Mystery Babylon...
what's it all about?
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You'll find out
on His Voice Today.
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Welcome to
another His Voice Today
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with Steve Wohlberg.
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I heard a story
once about two masked men
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dressed in black
with sub-machine guns,
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they burst into a large church
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in the middle
of a church service
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went up to the front and
pointed their guns at the crowd
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and of course,
everybody was just terrified,
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and these men then
shouted out, and they said,
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"Whoever is willing
to die for Jesus Christ,
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stay in your seats,
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if you're not willing
to die... then leave,"
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there was a huge
shuffle and most people left
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and after they were gone,
these men took off their masks
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they sat down in the
pews, they took out Bibles,
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then they looked at
the Pastor and they said,
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"Pastor, we're ready
to hear a good sermon now,
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all the hypocrites are gone. "
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Remember that story
as we get into our topic,
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the title is called,
"Mystery Babylon... Part 1"
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In the book of
Revelation, chapter 14,
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we have three
power-packed messages
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represented by three angels
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giving messages
to the whole world
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before the
coming of Jesus Christ.
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In Revelation 14 verse 8,
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we have the
message of the 2nd angel
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and it's about Babylon.
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Verse 8 says,
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So here we have a
powerful text about Babylon,
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now there are a lot of
opinions and interpretations
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about who is
this Mystery Babylon
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that has fallen and
that has made the whole world
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drunk with her wine.
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Some people think that the
literal city of ancient Babylon
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will be rebuilt
in the sands of Iraq,
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other people think
that it's America...
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America is Babylon...
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others think that
it's the United Nations
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some think it's a
symbol of apostate Israel
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I've heard that interpretation
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there are others
that strongly believe
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that the Mystery
Babylon described in Revelation
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represents the
Roman Catholic Church.
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So there are a lot of opinions
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and we're going to try
to unravel this mystery
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and find out by
putting the clues together
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as to who this
Babylon really is,
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now one of the big clues is
found in Revelation chapter 17
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that tells us
that Mystery Babylon
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represents a woman.
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Babylon is a woman,
Revelation 17 describes
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all about this woman,
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we have a lot of
details about her,
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and one of the things
that we need to realize
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is that a woman...
specially in symbolic prophecy
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in the New
Testament, often represents
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those who profess to
be the people of God,
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professed followers of Jesus
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and it's significant in
Revelation 14 and in Chapter 17
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that this woman is
represented as a fallen woman,
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the Bible says again,
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"Babylon the great
is fallen, is fallen,"
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and the fact that she's a
woman and that she's fallen
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shows that at one
point she was upright,
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she was noble and
virtuous but then she fell
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and this is a
clue that will help us
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to put the pieces
together ultimately as to who
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this woman represents.
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One of the most
significant chapters
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dealing with the fall is
in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2
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so if you have a Bible,
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I'd like you to open with me
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and we'll take a look
and I'm going to attempt
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attempt to prove, as we
go along from text to text
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that the fall of
Babylon is actually connected
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to a falling
away from Jesus Christ
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inside of His church.
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That's what I will
show you from the Bible
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so, Second
Thessalonians chapter 2
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is probably one of Paul's
greatest apocalyptic chapters
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dealing with the
rise of Antichrist,
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dealing with things
that are going to happen
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before the return of Jesus.
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Second Thessalonians chapter
2 starting with verse one
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Paul talks about
the coming of Jesus
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and our
gathering together to Him.
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Verse 1, Paul said,
"Now, we beseech you Brethren,"
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he's writing to the
Thessalonians' Church
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"... by the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ
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and by our
gathering together to Him... "
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and so Paul is urging
the church to listen up,
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he's got very important counsel,
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he said, "Jesus is coming
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and we are going to
be gathered together
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to be with Jesus forever. "
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Now, if you go down to verse 3
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Paul tells us about
something very significant
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that is going to
happen inside the church
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before Jesus returns
to gather His people.
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In verse 3, Paul warned,
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referring to the
day when Jesus will come
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to gather his people,
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"that day shall not come except
there come a falling away"
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and the next
word there is "first"
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except there come a
falling away... first
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now, this is very significant,
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Paul is telling us
that before Jesus comes
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to gather His people,
something is going to happen
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there's going to
be something first...
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there's going to
be, what he calls...
