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Hey, we always like to start our Sunday mornings by saying welcome to any of you

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that are joining us here in our room for the first time, or if you're joining us

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online for the first time, welcome. We're so glad you're here to worship us today

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at Hosanna. I am Pastor Nathan and this morning we are going to be looking at

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Revelation chapter 18, which is the fall of Babylon, depicted as the political

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economic system of government that is present during the end times, during the

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tribulation period, that last seven years that so much of Revelation has been

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about so far. You know, in the previous chapter, Revelation 17, we looked at

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Babylon but depicted as the religious system that is on or present in the

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world system at that time, that spiritual religious system that unifies all of

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the various religions of the world together under one banner, and it's what

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we call or refer to as the one world religion that will be present during

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that time. And instead of being one new faith, it really is a melting pot of all

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of the world's religions, all except Jesus, except Christianity. And really

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what we saw in chapter 17 was how that system will ultimately be destroyed by

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the Antichrist and the system that he leads. Well here in Revelation 18, John

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now turns to another Babylon. And it might be easy to think if you're reading

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through these chapters that since we're still talking about Babylon in chapter

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18, that we're still talking about the same thing as we saw in chapter 17, but

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that isn't accurate. Chapter 18 is really focusing on what we call the political

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and or economic Babylon, which is not the one world religion, it's the one world

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government system, the one world economic system in place during this time. And

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this whole chapter is really focused on the economic power and effect that

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falls with the fall of this particular Babylon. And you know, we understand

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that that's so much of what government does, what the governments around the

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world do has to do with economics. There's so much that what they do,

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how they control, what they control, it all has to do with economics because

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economics affects everything. Really from a governmental perspective, control over

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an economy really equals control over the people. And throughout history and

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including our societies today, economics has been something that has divided up

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societies. Societies are divided up by economic class. Here in our country we

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have the poor, we have what we call the middle class, we have what we call the

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upper class. People are constantly at odds over what to do, how to legislate

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the flow of and distribute wealth, right? On one side of the fence you have those

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that are like, hey if you go out and you build a business and you invest and you

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take the risk, you're due the reward, the profits of your efforts. And then on

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another side of the aisle that's like, hey I shouldn't have to lift a finger

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but you should give me all your money because that's just what's fair. We have

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an administration now refusing to acknowledge the recessions that it has

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caused by its policies. And instead of fixing the policies, what they want to do

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is redefine the word recession. Call it something else because they know how a

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broken economy can affect their reelection hopes. And as we enter into

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an election season here in the United States, polls are suggesting over and

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over again that the number one issue on people's minds is the economy because it

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is tough right now. Everything is more expensive than it has been before and so

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people are thinking, will a change in politics affect my personal economy? Will

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a change in politics make it to where young people could ever afford a home

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again? Will a change in politics bring gas prices back down to reasonable

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levels? These are questions that are on people's minds and current economic

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issues, they affect everybody. They affect businesses, they affect individuals, they

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affect organizations including churches. You know, this last year it has been a

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really difficult year for our church financially. Some of you remember our

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tower started to fall apart, we had to fix that. Surprise! And we all have things

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like that in our life where there's emergencies that come up that tap the

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resources we weren't expecting to have to spend. But with us this year, as God

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does and as he always does, he's provided in just miraculous ways so that us as a

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church, as an organization, can continue to do what we're called to do. And he

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does the same thing in the lives of his children, that God provides as we trust

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him and obey him. But when we're affected by politics and affected by economics,

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it can elicit an emotional response from people. We can find ourselves fearing,

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having worry, anxiety, stress, and the worse these stresses can get, what is

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seen historically, the more pliable the populations become. The more pliable they

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become, and in the end times the world will have a unified global government, a

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unified global economy, an economic system never seen before on earth. And

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although this global global government will seem to solve issues and provide

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stability, provide safety on the surface, what we're gonna see today in Revelation

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18, that this one world government system, this one world political and economic

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system, is really all about a lust for luxury, a lust for materialism, a lust for

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personal comfort and pleasure at the expense of everybody else. It really is a

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picture of capitalism gone berserk, as the people of the earth feed the need to

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indulge themselves at the expense of others around them. But what

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Revelation 18 ultimately shows us is that it will fall, it will collapse, it

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will be judged, and that judgment will be complete, will be thorough, and will be

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final. That's what we're looking at today, but first we're gonna spend some time

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in worship because you know when it comes to economics, when it comes to our

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personal finances and situations, God is still God whether it's a recession or

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not. Amen? God is in control. Our job is to learn His will, to endeavor through

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study of His Word, to be obedient to Him with everything. Now when economics and

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the economy does get tough, one of the direct things that gets affected is our

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ability to be obedient to God with our own finances and our own giving and

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generosity, and the devil attacks that, and he's attacking that all over the

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world. But whether it's good times or bad times, we're called to be obedient to God

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because He is God. He knows our situation, He knows your situation, and He is worth

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trusting because He is the one that takes care of us. Amen? Let's praise Him

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for that. Father, Lord, we trust you God so much for who you are. We trust you God

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in every situation of our lives, Lord. And God, even in our world today, we see

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that governments around the world are struggling with

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economic issues, God. And Lord, we see here in Revelation 18 today, Lord, that

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the situation is just gonna get worse. God, that as we've seen situations over

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history where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, God, Revelation 18

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takes a very bleak picture of the end times where that is just in full

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expression. And yet, God, it's something that is driven by the selfish greed of

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man, the selfish indulgence of self-seeking pleasure. And Lord, that

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really is such a controlling factor in the sinful nature of humanity. And God, we

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see that you're gonna judge it. Lord, just as you judged in Revelation 17, false

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religion and false idolatry. And Lord, all that would raise up something else

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other than you to worship God, we also see, Lord, that you're gonna judge the

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raising up of self, the raising up of our own pleasure. You're gonna

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judge that, Lord, because we have raised it up as an idol. But Lord, we

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want to worship you. We want to praise you. God, we don't want to necessarily

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focus on the bad even as we're studying what's to come. We want to be in a place

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where we trust you with our lives, we trust you with our finances, we trust you

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with our jobs, we trust you with our families, because you are God Almighty.

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And Lord, over and over again in your word, you promise to take care of your

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people. And so, God, we trust you even when we don't understand. God, we trust you.

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Lord, like the Apostle said in the Gospels, God, if we're struggling with

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faith today and trusting you these things, Lord, we say, God, increase our

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faith. That we would just be in that place of peace no matter what is going

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on around us. And Lord, may we be people that pray for those who don't yet know

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you, who are struggling through all these things without the hope of Jesus

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Christ, Lord. God, we know a time is coming where you're gonna take the church out of

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the world, and you're gonna start to pour out your final wrath upon the earth. God,

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we ask, Lord, that before that happens, we would have opportunity to lead those who

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don't yet know you to you, that they would be spared from the wrath to come.

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So, God, we praise you for our salvation. We praise you for our relationship with

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you. We praise you that you are God Almighty, and we love you so very much.

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It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We're gonna jump into our study this morning.

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As I mentioned earlier, we are in Revelation chapter 18. And if you've been

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with us for a while, you might remember back in chapter 6 of Revelation, we saw

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that when the Antichrist came upon the scene, and we saw that in the first seal

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as we saw this rider on a white horse, a counterfeit to Jesus, came on the scene,

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the picture was that he's gonna come onto the scene at the start of the seven-year

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tribulation period, and initially he's gonna be very peaceful. He's gonna be a

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man of the people. He's gonna have all the answers and solutions to the problems

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that are going on in the world, and everyone will like him because he seems

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to solve every problem that the world is facing. Part of his solutions at that

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time we have been studying will involve incorporating world religions together

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under one banner. We've seen in prophecies of Daniel how this one world

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leader that we refer to as the Antichrist will sign a peace treaty with

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Israel that will allow Israel to reoccupy the Temple Mount to build their

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temple again, which we've seen as the third temple. And I believe that he's

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gonna figure out a way to allow that to happen without having any effect on the

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Muslim presence there in the Dome of the Rock that sits on top of that Temple

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Mount, and the world's gonna be amazed at this man, how he got the Jews and the

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Muslims to cooperate, and it's gonna happen. And so people are just gonna be

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amazed at his religious solutions, but part of his answers to the world is also

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gonna be some type of economic plan that solves the world's economic challenges.

