Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox
Series Code: RJC
Program Code: RJC000025
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00:18 And good evening and welcome to The Revelation of Jesus Christ:
00:24 the study of the book of Revelation chapter by chapter. 00:29 And tonight we're looking at the 18th chapter 00:34 of the book of Revelation. 00:36 We would like to welcome all of you that are here 00:38 and also welcome those that are watching by television 00:41 or listening on the radio or following on the Internet. 00:46 We are very happy to have you 00:48 and we hope that this study of the book of Revelation 00:51 has opened your eyes. 00:55 Helped you to understand where we are in the stream of time. 00:59 What's happening... what's taking place. 01:02 And as we finish up... this has been a four-part series 01:07 and we're down to the fourth part. 01:10 Final events: what happens at the very, very end 01:16 is what we're looking at. 01:18 And so we hope that you will follow carefully tonight 01:21 as we study God's Word. Our subject this evening is: 01:28 Now you pick up your Bible 01:32 and you'll find that invitation after invitation 01:35 after invitation has been given by God. 01:38 You can remember God gave a very, very definite invitation 01:43 in the days of Noah and invited the people. 01:48 That was an invitation that was given. 01:50 You also find that God gave a very definite 01:53 invitation in the days of the Jewish people. 01:58 He send prophet after prophet after prophet... 02:01 gave invitation for the people to follow. 02:05 Come into the time of the New Testament: same thing. 02:08 God gave one invitation after another. 02:10 Well tonight we're down to the last invitation. 02:15 There won't be another one after this, folks. 02:17 This is the final one. 02:20 And so we hope it will help you 02:23 understand what's happening because the door 02:30 of mercy closes in the 18th chapter. 02:36 That's what happens. And so as we go through it, follow it. 02:42 Tomorrow, our next presentation we enter into... moves on 02:47 and we get into the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. 02:53 In other words, this controversy is over 02:57 and God has invited the people to the marriage supper 03:01 of the Lamb. And we'll be taking a look at this wonderful 03:04 wonderful time that God has prepared for His people 03:08 in the marriage. And so you don't want to miss 03:12 tomorrow or the next presentation 03:15 on the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. 03:16 It will be something I think that will bless you 03:19 in a special way. 03:21 So we're glad you're here. 03:23 Glad that you are able to follow us. 03:26 Be sure and take your Bible and paper... take notes, 03:31 follow along as we continue to study God's Word together. 03:37 We were blessed 03:41 last series that we did here 03:44 to have with us a quartet. They came and sang for us, 03:48 and we got so many telephone calls and so many letters 03:54 of people saying how much they enjoyed the quartet. 03:58 And... and we just really... 04:00 We also just enjoyed having them with us very much. 04:03 And fortunately we were able 04:07 to bring them back with us again. 04:10 And we're sure you're going to enjoy having them here with us 04:14 for the rest of this week especially. 04:17 So we're very happy to have His Voice Quartet. 04:21 And I'm going to ask them to introduce themselves... 04:24 tell you where they're from 04:26 and what part they sing in the quartet. 04:30 Hi, my name is Doug Leno and I'm coming to you from 04:34 Meridian, Idaho, and I'll be singing bass tonight. 04:37 My name is Todd Spainhower, and I'm from Boise, Idaho, 04:42 and I sing first tenor. 04:45 And I'm Kevin Spainhower. I come from Caldwell, Idaho, 04:48 and I sing second tenor. 04:49 I'm Harold Dixon. I come from Garden City, Idaho, 04:54 and I sing baritone. 04:55 Sounds like we're scattered all over the state 04:58 But it's 30 miles from my house to Kevin's 05:00 and they're in between. 