So we are now in
Revelation chapter 18
00:00:31.16\00:00:33.60
and again, I just
want to emphasize here
00:00:33.63\00:00:36.00
Revelation chapters 15, 16, 17,
18, 19 basically... and 20...
00:00:36.03\00:00:41.37
basically...
the judgments of God
00:00:41.40\00:00:42.84
and interspersed
in between all of this
00:00:42.87\00:00:46.78
is the reason why the
judgments of God are coming.
00:00:46.81\00:00:49.14
God reminds us why
He's judging Babylon...
00:00:49.18\00:00:52.95
why He's bringing
this all to an end
00:00:52.98\00:00:54.78
and it's really good news.
00:00:54.82\00:00:56.15
That last part of
Revelation seems like, oh man!
00:00:56.18\00:01:00.22
and all these
judgments and plagues
00:01:00.26\00:01:02.09
and all these
terrible things are happening
00:01:02.12\00:01:04.13
but interspersed in
here, you're going to find
00:01:04.16\00:01:06.43
some "Alleluia
Amen's... Praise the Lords... "
00:01:06.46\00:01:08.63
and I'm not talking about
us, I'm talking about heaven,
00:01:08.66\00:01:10.97
I'm talking about the
people who are watching this
00:01:11.00\00:01:13.07
the angels... and
they're just going,
00:01:13.10\00:01:14.80
"Yes, finally
it's coming to an end"
00:01:14.84\00:01:16.44
and we're going to
see this in Revelation 18,
00:01:16.47\00:01:18.57
we're going to see
God's character vindicated
00:01:18.61\00:01:20.64
when He brings an end to sin
and suffering and pain and evil.
00:01:20.68\00:01:23.98
His character is going
to be vindicated in that
00:01:24.01\00:01:26.01
because even now people say,
00:01:26.05\00:01:27.38
"Why doesn't God do
something about this?"
00:01:27.42\00:01:29.25
Well, He's about to...
00:01:29.28\00:01:30.62
and when God does
something about it
00:01:30.65\00:01:32.45
it's at end of
story... it's over.
00:01:32.49\00:01:34.29
I mean, the dragon
is going off the table,
00:01:34.32\00:01:36.42
the beast is
going off the table,
00:01:36.46\00:01:37.79
everyone's... everything
is going off the table...
00:01:37.83\00:01:39.29
and God takes...
He's cleaning up...
00:01:39.36\00:01:40.93
and that's really good news.
00:01:40.96\00:01:42.46
So, let's have a word of prayer,
00:01:42.50\00:01:44.37
Jason, would you
like to pray for us?
00:01:44.40\00:01:45.73
Sure, "Dear Heavenly Father,
we've covered so much material,
00:01:45.77\00:01:49.70
we ask that you
would send the Holy Spirit
00:01:49.74\00:01:52.47
to bring back to our remembrance
what we've studied in the past
00:01:52.51\00:01:55.61
what we've learned
and help us to retain
00:01:55.64\00:01:58.28
the new information
that we will be taking in
00:01:58.31\00:02:00.48
in this Program, in
Jesus' name we pray, amen. "
00:02:00.52\00:02:02.62
"Amen. "
00:02:02.65\00:02:04.32
So I'd like us to divide
Revelation 18 into two parts
00:02:04.35\00:02:08.09
the first part here
is going to be verses...
00:02:08.12\00:02:10.76
Yvonne, could you read for us
Revelation 18 verses 1 through 4
00:02:10.83\00:02:17.07
Sure, "After these
things I saw another angel
00:02:17.10\00:02:20.37
coming down from
heaven having great authority:
00:02:20.40\00:02:23.37
and the earth was
illuminated with his glory.
00:02:23.41\00:02:26.24
And he cried mightily
with a loud voice, saying,
00:02:26.27\00:02:29.04
Babylon the great
is fallen, is fallen,
00:02:29.08\00:02:31.58
and has become a
dwelling place of demons,
00:02:31.61\00:02:34.08
a prison for every foul spirit,
00:02:34.12\00:02:36.08
and a cage for every
unclean and hated bird.
00:02:36.12\00:02:39.05
For all the nations
have drunk of the wine
00:02:39.12\00:02:42.02
of the wrath of her fornication,
00:02:42.06\00:02:43.59
the kinds of the earth have
committed fornication with her
00:02:43.63\00:02:46.80
and the merchants of
the earth have become rich
00:02:46.86\00:02:49.26
through the
abundance of her luxury
00:02:49.30\00:02:50.93
and I heard another
voice from heaven saying,
00:02:50.97\00:02:53.44
Come out of her my people,
lest you share in her sins,
00:02:53.47\00:02:57.21
and lest you
receive of her plagues. "
00:02:57.24\00:02:59.41
All right, so this first
section... first four verses
00:02:59.44\00:03:04.05
are reminding us that God
has done everything He can
00:03:04.08\00:03:08.62
to reach out to Babylon,
00:03:08.65\00:03:10.75
He has lightened the
entire earth with His glory,
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now remember, in
previous chapters we've learned
00:03:13.46\00:03:16.02
that the whole world is
going to wonder after the beast
00:03:16.06\00:03:18.19
but that's not in a vacuum,
00:03:18.23\00:03:20.00
God hasn't just
stood back and said,
00:03:20.03\00:03:22.46
"Okay, go ahead, do that. "
00:03:22.50\00:03:23.83
No, He is lightening the
whole earth with His glory...
00:03:23.87\00:03:27.04
there's a battle
taking place here,
00:03:27.07\00:03:29.00
there's a conflict
between good and evil
00:03:29.04\00:03:31.34
and remember what
we read in John 1:9
00:03:31.37\00:03:33.64
that Jesus Christ is the light
00:03:33.68\00:03:35.74
that lights every man
that comes into the world
00:03:35.78\00:03:38.05
and in John
3:17, 18, 19, 20, 21...
