The Lamb Will Conquer: Finding Hope in a World of Seduction and Power

[00:12:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:12:57] Jesus Christ. The same yesterday, today, and forever. And we welcome all of you as we gather together to worship his name. We're thankful that you are here. We welcome you who visit with us especially, and also our church family and those who may be visiting with us online.
[00:13:21] I have just a couple of announcements. There will be a meeting, an interest meeting, about the ESL ministry, the English Second Language ministry that we've had in the past.
[00:13:33] We're trying to revitalize the interest meeting right after the AM worship, the room right off the kitchen.
[00:13:40] So if you don't know where that is, one of our people will be able to point you that way.
[00:13:46] Vision Youth tonight, after the evening worship service.
[00:13:51] Also, Pastor Bird asked me to announce that they're going to start a new members class on the first Sunday in March, which would be March 1, obviously, and two weeks.
[00:14:07] So if you're interested in that or you have some questions, Pastor Bird will be standing at the back door, and you can stop and ask him, and he'll have answers for you.
[00:14:20] Pledge cards.
[00:14:24] These little cards, they've been out there on the vestibule table.
[00:14:30] These are designed for our membership.
[00:14:33] They're not designed for you folks who visit, but we'd like to have your money too.
[00:14:40] Well, it's kind of like this.
[00:14:41] You know, when you come in and you see it's crowded and there's no place to sit.
[00:14:44] I mean, if you help put some money in, we can extend this thing.
[00:14:49] You'll have a chair.
[00:14:50] You'll have a row to sit on.
[00:14:51] You can kind of look at it like buying your own space.
[00:14:54] If you would like to contribute to our building fund, which we would appreciate very much, just write on your check in the memo line or when you give online to the building fund.
[00:15:07] The pledges for our membership, if you do not have one, they're out on the table.
[00:15:13] Or you can email Ken, our esteemed treasurer, and give him the information.
[00:15:23] I also sent one out in a PDF form that you can print and fill out on the email I sent last week.
[00:15:30] We would like to get all of those in today, and then we'll follow up and see where we are on our initial fundraising campaign, which is $450,000 that we want to raise to add with what we already have to give us a good beginning amount of money.
[00:15:49] and as our goal is, and as I've stated before, and we would like for you, those of you who visit with us to know this as well, our goal is to be debt-free, is to build this and expand this
[00:16:05] sanctuary without debt. That's our goal and we're going to work toward that. So we pray that the Lord will help us. Let's take just a few minutes, well not minutes, maybe 30-40 seconds. Let's bow
[00:16:22] our heads, pray, prepare our hearts, and then I'll come and read a call to worship. So let's just silently meditate before God for a few minutes about what we're about to do. Psalm 61 verse 1
[00:17:15] through four. Hear my cry, O God. Listen to my prayer. From the end of the earth, I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge,
[00:17:32] a strong tower against the enemy. Let me dwell in your tent forever. Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings. Saving religion is intentionally personal. My prayer, help me hear my prayer, oh God. But it's also very much a corporate aspect as well. The desire of the
[00:17:59] psalmist was that he would dwell in his tent forever, a tent referring to the tabernacle, a place where old covenant people would gather, and that he would be a part of that, and he would
[00:18:11] find refuge there and that's what we've done. We've all gathered together our intensely personal relationship with God. We come as a corporate people of God to dwell together with a deep hope and prayer that he would visit with us. Let's pray for his help briefly. Father you are a tower of
[00:18:33] strength to us. You are a refuge in time of trouble. You are our rejoicing and time of gladness and we just pray that you would visit us today and that you would draw near to us
[00:18:47] and we might know your presence.
[00:18:49] In Jesus' name, amen.
[00:18:53] All right, brethren, what we're going to do is we're going to sing two hymns, which we do sometimes.
[00:18:57] We're going to stand and sing hymn number 582, My Hope is Built on Nothing Less than Jesus' Blood and Righteousness.
[00:19:06] And then you'll remain standing and we'll transition to Yet Not I,

[00:19:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:19:10] but through Christ in me. So as the music begins let's stand and sing. You're turning your Bibles

[00:27:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:27:39] to the Gospel of John. We're going to read part of John's Gospel in chapter 12. You can find that on page 899 in the Bibles that are in front of you in the seats. Not long after our Lord raised
[00:28:04] up Lazarus from the dead. He's back in Bethany. And then he makes the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, fulfilling the word of God and the prophecies. And the people were glad to see him. Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the king of
[00:28:25] Israel. But not long after that, and that's the section that we're going to read, our Lord begins to speak of his sacrificial death upon the cross. We're going to start our reading in verse 27. John chapter 12 verse 27. Now is my soul troubled and what shall I say? Father save
[00:28:57] me from this hour but for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father glorify your name.
