The Word This Week

Revelation 17:1...

In the history of the world, more people have gone to hell on the great broad road of religion than any other way.

It is the popular way. It is the way mankind has always been comforted by. It is the way of filled churches and overflowing meeting halls and conference centers. It is the way of man comforting himself he is doing what it takes to please God and having a bettor’s chance of making it into heaven for eternal life.

Far more people have binged themselves on this road than anything atheism or agnosticism have provided. The great majority in every culture in world history has acknowledged the existence of the supernatural, and atheism/agnosticism is but an arrogant attempt to escape any sort of judgment the conscience has screamed about in their hearts they seek escape from.

In Chapter 17, we see heaven’s perspective of all the religions of the world. They have all been man’s invention, and every last one of them – including those forms which refer to themselves as ‘Christians’ – are rejected by God. In fact, God refers to man’s efforts to please God as harlotry. In God’s eyes, it is idolatry.

God had warned the Jews, (His chosen people,) about this very thing in the First Commandment.

They had strayed into idolatry prior to Christ. Then Christ came.  Christ was a direct contradiction to religion. Religion then killed Christ. But He was resurrected in the presence of religion as proof God desired relationship – and that religion was in fact harlotry. Idolatry.

It took a few hundred years, but man began to stray back to his old ways, establishing religion with political power it had never accomplished before. And then, having killed Christ previously, religion began to kill Christians.

Religion is the woman who rides the beast.

Pastor Bill