Babylon the Great came tumbling down, chapter 18.
So we had the religious Babylon. We looked at that.
John called it because she wore this image, the name on her
forehead. Mystery Babylon the Great, the
mother of harlots, the religious Babylon, chapter 18.
Now we come to the economic, commercial, political system of
Babylon that currently rules the world.
And in chapter 18, we're going to see that it's going to crash
and burn literally and suddenly the last days global government
which is gathering and formulating now with the moves
around the world politically. We see today China and Russia
gathering together with North Korea watching a great military
parade. And so we see the governments of
the world in disarray. Our own nation, the UK, other
countries around the world that are in chaos.
There's protests, there's there's massive anti immigration
calls around the world. There's racial divide, there's
the Nationalist Party has shown its head here in Australia and
worldwide and governments have got their fingers and all these
pies the last days. Global government under the
Antichrist will be operating under the rule and the power of
the Antichrist who is a man, but he's empowered personally by
Satan himself. And this commercial political,
economic system is called Babylon as well.
It too has been with us for some time.
It's not just something that's just started along with its
partner, religious Babylon, the false religious harlot of
religion. It has had a lust filled
relationship since Genesis Chapter 11, verse 4 back there.
It's the people there gathered in Babylon and said come, let us
build ourselves a city. You know what a city is?
A place where we'll make decisions, where we'll rule,
where we'll have commerce business.
And in that city, so we have commerce business and politics.
We'll have a tower, a religious centre, the two whose top is in
the heavens, and let's make a name for ourselves will that
power, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the
whole earth. The city they built had as their
capital Babylon. It was called Babylon.
The tower that they built. A cigarette was called the Tower
of Babel. The anti God Babylonian world
system and its tentacles of influence run deep.
I think you and I, once we become born again, our eyes are
open, scales fall off our eyes and we begin to see governments
for what they really are and why they make decisions as they do
because they're never in favour of the church.
They always make decisions that are going to pull apart that
which the foundations look at America on the dollar and God.
We trust the whole Constitution that they put together based on
the commandments of God, the word of God from the Mayflower
that came out. And so we see in our governments
where we used to have prayer and in schools where we used to have
prayer. Now it's interesting that
governments have outlawed prayer in schools.
Governments have outlawed the reading of the Bible.
Governments in America outlawed having the 10 commandments in
places. Amazing governments did that on
the last days of the Tribulation.
This Babylonian political, commercial, economic system will
reach it's zenith in power and corruption, peeking under the
leadership of the Antichrist, a master leader to those people
who place their trust in the economic, commercial and worldly
political system. They will come to a sudden
realisation and it happens and it's going to particularly come
at this time during the tribulation period that where
they've placed all their faith is foolishness because it's all
going to burn down in the day. Hebrews 12/27 says all creation
will be shaken and removed so that only unshakeable things
will remain. The world system is beautifully
defined by John in his letters. 1 John chapter 2 verse 15.
John says the writer of the the the writer of the Book of
Revelation as Jesus dictates to him and as he sees the visions,
John the same John said do not love the world and that term the
world is the Babylonian economic, political, commercial
system. Do not love the world.
All the things in the world that makes this up.
He goes on to say, and he's writing to Christians.
It's a warning if anyone loves the world, love of the Father is
not in him, he says in the next verse.
For all that is in the world, all that is in commercial
Babylon, the last of the flesh, the last of the eyes, pride of
life is not of the father, but is of the world.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon says the problem with the church trying
to reach the World is that the world has infiltrated the
church. And today more of the world
occurs on a Sunday morning in church services and a lot less
of God. So much so that the last letter,
the last church, the Church of Laodicea, nothing of God is
happening in the church service with Jesus being outside
knocking on the door. Now to us as Christians, it's
this love of the world, it's ways, it's passions and it's
lifestyle which can strangle and choke the word of God from
bearing fruit in our lives. Doesn't happen overnight.
