man revelation chapter 18 and the title of my sermon tonight is who is end times
Babylon who is the end times Babylon now the reason I'm preaching about this is
because we have the movie premiere coming this Tuesday night for our new
film Babylon USA and don't worry I'm not gonna preach the film tonight so it's
not like I'm gonna preach tonight you know well great I don't even need to see
the movie what I'm preaching tonight is basically a lot of stuff that's not in
the film this is not what the film covers but I do want to talk a little
bit about the film and explain to you why we made this film what's the
rationale behind this film and what's the purpose of the film now first of all
I want to say this the films that we've made in the past after the tribulation
New World Order Bible versions marching to Zion and now this film the goal with
these films is to reach people the goal is to reach people with the gospel of
Jesus Christ so that they could be saved and then the goal is also to edify God's
people and increase their knowledge of the Word of God and increase their sound
doctrine and help them to learn something and grow in grace and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and these films are very
effective tools at reaching people in fact who here tonight either got saved
watching one of those films or you found out about our church through one of
those films I would say you first found out about the church look around so it
looks like it works as a way to reach people right so this film back because a
lot of people say you know why make this film why make a film like Babylon USA
well the purpose is to reach people with the gospel and also to reach people that
are already saved and expose them to hard preaching expose them to our soul
winning program and everything else that we do at this church and these films are
literally viewed by millions of people and God willing this one's going to be
the same way you know after the tribulation now the English version has
about five million viewers the Spanish version even just one upload of it has
like 13 million views 13 million more than English New World Order Bible
versions has over a million viewers just on one single upload marching design is
on a lot of different uploads it adds up to over a million so it's just a lot of
people watch these and Babylon USA is to reach a completely different audience
you know each of the three films kind of reach a different audience and Babylon
USA is going to reach new people that we haven't reached with the other films and
it ends with a plea for people to be saved it's a film about the wrath of God
and so it ends pleading with people to receive Jesus Christ as Savior so that
they're not on the receiving end of God's wrath that's the purpose of the
film now with that being said the subject of who Babylon is in the end
times this is not a major doctrine this is not some important doctrine of the
faith where you have to be right about this you know we're talking about Bible
prophecy and different people have different interpretations and sometimes
we see through a glass darkly and as we get closer to the end things come clearer
so I want you to understand that if you don't agree with everything about the
film or if you don't agree with all these finer points of Bible prophecy you
know this isn't really the most important doctrine this is not a
deal-breaking doctrine it's not a primary doctrine it's not even really a
secondary doctrine it's it's almost a tertiary doctrine okay so if if people
have a different view on Babylon it's no big deal and I think that they could
still enjoy the film because I think anyone who believes the Bible would have
to agree with a large portion of the film because a lot of the film is just
teaching the Bible and preaching a lot of timeless biblical truths that would
have been true 500 years ago or would still be true 500 years from now if the
Lord tarries that long which I don't believe that he will so with all that
being said you know who is end times Babylon what is the Bible teach well if
you would flip over in your Bible to revelation chapter 16 revelation chapter
16 let me start out by just giving you an overview of this subject we just read
revelation chapter 18 it was about the destruction of a physical place that's
pretty clear in revelation 18 there's going to be some physical place that's
going to be destroyed in the end times right before the millennium after God
has already poured out all his wrath and the seven trumpets the seven vials right
at the very end great Babylon comes in remembrance before God to give unto her
the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath this is basically the last
stage of pouring out God's wrath right before the Battle of Armageddon and if
you would look at revelation chapter 16 verse 17 just so we can get the timing
here and the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air and there came a
great voice out of the temple of heaven from the throne saying it is done and
there were voices and thunders and lightnings and there was a great
earthquake such as was not since men were upon the earth so mighty an
earthquake and so great and the great city was divided into three parts and
the cities of the nation's fell and great Babylon came in remembrance before
God to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath so it's
pretty obvious when you read this that God's been pouring out a lot of wrath
and doing a lot of judgment but now there's one last thing they need to take
care of that's why he says great Babylon came in remembrance before God to give
unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath he remembers
that Babylon has not been destroyed yet it has not been sufficiently judged
Babylon has not received what's coming to it yet says in verse 20 and every
island fled away and the mountains were not found and there fell upon man a
great hail out of heaven every stone about the weight of a talent and men
blaspheme God because the plague of the hill for the plague thereof was
exceeding great and then in chapter 17 and 18 we're just dedicating those whole
chapters to the subject of Babylon it's what chapter 17 is about it's what
chapter 18 is about now if there are two entire chapters dedicated to this
subject it's a pretty big subject in the Bible it's covered a little bit in
other chapters in Revelation it's mentioned in chapter 14 chapter 16
chapter 19 but I mean two entire long chapters in the book of Revelation are
dedicated to it because it's important now let me just back up and explain to
you the concept of who the end times Babylon is or what Babylon represents
now all the way back in the beginning you have the Tower of Babel and that
represented a one-world government or a one-world religion because instead of
being scattered abroad on the earth they all join together into one system instead
of being into nations like God had commanded them and then not only that
but they have a false religion where they're trying to build their own way to
heaven or work their own way to heaven then later that place becomes Babylon
then later Babylon passes the torch to Persia passes the torch to Greece passes
the torch to Rome and at the time of Christ the Roman Empire was a Babylon so
throughout history the geography changes but the attitude remains the same that
same spirit of Babylon that represents one world government one world religion
that spirit of luxurious riches and decadence that spirit of whoredom that
spirit of idolatry there's a continuous thread from the Tower of Babel all the
way until now so throughout history various places have been a Babylon now
the Bible will often use places like Sodom or Babylon to represent another
place because they're like that place so for example he calls Judah Sodom
because of all the sodomy that they were into and all the wickedness that they
did that was similar to what Sodom had been into so he calls them son we could
also refer to Berlin Germany in the 1920s as a Sodom it was like Sodom today
we might point to a portion of San Francisco and say it's a Sodom and
Gomorrah there or part Las Vegas or other cities that are just kind of dens
of iniquity we would point to those as a Sodom so what does it mean to be a
Babylon it means a place or an empire or a nation or a city that is like unto
Babylon of old now why not literal Babylon you know when the Bible talks
about Babylon being destroyed how do we know it's not the literal Babylon well
simply because that city no longer exists so obviously it can't be that now
someone asked the question well what if you were on a desert island they took
exception to looking at current events to interpret the Bible and they said
well what would you come up with if you were on a desert island reading the
Bible what then if I were on a desert island reading the Bible I would walk
away thinking it was the literal city of Babylon but because I don't live on a
desert island because I you know live in the real world can see things happening
around me I know that that place no longer exists so it must be symbolic of
