Revelation chapter 17 the coming religious revival.
False religion is the enemy of the faith.
But since the beginning of time, sadly, false teaching of false
religion has continued to flourish and draw people away
from God. Jesus said John chapter 3 verse
19. This is the condemnation that
the light has come into the world.
Jesus brought the light and men love darkness rather than the
light. So they rejected Jesus because
their deeds were evil. They want to continue to live in
sin, so they love false teaching.
They love false religion and allows them to do what they
please. AW Tozer said the whole world
has been booby trapped by the devil and the deadliest trap of
all is the religious one. In other words, well I've been
to church like I have a Bible, I don't read it, but I have one.
I go to church when I need to. The Australian vernacular or a
story of that. And you would know very well
because our relatives, our friends, our work colleagues
say, well I'm a spiritual person, I know you go to church,
but that's not for me. Organised religion is not for
me. I always say that I'm a
spiritual person, Paul McCartney said.
He's a spiritual person and then it follows along this way, which
is false religion. I worship my God, my way, Jesus
said guess what, that doesn't work with me.
Jesus says I am the way, the truth and the life, and no one
comes to the Father, to God, but by me.
Your way doesn't work. Broad is the road that leads to
destruction, narrow is the path that leads to righteousness.
The very first verse of the Bible lays a firm foundation,
Genesis 11. It says in the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth.
This opening verse in the Bible tells us that everyone and
everything was and is created by God.
It also tells us that the reason for our creation was to know
Him. You know, that's in the majority
of Paul's prayers. Every time Paul would write to a
church, in that opening letter, he says, I pray that you come to
a greater knowledge and understanding of who he is.
That's why you're here today. That's why we teach the word of
God so that you may come to a greater understanding today of
who God is and also to worship him.
This is why we're created to be in fellowship with him, to walk
with him. He said to Abraham, walk before
me, Noah, Enoch, walk before God.
Adam and Eve initially enjoyed that wonderful relationship
which you and I are going to enjoy in glory.
Genesis chapter 2 verse 7 The Lord God formed man of the dust
of the ground. We sang about it this morning.
Breathe into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a
living being. Why?
To worship and to serve the living God.
Genesis 219 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast
of the field, every bird of the air brought them to Adam.
Why did He bring them to Adam? Because there's this communion,
this fellowship with Adam to see what Adam, what are you, what
are you going to call this? Well, I'll call that an
elephant, call that a giraffe. I'll call that a dodo bird.
And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was it's
name. So there's this this God saying
he's bringing all the animals. Yeah, this is one of those.
That's a cool name there. And so there was this this this
fellowship, this communion. But we know what happened.
Adam and Eve disobeyed God, sin entered the world, death came
with sin and heartache. And it was not long after the
great flood that man decided again to go the whole hog and
collectively choose not to worship God.
The flood occurs with Noah and as the ark just ate souls and
then only in Chapter 11, men said, you know what, let's do
our own thing. It didn't take very long, just a
few chapters. Galatia Genesis Chapter 11,
verse four. And they said, come, let us
build ourselves a city, a tower whose top is in the heavens.
Let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered
abroad over the face of the whole earth.
There was a fellow back in Genesis 10 by the name of Nimrod
who started all all the stories and the counterfeit of him being
gored by a a pig and hunting coming back to life.
And then he being born through a virgin again of a mother and and
mother. And the the Donner and the Child
and all the false religions that and the name Astadi and all
those Osiris all came from that one situation.
So instead of worshipping the one true God, mankind chose to
worship false gods. It was a choice.
They chose a false religious system.
They built this tower we'll go up into into the heavens.
And there they would look into astrology, your day by the
stars. So they worship the earth and
the stars, even themselves. It's funny.
Nothing must change. 2025 isn't that today your day by the
stars? People worship themselves.
People worship the earth. Climate fanaticism.
Mahatma Gandhi, who's revered as this great peacemaking man once
said, and I quote, I consider myself a Hindu, a Christian, a
Muslim, a Jew, a Buddhist, and a Confucian.
