Revelation 17 - The Great Harlot Babylon

welcome to morningstar christian chapel if you're watching on youtube please remember to hit that subscribe button like button and the notification bell so you can find out when we go live or we post a new video and be sure to leave a comment about what god has shown you in this message thanks and enjoy the study all right let's open our bibles tonight to revelation chapter 17. so we continue our journey getting closer to the end i was praying today about what to do next i have no idea ideas we may just be done on wednesday nights i don't know last week if you were with us we finished what the bible calls the seven final judgments the bull judgments which had been prepared back in chapter 15 in heaven as all of heaven anticipated the completion of god's judgment his wrath during this great tribulation upon the earth and then the coming of jesus to rule and reign it is a somber time in heaven you will be there for it as the lord shuts the temple in heaven and and goes it alone really says no one here and no one in here until the judgment is finalized in chapter 16 we went through these final bowls in rapid succession they are life-ending there is really no way for the earth to be sustained had they continued for a long time but these are from the lord these are the final judgments in fact if you want to put together the chronology you can jump from verse 21 of chapter 16 to chapter 19 verse 11. everything in the middle is still parenthetical by that i mean god gives us more information he could take us right to his coming that's where we'd like to be um but he gives us these two chapters i i really view chapters 17 and 18 as the kind of stuff that you might write on a tombstone here lies man's best man at his best man in his religion man in his wealth man in his pursuits the lord buries them and says let me show you how it should be before the lord comes and these last two chapters which again do not move the story forward but give us a description is is god's heart towards man's religious pursuits his political ambitions his love of commerce and gain all of them apart from a relationship with god man serving himself money as his god power as his way man has had a great fall and it is not going to be put back together again so these last judgments that we just finished from the lord's standpoint is the is the death blow to all that man has sought to do without him being involved without the lord's involvement and this is not going to continue on so like i said it's like a tombstone god describing what he sees and what he feels about the things that have been put before us we we hope to go through them in two weeks tonight in chapter 18 next week before we slow down to enjoy the coming of the lord and the things that come thereafter and then we'll we'll see where we go next chapter 17 easily outlined if you are an inductive bible study person the first six verses tell us what john sees verses 7 through 18 tell us what the interpretation is from the angel who is speaking to him but but understand chapter 17 is all about false religion it is it is uh pictured here by the lord as a harlot seducing the nation for centuries causing the fall into spiritual fornication heading blindly for eternal judgment all of that brought to a climax here is towards the final portion of this seven year period chapter 18 is all about commercial babylon the the the thing that drives man the money the gain the power the control so god is putting an end to both of those as he comes then to rule in the reign and to set up his kingdom verse one says this then one of the seven angels who had the seven bulls came and talked with me and he said come i will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits upon many waters so john is invited by one of these angels who had been carrying these bulls forth to see the judgment that god was going to overtake or should say undertake that overtake against the great harlot called babylon this term harlot is used of her four different times in this chapter in verse one and chapter in verse five in chapter in verse 15 sorry and in verse 16 as well it is a harlot who is verse 1 sitting upon many waters the language would suggest it is she is worldwide in her influence over the the times of history and notice that we read that she is the great harlot she is the the one who has played a dominant role in the spiritual idolatry of men over the ages she has many uh daughters verse five she will be called the mother of harlots so her position this this deceiving religious ways of man has spawned a hundred a thousand ways for man to to miss god's best since this angel shows the the fall of babylon to john here in verse one we don't know if it's the same angel um that that carried the seventh bowl we we're we're just told that they were one of the angels that was carrying the bulls forward but what we know that god's designation of this uh personification as a harlot shows that her actions and her judgments against her are serious sin in god's eyes this is offensive to the lord this is this is this needed to be buried and dealt with and like i said the focus is on false religious systems which were engendered and which have done man tremendous harm imagine the folks today that that that believe in all of their heart they're going to be you know coming back as something else or somehow they're going to get their own planet one day i mean the the lies that are told in the name of the lord and the destruction that comes into a life that refuses christ it is certainly one of satan's greatest ploys and it works just very well but here god's word to them is that it stops right now we read in verse 2 that this harlot upon many waters has uh with the kings of the earth committed fornication and with the inhabitants of the earth have drunken with the wine of her fornication how influential is the the religious ways of man it reaches to every king and every kingdom to all the inhabitants upon the