as condemning the Catholic Church categorically as a whole and vindicating the Protestant Church categorically as a whole. Within most physical churches today reside both the true Bride of Christ and Babylon the Harlot. There are members of his Bride in the Catholic church and there are members of Babylon within the Protestant church. Within the different denominations of Christendom God’s true “remnant” Bride is sadly intermixed with Babylon the Harlot.
So what does God say to his people who are not of Babylon but are in Babylonian churches? And what does he say to his people who have backslidden and involved themselves in spiritually adulterous Babylonian practices?
Both the pattern and the teaching of the Scriptures throughout man’s history states that there will always be a faithful “remnant” whom God preserves for himself (Romans 11:1-10). In the End Times, God commands his faithful remnant, his Bride, to come out of Babylon the Harlot, apostate Christendom, whether it be apostate Catholicism, Orthodoxy or Protestantism. It is the only way we can escape sharing in her sins and sharing in her judgment. May we seriously take to heart the warnings God has given us in the Scriptures:
“After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. With a mighty voice he shouted:
‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.’
Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
‘Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Mix her a double portion from her own cup. Give her as much torture and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never mourn.’ Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.’” (Revelation 18:1-8)
“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!’
Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
‘Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both small and great!’
Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 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 the saints.)
Then the angel said to me, ‘Write: “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!”‘ And he added, ‘These are the true words of God.’” (Revelation 19:1-9)
In my painting, a long line of believers is coming out of Babylon the Harlot. They are dressed in the fine linen of the Bride of Christ (Revelation 19:7-8). They refuse to compromise in spiritual adultery of any form.
Babylon, dressed as a harlot, has adorned herself with every outward luxury (Revelation 17:4; 18:7-9). I have depicted her as the Scriptures do in Revelation 17:1-6. Babylon wears a crown that is symbolic of the papal tiara, which symbolizes supreme ecclesiastical authority and power.
Juxtaposed to her, in the front of the line on the right side is the modestly dressed bride of Christ (confer 1 Peter 3:3-6). She symbolizes the full number of those who belong to Jesus and who will come out of Babylon. She is dressed in pure, clean linen (Revelation 19:7-8) and does not fear the violence of the Prostitute, “I saw that the woman [Babylon] was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus” (Revelation 17:6) and, “In her [Babylon] was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth” (Revelation 18:24).
The Bride’s hands are tenderly placed over her heart as a symbol of her love, fidelity and pure devotion to Christ. The position of her hands also symbolize how she guards her heart and her pure love and devotion to Christ from every adulterous thing that seeks to infiltrate her heart.
In strong contrast to the multitude of luxuriant rings the prostitute wears, the Bride of Christ wears one, modest, crystal clear, diamond engagement ring, symbolizing her betrothal to the One who lovingly laid down his life for her (Ephesians 5:25-33). It is a symbol of her devotion to Christ and a constant reminder of her wedding day, that is coming soon. Her engagement ring is a token and promise of what is to come, much like the Holy Spirit is our sure deposit guaranteeing our final inheritance and redemption (Ephesians 1:11-14).
A Note to Catholics:
***I lovingly encourage all Catholics to check out the following website:
Why is the Roman Catholic Church interpreted to be a spiritual harlot? The Bible itself answers that question.
*****In the succeeding paragraphs I speak very directly about this matter because I LOVE Catholics! Out of genuine concern for Catholic readers I confront this issue head-on because it is a matter of your eternal life or your eternal death. I ask you to please bear with me and continue reading. The only other thing I ask is that you resolve in your heart to remain more committed to God than to the Catholic Church. Resolve to find, love and submit to the truth no matter what it is, for God has warned us, “They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:10).*****
The Catholic tradition, as upheld by the Vatican is, sadly, a grave departure from pure, Biblical Christianity. The Catholics have laid a totally different foundation for their church than the foundation which God has laid for his one, true Church–which is Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh (1 Corinthians 3:10-17, Ephesians 2:19-22; John 1:1-5; Revelation 19:11-13).
Though Catholics would argue that the Catholic church is founded upon Jesus and the Bible, if we make a careful and honest examination, we would clearly discover that, in reality, the Popes and the Traditions they have passed down form the real foundation of the Catholic Church.
The very root of this issue is: What is the source of God’s revealed truth?
The Catholic Catechism states, “As a result the [Roman Catholic] Church…does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths upon the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.” (CCC Para 82). If the Papal Traditions were genuinely given by God, then simple logic would lead us to conclude that Scripture and Tradition cannot possibly contradict each other, for, “All your [God’s] words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal” (Psalm 119:160) and “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind…” (Numbers 23:19).
The trouble is, in countless places, Catholic Tradition totally contradicts the written Scriptures. No one can avoid the truth of this fact because the contradictions are far too many and far too blatant to deny. At this extremely critical crossroads, Catholics must then make a choice between which one of these two they accept as God’s genuine source of revealed truth: Catholic Tradition OR the Bible, for God does not lie, and he cannot contradict himself.
*****(I would encourage all Catholics to diligently compare the Catechism with the Scriptures, just as the Bereans tested the apostle Paul’s teachings with the Scriptures. “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). Do not be afraid to read the Bible for yourself, for God gave his Word to all people, not just those in full time ministry, so that we would ALL know the truth and be saved (John 21:31). Did you know that God even commands you to diligently study and know the Bible for yourself so that you may be able to correctly interpret it and correctly use it to discern truth from error? “Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 AMPC) and “…the mature, who by constant use [of the Bible] have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:14). When you read the Bible, ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand God’s Word, for Jesus promises us, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth…He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you” (John 16:13-14).)*****
Although I could point out many contradictions, I would like to give just one example of a contradiction between Catholic Tradition and the Scriptures: the most important subject of Eternal Salvation. How is a person eternally saved from the penalty of their sins, death and hell?