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His rise to the top in the world leadership, his takeover, if you will, is

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not gonna be something forceful or militaristic. It's gonna be peaceful. It's

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gonna be very political. It's gonna be welcomed, and it's gonna be celebrated by

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the world at large. But when all of it falls, when all of it collapses, what

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we're gonna read about today is that the leaders of the world, the merchants of

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the world as it describes here in Revelation 18, and the distributors of

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the goods of the world are gonna be in chaos. They're gonna be in sorrow. They're

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gonna be in fear, and this is really what chapter 18 of Revelation is all about.

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Now I mentioned in our intro that there are many similarities between the

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descriptions of Babylon in 17 and 18, and sometimes it could be hard to

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distinguish what is John talking about. In Revelation 17, he's

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talking about Babylon as this expression of a religious system. 18, it's different.

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Now again though, as I mentioned, some people can read it and think that he's

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talking about the same exact thing because there are similarities between

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the descriptions. When you have Babylon the religious system and then Babylon the

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political commercial economic system, we see that both in chapter 17 and 18 are

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referred to or depicted as a woman, referred to as a female. And so with the

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culture of our world today, you could say that Babylon's pronouns are she her, okay?

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Now they're also referred to as both having made the nations drunk with the

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wine of their sexual immorality. They're both described as having the kings of

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the earth commit sexual immorality with her. They're both described as being

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burned up with fire in God's judgment, and they're both described as dressed in

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purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls. But you got to

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remember, as I've mentioned in previous messages, Babylon as a concept, Babylon

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as an idea, Babylon as a descriptor is used to describe a number of different

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things biblically. Babylon is used to refer to a literal city. There was a

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literal city called Babylon that existed one day or back in the past. It is a city

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that is currently being rebuilt today. Babylon is also used as the, to refer to

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a literal empire that the city was capital of. You had the Babylonian Empire

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which existed in history. And really when you tie those two together, we've

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seen over and over that cities can represent entire nations and

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governments and empires, right? Like when you think of Rome, it'll make you think

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of the Roman Empire. When you think of Germany as a nation, you think of the

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whole ideology connected to that. And so there's cities that represent nations and

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so on and so forth. But Babylon is also used to reference the ideology of pagan

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idolatry, pagan worship, false worship, and sin which these anything but

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God religious concepts do have their roots all the way back in the Tower of

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Babel, which was where Babylon came from. And we understand this concept of

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ideologies representing cities, right? If I told you what city is Sin City?

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Vegas, right? That's not a difficult one, right? Or San Francisco, once known for

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technology, now known as a case study in liberal policies. But ultimately this

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concept of Babylon is a concept, a word that is used to refer to anything that

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stood or stands against God or presents itself as instead of God Almighty. So

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when something is a Babylon, it, whether it's a city, an empire, a government, an

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ideology, it's referring to something that is elevating man, elevating man's

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desires, man's values, man's goals above God and God's will and what God

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wants for mankind. And so where chapter 17 presented Babylon the Great as the

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mother of prostitutes and the detestable things of the earth, a religious system

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that was supported by and influencing the people of the world, a system that

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initially even had influence over the beast, it was presented as something

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separate from the beast, separate from the beast that represents the one-world

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government, again as a religious system guilty of religious abominations, and a

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system that was ultimately destroyed by the political power that previously

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supported her. Chapter 18 we see Babylon the Great, the same descriptor, symbolized

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as a great city, a center of economic control, a capital that represents a

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kingdom, that represents a system of economic indulgence and excess. And so in

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chapter 18 collectively Babylon the Great is seen not as a religious system

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but it is seen as a political, socionomic entity guilty of greed and

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self-indulgence as opposed to the guilt of religious abomination. And this

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Babylon the Great we see in chapter 18 of Revelation is ultimately destroyed by

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a sudden act of God, where Babylon the Great in chapter 17 was destroyed by the

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governments of the world. Following me? Good, okay. I say that phrase a lot

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because this stuff gets really confusing sometimes. So religious Babylon and

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political economic Babylon are two distinct things but they aren't

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intertwined. There's similarities between the both but they are distinct. And so

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religious Babylon we saw is judged at the midpoint of tribulation. That's at

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the midpoint of the seven years where the Antichrist is seemingly killed and

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then there's this miraculous resurrection and he comes back on the

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scene, enters into the temple, the Jewish temple, demands to be worshiped as God. We

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saw that in chapter 17 but political economic Babylon is judged at the very

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end of tribulation and that's what we're looking at today. So with that being

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said read with me in Revelation chapter 18 verse 1 where we see the proclamation

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of judgment against political economic Babylon. It says, after this I saw

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another angel with great authority coming down from heaven and the earth

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was illuminated by his splendor. He called out in a mighty voice, it has

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fallen. Babylon the great has fallen. She has become a home for demons, a haunt

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for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, and a haunt for every

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unclean and despicable beast. For all the nations have drunk the wine of her

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sexual immorality which brings wrath. The kings of the earth have committed

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sexual immorality with her and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy

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from her sensuality and excess. So it opens here with another angel and that

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phrase another is just like the one in 17 that brought the message, brought the

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vision to John and this angel is seemingly fresh from God's presence

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right? This angel comes down from heaven and the earth is illuminated with its

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splendor right? We see that back when Moses you know, hey God can I see you and

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God's like it'll burn you up bro. So hide in the rock I'll walk by you you'll see

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the afterglow. Moses was like oh shining in glory right? So we can imagine being

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face to face with God in his presence and so this angel is just the the glory

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of God just illuminating the earth and this angel declares it has fallen.

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Babylon the great has fallen. This proclamation is coming just as we have

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already seen the judgment fall upon the the satanic system of false worship and

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idolatry in chapter 17. Now it's declaring that God is judging the great

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satanic system of greed and indulgence and selfish evil that has corrupted

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really all of earth's history. The words here used in these first three verses

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are what indicate that Babylon, the Babylon here that he's referring to is

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Babylon as expressed by this political governmental and economic center

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because it says she has become a home to demons. That word home in the in the

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original Greek refers specifically to a geographical location that you live at

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or a location where you feel comfortable at and that's why it's translated home.

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So it's a very specific word that's referring to a specific place which is

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why some go hey we're connecting this to an actual literal city of Babylon that

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is capital of this one world government and then he also uses the word haunt. She

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has become a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, every

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unclean and despicable beast. That word haunt is very interesting considering we

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just put up a haunt for Halloween as an outreach. The word haunt here in the

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Greek means prison. It means a prison or a place where a place that is guarded

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like prisons or guards would guard prisoners at a prison and so this

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place it's referring to a physical place where demons and unclean spirits

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have come to live and it's almost like yeah God has let them flock to this one

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place that represents so much because he's about to judge the whole thing.

