As the end times unfold before our eyes, people and things are speeding up very quickly. The One-World Religion is prophesised in Revelation 17:1-18 as a notorious prostitute who is seated on many waters. Other translations use words like "great prostitute" or "great harlot” in reference to this famous woman who practices sexual immorality. In biblical language, the term harlot or prostitute is used metaphorically to denote a false religion. In fact, the relationship between God and His people (in the Old Testament) or between Christ and His Church (in the New Testament) is likened to a marriage where God (or Jesus) is the Groom while God’s people (or the Church) are/is the bride (Ephesians 5:25-32; Revelation 19:6-9; 2 Corinthians 11:2). The fact that this woman is described as a prostitute denotes her abandonment of God (or Christ), her bride, to engage in adulterous relations with other gods. The waters on which the woman sits refer to the universal, enticing and seductive authority of this false religion over all kinds of peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues; indeed the whole world (Revelation 17:15). In a nutshell, the Great Harlot mentioned in Revelation 17:1-18 is the one-world religion of the end times, which is the religion of the Antichrist.
According to Scriptures, the characteristics of this false religion are evident. World leaders will adopt and promote this religion (Verse 2). There is no doubt that today's ideologies and movements promoting ecumenism and interfaith by world's religious and political leaders are among its hallmarks. The verse’s reference to people being drunk with the wine of her adulteries denotes that people would be deceived by this religion and led to worship the false gods. It is no surprise that the Bible already prophesied that people will abandon the faith and follow false doctrines (1 Timothy 4:1-2). World influential leaders have already made heretical claims and many people have been led to erroneously believe that all religions worship the same God, hence the need to combine and become one faith (i.e. to create the great harlot).
Moreover, this religion is expected to lead people to follow demonic ideologies of the Antichrist, and create a new antichrist lifestyle by promoting immorality and acts that gratify the works of the flesh (see Verse 4). The Antichrist will completely oppose the Bible and declare what is right to be wrong; and what is bad to be good. Some examples of this are evident in today’s ecumenical movements that aim to pave the way or prepare people for that one-world religion. For example, the World Council of Churches, one of the oldest movements, tolerates a range of heretical beliefs, such as approving the ordination of practicing homosexuals and the ordination of women, among other gnostic teachings. It is important to note that all of these are intended to familiarize people with the teachings provided in the one-world religion’s belief system. The fact that the woman has a mystery name on her forehead (brain or memory) could indicate her enigmatic teachings would obscure people's understanding. In fact, in this pluralistic religion, there is no single truth! False teachers will lead people astray and teach them to follow moral principles purer than the Bible and it will be difficult to know the truth. This is why Jesus warned that even the elect would be deceived (Matthew 24:24). However, the religion remains what it is: the great Babylon and the mother of all prostitutes (see Revelation 17:5).
Those who oppose the harlot (Christians preaching Christ and against the dangerous values of the one-world religion and its power source, the Antichrist) will be killed (verse 6). Martyrdom will be especially worse in the mid-point of tribulation, when the Antichrist demands that people worship him. However, this false religion will be short-lived since the Antichrist will strip the great harlot of all her power, destroy it and establish himself as god (Verse 16) and his own image as an object of worship in the Jewish temple (Daniel 9:26, 12:11; Matthew 24:15).
Some wonder if this one-world religion even exists today! In the strictest sense, the one-world religion is not yet fully developed but is in the process of being developed until its climax when the Antichrist rises to power. However, many false religions (harlots) exist today as the precursors of the final false religion, the great harlot, and the mother of all such harlots. The development of this one-world religion is marked by the growth of religious pluralism and interfaith dialogue that promote the idea that all religions are equal, as well as the erroneous teachings that all religions worship God in different ways and that those many ways lead to heaven. These views certainly foreshadow what Scriptures say will be more prevalent in the future when the world unites under one-world religion, led by the false prophet who sources his power from the Antichrist (Revelation 13:1-2).
The current false religious systems and false cultural ideologies are preparing people for the eventual arrival of the one-world religion in the Antichrist leadership. The development of this satanic religion is a cooperation within the global political, socio-economic, and religious system orchestrated by the spirit of the Antichrist. In fact, the Bible says that the spirit of antichrist is already in the world (1 John 4:1-3). Efforts to establish the one-world religion evolved from different ecumenical movements ranging from different interfaith conferences to the formation of ecumenical initiatives such as the World Council of Churches which mobilized members of the Protestant, Anglican and Eastern Orthodox churches and the recent Chrislam foundation initiated by Catholics and Muslims. Under the auspices of the search for global peace and security, religious tolerance, dialogue and fraternity are also backed by the political and social economic system (see for example the UN resolution A/RES/75/200 ) which is the scarlet beast on which the woman sits (Revelation 17:3).
To sum up, it is true that the identity of this false religion and its development have been debated among many Christians. Over time, we see the prophecy come true: the development of an inclusive religion that allows for a pluralistic view of God, which even includes liberal monotheistic groups who see "all religions as one”. It is a non-judgmental, feel-good religion of ecumenism and acceptance of all people and all lifestyles. It consists of a religious system that will eventually unite all people under one man – the Antichrist. There is only one group of people who are rejected from this new global religion – the true followers of Jesus Christ. The latter will remain encouraged to seek the truth, obey God's word, and build a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ by loving God's truth found in the Bible.
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