[00:29:04] then a voice came from heaven I have glorified it and I will glorify it again the crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered others said an angel has spoken to him
[00:29:17] Jesus answered this voice has come for your sake not mine now is the judgment of this world now will the ruler of this world be cast out and I when I am lifted up from the earth will draw all
[00:29:32] people to myself. He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. So the crowd answered him, we have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the
[00:29:46] son of man must be lifted up? Who is this son of man? So Jesus said to them, the light is among you for a little while. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in
[00:30:03] the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light that you may become sons of light. When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself
[00:30:18] from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him.
[00:30:24] So that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled, Lord, who has believed what he heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not
[00:30:38] believe. For again, Isaiah said, he has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them. Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. Nevertheless, many, even of the
[00:30:58] authorities believed in him but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it so that they would not be put out of the synagogue for they love the glory that comes from man more than the
[00:31:11] glory that comes from God and Jesus cried out and said whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me, sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as
[00:31:31] light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the
[00:31:44] world. The one who rejects me, does not receive my words, has a judge. The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken in my own authority, but the Father who
[00:31:58] sent me has himself given me a commandment, what to say and what to speak. And I know that this commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me. Thus reads the
[00:32:22] inerrant infallible word of the living God well if you would join with me as we come to seek the Lord in prayer our father who art in heaven we come before you to confess that we
[00:32:45] love you and we hallow your glorious name and we thank you that your kingdom has come through Jesus Christ the Lord into this world thank you for your sovereign power thank you for your glory thank you for your inestimable love and sending your son to rescue sinners
[00:33:07] Lord we're astounded at this passage that we read how many one time were singing the Lord's praises the next time seeking his blood reminds us of the desperate nature of the blindness of sin but we thank you God that you have spoken through Jesus Christ and if we look upon him in the word
[00:33:30] we've looked upon you for he is God incarnate and he has expressed your image as well as your word to us and we bless you and thank you for that truth and father we pray that even as your people
[00:33:47] there are times that we don't believe as we ought and we're struck with that remaining corruption of unbelief please forgive us of such and grant us grace and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Come among us today and waken some, we pray, Lord, that they might see you. Those that
[00:34:06] are sitting here might come to believe upon you, and that they would come to you and take their yoke upon you, and that they would love you, the unseen Christ. For unless you do something, O God,
[00:34:20] they will remain in darkness and unbelief. So we pray for converting mercies today that we might know some today would come to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith and you would be glorified in it. Thank you for your grace to your people. Thank you as a church how you have kept us and
[00:34:38] preserved us. We thank you, oh God, that it is all by your grace that we're able to make it to to the end. Strengthen us and help us. Father, we come to you with needs that we have.
[00:34:53] we lay before you our building project as we have mentioned before service that you would help us raise the funds to expand our capacity Lord not to be proud of it in an ungodly way
[00:35:07] but to be thankful for it in a way that we might be able to minister to this community in a more complete way and minister to a broader section of this little corner of the world
[00:35:20] that you've placed us in And help us, O God, and grant us grace in the people that would be interested in joining in the ESL ministry, that you would lay it upon their heart, that they would come and hear, and that we might revive that work.
[00:35:35] Pray for the worthy ministry, O God.
[00:35:36] We pray that this ministry to young women with unplanned pregnancy would be blessed of you and that you would bring some to us that we might minister to them in the name of the Lord Jesus.
[00:35:48] We pray today, Lord, as our brother Nathaniel Johnston will go and minister the word at the Compass Retirement Home, Nursing Home, that those people, Lord, in their latter years might come to see Jesus Christ.
[00:36:05] Pray you'd bless that.
[00:36:07] Many personal needs among us, Lord.
[00:36:09] You know we have a number of people who continue to battle with health issues.
[00:36:13] We continue to remember our dear sister, Ati.
[00:36:15] pray that your hand would be upon her as she battles cancer and that you would bless Bert and strengthen him we think of our brother Paul White his ongoing pain and discomfort from his back issues we pray that you would
[00:36:28] give him relief in due time pray as well for Fran that you would bless her and keep her and help her oh God as she continues to deal with her cancer thank you for bringing Andrew through his surgery on
[00:36:44] monday and thank you that is healing well thank you for your kindness pray for patrick burley and brian horton and inga davis all three of these dear brethren who continue to wrestle with illness that doesn't seem to leave bless them draw near to them and keep them we pray
[00:37:04] and father we come to hear the preaching of the word because we would like for you to speak to us and that you would speak to our hearts as well as our minds and they would have an effect upon us as we leave this place.
[00:37:20] So we just pray that you would anoint Pastor Jones as he would preach this morning.
[00:37:25] You would anoint Pastor Allen as he would preach this evening and that you would help us as a people of God to grow today from having sat under the word of God preached.
[00:37:37] Draw near to us and help us.
[00:37:39] To that end we pray in Jesus' name.
