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Series Code: TCM
Program Code: TCM200009S
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00:40 I'm glad you're back!
00:42 And if this is your first time joining us 00:44 for Three Cosmic Messages, a series on Bible prophecy 00:49 specifically focusing on the book of Revelation, 00:52 thank you for joining us. 00:54 During this series we have been taking a journey... 00:56 a journey through three messages in the book of Revelation 01:02 that are urgent and vital for this generation. 01:06 We've pointed out that these messages are carried 01:10 symbolically by three angels in the middle of heaven. 01:14 We've studied and explored the first of these angels' 01:18 messages, and in this presen- tation we're going to study 01:21 the second angel's message. 01:23 So let's pray. Father in heaven, 01:25 thank you so much that you have not left this world 01:29 without a message to prepare it for Your return. 01:34 And we sense that as we study these vital messages 01:39 that Your Spirit has been with us. 01:41 We ask that the Holy Spirit would come, 01:44 illuminate our minds, open our hearts, 01:48 and help us make eternal de- cisions. In Christ's name, Amen. 01:54 My title in this presentation is: 02:01 The book of Revelation is a book of contrasts. 02:05 There is the dragon and the beast. Two leaders. 02:10 There are two signs: the seal of God 02:13 and the mark of the beast. 02:15 There are two harvests: the harvest of golden grain - 02:19 the saved - and the harvest of gory grapes - the lost. 02:23 There are two cities: Jerusalem from above 02:26 and Babylon from beneath. 02:28 There are two spirits: the Holy Spirit 02:32 inspiring God's people and spirits of demons. 02:36 There are two types of miracles: 02:38 genuine, authentic miracles that come from God 02:42 and false miracles that come from Satan. 02:46 There are two times of trouble in the book of Revelation. 02:49 There is the little small time of trouble 02:53 before the close of human pro- bation when the 7 last plagues 02:58 come and then there is that great time of trouble. 03:01 So throughout the book of Revelation 03:03 there are multiple contrasts. 03:06 One of those major contrasts in the book of Revelation 03:10 is the description of two women. 03:13 We find that in Revelation 12 and Revelation 17. 03:20 First you have the woman in white. 03:23 In Revelation 12 verse 1 03:25 this woman in white is described. 03:29 "Now a great sign appeared in heaven. 03:32 A woman clothed with the sun 03:35 with the moon under her feet 03:37 and on her head a garland of twelve stars. " 03:40 Verse 2: "Then being with Child 03:42 she cried out in labor in pain to give birth. " 03:46 Now notice: this woman in white is standing 03:50 on the moon. The moon reflects the light of the sun... 03:55 representing the Old Testament. 03:57 You remember what Jesus said in John 5 verse 39? 04:01 He's speaking about the Old Testament prophecies. 04:04 He said: "These are they that testify of Me. " 04:10 So the entire Old Testament was a lesser light 04:15 like the moon shining to testify of Christ. 04:18 Now the other thing you notice about this woman 04:21 is that she has a garland of 12 stars on her head. 04:25 That is to say that she is going to be guided 04:28 by the twelve apostles. 04:30 The other thing you notice is that she's pregnant. 04:33 She's with Child. 04:35 Christ is to be born, the Messiah of the NT church. 04:40 But one of the predominant symbols here 04:43 is that she's dressed in white. 04:45 What does that represent? 04:47 AND what does a woman represent in Bible prophecy? 04:52 When you look at the Bible 04:54 going back as far as to the Old Testament 05:09 So God likens His church, 05:13 He likens His people to a beautiful woman 05:17 adorned in white 05:19 having pure true doctrine. 05:22 So do you get the picture in Revelation 12:1? 05:25 A woman is emerging 05:28 from the Old Testament era. 05:31 She is with Child. 05:33 The New Testament church is to come forth... 05:35 Christ, the Child, the Messiah of that church. 05:38 She's guided by 12 apostles. 05:41 The woman in white in Rev. 12 05:45 is described as faithful to Jesus. 05:48 She's undefiled with false doctrine. 05:52 She is clothed with the righteousness of Christ. 05:57 The Bible describes the faithful followers of Jesus, 06:01 the offspring of this woman that would appear at end-time 06:07 in Revelation 12 verse 17. 06:19 You know, in the New Testament Ephesians 5 the Bible talks 06:22 about the woman as the bride of Christ. 06:40 So down through the generations 06:43 God has always had a faithful group who followed Him. 06:48 Committed to Christ they have obeyed Christ. 06:51 So in Rev. chapter 12 you have the royal line of believers. 06:57 You have the heritage of this woman. 