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Revelation #37

            Have you been at peace in the Lord during the week? The words of Revelation are especially given by our Lord through the Apostle John. ¶ Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. (Revelation 1:3 KJV)  God’s plan is the dispensation of the fulness of times. God has set a time. The age of grace will soon end when the Lord comes to the air. Therefore, today is the time to receive salvation and the day to receive grace. Only the blood of Jesus Christ is the power and gospel that paid the price for our redemption. Only by fully trusting His blood, confessing that you are a sinner, and receiving Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour, can you be born again by the Holy Spirit and enter the kingdom of God. This is the gospel. There is nothing else. Therefore, realizing that we are sinners is the greatest blessing. We can see in the Psalms that David did not realize that he was a sinner and always confessed to see his righteousness. But after sinning, he confess he was conceived as a sinner in his mother’s womb. We must realize that we are sinners. Because we were born as sinners, we cannot help but commit sins, and when we confess that we have no ability to do the Word of God, cannot love, and are completely dead, the Lord will come to save us so that we can be born again by the Holy Spirit. I pray you will receive salvation today.

            Last time we finished chapter 17 and started with chapter 18 up to verse 2. Let’s preview the contents of chapter 18 a little bit. Chapter 18 is about Babylon the Great. The word of God is directly spoken and is literally fulfilled. The Lord has interpreted everything He spoke in parables. Therefore, everything else will be literal. However, if you interpret them as a metaphor or allegory, you will lose all the substance inside and be deceived by Satan. 18:2 calls Babylon the Great a filthy city. 18:3 calls it drunken; pagan (18:4), proud (Revelation 18:7), popular (18:9) and mighty (18:10); it is also commercial (18:11) and rich (17:4, 18:12) It is damned (Rev 18:5) and absolutely doomed by God (Rev 18:21) It is destined to burn (Rev 17:16, 18:8-9) and keep on burning after it is destroyed here on Earth (Rev 19:3) Such is the appearance of the Church of Rome. As mentioned from last episode, among the millions of cities around the world, only one is rich, fortified, whoremongers to God, mysterious, doomed to death, cursed, commercial, filthy, drunken, pagan, proud, sitting on seven mountains, the symbol of which is the cup, clothed in purple robe and scarlet, historically killed Christians, reigns over the kings of the earth, and is responsible for the blood of the prophets and saints. That city is none other than the Church of Rome.

            (Revelation 18:3-4 KJV) For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. “My people” in verse 4 are the Jews in the Tribulation. It can be spiritually applied for born again Christians to come out of the Roman Church. There are many Roman Catholics who accepted Christ and were saved. They are told to come out of it. Martin Luther proclaimed people to come out of the Roman Catholic church during Reformation. We need to know just how many people the Jesuits order of the Roman Church killed in collaboration with the Nazis through history. Don’t be fooled by the Roman Catholics’ smokescreen. The words of 18:4 were spoken to Israel during the tribulation. Of course, indirectly, if you are a member of the Church of Rome today, you should know right away that it is the Lord’s command and exhortation to realize and come out as soon as possible.

            (Revelation 18:5-6 KJV) For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. Comparatively, (Revelation 17:4 KJV) says: And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: In the future the Lord will come and remember their injustice and will pay vengeance, double, to those who killed God’s people and God’s children.

            (Revelation 18:7-14 KJV) How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. ¶ And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. Interestingly enough, starting with gold, the last item the Roman Catholic church devours through greed ends with human souls. In other words, the Church of Rome is interested in money at first then ultimately in souls of the people. In fact, it is the Roman Catholic church benefits enormously through Christmas and Easter. Vast commercial gains are made through such annual events. However, we must not fall into their deception just as the rest of the world but utilize them as opportunities to testify of the birth and resurrection of Christ. Therefore, this great Roman catholic ecclesiastical system is sustained entirely by the commerce and trade of all nations. There are no birth restrictions, as they encourage marriages and start big families, get them to sell diapers, strollers, clothes, and cars and houses. In other words,  the difference between rich and poor around the world is due to commercial activities that carry out the Roman catholic teachings, and we must know that the world influenced by this ‘False Christianity’ was built on this commercial foundation. The primary interest of this church of Babylon the Great is gold, then silver, and the last item on this list, as we just read, are the souls of people. This fake church eventually takes people’s souls, and we can see that they do not save them out of pity. They may lead to conversion, but do not teach that salvation is achieved by preaching and having them receiving the gospel of Jesus Christ. When pastor Song preached the gospel to Spanish-speaking Central and South America, it broke his heart to see that they knew the name of Jesus Christ but didn’t know what it meant to be saved and just simply celebrated Sunday mass. However, when he preach the gospel to them, he was very grateful to see them accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior with gratitude and confessing themselves that Jesus Christ is within them. Babylon the Great, the Roman Catholic church do absolutely nothing up until they are called to perform Sacrament of Atonement before people die, BUT we must know that even that is not about receiving Jesus Christ. For this reason, you must be wise and know this fact now and the true identity of Babylon the Great is during the tribulation.

