11 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.
Nephi is seeing many of the same things that John the Revelator saw and recorded in the book of Revelation in the New Testament. In John’s revelation he is told, “The water which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and the multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” (Revelation 17:15) So I assume the same is true in Nephi’s vision.
Naming the church of the devil as “the whore of all the earth” is an interesting term. Men go to whores to get sexual gratification outside the covenant of marriage. The Lord has often compared His relationship with His covenant people to a marriage covenant. In that imagery, any time men go to the church of the devil for spiritual satisfaction, they are going to a poor substitute. (see comments to verse 10 for a discussion of the church of the devil) Just as men mistake sexual gratification for love, or go to prostitutes simply as an outlet for their lusts, many people mistake emotional gratification for spirituality, or they participate in priestcrafts to gratify their lust for power. Unfortunately, the whore of all the earth can be very seductive, and many sincere people get drawn into her influence. They are deceived and think they have the fullness of the relationship with Christ. So they stop short of the fullness of the gospel, which is the marriage covenant with God. They settle for the whore.
- Revelation 17:15
No comments:
Post a Comment