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that this is the condemnation
00:03:41.02\00:03:43.85
that men love
darkness rather than light.
00:03:43.89\00:03:45.85
Light's come into the world
00:03:45.92\00:03:47.26
but men love
darkness rather than light
00:03:47.29\00:03:48.76
and so God honors...
00:03:48.79\00:03:50.53
the wrath of God
honors our choice,
00:03:50.56\00:03:53.09
He gives us up to that which we
persistently refuse to let go of
00:03:53.13\00:03:56.93
but He doesn't do it
without a struggle...
00:03:56.97\00:03:58.70
He doesn't do
it without a fight.
00:03:58.73\00:04:00.07
So, Revelation 18 is a
reminder, this verse...
00:04:00.10\00:04:02.64
"the lightening of the
earth with the glory of God"
00:04:02.67\00:04:05.47
doesn't fit in the context
of the close of probation,
00:04:05.51\00:04:08.11
it's not after the close of
probation that God does this...
00:04:08.14\00:04:10.11
it's before the close of
probation that God does this
00:04:10.15\00:04:12.18
it's during the
three angels' messages...
00:04:12.21\00:04:13.85
this is in fact... we
could call this, "the loud cry"
00:04:13.88\00:04:17.22
the three angels'
messages are just...
00:04:17.25\00:04:19.85
exploding into the whole world
00:04:19.89\00:04:22.59
and then in verse 4,
another really powerful point,
00:04:22.62\00:04:26.93
it says there that God
calls His people out of Babylon
00:04:26.96\00:04:31.23
Babylon has become the
habitation of devils...
00:04:31.27\00:04:33.67
the cage of every
unclean and hateful bird.
00:04:33.70\00:04:36.07
Not everyone knows that,
God actually has good people,
00:04:36.10\00:04:39.71
faithful
people... honest people...
00:04:39.74\00:04:41.58
in the confusion
of what Babylon is
00:04:41.61\00:04:43.41
and all the sins and iniquities
that are in Babylon...
00:04:43.45\00:04:46.38
these honest people don't
really perceive or understand it
00:04:46.41\00:04:49.18
and so God calls them out,
00:04:49.22\00:04:51.29
His people are everywhere
in all of this confusion...
00:04:51.32\00:04:53.89
in all of this evil and
sin but they're honest people
00:04:53.92\00:04:57.13
so just because we identify
Babylon as this false system...
00:04:57.19\00:05:00.40
this false
religious system and...
00:05:00.43\00:05:01.76
supported by
this... this other power
00:05:01.80\00:05:03.83
and the devil
working through it,
00:05:03.87\00:05:05.90
that's because the system
itself is misrepresenting God
00:05:05.93\00:05:09.84
and counterfeiting
the truth of the Bible
00:05:09.87\00:05:12.54
but it doesn't mean that people
in the System are bad people,
00:05:12.57\00:05:15.64
there are multitudes of people
00:05:15.68\00:05:18.65
within this System
that are good people,
00:05:18.71\00:05:20.68
so God says, "They're my people"
00:05:20.72\00:05:22.95
so God is dealing
here with institutions
00:05:22.98\00:05:26.32
not individuals
00:05:26.35\00:05:27.79
and those
individuals God loves...
00:05:27.82\00:05:29.39
of course He
loves all individuals
00:05:29.42\00:05:30.96
and He seeks to call them out.
00:05:30.99\00:05:33.06
Hmmm... hmmm... hmmm... hmmm.
00:05:33.09\00:05:34.43
So is this... this
happens... is this kind of a...
00:05:34.46\00:05:37.90
kind of a re-cap
before the plagues fall
00:05:37.93\00:05:42.90
because it says,
00:05:42.94\00:05:44.27
"Come out of her and
receive not of her plagues"
00:05:44.31\00:05:48.08
so the plagues
haven't fallen yet
00:05:48.14\00:05:49.88
so this is not a chronological
thing... this is more...
00:05:49.94\00:05:55.22
so it's not in
order, right, it's just...
00:05:55.25\00:05:58.79
Right, Revelation
18:1 to 4 does not belong
00:05:58.82\00:06:02.32
after the
plagues are poured out,
00:06:02.36\00:06:04.46
it actually goes back to before
the plagues are poured out
00:06:04.49\00:06:06.73
but what God is doing... the
reason why He puts it in here
00:06:06.76\00:06:09.13
is because God
is reminding us...
00:06:09.16\00:06:10.50
see, we've just gone
through some tremendous plagues,
00:06:10.53\00:06:12.50
really bad plagues and then we
see the judgment on the whore,
00:06:12.53\00:06:15.20
and God is reminding us,
00:06:15.27\00:06:16.60
"Hey, by-the-way, I
just want to remind you
00:06:16.64\00:06:18.51
I lightened the earth with my
glory before all this happened
00:06:18.54\00:06:21.31
and I called all my
people out of Babylon
00:06:21.34\00:06:23.38
before all this happened. "
00:06:23.41\00:06:24.75
See, He's bringing us back
to that... so that we can get
00:06:24.78\00:06:27.42
focused and understand what He
has done in trying to reach us.
00:06:27.45\00:06:31.35
Moses in the Old Testament
one time asked to see God.
00:06:31.39\00:06:38.83
Right.
00:06:38.89\00:06:40.23
He wanted to see His
glory. Hmmm... hmmm...
00:06:40.26\00:06:41.60
And the Lord said, "Okay, I'm
going to show you my glory... "
00:06:41.63\00:06:44.30
and you know what He does?
