We saw this in the story of Cain who offered the fruit of the ground, which had been cursed by God, instead of a lamb as God had commanded, then killing Abel who had obeyed God. Again, we saw this as the Hebrews, who had just been miraculously rescued from Egypt, quickly over-ruled God's command to keep the feasts of Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and Pentecost, by making a Golden Calf to worship and appointing their own 'feast day' in Exodus 23.
In Revelation 13, we once again see this evil spirit at work as the 2nd Beast who appears as a lamb with two horns and is later called the False Prophet. Here we are given a clue how to recognize this false spirit - this lamb has only two horns. The true Lamb of God appeared earlier in Revelation 5 as "a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth." The false lamb will use an evil spirit to accomplish Satan's plan, but the true Lamb will use the Holy Spirit to accomplish God's plan. The true Church will always allow the Holy Spirit to move in it's midst. The false will always try to control the Holy Spirit, limiting His work in our day, saying "those gifts were only for the past", etc. But, God is the same today as He ever was and His Holy Spirit is too!
While Mystery Babylon has appeared many times throughout history, her final portrait is revealed to John as a harlot, decked out in royal colors (1 Peter 2:4), but riding on the Beast of Revelation 13. She is a tool of Satan to deceive the world with her fornication. She is a persecutor of all those who love the truth of God's word and so cannot be deceived by her. Like Joseph of old, who fled Potiphar's wife rather than embrace to her seduction, she will ultimately persecute all those who do not submit to her. And so John sees her with a golden cup saying "she is drunk with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus."
As the false church she wears the trappings of religion but the redemption she offers always has a price - some payment. She preaches more about tithes and offerings than she does about communion with God and obedience to His laws. The spirit that rules her says, "The church is big business" and her success is measured by its 'bigness'. - big buildings, big influence, big flock, big programs, etc. Those who are deceived by her never seem to realize that their big structures make them all the easier to control. In America, this spirit led people to give up their small community schools, which they controlled, in favor of 'big' combined and centralized schools, but in the process, they lost control of the schools. As a result American education has gone downhill and foreign philosophies have replaced Biblical foundations. Bigness is not always better!
In part three, we will look at the Harlot's cooperation with the beast she rides.
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