Participants:
Series Code: TAM
Program Code: TAM000007S
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00:30 Let's bow our heads for prayer.
00:33 Wonderful Heavenly Father, we thank You for the privilege 00:38 this day of coming into Your presence to open Your Holy Word, 00:43 and learn the lessons that You have for us. 00:46 And as we speak about the identity of Babylon in Your Holy 00:52 Bible, we ask, Father, that You will give us open hearts, 00:55 for we're going to speak about some very direct 00:58 and important things. 01:00 So I ask that you will especially be with those who 01:04 will be watching this on television; those who will be 01:08 watching this through DVD's in their living rooms. 01:11 I ask, Lord, that You will give them willing hearts to receive 01:15 the message of truth that you have for us today. 01:18 And we thank You before hand for answering our prayer, 01:22 because we come boldly to Your throne in the name of Your Son, 01:27 Jesus Christ, Amen. 01:29 I'd like to do a little bit of review before we actually begin 01:37 our study of the identity of Babylon. 01:41 I'd like to just mention that the first angel's message, 01:46 as we have seen, goes to every nation, kindred, 01:51 tongue and people. 01:53 And the question is, Why does it go to every nation, 01:57 kindred, tongue, and people? 01:59 Well, the answer is that Revelation 17, as we're going 02:05 to study, speaks about a great harlot who is seated upon 02:10 multitudes, nations, tongues, and peoples. 02:14 In other words, the role of the first angel's message is to 02:18 call those multitudes, nations, tongues, and peoples to come out 02:24 of Babylon, and to join God's faithful people. 02:29 Because the expression is the same in the first angel's 02:32 message that goes to every nation, kindred, 02:35 tongue, and people, and the harlot is seated upon every 02:38 kindred, nation, tongue, and people. 02:40 So the first angel's message has the intent of calling God's 02:44 faithful people out of Babylon. 02:47 Now let's review what we've studied in the 02:50 first angel's message. 02:51 We noticed, first of all, that the everlasting gospel shows us 02:56 that Jesus Christ lived the perfect life that we should 02:59 live, and Jesus fully and completely paid the debt of sin. 03:05 There is no more payment that is needed for sin. 03:09 Our sins were totally paid for at the cross of Calvary. 03:13 But we've noticed, also, that the first angel's message makes 03:17 commands, or demands upon those who receive 03:20 the everlasting gospel. 03:21 For example, the first angel's message tells us to fear God. 03:26 And as we've noticed, this entails a deep respect for God; 03:30 such a deep respect for God that we're willing to obey 03:35 His commandments, or His law. 03:37 We also noticed that the first angel's message commands us 03:41 to give glory to God. 03:43 And as we studied this we noticed that this tells us 03:46 that we're supposed to reveal the glorious character of God 03:50 in our lives; the character attributes of God. 03:52 And it also includes taking care of our body's and our minds, 03:56 because the apostle Paul says that we're supposed to 03:59 glorify God with our body, and with our spirit, 04:03 which belong to God. 04:05 We also noticed that the first angel's message tells us that 04:10 we are now in the hour of God's judgment, and that that judgment 04:14 is transpiring before the second coming of Jesus in heaven, 04:19 which means that if the judgment is taking place in heaven right 04:24 now, before Jesus comes, it must mean that those individuals who 04:30 died have not gone to heaven. 04:32 They have not gone to hell when they died, because God would not 04:36 give them their reward before they were judged. 04:39 Clearly, the Bible tells us that Jesus brings His reward 04:43 when He comes, which entails a judgment before He comes. 04:47 And so the first angel's message is directly related to the 04:51 doctrine of the state of the dead. 04:53 When the dead die, when people die, they go to the grave. 04:57 Jesus judges them through their records in the books, 05:01 before His second coming. 05:03 And then at the second coming He brings His reward, 05:06 which means that the judgment message shows us that the dead 05:11 are sleeping until the moment that Jesus resurrects them 05:15 to give them their reward. 05:18 We also noticed that God expects His people to worship Him. 05:25 And we noticed that the sign of worship to the Creator 05:30 is His Holy Sabbath. 05:32 And so the first angel's message teaches us 05:35 many important things. 05:37 It teaches us the importance of keeping God's law, 05:39 that we're in the judgment now, that we need to keep God's 05:42 Holy Sabbath, that we need to take care of our bodies, 05:46 that we need to take care of our minds, and many other things; 05:50 very important messages for these last days. 05:54 Now I want you to notice the second angel's message. 05:57 It's found in Revelation 14:8, Revelation 14:8. 06:04 And another angel followed. 06:08 Notice the sequence. 06:09 We have to preach the second angel's message after we preach 06:15 the first, never before. 06:16 We can't reverse the order, in other words. 06:19 It says in Revelation 14:8 06:32 Now notice the expressions: Babylon is fallen, is fallen. 06:37 When the Bible repeats something it means that 06:40 it is really fallen. 06:41 When God repeats something it's because it wants to 06:44 intensify the expression. 06:46 In other words, Babylon is really fallen. 06:48 And you'll notice that Babylon is called that great city. 06:52 Now why did Babylon fall? 06:55 Notice the last part of verse 8. 06:57 It says, because... 07:00 Here's the reason why Babylon falls: because she has made 07:04 all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. 