planet from the bedroom to the state house from wall street to the living industry her ways have captured the hearts of leaders and and peoples for generations and they have embraced her as a harlot it is an unfaithfulness to the lord that's really what the picture is it is a spiritual adultery it is a laying your life down and chasing after that which god does not provide god help us to see as the church that as his body our goal in the in this life is very simple preach his name point people to the cross because that will last it will get you through his death is sufficient but in the world and over the century this harlot has committed spiritual fornication and has carried many people away drunk with the wine of her fornication literally in a stupor right my fa my dad and i before he got saved had lots of arguments about faith and he we started with when i got saved you know i would just preach to him like this dad if you don't get saved you're going to hell why don't you go to hell that didn't work very well dads and kids you know that dad usually tells you to shut up and that's the end of it but but when we got right down to why did i believe what i believed i said to him what do you believe and he goes and he told me so that's where did you get that and he said that's just the way i feel and that was his argument that's the way i feel [Music] feelings change right we need the truth not how do i feel but over the years the and if you talk to religious people and you begin to question their trust and their hope and their religious system it is usually boiled down to well that's just what i believe but there's no proof of it yeah you know you have your religion i have my religion that's a separate subject it's very personal don't talk to me about that drink some more of the wine and the enemy gets you on the hook dead in your thinking unable to judge wisely the word fornication here is the typical greek word porneiv where we get our word pornography from but it is used in the bible to to speak of any kind of sexual immorality and here i think used metaphorically to speak of the unfaithfulness of man to god while he gives his alliance and his allegiance to false gods a harlot is a long way removed from the bride of christ which we will meet in chapter 21 verse 9. so this is god's view this is his assessment of the false religious systems of man that it has has caused many to go away drunk in their supposed spirituality and kind of in a stupor headed for judgment rather than life fooled by the enemy by religion the harlot who sits on many waters and spans the history has now fallen once and for all and her believers her followers are left empty facing eternal judgment this is this is the tombstone the end is at hand it's not going to go any further than this this is as far as it goes in verse 3 we are told that john is then carried he says he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness i saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast who was full of the names of blasphemy and had seven heads and ten horns john is carried away in the spirit remember he's on the island of patmos just 30 miles or so off the coast of what was then ephesus to the wilderness and and he sees a this woman sitting on on the scarlet beast both the woman and the beast seem to thrive in the wilderness a place where nobody survives it's a place of death and not life this great harlot in verse 1 is the woman of verse 3. she represents a city verse 5 and verse 18 called babylon metaphorically so because it was the foundation place of false religion and it speaks of man's religion and later his commerce of seeking life without god and it's epitomized by this final kingdom of the antichrist where everything is is running full speed ahead if you will verse one and two tells us that over the centuries her influence has been to to leave people away from the faithfulness that they really need to show towards the lord the scarlet beast we have seen several times in our studies if you've been with us the beast represents both an individual in the book of revelation and a world empire here in the tribulation it is the revived roman empire that consists of 10 nation confederacy rome revelation chapter 13 and over this confederation rules the beast the antichrist filled with the power of the dragon satan himself that the beast is or should say that the harlot is riding upon the beast which suggests to us that at least in these last days religion is going to have a tremendous influence in establishing the final government and its leader the antichrist you're going to be gone the true church will no longer exist in that regard and those that were true believers have been killed for the most part but they're still a very vibrant and very influential and very political organization that's called the church that has a lot to do with finding this antichrist's power and giving him political and religious support and it is certainly something that the antichrist is going to use um [Music] we know that from the half way mark of the great tribulation at the three and a half year mark that this antichrist who has been schmoozing his way through the world will then have to play his cards he will come to a temple in jerusalem that's been rebuilt he will stop the worship there the the traditional jewish practice of approaching god through sacrifice and put an end to it he will demand to be worshipped as god and him alone to take his mark or or you die and he will demand as god to go it alone and and in fact according to the bible the harlot will soon then realize that she has made a terrible mistake and even the the worldly church will find itself as an enemy of the antichrist you'll read that down when we get to verse 16 and verse 17. once she was writing his coattails first three and a half years and he was writing hers but eventually she's going to fall into his wicked sites and the devil you know will not give glory to anyone but himself i want you to notice