[00:37:42] amen there is a higher throne it's what we're going to sing next we'll remain seated as we worship god and the giving of our offerings and then after that has finished uh the music will

[00:38:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:38:00] begin and we will rise up together and sing your will be done opening our bibles to revelation

[00:46:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:46:38] chapter 17, Revelation 17, 1 to 18, the end of the chapter. You can find that on page 1037, I believe, of the Pew Bibles. Revelation 17, verse 1, hear the word of the Lord. Then
[00:47:14] one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the
[00:47:27] earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wind of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk. And he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten
[00:47:49] horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery, Babylon the Great, mother of
[00:48:13] prostitutes and of earth's abominations. And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I marveled greatly. But the angel said to me, why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery
[00:48:36] of the woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. The beast that you saw was and is not and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction
[00:48:49] and the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast because it was and is not and is to come
[00:49:02] this calls for a mind with wisdom the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated They are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen.
[00:49:15] One is, the other has not yet come.
[00:49:19] And when he does come, he must remain only a little while.
[00:49:24] As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth, but it belongs to the seven.
[00:49:37] And it goes to destruction.
[00:49:38] And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour together with the beasts.
[00:49:52] These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beasts.
[00:49:59] They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and king of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.
[00:50:13] And the angel said to me, the waters that you saw where the prostitute is seated are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.
[00:50:24] And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute.
[00:50:30] They will make her desolate and naked and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire.
[00:50:37] For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled.
[00:50:49] The woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.

[00:50:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:50:57] Let's ask the Lord's help.

[00:51:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:51:00] Lord Jesus, it's a glorious, heart-stirring comfort to know that your sheep hear your voice and follow you.
[00:51:15] You give to them eternal life and they shall never perish.
[00:51:19] So I pray now that, Lord, in the time you give us in your word here in Revelation 17, that the voice of the Good Shepherd will ring out with power and life-giving effect on our hearts.
[00:51:33] I pray that you would grant us clarity I pray that you would move savingly I pray that you would move edifyingly on each of our hearts and open our eyes to behold the wonder of the Lamb of God
[00:51:46] the Lord of Lords the King of Kings in his name we pray Amen as a church we had been studying the book of Revelation since April of last year and we took a break from that study
[00:52:03] at the beginning of December And I'm thankful to the Lord that by his kindness we returned this morning to pick up from where we left off.
[00:52:14] So far in the book of Revelation, we have seen Jesus and the letters to the seven churches.
[00:52:20] Chapters 1 to 3.
[00:52:24] We have seen the throne and the judgments.
[00:52:28] Chapters 4 to 16.
[00:52:30] And this morning, we come to the section that covers the harlot, the great prostitute, the king, and the bride.
[00:52:39] That's chapter 17 to the end of the book.
[00:52:44] So we are, in some ways, in the last segment of the book that focuses on three main realities.
[00:52:51] The great prostitute, the king, and the bride.
[00:52:55] And as we pick up this morning in chapter 17, I want to remind us of a scheme by which the devil works often because we see those represented for us in this chapter.
[00:53:11] The devil generally, Satan generally, uses one of two strategies to attack believers and the church.
[00:53:20] and those strategies can look a billion different ways in different scenarios and different situations but it's fundamentally two strategies that he uses the forms, the sizes, the intensities, the extent can vary from person to person
[00:53:39] and place to place and culture to culture and church to church but fundamentally you're dealing with one of two strategies The devil will generally either come to you with guile and deception and seduction, on the one hand, or he will come with open hostility, overt opposition to commitment to Jesus Christ.
[00:54:05] And sometimes he uses a combination of both, a combination of deception and open opposition.
[00:54:11] We saw that, if you remember, back in chapter 2, in the way he attacked the church in Pergamum and led to the execution of Antipas, a martyr of Jesus Christ.
[00:54:23] And then he engineered a false teacher there at the church in Pergamum.
[00:54:29] So the devil will either come to you as a roaring lion seeking to devour you or he will come as an angel of light seeking to delude you and beguile you and lead you astray.
[00:54:44] John brings up those two in Revelation 17.
[00:54:48] And his central message to us is in light of the fact that the devil walks in these kinds of ways, we ought to be a people marked by sobriety and watchfulness.
[00:54:59] Be sober and watchful is John's call for us.
[00:55:06] And he shows us the fact that we ought to be sober and watchful through three realities in the chapter.
[00:55:15] So I just want to walk with you through the three realities that I believe John highlights in this chapter.
[00:55:23] He shows us the harlot or the great prostitute, the beast.
[00:55:28] Then he shows us the triumph of the purpose of God.
[00:55:31] The harlot, the beast, and the triumph of the purpose of God.
[00:55:35] So let's look first at the harlot, the great prostitute.
[00:55:40] Notice the way the chapter begins.
[00:55:42] Verse 1 says, Now remember, in the context, history has come to an end.