00:06:44.33\00:06:45.67
He hides him in
the cleft of the rock
00:06:45.70\00:06:48.07
and then He passes by
Him and proclaims His name.
00:06:48.10\00:06:52.44
Hmmm... Hmmm...
00:06:52.47\00:06:53.81
That is His
glory... Hmmm... hmmm...
00:06:53.84\00:06:56.21
The Lord... yeah,
the name of the Lord
00:06:56.24\00:06:58.61
I think it's Exodus 32,
00:06:58.65\00:07:02.35
Exodus 32, let's
just go there real quick,
00:07:02.38\00:07:04.52
Exodus 32
00:07:04.55\00:07:11.29
and let's see...
00:07:11.33\00:07:16.56
verse...
00:07:16.60\00:07:18.03
we're going to find it...
00:07:18.07\00:07:23.14
It's going past
here as far as...
00:07:23.17\00:07:27.34
Actually it might
be Exodus 33 or 34.
00:07:27.38\00:07:31.51
It's 34... 33 and
34... yup... 33...
00:07:31.55\00:07:37.25
Exodus 33 what? 33:18...
00:07:37.29\00:07:42.76
so let's go... can
you read that for me?
00:07:42.79\00:07:45.36
Sure, 33 verse 18,
00:07:45.39\00:07:48.63
"And he said, I beseech
thee, shew me thy glory. "
00:07:48.66\00:07:51.67
Okay, so he's asking
Him to show him His glory...
00:07:51.70\00:07:54.64
read on...
00:07:54.67\00:07:56.71
"And he said, I will make all
my goodness pass before thee,
00:07:56.74\00:08:00.98
and I will proclaim the
name of the LORD before thee;
00:08:01.01\00:08:03.38
and will be gracious to
whom I will be gracious,
00:08:03.41\00:08:06.31
and will shew mercy on
whom I will shew mercy. "
00:08:06.35\00:08:09.18
All right, then over
in Exodus 34 verse 5.
00:08:09.22\00:08:11.52
"And the Lord descended in the
cloud, and stood with him there,
00:08:11.55\00:08:15.62
and proclaimed
the name of the LORD."
00:08:15.66\00:08:17.69
Verse 6 and verse 7.
00:08:17.73\00:08:20.20
"And the LORD
passed by before him,
00:08:20.23\00:08:23.16
and proclaimed,
The LORD, The LORD God,
00:08:23.20\00:08:25.67
merciful and
gracious, longsuffering,
00:08:25.70\00:08:27.67
and abundant in
goodness and truth.
00:08:27.70\00:08:29.64
Keeping mercy for thousands,
00:08:29.67\00:08:31.54
forgiving iniquity
and transgression and sin,
00:08:31.57\00:08:34.98
and that will by no
means clear the guilty;
00:08:35.01\00:08:38.38
visiting the iniquity of
the fathers upon the children,
00:08:38.41\00:08:40.92
and upon the
children's children,
00:08:40.95\00:08:42.58
unto the third and to
the fourth generation. "
00:08:42.62\00:08:44.85
So He proclaims
His name as His glory.
00:08:44.89\00:08:47.56
We understand that the
name is symbolic of character,
00:08:47.59\00:08:52.63
okay, the final
message to go into the world
00:08:52.66\00:08:55.80
is a revelation of
the true character of God,
00:08:55.83\00:08:58.93
okay, the reason why
that's so important is because
00:08:58.97\00:09:01.97
Satan has been
doing all that he can
00:09:02.00\00:09:06.01
to distort the character of God
00:09:06.04\00:09:09.18
and it is this distortion
of the character of God
00:09:09.21\00:09:12.58
that has turned
people away from Him, right,
00:09:12.61\00:09:14.98
so, at the end of time...
00:09:15.02\00:09:16.89
that final message to
go into all the world is,
00:09:16.92\00:09:19.62
"this is who God really is"
00:09:19.65\00:09:22.96
and that can only be
seen through His people.
00:09:22.99\00:09:26.43
So when we talked
about previous studies
00:09:26.46\00:09:30.33
that we have to have
the character of Christ...
00:09:30.37\00:09:32.23
the faith of Jesus.
00:09:32.27\00:09:33.60
We have to
represent His character
00:09:33.64\00:09:36.84
because it's through
us that the world will see
00:09:36.87\00:09:40.74
who the Father really
is... who Christ really is...
00:09:40.78\00:09:44.61
so, this is the
message so that's why...
00:09:44.65\00:09:46.68
there are people in Babylon who
may not understand the doctrine
00:09:46.72\00:09:50.95
they're like... "Huh, man,
this doctrine doesn't make sense
00:09:50.99\00:09:55.12
but, I'm here anyway
and it's all that I know"
00:09:55.16\00:09:58.83
but God calls
them His people, why?
00:09:58.86\00:10:00.86
because they're living up
to the character of Christ,
00:10:00.90\00:10:04.17
they are reflecting the
character of Christ which...
00:10:04.20\00:10:09.07
it's a very sobering
point that you can know truth
00:10:09.10\00:10:13.94
and not have the
character of God...
00:10:13.98\00:10:16.38
Hmmm... Right...
00:10:16.41\00:10:17.75
Or you cannot know truth
00:10:17.78\00:10:19.88
and yet have
the character of God
00:10:19.91\00:10:22.12
and God says,
"Those are my people... "
00:10:22.18\00:10:25.15
they may not understand...
