Revelation 18 is a declaration
of the fall of Babylon. Not the actual city of Babylon,
but Babylon as a figure of idolatrous religion. Religion of works, the religion
of free will and decisionism. Religion of self-righteousness.
men trying to make for themselves a way into heaven. In Revelation 17, the name written
upon the forehead of the great whore of religion is Mystery
Babylon. It's a mystery to this world.
They don't understand and just cannot believe that the overwhelming
majority of religion in this world is Antichrist. You say
that among religious folks and they'll look at you like you're
from another planet. They'll look at you like you're
some kind of a cult. But here it says upon her forehead
was this name written, Mystery Babylon, The great. He says the great because it's
not a small minority, but it's the majority. The mother of harlots and abominations
of the earth. And God spoke of her fall back
in Jeremiah chapters 50 and 51 in great detail. If you care
to read it this afternoon, you'll see in there where he talks about
that. And he was so adamant about her
judgment that he caused his prophet to pen an entire book declaring
her fall and demise. And then when he'd finished the
writings, and they'd finished reading those writings to the
people, God told his prophet to take a stone and bind it to
the book that he'd written and go out there at the bank of the
Euphrates River and toss it in. Now if you will recall our former
studies where I mentioned to you that there was a river that
flowed in to the Garden of Eden and when it left the garden,
it branched off into four different rivers. One of those was the
Euphrates. And this river is the river of
God's redemptive purpose. It flowed into the garden and
branched out of the garden and flowed to the uttermost parts
of the earth and everything on this earth in time is made to
drink from those rivers, that river of God's purpose. And here
he takes her demise. He takes the book of his declaration
of her demise and he binds to it a stone and he tosses it in
the river of God's purpose. God's purpose is that she be
no more. And that's what He declares to
her. What's being shown us here is
that the Word of God, which is declaring the sure defeat and
judgment of Babylon, is fixed in the eternal purpose of God.
Now, what is this stone bound to the word of God, which the
prophet took and tossed into the river? What is this stone?
Well, this stone, I believe, to be a sure token of God's judgment
of Babylon is nothing more than the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the
stone. To the believer, he's precious.
He's a precious cornerstone. God took that stone that the
builders disallowed, and he made it the head of the corner. And
to the believer, he's precious. He's the precious cornerstone.
But unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders
disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a
stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them that
stumble at the word, being disobedient, Peter said, whereunto also they
were appointed. There is a rock, the rock Christ
Jesus, upon which the Lord shall build his church, and the gates
of hell shall not prevail against him. But this rock also, having
borne our sins and his own body on the tree, is a guarantee of
the present and future judgment of all that believe not. He that
believeth not shall be damned. On whomsoever, this is what our
Lord said in Matthew 21, 44. On whomsoever this stone shall
fall, it will grind him to powder. And God bound His Word to His
Son in such a way that His name is declared to be the Word. He
is the Word. He is the eternal Word. In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. And not only the salvation of
God's elect, but also the judgment of God. He is the Word. In John 5, 22, he said, for the
Father judgeth no man, he's committed all judgment unto the Son. When
we're talking about the judgment of Babylon, we're talking about
something which will be performed by the Son, whom they rejected,
whom they despised, whom they hated. In verse 27 of John chapter
5, he said, He hath given him authority to execute judgment
also because he is the Son of Man. He's the mediator. He's the one mediating the will
of God. He said, The hour is coming in
which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice and shall
come forth them that have done good under the resurrection of
life and them that have done evil under the resurrection of
damnation. But they're all going to hear
his voice and he'll be their judge. In Revelation 18 verse
21 we have a vision of a mighty angel taking up a stone like
a great millstone and casting it into the sea. And the throwing of this great
stone into the sea to picture this. He said, thus with violence
shall that great city Babylon be thrown down and shall be found
no more at all. Right now Babylon sits where
all can see her. and we're all confined to her.
You can't go anywhere without seeing her house. Did you know
that? You can't go anywhere. I have
a store two blocks from my house. I can't go to the store without
seeing her house. She can be found anywhere. Her
house is on every corner in every city throughout the world. She boasts herself the friend
of the weary, the hand stretched out to strangers, having food
for the hungry, hospitals for the sick, schools for the ignorant,
home for the homeless. And this religion, which is so
easy to find, easy is their, that's their word. Easy. That's what describes them best. Easy. Everything with them is
easy. Easy. Easy believism. That's what they
preach. And religion, which is so easy
to find, shall not be found at all. Nothing shall be left but
the smoke of her burning. Revelation 18.22. Now watch this. Here's some more about her judgment.