What he should have said is I consider myself a confusion.
Is that not confusing? That it is the heartbeat of all
false religions is confusion. You can always tell when people
have been reading other books besides the Bible to tell them
what the Bible says because they they they always confuse.
The Bible says God is not the author of confusion.
He brings clarity. Clarity Jesus said to the woman
at the world didn't need John chapter 424.
God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in
spirit and truth. You need the truth.
Today many people reject God as the creator.
I don't believe God created some people.
Even people teaching from pulpits today and Sundays don't
believe that the book of Genesis is just there to sort of like
have a an intro. It's not really want you to go
by. They embrace the religion of
evolution. Evolution is a very cruel
religion. I remember in high school doing
biology year 11 and we learnt this word hypothesis.
Hypothesis is what's called, many of you know, an educated
guess. An evolution is an educated
guess, yet we have it taught as fact in schools and people live
and back their life upon evolution.
Evolution is the law of the jungle, isn't it?
It's the weak and the, you know, the strong.
We keep developing it. So in evolution, euthanasia,
abortion, all those things are not a problem with it.
In evolution, it means if you see something that you want and
you're more powerful and stronger than then you should
just it's the law of the jungle. And so that's what people don't
realise, that evolution is a is a cruel, dangerous religion.
In Revelation 17 we come to the downfall, thankfully, of false
religion, which the Bible symbolises as a woman and a
harlot in character. Every man, woman and child today
and every individual living in the final days of the Great
Tribulation will identify with either the harlot of false
religion or the bride of Christ. There is only that divide in the
world. You are either following false
religion and you're following the harlot of false religion, or
you are part of the Bride of Christ and you follow Jesus
Christ. That's it.
Whilst many will indeed come to Christ, and they will, we learnt
that they'll die for their faith during the seven year period,
particularly in the 1st 3 1/2 years.
There will also be another religious revival, sadly that
will sweep the world during this time.
The Bible calls this revival Babylon the Great, a blasphemous
world religious system. Verse one.
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven balls came and
talked with me, saying to me, come, I will show you the
judgement of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with
whom the kings of the earth, that's all the political powers
and governments committed fornication.
And the inhabitants of the earth, Remember, we've seen that
all the way through the Bible. Inhabitants of the earth, earth
dwellers, those dwell upon the earth, is a reference to the
people who are going to live. Some will live, some, many will
die during the Tribulation period, but who reject Jesus
Christ. They don't want anything to do
with Jesus Christ. They are quite happy to receive
false religion and to worship the Antichrist.
And this great harlot, whom the kings of the earth committed
fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk
with the whine of a fornication. In other words, they took in all
the false teaching, and they were enamoured by it.
John calls this false, blasphemous religious system the
great Harlot. He calls it that four times in
this passage even. He calls it the mother of
harlots, verse 5. And on her forehead was written
Mystery Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots, and of the
abominations of the earth, whose sin is fornication.
Now throughout the Bible, harlotry consistently is a term
used by God to describe one thing, idolatry, that is, not
worshipping the true God, but worshipping in another God.
Whenever Israel, God's chosen people, turned her back upon God
and worship false Pagan deities, God labelled such action as
harlotry. Jeremiah chapter 3 verse 6, for
example. The Lord said also to me in the
days of Josiah the king, have you seen what backsliding Israel
has done? She has gone up on every high
mountain places of worship that they built and under every green
tree around these places of worship on they always raise
them up. Then they put these these Groves
around them, and there they did shocking worship of false gods,
and there they played it, says the harlot.
The entire narrative, one of my favourite books in the Bible,
the book of Hosea, is predicated upon this metaphor of an
unfaithful wife. Israel, who plays the harlot as
Hosea shows and shows the character of God.
The prophet of God tried to reach his unfaithful wayward
wife, her name Goma. So true, God tried again and
again to draw his people back to Himself, and yet Israel was
constantly unfaithful to him. What a travesty the mother of
harlots is to the true Church of Jesus Christ.
The true church the Bible describes an Ephesians, is a
chaste virgin without spot, without blemish.
