Revelation 18. I'm taking the
title from what is said in verse 20. This is not a vindictive
spirit. This is not a spirit of, I'm
going to get even. This is a spirit of rejoicing
in the Lord Jesus Christ, thou Heaven. He's talking about all
of His heavenly people redeemed by the blood of Christ. Included
in that is the holy apostles and prophets. For God hath avenged
you on her rather. Now I'm taking the title from
the words found in verse 20. Rejoice. Rejoice that we have
the victory in the Lord Jesus Christ. Rejoice over her, my
people. Referring to the saints of God, that heavenly host. What did the heavenly host sing
about? Unto him who loved us and washed us from our sin and
his own blood. To him be all the honor and glory both now
and forever. Rejoice over her, you saints and you holy apostles
and prophets, that is, all the redeemed of God, those who are
delivered and redeemed by the blood of Christ, redeemed from
the clutches and wickedness of Babylon. Rejoice at the great
harlot. is put out of business. The great
heart, we know, refers to that religion that's by the deeds
of men or the wills of men, that false religion that gives the
creature all the glory rather than Christ. Rejoice that Babylon
and all false religion, all enemies of the gospel is finally and
totally put out of business. To deceive sinners no more. Remember, we were called out. Remember in chapter 17 verse
14, These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall
overcome them, for He is their Lord of lords, King of kings,
and they that are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful. He's called us out by His grace. Remember we were told in verse
4 of chapter 18, what were we told? We were told to come out
of her, my people. We only come out because He called
us out of darkness into His marvelous light. Come out of her, my people,
that you be not partakers of her sin, that you receive not
her plagues. Come out of her. Don't find hope
and peace and comfort and salvation in the idolatry that she promotes. For this harlot, this city Babylon,
is nothing but lies, deceit, death, no truth, no life. All who are found in her in that
day of judgment, look at verse 8, Revelation 18 verse 8, Therefore
shall her plagues come in one day, death, mourning, and famine.
Can you find any good news there? Death, mourning, and famine. She shall be utterly burned with
the fire of God's wrath. Strong is the Lord. Strong is
the Lord. How strong is He? the Almighty
God, and he judges righteously. All the saints and all the believers,
all the apostles and prophets have but one foundation, and
that one foundation is what? The Lord Jesus Christ. Other
foundation can no man lay than that which is laid Which is what? The Lord Jesus Christ. I want
to build on that foundation. God said, Behold, I lay in Zion
for a foundation of stone, a tri-stone, a precious cornerstone. He that
believeth on that foundation will never be forced out. Never
be ashamed. Never be confounded. All other
foundations will be destroyed. That's why we are told to rejoice
in the Lord always. And again, I say rejoice, rejoice,
rejoice. And believers do rejoice. I notice
a contrast when the kings and the merchants and the sailors
Those who are in marriage with the harlot, with the city of
Babylon, they say, woe, woe, woe. Woe is me. Woe is me. Verse 10, verse 16,
verse 19. Woe, woe, woe. When they see
their hopes and dreams gone, they will mourn and they will
weep and they will wail, but it will be too late. Now, our
study in the book of Revelation, has plainly and clearly revealed
many things to us concerning the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ, who He is, the Lamb of God that redeemed us with His
own blood. But three things stand out to
me as we've studied through these 18 chapters so far. It's a threefold
message of hope and comfort in Christ by His mercy, by His grace
alone. The first thing in the first
lesson we know that is certain and sure, destruction of all
things that are opposed to the gospel of Christ. All the enemies
of Christ shall receive the just wrath, the holy and righteous
judgment of God against their sin and be eternally condemned. What does sin deserve? Death. The soul that sinneth, it shall
surely die. The wages of sin is death. The
righteous judge of all the earth, he will do right. Strong and
righteous is the Lord who judges her. And believers say amen. They'll say amen. We'll see in
chapter 19, they say amen. They not only rejoice, but they
