Luke 21:8
Christian, Be Not Deceived!
CHAPTER SIX
"THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS" AND "THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY"- THEIR VITAL RELATIONSHIP TO THE CORRECT INTERPRETATION OF REVELATION 17.
Mysteries regarding iniquity are mentioned in Rev. 17. There is the name of the Babylonian "whore": "Upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT." Later, the angel said unto John: "I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her" (vs. 5, 7). Thus there are two parties at least involved in "the mystery of iniquity": the woman and also the beast; and obviously a spotlight focused upon the stage would clear up the mystery surrounding both these actors in the gripping drama portrayed in this prophecy.
Two great mysteries are revealed in the Scriptures: (1) "The Mystery of Godliness" (1 Tim. 3:16); (2) "The Mystery of Iniquity" (2 Thess. 2:7). In order to show their vital relationship to the mysteries of Rev. 17, it is necessary to point out the underlying principle governing the understanding of such passages in the book of Revelation. We have shown the connection between Jesus, Jehovah, and the Almighty, in the Revelation; that is, that wherever the designation "The Almighty" is employed, it is intended that automatically God's people will know that it refers to the Almighty power Jesus employs in keeping His covenant in behalf of His people. Similarly, when "the mystery of iniquity" is referred to it is intended that the people of God will automatically consider the bearing it has upon "the mystery of Godliness". The Apocalypse places the contending forces in opposition, and this is done in such a way that when one is under consideration the other will naturally present itself to the thoughtful reader.
The essence of "the mystery of iniquity” is deception: to make wrong look right; to make error appear truth; to make rebellion counterfeit obedience. Jesus declared of Satan: "He . . . abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him ... for he is a liar, and the father of it" (John 8:44).. Lucifer began his rebellion "with mysterious secrecy, and for a time concealed his real purpose under an appearance of reverence for God.... If this prince of angels could attain to his true, exalted position, great good would accrue to the entire host of heaven; for it was his object to secure freedom for all. . . . By disguising himself in a cloak of falsehood, he had gained an advantage. Until fully developed,
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it could not be made appear the evil thing it was; his disaffection would not be seen to be rebellion. Even the loyal angels could not fully discern his character, or see to what his work was leading.... Had he been immediately blotted out of existence, some would have served God from fear rather than from love. a influence of the deceiver would not have been fully destroyed, nor would the spirit of rebellion have been utterly eradicated. For the good of the entire universe through ceaseless ages, he must more fully develop his principles" (PP. 37-42).
"Satan had, at first, concealed his work under a specious profession of loyalty a to God. He claimed to be seeking to promote the honour of God, the stability of His government, and the good of all the inhabitants of Heaven. While instilling discontent into the minds of the angels under him, he had artfully made it appear that he was seeking to remove dissatisfaction. When he urged that changes be made in the order and laws of God's government it was under the pretence that these were necessary in order to preserve harmony in Heaven." (GC 497, 498)
In Eden, Satan brought Eve on to his side through deception and subtlety: "the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety" (2 Cor. 11:3). He has employed guile and deceit down through all ages. When he tempted our Lord in the wilderness, he appeared as "one in the guise of an angel from heaven. He claimed to have a commission from God to declare that Christ's fast was at an end.... Though he appeared as an angel of light, these first words betrayed his character.” (DA 118)
In the closing scenes of the great drama of evil, Satan will work more speciously than ever under the guise of a benefactor while leading the world to its doom. "While appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can en all their maladies, he will bring disease and disaster, until populous cities are reduced to ruin and desolation. . And then the great deceiver will persuade men that those who serve God are causing these evils" (GC. 589, 590).
Satan's "masterpiece of deception" (GC. 561, 2) will be when he, appearing as Christ, will, under this guise and by his deceptions, lead the world to fight against God and His people.
The Lord's servant says: "As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ.... Now the great deceiver will make it appear that Christ has come. In different parts of the earth, Satan will manifest himself among men as a majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the description of the Son of God given by John in the Revelation. (Rev. 1:13-15) The glory that surrounds him is unsurpassed by anything that mortal eyes have yet beheld. The shout of triumph rings out upon the air, `Christ has come ! Christ has come!' The people prostrate themselves in adoration before him while he lifts up his hands and pronounces a blessing upon them. . .His voice is soft and subdued, yet full of melody. In gentle, compassionate tones he presents some of the gracious, heavenly truths which the Saviour uttered; he heals the diseases of the people, and then, in his assumed character of Christ, he claims to have changed the Sabbath to Sunday and commands all to hallow the day which he has blessed. He declares that those who persist in keeping holy the seventh day are blaspheming his name by refusing to listen to his angels sent to them with light and truth" (GC. 624).