here in verse 3 as the lord gives us kind of this this insight into the judgment that he is now bringing upon the world that the harlot is not at all put off by the names of blasphemy that are written on this man of sin in other words the church the world church has no real problems with with those things that oppose god or or or or represent you know the those that are antagonistic towards the lord has no problems with this man of sin who is now in power and and possessed by hell names that just characterize his mission if you will and his rule and his nation we know from verse three that the seven heads and we've seen it a lot uh represent the the world kingdoms and their kings who have risen and ridden to power by the harlot as she played a tremendous role in the political and religious movement of men throughout the ages we will read down when we get to verse 9 and verse 10 that these seven heads represent both kingdoms and mountains and kings the ten horns as we said is a reference to the ten nation european confederacy from which the antichrist will arise that's where he's going to come from we will see him in his power as we will read as we continue that three of those ten nations he wants nothing to do with and he replaces them with three others and establishes his last i guess man's world empire it's the last one that will emerge to challenge god during this seven year period but these same heads and the same horns if you go back to chapter 13 we're seen on the dragon because behind the power of the antichrist is the devil so this is all one you're getting one package right the world is now seeing everything that satan and sin would seek to accomplish we read in verse four that the woman was arrayed as john saw her in purple and scarlet she looked like a hooker she was adorned with with gold and precious stones and pearls she had in her hand a golden cup but it was filled with abomination and the filthiness of her fornication god here portrays and we find it often in the bible that these false religious systems through the ages are really the work of a prostitute looking for a customer religion dresses itself up it looks good it appeals to me you know these these these purple and scarlet and gold you know they're always looking to find those to charm her very attire speaks of the materialistic desires that drive her it's a characteristic by the way that is shared by the beast and daniel mentions in chapter 11 verse 38 that he loves the honor of forkers and he he loves the honor of gold and silver and precious things and pleasant things he's just sold to that way of life religion and its gain and religion and wealth quite a picture religious looks wealth on display or lavishness in the name of the lord cathedral supposedly built in his altar you know honor gold altars the whole nine yards come and you know make your bed with me and serve the lord and and here's what you can have as a as a payment now measure that portrayal of of religious ways with the description that timothy is told by paul in first timothy chapter two of the godly woman how she addresses herself how she presents herself with modesty and propriety and moderation not with gold or pearls or fancy clothes but with godliness and good works but this is man's religion this is babylon in in its basic form but god isn't applauding this nor is he saying this was a challenge he's just saying he's burying this now because remember we're at the end of things right this has all not been laid to rest this is not going any further than this in fact if you read about the white linen of the saints in chapter 3 or or chapter 5 or chapter 19 of the saints pretty plain representative of the lord but this made-up woman in the wilderness only has death to offer her suitors religion has always been big business but that business is now done out of business will be the sign the lord is coming notice that this woman in her hand had a golden cup that seems attractive and rich isn't it but when you look in the cup that she's drinking of and offering to others inside there's nothing but filthiness it's the word for impurity or uncleanness that which doesn't measure up with god and abominations in fact i think essential if you look uh hold your place there just just turn maybe one page to chapter 19. i know we're getting ahead of ourselves here but verse 2 but it says this for true and righteous are your judgments because he has judged the great harlot who has corrupted the earth with her fornication and has avenged on her the blood of his servants shed by her shed by her be careful the heart has clean the harlot has claimed many lie and there's always room for one more we read in verse 5 on her forehead a name was written mystery babylon the great the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth remember the the sealed jewish 144 000 had a name upon them the worshipers of the beast had taken the mark had a name upon them but here's a name written upon this system and it uses the word mystery associating her with this final world government verse 7 here in a minute as well as you know the judgment of god to come by the way whenever you read the word mystery in the bible it just refers to something that is unknown until god makes it known the antidote for mystery biblically is not discovery or investigation the antidote for mystery in the bible is revelation in other words god will reveal something to you that you couldn't have known in any other way and so this revelation now comes from this angel this of course is not a reference to the literal city of babylon but everything that that literal city represented man apart from god religion apart from jesus politics apart from a purpose to pl to please the lord of heaven commercial pursuits that that that take your heart away it you know the mystery babylon is is the basis for every false religion under the under the sun notice it says the mother of all harlots and of every abomination upon the earth from this religious