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. . . . . . . . . . Now in Revelation chapter 18 we read about the destruction of Babylon. The Bible reads in verse number 1, And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven having great power, and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the Great has fallen, has fallen, and has become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird, for all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. So in this chapter we read about the destruction of Babylon, but first of all I want to establish who is Babylon? What is God talking about here when he talks about Babylon being destroyed? Well the first thing I want to point out, and if you would turn to 1 Peter chapter 5, 1 Peter chapter 5, the first thing I'd like to point out is that the actual literal city of Babylon no longer exists. And not only that, but even at the time of Christ, and even at the time of 1 Peter being written, and even at the time of the book of Revelation being written, the city of Babylon no longer existed. And this is because the Old Testament story records how Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, conquered the civilized world and had this worldwide empire, but that empire was judged by God, and it was prophesied in Jeremiah 50 and 51 that Babylon would be destroyed. And the Bible prophesied that Babylon would be destroyed and that it would never be inhabited. I'll just read it for you quickly while you're turning to 1 Peter 5. And therefore the wild beasts in the desert and the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein. Talking about birds dwelling there. And it says, and it shall be no more inhabited forever, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities thereof, saith the Lord. So shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein. So when the Bible is destroyed in the Old Testament, God said that it would not be inhabited, again, it would not be rebuilt. And to this day, that city no longer exists. So when the Bible is talking about Babylon, it is not talking about the literal city of Babylon from the Old Testament. Some have said, well, it is the literal city of Babylon, they're going to rebuild it. And I've even seen different emails sent out, even going back to when I was a kid, they said, you know, they're about to rebuild Babylon, the Bible is going to be fulfilled. And they had, you know, all the building materials. I've seen photographs of all these materials stockpiled that supposedly they're going to rebuild Babylon. Okay, but the Bible said that it was not going to be inhabited again, and it's already been destroyed. I don't believe it's going to be rebuilt. But second of all, God is already in the Bible referring to a different city as Babylon in 1 Peter, Chapter 5. Because if somebody said, well, before the end times come, the city of Babylon is going to be rebuilt. But wait a minute, in 1 Peter, he's already referring to another city as Babylon. And the city still hasn't been built thousands of years after 1 Peter was written. Look at this in 1 Peter, Chapter 5, Verse 13. The Bible reads, the church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you, and so doth Marcus, my son. So there, Peter is giving them a greeting or a salutation from the church at Babylon, and the city of Babylon did not exist at that time. So what was he talking about? Well, just to show you one verse, the Bible says in Verse 18 of Chapter 17, And the woman which thou sawest is that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth. And then if you back up to Verse 9 of Chapter 17, it says, And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth. Now Chapter 17 was all about the great whore, and the great whore is sitting upon the scarlet colored beast, and the beast has seven heads, and those seven heads represent seven mountains on which the woman sitteth. So in Chapter 17, the great whore, I clearly believe, is the Roman Catholic Church, because the city of seven hills is Rome. And I believe that when Peter is talking about the church at Babylon, he's talking about a church that's at Rome, because we know from reading the book of Romans, even before the Apostle Paul ever went to Rome, there was already a church there that was established and so forth. So I believe that Peter was referring to the church at Rome. Revelation 17 is prophesying a future of the Roman Catholic Church. And again, that's a whole sermon in and of itself, just to talk about Revelation 17 and how it deals with the Roman Catholic Church and the city of Rome, the city of seven hills. Now that has led some people to mistakenly apply the Roman Catholic Church definition to Chapter 18, and that is simply not correct. Because you have to understand, and I'm going to try to make this as clear as I can tonight, you have to understand that the Babylonian Empire was a worldwide empire. But then the Roman Empire was a worldwide empire. Then there was the period where the Roman Catholic Church dominated Europe and much of the civilized world. And then in the end times, there will be another one-world government with the Antichrist at its head. Now, in 1 Peter Chapter 5, when he talks about Babylon, he's talking about Rome, the Roman Empire. Now, in Chapter 18, he's talking about the final empire being destroyed, because in Chapter 17, he's not really talking about the destruction of Babylon. Chapter 18 is where he talks about the destruction, and so we have to fast forward ourselves to the end times, and Chapter 18 is chronologically taking place at the end of the seven years, after the tribulation, and after God has poured out all of his wrath, the last thing he does is destroys Babylon. But all of this goes back even further than that to a place called Babel. And at the Tower of Babel, do you remember? They all united together. All the people of the world were united together, and they were going to build a tower that would reach unto heaven. And God did not want that, so he scattered them and separated them into various nations. So the point is this, Babylon represents world empire. Babylon represents mankind united. Babylon, yes, in Chapter 17, represents the universal church. And that's what Catholic means, universal. But in Chapter 18, we're dealing with another place altogether. And the city that is destroyed, or the place that is destroyed called Babylon, I believe is the United States. And I'm going to show you many things in