07:10 In other words, Babylon has fallen, truly fallen, 07:14 because Babylon gives wine to the inhabitants of the earth, 07:18 and they become drunk with the wine of her fornication. 07:22 In other words, we need to understand that the reason why 07:27 Babylon falls is because she gives wine to the nations 07:30 instead of accepting the first angel's message. 07:33 You see, the reason why Babylon falls is because she rejected 07:36 the first angel's message. 07:38 The first angel's message has the truth of God. 07:41 The wine of Babylon is the error of Babylon. 07:44 In other words, they are opposites. 07:46 The first angel's message is God's message. 07:49 The wine of Babylon is the Devil's message. 07:51 And the reason why Babylon falls is because she gives her wine 07:55 to the nations, in contrast to the truths that we find revealed 07:59 in the first angel's message. 08:01 Now in our study today, we are going to 08:04 analyze, What Is Babylon? 08:07 And then in the next two sermons in this series we're going to 08:11 study, What Is Babylon's Wine? 08:13 And then the third in this short series of three that deals 08:18 specifically with Babylon, we're going to talk about 08:21 Babylon's fornication. 08:23 And so today, What is Babylon? 08:25 Our next topic, What Is Babylon's Wine? 08:29 And then, What Is Babylon's Fornication? 08:32 Now I must tell you that the Babylon that we're going to 08:35 study is not the Babylon of Genesis 11. 08:39 That is the original Babylon. 08:41 We're going to study primarily what is known as the 08:45 Neo Babylonian Empire. 08:47 The Neo Babylonian Empire is the Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar, 08:52 the Babylon of the book of Daniel. 08:54 And you say, Why are we not going to go all the way 08:56 back to Genesis 11? 08:58 Why are we going to take the Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar 09:02 as our basis for study? 09:03 The reason is simple. 09:05 The book of Revelation draws primarily upon the stories 09:11 that we find in Daniel that deal with the Babylon 09:15 of Nebuchadnezzar. 09:16 Let me give you three examples. 09:17 Revelation 13:2. We find some very 09:22 interesting powers mentioned. 09:24 And I'd like to invite you to go with me there: 09:26 Revelation 13:2. It says: 09:41 Let me ask you, Where do you first find those beasts 09:43 that are mentioned in this verse? 09:45 You find them in Daniel 7. 09:47 So what Babylon is in the background of this verse? 09:50 It's not the Babylon of Genesis 11. 09:53 It's the Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar. 09:56 Another example: Revelation 13: 11-18. 09:58 And we're not going to read the verses. 10:01 There it speaks about a beast who raises up an image. 10:04 He commands everyone to worship the image of the beast. 10:08 And whoever does not worship the image of the 10:10 beast should be killed. 10:11 Let me ask you, Where is the background of that story? 10:15 Well, you know it's in Daniel 3, where Nebuchadnezzar, 10:18 who for awhile lived like a beast, raised an image, 10:21 commanded everyone to worship the image, and whoever would 10:24 not worship the image would be killed. 10:26 In other words, once again, Revelation 13 has as its 10:31 background Daniel's Babylon, and not the 10:35 Babylon of Genesis 11. 10:37 And then, of course, a third story that we have is the fall 10:41 of Babylon in Daniel 5, when the Euphrates River was dried up 10:46 by Cyrus, who came from the East, if you read Isaiah, 10:49 and the prophecies of Jeremiah. 10:50 And as a result, God's people were delivered from Babylon 10:54 when Babylon fell, because her river dried up. 10:56 Well, if you go to Revelation 16 you find that the sixth plague 11:01 describes the drying up of the River Euphrates. 11:04 Once again, the book of Revelation is drawing upon 11:09 the Babylon that we find in the book of Daniel. 11:12 Now we could spend a whole lecture just to talk about the 11:15 Babylon of Genesis 11, the Tower of Babel 11:17 where the tongues were confused. 11:19 There's a lot of things that we could study there, but we don't 11:22 have the time to add another lecture to this series 11:25 that we're studying. 11:26 So we're going to dwell, primarily, upon the Babylon 11:29 that is mentioned in the book of Daniel, because that's where 11:32 the book of Revelation draws upon. 11:34 Now, in order to understand what Babylon is we have to go 11:40 to the Old Testament and study the history of Israel. 11:45 Let me ask you, Was Israel God's chosen people? Absolutely. 11:50 And I'm going to describe now, in broad strokes, 11:55 the history of Israel from the times of the Exodus, 12:00 particularly mount Sinai, till the time of the Babylonian 12:04 captivity, when Nebuchadnezzar came and destroyed the city, 12:08 and took Israel captive. 12:11 Let's begin by analyzing the marriage of God with Israel. 12:18 Did you know that God married Israel? 12:20 Notice Exodus 19:4-6, Exodus 19:4-6. 12:30 Here Israel is at the foot of mount Sinai, and God wants to 12:36 make a covenant with Israel; He wants to get 12:38 married with Israel. 12:40 So God is proposing. 12:41 Notice Exodus 19:4-6. 13:14 Here God is speaking to Moses. 13:17 He's saying, I want you to relay a message to Israel for Me. 13:20 I want you to ask them if they want to make a covenant with Me; 13:23 if they want to get married with Me. 13:25 Because I took them out of Egypt. 13:27 I love them; I delivered them. 13:29 Now I want them to be My special people. 13:32 I want to spiritually marry these people. 13:34 So go down and ask them of they're willing to marry Me. 13:38 Notice the response of Israel in Exodus 19:7, 8. 