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"a falling away"
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now, you don't have to be a
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Greek Scholar to
understand the Bible,
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but sometimes
knowing a little bit of Greek
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which underlies the English
that we read in our Bibles
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it's helpful and
this word, "falling away"
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these two words, "falling away"
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actually comes from
an original Greek word...
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and the word is
"Apostasia" Apostasia...
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which literally means apostasy
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which has to do
with a departure...
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and an apostasy... from Jesus
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and that is
going to be happening
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inside of the Christian Church,
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now this may be a
shocking concept to you
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probably... maybe you've
never thought about this,
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apostasy... within the professed
church of Jesus Christ,
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but this is actually a
major New Testament theme
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as we'll see...
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we're going to look up
a lot of different verses,
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Paul talked about it,
Peter talked about it,
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Jesus talked about it
in the book of Revelation
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Jude talked about it,
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and the New Testament
is loaded with Scriptures
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that warn God's
people about apostasy
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taking place inside the
professed church of Jesus Christ
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so let's look at
some of these verses
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let's go to the book of Acts,
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Acts chapter 20...
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during one of
his missionary tours,
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Paul did a lot of preaching,
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God changed his life
and he was out there,
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preaching...
raising up churches...
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talking about Jesus,
just about wherever he went
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and in Acts chapter 20,
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we find Paul meeting
with a group of Elders
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who came from
the church of Ephesus
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that had been established
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and in Acts chapter
20, it says in verse 17
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that... "From
Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus
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and he called for
the elders of the church"
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now remember this... these
are the Leaders of the church
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they came from Miletus,
they came to meet with Paul,
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verse 18 says, "When
they were come to him
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he said to them,"
so here's the context,
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Paul is talking to them...
the Leaders of the church,
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the Christian church in Ephesus
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and in verse 28,
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Paul said, "Take
heed, therefore...
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Verse 29... Paul said,
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So, again, here Paul
is talking to the Elders
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of the church of
Ephesus and he's warning them
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that wolves are
going to enter...
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and that word is...
"in" this is verse 29
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On verse 30 Paul said,
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In verse 31, he said,
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People cry for a lot
of reasons, babies cry,
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My wife and I have
two small children,
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well, they're getting bigger now
Abby is almost 5 and Seth is 8,
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but when they were little...
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even... just little
babies, obviously they cried
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and when people
get hurt, they cry...
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if you fall off
a bike, people cry,
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if you have a major
problem with a loved one,
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even something bigger
than that... like a divorce...
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you know, or,
probably the worst thing
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is to lose
someone that you love"
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someone that dies...
you know, people cry...
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and the tears flow
for many, many reasons
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in this world of sin,
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but Paul is telling us,
in Acts chapter 20 verse 31
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that he cried and
not just for one day
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but he said, he
cried for three years...
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three years... and his tears
were because of what he saw
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was going to be happening
inside of the church of Jesus.
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He said, "For three years,
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I ceased not to warn everyone
night and day with tears. "
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Paul had a major
burden about this subject
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because he saw that
something was going to happen
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inside the
church of Jesus Christ.
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There are many other
verses that we can look at.
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Let's just take a
look at a few more,
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1st Timothy chapter 4 verse
1, Paul wrote to young Timothy
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he was a young pastor and
Paul wrote that the Spirit
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they'll be in
the faith for a while
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but then they
will depart from it
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and they will give
heed to seducing spirits
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and doctrines of devils.
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So there's going to be a detour
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that many, who
start out following Jesus,
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they are in the faith
but then they depart from it
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and they start listening
to the doctrines of the devil
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and to seducing spirits
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and they are
suddenly and slowly led away
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from Jesus Christ,
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from His love
and from His gospel.
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Paul warned about the same
thing in 2nd Timothy chapter 4,
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he talked about the
day when Jesus would come
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to judge the quick and the
dead, the living and the dead,
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verse 2, here, Paul urged
Timothy to preach the Word
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this was his counsel to
all ministers and pastors
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and church leaders to
preach the Word of God
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not the traditions of men
and then in verse 3, he said,
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itchy ears...
it's like a disease,
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"itching ear disease,"
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it's not a real
disease of the ear
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but it's a spiritual disease
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that leads
people to have an itch
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for something new,
something different,
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that really is a
sound, according to the Bible,
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and Paul knew that
this was going to happen
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even right inside the
church of Jesus Christ
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and so he warned young
Timothy, he warns Pastors,
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and Church
Leaders, Bible Workers,
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Bible Instructors, to
follow the Word of God
00:12:06.29\00:12:08.79
to preach the Word,
to stick with Scripture
00:12:08.82\00:12:11.26
and not to be turned away,
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just like in 2nd
Thessalonians 2 verse 3,
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Paul talked
about a "falling away"
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in Acts chapter 20,
00:12:18.43\00:12:20.10
he talked about the
wolves that would come
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and that would turn
away the disciples...
