For the sake of time, let's just
get started. I'll read a section, then I'll
talk about it. And I want to remind you that as we get started
in this, we are going to have a lot of things that may or may
not make sense to us from an Old Testament perspective. But
keep in mind, the way we're reading through this letter is for the
explicit purpose of understanding how the original hearers heard
it, how they saw it, how they heard it, how they understood
it. So they probably did not have a great understanding of,
oh, that's from Daniel, or oh, that's an allusion of this, or
that's talking about that. And that's why when we go through
this, let's look at it from the surface. We're not missing the
meaning by just being succinct in the reading. And so with that,
let us begin. Revelation chapter 17, as we
saw three weeks ago, was the likening of the world which is
called Babylon to the great harlot. And we saw that the world continues
to draw people into itself. It reminds us of John's reading
of 1 John chapter 2 where he commands, do not love the world
or the things in the world. For the lust of the eyes, the
pride of life, the pride of possessions, these are not from the Father
but are from the world. And so those who love these things,
the love of the Father is not in them. And we know that these
things are passing away, John says. They're temporal, so they
don't last. Chapter 17 is supposed to help
us understand just how wicked things are. In chapter 18, the
destruction of the world, the destruction of Babylon, and Babylon
is comprised of all unbelievers, all kings, all kingdoms, all
leaders, all peasants, all servants, anyone who is not in the family
of God through faith alone in Jesus Christ is Babylon. There is no godly government
that's going to survive the judgment of God. All governments are absolutely
under the judgment of God. And so that as we see going into
chapter 18, then this fall, this Babylonian destruction begins
to take form in specific ways. And in chapter 18, we're coming
to the place where now we see that what gave Babylon its power,
which was its wealth, is going to fail. And so we're not seeing
that God is going to take this and destroy this and then to
destroy that and then destroy this and then destroy that. He's
going to destroy everything immediately in judgment. It is all one thing. And so the pictures that we see
in Revelation, oftentimes when the Christians of this day came
to the place where they were being persecuted and hurt and
dragged out and imprisoned and everything that they were experiencing
seemed counter to the promises of the riches of heaven. Now
one of the first things that they would say, and what do we
say? What did Solomon say? Well, how come so many people
aren't suffering? Look at them, they're wealthy.
They have all that power. They have everything. And so
what we're going to see now in chapter 18 of Revelation is that
God's going to show just what happens to that power in relation
to the wealth of Babylon. So Babylon 18 verse 1 says, After
this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great
authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. And
he called out with a mighty voice, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the
great. She has become a dwelling place
for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every
unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.
For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual
immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality
with her. and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from
the power of her luxurious living." So you see here now the very
tune of what John is seeing is to attack the centrality of the
power and the elusiveness and the draw and the appeal of the
world. I mean, is that not the day that
we live in? Is it not the day that the world has always lived
in? Was it not the very same thing that Eve was tempted with
in the Garden of Eden, that she would have all power and all
understanding and all rule and that she would be in some sense
like God? There is something about the
heart of humanity in its fallen state that seems so divinely
godlike in its own mind. That we think that the way to
success is wealth and riches and that with wealth and riches
comes power and with power comes fame and fame is more power and
it feeds the ego of depravity, it feeds the ego of the beast
and it It attempts to rob God, it attempts to rob Jesus Christ
the Son of their intended glory, but it cannot do so, for these
things are temporal and there is nothing that will take the
glory of God from Him. And so this destruction that
comes, we see the angels crying out, just as we saw in chapter
14, fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great. Beloved, I don't know
about you, but during the days of the Roman Empire, I'm pretty
sure that there is no country, there is no government that exists
today in contemporary time that ever will or ever could hold
a candle to the superiority, to the power, and to the reach
of the Roman Empire. It is not possible. There is
no way because of sovereign borders and kings and governments that
any particular government or kingdom could ever have the authority
and the reach and the power that the Roman Empire had. And yet
during this time, that's exactly what existed. That the Caesar
of Rome, that the Emperor of Rome was a sovereign and divine
ruler going by the title of Lord and King. And so here, we see
the angels crying out, Fallen! How hard would it be for us to
imagine the very nature of our country falling? How hard would
it be for us to sit and watch the government crumble in front
of our eyes? How hard would it be to see our
capital cities being taken siege by an Islamic group or by a foreign
communist nation? Or even in civil war where different