05:02 Tonight we want to sing for you when the time comes 05:05 a song that expresses our desire to be ready 05:08 when God gives His last call: 05:10 Ready to Walk in Jerusalem Just Like John. 05:13 Great! I'm sure you'll enjoy that. 05:15 You may have noticed that two of them here 05:18 the name is Spainhower. 05:21 And Doug, I think, has some kind of relationship to that also. 05:26 And of course one of the things about it is 05:30 Dona's maiden name was Spainhower. 05:34 So might get you the connection that's involved here. 05:36 Anyhow, we're very happy that you're here. 05:39 Before they sing I'm going to ask Chuck to come out 05:41 and read with you the 18th chapter 05:44 of the book of Revelation. 05:48 Good evening. 05:50 If you have your Bibles again tonight, 05:51 we want you to turn to the book of Revelation chapter 18 05:55 and we're going to read that together. 05:57 So if you have your Bibles, 05:59 turn them to the book of Revelation chapter 18. 06:02 Let's read together: 10:25 May God add His blessing to His Word. 10:31 I want to be ready, 10:35 I want to be ready, 10:38 I want to be ready 10:42 to walk in Jerusalem just like John. 10:45 I want to be ready, 10:49 I want to be ready, 10:52 I want to be ready 10:55 to walk in Jerusalem just like John. 10:59 Oh John, oh John, now didn't you say... 11:03 walk in Jerusalem just like John... 11:06 that you'd be there on that great day? 11:10 Walk in Jerusalem just like John. 11:13 I want to be ready, 11:17 I want to be ready, 11:20 I want to be ready 11:24 to walk in Jerusalem just like John. 11:27 I want to be ready, 11:31 I want to be ready, 11:35 I want to be ready 11:38 to walk in Jerusalem just like John. 11:41 King Jesus rise in the middle of the air... 11:46 Walk in Jerusalem just like John. 11:49 I pray the Lord 11:52 we'll all be there... 11:59 Walk in Jerusalem just like... 12:02 just like John. I want to be ready, 12:06 I want to be ready, 12:10 I want to be ready 12:13 to walk in Jerusalem. 12:15 Great day! Great... 12:18 Great day! The righteous marching. 12:22 Great day! Great... 12:25 Walk in Jerusalem just like John. 12:29 I want to walk in Jerusalem 12:31 just like John. I want to walk 12:33 in Jerusalem just like John. 12:36 Walk in Jerusalem, walk in Jerusalem 12:39 just like John. 12:42 I want to walk in Jerusalem just like John. 12:46 I want to walk in Jerusalem just like John. 12:50 Walk in Jerusalem, walk in Jerusalem 12:53 just like... walk in Jerusalem 12:57 just like John! 13:04 Amen! 13:21 Father in heaven, tonight 13:25 as we approach the end 13:28 of the book of Revelation, 13:31 and as we look at the closing events 13:36 in the history of mankind, 13:39 we pray that our eyes may be open. 13:43 That we might be receptive to Your Word. 13:48 May the Holy Spirit be here to lead and guide and direct us. 13:54 May we understand 13:59 and may we desire that we might 14:05 do Your will and follow You in all that we do. 14:11 Bless us in our study this evening 14:14 we ask in Christ's name, Amen. 14:26 The 18th chapter of Revelation opens with this angel 14:32 that is standing in the sun. 14:35 And this angel has a message 14:42 that is so powerful that it illuminates the earth. 14:47 Listen to what it says about it: 14:59 So this angel speaks with great authority 15:04 and what he has to say illuminates the earth. 15:09 This message that this angel is speaking 15:13 is what gives impetus to the third angel of Revelation 14. 15:18 It's what causes it to move across the earth 15:22 with great power and brings what the scripture refers to 15:27 as the loud cry or the latter rain. 15:32 This is what brings it about is this angel's message. 15:36 And this third angel in Revelation the 14th chapter 15:41 had this to say: 15:52 In other words, it's being pro- claimed across the whole earth. 16:11 So this third angel is proclaiming a message 16:15 across the earth telling the people to refrain from 16:19 receiving the mark of the beast. 16:21 And this angel of Revelation 18 16:24 adds emphasis to that and it's proclaimed across the earth. 