"Babylon's Filthy Fornication" - Pastor Stephen Bohr

[Music] let's bow our heads for prayer our Father and our God what a joy it is to be in your presence we thank you Father for being such a wonderful God and we thank you because you've given us your holy word which is a Shore guide in a world that is confused and seems to be going nowhere we ask Lord for the presence of your Holy Spirit give us clarity of thought and give us willing hearts to receive the word that you have for us today and we thank you for hearing our prayer for we ask it in the precious name of Jesus amen there are no last studies together we've spoken about the identity of Babylon and then we spoke about the wine of Babylon and today we are going to speak about the fornication a bevel as you remember in our last lecture we studied about the identity of Babylon actually in the last two lectures and we noticed that the harlot of Revelation chapter 17 represents a church represents a Christian Church that has gone astray from Jesus Christ according to the Bible this church has become a harlot now today we're going to study about the fornication of this harlot with the kings of the earth and I'd like to invite you to turn in your Bibles with me to Revelation chapter 17 verses 1 and 2 where this fornication between the harlot this apostate Church and the kings of the earth is described it says there then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me saying to me come I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters now comes the key phrase with whom the kings of the earth minute fornication and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication so you'll notice here it says that the kings of the earth have committed fornication with this harlot which represents an apostate Church now there's another passage in Revelation which describes this same scene Revelation chapter 18 and verses 1 to 3 revelation 18 verses 1 to 3 after these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven having great Authority and the earth was illuminated with his glory and he cried mightily with a loud voice saying Babylon the Great is fallen is fallen and has become a dwelling place of demons a prison for every foul spirit and a cage for every unclean and hated bird for all nations have drunk of the wine which we have noticed is false doctrine we've studied that carefully in Scripture so it says for all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury so basically in these two passages that we began with today we notice that in the end time there's going to be a coalition or a union between a harlot Church and the kings of the earth in other words the church is going to be involved in some manner with the political systems of the world now this would mean then that there are two kingdoms because there's first of all the church represented by the harlot and the civil rulers represented by the kings now I want us to notice in Matthew chapter 22 and verses 15 through 21 that jesus recognized two kingdoms Matthew chapter 22 verse fifteen to twenty one it says there then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle him in his talk and they sent to him their disciples with the Herodians saying teacher we know that you are true and teach the way of God in truth nor do you care about anyone for you do not regard the person of men in other words you don't make a difference between one human being and another now they're really faking admiring Jesus as we're going to notice verse 17 tell us therefore what do you think is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not that was a difficult question because if Jesus answered yes he was in trouble and if he answered no he was in trouble as well you see if he answered yes the Jews would be against him because the Jews did not like paying taxes to the Romans but if he answered no then he would be guilty of sedition against the Roman government because Rome demanded that people pay taxes and so no matter how he answered if he answered yes or no he was going to get into trouble verse 18 but Jesus perceived their wickedness and said why do you test me you hypocrites show me the tax money so they brought him a Denarius which was the main coin at that time and he said to them whose image an inscription is this another whose picture is on the coin and whose name is on this coin verse 21 they said to him Caesars and he said to them render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are gods how many kingdoms did Jesus recognize he recognized two kingdoms the first kingdom is the kingdom of Caesar and the second is the kingdom of God two kingdoms as we began our study this evening we also notice two kingdoms there's the harlot which represents a Nepal State Church and there's also the kings of the earth but I'm going to show you that really the reason why this church became a harlot is because instead of remaining married to Jesus Christ she entered illicit relationships with the kings of the earth so Jesus recognized the existence of two kingdoms but now we need to ask the question what do we owe to the kingdom of Caesar which by the way is the civil government and what do we owe to God there's something that we order Caesar or to the political power and there's something that we owe to God or to the church the question is what do we owe to each go with me to Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 13 and take let's take a close look at this Deuteronomy 4 and verse 13 it's speaking here about the giving of the Ten Commandments and it says this so he that is God declared to you his covenant which he commanded you to perform the Ten Commandments and he brought them on two tablets of stone how many tablets of stone were the Ten Commandments written on two tablets of stone now