And the voice of harpers and musicians and pipers and trumpeters
shall be heard no more at all in her. In her. They gonna be heard, but not
in her. The first thing come to my mind
when I heard that was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. These great
choir, world-renowned, world-renowned. All the so-called gospel quartets. When I was a kid growing up,
you could turn the TV on on Sunday morning and that's all you could
find was gospel quartets. All the music which has such
a draw and effect on people, all the rhythmic, sensual, hypnotic
sounds, All gonna be gone. All gonna be gone. Now there's
nothing evil about music. We sing hymns. We have people
play specials for us from time to time, guitars and piano and
such. There's nothing evil about music
except how and why it is played by evil men. But in the hands of them of the
synagogue of Satan, Music is as deadly as their message. Their music is called, here in
this verse, the voice. The voice. You say, a guy plays
a harp, there's no voice. Oh, yes, there is. Oh, yes, there
is. He calls it the voice of harpers,
musicians, pipers, trumpet players. Music, under the influence of
Satan, lulls men into a false sense of fellowship with God. Clap their hands. They do this
to the music. Pretty soon, the whole audience.
You ever watch these false prophets on TV and see that big crowd
out there? You watch what happens when they
play the music. They're all into the music. Everything. Hands up. I have personally testified,
myself, when I was in religion, I have personally testified of
meetings where the music was so sweet, so sweet, that I believed
and confessed that the spirit of God was there, based on nothing
but the music. I didn't understand what the
man said. I didn't know anything at all about the preaching of
the gospel being the power of God unto salvation. I didn't
really understand the scriptures that he quoted or the message
that he preached, but just the music, just the music. And I said, boy, you should have
been there last night. The Spirit of God was in that.
Why? Because of the music. And here
our Lord said, their voice ain't going to be heard anymore in
her, in her. Babylon shall not be found. Their
music shall not be heard. He said that it's going to be
heard no more at all. Not at all. Not in the distance. Not by a few. Not at all. And then thirdly, Revelation
18, 22, he says, no craftsman of whatsoever craft he be shall
be found any more in her. I'm going to be a fan. What's the first thing that comes
to your mind in modern day when you think about what he's talking
about here? First thing that popped into
my mind was the Crystal Cathedral out in California. A work of
architecture. Beautiful, beautiful building.
The National Cathedral. What about the Vatican? the Sistine
Chapel. You can go on and on and on throughout
the world. Some of the most noted architecture
in this world is in false religion. And again I say there's nothing
wrong with being a Christian until he puts and uses his talent
toward idolatry. Isaiah said, the smith with the
tongs works in the coals. And the carpenter stretches out
his rule and maketh it with a line. And the residue thereof he uses
to make himself a god, a graven image. And he falleth down before
it and worshipeth it. And he prays to it for deliverance. And then he puts it on his back
He's God. He puts it on his back and he
carries it off and stores it in a safe place. He said they lavish gold out
of a bag and weigh silver in the balance and hire a goldsmith
to make them a god and they bear it on their shoulders and they
carry him and set him in his place. It is the craftsman, the
artist, the architect, and the smith that are used by Satan
to build his synagogues and leave men in awe of their beauty. That's why they go in. Wow, what
a place. Look at this place. You walk
in and you're just in awe. You're in awe when you see it
from the outside and you walk in and the awe goes even deeper. You look at those stained glass
windows and you look at those, the way they shape everything
in there and these statues and all of these images and crosses
and all of this stuff. Who do you think does that? Craftsmen. Craftsmen. Well, who pays them
to do it? Huh? The great whore. And that's why they mourn her
death when she's gone. Images so countless they can't
be named. But not in that day, he said,
no craftsman shall be found anymore in Babylon. And then fourthly,
Revelation 18, 22. The sound of the millstone shall
be heard no more in thee at all. If I had one word to describe
my former experience in religion, it'd be the word busy. Busy,
busy, busy. I love how Paul said this, and
he knew it. He knew it by experience. He
was raised in it, just like I was. He said, they're going about,
just going about. Look like a bunch of ants. They're
just going about. What are they doing? They're
trying to establish a righteousness and will not submit unto the
righteousness of God. They're busy. They're busy. Every
day busy. Busy tearing down, and busy building
back, and busy going here and there, and so many meetings and
activities, you hardly have a day for yourself. And then, think about this, this
millstone represents the maker of our daily bread. Our daily
bread. Babylon is the source of this
world's bread. And the destruction of Babylon
is the destruction of the world. She's the center of all economic,
political, and philosophical ends. Everything revolves around
her. And the more I study the scriptures,
the more I understand what this world is all about. Listen to
these scriptures. john said and we know that we
are god he's called us out of darkness into the light we know
that we know that we believe the record that god gave up his
son we've trusted on his son we know that we are god and here's
what else we know the whole world life in wickedness all of it He said, love not the world,
neither the things of the world. All of these things in the world
are not of the Father. They're not the gifts of God
to you. He tells us if we were of the
world, the world would love His own. But because you're not of
the world, but I've chosen you out of the world, therefore the
world hateth you. Listen to this, when He was in
the world, who was? The Word, the Eternal Word, without
whom was not anything made that was made. He was in the world
and the world knew Him not. And then listen to this, He said,
this is the condemnation of God. You wanna see the judgment of
God? You wanna know where the judgment of God? People say,
well, you talk about the whole world being judged of God. I
don't see where you get that. Here's where I get it, right
here. John chapter three, I believe it's verse 19. This is the condemnation. Light has come into the world
and the world loved darkness rather than light because their
deeds. are evil. That's the judgment. And what is the definition of
an ungodly life? Paul said it's walking according
to the course of this world. And then the scripture said Christ
gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this
present evil world. And what of the false prophet?