The apostate church, the church that teaches false religion and
false beliefs, is called by God a prostitute.
The true church offers the cup of salvation, the forgiveness of
God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The apostate church holds the golden cup full of abomination.
In other words, you can go to that church and live how you
please. You can do what you want.
It doesn't matter. You can just turn up.
You know, Al Capone, one of the greatest gangsters, was in
church every Sunday, murdering people Monday through to
Saturday in church every Sunday. He was a very religious person.
It's live how you please. That's the church that people
are looking for. I want to go to church and you
know, and it does what I want. It fits how I want.
The true church is purchased by the blood of Christ.
You and I and everyone here that's received Jesus Christ as
their Lord and Saviour has been bought with a price.
What was the price for? God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life.
He died in our place. He got the wrath of God.
Remember we studied that in our place so that we don't get the
judgement of God upon us anymore.
The apostate church is drunk with the blood of martyrs who
can remember the Spanish Inquisition.
If you haven't got it, you need to get it.
Read it. Fox's Book of Martyrs of of how
the the organised false religious church just persecuted
believers in Christ, slaughtered them, butchered them, tortured
them. The new worldwide religious
system claims to be joined to God, but like a prostitute is
unfaithful to God, whose sin is spiritual fornication, the sin
of turning from God and going and worshipping another God,
being unfaithful to him and and not honouring him in any way.
James chapter 4 wrote to the church verse 4 and he says
adulterers and adulteresses. Do you not know?
And here's where it fits with us as a church today.
That friendship with the world that is the world follows a
false religious system, is enmity.
It's hostile with God. Whoever therefore wants to be a
friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
I don't want to be an enemy of God.
You don't want to be an enemy of God.
The way you don't make your the way you can make yourself an
enemy of God is to turn your back on him and then be sucked
into false religion. Check your lifestyle.
Check the lifestyle of your kids.
Are you more like your neighbours who don't go to
church and everyone else? Or do you stand out?
Are you salt? Are you light or are you?
No one can tell whether you're a believer or not by the way that
you live, by the way that you speak, the way that you dress,
the way you know whether you go to church or not.
Or I, I believe in God, but I just don't go to church.
I'm not into organised church. There you go again, check your
lifestyle. Read 1 John John goes through it
very clearly about how a Christian should be, what a
Christian should look like, how a Christian behaves.
Check the lifestyle of your kids.
Are your kids just the same as everybody else?
Well, dad, mum, they dress. You know we're going to go to
the beach. Summer's coming up, you know we
drink. These are the bathers we're
going to wear. This is how we're going to, you
know, dress and an attire. This is how I'm going out.
Are you? I get stuck for words and I see
people dressed inappropriately. Always say, what does your
husband think of that? What does your father think?
Did your father let you go out like that?
Where's the shame? Where's the modesty?
You see? Can you spot the Christian, I
know what I'm saying. I have to go down and wear a
Haitian bag. Probably that would be very
fashionable. Probably start a trend.
Well, you've seen the new Haitian bags yet I'm getting one
of those. God will always judge adultery.
It's such a powerful word fornication with a literal or
spiritual. It's not a subject often
preached in church these days because you don't want to hear
that shouldn't say that the 7th commandment you shall not commit
adultery. Clearly the ACT itself is
condemned. God allows no justification for
the ways that many often seek to justify extra marital sex.
It is not to be done. The Bible says when it is done,
it is sin. And it and the damage of it is
horrific. It hurts people.
We've seen it spoken to people who've been affected.
It's a crippling blood. But here's the here's the wonder
of God's grace, the power of God's blood.
God can't forgive that. Remember the woman caught in the
very act of adultery? Woman, where are thine accusers?
There's none. Neither do I condemn thee.
However, go and sin no more. How can he say that?
Because Jesus was going to take the judgement that was due upon
her upon himself. That's why he could say that.
But he did say go and sin no more.
Maybe in this room you've committed such an act, Keith.
No, no, yes, it's pretty predominant these days,
fornication. The Internet has made such a
thing at the click of a button. Now Jesus said on the Sermon on
the Mount, it's not doing the ACT, it's even thinking of the
act you've committed the sin of adultery.