let me ask you could God have written the Ten Commandments on one tablet of stone if he had wanted to of course could he have written the Ten Commandments on three tablets of stone absolutely why did he write the Ten Commandments on two tablets of stone simply we're going to notice because the first four Commandments have to do with our responsibility towards God whereas the last six Commandments have to do with our responsibility with our fellow human beings in other words the first four Commandments point out our duty our vertical duty with God and the last six point out a horizontal relationship with our fellow human beings now let's notice that Deuteronomy chapter 6 verses 4 and 5 Deuteronomy 6:4 and 5 it says they're here o Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength so you'll notice here a very important declaration by God we shall love the Lord our God with all our heart with all our soul and with all our strength now let's go to Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 18 Leviticus 19 and verse 18 it says there speaking about our relationship with our neighbor you shall not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the children of your people but you shall love your neighbor as yourself I am the Lord so how many great Commandments do we have in the Old Testament number one love supreme for whom for God and secondly loving are what our neighbor which table of the law describes our love for God the first for which table of the law describes our relationship with our fellow human beings the last six now let's go to what Jesus had to say about this because Jesus confirms what I'm saying Matthew 22 verses 34 through 40 Matthew 22 beginning with verse 34 but when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees they gathered together then one of them a lawyer by the way he's not a secular lawyer he's an expert in the writings of Moses in the law of Moses so it says then one of them a lawyer asked him a question testing him and sane teacher which is the Great Commandment in the law jesus said to him you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your mind did we read that in the Old Testament somewhere yes we read it in Deuteronomy chapter 6 right so that's the first and Great Commandment notice verse 38 this is the first and Great Commandment and the second is like it you shall love your neighbor as yourself on these two Commandments hang all the law and the prophets so you'll notice that the law of God was structured in such a way that you have our duty towards God and duty towards our fellow man let me ask you does the civil government have the right to enforce the second table of the law there's a civil government have a right to punish those individuals who steal yes does it have the right to punish those individuals who kill yes does it have a right to punish those who beat up on their parents yes does it have a right to prosecute those who speak false witness against somebody else and ruins the reputation absolutely in other words the second table of the law is the realm of the civil government but the first table of the law the civil government can have nothing to do with because it has to do with our duty and responsibility and worship towards God you know that the civil government has been established to preserve the civil order the first four commandments are off-limits for the civil government now it's interesting that Jesus Christ and now we're going to go to speak a little about about Jesus because his experience is actually going to be repeated in his people at the end of time it's interesting that Jesus was never accused by the Jews of breaking the last six commandments of God's law Jesus was never accused of disobeying the civil laws of Rome all of the accusations that the Jews launched against Jesus was things were things that had to do with the first table of the law you say where does the Bible say that well go with me to mark chapter 2 and verse 7 mark 2 verse 7 is describing a paralytic and Jesus says some very controversial things he says to this man your sins are forgiven and notice what his enemy said mark 2 verse 7 why does this man speak blasphemies like this who can forgive sins but God alone let me ask you what table of the law does that accusation have to do with the first table because they're saying that he's making himself what God by forgiving sins notice John 10 verse 33 at this point Jesus had said I and my father are and they understood very well that Jesus was saying that he was one with his father in a special sense in the sense that he was God notice John 10 33 the Jews answered him saying for a good work we do not stone you because they picked up stones to stone him but for blasphemy and because you being a man make yourself what God there it is again he's being accused of violating the first table of the law notice John chapter 9 and verse 16 John 9 and verse 16 here is going to be accused of breaking the holy Sabbath let me ask you on which table of the law is the Sabbath it's on the first table of the law it's a duty that we owe whom that we owe God it says in John 9 verse 16 Jesus has healed a blind man therefore some of the Pharisees said this man is not from God because he does not what he does not keep the Sabbath by the way were they right or wrong they were wrong he did keep the Sabbath he just didn't keep the Sabbath according to all their rules and regulations he kept the biblical Sabbath not the Sabbath of the rabbi's also John chapter 5 verse 16 and verse 18 where Jesus has healed a man who was paralyzed a paralytic notice they accused him once again of violating the Sabbath verse 16 for this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill him because he had done these things on the Sabbath verse 17 but jesus