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so they go after
them... instead of after Jesus
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and here he talks about how
people will turn away their ears
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from the truth and they
will be turned to fables
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so all of these verses,
basically, say the same thing,
00:12:34.78\00:12:37.59
and there are others,
just to prove my point
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let's look at a few more,
2nd Peter chapter 2 verse 1
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and now it's not
Paul but now it's Peter
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and in verse 1 Peter said,
00:12:47.90\00:12:49.96
Verse 2 says that,
00:13:04.88\00:13:09.12
so, many... Peter
said, would be led astray
00:13:09.15\00:13:12.59
by false teachers
that come right among you,
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among the professed
believers of Jesus Christ.
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Jude warned
about the same thing.
00:13:18.99\00:13:22.10
Jude is the last
book of the New Testament
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right before Revelation,
which is really the last book
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but it's the book
before the last book,
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and Jude... only has one chapter
and in verse 3, Jude wrote,
00:13:28.90\00:13:35.64
Verse 4:
00:13:49.49\00:13:54.20
So, here Jude is
doing the same thing,
00:14:06.88\00:14:09.24
he said that there
were certain deceivers
00:14:09.28\00:14:11.45
who were coming right in
among the early believers
00:14:11.48\00:14:15.85
and Jude urged
them and warned them,
00:14:15.88\00:14:18.35
he said, "Hold on
to the original faith
00:14:18.42\00:14:20.82
that was once and for
all given to the saints"
00:14:20.86\00:14:24.29
don't let these seducers
lead you away from Jesus.
00:14:24.33\00:14:27.73
Now, let's go to
the book of Revelation.
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The last book of the Bible
00:14:31.33\00:14:32.90
and we're going to
discover some amazing things.
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In Revelation Chapter 1,
we find John having a vision
00:14:35.20\00:14:42.54
on the Island of
Patmos, most scholars believe
00:14:42.58\00:14:45.45
that the book of
Revelation was written,
00:14:45.48\00:14:47.75
somewhere around 96 A.D.
00:14:47.78\00:14:50.09
and John was the last
living follower of Jesus Christ
00:14:50.12\00:14:54.12
all the others had died,
00:14:54.16\00:14:55.49
the Roman Empire
tried to kill John
00:14:55.52\00:14:58.49
because he was such
a faithful preacher,
00:14:58.53\00:15:00.83
there's a tradition
that the Emperor of Rome
00:15:00.86\00:15:04.13
threw him into a
vat of boiling oil,
00:15:04.17\00:15:07.20
but he just popped up,
00:15:07.24\00:15:08.80
just like Daniel
in the lions' den,
00:15:08.84\00:15:11.17
the lions' mouths were
shut and he wasn't hurt
00:15:11.21\00:15:14.24
and the same thing with John,
00:15:14.28\00:15:15.64
God protected him and so
the the Romans couldn't kill him
00:15:15.68\00:15:18.51
so they banished
him to an island...
00:15:18.55\00:15:20.35
called the island of Patmos...
and it was on that island,
00:15:20.38\00:15:23.82
as old man... that John
received the book of Revelation
00:15:23.85\00:15:27.66
in chapter 1 verse
12 John's vision begins
00:15:27.69\00:15:32.09
and he turns around and he
sees seven golden candlesticks
00:15:32.13\00:15:38.43
and verse 13 says,
00:15:38.47\00:15:39.83
and this was Jesus Himself
00:15:43.91\00:15:45.24
and Jesus was walking in
the midst of these candlesticks
00:15:45.27\00:15:48.11
and this is when John saw Him
00:15:48.14\00:15:51.35
and then Jesus
began to speak to John
00:15:51.38\00:15:54.02
and to explain the mystery
of the seven candlesticks
00:15:54.08\00:15:57.42
and the seven stars
that were in His hand
00:15:57.49\00:15:59.25
and then he starts to
explain what this is all about.