00:10:25.19\00:10:26.59
be able to put all
these things together
00:10:26.62\00:10:28.29
but you know what...
they reflect my character
00:10:28.32\00:10:31.36
longsuffering... merciful...
gracious... all these things
00:10:31.39\00:10:36.50
so this is what God is
doing at the end of time,
00:10:36.56\00:10:39.00
He's bringing
truth and mercy together
00:10:39.03\00:10:40.80
right, He's bringing
truth and character together
00:10:40.84\00:10:43.67
because He's bringing them
together into one final movement
00:10:43.71\00:10:47.61
those that keep
the commandments of God
00:10:47.64\00:10:49.31
and have the faith of Jesus...
00:10:49.34\00:10:51.51
that's the glory
that lightens the world.
00:10:51.55\00:10:53.45
I really like this verse because
this verse is so balanced
00:10:53.52\00:10:57.55
you've got
gracious, longsuffering
00:10:57.59\00:10:59.39
abundant in goodness and mercy
00:10:59.42\00:11:00.82
keeping mercy for thousands,
00:11:00.86\00:11:02.22
forgiving iniquity
and transgression and sin,
00:11:02.26\00:11:05.59
but will by no
means clear the guilty:
00:11:05.63\00:11:07.43
visiting the
iniquity of the fathers
00:11:07.46\00:11:09.46
upon the children, and
the children's children,
00:11:09.50\00:11:10.93
unto the third and
fourth generation...
00:11:10.97\00:11:12.30
in other words,
00:11:12.33\00:11:13.67
what we see in
Revelation 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
00:11:13.70\00:11:17.77
is described here
as God's character,
00:11:17.81\00:11:20.41
it's part of God's
character and that's why
00:11:20.44\00:11:22.88
when this
revelation takes place,
00:11:22.91\00:11:25.31
angels in heaven and
voices from heaven say,
00:11:25.35\00:11:28.32
"alleluia, praise God"
00:11:28.35\00:11:29.68
what you see taking
place in this verse is...
00:11:29.72\00:11:32.79
this word, "forgiving"
actually the word is "Nasa"
00:11:32.82\00:11:36.02
and it's used in
several places in the Bible
00:11:36.06\00:11:40.16
but one of the most
important, significant places
00:11:40.20\00:11:43.10
it's used is in Isaiah 53,
00:11:43.13\00:11:44.63
"All we like
sheep have gone astray;
00:11:44.67\00:11:46.97
we've turned every
one to our own way;
00:11:47.00\00:11:49.24
and the LORD has laid on
him the iniquity of us all... "
00:11:49.27\00:11:51.37
and then it says in verse 4,
"Surely he hath borne our griefs
00:11:51.41\00:11:55.78
and carried our sorrows... "
00:11:55.84\00:11:57.28
and that word, "borne" is "nasa"
00:11:57.31\00:12:00.18
here it's translated "forgiven"
00:12:00.22\00:12:02.78
and all through the Bible
it's translated, "forgive"
00:12:02.82\00:12:05.19
"to forgive... to
bear... to forgive... "
00:12:05.25\00:12:07.42
He's forgiven our... well,
whose sins has He forgiven?
00:12:07.46\00:12:10.29
all of us... "All we like... "
00:12:10.33\00:12:11.83
so when you go back
to Revelation chapter 18
00:12:11.86\00:12:14.16
just look at this verse...
this is really, really powerful,
00:12:14.20\00:12:16.80
this is the next
verse now in Revelation 18
00:12:16.83\00:12:19.50
that we haven't
read yet, it's verse 5...
00:12:19.53\00:12:21.57
Jason, can you read
that for us, verse 5?
00:12:21.60\00:12:23.54
Sure, "For her sins
have reached unto heaven,
00:12:23.57\00:12:25.87
and God hath
remembered her iniquities. "
00:12:25.91\00:12:27.88
He's done what
to her iniquities?
00:12:27.91\00:12:29.24
"Remembered... " He's what?
00:12:29.28\00:12:30.61
"Remembered... "
00:12:30.65\00:12:31.98
He's remembered them, why
does He say He's remembered?
00:12:32.01\00:12:33.75
Because up until this
point, He's forgotten them.
00:12:33.78\00:12:35.92
Hmmm...
00:12:35.95\00:12:37.29
Because Calvary paid the
price for the sins of Babylon,
00:12:37.32\00:12:39.82
Calvary paid the price
for the sins of all the world.
00:12:39.85\00:12:42.56
Jesus bore them...
00:12:42.59\00:12:44.03
and He bore them so
that we would have time
00:12:44.09\00:12:47.23
to see His love for
us and accept what He did
00:12:47.26\00:12:50.37
but those who don't accept that,
00:12:50.40\00:12:52.40
guess what? God
remembers them...
00:12:52.43\00:12:54.37
He remembers their sins, He
doesn't want to remember them
00:12:54.40\00:12:56.81
see, but we're
putting them in His face...
00:12:56.84\00:12:58.74
we're forcing
Him to remember them.
00:12:58.77\00:13:00.74
In 2nd
Corinthians chapter 5 it says
00:13:00.78\00:13:02.64
that when God
reconciled the world to himself,
00:13:02.71\00:13:05.35
He did it by not counting
their sins against them.
00:13:05.38\00:13:07.58
Hmmm...
00:13:07.62\00:13:08.95
That's how He did
it and then He says,
00:13:08.98\00:13:11.02
and He wants us
to become ambassadors
00:13:11.05\00:13:13.05
of that reconciliation
00:13:13.09\00:13:14.42
but what has Babylon become?
It has become a pariah...
00:13:14.46\00:13:17.83
it has become a
merchant of sins...