07:00 You have the offspring of this woman: 07:03 faithful believers committed to Christ 07:07 saved by grace 07:09 obeying Christ because they have been in love 07:13 with their Savior. The scene, though, changes. 07:22 But as time goes on 07:24 that scene changes. 07:27 And although God has always had a people faithful to Him 07:32 the devil has always been working. 07:35 The devil's been working to bring in deception. 07:37 The devil's been working to bring in false doctrine. 07:40 The devil has been working to distort the truth of God. 07:44 A contrast of two women: 07:46 the woman of Rev. 12 dressed in white; 07:50 the woman in Revelation chapter 17. 07:54 These three angels describe this conflict between 07:58 these two women... this crisis between these two women. 08:03 This has to do with the fountain of truth 08:06 and the fountain of error. 08:08 It has to do with two religious streams: 08:11 the woman dressed in white rep- resenting the true pure church 08:14 in Revelation 12; the woman in scarlet in Rev. 17 08:19 representing the fountain of error. 08:22 Revelation chapter 14 verse 8: that second angel's message, 08:26 describes this second woman dressed in scarlet 08:30 as Babylon. And it says: 08:44 Three angels fly in mid heaven. 08:47 The first angel's message: "I saw another angel 08:50 flying in the middle of heaven 08:52 having the everlasting gospel... " 08:53 The woman dressed in white: the pure, true church 08:57 preaching the gospel, 08:58 "to go to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. " 09:00 The woman dressed in white; the angel's message 09:03 saying with a loud voice to the entire world. 09:07 "Fear God. " That's obey God. 09:09 "Give glory to Him" in your lifestyle 09:11 because we're living in a unique time of earth's history. 09:14 "The hour of His judgment is come" 09:16 and "worship the Creator. " So the first angel's message 09:20 calls us to true worship, to be followers of the woman in white, 09:24 in Revelation chapter 12, and be part of those 09:28 who have faith in Christ and the faith of Christ 09:31 living in their hearts and keep the commandments of God. 09:34 The message of the second angel is to flee 09:39 from the woman in scarlet titled as the false Babylon: 09:46 a religion of confusion and humanism. 09:50 "Babylon is fallen, is fallen" is the second angel's message. 09:54 And that's a warning. Now Revelation 17 09:57 picks up on that second angel's message. 10:01 Now when you look at this term "Babylon" in the Bible 10:05 and when Revelation 14:8 says: "Babylon is fallen... " 10:09 is that possibly speaking of ancient Babylon? 10:13 Ancient Babylon ruled the world from 605 BC 10:18 to 539 BC. 10:20 The Babylonians were overtaken and overthrown by 10:24 the Medes and the Persians there in 539 BC. 10:28 When John writes he writes 600 years after that 10:33 at the end of the first century. 10:35 So Babylon has already fallen. 10:38 John is speaking not about literal Babylon 10:41 the literal city but he's speaking about a force 10:44 that would be called spiritual Babylon. 10:47 Let's unfold that. 10:49 Let's unpack that. 10:50 What is spiritual Babylon? 10:53 Revelation's prediction of the fall of Babylon 10:57 cannot possibly be referring to the ruins of the ancient 11:01 city of Babylon on the Euphrates River 11:03 in modern-day Iraq. 11:05 That had long been destroyed as I mentioned 600 years before. 11:10 In the prophecies of Revelation Babylon represents 11:15 a false religious system. 11:18 This Babylon of Rev. 14:8- 11:21 this false religious system - 11:24 would have similar character- istics in its very philosophy 11:28 and teachings to ancient Babylon. 11:32 We find this further developed 11:34 in a woman in scarlet and purple 11:38 riding on a scarlet-colored beast 11:41 in Revelation the 17th chapter. 11:44 Now this is an amazing... an absolutely amazing description. 11:49 It is an absolutely amazing revelation 11:52 to us in this generation 11:55 of truth as it stands in contrast to falsehood. 12:01 These messages called the three angels' messages 12:06 and this message of the second angel 12:08 is a message of vital absolute importance 12:12 for this generation. Let's go to Revelation 17 verse 2. 12:24 Now what are the seven bowls? 12:25 The seven bowls are the seven bowls of God's judgments 12:28 upon the world... the seven last plagues. 12:30 Before those plagues an event takes place. 12:47 Here this woman is not the faithful bride of Christ. 12:50 This is certainly not the woman of Revelation chapter 12 12:54 with the pure, undefiled garments. 12:57 She, according to Scripture, is a harlot. 13:00 She has left her true lover... Christ. 13:03 Who has she committed fornication with? 13:05 She "sits on many waters. " What does that mean? 13:08 It says then: 13:16 So here in this picture 13:19 symbolically there is a woman 13:23 scantily dressed in scarlet 13:26 or ornamented with jewels 13:29 riding on a scarlet-colored beast. 