16:29 So this that we're looking at tonight 16:33 basically is the last invitation 16:39 that God is giving to mankind. 16:42 The very last one... there won't be another one. 16:46 The last invitation that He's giving to mankind. 16:50 Years ago a lady by the name of Ellen G. White 16:55 made a statement about people that had written her. 17:00 I want you to listen to what she said: 17:16 Now the third angel's message is that you and I 17:20 should not receive the mark of the beast. 17:23 That's what the message is. 17:25 And she said "this is the third angel's message in verity. " 17:30 So what did she mean when she is saying 17:34 "this is the third angel's message in verity? " 17:37 What is the message of righteousness by faith? 17:42 When we talk about righteousness by faith... 17:46 what's... what's involved in that? 17:49 What do we mean? 17:50 If the third angel's message is that and the people are 17:54 asked to follow the Lord and to walk with Him, 17:57 and that we're to have righteousness by faith. 18:02 Well, I'd like to define what righteousness by faith is. 18:06 To begin, righteousness by faith is yielding 18:11 the will to the will of God. 18:18 Now let me say that again. 18:20 Righteousness by faith is yielding the will 18:25 to the will of God. 18:29 I must, if I'm going to walk by righteousness by faith - 18:34 I'm going to walk by faith - I must surrender 18:39 my will to His will. 18:45 It won't work any other way. OK. 18:50 Secondly, it's rendering obedience to His commandments. 18:56 In other words, if I'm going to yield my will 19:02 to His will, then I must 19:07 be obedient to God's commandments. 19:11 If God says "This is the way, " 19:16 then I must walk in that. 19:20 And I can't do it as I think I should... 19:25 I have to do it as I understand He wants it done. 19:31 And thirdly, it's making His standard of righteousness 19:36 the aim of our lives. 19:39 In other words, His standard of righteousness 19:43 must be the aim of my life. 19:46 That is righteousness by faith. 19:51 But you say: "That's a pretty tall order. " 19:54 Sure it is; it has to be. 19:57 It wouldn't be if it wasn't to call you and I to step up; 20:03 to follow Him; to accept by faith 20:06 what He's willing to do for us. 20:08 So what does that mean when it says 20:12 righteousness by faith? What is faith? 20:16 What is faith? 20:20 Well faith is really quite simple. 20:23 Faith is simply trusting in God. 20:34 David could say: "In God I put my trust. " 20:38 In other words, if righteousness by faith 20:44 is going to work in my life, 20:46 then I must be yielded to His will 20:52 and I must trust Him to do whatever He wants to do 20:58 with me... completely. 21:01 I must learn total and complete 21:05 dependence upon Him. 21:09 Only when I come to the place that I understand that 21:13 then does it begin to work in my life. 21:16 Abraham of old... it says: 21:26 What did he believe in the Lord about? 21:30 What did he believe? 21:32 Well he believed one thing: 21:35 that God had promised him an heir. 21:39 And humanly... impossible. 21:45 It couldn't be done... 21:48 because it says very clearly 21:51 that Sarah had never been able to have a child. 21:55 It even says she was past that time of life. 21:59 And if you read Romans it tells you that Abraham 22:02 was beyond that time. 22:04 So humanly, impossible to have a child... 22:08 but God promised him one. 22:11 Also, took him and put him in the land of Canaan 22:14 that was hostile to him 22:17 and said: "I'm going to give you this land. " 22:20 And he believed God. 22:24 Believed what the Lord said, 22:26 and it was accounted to him as "righteousness. " 22:31 So with me and with you 22:34 when God says: "This is what you should do, " 22:39 then I must believe Him and follow 22:43 when it comes to questions of faith. 22:54 That's faith: 22:57 when it's the vehicle by which I lay hold of what God 23:01 has done for me. 23:03 In other words, if I understand the book right - 23:08 and I hope and pray by grace that I understand what 23:12 God is saying - that my righteousness 23:15 won't count. 