something else it cannot be literal since that city doesn't exist let alone
is that city a place where all the merchants of the earth do business and
all these other things happen it just doesn't make any sense so it can't be a
literal Babylon so the question is who is the end times Babylon who is the city
or place or nation or geography that is being destroyed in Revelation 18
remember it's not literal it's not the literal Babylon it's not Iraq okay it is
some other place that is being nuked into oblivion that's going to be
destroyed in one hour that's going to be burned and destroyed in one day what is
that place well a lot of people have said well you know it's the Roman
Catholic Church and that theory is is probably the most prevalent amongst
independent fundamental Baptist churches now let me say this that's not a bad
teaching because of the fact that you'd have to be blind not to realize that the
Roman Catholic Church is a Babylon it does represent the spirit of Babylon how
could you say that the Roman Catholic Church is not a manifestation of Babylon
when it is called the universal Church what does Catholic mean universal so
obviously the Roman Catholic Church is a manifestation of Babylon because look at
the idolatry look at the universal nature look at how it's an apostate
counterfeit Christianity of course it's a Babylon but it's not the only Babylon
you could look at Hinduism and say that it's like unto Babylon why because it's
also a religion that came from the Tower of Babel it's also a goddess that
they're worshipping and they're also you know they've killed Saints and and
prophets and different martyrs and people the point is that you can't just
pin that tail on one donkey because there have been multiple religious
institutions political institutions financial institutions throughout
history that have been like Babylon and the Vatican is one of them Rome is one
of them the Persian Empire is one of them Alexander the Great and his Empire
was one of them the Bible connects that with Babylon in fact there's one statue
that that consists of Babylon Persia Greece and Rome one contiguous statue so
obviously Rome was a Babylon there's no question about that but that's not
really what's relevant when we're looking at Revelation 18 when we're
looking at Revelation 18 and the end of chapter 17 the real question is what is
the specific geographic place that comes into remembrance before God to give unto
her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath in the very end
times that's the relevant question so you can find all these attributes
between the Roman Catholic Church and Babylon and I'll say Amen Amen to that
it's it definitely partakes of the mystery Babylon religion no question
about that but is Rome Italy or Vatican City the place that is wiped out in
Revelation 18 I don't believe it for one second and I'll show you why tonight and
another theory that I've heard in this seems to be a newer theory I'd never
heard of it until probably like five years ago now I hear about it all the
time is this theory that Jerusalem is Babylon and let me just say this I'm not
mad at anybody who believes that but I'm just going to give my personal opinion I
think that that is the dumbest theory in regard to Babylon that anyone has ever
put forth in fact I would be more likely to believe any city is Babylon other
than Jerusalem you could convince me more readily that Rio de Janeiro Brazil is
Babylon of the end times I would I would sooner believe that theory then I would
believe that Jerusalem is about because Jerusalem is the one place that it's
impossible that it could ever be Babylon because of the fact that Jerusalem plays
a different role in end times prophecy you know that character is already got a
role he's already got a part you know it's like in the in the board game clue
look we are it's like you once you realize Colonel Mustard couldn't have
done it he didn't even have access to the candlestick okay so you know you can
eliminate use the process of elimination Jerusalem doesn't make any sense it's
impossible for it to be Jerusalem and literally I would find it easier to
believe that it's Seattle Washington or Rio de Janeiro Brazil or any Barcelona
for crying out loud I'm not kidding I'm dead serious because you know you could
at least convince yourself that maybe hundreds of years from now if you know
if Christ isn't going to return in our lifetime hundreds of years from now some
great empire would raise up in one of these other cities it could be possible
that it could be you know Honolulu Hawaii or whatever you know I'm just
kidding but anyway I just saw you from Hawaii it made me think of that so but
the point is that you know it can't be Jerusalem it's just not biblical now if
you believe that like I said this isn't some important doctrine to split over or
to get in a fight over but I think it's a half baked theory now let me give you
some reasons why first of all in Revelation 18 where we saw it the
merchants are mourning that's like half the chapter nobody buys our merchandise
anymore we're saying Jerusalem is not a great consumer of merchandise not only
that but bat Babylon when it's destroyed in chapter 8 says oh behold I sit a
queen and am no widow and shall see no sorrow Jerusalem's never said that
Jerusalem is constantly in danger constantly in peril it's one of the most
dangerous scary places to be so why would they just think oh man nobody can
touch us nobody can mess with us it doesn't make any sense
nobody's exporting all their merchandise into Israel okay if Jerusalem were
destroyed no merchants would weep and mourn the merchants of the earth have
not been been made rich by Jerusalem or been made rich by Israel by the
costliness Jerusalem does not live in decadence and luxury and and wealth and
all these things that we see describing this place that's destroyed in
Revelation 18 but not only that and this is one of the biggest reasons why
it can't be Jerusalem is that when Babylon's destroyed it's never gonna be
inhabited again the Bible is really clear on that in both Jeremiah 51 and in
Revelation chapter 18 verse 21 it says that it will never be inhabited again
now what kind of ridiculous idea is this that says oh yeah Jerusalem's gonna be
wiped out and never inhabited again and then the same month Jesus Christ is
gonna rule and reign from Jerusalem now that's just silly because if the place
is wiped out and blown to smithereens and he's like he's never gonna be
inhabited it's it's just a cage of every foul spirit and unclean devil and then
Jesus is gonna rule and reign from there now here's what the Jerusalem people
say oh the new Jerusalem the new Jerusalem comes down after the
millennium so you're just about a thousand years off on that timeline the
new Jerusalem comes down descends from heaven in Revelation 21 a thousand years
later so don't tell me oh he destroyed the old one he brings down the new one
not how it's gonna work thousand years go by before that new one comes down but
not only that and this is a pretty powerful proof Jerusalem is judged and
desolated at the midpoint of Daniel 70th week three and a half years before
Babylon is destroyed go if you would to Luke chapter 21 let me show you that in
the Bible Luke chapter 21 Luke chapter number 21 and another reason why this
doesn't make any sense is that if you actually say the Bible and see who it is
that's wiping out Babylon who is it that that hates the whore and and burns
her with fire and destroys her well the Bible says it's the ten kings and it
says that the ten kings have one mind with the Antichrist with the Beast and
they're doing his will by wiping out the great whore by destroying Babylon
where's my question if the Antichrist is ruling and reigning from Jerusalem which
we all know that right that the Antichrist is going to rule and reign
from Jerusalem that's where he sets up his throne in his kingdom if the
Antichrist is ruling and reigning from Jerusalem why would he nuke himself why
would he nuke his own city that doesn't make any sense why would he hate his own
city and nuke it and burn down the house on himself and the seat of his own
kingdom I mean that's just ridiculous it's clearly some other place that the
ten kings and the Antichrist are gonna turn on and destroy it's got to be
somewhere that's why I said Rio is a better theory now I don't subscribe to
the Rio theory I don't even think there is a Rio theory but I'm just saying it
makes more sense than Jerusalem theory now go if you would to Luke chapter 21
verse 20 Luke chapter 21 verse 20 this is a parallel passage with Matthew
chapter 24 when it comes to the tribulation and the the the coming of
Christ in the clouds look what the Bible says in verse 20 of Luke 21 and when you
shall see Jerusalem compass with armies then know that the desolation thereof is
nigh then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains and let them which
are in the midst of it depart out and let not them that are in the countries
enter there into this sound familiar from Matthew 24 for these be the days of