The scripture said, they are of the world, therefore speak
they of the world, and the world heareth them. You see what he's
talking about here when he's talking about it's the world,
the whole world. The sound of the great millstone
shall not be heard no more at all in thee. revelation eighteen
twenty-three here's the next time and the light of the candle
shall shine no more at all in thee no more light in Babylon
God gonna snuff out all his candles no more light at all even the
artificial light of a candle shall be snuffed out How many
candles have been burnt in the name of religion? Oh, my soul. In the movies and in just events
that the news promotes and shows around 5 and 6 o'clock at night,
you sit there and watch them, and it's not going to take very
long before they're going to show you the inside of a cathedral
with all the candles burning. They're all lit for the dead. How many candles have burned
to set the emotions of men on fire and to give an experience
where no experience was ever given? But no more. Not so much as the
light of a single candle should shine in thee anymore. Her day of light is over. It's
over. And the voice of the bridegroom
and of the bride shall be heard no more at all, he said, in thee. I will be heard. Our Lord said,
for as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating
and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage until the
day that Noah entered into the ark. And they knew not until
the flood came and took them all away. So shall it be. in the coming of the Son of Man. Look back at Revelation 18, 23. For thy merchants were the great
men of the earth. For by thy sorceries were all
nations deceived. I was standing in line at Walmart
or Kroger's. I don't remember where it was.
We were at both. And there's magazine racks there,
so you stand in line, you're looking at all these magazines.
And Newsweek featured a big picture of Billy Graham. And here's the
title at the bottom of the page, America's Man of God. And what is Billy Graham except
a false prophet? asked point blank by a news representative
in an interview whether or not he preached Calvinistic doctrine. He said, yes, I did. Yes, I did.
Well, she said, you don't preach that doctrine now. Oh, no. And she said, well, why not?
He said, because I found out it was ruining my ministry. I tell you, if you've got a ministry,
preaching the gospel will ruin it. They'll despise you, they'll
put you out of the building. That's what our Lord said to
his disciples, they'll put you out of their synagogues. You
ain't gonna go in their synagogues and preach this message. You
might one time, but then they'll put you out. For thy merchants, Revelation
18, 23, were the great men of the earth, for by thy sorceries
were all nations deceived. False religion is here described
as a sorcery. A sorcery. In Galatians 3, 1,
Paul said, O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you? Who has performed this so-called
magic that has drawn you away from the grace of God? And I'm
telling you, religion is sorcery. It's nothing more than witchcraft
practiced in the pulpit of the average church. That's all it
is. It's demonic witchcraft. She
casts her spell on men and they do her bidding. Let me ask you
a couple questions. How else can you explain their
rebellion of a gospel read from the Word of God and explained
in the simplest of terms, how else can you explain their immediate
rejection of it who have never studied the word of God? Sorcery. Sorcery. How else can you explain their
immediate rejection of the truth demonstrated in the life, death,
and resurrection of Christ? Light came into the world. Demonstrated
light. Right before their eyes, right
in their presence. Miracles performed by Christ,
God confirming Him as His own Son. Right before their eyes. And yet they preferred a murderer
to Him. You got some other explanation
for that? That's sorcery. by her sorceries, now watch this,
were all nations deceived. Not one or two people. Entire
nations. All right, verse 24, Revelation
18. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints
and of all that were slain upon the earth. Our Lord said to the
scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23, 33. He said, you serpents,
that's what he called them, serpents, you generation of vipers, how
can you escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I
send unto you prophets and wise men and scribes. And some of
them you're going to kill, and some of them you're going to
crucify. And some of them shall you scourge in your synagogues
and persecute from city to city. Why? That upon you, now listen
to this, may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth. from
the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, the son
of Barthias, whom you slew between the temple and the altar. All
the blood gonna come upon you. In her was found the blood of
prophets and of saints and of all that were slain upon the
earth. And our Lord said to his disciples, the time cometh that
whosoever killeth you will think he does God a service. I visioned the Apostle Paul at
the stoning of Stephen, man of God, a Pharisee. In fact, a Pharisee of the Pharisees. He was at the top of his class.
And he stood there, and he held the clothes of them who stoned
Stephen, and the whole time he was saying, amen, amen. False religion is not just refusing
to believe the truth or rejecting a point of doctrine, it's identifying
yourself with the Antichrist and taking upon yourself the
blood guiltiness of every saint that was ever slain and of the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm gonna tell you, when Israel
cried out at the preaching at Pentecost, and they cried out,
what shall we do? They cried out because Paul showed
them, or Peter showed them, under the power of the Holy Spirit,
that their fingers were dripping with the blood of the Son of
God. And they said, what are we gonna do? What are we gonna
do? We've killed the Son of God.
We killed the Son of Man. We killed the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the sure judgment of
Babylon and Babylonian religion, and it's so signified by the
great millstones cast into the sea. May the Lord help us all
to see it and recognize it and treat it just that way. Thank
you.