Pastor Tim Brown, Calvary Chapel Fremont, Sunday April 10, 2011

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satan loses - Part 1 - Revelation 17-18

1-6  Babylon is the Greek spelling of the Hebrew Babel/ancient city on the eastern bank of the Euphrates - twenty miles south of Bagdad. It means "Gate of God." TWOT

    1. Genesis 10:9-10  Nimrod = let us rebel.  Mighty hunter against the Lord.  Brought men under his influence to live apart from God.  He founded Babylon.

2. Genesis 11:9  Most astrological/occult practices traced to Babel.

3. Babylonian Empire sought to swallow Israel.

I don’t see Babylon in Revelation as a literal world dominating city in the nation of Iraq.  I don’t see Babylon as Rome – cf. 1P5:13.  It is the city/kingdom of man.  It represents any nation/city/people who are in rebellion against God and seek to establish themselves w/o Him and persecute the true people of God.  Wherever Babylon is – Babylon will fall.  Theme of C17-18: judgment of the kingdom of man.
CHARACTERISTICS OF godless religion   1-6

She’s a prostitute - Harlot = PORNE = prostitute  1  PORNE from PERNEMI = to sell.  She sells what she has.  What does she have?

Sits on many waters – has influence over many people  1

Influence she exercises is unholy – doesn’t bring them to God  2

She is global/seeks to dominate, not serve.   The true church seeks to serve humankind - not bring them into bondage.  The peoples she dominates follow her leading.   

Kings of earth have committed immorality 2/she sits on a scarlet beast 3.  She sells her influence to the state – kings/beast.  She is not the true church for she desires the power/things of this world.  She positions herself for earthly power/those who seek political power have to accommodate her.  (E.g., politicians currying favor to get evangelical vote.)  The true church promotes the KOG and not that of man.  The true church is a prophet and not a prostitute.  The true church challenges the ungodly state – the prostitute promotes it.   

She’s a polluter – people made drunk w/ her wine  2  Drunk – do what otherwise wouldn’t do.  People got out of control, not in control.  Be not drunk w/ wine, but be filled w/ the Spirit.   

She is prosperous and perverse 4-5 Origin of astrological/occult practices.

She is a persecutor   6

She is a pretender

She is the unification of all false/idolatrous/apostate religion.  The harlot is larger than any one religion. She is the embodiment of Satan’s ecumenical movement - the religion of the world system.   

Our world, with its "it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you believe" philosophy, is ripe for the harlot’s seductions. A casual disregard for the truth and the philosophy of relativism will make anyone a prime candidate for the false church.   

All religions lead to God.  How do you know?  Try this statement: All gov’ts are the same.  You’d probably get an argument there.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GODLESS KINGDOM   7-14

It’s not new – more of the same

The 7 mountains represent the 7 kings/kingdoms described in Revelation 17:10.  Five have fallen refers to the 5 world empires before John’s day: Egypt/Assyria/ Babylonia/Medo-Persia/Greece.  

One is refers to the world empire of John’s day: Rome. The other has not yet come refers to the one world empire to come: a revival of the Roman Empire   

When he comes, he must continue a short time: This 7th will quickly be taken over by an 8th - and will become the state of the Antichrist – v11

It’s not going to last – overcome by Jesus Christ  14  Satan loses!

THE GODLESS KINGDOM DESTROY GODLESS RELIGION   15-18

Ultimately, the Antichrist will not tolerate any worship except of himself.  Once his power has been consolidated, the Antichrist no longer needs the help of religious Babylon. He will then work to dismantle and destroy her and her one-world religion.   

This has always been the goal of tyrants - and most politicians - to use religion for their purposes, then discard it.  Satan loses!  “But isn’t the beast from Satan?  And the harlot from Satan?” Satan’s kingdom is a divided kingdom and will not endure.

C18  Babylon = religious/political/commercial world w/o God

Judgment declared  1-2

Babylon has fallen and her fall is so shattering that she is good for nothing more than a gathering place for demons.

It is announced twice for emphasis – so it won’t be missed.  “Say that again.”    Emphasis given for the implausibility of the message.  How could something so powerful/global/wealthy fall?

Judgment defended   3

There are three reasons for the destruction of Babylon.  The first two were developed in C17.  The third, in C18.

Spiritual and moral deception/political prostitution/financial lust

The false religious system generates moral and spiritual compromise/political corruption/materialism.  She darkened the eyes and enflamed the passions of the people/enhanced the power of kings/encouraged the accumulation of possessions.   

Judgment dodged   4-5

Come out of her – a life defined by passions indulged/power pursued/possessions acquired – sensuality/power/wealth.  In the world, but not of it.  Boat in water is fine, water in boat is not.  Almost sinking my dad’s boat w/ a bunch of kids – too much weight up front.  Many submarine through life, bailing all the time.   

Judgment Degree    6-8

"Why double?"  God, in His righteousness, has given us the standard by which crimes are punished.  