23:20 But I understand that Christ's righteousness does count 23:26 and that I can only 23:30 have His righteousness by faith. 23:35 I can't get it any other way. 23:39 I can't say: "Well, I'll do this and this and this. " 23:42 No... it's given totally and completely on faith. 23:49 Way it comes. All right. 24:02 That commandment is intricately tied up 24:07 in the question of the mark of the beast. 24:12 Why? 24:14 Well it says: "All that do not have the mark 24:18 should be... killed. " 24:24 Well did you ever think about it? 24:26 Why would that particular commandment be 24:29 intricately tied up in that question? 24:33 Well, if I believe something 24:38 and it's totally in my head what I believe, 24:42 you can't do much about that. 24:45 You don't know what's going on up here, 24:50 so you can't do much about that. 24:54 But if what I believe affects my lifestyle 24:59 you can do something about that. 25:02 You can pass legislation that affects that... 25:08 my lifestyle. 25:10 This is where the Sabbath comes in. The problem is 25:14 is that Sabbath commandment - that fourth commandment - 25:18 is the only one of the commandments that tells you 25:23 who the true God is. 25:25 It's the only one of the 10 that tells you who the true God is. 25:29 See, I can take this altar here 25:34 and make it my god. 25:36 People do that to this day. 25:41 And I could say: "My god says 25:45 I'm not to take his name in vain. " 25:49 "My god says that I'm not to 25:52 have any other gods before him. " 25:55 "My god says I'm to honor my father and my mother. " 26:02 "My god says I should not kill. " 26:04 I can take all nine of those commandments 26:07 and apply it to that... 26:09 but when I come to the fourth one, it won't fit 26:15 because it says that He "created heaven and earth. " 26:21 That leaves out anything that man has made. 26:26 You see? So that commandment becomes very, very important 26:31 and if I take anything - listen to me carefully, folks - 26:37 if I take anything else and I put it 26:42 in place of what God has given, 26:46 that is righteousness by works. 26:53 Righteousness by faith is only 26:57 when you accept what God has given. 27:01 Only way it fits... 27:05 no other way. 27:07 OK. Let's go on and let's take a look at what happens here now. 27:11 Says: 27:27 So this angel is proclaiming that Babylon has fallen. 27:33 Please notice there is a great difference 27:37 between when she has fallen and when she's destroyed. 27:45 Because she can fall in the eyes of God 27:50 and not in the eyes of man. 27:54 And when it's saying here: "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, " 27:58 it's talking about her falling in the eyes of God. 28:02 She's not following what He says. 28:18 In other words, Babylon has come forth 28:22 and through what she has done the whole world 28:25 and all the merchants of the earth and all 28:28 have become wealthy through what she has done. 28:32 In other words, Babylon has been well received 28:37 by the world but she has fallen in the eyes of God. 28:43 Simply what it's saying here. 28:45 Says they have become "drunk. " And I told you about this. 28:48 You know, it's very, very difficult 28:51 to reason with a drunk. 28:54 I can remember when I was a young pastor, 28:57 we were holding some meetings, another fellow and I. 29:01 We were working on things for the meeting: pitching a tent 29:05 and so forth. And in the town was a... 29:08 a drunk. He was drunk all the time. 29:12 And we decided that we were going to help him 29:16 and convert him, see? 29:18 And so we hired him to work... work with us. 29:21 And being a young pastor and not very smart 29:27 he worked for us for several days and then 29:32 I didn't have enough sense not to pay him. 29:35 And I paid him, and you know what he did. 29:39 He took the money and went and got drunk! 29:42 And I can remember we went looking for him 29:46 and finally found him, but we couldn't reason with him. 29:49 We couldn't get him to do anything, 29:51 but he came to the meeting that night. 29:53 And sitting there in the meeting and I'm preaching... 