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Okay, if we look at Jeremiah chapter 50, look at verse number 2, it says, Declare ye among the nations and publish, and set up a standard, publish, and conceal not say, Babylon is taken. The title for the sermon this morning is Babylon is Taken. It's finally time for Babylon, after 50 chapters of Jeremiah, you know, we've been hearing about the Babylonians coming and taking over Judah and Egypt and Edom and all the other places, all the other places around about, and it just looked like Babylon was this unstoppable force, and of course it is an unstoppable force when the Lord is using it, but there comes a time when that unstoppable force is also judged by God. And something that I just want to remind this church, you know, I've been saying to this church and to other believers in Australia, hey, submit to the powers that be, submit to these emergency powers, submit to the new powers, as long as they're not asking us to commit sin. And it's unpopular, Jeremiah's been saying submit, okay, it's unpopular, it's thrown him into prison, it's thrown him into lots of bad places, Jeremiah, and, you know, many people thought Jeremiah was on the side of Babylonians, he thought he was a traitor to his nation, and I'm sure there's a lot of people that think I'm a traitor to my church, to Australia, for saying submit to these, you know, awful government regulations and powers, but what you need to understand is God will one day judge this wicked nation as well, okay, God will judge the wicked governors that have made our life difficult over the past year, okay, God is going to judge Babylon now, who's made the life of the Jews very difficult during this time as well. So, listen, God's in control, you know, that's the greatest thing, if we worship and praise the right God, you know, the God of the Bible, we know he's in control, we know he's passing judgment, and he's also going to judge the wicked that seemingly get away with things, that seemingly seem like an unstoppable force, but they're only unstoppable until God puts a stop to it, okay, and God is putting a stop here to Babylon, Babylon is taken. So let's start there in verse number one, Jeremiah 50 verse number one, the word that the Lord spake against, against Babylon, and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet, now many times here, just for your understanding, it says against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans, Babylon here is referring to the city of Babylon, okay, and the land of the Chaldeans of course refers to the land in which that city resides, but as history, you know, allows and, you know, we often, not only is Babylon just a city, but we know that Babylon became a mighty empire, and so the whole empire, the whole area that it governed was known as Babylon, okay, the Babylonian empire as well. So sometimes the Bible uses the word Babylon interchangeably between the city, but also its kingdom as well. And verse number two, it says, declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard, publish and still not say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces, her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces. And so not only is Babylon being taken, not only is Babylon being judged, but once again the gods of this nation are being judged. We see Bel is the first name mentioned there, the same name, Baal, Baal, Bel, same god, same false god, that was the main god of Babylon, Bel, and also Merodach is broken in pieces. Merodach is another false god of the Babylonians. Now, what's quite interesting is that the final king, I don't know if you guys know this, it's found in the book of Daniel, but the final king of Babylon before the Medo-Persians came and conquered the place, does anyone remember the name? No? Belshazzar. Belshazzar, okay, so Belshazzar basically has the name of Bel, which is the false god in his name, and from my understanding it's kind of Belshazzar, the meaning of the name basically means, Bel protects the king, something like that, okay? It's kind of like we would say, oh, I don't really say it, but you know, as it's commonly said, you know, God save the queen, or God save the king. Well that was kind of the name of Belshazzar, instead of it being God though, it's like Bel protects the king, Bel, you know, save the king. And so it seems, you know, fitting that this final king with the name of a false god is being judged and his kingdom is being removed away from him. You can read more about that, of course, in Daniel chapter 5. But let's keep going, verse number 3. 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. Of course, this is the Persians and the Medes, they've been united, they've come together, they've formed a new force on the land, and we know it in history as the Medo-Persian Empire. And, you know, this should bring to remembrance, if you just go back one previous chapter in Jeremiah 49, please, look at Jeremiah 49, verse number 38. Jeremiah 49, verse number 38, we may recall this, it says, And I will set my throne in Elam, and I'll explain to you how Elam is just another name for Persia. So God is setting his throne, his power in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the Lord. So the Lord's saying, you know what, my throne was in Babylon? Well, there's coming a future time, which, of course, Jeremiah's prophesying with, and God says, I'm going to move my throne from Babylon, and I'm going to establish it there in Persia. And, of course, you know, this is God's doing. You know, God is the one that decides who's going to rise in power. He allows different forces to come on the scene, and for His purposes, we don't fully understand it. You know, we get a good picture in the Bible, we see how God passes judgment, and He'll use wicked governments, okay? You know, Judah was wicked, Babylon was wicked, and God says, all right, I'm going to use Babylon to judge Judah. And He says, all right, Babylon, your sins are now up to the level where you need to be judged. You know, you've done wickedly against God, so I'm going to raise the Persians and the Medes together, and they're going to conquer you. And you see, God allows different powers on the land, and we need to just remember, as God's people, that this is not our world. We're not here to be a powerful political power as Christians. We're here to just live through this earth, you know, serve God in the best capacity that we can, knowing that the power of God is above, knowing that our kingdom is above, knowing one day Christ is going to come back, of course, and rule over this earth, and we're going to be able to rule with Him. We'll finally get the powerhouse on this earth that we really want, okay? Now, let's keep going to verse number 4. And so God is basically saying that when this transfer of power takes place, we know that the Babylonians, of course, took Judah into captivity, but they're going to be released. They're going to seek the Lord God under this new power. And, of course, when Belshazzar was conquered, we have King Darius, we can read about him, coming onto the land, but it's King Cyrus that allows the Jews to go back, be released, and come out of captivity and go back onto the land so they can once again seek the Lord their God. Verse number 5, it says, Now, a lot of dispensationalists will say, well, this covenant that they're seeking, of course, they say, is the old covenant. They'll say it's the covenant that God set up with their fathers of old, with Moses of old, and