The Bible frequently uses male/female relationships as a way of describing our relationship with God. God is the male and humanity is the female. God is the Bridegroom and we are the Bride of Christ, as it were.
If you look carefully at the Bible's description of our union with God in Christ you will see that it is very similar to a marriage. A marriage is a union of a man and a woman and is a union of love and of faith, just like our union with God. In fact, we enter into the relationship in the exact same way, that is, we make a public declaration of the fact of the union. Then through the physical union of the two they become one flesh.
Now with God it is not the flesh that is united, but the spirit. In our union with God in Christ we make a public declaration, or confession, of our belief in, and acceptance of, God's "proposal" through Jesus Christ. You can read more on this in my paper titled, "One Spirit With God," at SeekersTrove.
Mankind was created for God. We were made in God's image and in his likeness. God has made his public declaration of his desire concerning us:
Matthew 11:28-30
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (NIV)
Romans 10:9-13
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11 As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile -- the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (NIV)
It is all a mater of love and faith. We, God's bride, make ourselves holy and pure, because this the kind of bride that God wants. We want to be beautiful in our husband's sight. We root out all uncleanness, all unholiness, all filth. We love our husband and want to be the object of his desire.
This is what we were destined for. Now, if we love the world, and/or put our faith in anyone or anything else, we are nothing but adulterers. We have then broken faith with our intended husband and sought pleasure with another.
The Harlot of Babylon is symbolic of the human system that man has created that is designed to insulate humanity from God.
From our perspective the system that man has created doesn't look so evil, but when you look at it from God's perspective it is horrible. God is offering himself and all eternity to any who will receive him in love, but the world says "No thanks, I would rather live for the sensual pleasure of the moment as my own boss than to submit to you." God knows that everyone who is deceived by this thinking will be eternally lost. This "woman" is the direct cause of the death of countless millions of people and for this reason God is going to utterly and totally destroy her.
The "woman" despises holiness and righteousness. She loves sexual promiscuity and debauchery. She loves the forbidden pleasure. She thinks of her self as a queen. She thinks that she will live forever. She prances about showing off her wealth, saying "who needs a husband, I have everything I could want."
But, she is pathetic. Compared to God she is less than nothing. God looks at her in disgust, saying "Come out of her my people. She is soon going to be destroyed. Come out of her or you too will be destroyed."
Ah, my reader, consider that what the woman offers is a temporary forbidden wickedness, and that God offers himself as your eternal husband.
Pride is our number one enemy. Pride tells is that we don't need anyone to look out for us. Pride tells us that we deserve to have a good time, that people should be there for us. Pride says, "look at me. I am smarter and better than you. Look at all my money. Look at all my power. Look at the people that depend on me."
But, my friend, what are you when compared to God? How much power do you have when you are in the grave? How handsome or beautiful will you be a thousand years from now?
We must truly consider all this. This is the truth. We live in mortal bodies and we cannot hope to fight with God and win.