flags would fly across the country, maybe four sovereign nations
declaring rule like most continents. How hard would it be for us to
see? How horrible would it be for the rulers of our day to
sit and say, Oh fallen, woe to America. But here the angels
from heaven have declared it. It is happening. Babylon the
Great will fall. Why? She is a place of abomination. Friends, the world is a kingdom
of demons. Satan himself is called the kingdom
of the power of the air. Paul calls Satan the God of this
world in 2 Corinthians chapter 4. In Ephesians chapter 2 is
where he says a prince of the power of the air. Satan has been given rule to
bring the world into his clutches, into his lure. And many of them,
though we see with a unbelief and with a constant overbearing
wickedness, like those who love abortion, those who love sexual
immorality, those who love greed, those who love power, those who
murder, those who pillage, those who steal, They're also comprised
of those with their own gospel, those with their own kingdoms
of ministries, those with their own powerful message of name
it and claim it and blab it and grab it, those with the powerful
idea that if you dance on money that you'll inherit riches in
this earth. These are the doctrines of darkness
and these are comprised or entailed in the context of the definition
of Babylon. Very narrow, very hard, very
restricted is the way of righteousness. Very broad is the path that leads
to destruction. Many will find it. Many people
who carry the banner of the name of Jesus based on their own ability,
based on their own decisions, based on their own power, they
will not stand before God justified in the day of judgment, but they
shall be counted amongst those who are of Babylon. Friends,
we cannot take the glory from God in any form, in any place,
in any way. But do not lose heart, for the
Bible says that God is a gracious God and willing to save, and
that His gospel goes out to the ears of those who have ears to
hear, and He brings them home to redemption. We pray because
God is sovereign. We pray because in the supremacy
of God's decrees, He has purposed that we pray, and His Spirit
within us calls us to pray. And when we cannot pray or do
not know how we ought to pray, the Spirit of God prays for us.
And we pray for God to bring the harvest in. We pray for God
to open the eyes of the blind and to give ears to the deaf
and to give a heart of life to those who are dead in their sins.
And God does so by the hearing and the preaching and the sharing
of His Word. But there is a day when God has
had enough and He has determined it in His counsel for the pleasure
of His will and the time of His wisdom and He will bring to destruction
all those who are the reprobate. And that's what these angels
are showing here. And the condition, this is not
the first time we've seen it, the condition of the world. Beloved,
we have come to a very faint understanding. It's easy for
us to see wickedness. Let's just look at abortion for
a moment. Most Christians, most professing
Christians look at that and say, that is a wicked evil. Murder,
absolutely. Slavery, child abuse, all these
things. These are wicked evils. We know
that. But friends, high morality, good benevolence outside of faith
in Christ is still a wicked morality. Let us not forget that many who
claim the name of Christ are not in Christ. The gospel is
the power of God unto salvation, and the gospel of Jesus Christ
is our only hope. And if we are not faithfully
faithful to believing in Jesus Christ alone, friends, we will
not have eternal life. And the only hope that we have
is that God is faithful. And God is faithful to save.
And God is faithful to gift faith through the hearing of the Word.
It is a supernatural thing. It's not a temporary thought. It's not a human invention. It's
not an ability that comes from the flesh. But it is a gift of
God for which He will be praised forever and ever and ever to
hear the words that are due Him. Glory and honor is due the Lamb. Glory and honor to God. Holy,
holy, holy, worthy, worthy, worthy is the Lamb of God. For all the
nations have drunk, and they have all profited from living
the life of the flesh. This fallen world, which we know
as Babylon in this vision, was depicted as the great harlot.
Now she is shown in her judgment through the removal of her riches.
through the removal of her riches. Babylon is the whole world, all
evil, all reprobate, all unbelievers. And do not mistake the fact that
unbelievers as a whole are going to experience judgment, but we
are individually guilty before God. Every human being will answer
in judgment for their own unbelief and for their own good or bad
deeds. And friends, the Scripture teaches
that we who are not trusting fully in the gospel of Jesus
Christ, that all of the good deeds we do are filthy before
Him and they shall have no merit upon His mercy. Babylon. You may not know this, but this
whole chapter and chapter 19 are hymns. That's what they are. They're hymns and they're hymns
of lament. And in chapter 19, we see a hymn
of praise. We see two woes and we see Babylon
before she's fallen. And then we see Babylon after
she's fallen and we see these hymns of lament. That's the genre
and the reason it's written in these stanzas this way. Look
at verse four. And I heard another voice from
heaven saying, and this is a command for those who are of Babylon
to flee. And this voice from heaven, this
angel, this messenger of God that speaks, and though we as
messengers, when the prophets spoke, God spoke. When the apostles
spoke, God spoke. When the Word of God speaks,
God speaks, and God is speaking today. So when God's angels speak,
though it may not be the voice from His throne, it is His Word,
and it is through His authority, and it is what God is saying.