that the Jews are going to come back and they're going to rekindle that old covenant with God. And, of course, from a historic perspective, of course, when they went back into the land, they once again submitted themselves under that covenant that God had established with Moses, okay? But notice the way it's said here. And let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual, let's say, continual covenant. Now, I believe the old covenant is finished. We cannot say that covenant is perpetual, because perpetual means it never ends, okay? And then it says in a perpetual covenant. It doesn't say it's like the covenant of old. It doesn't say our hope, our future is the old covenant with Moses. No, they're talking about a perpetual covenant, and this is why a lot of, you know, if you don't fully understand dispensationalists, you understand why they think God still has the old covenant in force with the Jews. And so they're still God's chosen people. They're still under the old covenant, and then they believe in the seven-year tribulation and in the thousand-year reign of Christ that God's going to reestablish that covenant once again. And so when they read these passages, they think that's what God's speaking about, that God's going to bring back the Jews back into the land, and they're going to have that old covenant with Moses. They're going to be back in the Old Testament, sacrificial, you know, offering sacrifices, and they're doing all the old practices. It's all back there. And brethren, it's so ridiculous. It's so crazy. This is a perpetual covenant. It's a covenant that continues forever, forever. And the only covenant that continues forever, brethren, is the new covenant, the covenant that has been brought into force by the death, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the sheen of His blood. And just to prove this, just from Jeremiah, keep your finger there and go to Jeremiah 31. We've already looked at this, but just to prove it once again in case you forgot it. Look at Jeremiah 31, 31. Jeremiah 31, 31, please. And I would really recommend, please just maybe highlight this or whatever that you need to do in your Bible. You know, write it down somewhere in case people come up to you and say, no, the Jews, they're still under the old covenant. God's going to reestablish them under that old covenant. Look at Jeremiah 31, 31. They're not going back to the old covenant. Now, of course, once again, of course, when they went back to the land, they followed through the old covenant, but they were seeking, they were Lord, they were hoping for that perpetual covenant, which of course would come with Christ. Look at verse number 32. It says, That I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which my covenant they break, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord. So the Lord's very clear. It's not going to be the same covenant, okay? It's a new covenant. We know that new covenant, of course, is signed in the blood of Jesus Christ. And so these Jews, as they were coming out of Babylon, you know, in the future time, not Babylon there, but it's going to be Medo, Persia, that empire, and they're being brought back into the land, you know, they're seeking, they're hoping, their desire is for the new covenant that is still yet to come at the birth of Jesus Christ, and of course is death. And so please, you know, when you have these dispensationalists come to you with all these verses and they try to prove to you that they're still God's people, they're still under the old covenant, you know, you can just see by searching, you know, comparing scripture with scripture, spiritual to spiritual, that it's very clear their hope, these people that are seeking the Lord, their hope, of course, is the new covenant to come. And, you know, salvation has always been by grace through faith. I mean, under the old covenant, under the new covenant, salvation has been only by grace through faith. It's never been by works, okay? Salvation was never a process by offering sacrifices of old. Those sacrifices of old simply pictured, pointed people to the sacrifice that would ultimately come through Jesus Christ. Let's keep going there in Jeremiah 50 now. Jeremiah 50, verse number 6. Jeremiah 50, verse number 6. It says, My people have been lost sheep. Now, that's quite interesting in the words that he uses here. The shepherds have caused them to go astray. We've already looked back in the past, how their leaders, their pastors, their spiritual, not just their political leaders, but also their religious leaders were just horrible people. Now, of course, amongst the midst of them, there was always some good people. There's always been certain believers, but the majority of their leadership were always wicked and led them astray. It says, They have turned them away on the mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill. They have forgotten their resting place. Verse number 7 says, And their adversaries said, We offend not because they have sinned against the Lord, the habitation of justice, even the Lord, the hope of their fathers. Now, what I really want you to do is keep your finger there. Go to Matthew 10, please. Go to Matthew chapter 10. And once again, this proves, this whole fact that these people are referred to as the lost sheep, proves that the covenant they're looking forward to is the new covenant. So go to Matthew chapter 10, verse number 5. Matthew 10, 5, please. As it's said there in Jeremiah 50, in verse number 6, just once again, it said, My people have been lost sheep. Now, we know Christ is the God of the Old Testament just as much as the New Testament. And these are the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 10, verse 5. Jesus Christ, of course, establishing his 12 disciples, his 12 apostles. He sends them out, soul winning. Matthew 10, 5, it says, Look at this. So you notice that when Christ comes on the scene, we know he came and established a new covenant. And he looks at the people, the people on the land, and he says, These are the lost sheep. Go out and preach unto them the kingdom of God. Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And so you can see, when you compare this with Jeremiah 50, referring to, once again, these people coming to the land, seeking the new covenant, being referenced as the lost sheep. Again, we have confirmation, Christ using the words, referring to them once again as the lost sheep, you know, to bring them into that new covenant with Christ. Now, you say, Well, hold on. You know, again, the dispensation will say, See, Christ did not come for the Gentiles, right? It says here, Don't go in the way of the Gentiles, and enter into any city of the Samaritans, and enter ye not. Well, that's weird, because Christ went into the cities of the Gentiles. I'm going to tire on Sidon, for example. Christ went and spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well, and many people came from a city, asking and believing on Jesus Christ. So what does this mean? Is Jesus Christ being contradictive here? You know, was his plan just for the Jews, and for some reason he disobeyed sometimes? Of course Christ did not disobey. You know, this should be common sense, that the first points of his mission was to, you know, deal with the Jews of the land, the local people, just like our ministry. Our main ministry is to reach the people of Fairfield, reach the people of Sydney, and then hopefully, as time develops, things allow for us to continue reaching people in other places of this world. But, you know, you've got to start where you're local. You've got to start where you're working, right? You know, if someone wants to be a missionary one day, and say, Man, I really want to be a missionary to China. Well, if he's not solely in his local area, he's never going to succeed in a foreign place. Okay, you've got to start in your local area. And just to prove that to you further, go to John chapter 10. John chapter 10, verse number 15. John chapter 10, verse number 15. These are the words of Jesus Christ again, okay? John 10, 15. Jesus Christ says, As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. Say, Oh, see, he laid down his life just for the Jews. Remember the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Okay, well, look at verse number 16. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. See, Christ has other sheep. It's not just the Jews, okay? There are other sheeps of other places. He wants to bring them all together, the Jews and the Gentiles, one shepherd, one fold. This is so clear in the Bible, so clear in the New Testament. It's not like God has his people, the church, and then he's also got his people, the Jews, okay? And there's like two folds and one shepherd. No, there's one shepherd, one fold. Yeah, Christ came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel first, and then he said, I've got other sheep that I need to also bring into that one fold. And that's why you and I are saved, if you're saved, okay? That's why Christ came and sought the other sheep, you know? His disciples eventually went out to other places. Of course, we read about that in the New Testament, you know, calling the sheep to the fold. They might believe in Jesus Christ, the shepherd. All right, back to Jeremiah 50, please. Jeremiah 50, verse number 8. Jeremiah 50, verse number 8 says, Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he goats before the flocks. All right, so Christ, I mean, God referred to Israel as sheep no longer. Now it says, hey, be like goats, okay? Be as the he goats before the flocks. Because he's saying, look, remove out of Babylon. He's saying, look, now it's time, of course, talking about the time, future time to come still for Jeremiah, but when they would leave Babylon, when they would leave that empire and go back into the land, he says, don't be like sheep, be like he goats. So the thought that I get there is, I don't know if you've ever, like, seen sheep and goats and compared them, but goats are usually more nimble. You know, they're harder to manage, they're harder to control. Sheep are very easy followers, you know, and goats require a bit more effort. And so, you know, what I understand this to be is, you know, when you leave Babylon, you can go back into the land, you don't need to be led. Like, you don't need to be like sheep and wait for someone to lead you. He says, just be like a goat and just run out of there and just be nimble and be quick and get back into your land. Like, be excited about what you're trying to do. And so, you know, we're using the differences there between the sheep and the goats there. And so, what I believe we can take out of this from a spiritual lesson for us is we, like Babylon, are restricted. We, like the Jews, you know, are restricted. We're kind of under this umbrella of this Babylon, secret, you know, spiritual Babylon, and we've been restricted from being in the house of God, okay? And, you know what, the Bible refers to people in church as sheep, okay? And there's a reason why the pastor, another name for the bishop is a pastor, because the pastor is a shepherd, okay? And you know what, when it's time for church, when church is ready for us to get back into it, we don't need to be like sheep then, okay? You don't need to wait for me to say, hey guys, are you coming to church? You know what, just be a he goat. Be a goat, be nimble, be quick. Just run to it and say, hey, praise God that we're out of Babylon. Praise God that we're out of these lockdowns and restrictions. I want to be in the house of God. That's how we ought to be, okay? That's what God's asking the Jews to be like when they get out of Babylon. So verse number nine. For lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country. So, again, we see that the Medo-Persian great nation, so there's that, you know, what's the word I'm looking for? You know, a united front. And not just those two nations. They also got other nations to come and help them overcome Babylon. And so they shall set themselves in array against her. From thence she shall be taken. Their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man. None shall return in vain. And Chaldea shall be a spoil. All that spoil her shall be satisfied, sayeth the Lord. And so you see once again that God will destroy, okay? God will destroy this wicked nation, this wicked nation of Babylon, this wicked empire, but once they have fulfilled their purpose, okay? It says all that spoil her shall be satisfied. You know, there comes a time, we look at our politicians once again, we look at our, we get angry and frustrated at our prime minister, at our premiers, they've got a time. You know, it's a time of services they have, but brethren, they're going to be judged by God. They're taking on a powerful office. You know, anybody that goes into politics, that governs a nation, that governs a people, God's going to hold them accountable. Trust me, believe me, the Bible says this very clear. They're going to be held accountable by God, okay? And they're going to, you know, God will allow them for some period of time to do what is good or to do what is evil, and based on how they've performed, they're going to be judged. You know, not only does a person go to hell, for example, if they reject Christ because of their sins, because they're just a sinner, but there are different levels of what hellfire would be like. There are different levels of pain and punishment and torment in hell. That's why when Christ teaches about different cities, it says it would be more tolerable for that city than that city. Because for different people, you know, they've done greater sins or lesser sins, and that's going to affect how tolerable hell will be for them. In other words, it's not going to be tolerable for anybody, but it's going to be less tolerable for those that have done wickedly. And so whether we see the judgment of these wicked politicians on this earth, it doesn't matter. We're ultimately going to see it in hellfire when they're cast into hell, and these politicians are going to be saying, well, you know, you're going to receive a higher level of pain, a higher level of punishment because you've restricted God's people from worshipping in the house of God. It's all going to be balanced. It's all going to be balanced. And if we want to see the destruction of the wicked, then we should be content for a period to be without church, knowing full well that God will balance the books and God will deal with them, and we're going to be rejoicing at the time we see the wicked destroyed in hellfire. Look at verse 11. Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced. That's the Babylon. They were glad they rejoiced. Look at this. O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as a heath or a grass, and bellow as bulls. So Babylon, even though God is using Babylon to judge Judah, God now says, because Judah, of course, you know, in that time in the Old Testament, they were known as the people of God, okay? Of course, many saved people were taken into captivity. Daniel, for example, okay? Well, God says about this nation, Babylon, he says, you're a destroyer of mine heritage. So God's going to judge them because they destroyed God's heritage. They were cruel to God's people. They stopped God's people from worshipping him the way that God set up, even though this whole time God was allowing Babylon to do this. Once again, this is why I say to you, brethren, just be calm, be patient, relax. The house of God has been removed from us. We can't meet the way we want. But don't worry. These people, these politicians, they're destroyers of God's heritage. So God's going to step in and do something. Let them destroy God's heritage for a while. Let them do it, because I want to see God's hand of judgment. I want to see his vengeance eventually for God's people on these wicked people. And not only church attendance, but soul winning. I've not been this long without soul winning. I don't even know. If I went door to the soul winning, I don't even know how I'd start speaking now. We all be rusty. We all need to work on our soul winning. Boy, I miss soul winning. Praise God that New Life Baptist Church is still able to get out there and serve the Lord in that capacity. But they've hurt the heritage of God. So I don't know. It's one thing to temporarily put some... Remember two weeks to flatten the curve? Okay, I don't think that would be a big deal. But could you imagine now in a Sydney? Was it three months, brethren? Three months without church? Boy, you know, the more this continues, the greater the judgment is going to be on these wicked people. Verse number 12. Your mother shall be sore confounded. She that bear you shall be ashamed. Behold, the hindmost of the nations shall be as a wilderness, a dry land in a desert. Because of the wrath of the Lord, it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate. The one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished and hiss at all her plagues. And so God's wrath is fallen upon Babylon. Notice that God says, it says, but it shall be wholly desolate. And so God is speaking about that future time to come when Babylon will be completely empty. And even today, it is not inhabited. You know, you can find the city of Babylon. You can find the ruins of Babylon, the great city. And it's actually listed as a world heritage site, but no one lives there. You know, Saddam Hussein attempted to rebuild it when he was in power in Iraq. He attempted to rebuild it. I kind of think, you know, if God says this city is going to be desolate forever and you attempt to rebuild it, you're obviously going to fail. Maybe this is why Saddam Hussein was... I don't know. I don't know what happened. Maybe there are conspiracy stories, different things that happened to him. I don't know. But, you know, eventually he was taken down. Eventually he was destroyed. And I kind of think, man, you set yourself up because you tried to rebuild Babylon. After God said, you know, it's going to be desolate. And, you know, it's quite interesting. Saddam Hussein considered himself a reincarnated Nebuchadnezzar. You know, he thought, I'm just Nebuchadnezzar. We're going to rebuild the city of Babylon and we're going to rule from there. And, of course, you know, God's word comes true. You know, you can't fix God's word. You can't change God's word. You know, it's going to be true. That land is desolate. Verse number 14. Put yourselves in a ray against Babylon round about. All ye that bend the bow, shoot at her. Spare no arrows, for she have sinned against the Lord. Shout against her round about. She have given her hand. Her foundations are fallen. Her walls are thrown down. It is for the vengeance of the Lord. Take vengeance upon her, as she have done. Do unto her. Notice that. God is telling the Medo-Persian Empire, take vengeance against Babylon. He says, this is the vengeance of God. This is the vengeance of the Lord. And so we see how, you know, once again God uses powers. God uses nations. And, look, don't worry. The Medo-Persian Empire, they're going to be judged by God later on. I mean, this is just, you know, for me, I don't know about you, but for me it just gives me a lot of peace. Okay? You see the wickedness grow. You see these wicked nations. You see wicked powers. And I just got to wrestle with God. You're either using them at the time being to judge other wicked people, but eventually you're going to take care of them as well. Okay? And it just gives you peace. I don't know about you, brethren. I don't worry that much about things. Okay? About this world. I get frustrated. Okay? I can get angry sometimes at politicians. But I need to remind myself and just be at peace and say, well, no, God, you're in control. You're allowing this for your purpose. You know, God's people, without being in the house of God and soul winning, you see this. You see your heritage being destroyed by these wicked people. And I know when the time comes it's going to take care of them. Verse number 16 says, Cut off the sower from Babylon and him that handel of the sickle in the time of harvest for fear of the oppressing sword, they shall turn everyone to his people and they shall flee everyone to his own land. And so the farmers of the land when they see, or the hired servants when they see, you know, this new power conquering Babylon, they're going to flee into their own lands. Verse number 17, Israel is a scattered sheep. Isn't that how we feel right now? Scattered sheep? The lions have driven him away. First, the king of Assyria have devoured him and last, this Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, have broken his bones. And so, just to bring to your remembrance, the northern kingdom of Israel, the ten tribes, they were taken over, they were conquered by Assyria. And the Bible is saying it's like a lion came through and just ate its flesh. And of course, I guess the picture you get there is, well, you know, the lions devoured the flesh, the meat, and you just got bones left of Israel. Well, those bones, basically, when it comes to the southern kingdom, as it were, it says, at this last Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon, have broken his bones. Like, there's nothing left. Like, if you get devoured by a lion, at least there's some bones left, okay? But for this period of time when Babylon have come in, for the southern kingdom, the two tribes in the south, Nebuchadnezzar has been, like, just crushing those bones. There's nothing left of Israel. There is no Israel during this 70-year captivity period that is coming. And so, that's why God says Israel is like a scattered sheep. It has no form. What about the church being one body? You know, literally, the body of Christ is the church, okay? And we're to function and do the works of God, but when the body is scattered, you know, then we can't do the works of God. It's like the flesh has been devoured and the bones have been broken and we, you know, we can't have that one body church that we would really desire. But look at verse 18. Look how God responds. Therefore, so because the northern kingdom have done this, because the southern king, sorry, the Assyrians have done this to the northern kingdom, because the Babylonians have done this to the southern kingdom, therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I have punished the king of Assyria. Notice, once again, he said, but God, didn't you want the Babylonians to take him into captivity? Didn't you allow the Assyrians