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The Revelator emphasizes that it is by deception that the world is led to war against God and seek to slay His people—see Rev. 13:13-17; 16:13, 14; 19:20. John also emphasizes that after the 1000 years, when the wicked are resurrected, the same work of deception continues. He says that Satan "shall go out to deceive the nations . . . to gather them together to battle" against God and His people within the New Jerusalem, which has then come down from heaven (Rev. 20:8). Writing of that time, the Lord's servant says: "Now Satan prepares for a last mighty struggle for the supremacy. . . . Yet, true to his early cunning, he does not acknowledge himself to be Satan. He claims to be the Prince who is the rightful owner of the world, and whose inheritance has been unlawfully wrested from him. He represents himself to his deluded subjects as a redeemer, assuring them that his power has brought them forth from the most cruel tyranny" (GC. 663).
To fully comprehend the meaning of the mysteries mentioned or alluded to in Rev. 17, it is necessary to remember the outworking of "the mystery of iniquity" from its commencement in heaven until it comes to its end after the millennium.
Early in the Apocalypse, attention is directed to those who are deceived into thinking that they are disciples of Christ when they are in reality serving Satan. Christ says: "I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan" (Rev. 2:9). Again, in Rev. 3:9 the Lord mentions this same deception, saying: "Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; Behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee" (Rev. 3:9). (This verse is applied (in EW. 15, GC. 655) by God's servant in connection with the final conflict.)
In Rev. 2:20-24, the Lord employs the symbol of "Jezebel" to portray the apostasy of the Papal power. As indicated in this prophecy, the success which came to the apostate church, was due to the fact that she professed to be "a prophetess"—assuming the garments of the servant of the Lord caused many in the past, in the present, and particularly in the near future, to be deceived by her false teachings. The expression employed in Rev. 2:20: "To teach and to seduce My servants" implies the teaching of error as though it were the truth. It is in this way that the beast has "opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven" (Rev. 13:6). To claim to be representing Christ whilst working contrary to the Bible is to commit blasphemy—especially when making the claim of being the Vicar of the Son of God, and at the same time persecuting the people of God!
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In Heaven, Lucifer "concealed his work under a specious profession of loyalty to God". Satan counterfeits the things of Christ and pretends to be working for Christ while he works against Him. It is to his counterfeiting system of religion that we are directed by the term "Babylon". And it is in Rev. 17:5 that this system is branded as the counterfeiter of the things of Christ. Observe how Babylon's title is written in large capital letters: "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." Why is her title thus written? Because she is the counter of the things of Christ Whose title also is written in the same large capital letters: "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS" (Rev. 19:16).