the chapter that lead me to believe that, as well as in Jeremiah 50 and 51. First of all, let me show you the most compelling piece of evidence that Revelation 18 is dealing with the United States of America. Go down, if you would, to verse number 11. This is talking about the destruction of Babylon, and it says, And the merchants of the earth, merchants are people who sell things, the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her. For no man buyeth their merchandise anymore. Now, what place could be destroyed in 2013 where it would be said, Well, because this place was destroyed, no man buyeth our merchandise anymore. I mean, think about it. The United States is the one who consumes the vast majority of the goods that are produced by the world. And if the United States were destroyed, people would literally say, Who are we going to sell all this junk to? You know, this Walmart-bound, made-in-China junk. I mean, every single day, there are gigantic ships coming from China, just bringing just masses of merchandise. Who's ever been to the Long Beach Harbor or the LA Harbor and seen those ships coming in from the Pacific? Isn't it an amazing sight? I mean, it's unbelievable. I took a wrong turn. I didn't even mean to go there. I accidentally took a wrong turn. And I was just blown away by the sight of these gigantic ships just stacked. And look, they look like little Legos, but each one of those little blocks is a train car full of merchandise. I mean, just stacked up so high. I mean, it's an unbelievable amount of merchandise that's just constantly coming in. And that's probably the most compelling piece of evidence. But if you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Because where is the world government right now? The embryonic world government that will eventually become, you know, the kingdom of the Antichrist and so forth. Where is the world government, the United Nations, based? In the United States. I mean, it is based in the United States. And really, if anybody has a world empire right now, it's the United States of America. Because the definition of empire throughout history is when we have our military bases in every country in the world, that's our empire. Okay? And we have the world government located within our borders and we run it, we finance it, we call the shots. I mean, we are the lone superpower. I mean, it used to be what was called, you know, the two superpower model of the USSR and the United States. But then after that became a new world order where there was one superpower, the United States of America, and that's where we're at. I mean, that's what we live in. Now, I will say this, and I'm going to prove to you in a lot of other ways that I believe that this is talking about America. I will say this. If the events of end times Bible prophecy don't happen for hundreds of years, if the world's not going to end for a few hundred more years, then maybe it's not America. But if this happens any time soon, and when I say this, I mean all the events of Revelation, you know, the tribulation, the rapture, God's wrath. If that stuff happens in our generation, I'll guarantee you that Revelation 18 is talking about America. You know, if you would have talked to me several hundred years ago, not that I was alive or around, but you know, if I would have existed several hundred years ago and you would have talked to me, I would have said, hey, this is all about, you know, the Roman Catholic Church or something, you know. Because obviously at that time, the world was in a different place. But today, from where we're at right now, if this were to happen in our lifetime, which I think is very, very likely, it's the United States of America. Because no other place could be destroyed where the merchants would say, no man buyeth our merchandise anymore, because we consume the masses of goods from all over the world. Look at the merchandise that's listed there. Verse 12, the merchandise of gold and silver and precious stones and of pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet and all thion wood and all manner vessels of ivory and all manner vessels of most precious wood and of brass and iron and marble and cinnamon and odors and ointments and frankincense and wine and oil and fine flour and wheat and beasts and sheep and horses and chariots. You know, chariots, obviously that would be like, what, automobiles today, right? Chariots and slaves and souls of men and the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee and thou shalt find them no more at all. And so right there, we see all that merchandise listed and somebody could say, oh, this is Vatican City that's being described in Revelation 18. Vatican City doesn't consume that kind of merchandise. The United States consumes that kind of merchandise and it makes perfect sense that God would segue from his discussion in chapter 17 about the universal church and the whore of Babylon and the Roman Catholic Church that he would segue into the final phase of world government which is based in the United States and refer to the United States as Babylon. Now, let's go back to Jeremiah 50 and 51 and let's look at some things in Jeremiah 50 and 51 that would point to this being the United States. Now, before we got into the sermon when we read the whole chapter of Revelation 18, you probably noticed over and over again the Bible very clearly described how the United States would be destroyed and it said over and over again that it would be burned with fire. He talked about the smoke of her burning. She shall be utterly burned with fire and it's a fiery burning that will be the fate of the United States. But then also, he made it very clear that this destruction would take place in one hour, three different times. He said, in one hour is thy judgment come in verse 10. He said, in one hour so great riches has come to naught or come to nothing in verse 17. Verse 19, it says, one hour is she made desolate. So it's going to be a very swift decisive destruction made with fire. Not only that but it's clear that it's going to be at the hand of Babylon's enemies. It's not going to be God sending a divine destruction in the form of a miracle or in the form of fire from heaven. God is going to use other nations to destroy Babylon. He says that he will put it in their heart to fulfill his will and cause them to destroy Babylon. God often brings judgment by using human means and that's very clear. But let's just look at the highlights