13:32 What does this woman represent? 13:35 Not the true church, certainly, but a fallen church system. 13:39 It says: "Then one of the seven angels who had 7 bowls 13:42 came and talked with me... " And she sits where? 13:45 We're going to see the judgment of the great harlot. 13:47 Where does she sit? "On many waters. " 13:48 In the Bible it also says: "The kings of the earth 13:51 committed fornication with her. " 13:53 What does this symbolism mean? 13:56 What's the significance of this symbolism? 13:59 Well, what about waters? Revelation 17:15: 14:10 So you have a false religious system 14:14 that dominates over multiple peoples. 14:18 We do not have to guess at the meaning of Bible prophecy. 14:23 God, who has given prophecy, 14:25 reveals that meaning. He unfolds the symbol of prophecy. 14:30 So in the Bible the harlot woman, the fallen religious 14:35 system, has left her true lover Jesus and she dominates 14:40 over many peoples of the world. 14:42 She commits fornication. 14:44 Who does she commit fornication with? 14:47 The kings of the earth. 14:48 And so that's why the Scripture says 14:51 that you have this fallen religious system, 14:54 this woman, riding upon the beast. 14:58 That beast power represents a political system. 15:02 In the Bible according to Daniel 7:17 15:07 the beast represents kings or verse 23 kingdoms. 15:11 And so you have the church riding on the state 15:15 or church and state united. 15:18 Now if history tells us anything 15:21 it tells us that when church and state unite 15:25 there is often oppression and persecution 15:29 on those who fail to go along with that church/state union. 15:34 There is the restric- tion of religious liberty. 15:37 What is fornication? 15:43 So the people of God - the church of Jesus Christ, 15:47 the bride of Christ - 15:50 is united to her true lover Jesus Christ 15:54 and gets her direction from Him. 15:57 The fallen church system 16:01 is united to the state and looks not to Jesus 16:06 for its authority or power 16:08 but looks to the state for its power. 16:15 She finds Him as her true head. 16:30 The true authority for the church comes from Jesus. 16:34 The true power for the church comes from Jesus. 16:39 The true strength of the church comes from Jesus. 16:42 But when the church - the fallen church - 16:45 looks to the state for its power 16:48 looks to government authorities for its power 16:51 it loses its spiritual power and it becomes Babylon. 16:56 It becomes a fallen church system. 17:00 Now the founders of the United States 17:03 and the founders of all democratic governments 17:07 have written into their constitution 17:10 that important doctrine of the separation of church and state. 17:17 For example, the first amendment to the Constitution 17:21 that our founders here in America recognized 17:24 was so important reads this way: 17:38 They were very very clear 17:41 that there should be no government interference 17:46 in the individual liberties to express 17:51 religious belief. 17:53 The founders of our nation were very clear on this point. 17:57 In fact, in the writings of George Washington 18:01 in one of his speeches and messages to Congress I read: 18:22 When the founders of the United States 18:26 left the Old World 18:28 one of the prime reasons they left Europe 18:31 was because church and state united. 18:35 State churches dominated Europe, 18:38 and as they did the rights of the minority 18:42 to express their religious values were curtailed 18:46 and the minorities often were persecuted. 18:49 So the founders of America 18:52 came to this nation because they longed for religious freedom. 18:57 They longed to be in a land where they could worship 19:01 in harmony with the dictates of their conscience. 19:04 And thank God for that freedom. 19:06 But Revelation predicts that a time will come 19:10 when religious liberty will erode again. 19:14 It predicts that this fallen church system 19:19 riding upon the beast power of the state 19:22 will withdraw religious liberty and that religious laws 19:27 will be passed to coerce, enforce worship again. 19:36 What did he mean by that expression? 19:39 He meant precisely this: 19:41 that the church should not superimpose its will upon the 19:47 state and legislate worship. 19:50 And the state should not superimpose its laws 19:54 upon its citizenry to enforce religious decrees. 19:59 That every human being, whether we accept what another 20:03 believes or not, should have that freedom, 20:06 that choice, that opportunity 20:09 to make decisions in harmony with their conscience. 