The Mystery of Babylon

Q: What does the Bible say about the judgment of Babylon?

The Bible reveals that Babylon symbolizes false religion and will ultimately face God's judgment. The scripture consistently portrays Babylon as a representation of all false religion, which is under God's judgment. In Revelation 17, Babylon is depicted as a great whore symbolizing idolatry and rebellion against God. The passages remind us that God has prophesied the destruction of Babylon and all who oppose Him. Habakkuk 2:4-20 foretells the downfall of Babylon, indicating that those who oppose God's people will be held accountable, affirming the divine nature of judgment upon false idols and systems of belief.

Q: How do we know God's sovereignty over history is true?

God's sovereignty is affirmed throughout scripture, demonstrating His control over all events in history. The sovereignty of God is a foundational doctrine within Reformed theology, evidenced in numerous passages throughout scripture. Habakkuk’s vision serves as a reminder that all events, including judgment and mercy, occur within God's sovereign plan. Revelation 17 further declares that even the powers of the earth will ultimately fulfill God's purposes. The assurance rests in the belief that God's will cannot be thwarted and that every event, no matter how seemingly chaotic, is part of His divine orchestration.

Q: Why is the concept of grace important for Christians?

Grace is vital for Christians as it alone brings salvation and spiritual assurance. The doctrine of grace is central to the gospel and Reformed theology. It teaches that salvation is a gift from God, received through faith in Christ alone and not through human works. This is seen in passages like Ephesians 2:8, which states that we are saved by grace through faith. Understanding grace empowers believers to rest in the assurance of their salvation, knowing they are accepted on the basis of Christ's righteousness, not their own efforts. It encourages a life of gratitude, holiness, and dependence on God's mercy in all aspects of life.

Q: What is the significance of faith in the Christian life?

Faith is essential as it is through faith that believers live and are justified before God. Faith holds a crucial position in the life of a Christian, functioning as the means through which we receive God's grace and justification. Habakkuk 2:4 declares, 'The just shall live by his faith,' affirming that faith is the necessity for living in a relationship with God. It is through faith that believers are justified, meaning they are counted as righteous before God. Additionally, faith sustains the believer in trials, enabling them to trust in God's promises and character even when circumstances are difficult.

Q: How does the doctrine of TULIP explain salvation?

TULIP outlines the five points of Calvinism, explaining key aspects of salvation: Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints. The TULIP acronym encapsulates the core tenets of Reformed soteric theology. Total Depravity suggests that humanity is completely fallen and unable to save themselves. Unconditional Election emphasizes that God chooses who will be saved based on His will alone, not on foreseen merit. Limited Atonement asserts that Christ's atoning sacrifice was specifically intended for the elect. Irresistible Grace indicates that God's grace effectively brings the chosen ones to salvation, ensuring that they cannot resist His calling. Finally, Perseverance of the Saints teaches that true believers will endure in faith until the end, secured by God's everlasting covenant with them.