00:15:59.32\00:16:01.92
In verse 20 of
Revelation chapter 1,
00:16:01.96\00:16:06.03
Jesus explains that
the seven candlesticks
00:16:06.06\00:16:09.60
which you saw are
the seven churches
00:16:09.63\00:16:13.70
these are seven churches,
00:16:13.74\00:16:15.40
there's Ephesus,
Smyrna, Pergamos,
00:16:15.44\00:16:17.51
and it goes on explaining
what these seven churches are.
00:16:17.57\00:16:22.24
The first church of the seven
was a church called Ephesus
00:16:22.28\00:16:26.68
and in chapter 2, Jesus
begins to give a message
00:16:26.72\00:16:31.72
that He tells John to write down
to this Ephesian church now,
00:16:31.75\00:16:36.76
take a look at this,
this is very important.
00:16:36.79\00:16:39.36
In verse 1, "To the
church of Ephesus write:"
00:16:39.39\00:16:41.96
and then Jesus
begins to give counsel,
00:16:42.00\00:16:44.27
so here Jesus is
talking to the first church,
00:17:02.52\00:17:05.52
the Ephesus
Church and He said that
00:17:05.55\00:17:07.62
they were doing a
lot of good things
00:17:07.66\00:17:09.62
and that there were people
that had come in among them
00:17:09.69\00:17:11.93
that claimed to be apostles
of Jesus but they weren't,
00:17:11.96\00:17:14.16
they were false apostles
00:17:14.20\00:17:15.53
and they were able to
detect some of these apostles
00:17:15.56\00:17:18.67
and found them liars.
00:17:18.70\00:17:20.17
Verse 3 says, "You have
borne, you have had patience,
00:17:20.20\00:17:22.24
and for my name's sake
00:17:22.27\00:17:23.61
you have laboured and
you have not fainted... "
00:17:23.64\00:17:25.24
They were doing good for a
while... but then in verse 4,
00:17:25.27\00:17:29.88
Jesus becomes very
pointed and he said,
00:17:29.91\00:17:32.81
he said, "Nevertheless I
have somewhat against you
00:17:32.85\00:17:37.15
because you have left...
you have left your first love. "
00:17:37.19\00:17:42.16
Left your first love...
00:17:42.19\00:17:44.19
just like Judas who
was a follower of Jesus,
00:17:44.23\00:17:49.26
but then he apostatized,
he departed from Christ
00:17:49.30\00:17:53.57
and he ultimately
betrayed Him with a kiss
00:17:53.64\00:17:55.30
and Jesus said that many
inside the church of Ephesus
00:17:55.37\00:17:59.04
were losing their
first love for Him
00:17:59.07\00:18:01.81
and then in verse 5,
00:18:01.84\00:18:03.35
He said, "Remember therefore
from where you have fallen;"
00:18:03.38\00:18:07.02
notice that word "fallen"
00:18:07.05\00:18:08.55
"and repent and
do the first works;
00:18:08.58\00:18:10.79
or else I will
come to you quickly
00:18:10.85\00:18:12.69
and I will
remove your candlestick
00:18:12.75\00:18:15.29
out of its place-
unless you repent. "
00:18:15.32\00:18:17.79
So here's a problem that's
going on in the early church
00:18:17.83\00:18:21.73
of Ephesus... the believers,
originally, they loved Jesus,
00:18:21.76\00:18:25.63
they loved Him
with all their hearts,
00:18:25.67\00:18:27.44
they followed Him, they
tested the false apostles,
00:18:27.47\00:18:29.84
they found them liars,
they did a lot of good things,
00:18:29.87\00:18:32.17
they helped spread the gospel
but a problem started developing
00:18:32.21\00:18:36.11
and little by little,
step by step... slowly...
00:18:36.14\00:18:39.95
they started losing
their love for Jesus...