Come out of her, my people. lest you take part in her sins,
lest you share in her plagues. For her sins are heaped high
as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities." Now this is
a grand contrast to those who we've seen in previous chapters,
that God has not remembered their sins. As far as the East is from
the West, that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
We who are in Christ have come out of the world. Jesus' own
words. We are of the world. I mean,
we are in the world, but we are not of the world. We are not
those who are Babylon, but we are the beloved of God, the redeemed
of Christ, those for whom Christ has died. And we have, by faith,
been redeemed. The work of Jesus is effectual
not just to grant us justification, not just to secure our eternal
life, not just to give us the promised resurrection and glory,
but also to make sure and certain that we are not going to stay
in the boundaries and in the confines of sinfulness. Though
we struggle, though we fight, though we strive, we are not
dead in our sins, but we are alive in Christ. And all the
more, God continues to make sure that we do not fall away from
Him, back into a yoke of slavery. But it's so easy. And if we do
not come out, we will not be saved. God will not forget the
iniquities of Babylon. God will never forget the iniquities
of the lost. And friends, God will never forget
the iniquities of the redeemed. because he will always be reminded
that Christ has paid for them. So they are forgotten on our
account, for they have been put in Christ's account. Jesus will
not forget the sins for which he died. Verse 6, this cry from heaven says, Pay
her back as she herself has paid back others, and repay her double
for her deeds. a double portion mixed for her
in the cup she mixed. I mean, think about this. Here
is this cry of this angel saying that this is about to take place,
come out of Babylon, for we are about to see her drink the very
cup for which she's poured for herself, the blood of the martyrs,
the attack on the church, the continual attack against Christ.
Remember how Jesus spoke to Paul on the road to Damascus. Remember
what Jesus said to Paul. Why, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute
me? When Saul had no idea he was
persecuting the Lord, he was persecuting the people who claimed
that Christ was God, that Jesus was the Lord. In the same way
that the world lives for itself, that the world piles up treasure,
that the world puts hope in everything but Christ, she shall be repaid
the same way she's paid. Friends, every banker that's
robbed you, every neighbor that's wronged you, Every person, every
institution, every tax that's been taken out of your pocket
that should not have been, every time someone has sued you and
taken from your table, if they are not found in the favor of
God through Jesus Christ, they will be paid back ever so passionately
in God's righteousness. They will be paid back. And God
will bring recompense upon them, and it is deserved upon them. Verse seven, as she glorified
herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of
torment and mourning. Since her in her heart, she says,
I sit as a queen and I am no widow and mourning shall I never
see. Think about that. Remember when
Jesus was talking with the rich young ruler and how grand his
life was and how well he was to do in the world and how easy
things were for him? How easy is it to walk in some
sense of a moral righteousness when no problems beset us? How
hard is it to really follow Christ when we have everything we ever
would need in this flesh at our fingertips? Now we know what
that it is ruined. We know what Solomon in all of
his wisdom had Solomon asked for all the wives and all the
wealth without all the wisdom. Oh, what would Ecclesiastes look
like? But as it was, God gave him all
wisdom. And he saw the frivolousness
and the worthlessness of all things. He saw that everything
that a man could want, power, companionship, pedigree, and
purse, could never amount to anything in the context of God's
glory. It never amounts to anything in the economy of grace, in the
economy of the divine. There is all nothing. It's all
worthless. It's all waste. But as the world
looks and says, see, look what we have, we are in control. Let
us keep them under our thumbs by feeding them as we do, by
giving them as we do, by controlling these things as we do. As long
as I can remember, even as a younger teenager, 12, 13, 14, I've always
been hearing about the Illuminati, or the underground government,
or the black ops, or all of these conspiracies with all sorts of
names. Friends, this is no discovery. It's called Satan. And it's called
the world in which we live. You want to see the controls
of darkness? Just look at the bank. Look at
the television. Look at the sports arenas. The world hates God. The church is hated because she
loves Him. Moreover, the church is hated
because He loves her. And though people will sit upon
high places, now keep in mind not every wealthy person is a
devil and not every Not every person that lives in luxury is
lost. But Jesus says, back to the rich
young ruler, how hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom
of heaven. And Jesus says it is more simpler,
it is simpler, simpler to shove a camel through the eye of a
needle. than it is for a rich man to enter heaven. And they
respond, then who can be saved? If this rich man here who walked
in righteousness could not be saved, how shall we be saved
who have walked in poverty? See, the disciples were impoverished
people. They worked day to day to earn
their bread. And Jesus says, that which is
impossible with men. What's impossible with men? That
they could be saved. That which is impossible with
man is possible with God. God will not. And we see Jesus
in the in the imagery of it's not necessary. Well, I guess
it is a parable. We see the imagery of Jesus when he talks about
the poor man, Lazarus, not Lazarus of Bethany, but the poor man,
Lazarus in this picture and the rich man. seeing each other in
death, where the rich man used to sit and eat and have joy and
have everything that he needed, while Lazarus slept outside on
the streets where the dogs of the rich man licked his sores.