20:13 We see in Revelation 14:8 in the second angel's message: 20:18 "Babylon is fallen! Is fallen! " 20:20 we see a description of a church/state union 20:25 that is united to enforce its religious laws. 20:30 Now notice what Scripture says going on to describe this 20:34 Babylon, this woman of Revelation chapter 17, 20:38 dressed in purple and scarlet riding on the beast. 20:42 Notice what it says... Revelation 17:2: 20:51 In the Bible wine is a symbol of doctrine, 20:56 and wine here is a symbol of false doctrine. 21:01 In the gospels it talks about the cup of salvation. 21:05 Jesus offers freely the pure juice of the grape, 21:09 the wine of salvation. 21:12 You know, in the Bible Jesus says 21:13 "I'll not drink... " in the communion service... 21:16 "of the wine again with you... " 21:19 that's the pure juice of the grape... 21:20 in other words, representing His blood... 21:22 But here is the wine of fornication. 21:25 Here is a religious system 21:28 that challenges the very authority of Christ 21:32 and puts man in the very place of Christ. 21:36 The wine of false doctrine; the intoxication 21:40 of the teachings of Babylon... 21:43 So the teachings of ancient Babylon 21:46 where human beings are exalted above the dominion 21:50 of Christ, where the authority of man 21:53 and the opinion of man takes the place of the opinion 21:55 of Christ. And when the doctrines of man are substituted 21:59 for the teachings of Scripture. 22:01 This indeed is represented in the wine of Babylon. 22:04 The fallen church passes around her wine cup 22:08 of erroneous doctrine and the world becomes intoxicated 22:12 with false religious ideas. 22:14 On one occasion I was speaking to a group 22:18 in a large meeting outside the city of Chicago. 22:21 And as I was speaking I was talking about the wine 22:23 of Babylon, and there as I was talking about the wine 22:26 of Babylon I said: "Wine affects the 22:29 conscience... it affects the forebrain. 22:31 When you drink excessively you can't think. 22:34 You become intoxicated. " 22:36 And as I was saying that a drunk man had walked into the 22:40 meeting... and I was a young man at the time. 22:42 He's sitting in the back row and he was half asleep. 22:45 When I started talking about wine confuses the thinking 22:47 and wine distorts your process of understanding 22:53 and it defiles your conscience 22:54 the guy stands up. You know, he's half drunk. 22:56 He begins waving: "That's enough young man. 23:00 That's enough young man. " 23:02 Well, you know, it is true 23:04 that wine does affect deeply the brain. 23:07 And the wine of false doctrine 23:10 distorts our thinking so no longer does the truth 23:15 of God's Word penetrate our hearts. 23:18 You know, Jesus said in John 17 verse 17 23:21 "Sanctify them through Thy Word; 23:25 Thy Word is truth. " 23:26 It is the Word of God, the wine of the gospel, 23:31 the pure juice of God's Word 23:34 that sobers us up so that we don't become drunk 23:38 with the false doctrines indeed of Babylon. 23:57 Notice: the woman is full of names of blasphemy: 24:00 doctrines contrary to the Biblical doctrines of truth. 24:04 You see, politicians - the Bible talks about - in the last days 24:08 eager to retain their positions 24:10 yield to the influence of the majority 24:12 who have drunk the wine of Babylon's false doctrines. 24:15 Once again, there is this union of church and state. 24:18 Once again religious decrees are enforced 24:21 and superimposed upon the minority. 24:24 Once again persecution comes. 24:26 In Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown: it's an old Bible commentary 24:30 that I happened to read volume 4 on Revelation 17:3 24:33 it makes this amazing comment: 24:58 Just before the final judgment 25:00 just before the coming of Christ 25:03 there is a church ripe for judgment 25:06 because the doctrines of God's Word have been compromised. 25:09 The doctrines of the Bible have been substituted 25:12 for the traditions of man. 25:15 Human tradition has replaced the clear, plain 25:19 truth of Scripture 25:21 and the church becomes ripe for judgment. 25:24 God says: "Babylon is fallen! Is fallen! 25:27 Come out of her My people. " 25:29 God is appealing in the second angel 25:33 for His people, drunk with the wine of Babylon, 25:37 to make a step to come out of Babylon. 25:40 The woman, notice, is arrayed in purple and scarlet. 25:43 So the colors of this fallen religious system, 25:47 this system that is the mother church 25:50 that has many daughters: 25:57 She is lavish with her ornamentation. 26:01 She is dressed in purple and scarlet. 26:04 She has in her hand a golden cup full of abomination. 26:07 You know, the golden cup... 26:09 The Bible talks about the cup of salvation. 26:12 But this cup, although it appears to have salvation, 26:15 does not. It's full of abominations of false doctrine. 26:20 She's united with the state. 26:23 Her colors are purple and scarlet. 