to come and take over the northern kingdom? Yes. And because they've done that, because they've been cruel to God's people, God says, now I'm going to punish Babylon the way I've punished the Assyrians. So God is just in control of these things. You know, sometimes that phrase, you know, God is sovereign, it's so true, he is sovereign. He reigns above all things, you know. He's the king of kings, he's the Lord of lords. You know, these wicked nations, it's just like pawns for him on a chess board. You know, it's like if you're playing chess, sometimes you're willing to sacrifice a pawn, right, to get your plan forward, but, you know, you don't mind sacrificing it for the greater purpose. Well, God's there using the pawns, okay, and yes, our politician, Scott Morrison, you know, our premier, what's her name again, sorry guys? Beef Jerklin. What was that? Beef Jerklin. Beef Jerklin, okay. They're just pawns in God's process, okay. God's using them for his purpose right now, but if he has to sacrifice the pawn, he's going to do it, okay, for the greater accomplishment. And he does it because God's people are being persecuted. God's people are being stopped from serving him in the capacity that we would want. It's amazing how God operates. Look at verse 19. And so once God's period of judgment is accomplished, his people will once again be satisfied to go back into the service of the Lord, be satisfied upon Mount Ephraim and Gilead. Brethren, that's going to happen to us one day. Don't worry about it. You know, once God's judgment is over and we're able to get back into the house of God, we are going to be satisfied once again, okay. We're going to be brought back into the land, satisfied now. I don't know. You know, after we're satisfied for a period of time, again, the lockdowns might come back, the restrictions might come back, but once again, just rest knowing that God has controlled these things. He's Caesar, okay. He's protecting his people. Verse number 20. And so we know the punishment, the complete time of the punishment was 70 years. God says at the end of 70 years, the sins of Israel and Judah, they're going to be forgiven, okay. So that new generation can come back and serve the Lord. So there is an appointed time for the captivity and again, with these COVID restrictions, these COVID lockdowns, there's an appointed time as well. God knows when these restrictions are going to be lifted. Verse number 21. So why is Babylon being judged? Well, of course, because of the way they treated God's people, number one, but number two, because they've striven or they fought against the Lord. You know, all that strive against the Lord are going to fall into his trap. All that fight against the Lord are going to fall in his trap, okay. All the politicians that are fighting God's people from being in God's house in church to worship him, they're going to fall in God's trap, okay. So our nation, our laws, they're striving against God's laws. And if they're striving against God's laws and against God's word, they're striving against the Lord, okay. And the Bible says that he has magnified his word above his name, okay. God's word is important when our nation turns against the word of God. We can be sure that God's going to allow it to fall into a trap. I feel like our nation's in a trap. I don't know about you, that's what I feel. Verse number 25. The Lord have opened his armoury. You get that picture there, right? God just walks into a place, his armoury, okay. We know that Babylon has been known as the sword of the Lord, okay. Well now it's time for Babylon to be judged. What else does he have in his armoury? The Lord have opened his armoury and have brought forth the weapons of his indignation for this is the work of the Lord God of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans. Remember that. This is the work of the Lord God of hosts in the land of Chaldeans. All these COVID restrictions, all these lockdowns, it's the work of the Lord. It's the work of the Lord, brethren. God allows it for his purposes. Please remember this. Please remember, okay. And say, you know, Lord, if you need to go to your armoury and get more weapons to judge Australia, so be it, okay. You're done with your sword of Babylon, bring in some other weapons, Lord, if you have to. The order says here the weapons of his indignation. What's indignation? It means anger, wrath, okay. Severe anger, all right. God, if you're angry at Australia, go and get, yeah, go to your armoury, God. Bring out the weapons. Please take down this wicked nation that the people's hearts would fear once again and, you know, run towards you, Lord, to seek your face, that you can use your people as an amazing instrument to win the hearts and souls of people back to you. Verse number 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. Slay all her bullocks, let them go down to the slaughter. Woe unto them, for their days come the time of their visitation. The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance of his temple. Notice once again, it's the vengeance of God, the vengeance of his temple. Now we're going to look at Jeremiah 52 in a couple of weeks. But just as a reminder, you already know this, when Babylon came, yes, with the hand of God, the judgment of God, you may recall that they burnt down the temple of God. And in the Old Testament, the temple of God was known as the house of God. The house of God in the New Testament is the local church. Now again, God allowed the house of God, God allowed the temple to be destroyed. You understand? But now when God brings his vengeance, his judgment, his vengeance against Babylon, his vengeance is for the vengeance of his temple. He says, because you burnt down the temple, because you stopped the house of God, I'm going to seek vengeance against Babylon. Brethren, once again, the house of God in the New Testament is the church, okay? Now we've got these lockdowns, we've got these restrictions, yeah, in a way, spiritually or literally, they've burnt down the house of God. We can't meet once again in the house of God. And I say, listen, brethren, just be calm, relax, okay? Be calm, relax. Let's just serve God in whatever capacity we can for the time being, because one day God's going to step in and he's going to have vengeance for those that stopped God's house from meeting him. God's going to stop, God's going to have vengeance on these wicked politicians. Listen, for stopping, bless it up Baptist Church, for stopping every good church in Australia, every good church across this world that has been serving God faithfully, that has been stopped, that has been prohibited, that has been burnt down from serving God, God's going to take vengeance on these wicked politicians. But it's not for us to take vengeance. Okay? We can get mad, but then when you get mad you go to God and you leave it in God's hands. The Bible says in Romans 12, 19, The Lord's going to repay it all. Don't worry about it. Okay? Don't worry. I should be the one that is worried the most because I'm the pastor. Okay? You know, church is my main occupation. Okay? It's my main job. If anyone should be angry at church being closed, it's me. And I am angry sometimes, but I can't take it upon myself. It's not my vengeance. It's not my revenge. You leave it in God's hands. Give place unto wrath. Vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord. Rest in that promise of God. He's going to take vengeance for his temple. He's going to take vengeance for his house. Verse