If what he stole is actually found alive in his possession, whether an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double…If a man gives his neighbor money or goods to keep {for him,} and it is stolen from the man’s house, if the thief is caught, he shall pay double… Ex. 22:4, 7

Rewards are also to be given two times:
Instead of your shame you will have a double portion, and instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion.  Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land, everlasting joy will be theirs.  Isaiah 61:7

God is just, giving double blessing/double judgment.

Judgment described   9-19

Kings of the earth   9-10  | Merchants of the earth   11-19    

Judgment decided   20-21

But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Matthew 18:6

This applies to Babylon in Revelation 18, because she led others into sin. It is a terrible thing to sin unto yourself; it is even more terrible to lead others into sin.

result of judgment  22-23

No more music/Macy’s/marriage/merriment

You can’t satisfy the spiritual thirst with either a sensual experience/material object/emotional high.  But this is the great fallacy of the world today.  This is like trying to cure your cancer w/ a pack of cigarettes a day.   

reason for judgment reiterated  24

In her was found the blood of prophets/saints… What is found in you – belief or unbelief/righteousness or unrighteousness?  What team r u on?

The end of Revelation finds Jesus Christ in the highest place in heaven.  Does He have the highest place in your heart?

A wise person is one who can see the end of sin and the end of falsehood.  A fool is one who can’t see the end or who thinks he can beat it.  Ill. – board over canal on Walnut Grove.  Our end was on solid ground – the other end on slanting cement.

RCC disclaimer: RCC is not the great harlot, but much of her philosophy and many of her practices point to her as a precursor.  She is easily absorbed into GH along w/ liberal Protestantism.

    Most of Rome’s wealth acquired thru sale of salvation – untold billions.  Practice continues blatantly today where Catholicism reigns and less obviously in the US.  When Cardinal Cajetan, 16th century Dominican scholar, complained about the sale of dispensations and indulgences, the church hierarchy was indignant and accused him of wanting ‘to turn Rome into an uninhabited desert, to reduce the Papacy to impotence, to deprive the Pope…of the pecuniary resources indispensable for the discharge of his office.
    Sale of indulgences helped launch the Reformation.  They still continue today.  Vatican II declares: ‘The Church…commands that the usage of indulgences…should be kept…and it condemns with anathema those who say that indulgences are useless or that the Church does not have the power to grant them…(for) the task of winning salvation” Dave Hunt WRB pp.75, 490-492

c. Halley’s Bible Pocket Handbook gives to us some of the events of the history of the church. He tells us that, “Innocent III who was the pope from 1198 to 1216, the most powerful of all the popes, claimed to be, and this was the first time, the vicar of Christ or the vicar of God, the supreme sovereign over the church and the world. He claimed the right to depose kings and princes and that all things on earth and in heaven and in hell are subject to the Vicar of Christ. He brought the church into supreme control of the state. The kings of Germany, France, and England, and practically all of the monarchs of Europe obeyed his will. He even brought the Byzantine Empire under his control and never in history has any one man exerted more power. He ordered two crusades. He decreed transubstantiation.  He confirmed Auricular confession. He declared that Peter’s successor can never in any way depart from the Catholic faith. He declared Papal Infallibility. He condemned the Magna Charta. He forbade the reading of the Bible in the common languages. He ordered the extermination of the heretics. He instituted the Inquisitions. He ordered the Massacre of the Albigenses.  More blood was shed under his direction and that of his immediate successors than any other period in the history of the church except in the Papacy’s

effort to crush the reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries.”  

b. There was a time in Spain when no one could be buried without a special decree from the Pope in the coffin.  Upon purchase of this decree, the pope immediately granted indulgences and absolution from all sins except heresy and the vow of chastity.  A Catholic observer said this: ‘…this decree sends more people into hell than it can save from it; for it is the greatest encouragement to sin in the world.  A man says, I may satisfy my lusts and passions, I may commit all wickedness, and yet I am sure to be pardoned of all by the taking of this decree for two reals of plate (silver).  By the same rule, their consciences cannot be under any remorse, nor trouble; for if he commits a great sin, he goes to confess, he gets absolution, he has by him this decree, this permission to sin…Dave Hunt  WRB  p.491

c. Liberal Protestants who drain the Bible of its call to righteous standards fall into this same category.  

a. As a religious system, Babylon came into being long before Christianity, but in Satanic imitation it anticipated the coming true Messiah. The tower was not a physical attempt to reach God; it was a spiritual attempt to replace God.

b. According to religious history and legend, the Babylonian religion was founded by the wife of Nimrod (a great-grandson of Noah), named Semiramis. She was a high priestess of idol worship, and she gave birth to a son who she claimed was conceived miraculously. The son, named Tammuz, was considered a savior. Many ancient artifacts remain with the familiar motif of the mother Semiramis holding the savior-infant Tammuz, which predate Christianity. It was also said that Tammuz was killed by a wild beast and then miraculously brought back to life. Baal was the local, Canaanite name for the Babylonian Tammuz.

c. In springtime, and in celebration of this miraculous pregnancy, this divine fertility, she has an egg of gold made, calling it the golden egg of Astarte. The Babylonians also celebrate the event by coloring eggs and worshipping rabbits, the symbol of fertility.