vengeance that all things which are written may be fulfilled up just kidding
most of them are gonna be fulfilled three and a half years later when I
remember to judge Babylon is that what it's no way what's he saying at the mid
point when this is happening when the desolation of Jerusalem is happening
those are the days of vengeance and that's when all things that are written
are going to be fulfilled on Jerusalem but well unto them that are with child
and then they give suck in those days for there should be great distress in
the land and wrath upon this people right the people in Jerusalem and Judea
at that time and they shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away
captive into all nations and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles
until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled and there shall be signs in
the sun and in the moon and in the stars and upon the earth distress of nations
with perplexity the sea and the waves roaring men's hearts failing them for
fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth for the
powers of heaven shall be shaken and then shall they see the son of man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory and when these things begin to
come to pass then look up and lift up your heads for your redemption draw of
night so it's pretty clear here that Jerusalem is trodden underfoot Jerusalem
is desolated Jerusalem receives vengeance and wrath right before what
right before Christ comes in the clouds and we look up in our redemption draw
of night whereas Babylon is destroyed when at the very end of God pouring out
his wrath after the seventh vial so these events are separated by
approximately three and a half years this is another reason why that
Jerusalem theory makes absolutely no sense go to Revelation chapter 11 and
I'll show you that timing a little more clearly last book in the Bible
revelation chapter 11 some would take a Preterist interpretation and say oh well
this all already happened you know because Jerusalem was wiped out once
before in eighty seventy and again in eighty one thirty five but that's
ridiculous because think about how many things in the Bible didn't happen back
then Jesus didn't come in the clouds the dead in Christ didn't rise first those
which were alive remain were caught up together with them in the clouds look
that stuff is all yet to come in the future all right look at revelation
chapter 11 there was given me a read like unto a rod verse one and the angel
stood saying rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and then
that worship therein but the court which is without the temple leave out and
measure it not for it is given unto the Gentiles and the holy city shall they
tread underfoot forty and two months so just as we saw back in Luke 21 that
Jerusalem is going to be desolated and trodden underfoot until the times of the
Gentiles will be fulfilled here it says that Jerusalem will be trodden under
foot for how long forty and two months which is how long three and a half years
so it's wiped out and desolate at the midpoint and it lies desolate until the
end why because that's when Christ is going to come and they're going to
rebuild and dwell there and Christ is going to rule and reign for thousand
years but it's going to be inhabited all right by Jesus and the Saints and so
forth verse three and I'll give power unto my two witnesses and they shall
prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days clothed in sackcloth
this is the same period of time the same three and a half years twelve hundred
sixty days that Jerusalem is desolate that's the same period of time that the
two witnesses are going to be preaching right jump down if you would diverse
eight this is when the two witnesses are killed at the end of their prophecy so
three and a half years later right so the midpoint is when Jerusalem begins to
be desolate and then that's when the witnesses start preaching and then they
preach for three and a half years thousand two hundred three score days
forty two months it's all three and a half years and then they're killed at
the end of that time and what does it say in revelation 11 8 and their dead
bodies shall lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called
Sodom and Egypt where also our Lord was crucified now that city that great city
there is clearly referring to Jerusalem why because it started out by talking
about Jerusalem in verses one and two being trodden underfoot of the Gentiles
and it talks about the Temple of God which we know the temple is going to be
there in Jerusalem and so it makes perfect sense that these witnesses are
preaching over there and that's where they're killed that's where they're
laying in the street so notice that the great city where the two witnesses lie
dead is not spiritually called Babylon wouldn't this be a great place for God
to tell us hey they're gonna lie in the street of that great city which is
spiritually called Babylon that this would be a perfect opportunity for God
to tell us that but instead God relates it to two other places he says it's
spiritually called Sodom and Egypt we're also our look oh and it's also
spiritually called Babylon and hey let's judge it even though we already did
three and a half years later but let's act like it's brand-new judgment it
doesn't make any sense which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt
where also our Lord was crucified now one of the big things that this Babylon
equals Jerusalem theory rests upon or relies upon is the idea well if it says
great city I mean great city great city but I submit to you that Phoenix is a
great city amen Nineveh is called a great city there are
cities in the Bible that I've never even heard of and can barely pronounce
that are called a great city if you just look up the term great city so that's
not a strong piece of evidence because the great city here the great city I
don't think anyone would disagree that this is referring to Jerusalem the great
city why because that's where Jesus was crucified but the proponents of this
theory will say well the Bible flat-out says that Jesus was crucified in Babylon
no it doesn't say that anywhere it says right here that he was crucified in a
city that spiritually called Sodom and Egypt where the two witnesses are gonna
preach that's talking about Jerusalem now with that in mind go to Revelation
16 Revelation chapter 16 with that in mind look what the Bible says in verse
17 the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air there came a great voice
out of the temple of heaven from the throne saying it is done and there were
voices and thunders and lightnings and there was a great earthquake such as was
not since men were upon the earth so mighty an earthquake and so great and
the great city so what do you think we're probably referring to based on
what we read in Revelation 11 the great city is probably referring to Jerusalem
since that was called the great city back in chapter 11 you know the great
city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt so it says and the great city
was divided into three parts and the cities of the nations fell and great
Babylon came in remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of the wine of
the fierce nervous of his wrath now I can't for the life of me figure out how
anybody could read verse 19 and think that the great city is the same as
Babylon when we're clearly talking about three different judgments on three
different geographies I mean does everybody see that because it says the
great city is divided into three parts from what from the earthquake that took
place there's a great earthquake and it basically breaks the city apart into
three parts then it says the cities of the nations fell and I believe this is
referring to skyscrapers coming down falling because of the great tremor the
great earthquake is it's going to be the greatest earthquake of all time it's
going to bring down some buildings they're not going to be engineered for
this because it's going to be so mighty an earthquake and so great and great
Babylon came in remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of the wine of
the fiercest of his wrath a plain reading of the text here shows that
they've not already received what's coming to them that's item three on the
agenda item one was an earthquake that affected Jerusalem seven thousand men
die in that earthquake then item two is that other cities of the nations are
affected by the same earthquake and then great Babylon comes into remembrance for
God to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fiercest of his wrath let's get
into chapter 17 let's get into the meat of this on Babylon and I'm gonna hurry
through this I want to get to certain important things there came one of the
seven angels which had the seven vials and talked with me saying unto me come
hither I will show thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many
waters and the waters are defined as multitudes and peoples and nations and