00:18:39.98\00:18:43.72
it's a little
bit like a marriage,
00:18:43.75\00:18:45.35
now people get
married and they're excited,
00:18:45.42\00:18:47.32
they say, "I do," they
commit their own lives,
00:18:47.36\00:18:49.19
they have their honeymoon
and everybody is so happy,
00:18:49.22\00:18:51.39
and they hope that they'll
live happily forever after,
00:18:51.43\00:18:53.60
but as time goes on,
character defects come out
00:18:53.63\00:18:59.03
and maybe they have kids
00:18:59.07\00:19:01.67
and the kids become a real trial
00:19:01.70\00:19:03.54
and who knows what happens,
all kinds of things happen
00:19:03.57\00:19:05.44
it may be another person,
another man or another woman
00:19:05.47\00:19:08.48
who works his
way into their lives
00:19:08.54\00:19:12.11
or the lives of one of them,
00:19:12.15\00:19:13.48
and step by step the
husband or the wife loses
00:19:13.52\00:19:18.09
his first love for his spouse,
she loses her love for him,
00:19:18.12\00:19:23.09
he loses his love
for her, and they fall,
00:19:23.12\00:19:27.66
they fall away from their vows
00:19:27.70\00:19:29.86
and this is what
Jesus was warning about
00:19:29.90\00:19:33.34
and it was happening right there
00:19:33.37\00:19:36.40
among the professed
followers of Jesus Christ
00:19:36.44\00:19:39.34
that's very clear,
again, I'll read it,
00:19:39.37\00:19:42.11
"Nevertheless, I
have somewhat against you,
00:19:42.14\00:19:44.88
because you have
left your first love,
00:19:44.91\00:19:47.62
remember therefore,
00:19:47.65\00:19:49.22
from where you have fallen
00:19:49.25\00:19:51.22
and repent and
do the first works.
00:19:51.25\00:19:55.66
It reminds me of heart disease,
00:19:55.69\00:20:00.06
heart disease is one
of the biggest killers,
00:20:00.10\00:20:03.67
in fact, it's the
number one killer,
00:20:03.70\00:20:05.27
in developed societies,
00:20:05.30\00:20:06.74
what's happened...
00:20:06.77\00:20:08.17
I think a lot of
it has to do with
00:20:08.20\00:20:09.54
just all the garbage that people
are eating, the junk food,
00:20:09.57\00:20:11.84
too much fat,
too much cholesterol,
00:20:11.87\00:20:13.88
and these fat cholesterol
eventually start to clog
00:20:13.91\00:20:18.81
the coronary arteries
that supply blood to the heart
00:20:18.85\00:20:23.69
and as the walls thicken,
cardiovascular disease increases
00:20:23.72\00:20:29.79
and blood
circulation is lessened
00:20:29.82\00:20:33.86
the amount of oxygen getting
to all the cells of the body
00:20:33.90\00:20:36.63
is cut down and little by little
00:20:36.67\00:20:40.07
the person develops a
very dangerous condition
00:20:40.10\00:20:43.64
which could lead to
a fatal heart attack.
00:20:43.67\00:20:46.41
And in the light of what
we've read in the book of Acts,
00:20:46.44\00:20:52.35
First Timothy, second
Timothy, First Peter 2:1,
00:20:52.38\00:20:56.69
Jude verses 3 and 4,
and the book of Revelation,
00:20:56.72\00:21:00.69
Jesus' message to
the church of Ephesus,
00:21:00.72\00:21:03.36
it's pretty clear that Jesus and
the New Testament were warning
00:21:03.39\00:21:08.20
that as the train of the
church was going down the track
00:21:08.23\00:21:14.47
of church history, that
very, very serious problems
00:21:14.50\00:21:19.11
were developing... not
outside of Christianity,
00:21:19.14\00:21:21.24
not out there,
00:21:21.31\00:21:22.64
but inside of the
church of Jesus Christ,
00:21:22.68\00:21:25.61
it's like heart disease, a
heart condition was developing
00:21:25.65\00:21:28.42
a couple of arteries
were getting clogged,
00:21:28.45\00:21:31.15
and the believers were
losing their first love
00:21:31.19\00:21:33.25
and they were falling away,
00:21:33.29\00:21:34.62
falling away from
the Lord, let me clarify,
00:21:34.66\00:21:37.53
that the New
Testament is also clear
00:21:37.56\00:21:39.59
that the true
Christ of Jesus Christ
00:21:39.66\00:21:41.66
is going to weather the storm,
00:21:41.70\00:21:43.03
that no matter what
happens inside the church,
00:21:43.06\00:21:45.37
God is always
going to have a people
00:21:45.40\00:21:46.74
that the gates of hell cannot
prevail against that church.
00:21:46.77\00:21:51.37
But in the light of prophecy,
00:21:51.41\00:21:53.48
in the light of
all these verses,
00:21:53.51\00:21:54.84
it's pretty clear that
something was going to happen
00:21:54.88\00:21:58.51
very insidious
and very dangerous
00:21:58.55\00:22:00.18
inside the Christian church and
this was described as a fall,
00:22:00.22\00:22:05.69
Jesus said to the
church in Ephesus...
