A Sharper Focus

The Truth about Spiritual Babylon, Part 4

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr. John Lomacang

Home

Series Code: ASHF

Program Code: ASHF000107A


00:20 Hello, friends, welcome to another Bible study here
00:24 at the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:26 We want to welcome you to this wonderful spring time
00:28 with a hearty amen.
00:30 Can we all say amen? Amen!
00:31 And we have our Bibles open, our hearts are open,
00:34 and we're asking for the Lord as we are going to invite you
00:37 to join us in prayer in just a moment.
00:39 We are asking for the Lord to continue to teach us
00:42 and to guide us through His Word.
00:43 And as you know, if you've been following the broadcast lately,
00:46 we are discussing Babylon, Spiritual Babylon,
00:50 the truth about Spiritual Babylon
00:52 and it's quite an immersive topic.
00:56 One that cannot be covered in one broadcast
00:58 and so we're glad
00:59 that with each of these broadcasts,
01:01 we don't have to do it all at one time,
01:03 we'll continue to the next and the next and so on
01:06 until we finish this particular topic,
01:08 But we've covered a lot thus far,
01:10 and we thank you for tuning in.
01:11 And in just a moment, after our prayer,
01:14 I'll tell you how to get a copy of the lesson
01:16 so that you can follow along with us in this study.
01:19 But before we go any further,
01:20 let's begin with a word of prayer.
01:23 Our gracious Father in heaven, thank You
01:26 that You are going to lead us and guide us
01:28 and bless us tonight.
01:30 We know that as we open Your Word,
01:33 we pray that You'll open our hearts.
01:35 We know this topic is of vital importance,
01:38 for You would not have included it in Your Word
01:40 but because You have, Holy Spirit come and teach us,
01:45 draw us into the presence of our Lord
01:48 and when this program is done,
01:50 may we not only have more knowledge,
01:52 but a greater love and passion to serve Jesus,
01:55 and we ask this in Your precious name,
01:57 amen.
02:00 Now, for a copy of the lesson, go to this website,
02:02 asf.3abn.org.
02:06 That is, in most cases you don't need to put the www,
02:10 but if you have a PC that really recommends
02:14 or was begging for that, just go and put it,
02:16 but for the most part, if you put asf.3abn.org,
02:20 download lesson number 29,
02:22 the truth about Spiritual Babylon
02:25 and then you will be able to follow along,
02:27 and tonight we will begin at question number 11,
02:30 but before we do that,
02:32 we're gonna sing our theme song,
02:33 and our theme song is what?
02:36 "Victory in Jesus." Let's sing that song together.
02:48 I heard an old, old story
02:52 How the Savior came from glory
02:56 How He gave His life on Calvary
02:59 To save a wretch like me
03:03 I heard about His groaning
03:07 Of His precious blood's atoning
03:11 Then I repented of my sin
03:15 And won the victory
03:18 O victory in Jesus
03:22 My Savior, forever
03:26 He sought me and bought me
03:30 With His redeeming blood
03:33 He loved me ere I knew Him
03:37 And all my love is due Him
03:41 He plunged me to victory
03:45 Beneath the cleansing flood
03:49 I heard about a mansion
03:52 He has built for me in glory
03:56 And I heard about the streets of gold
04:00 Beyond the crystal sea
04:04 About the angels singing
04:07 And the old redemption story
04:11 And some sweet day
04:13 I'll sing up there
04:15 The song of victory Key change.
04:19 O victory in Jesus
04:22 My Savior, forever
04:26 He sought me and bought me
04:30 With His redeeming blood
04:34 He loved me ere I knew Him
04:38 And all my love is due Him
04:41 He plunged me to victory
04:45 Beneath the cleansing flood
04:49 He plunged me to victory
04:53 Beneath the cleansing flood
05:00 Amen? Amen.
05:01 You know, some of us say beneath the cleansing flood,
05:04 some say blood.
05:05 In this song, it's the same thing
05:07 because the blood of Jesus is in fact the cleansing flood
05:12 that is the deluge of righteousness
05:15 is wide enough to wash away the sins of the entire world
05:19 and that's good news tonight.
05:21 Well, our topic is the truth about Spiritual Babylon.
05:24 Say that with me, it is what?
05:26 The truth about Spiritual Babylon.
05:30 Now this topic is of such vital importance
05:32 that a number of chapters in the Bible are dedicated
05:35 to understanding that.
05:37 It's first introduced...
05:38 Spiritual Babylon is first introduced
05:40 in Revelation Chapter 14,
05:42 and then in Revelation 17 and 18,
05:45 and then portions of 19 include the landscape,
05:51 the broadening, the deeper understanding
05:53 of what Spiritual Babylon is.
05:55 Now, Revelation is a book that lot of people don't study,
05:59 some churches don't study it,
06:00 some churches say it's a hard book to understand,
06:03 but it is called the Revelation of Jesus Christ,
06:06 meaning it's revealed that's never been shut,
06:08 never been locked, it's an open book.
06:11 The topic of Babylon is one of such great importance
06:14 because, when we read about the impact of Babylon
06:18 on the world,
06:19 we can conclude
06:21 that God has an urgent message for everyone
06:24 that is affected by this institution.
06:26 Let's go to Revelation Chapter 14 and begin tonight.
06:30 And I wanna just go ahead and show you
06:31 because we spent a lot of time on the three messages
06:34 of the angels of Revelation 14.
06:37 We talked about the judgment hour,
06:40 fear God and give glory to Him,
06:42 for the hour of His judgment has come
06:44 and worship Him that made heaven and earth,
06:46 the sea and the springs of waters.
06:48 That's the judgment, our message meaning,
06:50 the time in which we live is the pre advent judgment,
06:53 simply meaning the investigation of the lies
06:56 of those that claim to be connected to Christ
06:58 before He returns in the Second Advent,
07:02 but now there is a warning in Revelation Chapter 14
07:06 that includes this message that we are covering tonight.
07:12 Look with me at Revelation 14:8 and the Bible says,
07:17 "And another angel followed, saying, Babylon is," what?
07:20 Fallen.
07:21 "Is fallen, is fallen, that great city,
07:27 because she made all nations drink of the wine
07:31 of the wrath of her fornication."
07:34 Now when you think about the language that's used here,
07:36 Babylon, her, great city, she made all nations.
07:42 This is the message that effects everyone
07:44 whether you are in Russia, or America, or Africa,
07:47 or Canada, or in the Philippines,
07:49 wherever you are, Canada, the Caribbean,
07:52 the Virgin Islands, wherever you are,
07:54 this message includes everyone
07:57 because all nations have in some degree
08:00 been effected by Babylon
08:02 but the sad news is, a lot of people don't know
08:05 how they have been effected by Babylon.
08:09 Now when you go back to the antiquities of Babylon,
08:11 Babylon was a great city.