tongues so she's not restricted to one place she's not restricted to one
geography she sits upon many waters with whom the kings of the earth have
committed fornication and the inhabitants of the earth have been made
drunk with the wine of her fornication so everybody on the earth has been
affected by this evil spirit right so he carried me away in the spirit in the
wilderness and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast full of names of
blasphemy having seven heads and ten horns and the woman was arrayed in
purple and scarlet color and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls now
what does that represent wealth riches scarlet and purple consistently
throughout the Bible represent money wealth riches precious stones pearls what
does that represent expensive jewelry it's money it's wealth having a golden
cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication and upon
her forehead was a name written mystery Babylon the great the mother of harlots
and abominations of the earth and I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the
Saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus and when I saw her I wondered
with great admiration so people who look at verses 1 through 6 they walk away
thinking about the Catholic Church why Catholic Church has great wealth the
Vatican has great wealth there's a lot of purple a lot of scarlet a lot of gold
a lot of jewelry okay also we know that the Catholic Church has definitely
murdered a lot of the Saints throughout the history throughout history
throughout the Dark Ages throughout the Middle Ages now to my knowledge the
Catholic Church isn't murdering any heretics right now they stopped doing
that about 200 years ago okay but for a long time they certainly did and they
were what a manifestation of Babylon drunken with the blood of the Saints
drunken with the blood of the prophets of Jesus but let's keep reading though
let's not just stop there because most sermons I've heard that focused on that
element they really focus on the first half of this chapter which is it's good
teaching amen preach on the old mother harlot Catholic Church all day long and
I'll say amen with the rest of them because it's Babylon okay but that's not
the place that's being destroyed in Revelation 18 that is a manifestation of
Babylon but the whore sits on many waters and has met had many different
headquarters throughout history Babylon Persia Greece Rome and so forth let's
keep going the angel said unto me wherefore didst thou marvel I will tell
thee the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carrieth her which hath the
seven heads and ten horns the beast that thou sawest was and is not and shall
ascend out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition now this is a reference
to the Antichrist also known as the beast the mark of the beast is his
number or the mark of his name and so when it says here that the beast was and
is not it means that he used to be alive now he's not alive right just like where
he says Joseph is not that's what Jacob said when he thought that Joseph was
dead so when it says here the beast that wasn't is not he was alive now he's
dead and he shall ascend out of the bottomless pit now think about that this
is where the Antichrist receives the deadly wound in chapter 13 his deadly
wound is healed and all the world marvels now the deadly wound must end
his life why because if someone just got shot in the head and survived or stabbed
in the head and survived the whole world's not going to marvel that's
already happened think about Kathie Lee Giffords down in Tucson shot in the head
at point blank range and survived the whole world isn't still marveling about
that but if somebody actually died and came back the world would marvel at that
so the deadly wound caused him to die and that's why it talks about him
ascending out of the bottomless pit now whether this is just and I'm not
pretending to know the details of this because the Bible only gives us a few
scriptures on this but whether that's just Satan just possessing his body or
whether he actually the man of sin comes out of the bottomless pit you know I
would lean more toward this just Satan using his body ok but again I'm not
going to speculate too much because I don't think that the scriptures super
clear on that point but all I know is that this guy or this beast or this
Antichrist comes out of the bottomless pit and eventually goes into
perdition ok because the beast and the false prophet are thrown into the lake
of fire when the when this is all said and done so whatever spirit is
controlling him or whether it's the real spirit of the man who was a normal human
being up to that point you know I'm not going to be too dogmatic on that but it
says that they that dwell on the earth shall wonder whose names were not
written in the book of life from the foundation of the world when they behold
the beast that was and is not and yet is like this guy was you know he's he's
he was dead he was alive he's dead but he's still here he's talking this is
like a counterfeit of Jesus it makes sense the Antichrist which by the way
means in the place of Christ it doesn't mean against Christ that the term anti
means in the place of that prefix the Antichrist is a counterfeit of Jesus
Christ so it makes sense there's a counterfeit resurrection Jesus Christ
rose to live forever and to be alive forever more this guy rises again but
he's going into perdition that's the colossal difference between this
resurrection and Christ resurrection verse 9 here's the mind which hath
wisdom the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sit it and
there are seven kings in the Bible multiple times a mountain is used in
prophecy to represent a kingdom just look up the word mountain so there are
seven mountains and seven kings or seven kingdoms and seven kings to go with
those kingdoms five are fallen one is and the other is not yet come and when
he cometh you must continue a short space now these seven kings and seven
kingdoms are referring to the world empires that have gone before now Daniel
talked about four of them didn't he he talked about Babylon Persia Greece and
Rome when John is seeing this vision he's during the Roman Empire right but
there are actually two other places that came before Babylon that were similar
empires and that would be the Egyptian Empire and the Assyrian Empire so if you
add those two Egypt Assyria and then go Babylon Persia Greece Rome you end up
with six and then the seventh would be the final New World Order system that's
yet to come so that's why John from his perspective sees that five are fallen
what are the five that are fallen Egypt Assyria Babylon Persia and Greece one is
Roman Empire the others not yet come the future New World Order that still has
not yet come let's keep reading and the beast that wasn't and by the way when he
cometh he's only going to continue a short space so that's gonna be very
short-lived Empire that New World Order that final seventh King a very short
live it's not gonna be like the Roman Empire that goes on for hundreds of
years it's gonna be very short okay and then it says and the beast that was and
is not even he is the eighth and is of the seven and goeth into perdition so
what I believe that saying is that the seventh King because the eighth King is
of the seven the seventh King when he dies and then he is again yet is he
comes back undead or however you want to look at that is that's the eighth
because he's not really the Antichrist until he receives the deadly wound that's
when he starts claiming to be Jesus that's when they build a great image to
the beast and that's where everybody worships him and and he is Kingdom
really begins in earnest that the eighth Kingdom before that there's a
human worldwide Empire New World Order but then at that point it changes into
the eighth Kingdom okay which is of the Antichrist let's keep reading the ten
horns which thou sawest are ten kings which have received no Kingdom as yet
what does that mean that there are ten kings that that are in the end times at
the same time as the Antichrist not back in John's day or anything else or even
in our day necessarily ten kings which thou sawest are ten kings which have
received no Kingdom as yet but receive power as kings one hour with the beast
these have one mind and shall give their power and strength unto the beast these
shall make war with the lamb and the lamb shall overcome them for he is Lord
of Lords and King of Kings and they that are with them are called and chosen and
faithful now stop and think about this the ten kings these ten world leaders
they have one mind they all agree and they give their power and strength unto
the beast they give their kingdom beast so these are ten world leaders who say
give the Antichrist all the power let's let's put him in charge of everything
everybody get that okay when are these people going to be defeated it says
these shall make war with the lamb in verse 14 and the lamb shall overcome
them that's Armageddon everybody get that that's Armageddon and Armageddon is
