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Particulars
of Christianity:
314
End Times Prophecy (Eschatology)
Prophetic
Symbols: The Great Prostitute (Part 2)
Prophetic
Symbols: The Great Prostitute (Part 1)
Prophetic Symbols: The Great
Prostitute (Part 2)
Prophetic Symbols: The Great
Prostitute (Part 3)
Prophetic Symbols: The Great
Prostitute (Part 4)
Prophetic Symbols: The Great
Prostitute (Part 5)
Prophetic Symbols: The Great
Prostitute (Part 6)
Prophetic Symbols: The Great
Prostitute (Part 7)
Articles 7-12
Articles 13-18
Articles 19-25
Articles 26-29
(Points No. 1-5 described in previous article.)
6. They practice sorcery, astrology, magic. (Related
to No. 6 above)
In Revelation 18:23 we saw that Mystery Babylon was accredited
with deceiving the nations through her sorceries. Previously
we have just seen how Nebuchadnezzar understood that the Chaldeans
might try to deceive him for their own benefit. But, we have
also seen from Daniel that these men are intimately involved
in sorcery, astrology, magic arts, secret mysteries, and secret
knowledge. This will become more apparent later when we look
at the meanings of the words that are used to describe these
men. For now we see that this is yet another correlation between
the people who were known in the Book of Daniel as Chaldeans
and the woman of Revelation 17 and 18.
7. The Chaldeans held secret knowledge and were able to
reveal hidden mysteries. (Related to No. 7 above)
The first title that is given to the woman in Revelation 17:5
is "Mystery." While we are in Daniel it is necessary to note
that the Chaldeans were known as those who understood secret
things, and who could reveal mysteries. The Chaldeans are
sought after for their secret knowledge no less than 3 times
in the Book of Daniel (Daniel 2:2, Daniel 4:6, Daniel 5:7).
Of these instances Daniel 2 provides for us the most in depth
look at these men and their involvement in secret knowledge.
From Daniel 2 we can conclude the following regarding the
Chaldeans and their religious teaching (all of which will
become important later when we cover mystery cults in greater
detail):
1. They believed in a plurality of gods.
2. They believed that the gods did not dwell in flesh.
Daniel 2:11 And it is a rare thing that the king requireth,
and there is none other that can shew it before the king,
except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
3. They believed in a hierarchy of gods.
4. They believed that higher gods could reveal deeper
truths and hidden mysteries. The greater the god that the
wise men served, the greater the secret knowledge that their
god could reveal to them.
5. They believed that man could ascend to divinity
through the acquisition of secret knowledge from his god.
Daniel 2:46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon
his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should
offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. 47 The king
answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your
God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer
of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. 48
Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many
great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of
Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men
of Babylon.
From the above list we can see that the religion of the Chaldeans
was steeped in secret knowledge and mystery. As we said we
will come back to these matters a little later on when we
take a more in depth look at mystery religions. What we will
find is another amazing correspondence between these wise
men of Babylon and the woman of Revelation 17 and 18.
8. The Chaldeans are Babylonians.
The term "Chaldeans" is derived from the word "Chaldea," which
is a specific geographic area on the lower Euphrates and Tigris
rivers, at the very heart of Babylon. From this we see that
these wise men were so associated with Babylon by their trade,
that their very name, the Chaldeans, is really a reference
to their Babylonian heritage. This then is an additional correlation
between these men and the woman whom Revelation 17 titles
as "Babylon the Great."
From the above list we can see that the Chaldeans, as they
were known in Daniel's time, fit perfectly with the description
of the harlot in Revelation 17 and 18. Both the harlot and
the Chaldeans are associated with Babylon and Mystery, and
are politically powerful, holding sway over kings and nations.
They exist in multiple empires of the empire system and seek
to destroy God's people. They are involved in idol worship
and spiritual harlotry and even employ the legal system of
an empire to institute these things. And lastly they practice
sorcery and deception.
So, the Chaldeans of Babylon and Media-Persia seem perhaps
to be a good candidate for the woman of Revelation 17 and
18. But in Daniel we were only able to see these men fulfilling
these criteria in the Babylonian and Media-Persian empires.
To see if these magicians and sorcerers really meet the requirements
we would want to find evidence that they existed in the other
empires of the seven-headed beast as well. Thankfully, we
have such evidence in the Bible and in reference books.
Remember that Revelation 17:3 and 7 describe the woman riding
or sitting on the succession of seven empires that is represented
by the seven-headed beast. This implies that the entity represented
by the woman has been around during, benefiting from, and
perhaps even directing the activities of each of the seven
empires. We have already seen that the astrologers, magicians,
wise men, soothsayers, and sorcerers of Babylon performed
these very functions in Daniel during both the Babylonian
and Media-Persian kingdoms. But we don't just have evidence
of them in Babylon and Media-Persia and Daniel is not the
only book of the Bible to mention this same group of people
doing the same things throughout the empires of the seven-headed
beast.
As we examine what it means for the woman to ride the beast
as Revelation 17:3 and 7 describe and as we seek to discover
whether or not these devotees to the mystery cults, such as
the Chaldeans, fit the model we must recall who the empires
of the seven-headed beast are. We identified the first as
Egypt. The second we said was Assyria. The third, which we
have just covered was Babylon, which was followed by the fourth
Media-Persia. The fifth was Greece and the sixth was Rome.