08:14 It began in Genesis after the flood,
08:17 there was a tower built called the tower of...?
08:22 Best way, Babel actually is the way it's said,
08:24 Babel, which is what babies do, they Babel.
08:28 You know, ba-ba, ba-ba, meaning confusion.
08:31 This tower was built out of distrust for God.
08:35 They didn't believe the promises of God.
08:37 So this tower was an attempt by their own works
08:40 to save themselves.
08:42 So Babylon is a system based on works that produce,
08:47 so to speak, salvation.
08:48 In other words, the thought is, we are saved by our works.
08:52 That was the initial foundation of Babylon.
08:55 They built the tower distrusting God,
08:57 but the Lord came down and confused the tongues.
09:00 Second symbolization of Babylon is the confusion of languages,
09:04 the confusion of tongues and today,
09:06 what we are gonna do on the next broadcast
09:09 is we are going to outline some of the doctrines
09:13 that are found in Spiritual Babylon
09:17 because there are those of you
09:18 that are watching this broadcast
09:19 that may not, may not understand
09:21 a lot of the truths of the Bible,
09:23 but in order to know that you are where
09:25 God doesn't want you to continue,
09:28 you have to understand how were you are worshipping
09:31 might had been affected by Spiritual Babylon.
09:34 So there are doctrines and teachings that have been,
09:39 that had been introduced into many circles of worship
09:42 and many people don't know
09:44 that these have their foundation
09:46 in Spiritual Babylon.
09:47 Now, Babylon is a place where,
09:49 when you read about it in Revelation Chapter 17,
09:51 go there with me, Revelation Chapter 17.
09:58 Revelation 17:1, I just wanna lay some foundation
10:01 before we jump to question number 11
10:04 because we have covered quite a bit on this topic already
10:07 and as I said, if you didn't get any of the early topics,
10:11 you can go to that very same website.
10:13 I'll tell you about it before the program is done
10:15 where there are videos that you can look at
10:19 that will give you the other components
10:21 that you may have missed in some of the past lessons.
10:24 But Revelation 17, look at verse 1,
10:29 "Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls
10:31 came and talked with me, saying to me,
10:34 'Come, I will show you the judgment
10:38 of the great harlot who sits on many," what?
10:42 "On many waters.'
10:44 " And you wanna find out what the waters represent,
10:45 look at verse 15, and he said,
10:48 "The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits,
10:52 are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues."
10:55 And so once again Revelation 17
10:57 introduces this system of Babylon
10:59 and the word sits on means, has authority over,
11:04 has authority over, jurisdiction over, over what?
11:08 Over multitudes and nations, peoples and tongues.
11:11 That means, if you encompass the entire world,
11:13 in some degree Babylon affects that.
11:16 We also discovered that Babylon
11:21 has a power behind it.
11:23 Who remembers the power behind Babylon?
11:25 Give me the single word of the power behind Babylon.
11:28 No.
11:29 Who is behind Babylon?
11:31 The other, he's on the other side of the Great Controversy.
11:32 Satan.
11:34 Satan. Satan.
11:36 This woman is sitting on a scarlet colored beast
11:40 that has seven heads and ten horns.
11:44 And when you read Revelation, this is vitally important,
11:46 when you read Revelation, matter of fact
11:48 if you read Daniel, you see a beast with ten horns
11:53 but not seven heads and ten horns,
11:56 and those ten horns represented
11:57 the nations that existed during the Dark Ages,
12:00 three of them were removed
12:02 by the power of Rome and they were brought down and,
12:06 you know, if you follow the whole history
12:07 of the Roman church during the Dark Ages,
12:10 all the nations that opposed to the rise of the Roman Empire
12:14 as well as the rise of papal Rome
12:16 were moved out of the way, they were destroyed.
12:19 But now you come down to Revelation Chapter 17
12:21 and then you are introduced to a beast
12:24 with seven heads and ten horns.
12:26 If we go to Revelation Chapter 12,
12:28 go there very quickly with me.
12:30 If you go to Revelation Chapter 12,
12:32 you'll see exactly who this beast is
12:34 that the woman is sitting on.
12:36 What is another word for scarlet?
12:38 Someone tell me.
12:40 I tried it, my shirt is not red enough,
12:42 my shirt is kind of fuchsia,
12:44 but it's about close as I can get for tonight.
12:47 Another word for scarlet is red, the scarlet robe,
12:52 the scarlet letter, red.
12:55 Let's look at this beast with seven heads and ten horns.
12:57 Revelation 12:2, all right or Revelation 12:3,
13:04 " And another sign appeared in heaven:
13:06 behold, a great, fiery red dragon
13:09 having seven heads and ten horns,
13:13 and seven diadems on his heads."
13:15 Now, go quickly to Revelation 17 now
13:19 and let's go ahead and see this again.
13:21 All right.
13:23 Revelation Chapter 17, here we are.
13:28 And it says in verse 3, "So he carried me away
13:31 in the Spirit into the wilderness.
13:35 And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast
13:38 which was full of names of blasphemy,
13:41 having seven heads and," what? "Ten horns."
13:45 So, the only, the first place
13:46 that the seven head, ten horn beast is introduced
13:48 is Revelation Chapter 12.
13:50 From that point on, as you go through the Bible,
13:52 you begin to understand that this is a symbol
13:54 that John is given to describe Satan.
13:57 He work through other powers, he works through pagan powers,
14:01 he works through governments
14:02 that are against the rise of God's church
14:04 and the progress of God's message,
14:06 but in direct interpretation of the symbol,
14:09 it represents Satan himself.
14:11 Now last time, want to go to Revelation Chapter 1,
14:15 I wanna just give you a quick glimpse.
14:17 We gotta look at this very quickly
14:18 because it lays foundation to where we are headed next.
14:22 Revelation 1:8, now there are comparisons,
14:26 since Revelation is about the Revelation of Jesus,
14:28 Revelation also reveals those who are in opposition to Jesus,
14:33 right?
14:34 Revelation 1:8, I wanna show you something
14:37 because the Bible has a way of describing Jesus,
14:41 Revelation Chapter 1, so why am I in Jude,
14:45 I'm almost there, here we are, Revelation Chapter 1
14:48 and notice what the Bible, how the Bible describes Jesus,
14:52 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and," the? "End."
14:56 And look at this, "Who was, who is and who was and," what?
15:02 "Who is to come, the Almighty."
15:06 Who is presently, who was and who is to come.
15:12 That's, there's never a time that Jesus is not existing.
15:15 And notice I said, notice I didn't say there's never time
15:17 that Jesus wasn't existing because He is in eternity.
15:22 Who is the I am, who was, and who is to come?
15:28 Was means Jesus had a pre-existent state
15:31 before He came to earth,
15:33 before He came to be given the name Jesus, right?