where they make war with the lamb and the lamb overcomes them that's separate
from the destruction of Babylon that happens after the destruction of Babylon
everybody get this so you got your seven vials then you got the destruction of
Babylon then you have the Battle of Armageddon where Jesus Christ comes on
the white horse defeats the ten kings defeats their army defeats the
Antichrist cast the Antichrist and the false prophet into the lake of fire and
sets up his thousand-year reign on this earth okay so that's what that's
teaching right there now let's look at the next verse verse 15 and he said unto
me he saith unto me the waters which thou sawest where the horse it is our
people's multitudes these are not it's not one place it's not one nationality
it affects everyone the horse it is our peoples and multitudes and nations of
tugs and the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast watch this these shall
hate the whore and shall make her desolate and naked and shall eat her
flesh and burn her with fire for God has put in their hearts to fulfill his will
and to agree and to give their kingdom unto the beast until the words of God
shall be fulfilled and the woman which thou sawest is that great city which
reigneth over the kings of the earth so what we see here is that the Antichrist
and the ten kings they hate the whore they burn the whore and make her
desolate that's what we see in Revelation 18 it would be very strange
interpretation to separate the end of chapter 17 from chapter 18 chapter 17
and 18 are the same subject chapter 17 flows into chapter 18 okay because look
at the end of chapter 17 we see what that the ten horns which thou sawest upon
the beast verse 16 these shall hate the whore and shall make her desolate and
naked and shall eat her flesh and burner with fire and then what happens in
chapter 18 Babylon gets burned with fire who's the whore Babylon so it's obviously
setting up chapter 18 in chapter 17 everybody see that so again this is
where it would get silly if Jerusalem is Babylon why would the Antichrist why
would he burn and wipe out his own capital city the place where he is
located that doesn't make any sense now if we were to take the view that the USA
the United States of America represents Babylon now let's plug it into the
equation here and see if it fits okay if we plug in Jerusalem it doesn't fit
Jerusalem's gonna be inhabited again Jerusalem is not a wealthy place that
buys all the merchandise of the world Jerusalem's already judged three and a
half years earlier at the midpoint you know he's not gonna burn down the house
on himself the Antichrist and the ten kings you know on and on and on and
historically what has Babylon been associated with more like the Roman
Empire the Persian Empire if we plug in the USA into this equation stop and
think about it what is a whore a whore is not a wife a whore is not even a
girlfriend or concubine a whore is one who is used and abused and discarded if
you loved her you'd marry her right a whore there's not a loving relationship
there between the customer and the whore or between the pimp and the whore okay
and I'm not gonna get graphic about this obviously we shouldn't get graphic but
the Bible has a lot to say about whores one of the things it says about whores
that her ways are movable that there can't not know them and that goes along
with this the fact that this great whore moves from place to place it's not
always been the same city it's not always been the same location but you
see the whore is one that is used and then discarded well that's exactly what
Babylon of the end times we're not talking about the spirit of Babylon
that's existed all throughout history we're talking about the place in the end
times that represents a modern-day Babylon you know obviously this isn't
happening now but you know if it happens in our century which it probably will we
could say a 21st century Babylon well if the USA is that 21st century Babylon it
makes perfect sense that the Antichrist and the Ten Kings would use the United
States to do what to get into power use the military might of the United States
use the resources of the United States use the power and influence and
infrastructure of the United States to get into power and then once they're
done and they say let's just give it all the beast what do they end up doing all
right we don't need the whore anymore nuke it we don't want the whore out we
don't want the u.s. influencing us or we want all the power we want to give all
the power to the Antichrist and we're gonna take the USA out of the way we're
done with the whore now we're you know burner with fire destroyer killer that's
what we see here in this passage the Jews people have said oh it's the Jews
it's Jerusalem look when you got a hammer in your hand everything starts
looking like a nail and some people they just get obsessed with one subject just
everything's the Jews and then there's people you know everything's the
Catholics you know but anyway you know there's just people who just go over
everything's the Jesuits everything you know or or do you run into these people
where everything's Islam all evil in the world goes back to Islam all evil because
we need to get a little balance folks there are plenty of of devils in this
world I mean look the Beast has seven heads and ten horns okay it's not a
single-headed beast okay so just this attitude of everything's the Catholics
everything's are and you look you run into people we're just it doesn't matter
what you bring up they bring it back to the Jews doesn't matter what you bring
up they bring it back to the Catholic Church what you bring up it's like all
the Muslims it's false it's all of the the answer is D all of the above okay
you can't just get all overboard on one enemy and look I'm not going to bat for
the Jews we already made that movie it's called Marching to Zion check it out I'm
not going to bat for the Catholic Church I've already preached a multitude of we
already made that movie too it's called New World or Bible versions this movie
is about a different donkey that we're pinning a tail on it's not this movie
listen this movie Babylon USA that God willing you're gonna see on Tuesday
night you know I hope you'll be there I hope you'll check it out but it's not
about the Catholic Church there was a scene where we tied in the Catholic
Church you know when we were in the historical scene we ended up cutting it
out just because the film was getting too long and we you know it's it's
called Babylon USA for a reason so we ended up cutting out a lot of great
material that we had on that movie's not about the Jews it's not about why the
pre-trip rapture is false I was joking around people saying it's pre-trip safe
meaning that they could play it for their pre-trip friends and they won't
panic or anything because we don't go into that you know we already made that
movie but but the point is that to sit there and just huh it's the Jews all the
evil in the world's you what there was evil in the world before there ever was
a Jew first time the word Jew ever occurs is in second Kings chapter 16
well there was evil before that there was evil at the Tower of Babel is
called Babylon it wasn't called the Jews so Babylon Babel goes back a lot further
than the Jews and Israel and so forth but they say oh it's the Jews you know
they're the great or since when have the Jews ever been the great whore since
when are the Jews the ones who are just used and abused and discarded no
actually you know what the Jews are the ones who are doing the abusing and
discard they're more like they're not the great whore pardon me but they're
they're the great pimp you know if we want to continue that analogy that's
what the Jews are and you say well the Jews are controlling the United States
okay well then it's the United States of America then the GSA yeah but the but
the red white and Jew you know but anyway the point but the point is look
look Judaism is a false religion Roman Catholicism is false religion but I see
people going overboard on both sides where they get these tunnel vision where
that's all they see what about the Hindus they're bad too what about Buddha
what about Islam you know and then some people it's just all they see is Islam
only enemy why don't we just realize that it's all bad and there's only one
way truth and life and it's Jesus Christ and no man cometh unto the Father but by
him so when we look at the end times here if the United States is the great
whore of the New World Order that makes perfect sense because we can see a
global government that uses the United States military to do what everything
all their United Nations peacekeeping who's the one that's actually doing the
fighting who's ponying up troops and ponying up the money from look who pays
for the United Nations who pays for the those military actions who is the one
who has the most powerful military well well I'll tell you who had the most
powerful military in the world when the book of Daniel was being written it was
