All right, let's take our Bibles
and turn to Revelation chapter 18. We'll be looking at verses 9
through 20. While you're turning there to
Revelation 18, I want to remind you that these visions that we've
been studying and looking at in the book of Revelation are
describing the end of the world. And by that, I don't necessarily
mean the very moment of it. It's been the end of the world
since Christ appeared in the world. That's been the end of the world.
Listen to this verse in Hebrews chapter 9, beginning in verse
24. For Christ is not entered into
the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the
truth. but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence
of God for us. Nor yet that he should offer
himself often as a high priest entereth into the holy place
every year with blood of others. For then must he have often suffered
since the foundation of the world. But now, once in the end of the
world, hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
himself. So it's been the end of the world
ever since Christ appeared. Ever since Christ came and accomplished
the redemption that was pictured and promised since the foundation
of the world. And we've been studying the end
of the world and the judgment which shall follow it. But God's
judgment's been taking place from the very beginning. It's
a mistake, I think, to think in our minds and hearts and live
accordingly that judgment's way out there somewhere. That's what
we were taught when I was just a kid growing up in religion.
Judgment's coming. Judgment's out there. And surely
it is out there and it is coming. But judgment is going on right
now. And judgment took place from
the very beginning. By one man, sin entered into
the world. But that's not all that happened.
Death passed. How did death pass? By the judgment
of God. By the offense of want, this
whole world fell under the condemnation of God. He judged this world in the days
of Noah. Seeing that every imagination
of the thoughts of men were only evil continually, God judged
them. God's judgment seen in every plague, every disaster,
drought, and famine that has ever come upon man. That's God's
judgment. Now either God's in control of
these things, 100%, or He's not in control of anything. The Bible
said He's in control. He's in the whirlwind. And God's judgment has come upon
every unbelieving rebel who knows not God and will not obey his
gospel. He's not in a vacuum. He's not
somewhere just out here isolated. Nothing's going on. No judgment.
No nothing. No. Judgment takes place in his
heart and mind. He that believeth not He shall
not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. And God's judgment was made manifest
to all by the presence and work of Jesus Christ our Lord. He
tells us in John 3, 19, this is the condemnation. Light has
come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light.
Why? Because their deeds were evil.
Does that mean they were all drunks and adulterers? No. No, their deeds. All their deeds. Their righteous deeds. Their
worshiping deeds. Their praying deeds. Their understanding
deeds. Their deeds were evil and they
saw this man and everything that he was and everything he stood
for and everything he said was contrary to what they thought
was right. And their deeds were evil and
they wanted no part of that life. And this is what I believe is
the subject of Revelation chapter 18. It is the judgment of the
great whore, that city which bears her name and the people
who worship her. He's gonna talk about them. And
he's gonna talk about the people that support her and promote
her and are made rich by her. He's gonna talk about anybody
and everybody that has any connection whatsoever with Babylon. Revelation 18 verse 9. And the kings of the earth who
have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her shall
bewail her and lament for her when they shall see the smoke
of her burning. standing afar off for fear of
her torment, saying, alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that
mighty city, for in one hour is thy judgment come. How did it come? How did it come? It came quickly.
It came powerfully. It came irresistibly. It came
justly and righteously, and it came irreversibly, and it came
permanently. Her judgment come, there she
is, she's laying in the heat, burning, burning. Verse 11. And the merchants of the earth,
here's the kings, all the politicians, all the leaders, all the The
men that we look to for leadership in the nation, here they all
are, and they're all bewailing the burning of Babylon, the burning
of the great whore. And the merchants of the earth
shall weep and mourn over her. Why would they mourn over her?
They didn't love her. They didn't love her. They had
no affection for her. They didn't necessarily attend
her meetings. So why are they mourning? It
tells you here in the second half of the verse. But that no
man buyeth their merchandise anymore. That's why. Now, I challenge you. Go down to Walmart, any Walmart. Any state, go to Walmart or any
other big store, not just Walmart, any store. Go to the jewelry
section and walk through there and see what the bulk of that
jewelry is. Is it not crosses? Crucifixes? Got Jesus spelled out on the
end of a golden chain? Got the saints' images there
on the chains? See what the bulk, see if I'm
telling you the truth. The bulk of the jewelry in their
store has something directly to do with organized religion. Of some kind. Of some kind. No man buyeth their merchandise
any more, verse 12. What kind of merchandise? The
merchandise of gold and silver and precious stones and of pearls
and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet and all thine
wood. What on earth is thine wood? When you run into things like
this in the scripture, don't just set them aside and go on.