answered them my father has been working until now and I have been working therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him because he not only broke the Sabbath at least in their minds but also said that God was his father making himself equal with whom equal with God see once again everything has to do with the first table of the law one final reference from the Gospels and there are others but have only chosen a few where Jesus is accused of taking God's name in mien and which table of the law is that that's the first table of the law it's the third commandment you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain notice John eight verses 58 and 59 jesus said to them most assuredly I say to you before Abraham was I am who was Jesus claiming to be remember at the burning bush Moses asked what is your name when I go to Israel hath sent me unto you did the Jews understand that Jesus was taking the name of God and applying it to himself they most certainly did because it says in verse 59 then they took up stones to throw at him but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple going through the midst of them and so passed by so we find in God's holy law two tables the first table describes our duty towards God the second table describes our duty towards our fellow men the first table belongs exclusively to God in other words the civil power has nothing to do with the first table it has much to do with the second table in order to preserve the civil order now do you know that the devil constantly was trying to encourage Jesus to take over the literal political Kingdom but Jesus didn't come for that in fact notice Matthew chapter 4 and verse 10 the devil wanted Jesus instead of being king of the spiritual Kingdom he wanted Jesus they take over the political system and he wanted him to overthrow the Romans notice Matthew chapter 4 and verse 10 again the devil took him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and he said to him all these things I will give you if you fall down and what worship me what was the devil offering Jesus all the kingdoms of the world was this talking about the kingdom of a church all the Spirit your kingdoms of the world no it's speaking about taking over the political Kingdom the civil system of the world by the way this happened constantly during the Ministry of Jesus notice John chapter 6 and verse 15 John chapter 6 and verse 15 this is after Jesus spent the 5,000 the people were very impressed and it says therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take him by force to make him what to make him King what kind of king a king of the church or the king of the state the king of the state of the political system what did Jesus do when they wanted they take him by force he departed again to the mountain by himself alone by the way the disciples had this mentality of Jesus also destroying everybody and taking over the kingdom one time there were some villages of the Samaritans that did not want to allow Jesus to pass through them on his way to Jerusalem and so his disciples said you know two of them anyway the sons of thunder they said do you want us to call down fire from heaven and burn those people up and notice what Jesus said in Luke chapter 9 55 and 56 but he turned and rebuked them and said you do not know what manner of spirit you are of for the Son of man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them and they went to another village Jesus rebuked them for even considering the possibility of using force against those cities or those towns that have refused to allow Jesus to go through them do you know why because Jesus did not come here to this world to set up a literal political Kingdom Jesus came to this world to build up his spiritual kingdom of the church you say why how do we know that go with me to Luke chapter 17 verses 20 and 21 Luke 17 20 and 21 you see for Jesus the kingdom is not something that comes with a great show of force the kingdom is not established by taking over the political system by taking over the civil power jeez was tempted to do that all the time Jesus know that the kingdom was something that needed to happen inside notice Luke 17 verses 20 and 21 now when he was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come and of course they meant the political civil power he answered them and said the kingdom of God does not come with observation that is with a great big outward show nor will they say see here or see there for indeed the kingdom of God is what the kingdom of God is within you let me ask you if you want a ball of dough to grow what do you do do you put the leaven inside or do you sprinkle the leaven outside of course you put it inside and then the dough grows from inside out right let me ask you did Jesus plan to establish his kingdom by force of arms by taking over the civil power of the world absolutely not he knew that he had to implant his spirit in the hearts of people through the preaching of God's Word and then by implanting the principles of his principles of his kingdom in the heart the kingdom would then what would grow spiritually speaking now I would like us to go to the end of the Ministry of Jesus go with me to John chapter 11 47 to 49 we set the basis now for some very important things that we're going to study regarding the final days of Jesus before his crucifixion John chapter 11 verses 47 and 49 the Jewish Council gathered together because Jesus had resurrected Lazarus and everybody was following Jesus they were impressed by his teaching so they said we have to do something about this man because pretty soon the whole nation is going to be following him so they gathered in this council in the Sanhedrin there were 70 members in the Sanhedrin and notice how the story develops then