But while God and I shall be,
I am his and he is mine. What then should disturb my soul? What then should make me uneasy?
What then should cause me to fret and worry? While God and
I shall be, I am his and he is mine. Oh, may God be pleased
before this night is over to give you the blessed, sweet experience
of his grace in the knowledge of his dear son, so that you
may walk out those doors with this joyful, joyful assurance. I am his and he is mine. The second chapter of Habakkuk
begins with God's prophet standing upon his watchtower as every
prophet should, seeking God's message for his people in dark,
troublesome times. Habakkuk had received word from
God about the judgment coming upon his people Israel by the
hand of the Chaldeans, whom God raised up as a rod to chase in
Israel and take them into captivity. And Habakkuk stood upon his watchtower,
watching for and seeking a word from God for his people. And
the Lord God gave him his word with great plainness. He appeared
to him and said, write the vision and make it plain upon tables
that he may run that readeth, that is, this word that I give
you for my people, speak it with absolute clarity, write it upon
tables of stone so that it cannot be erased or washed away or forgotten
or misunderstood or explained another way. Etch it out in tables
of stone so that he who reads the word may run. Let the trumpet
give a certain sound, otherwise who shall prepare himself to
battle? And then the Lord God explained
to his prophet that the vision was for an appointed time, assuring
him and us of the Lord Jesus coming in the accomplishment
of redemption. not only in his first advent,
by which he accomplished redemption through his blood, but in his
second glorious appearing, when he shall appear the second time
without sin unto salvation, fully bringing us into the glorious
liberty of the sons of God. And the Lord God tells Habakkuk
what he will do in this last day. how he will finally bring
Babylon to judgment and cause his people to be triumphant over
the very people who take them into captivity and spoil them. The Lord assured his prophet
and assured his people by his prophet that Babylon was cursed
and would be destroyed. Babylon, the city that God raised
up to judge Israel, was cursed of God and would be destroyed,
and Israel, who was spoiled of Babylon, would finally spoil
Babylon. Babylon's ruin is sure. Her judgment
is just. Let's begin reading in Habakkuk
chapter 2 and verse 4. We'll read through the end of
the chapter. Here we see how God rewards those who set themselves
against his people. This is the way God deals with
those who would destroy his church. This is how God brings men at
last to account who would in any way harm his people or hinder
his cause. Habakkuk chapter two, verse four. Behold, his soul, which is lifted
up, is not upright in him. The proud man. The man unhumbled
before God, he's not upright. Doesn't matter how religious
he is, the man who stands tall before God doesn't know God and
doesn't know himself. But the just shall live by his
faith. Yea, also, because he transgresseth
by wine. Because he transgresseth by wine,
he is a proud man. Did you ever see a proud drunk? I've been around a few. I've
never seen one yet who was proud of anything. Shameful, but not
proud. This has got to be talking about
something else. He's not talking about being one who transgresses
by getting drunk with a bottle of wine he buys at the grocery
store. This is another wine and another transgression. This wine
makes a man proud. proud and self-righteous, proud
in his arrogance concerning himself, neither keepeth at home, who
enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be
satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth
unto him all people. Shall not all these take up a
parable against him? and a taunting proverb against
him, all these whom he makes disciples, all these whom he
makes to drink of the wine of Babylon's fornications, they
will at last make a taunting proverb against him and say,
woe to him that increaseth that which is not his. How long? And to him that ladeth himself
with thick clay. Shall they not rise up suddenly
that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou
shalt be for booties unto them? Verse 8. Because thou hast spoiled
many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee
because of men's blood. and for the violence of the land,
of the city, and of all that dwell therein. Woe to him that
coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set
his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of
evil. Thou hast consulted shame to
thy house by cutting off many people and has sinned against
thy soul. For the stone shall cry out of
the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. That
is, the whole house is going to cry against it. Woe to him
that buildeth a town with blood, and establisheth a city by iniquity. Behold, is it not of the Lord
of hosts? Is this somehow outside God's
purpose? Is this somehow outside God's
will? Is this somehow beyond God's control? Don't imagine
such. Is it not of the Lord of hosts
that the people shall labor in the very fire, and the people
shall weary themselves for very vanity? In the end, everything
is going to be turned around. Everything shall be reversed. from the situation as it now
is. Everything shall be turned right
side up. It looks to me like everything
now is upside down. But in the end, everything shall
