Relation 17-What is Babylon

SLIDE 1**When the VeriChip Corporation became a publicly traded company in early 2007-2007, it disclosed that 222- 300 individuals are employees of the VeriChip Corporation in the United States (or patients participating in experimental trials of the device). had been implanted with its product. The VeriChip Corporation has publicly stated that "several thousand" people throughout the world have been implanted with its product. However, the company has not released details on overseas implantation and has provided no independent verification of these figures.

SLIDE 2 Share some background that I thought might interest you.

Babylon began with Nimrod (son of Cush, son of Ham, son of Noah) when he rebelled against God and tried to construct a tower to heavens to be like a god. Doesn’t this sound like Lucifer? The Lord turned their language to babbling and we know the story as the “Tower of Babel.” You can read about Babylon and her kings in 2 Kings, Chronicles 1 and 2, and most all of the prophets. (Remember the wicked city of Nineveh that Jonah was sent to warn of God’s judgment. We can thank Nimrod for that city among other in Assyria.)

SLIDE 3

·        What is Babylon?

·        Babylon the Religion System

·        Babylon the government and merchants

The Lamb will overcome them

The name Babylon is associated with idolatrous religion under Satan’s control. As a religious system, Babylon came into being long before Christianity. The woman represents the idolatrous religion system and the beast represents government and commerce. Both are opposed to Christ, his children, and his kingdom.  Satan uses blasphemy and persecution of God’s people as a means to deceive mankind.
 But the Lamb will overcome them

SLIDE 4**As a daughter of a King we must keep ourselves pure from the pollution of Babylon in our generation. The violence and debauchery in today’s television, movies, magazines, video games, and internet is glamorized. It invades our lives like a virus. Do you know what your  children and grandchildren are watching and hearing?  Small children as well as their parents are seen in restaurants, ballgames, social gatherings addicted to their phones, tablets, and computers. Most eating establishment boast of having WIFI. Several years ago I did not even know what that was. The language, pictures, and situations come over those invisible airways would cause us to cover our ears and eyes, yet they are cheered and applauded by our society. I will admit that I carry my iPad everywhere. I use it to read books and do bible study..I even have the CBS Servant Team manual downloaded. As I work on my teaching, PPT, and search for photos, I use safe search on Google. But I have yet to eliminate all inappropriate images. I shudder to think what filth would cross my screen if I did not use a safe search.

Last week in chapter 16:17 the seventh bowl of God’s wrath was poured out on the city of Babylon.

SLIDE 5 Babylon the Religion System

John is invited by the angel of the 7^th bowl to witness the judgment on Babylon. John is taken in the spirit into the wilderness to observe the harlot riding on the beast. John uses symbols to describe what he sees. As he observes this garish woman John uses the symbol of a harlot for the false religious system of Babylon. The words used to describe the woman and written on the beast are vile, despicable, and depraved.

SLIDE 6 I think the LORD wants us to know how reprehensible and detestable these things are to God so we will be prepared and warned against the temptation of Satan and his promises of pleasure. The slide from artist Pat Malvenko Smith shows a brash and gaudy woman who personifies all that is immoral and wicked in the world. Adorned with gold and jewels and pearls she symbolizes opulence and greed. Holding a golden chalice, verse 6 … I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.

SLIDE 7 Warren Wiersbe in Be Victorious compares the false religious system as a harlot who abandoned the truth and prostituted herself for personal gain to the true church symbolized is a pure virgin robed in the purest white while the harlot is arrayed in the purple of royalty and power and the scarlet associated with sin and Satan.

 SLIDE 8  Likewise the beast symbolizing the world system seeking to control the earth dwellers minds and destinies is contrasted to the City of God New Jerusalem, the eternal home prepared for the Bride of Christ. P.151 

The beast in verse 8 is the same we saw in chapter 13 who was, and is not, and is about to rise  from the bottomless pit and go to destruction.

SLIDE 9 Lucifer has always wanted to have a throne above God. Now he tries to counterfeit the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But we know the Lamb will overcome all of them.

Rev. 1:8"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

 Verse 9This calls for a mind with wisdom: Ladies I am depending on the Lord God and His Holy Spirit to interpret my study and fill my mind with the truth.

SLIDE 10 This is one of the most difficult passages for teachers to agree on. This is one opinion. I hope I can shed some light it for you.

From Enduring Word Ministry: David Guzik explains: v. 10-11

·        Five have fallen refers to the five world empires before John’s day: Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia,  Medo-Persia, and Greece or the once listed in Daniel

·        The One-is refers to the world empire of John’s day: Rome

·        The other has not yet come-refers to the one world empire  

The beast is the eighth empire, is also part of the world empire

SLIDE 11 The horns correspond to the 10 horns in Daniel 7,8.  ¹² And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast.¹³ These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast.