say amen to her condemnation. Look at Revelation 19 verse 1. After these sayings, I heard
a great voice of much people in heaven, chapter 19 verse 1,
saying, Hallelujah, salvation, glory and honor and power be
unto the Lord our God. True and righteous are His judgments,
for He hath judged the great whore which did corrupt the earth
with her fornication, hath avenged the blood of His servants at
her hand. And they said, again they said, Hallelujah, and the
smoke and her smoke arose up forever and ever. Four and twenty
elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that
sat on the throne saying, Amen, Hallelujah. We'll say we'll be
in complete harmony and agreement with God when the wicked are
judged. We'll say true and righteous
are His judgment. The second thing we have learned,
we've also seen the certain and sure victory and salvation of
God's people, God's elect, and the eternal glory being made
one with Him. We are made one with Him. I read that a moment ago in chapter
17, where the enemies, verse 14, make war against the Lamb,
and the Lamb shall overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King
of kings, and they that are with Him. They are with Him or one
with Him. They're called, they're chosen,
and they're faithful. We have overcome, turn back to
chapter 12, verse 11, they overcame Him by the blood of the Lamb,
chapter 12, verse 11, by the word of their testimony, and
they loved not their lives unto death. We have overcome the enemy only
by the blood atonement of Christ. Thanks be to God who has given
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, here's the
third lesson. The certain and sure and eternal
glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. He must have all the preeminent,
and He does in all things. Remember, this book is a revelation
of Jesus Christ. And it goes all the way back
to Genesis, all the way through the revelation. It's a revelation
of the Lord Jesus Christ, His glory. Paul writes about it in
Colossians chapter 1. He's before all things, and by
Him all things consist. He is the head of the body, the
church, who is the beginning. Remember, He's the beginning
and the ending. He's Alpha and the Omega. The firstborn from
the dead, that in all things He must have the preeminence.
He must have the first place, all the glory. For it pleased
the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell. And of His
fullness, have we all received grace for grace. Grace upon grace,
because God is gracious. Of His fullness have we all received
grace for grace. In Him dwells all the fullness
of a Godhead bodily, and in Him we stand complete. So believers
do rejoice, always, and again I say, rejoice in the Lord. But we also see in this chapter
the threefold lamentation of those whose hopes Dreams and
false refuges that are vested in Babylon, which is nothing
more than a refuge of lies, we see the end of their hopes, dreams,
and wishes, don't we? When he talks about the captains,
the captains of the earth. Verse 10, standing afar off for
fear of her, saying, alas, alas, woe, woe, that great city, Babylon,
that mighty city, for in one hour is thy judgment come. Again,
down at verse 16, when the merchants, all their goods were destroyed
with Babylon, saying, verse 16, Alas, alas, woe, woe, that great
city, it was clothed in fine linen, purple, scarlet, decked
with gold for one hour. All that has come to naught.
And again in verse 19, when the shipmaster, the sailors, the
seamen, when they see their livelihood and all their hopes and dreams
perish, When they see that city destroyed, in their hopes and
dreams destroyed, what do they say? They cry, weeping and wailing,
saying, woe, woe, woe to that great city. What a contrast between
rejoicing in the Lord and woe, woe, woe. Now, the kings of the
earth. shall weep and wail, as it says
in verse 9 and 10. When the world of their hopes
and dreams is destroyed, they will rail on God, but they will
not repent. We've seen this before. Remember
chapter 16, turn back over there. When the fifth angel poured out
his vial upon the seat of the beast, and his kingdom was full
of darkness, they gnawed their tongues for pain, and they blasphemed
the God of heaven because of the pain of their swords, and
repented not of their deeds. They wail and weep and mourn
and lament, but they do not repent. We know it's the goodness of
God that leads us to repentance. You remember in chapter 6, turn
over there, back over there to chapter 6, we see another revelation,
and we've seen many in these different visions that are given.