the chief priests and the Pharisees gather a council and said what we do for this man works many signs if we let him alone like this everyone will believe in him and now notice their fear everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and take away both our place in our nation what are they saying they're saying listen we have to eliminate public enemy number one or else the Romans are going to destroy our nation our nation is going to cease to exist interesting did their nation did their nation fall yes it fell by what they did we're going to notice verse 49 and one of them ki IFAs being high priest that year said to them you know nothing at all nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people and not that the whole nation should perish in other words Caiaphas was saying this man needs to die to save the nation he just didn't understand the sense in which the death of Jesus was going to save the nation he thought that the nation was going to be saved literally politically by destroying Jesus what he didn't know is that Jesus by his death was going to save the human race how spiritually not politically because Jesus came to establish his spiritual Kingdom he did not come to take over the political system of the world a little bit later on Peter actually Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane they came to arrest him I want you to notice what Peter did and remember this because we're going to come back to it in the next three or four lectures Matthew 26 and verses 50 to 52 now we're going to talk about the final days of Jesus before his ascension to heaven Matthew 26 verse 50 and suddenly one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear by the way this is what Simon Peter and he wasn't aiming at the ear he was aiming at the head but he was a fisherman not a soldier and so it says that he cut off his ear now notice what Jesus said what Jesus say good well done Peter defend my kingdom use the sword kill him is that what he said no did he say to the other disciples you cowards why don't you join Peter in fighting for my kingdom no notice verse 52 these are the key words I want you to remember but Jesus said to him put your sword in its place put your what your sword in its place for all who take the sword will perish by the sword he who kills with the sword must be what must be killed with the sword those words are in Revelation 13 verse 10 and we will study them in the next couple of lectures and so you know what they did Jesus with Jesus they arrested him in the Garden of Gethsemane and then they took him to the Sanhedrin in other words he had his religious trial notice Matthew chapter 26 and verse 57 Matthew 26 and verse 57 and those who had laid hold of Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest where the scribes and the elders were what were assembled let me ask you was his trial a religious trial or was his trial a political trial his trial first of all was a religious trial and by the way it was a travesty in justice let me mention some of the things that they did which were against Jewish law number one the employed false witnesses that was forbidden by Jewish law they had a trial at night that was forbidden by Jewish law they slapped Jesus before they pronounce the sentence against him that was a violation of Jewish law he had right to counsel they did not give him the right to counsel that was a violation of Jewish law they made himself incriminate himself that was a violation of Jewish law in fact the trial according to Jewish law had to be public and they made it private and furthermore it was forbidden by Jewish law to have any trial or any sentences on Friday Saturday or a feast day and they violated that in other words it was a travesty injustice what the Sanhedrin what the church did when Jesus was taken before the religious leaders now let's notice a little bit about this trial Matthew chapter 26 and verse 59 26 verse 59 now the chief priests by the way another regulation of the Jews was that they had to have impartial judges notice what it says here now the chief priests the elders and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put him to death but found none even though many false witnesses came forward they found none but at last two witnesses came forward and said this fellow said I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it up in three days and the high priest arose and said to him do you answer nothing see that what they're doing is an inquisition aren't they I know you're probably not used to using that word in this context but they're doing an inquiry that's what the word Inquisition means notice verse 62 and the high priest arose and said to him do you answer nothing what is it these men testify against you but Jesus kept silent and the high priest answered and said to him I put you under oath by the Living God tell us if you are the Christ the Son of God jesus said to him it is as you said nevertheless I say to you hereafter you will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming on the clouds of heaven and when Jesus said those words immediately they pronounced the death sentence let me ask you who pronounced the death sentence was it the civil power or was it the religious power it was the religious power the Inquisition was made in the church governing body and the sentence of death was dictated in the church governing body I want you to remember these details because we're going to come back to them when we talk about the Beast and when we talk about the land beast notice what we find in Matthew chapter 26 and verse 66 after they did the Inquisition after they did the inquiry it says then the high priest tore his clothes saying he had spoken blasphemy what further need do we have of witnesses look now you