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Additionally five times in chapter 18 Babylon is referred to as a great city

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once it's referred to as the mighty city. Later on in the chapter we're gonna see

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that the city we're told is destroyed in one day and the leaders of the earth

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will quote stand far off and see the smoke of her burning and so that idea

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of standing far off it's again it's a geographical word of relation so they're

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they're they're actually standing a far off looking at something burning and

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then we're gonna read that the merchants are upset that their cargo will go

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unsold due to Babylon's destruction and so again people go if Babylon is

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actually a city that is rebuilt in the Middle East they have access to the sea

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ports there and that could be a prominent place of commerce and what not

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again we see that Babylon in chapter 18 is is simultaneously representing an

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actual city which which is going to be that government or the headquarters for

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the government and the economy of the planet and that city then also it's

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Babylon is representing the the philosophy that that city and that

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government stands for globally. So what is the inspiration for what this Babylon

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stands for philosophically? Well it told us already demons feel at home there

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they're comfortable there how we feel when we go home right ah there's no

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place like home right there's there's no place like my own bed there's no place

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like my own kitchen right demons feel that way about Babylon this Babylon

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this place it says it's a hangout or a haunch for every unclean thing and then

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the word that is used there is like a prison where they're gathered for

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judgment. Now we've already read that during the tribulation time demons are

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going to be rampant all over the earth there's going to be demons in mass upon

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the earth they they said that they came up out of the pit the really bad demons

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that were in prison in the abyss are let out during the tribulation period to

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wreak havoc upon the earth. We read about these armies of demons possibly armies

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of demons and 200 million some interpret that as we've read about the four demons

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that were incarcerated by the Euphrates River which is right by Babylon released

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to then go lead these armies and kill a third of humanity we've read about

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demons from the sky and and all of that but it says they feel at home in Babylon

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why because Babylon is a place that epitomizes a value system opposed to God

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and everything he stands for. So then you go well what is it this Babylon stands

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for? Well that idea is introduced in verse 3 where it says the merchants have

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grown wealthy by her sensuality and excess. You see the sin of Babylon the

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great in chapter 18 is not only idolatry and false worship and that is referenced

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by saying that she's committed sexual immorality and the leaders and the kings

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of the earth have committed that with her but its power its greed as seen in

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verse 3 and its pride as we're gonna see in verse 7 because you notice in verse

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3 when it says there that the the the kings of the earth have committed

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sexual morality with her and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy

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from her sensuality and excess that word sensuality doesn't mean what you think

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it means right you think of maybe sexual perversion or something like that but in

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the Greek the word sensuality simply refers to powerful influence that's the

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word in the Greek there it's the power to affect or to influence based on

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prestige and that's the concept of political power the influence that

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politics can bring you when you're the head of governments but it was there

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they had grown wealthy from her sensuality and her excess and that word

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excess means luxurious living it's the idea of living in a way that gratifies

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the senses right some people like to buy the expense of art because it makes them

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feel a certain way they like to have the expensive house or the fancy car because

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it makes them feel a sense way it gratifies their their their selves and

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that's referring to the political power so Babylon the great here in chapter 18

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has caused the merchants of the world to grow wealthy based upon her political

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power and her economic power and so this Babylon in chapter 18 of Revelation is

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symbolically representing this system of economic greed of political power and

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pride but if you put those together that is a expressed in another biblical world

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called worldliness worldliness when you hear that word worldliness in the Bible

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it's talking about these these materialistic pursuits it's talking

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about this greed and this this corrupt control and power that people exercise

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and and this whole thing is talking about this system possibly likely

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represented by an actual rebuilt city of Babylon which we've talked about in the

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past which is a headquarters of this worldwide government and economic system

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led by the Antichrist which then is itself characterized by greed power and

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pride due to its location and its economy now if Babylon is indeed rebuilt

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in the middle and becomes a capital of a worldwide government well it's built

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there right in the Middle East which is becoming more and more an economic power

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center in the world and it shouldn't be hard for us to imagine that imagine that

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happening because the Middle East has become more and more wealthy over the

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decades by selling what to the world oil and they're just they're just insanely

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wealthy think of places like Abu Dhabi right this glorious technologically

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advanced city in the middle of the desert and it's just amazing but the

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place is so full of luxury and wealth that that you you might see videos on

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YouTube or whatever where that where people have these like you know 200

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300 400 thousand dollar supercars and they just abandon them on the side of

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the street you know and I'm like I'll go get one just let me bring it home you

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know but you know Lamborghini's and stuff and they're just like just people

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park them and abandon them walk away because there's so much wealth and

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luxury there that that these expensive cars are just considered something to

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be cast off the Middle East you know is there's so much wealth there this Saudi

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Arabian soccer club Al Nasser recently paid Cristiano Ronaldo over two hundred

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million dollars to come play for their soccer team two hundred million can can

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you please come and kick a ball around on a field for us now granted he does it

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really well but two hundred million dollars some say it's the single

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highest soccer salary in history and there's so many other examples of just

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the wealth over in the Middle East you know when it comes to oil yeah we could

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get it I mean oil is absolutely necessary for so much the whole world

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runs on oil right imagine how the Middle East could use oil to make the nations

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of the world turn against Israel and the prophets have told us over and over that

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all the nations of the earth will indeed turn against Israel I mean it's not a

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difficult scenario to imagine that those that control the oil say hey any friend

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of Israel is no friend of ours and if you support Israel you can't have any of

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our oil and if a scenario like that presented itself it's not hard to imagine

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then the kings of the east quickly moving to invade Israel with all their

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military might because what an oil crisis it could happen I don't know

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exactly if that's how it's gonna happen but it's a possible scenario and so in

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verse 4 we get to a call by God of those who reject Babylon to believe and to

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trust and to live in obedience to Jesus during the tribulation time verse 4 it

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says then I heard another voice from heaven come out of her my people so that

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you will not share in her sins or receive any of her plagues for her sins

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are piled up to heaven and God has remembered her crimes and then verse 6

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it's speaking to God it says pay her back the way she also paid and double it

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according to her works in the cup which she mixed mix a double portion for her

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as much as she glorified herself and indulged her central and excessive ways

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give her that much torment and grief for she says in her heart I sit as a queen I

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am NOT a widow and I will never see grief for this reason her plagues will

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come in just one day death and grief and famine she will be burned up with fire

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because the Lord God who judges her is mighty now it might be hard to imagine

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that those who are genuinely saved believers during tribulation time it

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might be hard imagining them becoming actively becoming active participants in

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religious Babylon right because religious Babylon is gonna be very pagan

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and very you know you might think gosh I really can't imagine Christians during

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the tribulation time those who believe but when you think about political

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economic Babylon that's a different story altogether the lure of materialism

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is strong the need specifically during the tribulation period to be able to buy

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and sell after the midpoint right we've been told that in the midpoint after

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the Antichrist comes back and takes over sole global dominance that he's gonna

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introduce the mark of the beast and nobody will be able to buy or sell

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without it well you can imagine being saved during that time and you need to

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put food on the table for your kids you need to put gas in your car you need to

367
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buy and sell or the idea of blending in just to to bring an ease to living right

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it's just it's too difficult to stand against the beast but that's not a

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temptation that only exists in the end times it's a temptation that exists

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today there are many who are genuinely saved genuinely saved that flirt with

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the world far too much John actually spoke of this in one of his previous

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letters in 1st John chapter 2 verse 15 he said do not love the world or the

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things in the world if anyone loves the world the love of or the love for the

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father is not in him for everything in the world the lust of the flesh the

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lust of the eyes and the pride in one's possessions it's not from the father but

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it is of the world or from the world and the world with its lusts is passing away

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but the one who does the will of God remains forever guess what John

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described right there in 1st John chapter 2 the character of political

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economic Babylon he described described its its its ideas its philosophy its

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motivators you know God's call to his people on earth during the tribulation

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time because we know during tribulation time there's gonna be 144,000 witnesses

382
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there's gonna be the two witnesses in in Jerusalem there's gonna be the gospel

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still being preached and people are going to get saved during the tribulation

384
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time both Jew and Gentile but God's call to them is come out of Babylon come out

385
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of her see there's seven occasions throughout the Bible where God calls his

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people to come out of Babylon before he judges it and really it's a picture that

387
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in every age of human history God calls his people out of godless systems

388
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whether they be religious or political or economic he said he said he says don't

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participate don't be a part of that system you might have to live there but

390
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but don't but don't blend into that system don't take on that systems values

391
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and characteristics and he always calls his people to come out of any group any

392
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system that is opposed to to his plan his will his love his plan of salvation

393
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for mankind he says come out of that don't don't participate in that you know

394
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you might think back to Abraham at the time his name was Abraham and God said

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hey dude take your family get out of your country and come to a land that I'm

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going to show you and we're blessed that he obeyed when Israel was called out of

397
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Egypt God said to them get out of Egypt and never go back I'm delivering you

398
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from bondage and obviously Egypt was was a world power at that time both

399
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literally and symbolically and during tribulation as I said there will be many

400
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both Jew and Gentile who will come to genuine salvation of Jesus Christ during