[00:55:58] At the end of chapter 16, the seventh angel has poured out the seventh bowl judgment and history has come to a close. And then John takes a step back and looks at history again from another
[00:56:12] angle. And we have seen him do this more than once in the book of Revelation. At the end of the seventh seal judgment, history had come to an end. And then John looks at history again from another
[00:56:24] angle and unfold what's happening in the world at the end of the seventh trumpet judgment history had come to an end john steps back again looks at the same period from christ resurrection to his
[00:56:37] second coming from yet another angle the same thing is happening here at the end of the seventh bowl judgment we come to the end of history but then john has more to say so he shift gears
[00:56:49] positions himself at a different angle and looks at reality from that angle again. That's what's happening right here. And from this fresh angle, from where John is looking at history, he tells us that one of the angels who had the seven bowls came and said to him, come and I will show you
[00:57:09] the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters. As you read that, you want to ask, well, who is this prostitute? Who's this great prostitute that John saw? And John gives us some
[00:57:25] details about the prostitute, the harlot, that can help us understand who that stands for, what reality is symbolized by the harlot. In fact, John is not talking about literal sexual immorality even though that is not excluded that's not john's focus he's talking about something more
[00:57:50] pervasive and more insidious and we know that because of the clues that he gives so let's look at some of the clues that john gives us in the passage to help us identify first he says that
[00:58:02] this great prostitute sits on many waters that's what he says in verse one at the end who is seated on many waters now what are the many waters jump to verse 15 of the passage john says and the angel
[00:58:15] said to me the waters that you saw where the prostitute is seated are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages so this prostitute has influence over all the people of the world she is seated on them she has remarkable worldwide influence there is a power in the world
[00:58:40] that holds all people sway they are subjected to it they are deceived by it they are held bound by it that's the first thing to notice again john wants us to see there is more to reality than
[00:58:55] meets the eyes second thing john tells us in verse 18 that this harlot is a city and the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth it's quite remarkable so
[00:59:13] that city this woman this great prostitute has dominion over the kings of the earth and when somebody spoke of the city in John's days, what came to mind was one and only city, the city of
[00:59:29] Rome. And in verse 9, John tells us that that city sits on seven mountains, that harlot sits on seven mountains. Again, no one would have thought of any city other than the city of Rome back then.
[00:59:44] Here's a third detail that John connects for us to help us identify who this harlot is.
[00:59:52] this great prostitute is the direct opposite of the bride of the Lamb of God.
[01:00:01] Now just stick with me here.
[01:00:03] Look at verse 1 again.
[01:00:05] Then one of the seven angels, who had the seven bowls, came and said to me, Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters.
[01:00:18] Just keep in mind how John speaks this.
[01:00:20] Keep with me to chapter 21, Revelation.
[01:00:23] verse 9 just compare the way john speaks about the judgment of the great prostitute with what he says in chapter 21 verse 9 then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls
[01:00:41] full of the seven of the seven last plagues and spoke to me saying come i will show you the bride the wife of the lamb there are at least two parallels that you can draw between 17 verse 1
[01:00:54] and 21 verse 9 and one is this it is the same angel one of those with the seven bold judgments that calls john and shows something to john and the second thing is that when john is invited to
[01:01:09] see whatever the angel is showing him he is in the spirit now remember in the book of revelation when john talks about being in the spirit he's narrating to us progress in his visionary experience we
[01:01:22] We saw that in chapter 1, we saw that in chapter 4, we are seeing that here in chapter 17, and then in chapter 21.
[01:01:28] In other words, John is juxtaposing the filth of this prostitute with the resplendent beauty of the bride of the Lamb.
[01:01:39] He's comparing two realities and using these images of women to show what he is communicating to us.
[01:01:47] He is juxtaposing the two to help us see that there are only two ways to live in this life.
[01:01:54] Just as there are two cities, there is the Jerusalem from above and there is Babylon.
[01:01:59] Just as there are two groups of people, those who are bearing the mark of the beast and those who are bearing the mark of the Lamb of God, there are only two women.
[01:02:07] The prostitute and the bride of the Lamb.
[01:02:11] And they are sharply in contrast to each other in comparison.
[01:02:19] So the city, or the great prostitute, refers to the culture of the empire.
[01:02:25] The social realities in the empire.
[01:02:29] The feature, the cultural features of the empire.
[01:02:34] And the point that John is making is that this harlot is sitting on the beast.
[01:02:40] In other words, the beast is sustaining the harlot.
[01:02:44] That's true of ancient Rome.
[01:02:47] But of course, John wrote not only of ancient Rome.
[01:02:51] He also wrote of Lagos, Nigeria, and Mumbai, India, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Paris, and London, and New York, and San Francisco.
[01:03:04] He wrote about the city of man in general.
[01:03:07] He wrote about the God-rejecting posture of human beings and human civilizations in general.
[01:03:18] And how can somebody commit sexual immorality with a city?
[01:03:23] The answer is this.
[01:03:25] The civilization of man continues to beckon us to worship something other than the one true and living God.