have heard his blasphemy what do you think the answered and said he is deserving of what death who pronounce the death sentence the state or the church the church pronounced the death sentence they were the ones who did the Inquisition they were the ones who led Jesus to incriminate himself but the problem is that the Church of that day and age could not execute the death penalty they pronounce the sentence but the church as a church could not do it so what did they do they took Jesus to the political rule of Rome notice Matthew chapter 27 verses 1 & 2 Matthew 27 1 & 2 when morning came all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put him to death and when they had bound him they led him away and delivered him to whom to Pontius Pilate the governor now was Pilate the civil ruler or religious ruler he was the civil ruler could the church execute the death penalty on Jesus without the help of the state absolutely not they needed the help of the civil power now when they take him to Jesus notice John chapter 18 and verse 30 John 18 verse actually verse 29 at verse 30 Pilate then went out to them and said what accusation do you bring against this man they answered and said to him if he were not an evildoer we would not have delivered him up to you he's an evildoer let me ask you had he violated any of the civil laws of Rome he had not violated any of the civil laws of the state in fact you know that Pilate had the separation of church and state much clearer than even the Jews did notice John 18 and verse 31 then Pilate said to them you take him and judge him according to your law how many laws did Pilate recognize how many poo he says I got my law which is the Civil Code of Rome but you take this man and you judge him by what by your law which is religious law in other words Pilate is recognizing that there are many kingdoms two kingdoms his has a law which is similar and they have a law which is religious law because they've accused Jesus of transgressing the first table of the law but you see the Jews they wanted to put him to death and they needed the help of the state in order to put him to death this is what the Bible calls fornication when the church uses the state to slay those who are not in harmony with her teachings notice John chapter 18 and verse 31 therefore the Jews said to him it is not lawful for us to put anyone what to death we need your help Pontius Pilate to put this man to death notice Luke 23 and verse 2 it says and they began to accuse him saying we found this fellow perverting the nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar and saying that he himself is Christ a king let me ask you was this an accusation that would have raised the the ears of Pontius Pilate oh absolutely they say you this man wanted to be a king and he said we're not supposed to pay taxes which is an open blatant lie because we already read that they said render Jesus said render unto Caesar that which is Caesars he said pay taxes so this is an outright lie and they're saying this man said that he's a king but they're twisting his words because Jesus had not said that he was going to be a political King but he was king of the kingdom of grace of a religious system and so Pilate calls to Jesus in and he wants to have an interview with him he wants to ask him if he's a king notice John 18 verse 36 when Pilate says are you a king jesus answered my kingdom is not of this world how many kingdoms did Jesus recognize his and one of them this world's Kingdom he says My Kingdom is not of this world if my kingdom were of this world in other words if mine was a political kingdom what would his servants do my servants would what would fight so that I should not be delivered to the Jews but now my kingdom is not from here I understanding what's happening here Jesus is recognizing two kingdoms one is the civil power and the other is his spiritual Kingdom and he said I came to represent the spiritual Kingdom I did not come to take over the political system notice John 18 verse 37 Pilate therefore said to him are you a king then jesus answered you say write me that I'm a king he says yeah you bet I am for this cause I was born and for this cause I have come into the world then I should kill everybody with a sword and take over the world that's not what he says what kind of Kingdom did he come to establish he says I have come into the world that I should bear witness to the what to the truth that's something spiritual folks everyone who is of the truth hears what my voice and by the way do you know that three times Pontius Pilate goes out and he says to the people I've examined him I don't find any crime in this man they Pilate understand that Jesus was not saying that he was going to be a king to take over the political system did he understand that listen if he didn't understand that he would have had Jesus killed right there but he didn't because he knew that Jesus was not a political King like the Jews accused him of being fact three times Pilate said that Jesus was innocent that he was delivering to death an innocent man that's a travesty injustice notice John chapter 18 verse 38 this is the first time Pilate said to him what is truth and what he had said this he went out again to the Jews and said to them I find no fault in him at all in other words this man is innocent once again in John 19 and verse 4 Pilate then went out again and said to them behold I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find fault in him that's quite knowledge on 19 and verse six three's a charm therefore when the chief priests and officers saw him they cried out saying crucify him crucify him Pilate said to them you take him and crucify him for I find no fault in him did Pilate openly announced that Jesus was innocent a violation of any law