Let's take our Bibles and turn
to Revelation chapter 16. And we'll just look at verses 10
and 11. Now these angels that he's writing
about here, they came out of the temple. It's a picture. This whole thing is a picture.
It's a vision that John had of the Lord. And he looked into
heaven and these are things that he's seeing in picture form. In pattern. And he's looking
up and he's seeing these things as God reveals them to him. And
these seven angels came out of this temple. And these angels,
or messengers of God, had vows of wrath and plagues. These things were poured out
on the world. And we've studied these first
four angels and now we're going to look at the fifth in verse
10. And the fifth angel poured out
his vial upon the seed of the beast. And his kingdom was full
of darkness. And they gnawed their tongues
for pain. and blasphemed the God of heaven
because of their pains and their sores and repented not of their
deeds. Now we left off last week talking
about the plague of false religion. False religion is a plague. It's a judgment of God which
is poured out on this world. And of all the plagues and disasters
and judgments which God has brought upon men, the greatest is false
religion. Why? Because false religion leaves
a person to hope in a useless remedy. When the hypochondriac What's
that? That's somebody who thinks they're
sick all the time and diagnoses themselves and then treats themselves
for whatever illness that they think they have. When the hypochondriac can't
be persuaded that he doesn't have the illness that he's diagnosed
himself to have, the doctors used to give them sugar pills and they'd be cured. I'd say,
OK, you've got whatever it is you told me you had, and here's
my prescription. And he'd send down to the druggist,
and the druggist would give him sugar pills. He'd take them.
He was just fine. Just fine. Well, false religion
encourages men and women to perform a self-diagnosis. A self-diagnosis. And then they give them the sugar
pill of a false hope to cure it. And they go out. And they just feel great. They
just feel great. In Revelation 16.10, this fifth
angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast and his
kingdom was full of darkness. Now let's begin this morning
by just thinking about what is the seat of the beast? There were two beasts. Do you
remember we looked at them? One of them was government. and
one of them was religion. And here he's talking about the
beast of false religion. Most of the writers I read interpret
this as governments under which false religion thrives. You see,
I don't care what you're talking about, it's made up of people. If you're talking about government
or if you're talking about religion or whatever you're talking about,
all of these things are made up of men. And men are falling
into prey. And most of the writers here
interpret this as the governments under which false religion thrives. That might very well be. I don't
know. God toppled Jerusalem, I know
that, in 70 AD because of their rejection of Christ and left
them all gnawing their tongues for pain, just like it says in
this verse. God burned Sodom and Gomorrah
to ashes. There was nothing left of Sodom
and Gomorrah. except for a few that he delivered. And God flooded the whole world
because of their evil imaginations and their utter rejection of
his mercy through the promised seed of Christ. He destroyed
the whole world. But to me, this verse seems to
speak of the hearts of men. The real seat of the beast is
the heart. That's where he rules. That's
where he reigns. in the hearts of men. And no
government would promote or even tolerate false religion if their
hearts were not filled with darkness. So you see here, when this angel
is pouring out his vial of wrath, he's pouring it out on a heart, on a heart that has heard over
and over and over and rejected over and over and over. And God's
wrath is filled up and he takes that vial and he pours it on
that heart. Men and women who don't know
God, the scripture said, they walk in the vanity of their minds,
having their understanding darkened. sit at the funeral homes and
they talk about past loved ones looking down and hearing voices
in the night and all kind of mystic nonsense. And maybe those
things are real to them. Maybe they actually have those
experiences. You want an experience, Satan
will give you one. He'll give you one. You want
to speak in tongues, he'll let you. You want something, he'll
give it to you if that's what you want. Men walk in a vanity of their
minds, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from
the life of God through the ignorance that's in them. It's their nature. That's Ephesians 4, 17 and 18.