401
00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:51,160
the tribulation period and possibly the greatest spiritual revival ever we don't

402
00:34:51,160 --> 00:34:57,280
know for sure but the Bible talks about multitudes beyond counting that are

403
00:34:57,280 --> 00:35:00,400
going to be saved and many of those saved during this time we've already

404
00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:04,320
seen in Revelation will be martyred for their faith will be slaughtered

405
00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:09,520
violently killed simply because they believe in Jesus but not all of them

406
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some will survive through the seven years of tribulation all the way up to

407
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the end and especially during the last three and a half years when the

408
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Antichrist has soul control soul dominant dominance he's already

409
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obliterated the one world religiousness and this is all the religions are fine he

410
00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:32,680
goes no no no no I'm God worship me and if you don't I'll kill you by the way

411
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you must take this marker you can't buy and sell during this time there are gonna

412
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be many who are genuine believers tempted to involve themselves in the in

413
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the godless materialistic even hedonistic system of the end times and

414
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it's gonna be things like well after all I have to eat I I have to live

415
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I have to be able to buy and sell I have to you know I have to do this and

416
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because if I don't get involved I'll just be stranded in this godless world

417
00:36:06,520 --> 00:36:11,440
system maybe there'll be pressure by unsaved friends and family will you stop

418
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causing problems at work and just just steal like they're asking you to well

419
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that's not just end times that's today isn't it well you just fudge the report

420
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I can't do that you're gonna lose the promotion and even today Christians are

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pressured and called to do things as a godless world system does things and in

422
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those moments we have an opportunity to say I'm gonna obey God I'm gonna obey

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the world and God says to these people during this time look come out of it and

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he gives them two very significant reasons there he goes so that you will

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not share in her sins or receive any of her plagues that word plagues there is

426
00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:09,920
referring to any event that results in great loss so don't share in her sins

427
00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:16,640
don't don't don't receive any of her plagues right she's gonna be judged when

428
00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:23,120
when a Christian somehow justifies disobedience to God for the sake of not

429
00:37:23,120 --> 00:37:29,240
losing right I need money I need things I need God's like you're gonna lose it

430
00:37:29,240 --> 00:37:37,520
all because that whole system is going down trust me don't trust in your own

431
00:37:37,520 --> 00:37:42,480
ways in your own thoughts that's that's the idea here and he says because her

432
00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:49,240
sins are piled up to heaven now what are the sins that God is calling his own out

433
00:37:49,240 --> 00:37:54,200
of well this phrase piled up to heaven it should bring us back to the whole

434
00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:58,720
concept of the Tower of Babel right way back when you had Nimrod the hunter it

435
00:37:58,720 --> 00:38:01,800
was really the first group that said hey we know what God wants us to do but now

436
00:38:01,800 --> 00:38:05,320
we're gonna depend on ourselves we're gonna supply ourselves we're gonna we're

437
00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:09,600
gonna provide for ourselves we don't need God and there was two parts that

438
00:38:09,600 --> 00:38:13,280
said they built a city which was a political economic center and then they

439
00:38:13,280 --> 00:38:16,440
built the Tower of Babel which was a sign of religion and they were like

440
00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:20,720
we're gonna build our own religion and we're gonna connect to the divine on our

441
00:38:20,720 --> 00:38:25,360
own terms but it wasn't just religious it was also political and economic and so

442
00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:30,920
there's an idolatry there that in both cases it was man raising up himself as

443
00:38:30,920 --> 00:38:36,800
God we don't need God we are God and their tower didn't reach to heaven I

444
00:38:36,800 --> 00:38:42,400
ultimately God confused the languages of the people but the sins of their

445
00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:48,840
ideology ideology do reach all the way to heaven and this is where we see the

446
00:38:48,840 --> 00:38:55,160
pride we've seen greed we've seen lust for power right the sensuality in the

447
00:38:55,160 --> 00:38:59,280
excess but now here in verse 7 we see your pride because it says it tells us

448
00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:06,160
that she glorified herself and says I sit as a queen I am the ruler of all

449
00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:10,960
things and in that same verse it says she indulged in her sensual and

450
00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:15,720
excessive ways and again those are the same two words we looked at right it's

451
00:39:15,720 --> 00:39:22,360
this indulgence in the exercise of power and control and luxurious living

452
00:39:22,360 --> 00:39:27,080
pampering self-pleasure but it's interesting the word excessive there is

453
00:39:27,080 --> 00:39:31,800
a little bit of a different twist on the word excess that we looked at in verse

454
00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:38,640
three this word excessive means living living extravagantly without regard to

455
00:39:38,640 --> 00:39:45,000
those in need around you so it's not just buying the fancy car and buying the

456
00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:48,400
fancy house and have all things because well I feel great because of things but

457
00:39:48,400 --> 00:39:51,880
it's doing those things specifically when you know there's people in need and

458
00:39:51,880 --> 00:40:00,920
you go I'm not gonna help you out because I need another private jet verse

459
00:40:00,920 --> 00:40:06,520
seven she goes on to say I'm not a widow and I will never see grief the idea here

460
00:40:06,520 --> 00:40:11,600
in the language is is that not only does she have pride but there's this avoidance

461
00:40:11,600 --> 00:40:17,360
of suffering and loss in connection with this helping others right I don't want

462
00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:23,880
to lose what what I want to get because I spent to help someone in need that's

463
00:40:23,880 --> 00:40:28,700
the idea here when she says I'm not a widow I will never see grief and so we

464
00:40:28,700 --> 00:40:33,480
see all three of these things pride indulgence the avoidance of loss of self

465
00:40:33,480 --> 00:40:37,600
these are all characteristics of materialism these are all characteristics

466
00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:43,160
of worldliness and this is what we see displayed here and so this political

467
00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:48,200
economic system of the end times will ignore the needs of the less fortunate

468
00:40:48,200 --> 00:40:55,640
and simply indulge in selfish luxurious greed and God is saying to his people

469
00:40:55,640 --> 00:41:02,160
this time come out of that come out of that yes the lure of what the world has

470
00:41:02,160 --> 00:41:07,520
to offer is strong especially when what the world has to offer directly affects

471
00:41:07,520 --> 00:41:13,040
our well-being and our living yeah it's hard to be a pilgrim as it calls

472
00:41:13,040 --> 00:41:17,920
Christians following the cross in the midst of making decisions about well I

473
00:41:17,920 --> 00:41:21,720
might not be able to buy this or I might not be able to have that or I might not

474
00:41:21,720 --> 00:41:28,080
be able to do that if I give if I help those in need and those are hard lures

475
00:41:28,080 --> 00:41:34,600
and yeah it's it affects Christians today you know sometimes Christians can

476
00:41:34,600 --> 00:41:39,160
find themselves going to church week after week and we gather for Bible study

477
00:41:39,160 --> 00:41:43,920
and worship and and but it becomes just a part of the routine and maybe we're

478
00:41:43,920 --> 00:41:48,600
not necessarily listening from the heart anymore maybe we find ourselves not

479
00:41:48,600 --> 00:41:55,120
really engaging in the work that this church is that any church is we find

480
00:41:55,120 --> 00:41:59,480
ourselves because life is tough or we're not giving anymore because well after

481
00:41:59,480 --> 00:42:04,240
all I've got to live we find ourselves not serving anymore because well you

482
00:42:04,240 --> 00:42:08,200
know whatever the reason is I can't get involved in church I'm too busy I'm to

483
00:42:08,200 --> 00:42:13,600
this I'm to that and what happens is in those moments our hearts grow just a

484
00:42:13,600 --> 00:42:20,640
little bit colder just a little bit harder a little bit more selfish and we

485
00:42:20,640 --> 00:42:24,520
can find ourselves I believe genuinely saved but just a little bit less in love

486
00:42:24,520 --> 00:42:29,280
with God and a little bit more in love with the world and what did John say

487
00:42:29,280 --> 00:42:35,920
don't love the world or the things of the world don't fall in love with that

488
00:42:35,920 --> 00:42:42,040
love God here in Revelation 18 God is saying to his people come out of that you