be reversed. Those who have been oppressed
shall sit in judgment over the oppressor. God's people who have
been spoiled throughout history, spoiled by spoiled, we're not
talking about spoiled as spoiled brats. By spoiled, we're talking
about God's people who have been abused and taken advantage of
and used throughout history shall in the end be the spoilers of
those who spoiled them. And even the merchants and the
great men of the earth who have been deceived by Babylon's sorceries
and made drunk with the wine of Babylon's fornications. Those who have enriched themselves
by their league with Babylon shall at last curse her. Read on, verse 15, Habakkuk chapter
2. Woe unto him that giveth his
neighbor drink, that putteth thy bottle to him and makest
him drunken also. that thou mayest look on their
nakedness. Thou art filled with shame for
glory. Drink thou also, and let thy
foreskin be uncovered. The cup of the Lord's right hand
shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on
thy glory. God will Take your glory, that
which you have established for yourself by which you think yourself
noble and great, your righteousness and your religion and your religious
doings. And God shall vomit on it, spewing
on thy glory. Verse 17, for the violence of
Lebanon shall cover thee. and the spoil of beast which
made them afraid because of men's blood and for the violence of
the land of the city and of all that dwell therein. What profiteth
the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it? The molten image and the teacher
of lies that the maker of his work trusteth therein to make
dumb idols. Just because men trust idols,
just because men worship idols, that doesn't make the idol something.
Woe unto him that saith to the wood, awake to the dumb stone. Arise, and it shall teach. Behold, it is laid over with
gold and silver, and there's no breath at all in the midst
of it. But who is the prophet describing?
Is he merely talking about an ancient Babylonian empire over
which Nebuchadnezzar was once king? Is he merely describing
that mighty king who came in and destroyed Judah and Jerusalem
and carried the city and nation away into captivity for 70 years?
Is it just talking about that ancient city of Babylon where
Nebuchadnezzar carried them away into captivity? Certainly not. Turn with me to Revelation chapter
17. Revelation chapter 17. Hold your
hands and back at two. We're going back and forth. Here in Revelation chapter 17,
we have the inspired commentary of God the Holy Spirit upon the
prophecy that we've just read in Habakkuk chapter 2. Here in
Revelation 17, the Spirit of God explains to us the mystery
of Babylon. And that's the title of my message
tonight, The Mystery of Babylon. Here the Spirit of God tells
us that every Old Testament reference to Babel and Babylon ultimately
refers to this great horror described in Revelation 17. The historic
references are references to historic events, yes, but they
have greater meaning than just as historic events. They have
greater meaning than just reference to some political state or some
physical state or nation or key. He's referring to something far
greater of which these things, every reference to Babel, every
reference to Babylon, these things were all but an allegory, speaking
of something far more evil than Babylon could ever imagine being. Something far more confusing
than the confusion of Babel was in Genesis chapter 11. All right,
let's read this 17th chapter of Revelation together. There
came one of the seven angels, which had the seven vials, and
talked with me, saying, come hither, and I will show thee
the judgment of the great horror that setteth upon many waters.
Now, I know I'm encouraged by folks, by preachers, and by nice
people in other places not to use the language of the Bible
publicly. Don't refer to Babylon as a whore. Refer to it as a woman of ill
repute, as a prostitute, as anything but a whore. It sounds so crude.
That's what it's intended to sound like. The religion of this
world is referred to here as the great whore. The great whore
that setteth upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth
have committed fornication. That's what whores do. And the
inhabitants of the earth had been made drunk with the wine
of her fornication. So he carried me away in the
spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman set upon a
scarlet colored beast full of names of blasphemy, having seven
heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in
purple and scarlet color. and decked with gold and precious
stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations
and filthiness of a fornication. It's a golden cup, but it's full
of abomination and the filthiness of a fornication. And upon her
forehead was a name written, Mystery Babylon, the great The
mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. The mother of harlots
and abominations of the earth. All the abominations known in
the earth come from Babylon. Every form of idolatrous religion
known upon the earth come from Babylon. She's the mother of
harlots and of abominations of the earth. And I saw the woman
drunk. Drunk with what? Drunk with the
blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.
And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. A better
translation would be, I was astonished with terror. When I saw this
This harlot, this whore, this mother of harlots and of abominations
who was literally intoxicated through her, throughout the days
