The Harlot in Revelation 18:11-13 represents a Godless form of commerce which includes dealings in slaves and human lives (see the article In Bed With the Great Harlot):
And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes anymore—cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of wood and every article of ivory and every article made very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble, and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes horses and chariots and slaves and human lives.
In what country could that possibly be occurring? Well, it’s a common occurrence in Canada and America among others.
Let’s look at slavery first. I’m sure you know that slavery is against the law. Even the United Nations acknowledges this in its Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) where it reads:
Article 4.
- No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Let’s be clear on what we mean by the terms slavery and servitude:
SERVITUDE. The Condition of being Bound to Service. The state of a person who is subjected, voluntarily or otherwise, to another person as his servant. Shilling v. State, 143 Miss. 709, 109 So. 737, 739. Black’s Law 4th Ed.
Bound to service as in having no choice? Like having to pay tax even though you don’t want to?
SLAVERY. The condition of a slave; that civil relation in which one man has absolute power over the life, fortune, and liberty of another. Black’s Law 4th Ed.
All of this is designed to extract money from those wishing to engage in these activities. It could be argued that the term absolute gives a great measure of latitude to the definition and degrees of power then is not slavery.
By paying a fee, for a licence, we can carry on these activities.
LICENSE. Certificate or the document itself which gives permission.
A licence represents permission to do those things which would be illegal without that permission.
There was a time, often within my lifetime, when no licence/permission was required to engage in some of the activities listed above. Now an artificial entity called government seems to hold sway on what and when we can do these things. Remember this—you only ask permission from one who has greater authority. When ask the government for a licence to marry you unknowingly indicate your consent to be under their authority. If you must do so precede your signature with the words “Without Prejudice.”
Is something wrong? Very definitely. We are slowly being reduced to slaves whose purpose for living is to produce wealth for that Great Harlot—the present commerce/banking system.
“Come out of her, my people…” The invitation suggests there is a way out…