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The United States of America actually fits this bill in 2017 if we were to look around and ask ourselves, you know, what country today, what empire today, what superpower of today would be like unto Babylon of old? You know, what could we compare to the Roman Empire or compare to ancient Greece or Babylon? And the answer would clearly be the United States of America. One of the key things about that, keep your finger in Jeremiah 51, we're going to come right back to it, but flip over to Revelation 18, we'll be right back in Jeremiah 51. In Revelation Chapter 18, one of the things that's majorly emphasized, and this isn't just one verse, but it's something that's just brought up over and over again, making it very significant, is the merchants of the earth mourning. Which brought up a lot, actually. The Bible says, for example, in verse number, let's start in verse number 11, it says in the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her, for no man buyeth their merchandise anymore. Now, ask yourself this question, what country or what place or what geographical region could be destroyed at this time where it would be said, no man buyeth our merchandise anymore? Obviously, the United States of America is the one just shipping in just so many shiploads of merchandise from China and from everywhere else all over the world. We are the great consumer nation that consumes the most goods, and you can see ships coming from China and coming across the Pacific into that great seaport in Long Beach, California, other great seaports across the nation, and bringing in all these just train car after train car of goods, and you could see the merchants of the earth weeping and mourning when they see the smoke of her burning saying, no man buyeth our merchandise anymore. Now, if it were some other country, let's say it were the literal Rome, you know, Rome, Italy, the city on seven hills, right? Well, if it were the literal Rome, if they were heading into Rome, they're heading into Italy or some Italian port somewhere, and they see the things in flames. They're not going to be crying and saying, no man buyeth our merchandise anymore. They're going to say, hey, throw it in reverse. Let's head for the US. They're going to, you know, the Dollar Tree is looking for some more merchandise, Walmart's looking for more merchandise. Obviously, you know, this fits the bill for the United States. Also, if Babylon was a great military power that ruled over the kings of the earth, well, who is the only military superpower left in the world? Only the United States, only the, it used to be the US and the USSR, but ever since the fall of the Soviet Union, the term has been used by men like George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and others, the new world order. And they use that term to refer to a world with one superpower instead of two or more superpowers. That's, you know, we hear that word a lot, new world order, but that's actually what the elite mean when they say that. Like when Bush made that famous new world order speech, he was talking about the fall of the Soviet Union and a new world order where the United Nations has the power and that the United States is the muscle behind it, the money behind it. I mean, think about the world government today is the United Nations. That's the embryonic world government. The US funds it, controls it. It's based in New York City for crying out loud. So it's pretty clear to me who our Babylon is in 2017. The US is a great Babylon. Look what it says here. It lists all the merchandise, the merchandise of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet and all fine wood and all manner vessels of ivory and all manner vessels of most precious wood and a brass and iron and marble. All those countertops, right? Cinnamon odors and ointments and frankincense and wine and oil and fine flour and wheat and beasts and sheep and horses and chariots, chariots would be all the vehicles, right? And slaves and the souls of men and the fruits that thy soul lusted after departed from thee and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee and thou shall find them no more at all. So not only is it a great consumer nation that the merchants of the earth are relying on as their big customer, but also it's a place of delicacies and daintiness, meaning that there's a lot of wealth in the United States. You know, the United States is a very wealthy nation. Very wealthy. I mean, I remember when I used to be in the fire alarm business, I would drive all over and I would work in every state in America and I would drive on almost every road in America and just constantly traveling. I'd put like 75,000 miles on my car every year. I would usually take flights every single week and I would just see every part of this country, all the big cities. And you know what always stood out to me? I look at these hillsides, especially in like Southern California, but you see this all over America. These hillsides just covered in mansions. You know what I'm talking about? Just thousands of mansions. And I'm thinking like, I don't live in a house like that. Most people I know don't live in a house like that. And I'm thinking to myself, who are all these rich people? Because there's so many of them. And then when we plan these soul winning marathons, we don't go to the rich areas because it's easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle than for a rich man to be saved. So when I plan the soul winning marathons, I try to look for the low income. I try to look for the humble people to