Go find out what that means. At the very least, take a dictionary
look at it. Thine wood is a wood used for
incense. That's what it is. It's wood
that you can light and it'll burn slowly and it gives off
a fragrance and it's used in false worship. All thine wood. And all manner of vessels of
ivory and all manner of of vessels of most precious wood, and of
brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odors, and
ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour,
wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and
slaves. Now watch this. And souls of
men. It's not just the merchant down
at Walmart or down at your nearest jewelry store. It's false prophets
of whom we're told are merchandisers of men's souls. They deal in
the souls of men. And they're mourning over the
burning of Babylon. They're mourning over the burning
of the great whore because nobody's buying anymore. They're not buying what they're
selling. So I want you to see first of
all that The first sentence of these verses is concerning the
gain of merchants who profit from the sale of goods used directly
in the idolatrous worship of false religion. Their buildings,
my soul, drive through Texarkana, go down through Shreveport and
look at those buildings. Some of them cover two blocks,
two square blocks in the city. Think about how much money went
into that building and into those windows and into that parking
lot and into that property. And then their dress, their vehicles,
their jewelry, all these things. It's beyond calculation. Clothing and jewelry and buildings
and the list goes on and on. Do you know that there was only
one time that our Lord struck out in anger and justly so. He platted a whip and he whipped
out the money changers out of the temple. The money changers,
what are they? They're just merchants, just
merchants. You have to have a sacrifice,
no problem, we'll have one for you. Earl Shires, 2995, get your sheet
right here. They were in the temple, calling
out, selling whatever it was they needed. You need a dove,
we got doves. You need a sheep, we got sheep.
You need a goat, we got goats. What do you want? Come and get
it. It's right here. And what's worse is it had become
acceptable. It was acceptable to everybody
except the Lord. And he saw what was going on
and he sat down and platted a whip and beat the money changers out
of the temple. And then secondly, I want you
to see that these businessmen, they represent more than just
those merchants who sold jewelry and things directly connected
with religion. These businessmen represent any
and every man and woman who set their hearts on the things of
this world. John said this, love not the
world, he didn't stop there, neither the things of this world. The scripture said covetousness
We see something. We want it. We do whatever we
have to do to have it. Covetousness, he said, which
is idolatry. He said the love of money is
the root of all evil. Money's not. Solomon said money
answers all things. You can't do anything without
money. Not very much. You have to have it. Go down
here to buy groceries. They're not going to... They're not going to trade you
a smile for your groceries. You've got to come up with some
money. And money answers all things, but the love of money
is the root of all evil. And then the wares and the comfort
and the wealth of this world deceives men into believing that
they have no need of God. and they had no need of his gospel. That rich young ruler, or not
the rich young ruler, but there was a man who came to him and
he said, I know what I'm gonna do. He was a successful farmer. Probably had seven, eight years.
Real good crops. Took him in, he said, I know
what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna tear down my barns and build
bigger barns. And the Lord said, no you're
not. You're gonna be taken out of this world and you're gonna
come meet me. That's what you're gonna do. Them crops didn't mean much to
him after that, did it? He didn't care much for his barns
after that. You see what I'm saying? You
can, it's good to have a home. You need a home. You need a place
to get in out of the weather. You need a place where you can
cook your meals and raise your kids. I'm not trying to tell
you not to have a home, go live in a grass shack. But I'm telling
you, you don't need a palace. You just need a home. You understand
the difference? There's a difference. And we
go after this world's goods, and then when we get them, we
say, soul, take thy knee, just like that old farmer. I'm going
to sit down, he said, in my easy chair. I'm going to put my feet
up and say, soul, soul, what's your soul got to do with
barns? But that's what he thought. He
thought he could say, soul, take thine ease. Where did he put
his security? Where did he put his
trust into what he had built with his own hands? Things of
this world. And that's what John said, love
not the world, neither the things of the world. Why? I'll give
you two reasons. Number one, John said, for these
are not of the Father. That's why. It's not of the Father. These things that we crave and
we're going after, they're not of the Father, they're of the
world. And I'll give you the second
reason. Because all these things are going to be burned up. They're
going to be burned up. They're going to be destroyed. Kings of the earth who slept
with her and gained from their association with her, who have
become rich and powerful, now see their gain burning and smoldering
and going up in smoke. And the merchants, especially
the merchandisers of men's souls, now wail at her passing, for
no man buys what they're selling anymore. Verse 15. The merchants of these things,
which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for fear
of her torment, weeping and wailing and saying, alas, alas, that
great city that was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet
and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, for in one
hour so great riches had come to naught. And every ship master
and all the company and ships and sailors and as many as trade
by the sea stood afar off. And they cried when they saw
the smoke of her burning, saying, what city is like unto this great
city? And they cast dust on their heads
and cried, weeping and wailing and saying, alas, alas, that
great city wherein we're made rich. wherein were made rich all that
had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness. For in one
hour she made desolate. Why does the Lord make such a
wide description of people and kings and businessmen and sailors
when he's talking about this judgment and the judgment of
this great whore? Why such a broad scope? Why is
he going into so much detail and talking about merchants and
talking about kings and talking about nations? Why does he do
that? He does that to remind us that
the whole world, that's what John said, and we know the whole
world, we are of God. We believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and trust in Him. We are God, we know this. And there's something else we
know, the whole world lies in wickedness. But he needs to remind us, don't
he? We know it, but we need reminded. They're all in some way influenced
directly or indirectly by Satan and his anti-Christ religion.