of Rome of the civil power yes but the Jews said this guy violated the first table of the law by the way Jesus had not but they're accusing him of doing that and they want to use the civil power of Rome to destroy Jesus because of the convictions of his conscious conscience because of his religious views in fact notice John chapter 19 and verse 7 the Jews answered him we have a law it might not be yours they're saying to Pilate but we have a law and according to our law he ought to die because he made himself the Son of God and Pilate says and what does that have to do with me make it himself like God that's the first table of the law of course he doesn't say this but he says has to do with you with a spiritual Kingdom not with me you know show me that he killed somebody or he committed adultery or he stole or he dishonored you know he dishonored or trampled upon his parents or that he's guilty of witnessing falsely against people give me one of those violations of civil law but don't come to me and say that he made himself God because that has to do with your law it doesn't have to do with mine are you understanding what I'm saying now notice John 19 verse 11 did Pilate and Jesus both recognize that there are two kingdoms absolutely notice John 1911 because Pilate says don't you know that I could release you if I wanted to notice jesus answered you could have no power at all against me unless unless it had been given you from above why was why was Pilate ruling in Rome who placed him there God placed him there Jesus say you wouldn't have any power unless God had placed you there so did Jesus recognize the legitimacy of the civil power yes he did did he recognize the legitimacy also of the religious power he most certainly did now why did Pilate deliver an innocent man John 19 and verse 12 tells us the reason actually there are two reasons number one because he was afraid of the people and number two he was afraid of losing his political position he was afraid that Caesar would remove him so out of expediency he delivered an innocent man notice John 19 verse 12 from then on Pilate sought to release him but the Jews cried out saying if you let this man go you are not Caesars friend whoever makes himself a king speaks what speaks against Caesar so what are they saying they're saying listen this man said it is a king and if you don't do something about it we're gonna tell Caesar and Caesar is going to remove you from your post so it was because of fear of losing his political position that he delivered an innocent man but it was also because the religious leaders pressured the people to ask for the blood of Jesus and he was afraid of an insurrection and a tumult among the people notice Matthew 27 verse 20 folks the dangerous figures in this are not the common ordinary church members the dangerous people here are the religious leaders notice Matthew 27 in verse 20 but the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and what that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus notice John chapter 19 verses 13 through 15 and Pilate therefore heard that saying he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the pavement but in Hebrew gabbatha now it was the preparation day of the Passover and about the sixth hour and he said to the Jews behold your king and now notice this but they cried out away with him away with him crucify him Pilate said to them shall I crucify your king the chief priests answered we have no king but Caesar do you know that what they were doing they were actually divorcing Jesus Christ as their king by saying that they had no king but Caesar they were committing a terrible act of fornication with the king to destroy Jesus Christ and by the way lest you wonder about this did Jesus many times give parables where he spoke about his desire to marry the people in his day his church yes he called John the Baptist the friend of the bridegroom the matchmaker if you please in fact he said how can you cry when the bridegroom is in your midst he spoke of himself as the bridegroom he gave the parable of the ten virgins which is a marriage he spoke about the king in his servants Matthew chapter 22 in other words this was Jesus trying to woo his people and say I want to have a relationship with you I want to be your husband I want you to be my wife and what did they say they said we will not have you as king we have no king but the political system we have no king but who season they were disowning the relationship with Jesus Christ they were breaking the relationship they were basically divorcing Jesus Christ and by the way when they did this this led to national apostasy which eventually led to national ruin you see they thought that by killing Jesus they were going to save their nation but by killing Jesus they brought destruction upon their nation they caused just the opposite of what they thought they were in a cause by taking over the political system to destroy Jesus they brought about what they wanted to event notice John chapter 19 verses 41 to 44 John 19 41 to 44 speaking about the destruction of Jerusalem because the the Jewish nation had said we don't want this man we don't want him to be her husband we have a king with Caesar his blood be upon us and upon our children notice now as he drew near he saw the city and wept over it saying if you had known even you especially in this your day the things that make for your peace but now they are hidden from your eyes for days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you this is the Roman's by the way the very ones that they said the Romans will take away our nation the Romans did take away their nation but because they destroyed Jesus verse 43 for the day's will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you surround you and