[01:03:31] We continue to be enticed and invited and seduced to turn away from God and be in love, so to speak, with something other than that one true and living God.
[01:03:46] Many are drinking and getting drunk at the fountain of this harlot, at the fountain of this great prostitute.
[01:03:54] he has she has a golden cup in her hand and gold is naturally beautiful and pure but what is full in that cup is not beauty and purity it's abominations and many are drinking at it there are all kinds of idols in the culture that we live in that the world is
[01:04:19] advertising and drawing many into the idol of body image the idol of the praise of man and social acceptance the idol of wanting to advance in career at any cost the idol of wanting to advance
[01:04:36] in business at any cost good things can become gods that we worship and the city of man has a way of advertising and inducing us to want to turn away from God and love what the world offers
[01:04:53] Pastor Kent read from John 12 about how many even among the authorities in Israel believed in Jesus Christ but they did not confess his name and the reason is John 12 43 for they love the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God. That's what the harlot
[01:05:19] is advertising and selling. Are you being tempted by any idols today? Are you under any inducement and pressure right today? Are you tempted to seek pleasure and worth and purpose and meaning and fulfillment in something other than jesus do you find yourself craving the approval of man
[01:05:43] wanting to be liked and loved and spoken well of by the society by colleagues at work by classmates in school or by those in your social circle is that something so important to you you cannot
[01:05:58] help but compromise the standards of christian living in order to be accepted how many are being swept off their feet by the seduction that is in the culture notice this woman that john saw is very attractive on the outside people don't go after sin for nothing it's because it has
[01:06:19] enticements and inducements things that draw them in i mean john says she was arrayed in purple and scarlet and she was adorned with gold and jewels and pearls and she had in her cup in her hand a
[01:06:34] golden cup so she's dazzling and inviting and looks beautiful to the eyes promises joy and enjoyment promises you will never be bored being with me you'll find satisfaction and fulfillment just like the woman one of the women in proverbs 9 who speaks to the simple-minded as they go about
[01:06:53] their life and say come over here bread eaten in secret is sweet stolen bread is sweet and many are being swept into it and drawn into it so she looks attractive but she's deadly where many in
[01:07:13] the world see gold there's not only dross there is eternal poison that's so john wants his readers you and me to have a heavenly minded discernment in terms of how we look at the world in terms of
[01:07:33] how we set up our value system just to use the words of paul in romans 12 to be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we might discern and approve what the will of god is
[01:07:45] that which is good and pleasing and perfect and we don't just look at things in the suffers and That we don't fail to see that underneath the sociological phenomena that go around us, that there is a satanic power at work enticing and hooking people up to their own damnation.
[01:08:06] John wants us to see that.
[01:08:08] This imagery of sexual immorality used to depict idolatry comes right out of the Old Testament.
[01:08:16] John is not making this up.
[01:08:18] if you read jeremiah if you read ezekiel if you read hosea you see how god speaks to his people through the prophets and consistently uses the image of the filth and squalidness and dirtiness of sexual immorality to depict idolatry that's exactly what john is doing right here and therefore
[01:08:40] the word to you and to me is this do not love the world or the things in the world if anyone loves the world the love of the father is not in him for all that is in the world the desires of the flesh
[01:08:53] the desires of the eyes and pride of life is not from the father but from the world and the world is passing away with its desires but he who does the will of the lord abides forever
[01:09:09] therefore be watchful therefore stand firm here's the second reality that john uses to call us to watchfulness and standing firm and being sober the beast so so the the prostitute the harlot that we just looked at is sitting on a beast look at verse three says the harlot is
[01:09:38] sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. Now when John says the prostitute is sitting on the beast, he's not trying to talk to
[01:09:53] us about the means of commute that the prostitute uses. It's not like she just likes riding a beast and goes around on a beast, like that's her favorite means of transportation. John wants to show us a satanic alliance between two realities and i say that because if you remember back in
[01:10:13] revelation 13 john spoke to us about a beast arising from the sea john 13 1 if you can turn excuse me revelation 13 1 john says a beast rising out of the sea and how does he describe that beast
[01:10:34] with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns, and blasphemous names on its head.
[01:10:46] If you skip back to our chapter, you're going to see John say, the beast is scarlet, it's full of blasphemous names, it has seven heads and ten horns.
[01:10:58] So clearly the same beasts.
[01:11:01] John is describing the same beasts.
[01:11:03] And back in chapter 13, we saw that John picks up language from Daniel chapter 7 and adapts that language to describe the Roman Empire, the civil government of his day, to speak about the totalitarian political and military might of the Roman Empire.
[01:11:19] So he presents civil government as kind of an anti-Christ that derives its power from the dragon, from the serpent, from the devil, and from the ancient serpent.
[01:11:33] So the beast here that the woman is writing is the political and military might of the empire, the totalitarian power of the empire.