26:25 Do you know any religious system 26:29 whose colors are purple and scarlet 26:33 who is the great mother church? 26:37 Now friends, it's not our intent in this lecture series 26:41 to unnecessarily point fingers at 26:45 or condemn any religious organization. 26:48 In every church there are people who are committed to Christ. 26:53 But it is our responsibility under God 26:56 to open His Word, to share the truth of His Word. 27:01 And when God gives clear identifying characteristics 27:06 of a fallen church system 27:10 that becomes the great mother church of our world 27:14 and He clearly identifies that in the Bible 27:17 it becomes our responsibility whether it's popular or not, 27:23 whether it's the majority's opinion or not, 27:25 to graciously share that. 27:28 And so we do not condemn individuals... 27:32 we simply share what the Bible says. 27:35 Now there's an amazing statement made by Eusebius 27:40 on the life of Constantine. 27:42 Eusebius is one of the great historians 27:46 of the early centuries. 27:49 And as church and state united in the 4th and 5th centuries 27:55 Eusebius makes this observation. 28:12 In other words, the pagan cults 28:14 very very often... VERY often... 28:18 would use the garments, and very often purple and scarlet. 28:23 And as the result of that 28:25 these were brought into Christianity... brought into 28:30 the Roman church in the early centuries. 28:47 So what have we discovered so far? 28:49 We have discovered that Babylon is represented by the 28:54 figure of a woman. A woman represents the church. 28:58 A pure woman represents the true church; 29:01 a fallen woman represents the harlot church 29:05 or a church that's left Christ. 29:07 We've discovered that this fallen religious system 29:12 the fallen church known as Babylon 29:17 rides upon a scarlet-colored beast. 29:20 We've noticed that this fallen religious system 29:22 is united with the state. 29:25 Commits fornication; leaves her true lover. 29:27 So there's a union of church and state. 29:29 We've noticed as well that she has a wine cup 29:33 that she passes around of fallen doctrine or false doctrine. 29:38 We've noticed that her colors are purple and scarlet. 29:42 We've noticed as well now in this prediction 29:46 that her capitol would be on a city of seven hills. 29:52 There are a number of cities in the world that have 7 hills. 29:55 But if you look at every aspect of this description 30:00 there is only one that fits this particular description 30:05 in the context of Revelation chapter 17. 30:09 Prof. Ernest Martin, when he's talking about the prominence 30:13 of Rome and the Roman Empire 30:14 and he's talking about the prominence of the Roman church 30:17 makes this amazing... this incredible statement: 30:34 So Prof. Ernest Martin describing the history of Rome 30:38 and the Roman Empire talks about the fact 30:41 that there was a belief in the ancient world 30:45 that when you have your capitol on a seven-hilled city 30:50 that that in itself put that city into prominence. 30:54 He goes on. He says: 31:14 So Prof. Martin points out that the city of Rome 31:20 indeed has unusual prominence in those early years. 31:26 Now, there's something on this woman's head 31:28 that gives us the entire clue to the identification of the woman. 31:42 This great woman has 31:46 a name on her forehead. 31:48 What is that name on her forehead? 31:50 Do you see what that name is? 31:52 MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT. 31:54 That is leading us back to Old Testament Babylon 31:59 so that we can understand New Testament Babylon 32:03 in Revelation. So we can understand spiritual Babylon. 32:06 We need to go back and say: "What was the essential 32:10 philosophy of Old Testament Babylon? " 32:14 What was at its heart? What was at its foundation? 32:16 So let's go back. 32:18 You know, Santayana - the historian - once said: 32:25 So we need to go back and look at Old Testament Babylon. 32:27 And an appeal to remember... remember what Old Testament 32:33 Babylon was like so you can understand 32:34 New Testament Babylon. 32:36 You remember, in ancient Babylon one thing you notice 32:38 very clearly is God gave to Daniel a great vision 32:42 of the history of the world 32:44 and an interpretation of the vision that Nebuchadnezzar had. 32:47 Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon. 32:49 Nebuchadnezzar, though, wanted to rule the world 32:51 so although God gave to Nebuchadnezzar an image 32:55 with a head of gold, breast and arms of silver, 32:57 thighs of brass, legs of iron, toes of the image of clay. 33:01 That was in Daniel the 2nd chapter 33:04 representing the great nations that would rule the world: 33:06 Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. 33:09 The break-up of the Roman Empire then the coming of Christ. 