29:57 and he gets up and starts down the aisle 30:00 saying: "Eve came from an apple. Eve came from an apple. " 30:05 And we all called him Moose, and I said: "Moose, 30:09 sit down and be quiet. " 30:10 And he sat down in one of the chairs and didn't say any more. 30:13 But you just can't reason with a drunk. 30:16 So understand: these people are drunk with the wine 30:21 of her fornication. That's what they're drunk with. 30:24 What is that? 30:27 This woman, this harlot: Babylon. 30:29 What is that she's made the world drunk with her wine? 30:34 Well, you have three things here; 30:38 I talked about them last night. 30:40 Babylon is made up of three things. 30:42 It's made up of Paganism, 30:44 and it's made up of Protestantism, 30:48 and it's made up of Catholicism. 30:50 Those are the three because you have three characters involved. 30:55 You have a dragon which represents Paganism. 30:58 You have a beast which represents Catholicism, 31:02 and you have the false prophet which represent Protestantism. 31:05 And this is a mixture of all that 31:09 put together and that makes what the scripture refers to 31:12 as Babylon. And they have become... 31:16 the inhabitants of the earth have become drunk 31:19 through what she teaches such as the immortality of the soul 31:23 that comes straight from Paganism. 31:26 This is where it comes from. 31:29 And it was given to the Catholic church 31:31 and then from the Catholic church to Protestantism. 31:33 And so today the whole world is full of the idea 31:36 that man does not die. 31:40 That he goes off to another place. 31:43 But this is not what the book teaches, folks. 31:46 There's no foundation for that in the Word of God. 31:50 Or you can take the belief of the false Sabbath. 31:53 Sunday worship: not based on scripture. 31:56 Came directly from Paganism and passed on to these others. 32:01 And this becomes the belief and what the scripture refers to 32:07 as Babylon. 32:09 And the world is drunk with the wine of her fornication. 32:20 Please notice God is saying 32:23 very clearly that He has His people in Babylon. 32:28 That's why I'm telling you that at this point 32:32 the door of mercy is not closed. 32:37 Tonight the door of mercy is not closed. 32:42 Tonight it's open, 32:44 and a person can come to God and I can give Him my heart 32:47 and I can surrender my life to Him 32:49 and I can commit my life to Him. 32:51 And the door of mercy is open tonight to receive mercy. 32:55 But the day is coming, and we're going to see it in this chapter, 32:58 in which that door closes. 33:01 And when that door closes, there will be no more 33:05 opportunity to come to God. 33:07 But right now He says: 33:09 "Calling My people to come out of her"... come out of Babylon. 33:14 "Don't continue to live in Babylon. " 33:17 That's the invitation God's giving. 33:21 Now, what's the problem here? 33:24 Babylon. Let me tell you about Babylon. 33:31 Things are good in Babylon. 33:38 They have lived in luxury on the earth. 33:42 I mean things are nice in Babylon. 33:46 Go back to Babylon of old, 33:48 and the Jewish people were carried off to Babylon. 33:52 Don't think that when they were carried off to Babylon 33:55 and lived in Babylon that they had it rough. 33:58 They didn't. 34:00 Have you forgotten? 34:02 Daniel was the prime minister of the country. 34:07 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego held very, very high offices. 34:12 I mean they were treated great. 34:15 They had nice homes. They had good jobs. 34:18 Things were good in Babylon. 34:22 It wasn't hard... it was good there. 34:28 In fact, it was so good 34:32 that after 70 years in Babylon 34:35 and God said: "The time has come to go back to Jerusalem, " 34:39 this is what happened... 34:41 Ezra decided to take a group back to Jerusalem. 34:46 Listen to what happened here: 35:04 I mean, they... He said: "We're going to take a group 35:07 back to Jerusalem, live there. " 35:09 Not one of the tribe of Levi showed up. 35:14 Not one! 35:17 They all had it nice in Babylon. 35:23 Right there... stay there. 