15:37 Before He received the name Jesus,
15:39 there was a different name he had, the name Michael,
15:42 but when He came to the earth, when He condescended
15:44 and took on human flesh, the Bible says in Matthew 1:21
15:48 called His name Jesus,
15:50 for He will save His people from their sin.
15:53 So that's the, that is the, was Michael is and is to come
15:58 and when He comes again, He's gonna come not as
16:01 the man Christ Jesus,
16:03 but the King of kings and Lord of lords.
16:07 His pre-existent state with the father
16:09 before the world was, when he came to the earth
16:12 and he's coming again who is, who was and who is to come.
16:17 But now look at the way that the Bible describes Satan.
16:21 Revelation 17:8.
16:23 All right, and then we gonna go ahead
16:25 and begin on question number 11.
16:27 Foundation is often good to be laid.
16:30 All right.
16:31 Revelation 17:11 and for those of you that have the lesson
16:34 that's been following us this far,
16:37 this is question number 10,
16:39 we're not gonna bring question 10 upon the board,
16:42 but I'll just go ahead and give you the answers here
16:43 as it is described in Revelation 17:8.
16:47 The Bible says in Revelation 17:8,
16:49 "The beast that you saw, "what's the next word?
16:53 What's the next word?
16:55 Was and is not
16:58 and all will ascend out of the bottomless pit
17:01 and go into perdition.
17:04 "And those who dwell on the earth will marvel,
17:07 whose names are not written in the Book of Life
17:10 from the foundation of the world,
17:12 when they see the beast that, " together,
17:15 "was and is not and yet is."
17:19 So notice the description, he, he was, is not,
17:24 will ascend out of the bottomless pit
17:27 and then go into perdition.
17:28 That's his final end.
17:30 And then the Bible also says, the beast that was
17:33 and is not and yet is.
17:36 Meaning, he does not maintain at this present time,
17:39 the power and the beauty and the authority
17:42 that the Lord gave him when he was Lucifer,
17:46 the unfallen angel who was and is, yeah,
17:50 we know he's still active and that's why the yet is,
17:54 is particularly there.
17:55 So notice Jesus, who is, who was, who is to come,
17:58 who was, who is not, and yet is.
18:01 Those are the two characters in the great controversy,
18:04 Christ, let me use my right hand for Christ,
18:07 Christ and Satan.
18:10 But now let's go to question number 11
18:11 so we could dive into our topic tonight.
18:14 Question number 11 for tonight since we laid the foundation,
18:17 foundation for those two beasts,
18:20 here's Revelation and question number 11.
18:24 What is the forecast about the beast
18:27 with seven heads and ten horns?
18:30 What is the forecast? What is the forecast?
18:34 And we're looking at Revelation 17:11, okay.
18:40 Revelation 17:11, let's look at that together
18:46 and I don't think we gonna get to number 24 tonight,
18:49 but I am sure we're gonna make a valiant attempt
18:52 but if we don't, we will cover that in the next broadcast.
18:56 Here's the answer, Revelation 17:11,
19:00 "The beast that," say that yellow word together,
19:04 "was, and is not,
19:07 is himself also the eighth,
19:11 and is of the seven, " and is, "what?
19:13 "Going to perdition."
19:15 So what is the forecast about the beast
19:18 with seven heads and ten horns?
19:21 What's that last word?
19:23 Perdition and that word is,
19:25 what's another word for perdition?
19:26 Destruction.
19:27 Destruction, in other words, the lake of fire.
19:31 Satan will be destroyed in the end.
19:34 Can we get an amen to that?
19:35 Amen. Amen.
19:36 So he has an end, he has a forecast.
19:38 There's a...
19:39 The Lord has forecast his final destruction.
19:43 He may be producing havoc now,
19:45 but he will come to an end one day.
19:47 But those who serve the Lord, they have eternal life,
19:50 those who are with the Lord never come to an end,
19:54 and that's the good news.
19:55 Amen. All right.
19:57 Let's go to question number 12.
19:59 Question number 12, okay.
20:05 What does the Bible reveal
20:07 about the ten horns connected to Satan?
20:12 This is very interesting.
20:14 What does the Bible reveal
20:15 about the ten horns connection to Satan?
20:18 The ten horns connection to Satan.
20:21 You know, it's amazing when you begin to look at this
20:23 and the answer is found in Revelation 17:12.
20:26 The answer is found in Revelation 17:12.
20:29 All right? Let's look at that.
20:31 I know I have my Bible open,
20:33 we're gonna spend a lot of time in Revelation 17:12.
20:37 All right?
20:38 Here's the answer,
20:40 it appears on the screen for those who are here
20:41 and those who are watching the program.
20:44 The Bible reads as follow,
20:45 "The ten horns which you saw are," what
20:51 "Ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet,
20:57 but they receive authority for one hour as kings
21:02 with the beast."
21:03 This is huge, cannot run past this.
21:06 Now let me tell you why?
21:08 Because when you go to Daniel Chapter 7,
21:11 you see a beast with ten horns
21:14 and we know what that represents?
21:16 That represents the nations that existed
21:18 during the Dark Ages.
21:21 The Franks or the French, now the Lombards or the,
21:24 or the English, the Burgundians,
21:27 the names exist,
21:29 you know, and so you have all these nations
21:31 that were throughout Europe,
21:33 throughout Asia that resisted the rise of the Roman power.
21:37 Those three nations,
21:38 they were three nations of the ten
21:40 that were brought to an end
21:43 but that meant, there were only seven horns
21:46 and then one little horn came up
21:48 representing the voice of the Roman church,
21:50 the little horn represented the rise of the papacy.
21:54 You remember that?
21:56 So then, you didn't have ten any longer,
22:00 but when you now look at this picture,
22:03 the Bible says, the ten horns which you saw
22:06 are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet,
22:09 but they receive authority for one hour as kings
22:12 with the beast.
22:13 Let me make a suggestion.
22:15 You know, you can often communicate
22:17 through the phrase suggestion
22:19 because suggestion is not speculation,
22:21 but suggestion is something to consider
22:24 because as I am presenting this to you,
22:26 the Bible is saying, when the beast appears,
22:30 when the leader of Babylon appears,
22:34 he is going to receive the support of kings.
22:38 And when you think of the phrase
22:39 or the word kings, that speaks of leaders of earth,
22:43 the kings of the earth, and you find that talked
22:45 about so much in Revelation Chapter 17,
22:48 you'll see that again in Revelation 19,
22:50 the kings of the earth and their army,
22:51 and the chief captains, and the mighty men's.
22:53 It talks about leaders of nation, political leaders.
22:57 So when Satan rises,
23:00 something he is going to do
23:02 to get the support of the leaders of the earth
23:07 and I want to kind of leave that as a cliff hanger
23:09 because I am gonna introduce to you what that's going to be.
23:12 I wanna kind of let you hold on to that
23:14 because when you look at
23:15 what's gonna be happening in the end,
23:17 Jesus made some... Jesus.