We cannot yet identify the seventh empire since it will not
arise until the final 3 1/2 years of history, but we will
cover the relationship of Mystery Babylon to this empire,
the empire of the False Prophet a little later on.
So, do we find the same group of people, who became known
as the Chaldeans in each of these other empires?
Well we know that they were in Egypt, the first head. Genesis
41 records the story of how Joseph comes to prominence in
Pharaoh's house. In this chapter Pharoah has a dream, which
troubles him. And just like Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar,
the kings of Babylon, Pharaoh calls for the magicians and
wise men to interpret his dream. In fact many of the details
of this story parallel those of Daniel 2. The magicians and
wise men cannot interpret the dream. The dream is about the
future. Because Joseph was shown the meaning of the dream
by God, Joseph is declared to be the wisest man in the kingdom
and given a position of rule over all the house of Pharaoh.
He was subordinate in Egypt only to Pharaoh himself. Indeed,
Daniel's saga bears much resemblance to that of Joseph contained
here in Genesis 41 right down to the Pharaoh's reaction to
Joseph's revealing the dream and the presence of the magicians
and wise men of Egypt.
In Exodus, we see that Moses and Aaron were opposed by the
magicians and wise men of Egypt before Pharaoh. These sorcerers
of Egypt were even able to perform signs and wonders in order
to deceive Pharaoh that Moses and Aaron's word was not from
God.
Now that we have seen that these sorcerers existed in Egypt
we must inquire further. Where they also in Assyria, the second
head of the seven-headed succession of empires?
Well, we don't have any accounts of wise men in Assyria as
we did for Egypt and Babylon, but the prophet Nahum has a
lot to say about this empire much of which ties in with our
description of the harlot of Revelation 17 and 18.
Nahum 3:1 Woe to the bloody city! it is all full
of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;...4 Because
of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot,
the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through
her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts. 5
Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I
will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the
nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame. 6 And I
will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile,
and will set thee as a gazingstock. 7 And it shall come to
pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee,
and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence
shall I seek comforters for thee?
Nahum 1:1 starts out by declaring the burden of Nineveh. His
prophecy of Nineveh continues here in chapter 3. His rebuke
here is significant since Nineveh was the capitol city of
the Assyrian empire. And look at all the similar descriptions
Nahum provides for Assyria and Nineveh that are nearly identical
to those found in Revelation 17 and 18. Both are called harlots
(Nahum 3:4, Revelation 17:1, 5, 15, 17). Both deal in witchcraft
(Nahum 3:4) or sorcery (Revelation 18:23). Both are made naked
(Nahum 3:5, Revelation 17:16). Both are associated with lies
and deception (Nahum 3:1, Revelation 18:23). Both are associated
with blood (Nahum 3:1, Revelation 17:6, 18:20, 24). And both
are laid waste as a punishment (Nahum 3:7, Revelation 17:16,
18:19).
Therefore, from Nahum we can see that the sorceries and harlotry
exhibited in Egypt and Babylon were present in Assyria as
well.
So far we have been able to identify Mystery Babylon in the
first three heads Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon. We have also
noted in Daniel that these same wise men, sorcerers, and magicians
were present in the kingdom of Media-Persia, the fourth empire
in the succession of seven. But we have more evidence of their
presence in Media-Persia as well.
The Book of Esther records that the Persian king Artaxerxes
(or Ahasuerus) was, like Pharoah, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar,
and Darius before him, surrounded by magicians and wise men.
Esther 1:13 Then the king said to the wise men,
which knew the times, (for so was the king's manner toward
all that knew law and judgment: 14 And the next unto him
was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena,
and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, which
saw the king's face, and which sat the first in the kingdom;)
15 What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to
law, because she hath not performed the commandment of
the king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains? 16 And Memucan answered
before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen hath
not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes,
and to all the people that are in all the provinces of the
king Ahasuerus.
Not only does Esther inform us that these magicians survived
into the kingdom of Artaxerxes of Persia, it provides us quite
a bit of corroboration to what we have seen these men doing
elsewhere.
First, these men were among the highest in the kingdom and
among the most important of the king's court (Esther 1:1-3,
13-14). They were involved in politics and had much influence
over legal matters (Esther 1:13, 8, 15-16). Just like in Daniel,
we see that these men were entrusted to uphold the law and
advise the king on punishment. But we also see that these
men were said to "know the times." This phrase, which we saw
appear in Daniel as well, is used to refer to these men's
secret knowledge of the future kingdoms that would rule over
the earth and the times during which they would hold dominion.
Additionally, later on in the Book of Esther we see that one
of the chiefs of these men named Haman gets king Artaxerxes
to enact a law calling for the destruction of the Jews. Haman's
motive and the approach are very similar to those of the Chaldeans
in Daniel 3 and 6. In both cases the reason that God's people
were persecuted is because they didn't keep the laws of the
king.
Specifically in Esther, Mordecai the Jew would not bow down
to Haman for the same reason that Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego would not bow down in the Book of Daniel. There
is a pattern here that is of much significance as we will
touch on more later in this study. For now we only note the
clear existence of the same group of people doing the same
things in the Media-Persian kingdom as they did in Egypt,
Assyria, and Babylon.
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