go preach the gospel to the poor as Jesus ordained. I go on Zillow.com, which is a website that people use to get real estate values. But I use that just to help figure out what the neighborhoods are like. And then I go in on Google Earth, and I'm kind of on street view, going down the street, planning the soul winning marathon. I see some guys with a 40 in the front lawn, and I'm like, hey, this is where we're going. I found the neighborhood. But anyway, that's a true story, by the way. But anyway, when I'm looking at Zillow, it's amazing how I have to pass over so many neighborhoods because I'm thinking like, this is probably not going to be receptive when the houses are $600,000, $700,000, $800,000. And it's just so many houses that are $500,000, $600,000, $700,000, $800,000, over a million dollars. You go to LA, and you just look at the hillside, just thousands. I mean, there's a lot of rich people in America. There are a lot of really wealthy people who just have a lot of money in America. Great wealth. But even people that aren't wealthy, even just middle class, working class people, compared to other countries, we're doing way better. I mean, come with us to Malawi or Guyana and check out the standard of living, and you'll realize that people here making minimum wage are making more than your average worker in these countries. They're working in skilled jobs often and making less than our minimum wage. And we go to the store and everything pretty much costs the same down there. Because you think, oh, well, stuff's cheaper there. Not really. I mean, right, Garrett? I mean, we go to the store and we end up spending pretty much the same that we would spend here. It's just that they're just having to live on a really meager income and they just can't go to the store, you know, and they really have to scrape by. So the point is, the United States fits the bill as being a country of great wealth, great delicacies. I mean, how many Roy's Hawaiian fusions are in Phoenix? Amen? And that's a pretty expensive place. I already preached about that. So it says in verse number 15, the merchants of these things. So it's not just a comment that he makes in passing and then he moves on to something else. No, no, no. He keeps bringing this up. 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 deck with gold and precious stones and pearls. For in one hour, so great riches has come to naught. And every shipmaster, we're still not done talking about it. I mean, it's half the chapter. Every shipmaster and all the company in the 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 under this great city? And they cast dust on their heads and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, alas, alas, that great city wherein we're made rich, all that had not some of the ships, all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness. For in one hour is she made desolate. So all the way from verses 11 through 19, just we have direct scripture just going on and on about the merchandise. I mean, it just shows the hardened hearts of these people are looking on. They're not talking about the children, the women, you know, the men, the human loss. It's just the stuff, the money, the riches. Who's our next customer? I mean, it just shows how sick these people are, that they're that into money. That's all they can talk about for nine verses straight. Now here's what I want to point out. Keep your finger there in Revelation 18 and Jeremiah 51. The first verse of chapter 51 is pretty interesting in light of all this. It says, thus saith the Lord in verse one, behold, I'll raise up against Babylon and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind. And I will send unto Babylon fanners that shall fan her and shall empty her land. So in the Old Testament here, that destroying wind is symbolic because he talks about basically waves of soldiers or oceans of soldiers or a destroying wind. And then the soldiers are going to be fanners fanning the wind and the wind's going to knock everything. Obviously that's metaphorical. It's not literal. It's symbolic of great armies that are coming in. A lot of times the Bible will use the word flood, you know, talking about a flood of soldiers just kind of pouring in. So the Bible will often use a lot of metaphor and poetic language like that. So when we look at Jeremiah 50 and 51, a lot of this was symbolic because the destruction of Babylon the first time was not that dramatic, whereas the destruction of end times Babylon is very dramatic. So when we look at the destroying wind, it's interesting because if you look at Revelation 18, the destruction of Babylon is going to be by fire. The Bible explains that over and over again. It says, for example, in verse 8, therefore shall our plagues come in one day. And I want to also point out the time frame here. So notice the one day and then notice it says death and mourning and famine and she shall be utterly burned with fire. So the destruction is going to come in the form of burning with fire and it's only going to take one day. Look if you would at verse 10. Actually at the end of verse 9, it says when they shall see the smoke of her burning. Verse number 10, 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 then if you would jump down to verse 17, it says for in one hour so great riches is come to naught. Verse 18, and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning. Verse 19, at the end it says for in one hour is she made desolate and it talks about her being cast down with violence in verse 21. So we see it's a violent end. Three times it says in one hour, in one