It happens as you begin to sit in church.
You go in church and then you start to not listen.
You start coming less and you're not getting out anything out of
it. Your worship is not really
there. You're in church, but you'd
rather be somewhere else. The world has got a hold of you
and you're on your way. It chokes the word of God from
bearing fruit in our lives, Jesus said.
Now he who receives seed among the thorns, sour on the seed,
Matthew 13 is he who hears the word and the cares of this world
and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes
unfruitful. And that, my friends, is the
problem of the church today. We are all susceptible as
believers when it comes to worldliness.
The Bible even describes one individual as an example for us
not to follow his name, Demas. He was once a close friend,
travelling companion of the Apostle Paul.
Yet in Paul's second letter to Timothy, he says of Dimas to
Timothy 410 For Dimas in love with this present world has
deserted me. Wow.
This fella originally with Paul, sharing with Paul, going through
the hardships with Paul, but now it's gone.
What a tragedy, a life wasted, a testimony ruined, the gospel
maligned. For Demas not only deserted Paul
and the Saints of the church, he deserted his Saviour.
Worldliness is when you and I say, and it's not so much what
we do, the problem with worldliness, it's in our hearts.
So that's where it chokes everything.
If only I can win Lotto. Well, why then?
What then? All would be fixed.
You see, you've moved from God to winning Lotto.
It's it's explain. That's the truth.
If only I can marry that person. If I can marry that person.
Oh, everything would be just perfect.
Sorry, if only I could get that job.
Oh, that's the job, man. That's the job.
I got the career. That's the job.
If I can get that job, we are. I am set.
Notice the language and all that.
Notice where the heart is and all that.
What's God got to do with any? Each one of those things is
going. Got it.
You can't do any of this. I'm not looking to you in any of
this. If only I can have that
investment, man, If we got that investment, we'd be right.
If only I could win that prize. If only we could get that house.
If we got that house, man, we that's all.
And we answer with then I will be happy.
And so God says, oh Gee, so you don't.
You're not. It's got nothing to do with me.
Exactly. Worldliness cuts got out this
one. After these things, I saw
another Angel coming down from heaven, having great authority,
and the earth was illuminated with his glory.
And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, Babylon the
Great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of
demons, a prison for every foul spirit, a cage for every unclean
and hated. Notice this bird, for all the
nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,
the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her,
and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the
abundance of a luxury. Notice tentacles are in every
group, every age, every person. After these things I saw another
Angel. What things?
The things of chapter 17, the destruction of the religious
Babylon, the rebellious harlot that cooperated and partnered
with the Antichrist to seduce the world and drown it in
spiritual adultery, Having a religion without God.
In chapter 18, it's now commercial.
Babylon's day of judgement and reckoning by God.
The Angel that comes down from heaven has noticed this.
It says great authority, power, so much so that the earth was
illumined by his glory. Now it's not Jesus.
How do we know that? Because it says it's an Angel.
Simple. But it is a very powerful Angel
of rank. And the earth was lit up by his
splendour. Michael the Archangel, who knows
this mighty Angel in verse 2, cried mightily.
Notice again, Heaven's going to be loud with a loud voice.
Babylon the Great is fallen, is fallen, he repeats it.
Why the repetition, you might ask?
That's a good question, possibly to refer to the fact that both
the religious and the commercial Babylon are now gone.
Also, it might simply be a resounding emphasis that the
world's system of Babylon will never rise again.
It is fallen, fallen in the last days under the Antichrist.
The harlot, Babylonian World One World Church and the government
in partnership with it under the leadership of the Antichrist
along with the false prophet will be deeply partnered and
demon infested. It says.
Notice this is not my words, John writes down.
And it has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for
every foul spirit and a cage for every unclean and hated bird.
It's interesting that it's saying commercial Babylon
politics. This system is run and
infiltrated by spiritual demonic powers.
That's why we go. How can the government do that?