God's wrath is poured out on the seed of the beast and his
kingdom. Who's his kingdom? This ball
and world. This fallen world. Now it's organized
into governments and it's organized into religion. But it's still this world. Still
this world. And God's wrath is poured out
on the seed of the beast. In Luke chapter 11, our Lord
tells his accusers how and why he casted out devils. They said,
you cast out devils by the spirit of Beelzebub. That is, by the
spirit of the devil. You cast out devils. And he said,
if Satan be divided against himself, he can't stand. He said, that's
an impossibility. Satan would never cast out Satan. But here's what he told them
in verse 21, Luke 11, 21. He said, when a strong man arm
keepeth his palace, his goods are at peace. That strong man,
Satan, he's keeping his palace. What's his palace? The heart
of man. And he's got him. And you get
his heart, you got his mind. You got his will. You've got
his thinking, you've got his imagination, you've got everything
he has, and all of his goods are at peace because his strongman
arm rules, reigns. Now picture that strongman arm
walking the walls of his palace, trusting in his own ability and
trusting in his refuge to keep out the opposition and glorying
in the treasures within his palace, believing that they're safe forever. They're his forever. Verse 22,
but one a stronger than he shall come upon him and overcome him. He taketh from him all his armor
wherein he trusted and divides his foes. Now that's the only
way a strong man arm can be rooted out. One stronger than he, who's
that? It ain't you. Scripture said Satan takes us
captive at his will. We're no match for him. But the
stronger than he is the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit
of Christ that takes the message of Christ into the heart and
brings down the strong man. So the seed of the beast is the
hearts of men and what is government and what is
religion except groups of men. groups of men. But how do you
explain the tolerance of government and even its promotion of false
religion? Well, in John 15, 19, he said,
if you were of the world, the world would love its own. It
really don't matter what you believe to this world. Now, if you're going to join
a church and you're going to be a pastor there, or you're
gonna teach Sunday school there, they may put you through a test
and they may require certain things of you, but this world
don't care what you believe. They don't care what you believe,
so long as it's not the gospel of God's sovereign grace. Anything
else, they'll tolerate. Anything else, they'll promote. I've seen Baptist presidents
with their arm around the Pope. Have you not? I've seen Jimmy Carter. He was
a Baptist Sunday school teacher. I've seen him shaking hands and
smiling and just friendly as he can be with false prophets. This world will tolerate anything
except the truth. Why? Because that vial of God's
wrath being poured out on Satan's seat, being poured out on that
heart, and his kingdom was full of darkness. He can't see. He
can't see. Don't realize what it is they're
doing. So the seat of the beast is the hearts of men, and what
is government or religion except groups of men? And then again, John tells us
in 1 John 4, he said, if you are of God, if you are His elect,
His adopted sons and daughters, His redeemed, His people, if
you are of God, born of God, sanctified by His Spirit, justified
by the person of His Son, you are of God and have overcome
them. How come you to overcome them?
Because greater is he that's in you than he that's in the
world. That's the only reason. The grace
of God. They are of the world, therefore
we speak they of the world and the world heareth them. The world
gives them a hearing, assembles to hear them, loves what they
hear, loves to be associated with them, loves their style
of worship, loves to go to their cathedrals, loves to promote
their causes, are zealous to bring others to hear them. Why? Because that golden vial of God's
wrath is poured out upon the seed of the beast and his kingdom
is full of darkness. There was light there once. There was light there. A tender
conscience. disturbed by their actions. Maybe
the light of the words of a hymn. I tell you in false religion,
I played a guitar and traveled and sang in churches, and I've
sang that hymn a thousand times. Amazing grace, how sweet the
sound, and didn't have a clue what I was talking about. Rock
of ages cleft for me. Just tear up with no understanding
whatsoever what that hymn was saying. Saying that old hymn, nothing
but the blood of Jesus. I didn't have a clue why that
blood was shed. If our gospel be hid, Paul said,
it's hid to the lost in whom the God of this world hath blinded
the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ should shine unto them. And there's no greater
curse upon men than false religion because there's nothing in it
but darkness. I've already told you, when that
wrath of God is poured out, his kingdom was full of darkness. There was no light in it. To
the law and to the testimony, he said through his prophet Isaiah,
if they speak not according to this book, it's because there's
no light in them. Darkness. Full of darkness. God pours out this golden vial
of wrath upon men. The light goes out. What's that mean? What are you talking about, preacher?
The light goes out. Your conscience, seared as with
a hot iron. Not disturbed when you don't
go. Not disturbed when you stay home.
Not disturbed when you don't read. Not disturb when you don't
hear. Not disturb when you don't pray. The light's gone out. Our Lord said in Matthew 6, verse
22, that the light of the body is the eye. One window in this
body, these eyes. Without these eyes, you can't
perceive color, you can't perceive distance. These eyes are about
perception. And he said, the light of the
body is the eye. Everything around is seen through
the eye. We understand and identify things
through our eyes. Colors and shapes and dimensions
and distance and abundance and so on, all this understanding
is By our vision, everything we see furnishes light to the
body. Now watch this, Matthew 6, 23.