number 29, All ye that bend the bow, camp against the roundabout. Let none thereof escape. Recompent 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. And so this is the worst part of Babylon. Once again, God set his throne in Babylon. God gave power to Babylon. Okay? God saw Nebuchadreza or Nebuchadnezzar as his servant. Even Nebuchadnezzar as his servant of God. Babylon knows that God is allowing them, especially to judge Judah, to take over Jerusalem. They know this stuff. Okay? They've been hearing the preaching of Jeremiah. Everyone knows that now at this point, Jeremiah was right. God has given Babylon the power. Babylon is the sword of the Lord. Okay? But look, instead of Babylon turning around and saying, Praise God. Praise the God of the Jews, the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, the God of Jeremiah. God has made us powerful. Instead of that, what have they done? They've become proud. For she has been proud against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel. And so we see this play out later on in the story of Nebuchadnezzar where God's given him his kingdom. God's given him victory. And then Nebuchadnezzar turns around and boasts of himself and then God, of course, messes with his mind. But we won't look at that top story today. Anyway, eventually Nebuchadnezzar does get saved. Praise God. Okay? The reason this power is being taken down and destroyed is because they've become proud against the Lord. Okay? Instead of thanking the Lord for their victories, for their blessings, they've become proud. Verse number 30. Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets. So the young men, of course, the military might, they're going to die. And all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord. Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud. Sayeth the Lord, God of hosts, for thy days come, the time that I will visit thee, and the most proud. There it is again. You can see it very clearly. It's the pride of Babylon. They've turned against, they should turn to God. They should recognize him as the one that's given them victory and power. Now they've become proud. And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up. And I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about them. Now, brethren, the lesson we should take out of this is in whatever success you've had in life, you know, whether it's in your marriage or it's your workplace or your service for God, you know, let's say you're a great soulwinner. Let's say that you win more souls than the average person. Listen, brethren, do not become proud. Don't be proud of your successes, okay? Don't remember that whatever your blessings are, whatever you've achieved, whatever you've done financially in this world and you've done well for yourself in whatever capacity, please remember, don't become like Babylon. Don't become like Nebuchadrezzar, okay? Say, thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord, for blessing me. Thank you, Lord, for giving me the strength. Thank you, Lord, for giving me the ability to accomplish what I've been able to accomplish in my life. If you don't have that approach, you are going to become proud. You're going to think, well, look what I've done. I'm such a great person. I'm such a great man. I'm so smart. I'm so strong. I'm so powerful. And that's when you're going to be cut down. That's when the Lord's going to step in and pull you down and pull you from your heights because you've not given him thanks. You know, if you've been able to accomplish anything in your life, brethren, you know what? Even if it's just salvation, make sure you remember to thank God. Thank God for his blessings, for everything you've done. Don't become like Babylon. The Bible also says in 1 John 2 verse 16, For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. You see, proud. Pride. Being proud is not from God. Okay? It's from the world. The world wants people to be proud of themselves, but no, God wants the love of the Father in us that we would be thankful toward him. Verse number 33, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together, and all that took them captives held them fast. They refused to let them go. Look at verse number 34, Their Redeemer is strong. The Lord of hosts is his name. He shall freely plead their cause that he may give rest to the land and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon. So, brethren, I want you to remember this. You know, we feel oppressed right now. We feel, you know, I can't even leave my LGA. You know, some of you are feeling oppressed. We're pressured. You've got to take the vaccine in order to just work and make a living. You know, we've all gone through different levels of oppression during this time. You know, as it were, we may feel like we're captives. So, a lot of people feel that way, right? Just stuck at home, not being able to see people that they love. But verse number 34, just remind yourself, meditate on this passage. Their Redeemer is strong. You know, our Redeemer, our God, the Lord of hosts is his name. That's our Lord as well. He's our Redeemer. He's strong. What does it say in verse number 34? He shall freely plead their cause. See, God is pleading our cause right now. Our cause for freedom, our desires. Listen, going and marching on the streets and protesting, I know people think that's pleading my cause. The best way to have your cause heard is to just bow your head, bow your knees, go to God and say, God, I feel oppressed in Australia. I feel oppressed in Sydney. I can't be in church. I miss my family. I miss my loved ones. I want to go to work, Lord. I need to pay my bills, Lord. I want to be in the house of God. I want to be soul winning and let God plead your cause. Here's our Redeemer. Here's our Redeemer. He's strong. He's mighty. He can change things when he desires, when he accomplishes his will. He can keep us sane. He can keep us established. He can keep us happy during these times of frustrations. Don't forget Philippians 4.13 says, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. You know what? We should be strong in these days, not weak, not upset, not angry. I guess when men aren't able to get out to work and mothers aren't able to do their tasks, we can all become frustrated. The household can become a little bit loud and difficult sometimes, being stuck in a place where we can't just have our freedoms. Just remember it's Christ that strengthens us. Even in oppression, even in captivity, even in lockdowns, even in restrictions, we should be strong. As God's people, we should be the strongest people mentally, strong spiritually, knowing that God is pleading our cause, knowing that our Redeemer is strong. Okay? When the timing of God is right, we're going to be let go. We're going to be able to worship God in the house of God wherever we go. So are we. And I pray to God that we're going to be stronger than ever before. I hope that these frustrations that we go through are just going to make Blessed Up Baptist Church even stronger, even more passionate. Okay? Even more desirous to see the kingdom of God grow in Sydney. Look at verse number 35. A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the Lord, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men. A sword is upon the liars, and they shall dote. Don't we have a lot of liars in our government today? Okay? A sword is upon the liars, and they shall dote. A sword is upon her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed. Don't we see