Know this that the precious blood of Jesus, if you repent of
it right where you are, well wash away that sin go and sin no
more. It's not to be done.
Genesis 519 Now the works of the flesh I manifest what
unbelievers do, which are these adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, which is the opposite of purity,
lasciviousness, which is I'm ready to sin, let's go out and
sin ready to sin at any time. That's in Revelation 17 God has
a special judgement for this great harlot of religion.
Verse 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, Purple the
colour of wealth. Scarlet we know is linked to the
dragon and the blood, and also it's also again opulence and
adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her
hand a golden cup of abominations and the filthiness
of a fornication. And on her forehead a name was
written. Mystery Babylon the Great, the
mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth, John
said. I saw the woman drunk with the
blood of the Saints because she's killed them and with the
blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marvelled
with great amazement Roman prostitutes.
At the time John is riding this war, a headband and engraved on
that headband was their name. It's taken from this.
The background to this false religion goes, I said, goes back
to Genesis when they came and said, let's under the leadership
of Nimrod, let's, let's build this temple and notice the
wording. Let us build ourselves, the
city, a tower whose top is in the heavens.
Let us make a name for ourselves lest we be scattered.
Previously God had told Noah, God bless Noah and his sons had
said to them, be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth at the
Tower of Babel. I said we're not going to.
Let's just, let's stay strong, let's stay together.
Let's not go out and do what God has taught.
Let's stay. We can, we can do everything.
Babylon was an open rebellion against God built upon
exaltation of themselves. Let us make a name for
ourselves. How many ministries have a name
of their own name? They were degrading God.
We don't need him, nor do we need to do what He commands us.
We'll build our own temple. We'll worship our and what we
want to do our way. The Church of Laodicea, the last
of the seven churches in the Book of Revelation, is doing
that. Remember thou, thou are having
church service. Thou are jamming.
Where was God? Outside?
Wasn't even in church. He was calling people out of
that church. They said that that we're rich,
we got it all down, everything's happening.
This is the place to be. Jesus said no, you're not.
You're poor, you're blind, you're naked and you're
shameful. It's funny how heaven has a
great view of the Church of Laodicea Bible verse 5 of
Genesis Chapter 11 says, but the Lord came down to see the city
and the tower which the sons of men had built.
And the Lord said, indeed, the people are one.
They all have one language. And this is what they begin to
do now. Nothing that they propose to do
will be withheld from them. Come, it says, let us, that's
the Trinity. Let us go down.
And they're confused their language, that they may not
understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them
abroad from there over the face of the earth.
They ceased building the city. They couldn't communicate.
Therefore its name is called Babel or Babel, because there
the Lord hears that word confused the language of all the
earth. And from there the Lord
scattered them abroad over the face of the earth.
You see, today people want God, but they want him on their own
terms. What sort of service is it?
A quick service? Because you know, I want a
quick. What sort of songs do they sing?
They loud? They saw the hymns or what?
Oh, sorry, there's a Bay Marie at the front there.
You can go through and pick out the service.
Then you go and sit in your own little booth.
You can have your own service. How you want to just pick out
which loud music? Hymns, no drums, loud drums,
symbols, a preacher, loud preacher, sweaty preacher, small
preacher, whatever, just pick it out.
There you go. It's exactly what I want.
People want forgiveness today. Oh, everyone wants forgiveness,
but they don't want repentance because no one's to blame, are
they? So my fault, my mum's fault, my
dad's fault. It's the environment, it's the
school, it's the teacher. All the teachers, they're going.
Yeah, they want heaven. Never been to a funeral, have
you? Where everyone said ma old Billy
burning up now, ain't he? Next to eulogy?
Yeah, he's really burning. Burning with Uncle Tom and
Auntie Mary and all. They're all burning together
now. You.
It's horrific to even think
that. But there's no default to
heaven. Heaven is through the cross.