from Jeremiah 15 and 51. And I want you to be watching for things that look similar to the United States or that just look similar to Revelation 18 just to show how these scriptures tie in together. Jeremiah chapter number 50 and beginning in verse number 1 the Bible reads, the word that the Lord spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet. Jump down to verse 3, it says, for out of the north there cometh up a nation against her which shall make her land desolate and none shall dwell therein. They shall remove, they shall depart both man and beast. You say, Pastor Anderson, a nation coming from the north, is this Canada? I mean, you know, we've been waiting for Canada to do something throughout history of merit. You know, there's something that would, you know, make it noteworthy. No, this isn't Canada because jump down if you would to verse 8. It says remove out of the midst of Babylon and go forth out of the land of Chaldeans and be as the he gloats before the flocks. For lo, I will raise up and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country and they shall set themselves in array against her. From then she shall be taken. Their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man. None shall return in vain. So what we see here is an assembly of great nations coming from the north. And I'm not talking about Canada. See, this is not hard to believe because if you understand that the world is round, you understand that a nation or an assembly of great nations that were attacking the United States from across the Pacific or across the Atlantic would come from the north. And you say, well, how does that work, Pastor Anderson? That would be from the east or west. No. I remember when I first learned this, I was 18 years old and I flew to Germany. And when I flew to Germany, you know, if you looked at a flat map on paper, you'd say, okay, here's the United States. Here's Germany. I'm just going to go straight across the Atlantic Ocean. But because the world is round, that's not the way it works. Because the world is round, it gets smaller at the top, right? And it's wider toward the middle. And so when you fly to Germany, if you looked at it on a flat map, you actually go up like this and then you come back down. And the reason why, it's called the great circle route because you go upward. And so when I flew back from Germany, I flew over all those snowy, icy islands. You know how Canada just kind of becomes a bunch of islands on the map? I flew over a bunch of those icy islands because we were so far north and I couldn't believe that we were that far north. But the reason why is because it's a shorter distance. If you take a string and put it on the globe, you can see that it's a shorter distance to go that route. And so basically that's why they're coming down from the north here in this passage. But then look at this. It says their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man. None shall return in vain. Now think about arrows that are being fired. When people fire arrows in battle, a lot of times they just fire arrows and there's just arrows raining. And I mean a lot of them are missing the target. But the Bible says here that when Babylon is destroyed, none of the arrows will return in vain. They'll be the arrows like of a mighty expert man. Now if you think about this, could this not be when it says arrows referring to missiles? Because of the fact that obviously the Bible is using language that Jeremiah could understand at that time or that John writing the book of Revelation would understand at that time. And obviously today there are missiles that always hit the target every time. You know, because they're programmed with computers and because they have guidance systems and they could be heat sinking or whatever. And keep in mind, as we look at Jeremiah 50 and 51, parts of these chapters are referring to the destruction of Babylon that already happened in the Old Testament. You know, the original Babylon that was destroyed. But then there are other parts of Jeremiah 50 and 51 that are pointing forward to something even further in the future of Revelation 18. But everything in Revelation 18 is talking about a future event. Stuff in Jeremiah 50 and 51, some of it's for back then, some of it's for the future end times prophecy application. Look down if you would at verse 12. It says, Your mother shall be sore confounded, she that bear you shall be ashamed. Behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land and a desert. You know, he says your mother, basically our nation had a mother, if you think about it, because our nation was born of another nation. What nation was that? England, right? Our nation was begotten by England. Basically, this is the hindermost of the nations. Well, what does it mean to be hindermost? It means you're in the back. It means you're bringing up the rear. That's what hindermost means. So maybe this could be a nation that has come lately. How about of all the great nations in the world, which is the newest nation? The United States of America. Because at this point, the United States is only a couple hundred years old. Compare that with other world powers. Russia. How old is Russia? You know, over a thousand years old. How old is China? Thousands of years old. If you look at other major world powers. How old is England? Depending on when you want to trace it back to, what, 500 AD? Okay, I mean, these nations are all much older and have a much longer history than our nation. You know, I guess you could say our nation is about 400 years old, if you want to count everything leading up to the formation of the United States, the colonies and so forth. But when it really became its own nation would be when they separated from England in 1776 and declared their independence. So it says, the hindermost of nations, verse 13, because of the wrath of the Lord, it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate. Everyone that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished and hissed at all our plagues. Look at verse 14. Put yourselves in a ray against Babylon round about. All ye that bend the bow, shoot at her. Spare no arrows, for she hath sinned against the Lord. Shout against her round about, she hath given her hand. Her foundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down, for it is the vengeance of the Lord. As she hath done, do unto her. That reminds me of what he said in Revelation 18 where he said, reward