23:19 Let's go to Matthew 24.
23:21 Yet you want me to tell you,
23:23 but let's go ahead and write the answer down
23:25 first of all for number 12.
23:26 What does the Bible reveal about the ten horns
23:28 connection to Satan?
23:31 They will receive authority for one hour with him.
23:35 They will unite with him for one hour.
23:38 They will receive authority for one hour.
23:41 They'll connect themselves to him
23:43 and that one hour means short, right?
23:47 The Bible says, "The devil has come down having great wrath
23:49 because he knows he has a short time," okay.
23:53 Matthew Chapter 24,
23:54 I'm gonna put my pen here in Revelation 17,
23:58 so I not lose my way.
24:01 You know, I had a cold four weeks ago
24:04 and the remnants of it are on the way out.
24:06 Thank you Lord.
24:08 But there's a dryness that still exists there
24:11 that every now and then comes up.
24:15 All right.
24:16 Matthew Chapter 24, all right.
24:23 Let's see, okay.
24:29 Oh, there's so much here that I want to bring out,
24:32 Matthew Chapter 24, let's go ahead and...
24:37 I'll give you a sign, I'll give you a little glimpse
24:39 of the context
24:41 of what's going to happen in those days,
24:43 Matthew 24, look at verse 7, all right,
24:48 'cause I wanna go down to verse 9,
24:50 "For nation will rise against nation,
24:53 and kingdom against kingdom.
24:55 There will be famines, pestilences,
24:58 and earthquakes in various places or diverse places.
25:01 All these are the beginning of sorrow.
25:03 Now, when you hear about the famines,
25:04 the pestilence of wars, the rumors of wars,
25:06 the earthquakes, these are just the beginning,
25:09 but the picture is going to, all of a sudden change.
25:13 And look at the next part, that's very important.
25:18 It says in verse 9,
25:19 then they will deliver you up to what?
25:23 Tribulation.
25:24 Tribulation and killed you and you will be, the next word?
25:29 Hated of all nations for my name sake.
25:34 Now, let me make a suggestion.
25:37 Obviously, if Satan's behind it,
25:40 his only aim is to gather support
25:42 to build a coalition and to do what?
25:45 To go after the people of God.
25:47 That's why the people of God, there's going to come a time
25:49 that the people of God are gonna be hated of,
25:52 of all nations for his name sake
25:56 because the climate is gonna be of such
25:58 that I believe that when Satan shows up,
26:01 appearing to have the answer, he'll get the support
26:04 of the leaders of the nation.
26:05 He'll get the support, he's going to come at a time
26:08 when the world is in a catastrophic meltdown
26:11 where everything that we have trusted in
26:13 throughout the centuries and millennia
26:14 have begun to crumble before us.
26:18 And at a time when men heart,
26:19 men's hearts are failing them for fear
26:21 and somebody shows up
26:23 that looks like he has the answer,
26:25 he will get the support of the nations.
26:27 Now, I'm trying to be vague tonight
26:28 because I'm gonna break the egg open later on,
26:30 but it's important that I laid a foundation
26:32 that still in our questions before I just say,
26:34 here it is, all right?
26:36 You don't wanna go too far ahead of yourself.
26:38 I don't wanna go too far ahead of myself.
26:41 But the point is simply made
26:43 that because of this false system of Babylon,
26:48 this whole coalition
26:50 that is against the government of God,
26:52 the people of God will be under attack.
26:55 Let's go to one more text to verify that,
26:57 Revelation Chapter 12,
27:00 Revelation Chapter 12.
27:04 Somebody once said, you could meander
27:07 through Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
27:09 and roller skate
27:11 through the apostles in the New Testament,
27:13 but by the time you get to Revelation,
27:15 you better have on your deep sea diving here
27:17 'cause you will drown, it's a deep book.
27:20 You gotta really be thinking to keep track
27:22 of what's being unfolded.
27:24 Look at Revelation 12:17, remember now, Revelation 12:3
27:29 and then verse 9 describes
27:31 the beast with seven heads and ten horns as the dragon,
27:34 remember that?
27:36 Look at verse 3, just glance at it.
27:37 Revelation 12:3, seven heads, a dragon having seven heads,
27:41 ten horns, you see that?
27:43 Amen, so you see that, okay.
27:45 And verse 9 describes who that is and it says,
27:48 so the great dragon was cast out,
27:50 that serpent of old called the devil and Satan
27:52 so the beast with seven heads and ten horns is who, tell me?
27:55 Satan.
27:56 Satan, okay, now, go to verse 17.
27:59 "And the dragon was enraged with the woman,
28:02 and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring,
28:05 "that's the people of God and what did they do?
28:07 "Who keep the commandments of God and have the," what?
28:10 "Testimony of Jesus Christ."
28:13 So you see that, that's what's happening there.
28:15 That's the reason why he is warring against them
28:18 because they are doing something
28:21 that he doesn't support
28:24 and because it is his last hurrah,
28:27 he's gonna get all the leaders of the world
28:30 to join him in this final onslaught
28:33 against those who keep the commandments of God
28:35 and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
28:38 Now, let's go to the very next question, number 13.
28:41 And thank you for bringing that text upon the screen,
28:42 that was very quick, whoever was able to do that,
28:45 I appreciate that and I actually...
28:48 That was the next question, that's why they had it.
28:51 Praise the Lord.
28:52 That was the next question.
28:53 Since we read the text, let's go ahead
28:55 and answer the question.
28:56 How does the Bible describe Satan's attitude
28:58 about the pure woman?
29:01 She put the answer up, he is angry,
29:03 write that down, he is what?
29:05 Angry.
29:06 He wants to beat her up, he is at war,
29:10 he doesn't like any,
29:11 he doesn't like her or her children.
29:14 That's important, the woman and her seed.
29:18 He doesn't like the woman or her children.
29:21 Now, what you're gonna discover in just a moment is,
29:24 while the pure woman who has not apostatize
29:27 has children, the harlot woman also has children.
29:32 We're gonna see that in just a moment,
29:34 so the answer what,
29:36 how does the Bible describe Satan's attitude
29:38 about the pure woman?
29:39 He what? He is angry with her. Why?
29:43 Because she keeps the commandments of God.
29:45 Here's the point I wanna make, those of you watching
29:47 the program and listening.
29:49 Don't ever let anyone teach you to believe
29:52 that the commandments of God don't matter.
29:55 If the commandments of God did not matter,
29:57 Satan would not be angry with those
29:59 who kept the commandments of God, right?
30:02 But because it does matter, his anger is turned against
30:05 those who honour God's commandments.
30:08 Anytime the devil's upset, you're doing something right.
30:11 Anytime he's with you, you're doing something wrong.
30:13 Anytime he's supporting you,
30:15 you're going in the wrong direction.