In Revelation chapter 6, we see the Lord describing the
same thing as we're reading in Revelation 18. When the sixth
seal was opened, Revelation 6 verse 12, And I beheld, when they had
opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake,
and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became
as blood, and the stars of heaven fell from the earth, and the
earth, even as a fig tree, casteth her untimely fig when she is
shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed with
a scroll when it was rolled together, and every mountain and island
were moved out of their places." Here we see again the judgment
of God, the righteous judgment of God against all unbelievers,
against all sin. And the kings of the earth, those
great men we read about in Revelation 18, and the rich man, the merchant,
and the chief captains, the seamen, same group of people. Same group
of people. The mighty men, every bond, every
free man hid themselves in the dens and the rocks and the mountains
and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us, hide us from
the face of him that sit us on the throne from the wrath of
the lamb for the great day of his wrath has come. Now who's
going to stand? We only stand in Christ, that's
our only hope. You see, that describes the same
group of men, doesn't it? The kings, the merchants, and
the seamen, the captains, the seamen of the ship. Woe, woe,
woe unto them. That's the kings, and then we
have the merchants as talked about in verse 11 down to verse
17. The merchants who were made rich
by the ways of Babylon, self-righteousness, and self-glory. Get all you can,
can all you get, and sit on the can, as my friend Tim James used
to say. Get all you can, can all you
get, and then sit on it. It's mine. I've earned it. They are also weeping well when
they see all their wealth vanish. Gone. Vaporized. And that includes all those who
are going about to establish a righteousness of their own,
which is nothing but filthy rags. In that day, where will it be?
What will it count for? Gone. Vanity. Gone. The fruits they lusted after.
Look at verse 14. The fruits that thy soul lusted
after are departed. The dainty, the goodly departed.
Thou shalt find them no more. Gone. Final judgment. Gone. Gone. Gone. When the Lord
sent out those seventy apostles and they came back saying the
devils are subject unto us. Remember what the Lord said?
Don't rejoice that the demons are subject unto you, rejoice
that your names are written in heaven. That's where we find
our comfort and hope. Only in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The things of this world, turn back here to Matthew chapter
6. Our Lord mentions that in Matthew chapter 6 in His Sermon
on the Mount. And my intentions are, Lord willing,
when we finish the revelation, we're going to come back to Matthew
chapter 1 and start over again. Start over again. Matthew 1 all
the way through. In Matthew 6 verse 19, lay not
up for yourselves treasures upon the earth where moth and rust
doth corrupt, where thieves break through and steal. I want you
to think about this more than just monetary riches. The things
that we trust in, the things that we hope for, that is religious
things. But lay up for yourselves treasures
in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, where
thieves do not break through and steal. For where your treasure
is, That's where your heart is. My treasure is not my bank account.
Not my IRA. And I have a bank account. I
have an IRA. But what is that compared to
eternal glory? Nothing. Absolute nothing. It's nothing but dumb and filthy
rags. And I know we need these things
to get along in this life, to pay our bills and different things.
But that's not our hope. That's not our hope. Our hope
is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the third group, the kings,
they say, whoa, whoa, whoa. The merchants, they say, whoa,
whoa, whoa. Those who have made themselves to be something, like
the queen, she said, I, she said, the queen, you remember what
the, The harlot said, I said a queen,
I'm no widow. I shall never see sorrow. Plagues
are coming, plagues are coming. Now, the third group he mentions
here, lamentations and sorrow and wailing of the shipbuilders. The shipbuilders. Alas and alas,
verse 16. That great city was clothed in
fine linen, purple and scarlet, decked with gold, precious stone
for one hour, for in one hour so great riches are come to naught.