day, and that it's destruction by fire, the smoke of her burning. Now if we tie that in with a destroying wind, and if we think about what we know about the world today and what warfare is like today, this could easily be a nuclear destruction. Because think about it, nuclear weapons would just destroy with fire in one hour. I mean just in one hour, it would all be burned with fire. And you could see why they'd be standing afar off for the fear of her torment, right? That radiation, that fallout, not wanting to get too close to the smoke of her burning. They want to back off and turn the ships around and stay away from it. And when you think about the destroying wind, has anybody seen that footage when they first tested the nuclear weapons in New Mexico or wherever they're doing it or in the South Pacific where they set off the nuclear weapons and what is it? It's a destroying wind. That mushroom cloud goes up and then this shockwave goes out and school buses are being flipped over. All the trees, that's pretty famous footage that most people have seen from back in the 50s when they were testing really powerful nuclear weapons that are a lot more powerful than what was used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a hundred times more powerful and things of that nature. So that makes sense when you look at the destruction of an end times Babylon, how could it take place in one hour? Such a great destruction by fire, burning all those riches destroyed because of a nuclear attack, a destroying wind. That's one interesting theory looking at that verse. Now jump back if you went into Jeremiah chapter 51. Let me show you some of the other parallels here in Jeremiah 51. Look at verse 13. It says, O thou that dwellest upon many waters, watch this, abundant in treasures. So again, the wealth is emphasized. Thine end is come and the measure of thy covetousness. Look at verse 25. Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth. And I will stretch out mine hand upon thee and roll thee down from the rocks and will make thee a burnt mountain. So again, destruction by fire. Go to verse 42. A lot of people, they have an objection to this and they say, well, pastor Anderson, how can the United States be the modern day Babylon when Babylon's a city and the United States is a whole nation? Well, first of all, you have to understand that the city of Babylon, since we're not talking about the literal Babylon in revelation 18, since the literal city of Babylon no longer exists, it's symbolic. So it's not a literal city of Babylon. The city of Babylon represents the whole nation of the United States of America. And here's why that is. Because Babylon was not just a city. Babylon was a city state. Babylon was a world empire. Babylon was just the capital of the whole empire. And here's the proof. Look at verses 42 and 43. The sea has come up upon Babylon. She's covered with the multitude of the waves that have watched this, her cities. So are we talking about just one city here when we talk about Babylon? No, when we talk about Babylon, we're talking about a whole nation. So both the nation and the city are called Babylon. Sort of like we would call New York City and New York, they're both called New York. One's the city, one's the state. But the difference is that Babylon was a city that ruled over a giant worldwide empire. And so it would make sense that obviously in 2017, our states and empires are bigger. They used to just kind of be based out of one city. Obviously the world's a much bigger place now. And so it makes sense that the US would be represented by a figurative city of Babylon. It's symbolic. But notice in verse 42, it says the sea has come up upon Babylon. She's covered with the multitude of the waves. So again, that didn't literally happen when Babylon was destroyed the first time. That didn't happen metaphorically in the sense that waves of armies were rolling in. But I believe that in the destruction of end times Babylon, that will literally be fulfilled because the Bible talks about the great tidal waves and seas and waves roaring, mountains and islands being moved out of their places and so forth at that time. And if you think about it, the sea coming up upon Babylon could easily represent a tidal wave. And if nuclear weapons are detonated and the earth is shaking and we know there are going to be great earthquakes at the seventh trumpet and the seventh vial, which is right before Babylon is destroyed, then we know that earthquakes and those type of disruptions cause tidal waves. And often the tidal wave can do more damage than the earthquake itself. So it says here the sea has come up upon Babylon. She's covered with the multitude of the waves there. Think about Fukushima, Japan, where there was that earthquake and then a great tidal wave came, Indonesia, all different places where these tsunamis have come. Her cities, plural, verse 43, are a desolation, a dry land and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither does any son of man pass thereby. This is another thing that this chapter and Revelation 18 emphasize over and over again that when Babylon is destroyed, there's not going to be anything left. It's going to be completely wiped out, no inhabitant. And that makes sense if it's just bombarded with nuclear weapons. Look if you would at some of the examples of this. Look at verse 26 of chapter 51. It says they shall not take of the stone for a corner nor a stone for foundations, meaning that they're not going to be able to salvage building materials from the rubble. They're not going to say, oh, well, you know, the city has