her even as she rewarded you. And double unto her, double according to her works. And the cup which she hath filled, filled to her double. Look at verse 26. Come against her from the utmost border. Open her storehouses. Cast her up as heaps and destroy her utterly. Let nothing of her be left. You know, when he says utmost border there, you can think of the United States has some utmost borders. Like, for example, think about Alaska. You know, basically a border that is an outer border that's separate from the rest of the nation. Open up her storehouses. You know, if you think about Alaska as having some of the greatest storehouses of natural resources, especially oil in the state of Alaska. That's part of why we even purchased Alaska was to get to all the oil and natural resources that are up there. Look at verse 29. It says, call together the archers against Babylon all ye that bend the bow. Camp against it round about. Let none thereof escape. Recompense her according to her work. According to all that she hath done, do unto her. For she hath been proud against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel. Look at verse 37. A sword is upon their horses and upon their chariots and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her. Now, isn't the United States a place of a mingled people? Because, I mean, the United States contains people from all different nationalities, red, yellow, black, and white. You know, it's definitely a melting pot and a mingled people that are here. And it says the mingled people that are in the midst of her and they shall become as women. A sword is upon her treasures. Verse 39. Therefore, the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there and the owls shall dwell therein. Remember the Bible said in Revelation 18 that Babylon was the cage of every unclean and hateful bird. Well, what are unclean birds in the Bible? Because remember there are clean birds and unclean birds in Leviticus? The unclean birds are the birds of prey that are eating the carcasses. That's what the unclean birds are. Look at verse 40. As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities thereof saith the Lord, so shall no man abide there. Neither shall any son of man dwell there. Verse 41. Behold, a people shall come from the north and a great nation and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. Now it's interesting that it said in verse number 37 that they had become as women. And then he also says in chapter 51 verse 30, look at 51, 30. The mighty men of Babylon have foreborn to fight. They have remained in their holds. Their might have failed. They became as women. They have burned her dwelling places. Her bars are open. So in chapter 50 he says that the men have become as women. In chapter 51 he says the mighty men have become as women. And he said it's going to be overthrown like Sodom and Gomorrah. Now tell me something. Have the men in the United States of America become as women? You said, okay Pastor Anderson, I'm convinced now. I was skeptical until you got to this point. This point fits America like a glove. Because let me tell you something. The men in America today have become like women and it makes me sick. And it makes God sick. God commanded over and over again in the Bible. He said the woman should not wear that which pertaineth to a man. Neither shall a man put on a woman's garment. For all that do so are an abomination to the Lord thy God. The Bible says it's a shame for a man to have long hair. But a woman's hair is a glory unto her. The Bible taught over and over again that there should be a difference between men and women. That men should dress like men, have hair like men. They should live like men, talk like men. And the Bible says that no one who is effeminate will inherit the kingdom of God. And I'm not just talking about queer but just effeminate is a man who acts feminine or acts like a woman. Or has the attributes of a woman. You say you're down on women. No, I think women should be very feminine and act like women. I want to exalt and lift up women. But let me tell you something. Men need to be men and women need to be women and there ought to be a difference. And today we're seeing those lines blurred. And we're constantly seeing people in public where we can't even figure out if it is a man or a woman. And that's why we as God's people should make sure that we stay as far away from that as we possibly can. I'm not trying to see how close I can get to women's clothing without technically being in violation of Deuteronomy 22.5. And I don't think that you as a woman should see how close you could get to men's clothing without violating God's word. You know, why don't you just be as feminine as you can and celebrate your womanhood. And why don't you, man, be as masculine as you can. And why don't we just reestablish, at least amongst God's people, the roles of men and women today. Unlike this sick, queer, filthy society that we live in. I mean, it's becoming weirder every day. It's becoming more bizarre every day. And if God rained fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah as an example to them that afterward should live ungodly, then what is he going to, you say, why would you say that God's going to destroy America? Why are you preaching that God is going to cause America to be demolished? I'll tell you why. Because America has become like Sodom and Gomorrah in so many ways. America has embraced the homos and the homo lifestyle and therefore will suffer the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. If you would, at Chapter 51. So we saw a lot of interesting things in Chapter 50 that could definitely apply or symbolize America. And we definitely saw things that tied in with Revelation 18. Look at Jeremiah 51, 1. It says this, thus saith the Lord, behold, I will raise up against Babylon and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind. Now, I think it's a really interesting phrase, a destroying wind. Now, we saw earlier, first of all, in Revelation 18, the Bible was really clear that Babylon would be destroyed with fire, burned with fire. The smoke of the burning would be seen very far away. As the ships were coming in with their merchandise, they would see the smoke of the burning. They would see the fire and the smoke and they would have to turn that ship around. They were afraid to come near, the Bible said, for fear of the smoke. And they said, no man buyeth our merchandise anymore. But