00:22:05.72\00:22:08.52
He said, "Remember,
from where you have fallen
00:22:08.56\00:22:10.66
and repent and come back"
00:22:10.69\00:22:12.29
as you keep reading
the book of Revelation,
00:22:12.33\00:22:15.06
you go on from chapter 2 to 3
00:22:15.13\00:22:18.97
and you keep
reading step by step,
00:22:19.00\00:22:22.00
eventually, you
get to chapter 14
00:22:22.04\00:22:24.91
and to chapter 17
00:22:24.94\00:22:30.35
and these chapters describe
the rise of a mysterious woman
00:22:30.38\00:22:37.59
called Babylon
00:22:37.62\00:22:39.15
and Revelation 17 says
her name is, "Mystery,"
00:22:39.19\00:22:43.93
17:5... "Mystery
Babylon the great
00:22:43.96\00:22:47.83
the mother of harlots and
abominations of the earth. "
00:22:47.86\00:22:52.47
Revelation 14 verse 8, we
have a message from an angel
00:22:52.50\00:22:57.11
and he says that
Babylon is fallen,
00:22:57.14\00:23:00.18
there's that word "fallen,"
the same word that we saw
00:23:00.24\00:23:03.11
in 2nd Thessalonians 2,
"there would be a falling away"
00:23:03.14\00:23:06.01
same word we see in Revelation
00:23:06.05\00:23:09.45
chapter 2... where the church...
people within the church,
00:23:09.48\00:23:12.92
have fallen away
from their first love
00:23:12.95\00:23:14.49
and need to
repent and come back,
00:23:14.52\00:23:15.86
and now we have
"Babylon is fallen, is fallen,
00:23:15.89\00:23:19.66
that great
city, because she... "
00:23:19.69\00:23:22.46
this woman, this professed...
00:23:22.50\00:23:24.20
claiming to be
a follower of God,
00:23:24.23\00:23:26.60
this professed
follower of Jesus,
00:23:26.63\00:23:28.97
"she has made all the nations
00:23:29.00\00:23:32.14
drink of the wine of the
wrath of her fornication. "
00:23:32.17\00:23:38.98
You know, we're going
to continue this subject
00:23:39.01\00:23:41.85
in Part 2 and as we do,
00:23:41.88\00:23:44.95
I'm going to get into more
details from Revelation 17,
00:23:44.99\00:23:48.56
there's actually at least a
dozen clues in Revelation 17
00:23:48.62\00:23:52.16
and we're going to put
together point by point
00:23:52.19\00:23:53.66
to actually identify this woman,
00:23:53.70\00:23:56.16
you'll need to
hold on to your seats
00:23:56.20\00:23:58.53
but you'll have to
come back or tune us in
00:23:58.57\00:24:00.87
when we get to our
Part 2 of this Program
00:24:00.90\00:24:03.20
because we're not
ready to do it now
00:24:03.24\00:24:04.61
we're just laying the foundation
00:24:04.64\00:24:06.81
but the
foundation is pretty clear,
00:24:06.84\00:24:08.94
the foundation of
Babylon, Mystery Babylon,
00:24:09.01\00:24:12.65
that a falling...
that she's a fallen woman
00:24:12.68\00:24:15.98
and that this is a
fall away from grace,
00:24:16.02\00:24:19.29
a fall away from God
which we find over and over
00:24:19.32\00:24:23.39
and over and
over and over again,
00:24:23.43\00:24:26.13
warned about...
in the New Testament.
00:24:26.16\00:24:28.80
Paul warned about it,
Peter warned about it,
00:24:28.83\00:24:31.63
Jude warned about it
00:24:31.67\00:24:33.10
and Jesus warned about
it in the book of Revelation
00:24:33.13\00:24:36.27
and I will
prove to you in Part 2
00:24:36.30\00:24:39.04
as we identify
this mystery woman
00:24:39.07\00:24:41.71
that this is
definitely a fallen woman
00:24:41.74\00:24:44.85
that is connected to a
departure from Jesus Christ
00:24:44.88\00:24:49.78
inside the professed church
of our Lord and our Savior
00:24:49.82\00:24:54.69
so you don't want
to miss that meeting
00:24:54.72\00:24:56.79
but as we wind this
up... to wind this up,
00:24:56.83\00:24:58.86
we all need to
search our own hearts
00:24:58.89\00:25:02.33
and ask
ourselves, "Lord, is it me?"