30:16 But when you go opposite to him, he wants to get you,
30:18 he wants to beat you up, he wants to come
30:20 after you and your mother according to the text,
30:24 the woman and her seed, the church and her children,
30:29 Go to number 14 now, number 14 now, all right.
30:35 How does the Bible describe Satan's coalition?
30:44 Wow, Revelation 17,
30:49 the coalition, here it is,
30:52 Verse 13 and 14.
30:55 How does the Bible describes, describes Satan's coalition?
31:00 Here it is on the screen.
31:03 First of all, let's start by saying,
31:05 "These are of one mind,"
31:09 how many minds?
31:11 One mind, that means they agree together.
31:12 "These are of one mind
31:16 and they will give their power and authority to," who?
31:19 "To the beast."
31:20 That means they can agree together.
31:23 When you agree on wrong
31:25 and you see so many examples in the Bible.
31:28 When Nehemiah was trying
31:29 to restore the city of Jerusalem
31:31 and all of its economy, Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arab,
31:34 they all had one mind and although
31:37 they were enemies of each other,
31:38 they got together
31:39 because they had a common enemy,
31:41 that was Nehemiah.
31:42 What's amazing about this coalition in the end time,
31:44 they don't like each other,
31:46 but they get together
31:47 because they have a common enemy,
31:49 and it's amazing,
31:50 I wanna recite that text again.
31:51 These have one mind
31:53 and they give their power and authority to the beast.
31:57 But look at the very next verse.
31:58 All right?
32:00 We read Revelation 12:17, but this emphasizes it.
32:03 Revelation 17:14,
32:05 "These will make war with," who?
32:08 "The Lamb and the Lamb will," do what?
32:10 "Overcome them."
32:11 Amen?
32:12 Amen.
32:14 "For he is Lord of lords and King of kings,
32:17 and those who are with him are," what?
32:20 "Called, and chosen, and faithful."
32:24 All God calls us to do is to be faithful.
32:28 God doesn't call us to be famous,
32:30 God calls us to be what?
32:31 Faithful.
32:34 Many are called, few are chosen,
32:36 but when we come down to the end,
32:39 those that are with God
32:40 are called the chosen and the faithful.
32:44 There's gonna be a war,
32:45 these will war with the lamb
32:47 and the lamb will overcome them.
32:49 It is so encouraging and I wanna go back
32:50 to the children of Israel.
32:52 You know,
32:53 if the Lord required us to fight our own battles,
32:55 we would lose some of them, right?
32:57 But because he's the one that's gonna fight our battles,
32:59 the Lamb will overcome them and those of us
33:02 who are with the Lamb, He wins on our behalf.
33:06 We don't fight the battle,
33:07 we're not out there on the battlefield
33:08 throwing rocks and swords and words back and forth,
33:11 the Lamb is the one that's being attacked,
33:13 the Lamb is the one that's gonna win
33:15 and those who are with Him
33:16 are gonna be on the side of victory.
33:18 Good news to that, so here's the answer.
33:21 How does the Bible describe Satan's coalition?
33:24 They have one mind, that's the first thing,
33:26 they agree together
33:29 and they are at war with the Lamb.
33:33 Now for the fact
33:34 that they are at war with the Lamb is clear evidence
33:37 that Satan is standing with them.
33:40 Satan has always been at war with the Lamb.
33:45 Revelation 12, there was war in heaven,
33:48 he lost that war.
33:50 So when Jesus came to earth,
33:51 he dogged the footsteps of Jesus,
33:53 he tempted Him in the wilderness.
33:56 He thought that by crucifying Him
33:57 on the cross that he won the battle
33:58 but Jesus rose again.
34:00 So now that he has lost at those points,
34:03 he's now coming after the church of God,
34:05 the women and her children.
34:07 But I wanna make this point very clear, even though he,
34:11 Satan is coming after the woman and her children,
34:14 he's really coming after the Lamb.
34:16 The Lamb does not allow
34:17 the devil to mess with His children.
34:19 Amen somebody?
34:20 Amen! That's good news.
34:22 So we're not saying,
34:23 "Oh, what do we do when Satan attack us?"
34:24 No, the Lamb is the one.
34:26 Isn't it amazing?
34:28 How many of us think of a lamb as a good warrior?
34:30 Have you seen a lamb?
34:33 Not a sheep, but a lamb,
34:36 tender, look so harmless,
34:40 he's a lamb to us
34:42 but he's lion to those who are against us.
34:46 He's the lion of the tribe of Judah to them,
34:49 but he's lamb to us.
34:50 Praise the Lord for that.
34:52 All right, let's go to number 15, number 15.
34:55 All right.
34:57 Number 15.
35:00 How will the harlot of Revelation meet its end?
35:09 I describe,
35:10 I use the word it's
35:12 because it's not an actual woman,
35:14 it's not an actual woman but a system,
35:16 and the answer is found in Revelation 17:16-17.
35:21 How will the harlot of Revelation
35:24 meet its end?
35:28 It may seem like we're done Revelation Chapter 17,
35:31 but there is a twist coming up here in just a moment.
35:34 So hold on, buckle down, here it is,
35:37 the answer is Revelation 17:16 and 17,
35:43 here are the answers,"
35:45 And the ten horns which you saw on the beast,
35:50 these will hate the harlot,
35:53 make her desolate and naked,
35:56 eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
36:01 For God," the next verse,
36:04 "For God has put it
36:06 into their hearts to fulfill his purpose,
36:10 to be of one mind,
36:12 and to give their kingdom to the beast,
36:15 until the words of God are fulfilled."
36:19 I don't even know if you know what you just read.
36:22 This is huge, this is like a...
36:24 This is like a setup.
36:27 I don't know if got it, did you catch that?
36:29 The very ones that initially agree with the beast
36:34 is the very ones that turn on that system
36:38 and now begins to orchestrate its demise.
36:41 The very ones that look to the system
36:44 to create a coalition are the very ones
36:46 that will go against it
36:48 when it is revealed for what it really is.
36:51 God is gonna reveal the system.
36:52 Revelation 18 is huge
36:55 when it comes to the revealing of the system,
36:57 but the Bible makes it clear,
36:59 let's go and put the answer there in Revelation Chapter,
37:01 and I think this is question number what?
37:03 Fifteen. Question number 15.
37:04 How will the harlot of Revelation
37:06 meet its end?
37:17 Let's look at that, the ten horns which you saw,
37:20 the ten horns,
37:21 the kings that unite with her will bring her down,
37:26 the ten horns which you saw on the beast,
37:30 these will hate the harlot.
37:33 Now, for right now, they're together.
37:35 This is huge, that's why I said,
37:37 "I don't know if you just know what you read,"
37:38 because a moment ago,
37:40 the woman was sitting on a beast
37:41 with seven heads and ten horns.