been destroyed. The buildings are all collapsed, but, you know, there's a nice good chunk of granite or a piece of material that we could use in a future building project. He's saying, no, it's going to be so demolished that they won't use anything for a corner or a stone for foundations, but thou shalt be desolate forever, saith the Lord. This is something that's emphasized over and over again. It's going to be desolate forever. Look at verse 29. The land shall tremble in sorrow for every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon to make the land of Babylon. So again, we're not just talking about a city, but we're talking about the land of Babylon, a desolation without an inhabitant, completely empty. It says in verse number 36, therefore, thus saith the Lord, behold, I will plead thy cause and take vengeance for thee, and I will dry up her sea and make her springs dry. And Babylon shall become heaps, heaps are just piles of debris, a dwelling place for dragons, an astonishment and an hissing, watch this, without an inhabitant. Verse 42, we already looked at that one, at the end of verse 43 where it says, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither does any son of man pass by. Jump down to verse number 62, then shalt thou say, Oh Lord, thou has spoken against this place to cut it off that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate forever. Now again, if this area were to be completely nuked, you can see how even animals couldn't even live there. How plant life would be destroyed, how it would just be completely demolished and annihilated and nothing left. You say, well, pastor Anderson, you know, it's kind of depressing because you know, we live in America, but here's the thing about that. Thankfully this is, this is long after we're gone, right? Because of the fact that the Bible is pretty clear that Jesus Christ is going to come in the clouds when the sun and moon are darkened immediately after the tribulation. This takes place at the sixth seal in revelation chapter six. Very clear. If you read Matthew 24, he describes the tribulation, which fits in perfectly with the first five seals of revelation chapter six. Then immediately after the tribulation of those days, it says in Matthew 24, 29, the sun and moon are darkened. Well, what do we see in revelation six after all those things Christ talked about seals one through five, when the sixth seal is open, the sun and moon are darkened. So when are the sun and moon darkened? After the tribulation. When does that happen? Revelation six with the opening of sixth seal. At that time is when they see the son of man coming in the clouds with power and great glory. And when the worldly unsaved are calling to the rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb, for the great day of his wrath has come and who shall be able to sin. So God's wrath doesn't begin until the sun and moon are darkened, which is after the tribulation. Then in the next breath, at the beginning of revelation chapter seven, the angels are told, hurt not the earth, neither the sea nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God and their foreheads. Now that shows right there that they have not been hurting the earth and the trees up to that point, or the sea. God has not begun to pour out his wrath up to that point. Up to that point was the tribulation, which is not God's wrath. Two different things. Tribulation, God's wrath. Not the same. Sun and moon being darkened, okay? Tribulation, then the sun and moon are darkened, then God's wrath is poured out. Now a lot of people, when you talk about being raptured at the sixth seal, when Christ comes in the clouds, at the sun and moon being darkened, at the sixth seal, oh, mid-tribulation rapture. Isn't that what they say? Oh, it's mid-trip. Oh, really? Show me where anything's called tribulation after the sun and moon are darkened. The last time the word tribulation's ever used is in Revelation 7, right after the sun and moon are darkened, saying, these people came out of great tribulation. Now they're up in heaven, clothed in white robes and palms in their hands, of all nations' kindreds' tongues, a multitude so great that no man can number it. All the believers who ever lived caught up together. So there's just a mountain of evidence, just so much evidence, that the tribulation ends then immediately after the sun and moon are darkened, and then God pours out his wrath. I mean, it's that simple. And the rapture takes place after the tribulation, but before God's wrath, it's not mid-trib. No. The Bible doesn't say immediately in the middle of the tribulation of those days. It says immediately after the tribulation of those days. It's called after the tribulation. And it's so funny watching these pre-trib pastors trying to figure out what we even believe. They can't even figure out what they believe or what we believe. You have to first explain the pre-trib rapture to them, and then explain to them why it's wrong. Because they don't even understand their own doctrine. And you're like, no, no, that's not what you guys believe. Here's what you guys believe. Oh, okay. All right, now here's why it's wrong. Because they haven't even put all the pieces together. And that's why they get real uncomfortable when you start talking about this stuff. Because they don't understand it. And you know, look, I'm not saying that they're not smart, because you know what? The pre-trib rapture has to go through so many mental acrobatics, and it's so complicated, nobody's smart enough to understand it, because it isn't there. So a lot of them are just kind of