13:43 Moses comes down. 13:45 It says, So Moses came and called for the elders of the 13:49 people, and laid before them all these words which 13:53 the Lord commanded him. 14:11 And now you have a covenant. 14:14 You have a marriage relationship between God and Israel. 14:19 By the way, who is the husband in this relationship? 14:24 It is God who is the husband, and Israel is the bride. 14:29 Now I want you to notice that marriage always has obligations, 14:33 doesn't it? There are certain laws that apply to marriage. 14:37 One of those laws is faithfulness 14:41 to the wedding vows. 14:42 Now where do we find the wedding vows of Israel? 14:46 What God expected from His bride, or from His wife? 14:50 Notice Exodus 20:1, 2. 15:08 In other words, I delivered you. 15:10 I love you. You know, it's not because you were good, 15:13 but because of My grace, and because of my love for you 15:16 that I took you out of Egypt. 15:18 And therefore, now I want you to be My people. 15:22 I want you to be My peculiar treasure. 15:24 I want you to be My wife. 15:26 But there are certain laws of marriage which must be obeyed. 15:31 So what does Jesus then give Israel? 15:36 He gives them what? the ten commandments. 15:39 The ten commandments are the law of marriage. 15:42 It's what God expects from Israel. 15:45 It's what God expects from the marriage. 15:47 He expects His bride, or He expects His wife, 15:50 to be faithful to Him. 15:52 Now we're not going to read the ten commandments. 15:54 You have them on your sheets, and you've read many times 15:58 the ten commandments. 15:59 But I want you to remember that the ten commandments 16:01 are the law of marriage. 16:02 And, by the way, you know, does God make some promises 16:06 to His bride, too? 16:07 Oh, you noticed several of the commandments promise a blessing 16:12 if Israel obeys those commandments, right? 16:14 And so it's a two way street. 16:17 God is saying, This is the law of marriage, so I want you to be 16:20 faithful to Me, and I'm going to be faithful to you. 16:22 In other words, we'll preserve ourselves one for another. 16:26 Now you say, Pastor, where does the Bible actually use the word 16:30 marriage for what happened between God and Israel? 16:33 Go with me to Jeremiah 31:32, which is reminiscing about what 16:38 happened at mount Sinai. 16:40 I want to show you that God married Israel at mount Sinai. 16:43 And He wanted Israel to be faithful to Him. 16:46 And He promised to be faithful to Israel. 16:48 But it was a two way street. 16:50 Jeremiah 31:32. Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, 16:57 when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, 17:00 and with the house of Judah. 17:02 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers 17:05 in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the 17:08 land of Egypt; my covenant which they broke, 17:12 What event is being described in these verses? 17:16 The covenant that God made where? at mount Sinai. 17:20 What did Israel do with that covenant? They broke it. 17:24 But now notice what it continues saying. 17:25 Once again, going back a little ways to verse 32. 17:29 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers 17:31 in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the 17:34 land of Egypt; my covenant which they broke,... 17:37 Now listen to this: 17:43 What was God to Israel? the husband. 17:47 And what was Israel? 17:49 Israel was the bride. 17:50 Unfortunately, God was faithful with Israel, 17:55 but Israel was unfaithful to God. 17:59 In fact, I want you to notice Ezekiel 16:8, where God 18:04 reminisces about the fact that He chose Israel to be His wife. 18:08 Notice how God proudly says, You were Mine, Ezekiel 16:8. 18:14 God is reminiscing. He says: 18:22 See, when I met you it was a time for love. 18:31 See, these are the wedding vows. 18:41 Can you hear the pride in God's voice? 18:44 He's saying, You were mine! 18:46 But soon Israel decided that she would have a relationship 18:52 with other lovers. 18:53 In other words, she started committing adultery, 18:57 or fornication, with the surrounding nations. 19:00 She was unfaithful to her wedding vows. 19:04 In fact, let's notice Ezekiel 16. 19:07 There's several verses that I want us to read there. 19:09 And I want you to remember these details, because later on in our 19:13 study we're going to go to Revelation 17, 19:15 and we're going to find the same details all over again. 19:18 Notice Ezekiel 16:2. 19:32 By the way, in Ezekiel 16 the word abominations 19:37 is used repeatedly. 19:38 It's also used in the book of Ezekiel. 19:41 The children of Israel now were committing abominations. 19:46 Notice Ezekiel 16:14. 19:50 Israel became proud of her beauty, and she thought that her 19:55 beauty was her own. 19:57 Notice verse 14. 20:15 Why was Israel beautiful? because God beautified Israel. 20:20 It wasn't because Israel was beautiful in herself. 20:23 And Israel started thinking that she was so beautiful, 20:26 and she started committing the abominations of the nations, 20:30 which we'll talk more about in our next study together. 20:34 In fact the Bible says that Israel became a harlot. 20:38 Notice Ezekiel 16:15. 20:43 Here God is talking about His own people, folks. 20:46 He's not talking about pagans, or atheists. 20:49 He's talking about those who profess to be the church of God 20:52 in the Old Testament. Ezekiel 16:15. 21:09 In other words, you became a harlot. 21:12 God is calling His people what? 21:14 His apostate people; He's calling them a harlot, 21:18 because they're committing these abominations in their midst; 21:21 the abominations of the nations. 21:23 I want you to notice that God's people had attired themselves 21:28 with all these jewels of gold and silver, and wanted to 21:32 attract attention to themselves. 21:34 Notice Ezekiel 16:17. 21:37 Don't forget all these details. 