[01:11:43] But again, John is not only writing about Rome, he's writing about the city of man in general.
[01:11:50] He's writing about our tendency as human beings to reject God and his rulership over our lives.
[01:11:58] now there are some very perplexing and difficult details in this passage this passage is one of the most difficult to interpret in the book of revelation if it is true that the beasts is the political and military might of the empire of the city of man in general then how can verse
[01:12:23] 8 be true just look with me at verse 8 of our passage the beast that you saw was and is and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction and the dwellers on earth whose names
[01:12:36] have not been written in the book of in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beasts because it was and is not and is to come so if that if it is true
[01:12:50] that the beasts is the Roman, the military might of the Roman Empire, the political might of the Roman Empire. How can John say it was, it is not, and it is to come? Because at the time he's writing,
[01:13:04] the Roman Empire is there at the political reality on the world stage. So how can John speak in that way? There are all kinds of theories among interpreters as you read. But I think the best
[01:13:15] explanation is that john is thinking of human civilizations and the city of man in general and they go through different periods they wax and they wane they ebb and they flow there are times when even for us today it feels like totalitarian regimes i think i think of the past
[01:13:36] it's never gonna arise again we are advanced everybody knows we have democratic freedoms around the world but before you know it another dictator rises before you know it another dictator rises so it comes and goes and will keep coming and going until finally the lord jesus appears
[01:13:52] in glory and zaps out that antichrist who will embody it so it's always coming and going rising back with its ferocity and cruelty but here's another perplexing thing look at verse nine the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated they meaning the seven heads are
[01:14:13] also seven kings five of whom have fallen one is the other has not yet come and when he does come he must remain only a little while as for the beast that was that was and it's not it is an
[01:14:27] eighth but it belongs to the seven and it goes to destruction so that's quite complex So the beast that was, and now, and is not, represents an eighth ruler, John tells us.
[01:14:44] But at the same time, he belongs to the seventh.
[01:14:49] And as if to make matters even more confusing, the seven heads of the beast stand for more than one thing.
[01:14:57] In verse 9, they represent the seven mountains on which the woman sits.
[01:15:03] and then in verse 10 they represent seven kings five of whom have fallen one is the other is yet to come and when he does come he must only remain he must remain only a little while
[01:15:16] so what's john saying well in prophetic imagery you can see that in daniel chapter 2 you can see that in jeremiah 51 mountains are associated with power great power so apparently john is using both
[01:15:33] mountains and kings to symbolize the worldwide power and influence of the beasts the the power that's been given him to reign over every tribe people and tongue and nation you could disagree with me on the details of what that means but at least one thing is clear in the
[01:15:53] passage the beast is going to destruction the lord god will bring the beast to destruction that's what the bible says at the end of verse 11 the beast is bound to be destroyed the lord will bring judgment
[01:16:07] on it let me show you one more perplexing things and then we apply this verse 12 identifies the 10 horns of the beast as 10 kings it's hard to be sure who these 10 kings are what the identity
[01:16:25] of this these 10 kings are but horns designate strength and role they stand for power and influence political force and strength but who these kings are it's hard to tell but it does seem that john envisions a time before the end of history when the beasts and the rulers of the
[01:16:49] world will attain power that seems indomitable and then judgment will fall upon them but what does this have to do with you and with me today the answer is this we can be tempted to fall prey
[01:17:08] to a kind of seduction that comes from political power and influence we can easily be led astray by influence that comes from political power it's a different kind of seduction than the one that i
[01:17:24] talked about with the harlot with the harlot it's pleasure it's the desires of the flesh it's what people enjoy doing it's what people get gratification doing power it's a totally different dynamic where people feel like they have influence they call the shot they command and it happens that's
[01:17:41] a different kind of seduction that people can be lured into and just just think for yourself for one moment. How would you feel if you had a direct line of communication to the Oval Office and you
[01:17:53] could call at midnight or any time? It does something to the human heart. If you have connections with the most powerful people in Washington DC or in Raleigh or even local politicians, it can begin
[01:18:04] to make you think a certain way about yourself. Social influence and political power have a way of making people feel self-sufficient making people think they can be independent of the god who made them so we should not allow ourselves ever to lust after power like that dominion
[01:18:26] like that you who are younger you need to know that to lust after power for the sake of power is idolatry to want to wield power for the sake of power to be the one who has the largest vote
[01:18:40] in the room the one who takes the decision the one who rules the day to rule to seek power like that whether in the church or outside is idolatry but on the other hand we should never allow
[01:18:56] ourselves to be gripped by an anti-establishment type of spirit where we are just setting ourselves up against government because it is government we have to recognize that god has ordained government and be thankful for government and praise God for government
[01:19:15] because as human beings, we cannot thrive with anarchy.
[01:19:20] We've seen that repeatedly when we did the book of Acts and we've seen that repeatedly so far in the book of Revelation.
[01:19:28] God has designed human government as a way of preserving the human race until his redemptive purposes in Jesus Christ are finished.