like, oh, I'm not really an expert on that. And they just don't really want to talk about it, because they don't understand all the ends and outs, and it's pretty easy to talk these guys under the table, and just start pulling out verses. I usually just toss the ball into their court. I just say, okay, well, can you prove to me from the Bible that it's before the tribulation? Well, you know, not appointed to wrath. Okay, well, let's look at that. It's pretty easy to debunk that, with what I just explained, about the sun and moon being darkened, you know, the tribulation, the wrath, they're two different things. Of course we're not appointed to wrath, amen? So if you get your timeline that's biblical, you'll understand that the destruction of Babylon, it's very clear, there's no guesswork, there's no gray area here, the destruction of Babylon takes place after the trumpets and vials. I mean, that's just kind of a no-brainer. Because the seventh vial is poured out, and then great Babylon came in remembrance before God to give under the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. So pretty much no matter what viewpoint you take, no matter what theories you're following, it's a no-brainer that the destruction of Babylon takes place after the seventh vial. So therefore, if we are gone from this earth at the sixth seal, right, when the rapture takes place, when Christ comes in clouds, a pre-wrath rapture, post-tribulation but pre-wrath, then that means after a rapture, then you have the seven trumpets and seven vials, and then the destruction of Babylon. So the point is that we're going to be long gone before the destruction of Babylon takes place. We're not going to be here. Now, if you're not saved tonight, yeah, you will be here, you know, and you're going to be in for a world of hurt, especially since you're hearing a bunch of Bible preaching and God's going to hold you accountable whether you're listening or not. He's going to say, well, you know what, I tried to warn you a whole bunch of times. You heard the gospel, you heard the word of God preached, and, you know, you didn't take heed unto it. That's up to you to respond to the preaching of God's word. But those of us that are saved are going to be spared from this destruction. We're going to be spared from this judgment, thank God. So we see here that the Bible says that it's going to be completely wiped out, one hour, one day, destroyed by fire, the smoke of her burning, completely wiped out to the point it's so desolate that animals can't even live there. Nobody lives there. It's going to be completely gone. So that would mean that if this were talking about the U.S., that would mean that there would come a time when eventually no one would dwell here. You know, perhaps everyone would dwell in the millennial reign of Christ. Perhaps everyone would dwell, you know, on the eastern hemisphere or something like that. Or maybe South America will still be a great place to be, who knows, right? I don't know how far the destruction is really going to go. I don't know how much is really going to...maybe it's just going to be the major areas that are wiped out. I don't know. We don't know all the details, but we know that there's going to be some area, I don't care what you believe, there's going to be some geography that's wiped out to the point where no one can even live there. I mean, there's going to be some...wherever you think this is, is going to be so nuked and so wiped out that man or beast can't dwell there. Because that's what it says over and over again. So that's why it's so silly to be like, oh, it's Jerusalem. Hello? I think we're going to be living there for like a thousand years, right? Christ is going to be ruling and reigning from there. It's going to be the headquarters. So that doesn't make any sense. Now, you might say, Pastor Anderson, this can't be the United States because we're unstoppable. We're invincible. America. Look at this interesting verse, verse 53 says, though Babylon should mount up to heaven and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, sayeth the Lord. Now what's funny about this is if you're reading this back in Jeremiah's day, right, and you're thinking about the destruction of literal Babylon that happened back then, you're thinking to yourself, oh, when it talks about, you know, mounting up to heaven and fortifying the height of her strength, you probably think, hey, even if they build a bigger wall or if they put more artillery at the top of that wall, they're still going to be defeated. But think about how the USA has literally mounted up to heaven and fortified the height of her strength. Think about the satellites and the air force and all the weapons in the sky, right? All of the satellite defense system and you say, oh, you know, if they send the nuclear weapons, we've got all the Star Wars defense program. That's not a joke. Isn't that what it's called? Or did they not call it that anymore? Is it still called that? In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan had the Star War. It was called, was that the official name or just what they called it? Strategic Defense Initiative. That doesn't spell Star Wars, SDI. So that was like the nickname. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. So the nickname of it was the Star Wars, you know, defense, the SDI, Strategic Defense Initiative. So in the 80s, they, you know, they got the missile defense because of the USSR, you know, with all the nuclear warheads and be able to defend against that. But you know what? Even if a nation fortifies the height of her strength and mounts up to heaven, whether that's literally, like we have literally gone up to heaven, you know, meaning the sky, that type of heaven, with satellites and rockets and, you know, jets and all kinds of defense up there. But if God is out to destroy you, you're doomed. You're doomed. It doesn't matter how tough you think, and even in your personal life, it doesn't matter how strong or how tough you are or how defended you are or if you have one of those houses where you push a button and just like metal shades come down and drop over all the windows and a moat opens up around your house and, you know, there's just little holes for the machine guns to be pointed out and everything. It doesn't matter how defended you are, how strong you are, how tough you are. If God is out to destroy you, who can stand? Who shall be able to stand? I mean, it's like the Bible says, if God be for us, who can be against us? But the opposite's true. I mean, if God's against you, who can defend you? Who can save you? Who can protect you? So the United States should be a little more interested in pleasing God and a little less worried about just military defense and military spending because here's the thing, we could have the most powerful military, but if God's blessing is not upon us, he can still wipe it out. The battle is not always to the strong. The strongest does not always win. The swift does not always win the race. Even the fastest runner will have a bad day or trip and a slower runner will win sometimes. And sometimes the battle doesn't go to the strong. Sometimes the wind is blown a certain direction or, you know, for example, like when the Mongolians tried to invade Japan and there was the destroying wind that came, right? It was known as the kamikaze, the divine wind where they praised their idols for sending this wind that wiped out the ships of the Mongols and they were not able to invade because the wind or, for example, the wind that destroyed the Spanish Armada in a key battle against the British. You know, major world events have sometimes been determined by the weather. The weather goes the wrong way or just by chance. Or, you know, like, for example, when you read about the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium in World War II, which was the turning point, basically, the Germans' last chance to win World War II, you know, the Battle of the Bulge was kind of the last stand for them. If they lost that battle, they pretty much knew that they were doomed at that point. They can't win anymore. I remember I was watching a video about it in a museum and they were showing that General Patton or somebody, I think he said nuts. They told him some report and his answer was just nuts. And the Germans, they couldn't figure out what he meant by that. They didn't understand that expression, that American expression, nuts. They didn't understand. So then it's like they misinterpreted it and then they made this other tactical blunder and then, you know, that was one of the reasons why they lost the battle apparently. And I'm not an expert on World War II history. I'm not up here to give a historical lecture. I'm just saying sometimes just little things like just misunderstanding what he means by nuts, what did that even mean to him? You know, these Germans, they don't know every expression that an American could use. That could confuse them and then they make a decision. Or you know, let's say, you know, the German troops marched out just a little too late and then the snow got them and they didn't quite make it to Moscow. You know, what if they would have just left a day early and they would have got there and they would have invaded and defeated the Russians? Who knows, right? But I'm saying that God, he can work in circumstances and causes the weather or miscommunication or mistakes to be made or delays to happen that can change the course of events. If God is displeased with you, if God wants to wipe you out, he's going to wipe you out. There's nothing you can do to prevent it. There's nothing you can do to escape. The thing that you can do to escape is by getting right with God and pleading for God's mercy, putting your life in his hands. And he will either protect or destroy you. But at the end of the day, it's him that has the power to lift us up or put us down to wipe us out or preserve us as a nation, as a church, as a family, as an individual on all levels. I mean, if Faithful Word Baptist Church is going to thrive and grow and continue, it's going to be with the blessing of God, because at any time, God could cause circumstances to happen that could destroy us. Now, I don't believe that the devil could destroy us. I don't believe that, because I believe that if God's for us, no one can be against us. And I believe that God can put a hedge around us, and if it's God's will that we succeed, we will succeed. If we're pleasing to him, he'll allow us to succeed. I don't believe that the devil can wipe us out, contrary to God's wishes. But I do believe that God could take us out, or that we could destroy ourselves. If we decide to go into sin or get lazy or preach false doctrine, we could self-destruct. Or if God looks down and he sees us doing things and preaching things and saying things that make him angry with us, he could decide to remove the candlestick, as he said in Revelation chapter 2. And there are plenty of churches where that's happened, where the candlestick's been removed. And I've heard so many people say that they went to a church for years, and it's like it got to a point where Ichabod is what they would point to, the Old Testament word. The glory