            (Revelation 18:15-19 KJV) The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate. Take a listen to Revelation 17:18 about the true identity of Babylon the Great, the Roman Catholic church: And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. (Revelation 17:18 KJV) No city on earth governs kings and presidents of the world, none other than the Vatican city. We must distinguish this well. Here Babylon is never about the world. Babylon is not some carnally obscene woman. God clearly said in Revelation 17:18 that this woman is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth. Verses 15-19 in the text tells us how nations such as Spain, Italy, the United Nations, NATO, etc., allied with the Church of Rome having economic and diplomatic exchanges with each other, are engulfed in chaos and the commercial system is disrupted as their market will completely collapse.

            (Revelation 18:20-22 KJV) Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; Notice the word craft, it also means cunning as in (Daniel 8:25 KJV) And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand… Talking about the antichrist and his coming  deceptive works. We see the comparison between Antichrist and craft, and the reference to above verses can be found reading Daniel 11:43 and Jeremiah 50:21-31.

            (Revelation 18:23-24 KJV) And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. Last episode we mentioned, for thousand years from AD 500 to 1500, 60 million Jews and Christians were murdered by the Roman Catholic system: And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. (Revelation 18:24 KJV) This is the word of God. Indeed, we have heard such tremendous words, and although we may be afraid in a way, there will be a terrible judgment when the Lord comes. Jesus died miserably at the First Coming, but the Second Coming will come regardless of sin. The Lord endured for 2,000 years. That is why you must believe in the Lord now. You must repent. The Lord has already forgiven all our sins on the cross. Therefore, after His resurrection, the Lord told the disciples, And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24:47 KJV) God has already forgiven your sins. All you have to do is believe. There is no saving for those who do not respond to this Word. People who proclaim “I will not believe in that Jesus. I am not a sinner.”  can not be saved. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23 KJV) (Romans 6:23 KJV) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Would you sin and end up in hell forever? Or Would you rather accept Jesus Christ and receive God’s gift? Anyone listening to this message today who have yet to receive God’s gift, you should know that now is the time to receive grace and salvation.

            We will continue on to Chapter 19. Chapter 19 takes the reader through the end of the tribulation. We get to see the end of the tribulation and the Lord coming back. Chapter 20 will revisit the battle of Armageddon that took place in chapter 6. This was revealed in Revelation 6:15-17, also 11:15 and 14:20 have already roughly described Armageddon. These descriptions are the four gospels of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Chapters 19, 6, 11, and 14 are the 4 gospels, which are the gospels about God’s people and children. But for the world, it is the gospel of judgment. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are four gospels simultaneously. It means to believe in the gospel and be saved. Otherwise if you don’t believe in the gospel, you will go to hell. It is a blessing to those who believe and a curse to those who do not. Before we begin studying chapter 19, it would be useful to go back to the Old Testament and preview the parts that refer to the battle of Armageddon.

            Since the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is the most important event on God’s calendar, we must remember that the Old Testament tells us five times more about this final event that is taking place in Revelation 19 than about the First Coming of Jesus Christ. The bloody crucifixion is the most significant event for us sinners. The most amazing event in history is the day when Jesus Christ left the glory of heaven and came down to earth in the middle of the night, suffered and died for our sins. But this is from a human point of view. From God the Father’s point of view, the most interesting thing is not the day when His Son came down to earth and was mocked, despised, and cursed by sinful humans. The great day in God the Father’s calendar is when his Son comes back to earth and possesses that which rightly belongs to him. Therefore, the greatest event in the Bible is the Day of the Lord. It is the day of wrath. Judgment Day. The Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The relevant passage for this event is (Genesis 3:15 KJV)… her seed; it shall bruise thy head…  The only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ, who comes as the seed of Israel, the seed of the woman, will bruise the head of Satan, the seed of the serpent. This is the first gospel spoken by God himself in the Garden of Eden. The serpent is Satan, whose seed is the Antichrist, the son of perdition. Just as the Son of God is Jesus Christ, the antichrist is the son of Satan and will soon appear as the son of perdition. Bruising of the head did not happen when Christ died on the cross, but when Christ returns. The apostle Paul spoke of the serpent’s head busing a few years after the resurrection of Jesus. And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. (Romans 16:20 KJV)