Because Satan's kingdom is a counterfeit of the Lord's kingdom, the things pertaining to Babylon are described in similar language to those pertaining to the Lord's kingdom centred in Jerusalem–the church. This instance cited above, in which the titles of both the Lord and His blasphemous counterfeiter are written in large capital letters, is but one of many such scattered throughout the Apocalypse, and it is obviously intended that when reading the title of Babylon or anything else by which it is designated, the reader will loathingly turn away from the counterfeiting system unto the Lord; away from Satan and his errors to Christ. It is not the purpose of the Revelator merely to describe the evil system, but to point to it as the opposite of Christ. That this is the basis of the imagery employed in the Revelation is obvious from the declarations concerning God and His people, and the imitating counterparts descriptive of Satan and his Babylonian kingdom. Carefully observe the following facts:
| GOD AND ISRAEL. Rev. 1:4, 5. The Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. | SATAN AND BABYLON. Rev. 12; 13; 16:13, 19. False trinity —dragon, beast, false prophet. |
| Rev. 1:1; 6:2. God commissions His Son, and gives Him authority and power. | Rev. 13:2. The dragon gave the beast his "power, and his seat, and great authority." |
| Matt. 9:17; etc. Wine—true doctrine. | Rev. 14:8; 17:2; 18:3. Wine—False doctrine. |
| Rev. 5:6. Christ is likened to a Lamb with seven horns—all power in heaven and on earth. | Rev. 13:11. False prophet has two horns like a lamb, but speaks later as a dragon—political power controlled by church. |
| Rev. 22:16. Jesus means Saviour. | Rev. 9:11. Apollyon or Destroyer. Rev. 12:7-9; 20:2. Satan or Adversary. |
| Rev. 5:6. The Lamb (used 27 times in the Revelation concerning Christ). Rev. 14:1. | Rev. 13. The Beast. |
| Rev. 14:7. Worship the Creator. "Worship" is mentioned 24 times in the Apocalypse—twelve (12) times concerning the Lord's people. | Rev. 14:9, 11. Not to worship the beast. "Worship" is mentioned 12 times concerning Satan's people. |
| Rev. 22:16. Jesus, in the Greek, numbers 888. | Rev. 13:17, 18. The Pope's title, in Latin, numbers 666. |
| Rev. 12. The "woman"—Christ's church—is mentioned 8 times. | Rev. 17:4. The "woman"—Satan's church—is mentioned 6 times. |
| Rev. 19:16. The Lord's title written in large capital letters. | Rev. 17:5. Babylon's title written in large capital letters. |
| Rev. 1:18; 3:7. Keys of death and of hades. | Rev. 9:1. Key to Bottomless pit. |
| Rev. 3:21. Christ's "throne". | Rev. 2:13; 16:10. "Throne" of Satan. |
| Ps. 113:5; Isa. 40:18. "Who is like unto the Lord?" | Rev. 13:4. "Who is like unto the beast?" |
| Rev. 5:6. "A Lamb as it had been slain." | Rev. 13:3. One of the heads of the beast "as though it had been slain". See margin. |
| Rev. 1:18; 2:8. Christ died and lived again. | Rev. 13:14. Beast received stroke of death "and lived". R.V. |
| Rev. 1:8. Jesus: "He which is, and which was, and which is to come." | Rev. 17:8. Beast "was, and is not", and is about to come out of the bottomless pit. |
| Rev. 11:17. R.V. drops last term of the above description. | Rev. 17:11. Last term of above description is dropped. |
| Rev. 6:16. The wrath of the Lamb—comes down with great wrath. | Rev. 12:12. The wrath of the dragon—comes down with "great wrath". |
| Rev. 7:2. God's seal. | Rev. 13:17. Beast's mark. |
| Rev. 7:3. Seal in forehead. | Rev. 13:16; 20:4. Mark in forehead or the hand. |
| Rev. 14:1. Contains the name of God. | Rev. 13:17. Contains the name of the beast. |
| Rev. 7:4. The tribes of Israel. | Rev. 1:7. The tribes of the earth. |
| Rev. 16:12. The kings of the east. | Rev. 16:14 The kings of the earth and of the whole world. |
| Rev. 19:11-14. The armies of heaven. | Rev. 19:19. The armies of earth. |
| Rev. 21:24-26. Nations saved. | Rev. 16:19; 20:8. Nations destroyed. |
| Rev. 14:14-16. Harvest of grain for Heaven. | Rev. 14:17-20. Harvest of grapes for destruction. |
| Rev. 12:7; 16:14, 16; 19:11. The "war" or "battle" against Satan and his followers. | Rev. 12:17; 17:14; 20:8. The "war" or "battle" against Christ and His people. |
| Rev. 7:1-4; 14:6-17. Christ's messengers come "down" from heaven "above". See John 3:3, 7, margins; v. 31, etc. | Rev. 11:7; 13:1, 11. Satan's messengers come "up" from the earth "beneath". See John 8:23, etc. |
| Rev. 18:1. "Come down from heaven." | Rev. 17:8. "Come up out of the abyss". (R.V.) |
| Rev. 14:7. "Fear God." | Rev. 14:8; 18:3. "The wrath of her fornications" — nations support Babylon through fear; boycott; persecution, etc. |