35:27 In fact, he had to go back to make another appeal 35:31 before he got some of them to go with him back to Jerusalem. 35:35 Why not go back to Jerusalem? 35:37 Well, because things aren't very nice in Jerusalem. 35:41 There's no jobs in Jerusalem. 35:44 The city's in ruins. 35:47 Things are not good there at all... it's rough. 35:49 It's hard. Get the picture? 35:56 In the last days it's not going to be good 36:02 among God's people. 36:06 It's going to be good in Babylon. 36:13 And you have to make a decision whether you're going to 36:16 come out of Babylon and be on God's side 36:20 or whether you're going to go along with Babylon. 36:22 That decision has to be made which way you're going to go. 36:27 And so He's saying: "Come out of her My people 36:34 that you do not receive her plagues. " 36:37 This is... this is 36:42 God's last call. 36:46 I'm sorry folks... there's not another one. 36:49 When we come to there, that will be it. 36:53 There won't be another time 36:57 another place in which God's going to invite. 37:02 It will be over. 37:04 Watch what happens from this point on. 37:16 You can come to God. You can accept Him, you can follow Him. 37:20 But the door of mercy now is open. 37:23 But starting at this point the door closes. 37:39 The cup is full. 37:43 "Her sins have reached to heaven 37:46 and God has remembered her iniquities. " 37:57 When does that happen? 37:59 When it says her sins have reached to heaven 38:04 and God remembers her iniquity, 38:05 when does that take place? 38:07 Well that takes place when this happens: 38:22 When that decree is made 38:27 that those who do not have the mark of the beast - 38:31 those who do not worship the image to the beast - 38:34 should be killed... 38:46 Said he would cause all... 38:50 It means... speak means to legislate. 38:53 Cause means to enforce. 38:56 And so when mankind enforces those 39:00 to follow the beast and to follow what the beast says, 39:04 dear friend, that is when her sins have reached unto heaven. 39:10 And that is when, I'm sorry, 39:13 but the door of mercy closes. 39:17 That's when it happens. 39:19 So Babylon who has 39:25 taken a position against God... 39:28 the time has come for the door to close. 39:33 Paganism, Protestantism, Catholicism. 39:39 Paganism has always been, 39:43 basically counter 39:49 to what God has taught. 39:52 I mean all the way through the Bible you find 39:54 that Paganism has always taught different than what 39:57 the scripture taught. 40:00 Catholicism... God in His mercy 40:06 and in His kindness pled with her for years 40:13 to change. 40:17 Wouldn't. And so you have because she would not change - 40:22 growing out of that the Reformation. 40:25 And you found that great men such as 40:31 Knox and Calvin and Luther 40:36 and Zwingli and all those great reformers 40:39 that stood up and took the Word of God 40:41 and built their belief on the Word of God 40:44 and said: "This is where we stand. " 40:46 And out of that the great Protestant movement was born. 40:51 And even when the Pilgrims came over to the United States 40:55 and as they were getting on the ship 40:58 their Pastor Robinson stood there and talked with them 41:02 and he urged them that when they got to the New World 41:06 that they would follow the Word of God. 41:08 And then he said something... he said to them: 41:10 "As you understand what the scripture teaches, 41:14 walk in the light of it. " 41:19 And unfortunately, Protestantism 41:26 did not continue to walk in the light that God gave them. 41:32 And they have given up what they stood for, 41:36 and today there's no conviction 41:42 there of what God's Word says and to follow 41:45 what the Word says. 41:46 And so you have the uniting now 41:49 of those powers bringing together 41:54 what the scripture classifies as Babylon. 42:00 They unite on the worship 42:04 of a day that God never gave. 42:07 They believe beliefs that the scripture does not teach. 42:14 They turn away from that of the Sabbath 42:19 and refuse to follow 42:23 what God says about the Sabbath. 