489
00:42:42,040 --> 00:42:48,120
see biblically God doesn't just want some of us I don't mean some of us like

490
00:42:48,120 --> 00:42:52,040
oh these five and that no no no us individually he just doesn't want a

491
00:42:52,040 --> 00:42:57,200
portion of our life in our heart he wants all of us God wants all of us he

492
00:42:57,200 --> 00:43:01,360
wants all of our time he wants all of our resources because after all it's his

493
00:43:01,360 --> 00:43:05,940
anyways he wants all of our hearts he wants all of our adoration all of our

494
00:43:05,940 --> 00:43:12,280
commitment all of our devotion it's about a full surrender to God that's why

495
00:43:12,280 --> 00:43:17,680
he says don't don't love the world even a little bit and here is God is about to

496
00:43:17,680 --> 00:43:21,320
give Babylon all that it is do he is pleading with those that are his that

497
00:43:21,320 --> 00:43:28,320
are his get out just like he did with lot in Sodom and Gomorrah bro you've

498
00:43:28,320 --> 00:43:33,880
been living in the world I know you're mine but you've been

499
00:43:33,880 --> 00:43:40,400
compromising get out because I'm about to smash it all to the ground and yes

500
00:43:40,400 --> 00:43:45,120
this whole ideology of Babylon the great in regards to its political and economic

501
00:43:45,120 --> 00:43:48,880
ideology it's all going to be judged one day now it says here it's literally

502
00:43:48,880 --> 00:43:52,800
judged in one day it could be one literal day right the word there is that

503
00:43:52,800 --> 00:43:57,800
word that can refer to 24 hours it could refer to a time period right so it could

504
00:43:57,800 --> 00:44:02,680
be one literal day where the literal city of Babylon right the center of

505
00:44:02,680 --> 00:44:07,080
political power the center of the world's economy is all destroyed in some

506
00:44:07,080 --> 00:44:15,280
way again just like Sodom and Gomorrah right he's a God can't do that I don't

507
00:44:15,280 --> 00:44:19,520
want God throwing rocks at me that's what he did to Sodom and Gomorrah boom

508
00:44:19,520 --> 00:44:25,720
boom and the whole place was gone in one literal day crazy and so again it's a

509
00:44:25,720 --> 00:44:29,800
picture of him destroying the system symbolically destroying Babylon the

510
00:44:29,800 --> 00:44:33,760
system and so verse 9 we get to the lament of the kings of the earth the

511
00:44:33,760 --> 00:44:37,280
kings of the earth who have committed sexual immorality and shared her central

512
00:44:37,280 --> 00:44:41,200
and excessive ways will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke from

513
00:44:41,200 --> 00:44:47,080
her burning they will stand far off in fear of her torment saying whoa whoa the

514
00:44:47,080 --> 00:44:52,120
great city Babylon the mighty city for in a single hour your judgment has come

515
00:44:52,120 --> 00:44:57,960
I mentioned earlier that that phrase standing a far off in the in the Greek

516
00:44:57,960 --> 00:45:02,800
it indicates a physical observation it's a word that indicates like like

517
00:45:02,800 --> 00:45:07,880
geographical relation and so again this could be them looking at the actual city

518
00:45:07,880 --> 00:45:13,640
of Babylon being destroyed and it says so great is the heat it says she's

519
00:45:13,640 --> 00:45:18,040
burned with fire so the heat is so great and the smoke from her burning is so

520
00:45:18,040 --> 00:45:21,600
great that they're standing a far off just lamenting the destruction of

521
00:45:21,600 --> 00:45:27,160
Babylon the mention of burning with fire and the smoke from her burning some

522
00:45:27,160 --> 00:45:30,440
commentators look at this and they believe that the literal city of Babylon

523
00:45:30,440 --> 00:45:34,160
that is going to be rebuilt in the end times will be destroyed by nuclear

524
00:45:34,160 --> 00:45:40,080
weapons as terrorists or somebody whoever bombs the place and God allowing

525
00:45:40,080 --> 00:45:43,780
that to happen as a part of his judgment but they're lamenting here and what are

526
00:45:43,780 --> 00:45:47,680
they lamenting the the source the center of their own political power and

527
00:45:47,680 --> 00:45:52,040
authority the source and center of their economic power and influence and control

528
00:45:52,040 --> 00:45:56,000
and they're lamenting because it was gone so fast all their hopes and dreams

529
00:45:56,000 --> 00:46:00,920
were in that and it's gone like that verse 11 now we get the lament of the

530
00:46:00,920 --> 00:46:05,000
merchants the business owners the ones who got rich selling the goods of the

531
00:46:05,000 --> 00:46:09,200
world the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one

532
00:46:09,200 --> 00:46:15,040
buys their cargo any longer cargo of gold silver jewels and pearls fine linen

533
00:46:15,040 --> 00:46:20,160
purple silk and scarlet all kinds of fragrant wood products objects of ivory

534
00:46:20,160 --> 00:46:25,560
objects of expensive wood brass iron and marble cinnamon spice incense

535
00:46:25,560 --> 00:46:31,920
myrrh frankincense wine olive oil fine flour grain cattle and sheep horses and

536
00:46:31,920 --> 00:46:39,120
carriages and slaves human lives the fruit you craved has left you all your

537
00:46:39,120 --> 00:46:43,360
splendor and glamorous things are gone they will never find them again the

538
00:46:43,360 --> 00:46:47,200
merchants of these things who became rich from her will stand far off in fear

539
00:46:47,200 --> 00:46:52,360
of her torment weeping and mourning saying whoa whoa the great city dressed

540
00:46:52,360 --> 00:46:56,800
in fine linen purple and scarlet adorned with gold jewels and pearls for in a

541
00:46:56,800 --> 00:47:03,400
single hour such fabulous wealth was destroyed so why are the merchants

542
00:47:03,400 --> 00:47:10,520
lamenting no one buys their cargo anymore there's the whole system that

543
00:47:10,520 --> 00:47:15,840
that allowed them to sell and profit it's destroyed and there's no profit

544
00:47:15,840 --> 00:47:19,800
anymore and then we have this long list of stuff right it's interesting you have

545
00:47:19,800 --> 00:47:23,880
gold silver and jewels that represents jewelry and you know items of luxury in

546
00:47:23,880 --> 00:47:29,320
that sense linen purple silk and scarlet that's specifically those colors

547
00:47:29,320 --> 00:47:35,120
referring to expensive clothing right the name brand stuff the the $20,000

548
00:47:35,120 --> 00:47:40,960
handbag fragrant wood products objects of ivory all of that it's that's

549
00:47:40,960 --> 00:47:46,080
referring to furnishings and furniture and building materials right you ever

550
00:47:46,080 --> 00:47:50,120
watch those shows where they they look at luxurious homes and and you know

551
00:47:50,120 --> 00:47:53,520
sometimes it's all about the oh yeah we made this out of this fine marble and

552
00:47:53,520 --> 00:47:58,600
you know and all the materials used in the building of luxurious places to live

553
00:47:58,600 --> 00:48:03,040
cinnamon and spice and all that that's referring to fragrances and perfumes

554
00:48:03,040 --> 00:48:08,560
and other items of luxury wine and olive oil and those things it's expensive food

555
00:48:08,560 --> 00:48:14,560
and expensive drink horses and carriages that's a reference to transportation and

556
00:48:14,560 --> 00:48:19,880
that's all the cars and the private jets and all of the stuff that the rich have

557
00:48:19,880 --> 00:48:25,200
all of that it's falling it's gone all that kept the world going all that that

558
00:48:25,200 --> 00:48:32,960
that mankind pursued as a means of purpose and identity gone but you

559
00:48:32,960 --> 00:48:41,200
notice the end of that list there slaves it says human lives you know we have a

560
00:48:41,200 --> 00:48:49,760
pandemic today that some of you are familiar with people say slavery is

561
00:48:49,760 --> 00:48:54,640
abolished and yet thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of

562
00:48:54,640 --> 00:49:01,880
children are kidnapped and sold in the sex slavery every day in this world you