33:12 But Nebuchadnezzar, contrary in an opposition 33:17 to that vision... Notice here on the screen: 33:19 he makes an image all of gold. 33:24 Totally absolutely of gold. 33:28 And he passes a decree 33:30 that everybody must worship that image. 33:34 So if we learned anything from Babylon, 33:36 we learned that in ancient Babylon 33:39 church and state united. 33:42 In ancient Babylon decrees were enforced 33:48 to lead men and women - the followers of Christ - 33:51 contrary to the Word of God to bow down to that image 33:55 in violation of the second commandment. 33:58 We learned that. We also learned 34:00 that human beings and their opinions 34:04 as leaders were exalted above God. 34:07 There's an appeal that God gives us. 34:16 And as we'll see as we continue our studies 34:20 here in Revelation chapter 14 34:23 when we come to two studies on the mark of the beast 34:25 that once again a death decree will be enforced. 34:29 But let's go back to ancient Babylon, and try to discover 34:32 what is at its very heart. 34:34 Remember in Revelation 17:5 34:38 that there is something written on the forehead 34:42 of this fallen church system: 34:45 BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS. 34:49 A fallen church system whose doctrines would go to the world. 34:53 A fallen church system 34:56 that would have many daughter churches as well. 35:00 Revelation reveals the past. It leads us back to ancient 35:05 Babylon so we can understand something about this 35:09 second angel's message: "Babylon is falling" 35:12 so we can flee Babylon, leave the intoxication 35:17 of the wine of Babylon, and come to the truth of God's Word. 35:22 What does it mean MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT? 35:25 Let's go back to ancient Babylon and see in this presentation 35:28 if we can learn a little about ancient Babylon. 35:31 Literal Babylon had fallen; 35:33 spiritual Babylon rises. 35:35 But we learned some great lessons. 35:37 What are some of Babylon's falsehoods in ancient Babylon 35:42 that we can then understand would be super imported 35:47 into the Christian church today? 35:53 That's the real central issue. 35:55 In ancient Babylon human opinion was exalted above God's Word. 36:00 Remember in Genesis 11:19 we have the origin 36:04 of Babylon. It says: 36:12 So right after the flood 36:15 human beings in disobedience to God, 36:19 human beings in disbelief of God's Word, 36:22 human beings in defiance of God's Word 36:26 built a temple... a temple that rose to heaven 36:31 because they thought "If there's another flood coming 36:33 we don't want to be destroyed. " 36:35 So this tower of Babel was the very foundation 36:39 of the city of Babylon. 36:42 This tower of Babel was a monument to humanism. 36:45 It was a monument to human ideas. 36:48 It was a monument to human teachings. 36:50 It was a monument to human philosophy. 37:00 So in the last days of earth's history 37:03 church and state unite. 37:04 They say: "You cannot buy or sell unless you follow 37:07 the beast power. " Babylon, the woman with her false 37:12 doctrine, unites with the state. 37:14 But here there are a group of people that say: 37:17 "We believe in the Word of Christ. 37:20 The Word of Christ is predominant in our lives. 37:22 We will live by God's Word 37:24 and we believe in the promise of His protection. 37:27 We turn from human plans and ideas. " 37:31 You know, notice the first four letters 37:33 of the word Babylon. What are they? 37:35 B - A - B - Y. 37:38 Baby. Why do you call baby a baby? 37:41 You call a baby a baby because it has what? 37:44 Confused speech. 37:45 So Babylon has confused values. 37:49 When you think of Babylon think of confusion. 37:53 When religion becomes confused truth becomes distorted 37:58 and human opinions are elevated above God's Word. 38:02 When that happens it's nothing more than babbling or Babylon. 38:07 So in Babylon there is the distortion of truth. 38:11 In Babylon, human opinion is exalted above God's Word. 38:16 When somebody says: "Well I know that's what God's Word 38:20 teaches but that's not what I think. " 38:23 "I know what God's Word teaches 38:24 but that's not what my pastor says. " 38:27 "I know what God's Word teaches 38:28 but that's not what my church teaches. " 38:30 When we go for human opinion... 38:33 And look, let me take that a step further. 38:36 When in the name of scholarship even - 38:41 and I thank God for godly scholars - 38:43 but when in the name of scholarship 38:46 we superimpose our will upon the teaching 38:50 of God's Word we become confused in our understanding. 38:55 That creates more confusion than it does light. 38:58 God speaks in His Word. What is Babylon? 39:18 And here a wise man puts it this way: 39:23 Proverbs chapter 23 and verse 23. 