perversion has arisen countless abomination offered to men to help them through their lives but not turn them to the lord i would hope that and i'll mention this with i don't want to get into it too heavy what other people might say but this description alone should prohibit anyone from applying these verses to one religious group i know when you get to verse nine some people go say oh seven mountains it must be the seven mountains of rome this has to be the catholic church well i first of all take offense of that i was raised catholic so don't you do that and second of all it's way too limiting in its application this is the mother of all abominations this this spawned everything else if you try to limit it to one religious system it is certainly far more widespread than that from from her every ancient pagan practice witchcraft prison spiritism religion have have been spawned if you will and have proceeded and and the gods that you know that they worship are the gods that that satan certainly has dangled before men's eyes when paul wrote to the corinthians in first corinthians chapter eight he said even if they are the so-called gods whether they are in heaven or they're in earth there are many gods and there are many lords there's only one god and only one lord but in the world there's there's a whole you you can shop around if you want notice in verse 6 that we read i saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of jesus and when i saw her john said i marveled with great amazement i want you to notice that this that false religion has become and always has become the chief opponent to the true religion here with her hands dripping in blood she's exposed to god's judgment how many people do you suppose have been killed by the zealous religious folks who think that they're serving their god just think about afghanistan tonight or the way of these terrors who believe with all their hearts i guess that they're serving their god or the political expediency that has caused people to die for wealth for gain using the religion paul's crusade against the church early on what was he doing he was murdering christians separating families falsely accusing the saints because he believed that in so doing he was doing god's service when he got saved i think it was the one thing that haunted him the rest of his life he kept saying i'm the least of the apostles i don't even deserve to be an apostle the things that i did in the name of the lord well here the blood of the martyrs and the blood of the saints death and persecution has been shed by this religious system and i would challenge you to think it through religion has always been the greatest the greatest enemy to the gospel religion not the unbeliever but people with religious persuasions that don't believe yours they will kill blow themselves up in the in the public square just because when babylon falls this babylon we read in chapter 18 that the apostles and the prophets will be avenged in fact it says in verse let me see verse 19 of chapter 18 they threw dust on their heads and they cried out weeping and wailing and saying alas that great city in which all had ships on the sea becoming rich by their wealth in one hour she is made desolate rejoice over her o heavens and you apostles and prophets for god has avenged you on her it left john with a tremendous difficulty to continue the words were amazing here literally are beside yourself i i don't know if he what he or how he could handle what he was understanding it overwhelmed john if you go read the the book of daniel when daniel was shown by the lord the last four beasts the last world kingdoms that are coming which ends up in this kingdom that we're studying this final one daniel said the same thing he wrote in chapter 7 verse 28 to the end of this account for me daniel my thoughts greatly troubled me my countenance changed i had to keep it all in my heart one chapter later he wrote i daniel fainted i was sick for days afterwards i went about the king's business but i was astonished by the the vision i i no one understood it but just what he daniel saw the wickedness of what was coming the the destruction that would follow this false religious system it took daniel out it seems to have taken john out as well so the scope of this hideous beast the harlot the wealth the corruption the fornication the idolatry is now completely overthrown but it left john reeling to think about the influence and the destruction that the religion babylon had effectively duped the world with well then the angel says in verse 7 to john why do you marvel oh i'm sorry was i marveling yes i read it in verse six you're marveling no not at all what it says i will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her which has the seven heads and the ten horns so like i said john is awestruck by what he saw remember he's been on this island for quite some time and he is there as a direct result of political and religious persecution he literally has been sent there because of his faith now he's shown the destructiveness and the judgment that has come so the angel offers to make the vision more clear let me explain to you the mystery in other words let me reveal to you who this woman is and the mystery of the we the the beast the one with the seven heads and the ten horns and what follows in the rest of the chapter to verse 18 is a description and the clarification of the battle that is being fought and the judgment that has been laid down notice that the beast carries her which would suggest that satan has always been behind the religious ways of man and when this final world power comes to its zenith it will then like i said turn upon this harlot this this false religious system and consume her but for a time he will use religion to have his way a lot of people have done that they use the church the world's church to gain what they want verse 8 the angel continues the beast that you was that you saw was and is not and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and