then also in Chapter 50, there was a lot of talk about arrows and these arrows that were like expert arrows that would none of them return in vain. Now he's talking about a destroying wind. You know, I believe that this could be fulfilled basically through nuclear warheads. Because if you think about these missiles with nuclear warheads, when there's a nuclear blast, you know, there is definitely a destroying wind when a bomb is dropped. You know, I don't know if you've seen that old black and white footage or that, you know, that really archaic footage from when they're experimenting with the nuclear blast. And they'll set off a nuclear explosion and they have all the cameras set up really far away. And basically, you know, you see the mushroom cloud come up, the fiery mushroom cloud. And then you see the shockwave and the wind. And, you know, all the trees are and remember buses and buildings are just being blown over just by the wind, just the force of the blast of the explosion. Obviously, in today's world, we don't fight with swords and knives and arrows and clubs and spears and so forth. You know, I mean, that's the way. I mean, if you really want to utterly destroy something, that's what you're, you know, that's what you're going to use a nuclear bomb or nuclear missiles with nuclear warheads. So he says a destroying wind. Look at verse 7. Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand that made all the earth drunken. The nations have drunken of her wine. Therefore, the nations are mad. Meaning they're crazy. They're insane. It's that definition of mad there. Because they've drunk of the wine of Babylon. Verse 9. We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed. Forsake her and let us go everyone into his own country. Again, see, it's a nation where people are from other nations. So they're saying, let's go back to our own country. Let's get out of the United States. Let's go back to, you know, whatever country we immigrated from. He says, for her judgment reacheth unto heaven and is lifted up even to the skies. Verse 30. We already saw it that the men had become as women. Look at verse 42. The sea has come up upon Babylon. She is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof. So again, the United States, a perfect fit of basically tidal waves being able to come in, you know, the waves of the ocean being able to come in. If there's some kind of a blast or a nuclear explosion. It says in verse number 45. My people go ye out of the midst of her and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord. Verse 53. Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet for me shall spoilers come unto her, sayeth the Lord. You know, again, this is just kind of speculating and just trying to, you know, see how this stuff could play out. But if you think about what it means when it's talking about, you know, mounting up to heaven and fortifying the height of her strength, you know, this could be some kind of a satellite missile defense system that it's referring to. Because, you know, the United States has an attitude that it could never be defeated, that our military might is unbeatable, and that we have the military defenses and the satellite missile defenses and, you know, nothing could ever get through. And he says, you know what? Even if you fortify the height of your strength, even if you do have a shield that mounts up to heaven, you know, you're going down, he's saying. He says in verse 62, then shalt thou say, O Lord, thou hast 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. And it shall be when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it and cast it into the midst of Euphrates. And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her, and they shall be weary, thus far are the words of Jeremiah. So go back to Revelation 18. So that judgment on Babylon, after it's read, then he basically, when he finishes reading it, the scribe ties it to a millstone, throws it into the Euphrates River, and says, you know, thus with great violence shall Babylon be thrown down. It's not going to be inhabited. And again, a lot of the things in Jeremiah 50 and 51 were referring to the destruction of Babylon back then. But the things that I read to you seem to be more pointing toward the future destruction of Babylon in Revelation 18, and a lot of them are quoted in Revelation 18 about the destruction of Babylon. So back to chapter 18, and let's go through this now with all those scriptures and those things in mind. Verse 4, And I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works. In the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her. For she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death and mourning and famine, and she shall be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city, for in one hour is thy judgment come. How long would it take to be destroyed through nuclear weapons? One hour. Would one hour be enough? I mean, think about it. One hour is enough for it to just be demolished. It says in verse number 11, of course, that when it's destroyed, no man will buy the merchandise anymore. It lists all that merchandise, which is all stuff that we consume in mass, mass amounts as a nation. It says in verse 14, and the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee. And thou shalt find them no more at all. 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 linen and purple and scarlet and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, for in one hour so great riches has come to naught. And every shipmaster and all the company and ships and sailors and as many as trade by sea stood afar off and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city? And they cast dust on their heads and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness, for in one hour is she made desolate. Now, what do you notice about this? It goes, I mean, it's a very repetitive chapter, isn't it? It just keeps going on and on about all the sailors and all the merchants just keep weeping and wailing and crying and putting dust on theirs. Are they saying, wow, that's so terrible that people are dying? Has anyone mentioned that? Oh, it's so terrible. It's so sad. I mean, all the humanity, all those people are dead. What are they? They're just all just saying the same thing. Oh, man, all that money, all that wealth. Man, who are we going to sell this stuff to? This is what made us rich. This is where we got paid. Man, look, the gold, the silver, the precious stones, the pearls, the scarlet, the fine linen. I mean, is there any mention here of them saying, Well, it's too bad for all those people. What a sad, sad day that this that the Babylon is demolished. No, it's just all about money. It's just all about, oh, we can't do business anymore with these people. There's no love here in this chapter, is there? Now look at this, though. So they're weeping and wailing because you got to get this chapter. I mean, there's a lot of repetition. They're weeping, they're wailing, they're lamenting, they're bewailing. I mean, it just gives every possible word and every description of sorrow. And then they just want to list all the merchandise. That's all they want to talk about, the merchandise, the money, the gold. Now look at the contrast, verse 20. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets. So is heaven weeping and wailing? Are the prophets weeping and wailing? Are the apostles? They're rejoicing. They're praising the Lord. It says, For God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, kind of a throwback to Jeremiah 51, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers and musicians and of pipers and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee. And no craftsman of whatsoever crafty be shall be found any more in thee. And the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee. And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee. And the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee. For thy merchants were the great men of the earth, and watch this, for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived, and in her was found the blood of the prophets and of saints and of all that were slain upon the earth. So there we see that this nation Babylon, this great city, the Bible's basically using, and you say, well, it's a city, not a nation. But see, here's the thing. We're not talking about Babylon at all. Babylon doesn't exist anymore. What we're talking about is that the city of Babylon is a picture or symbolic of the United States of America because just as the city of Babylon was once the ruler of the civilized world, basically in the end times, the United States through the United Nations is basically ruling over the entire world, okay, in the way that the city of Babylon did. That's what the United States is doing. And so the United States is symbolized by the city of Babylon, okay, and that's what we're seeing in Revelation 18. But notice it says that by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. Let me ask you this. Has America been used to deceive the nations of the world? Is there a lot of deception coming out of America that is deceiving the entire world? And it says by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. All nations. Now all nations have not been deceived by Catholicism, even though I strongly believe chapter 17 is dealing with Catholicism there. And there is a judgment upon that wicked religion. But let me say this. All nations have been deceived by the United States of America. And if you notice, one of the things that he brought up in verse 22 at the beginning was music. He said the voice of harpers and musicians and of pipers and trumpeters, you have to understand, the United States has a great impact and influence upon all nations of this world. All nations. I mean, when it comes to fashion and clothing, who do you think sets the pace? Who do you think sets the standard? Exactly. The United States of America. New York. I mean, this nation produces the music that the world listens to. Look, I've been all over Europe. I've been to, what, 11 countries in Europe. And in Europe, I don't care what country you're in, you listen to the radio, you're hearing American music. I mean, they don't even always understand the words because it's all in English. Of course, a lot of the young people in Europe all speak English. But when you're in Europe, I mean, they know all the American bands, all the American rock and roll and pop music, they listen to it over there. I mean, it is the most popular music all over the world. Is it godly music? Is it righteous? Is it of the Lord? Or would it be a sorceress, wicked, ungodly music that's a deceiving music? And not just the music, what about the movies? Where are all the movies made? Hollywood, California. And the movies that are made in Hollywood go around the entire world and are translated into every language on the planet that's a major language. You're not going to believe this, but my wife used to work, and isn't this where you worked when I met you? Kino Belt? When I met my wife, and even when we got married, right? You had to put in your two weeks notice, right? My wife literally, when I married her, she worked at a company that basically took American movies and Hollywood movies from America and put them into German and released them in Germany. That's the business that she was in. And look, that business is in every country because America makes these movies that cost millions and millions of dollars. And guess what? It doesn't cost $100 million just to dub in some German voice or French or Italian or Japanese or Chinese. And so these movies that put out whatever messages that Satan wants to put out in these Hollywood movies are all embedded with the devil's messages. They're all embedded with what the devil wants people to think and believe and all of his agenda and his philosophy, and it's anti-Bible, it's anti-Jesus Christ, it's anti-family, it's anti-tradition, it's against everything that is good and righteous and wholesome and godly, and it's promoting fornication, it's promoting promiscuity, it's promoting adultery, it's promoting drunkenness, it's promoting drug use, it's promoting violence, and these movies that are put out in the United States of America have been used to brainwash the entire world. The TV shows of America have brainwashed the world. The rock and roll music of America has enamored and enchanted and brainwashed the world. The wickedness of our nation has spread throughout the world. I mean there are still nations in this world where the ladies still dress somewhat modestly and femininely and you would look at them and it would look like a godly righteous lady. She's not wearing short shorts and a tank top, but look, as soon as American influence comes through TV, through the music, through the movies, and you go to the big cities in these countries and the more access they have to