Misplaced Faith
Notes
Transcript
9 “The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, 10 standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’ 11 “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: 12 merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; 13 and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men. 14 The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all. 15 The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 16 and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! 17 For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.’ Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance 18 and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’ 19 “They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate.’ 20 “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!” 21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore. 22 The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore. 23 The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.”
Introduction:
As we look further into chapter eighteen of Revelation, we see another side to God’s judgment of Babylon.
Our text shows clearly that God is going to deal with every aspect of the wickedness that makes up this entity, so it shouldn’t surprise us to see God condemning her prosperity as He destroys her economy!
I. God will bring an end to the prosperity of the Beast.
I. God will bring an end to the prosperity of the Beast.
We remember that no one will be able to buy or sell without the mark of the Beast. But now, God takes away their ability to buy or sell, by completely destroying their economic system!
A. Economic prosperity is the god of the masses.
A. Economic prosperity is the god of the masses.
Consumers will sell their values for cheap goods. We will buy the work of children’s hands and political prisoners, if the price is right.
We will do almost anything for more money!
This is the way of the world, and will certainly be the case with the revived Roman empire.
But for us in Christ, we need no money, nor prosperity. What we need is Jesus!
B. Every person and nation that capitalized on it will suffer loss.
B. Every person and nation that capitalized on it will suffer loss.
Trusting that things will just go on as is, are the thoughts of fools.
31 Let him not trust in futile things, deceiving himself, For futility will be his reward.
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
And yet, this precisely how people live today! For the almighty dollar that is.
If we would stop and consider that the poor of this country still live better than 90 % of the world, perhaps we might be satisfied with what we currently have?
I know that Jesus promises me food and clothing and that I should be content with that, but isn’t that just the earthly side of His benefits?
The real riches of His inheritance are the spiritual blessings!
C. The loss will bring devastation.
C. The loss will bring devastation.
When any part of the economy experiences a set back, the flow of goods slows down and prices go up.
Remember last month when the cargo ship Evergreen got stuck in the Suez Canal? For six days it sat sideways blocking all ships from going though.
Of the 39.2 million barrels per day of crude imported by seaborne methods in 2020, 1.74 million barrels per day passed through the Suez Canal, according to data from research firm Kpler.
The Suez Canal handles around 12% of global trade, making it an essential point of passage. Each day of blockage disrupts more than $9 billion worth of goods, according to Lloyd’s List, which translates to about $400 million per hour.
For six days it remained blocked, which comes to a loss of 54 Billion Dollars.
On the flip side, I will never suffer the loss of everything!
No! Because Jesus is everything! And in Him I have eternal life, and peace that surpasses all understanding!
Yes, God will bring an end to the prosperity of the Beast, and He will bring everlasting blessings to the body of Christ!
II. The world will watch it burn, paralyzed to help.
II. The world will watch it burn, paralyzed to help.
A. The swiftness of the destruction will be shocking.
A. The swiftness of the destruction will be shocking.
This will not be a slow gradual disruption, it will commence and be over with in an hour.
All the media outlets will be covering it as the world sits in shock watching!
They will see their retirement accounts, jobs, and the ability to buy anything, come to an immediate and abrupt end!
But do not let yourself think for a minute that God is too harsh!
They are deserving of everything they have coming, because they did not honor God when they had the chance, and persecuted the children of God.
As we saw in the previous chapters, God gave them opportunity to repent and they did not!
But those that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31).
B. The emotional affect will produce hopelessness.
B. The emotional affect will produce hopelessness.
As soon as it sinks in, mass numbers of people will commit suicide, and any human compassion for others will be sacrificed for self preservation.
How can I say this?
Because the world does not have the hope we have.
There is no peace for the wicked, Isaiah said (Is. 48:22).
During the Great depression of the end of the 1920’s, suicide was at an all time high in the USA. 22 out of every 100,000 people took their own life.
C. It will never be rebuilt again.
C. It will never be rebuilt again.
Most times, coming out of a great depression, war, or pandemic, people are optimistic that we can rebuild!
We come together and the spirit of humanity overcomes the challenges ahead.
Not this time!
The destruction is so great and thorough, that no one will be able to encourage themselves as they watch it all go up in smoke!
It will be a time of total loss!
Conclusion:
We can see the seduction that presents itself from prosperity. Everywhere in our society, there is the temptation to have, and to have more.
It is a real devilish temptation, and the proof of that statement is in the way Satan tempted Jesus.
5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
John warns us to not be tempted by it.
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
So what’s the answer?
Well, that would be Jesus!
He is everything, and when we are trusting Him, walking in fellowship with Him, we, as children of God, have everything we could ever hope for!