then go to perdition and those who dwell upon the earth will marvel whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundations of the world when they see the beast that was and is not and yet is this beast that we've learned like i said is both a kingdom and a king a person and a government this final government will exist as a revitalization a rebuilding of the old roman empire that one time was and then was not that in fact had not been for for centuries but now his reconstitution will rise again as this final uh 10 nation confess confederacy sorry behind this beast the antichrist however is the devil he will rise out of the bottomless pit you can read that in chapter 9 and this antichrist who was supposedly killed you remember being with us in chapter 3 13 verse 3 it says as if he was dead was he was wounded and he he was not and then he was again but in the end the devil the antichrist and this kingdom of followers are headed notice to perdition the word means to be destroyed but before then before that happens many will marvel the word marvel means to be impressed by or they they they they take it as a sign from this false christ you remember when we we started in chapter six we told you that when the antichrist comes upon the scene at least for three and a half years he will conquer with a bow without an arrow he doesn't have to fight he's good at what he does he'll fool you he'll trick you he'll he'll take you in and for a long time that's exactly what happened the people stood in marveled john can't believe the wickedness that he is seeing by the way both the beast the antichrist and the false prophet will not receive their judgment at the great white throne judgment when we get to chapter 20. in fact that's where all the unbelievers are going to be gathered right that's where they're going to stand before the lord for final judgment the lake of fire the second death gehenna but these two in particular the the false prophet and the antichrist will be the first occupants of gehenna they will go in a thousand years before satan is placed in there and the rest of the ungodly come there for their final place of judgment notice in verse 4 here or or chapter or i'm really wrong there let's look in verse 8. notice that those that are marveling there are those who names have not been written in the book from the beginning of the world now the religious are taken in in other words the marvel to all of this religious power that the antichrist is putting on only fools those who don't know god they're religious people but they have no relationship with god they will be the ones taken in they will have taken the mark of the beast and i i should point out to you that the words not written is in greek in the present tense but it's a passive verb which would suggest that their names had never been written in this book which might tell you that god always knows doesn't he that the lord knows and in his wisdom he acted accordingly it's like judas the lord knew what he would do but it didn't make him any less culpable so the lord didn't write these names down he knew what the decision of these folks were going to be they have now sealed their faith they marvel at the religion of man the power of the antichrist but they are lost eternally we read in verse 9 here is the mind which has wisdom or here think this through the seven heads are seven mountain upon which this woman sits there are also seven kings five have fallen one is and the other has not yet come and when he comes he must continue for a short time the beast that was and is not and is himself also the eighth is of the seven and is going towards destruction or perdition note from verse 9 and 10 that the seven heads are seven mountains and seven kings no doubt as we have said they they represent seven world kingdoms in fact as you continue verse 10 it makes it very clear right and that this last government of man the seventh one if you will is the revival of this old roman empire the term mountains or powerful or kingdoms all have the same reference if you will [Music] in other words these world governing kingdoms have now come to an end satan has been at the helm for each one now you you can read history books um go back in history in john's day when he was writing this five kingdoms had come and the the first world empire ever was the egyptian world empire it was followed by the assyrians by the babylonians by the medo-persians by the greeks and then by the romans which was still in control when john was riding so those are the world kingdoms that have come and gone there has not been a world kingdom since the roman empire since the fall of the roman empire no one has been in charge of the world they've talked about one world governments but there is one coming one which will be the basis for the takeover by satan and this man of sin in this world and it will be a rehash a rising out of the roman empire the last one that existed with a ten nation confederacy and in the end even as we read here in verse 11 that seventh world empire which will be taken by the antichrist he will eventually then turn away from the rulership even of that kingdom and he'll make an eighth one for himself he'll be the world kingdom i'll be one guy in charge if you will breaking away and demanding worship by himself because satan throughout history has always sought to lead men to live without god but he will make his final grab for power and jesus will then return and put an end to him for good but this is the way that it's going and even in verse 12 and verse 13 we read the ten horns which you saw are ten kings which have received no kingdom as yet but they receive authority for one hour for a short amount of time as kings with this antichrist they are of one mind and they will give their power and they will give their authority to the beast so it tells us three of the you know daniel and we mentioned it in verse early a few verses earlier three of these will will not make it and