How can we have abortion as law? How can we have euthanasia as
law? How can we have these things
that you go, Where's the sense in this?
Because it's a spiritual, But notice it says a hated bird,
Bird. Where's the bird put in here?
Was it a cocky in a cage or something?
What is it? In Christ's parable of the
sorrow of the sea, Jesus takes the birds and uses the birds as
a picture of Satan's servants. They come down, they take the
seed. Remember the mustard seed, the
other parable of the mustard seed, It grows up normally and
people, oh, that's the church. And, and the birds nest in the,
in the, in the wings of it, the branches.
No, no, no, it's an abnormal wrong growth.
It grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, shoots out large
branches, and the birds of the of the air come and nest there.
Some regard this, as I said, as a beautiful picture of the
church growing so large that it provides refuge for all the
world. Well, that's a lovely thought,
but it's not biblical truth. You see, the mustard seed plant
has grown into a monstrosity as has done the church, and it
harbours birds and there's remember they've mentioned in
the same breath as demons and every foul spirit.
So it's not like bad, bad, bad. Oh, and then there's these
pretty birds. No, look at the context.
The birds who in the parables are emissaries of Satan
according to the foundational parable of the soils, Mark 413.
In verse 3, we ask why is God judging commercial Babylon?
So throughout the history of the fallen world, Satan has used his
anti God demonic style of government and I think it's
never been clearer than it is today in our nation as well.
Particularly Satan has used his anti God demonic style of
government oppression to also seduce the masses, to deceive
them and to manipulate the people of the world.
Well, if we vote this way, we get the right people in.
Look what's happened. We didn't How many of you went?
How did we? How come we're still voting
people in that do stuff like this?
What is wrong with us? It says for all the nations
notice have drunk of the wine of the wrath of a thorn occasion,
the kings of the earth, the merchants of the earth, the
whole world has become rich through the abundance of the
luxury. It's interesting that you can
enter parliament, even our own parliament.
You can start off on a modest wage and it's funny how you
leave parliament with millions, 1,000,000 and 1,000,000.
Isn't that interesting? No one ever leaves to say, oh,
just a few dollars, just getting by.
It's fascinating. The entire world is seduced,
seduced into the worship of hedonism.
What's hedonism? Hedonism is the doctrine, and
the church has gone after this as well.
The doctrine of the pursuit of pleasure being the most
important thing in life. We want sermons that bring
pleasure. Tell me how to be happy, how to
have happiness in the search of happiness.
You know the Bible doesn't say come to church and find the
search of happiness. Hedonism is now being spoken of
and and and paraded from pulpits all around the world to Timothy
chapter 3 verse one Paul said of these times.
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come,
for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,
boasters, proud blasphemers, disobedient appearance,
unthankful, unholy and loving, unforgiven, slanderers without
self control, brutal despisers of good traitors, headstrong,
haughty. And here it is, lovers of
pleasure rather than lovers of God.
I find I want a church where I can go there and it makes me
happy. Well, there's plenty of churches
that will do that, having a form of godliness, Paul goes on to
say, but denying its power. You have all the words, have all
the trimmings to delay it or see it, but the God's not there.
That's so they continue to be able to live in their sin.
This is a good religion from such people, Paul says turn
away. Notice how our own state
government, it's interesting in spite of our current massive
health and housing crisis. It's it's it's just terrible
with my brother the other day trying to age care for him.
Trying to get and, and you got to have the right code.
You got to have the right person to ring to get this code.
Then you're going to contact this group.
They only deal with that mob. We don't do now you got to have
a different code. You got to contact this other
person. And they were considering my
brother not I'll enough yet. He can't walk, he's on oxygen,
he can't drive. The doctor said.
And they assessed him and said no, not enough, can't shower by
himself, can't feed himself. Interesting, interesting.