No one wants hell, but hell is a real place and God doesn't want
anyone to go there. Babylon was the beginning of
humanism. They were so proud of the tower
that they built. Look how good, how good this
tower is. Wow.
Mystery Babylon, the Mother of Hearts tells us she is the
source from which much evil and adultery has come.
The root of all false religion. Rebellious humanity created a
new religious system. Let us build when the Bible says
in Psalm 127 one unless the Lord builds the house, they labour in
vain who build it. This church can never be run by
men. This church has men servants,
but servants of God. Jesus Christ is the head of this
church. He is the head of this church,
we seek Him and we are guided by His word and we follow His
instructions. It's not let's vote on what
we're going to do folks. It doesn't work that way.
It's a theology, not a democracy.
It's a theocracy I should say, not a theology.
Theocracy, not a democracy. False religion.
And much of the rubbish being taught from pulpits today is
very much a do it yourself religion.
Do it yourself religion. It was this religion that a
young Daniel found himself up against in Babylon under King
Nebuchadnezzar. Back in verse one, it said that
this woman sat on many waters, referring to all the peoples of
the earth as told by John in verse 15, Revelation 1715.
Then he said to me, the waters which you saw where the harlot
sits are peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues.
So it's a worldwide religion that's going to come to part
where there's this unification under the false prophet
supported by the Antichrist initially and the governments of
the world. There's going to be this
finally, this coming together of all the faiths.
It's it's got its seeds happening now.
We're all, you know, it doesn't matter.
You know which how you what you, whether you call him Allah,
whether you call him God or whether you what we're all on
the same path. No, we're not.
Jesus is not on that path. Otherwise why did he die?
He is the way. There is only one way.
He is the way. But this religion is going to
come out during the tribulation period.
Verse 7 But the Angel said to me, why did you marvel when you
looked at this woman? I will tell you the mystery of
the woman and the beast that carries her, which was has the
seven heads and the 10 horns. The beast that you saw was and
is not and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to
perdition. The beast is the Antichrist.
Remember he's of Satanic origin. We learned in chapter 13 it is
the dragon who gave him his power.
Satan gives the Antichrist his personal power, his throne and
great authority. The beast you saw, it says was
and is not and will ascend out of the bottomless pit.
This is reference to the beast having a seemingly fatal head
wound, an assassination attempt and people go oh he's been
killed and they'll put out the story but he'll become he'll
come back as it is seemingly back from the dead.
Now my opinion is this God is the only one who can bring life.
So therefore here is the Antichrist, the lawless 1.
The new world politician will be assassinated, yes, but he won't
be killed because only God can bring life back from death, but
he will have this imitation. It's the imitation of the death
and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Anti means in place of the beast has seven heads and 10 horns.
In verse 9 it tells us that the seven heads stand for seven
mountains. Many people say, well these are
the seven hills of Rome. Now it says 7 mountains and I
believe you'll see as we go through it, these seven
mountains are 7 kings. People associate Rome with this,
but I think that's too small a target.
Daniel tells us in the last days there will be a revival of the
Roman Empire and those who dwell upon the earth will marvel whose
names are not written in the book of life from the foundation
of the world, when they see the beast that was and is not and
yet is. Here is the mind which has
wisdom. The seven heads are 7 mounds on
which the woman sits. There are also 7 kings. 5 have
fallen. One is and the other has not yet
come. You go.
Couldn't it be written a little bit simpler?
I go. I agree.
The Angel mentioned 7 kings, five of whom have fallen.
That's governments, empires, one who is, and the Last King who
has not yet come. So what does that mean from
John's perspective? John has seen 7 powers that have
exerted a major impact upon Israel, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon,
Medo, Persian, the Greeks, and at the time of John's writing
who the 6th willpower ruling was Rome.
John tells us that there is yet another empire to come.
Daniel saw this as well. Remember the image of
Nebuchadnezzar, the feet and the toes, The great image.
Rome was the only empire that was not overwhelmed by another
empire. It fell apart, remember?