21:39 We're going to come back to them. Ezekiel 16:17. 21:55 What did they use the gold and silver for? To make what? 21:59 To make jewelry to attract attention to themselves. 22:02 Notice Ezekiel 23:40. 22:06 You should also read Ezekiel 23. 22:08 The whole chapter is parallel to Ezekiel 16. 22:11 It says there in Ezekiel 23:40, 22:33 Did this harlot decorate herself with gold, and silver, 22:36 and precious stones? Absolutely! 22:39 To attract attention to whom? to God? 22:41 No, to attract attention to herself. 22:44 And she plays the harlot, according to Scripture. 22:47 She fornicated with the nations. 22:50 Several of these nations are mentioned in Ezekiel 16. 22:54 In other words, God's holy, peculiar, special people, 22:58 now started forming relationships with these 23:02 pagan nations; with these secular nations. 23:04 For example, Babylon, the Assyrians. 23:07 It actually began in the days of Solomon, when Solomon had a 23:11 thousand women in his life; many of them because of 23:14 alliances that he made with the surrounding nations. 23:17 That's what the fornication was. 23:19 Instead of Israel preserving herself only for the Lord, 23:23 now Israel had other lovers, which were all of these nations 23:27 with which she had illicit relationships. 23:30 Notice Ezekiel 16:26. 23:33 You also committed harlotry. 23:36 That word is in Ezekiel 16 all the time. 23:38 You also committed harlotry with the Egyptians, 23:41 your very fleshly neighbors, and increased your acts of 23:46 harlotry, to provoke me to anger. 23:49 Notice chapter 16, and verse 28. 23:53 It also says that she played the harlot with the Assyrians. 23:56 It said: 24:06 In other words, Israel had all of these lovers. 24:09 She can't get enough of these lovers from all of the nations. 24:12 She's committing spiritual adultery. 24:15 In other words, she's fornicating with the kings 24:18 of the earth, if you please. 24:20 She also fornicated with Chaldea, that is with Babylon. 24:25 Notice Ezekiel 16:29. 24:38 She could not be satisfied. 24:39 She wanted all of the nations of the earth to have illicit 24:43 relationships with her, and she abandoned 24:46 the husband of her youth. 24:47 In fact, notice Ezekiel 16:32, if you still don't believe that 24:52 this is a relationship between a husband and a wife. 24:55 And Israel is the harlot, because she has chosen to link 24:58 up with the nations, and adopt their practices. 25:01 Notice Ezekiel 16:32. 25:05 God explicitly says: 25:15 That couldn't be any clearer, could it? 25:18 Now I want you to notice that Israel, in her fornication, 25:24 she defiled God's sanctuary, and she trampled on 25:28 God's Holy Sabbath. 25:30 Notice Ezekiel 23:38, 39, Ezekiel 23:38, 39. 25:42 God says. 25:50 Did they contaminate the sanctuary? 25:53 Is there anything in Daniel about the sanctuary 25:56 being defiled? Absolutely! 25:58 And they profaned My Sabbaths. 26:01 For after they had slain their children for their idols, 26:06 on the same day they came into My sanctuary to profane it; 26:09 and, indeed, thus they have done in the midst of My house. 26:12 Do you know what else they were doing? 26:14 Israel was shedding innocent blood. 26:18 She was a murderess wife. 26:21 Notice what it says in Ezekiel 16:45, Ezekiel 16:45. 26:28 But righteous men will judge them after the manner of 26:33 adulteresses, and after the manner of women who 26:37 what? who shed blood. 26:40 What did Israel do? they shed blood. 26:42 Because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands. 26:48 Interesting! But do you know that Israel wasn't the only 26:53 one who's doing this. 26:54 Israel had daughters. 26:55 You say, How's this? 26:57 Go with me to Ezekiel 16:48. 27:00 She had daughters that were committing the 27:02 same sins as she was. 27:03 Notice Ezekiel 16:48. 27:17 So does Israel have daughters, according to this, 27:19 that are practicing acts of harlotry also? Absolutely. 27:24 And therefore God says to his wife, I am going to pour out 27:28 My wrath upon you. 27:29 Notice Ezekiel 23:32-34. 27:34 In fact, God says, I'm going to give you the cup of My wrath. 27:38 Is there anything in Revelation about God giving a cup of His 27:41 wrath? Yes there is. 27:43 Notice Ezekiel 23:32-34. 28:01 You will be filled with the cup of your sister Samaria. 28:06 You shall drink and drain it. 28:09 You shall break its shards, and tear at your own breasts: 28:14 for I have spoken, says the Lord. 28:18 She was going to drink the cup of the wrath of God, 28:21 because of her abominations, and because of her harlotries. 28:25 But there's another interesting detail. 28:28 We're told in Ezekiel 16:39 that God's people were going to be 28:36 hated by the very kings that they were 28:39 committing fornication with. 28:40 Notice Ezekiel 16:39. 28:53 And now notice the terminology. 29:07 What were the kings going to do? the ones that 29:09 she fornicated with? 29:10 They themselves were going to rise against her 29:13 to make her naked and bare. 29:17 So God told Israel, His chosen people, His bride who had become 29:22 a harlot, who was practicing the abominations of the nations, 29:26 who was fornicating, who used all of her luxurious jewelry 29:31 to attract attention to herself, and who was profaning the 29:35 Sabbaths of the Lord, and was contaminating 29:38 the sanctuary of the Lord. 29:39 God said, I'm going to send destruction upon this city. 29:44 Ezekiel 7:1-4 describes the sentence that God 29:49 dictates upon His people. Ezekiel 7:1-4. 30:05 Let me ask you, Does the book of Revelation talk about the end 30:08 coming from the four corners of the earth, when the angels 30:11 release the winds? 30:12 See, we're dealing with biblical types here of things that are 30:15 going to happen in the future. 