the mighty police force stopping people from even travelling to the city, right? Listen. There's going to be a sword upon these people, these powers, okay? They shall be dismayed. Verse number 37. A sword is upon their horses and upon their chariots. You know, I never would have thought I'd see the days here in Fairfield seeing police on their horses, okay? Making sure that people are wearing their masks. Their masks? Not stopping people from committing murder. Not stopping people from committing theft, okay? No. Wearing a mask. Police on horses here in Fairfield, okay? And then you walk the streets of Fairfield. What do you see on the streets? Horse dung on the streets, you know? Never thought I'd see the day. A sword is upon their horses and upon their chariots. And upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her. And they, look at this, and they shall become as women. A sword is upon her treasures and they shall be robbed. Now, it's not saying that to be a woman is a bad thing, okay? It's not saying that, okay? What are we talking about here? We're talking about the military might of Babylon, okay? The men that are supposed to be the soldiers, the powerhouse of Babylon, they shall become as women, okay? This is why people sometimes, if you can't defend yourself or fight, they'll say, oh, you fight like a woman, okay? Why are you saying that? Is it saying because women are bad or something? No, of course not. I'm sure there are many women that are actually, you know, more than capable of defending themselves, okay? But of course, when we look at the comparison between a man and a woman, a man is just commonplace physically stronger. That's all, okay? And of course, you want your soldiers to be men, to be manly. And I kind of thought about this, you know. It's kind of like to say that, you know, your army is like women or your men are like women, you know. You know, that's, you know, this is not being praised, right? You know, the army of Babylon is being kind of mocked at here, that it's made up of women. Well, I had a look today to look at, you know, how many females are in the army of Australia and 15%. 15% of Australia's army is female. So literally, they should become as women, right? 15% of our army. It's amazing, right? It's amazing. You say, why is that weird? Because, you know, in the Bible, there's basically two main criteria in order for you to be a soldier in the military. Number one, you've got to be a man. That's number one. You've got to be a man. And number two, you've got to be over the age of 20, 20 plus, okay? There were other things, but, you know, those are the two main things that allowed you to join the army. And, you know, I mean, if you're going to have a military force of ladies and a military force of men, who's going to win? I'm not saying that, look, it's not the women's place to fight like that. That's what I'm saying, okay? And I'm sure most women, most women with just common sense, if there's a war, they would much rather their men go and fight the war, and they stay and support the families and support the nation while the men are away fighting wars, okay? This is just common sense of the Bible, and yet it's not common sense in our military. 15% women, and they're trying to increase how many women are in the military. You know why this is funny? It's because I just looked up, this was like an article, but it was an image from the Department of Defense, Australia's Department of Defense, and this came out in 2020. And this article is comparing the differences between male soldiers and female soldiers. So let me just give you some things that I read there. Number one, the head. It says, female skulls are smaller and not as thick. Don't you think that's going to matter if we get into hand-to-hand or fist combat? Don't you think a man's going to fare better than a woman? Body, there's a lower ratio of muscle in the body. I mean, I've got Les here. Les is an expert in fitness and health. I mean, you can tell me later on if these things are true, brother. It says arms and legs. For the ladies, they're shorter and smaller bones. And this is what they write. A mechanical disadvantage. A mechanical disadvantage. Temperature, body temperature. They can lose heat quicker and at lower outside temperatures. So if you're in the middle of war and you haven't got all the luxuries and able to keep yourself warm, men are going to fare better in these harsher environments. And so, I mean, it's so strange. Like, if we understand this, if the army understands, the Department of Defense understands, you know, it's not good to have women fighting... Why are they seeking to have more women? Well, maybe, literally, maybe our powers are becoming... Like, look at our politicians. How many of them are women? Look at our chief health officers. How many of them are women? Okay. Maybe our nation is becoming like women. Okay, women being removed from their proper place. Men don't have the courage or strength to do the right job and other ladies are stepping in, taking control. Well, you know what's going to cause our nation to fall. And again, I don't mean anything negative to women, you know. My wife is a woman. My three daughters are women. My mum's a woman. I love these ladies, okay. I love the ladies and I love the ladies of our church, okay. But there's a proper role in place for women and it's not in the military, okay. Let's keep going. Verse number 38. It says that drought is upon her waters and they shall be dried up. For it is the land of graven images and they are mad upon their idols. I was doing a bit of reading about this and I don't know if this is accurate. I was trying to get more evidence of this but I read somewhere that, so there's a drought here. So, in order for the Medo-Persians to actually come into the city of Babylon, that there was a drought apparently at that time and the River Euphrates was dried up. Well, not completely dried up but much lower and so it allowed the armies to basically cross the place and basically take over, conquer the city. Again, you can do your own investigation, do your own research there but that is one article that I read. Anyway, verse number 39. Therefore, the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there and the owls shall dwell therein and shall be no more inhabited forever neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. This just says no more inhabited forever. So, the old ancient city of Babylon will not be brought back. You know, when we read the book of Revelation and it says Mystery Babylon, Babylon the Great, that's not the same Babylon city as we read here. It's the spirit of Babylon. It's a city that's known as Babylon, okay, but it's not the actual same city because it says here it will be inhabited, it will no more be inhabited forever. Verse number 40. As God owed through 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. 