is departed. People like Samson, where he wished not that the Spirit of the Lord had departed from him. Obviously we're not talking about a loss of salvation for the individual, but we're talking about a church that no longer is being used by God, that no longer is being blessed by God, where the cloudy pillar is no longer there. The cloudy pillar has moved on, and there's just no blessing of God there. Other churches are alive and thriving, and people are being saved, and lives are being changed, and the Word of God is having an impact. Other churches are dead. And I don't care how wild their music or how wild their service is, it's dead spiritually. We're talking about a spiritual deadness. God is not stirring the people's hearts. People are not being saved. Nothing's happening. There's no life there. I mean, you go to a rock concert, and it might be wild and exciting, but is it spiritually alive? Is there real life there? No. I'm talking about God's work going forth in a powerful way, and it all rests on God. I mean, without him, we can do nothing. We've got to abide in that bind. And so the point is that if God's against you, you're doomed. I don't care what your air force is doing, I don't care what your missile defense is, you're done. And that's what we see here, that even though Babylon, verse 53, should mount up to heaven and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the Lord. A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans, because the Lord has spoiled Babylon and destroyed out of her the great voice. When her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered, because the spoilers come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken. Every one of their bows is broken, for the Lord God of recompense shall surely requite. Now another thing that some people will bring up is that people will say, well, what about the verse that says, you know, come out of her, my people. And you'll find this in Jeremiah 50 and 51, and you'll also find in Revelation chapter 18, you know, come out of her, my people, that you be not partaker of her sins and that you receive not of her plagues. And people will say, you know, hey, is that telling us to get out of the United States? Well, here's the thing. That scripture is talking about on the eve of the destruction of Babylon. It's not talking about five years before that or 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, 50 years. We don't know how long this is into the future. All we know is that at that time of Babylon's destruction, that's the statement that's made. Hey, anybody who's righteous, anybody who's saved, get out of there because it's going to be destroyed. We're not to that point yet in the United States of America. And when you think about what it's like to live in Babylon, because I believe that we're living in Babylon, but if you remember last week, we went through all the different empires that were like Babylon. And remember, the Bible ties them all together in Revelation 17 and it ties them all together in Daniel Chapter 2 and Daniel Chapter 7. And if you remember what they were, I'll quickly review. They were Egypt, Assyria, is anybody listening? There we go. All right. Let me just finish the sermon to you here. So they were Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, and then, of course, the end times, Babylon, that final empire. And look, were there a lot of Babylon's in between Rome and the United States of America? Of course. But the reason why we're not talking about them is because they have no prophetic significance. Because of the fact that the Bible's being written during the kingdoms of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome. There's no scripture being written since the New Testament until now. So all the other Babylon's, whether it be Genghis Khan or whether it be the British Empire or other empires that had these same attributes, they don't really matter because they don't have a prophetic significance. It's only the final end times Babylon that becomes once again significant in Bible prophecy. But here's an interesting thought that it's exciting actually to live in Babylon because if you think about a lot of the great characters of the Bible, they sort of lived in the Babylon of their day. They didn't go run from it or hide from it. A lot of the great Bible stories actually took place in the Babylon of their day. Think about the great stories that took place in Egypt for example. Joseph was a man of God in Egypt, Jacob was down in Egypt, Moses was down in Egypt, the great confrontation with Pharaoh and the plagues and throwing down his rod and becoming a serpent and turning the water to blood, all the great sermons that Moses preached. Moses and Aaron and Joseph, Jacob, they all were in the Babylon of their day, Egypt. And if you think about the fact that in Babylon itself, who was there in Babylon? You know, we have Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego standing up for the Lord in the Babylon of their day. In Persia, in Greece, in the Roman Empire itself, we have the Apostle Paul going into the belly of the beast. He ended his life in Rome. I believe that he died of natural causes. I don't care what the history book says because the Bible is real clear that he was on house arrest and he was allowed to see everybody, he continued for two more years and nobody forbid him to do anything. And then in 2 Timothy, the last book that he wrote, he said that he was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. He was delivered from all persecutions, but yet as he's saying that he was delivered from