TV, internet, movies, they start dressing like American girls, they start acting like American girls, which is not a righteous model. And thank God, and I'm not just completely down on America today because obviously there are a lot of great people in America, there are a lot of great, I mean America, here's what's interesting about America, even though we are deceiving the whole world with sorceries and rock and roll and Hollywood and Madison Avenue, the dichotomy is interesting because we also have the most Bible believing churches, you know, and we send out missionaries all over, but here's the thing about it though. There are getting to be, over time, less and less Bible preaching churches and more and more of the ungodly and wicked influence. So as we approach the end times, America is becoming a force more and more of negative in this world, as opposed to in the past, it was a force for positive in many ways, you know, it modeled a lot of freedom, I mean our country for a while was modeling a good form of government, freedom, liberty, trusting in God, you know, promoting the Bible, a lot of Baptist preaching, a lot of Bible believing churches, but as we get closer to the end times, isn't it getting worse every year? I mean isn't America getting worse every year? It's getting less godly, it's becoming more sinful, more wicked, and by the time this takes place, it will be a totally wicked place, and keep in mind the rapture has already taken place before this happens, because this is happening after all the vials of God's wrath, at the seventh vial is when he says that Babylon came in remembrance to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. So God is judging Babylon within the scope of the seventh vial judgment. So at this point, God's people, as far as the people that are saved right now, have already been removed, you know, via the rapture. Now I'm sure that there are other people who get saved after the rapture, anybody who has not taken the mark of the beast already and become reprobate still has an opportunity to get saved, you know, and could still be saved. So there will be people that are saved after the rapture, there's going to be the 144,000 preaching the gospel and so forth, but I'm just saying it's not going to help the United States at all, the fact that the Christians are going to be caught up and caught up to heaven, you know, at the rapture. That's not making it any better of a place, okay? Even in our lives we see it getting worse and worse and worse. I mean what is going to happen in our country in the next couple of years? I mean isn't it a scary thought? I mean it's so bizarre what's happened over the last ten years and we see it accelerating. You know it's funny because when I first started preaching and when I first started the church seven years ago, people thought that I was really a fanatic. Like a lot of the stuff I preached, man, they thought I was crazy, they thought I was just really radical, but now I'm getting less radical every day. You know it used to be I'd preach stuff like, man, the TV's wicked, you need to quit watching TV and people would get mad and think I was crazy, they'd think I was nuts, I was over the top. Now you say to people, man, TV's wicked and they're just like, yeah, I know, you're right. Seriously, even unsaved people will say that now, like even people that aren't even Christians will say, yeah, it's really bad, I don't even want my kids to watch it. But it used to be I'd say that to other Baptist pastors and they'd flip out. Now they're like, yeah, you're right, you know. Our country's getting so weird, my preaching's starting to make sense. You know, when I'm screaming and yelling about the homos, people thought, man, this guy's over the top, but now it's like starting to make a lot of sense, you know what I mean? And I'm telling you, it's getting worse every day and I don't know what's going to happen in the next few years. Even so, come Lord Jesus. Our country is going down a bad path, but let me tell you something, we as God's people need to make sure that we are different. Go to Philippians chapter 2, let me just end on a high note here, because it's not really that positive of a sermon. I've just never been a really Joel Osteen kind of a guy. But anyway, Philippians chapter number 2, because this sermon, I mean, it's all about the destruction of Babylon. It's about applying it to the United States. And like I said, the only way that I'm wrong about this, and you know, you've seen the evidence tonight, and if you disagree with me, that's fine. Study the Bible on your own. I'm just planting the seeds in your mind. You can go back, read Jeremiah 50, 51, Revelation 18, study your whole Bible, put it all together, and come to your own conclusion. If you disagree that Revelation 18 is referring to the United States being destroyed in the end times, you're more than entitled to your opinion. But in my opinion, the only way I'm wrong about this is if this doesn't happen in our lifetime. Because obviously the world can change a lot in a hundred years or something. But if this stuff happens in our lifetime, this is talking about the United States, and the United States is getting nuked. You know, I mean, that's pretty clear as I read it, okay. But look at Philippians chapter number 2. The Bible says this, it says in verse 13, for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure, do all things without murmurings and disputings, that you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. So right there, the Bible is telling us that God expects us, even in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, he expects us to be blameless and without rebuke. He doesn't say, well, you know, you're in a crooked and perverse nation, so I understand you've got to go along to get along. I understand if you compromise a little bit, you know, you've got to fit in a little bit, when in Rome do as the Romans do. No, God says that his plan for our lives is that we would be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, and that we'd be without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom we shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life. You know, that's our job today is to be a burning and a shining light and to shine the light of the glorious gospel in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, not to make excuses and say, well, you know, it's just impossible to keep my mind clean because of all the