SLIDE 12 ¹⁴ They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful."

They will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them

¹⁵And the angel said to me, "The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. And the woman has dominion over all kings, dictators, and nations have been forced to bow down throughout history, is the Babylon.

SLIDE 13 The red beast that the woman rides upon gives the appearance that she is in control of the beast, but actually the woman receives her authority from the beast. The beast is using her as a means to gains power and she will be cast away when she is no longer needed. The prostitute (religious Babylon) is destroyed by "beast and the kings of the earth," who "hate the prostitute" and kill her.

 ¹⁷ For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His plan by having one purpose and to give their kingdom to the beast until God's words are accomplished. HCSB

SLIDE 14 God is not sitting idly on the sidelines watching all this action. He is the sovereign, omniscient, omnipotent Creator of the World. He gives dreams to pagan Kings, He hardens hearts and uses men for His purpose. God gives Satan some power but he is limited in what he can do. We know who is in control of our future so why should we fear.

Proverbs 21 :1The king's heart is like a stream of water directed by the LORD; he guides it wherever he pleases.

http://www.discoverrevelation.com/Rev_17.html

SLIDE 15 **Today, which city in the world is most readily identified with the world system? Hollywood? Wall Street? Washington? Rome? In our nation, idolatry is just as strong. It does not have to be a city, a president, or a papal figure. We each have things that rule our lives. Some may be driven for success through a job that takes all you time away from your family. Many young parents will allow the sports and activities of their children to set the schedule for their life. Even if the games are on Sunday. Where will you be when the Lord comes to claim His own. I pray we are doing something to glorify His name and enlarge His Kingdom. Are you prepared for the return of the Lamb?

Revelation 16: The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath

SLIDE 1 Revelation 16: The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath

These bowls of judgment are the third woe described in Revelation 11:14 we think at the end of the 7 years, immediately before Jesus' return.

¹Then I heard a loud voice (God) from the temple telling the seven angels, "Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God."

SLIDE 2²So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

This relates to the sixth plague of boils on Egypt. Ex. 9:8

SLIDE 3³The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea. This photo shows the bloom of red algae on a beach in Sydney.

Similar to the first plague Moses carried out God’s judgment to turn the Nile river into blood.

Revelation 8:8-9 described a partial contamination of the sea. Here the contamination is made complete (every living creature in the sea died).

SLIDE 4⁴      The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. This photo shows the pollution in the Yangtze River. ⁵ And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, "Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments. ⁶For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!" ⁷And I heard the altar (probably saints under the altar) saying, "Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!"

Justice requires that the guilty be punished, and those who refused to accept Christ’s payment for their sins will pay with their own lives. They refused the gift of Living Water, and now will be given death to drink.

SLIDE 5⁸The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire.⁹ They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.

Earth is just the right distance from the sun. God provided the sun to warm us and make our crops grow. He provided is SON for our redemption of sin. In this plague God uses the sun to inflict His judgments. The creation that supports life will now scorch and torture those who did not repent.

SLIDE 6¹⁰The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish¹¹ and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.

This judgment only affects the kingdom of the beast. He is the prince of darkness, there is no light in him.

Ephesians 6: 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

The darkness of the fifth bowl is a preview of Hell itself, which is described by Jesus (Matthew 25:30“into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.').

SLIDE 7¹²The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east.¹³ And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs.

You can imagine not many artists want to tackle this scene. But as I previewed some Medieval literature it seems merge the beasts with their images of dragons.

 SLIDE 8 As we look at this map notice how the Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. In May of 2014 the Turkish government recently cut off the flow of the Euphrates River, threatening primarily Syria but also Iraq with a major water crisis. Al-Akhbar (News)found out that the water level in Lake Assad(a man-made reservoir) has dropped by about six meters, leaving millions of Syrians without drinking water.

SLIDE 9 ¹⁴ For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.¹⁵ ("Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!")¹⁶ And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

Once the Euphrates has dried up, the mountains flattened there will be a perfect place for the battle of Armageddon.  The word "Har-magedon" comes from the Hebrew. The word "Har" means "mountain" refers to an ancient site of many battles in Judges and Kings called "Megiddo." Megiddo a hill town above the fertile Jezreel Valley, its strategic position overlooking the one of the main routes used for travel between Egypt, Syria and Mesopotamia. It was of strategic importance because it occupies a valley through which armies could march on their various campaigns. Because of the many history-changing battles fought there, Megiddo became a symbol, sort of like our own Alamo or Pearl Harbor.

SLIDE 10⁷The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, "It is done!"¹⁸ And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake.¹⁹ The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.²⁰ And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.²¹ And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.

SLIDE 11This reminds me of the images from the cross. But from noon, for three hours until the death of Jesus, there was darkness (Matthew 27:45). John 19:30 "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Matthew 27:51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.