39:30 And the wise man speaks to this generation 39:34 and his words come echoing and re-echoing 39:37 down the centuries of time. 39:39 Proverbs 23:23 he says: 39:42 "Buy the truth and sell it not. 39:46 Also wisdom and instruction and understanding. " 39:49 "Buy the truth and sell it not. " 39:52 What is the fundamental problem with Babylon? 39:56 Babylon has sold out truth for popularity. 40:01 It sold out truth for convenience. 40:04 Its teachings have amalgamated the teachings 40:09 of paganism and brought them subtly into the church. 40:15 The books of Daniel and Revelation are complementary 40:19 books, and when Daniel talks about Babylon 40:24 he is providing lessons and a foundation 40:27 to understand Revelation. You go back to Daniel 4:30. 40:32 What's the heart of Babylon? 40:44 So Babylon is a system of truth that unites church and state. 40:51 I said a system of truth. They THINK it is truth. 40:56 It's really a system of error 40:58 where the true church is based on the teachings of God's Word 41:04 on the authority of Jesus Christ. 41:19 On the other hand, Jesus said in Matthew 16:18: 41:30 Thank God Jesus has a church 41:35 as described in Revelation chapter 12 verses 1 and 2. 41:39 The woman in white: pure, undefiled doctrine. 41:43 As described in Revelation 12:17 the dragon is wroth, 41:46 angry with the woman - the true church. 41:48 Goes to make war; passes a death decree. 41:52 Under the fallen church system church and state unite. 41:55 No man can buy or sell. 41:57 But there God's people stand firm. 41:59 The dragon - Satan - is angry with the true church, 42:01 goes to make war with the remnant of her seed... 42:04 the rest of her offspring 42:05 that keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus. 42:08 Saved by grace, charmed by His love, redeemed by the cross 42:13 they live obedient lives and they keep the very commandments 42:17 of God. The church built by Jesus will triumph at the end. 42:21 And so the choice really is will we live in harmony 42:24 with Jesus' instructions... His commands? 42:28 Will we be part of the church built by Jesus 42:32 or part of a man-made system of religion 42:35 that has confused religious values? 42:49 There are some people today who have the idea 42:52 "Well, I don't want anything to do with authority. " 42:55 "Sure... I don't want to be part of the false system 42:58 but I want nothing to do with authority. " 43:00 "I don't want to be part of any man-made system, the church. " 43:03 The truth of the matter is Jesus doesn't want you to be 43:05 part of any man-made system. 43:07 But the church of Christ on earth is not a man-made system 43:11 because according to Matthew chapter 16 verse 18 43:14 Jesus says: "I'll build My church! " 43:16 And according to Colossians 1 43:18 Christ is the Head of the church. 43:20 So the alternative is not leav- ing Babylon and being out here 43:25 wandering in some kind of nether nether world. 43:27 It is rather accepting Christ's appeal, 43:30 being part of the body of Christ, 43:32 and being part of the church that He has established. 43:51 The question is: will I follow a human leader 43:55 or human leaders or will I accept Jesus Christ 43:59 as my only Leader? 44:01 Jesus Christ, as the divine Head of His church. 44:05 You know, in Daniel chapter 3 verses 4 and 5 44:10 when Nebuchadnezzar set up that golden image 44:13 and I mentioned it a little bit earlier but I want to 44:15 develop that thought he said: 44:20 Notice: not "to you it is suggested. " 44:25 There was a human command. 44:35 Notice the issue that took place in Daniel chapter 3. 44:41 The issue was the union of church and state under Babylon. 44:46 The issue that took place in Daniel chapter 3 44:50 was a king who created an image 44:53 that was a counterfeit to the image of Daniel chapter 2. 44:58 The issue in Daniel chapter 3 45:01 very clearly in this image 45:04 was one of worship. 45:07 A church/state union under Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon 45:12 passed a decree contrary to the second commandment 45:16 that says: "Thou shalt not make of thee any graven image. " 45:19 "Thou shalt not bow down thy- self to them or worship them. " 45:23 This decree was passed to command false worship. 45:28 So in the last days of earth's history 45:31 based on Revelation 14 45:35 based on Revelation 17 45:37 based on Revelation 13 45:39 there'll be something very precisely the same. 45:43 Church and state again will unite. 45:46 The fallen church will pass around the wine cup 45:50 of its false doctrine. 45:52 The world will be enamored and intoxicated 45:55 with those false doctrines. 45:57 In a time of economic, political, and social chaos 46:01 there'll be an attempt to bring the world together. 46:05 There'll be a forced religious decree 46:08 and decrees that forbid man to buy or sell, 46:12 ultimately a death decree under the auspices 46:15 of this false union known as the antichrist. 