30:16 What happened literally to Israel locally, 30:19 is going to happen on a global scale at the end of time. 30:22 Notice verse 3: Now the end has come upon you, and I will send 30:26 My anger against you. 30:28 I will judge you according to your ways. 30:31 I will repay you for all your what? abominations. 30:35 Don't forget that word. 30:37 My eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity: but I will 30:40 repay your ways, and your abominations will be seen 30:45 in your midst: then you shall know that I am the Lord. 30:49 And do you know what the greatest abomination was that 30:52 was being committed immediately before the city was destroyed? 30:55 Notice Ezekiel 8:16, Ezekiel 8, and let's begin 31:01 our reading at verse 15 for the context. 31:04 Notice the greatest abomination. 31:05 Ezekiel 8 is called the chapter of the abominations, 31:09 and the reason why is because God shows Ezekiel an 31:12 abomination, and Ezekiel says, Wow, Lord, that's pretty bad! 31:15 God says, You haven't seen anything yet! 31:17 I want to show you an abomination that's 31:18 worse than this one. 31:20 And so God shows him a worse abomination, and Ezekiel says, 31:25 Lord, this is terrible! 31:26 God says, You haven't seen anything yet! 31:28 I'm going to show you one that's worse. 31:29 And what do we find as the worst abomination of all? 31:35 Notice Ezekiel 8:15. 31:37 Then He said to me, Have you seen this, O son of man? 31:40 turn again; you will see greater abominations than then these. 32:03 What was the greatest abomination that was being 32:06 committed among those who professed to be God's people? 32:08 They were worshipping what? 32:10 They were worshipping the sun. 32:12 Does that have any end time significance? 32:14 It most certainly does. 32:16 We're going to study that later on. 32:17 Verse 17. And He said to me, Have you seen this, 32:20 O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah 32:26 to commit the abominations... 32:27 Notice the word again. 32:29 ...the abominations which they commit here? 32:30 for they have filled the land with violence. 32:33 Then they have returned to provide Me to anger. 32:36 Indeed, they put the branch to their nose. 32:38 In other words, they snubbed their nose at the Lord. 32:40 Therefore I also will act in fury. 32:44 My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity: though they cry 32:49 in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them. 32:52 God is saying this about His beloved bride, 32:55 who has become a harlot, and has adopted the abominations 32:59 of the nations, and is proud of all of her wonderful jewels, 33:02 and fornicates with the kings of the earth. 33:05 This is not some pagan nation. 33:09 God is rebuking His bride, His wife. 33:13 Let me ask you, Were there faithful people in Jerusalem? 33:17 Was everybody apostate? 33:19 Was everybody a harlot? Absolutely not! 33:22 Before the destruction of the city, did God say that He was 33:26 going to do a work of separating the righteous 33:28 from the unrighteous; a judgment? Absolutely! 33:31 Ezekiel 9, Ezekiel 9:1. 33:44 In other words, these messengers are coming to 33:45 execute God's judgment. 33:47 And suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate, 33:51 which faces north, each with his battle axe in his hand. 33:55 In other words, with a weapon in his hand. 33:56 Because they're going to execute God's wrath upon this unfaithful 34:00 wife, who has broken the marriage covenant. 34:03 One man among them was clothed with linen, and had a writer's 34:08 inkhorn at his side... 34:09 In other words he had a seal. 34:11 ...they went in and stood beside the bronze altar. 34:14 Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the 34:17 cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. 34:20 And he called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer's 34:24 inkhorn at his side; and the Lord said to him, Go through 34:28 the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, 34:31 and put a mark where? 34:35 Is there a mark in Revelation on the forehead? Absolutely. 34:40 Put a mark on the foreheads of the men who what? 34:44 sigh and cry over all the abominations that 34:48 are done within it. 34:49 Was everybody worshipping the sun? No! 34:52 There were some faithful ones that were not 34:54 worshipping the sun. 34:55 And when it's told to this man, who has the writer's inkhorn 35:01 is, Put a seal on those who are not practicing the abominations, 35:05 those who are not worshipping the sun. 35:07 Do you see the contrast between the sun worshippers, and those 35:10 who have the mark on their foreheads? Very interesting! 35:13 Notice verse 5. To the others he said in my hearing, Go after him 35:19 through the city, and kill. 35:21 That's after the sign of protection has been placed. 35:24 Go after him through the city, and kill. 35:26 Do not let your eyes spare, nor have any pity: 35:29 utterly slay old and young men, maidens, and little children, 35:35 and women: but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; 35:39 and begin at my sanctuary. 35:41 That is where the ministers were. 35:43 So they began with the elders who were before the temple. 35:48 The punishment began with the religious leaders, 35:50 because they led God's people into idolatry, 35:53 and into these practices. 35:55 And this was fulfilled, this punishment was fulfilled when 35:58 Nebuchadnezzar came and destroyed the city of Jerusalem, 36:02 and took the people captive. 36:04 Let's read about it in 2 Chronicles 36:15-18. 36:09 It says there: and the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings 36:14 to them by His messengers, rising up early, 36:17 and sending them; because He had compassion on His people, 36:21 and on His dwelling place: But they mocked the messengers 36:24 of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, 36:28 until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, 36:32 till there was no remedy. 