and then they will be replaced but they'll be ten total which then tells us in verse 14 these this final world empire will make war with the lamb but the lamb will overcome them for he is the lord of lords and the king of kings and those who are with him you and i are called and chosen and faithful now if you're looking to put things in chronological order this one can fit you can pick this up and move this right over to chapter 19. because all john is given is a looking ahead to this this final world empire driven by their their religious persuasions and support um it will at the end of things gather together to defeat the lamb if we can get rid of the lamb if we get rid of god then we rule the world but it's a hopeless struggle at best and when we get to chapter 19 it's going to be real funny to watch jesus go i don't think so pretty sure that's the original greek actually i don't think so but we'll see if i can prove that when we get there verse 15 and then he said to me the angel to john the waters which you saw were the harlot sits they are people and multitudes nations and tongues so you pick that up and you take that back diverse one and god defines for you the judgment of the great harlot who sits upon many waters where does she sit amongst the people and multitudes and nations and languages and the ten horns which you have seen on the beast these will hate the harlot make her desolate and naked eat her flesh and burn her with fire for god has put it into their hearts to fulfill his purpose to be of one mind and to give their kingdom to the beast until the words of god are fulfilled or in other words religion is only going to help until the antichrist and the devil get what they want and then even religion won't be welcome the religion will consist of them and them alone so john gives us a definition of the waters and the worlds of the generations and told us in verse 16 that the harlot the false religious system will play an extensive pardon in electing and establishing the antichrist until he's firmly in power halfway mark and then even the antichrist will turn against the false church because he doesn't want any competitors he wants everything he he wants to be god if you will amongst the people when he comes to demand worship as the only god even the lost will protest because everyone has their idea of what god and who god is and war with the established community of religious community will follow but ultimately they will be brought together by an even greater threat god's judgment when daniel writes in chapter 11 and let me just read this to you he said then the king shall do according to his own will this is the antichrist he will exalt and magnify himself above every god he will speak blasphemies against the god of gods and shall prosper until the wrath has been accomplished for what has been determined shall be done he shall neither regard the god of his fathers nor the desire for women or regard any god for he shall exalt himself above them all but in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses a god which his father didn't know he'll honor gold and silver precious stones and pleasant things he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god which he shall acknowledge and advance in glory and he shall come to rule over many and divide the land for gain that's the antichrist he will he will get to power with the religion and then turn against the very religion that has raised him up he will bite the hand that fed him so to speak in a very negative sense ironically false religion will be destroyed by the chief of false religion now we read in verse 17 this is god's will he's letting all this continue for this time to gather everyone together because the judgment is now finished and and this way of life has been destroyed so verse 18 and the woman who you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth again it's a general worldwide kind of application certainly the antichrist's home and his rulership will be in jerusalem but that's the reference here is to babylon metaphorically the influence that it's had in every place verse 15 over every nation over every people and over every tongue and language though this final world religion and influence and like i said comes from the jerusalem area the antichrist will rule over the world to the end he'll try and even religion will fail in the process so today the the world is filled with satan's counterfeit sometimes they're very subtle we even i'm sure if you're speaking up for the unborn and in some of those things you are probably questioned by the world as to i thought you loved people as if somehow you know the religion of man has to somehow accommodate the sins of man politicians love to use religion to gain votes and not just on the right they do it on the left as well the church the real church of jesus would be wise to see her role as providers of the of the gospel that's your job provide the gospel forget the politics i mean look you should be as involved as you feel god would have you to be politically in your community in the country do whatever you need to do just don't expect it from the pulpit because we need jesus in our lives and the church certainly needs to bring him to the people be a good citizen individually but collectively we are called to preach the kingdom of heaven and we are most effective when walking in the spirit and sharing the love of jesus you know paul said in the philippians chapter 3 verse 20 our citizenship is in heaven where we eagerly wait for our savior the lord jesus christ so you know that's what i'm waiting for how about you i want jesus to come well next week it'll be much more enjoyable it is rough stuff after all we're reading tombstones but if you can get through chapter 18 and all of the things that the lord says about the commerce of man and boy it's going to hit home i think with our hearts and in many ways um then we'll find the the finality of the judgment against babylon and then we will turn