Leviticus 24:16 Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him.

"Evil communications corrupt good manners" (I Cor.15:33).

Roaming in the woods, some boys found a nest containing two linnet fledglings, which they managed to capture and take home. Securing some plain, wooden birdcages, they put one of the linnets in each and hung them on either side of a canary. They explained to their mother that they hoped the linnets, being so young, would learn to imitate the canary, instead of cheeping as linnets ordinarily do. The mother smilingly questioned the likelihood of the plan succeeding.

The next day the boys entered the room, and exclaimed, "Mother, come here, our canary is cheeping like a linnet!"

And so it was. The canary had to be separated from the wild birds of the wood and kept under cover for a time before he regained his song. Surely there is a lesson here for all Christians. Fellowship with the world does not lead the godless to take the way of the Lord, but generally results in the believer losing his joyous song and taking on the speech and manners of the world.

Revelation 15: Signs in Heaven and the Song of Moses

SLIDE 1 We ended chapter 14 with the promise of Armageddon. John has told us God is triumphant and now John will give details to these events in the next few chapters.

 Revelation 15:

·        Signs in Heaven (Who What When Where)

·        Song of Moses

SLIDE 2 Revelation 15:1¹Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.

SLIDE 3 Randy Alcorn in his book Heaven wants us to know that God’s paradise prepared for you is beyond description. John has tried to describe it in terms of his day. The first word of chapter 15 John saw a sign, great and amazing and a sea of glass mingled with fire with the martyred saints playing harps and singing the song of Moses and the Lamb. If you had closed your eyes and imagined the scene in heaven, what a time of worship that would be.

SLIDE 4Revelation 15: 2And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire---and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with (martyred) harps of God in their hands.

The WHO would be the seven angels, the martyred souls with their harps, the four living creature, the 24 elders, and an army of angels before the throne of heaven.

SLIDE 5 The sea of glass was represented by the bronze laver that was outside the Tabernacle. Each time the priest would wash their hands before entering, they would see the imperfection of themselves reflected in the shiny surface meant to humble them before the LORD. The Sea of Glass in heaven showed the reflection of God and all these heavenly beings.

SLIDE 6 The WHAT is the song they sing. Unlike the song last week that only the 144,000 know. Everyone can sing this song. Imagine after the Israelites came through the Red Sea and realized the great miracle the LORD has done.

Exodus 15 begins with Moses and the people of Israel singing a song to the LORD. Twenty-one verses end with Miriam, the sister of Moses, praising God.

SLIDE 7  Now we hear the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. Fifty-one words: it just the beginning of the worship of the Lord God Almighty. v. 13 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. Do you think there will be dancing in heaven? David danced in the street to celebrate the ark of the covenant coming home to Jerusalem.

SLIDE 8 WHAT Revelation 15:3-4 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

"Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!
Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed."

SLIDE 9 WHERE Revelation 15:5-7After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests. And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever.

SLIDE10 Remember the throne room in chapter 4: the four living creatures and the 24 elders around the throne. Now one of the living creatures carried the golden bowls full of wrath.

SLIDE 11 Hope Parks taught the Tabernacle one summer. It was such a blessing to learn how Christ was represented in every part of the Tabernacle. However the Tabernacle was not built until Ex. 40. While in the desert the Moses pitch a tent outside the camp. He called it the Tent of Meeting.

Exodus 33:9 When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the LORD would speak with Moses. God told Moses to build the Tabernacle was based on the pattern of heaven, also called the tent of meeting. Behind a thick curtain 4 inches thick was the Ark of the Covenant, sequestered away until the one time each year the chosen priest would go in to offer blood sacrifices for the sins of the people.

SLIDE 12 When Revelation 15: 8 and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished. 

SLIDE 13Kathy Strieter’s golden bowl prayers of the saints reminds me of the whole sanctuary being filled.

Paul to people of Athens

Acts 17:24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,

Hebrews 9:24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence.

SLIDE 14** One day a man walking down Clark Street, in Chicago, and playing with a dollar bill in his hand, had it snatched away from him by a thief who ran rapidly ahead toward the river, not perceiving that the drawbridge was open. Of course, he plunged into the river's slime. One might have thought this were punishment enough for stealing only a dollar. But no; when rescued by the police, and again on firm ground, there stood his victim beside him accusing him to the officer, who put him into jail.

SLIDE 15The fall into the water was the result of his folly, but the imprisonment in jail the punishment of his crime. Men suffer on earth as a result of their wrongdoing, (that is called the consequences for their action)

The unsaved have yet to meet their Judge, and answer before Him for their sin. Hell may now be in their bosom, but, alas, the day is coming when their bosom will be in hell!—Dr. James M. Gray.  Sermonillustrations.com