But if thine eye be evil, talking about the eye of faith, that
spiritual eye that's able to perceive godly truth. If that eye of faith be evil,
if thine eye be evil, the whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that be
in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness? If everything
that enters into your thinking and everything that enters into
your understanding and everything that enters into your hearing
is darkness, if everything that you think about, everything that
you imagine, everything that you hope in, If that's darkness,
then how great is that darkness? You see what he's saying? That's
that vial of wrath. I'm telling you all of this because
I want you to understand, this is no game. This pouring out
this vial of wrath is when God's wrath gets full to an individual
because they've heard and heard and heard and heard and heard. Still undisturbed. Still love
darkness rather than light. And he pours out that vial of
wrath and the light goes out. He goes out. There's no light
there now. No light. In false religion, there's nothing
but darkness. Nothing but darkness. And it's
a darkness because everything is darkness. They don't understand
that it is darkness. I didn't know it was darkness
in me causing me to believe in all kind of fantasy type religion. I didn't know that. I thought
I was doing the will of God. I thought I was doing a good
thing. I went to church. I joined the
church. I prayed. I did all the things that they
did. Like the Jews, I'm going about,
just going about, busying about, full of zeal. But it was a zeal
not according to knowledge. And I'm going about to establish
my own righteousness. But Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness because you can't produce one and he
alone already has. It's a darkness which they do
not nor ever will be aware of unless God intervenes. We just
didn't back in those days, we didn't understand that our worship
and praise is an abomination to God. I'd like for you to turn
with me to Isaiah chapter one. I want to show you something
over here. God had smitten Israel. Israel
had been disobedient to God. God told him how to worship.
He gave him the priesthood. He gave him the tabernacle. He
gave him the Ark of the Testament. He told him how to worship Him.
What to bring for sacrifices. He told him all of these things.
But Israel was disobedient to God. And for that reason, God had
smitten Israel. until they had become the off-scouring
of the world and yet they still would not come to Him. Now watch
this, Isaiah 111. He said, to what purpose is the
multitude of your sacrifices unto me? You come in here and
you kill these lambs and you lay these lambs on the altar
and you do these things. Why are you doing them? Why are you dumb? He said, I'm full of burnt offerings
of rams and fat of fed beasts, and I delight not in the blood
of bullocks or of lambs or of he-goats. When you come to appear
before me, who hath required this at your hand to tread my
courts? Who gave you permission to come
in here and worship me? Have you taken any thought to
that? Who told you to come into this
cathedral? Who told you to dip your finger
in the holy water? Who told you these things? Who told you to sing these worldly
hymns? Who told you to raise your hands
and sway with the music? Who told you these things? Who
instructed you? Why are you here? Who invited
you? Who commanded you to come into
my presence? tread my courts with these vain
things. Bring no more vain oblations. Incense is an abomination to
me. The new moons and sabbaths and
calling of assemblies, I cannot away with it. It's iniquity,
even your solemn meetings. Your new moons and your appointed
feasts, my soul hateth. They are trouble unto me. I'm
weary to bear them. When you spread forth your hands,
I'll hide my eyes from you. Yea, when you make many prayers,
I won't hear them. Your hands are full of blood. Now you want to come worship
me? Come let us reason together, saith the Lord. You come reason
with me, and I'll reason with you. That's a lot different than button-holding
somebody by the back door and trying to talk them into a profession
of faith, ain't it? There was a rather large church
down in Spring Hill, Louisiana that split a year or so ago.
And those who left to the congregation there, they either bought or
rented that big funeral home there on Plain Dealing Road there
on the rock. And this is how they described
the worship of their new assembly. We wanted a place where people
could say what they wanted to say, believe what they wanted
to believe, sing what they wanted to sing, and worship the way
they wanted to worship. That's why they did it. They
weren't interested in hearing from God, they were interested
in satisfying their own evil heart. What brings that to pass? poured
out the vial of his wrath, and the kingdom was filled with darkness." See, there's a way that seems
right unto a man. Doesn't it seem right to the
unbeliever when you build that big cathedral, make it so pretty
men can't pass it by? We went and seen that National
Cathedral up in Washington, DC. It was on their little tour.