to chapter 19 and and we will go with jesus you got to stick through the whole book just to get to the chapter 8 19. i'm telling you but next week we'll look at commercial babylon and god again gives us his view of man in his commerce and his gain under the banner of babylon and his ways that again have been destroyed materialism religion politics it's laid to rest here with those seven bold judgments and the lord will now come with his church to rule and to reign in other words the end of this it's the end how close can we be i don't know but i'm praying the lord comes i'd like to all leave with you together as one don't you think a little trumpet practice you know here we go well we'll see we'll see either way gotta occupy father thank you tonight for your goodness to us i know these are awful hard chapters to sit to and through and and yet you've given us an understanding of what they they mean and say you've given us lots of explanation even by the angel we've had 16 chapters to to learn the basics of what we're looking at and lord we realize that there is a a great harlot it it operates in politicals and in religious and commercial circles it is antichrist it is it is fit for use by by the devil and his servants it will destroy and has destroyed thousands of lives it it raises its ugly head to oppose the things of god it is a destructive force in the world the false religions of man behind it sits the devil it is his plan to control and to use religion to control man's heart to turn away his devotion to god to stop his ears from hearing the truth but in the end he loses and the saints are gathered to the lord and man will be mystified i guess as he realizes how duped he has become it just left john beside himself lord help us to see that even lord what we read in your word in timothy that there are plenty of folks tonight that have been taken captive by the devil to do his will but maybe through your love through the sharing of your word perhaps you might give them repentance to life thank you lord for bringing us out of that darkness may you use us to teach and to tell others as well if tonight you are maybe you're a religious person but to be honest jesus has no part in your religion your religion still depends upon you and your behavior and your accomplishments you still have to make a list of your of things to your credit you're hoping that you've done enough to find that favor of that man upstairs but you should know that the wages of sin is death and you're a sinner so regardless of what plans you make you're headed for destruction there's really no way out not on your own and had god not cared for you or if he didn't care about us that would have been our plight but the same god who made us and then gave us a choice and watched us fall into sin had already a plan in mind to redeem us he's a holy god he said sin requires death so that's not going to change that's the declarations of a holy god but what he can do is take your punishment for you love you enough to stand in your place so that he can say to you i've sent my son and thereupon the cross i poured out upon him the sins of the world your sins included and if you will rely upon his sacrifice his death his resurrection i will give you what he deserves a fellowship with god for all of eternity he'll take what you deserve he'll give you what he deserves it has nothing to do with your list of good accomplishments and good intentions it has everything to do with the hopelessness that man finds himself in his sin and the goodness of god to provide a way out for him you don't need a resume you need faith and trust in god's only begotten son and ultimately in heaven when you stand before the lord i think there will only be one question asked of you i don't think you'll be rehashing your your old sin or your or your wayward thoughts or your your wicked ideas or whatever it is that we know about ourselves i think the only question you're going to be asked is what have you done with my son because to jesus god has given all judgment if you have the son you have life if you have the son not if you do not have him you do not have life but just a fearful looking for judgment here in chapter 17 that's it because of the gospel having gone out now there's nothing more to be said than the final judgment of god's fault tonight that hasn't fallen in your life and you can ask jesus to be the lord of your life to forgive your sins and to turn your confidence from you and your weak attempts at covering up some sin to god's son who gloriously came without sin and lived a perfect life and provided a way where we could be delivered from ourselves that's why the word saved is used we need saving we need to be saved god will save you tonight through his son call upon him agree with him about you agree with him about him thank him for his for his coming because then when this all goes down jesus chapter 4 will come and take his own out first and gather them where he might have them with him before the judgment falls because you've been delivered from his wrath you've been given life if you're here with us tonight the pastors will be up front afterwards come and tell them hey i pray to receive the lord tonight we'll give you some bible studies to take home if you're in the overflow there'll be a pastor therefore if you're online again just look down at the description box and follow the links that talk about being saved and you can get the same bible verses that we're going to give out tonight it'll it'll be what you need to hear from god don't take my word for it look at his word [Music] we serve a wonderful god who's been so patient but like everything else at some point patience gives way to judgment thank the lord he's patient still come to jesus tonight let him be the lord of your life he'll be glad you did and so will i and so will the rest of us you

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Length: 52min 7sec (3127 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 09 2021