563
00:49:01,880 --> 00:49:05,840
have adults that are forced into it through one way or another and you have

564
00:49:05,840 --> 00:49:09,360
the industries the pornography industry and all its associated industries that

565
00:49:09,360 --> 00:49:15,520
are billion and billions of dollars of industry and you have all of this

566
00:49:15,520 --> 00:49:23,200
slavery taking place and seemingly as it gets brought up it's like is anybody

567
00:49:23,200 --> 00:49:29,080
doing anything about it are the government's doing anything about it you

568
00:49:29,080 --> 00:49:35,120
know and you have the people like Epstein who get caught who allegedly

569
00:49:35,120 --> 00:49:42,400
knows names and mysteriously kills himself in jail before he can name names

570
00:49:42,400 --> 00:49:48,480
I'm not big on conspiracy theories but some of this stuff is just too spot-on

571
00:49:49,120 --> 00:49:54,320
it's just gonna get worse it's gonna get worse and I believe during the end times

572
00:49:54,320 --> 00:50:01,120
it's gonna be probably very open and condoned that's just my opinion but all

573
00:50:01,120 --> 00:50:05,560
that mankind has pursued in its efforts to gratify its own sick pleasures and

574
00:50:05,560 --> 00:50:08,720
its own wants and desires all of its gonna be taken away it's gonna be judged

575
00:50:08,720 --> 00:50:13,680
by God and those who ultimately live for all of that will be tormented in the

576
00:50:13,680 --> 00:50:17,240
eternal absence of those things and that's really a picture of hell a

577
00:50:17,240 --> 00:50:21,480
picture of hell the ultimate separation from God is gonna be an ultimate place

578
00:50:21,480 --> 00:50:27,920
of permanently unfulfilled desire there's no satisfaction there's no sense

579
00:50:27,920 --> 00:50:34,600
of peace there's none of that's in hell it's torment forever verse 17 the lament

580
00:50:34,600 --> 00:50:37,560
of the distributors these are those who got rich off of delivering the goods

581
00:50:37,560 --> 00:50:42,160
every ship masters seafarer the sailors and all who do business by sea stood far

582
00:50:42,160 --> 00:50:46,000
off as they watched the smoke from her burning and kept crying out who was

583
00:50:46,000 --> 00:50:50,800
like the great city they threw dust on their heads and kept crying out weeping

584
00:50:50,800 --> 00:50:54,760
and mourning whoa whoa the great city where all those who have ships on the

585
00:50:54,760 --> 00:51:00,720
sea became rich from her wealth for in a single hour she was destroyed again

586
00:51:00,720 --> 00:51:05,000
it's interesting thinking of the Middle East and a possibly rebuilt Babylon be

587
00:51:05,000 --> 00:51:08,480
in the center of the world's economy we've talked about it already right the

588
00:51:08,480 --> 00:51:13,720
great commodity of the Middle East is oil and what's really interesting is you

589
00:51:13,720 --> 00:51:20,520
can't deliver oil in an airplane it can only be delivered by ship it can only be

590
00:51:20,520 --> 00:51:24,840
delivered across the oceans and so this could be a reference to that source of

591
00:51:24,840 --> 00:51:28,840
wealth and power and influence control being being destroyed we remember back

592
00:51:28,840 --> 00:51:35,280
during the wars in in the 90s in the oil fields burning right and just burning

593
00:51:35,280 --> 00:51:40,440
for 24 hours and who knows what would happen if if nuclear fire was detonated

594
00:51:40,440 --> 00:51:44,400
in a place like that all conjecture but still it could be referring to those

595
00:51:44,400 --> 00:51:47,200
things but these groups are lamenting you have the leaders the kings of the

596
00:51:47,200 --> 00:51:50,480
earth you have the merchants you have the district distributors of the goods

597
00:51:50,480 --> 00:51:57,240
it that's a collective picture of the political economic force power control

598
00:51:57,240 --> 00:52:01,600
the system all together but you'll notice all three of them none of them

599
00:52:01,600 --> 00:52:08,520
are crying about their sin none of them are crying about the their soul what are

600
00:52:08,520 --> 00:52:15,880
they crying over their bank accounts they're crying over their profits

601
00:52:15,880 --> 00:52:19,760
they're not crying over the fact that they were they were so full of greed and

602
00:52:19,760 --> 00:52:24,240
indulgence that they destroyed lives and no it's not that at all it's their money

603
00:52:24,240 --> 00:52:27,320
it's all over it's all gone their customers are gone their products are

604
00:52:27,320 --> 00:52:31,200
gone their investments are gone their backroom deals are gone their secret

605
00:52:31,200 --> 00:52:34,400
investments are gone that get them rich at the expense of everybody else it's

606
00:52:34,400 --> 00:52:41,280
all gone and it's gone so quickly it's gone so fast and this just makes me

607
00:52:41,280 --> 00:52:47,920
think of what if the world gets to a completely digitized currency system

608
00:52:47,920 --> 00:52:53,040
right we get rid of goods and cash all together and it's all Bitcoin or

609
00:52:53,040 --> 00:52:57,400
something like that right every bit of money is is all digital and then God

610
00:52:57,400 --> 00:53:01,960
does something where the entire global network is wiped out in one moment I

611
00:53:01,960 --> 00:53:07,640
mean I don't know it could happen and then verse 20 rejoice over her heaven

612
00:53:07,640 --> 00:53:13,040
and you saints apostles and prophets because God has pronounced on her the

613
00:53:13,040 --> 00:53:17,600
judgment that she passed on you then a mighty angel picked up a stone like a

614
00:53:17,600 --> 00:53:22,320
large millstone and threw it into the sea saying in this way Babylon the great

615
00:53:22,320 --> 00:53:26,480
city will be thrown down violently and never be found again the sound of

616
00:53:26,480 --> 00:53:30,680
harpists and musicians and flutist and trumpets trumpeteers will never be heard

617
00:53:30,680 --> 00:53:35,380
in you again no craftsmen of any trade will ever be found in you again the

618
00:53:35,380 --> 00:53:39,360
sound of a mill will never be heard in you again the light of a lamp will never

619
00:53:39,360 --> 00:53:43,480
shine in you again and the voice of a groom and a bride will never be heard in

620
00:53:43,480 --> 00:53:47,400
you again all this will happen because your merchants were the nobility of the

621
00:53:47,400 --> 00:53:52,000
earth because the nations were deceived by your sorcery in her was found the

622
00:53:52,000 --> 00:53:58,000
blood of prophets and saints and all of those slaughtered on the earth so we get

623
00:53:58,000 --> 00:54:03,320
to verse 20 and then there's a celebration there's rejoicing in heaven

624
00:54:03,320 --> 00:54:09,200
heaven heaven is called to celebrate and you know and they're called to do this

625
00:54:09,200 --> 00:54:12,920
while the world is lamenting the loss of its prophets and the loss of its power

626
00:54:12,920 --> 00:54:16,440
and the loss of its control heaven is rejoicing and you might think well

627
00:54:16,440 --> 00:54:20,040
that's gosh that's kind of harsh right I mean with all the loss and the

628
00:54:20,040 --> 00:54:24,200
destruction and the devastation and all the sadness on the earth it's almost

629
00:54:24,200 --> 00:54:28,680
like you know what the Christians are laughing at him no that's not what's

630
00:54:28,680 --> 00:54:35,000
happening the rejoicing it's talking about here is rejoicing that I think you

631
00:54:35,000 --> 00:54:39,280
get if you're a true believer in Jesus Christ I think you would understand

632
00:54:39,280 --> 00:54:44,080
what's going on here you see after all the the gospel and Jesus Christ it has

633
00:54:44,080 --> 00:54:51,280
been humiliated for so long has been stood against for so long that the God's

634
00:54:51,280 --> 00:54:56,160
children have been persecuted on this earth for so long simply for believing in

635
00:54:56,160 --> 00:55:05,240
Jesus and they're saying there is hope in Christ and these these people those

636
00:55:05,240 --> 00:55:08,960
of us that are called the church today and then the tribulation saints during