of her existence with the blood of God's saints and the martyrs
of those who served the Lord Jesus. This woman who is the
one who inspired all opposition to God throughout history. When
I saw her and saw how all men are gathered to her, I was astonished
and terrified, verse seven. And the angel said unto me, wherefore
didst thou marvel? Why are you astonished? Why are
you afraid? I will tell thee the mystery
of the woman and of the beast that carrieth her. The beast,
Revelation chapter 13, Antichrist, false prophet, which hath seven
heads and ten horns. And I'd be scared to death to
see such a woman. Remember, the picture is an allegory.
It's intended to teach something. Here is a woman gorgeously arrayed,
and she's got seven heads of power and ten horns of power. These things are significant.
Read on, read on. Per se, the beast that thou sawest
was and is not and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, shall
ascend out of hell and go into perdition. Going to ascend out
of hell and go to hell. And they that dwell on the earth
shall wonder. Now watch this. Watch this. There's one group accepted. There's
one group. that will not wonder, one group
on the earth that will not be astonished, one group on the
earth that will not be deceived. They that dwell on the earth
shall wonder whose names were not written in the book of life
from the foundation of the world. Oh, bless God. If it were possible,
but thank God it's not possible. God's elect shall not be deceived
by Babylon or the false prophet. God's elect shall not be deceived
by false religion and brought to perdition with the drunkenness
of Babylon. Their names are written in the
book of life and the foundation of the world. Everybody else,
when they beheld the beast that was and is not and yet is wondered. Verse nine. And here is the mind
which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains
on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings. Five
are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come. And when
he cometh, he must continue a short space, just a little while. Remember, this is God's work. Everything's ordered by God.
Everything arranged by God. Everything controlled by God.
The space of time when the kings have a little power arranged
by God. Their power given to them by
the woman, given to them by the beast, given to them by hell,
but by God's decree. Read on. Read on. Verse 9. Here is the mind which hath wisdom,
the seven heads and the seven mountains on which the woman
sitteth. And there are seven kings, five are fallen, one is
and the other is not yet come. And when he cometh, he must continue
a short time. And the beast that was and is
not, even he is the eighth and is of the seven and goeth into
perdition. And the ten horns which thou
sawest are ten kings. which have received no kingdom
as yet, but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. Receive power as kings one hour
with the beast. I'll get to that. These have one mind. One mind. All the kings of the
earth All these who follow Babylon
and drink from her golden cup, they all have one mind. They're
all in complete agreement about one thing. And shall give their
power and strength to the beast. Verse 14. These shall make war
with the Lamb, but not to worry, the Lamb shall
overcome them. For he is Lord of Lords and King
of Kings, and they that are with him are called and chosen and
faithful. And he saith unto me, the waters
which thou sawest where the whore sitteth are peoples and multitudes
and nations and tongues. And the ten horns which thou
sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore. What? These who once served her, these
who once were enriched by her, they shall hate the whore and
shall make her desolate and naked and shall eat her flesh and burn
her with fire. For God, now watch this, for
God, for God hath put in their hearts, the hearts of these kings
who have power for one hour, who have one mind with which
to oppose God's people, these kings who at last shall hate
the whore God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will and
to agree and give their kingdom unto the beast. For how long? Until the words of God shall
be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest
is that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth. Now notice this first. When John
was carried away to see the judgment of the great whore, he was carried
away in the spirit into the wilderness. Wherever false religion occupies
the place of true worship, wherever idolatry reigns and God is ignored,
There's desolation and emptiness. There is a famine for the hearing
of the word of God. There may be great worldly wealth
and glory, a great fullness of power, influence and approval. There may be purple and scarlet
and gems and gold and pomp and luxury and everything that great
men aspire to. All the sensual desires of the
heart may be gratified. There may be even worldwide acceptance
and dominion, but where the word of God, the gospel of God's grace,
and the worship of God are despised, where God's son and God's salvation
are despised, there's a wilderness, famine, emptiness, and desolation. That's true of cities, and states
and nations. And that's true of you who despise
our God and will not worship Him. There is in you emptiness. Emptiness that no tongue can
describe. Desolation, barrenness that no
word can describe. emptiness, desolation. This great
harlot of whom John is speaking is all false religion, all freewill