37:43 She was riding around on her spiritual motorcade,
37:47 she had all the support of the beast
37:49 with seven heads and ten horns
37:50 but all of a sudden,
37:51 the reason why it's such a turn is look at the next verse.
37:55 Look at, what does it say, for God in verse 17,
37:58 "For God has put it," where?
38:01 "Into their hearts to fulfill His purpose."
38:05 That's an inside job.
38:07 God's gonna say, "Okay,
38:09 this system of Babylon is going to think
38:11 that it's at his supreme level of success."
38:14 And the very ones that give it political and spiritual support
38:19 are gonna be the very ones
38:21 when it is revealed for what it is,"
38:22 and that's where Revelation 18 is gonna come in.
38:24 We're gonna see how that's gonna happen.
38:26 I'm not gonna run ahead of myself
38:27 because Revelation 18 is another picture of Babylon.
38:31 We're gonna see in detail
38:32 what exactly happens for those who are giving her support
38:37 to all of a sudden back off and then create,
38:40 and then cause her to be destroyed.
38:42 What it actually means, in essence,
38:45 it's not just they'll be involved
38:46 in her destruction but more specifically,
38:49 they're gonna withdraw their support.
38:52 That's really what's gonna happen.
38:53 They gonna back away from the woman.
38:55 They gonna say, "Wait a minute, this is not,
38:59 this is other than what we thought it was."
39:02 And you'll see in just a moment where we head with this
39:04 because right now,
39:07 I wanna be kind but I have to,
39:09 I have to insert something in here.
39:11 Right now there are political and religious powers
39:13 that have power over kings and leaders of the earth.
39:17 The Roman Catholic hierarchy has power,
39:21 both political and religious in most corners of the earth.
39:27 It's amazing that in America,
39:28 I think its maybe later this year
39:30 or I'm not exactly sure,
39:31 maybe later this year or next year,
39:33 this year,
39:34 where there's gonna be for the very first time
39:35 in the history of the United States,
39:37 the Vatican leader is gonna be speaking
39:39 at the United Nations.
39:42 Speaking to who?
39:43 Nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.
39:48 So this Babylonian system has a head,
39:51 but it's not by itself,
39:53 and what we gonna find in just a moment here
39:55 as we continue in the lesson study,
39:57 is not only does he get the support of the kings
40:00 of the earth and of the whole world
40:01 and the people of the earth because right now,
40:04 with this present leader in Rome and I wanna go ahead,
40:06 I wanna go ahead
40:07 and modify this by simply saying,
40:09 if I were to just point,
40:11 if I were just to point to Roman Catholicism,
40:13 I would be endorsing
40:14 every other religion of the world.
40:16 But what you'll discover in this study is any system
40:19 that is not built on the truth of God's Word
40:23 may not be at the head of the system
40:25 but is a part of the system.
40:27 I told you moment ago
40:28 that the woman in Revelation 12:17,
40:31 she's the woman and the devil is not only going after her
40:35 but also the remnant of her seed,
40:37 her children.
40:38 This woman also is not by herself,
40:40 she has also support.
40:43 Don't wanna go ahead of myself,
40:44 but you'll see it in just a moment.
40:46 Suffice to say, what am I saying.
40:48 There are movements around the world
40:50 that through the Dark Ages,
40:52 have come into prominence,
40:54 have come into, have risen into power,
40:57 both politically and religiously,
40:59 and many of the things that they teach and believe
41:01 have come out of a corrupt system
41:04 described in the Bible as Spiritual Babylon.
41:09 Pause right there and keep that taught
41:10 in your mind as we go on.
41:12 Let's go to the very next question.
41:14 Number what?
41:15 Number 16, number 16.
41:18 This is one of those broadcast
41:20 that you'll have to rewind later on and go back
41:22 so it could soak in because I'll tell you,
41:25 it is so concentrated
41:27 that you don't get it on the first time around.
41:29 Not everyone, all right?
41:31 Here's the question for number 16.
41:33 Who does the Bible tell us the harlot woman is?
41:42 Revelation 17:18.
41:46 Revelation 17:18,
41:51 all right.
41:53 Okay.
41:55 Wow!
41:56 Some viewers, some of you,
41:57 all of sudden your eyes are gonna come
41:59 at a such sharp focus.
42:00 By the way this program is called A Sharper Focus.
42:03 We 're taking you gradually, gradually,
42:05 so your camera lenses are getting
42:06 more and more and more focus
42:08 and it's gonna get to the place
42:10 where I don't even have to tell you the answer
42:12 because you're gonna say,
42:13 I got it, I got it, it clicks.
42:16 Revelation 17:18, here's where the answer is.
42:19 Are you ready?
42:21 Here we go.
42:22 "The woman whom you saw
42:24 is that great," what?
42:27 "City which reigns over the kings of the earth."
42:33 Now, can it be any clearer?
42:36 Can I get an amen somewhere?
42:37 Amen.
42:39 Can the Bible be any clearer?
42:42 What city reigns over
42:47 the kings of the earth?
42:49 It is as clear as the nose on my face,
42:52 well in my case, the ears on the head,
42:54 okay, 'cause that's even clearer
42:56 than the nose on my face.
42:58 The city of, the Vatican City,
43:00 when you follow the history of Vatican City,
43:03 it does not have its roots in anything Christian.
43:06 It was a pagan center and all those images now
43:10 that they contribute to Mary and baby Jesus
43:12 were Mithra and Tammuz,
43:15 all these false Greek gods and pagan gods,
43:21 It's the pantheon,
43:23 the whole shape of that is symbolizing
43:26 the symbol of the sun.
43:27 It's a system of corrupt worship,
43:30 and the kings of the earth and of the whole world,
43:33 look at that great city as a place that has authority
43:37 and power unlike any other city in the world.
43:40 You know, as a matter of fact, when certain events occur,
43:44 you never see it on television
43:45 when they are choosing another Baptist leader.
43:47 Have you ever see that?
43:48 Wherein Southern Baptist Convention
43:50 to see whose gonna be the next leader
43:52 of the Southern Baptist Convention.
43:53 Does it ever make the news?
43:55 No.
43:56 The next, Pentecostal leader,
43:58 we're gonna see who's gonna be the next president
44:00 of the Pentecostal assemblies of God.
44:03 Never makes the news.
44:05 But if Rome, but if a feather moves in Rome,
44:08 we're going to,
44:09 we're breaking our news right now,
44:11 we're going to Vatican City.
44:17 And I tell you there is no adoration,
44:18 no place on earth where people have greater adoration,
44:22 and some people have expressed that it's like being
44:24 in the presence of God Himself.
44:27 I'll tell you, I am trying to hold back my horses
44:30 but you keep, you keep tuning in,
44:32 you'll see that we are gonna get
44:34 to the place on this program
44:35 where it has to be sharp,
44:37 it has to be clear because the message of Babylon
44:41 as we get into Revelation 18,
44:42 we talked about that some earlier,
44:44 the message of Revelation is,
44:46 "Come out of her," who?