Now the table has turned." The judgment of God turns the
tables. That though we suffer in this
life, we have a reward that is abiding, that is great. Friends,
it ought to make us jump upside down with joy and click our heels
together and with great anticipation that the judgment of Jesus is
coming. And at the same breath, it ought to horrify us toward
the core of our being because we know many people who still
have yet to come and believe. And so it should give us urgency
to pray. It should give us urgency to
praise God. It should give us urgency to
prepare ourselves to go out. There it is again, alliteration.
To prepare ourselves to go out and proclaim the gospel of Jesus to everyone who would hear. For
sake, for this reason, her plagues will come in a single day and
death and mourning and famine and she will be burned up with
fire. For mighty is the Lord God who has judged her. Mighty
is the Lord God who has judged her. In chapter 18 and verse
9, we see this second lament. And the kings of the earth, now
keep this in mind, the kings of the earth are part of Babylon.
But in this picture, we're seeing the world as a whole, this great
centrality of the world and everything that she is. We're seeing the
rulers of this world standing from afar. And so this is the
picture that John gets. And then they began to say these
things. And the kings of the earth, verse
9, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her,
will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning.
Do you see the picture that John's seeing? Here's our great fortified
city. We're rich, we're happy, we're
healthy. Man, we've got everything we could ever need. These people
who have nothing, they're under our control. These Christians,
they can't touch us. We are strong, we are mighty,
we have it all. And those who lead this great
city have stood outside of it and they're watching how horrifying
it must be to watch it burn to the ground as I started tonight's
message. It's why Lot's wife turned to
salt. She could not bear the fact that
her beloved Sodom was being destroyed. Shall I just get one last look
at that which I love the most? And here are these kings, much
like her, standing on the outskirts, watching the smoke of her burning.
Verse 10, they will stand far off in fear of her torment. They're
no fools. They know they've escaped, but
this is not a picture or a teaching. This is not doctrine. This is
not teaching us that the leaders will escape judgment. This is
a picture to help us understand the condition, the feelings,
the emotion, the visuals of what judgment is going to be like
in contrast to the suffering of the saints and then their
great glorification that comes when the Christ comes back. And
they will weep over her and say, alas, alas, you great city, you
mighty city Babylon, for in a single hour, your judgment has come.
How does something so great fall so quickly? What happened? This is their lament. The kings
of the earth look and lament. Verse 11, the merchants of the
earth. So we've got the rulers, now
we've got those who continue to purvey the goods, to bring
things in to be sold and purchased, that they may take their money
back in and live luxuriously, so that now these merchants come
and weep and mourn for her. Oh, woe is she! No one buys their
cargo because there is no one to purchase it. cargo of gold
and silver and jewels and pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk,
scarlet cloth, all the kinds of scattered woods, all articles
of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron,
marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil,
fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, chariots, slaves, that
is human souls, iPads, computers, motorcycles, And the list goes
on and on. It's worthless. And the merchants
weep. Who's going to buy our stuff?