00:25:02.36\00:25:05.43
We need to
search our hearts daily
00:25:05.47\00:25:08.50
and make that...
that we don't fall away
00:25:08.54\00:25:10.61
Paul warned that
there would be an apostasy
00:25:10.64\00:25:12.67
in the church
before Jesus comes...
00:25:12.71\00:25:14.54
before Jesus comes
to gather His people
00:25:14.58\00:25:16.34
and those that are
going to be gathered
00:25:16.38\00:25:18.58
are going to be
those that don't fall away,
00:25:18.61\00:25:20.72
those that are faithful,
those that stick to the Bible
00:25:20.78\00:25:23.62
that stick to Jesus,
that stick to the gospel,
00:25:23.69\00:25:25.95
that stick to the truth,
that don't have itching ears
00:25:25.99\00:25:28.52
and that don't let
themselves be turned away
00:25:28.59\00:25:31.09
from the truth to fables.
00:25:31.13\00:25:32.73
I heard a story once about
a father who had a little boy
00:25:32.76\00:25:36.23
and he told this
little boy to climb the ladder
00:25:36.26\00:25:38.70
and the little boy did, the
little boy was about five...
00:25:38.73\00:25:41.07
and as the boy
climbed the ladder,
00:25:41.10\00:25:42.94
that dad said to him... he said,
"Now jump, jump, I'll catch you"
00:25:42.97\00:25:46.34
and so the little boy
trusting his dad... he jumped,
00:25:46.37\00:25:49.04
and then the father backed up
00:25:49.11\00:25:50.81
and let the boy
hit the cement hard
00:25:50.85\00:25:53.58
and the kid started crying
and the father picked him up
00:25:53.62\00:25:56.08
and the boy was crying
00:25:56.12\00:25:57.65
and he looked at
the boy and he said,
00:25:57.69\00:25:59.35
"Son, let that be
a lesson to you...
00:25:59.39\00:26:00.96
never trust
anyone... never trust anyone. "
00:26:00.99\00:26:04.66
What a horrible dad,
and the good news is that
00:26:04.69\00:26:08.33
our heavenly
Father is not like that
00:26:08.36\00:26:09.90
that even if we do fall,
00:26:09.93\00:26:11.37
and even if we
do hit the cement,
00:26:11.40\00:26:12.90
and even if we have
problems and sins that...
00:26:12.93\00:26:15.74
Jesus will pick us
up and he'll catch us,
00:26:15.77\00:26:18.94
He'll hold on to us,
he'll get us back on track,
00:26:18.97\00:26:22.08
in Jude... in one of the
last verses in the book of Jude,
00:26:22.11\00:26:24.81
says that God can
keep us from falling
00:26:24.85\00:26:27.58
and get us ready for His coming.
00:26:27.62\00:26:29.55
Revelation chapter 8,
or, chapter 14 verse 8,
00:26:29.58\00:26:33.56
warns about Babylon the
great is fallen, is fallen
00:26:33.62\00:26:36.73
that great city,
because she made all nations
00:26:36.76\00:26:39.09
drink of the wine of the
wrath of her fornication.
00:26:39.13\00:26:42.06
By God's grace, let's
make sure that we don't fall,
00:26:42.10\00:26:45.03
let's be
faithful to Jesus Christ.
00:26:45.07\00:26:48.07
You have just
heard His voice today.
00:26:48.10\00:26:51.04
Will Christians soon disappear,
00:26:51.07\00:26:53.11
raptured before
seven years of tribulation
00:26:53.14\00:26:55.34
when the Antichrist
makes war against the Jews?
00:26:55.38\00:26:57.65
Jesus Christ gave the special
warning about the last days.
00:26:57.71\00:27:01.08
"Take heed that no one
deceives you!" Matthew 24:4.
00:27:01.12\00:27:04.39
Find out the truth about
these end-time prophecies
00:27:04.42\00:27:07.66
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00:27:07.69\00:27:09.62
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00:27:09.66\00:27:11.56
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00:27:11.59\00:27:15.16
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00:27:15.20\00:27:20.34
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00:27:20.37\00:27:23.37
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00:27:23.41\00:27:26.21
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