So our own state government, in spite of our current health and
housing crisis, notice how much a house is going to be in the WA
now continues to spend our government millions of dollars
on what? Concerts?
Wrestling, international soccer teams to build a racetrack that
no one wants. When people are dying and
there's a poor letter in the other day in the front page,
people are dying because they can't get into the emergency
services. You see what is the government
offering? Hedonism.
It's just like Rome in the old days.
We just haven't games games verse 4 and I heard another
voice from heaven saying come out of her, my people, lest you
share in her sins, lest you receive of a plague for her sins
of reach to heaven and God has remembered her iniquities render
to her just as she rendered to you repay her double according
to her works in the cup which she has mixed mixed double for
her in the measure that she glorified herself and lived.
Notice luxuriously in the same measure give her torment and
sorrow for she says in her heart, I sit as queen and I'm no
widow and will not see sorrow. Therefore her plague will come
in one day suddenly death and mourning and famine, and she
will be utterly burned with fire.
For strong is the Lord God who judges her.
God is calling his people to come out of her.
The Babylonian system, the world political system, worldliness,
the system of the world that seeks to lure you into its
clutches, to control you, because it is all coming down.
Babylon has fallen, and now the details of its great fall are
written. A warning from God to separate
the Jehovah Witnesses use this verse to say you can't be in a
union can't be in this and I'm thinking oh that's that's an
interesting place got nothing to do with this Babylon has fallen.
God warns be separate or else will people will be caught up in
the judgement and history will repeat itself.
How Sodom and Gomorrah book of Genesis angels came down went to
see who Lot and his family. The warning come out judgments
coming get away from the city. At this point we know that the
Church of Jesus Christ in the Book of Revelation during the
tribulation is in heaven. The church has been raptured,
having been raptured prior to the Tribulation period
commencing. Many unsaved people are left
behind who will come to Christ in the Tribulation.
Many will die for their faith. We know that.
But this is God's warning to these people.
We know that these people will not have the mark of the beast.
They will have been unable to be part of the commercial
Babylonian commercial system. Why?
Because they won't be able to buy or sell.
So this is a warning saying get right away from Babylon,
distance yourself, don't share no sins.
Paul wrote to the believers today, you and I also warning
us, Ephesians 511 have no fellowship with the unfruitful
works of darkness, but rather expose them.
In other words, don't get caught up living a compromised
lifestyle where you are entangled with the affairs of
this world. I can't believe the discussions
I have with people often. And I say, where you been?
What have you been doing? And then the things that you're
getting involved in, I know. And, and it's like you're
committing slow suicide, slow spiritual death.
You're doing just stupid things. You're not putting God first.
You're not loving the Lord God with all your heart, mind, soul
and strength first. You're getting involved in other
stuff. And so your family begins to
fall apart, your marriage begins to suffer, your kids go off the
rail, and you wonder why you get entangled with the affairs of
the world. Galatians 51 Paul says, stand
fast. Therefore, I know Helen covered
this with the ladies. Therefore, in the freedom, the
liberty by which Christ has made us free, do not be entangled
again with a yoke of bondage. Come out from the old way that
you used to live. We used to worry about, oh, how
much money do I have to have? Where am I going to do it?
I'm going to worry about this. Oh, where are we going to do
this? How am I going to do that?
If only I can win Lotto, If only I can get that job.
You see, it's all dances together.
Paul wrote two Timothy 24. No one engaged in warfare and we
are. Ephesians chapter 5 and 6 tells
us we're soldiers, we have armour on.
No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the
affairs of this life. Now you might have a busy life
and I say to you, why is it busy?
You mean? Well, I just got so much going
on. And I say to you, well, who
organised that? I've been there.
Because now once you become born again, your life should become
pretty simple. Oh, but we have kids so well,
but we're married, we go, you know, and the Bible says oh, oh,
these are the clauses re examine your life.