42:26 And for those reasons, her cup is full. 42:30 So He says this to her: 42:47 Says: "Give back to her double what she gave. " 43:10 Now folks, you've got to understand... 43:12 The Bible teaches clearly that there is a period of time 43:16 in which Babylon will sit as a queen. 43:21 And it will be great and things will be wonderful. 43:26 And the whole world will wonder after her 43:30 and follow what she has put off. So much so 43:34 that it says they are "drunk 43:37 by the wine of her fornication. " 43:40 So you can't... there's going to be a time 43:43 in which this will be very, very good. 44:00 He said: "She's lived luxuriously. 44:02 She has not followed what God's Word says. 44:07 Therefore give to her double of what she has given. " 44:12 And dear friends, the seven last plagues 44:17 will be double of anything that she has ever had. 44:23 Probation for the human race 44:28 will have closed. 44:32 Those words in Revelation where it says: 44:34 "He that is righteous, let him be righteous still; 44:38 and he that is holy, let him be holy still; 44:43 he who is filthy, let him be filthy still. " 44:47 Those words are pronounced and probation closes for mankind. 44:53 And as probation closes 44:57 then these things that they have had and lived so luxuriously 45:01 with all come to an end. 45:10 Now as I told you, some people take those things and 45:13 would like to apply that as 15 days. 45:17 And one day = one year, I should say. 45:21 One hour they apply as 15 days. 45:25 I don't know. 45:27 I would say it refers more to a short period of time. 45:31 But "her plagues will come in one day. " 45:43 I mean He's going to pour out His wrath upon her. 46:00 They're going to see Babylon and all that she stood for 46:04 crumbling. Now folks, these... 46:08 Put together what you heard previously last night 46:12 where these ten kings and the beast and the false prophet 46:18 all accept her and follow her, 46:21 and they're all in agreement with her, 46:23 but now all the things that she has said 46:26 is crumbling... coming down. 46:29 And they stand back and they weep. 46:46 I mean it has moved swiftly upon them. 47:03 You see, they are the ones that will turn against her. 47:07 Like I told you, it says those ten kings 47:10 gave their authority to the beast. 47:15 You don't find them giving it to the woman. 47:18 They gave it to the beast. 47:21 And so those ten kings, the beast, the false prophet 47:25 all turn against the woman. 47:29 Make her desolate and naked. 47:31 Eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 47:36 You have complete financial collapse 47:42 taking place here. That's what's pictured in the 18th chapter 47:46 is financial collapse of everything around. 47:50 Watch as he talks about the merchants: 48:02 I mean, they have had it good. 48:05 They've lived luxuriously; things have gone well. 48:08 But now all of a sudden it's come crashing down 48:11 and no one buys their merchandise any more. 48:34 All the things that man has made and that man sells 48:39 and trades for back and forth... 48:41 all that ceases to be worth anything. 48:48 All your gold 48:54 all your silver 48:56 will be worth nothing. 49:00 What is gold worth 49:04 or what is silver worth 49:07 if it won't buy anything? 49:12 If you can't buy anything with it, what's it worth? 49:18 Reminds me of when I have gone over to Israel. 49:22 When you get off the plane or get out there and go through 49:25 the cities and these little kids come up 49:28 always asking for a dollar. 49:30 You know, and I've reached in my pocket and pulled out 49:34 some change and handed them change 49:36 and they just throw it on the ground 49:39 'cause it's not worth anything. 49:42 Not worth anything... just throw it on the ground. 49:45 They'll take the gold... throw it on the ground. 49:48 It won't be worth a thing, folks. 49:50 All come to an end. 50:18 I mean, financial collapse has taken place. 50:24 None of it will be worth anything. 50:41 Those that accepted her with arms, praised her greatness, 50:45 now are going to stand back and they're going to mourn 50:48 and weep because she's come to an end. 51:00 Merchandise is not worth a thing. 