works religion. Turn back a couple of pages to
Revelation 14. She's called by the name Babylon
the Great. Here in verse 8, we have another
reference to her. and of God's judgment upon her.
There followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is
fallen, the great city, because she made all nations drink of
the wine of the wrath of her fornications. Look at chapter
16, chapter 16, verse 19. Here's the same thing stated
again. The great city was divided into three parts and the cities
of the nations fell and great Babylon came in remembrance before
God to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness
of the wrath of God. Babylon is always under the judgment
of God. She is now She always has been
and she always shall be. In Revelation 17, 18, and 19,
John describes that judgment assuring us of the fact that
all false religion here represented by Babylon will be destroyed
and the truth of God and the people of God shall stand and
prevail over all things forever. Everything shall soon be reversed. Everything. All right. Who is
this woman? Who is this woman? That's the
second thing. Without question, as I said to
you a few weeks ago, this vision is a representation of Rome.
No question about that. No question about that. It represents
Rome, pagan and political. It represents all of Rome's filth
historically. That literal city Rome sitting
on seven hills. No question about that. Certainly
it represents Roman Catholicism and the superstitions and idolatrous
religion of papacy. No question about that. No question
about that. Yes, Babylon is Roman Catholicism and the idolatrous
religion and superstitions of papacy. That's what papacy is. That's what papacy is. That's
what papacy is. I can't imagine. The people who
claim to be worshippers of God, who get excited when they see
old men dressed in drag call themselves God's servants. See
men waving censers. You'll see it all weekend next
weekend. Easter's coming up. Man, they're going to be so many
drunk priests around the world waving their censers, drinking
their wine, celebrating mass. Oh, isn't that wonderful? It's
hell. Just idolatry, just idolatry. But that's not all that's represented.
Babylon, this woman called the great whore that said it upon
many waters. And upon her forehead was a great
name written mystery, Babylon, the great mother of harlots and
abominations of the earth. That's what's represented here.
I repeat myself deliberately. Babylon represents all false
religion. Now, there are just two kinds
of religion. There are just two kinds. I forgot
who I was talking to just recently. They weren't real impressed by
what I had to say, but I told them there's just two kinds of
religion. Everybody on earth believes exactly the same thing.
Everybody. Just these two things, just these
two things. All the various denominations, doesn't matter whether they're
Islamic, or Jewish, or what's called Christian. Doesn't matter
whether they're Buddhist, or Baptist, Presbyterian, or Pentecostal. All religions, except that which
is described in this book as the faith of God's elect, are
Arminian free will works religion. That's the religion of Babylon.
All men who do not believe God believe that salvation is up
to man. That's just fact. That's just
fact. They had that one thing in common. Now, I know they wear
different costumes and they play different games and they sing
different songs. Some of them sing Amazing Grace,
Real Sober Life, and kind of chant it as they might in a monastery. And some of them get drums and
cymbals and horns and dance and sing amazing grace with a beat.
But they don't, either one, believe it. They practice their religious
services in different ways with different costumes. Some wear
collars and some wear open collars. But they all believe the same
thing. They believe that somehow, ultimately, salvation is dependent
upon you and what you do. Your works. Your works. They
all practice not just voodoo religion, but doodoo religion. Now good southern folks understand
exactly what I'm talking about. It's always do this and do that,
and barnyards are full of it. If you don't believe that's where
the book speaks of it, read Philippians chapter 3. Paul says, all that
I practiced from the time I came in this world as a child of my
mama and daddy and the one who was of the seed of Abraham was
just done. That's all it is. That's all
it is. Oh, brother Don, you you hold
the religion of this world in contempt. God does. It's time
somebody else did. It's an utter contempt. Don't
you have any respect for it? None whatsoever. None at all.
The only other religion in this world is the faith of Christ. It is the faith of God's elect.
We who are born of God and taught of his spirit, we who believe
this book, trust Christ alone as our savior. Not our will. Not our works,
not our worth. Christ alone. Everybody else
is so drunk with religion, you can't reason with them. So intoxicated
with will worship. So intoxicated with their goodness
and their works and their uprightness. And they know nothing at all
of faith. There's a way that seemeth right unto a man. but
the end thereof are the waves of death. Every man presumes
he knows God and nobody does. The book of Revelation shows
us two women. These two women represent the
church of God and all false religion. In Revelation chapter 12, there's
a woman, a woman who's the object of Satan's fury. She is that
woman who bears a man child in the world. Jesus Christ, our