Babylon that's who had the most powerful military Babylon and you know who had
the most powerful military when the book of Esther was written Persia and you
know how the greatest military after that Alexander the Great and you know
who had the greatest military after that the Roman Empire and you know as the
greatest military today Jerusalem no the one who has the greatest military today
is the United States of America and that's not just me eating too much apple
pie this afternoon or something and getting excited about America America
spends more money on military than like the next 10 nations combined there's no
question our military is in a hundred and fifty plus nations that's a global
Empire that's a world Emperor just look at a map where it shows where all the
submarines are where all the bases are where all the battleships are I mean we
got this thing pretty much sewn up I don't care what Kim Jong whatever thinks
about it our military is without peer we are the only superpower in the world we
have no peer militarily and so it makes perfect sense that we would be compared
to what a great military empire like Babylon visit well Babylon was a city
no no Babylon is a empire a global empire a kingdom not just a city it's a
city state and it had a great empire the United States has a great empire as
well and so we plug it in to this chapter let's just start plugging it in
ok does the United States have wealth and live deliciously and think that
nothing bad could ever happen it's like a globe and I'll bet you I've never been
to Jerusalem I don't plan on going but I will say this I have a sneaking
suspicion that we live a lot more deliciously over here than they live
over there right that would be my bet from what I've seen and studied and
heard and we have so much wealth in this country it's it blows the mind people
have so much money even people that are poor in this country are doing fine
they're doing great compared to the rest of the world and so we have tons of
wealth tons of gold I mean just go down the mall look at all the jewelry stores
filled with gold silver precious stones both and there's just lines of people
buying it every day just buying it buying it buying it where do you think
all that gold and silver and precious stones come from you think it all comes
here from the United States no it's coming from all over the world it's
coming from the Middle East it's coming from Africa it's it's being mined all
over the world and who's buying it the United States more than anyone else are
there other wealthy places sure there are but who's the one who buys the most
products the most goods it's the United States so it fits purple scarlet color
gold silver precious blue look it's talking about wealth it's not talking
about a flag okay now here's where people get hung up people say what
something doesn't fit the blood of the Saints and the blood of the martyrs of
Jesus you know and they'll say well when did the United States ever shed the
blood of saints and prophets and of the martyrs of Jesus well first of all
Babylon throughout history has done that Roman Empire did that Roman Catholic
Church did that yeah but when did the United States yeah that's pretty easy to
answer in the tribulation yeah not yet but buckle up buttercup because it's
coming because of the fact that in the end times what's gonna happen people are
gonna be beheaded for the faith all over the world and in the United States the
mark of the beast is gonna be implemented I mean you real look if it's
you think it's gonna be implemented everywhere else except here if there's
anywhere that the mark of the beast is not gonna be implemented it's gonna be a
third world place or a rural place or a backwards place the u.s. is gonna be in
the early stages of implementation it's gonna be one of the first places it's
rolled out Europe the United States the most civilized places are gonna get it
first and that final kingdom of the New World Order the Bible represents in the
Old Testament Daniel with the ten toes instead of the ten horns being the ten
case it's the ten toes of Daniel's image and it says the toes are mixed with iron
and clay it's a mixture of iron clay why because it says the king will be part
strong and part weak so in certain places in the world the Antichrist grip
is going to be stronger than in others and that makes perfect sense right I
mean it's gonna be easier to control people in cities like Phoenix Arizona or
Los Angeles California then to control people in say Zimbabwe or Malawi or
places like that I mean just think about it you know it's gonna be roll I mean
look the places that are slow to get high-speed internet are probably gonna
be the same places that are slow to get the mark of the beast and how's how's
your internet speed it's pretty fast so you're probably gonna be pretty high on
the list here in the United States right so to sit there and say well the u.s.
never shed the blood of Saints or prophets well it's going to in the end
times how can you not see that when many people are gonna be killed for the cause
of Christ worldwide in the end times it's the tribulation for crying out
loud and that's a whole nother sermon about the tribulation well that's a
whole nother movie too after the tribulation so that fits the u.s. would
pick up the torch perfectly from these other world empires Jerusalem is not a
world empire the u.s. is okay then we get into chapter 18 and we see more things
we see that she thinks that everything's perfect she lives deliciously she's
gonna see no sorrow everything's gonna be great she sits like a queen she's
comfortable she's relaxed that fits the United States we believe that we're
invincible I believe we're invincible and I know that it's not true but I
still feel like we're invincible why because it's just like we've never been
attacked think about it when was the last time our country was actually
seriously invaded and attacked by another military the answer is 1814 I
mean that's all I can think of as far as like a serious invasion of the yeah okay
a couple Japanese troops landed in California and then left again in World
War two okay yeah the inside job don't even bring that up but that's not it
that's not a military invasion the last and don't bring up Pearl Harbor that
wasn't even Hawaii wasn't even a state yet and it's thousands of miles away
from from our country okay they made a state afterward but as a territory where
they have a base so they can continue the global empire into Southeast Asia
and they didn't like competition from the Japanese so the bottom line but the
bottom line is though that the US has not really been seriously invaded or
attacked since 1814 when the British came in and burned down the White House
and and they too I mean they they had to evacuate DC in 1814 which is called it's
called the war of 1812 but lasted for three years so you can see America
having an attitude of we're invincible now France couldn't really have that
attitude they've been defeated a bunch of times right every time there's a war
they end up losing they're constantly just you know getting anyway the point
is you know the u.s. could easily say this it makes sense that the u.s. is it
now Jerusalem yeah there's a lot of violence over there all the time not
very secure and safe okay what about the merchants that's half the chapter I'm
not gonna be labor that point that's kind of a no-brainer and if it weren't
important it wouldn't take up half the chapter okay but let's just skip over
that talks about the merchants they all the merchants were made rich we talked
about that in the movie you'll see on a Tuesday night we go into that a lot
never gonna be inhabited again would that work for the u.s. yeah just if the
u.s. were just completely nuked well there's six other continents to work
with for the millennium and this one could just be so if you're open that
Christ is gonna tell you one day be thou over Arizona or be thou over Chandler or
be thou over strawberry Arizona it's nice up there right you know I wouldn't
count on it because it might be nuked into oblivion alright so you may end up
having to be over somewhere else if you if you get a lot of rewards talks about
in verse number 21 a mighty angel took up a stone we're in chapter 18 verse 21
almost done mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone cast into the sea
saying thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down and
shall be found no more at all you're not gonna find it anymore and the voice of
harpers and musicians and of pipers and of trumpeters shall be heard no more at
all in thee now this is also a place that's known for its music I mean why
bring that up in such detail because we produce the music that the whole world
listens to now have you been listening to the coolest music that's been coming
out of Jerusalem oh man all those drew all that Jerusalem beat music yeah buddy
no no nobody cares name a band that name of it look you could name more bands
from Seattle than Jerusalem if you're my age right if you if you were teenager in
the 90s the Seattle grunge but that gives more weight to the Seattle pair