36:34 Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, 36:39 who killed their young men. 36:41 Do you remember Ezekiel 9? 36:42 Don't spare: kill young men, maidens, 36:45 kill children; everything. 36:48 Notice what it says: verse 17. 36:49 Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, 36:52 who killed their young men with the sword, 36:54 in the house of their sanctuary; had no compassion on young men, 36:59 or virgin, on the aged, or the weak. 37:02 He gave them all into his hand. 37:05 Is this a sad story? 37:08 This is a very sad story. 37:10 In other words, Israel fulfilled the prophecy of Ezekiel 16, 37:16 and Ezekiel 23, and became a harlot, 37:19 and therefore the husband destroyed them. 37:22 Of course, this could never happen to the Christian church. 37:26 Do you think? It only could happen to Israel. 37:33 It could never happen to the Christian church. 37:35 Do you think? Let's go now and examine this concept with the 37:40 New Testament church; New Testament Israel. 37:44 Let me ask you, Did Jesus marry His people when He 37:49 came to this earth? 37:50 Yes, He did. In a certain sense He married them. 37:54 He formed a covenant relationship with them. 37:56 Notice Ephesians 5:25-27, Ephesians 5:25-27. 38:11 So the relationship between husband and wife is used to 38:15 illustrate the relationship between Jesus Christ 38:18 and His what? church. 38:20 Jesus is the husband, and His church is the what? 38:23 is the bride. Notice 2 Corinthians 11:2, 38:27 2 Corinthians 11:2. 38:29 Here it's explicit. 38:31 The apostle Paul says, speaking about the Corinthian church, 38:34 For I am jealous for you with Godly jealousy, for I have 38:39 betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a 38:45 chaste virgin to Christ. 38:47 Let me ask you, Was the early church, the earliest church, 38:51 a pure church? It was most certainly a pure church. 38:55 Was it in a proper covenant relationship with Jesus Christ? 38:59 You can read the book, Acts of the Apostles, folks. 39:02 It was a pure church. 39:04 It was a conquering church, represented by the white horse, 39:07 going out conquering, and to conquer. 39:09 It instilled terror in the hearts of sinners, 39:13 because of the righteousness, and holiness of those who 39:17 belonged to the church. 39:18 But then something happened. 39:20 Apostasy came into the church. 39:23 Notice 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4. 39:28 By the way, this is talking about the antichrist. 39:31 We're going to deal with the antichrist later in this series. 39:34 We're going to talk about the beast. 39:35 Notice 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4. 39:38 It says, Let no one deceive you by any means. 39:41 For that day... That means the day of the coming of Jesus... 39:44 That day will not come unless the falling away comes first. 39:48 The expression, falling away, is one Greek word, 39:52 and the word is apostasia, where we get our 39:56 English word, apostasy. 39:58 In other words, Jesus will not come until the apostasy comes 40:02 first, and the man of sin is revealed. 40:06 What is sin? Remember this: transgression of the law. 40:10 It's going to be a man who's going to say that it's okay to 40:13 transgress the law of God. 40:14 He's going to play games with the Holy Law of God. 40:17 And it says, And the man of sin is revealed, 40:21 the son of perdition. 40:22 Do you know the only other person in the Bible who is 40:24 called the son of perdition? Judas Iscariot. 40:27 Was Judas an outsider? 40:29 Was Judas some pagan that warred against Jesus Christ 40:34 from outside? No! He even betrayed Jesus with a kiss! 40:39 In other words, the antichrist is not going to arise from 40:42 without, he's going to arise from where? 40:45 from within the church; just like with Israel. 40:48 And it says in verse 4... 40:50 Notice what this antichrist is going to do. 40:52 ...who opposes and exults himself above all 40:55 that is called God, or that is worshipped; 40:57 so that he sits as God. 40:59 Is he going to proclaim himself to be God? Absolutely. 41:02 We're going to notice in the prophecy about the beast 41:04 that he speaks blasphemies against God. 41:07 And blasphemy is when an individual, who is a mere man, 41:10 claims to be God. And so it says: that he sits as God, 41:14 in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 41:18 Do you know what the temple of God is? 41:19 A lot of people today are looking to the middle east. 41:22 They say, Oh the Jewish temple has to be rebuilt. 41:24 But every other place that the apostle Paul uses that 41:27 expression, temple of God, he's referring to 41:29 the Christian church. 41:30 For example, Ephesians 2:19-21, he speaks of the Ephesians 41:37 as being the temple of God. 41:39 We read from 1 Corinthians 6 where it says that 41:42 we are the temple. 41:43 2 Corinthians 3 says that the church of Corinth is the temple. 41:48 In other words, the temple is not that temple in the 41:51 middle east, because Jesus says, Your house is left 41:53 unto you desolate. 41:54 The temple is the church. 41:56 So let me ask you, Where was the apostasy going to arise? 41:58 It was going to arise where? in the church. 42:02 And the book of Revelation describes this endtime apostasy 42:07 of the Christian church. 42:09 I want you to notice Revelation 17. 42:13 We're going to see the characteristics here. 42:14 You're going to now see some similarities with what we 42:18 studied from Israel in the Old Testament. Revelation 17:1. 42:39 Oh, that great harlot must be Iraq. 42:43 In the light of what we studied from the history of Israel, 42:46 would this be some pagan nation, or would this be those who 42:49 profess to be God's people? 