As A Matter of Fact
End of Days • Sermon • Submitted
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· 9 viewsOver time, we are able to see the power and the purpose of God as Jesus slowly but surely strips evil of it’s allure and power and ultimate defeats the devil forever.
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My first ever airplane trip was to Washington, D.C. on a business trip for IBM to the US Postal Convention.
Yep, I know how to party.
I was a bit nervous and it more obvious than I thought.
I got to my seat and buckled up.
There was a gentleman sitting beside me in the window seat - he wore a business suit and he was reading a newspaper.
The plane finally left the gate and taxied to the runway.
Those of you who fly know that most of the time the plane stops at the end of the runway for a few seconds, the engines finally spool up, the brakes are released and you immediately start to accelerate down the runway.
I must have had a death grip on the armrest.
Right before the engines spooled up, the man beside me asked, “This your first time to fly?”
I said, “Yes sir.”
I do not remember exactly what he said, but I remember he was very matter of fact.
And he said something like, “It’s no big deal. Relax and enjoy it.”
He was so confident, so matter of fact, that I did relax - a little - and I’ve enjoyed flying ever since.
As we read Revelation 17, listen and see if you can find the two very matter of fact statements that have the power to make us relax and enjoy this ride that we are on.
Revelation 17:1-18 (read)
Today, we’re going to do three things: First, we’re going to look briefly at why John uses the image of a prostitute; Second, we are going to do a verse by verse amplification of the text and, finally, we are going to look at the matter of fact message that has the power to encourage us and strengthen our faith and make us ready for our part in what is to come.
The main takeaway for today is this: Over time, we are able to see the power and the purpose of God as Jesus slowly but surely strips evil of its allure and power and ultimate defeats the devil forever.
So, why a prostitute?
I don’t know if you remember or not what we talked about on Mother’s Day.
Basically, we looked at the family and how God created the family as the single, basic building block of His society.
From your own Bible reading, you probably remember Ephesians 5:31-32.
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
When Jesus was asked about divorce in Matthew 19, He quoted the same words.
Both Jesus and Paul were quoting Genesis 2:24 - this is the way God designed human life to flourish.
To understand what Paul means in Ephesians when he says, “This mystery is profound,” we have to remember the one reason - and only one reason - Jesus gives for a biblical divorce.
Matthew 5:32
But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
The only Biblical grounds for a divorce is sexual immorality.
Unfaithfulness - breaking the covenant - betraying that trust.
You see, when you marry, your love only belongs to the one to whom you have made a covenant - there are not what if’s or look at her or what about hims involved.
A vow was made - a covenant was created - faithfulness is it’s seal.
And the Church is the Bride of Christ.
Listen to how the Lord describes Himself: Nahum 1:2-3a.
Nahum 1:2–3a (ESV)
The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
the Lord is avenging and wrathful;
the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries
and keeps wrath for his enemies.
The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,
and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.
A.C. Myers: “Divine jealousy in every instance is the just response to a challenge to God’s sovereignty and particularly to the breaking of his covenantal relationship with God, (i.e. unfaithfulness).”
Why a prostitute?
Who is more unfaithful than a prostitute?
She is faithful to her ‘husband’ if you will for only as long as he is with her, then her affections move on to the next man.
Psalm 24:1-2
The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
The people the Lord has created are unfaithful - perversely so - and the Lord is jealous for His creation.
His anger burns towards those who are unfaithful and unrepentant.
That Amos passage we read earlier also says, Nahum 1:7-8.
The Lord is good,
a stronghold in the day of trouble;
he knows those who take refuge in him.
But with an overflowing flood
he will make a complete end of the adversaries,
and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
Here comes the flood.
Revelation 17:1-6
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.
When I saw her, I marveled greatly.
The key that unlocks this vision is in verse 6 - it’s John’s reaction.
See, we read this and we see a seven headed, ten horned red beast with this drunken, slightly chubby, bawdily clad, caricature of a lady of the evening on its back and we are repulsed.
That’s the wrong reaction so obviously we are seeing it incorrectly.
John “marveled greatly.”
The word “marveled” means to gape in wonder, to be amazed.
John is seduced by her beauty and power and opulence.
Far from being repulsive, she is most attractive.
Her jewelry is stunning - gold, jewels and pearls - which just happen to be the exact same jewelry that is on the vestments of the priests who enter the holy of holies in the temple.
I know many, many young people who are seduced by the power of the city.
It is no caricature - it’s real.
Bright lights - entertainment of every type - not just bawdy stuff - but acceptable stuff.
Theatre, concerts, everything from symphony to grunge.
Wealth is there - jobs - you get paid more typically when you work in the city.
The captains of industry are there - as are the “kings of the earth,” heads of state and the seats of government.
The city is far different - far, far more attractive than the hayseed countryside of Jones County where very little changes from year to year.
The city changes almost constantly - and its filled with the promise of power, prestige and profit.
The beast is power.
The prostitute is beautiful, seductive, alluring.
John - the apostle - for a moment is awe-struck.
But strip away the eye-candy.
The golden cup she is holding isn’t filled with communion wine.
It is full of abominations and impurities.
