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MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

In the book of Revelation, John warns believers of a coming threat to Christianity, which He describes as

"MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." - Revelation 17:5

He describes her as "The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth." But what exactly is he warning us of? Rather than looking into church history to parse the institutions, places, and people who may fit this description. Perhaps it is of greater use to reflect on the threat to every church and every Christian regardless of place or time. I was just reading Ed Bahler's blog, and I think he summarized the actual threat that John was speaking of the best in, A Question That Could Change You:

Here’s a question that will, or at least should, penetrate deeply into our hearts:
A number of years ago, Dr. David Ryser had the privilege of teaching at a school of ministry. His students were hungry for God, and he constantly searched for ways to challenge them. One day he shared a short history of Christianity that goes like this:

Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an enterprise.

He wanted his students to appreciate the importance of the last line, so he clarified it by adding, “An enterprise. That’s a business.”

After a few moments Martha, the youngest student in the class, asked a simple question, “A business? But isn’t it supposed to be a body?” “Yes,” Dr. Ryser assured her. She continued,

“But when a body becomes a business, isn’t that a prostitute?”

The room went dead silent. For several seconds no one moved or spoke. They were stunned, afraid to make a sound because the presence of God had flooded into the room, and they knew they were on holy ground. God had taken over the class.

Martha’s question changed his life. For six months, Dr. Ryser thought about her question daily.

“When a body becomes a business, isn’t that a prostitute?”

He knew there was only one honest answer. The answer was “Yes.”

Comment by Eleuteria Bettis on September 6, 2009 at 4:41pm: I also feel that when you are preaching the word of God and are constantly asking for money you are prostituting the word of God. That is my truly believe.

Comment by Stephen Simons on September 6, 2009 at 9:55pm: Amen Eleuteria. If you walk away from any service with the most striking memory being the call for an offering, something is very wrong with the service you received at that church. The focus, dedication, and purpose of every service should always be on providing spiritual support and service, celebrating salvation, and reaching people with the good news of God's answers for their lives -- healing, correction, instruction, and the power of God's love to change lives.

About the money, Jesus told the teachers who would follow Him, 'Remain in that same house, eating and drinking the things they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Don't go from house to house." - Luke 10. Support for ministry should be simply the natural response of people who receive the gospel and desire to give something in return out of the fulness of their hearts and lives. It should never be taught as a duty or compulsion on believers to pay regardless of the quality of service provided or accuracy of the message preached, like the temple tax had been taught and compelled in the days before Christ. Far too much is taught about tithing in the church today based simply on the Old Testament laws for the nation of Israel, completely ignoring Jesus' own corrections of these laws in the New Testament, where he challenges the Old Testament interpretation of the law with statements like "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone." - Matthew 23.

So, Amen. We each have the opportunity in our lives to support ministries that do the work of God not because we feel a sense of duty, but because there are those we hear that cause us a sense of joy and the deep felt desire to make their ministry reach further than it can without our support. We give our money to those who preach the gospel not because we feel compelled, but because we are inspired. It is our decision how to use the time and resources that God gives each one of us. We should never give from guilt or persuasion, but from a passion for the lost and as a way of empowering those we see as doing God's will, it is a faithful choice to invest our worldly possessions in ways that support our own eternal goals and further the accomplishment of God's will on earth as He gives us to see it. I believe the church is and should be a completely free market, we vote with our time by how we choose to spend it and who we choose to spend it on and where we choose to worship, and we vote with our money by what we choose to purchase and consume, and who we choose to invest in and support.

MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

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