all persecution, he said that I'm now ready to be offered in the time of my departures at hand. I fought a good fight, I finished my course, I've kept faith. So he's foreshadowing his death. He's basically saying I'm at the end of my life. But what he's not saying is I'm about to be killed, I'm about to be decapitated, I'm about to be thrown alive. He specifically says no, I was delivered from all that. God protect me from all that. And Acts chapter 28 ends, the last verses say what? He's on house arrest in Rome, he's preaching every day, nobody stops his friends from seeing him, and he's preaching and winning souls, continues for two years. Oh, whoops, forgot to mention, then he was brutally killed. You know what I mean? That wouldn't make any sense, would it? So I believe that he died peacefully, but he was there in the belly of the beast. The Apostle Paul was there in Rome, which was the Babylon of his day. And so we here in the United States of America, we're living in the Babylon of our day. And we can do a great work for God. We can be greatly used of God. We can be great men and women of God in these last days in Babylon. And we can use the wealth and prosperity that we do have in this country to win the lost. We don't have to just gratify the flesh or consume it upon our own lust, but we can use our wealth and prosperity and our surplus that we have today in the United States to win people to Christ and to send missionaries and to go out and do a great work based right here in Babylon itself. Why not? The end is not yet. We're not to that point yet. And so it's not time to jump the ship yet and come out of Babylon because of the destruction is at hand. You know what? I'm not, I don't plan on leaving Babylon until I'm removed by the angels from Babylon. Amen. You know, I plan to stay here until the bitter end. Now things change, you know, things change, you know, and if the persecution gets too great or if it just becomes a full blown Sodom and Gomorrah, yeah, then it might be time to get out of here. But my plan, and you know, of course we make our plans, but God is the one who eventually is the one who, you know, lays out our path before us. But you know, I plan to stay here until the bitter end, till Jesus comes, amen. Even in Arizona itself. And you know, if Arizona goes bad, everything else will have already gone bad. This is the last place that's going to go bad, amen. Don't let these Texas people tell you, right, that that's the real stronghold of freedom. Sorry, Texas people, we have more freedom here in Arizona. This is going to be the last state standing, all right? I believe that. So if Arizona is doomed, there's going to be nowhere left to go. You know, we're all going to be heading to somewhere strange. You know what, I hope that we can stay here our entire lives, amen. If we can win enough souls to Christ, and keep preaching hard and standing for the truth and shining the light of the Gospel, you know, I believe God will want us to continue that. And He'll withhold His hand of judgment and say, you know what, let's let faithful word finish the work before we, you know, really, and you say, well, God's not going to base it on that. But here's the thing. He said that the Gospel would preach in all the world, and then the end will come. So He is looking at that. And obviously, He already has the date in mind. We don't know the day or the hour, but He does. But here's the thing. He premeditated that date based on His foreknowledge of what we were going to do, and what other Christians were going to do throughout the world. He looked at that, and then that's when He put the date on His spiritual calendar that we don't know about. He knows about it, but it wasn't just based on nothing. And so therefore, you know, we, if we go out and do a great work, I believe that God will bless us and allow us, even if the whole rest of the nation goes to hell in a handbasket, hopefully Arizona will be our Goshen, you know, until that point. So don't be fearful or dismayed at these things. Rejoice, because we're living in exciting times. I don't wish I lived in any other time than right now. I think 2017 is the greatest time to be alive, the greatest time to be serving God. You know, especially, I feel like I was made for these times. You know what I mean? As a preacher, I feel like, man, I don't know if I would have been as good of a preacher in another generation. This just, it's like God almost knew what He was doing when I was born in 1981. You know what I mean? So don't, and you know what? God's got a plan for you too. So don't sit there and think, like, oh, you know, back in the old days it was so great. No, it's great right now. I don't want to hear about the glory days of the 60s or the 70s. No, it's now. Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation. Now is the time to do the greatest works for God that have ever been done in the history of mankind. And if we don't do it, it's our fault. We were too lame to get it done. But all things are possible, and we can do all things through Christ which strengthens us. And the sky's the limit, friend. So even in Babylon, we can do a great work for God. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for your word, Lord, and we thank you for these Scriptures about Babylon that we could tie in with Revelation 18, and we can apply it unto our nation, Lord, which resembles Babylon in so many ways. Help us to study these chapters, study your word, and apply these truths to our heart and be energized to do great works for you in these last days. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.