Judgment is there and their problem is no one to sell to. You see
that? This is the condition of the
world we live in. For on the backs of paupers,
men make their millions. And they call it justified for
it is the minimum of the law. I was just telling Jesse about
some engagement I had with a business owner here a couple of years
ago who was causing his employees to clock out three hours before
they left because he refused to pay them. And I walked back
into the place where he did business. to make sure he could see me
and hear me, and I told them that it was illegal and that
they should walk out of this building if they were not on
the clock. And I tried to show the man that
a man that makes ill-gained money shall ill-gain his own demise,
and they didn't want to hear that. But that's the world in which
we live. Verse 14, these merchants cry, they sing the song of lament
for the fruit of which your soul longed has gone from you. You
hear that? The fruit for which your soul
longed has gone from you. The love of money, the love of
materialism, the love of luxury, and all your delicacies and your
splendors are lost to you, never to be found. See, this judgment
is not just a temporary famine. For even in a temporary famine,
some people survive. Some people go on. Crops are
redone. Money is remade. And then those
who are industrious and entrepreneurial, they come back to the place to
which they were. It's a known fact. Industrial
people, industrious people come back. But it's lost never to be found
in judgment. And the merchants who brought
these things in, the merchants of these wares, those who sold
them, those who used to sell them, those who got them from
the ship merchants that brought them into Babylon, now here are
these merchants who sold them. who gain wealth from her will
stand far off in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning
aloud. The great city was clothed in
fine linen and purple and scarlet adorned with gold with jewels
and pearls for a single hour. All this wealth has been laid
to waste. I remember being a kid and hearing
the story from a pulpit. I don't know that there was any
context or scripture with it but the story was how the man,
the rich man died and stood at the gates of heaven and he managed
to bring his gold with him. And he walked in and of course
it's always Saint Peter. Poor guy, standing outside of
heaven all the time. What is it you brought here?
I brought the wealth of the world, he said. It looks like you've
got pavement, just throw it over there. For we have streets of
gold to walk upon." I don't believe that. It's literal. And the shipmasters and seafaring
men, those who would ship this stuff, those who would move it
to and from, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood
far off and cried out as they saw the smoke overburning, what
city was like this great city? What city, what place is like
America? What place is like this world?
What life could I ever have that would be this glorious? And they drew dust on their heads
and wept and mourned. Look what they cried, verse 19.
Alas and alas for the great city where all who had ships at sea
grew rich by her wealth, for in a single hour she has been
laid waste. Rejoice over her, O heaven. You see who's talking now? The
angel again. The ship, merchants, the makers,
and the kings are all weeping. And the angel
says, Alas, the great city has been laid waste. Here's the contrast. Verse 20 of those who loved her
versus those who love the kingdom of light. Rejoice over her. Oh, heaven. and you saints and
apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against
her. Remember the occasion of this
writing? It was written to a people whose lives were being taken
away every day because they believed on Jesus Christ. Friends, we are not to the place
in our country where the sword comes to our neck. I'll try to stay off of a soapbox
right now, but let me go here just for a second. We live in a culture where a
man can sign his name to a piece of paper and destroy another
man. And we let it happen. Where someone can go to a judge
and say, my neighbor hurt me. And the judge goes, and then
a cop takes that and he forces that man to do whatever the judge
said he would do or they'll kill him. We live in a society where
a signature on a piece of paper can ruin a man's life. No witnesses, no judicial opportunity
to make sure it's fair and not greedy. No hearing. Lawsuit, judgment, protective
order. Divorce. That's what we live
in. And that's the persecution that
you'll see, beloved. Before the sword will come to
our neck, they will take us away from our stuff. Because why? They think if they can take from
us what they love most, that they've hurt us mostly. Oh, how
foolish. How foolish. Well, where's that happening?
Well, several places we see already across the country. Oh, you can't
have church here because it's not zoned correctly. I could
have a pagan devil-worshiping party, but I can't have a church
service in my house. Oh, but you can't do the... You know
what? You're a Christian and you said you weren't going to
bake this cake because you didn't believe in the lifestyle of the
person asking for it. Well, you know what? They're
bankrupt, living in a car. It's just getting started, y'all.