42:51 It must be those who profess to be God's people, 42:54 because it speaks of a great harlot. 42:55 And, by the way, let me tell you something. 42:57 I'm not going to identify who the great harlot is today. 43:01 But by the characteristics you're going to know who it is. 43:04 And later on in this series we are going to study a little bit 43:08 more, and identify what this power is. 43:11 Now notice who this harlot is. 43:14 Chapter 17, and verse 5 of Revelation. 43:17 And on her forehead a name was written, 43:22 What is the name of this harlot? 43:32 What is the name of this harlot? 43:34 Her name is what? 43:35 Her name is MYSTERY, BABYLON THE what? THE GREAT. 43:40 Does this have any relationship with the second angel's message? 43:43 The second angel's message says Babylon is fallen, 43:46 is fallen, that great city. 43:48 Here it says that this harlot's name is what? Babylon. 43:53 By the way, we're told also in Revelation 17:1 that she 43:57 sits upon many waters. 43:59 What does the act of sitting mean? 44:01 The act of sitting means that she rules. 44:05 Notice: chapter 17, and verse 1. 44:17 Now sitting on many waters would mean that she 44:20 rules over the waters. 44:21 But what do the waters represent? 44:23 Notice Revelation 17:15, Revelation 17:15. It says: 44:40 Let me ask you, Is she ruling, basically, globally? Yes. 44:46 Revelation 13 says that the whole world wandered after 44:51 the what? the beast, who is the same as the harlot, 44:53 we're going to notice. 44:55 And so we have to find a harlot church, because a harlot 44:59 represents a fallen church, according to what we've studied. 45:02 It has to be a church that is what? global, or worldwide. 45:10 But there's more; it has to be a church that is involved 45:15 with the nations, with the political nations of the world. 45:18 Notice Revelation 17:2, Revelation 17:2. 45:23 It's not only a church, it's not only a fallen church, 45:25 it fornicates with the kings of the earth just like Israel did. 45:30 It says in Revelations 17:2 45:42 Let me ask you, Does she fornicate with the kings 45:44 of the earth just like Israel did? Absolutely! 45:47 But I want you to notice that she also has daughters. 45:50 Did we notice that about Israel? 45:52 Notice Revelation 17:5, Revelation 17:5. 46:06 Do we have the word abominations here, too? 46:09 We have the word fornication, we have the word harlot, 46:13 she controls the many waters of the world: nations, 46:18 multitudes, tongues, and peoples. Absolutely! 46:21 And, by the way, if she's a mother, she must have daughters, 46:24 because I don't know the first mother that never had children. 46:29 I know women who didn't have children, 46:30 but mothers have children. 46:34 And because she's a harlot, her daughters are also harlots. 46:39 Now notice that she gives wine to the nations. 46:42 Revelation 17:2. With whom the kings of the earth committed 46:46 fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk 46:51 with the wine of her fornication. 46:52 You'll just have to accept by faith what I'm going to say now. 46:55 The wine represents her false teachings in contradiction to 47:00 the first angel's message. 47:01 She fell because she rejected the first angel's message. 47:05 The wine is the opposite of the first angel's message. 47:08 We're going to study that in our next lecture. 47:10 In other words, she gives her false teachings, and her false 47:14 practices to the nations, and she makes them what? drunk. 47:19 That's why when you preach the truth, 47:20 people don't want to accept it. 47:22 It's almost impossible to give a Bible study to a drunk. 47:26 Of course, we're speaking about spiritual drunkenness. 47:31 We're not talking about literal drunkenness. 47:33 I want you to notice how this harlot is dressed. 47:36 Revelation 17:4. Let me ask you, Was Israel dressed with gold, 47:40 and with silver, and her ornaments, and everything? Yeah. 47:43 Notice Revelation 17:4. 48:00 Here it is again! Full of what? 48:07 Is she decked with jewelry? 48:10 She most certainly is. 48:12 Does she want to impress her lovers with her riches, 48:14 and her looks? Absolutely. 48:16 She's a global system, and everybody's impressed, 48:20 because of all of the riches, and all of the wonderful gold, 48:23 and the silver that she has. 48:24 And, by the way, you noticed that the colors that she majors 48:27 in are purple and scarlet, never blue. 48:33 Because, as we're going to notice in our next lecture, 48:35 blue represents the law of God, and this system is contrary 48:40 to God's Holy Law. 48:41 Now I want you to notice also that this woman is an assassin. 48:47 You know, this woman has killed God's people. 48:50 Did we find that of Israel in the Old Testament? 48:52 We most certainly did. Revelation 17:6. 49:08 Now I want to show you something which is very important for what 49:12 we're going to study in the future. 49:14 This harlot is only one part of Babylon. 49:17 She's the main protagonist of Babylon. 49:21 But Babylon in Revelation is composed of three parts. 49:25 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 49:28 She is, for example, like Jezebel. 49:31 You know, Jezebel was the key figure. 49:34 She manipulated everything, and her false prophets 49:37 did what she said, and the king, king Ahab, did what she said. 49:41 But she was the main power behind the king, 49:44 and behind the false prophets. 49:47 It's kind of like John the Baptist. 49:49 Do you know John the Baptist also had three enemies? 49:52 It looks like the Devil works in groups of three. 