Well, during the Tribulation period, it's going to be
revived, A revived Roman Empire with the Antichrist as the head
of it. And the image that Daniel saw
was a mixture of iron and clay, 10 toes, 10 kings, 10 nations,
and the Antichrist ruling over. And when he comes, he must
continue a short time. The Angel tells us tells John
that the final king, the Antichrist, must continue just a
short time. In fact the Antichrist will rule
for just 42 months or 3 1/2 years, the last half of the
tribulation period. Verse 11, the beast that was and
is not is himself also the 8th and is of the 7th and is going
to perdition after seemingly coming back from the dead, his
empire. Remember he's assassinated.
Well that's the end of him, but he seemingly comes back from the
dead. And so there's the resurgence of
the 8th empire. Verse 12, the 10 horns which you
saw are 10 kings or 10 governments, 10 nations,
European, I believe, who have received no Kingdom as yet, but
they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast.
These are of one mind and they will give their power and
authority to the beast. We have the European Union at
the moment. At the moment they meet
together. They have a parliament, they
have, you know, a passport, they have the euro dollar.
All that's happened. Hasn't it happened very quickly?
Well, what's going to happen in government?
It's very hard to get all these nations together to make
decisions. So the best way to make a
decision at this time when things need to be done, we need
to appoint someone. We need to give our authority.
This one person who goes, this is what we're going to do.
We're going to do this now. We're going to do it without
having let's all get together. We're going to vote on this.
And that's what's going to happen with the European
nations. They'll hand over their
sovereignty to the Antichrist because he'll come across as
man, this guy is a genius. It says verse 14, these will
make war with the Lamb, that's the European Union under the
heading of the Antichrist. These will make war with the
Lamb, that's Jesus Christ, and the Lamb will overcome them, for
he is Lord of Lords, King of kings, and those who are with
him are called chosen, are called sorry, are called chosen
and faithful. Chapter 19, we see actually see
that the final battle, the battle of Armageddon.
But the Antichrist of the beast will not allow the great harlot
of false religion to ride on his power forever.
So he uses the religious fervour of this religious system for a
while. That's why it says she starts
off, it says she's sitting on him, riding on the beast.
He's supporting her. The governments are supporting
this religious system. But then in verse 15, then he
said to me, the waters which you saw with the harlots, it's the
peoples and multitudes, nations and tongues and the 10 horns
which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make
her desolate, naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
In other words, it's going to come to a great end, this
worldwide religion. How's that going to happen?
On the day that the Antichrist walked into the temple, rebuilt
in Israel under his agreement with Israel, and he says, now
worship me, you were I'm God. Bow down the whole world, bow
down and worship me. That's the end of the false
religious system. As the Antichrist now says, I'm
God, the 10 kings give him the authority and their army.
So the Antichrist, as I said, will for a period befriend this
religious system, support it, use it.
Then he makes himself the object of worship.
Verse 17 for God. Now notice this.
We've studied all of this, for God has put it into their
hearts, hearts of the kings, all those who think they're running
the world, all the governments of the world.
It fits in so beautifully with Psalm 2.
Why does a nation's rage? God has put it into their hearts
to fulfil His purpose, to be of one mind and to give their
Kingdom to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled.
And the woman who you saw is that great city which reigns
over the kings of the earth. With all the confusion that
false teachers and false religion seeks to cast this
giant shadow over. It will be the Lamb of God who
ultimately overcomes and reigns over all on the second coming of
Jesus Christ. As you and I are here today,
you're probably thinking, well this is what's this got to do
with me? This is what ahead?
Well, it's got plenty to do with you.
If you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, it has
everything to do with you. If you know Christ then you'll
be taken up in the rapture. But many children today in our
nation, many Australian kids, many churches today have
extremely blurred lines on what is truth and what is false
because they've moved away from this as being the authority in
the Roman Catholic Church. This isn't the authority.
The Pope has the final say. And these blurred lines for you
and I living in the last days will become increasingly I'll
defined or what is true, what is false.
It has become fashionable, has it not, to refuse to take a
dogmatic stand. We've got to be tolerant of
everything, don't we? Absolutely.
We got to be tolerant of everything.