637
00:55:08,960 --> 00:55:14,120
this time they've endured this persecution righteousness and purity it

638
00:55:14,120 --> 00:55:20,000
justice it's had enough abuse and now it's over and that's what heaven is

639
00:55:20,000 --> 00:55:27,440
rejoicing over wickedness is done selfish wickedness evil it's done it's

640
00:55:27,440 --> 00:55:33,680
over Jesus is about to descend for his second coming heaven is exalted over the

641
00:55:33,680 --> 00:55:38,360
fact that Babylon is over now it's interesting in verse 21 he mentions a

642
00:55:38,360 --> 00:55:43,080
millstone right this mighty angel picked up a large millstone and there's two

643
00:55:43,080 --> 00:55:47,440
places in scripture where where it there's this idea of a large stone or a

644
00:55:47,440 --> 00:55:53,840
millstone one of them is reminiscent of Jeremiah's instructions to Saraiah in

645
00:55:53,840 --> 00:55:58,080
Jeremiah and then there's also something Jesus said but in Jeremiah he he told

646
00:55:58,080 --> 00:56:04,560
Saraiah to build or bind a stone of the text of his prophecy against Babylon so

647
00:56:04,560 --> 00:56:08,640
he prophesied against Babylon of the time he said look write it all on a stone

648
00:56:08,640 --> 00:56:13,160
and then throw that stone into the Euphrates River right and we read in

649
00:56:13,160 --> 00:56:18,520
Jeremiah 51 64 it says then say in the same way Babylon will sink and never

650
00:56:18,520 --> 00:56:23,120
rise again because of the disaster I am bringing on her they will grow weary the

651
00:56:23,120 --> 00:56:31,520
words of Jeremiah end here don't don't don't right and then in Luke 17 2 this is

652
00:56:31,520 --> 00:56:34,680
what Jesus said it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his

653
00:56:34,680 --> 00:56:37,360
neck and he were thrown into the sea then for him to cause one of these

654
00:56:37,360 --> 00:56:46,560
little ones to stumble I think there's a broad reference there I do think there's

655
00:56:46,560 --> 00:56:51,480
a reference there to those who had traffic kids and whatnot but in a in a

656
00:56:51,480 --> 00:56:56,880
broader sense you know Babylon as an idea a system has caused the whole world

657
00:56:56,880 --> 00:57:02,440
to stumble for generations it has enticed and tempted and deceived and

658
00:57:02,440 --> 00:57:08,040
lured and seduced the world it has taken captive both the bodies and souls of men

659
00:57:08,040 --> 00:57:14,800
and women and children and this is God's judgment against all of it it says all

660
00:57:14,800 --> 00:57:18,560
this will happen because your merchants were the nobility of the earth that's an

661
00:57:18,560 --> 00:57:21,720
interesting thing this is why this judgment came because your merchants

662
00:57:21,720 --> 00:57:26,360
were the nobility of the earth that word nobility simply means to be an important

663
00:57:26,360 --> 00:57:29,400
or an influential person it doesn't necessarily mean you're part of some

664
00:57:29,400 --> 00:57:35,640
royal family it just means you're important or influential but instead of

665
00:57:35,640 --> 00:57:39,680
using that that importance and that influence for for godly things they use

666
00:57:39,680 --> 00:57:43,680
it for selfish gain and self-seeking pleasure and then it says because the

667
00:57:43,680 --> 00:57:48,720
nations were deceived by your sorcery they weren't doing magic tricks it's not

668
00:57:48,720 --> 00:57:52,320
what it's talking about that word sorcery is a word we're familiar with in

669
00:57:52,320 --> 00:57:58,200
scripture that refers to drugs right it's pharmacia it's a word that's

670
00:57:58,200 --> 00:58:04,000
referring to drug use or the preparation of drugs but but in a broad sense that

671
00:58:04,000 --> 00:58:09,480
word pharmacia refers to the idea of addiction being addicted and controlled

672
00:58:09,480 --> 00:58:13,560
by something and so I think the idea here is as he's connecting this to the

673
00:58:13,560 --> 00:58:18,480
merchants the idea is that Babylon your merchants those who peddled your goods

674
00:58:18,480 --> 00:58:23,160
use their influence to get the world addicted to materialism and self

675
00:58:23,160 --> 00:58:27,440
gratification and self-pleasure they use their influence to get the world

676
00:58:27,440 --> 00:58:32,080
addicted to these things and I think that speaks to advertising and marketing

677
00:58:32,080 --> 00:58:37,160
right millions and millions and millions and millions of dollars spent every year

678
00:58:37,160 --> 00:58:42,440
to get you to buy something you don't need millions of dollars spent to do a

679
00:58:42,440 --> 00:58:45,680
jingle ba-ba-bum-bum you know like three notes right now I need to go to

680
00:58:45,680 --> 00:58:50,760
McDonald's now I don't need McDonald's but I heard the jingle and they spent

681
00:58:50,760 --> 00:58:56,280
millions coming up with that and you got all this idea of this advertising in

682
00:58:56,280 --> 00:59:00,120
this marketing that gets people to spend all the resources on useless stuff or

683
00:59:00,120 --> 00:59:05,920
sinful stuff and it's all this idea of the pandemic in our nation today of how

684
00:59:05,920 --> 00:59:12,360
enslaved people are to debt right people are in debt up to their eyeballs and

685
00:59:12,360 --> 00:59:16,760
they can't seem to get out of it and the whole system in many ways seems

686
00:59:16,760 --> 00:59:24,720
rigged to keep you in debt your car is kind of rickety you need a new one

687
00:59:24,720 --> 00:59:32,040
finance it those shoes they're gonna cover your feet just like the ones that

688
00:59:32,040 --> 00:59:36,920
pay less but hey some basketball celebrity endorsed these ones go into

689
00:59:36,920 --> 00:59:45,040
debt and on and on and on and on and so we end up being enslaved to debt and

690
00:59:45,040 --> 00:59:48,560
spending what we don't have to get things we don't need or things we

691
00:59:48,560 --> 00:59:55,400
shouldn't need and and in so doing we end up with nothing to give right the

692
00:59:55,400 --> 01:00:03,320
Bible says don't steal but work so that you have something to give those in need

693
01:00:03,320 --> 01:00:08,560
but when we've indebted ourselves to the point where we can't give at all we're

694
01:00:08,560 --> 01:00:15,680
enslaved and in doing so you restrict your own ability and you restrict the

695
01:00:15,680 --> 01:00:19,800
the ability of the body you're a part of right the whole concept of church is we

696
01:00:19,800 --> 01:00:25,840
come together as a body of believers and we pool our talents and we pool our time

697
01:00:25,840 --> 01:00:29,400
and we pool our resources together to have a greater effect than any of us

698
01:00:29,400 --> 01:00:34,840
could have individually and as a church we support missionaries and we and we

699
01:00:34,840 --> 01:00:39,120
and we use funds that come in through our giving to support organizations

700
01:00:39,120 --> 01:00:44,340
that are trying to get kids out of trafficking and so we we individually do

701
01:00:44,340 --> 01:00:47,160
things to help those in need and then we come together as the church that's a

702
01:00:47,160 --> 01:00:53,320
part of this function of this entity but when the world gets us so addicted to

703
01:00:53,320 --> 01:00:57,040
getting things we don't need and we get ourselves so in debt that we can't give

704
01:00:57,040 --> 01:01:00,920
anymore guess what you can't help those in need and then it starts to affect

705
01:01:00,920 --> 01:01:07,760
the organizations you're a part of but the biggest sin of all in the indicator

706
01:01:07,760 --> 01:01:11,840
that Babylon has a philosophy and a mindset and a system is in mind here is

707
01:01:11,840 --> 01:01:15,000
this final verse where it says the blood of the saints and the prophets and all

708
01:01:15,000 --> 01:01:20,880
who are slain on the earth it's on her hands the blood is on the hands of

709
01:01:20,880 --> 01:01:24,560
Babylon it's interesting because the blood of the saints and prophets yeah