d. The Babylonian religion became centered around the worship of Semiramis as the queen of heaven and Tammuz as the sun god. Every winter, in late December, as the days grow shortest, it was believed that the sun god had died. But then, he resurrects from the dead, and the days became longer again. The Babylonians would observe this by burning a log, called "the log of the son" (the word is "Yule" in Babylonian). It was burned in the fire to symbolize his death. But the next day, they would decorate a live evergreen tree with silver and gold. The log that was burned was now alive again!

e. A priesthood was established. The high priest was robed in scarlet and wore a crown in the shape of a fish head that had the words "Keeper of the Gate," because "Babel" means "Gate of God." The high priest had absolute authority.  The other priests were commanded to be celibate. They would burn incense, sprinkle holy water, and direct the people to worship the queen of heaven and her son.

f. This false religion of idolatry and abomination spread throughout the world. The mother/child abomination spread to every known society. Ultimately, Semiramis and Tammuz of Babylon became Ashteroth and Baal in the land of Canaan, Venus and Cupid to the Romans, Eros and Aphrodite to the Greeks, and Isis and Horus to the Egyptians.

    Ezekiel protests against the ceremony of weeping for Tammuz (Ezekiel 8:14).  Jeremiah mentions the heathen practice of making cakes for the queen of heaven (Jeremiah 7:18) and offering incense to the queen of heaven (Jeremiah 44:17-19, 25).

g. When the Babylonian empire was conquered by the Medes and Persians in 539BC, the central power of the Babylonian cult moved from Babylon to Pergamum. Then, in 133BC, Pergamum became part of the Roman Empire. The Babylonian cult again moved to the central city of power, Rome.

h. In 313AD, Constantine gave Christians the freedom of worship. By 392AD, Christianity was made the Roman Empire's official religion.  The religion's priests and practices were simply assimilated into the Christian church.

a. The ancient religion of Babel is a system of false religion that had continued throughout human history. In a time future to John, that system of false religion would dominate kings and kingdoms from its headquarters in Rome. And it would take the lead in the brutal persecution and murder of the true saints of Jesus on the earth.

b. This is why all of the Protestant Reformers identified the Roman Catholic Church as the woman who rides the beast. It may be unpleasant to say these things, but history has verified John’s report. The Roman Catholic Church is heavily influenced by ancient Babylonian practices; it has dominated kings and kingdoms from its headquarters in Rome; and it is responsible for brutally murdering more true believers than any other group in the history of the world.

d. Indications about Roman Catholicism’s ultimate partnership with a one-world religion are evident in Pope John Paul II’s involvement with and approval of other anti-Christian religions.

    In addressing a prayer gathering of Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and others, Pope John Paul II told participants that their efforts were "unleashing profound spiritual energies in the world and bringing about a new climate of peace." The Pope pledged that "the Catholic Church intends to ‘share in and promote’ such ecumenical and inter-religious cooperation."
    The Catholic Review commented on this and said, "The unity of religion promoted by the Holy Father Pope John Paul II and approved by His Holiness the Dalai Lama is not a goal to be achieved immediately, but a day may come when the love and compassion which both Buddha and Christ preached so eloquently will unite the world in a common effort to save humanity from senseless destruction, and leading to toward the light in which we all believe."  (Jesus is not one among many, but One above all).

The seven heads are seven mountains: Many quickly associate the seven mountains with Rome and the Papacy, because Rome is well known as the city on seven hills. Yet literally, the Greek word means mountains, not hills.  But in the Bible mountains are sometimes a figure of governments (such as in Daniel 2:35) and the city of Rome is built on hills, not mountains.

Many people find the connection between religious Babylon and Roman Catholicism irresistible, yet it is flawed in the sense that there is no doubt that religious Babylon will incorporate a strong Roman Catholic element, but it will be much bigger than Roman Catholicism.

2) Fall of Babylon is theme in Bible:

    Now behold, here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in pairs." And one said, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon; And all the images of her gods are shattered on the ground."   (Isa 21:9)
    I will punish Bel in Babylon, And I will make what he has swallowed come out of his mouth; And the nations will no longer stream to him. (Jer 51:44)
    Indeed Babylon is to fall for the slain of Israel, As also for Babylon the slain of all the earth have fallen. (Jer 51:49)
    And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality." (Rev 14:8)

2. Reasons explained

a. She didn’t point people to Jesus, but to herself.  The only reason for the existence of the church is to point to Jesus.

b. False measure of life - enflamed the passions of the people, enhanced the power of kings, encouraged the accumulation of possessions.

c. Basically there is deep down within man a thirst for God.

1) Jesus spoke about that in John 7:37.  He said, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink.”

2) Not talking about a physical or emotional thirst.  He was talking about the thirst in the spirit of man for God.  And He is saying, if you thirst, come to Me.  You need God.  Your soul, your spirit is thirsting after God.  Come to Me and drink.  “For he who drinks  the water that I give, out of his innermost being there will gush torrents of living water.” The thirst will be satisfied.