44:48 "My people."
44:49 Now I say this as a young man whose predominant family
44:53 are members of the Roman Catholic Church,
44:55 but I'm gonna say this again, it's not just that,
44:59 that's the least of it,
45:00 it is not the people, it is the what?
45:03 System.
45:05 John 10:16 is the evidence I have.
45:07 John 10:16, Jesus says,
45:09 "Other sheep I have that are not of this fold."
45:12 So God's people are everywhere.
45:15 In every walk of life, in every denomination,
45:18 God has His people there.
45:20 What's the purpose of this message
45:21 God has sent to some of His people?
45:24 "If you are not where you're supposed to be,
45:25 I want you to get out of there."
45:27 And the message of Babylon is, "I'm gonna bring Babylon down,
45:30 but I'm gonna call you out before I bring it down."
45:33 Isn't that good news?
45:34 Yeah. That's the beauty of it.
45:36 God is not a hater of people,
45:38 He does not support darkness
45:41 and wherever darkness is and Satan reigns,
45:44 God wants His people out of that,
45:46 understand that clearly.
45:47 All right.
45:49 Let's go to question number 17.
45:51 So the answer is, number 16.
45:54 Who does the Bible tell us the harlot woman is?
45:57 That great city that reigns over the kings of the earth,
46:01 so much so...
46:03 Just look at the news, just put it in the internet,
46:06 the great city, greatest city on earth,
46:08 it'll pop up.
46:12 Nope more great influential, political,
46:15 religious center other than the Vatican City.
46:18 Okay number 17, here we are, number 17.
46:23 How does the Bible describe
46:25 the harlot as not being alone?
46:29 Get the "the" out of there.
46:31 You know I type very fast.
46:33 How does the Bible describe the harlot as not being alone?
46:37 She is not alone.
46:39 You may say, but pastor we did cover Revelation 17:5.
46:42 Yes, we did.
46:43 That was the over sweeping,
46:45 now we're gonna start pulling some components out
46:47 that we did not pull out the first time.
46:49 Revelation 17:5.
46:52 How does the Bible describe the harlot as not being alone?
46:57 Okay, look a Revelation17:5 and it says,
47:00 or reads as follows,
47:04 "On her forehead a name was written:"
47:10 Let's read this together,
47:12 "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT."
47:15 Together,
47:17 "THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
47:19 AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
47:22 How does the Bible describe the harlot is not being alone?
47:26 She is called the what?
47:28 The mother, the mother, another title, another title,
47:32 that connects itself to the Vatican.
47:34 The Vatican unashamedly refers to itself as the mother church.
47:39 That's unequivocal, undeniable, you can't even,
47:43 you can't even wash that away.
47:45 Read even The Convert's
47:47 Catechism of Catholic Doctrines,
47:49 the 1995 edition,
47:50 the recent one that was revised by the Pope John Paul II.
47:54 There is an entire section called the mother church,
47:57 undeniable but according to what the Bible says,
48:01 if you are mother,
48:02 that means you have what?
48:04 You got children and in this case,
48:07 since she is the mother of harlots,
48:10 there are other, there are other women that are,
48:13 there are other pockets of apostasy
48:16 in the system of Babylon.
48:18 There are other,
48:20 this is a very unpopular message by the way.
48:21 You're not gonna hear this at lot of places.
48:24 Tune to the television for the next five years
48:26 and see if you hear this any place else.
48:28 This is a message that's dying,
48:29 but I'm resurrecting Revelation.
48:31 Amen somebody?
48:32 Amen!
48:34 'Cause this is here for a reason,
48:35 so if somebody is gonna blow the trumpet,
48:37 you are in the right station,
48:38 this is where you gonna get it,
48:40 sharp and clear for the glory of God.
48:43 The mother has harlots,
48:45 so she's not just in the business of deception
48:49 by herself
48:50 but since she has harlot daughters,
48:53 wherever you go,
48:55 you'll find the same features that the mother has.
48:58 We're gonna talk about that,
49:00 not gonna cover tonight but we're gonna say,
49:02 "Well, how could you find these features."
49:04 And know that even though you're not in the head,
49:08 you gotta get away from the daughters too,
49:11 powerful context.
49:13 So let's go to verse, question number 18.
49:16 Look at how the Bible describes this.
49:18 Look at how the Bible describes this.
49:28 Number 18.
49:31 What condition does the Bible tell us
49:35 will exist in the last days?
49:38 And by the way, Isaiah, there's a motif in Isaiah.
49:42 The word motif means, there is a constant,
49:44 you know, last days, last days, last days,
49:47 last days throughout Isaiah
49:50 you'll find the motif of the last days.
49:53 Talking about taking away the gold and the jewels,
49:55 talking about what's gonna occur.
49:57 There's another condition the Bible describes
49:59 that will exist in the last days
50:01 and this is a very telling picture.
50:03 Isaiah Chapter 4 and look at this in verse 1,
50:08 the condition,
50:09 the condition of not just a mother but the daughters.
50:13 Here it is.
50:14 Are you ready for it?
50:16 Here we go, "And in that day," the Bible says, "seven women,"
50:20 how many women?
50:22 Seven.
50:23 "Seven women shall take hold of one man,"
50:26 how many men?
50:28 "One man, saying, 'We will eat our own food,"
50:33 King James Version says our own bread,
50:36 "and wear our own apparel,
50:39 only," that's all I want,
50:41 "only let us be called by your," what?
50:45 "Name,
50:46 to take away our reproach."
50:49 Now, there's something that Jesus said in Matthew 24.
50:52 Well, matter of fact, in the commandments,
50:54 "Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God," what?
50:59 "In vain."
51:01 What does that mean?
51:02 They just want His name.
51:03 And what does it mean to take His name in vain?
51:05 That means you name His name but that's all you want,
51:10 you have your own food, that means your own teachings,
51:13 you have your own righteousness,
51:15 that means your own apparel,
51:17 but all you want is the name, and let me broaden this today.
51:21 You gotta be asleep if you haven't seen
51:23 the impact on Christianity in these last days.
51:26 There are so many things termed Christian nowadays
51:28 that Christ is not connected to it at all.
51:30 Every now and then,
51:32 people send me videos and I'll tell you,
51:33 I've seen some of the most vulgar worship services,
51:36 some of the most profane worship services,
51:39 campaigned and supported by the pastors themselves.
51:43 People in church look sometimes worst
51:45 than in some of the clubs I used to be in the past.
51:48 The dancing, and the music,
51:49 and the messages that are straight
51:52 not from God's Word
51:54 but the thing I wanna temper all that by saying is,
51:56 the Lord looks
51:58 at all of that confusion and He says,"
52:01 I still have people in there that I need to get out."
52:03 Amen?
52:04 Amen!
52:06 He said, "I gotta get them out of there.