It is filled with blasphemous names - but again - think about this.
It doesn’t have to be hateful, disgusting, vile, offensive names.
Blasphemy is the act of claiming the attributes of God for a person.
(word bubble slide)
Many of you have seen something similar to this.
Do you see any mention of God? Blasphemy.
OK, we know that Revelation cannot mean anything to us now that it didn’t mean then.
Then, this prostitute represented Rome.
Government - commerce - totally sold out to the anti-christ.
Vernon Poythress: “In a word, the Prostitute and the Beast cooperate. In the Roman Empire, imperial power (the Beast) undergirded pleasure and wealth (the Prostitute). State power made possible the amassing of wealth. Similarly today, people put their hope in state power, whenever it promises to deliver utopian peace and prosperity.”
If have learned nothing else in the last 5 years, I hope we have learned this - our government - regardless of who is in power - exists only for their wealth and power.
It is not Godly.
It is not concerned for Godliness.
It is god.
Revelation 17:7-13
But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast.
The angel essentially grabs John by the shoulders and shakes him and shouts at him to “Wake up!”
“Why do you marvel?”
“Let me tell you about her and the beast.”
“The beast you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction.”
This echo’s Revelation’s words about Jesus.
Jesus is the One who was, who is and who is to come.
The beast was - and he went away for a season - but then he came back.
And that’s the cycle of life since time and eternity.
Satan rises and destroys - then people turn to God and Satan retreats.
But then we get comfortable, and Satan rises again.
But one day he will go to destruction and he will never rise again.
People whose names are written in the book of life - from the foundation of the world - will not be deceived.
They may, like John, have a moment - but the Holy Spirit will cause them to see through the veneer.
But everyone else - they marvel at the beauty and power of this ungodly beast.
Then the angel goes into an explanation that has caused books and books to be written.
The “seven heads are seven mountains” is easy enough - Rome is surrounded by seven hills - John is talking about Rome.
But then he talks about seven kings, five have fallen, one is, one is to come but only for a little while.
The beast is the eighth of the seven - ten horns are ten more kings who are not in power yet, but will be, but only for a limited amount of time.
But that doesn’t matter because all of the kings - every. last. one. of them will turn over their authority to the beast.
Who are these kings?
People have written books about this - all conjecture and many doing gymnastics with history.
One of the most popular is the seven kings are the Roman emperors but that won’t work - if you are true to history.
Rome had eleven total emperors.
Trying to nail down who each of these kings are is a fool’s errand - it doesn’t matter.
What does matter?
“These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast.”
Every government - every major corporation - they all eventually turn their power over to the beast.
They will never deliver to people what they promise they will deliver.
Revelation 17:14-18
They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”
And the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.”
Let’s say this before we say that.
The beast and all of the kings of the earth turn on the prostitute and they utterly destroy her.
When they have sucked every ounce of what they want out of her, when she has nothing left to give them, they will throw her away like last night’s leftovers.
And they immediately start looking for another prostitute to use to make them rich and powerful.
This cycle has gone on all through history.
But remember me flying on the airplane?
And the guy, very matter-of-factly saying, “It’s no big deal. Relax and enjoy it,” remember that?
Listen closely to what the angel tells John: “They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them.”
It’s the same attitude as my business man.
Yes, this cycle has gone on for millennia.
Yes, hundreds, thousands, millions, billions of people have been seduced by the beast.
They have in the past and they will try once again to eradicate any vestige of Jesus on the earth.
“They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them.”
“It’s no big deal. Relax and enjoy watching Jesus bring in the new heaven and the new earth.”
In fact, listen to this, “for God has put into their hearts to carry out his purpose...”
They can’t do anything that the Lord won’t let them do.
There are limits to their power.
While people we see now making so many unGodly claims that - many of us who have been around a while are absolutely appalled over - while these folks think they are in the driver’s seat and soon they’ll create their utopia where they are large and in charge and they’ll create this world in their image.
While they think there is nothing that can stop them now.
“God has put into their hearts to carry out his purpose.”
And it will only last until, “the words of God are fulfilled.”
Yes, it’s frightening.
"But it’s no big deal. Relax and enjoy it.”
I asked God what He thought, and this is what He said.
Isaiah 46:8-11
Isaiah 46:8–11 (ESV)
“Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.
Do you hear how matter-of-factly God speaks?
Do you hear apprehension or concern in His voice?
Is he concerned that evil will overwhelm Him?
Doesn’t sound like it to me - “I will bring it to pass, I have purposed it, and I will do it.”
Is He concerned that we will get lost and fall away?
You tell me - Revelation 17:14
They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”
We are called - chosen - faithful.
Our names have been written in the Lambs book of life from the foundation of the world.
You are not going anywhere.
Keep your eyes on Jesus.
Our world is rapidly becoming a scary, frightening place where people with power do what they want.
In the face of this - in fact, in the face of every challenge you have in every facet of your life - you remember what God says:
“For I am God, and there is none like Me…My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.”
The world is rapidly becoming a scary, frightening place where people with power do what they want.
“It’s no big deal. Relax and enjoy what the Lord is about to do for you.”
Let us pray.