The Finality of Wickedness
Notes
Transcript
1 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. 2 And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! 3 For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.” 4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. 5 For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6 Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. 7 In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ 8 Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.
Introduction:
As we have already seen in the last chapter, Mystery Babylon more than likely, is the false religious entity that is said to ride the Scarlet beast, which represents the the empire that will take control and dominate the world, which is the revived Roman Empire.
Now, here in chapter eighteen, we see the final judgment of Babylon, not just the false religious system, but the place of her throne, cited here as that great city.
Babylon, in scripture, is used both literally and figuratively.
13 However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to build this house of God.
13 She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does Mark my son.
Here, Peter is not referring to the literal city of Babylon of Persia, but Rome where there was a church of disciples.
It is also used to depict wickedness.
9 And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!” Then he answered and said, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the carved images of her gods He has broken to the ground.”
9 We would have healed Babylon, But she is not healed. Forsake her, and let us go everyone to his own country; For her judgment reaches to heaven and is lifted up to the skies.
Although Spiritual Babylon will be destroyed in the future, it is a real entity now, and has been for a very long time.
And its deceptive nature is alluring to all who are caught in its web.
I. Wickedness is most often disguised. Vs.3
I. Wickedness is most often disguised. Vs.3
We would expect that something wicked would look wicked.
This is one of the great paradoxes of life!
Jesus knew this when He told us to beware of wolves in Sheep’s clothing.
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
You see, what looks like one thing is really something else. Therefore, to be able to recognize this takes discernment!
Which is why He says this next -
16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
This thing is everywhere and the paradox continues.
We see it in...
The image of the devil
When he came to Eve in the garden of eden, he appeared as a serpent.
When he is portrayed by society, he is in a red suit, horns, tail, and pitchfork.
Serial killers
Ted Bundy was able to get close to young college age women because he had a non-threatening appearance.
Politicians
Now here’s an example.
Statistically, women hate Donald Trump because he was a misogynist, and probably commited sexual assault.
Yet, the beloved JFK, was probably worse by far. His sexual appetite was so veracious, and the number of extra marital affairs so mind boggling, he is even quoted a saying that if he didn’t have sex every day, he was plagued by headaches. We won’t mention Bill Clinton.
What’s the difference? The personal appeal or lack of it.
Both are disgusting.
Church leaders
So, it shouldn’t surprise us that Babylon would look nothing like the human concept of an evil and corrupt entity.
We also see that this paradox continues right into the last days, as evidenced by the woman who rides the beast!
And, we see why people are so deceived -
II. Wickedness is Seductive in Nature. Vs.4
II. Wickedness is Seductive in Nature. Vs.4
And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.
Why would God’s people even be in this place? Do they not know the commandments of God? Does the Spirit not work in them as well?
When we consider the seductive nature of wickedness, we must admit that its draw upon the human senses, is powerful enough to seduce the best of us.
12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.
There can be no doubt that the cities of the plains were appealing to the flesh, and Lot was seduced by them, but the worst was Sodom, which God eventually destroyed.
Interestingly, Lot’s rescue from Sodom as one of the negotiated righteous persons by Abraham, parallels verse four of our text.
But you see, the seduction runs deep in our lives and senses.
We see things not as God sees them, but with tainted eyes, that need spiritual discernment.
We become jaded by the seduction.
33 Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
We become dissatisfied with the simplicity found in Christ.
3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
III. Wickedness Justifies Itself. Vs.7
III. Wickedness Justifies Itself. Vs.7
In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, ... for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’
We find the spirit of Babylon in every corner of the globe, presently.
Wicked people!
Wicked Governments!
Wicked ideas!
And the list goes on and on.
And we also know that she always justifies herself!
So we don’t have to look far to see this kind of justification:
China’s Organ Harvesting
LONDON — The organs of members of marginalized groups detained in Chinese prison camps are being forcefully harvested — sometimes when patients are still alive, an international tribunal sitting in London has concluded.
Some of the more than 1.5 million detainees in Chinese prison camps are being killed for their organs to serve a booming transplant trade that is worth some $1 billion a year, concluded the China Tribunal, an independent body tasked with investigating organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience in the authoritarian state.
“Forced organ harvesting has been committed for years throughout China on a significant scale,” the tribunal concluded in its final judgment Monday. The practice is “of unmatched wickedness — on a death for death basis — with the killings by mass crimes committed in the last century,” it added.
This article from NBC News dates to June 18, 2019. And as you may know, it’s back in the news currently as a special congressional investigation is under way.
The media’s biased justification of protests.
The storming of the Capital on January 8th has been rightly condemned by the media, and still is, while ANTIFA and other fascist groups continue to loot, burn, destroy, municipal and private property, called protesting by the mainstream media.
Conclusion:
We should not be surprised by the things we see today!
As the world continues to progress towards a one world system, these things will be before us more and more.
But, God has a plan, and that plan will bring an end to all wickedness, setting up conditions for global utopian bliss in the millenium kingdom.
My dear brothers and sisters, keep your eyes on Jesus!