close you in on every side and level you and your children within you to the ground and they will not leave in you one stone upon another because you did not know the time of your visitation do you see what happens when the church fornicates with the state the result automatic result is persecution sooner or later when the church abandons its relationship with Jesus its spiritual mission and it tries to get the state to do what Jesus should do that's fornication and it leads to the downfall of the church in fact allow me in the last few minutes that we have together to talk to you about the church immediately after the day of Pentecost by the way do you know that the Bible says that there are two swords what's the first sword the Bible notice Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 17 it says there the Apostle Paul speaking Ephesians 6:17 and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is what which is the Word of God what is the sword of the Spirit the Word of God let me ask you to whom did Jesus give this sword to the stater to the church to the church how does the church use the sword by preaching right if the sword is the Bible how's that how does the church use the sword or the Bible it uses the sword to preach and to reach people by the way did God give the church power to do that notice Acts chapter 1 and verse 8 Acts chapter 1 and verse 8 Jesus says but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be what witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the what and to the ends of the earth what mission did Jesus give to the church he said go out with your swords take over the political system convert convert the world by force it's not what he said no he said you I'm giving you a sword it's the sword of the Spirit it's the Word of God you go out with the Word of God preach it and plant but the Spirit of Christ we're in the heart and that way my spiritual Kingdom will grow you know you never find in the book of Acts which is the history of the earliest church you'll never find the book of Acts the disciples taking over the Roman government to fulfill their mission in fact what you notice in the book of Acts is that God's followers are constantly being persecuted by Rome do you know why they're being persecuted by Rome because the Jews instigated the civil powers of Rome to persecute God's people you see they continued doing after Jesus died on the cross they continued doing the same thing all over again throughout the book of Acts just read the book of Acts look in the concordance for the word Jews and you'll find that every time that there's persecution against the church its instigated by the Jews because they're once again trying to use the civil magistrates the power of Rome to snuff out Christianity in fact give me give you one example Acts chapter 12 verses one to three acts 12 verses one through three speaking about the death of James it's interesting to see what he was killed with he wasn't killed with the Bible by the way he wasn't killed with the sword of the Spirit it says there in acts 12 one two three now about that time Herod the King stretched out his hand to harass some from the church then he killed James the brother of John with a sword what did he kill and with with the sword why did he do that verse three and because he saw that it what it pleased the Jews he proceeded further to seize Peter also now it was during the days of unleavened bread you see all throughout the book of Acts the apostate Jewish Church links with the civil government of Rome to try and destroy the church that is what the Bible calls fornication that's what fired the harlot this apostate church did during the Middle Ages and that's what this apostate Church is going to do in the future according to Scripture I want to read Romans 13 and verses 1 through 5 do you know that there's another sword there's two swords the first sword is the sword of the Spirit the Word of God and that's used by whom by the church right and how does the church use it by what by preaching but there's another sword and that sword is the ability that the civil government has to enforce civil order not the first table of the law but civil order you say where does the Bible say that there's another kind of sword Romans 13 verse 1 speaking about Rome let every soul be subject to the governing authorities for there is no authority except from God and the authorities that exist are appointed by God let me ask you who appointed the civil government God did did Jesus recognize that he most certainly it what did he appoint the civil government for to rule in religious things no to really rule in what in civil matters to preserve the civil order verse 2 therefore whoever resists the authority that is a civil government resists the ordinance of God and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves for rulers are not a terror to good works but to evil in other words if you obey the law no problem do you want to be unafraid of the authority do what is good and you will have praise from the same for he is God's minister notice that it Eve even says that the civil power is God's minister to you for good but if you do evil be afraid for he that is the civil magistrate does not bear the what the sword in vain for he is God's Minister an Avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil who has the other sword the sword of force the sword the literal sword to preserve the civil order where you can punish violations of civil law it's the state that has that sort so let me ask you it does the church have a sword yes does the state have a sword yes where do you have the problem when the church uses the sword of the state that's what the Bible calls fornication by the way unless you wonder whether the civil power has a