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. And once again, there was many nations, many people, great nation, many kings, sorry, the Medo-Persian Empire, again a coalition force and they've had other nations, other people also helping them to take over Babylon. Verse number 42. And they shall hold the bow and the lance, they are cruel and they will not show mercy, their voice shall roar like the sea and they shall ride upon horses, everyone put in array, like a man to the battle against thee, O daughter of Babylon. The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them and his hands waxed feeble, anguish took hold of him and pangs as of a woman in travail. So the king of Babylon is, as we said, Belshazzar at this time. Now again, this is prophetic, this hasn't taken place. Jeremiah's still preaching about what's coming ahead, this is still going to take place much later and what I really like about the book of Jeremiah, it gives us so much description, like it gives us so much information about how Babylon's going to be overtaken by the Medo-Persian Empire, by King Darius. Now if you can, please keep your finger there and please go to Daniel chapter 5. Go to Daniel chapter 5 and verse number 30. Daniel chapter 5. We're going to actually fast forward to Daniel's time when this actually took place. And I just find the Bible interesting, like you really need to read the whole Bible cover to cover. Because when you read Daniel chapter 5, when it actually takes place, you would think you would have most of the writing about this Babylon being conquered, you think you'd have most about it during the time it takes place. But when you look at Daniel chapter 5, look at verse number 30. It says, In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldean slain, and Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about free score and two years old. And that's it. So when we actually have the events that take place at the right time, you have these two verses, the king of Babylon was slain, and Darius comes in and he takes over. That's it. This is why it's so important that we read books like Jeremiah. We read these other prophetic books because we get a lot of the detail actually what took place. It looks like this very simple takeover, but when you read Jeremiah, I know it's very complex. There's a lot of kings that are actually involved in the taking over of the Babylonian empire. All right, back to Jeremiah 50, verse number 44. Jeremiah 50, verse number 44 says, Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swollen of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong. But I will make them suddenly run away from her. And who is a chosen man that I may appoint over her? And who is like me? And who will appoint me the time? And who is that shepherd that will stand before me? Now, verse number 44 should sound very similar to something that we covered last week. So can you please go to Jeremiah 49 just quickly? Go to Jeremiah 49, verse number 19. Jeremiah 49, verse number 19. So this is God speaking about the Medes, conquering Babylon. And then when we look at Jeremiah 49, we have Babylon conquering Edom. Look at verse number 19, Jeremiah 49, 19. Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swollen of Jordan against the habitation of the strong. But I will suddenly make him run away from her. And who is a chosen man that I may appoint over her? And who is like me? And who will appoint me the time? And who is that shepherd that will stand before me? So when you go back to Jeremiah 50, verse number 44, it's basically the same thing. But this time, now God's referring to the Medes, Medo-Persian Empire, taking over Babylon here. So again, what did we learn here? What is God saying? He says, when I transfer power from Edom to Babylon, and when I transfer power from Babylon to the Medes, God's asking the question. Who is a chosen man that I may appoint over her? And who is like me? And who will appoint me the time? And who is that shepherd that will stand before me? So God's asking the question, when he allows powers to be taken over, which person am I going to allow to be put in place? Who's going to govern this land? Who's going to be in charge? And we know, in history, that was, of course, Darius. Darius would come and he would be the king over this new Babylon, this new empire, the Medo-Persian Empire. That's important for us to just remember once again. But let's keep going, verse number 45. Therefore, he the counsel of the Lord, and he hath taken against Babylon, and his purposes, that he hath purpose against the land of the Chaldeans, surely the least of the flock shall draw them out, surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them, at the noise of the taking of Babylon, the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations. Alright, so in conclusion, let's go to the book of Daniel once again. Let's go to Daniel, Daniel chapter 2. Daniel chapter 2, verse number 20. Just a reminder, we've already looked at this passage before, when we looked at other chapters in Jeremiah. But again, God asks the question. He allows one power to take over another power. Then says, who am I going to put in place? Okay. Daniel chapter 2, verse 20. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are his, and he changeth the times and the seasons, he removeth kings and seteth up kings, wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding. What do we learn there, brethren? When, again, we already know this, but we need to bring this to our life. We need to not just know what God's word says, we need to be doers of God's word, we need to meditate on God's word and allow God's word to give us comfort. Okay? So yes, God allows Nebuchadnezzar to take over Judah, to take the Jews into captivity, to burn down the temple, to burn down the city. God allows it. God said Nebuchadnezzar to do that. And you know what? When God allowed the Medo-Persian empire to come in, God's allowing them to do that. God's bringing them, God's asking questions, we're all put in power. Okay, Darius. Darius is the guy I'm going to put in power now. Here's the one that I'm going to allow to do my will right now to bring in the judgment of God. And, brethren, once again, our wicked politicians. Now, I'm not here to say, I know for sure this man was appointed by God. I'm not saying that. Can God set up kings? Of course. Can God take down kings? Of course. Does God set up every politician, every king, every prime minister, every president? No. But He does it sometimes. Okay? But here's the thing. We don't know. Okay? When we look at our politicians today, you know what? I'm just going to rest in saying, either you, Lord, you've put them in place, you've set them up for your purposes, okay? If not, well, Lord, you're still allowing them to carry out your judgment one way or another, and we need to just rest in that. We get our chance at the polling booths to cast your vote. Now, whether that makes any impact or not, whether you do it or not, I don't know. I don't care. I don't know how much of that actually has any effect on our choice of politicians, but to be honest with you, when you get the choice, they're all the same anyway. They're all doing the same thing anyway. They're all in the pocket of the pharmaceutical companies. They're all in the pocket of the powers that be. They're in the pocket of Mystery Babylon, spiritual Babylon. But I want you to just remember, don't be afraid. Don't be fearful in these times, okay? There's great wickedness, great wickedness, but God is the one that is able to set up kings, to take them down. He decides who he puts in power when he wants for his purposes, and I do believe, once again, that our nation is being judged. At least our city. At least our city of Sydney is being judged. Melbourne's pretty bad as well. They're being judged as well, okay? And we just be at peace, brethren. Be at peace. Bring your prayers before God. Ask God to take his vengeance in due time. Ask him to take vengeance for the house of God that we've not been able to meet, okay? And leave it in his hands and be at peace. Okay, let's pray.