| Rev. 19:9. The marriage supper of the Lamb; the triumph and joy of Israel. | Rev. 19:17-20. The supper of the birds; the defeat and death of Israel's enemies. |
| Rev. 12:17. God's remnant. | Rev. 19:21. Babylon's remnant. |
| Rev. 12; 21:10. The Lamb's wife. Rev. 19:7. | Rev. 17:1, 5, 18. The harlot of Babylon. |
| Rev. 2:1, etc. The Lord's church. | Rev. 2:9; 3:9. The synagogue of Satan. |
| Rev. 21:14. Apostles of the Lamb. | Rev. 2:2. False apostles. |
| Rev. 11:2; 14:20. The holy city, Jerusalem—God's church. | Rev. 14:8; 16:19; 18:2; etc. The unholy city, Babylon—Satan's church. |
| Rev. 18:1. Holy fire from heaven. | Rev. 13:13. False fire from the heavens. |
| Rev. 21:10. "That great city, the holy Jerusalem." | Rev. 18:10, 21. "That great city Babylon." |
| John 18:12, 24. Jesus bound. | Rev. 20:2. Satan bound. |
| Rev. 1:18; Matt. 27:60, 66. Jesus' tomb sealed. | Rev. 20:3. Satan sealed in the bottomless pit. |
| Rev. 14:1; 17:14. With Jesus. | Rev. 19:20; 13:14. Do before beast. In his sight. |
The foregoing, which reveal the principle of contrasts by which the things pertaining to "the mystery of Godliness" and those pertaining to "the mystery of Iniquity" are designated, enable us to understand the significance of several statements in Rev. 17. Thus the beast is said to "ascend out of the bottomless pit" or "the abyss", to indicate the emergence of a Satanic power, in contrast to the heavenly messengers which "come down from Heaven" (Rev. 18:1): the power thus represented will be actuated by the spirit which has possessed Satan from the inception of His rebellion against God: hostility toward God and those loyal to Him but camouflaged with religious garb and pious persecution.
The harlot of Babylon, described in Rev. 17, is set forth in contrast to the bride of Christ, described in Rev. 12. In Rev. 12:17 this "woman" obeys the Commandments of God and has the testimony of Jesus Christ. Thus, by the principle of contrasts, we know that "the great whore", while professing to be the bride of Christ, does not keep the Commandments of God and does not have the testimony of Jesus Christ; on the contrary, she persecutes those who do obey God and thus bears evidence that she is led by Satan into hatred for Christ and His people.
"The mystery of Godliness: God was manifest in the flesh" (1 Tim. 3:16). Jesus, the One equal with God, came down to this world to set an example of perfect obedience to the will of God. That mystery of Godliness is continued in the lives of all who, though buffeted by Satanic hatred, obey all of Heaven's holy Commandments, through the mysterious union of the Divine in the human soul—see Mark 4:11; Ephes. 3:9; 6:19; Col. 1:26, 27; 4:3; 2:2; etc. How men born to sin can be changed to cease from sinning, is a divine mystery.
"The mystery of iniquity", we know from the principle of contrasts revealed in the Apocalypse, refers to those who continue the state of rebellion which prompted Lucifer to wage war against God, His Commandments, and those who are loyal to the government of Heaven. As "the mystery of Godliness" is "God manifest in the flesh", whether of Jesus the incarnate Son of God, or of each believer, who is born of the Holy Spirit and feeds that Divine life within through prayer and the study of the Word of
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God (see 1 Pet. 1:23; 2:2; Matt. 4:4), so "the mystery of iniquity" thus designates those who, like Satan, permit the continuance of his rebellion in their flesh. This rebellion, however, is made to appear holy.
Describing "the mystery of lawlessness" (R.V.), Paul says: "The man of sin, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (2 Thess. 2:3, 4). Sitting as God, or representing God, in the church of Jesus, yet deceived into believing he can change the Divine Commandments and substitute a human invention—truly "the mystery of lawlessness". Jesus exemplified the principle of the Government of Heaven—strict compliance with the will and Law of God. The man of sin has exemplified the principle of Lucifer's rebellion—setting aside any part of God's Law to suit the selfish choice of a finite mind.
In Rev. 17, both the woman and the beast are associated with mystery—they are agencies through which Satan continues "the mystery of iniquity".
There is yet another contrast of the things of Christ with those of Satan, to which special attention must be drawn, but its importance in the understanding of Rev. 17 demands that we reserve it for fuller consideration in our next chapter.
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