When she's judged, the whole world will mourn her passing. Say, preacher, I just don't know
if I can buy that or not. Well, let me give you some examples. Here's a famous man in false
religion that died recently, Billy Graham. Billy Graham. You know every politician every famous person is trying
to have have their name some way in association with this
dead man, Billy Graham and what was Billy Graham but
a false prophet a messenger of Satan and yet all these all these
men of power and all these great men and all these They all want
their name in association with Billy Graham because they can
get something out of it. What about the passing of every
pope in my lifetime? I've seen presidents and governors
and famous people want to be in association some way in the
funeral of the pope. and all these men are nothing
more than ministers of the devil, they're antichrists to the core,
yet millions cry at their passing. So what of this world's religion
in a whole? When God sweeps it all up in
a pan and takes it out and throws it in a pile and sets it on fire,
what then? Then the whole world will put
dust and ashes on their head and mourn over the passing of
religion. They're all gonna mourn over
her passion, but not those who know God. Now watch this, Revelation
18, verse 20. Here's the whole world. I mean,
we're looking at a multitude that I guess no man could number. Great multitude, and they're
all over here, and they're all mourning and wailing the passing. They're sitting there far off,
and they're seeing her smoke rise up in the air, and here
they are, and they're mourning and mourning and mourning. But
watch this, Revelation 18, verse 20. Rejoice over her, thou heaven,
and ye holy apostles and prophets, for God hath avenged you on her. This is something this world
don't believe in. That our God is a God of vengeance. Now he tells us not to take vengeance. And he tells us why. He said,
vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord. Vengeance belongs to the Lord.
Now I don't need to revile men when they revile me. I don't
know if you even know what revile means. It means to denounce something
with abusive language. That's what it means to revile.
So when somebody curses at me and tries to mock me and mock
what I'm saying and mock the God that I love and have hope
in, I don't need to revile back at him. Vengeance is mine, our
Lord said. I will repay. In fact, he says in the scripture,
blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you
and shall say all manner of evil against you, falsely, for my
sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad,
for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets
which were before you. We're assured in the scriptures,
the Lord said judgment is mine. He said, I will lay to the lion
righteousness. Judgment, I'll lay to the lion.
Righteousness to the plump. He tells us that our angels do
always stand before our father awaiting his instruction. All of them ordained of God,
powerful, beautiful, invisible creatures. And here they are,
and they're standing before our Father, all of our angels standing
before Him, waiting His instruction. Our Lord said to Satan, I could call down 10,000 legions
of angels. And so as the whole world mourns
over the smoke of burning Babylon, believers don't mourn, they rejoice. They rejoice. Why do they rejoice? Because they understand why she's
burning. And they know something about
the evil and the torment of her persecution. They understand
and they're able to rejoice. She was nothing to them but a
curse. Nothing to them but trouble and disappointment. They saw her for what she was
and warned men of her power and influence and warned men's children
of her false ways and ideas. Warned folks of her cursed standing
before God. And now her standing's made clear
to all. Here she is, burning under the
judgment of God and all God's people rejoicing. They all justify
God in her suffering. And what's more is that God has
avenged her persecution of His people. And I want to be clear about
this. If you are, right now, in any way, giving in to the
religion of Babylon, you better know this. Payday's coming. It's coming. It's coming. False religion is now present
and powerful and flourishing in the world, but not for long. Not for long. God's making known
to us her judgment and the judgment of all them who have an association
with her. Do you know anything that God
has ever said in this book that didn't come to pass? Exactly how he said it would
come to pass, exactly when he said it would come to pass, not
one thing in this book has ever failed. So do I have any reason
to believe that Babylonian religion is not going to burn? Then why
would I want any association with her? The frightening thing is that
God has already sealed the doom of some. It tells us in the scripture
that He's given them over to believe a lie and be damned because
they would not receive the love of the truth that they might
be saved. Paul said, Demas hath forsaken
me. He called Demas a faithful servant
one time. He said, Demas hath forsaken
me, having loved this present world. And there are some that Jude
talks about, even among God's elect, who are spots in our feast
of charity. They're clouds without water.
They promise water. You go out there, you've had
a long, dry spell, and you go out there and you see that cloud
coming, boy, you're in big hopes that thing's gonna come over
and drop a little shower, and it comes over and it just goes
over. Clouds without water. Carried about by every wind of
doctrine. Have no fruit of the spirit.
Twice dead, he said. Twice dead. Plucked up by the
roots. Shooting stars. Go out here at
night and you see that star and it's traveling across the sky
faster than you could even calculate. And that thing Man, it flares
up, it's bright, you see it, it's brighter than any star in
the heaven, and all of a sudden, boom, it goes out. Jude said there's some even in
the presence of God's elect that are shooting stars, blazing lights
for a brief time, but then fade into the blackness of darkness
forever. Judgment's taking place in the
house of God. every time the saints gather
to meet. And I'm telling you this, my
friend, God is here foretelling the certain doom of false religion
and of this world who's under her influence. Because she's
doomed, he tells his people to come out of her completely. Separate
yourselves from her and have no fellowship with her.