the Seattle theory the Seattle theory of Babylon more than of Jerusalem so I
mean I mean come on just see we could name several I can't name any from
Jerusalem or Mecca for that matter I don't know you know the Mecca Mohammed
and maniacs or something I don't I can't even name a single band out of Saudi
Arabia or Jerusalem I'm sure if we went to Barnes and Noble there'd be a little
tiny section of world music where there might be like one CD but the whole rest
of the store but here's that you go to other countries guess what they're
listening to American music I've you know I haven't been traveled the whole
world but I've traveled throughout Europe and and in Africa and I've heard
I heard our music playing worldly United States type music was being played says
the no craftsman of whatsoever craft he be shall be found anymore in the the
sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in the in the light of a
candle shall shine no more at all in the the voice of the bridegroom of the bride
shall be heard no more at all at the or the voice of the groom and the groom the
way things are going in America today 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 saints and of all that were slain upon the earth now
those that have the Jerusalem theory they'll misquote this verse virtually
every time it comes out of their mouth and that's a that's a weird sign when
you have to misquote the verse every single time why not just quote it the
way it is it says in her was found the blood of prophets but anytime you talk
to these people in my experience they say in her was found the blood of the
prophets they add the word the there and it's not there it does not say the now
if it said that that would change the meaning of the verse dramatically
because if it said in her was found the blood of the prophets that would still
not just you know it still wouldn't turn the rest of the scripture on its head I
said because I would never take one verse and turn the rest of scripture on
its head but that would imply at first blush if it said the prophets what would
you think of the prophets you think of the biblical prophets it was that the
prophets you think of what Isaiah Jeremiah Ezekiel Daniel Zechariah Haggai
Malick that's what you think of the prophets the law and the prophets okay
but when it just says in her was found the blood of prophets what's it saying
there are prophets that died there prophets are simply preachers now a lot
of people don't understand this the word prophet is preacher and if you study in
the New Testament every time the word prophesy is used or prophet is used we're
not talking about people that are writing scripture or getting divine
inspiration from God necessarily it's just people getting up in the church and
preaching the prophets prophesy in the church and they edify the flock and they
preach that's all that is and and a lot of people have this idea of prophecies
always a telling of the future wrong Proverbs 31 says the words of King
Lemuel the prophecy that his mother taught him no future events are
predicted in Proverbs 31 it's just preaching preaching by a woman preaching
to her son and it's called prophecy so prophecy is synonymous with the word
preaching a prophet is a preacher now if the tribulation is going to be a blood
bath and a lot of saints are going to be killed for the cause of Christ don't you
think a lot of preachers are going to be killed for the cause of Christ of course
they're going to be beheaded for the word of God it's the fifth seal it's
crystal clear so in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of
all that were slain upon the earth now this is not saying everybody who was
killed on the whole earth their blood was found there because that would be
ridiculous because we know people have been killed in every city even the
smallest town if you look at the crime statistics every once in a while they
have a murder every 20 years even in tiny towns when it says here in her was
found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all that were slain upon
the earth the all there is referring to all types of people other than prophets
and saints so there's the blood of prophets saints and just all manner of
people all types of you all that are all that were slain upon the earth meaning
all types are all kinds of people not just God's people but just other people
were murdered as well okay so if you plug in the USA fits like a glove
chapter 16 17 18 it all makes perfect sense so that's why I believe that now I
do make this caveat that if this doesn't happen for another hundred years or
something or 200 years or 300 years then of course all bets are off but today is
crystal clear who that world empire is who that great Babylon is it's the
United States the USA is just like Babylon but we don't know when Christ is
going to I believe that he will come in our lifetime but it is possible that he
will not people in the sixties and seventies and eighties they all thought
the same thing did it happen no it could be a hundred years from now and the
whole geopolitical scene could change by then but the way it stands right now if
this happens anytime in the near future or if this happens in our lifetime it's
the USA now why go see the film well first of all because the film talks
about stuff I did not I did not this was not a spoiler alert type of a sermon
because I covered a lot of stuff that we didn't get to in the film that's why I
wanted to do this sermon go see the film because it's good clean fun on the 4th
of July number one what other movie can you take your kids to with a clean
conscience on Tuesday night right you know you can go there learn about the
Bible learn about the Word of God and you know I think it's a great film to
bring visitors to so if you have any friends or buddies around Phoenix
there's plenty of room we got room for almost 400 people between these two
showings bring some friends bring some visitors get them exposed to some good
Bible preaching and some good Bible truth and I think that once this thing
gets hits hits a DVD it's going to be a great giveaway out soul-winning it's
going to be great to give to people a great starter video to teach them about
being a fundamental Baptist and to learn about Bible believing Christianity and
like we already had the raise of hands of people in our church that were
reached by these type of films and I believe that they're going to be a
multitude we'll have to get to heaven to find out how many unsaved people are
going to watch this film just because they're into New World Order films
conspiracy films films of this genre they're going to pop it in this film and
it's going to scare them to death and at the end of the movie it says hey you
need to get saved and then it gives a really clear plan of salvation and
they're going to receive Christ as Savior as a result of this film and so I
appreciate all Paul Wittenberger's hard work and it's always easy to sit back
and pick things apart and criticize and you would have made a movie about
something else and and you you know but here's the thing though you know Paul
and I have teamed up on these films because they reach millions of people
and because they teach the truth and so you know there are obviously there are
lots of critics out there that haven't even seen it yet but they're already
debunking it even though it hasn't even been seen by anyone they're already
criticizing it but there's already videos on YouTube Babylon USA debunked
Babylon USA refuted and I'll say this pre-trippers aren't going to be offended
by it Zionists aren't going to be offended by it because we don't go into
that stuff but I'll tell you who's going to be offended the neocon kind of
kool-aid drinking Republicans who are really pro-war the kill them all let God
sort them out crowd is going to be offended very offended by this film very
offended but look Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace and we don't wrestle
against flesh and blood and I am against warfare you know I obviously I'm
for defending myself and and I'm for defense but I'm totally against these
preemptive wars of aggression and I don't believe in it I'm against it and
you know I grew up with the same ideology of being a neocon Republican but
honestly I don't believe in it anymore and so that's the only thing that I
think is going to bother some people who watch it's going to make a lot of
people angry I don't think it's going to make anybody here angry but I think it's
going to make that crowd angry but honestly if you love the Lord and you
love the Bible I think you're going to love the movie even if you don't agree
with every single thing in it I think you're going to get a lot out of it and
it's definitely you know I just think that even even fundamental Baptists that
don't even go to our church or maybe you know I think that they would really
profit from seeing this film and it could open their eyes to a lot of things
so anyway I'm looking forward to it I'm excited about it who's gonna if you're
gonna be there say amen Tuesday night all right let's bow our heads in that