And we've got it made. If everybody in here loses their
house this week, we got it made. We all live in here. Because our brothers and sisters
in Afghanistan are taking their heads off. Our brothers and sisters
in certain parts of mainland China are losing their bodies
and their heads. People in Turkey, I don't know the statistic, but
I think four out of every hundred seminary graduates in certain
parts of the world live longer than two years when they go out
to the mission field or to plant churches. We got May, but it's
coming. It's coming, and the world as
a whole, one day, whether it be us or fifty generations from
now, one day it will get very bad. Friends, do not moan. Do not bemoan persecution in
this life. It is a gift. And God is judging the world for us. He will bring judgment against
those who hurt us. But Jesus is not just the example, but
He's the author of such things that I'm about to share with
you. What is it that Jesus said we should do to our enemies?
hate them, to love them. When we're persecuted, we do
not return revile with revile, but entrust ourselves to the
one who is faithful. To have this mind among you,
which is yours in Christ Jesus, not to take equality with God,
something to be grasped, but become a slave. What does that look like? I tell
you what it doesn't look like. It doesn't look like the American
dream. It doesn't look like the American way and it doesn't look
like the American church. Here's the answer. These latter
few verses. Verse 21, then a mighty angel
took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the
sea. You ever heard those words before?
Think about it. And as that big millstone threw
into the sea, you ever thrown a big rock? I know us guys have. I mean, we got to throw something
in the water. I mean, you know, people fishing, we don't care.
There's the birdbath. We want to throw something in
the water. We want to see the waves. We want to make a mess. We want
to make some noise. We want to submerge something. And if there's
nothing to throw, we throw each other. There you go, buddy. Wait, I can't swim. Bloop. Oh,
he's drowning. Let's throw somebody in to get him. Bloop. I mean,
you know. Men, you've got to throw something. Friends, imagine
this. Picture this. So, as that millstone
is thrown into the sea, what happens to the stone when it's
thrown into the sea? Sinks to the bottom. It becomes nothing
anymore. It no longer exists in the world.
Okay, all you logic rationalists, yes it does. It's just in a different
place. But I mean, what use does it have? It's at the bottom of
the ocean. You know where that is? That's nowhere. And in this time, there's
no way to get it out. We didn't have all sorts of cool
toys to go down and dig things up. When it went into the sea,
it wouldn't matter where it went to outer space. So Babylon, the great city, will
be thrown down. And not just plopped into the
ocean. It says thrown down with violence.
And will be no more. The world in which we live will
be thrown down by God with violence, and it shall be no more. Hallelujah! Praise the Lamb! See, these people
hated the world in which they lived. Jesse and I were talking before
service tonight, and a pretty prominent pastor who's well-known
among some circles had a heart attack today, and I think he's
in his early 50s, and he had surgery. Just a conversation, what in
the world do you think is going to happen with the guy or what would happen
with his ministry or whatever?" I said, I don't know, but I can
tell you this, I'd be angry. You know what I'd be angry about?
If I survived the heart attack. I'm not kidding. Let it be, Lord. This world, but if I live, may
I live for You. If I live and suffer, may it
be for Your namesake. If everything that we are and
everything that we have has to go away, then so be it, Lord,
because one day with violence, this world that so hatefully
hates us and so passionately pursues us and so just zealously
persecutes us will be no more. It'll be no more. Lay for yourselves
up treasures in heaven. Let the legacy be that of Jesus
Christ, not of this world. And look what that looks like,
verse 22 and to the end. And the sound of harpists and
musicians. See, when people talk about architecture
and they have all the buildings crumbling and all that kind of
stuff, I'm like, eh, I'm not really into that. But if you talk about
music, that starts to hit me. Oh my goodness. So no more Beethoven. No more Mozart, which I... I
can worship God in Mozart. No more musicians. No more nothing. No celebration. No funeral dirges. Nothing to appease the ears,
to move the soul. No romanticism. No poetry. No nothing. There is nothing
left of this God-forsaken, judgment-waiting world. It's gone. No more flute
players. No more trumpeters will be heard
in you. No more will these people be
heard in you. Custom, craftsmen will be found
in you no more. No, no more of these people will
be found in you. The sound of the mill will be
heard in you no more. There will be no more building.
There will be no more homes. There will be no more anything.