The day of the Second Coming is being spoken of here. In Genesis 6 we see the days of Noah, and Christ likened the days of Noah will be like the day of the Son of Man. And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. (Luke 17:26-27 KJV)  Also, in Genesis 19 we see the days of Lot. Jesus also said that the day of the Son of Man would be like the days of Lot. Also, we can see the day of the Second Coming in Genesis 49:9-12, and we can especially compare Genesis 49:11 with Revelation 14. Also, Genesis 49:17 and 18 are verses related to the Second Coming, and verse 24 is about Jesus Christ appearing as the first shepherd and the stone of Israel. We must know that this is the stone that struck the idol/image in Daniel’s vision. The Second Coming is when a stone cut out without hands strike the idol and shattering it into pieces. The giant image in Daniel’s vision refers to all nations of mankind. Also, Exodus chapters 4 to 10 show the plagues that will repeat at the Lord’s Second Coming. Exodus 15:1-19 we see the type of Armageddon and Satan’s defeat. The worship and praise of Miriam is a celebration of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. We see the Jews walk across the Red Sea as the pharaoh and his armies die. This is also a foreshadowing of the disasters that will happen at the Second Coming. Because Egypt symbolizes the world and Pharaoh symbolizes Satan. Therefore, Exodus 17:16 is a type of the second coming of Christ. In Leviticus 26:1-12 we see the promised blessings of a thousand years. Also, in verses 13 to 43, we can see the promises of wrath to be fulfilled during the tribulation, and Numbers 21 to 24 also deal with the Second Coming, with needs to pay special attention to Numbers 24:15-19, 22,23. We also see the curses of tribulation in Deuteronomy 28. Deuteronomy 28:1-2 are the blessings of the millennium promised concurrently with Israel’s conversion, and the rest of chapter 28 deals with what will happen to Israel before the Church Age and the Second Coming. Deuteronomy 29 deals with curses Israel will actually experience before the Second Coming. Deuteronomy 23:1-9 contains the content of the Second Coming. Chapters 32 and 33 also deal with the Second Coming. There are many words about the Second Coming. You’ll never see them if you’re blind. We also learned beforehand that the book of Joshua is a type of Second Coming. In Joshua 6, Jericho is symbolized as a type of the cursed city of Babylon.

            The day the sun stood still causing the moon to not rise during the battle in Joshua Chapter 10 is advanced revelation of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Also, Judges Chapter 5 is a scene of the Second Coming, and Chapter 7 symbolizes the battle of Armageddon and the Second Coming. The book of Ruth refers to the threshing floor as it shows the second coming of Christ. John the Baptist also said Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. (Matthew 3:12 KJV)  It is worth noting that David’s battles with the Palestinians in 2 Samuel are scenes of the Second Coming of Christ. David appears in these texts as a type of Christ, the King, and in 2 Samuel 8:3 David was going to get the land promised to Abraham when he was trying to restore his borders on the banks of the Euphrates River. The land will be given to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob during the Millennial Kingdom after the Second Coming. The book of Job has 42 chapters in total, and Daniel’s 70th week, 42 months, is the 7 year tribulation. You can see that it refers to the latter three and a half years. Psalm 45 is the wedding of the Lamb, which takes place during the Tribulation. Everything in Psalm 68 speaks of the Second Coming and the Millennium, Psalms 69, 72, and 74 deal with tribulation, and we know that Psalm 78, and everything from Genesis to Joshua, deals with the Second Coming. Also, all the contents of Psalm 99 come after the Second Coming of Jesus Christ during the millennial kingdom. Psalm 105 is entirely about the Second Coming, and Psalm 114 symbolizes the Second Coming of Christ. Also, Psalms 124 and 132 sing of the joy of the Jews after the Second Coming. The content of the Second Coming is so numerous that it is hard to list them all. The Second Coming is the most important doctrine in the Bible. Without the Second Coming of Christ, the sacraments of the Church, baptism and even salvation seem meaningless. Anyone who invests as much time as they can in the Word of God will find that the most important subject of the Holy Bible is the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. This topic is the key to understanding the Bible. But the problem is, people just simply don’t study or read the Bible. I could go on and on, but for the sake of time, I’ll end it here and talk about it another time. I bless you all in the name of Christ Jesus that you will all be victorious in the Lord. Amen.