word of prayer timeless biblical truths that would have been true 500 years ago
or would still be true 500 years from now if the Lord tarries that long which
I don't believe that he will so with all that being said you know who is end
times Babylon what is the Bible teach well if you would flip over in your
Bible to Revelation chapter 16 Revelation chapter 16 let me start out
by just giving you an overview of this subject we just read Revelation chapter
18 it was about the destruction of a physical place that's pretty clear in
Revelation 18 there's going to be some physical place that's going to be
destroyed in the end times right before the millennium after God is already
poured out all his wrath and the seven trumpets the seven vials right at the
very end great Babylon comes in remembrance before God to give under
her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath this is
basically the last stage of pouring out God's wrath right before the Battle of
Armageddon and if you would look at Revelation chapter 16 verse 17 just so
we can get the timing here and the seventh angel poured out his vial into
the air and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven from the throne
saying it is done and there were voices and thunders and lightnings and there
was a great earthquake such as was not since men were upon the earth so mighty
an earthquake and so great and the great city was divided into three parts and
the cities of the nations fell and great Babylon came in remembrance before God
to give under her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath so it's
pretty obvious when you read this that God's been pouring out a lot of wrath
and doing a lot of judgment but now there's one last thing that he needs to
take care of that's why he says great Babylon came in remembrance before God
to give under her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath he remembers
that Babylon has not been destroyed yet it has not been sufficiently judged
Babylon has not received what's coming to it yet says in verse 20 and every
island fled away and the mountains were not found and there fell upon man a
great hail out of heaven every stone about the weight of a talent and men
blaspheme God because the plague of the hail for the plague thereof was
exceeding great and then in chapter 17 and 18 we're just dedicating those whole
chapters to the subject of Babylon it's what chapter 17 is about it's what
chapter 18 is about now if there are two entire chapters dedicated to this
subject it's a pretty big subject in the Bible it's covered a little bit in other
chapters in Revelation it's mentioned in chapter 14 chapter 16 chapter 19 but I
mean two entire long chapters in the book of Revelation are dedicated to it
because it's important now let me just back up and explain to you the concept
of who the end times Babylon is or what Babylon represents now all the way back
in the beginning you have the Tower of Babel and that represented a one-world
government or a one-world religion because instead of being scattered
abroad on the earth they all join together into one system instead of
being into nations like God had commanded them and then not only that
but they have a false religion where they're trying to build their own way to
heaven or work their own way to heaven then later that place becomes Babylon
then later Babylon passes the torch to Persia passes the torch degrees passes
the torch to Rome and at the time of Christ the Roman Empire was a Babylon so
throughout history the geography changes but the attitude remains the same that
same spirit of Babylon that represents why you know after the tribulation now
the English version has about five million viewers the Spanish version even
just one upload of it has like 13 million views 13 million more than
English New World Order Bible versions has over a million viewers just on one
single upload marching design is on a lot of different uploads it adds up to
over a million so it's just a lot of people watch these and Babylon USA is
to reach a completely different audience you know each of the three films kind of
reach a different audience and Babylon USA is gonna reach new people that we
haven't reached with the other films and it ends with a plea for people to be
saved it's a film about the wrath of God and so it ends pleading with people to
receive Jesus Christ as Savior so that they're not on the receiving end of
God's wrath that's the purpose of the film now with that being said the
subject of who Babylon is in the end times this is not a major doctrine this
is not some important doctrine of the faith where you have to be right about
this you know we're talking about Bible prophecy and different people have
different interpretations and sometimes we see through a glass darkly and as we
get closer to the end things come clearer so I want you to understand that
if you don't agree with everything about the film or if you don't agree with all
these finer points of Bible prophecy you know this isn't really the most
important doctrine this is not a deal-breaking doctrine it's not a
primary doctrine it's not even really a secondary doctrine it's it's almost a
tertiary doctrine okay so if if people have a different view on Babylon it's no
big deal and I think that they could still enjoy the film because I think
anyone who believes the Bible would have to agree with a large portion of the
film because a lot of the film is just teaching the Bible and preaching a lot
of unworld government one world religion that spirit of luxurious riches and
decadence that spirit of whoredom that spirit of idolatry there's a continuous
thread from the Tower of Babel all the way until now so throughout history
various places have been a Babylon now the Bible will often use places like
Sodom or Babylon to represent another place because they're like that place so
for example he calls Judah Sodom because of all the sodomy that they were into
and all the wickedness that they did that was similar to what Sodom had been
into so he calls them son we could also refer to Berlin Germany in the 1920s as
a Sodom it was like Sodom today we might point to a portion of San Francisco and
say it's a Sodom and Gomorrah there part Las Vegas or other cities that are
just kind of dens of iniquity we would point to those as a Sodom so what does
it mean to be a Babylon it means a place or an empire or a nation or a city that
is like unto Babylon of old now why not literal Babylon you know when the Bible
talks about Babylon being destroyed how do we know it's not the literal Babylon
simply because that city no longer exists so obviously it can't be that now
someone asked the question well what if you were on a desert island they took
exception to looking at current events to interpret the Bible and they said
well what would you come up with if you were on a desert island reading the
Bible what then if I were on a desert island reading the Bible I would walk
away thinking it was the literal city of Babylon but because I don't live on a
desert island because I you know live in the real world can see things
happening around man revelation chapter 18 and the title of my sermon tonight is
who is end times Babylon who is the end times Babylon now the reason I'm
preaching about this is because we have the movie premiere coming this Tuesday
night for our new film Babylon USA and don't worry I'm not gonna preach the
film tonight so it's not like I'm gonna preach tonight you know well great I
don't even need to see the movie what I'm preaching tonight is basically a lot
of stuff that's not in the film this is not what the film covers but I do want
to talk a little bit about the film and explain to you why we made this film
what's the rationale behind this film and what's the purpose of the film now
first of all I want to say this the films that we've made in the past after
the tribulation New World Order Bible versions marching to Zion and now this
film the goal with these films is to reach people the goal is to reach people
with the gospel of Jesus Christ so that they could be saved and then the goal is
also to edify God's people and increase their knowledge of the Word of God and
increase their sound doctrine and help them to learn something and grow in
grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and these films
are very effective tools at reaching people in fact who here tonight either
got saved watching one of those films or you found out about our church through
one of those films I would say you first found out about the church look around
so it looks like it works as a way to reach people right so this film about
because a lot of people say you know why make this film why make a film like
Babylon USA well the purpose is to reach people with the gospel and also to reach
people that are already saved and expose them to hard preaching expose
them to our soul winning program and everything else that we do at this
church and these films are literally viewed by millions of people and
god-willing this one's gonna be the same