And we looked at that thing. You had to get two blocks away
just to see it, to get it all in your vision. It was a monstrosity
of a cathedral. And people were just, ooh. And
I mean, it was, huh? That seems like the thing to
do, don't it? Why have all these little churches all over the
place? Why? Let's just build one big cathedral and have that
thing where people can't, they'll just be in awe when they see
it. There's a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end
thereof is destruction. Turn with me to one more passage
and I'll wind this up. John chapter 3. We're talking
about the seat of the beast, the heart of man. When God's wrath becomes full,
He sends out these angels. These angels have been bringing
the gospel of God's sovereign grace to them all along, been
warning them, warning them, warning them, warning them. And God's
people hear. And he called them and saved
them and sanctified them and he put them over here on this
glassy sea and they're watching all this stuff go by because
they've gotten the victory over the beast. But now, here's the
rest of the world. And those same ministers that
brought that message of grace, he that heareth you, heareth
me, our Lord said. And he that despiseth you, despiseth
me. And they're the same ministers
that are doing that, but they won't hear. And so God pulls
out that vial of wrath upon the seed of the beast. John 3, verse
31. This is John the Baptist talking. John 3, verse 31. He that cometh
from above is above all. He's talking about Christ, the
one mediator between God and man. He that is of the earth
is earthly. Talking about himself and talking
about us. And we speak of the earth. He
that cometh from heaven is above all. The revelation of God is
in him. The truth of God is in him. The grace of God is in him. Verse 32. And what he hath seen
and heard, that he testifieth. What has Christ seen and heard?
All things. All things. And no man receiveth
his testimony. He's the Son of God. God verified
him as the Son of God. He ratified his ministry. He
did miracles and wonders and signs right in our midst. But they wouldn't receive his
testimony, that is, without an intervention of God. They wouldn't.
He that hath received his testimony is set to his seal that God is
true. That man is sealed by the Holy
Spirit of promise and he believes God concerning his son. Verse
34, for he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God. For
God giveth not the Spirit unto him by measure. He has the fullness
of the Holy Spirit. He's the only one who could contain
the fullness of the Holy Spirit. And He gave Him that Spirit in
His fullness. And everything that we know about
God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, we know as we know His
Son. Now watch this, verse 35. The
Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hands.
Everything that the eternal, omnipotent, unchangeable God
of glory has for sinners, He has trusted into the hands of
His dear Son. All right. Now listen carefully
to this next verse. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son,
now watch this, shall not see life. He's not gonna perceive
eternal life. He may hear it, but he's not
gonna perceive it. Why? But the wrath of God abideth
on him. The word out of that Bible. He's not ever going to see life
or come to know the true and living God because he dwells
in darkness. He walks in darkness. He lives
in darkness. He perceives in darkness. He
revels. He loves darkness rather than
light because the wrath of God abideth on him. But it's not
so upon God's elect. God allowed Paul to persecute
the church to justify the the stoning of Stephen and the imprisonment
and death of many of the believers, and he allowed him to rise to
the top of false religion. And that's the same as to the
bottom of hell. Same thing. Howbeit, Paul said,
for this cause I obtain mercy that in me first Jesus Christ
might show forth all long-suffering for a pattern to those who should
hereafter believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words,
God said, here's how far down I'm going to reach to save sinners.
I'm going all the way down to the bottom. And I'm going to
save him first. And I'm going to raise him up.
And I'm going to make him a preacher. No, I'm going to make him more
than a preacher. I'm going to make him an apostle.
No, I'm going to make him more than an apostle. I'm going to
make him a writer of scripture. And he's going to write more
scripture than anybody else in the Bible. And I'm going to do
it. to show you a pattern of how
far down I'll reach and save sinners. But I tell you, to those who
are not chosen of God, to those who won't receive this message,
it's not so with you. What you'll do is find your religion
that suits your mind and suits your heart and God give you strong
delusion to believe a lie, and you'll believe it, and you'll
be satisfied with it, and you'll love it, and you'll go there
the rest of your life, and you'll wake up in judgment. I hope this is having some impact
on you. It has on me when I studied it.
God took that vial of wrath, and he poured it out. And immediately,
darkness, darkness filled his kingdom. build His kingdom. Even the plague of false religion
cannot destroy God's elect because God has purposed His salvation,
His hearing, His repenting, His believing, and His submission
to Christ. Oh, I pray the Lord our God and His Holy Spirit be
our teacher this morning.