Lord and the Lord God, as Satan breathes out the flood of his
fire and wrath upon her, God causes the earth to open up and
swallow up the woman and help her. Oh, my soul, that doesn't look
like what I read in the paper this morning, does it you? It doesn't look like anything
in the world's doing anything to help God's people. Everything's
opposed to Him. Everything except God who rules
the universe and everything in the earth opens up to help the
woman. Everything. Everything. Even the kings who are determined
to destroy her. Even the religion determined
to destroy her. even the beast and the false
prophet. Everything in God's earth opens up to help the woman. Everything. Either it does or
the book's not true. What does the book say? We know
that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to his purpose. The other woman
we've read about here in Revelation 17 is a whore. This first woman's a virgin.
This one's a whore. This first woman's undefiled.
This one's all defiled. This first woman is one that
the Lord God describes as that one who has never defiled herself. This other woman, everything
about her is corrupt and defiled. The first woman looks very poor.
This other one looks very rich. But the fact is this one who
looks so rich is utterly desolate. And the one who looks so poor
is full of all the riches of God's creation and all the riches
of God's grace. The character of all false religion
is described in John's vision of this great harlot. Remember,
the picture is a symbol, a representation of false religion. Don't don't
try to get a literal picture in your mind. Try to grasp the
spiritual meaning of the whole picture. Notice the features
of this woman. By her features, we're instructed
and we're warned lest we be deceived by this harlot who with her much
fair speech, as we're told in Proverbs 7, and her flattering
lips has caused many to follow her as an ox goeth to the slaughter. The angel calls her here. A great
whore. A great whore. That is the standing
symbol, the standing representation in the Word of God for idolatry. Read it throughout the book.
Jeremiah, Hosea, the Psalms, Ezekiel, Isaiah. Throughout the
book, whoredom represents idolatry and false religion. This woman's
called the great whore, the mother of harlots, because here John
has set before him a picture of the embodiment of all false
religion. To give an indication of her
age and her vileness, she's given the name Babylon, the greats
in verse five. And this is not a prophecy about
the resurrection, restoration, rebuilding of the ancient city
of Babylon. God destroyed that ancient city
and God shall destroy this one. This Babylon is any and all religious
systems opposed to God, the religion of man. Though seen in the sacrifice
of Cain, Babylon begins really in Genesis chapter 10 with a
man by the name of Nimrod, fourth generation after Noah. He is
the son, the cursed son, of Noah's cursed son, Ham. This man Nimrod,
the scripture tells us, is a mighty hunter before the Lord. But that's
a very poor translation in our King James translation. Those
words, a mighty hunter before the Lord, would better be translated
this way Nimrod was a mighty rebel before the Lord the mightiest
rebel before the Lord in the earth his name means rebellious
panther and this rebellious panther this rebellious black lion was
the one through whom The children of ungodliness at the Tower of
Babel built a tower by which they hoped to ascend and climb
up into heaven. Why? Why? Because they despised
God. Idolatry, false religion, is
not the gradual decline of men who are well-meaning but lacking
in understanding. well-meaning but unenlightened,
gradually declining from truth to error. Not at all. Idolatry
began at Babylon and is an act of intentional rebellion against
God. Intentional rebellion against
God. You speak to your mom and dad,
your brother, your sister, your neighbor, your sons and daughters,
whoever you want to infected with Babylon's fornication, drunk
with Babylon's wine. And they're not just unenlightened. You've given them light. You
tell them truth. You show them the scripture and
they will not hear. They will not bow. Because like
Nimrod, the black rebel panther, like Nimrod, the rebel against
God, They will not bow to God. They will not worship God. They
will not step off the throne and refuse themselves to be worshiped
as God. They won't bow to God's will
because they worship their own will. They won't trust Christ's
work because they trust their own works. Men are not idolaters
because they're ignorant. They're idolaters because they're
rebels. It was the invention of a proud race who refused to
come to God by faith in a substitute. and refused to trust God's grace
alone. That's what we had at Babylon,
or at Babel. And yet, wherever these idolaters
spread through all the earth, their religion's always the same.
Always the same. Most of you have studied mythology
and pagan religions. And they, it's, I'll grant an
interesting study, interesting study. Mother Larry had been
with me down to Mexico. Didn't you find it interesting,
those Mayan ruins down there? Go down there and look at them.
How many, what, 3, 4,000 years old? Is that about right? I can't
remember. 3, 4,000 years old? And do you know, those Mayan
Indians down there, those folks who ate each other, those folks
that sacrificed people by cutting their hearts out while they were
still beating and offering them to their gods. Do you know what