00:13:17.89\00:13:20.33
it is... it is... it is a System
00:13:20.36\00:13:22.73
that is augmenting
the sins of the world,
00:13:22.76\00:13:26.20
rather than
becoming an ambassador
00:13:26.23\00:13:28.34
and not holding
men's sins against it
00:13:28.37\00:13:30.41
it has been merchandizing
sin, merchandising sin,
00:13:30.44\00:13:33.27
I mean, when you
read the list here
00:13:33.31\00:13:35.54
and it's an incredible list
but when you read the list here,
00:13:35.58\00:13:37.85
I mean, one of the
verses that really gets me
00:13:37.88\00:13:40.68
it's from small to great but
it talks in verse 13 about...
00:13:40.72\00:13:45.09
that this System
has been merchandizing
00:13:45.15\00:13:49.66
the merchandise of cinnamon
and odours and ointments
00:13:49.69\00:13:52.46
and frankincense, and
wine, and oil and fine flour
00:13:52.49\00:13:55.20
and wheat... it
seems pretty innocent...
00:13:55.26\00:13:56.83
and beasts, and sheep,
and horses, and chariots,
00:13:56.87\00:13:58.67
and slaves, and souls of men.
00:13:58.70\00:14:00.94
Hmmm...
00:14:00.97\00:14:02.30
I mean, if you are
in any way indignant
00:14:02.34\00:14:04.31
about human trafficking
00:14:04.34\00:14:05.67
and the fact that there are
more slaves in the world today
00:14:05.71\00:14:08.08
than have ever been in history
00:14:08.11\00:14:09.44
and most of these
slaves are under the age of 18,
00:14:09.48\00:14:13.45
children, sex slaves and
being indentured servants,
00:14:13.52\00:14:17.62
we're talking probably about
millions... we don't even know
00:14:17.65\00:14:21.92
and even in
America... the I 5...
00:14:21.96\00:14:25.26
human trafficking on the I
5... from Canada down to Mexico,
00:14:25.29\00:14:28.90
it's just horrendous and
I live right off the I 5...
00:14:28.96\00:14:31.87
so this is happening
right in our backyard.
00:14:31.90\00:14:34.24
Is God upset about this?
00:14:34.27\00:14:36.10
Is He indignant about this?
00:14:36.14\00:14:37.87
See, people will
ask that question,
00:14:37.94\00:14:39.71
"Why doesn't God do
something about it?"
00:14:39.74\00:14:41.08
Let me tell
you... the reason why
00:14:41.11\00:14:42.44
God doesn't do
something about it now
00:14:42.48\00:14:44.51
is because, He gave
His Son to die for our sins
00:14:44.58\00:14:47.82
and He wants
everyone to be reconciled...
00:14:47.85\00:14:49.18
He wants everyone to be saved
00:14:49.22\00:14:50.55
because when God does
do something about it,
00:14:50.59\00:14:52.05
look out... look
out... Revelation 15,
00:14:52.09\00:14:55.49
look out... Revelation 16,
00:14:55.52\00:14:56.86
look out... Revelation
17, look out... Revelation 18,
00:14:56.89\00:14:58.96
when God does
something about it, look out...
00:14:58.99\00:15:00.90
so, right now, we
need to tell people
00:15:00.93\00:15:03.13
God is longsuffering
but we need to make sure
00:15:03.16\00:15:05.67
we don't exclude the fact
that He visits the iniquities
00:15:05.70\00:15:10.17
of the fathers upon the
children... in other words...
00:15:10.21\00:15:13.74
God is not going to pass
by sin and transgression,
00:15:13.78\00:15:17.25
He's not going to pass by
evil and pain and suffering,
00:15:17.31\00:15:19.45
He's going to do
something about it.
00:15:19.51\00:15:21.22
I think that's a
really important part
00:15:21.25\00:15:22.78
of the character of God.
00:15:22.85\00:15:24.19
I'm glad you clarified
that because I was going to ask
00:15:24.22\00:15:26.49
"visiting the
iniquities of the children"
00:15:26.52\00:15:29.29
so, it doesn't mean that the
children are held responsible
00:15:29.32\00:15:32.99
for the sins of
the fathers, does it?
00:15:33.03\00:15:34.66
No...
00:15:34.70\00:15:36.03
What is that?
00:15:36.06\00:15:37.40
What that means is... is that...
00:15:37.43\00:15:38.77
those sins are visited...
00:15:38.80\00:15:40.14
are passed on to
the next generation...
00:15:40.17\00:15:41.50
passed on to the next generation
00:15:41.54\00:15:42.87
and God is going
to visit those sins...
00:15:42.90\00:15:44.71
He's going to visit all the sins
00:15:44.74\00:15:46.07
all the way down through the
generations that are passed on
00:15:46.11\00:15:47.84
in other words... every single
human being gets the opportunity
00:15:47.91\00:15:52.11
to do differently
than he was taught...
00:15:52.15\00:15:54.42
or than he was raised to do.
00:15:54.45\00:15:55.78
I am doing
differently than I was raised,
00:15:55.82\00:15:59.09
I was raised in an
environment of alcoholism
00:15:59.15\00:16:02.92
so my grandmother,
my mom, my dad, my aunt
00:16:02.96\00:16:06.39
my grandfather
owned a pub in Ireland
00:16:06.43\00:16:09.80
so that all comes down to me
00:16:09.86\00:16:11.63
and as a young
man, I was an alcoholic.
00:16:11.67\00:16:13.70
I was drinking so much
00:16:13.74\00:16:15.54
that I was having
blackouts at the age of 19
00:16:15.57\00:16:17.31
and that's where you drink
00:16:17.34\00:16:18.67
and you can't remember
what you did the night before
00:16:18.71\00:16:21.18
but when Jesus Christ
became my personal Savior,
00:16:21.21\00:16:23.71
I rejected that inheritance,
00:16:23.75\00:16:25.45
I rejected it, I
turned away from it.