And then it talks about the third group that laments, shipmasters. People say, I'm the captain of
my soul and a master of my fate. Really, every shipmaster who
says, salvation by what I do, and all
them in that company, all that are going that way, by the way
of the shipmaster, self-righteousness, self-glory, and the sailors,
as many as trade by the seas to the far off, and cried when
they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, what is What city is
like under that great city? They thought they were living
in luxury, they thought everything was going fine and well, but
when they see all their hopes and dreams destroyed, they cast
dust on their heads and cried, weeping and wailing, saying,
alas, woe and woe and woe is me. Woe and woe and woe is me. I was thinking about those three
different woes and this scripture came to mind. Look back over
here at Revelation chapter 8 verse 13. And I beheld, Revelation
8 verse 13, an angel flying through the midst of heaven saying with
a loud voice, woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth.
by reason of their voices of the trumpet, the trumpet of the
three angels that are yet to sound. And I thought about those
three different groups, the kings, the merchants, the sailors, where
they say, woe, woe, woe. And I thought about those three
woes. You see, it's rejoicing in the Lord. Everything apart
from Him is woe, wrath, judgment. Aren't you glad you find your
hope in Christ alone? that you're accepted in the beloved. One hour she made desolate. The
Lord will make a quick work with desolation in a moment and a
twinkling of an eye. One old writer said, don't build
your hopes and dreams in the forest of this world. It's marked
out for destruction. Our hope is not here, is it?
Our hope is in the Lord. Christ in you is a hope of glory. And the emphasis is upon certain
judgment. One hour, no more. Judgment. Judgment. There's pleasure in
sin only for a short season. One hour, and then judgment comes. Now, verse 20. What's to be our attitude about
this? I mean, it's obvious and certain The Lord has appointed
a day in which He's coming back. The heavens being on fire shall
melt with a fervent heat. He's going to make a new heaven
and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Now, what do we
do? What do we say? What is our attitude?
We rejoice in the Lord, don't we? Look what it says over here,
verse 20. Rejoice over her. thou heaven,
the heavenly host, the holy apostles and prophets, for God hath avenged
you on her." This is our attitude that God gives us toward those
who are enemies of God. The Lord instructs us to rejoice
in the Lord and say, as I read a moment ago in Revelation 19,
verse 3, and again, they said, hallelujah, and the smoke of
her rose up and her smoke rose up forever and ever and the four
and twenty elders and the four beasts at his church fell down
and worshipped God that sat on the throne saying, Amen. Hallelujah. I had a dear friend tell me one
time, and this has been many, many years ago, and this man was very religious,
but he was very lost. And he said, the Lord took me
to glory and didn't save my son. And I see the smoke of that torment. He said, I won't rejoice. I said,
if you're a believer, you will. You will rejoice when you see
the smoke of God's judgment arise. You see, we take sides with God
and with his holy, righteous judgment against the wicked,
and we say hallelujah, amen, praise the Lord. Remember, we're
not to get vengeance on our enemies or the enemies of the gospel.