[01:19:36] and therefore yes all governments of the world are going to have beastly elements to them they're going to have things that devour the people that they are supposed to protect and some will have that more than others some will have that worse than others some will have that better than others
[01:19:54] but we should always be thankful for government and if you're a christian and god has equipped you and called you and given you the desire to work in government you should do so and recognize
[01:20:04] is that under the fear of God, you can use power to do a lot of good for many people.
[01:20:09] Even though power that's political can also be used to harm many people.
[01:20:15] So the beast represents power.
[01:20:18] And that political power can be used to hurt.
[01:20:21] It can be used to harm.
[01:20:23] But as God's people, we are not to set ourselves meaninglessly, purposelessly in opposition to that power.
[01:20:30] We are to thank God for it.
[01:20:32] We are not to lust after it.
[01:20:33] We are not to seek fulfillment in it.
[01:20:35] We are not to seek our security in it.
[01:20:37] But we are to thank God for it and pray that we might live peaceful and quiet lives in every way.
[01:20:46] And be warned ourselves that the utopia that politicians often promise will never come by any politician.
[01:20:55] no politician no matter how capable how competent how experienced will ever usher in the utopia that they often promise in campaign speeches there's one and only one politician who will establish an unending utopia in the world to come that's jesus christ the king of kings and lord of lords
[01:21:18] so if you think that the united states of america is going to one day become so full of righteousness as we know it today you you are not reading your bible right we should be thankful for what we have
[01:21:30] we should do everything we can do to preserve what we have but we should recognize our home at the end of the day is not here we are sojourners here as where isaac and jacob and abraham
[01:21:43] in the promised land we are going home to the place where righteousness dwells now if you're an unbeliever here this morning. I've talked about pleasure symbolized by the harlot and power symbolized by the beasts. What is it you're living for? What is it that drives your life? What is it
[01:22:06] that makes you tick? What is it that determines the direction of your life? There is more to life than pleasure and power. There's a God who made you and made you in his own image and made you to
[01:22:19] worship him and to glorify him and to live your life for him but like every human being you have sinned against god and are sinning against god and fallen short of his glory but he has opened a way
[01:22:30] of redemption in his son jesus christ so that if you would if you would but repent all the sins you ever committed and have been rightly registered against you will be wiped away you will be
[01:22:44] forgiven forever you would have an eternal bliss with this god when you die so i invite you this day turn to god there is more to life than pleasure when you want to choose something
[01:22:56] you should choose something that you will still be happy about 50 billion years from today and that is repentance in christ and confidence in his finished work here's the third and final truth that john uses to show us to be a people marked by sober-mindedness to be a people marked by
[01:23:16] watchfulness the triumph of the purpose of god and john shows us the triumph of the purpose of god in two ways first he shows us the victory of the lamb look at verse 14 they will make war on
[01:23:29] the lamb and that's a very striking statement and it's not surprising in the context is it because if you put together the law for idol the idolatries the pleasures of the world and then the power of the beasts you put together the idolatries of the harlot and the power of the
[01:23:44] beast what do you get you get war against the lamb and those who are with him because those who love the pleasures of the world and the power that defines them they cannot stand the rulership
[01:23:55] of jesus christ the the rulers of the earth they rage against the king of kings and lord of lords and against his people david asked many many thousands of years ago why do the nations rage
[01:24:08] and the people plot in vain because they don't want to submit to yahweh and to his king so they will fight against the lamb and his people so how do you get the power to resist that fighting i
[01:24:25] mean think about it all the powers of the world are arrayed against us the seductions of the woman of the harlot are against us and she is in alliance with the military might and political power of the
[01:24:37] city of man they are all together banded against the believer and the church so so do we have any chance of succeeding at all how can we stand against that kind of formidable enemy the answer
[01:24:48] is we stand because we know the end see what it says and the lamb will conquer them that's glorious i hope that this this this makes your day the lamb will conquer them but here's the reason why
[01:25:04] the lamb will conquer not because we are violent violent fighters for the land not because we are men and women of valor but because the lamb is lord of lords and king of kings that's the
[01:25:17] explanation for for why the lamb conquers and he conquers along with those with him and john describes them as a people who are called chosen and faithful do you know yourself to be someone called chosen and faithful called chosen and faithful when when john says that he's not
[01:25:43] saying jesus invited you and let you decide whether you're going to come to the party or not he summoned you effectually to himself and you came he chose you before you ever existed and you became and it's because of those antecedent actions of jesus that you are faithful you would
[01:26:00] Not be faithful on your own, independent of his calling and his choosing.
[01:26:07] So this is a game whose end we know.
[01:26:10] And we know that end because of who is leading our team.
[01:26:17] That's contrasted in the context with the earth dwellers.