And the light of a lamp will shine on you no more. You know
why? Because she's in eternal darkness. She's in eternal judgment. And
she is the souls of unbelievers from the days of Cain until the
day of the return of Christ. Unbelievers. But look at the latter part of
verse 23. And the voice of bridegroom and
bride will be heard in you no more. Do you hear that? No more. No more shall the voice
of God be heard in you. Because until the day of judgment,
the church will live. And until the day of judgment,
the word of God will be heard. But friends, the word of God
is less heard now than it's been in a long time. Less and less and less and less
and less. Because the world is enticing,
the world is alluring, and we'd rather watch a movie that blasphemes
God than look at the glorious face of Jesus. We'd rather spend
time with things that don't even live rather than times with our
brothers and sisters in the living word. We would rather as a people,
not maybe you or me, but as a culture, we would rather waste away everything
we have for the sake of physical pleasure than we would suffer
for the sake of gospel. In judgment, there is no more
Jesus and His mercy coming from the midst of the world. Because
the only relationship that the lost will have with Jesus at
the day of judgment is not a season of long-suffering, but a continual
eternity of judgment and wrath. The church is gone from you.
because God has brought her anew. And they will not be heard in
you anymore, for your merchants were the great ones of the earth,
and all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. And in her,
in who, in the world, in Babylon, in the hearts of those who hate
God, was found the blood of prophets, and the blood of saints, and
of all those who have been slain on earth. And then I just want to read
verse 1 of chapter 19 because it is one thought continuing.
And after this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great
multitude in heaven crying out, Hallelujah, salvation and glory
and power belong to our God. You might say, well, what will
we do in the midst of judgment? We will be vindicated, beloved. You may not grasp, I do not grasp,
and I have tried to put myself there in my mind's eye, in many
opportunities, to put myself in the first century where Paul
suffered. I've tried to relate to inside
myself, I've had to relate my mind to the mind of Paul in such
a way that, what was it like to be hated by the people that
used to revere you and turn their gaze when you walked by them
as a powerful man? But worse than that, what was
it like to be the God of heaven, living on this earth? I am only
43 and I'm worn out here. Those
of you who are a little older, you're like, yeah, wait till
you're my age. And it doesn't get better, but
it does get more beautiful because we know that as we suffer, Christ
has suffered greater. As we are ridiculed, Christ was
ridiculed worse. As we hold on with no threads
and no fingernails, and there's not even a knot at the end of
our noose, for it has snapped off into the pit of fire, Christ
has suffered greatly, greater than we ever will. For the King
of Glory has stepped out of heaven to live for 33 years on this
earth as a hated nobody. What must it be like to be God
and walk around and be spat upon and your beard pulled out and
crown of thorns on your head and your body whipped beyond
recognition and you called the King of Kings in mockery when
you really were and did nothing about it. God will vindicate his church.
God will vindicate his name and God will vindicate his son. And he already has. He's raised
him from the dead. And in judgment, it will be done.
What will we do? When that time takes place, we
will worship Him for His salvation. So what should we do now? If
that's what the future that we can't see yet is waiting for
us, what does Paul say when he says this light momentary affliction
prepares us for an eternal weight of glory, bear with me, 40 seconds,
beyond all comparison. as we look not to the things
that are seen, the crud of the world, but to the things that
are unseen, the worship of God for His glorious salvation. How do I handle this? How do
I handle this job? How do I handle this marriage?
How do I handle this physical pain? How do I handle this financial
ruin? How do I handle my neighbors or my spouse or my children or
whatever it is that I'm going through, my depression? How do
I handle it? Praise. The Lord, for His glorious grace,
beloved, He has promised and He is faithful and nothing shall
separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord. And if we try to muster any other thing that will take
us into a place of rest, we will fail miserably. And those things
which we try to hold to are temporal and they will hurt us and we
will not have joy. verses, we surf along in this
life by faith in the one who loved us and gave himself for
us. That's how we live to the praise of his glorious grace.
That's what it looks like to keep our eyes on that which is
to come. And friends, the word of God gives us the power to
do it. This text, this text teaches
us to stand firm because Christ is who we stand upon. Let's pray. We love you, Father. We cannot
imagine the strain of the suffering. I mean, just to be born and to
grow up 30 years before your ministry, before the ministry
of Jesus, Lord, became public. To sit quietly as a recluse, as an unloved person, so that
you might die for those that hate you. Lord, help us to sit and be in
awe over your grace because of your
gospel. We thank you, Lord, that you've
loved us so. That you gave. That you died. That you redeemed. This is the love that you have
for us. And you've loved us in this way. Lord, purpose to draw our hearts
to you. And to draw our hearts to your
love. For you say in your word that you will, but we pray that
for ourselves and for each other this moment, no matter what sits
upon us as a burden that seems too heavy. Lord, your son says
his burden is light and his yoke is easy. Attach us there to that
vine that we may flourish for your namesake. In Jesus name
we pray. Amen.