right to actually legislate the first table of the law let's continue reading there in verse 6 for because of this you also pay taxes see because God has placed them there you pay taxes for their God's ministers attending continually to this very thing render notice the word render just the one where the Jesus used render therefore to all their due taxes to whom taxes are due custom to whom custom fear to whom fear honour to whom our honor oh no one anything except to love one another for he who loves one another has fulfilled the law which table of the law is is talking about in the context of the civil government love your what your neighbor and then if you still don't understand it verse nine for the commandments you shall not commit adultery you shall not murder you shall not steal you should not bear false witness you shall not covet and if there's any other commandment are those all commandments that have to do with the second table of the law absolutely are all summed up in this saying namely you shall love your neighbor as yourself love does no harm to a neighbor therefore love is the fulfilling of the law the Apostle Paul is saying look we should obey the civil law because it's the civil law but we should also obey the civil law because of love as Christians we have two motivations number one because the civil law says it it's not because we're afraid of the civil law but the real reason is because when you have the law written on the heart you're gonna love your neighbor but notice that the government has to do with a second table of the law and not with the first table of the law and do you know what shortly after the story of the church in the book of Acts the church church took a very bad turn apostasy came into the church we studied this before and the church merged with the state and the same scenes that took place in the trial and crucifixion of Jesus were repeated all over again in case after case after case the church using the civil power to punish dissenters for their beliefs to punish people whose conscience contradicted what the church was doing I'd like to bring this to a close by saying that Pilate should never have delivered an innocent man some people say well he was the political ruler he didn't know any better he did know better say how do we know that Matthew 27 and verse 19 Matthew 27 verse 19 while he was sitting on the judgment seat that is Pilate his wife sent to him saying have nothing to do with that just man for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of him what was the counsel to the civil ruler don't touch him because he's a just man he has not violated any of the laws of Rome and the accusations against him are false and yet Pilate because the multitudes were clamoring because the religious leader said come on ask Pilate to crucify him and because he was afraid of losing his political position he delivered an innocent man and he feigned like it wasn't his fault by washing his hands notice Matthew chapter 27 in verse 24 when Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all but rather than a tumult was rising he took water and washed his hands before the multitude saying I am innocent of the blood of this just person you seek to it now folks this is a powerful testimony to the civil rulers of the United States of America many times the church wants to get involved in the political process and they want the state to do what the church and the Holy Spirit should do through the Word of God many Christians even want to take over the political system what that does is it corrupts the church and it corrupts the state when you really stop to think about it and folks if this happens and it's going to happen according to Bible prophecy the scenes that took place in pilots Court are going to be repeated all over again in fact I'd like to bring this to an end by going to John chapter 16 and verses 1 to 3 where Jesus predicted that the same things that would happen to him were going to happen to his followers to his disciples it says there in John 16 verses 1 to 3 these things I have spoken to you that you should not be made to stumble they will put you out of the synagogues today we call them churches yes the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service and these things they will do to you because they have not known the father nor me are these scenes going to be repeated all over again in fact folks were going to find the sad story that they were repeated all during the period that that is known as the Dark Ages or the Middle Ages the identical process that was followed with Jesus was followed by God's professed church during the Middle Ages that had become apostate that had become a harlot Church and joined with the state used the civil power to slay the saints of the Most High the Bible tells us that at the very end of time this is going to happen again because the last 200 years we've had a moratorium on this type of persecution and we're going to study the reason why there's been a moratorium during the last that last couple hundred years there's there's a specific biblical reason and historical reason but the Bible says that the time will come when these scenes will be repeated again and so we must let people know we must let our politicians know that they should not repeat the same mistake that was committed by Pilate because God will not accept any hand washing as an excuse for a union of church and state and persecution of those who are followers of Jesus Christ so it's my prayer that we will share these things and that we will choose to be on God's side and to help his spiritual kingdom to grow [Music]

Channel: Aaron

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Length: 57min 8sec (3428 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 10 2019