46:18 When that indeed takes place 46:21 there will be compelled worship. 46:24 But once again God will have a group of people 46:27 that are strengthened by His Spirit, 46:31 that are empowered by His Spirit, 46:33 that stand for Him. 46:36 They stand for the One who hung on the cross for them. 46:42 Filled with His grace, empowered by His Spirit 46:46 they keep His commandments. 46:48 Just as the second commandment was a test question 46:52 in the days of ancient Babylon 46:54 in these last days the issue will be over worshiping 46:59 the Creator or worshiping the beast. 47:02 We're going to unpack this more in future presentations. 47:14 ... and they have the authority to pass decrees 47:18 and to compel men and women to follow those decrees. 47:23 Now let me give you some examples. I'm going to go back 47:26 to some Roman Catholic sources 47:30 and look at the authority 47:33 that the papal power claims that it has. 47:46 Notice this one: 48:02 Or notice this one: 48:15 Or notice this one: 48:43 Notice this statement says that the Pope of Rome 48:47 has the authority to command and compel doctrine. 49:04 So here you have it: Revelation predicts 49:07 union of church and state. It predicts 49:10 that a church power will usurp the authority of Christ. 49:15 And here the church - the Roman church - by its own 49:19 acknowledgement it claims that it has that authority. 49:42 In other words, any earthly power 49:45 that usurps the authority of Christ 49:48 claiming that it can pronounce doctrinal truth 49:53 that power becomes an antichrist power. 49:56 The Westminster Confession originally published in 1647 50:01 states this: 50:25 You see, spiritual Babylon is a power 50:30 that has an earthly head that speaks for God 50:34 in the place of God. 50:36 The image was set up in the plains of Babylon 50:40 and these 3 Hebrew worthies were compelled to bow down 50:43 to the image. 50:55 Spiritual Babylon is a system with a human head. 50:59 Introduces human teaching. 51:01 Brings in idols for its worship services. 51:14 Exactly like took place in ancient Babylon. 51:18 God is calling us back to His Word. 51:21 God is calling us back to the truths of His Word. 51:52 Jesus calls us to worship Him directly... 51:55 not through counterfeit images. 51:57 Not through idols that have hands and feet 52:02 but they do not feel or talk. 52:05 Edwin Goodenough puts it this way. He spoke about religious 52:10 tradition and myth from Harvard University. He says: 52:29 You see what happened? This great historian at Harvard 52:32 says that the fallen church system 52:35 brought into its system, into its religious belief, 52:39 pagan images. But they just changed the names 52:43 to the names of the saints. 53:03 Wow! Absolutely amazing! 53:07 Historian Harvard says images would come into the church 53:12 and they would replace Christ. 53:24 He is the One we worship! 53:27 Jesus invites us to be done with all the traditions 53:32 of men. He invites us to step out from the majority 53:37 and follow Him completely. 53:39 To have nothing between our soul and our Savior. 53:44 Is that the decision you would like to make today? 53:47 Nothing between my soul and my Savior. 53:51 Not of this world's delusive dream. Listen as Charles sings. 54:04 Nothing between 54:08 my soul and my Savior, 54:13 not of this world's 54:16 delusive dream. 54:21 I have renounced 54:24 all sinful pleasure. 54:29 Jesus is mine! 54:32 There's nothing between. 54:36 Nothing between 54:40 my soul and my Savior 54:45 so that His blessed 54:49 face may be seen. 54:53 Nothing preventing 54:57 the least of His favor. 55:01 Keep the way clear! 55:05 Let nothing between. 55:16 There's nothing between 55:20 like worldly pleasure, 55:25 habits of life 55:28 though harmless they seem. 55:32 Must not my heart 55:36 from Him ever sever... 55:40 He is my all! 55:44 There's nothing between. 55:48 Nothing between 55:51 my soul and my Savior 55:56 so that His blessed 56:00 face may be seen. 56:04 Nothing preventing 56:07 the least of His favor. 56:11 Keep the way clear! 56:15 There's nothing between! 56:21 Jesus is appealing to you right now. 56:26 His appeal to you is to step out from all the tradition 56:32 to anchor your life in His Word. 56:36 His appeal to you is to make Christ 56:42 number one in your life. 56:45 As we pray to say: "Jesus, I want nothing between us. " 56:50 Dear Lord, the desire of our hearts 56:53 is to have nothing between us and Christ 56:55 although at times it's challenging and other times 56:58 it's difficult to step out from the majority. 57:01 Deep within our hearts we ask You for that strength 57:05 to follow You now and forever. 57:08 In Christ's name, Amen. 57:12 May Jesus enable you 57:15 to follow Him today and always. |
Revised 2020-07-28