52:07 I've got people in there that love me,
52:11 that right now they haven't seen
52:14 what I want to show them."
52:16 That's why this message is so vitally important.
52:18 Do you know what?
52:19 Say it again.
52:21 Come out of her.
52:22 Yeah, "Come out of her, My people," Revelation 18:4,
52:24 "Come out of her, My people."
52:26 If that was not included in the Bible,
52:29 it would almost appear as though the Lord wanted
52:31 to destroy people no matter where they were,
52:33 but He's in essence saying," Oh, I can't do that,
52:36 destruction is going to come
52:37 but I have to gather all my people to Me,"
52:40 and I am saying,"
52:41 Get out of there, get out of there,"
52:43 if it's not in harmony with the God's commandments.
52:44 And we're gonna put a list of things together,
52:46 so you'll know that where you are is not
52:48 where God wants you to be, right?
52:51 Okay, so the answer to that one is,
52:55 the seven women and the answer that you'll put down,
52:59 what condition does the Bible tell us
53:01 will exist in the last days?
53:03 All they want is the name Christian.
53:05 I want you to put that down,
53:07 all they want is the name Christian.
53:10 That's all that they want.
53:11 Just give me the name Christian.
53:13 And today there are things that are termed Christian
53:15 that have nothing to do with Christian,
53:17 Christianity at all.
53:18 I remember years ago,
53:19 I went to a Christian bookstore and I saw,
53:21 they had a rack in the Christian book store
53:23 and at the top of the rack,
53:24 there was a title, fiction, and I thought,
53:27 I thought to myself,
53:29 what does a Christian bookstore...
53:31 Why are they selling fiction?
53:33 And in the fiction section,
53:34 they have the Left Behind Series,
53:35 I knew that was fiction.
53:37 There's still more than 75 million,
53:39 it's like we can't get enough Left Behind
53:41 and they come up with another version
53:42 of Left Behind with Nicholas Cage,
53:44 trying to get people to go back
53:46 to resurrect this false doctrine.
53:47 So fiction,
53:49 why do we go to Christian bookstores
53:50 to buy fiction?
53:52 Another word for fiction is a lie.
53:55 Why do you go to a Christian bookstore
53:57 to buy stuff that's not true?
53:59 You know what?
54:00 You could read stuff that's not true for so long
54:02 that in your mind
54:03 you start connecting and adding truth to it,
54:05 and that's exactly
54:06 what has happened in Christianity.
54:07 When the movie Left Behind came out,
54:09 my wife and I lived in California.
54:11 It was like Christians all of a sudden found something
54:13 that was lost for thousands of years.
54:15 They went out in the streets
54:16 passing out fliers and holding up posters,
54:18 come and watch the movie Left Behind,
54:20 and the writers of the very book,
54:23 Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins on the very back
54:25 in tiny little four point letters wrote,
54:28 fiction, yet on the front,
54:30 Left Behind in big 28 point letters but in the back,
54:34 fiction, and it's been imbibed,
54:37 and we'll talk about that because one of the things
54:39 we said about Babylon is...
54:42 I don't wanna jump ahead of myself,
54:43 we're gonna get to that in just a moment.
54:45 I'll say this, if we don't get to it tonight,
54:46 I have to say this and even if we get to it,
54:48 I have to make the point later on.
54:50 One of the features of Babylon
54:52 is that the people that are there are drunk.
54:54 That's right.
54:56 Another word for drunk is intoxicated.
55:01 And I'll tell you,
55:02 a lot of things have happened
55:04 under the condition of intoxication
55:07 that the next morning,
55:08 you know, people used to say,
55:10 I used to be in the party world,
55:11 you know, a lot of my friends used to say,
55:13 "I don't remember what happened."
55:16 'Cause they are sober now.
55:18 And the Lord, this is a sobering message,
55:21 God wants His people to sober up,
55:24 so sometimes they give them
55:25 the strongest thing to get them sober,
55:28 to get that alcohol out of their system
55:30 and it counteracts the thing that has intoxicated them.
55:34 This message is entitled,
55:36 is designed by God to counteract
55:39 whatever that is causing His people to be intoxicated.
55:42 Go to Matthew 4:4,
55:44 let's try to get another one in before the time is up.
55:47 Matthew 4:4, let's break this down.
55:51 What is bread compared to in the Bible?
55:54 What is bread compared to in the Bible?
55:56 Here's the answer very quickly,
55:57 it's on the screen for those of you who are watching.
55:59 The Bible says, "It is written,
56:01 'Man shall not live by bread alone,
56:04 but by," what?
56:06 "Every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"
56:09 Bread is compared to what?
56:12 The Word of God.
56:14 Jesus is the living bread.
56:16 He rained down bread to feed the children of Israel
56:20 and bread is often a comparison to Jesus Himself.
56:24 He is the living bread.
56:26 He is the unleavened bread.
56:28 His body was broken,
56:29 the broken bread in the communion service.
56:31 But in this context,
56:33 bread is compared to the Word of God.
56:36 So if the woman says, we will eat our own bread,
56:41 meaning we will have our own teachings.
56:43 And there are many teachings
56:45 that you cannot find in the Bible.
56:48 I know I'm not gonna get to the next part,
56:49 so I got to just give you the story as we wind up.
56:52 Young man said to me as I met a pastor not too long ago,
56:55 we were talking about a particular topic
56:57 and I discovered he was a pastor,
56:59 and I introduced myself as a pastor
57:00 and we began to compare teachings
57:02 and I said, "Oh great, you believe that?
57:05 Oh wonderful, you believe that?
57:07 Oh great, you believe that?"
57:08 Then he brought up something
57:09 that was not supported by the Bible,
57:11 and then he said to me, he said,
57:13 when I gave him the texts in the Bible that clears it up.
57:16 He said, "But I know there is a verse in the Bible
57:20 that supports my view."
57:21 And I said to him, I met him for the first time,
57:24 I said to him, "Don't waste your time,
57:26 you're not gonna find it, it's not in there."
57:28 You know why?
57:30 The Bible does not support views
57:32 that are in opposition to each other.
57:34 Amen to that. Amen.
57:36 If the Bible says, "If you love Me,
57:37 keep My commandments,"
57:38 you're not gonna find any other text that says,
57:40 "You don't have to keep My commandments."
57:42 You're not gonna find it.
57:43 If the Bible says, "Remember the Sabbath day
57:45 to keep it holy."
57:46 You're not gonna find any other text that says,
57:47 "Forget about it."
57:49 You're not gonna find that.
57:50 So, friends, continue praying for the Lord
57:52 to give you direction, and definition, and understand,
57:54 what He wants you to understand
57:55 because if it doesn't makes sense,
57:57 keep studying God's Word because one day I know,
58:00 it will come into A Sharper Focus.
58:03 God bless you.


Home

Revised 2019-06-14