billboards and the TV and the rock and roll. I can't keep a clean mind. I can't stay pure. It's just impossible. No, it's possible. Not all things are possible. I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me. And it's our job to decide, you know, I'm going to be different than the world around me. I'm going to be different than the people at work. I'm going to be different than in my marriage. I'm going to be different in my child rearing. I'm going to be different in my work ethic. I'm going to be different in my morality and my cleanliness and my godliness. You know, we ought to be different today and realize that, yes, we live in a crooked and perverse nation. And if you're in denial about that, you know, you need to face it. Our country promotes sodomy now. Our country promotes abortion. Our country promotes wickedness and filth of all kinds. Our country, as a policy, believes that there is no God. That's the nation that we live in. But it's our job to shine the light of the truth. And let me tell you something. The darker the place that we live, the darker our nation becomes, the brighter the light shines. It's like when you try to look at the stars in the city, you don't really see the stars that much because the city lights are so bright, they drown it out. Or it's like if you're in the daytime and you turn on a flashlight. Let's say you're out in the sunshine and you turn on the flashlight, you can hardly see the flashlight, right? I mean, you have to look right at the flashlight. Is it on? But now take that flashlight into a cave in the earth where you can experience total darkness. And I took my sons a few months ago to the, who's ever been to the lava tube in Flagstaff? Anybody? What is it? Leslie's the only person that's been there. It's up by Flagstaff. There's this place where this lava flowed and created this tunnel. And it's this cave. And you hike in. And how deep is it, kids? Did we go like 3 quarter miles in? Yeah, it was like, it's this really neat hike because you hike in 3 quarter of a mile in. And then, you know, you touch the end of it. You got there, you know. And then you go 3 quarter of a mile out. And then you go down into this cave, into the earth. And man, when you turn off the flashlight, it's total darkness. You know, we went in there, me and my boys, we turn off the lights. We put our hand in front of our face. And your imagination will tell you that your hand's there. But you can't see, I mean, you can't see anything. I mean, it is just total darkness. And we waited for our eyes to adjust. And I mean, you can't see anything in there. You know, you flip on that flashlight and it lights up the whole place. I mean, just boom, just push a button on a tiny little flashlight. Boom, take that out in the daytime, you don't even hardly see it. So look, if we're living in a dark place, you know, that just causes our light to shine even brighter. Instead of hiding our light under a bushel and saying, oh man, I'm ashamed to be different. I'm ashamed to stand out. I'm ashamed to be, you know, looked at as an oddball because I don't fit in with the kids at school. Or because I'm not, you know, because I'm not participating in the same. And you know, the Bible says that they think it's strange that you don't go to the same, you know, excess of rioting and drunkenness that they go to. I'm paraphrasing. But, you know, the world looks at that as strange, why you don't live the lifestyle that they live. But you know what? At school, at work, in whatever groups and circles that you run in, man, let that light shine bright. Don't hide it under a bushel, no, I'm going to let it shine. And we should be a burning and shining light in the midst of a crooked nation among whom we shine as lights in the world. And you know what the Bible said, if therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness? You know what? Let's just make sure that the light in America stays on in the churches. I mean, look, we can't control what the world does out there. We can't control what our criminal government does. But you know what? We can be a burning and shining light. Faithful Word Baptist Church can be a lighthouse on the hill. And every Bible believing church in America, every independent fundamental Baptist church should be shining that light, burning bright and being a testimony of godliness and a testimony of righteousness and the truth. And we ought to take it as an opportunity, not say, oh, man, it's so hard. No, we ought to say, you know, this is easier to let my light shine because it shines the best in the darkness. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for this chapter. It's a fascinating chapter. Obviously, these are very deep things. And Father, I've studied this for a long time and looked at it and prayed about it and tried to understand it the best I know how. I've tried to express it tonight in the best possible way that I could. But I pray that every person who's here would do their own study and come to their own conclusions and read it themselves and make their own decisions. But, Father, the biggest lesson that we can take from it is that we can be a burning and a shining light even in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. Help us to keep that in mind. Help us to take it as a challenge and to take it as our calling. And in Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. We pray that every person who's here would do their own study and come to their own conclusions and read it themselves and pray that every person who's here would do their own study and pray that every person who's here would do their own study and pray that every person who's here would do their own study and pray that every person who's here would do their own study and pray that every person who's here would do their own study and pray that every person who's here would do their own study and pray that every person who's here would do their own study and pray that every person who's here would do their own study and pray that every person who's here would do their own study and pray that every person who's here would do their own study and pray that every person who's here would do their own study and pray that every person who's here would do their own study and pray that every person who's here would do their own study and pray that every person who's here would do their own study and pray that every person who's here would do their own study and pray that every person