The Lord can defend himself. Dearly beloved, Romans 12, avenge
not yourself, but rather give place unto wrath. Vengeance is
mine, sayeth the Lord, I will repay. God will pour out, that
wrath of God will pour out upon the enemies without any mixture
of mercy. Turn back over here to Revelation
14 verse 9. And there followed another angel,
verse 8, saying, Babylon is fallen, that great city, because she
made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed
them, saying with a loud voice, if any man worship the beast
and his image and receive the mark in his forehead or his hand,
the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is
poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, and
he shall be tormented with the fire and brimstone in the presence
of the holy angels in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of
their torment is sent up forever and ever. And they have no rest
day or night who worship the beast and his image and whosoever
receiveth the mark of his name. The mark in the hand, the mark
in the forehead saying and signifying salvation by what you do or what
you think, rather than by the grace of God alone. The Lord
will destroy, Babylon, what will become of this wicked world with
its wicked schemes and wicked people. Verse 21 says, the mighty
angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the
sea. And that's exactly what God's
going to do with violence, shall that great city. Babylon be thrown
down and shall be found no more at all." Now, he's talking about
not a physical city, but what Babylon represents. What does
Babylon represent? You remember chapter 17, verse
5, upon her forehead was the name written, Mystery Babylon,
the great mother of harlots, an abomination of the earth. It's an abomination. Anybody
that says salvation is based upon what you do, that's an abomination
in the sight of God, and it is to us as well. Verse 22, thus with violence
that great city shall be thrown down, and the voice of harpers
and musicians and pipers and trumpeters shall be heard no
more. Craftsmen, whatsoever craft, shall be found any more in thee. The sound of the millstone shall
be heard no more, no more, no more. The light of the candle
shall shine no more at all in thee. The voice of the bridegroom
and the bride shall be heard no more. All relationships severed. The merchants who were great
men of the earth, for by sorceries were all nations
deceived. No more music, no more joy, no
more crasp and no glory and self-pride and religious pride, no more
grinding of the corn, famine, desolation, no more light, blackness
and darkness reserved forever, no more earthly relationship
in this eternal judgment of God. The kings, the merchants, the
shipmasters, were considered as great men in the earth, but
they were all deceived, as it says there, and the great men
of the earth. For by sorceries were all nations
deceived." Now, who's the master deceiver? Turn to chapter 12,
verse 9. Who's the master deceiver? Satan
himself is called the deceiver. Revelation 12, 9, the great dragon
was cast out, that old serpent called the devil, Satan, which
deceived the whole world and he was cast out of the earth
and his angels, his followers were cast out with him. Now the meaning of that word,
sorcerers, the meaning of that word is pharmacy. If you look it up, that's where
we get our English word, pharmacy. They were deceived by the devil
and his lies. They overdosed with will worship
and idolatry, drugged up and overdosed with the lies of Satan. That's how he deceives. The Apostle
Paul writes about it in 2 Corinthians 11. And I sent that sermon out
by Brother Henry, a TV sermon he had. I sent it out yesterday. But I fear, Paul said, lest by
any means as a servant beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so
your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that was
in Christ Jesus. Satan is a deceiver. All he has
is lies. The devil deceives with the deceitfulness
of his lies, but he parades as an angel of light, talking about
human righteousness and human merit. The great man of the earth, for
by sorceries or by being drugged They drink the lies of Satan. They're full of the wine of the
fornication. Look back at chapter 17, verse
2. When it talks about the great
whore that sits upon many waters. Revelation 17, 2. With whom the
kings of the earth have committed fornication. and the inhabitants
of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her idolatry."
Fornication. Wine of her idolatry. Now, in
closing, look at verse 24. And in her was found the blood of prophets, the blood of the saints that
were martyred for the gospel, and of all them that were slain upon the earth, slain by false
religion, slain by the deceitful lies of Satan. The great whore and all her allies,
Babylon, the great red dragon, the beast out of the sea, the
beast out of the earth, the false prophet, were stained with the
blood of God's saints. It says in Revelation 16, verse
6, they have shed the blood of the saints. In Revelation 17
verse 6, as they were drunken with the blood of the saints,
they delight to murder God's people. Who was the people who
insisted upon killing the Lord Jesus Christ? They were the most
religious people of that day. When Pilate said, Behold your
king, they said, Away with that man. We have no king but Caesar.
He's a winebibber. He's a gluttonous man. He's a
Nazarene. Can anything good come out of
Nazareth? They didn't think so. These make war with the Lamb
and we know who's going to win. These make war with the Lamb
and the Lamb shall overcome them for He is Lord of Lords and King
of Kings. He wins. What have we learned? We learned that all enemies will
be defeated. What have we learned? Secondly,
we know that our salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ is certain
and sure because He put away our sin for us, established righteousness
for us. What have we learned in our study
of Revelation? The Lord Jesus Christ is doing
it. All the honor and glory due unto His name. Worthy is the
Lamb that was slain to receive all honor, glory, blessing, and
power both now and forever. And what do we say? Amen. Amen.