00:16:25.48\00:16:27.38
so the iniquity of
my previous generations
00:16:27.42\00:16:30.29
I rejected it, it
wasn't passed on to me,
00:16:30.32\00:16:32.72
and it was passed on
to me but I said, "No"
00:16:32.75\00:16:35.09
so there's no
"iniquity" to visit...
00:16:35.12\00:16:37.09
if you see what I'm saying.
00:16:37.13\00:16:38.46
Oh... got you.
00:16:38.49\00:16:39.83
God is saying, basically,
00:16:39.86\00:16:41.20
"If you would have
continued with alcoholism
00:16:41.23\00:16:42.56
and if you continued
doing the things you did
00:16:42.60\00:16:43.93
under the
influence of alcohol...
00:16:43.97\00:16:45.30
you would have reaped
the consequence of that,
00:16:45.33\00:16:46.70
I'm not going to ignore
the consequence of that...
00:16:46.74\00:16:48.77
I've given you opportunity,
I'm drawing you to myself,
00:16:48.80\00:16:50.81
I'm your Savior, I love you,
00:16:50.84\00:16:52.17
I died for your
sins... accept that,
00:16:52.21\00:16:53.54
if not, there's a consequence,
'the wages of sin is death'
00:16:53.58\00:16:56.54
and I'm going to visit that
consequence on every generation"
00:16:56.58\00:16:59.85
is basically what He's saying.
00:16:59.88\00:17:01.28
Hmmm... hmmm... thank you.
00:17:01.32\00:17:02.65
If you go back to
chapter 18 verse 5,
00:17:02.68\00:17:06.76
and just... let's read what it
00:17:06.79\00:17:12.26
"For her sins have
reached unto heaven,
00:17:12.29\00:17:14.63
and God hath
remembered her iniquities. "
00:17:14.66\00:17:16.93
Okay, so it says,
"Come out of Babylon" why?
00:17:16.97\00:17:19.23
"Because her
sins have... " what?
00:17:19.27\00:17:21.37
"reached unto heaven. "
00:17:21.40\00:17:22.74
So, again, when
we study the Bible,
00:17:22.77\00:17:25.24
you always want to just
kind of have in your mind...
00:17:25.27\00:17:28.64
that's why it's good to
know, you know, really like
00:17:28.68\00:17:32.01
know the stories of the Bible,
00:17:32.05\00:17:33.72
because you always want to
be... going through your mind
00:17:33.75\00:17:36.55
there's something that is...
00:17:36.58\00:17:37.92
that this connects
with and guess what?
00:17:37.95\00:17:39.65
There's a story
in the Old Testament
00:17:39.69\00:17:41.66
of a guy named Nebuchadnezzar
who was a king of...?
00:17:41.72\00:17:44.69
Babylon...
00:17:44.73\00:17:46.06
Babylon... and in... I
believe it's Daniel chapter 4
00:17:46.09\00:17:51.03
he has a dream
and in that dream,
00:17:51.07\00:17:54.00
there's this great big tree
00:17:54.04\00:17:55.70
and the tree, the Bible
says, reaches unto heaven,
00:17:55.74\00:17:59.87
all right, that dream...
00:17:59.91\00:18:02.74
that tree was a symbol
of Nebuchadnezzar's pride.
00:18:02.81\00:18:06.92
What does the
Bible say about pride?
00:18:06.95\00:18:09.92
"Pride goes before destruction
00:18:09.95\00:18:12.99
and a haughty
spirit before a fall. "
00:18:13.02\00:18:16.09
You see, so,
Nebuchadnezzar's pride,
00:18:16.12\00:18:19.16
right, reached unto heaven
00:18:19.19\00:18:22.13
and as a result, God says,
"Okay, it's time... " okay...
00:18:22.16\00:18:25.73
Nebuchadnezzar
was a king of Babylon
00:18:25.77\00:18:27.47
so the question
we want to ask is,
00:18:27.50\00:18:29.10
"Well, at the end of
time, who is the king...?"
00:18:29.14\00:18:33.04
there we go back again right?
00:18:33.07\00:18:35.21
"Who is the king of Babylon?"
00:18:35.24\00:18:37.95
Right, it's
that three-fold union
00:18:38.01\00:18:40.15
but notice how in
chapters 3 and 4 it says,
00:18:40.18\00:18:44.99
"Babylon has become the
habitation of devils... "
00:18:45.02\00:18:48.86
Like, "we live here now... "
00:18:48.89\00:18:50.69
like, at some point,
they weren't living there,
00:18:50.73\00:18:53.06
but now, yeah,
"we've made this our home,
00:18:53.09\00:18:55.90
this is our kingdom
that we have built. "
00:18:55.93\00:18:58.50
Now, you look at
the list of sins,
00:18:58.53\00:19:00.60
and all those sins
really point back to pride
00:19:00.64\00:19:03.64
because what did
Satan want to do in heaven?
00:19:03.67\00:19:06.64
Right, he
wanted to exalt himself
00:19:06.68\00:19:09.01
right, above the throne of
God, above the stars of God...
00:19:09.04\00:19:12.35
and it's interesting
because in the book of Job,
00:19:12.38\00:19:14.38
chapter 41, it
speaks of Leviathan,
00:19:14.45\00:19:18.02
the very last verse... it says,
00:19:18.05\00:19:21.56
"He's the king...
James: Of pride...
00:19:21.59\00:19:23.73
Ivor: And the king of
the children... " in fact...
00:19:23.76\00:19:26.29
James: Oh yeah,
that's right, let's read it.
00:19:26.33\00:19:27.73
Ivor: Yeah, Isaiah 41 verse 34.
00:19:27.76\00:19:30.10
James: No... Job...
00:19:30.13\00:19:31.47
Ivor: Job... I'm
sorry, I'm sorry, Job 41:34...