49:55 Because with John the Baptist was there a king 49:57 that was involved? Yes. 50:00 Was there a mother that was involved? Yes. 50:02 Was there a daughter who was involved? Yes. 50:05 Do you see, this story in Revelation is actually 50:08 prefigured by the story of Elijah, and it's prefigured by 50:12 of the story of the death of John the Baptist. 50:14 In other words, if you know how the different actors 50:18 interplayed in the story of Elijah, and in the story of 50:21 John the Baptist, the three enemies of Elijah, 50:23 and John the Baptist, you're going to know how everything 50:26 is going to pan out at the end of time. 50:27 We don't have time to get into Elijah and John the Baptist. 50:30 We'd have to have one lecture for each in order to understand 50:34 how the relationship between these three enemies 50:36 in the days of Elijah, and these three enemies in the days of 50:40 John the Baptist, prefigure perfectly what's going to happen 50:43 at the end of time. 50:44 But I want you to notice that Babylon has three parts. 50:47 Revelation 16:19. It says there in Revelation 16:19, 50:59 What is the great city? Babylon, right? 51:02 We've already identified the great city as Babylon. 51:07 So how many parts does Babylon have? three. 51:09 And in case you're wondering whether the expression, 51:14 the great city, is referring to Babylon, let's continue reading. 51:28 Is God going to pour out His wrath upon Babylon like He did 51:31 upon Israel in the Old Testament because of her abominations, 51:34 because of her fornication, because of the wine that she 51:36 gives to the nations, etc. etc., because she shed innocent blood? 51:40 Absolutely! This is a repetition of history. 51:43 But at the end it's global 51:46 In other words, the history of Israel is a model in miniature, 51:50 it's a small scale model of what is going to happen on a global 51:54 scale at the end of time. 51:55 Now you say, What are the three parts of Babylon? 51:58 Revelation 16:13, 14, Revelation 16:13, 14. It says: 52:05 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth 52:10 of the dragon... There's one. 52:13 ...out of the mouth of the beast... There's two. 52:18 ...and out of the mouth of whom? out of the mouth of the false 52:23 prophet. What are the three parts of Babylon? the dragon, 52:27 the beast, and the false prophet. 52:29 In lecture number ten of this series, 52:31 we're to talk about the beast. 52:33 In lecture number eleven we're going to talk about 52:37 the false prophet. 52:38 And in several lectures we're going to talk about the dragon. 52:41 You see, the beast is the same as the harlot. 52:43 The false prophet is the same as the harlot's daughters. 52:48 And the dragon is the same as the kings. 52:51 In other words, at the end of time, there's going to be a 52:54 three-fold alliance between the beast or the harlot, 52:58 the false prophet or the daughters, 53:02 and the kings or the dragon. 53:04 And they're going to all join together in opposition 53:08 against God's people. 53:09 Those are the three parts of Babylon, but who is the main 53:12 protagonist of this story? 53:13 Who is the one who's moving all the strings? 53:16 It is the harlot, or the beast, because the Bible says 53:20 that the whole world wondered after the beast. 53:22 It says that the harlot sits upon multitudes, nations, 53:26 tongues, and peoples. 53:27 In other words, the beast and the harlot do the same thing. 53:29 They control, basically, the world. 53:31 And the kings go along, and the daughters also go along, 53:36 just like in the story of Elijah. 53:38 Now let me ask you, Are the kings eventually going to hate 53:42 this system? Revelation 17:16. 53:45 Of course, all of this is coincidence. 53:47 Huh! I don't think so! 53:50 There's too many parallels. Revelation 17:16. 53:58 Those represent kings; you can read it in Revelation 17. 54:17 Let me ask you, In the light of all of this, what does God 54:19 invite His people to do? 54:21 Let me ask you, Are there a lot of God's 54:23 people in these systems? 54:24 Are there a lot of people that belong to this system 54:27 which is known as the harlot? Oh sure. 54:30 Are there a lot of God's people in the system that's known 54:32 as the false prophet? Absolutely! 54:35 Are there many of God's people even among the kings 54:38 of the earth, or the rulers of the earth? Absolutely! 54:40 So what does God say to them? 54:43 Revelation 18:1-5. 55:08 Does that sound like a place that you want to be? 55:12 Now why has Babylon become like that? filled with demons, 55:16 and evil spirits? Verse 3, for, that means because. 55:27 Why is she filled with demons? because every person has drunk 55:31 her what? her wine. 55:33 So we need to know what the wine is. It says: 55:40 See, even the business people of the world. 55:55 God has a people in this system. 55:56 In this three-fold system God has a people, 55:59 and God is calling them out, because notice 56:02 what it continues saying. 56:13 How many are her plagues? seven. 56:22 Question: is God going to have a faithful remnant 56:26 at the end of time? 56:28 What are they going to have on their forehead? the seal of God. 56:34 What are the wicked going to have? 56:35 Could that have something to do with sun worship? 56:42 Are you understanding me or not? 56:44 And what's going to happen to those who do not 56:47 have the seal of God? 56:48 They will be what? 56:50 They will be destroyed by the wrath of God. 56:53 That's why God in His love... 56:56 See this is not a message of hate, it is love. 57:00 God says, I have people in Babylon. 57:02 Come out of her, My people. 57:07 Don't stay in there. 57:08 Because if you stay in there, you're going to receive her 57:11 plagues, because the plagues are for her. 57:13 And, of course, the big question is, Will we accept the call of 57:19 God, and come out of Babylon, and be among those who keep 57:24 the commandments of God? |
Revised 2023-04-20