they had on the pyramids? Everything that you'll see on
church sides in Danville, Kentucky were on those pyramids. Cloven
tongues and a fiery tongue and symbols of doves and angels,
all that stuff. All that stuff. Because the religion
of Babylon's always the same. It's always the same, and the
doctrine's always the same. Salvation is determined by man,
not by God. Salvation depends on your works,
not God's works. Salvation is the result not of
God's will, but of man's will. And this great whore holds a
golden cup. Oh, she's so rich. So as I recall,
oh, this has been nearly 42 years ago. Shelby and I had just been
married a little while. I was over in the bookstore right
across the street from where I worked, and one of the fellows
she went to church with came up to me, saw me looking over
a copy of one of Arthur Pink's books. If I remember correctly,
he tapped me on the shoulder and handed me a book, said, you
ought to get this. It would help you to get in step. And I looked at him and said,
I'm not out of step because I can't dance. I'm out of step because
I want to be. I plan to stay out of step with
religion. I plan to stay out of step with
modern times. I plan to. But Brother Don, if
we do things this way, look what we could do. Lindsay, as long as God gives
me the strength to serve as pastor of this congregation, we're not
going to try to make anything happen. I promise you. I'm not going to try to make
anything happen. You try to make something happen,
you'll make something happen you've got to live with or die with.
Now we're not going to tell them, what do you do? We proclaim the
gospel of God's free grace and wait for God to work. We don't
go about encompassing land and sea to make disciples. We simply
proclaim the gospel of God's free grace and pray that God
Almighty by His grace will encompass land and sea and make believers. Babylon's cup is a golden cup. She's so rich. She's so rich. I haven't investigated, so I
won't call the name of it. I just this week learned about a school
of theology down south. And the school of theology, I
understand now, if this is true, why it has always been full of
compromise. A man left a rather large endowment
by which the school should be staffed and the staff paid and
the school run as long as they taught the five points of Calvinism. So they've got professors all
over the place teaching the five points of Calvinism who don't
preach anything. who just engaged in religious
activity like everybody else. And believe me, if I find the
documentation, I will speak of it publicly. Babylon, Babylon,
she has a golden cup and she knows how to keep her cup gold.
But it's full of the wine of the fornication of idolatry and
all the abominations of the earth. All of them. All of them. Wherever free will works, religion
gains a foothold. Men expose their nakedness. They uncover their foreskin,
showing themselves not to be God's covenant people, and they
glory in their shame. And the result. The result. The result. The result. You folks are as old as I am.
Most of you older. Have you ever known a time when
there were more Christians in Danville, Kentucky than there
are right now? You've been around all your life.
We've got Christians everywhere. I bet everybody on your street's
Christians. Yours too. Yours too. All of them. Just ask them. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I love Jesus. I love the Lord. Yes, sir. I'm going to heaven
right now. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. All of them
Christians. All of them. And live like hell.
And live like hell. More religious folks in this
world than there's ever been. More folks who profess the name
of Christ than there's ever been. And the result is adultery, and
fornication, and homosexuality, and theft, and murder, and all
the vile things described in the first chapter of Romans.
And the Apostle Paul tells us why. Because men despise the
gospel of the grace of God, which is the power of God to salvation.
And they set up man in the house of God. and worship and serve
the creature more than the Creator. That's why. What's the end of
all this going to be? Back in chapter 2, the earth
shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. I told you everything would be
turned around. Everything going to be turned around? Everybody's
going to see that God's on his throne, and God rules everything,
even Babylon, for his glory. Everybody. He sits in his holy
temple, and all the earth keeps silence before him. God rules. God rules. God rules. Oh, my heart. Oh, my heart be
still. God rules. Oh, my soul, be at
ease. God rules. And God shall conquer
all his enemies. And we shall prevail with him
in our Redeemer over all darkness for the glory of our God. Amen.

The Mystery of Babylon

What does the Bible say about the judgment of Babylon?

How do we know God's sovereignty over history is true?

Why is the concept of grace important for Christians?

What is the significance of faith in the Christian life?

How does the doctrine of TULIP explain salvation?

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The Mystery of Babylon

What does the Bible say about the judgment of Babylon?

How do we know God's sovereignty over history is true?

Why is the concept of grace important for Christians?

What is the significance of faith in the Christian life?

How does the doctrine of TULIP explain salvation?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

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