51:05 Not only folks... not only is the merchandise 51:09 not worth anything, but world trade will come to an end. 51:15 I mean, today we live in a time where you can 51:18 trade all over the world. I mean you can go home, 51:22 sit down at your computer, 51:24 and you can buy anything in Japan, Germany, France. 51:28 Anywhere in the world you can shop. 51:31 That all comes to an end. Listen: 51:48 That's world trade. 51:58 What's like Babylon... this great city? 52:00 All the things that we experience. 52:24 Babylon has fallen... it's over! 53:24 You see, dear friend, what it's simply telling us? 53:29 The time is short. 53:32 You and I have time right now, but it's run out. 53:37 When we hit this time, it's over. 53:42 There's no more time 53:44 because when we take a look at the 19th chapter 53:47 the first verse says: 53:59 You see, God's kingdom has come into being. 54:02 We're going to take a look at the marriage supper of the Lamb. 54:07 It's come down to the end. The controversy is over. 54:12 God has brought it to an end. 54:16 Dear friend, you and I need to make absolutely sure 54:21 that we're walking by faith, following Him, obeying Him. 54:27 That our wills are surrendered to His will. 54:31 That we will follow the Word of God. 54:34 May God bless you 54:35 as you continue to study the Word of God. 54:39 In the heart of southern Illinois 54:42 lies a small town named after A. J. Mason 54:46 who came in 1923 with plans for a dream city 54:50 and the largest coal mine in the United States. 54:54 Surveyors laid out the streets and the sidewalk 54:57 and workers built the tallest smokestack in the country 55:01 complete with a Spanish turret 55:03 and decorative cathedral doors at the top. 55:07 Railroad tracks were laid, 55:09 and as word of this dream city spread 55:12 people flocked in by the thousands. 55:15 But as the black coal came out of those deep tunnels 55:18 miners came closer and closer to the end of the dream. 55:24 And after just three years of mining 55:26 an underground river flooded the shaft. 55:30 Suddenly the operations became very costly 55:33 and although Mr. Mason poured millions into his mine 55:38 eventually it was taken over by the bank. 55:41 People left the city in droves. 55:44 Some didn't even bother to take their furniture. 55:46 Soon the tracks lay dormant. 55:49 Weeds grew up around the beautiful train station, 55:52 and abandoned homes gave way to trees. 55:55 Today locals say that Mason is the only town in America 56:00 where you can hunt quail from the sidewalk. 56:04 Although other coal companies tried to revive it, 56:07 Mason's mine never again turned a profit 56:11 and today only a few hundred people are left. 56:15 Mr. Mason's dream went up in smoke. 56:19 All that remains is a beautiful smokestack, 56:23 an old train station, 56:25 and miles of deserted tracks. 56:29 The Bible says earthly treasures are easily stolen 56:33 by thieves and destroyed by moth and rust. 56:37 But our Heavenly Father is building a dream city 56:40 with streets of gold and mansions by a crystal sea. 56:44 He invites us to come live with Him for eternity 56:47 and never grow old. 56:49 The Bible also says that where our treasure is 56:52 there our heart will be also. 56:55 And in this day and age when stocks lose their value 56:59 in minutes and entire banking systems fail 57:02 God invites us to put our treasures in things of 57:06 eternal value. 57:08 Friends, nothing is more valuable than a human soul. 57:13 Won't you help us bring the good news of salvation 57:16 to those who are lost? 57:18 Please, ask the Holy Spirit what He would have you do. 57:24 Please consider what you can do for those who 57:27 still don't know about Jesus. 57:29 As the Holy Spirit impresses, 57:31 please send your tax-deductible gifts to: 57:46 Thank you for helping us spread the light of God's Word 57:49 through television. Your gifts bring the blessed hope 57:52 of salvation to millions around the world. |
Revised 2014-12-17