00:19:31.53\00:19:35.47
Right before Psalms...
00:19:35.50\00:19:37.24
Pause...
00:19:37.31\00:19:39.64
You said chapter 34?
00:19:39.67\00:19:42.24
No, chapter 41 verse 34.
00:19:42.28\00:19:45.05
Yeah, you're right Ivor.
00:19:45.08\00:19:47.82
Yeah... speaking
of Leviathan, right,
00:19:47.85\00:19:50.72
which is a symbol of Satan,
00:19:50.79\00:19:52.12
notice what it says in verse
34, who wants to read that?
00:19:52.15\00:19:54.79
"He beholdeth all high things:
00:19:54.82\00:19:57.06
he is a king over all
the children of pride. "
00:19:57.09\00:20:00.33
Hmmm... hmmm... Hmmm...
00:20:00.36\00:20:01.86
All the children of pride,
00:20:01.90\00:20:03.37
those who are lost
in the end of time...
00:20:03.40\00:20:04.73
pride, pride, pride,
00:20:04.77\00:20:06.57
pride goes before destruction,
a haughty spirit, before a fall.
00:20:06.60\00:20:10.64
so you see this
spirit of pride elevating
00:20:10.67\00:20:13.17
so when the sins of
Babylon reaches heaven,
00:20:13.21\00:20:17.41
it is because a few
things are happening,
00:20:17.45\00:20:20.62
Satan has manifested himself,
you have this exaltation...
00:20:20.65\00:20:24.85
same thing he was
trying to do in heaven,
00:20:24.89\00:20:27.19
he is now the king
over the children of pride
00:20:27.26\00:20:29.52
you see all these
lists of sin, right,
00:20:29.56\00:20:32.39
which basically
points us back to pride.
00:20:32.46\00:20:35.03
Hmmm... hmmm...
00:20:35.06\00:20:36.40
As you read further down...
and James, this goes back to
00:20:36.43\00:20:41.44
when you talk about children...
00:20:41.50\00:20:42.97
these children that are
going into slavery, right,
00:20:43.00\00:20:46.37
in the last part
of Revelation 18,
00:20:46.41\00:20:49.38
Revelation 18 and verse... I
believe it's around 18 or so,
00:20:49.41\00:20:55.95
so let's look,
Revelation 18 verse...
00:20:55.98\00:21:01.19
Is it the one where you say...
it says, "Rejoice over her"
00:21:01.22\00:21:07.23
"The angel takes up a stone... "
00:21:07.26\00:21:09.93
Oh...
00:21:09.96\00:21:11.83
So, it's 21... it's 21...
00:21:11.87\00:21:18.34
There we go... it
says, "And a mighty angel
00:21:18.37\00:21:20.64
took up a stone like a great
millstone, and... " did what?
00:21:20.68\00:21:23.28
"Threw it into the sea... "
00:21:23.31\00:21:24.65
"Cast it into the sea, and said,
00:21:24.68\00:21:26.08
Thus with violence shall that
00:21:26.11\00:21:27.52
great city
Babylon be thrown down,
00:21:27.55\00:21:30.65
and shall be
found no more at all. "
00:21:30.69\00:21:32.59
Hmmm... hmmm...
00:21:32.65\00:21:34.42
Okay, let's go over it,
00:21:34.46\00:21:35.82
why does an angel
take up a millstone
00:21:35.86\00:21:38.03
and throw it into the sea?
00:21:38.06\00:21:40.16
Let's go to Matthew chapter 18.
00:21:40.20\00:21:41.93
Oh... oh...
00:21:41.96\00:21:43.60
Oh, yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:21:43.63\00:21:49.44
Matthew 18 verse
2, oh, verse 1...
00:21:49.47\00:21:54.94
"And at the same time came
the disciples unto Jesus saying,
00:21:54.98\00:21:57.88
Who is the greatest in
the kingdom of heaven?"
00:21:57.91\00:22:00.05
And remember, what
were they struggling with?
00:22:00.08\00:22:02.18
"Who's going to
be the greatest?"
00:22:02.22\00:22:03.65
Pride... pride...
pride... and Jesus said...
00:22:03.69\00:22:06.32
"Jesus called and said... and
called a little child unto Him
00:22:06.35\00:22:10.76
and set him in the
midst of them and he said,
00:22:10.79\00:22:13.43
Verily I say unto you,
Except you be converted,
00:22:13.46\00:22:16.10
and become as... " what?
00:22:16.13\00:22:17.47
"little children,
00:22:17.50\00:22:18.83
you shall in no wise
enter the kingdom of heaven. "
00:22:18.87\00:22:21.30
You got to humble yourself,
you got to humble yourself,
00:22:21.34\00:22:24.11
right, so... "whosever
therefore shall humble himself
00:22:24.14\00:22:26.88
as this little
child, the same is... " who?
00:22:26.91\00:22:29.84
"the greatest in
the kingdom of heaven.
00:22:29.88\00:22:32.78
And whosoever shall receive
00:22:32.81\00:22:34.62
one such little child
in my name receiveth me.
00:22:34.65\00:22:37.59
But whosoever shall
offend one of these little ones
00:22:37.62\00:22:41.52
which believe in me... "
00:22:41.56\00:22:43.69
Hmmm... right...
00:22:43.73\00:22:47.93
what does it say, again?
00:22:47.96\00:22:49.96
pause...
00:22:50.00\00:22:57.07
"it were better for
him that a... " what?
00:22:57.11\00:23:01.08
"millstone... were
hanged about his neck
00:23:01.11\00:23:03.68
and that he were drowned
in the depth of the sea. "
00:23:03.71\00:23:07.15
That's it right there...
Matthew 18 and Revelation 18...