[01:26:23] Throughout the book of Revelation, we have said repeatedly that the expression, the dwellers on earth or earth dwellers it's not just a it's not a reference to humanity in general it's a technical term for unbelievers and this chapter provides the definitive proof that truly
[01:26:42] dwellers on earth in the book of revelation is a technical term for unbelievers see in verse two they are referred to as those who are drunk with the wine of the sexual immorality of the harlot
[01:26:53] and then in verse 8 they are referred to as those whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world those are the earth dwellers and they are set in contrast
[01:27:06] with those who are called and chosen and faithful and are with the lamb of God and we conquer so we should be standing firm be sober minded and be watchful because we know the end
[01:27:22] here is one quick and concluding thought that John gives us to show us the triumph of the purpose of God.
[01:27:34] John says to us that the harlot and the beast are judged.
[01:27:43] Look at verse 15.
[01:27:46] And the angel said to me, the waters that you saw where the prostitutes seated are peoples and multitudes and nations and the ten horns that you saw, they are the beasts.
[01:27:56] They and the beasts will hit the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire. So what's going on here? Well, evil turns in on itself and destroys itself.
[01:28:18] Evil is not self-sustaining. It can't keep itself to the end. There's only one self-sustaining being in the universe there's only one self-existent reality in the universe and that's the one true and living god those beasts and the kings they will turn in on the very prostitute that they
[01:28:36] were propping up and carrying and destroy that prostitute evil will destroy itself in the end but i want you to notice that is not accidental they did not just kind of lose their minds in
[01:28:48] the end and did that verse 17 tells us what happened for god has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast
[01:29:02] until the words of god are fulfilled did you see that our god is absolutely sovereign does not sin does not ever do tempt anyone but rules over everything that exists including the evil of the beasts and the evil of the harlot and the kings that are with the beast and propping up
[01:29:24] the harlot and he will cause them to turn on one another and destroy themselves in the end that's a dramatic display of the supremacy and power and sovereignty of our god what that should leave you and i thinking about is no matter what you and i are going through we can say with
[01:29:43] absolute confidence my heavenly father is caring for me he's never losing control it doesn't matter what is happening i listened to a brother this past week who is serving in north africa and he is narrating just the day-to-day week-to-week realities that he lives with as a minister of
[01:30:04] the gospel as a missionary and he says in his part of the world nominal christianity is non-existent it does not exist you are either with the bride or you are with the harlot you can't try to play
[01:30:17] that middle ground there because you don't gain anything culturally by professing to be a christian i mean he was telling the story of how at one point he is working with fellow missionaries to try to reunite a woman to her husband because the woman had been abducted away from her husband
[01:30:33] because of their faith in christ that's reality for them but even in that situation those believers those brothers and sisters can say with absolute confidence my heavenly father is caring for me he knows me and loves me and will bring me safely home so beloved i hope that that leads you to
[01:30:57] be more excited about your confidence in christ your confidence is not misplaced it doesn't matter what is happening in the culture what's happening in the culture we should know about it we should pray about it we should ask the lord to grant that we might live peaceful and quiet lives dignified
[01:31:11] in every way but we should know we have a real kingdom that cannot be shaken coming at the end of the day i hope it's not the culture we live in it's the kingdom we are going to but that also
[01:31:24] means we should recognize the freedoms that we have here is not the reality of many of our fellow blood-bought brothers and sisters around the world we should make it a disciplined regular thing in our lives
[01:31:42] to pray for the suffering church, to pray for believers who are undergoing horrific brutality for no other reason other than that they profess Jesus Christ as Lord as you and I do.
[01:31:56] You can find helpful resources on the International Mission Board website that will tell you things about what's going on in the world. You can find helpful, reliable, country-specific information on the Voice of the Matters website, VOM,
[01:32:11] that will tell you believers suffering in real time in the world because of their faith.
[01:32:18] And you can pray that their faith will not fail.
[01:32:22] So beloved, here is John's burden for you and for me.
[01:32:26] That you and I be a people who are sober and are watchful, have been transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we are protected from the delusions and the seductions of the harlot
[01:32:38] so that we are protected from the delusions and the seductions of the beasts and so that we are not frightened by the fury of the beasts because the Lamb will conquer.
[01:32:52] Let's pray.
[01:32:57] Father, we thank you and praise you and give you glory.
[01:33:01] There's none like you.
[01:33:03] You are our God.
[01:33:05] You have made us your people at the cost of the blood of your own Son and you will not and are not about to abandon the good work that you began in our lives, in the lives of our brothers and sisters
[01:33:16] living in Afghanistan and Pakistan and North Africa and the Middle East and places where the freedoms which by your gracious providence we have here, they don't know.
[01:33:26] But we thank you that the Lamb will conquer and those with him.
[01:33:32] Make us a people who are animated and moved by the reality that you will indeed conquer.
[01:33:39] We praise you in Jesus' name.
[01:33:41] Amen.

[01:33:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[01:33:41] May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

[01:38:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[01:38:25] Amen.