710
01:01:24,560 --> 01:01:28,160
religiously there's oppression we hate Jesus we hate those who believe in Jesus

711
01:01:28,160 --> 01:01:31,360
let's let's kill them right that's gonna be rampant during the end times but then

712
01:01:31,360 --> 01:01:38,560
it says all who were slain on the earth this system that would get people

713
01:01:38,560 --> 01:01:45,520
addicted to drugs you're accountable Babylon the system that would get people

714
01:01:45,520 --> 01:01:50,640
so in debt that they lose everything and end up homeless and end up dying in

715
01:01:50,640 --> 01:01:56,880
situations like that you're accountable Babylon and all the other iterations of

716
01:01:56,880 --> 01:02:03,400
what that could be God takes that seriously God takes the persecution of

717
01:02:03,400 --> 01:02:07,640
his people very seriously and I believe he takes it as a personal offense all

718
01:02:07,640 --> 01:02:12,120
those who would attack his people the entire world system that would attack

719
01:02:12,120 --> 01:02:17,640
God and everything God is and everything God wants attack that so you don't need

720
01:02:17,640 --> 01:02:21,960
him elevate your own desires the whole system that would attack that will one

721
01:02:21,960 --> 01:02:28,200
day be finally fully completely dealt with once and for all so today this

722
01:02:28,200 --> 01:02:32,920
morning you know each one of us we're either a citizen of Babylon or we're a

723
01:02:32,920 --> 01:02:41,640
citizen of heaven you're either taken by the world system or you're a member and

724
01:02:41,640 --> 01:02:47,400
belong to member of and belong to the kingdom of heaven your name is either

725
01:02:47,400 --> 01:02:51,760
written in the Lamb's Book of Life or you're on the customer logs of Babylon

726
01:02:51,760 --> 01:02:57,280
now I'm not suggesting that you can't be a Christian and be involved in the

727
01:02:57,280 --> 01:03:02,800
economy I'm not suggesting that we we have to spend money we got bills to pay

728
01:03:02,800 --> 01:03:07,400
we got rent right we go to work we earn that's all good the Bible has a whole

729
01:03:07,400 --> 01:03:12,200
lot to say about that we might be talking about that in the future but the

730
01:03:12,200 --> 01:03:18,960
idea of loving the world system to the degree that you'll turn from God loving

731
01:03:18,960 --> 01:03:22,960
what the world system has what it offers how it does things to the degree that

732
01:03:22,960 --> 01:03:27,520
you will then engage in disobedience to God to pursue its ways that's the idea

733
01:03:27,520 --> 01:03:36,800
that's the point so does political economic Babylon does it have a hold on

734
01:03:36,800 --> 01:03:43,680
you today do you love the world and its stuff and its luxuries so much that you

735
01:03:43,680 --> 01:03:50,440
compromise obedience to God there is coming a day when that allegiance to

736
01:03:50,440 --> 01:03:54,360
Babylon will be demonstrated very clearly in the taking of the mark of

737
01:03:54,360 --> 01:03:58,200
the beast and Revelation I believe is very clear where it says those who take

738
01:03:58,200 --> 01:04:04,080
that mark of the beast at that time will be beyond salvation because it won't

739
01:04:04,080 --> 01:04:07,440
just be a financial or economic decision the taking of that mark will be a

740
01:04:07,440 --> 01:04:17,440
spiritual allegiance but today today if you were mixed up with a divided heart

741
01:04:17,440 --> 01:04:23,520
if you were trying to pretend that you can love God and be fully committed to

742
01:04:23,520 --> 01:04:30,520
him while loving the world at the same time or if you realize today that your

743
01:04:30,520 --> 01:04:34,880
personal love of the world and all that is in it is ultimately empty and God is

744
01:04:34,880 --> 01:04:39,160
speaking to you about the reality of his judgment to come on all of that either

745
01:04:39,160 --> 01:04:43,880
way if you need to cry out to God today for forgiveness if you have to repent of

746
01:04:43,880 --> 01:04:47,320
a materialism that leads you into disobedience to God I promise you it

747
01:04:47,320 --> 01:04:53,560
isn't too late he is listening he is listening right now he is still waiting

748
01:04:53,560 --> 01:04:58,760
for you to cry out to him and when you do he will forgive you he will change

749
01:04:58,760 --> 01:05:04,040
your heart he will fill you with his Holy Spirit he will wash you clean of

750
01:05:04,040 --> 01:05:09,160
all sin and enable you to make the choice to live in obedience to him and

751
01:05:09,160 --> 01:05:13,360
from that point forward he will then call you and he calls us today to reject

752
01:05:13,360 --> 01:05:20,080
the ways the values the philosophies of the world and instead be people who

753
01:05:20,080 --> 01:05:24,640
while we're working and going about our life to do what we have to do that we be

754
01:05:24,640 --> 01:05:31,240
people who learn of him so that we would know him so that we will live for him

755
01:05:31,240 --> 01:05:35,080
and that we will then share him with the world that desperately needs him amen

756
01:05:35,080 --> 01:05:46,360
let's pray father we thank you God we thank you for all that you are we thank

757
01:05:46,360 --> 01:05:54,880
you for all that you've done we thank you God that you are enough and Lord I

758
01:05:54,880 --> 01:05:59,080
pray for those in this room that are maybe been struggling with that fact

759
01:05:59,080 --> 01:06:07,960
Lord as we have realities of economic challenges Lord we have realities of of

760
01:06:07,960 --> 01:06:14,920
the difficulty of the expense of things but Lord that doesn't surprise you you

761
01:06:14,920 --> 01:06:21,600
know that and Lord your word tells us that if we would just look on the lilies

762
01:06:21,600 --> 01:06:30,000
of the field and see how magnificently you clothe them of how much more value

763
01:06:30,000 --> 01:06:36,240
are we your children than the lilies of the field and that God instead of

764
01:06:36,240 --> 01:06:40,920
compromising our faith and compromising our obedience and compromising the truth

765
01:06:40,920 --> 01:06:48,840
to protect ourselves from loss God we should instead trust you to be obedient

766
01:06:48,840 --> 01:06:56,280
to you Lord in all things to be obedient Lord in serving you with our lives to be

767
01:06:56,280 --> 01:07:01,000
obedient to you and in in in obeying you in our behaviors and our words and our

768
01:07:01,000 --> 01:07:07,240
actions the Lord be obedient to you even in how we deal with our finances and our

769
01:07:07,240 --> 01:07:10,680
giving and our support and in all that you've called us to do Lord that we

770
01:07:10,680 --> 01:07:16,880
would then be people who help those in need rather than being the people in

771
01:07:16,880 --> 01:07:23,480
need because we've enslaved ourselves to that which is empty help us to trust you

772
01:07:23,480 --> 01:07:31,000
God increase our faith God those in this room and watching online that that that

773
01:07:31,000 --> 01:07:36,760
maybe don't know you Lord that have realized Lord that they really truly do

774
01:07:36,760 --> 01:07:40,040
love the world and they've come to believe and even experience that it's

775
01:07:40,040 --> 01:07:45,320
empty Lord I pray today as they have heard your message that you're gonna

776
01:07:45,320 --> 01:07:51,640
judge all of that and that there is only salvation in you and nothing else God

777
01:07:51,640 --> 01:07:55,280
that even in the privacy of their own heart they would call out to you and say

778
01:07:55,280 --> 01:08:03,200
God forgive me of my sin come into my life teach me and lead me give me a new

779
01:08:03,200 --> 01:08:08,640
heart and help me to trust in you and that Lord is your Holy Spirit fills

780
01:08:08,640 --> 01:08:16,240
their life they would be people who learn of you live for you and share who

781
01:08:16,240 --> 01:08:21,400
you are with a world that desperately needs you God we know you bless us we

782
01:08:21,400 --> 01:08:25,520
know you take care of us help us Lord to be people who are at peace with all of

783
01:08:25,520 --> 01:08:30,880
it we love you and we thank you it's in Jesus name we pray amen well let's

784
01:08:30,880 --> 01:08:40,440
worship guys