The Final Battle: The New Jerusalem Versus The Whore Of Babylon - Part 2

 “This is the law in cases of jealousy, when a wife, though under her husband’s authority, goes astray and defiles herself,  or when the spirit of jealousy comes over a man and he is jealous of his wife. Then he shall set the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall carry out for her all this law.  The man shall be free from iniquity, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.”

Ezekiel 16

The word of the Lord came to me:“Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem:……“‘You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband! All prostitutes receive gifts, but you give gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors.So in your prostitution you are the opposite of others; no one runs after you for your favors. You are the very opposite, for you give payment and none is given to you. “‘Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the Lord!This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you poured out your lust and exposed your naked body in your promiscuity with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because you gave them your children’s blood,therefore I am going to gather all your lovers, with whom you found pleasure, those you loved as well as those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and will strip you in front of them, and they will see you stark naked.I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and who shed blood; I will bring on you the blood vengeance of my wrath and jealous anger.Then I will deliver you into the hands of your lovers, and they will tear down your mounds and destroy your lofty shrines. They will strip you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry and leave you stark naked.They will bring a mob against you, who will stone you and hack you to pieces with their swords.They will burn down your houses and inflict punishment on you in the sight of many women. I will put a stop to your prostitution, and you will no longer pay your lovers.Then my wrath against you will subside and my jealous anger will turn away from you; I will be calm and no longer angry….“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will deal with you as you deserve, because you have despised my oath by breaking the covenant.Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both those who are older than you and those who are younger. I will give them to you as daughters, but not on the basis of my covenant with you.So I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord. Then, when I make atonement for you for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your humiliation, declares the Sovereign Lord.

The Wilderness

The Whore Of Babylon

Rev. 17

Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.

The New Jerusalem

Rev. 12

The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days…When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.

Psalm 91:4

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty… Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

 Hosea 2:14-15

“Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
 

A City Adorned With Precious Stones, Gold And Pearls

The Whore Of Babylon

Rev. 17:3

Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. 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.

The New Jerusalem

Rev. 21:10

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.

Rev. 21:18

The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.

A Queen

The Whore Of Babylon

Rev. 18:6

In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow; 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 who judges her.

Jer.7 

The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen Of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to arouse my anger. But am I the one they are provoking? declares the Lord. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame? Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the crops of your land, and it will burn and not be quenched. 

The New Jerusalem

Rev. 12

 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet
and a crown of twelve stars on her head.

The Woman’s Clothes

The Whore Of Babylon

Rev. 17:3

The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls.

The New Jerusalem

Rev. 19:7

For the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. She was given clothing of fine linen, bright and pure.” For the fine linen she wears is the righteous acts of the saints.

Psalm 45

…at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir. Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention: Forget your people and your father’s house. Let the king be enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord. The city of Tyre will come with a gift, people of wealth will seek your favor. All glorious is the princess within her chamber; her gown is interwoven with gold. In embroidered garments she is led to the king.

The Desolate City

The New Jerusalem: A Desolate City Restored To It’s Former Glory

Isaiah 62

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch…..No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah (my delight is in her), and your land Beulah (married); for the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married….They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted.

Deuteronomy 29:22-28

Your children who follow you in later generations and foreigners who come from distant lands will see the calamities that have fallen on the land and the diseases with which the Lord has afflicted it. The whole land will be a burning waste of salt and sulfur—nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, which the Lord overthrew in fierce anger. All the nations will ask: “Why has the Lord done this to this land? Why this fierce, burning anger?”

The Whore Of Babylon

Rev. 17:15

“The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.

Rev. 18

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…. “When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her.  Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: “‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, you mighty city of Babylon! In one hour your doom has come!’…“Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off.  When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’  They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out: “‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’ “Rejoice over her, you heavens!  Rejoice, you people of God! Rejoice, apostles and prophets! For God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you.”…“With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.

The Wedding Banquet

Isaiah 25

On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wines- the best of meats and the finest of wines.  On this mountain he will destroy the shrouds that enfolds all peoples. the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from the face of the earth.

The New Jerusalem: A Prophet

Proverbs 9

Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars; She has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine; She has also set her table;   She has sent out her servants, and she calls out from the highest point of the city, “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here!” To him who lacks understanding she says, “Come eat my food and drink my wine I have mixed.  “Forsake your folly and live, And proceed in the way of understanding. “He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, And he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself. Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser, Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you. If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, And if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

Rev.3:7

“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut…I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem.’

The Whore Of Babylon: A False Prophet

Proverbs 9

The woman of folly is boisterous, She is naive and knows nothing. She sits at the doorway of her house, On a seat by the high places of the city, Calling to those who pass by, Who are making their paths straight: “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,” And to him who lacks understanding she says, “Stolen water is sweet; And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” But he does not know that the dead are there, That her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

Rev. 3:14

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

Leviticus 18:25

Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants….Everyone who does any of these detestable things—such persons must be cut off from their people.