The Catholic would say you must have faith AND works (i.e. partake of the Sacraments, give to the poor, go to confession, etc.) to achieve salvation and gain entrance into heaven. They would quote the Catholic Catechism which says, “The [Roman Catholic] Church affirms that for believers the Sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation.” (CCC Para 1129).
In contrast, the Bible says eternal salvation is an unmerited, free gift, received through “faith” ALONE. (Scripture clearly teaches that good works are the evidence of genuine, saving faith, but they are NOT a way to merit or maintain salvation.)
Examine the following Scriptures from the Bible (which are just a few out of countless other Scriptures) that affirm that we are saved by grace through faith ALONE, which runs in direct contradiction to the Catholic Church’s teaching that we are saved through faith AND works (the Sacraments, as stated in the Catechism).
(I will quote the Amplified version of the Bible, which expounds the meanings of the original Greek and Hebrew texts (the languages in which the Bible was originally written. The Amplified translation includes many brackets for exposition of the Greek text; therefore, please note that the content in brackets is NOT my personal additions.):
“For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God; Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]” (Ephesians 2:8-9 AMP)
“For we hold that a man is justified and made upright by faith independent of and distinctly apart from good deeds (works of the Law). [The observance of the Law has nothing to do with justification.]” (Romans 3:28 AMP)
(Throughout the Amplified Bible, the act of being “justified” (“justification”) is repeatedly defined as, “made righteous, acquitted, and judged acceptable [by God]“ as well as “reckoned righteous and in right standing with God”. Justification is the act of God acquitting somebody from their sins (thereby saving them from the consequences of their sins–death and hell (Romans 6:23, Revelation 20:11-15)). Justification is God putting a person into a permanent state of eternal right standing with Him, thus making the person worthy of heaven (eternal salvation). God justifies the person who places their faith in Christ as the atoning sacrifice for his or her sins. As a side note, clearly the doctrine of Purgatory, another Catholic Tradition which does not exist in the Bible, is also nullified through these Scriptures. This is because Christ’s sacrifice propitiates (FULLY satisfies the wrath of God against) ALL our sins; therefore, the believer bears NO wrath of God now or in the hereafter. See “Message“).
“[All] are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is [provided] in Christ Jesus, Whom God put forward [before the eyes of all] as a mercy seat and propitiation by His blood [the cleansing and life-giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation, to be received] through faith…He justifies and accepts as righteous him who has [true] faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:24-26) AMP)
“Yet we know that a man is justified or reckoned righteous and in right standing with God not by works of the Law, but [only] through faith and [absolute] reliance on and adherence to and trust in Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). [Therefore] even we [ourselves] have believed on Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law [for we cannot be justified by any observance of the ritual of the Law given by Moses], because by keeping legal rituals and by works no human being can ever be justified (declared righteous and put in right standing with God).” (Galatians 2:16 AMP)
“…[Therefore, I do not treat God’s gracious gift as something of minor importance and defeat its very purpose]; I do not set aside and invalidate and frustrate and nullify the grace (unmerited favor) of God. For if justification (righteousness, acquittal from guilt) comes through [observing the ritual of] the Law, then Christ (the Messiah) died groundlessly and to no purpose and in vain. [His death was then wholly superfluous.]” (Galatians 2:21 AMP)
“Now it is evident that no person is justified (declared righteous and brought into right standing with God) through the Law, for the Scripture says, The man in right standing with God [the just, the righteous] shall live by and out of faith and he who through and by faith is declared righteous and in right standing with God shall live.” (Galatians 3:11 AMP)
(Read “Message” to learn how to be reconciled to God and how to be eternally saved from your sins and hell). I also recommend the following website for all Catholics who want to examine Catholicism in light of what the Bible says: Berean Beacon. May God bless you and guide you by his Holy Spirit into his truth, so that you may possess the joy of eternal salvation.
So clearly, Catholic Tradition contradicts the Scriptures. The Papacy is the source of the Traditions, but God is the source of the Scriptures, for the apostle Peter said, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20-21). Likewise, the apostle Paul said to Timothy, “…from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:15-17).
God is the author of the Scriptures. Indeed, the Bible declares that Jesus himself is the Word of God incarnate (John 1:1-5; Revelation 19:11-13). Scripture also declares that Jesus Christ is the Cornerstone upon which God founds his one, true church (Ephesians 2:19-22).
In contrast to this is the Catholic Church, whose faithful adherents accept Catholic Tradition above the Word of God and make it the foundation of their church. The Papacy, whom they have trusted in in the place of God, continue to build a faulty church upon a faulty foundation. In so doing, they become the awful modern fulfilment of Jesus’ words:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. Woe to you, blind guides!” (Matthew 23:13-16)
In the crisis of the contradiction between Catholic Tradition and the Scriptures, this is how God’s true Church (the Bride) and Babylon the Harlot choose sides. The Bride remains faithful to what Christ, her Bridegroom, has said. But Babylon the Harlot forsakes Christ’s words, and in so doing, forsakes him. The Bride’s destiny is eternal salvation (Revelation 21), but Babylon the Harlot’s destiny is eternal destruction (Revelation 17:15-19:3). Thanks and praise be to God that he has warned us before he judges Babylon so that all who have ears to hear it will come out and be saved!
See also:
Don’t Be Afraid to Come Out If You Can See (John the Baptist Artworks Series 2)
John the Baptist Artworks Series
John the Baptist Artworks Series 2