00:23:07.18\00:23:11.02
easy to connect those two...
00:23:11.05\00:23:13.29
it's pride... and
here's the deal...
00:23:13.32\00:23:15.29
we think
about... when Jesus says,
00:23:15.32\00:23:17.13
"whoever doesn't humble himself
00:23:17.16\00:23:18.66
won't enter the
kingdom of heaven"
00:23:18.69\00:23:20.13
He's not talking about
going through some gates
00:23:20.16\00:23:23.16
and entering
into a physical place,
00:23:23.20\00:23:24.53
He's talking about experience.
00:23:24.57\00:23:25.90
"You're not going to experience
00:23:25.93\00:23:27.27
heaven unless
you humble yourself
00:23:27.30\00:23:28.97
because heaven
is about humility...
00:23:29.00\00:23:31.04
heaven is about
selfless other-centered love,
00:23:31.07\00:23:33.61
that is what I'm about...
00:23:33.64\00:23:34.98
the kingdom of God
is not meat and drink,
00:23:35.01\00:23:36.58
the kingdom of God is within you
00:23:36.61\00:23:37.95
it's within you... "
00:23:37.98\00:23:39.31
So in order to
get to heaven there,
00:23:39.35\00:23:41.28
we have to have
heaven here first.
00:23:41.32\00:23:43.22
Yeah...
00:23:43.25\00:23:44.79
It's humility... God
can't put proud people in heaven
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because we'll have the whole
rebellion... all over again.
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So, yeah, this
is really powerful,
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in fact, I want us to
just move into this...
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this basic... again...
theme that we're looking at,
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look at... Yvonne, would
you read for us verse 20?
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"Rejoice over her, O heaven, and
the holy apostles and prophets;
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for God has
avenged you on her. "
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Now, I want you to read
19... chapter 19:1 through 6.
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"After these things
I heard a loud voice
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of a great multitude in
heaven saying, alleluia;
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Salvation, and
glory, and honour and power,
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belong to the Lord our God:
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For true and
righteous are his judgments:
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because he has
judged the great harlot,
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who corrupted the
earth with her fornication,
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and he has avenged on her
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the blood of his
servants shed by her.
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Again they said, alleluia.
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Her smoke rises
up for ever and ever.
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And the twenty four elders
and the four living creatures
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fell down and worshipped
God who sat on the throne,
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saying, Amen: alleluia.
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Then a voice came
from the throne saying,
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Praise our God,
all you his servants,
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and those who fear
Him, both small and great.
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And I heard as it were
the voice of a great multitude
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as the sound of many waters
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and as the sound of
mighty thundering's,
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saying, alleluia: for the
Lord God omnipotent reigneth. "
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And then verse 7... sorry.
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"Let us be glad and
rejoice, and give him the glory:
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for the marriage
of the Lamb is come,
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and his wife has
made herself ready. "
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All this
praise... all this praise
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in the middle of judgments.
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I just want to remind us,
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this is praise for
the character of God
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and the character of God
that's being praised here...
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is His justice. Hmmm... hmmm...
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God is a God of justice
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and that's what's
being praised here.
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Yes, finally, Babylon is ended,
all the sin... all the suffering
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all this pain, all this
evil... it's coming to an end
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and so when people say,
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"You know, I
can't believe in a God
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that would allow all this
pain" I want to say to them,
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"Well, let's read Revelation
chapters 15 through 19."
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Hmmm... hmmm... Hmmm...
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"Let's read those chapters...
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let's read Exodus
chapter 33 and understand
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and 34... and understand
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what the character of God is. "
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"Well, I can't
accept the Old Testament. "
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"Well, the Old
Testament is a manifestation of
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the character of God just
like the New Testament is. "
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Sometimes I tell people,
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"New Testament... the grace,
the mercy, the forgiveness...
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the Old Testament...
justice, righteousness...
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put them together
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if you want to understand
the character of God. "
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Because, God could have
started with the grace and mercy
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and Satan would have said,
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"God is just too
merciful... too gracious... "
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so then the justice comes...
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He started with the
justice and then the mercy came
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but they both come together,
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you can't exclude
one from the other.
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That's right, and
yet, in the Old Testament
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you do find the mercy
and justice and grace.
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Yes... yes... You know...
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And in the New Testament,
you find the justice...
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You find the
justice, right, it's amazing,
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you look at some
of these things and...
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God... with the nations and...
"Oh, He destroyed the nations. "
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Do you know how
much... God said,
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"Listen, I'm just
going to first send beasts...
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if they don't move from
the beasts... I'm going to... "
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it's like, He gave them option
after option after option.
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Those destroyed were like the
most persistent, resistant...
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"I'm not getting on the
ark... I don't care what... "
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Right...
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Right, God has always
provided a way of escape,
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when He sends
judgment, He's like,
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"Hey, I'm sending judgment
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but there is a way
of escape, you choose. "
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And He's still merciful
even through... throughout that
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because you think
about people like He said,
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"If they don't have heaven...
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if they're not living their
lives according to the Word,
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when they go to... why
would they want to be in heaven
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where we're going to
be worshipping God...
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we're going to be
learning about things...
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God's Word and all that stuff
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like, if you
don't like that now,
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you don't want to
spend eternity doing that,
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so He's merciful...
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Even in His justice...
that's a really good point.
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So what we're seeing
here in this big picture
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is we're seeing
the character of God
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justice and mercy...
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and by-the-way, that
centers in the cross,
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on the cross, you see
grace and you see justice...
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justice is there
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because Jesus suffers
for the sins of the world
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in justice as well as in mercy
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and we're seeing the rejoicing
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that sin is
finally brought to an end
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and we need to
rejoice over that fact.
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We need to rejoice...
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