Martha or Mary consume with many things, but Mary has found the
one thing that is needed. You have one thing to do, seek
ye first, the Kingdom of God. Seek you first, the Kingdom of
God and God will look after everything else.
Our churches are full of people who are struggling and torn and
oh, I don't know what to do and I'm all over the place.
I need counselling for this and no, you don't.
You need to get your life right with God.
You need to get rid of all the rubbish that you're involved in
and you need to get serious in your walk with God and your
family. No one engaged in warfare
entangles himself with the affairs of this world that he
may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
How can you please God if you're entangled with the affairs of
the world? You're not even available.
People, you know, come to me and say I want to do this in the
church. I want to do that.
Hey, here's something. Come to church every time I'm
here. Start there.
Be in church more than once. Well, I want to do this.
I want to. I don't know what.
No, no. Be in the prayer meeting, teach
in the Sunday School. Have a crack at that.
Oh, yeah. But you know, a few things on.
Yeah, you have. You see, Are you the same
character or person? It takes communion and yet acts
differently at a business meeting or a commercial
enterprise. You're playing in the world and
dancing to its tune on John 215. Do not love the world or the
things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the
love of the Father is not in him.
Jesus said no one can serve 2 masters, for either he'll hate
the one and love the other, or else he'll be loyal to 1 and
despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon,
but this separation is not isolation, monastic.
We're in the world, but we're not of the world.
Jesus tells us in John 17 verse 15.
Jesus said, I do not pray that you should take them, that's us
out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil
one. That's the Lord's Prayer, John
1716. They are not of the world, just
as I am not of the world. Jesus lived in the world, but he
wasn't of the world. He ate with sinners, but he
didn't sin. Vance Havner said we are not to
be isolated, but rather insulated.
That's what your kids are to do, not isolate them, insulate them
moving in the midst of evil, but untouched by it.
Verse 5 for her sins have reached to heaven and God has
remembered her iniquities. Literally the sins of commercial
Babylon and it says in the Greek have piled one on top of the
other like that. That's what the Greek language
says in a huge stack. You see, they tried to reach
heaven, didn't they, with their tower.
But in the end they only reached heaven with their tower of sins.
But for every believer, God no longer remembers our sins.
God remembers Babylon sins, and he's going to judge it doubly.
But the Bible says for every believer, God no longer
remembers our sins. Praise the Lord Jeremiah 3134
for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.
I will remember no more and I thank God for that.
I remember stuff He doesn't. Isn't that good verse?
We're going to run short of time, so we're going to skip to
the end. We're going to fly to the end.
Babylon says I will not see sorrow.
Oh, Oh yeah, that's demonic pride.
Verse 8, Babylon will be utterly burned with fire.
In other words, burned to ashes, totally consumed.
Verse 17, In one hour she will come to nothing.
Verse 20, notice what happens. All of heaven rejoices at her
destruction. So all the people on the earth
are going, Oh no, look what's happened to all my money, all my
stocks, all my shares, all my gold.
Oh whoa, what are we going to do with business?
And in heaven? Different viewpoint.
Everyone's going, you cutie, it's gone, it's gone.
How different it is, how different it is.
You see, at this point the religious and the political
system of the beast has been totally destroyed.
All that remains is for Jesus Christ now to come from heaven,
chapter 19 and personally meet and defeat the beast and his
armies. Tonight I want to ask you a
couple of questions. Are you a citizen of Babylon or
heaven? Do you need to get out of
Babylon? Is your life so complex, so
wrapped up in the things of the world?
Man, you check the papers every day, you watch this and that.
I mean, it all hangs on. Or what's going to happen here?
What's going to happen there? Or are you living in the
wonderful grace and peace of God?
What matters most to you tonight, right now?
Are you drifting? The cross of Jesus Christ draws
our hearts away from the empty and deadly pleasures of
worldliness. Galatians 614 But God forbid,
and that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom the world Mystery Babylon has been
crucified to me. It's dead to me now, and I to
the world.