You can't make a dogmatic stand about anything, but especially
Jesus Christ because it's upsetting to others.
And so more and more people, particularly Australians, are
drifting from the truth, the real Jesus, the real gospel, the
real word of God. The world is fast coming to a
point of abandoning the truth. Jesus says I am the way, the
truth, and the life. Paul said that this would be a
sign of the last days. He said in Second Thessalonians
chapter 2 verse 9 the coming of the lawless 1 The Antichrist.
According to the working of Satan, he'll come with all power
signs and lying wonders and with all unrighteous deception among
those who perish, unbelievers, because they did not receive the
love of the truth. People who I don't want to hear
the Bible. I mean, it's too strict and it's
boring and it restrict, you know, what do I have to give up?
People think about all those things because they don't know
the truth, because the truth sets you free.
Actually, it says, because they did not receive the love of the
truth, that they might be saved, because the only way of
salvation is through the Word of God.
For this reason, God will send them strong delusion, the mother
of all harlots, that they should believe the lie that always lead
to heaven, that they all may be condemned who did not believe
the truth it says again, but had pleasure in unrighteousness
because false religion says you can go and sin.
Saturday, Friday, Monday, Sunday, go there and feel I'm
good, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord because you just live
how you feel. You live how you feel.
Don't go along with the world. This is the message parents,
particularly to your kids, your kids, they'll come home and
they'll go, well, I was, you know, told off I was a Christian
and I disagreed. And this with that, Yep, that's,
that's going to be the norm. They're going to need your
support. You're going to need one
another's support at work when they say, well, you've got to be
part of this, You've got to be part of that.
No, I, I make a stand. It might cost you, you a job.
It might cost you this or that. It's going to cost you.
It cost Jesus his life. Don't go along with the crowd.
Stand up for the truth, Jude says in verse 17.
But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before
by the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, how they told you
that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk
according to their own ungodly lusts.
You see, if I live according to my flesh, I live according to my
ungodly lusts, but now I'm to live according to the Word of
God and to the direction of the Holy Spirit at the time of the
rapture. What's going to happen?
All genuine believers worldwide will be taken from the earth in
an instant, Paul says, in the twinkling of an eye.
To ever be with the Lord. But this world, you know what's
going to happen. Initially there'll be a bit of a
bump in the road, but Jesus says you know what's going to happen,
It'll be like the days of Noah and they'll just go back to
marrying, having coffee, going for a run, going to the beach,
playing golf, just just click. And the churches that don't
teach the word of God, they'll just operate still.
Let's have our programme, let's do this, let's get together
Kumbaya. It will cost you to stand.
You're going to hear some beautiful words if you do stand.
However, when you stand eventually before God, well
done, good and faithful servant, the time of the Rapture, some
churches will just be business as usual.
Vance Havner said. Don't ever come to church
without coming as though it were the first time, as though it
could be the best time and as though it might be the last
time. This morning I asked you this.
Do you know the truth? In other words, do you know
Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour?
Well, Mum and Dad are Christians and that's why I'm here.
Or yeah, like I've been coming to church for a while.
I'm not asking that. Well, I was Christian.
I'm not asking that. I want to ask you, do you know
Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour?
Do you pray in his name? Do you read his word?
The Bible says all have sinned. The Bible says that salvation is
only found in God's only Son, Jesus Christ in the book of Acts
chapter 4, verse 12. Nor is there salvation in any
other, for there is no other name under heaven given among
men by which we must be saved. You say we all know this, and
many of us know it, but we don't do it.
I grow up in a home where I thought I was a Christian.
I went to church as a kid and I thought I was a Christian, but
it wasn't until someone showed me Romans chapter 10 verses 9
and 10 and said have you done that?
I get done. What Have you confessed with
your mouth and believed in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord?
I didn't know you had to do that.
Why hadn't someone told me? So today, today, if you are not
a believer, make the greatest decision that you can receive
Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.
It's as simple as that. False religion, false teaching
is rampant. Many will and are sadly being
deceived today. Choose salvation, don't receive
judgement.