Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.wartracebaptist.org/sermons/60663/revelation-18/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] John records for us here in Revelation 18. I heard another voice from heaven saying, And I am not a widow and will never see mourning.

[1:03] For this reason in one day her plagues will calm pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire. For the Lord God who judges her is strong. And the kings of the earth who committed acts of immorality and live situously with her will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, Whoa, whoa, the great city Babylon, the strong city, for in one hour your judgment has come.

[1:27] And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore, cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives.

[1:56] The fruit you long for has gone from you and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men will no longer find them. The merchants of these things who became rich from her will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying, Whoa, whoa, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste.

[2:22] Verse 20, Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.

[2:53] Then a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence and will not be found any longer. And the sound of the harpists and musicians and flute players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer.

[3:07] No craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer. And the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer. And the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer. The voice of the bridegroom and the bride will not be heard in you any longer.

[3:19] For your merchants were the great men of the earth because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.

[3:31] Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for this privilege you have given us of opening up your word. And Lord, as we have opened it up and we have read it and heard it, we pray, O Lord, now by the power and presence of your Holy Spirit that you would help us to understand it.

[3:47] Lord, that you would move us beyond simple understanding. Lord, that we would live out a daily application of the truths which we are about to see. Lord, these truths are real and these truths have direct application to us today.

[3:59] So Lord, we pray that you would begin to prepare us now. Lord, to hear a word from you for your glory. And we ask it all in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. Revelation 18.

[4:11] We've been making our way through this great book, the book of Revelation, a book with so much mystery and so many deep truths to it that it seems to confound us when we read it. But one thing that we have reminded ourselves over and over again is that this is not the revelation of the end time events, though it speaks of the end time events.

[4:29] It is not the revelation of things to come, though it very clearly speaks of things to come, because many of the things to come are nothing other than a fulfillment of the things which already are.

[4:40] I don't know if you have caught that or not, that much of what we see in Revelation that is considered future events is nothing else but a full manifestation of things that are already in place. These things are already taking place, and really we see them in their culminating event or in their fulfillment, in their completion.

[4:57] I am one that fully understands that if you are going to set out to do something, then you need to see it in its fulfillment. If you're going to put your hand to something, then you need to see what it looks like when you do it completely.

[5:08] If you're going to put your hand or your heart into something, then you need to see the end result of that. And what Revelation shows us is the end result of mankind, what it looks like when man reigns on the earth and man rules the earth and man gets his way.

[5:23] But this is not just a revelation of the things to come and a revelation of the future events. Rather, this is a revelation of a person. It is a revelation of Jesus Christ.

[5:34] And to fully understand who he is and the power he contains and the authority which he has over all events, we need to see who he is in the worst of times. And that is what we find in the book of Revelation.

[5:46] Revelation 17 brought forth something which had already been called out early in the book of Revelation, and that is Babylon. I believe it was Revelation 14 which first made reference to Babylon when the angel goes to the heavens and says, Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great?

[6:00] And we're kind of left right there until Revelation 17 comes up and we are reintroduced to Babylon. Last week we looked at what Babylon really was. It is not necessarily just a specific location because many believe that the ten kings are the seven hills, or the five hills in which it sits on.

[6:17] The seven, so you get me right, you've got to stay with me. The seven hills on which it sits on is really a reemergence of the Roman Empire. And the ten kings are the reemergence, or not the reemergence, the emergence of the fulfillment of Daniel's vision of the man with the ten toes of clay and pottery put together, iron and steel, and all these things meshed.

[6:37] And what we began to see in Revelation 17 was that Babylon was a representation of the city of Babylon which we were introduced to in Genesis 11. So to get a full understanding of what it is, we had to know what Genesis 11 says about Babylon so that we could get to Revelation 17.

[6:54] And just to put it in a nutshell without preaching the sermon, it is really the work and effort of man to be the ruler of his own domain and the king of his own life. In Babylon, Genesis 11, we see that man building a ziggurat, a staircase to heaven so that they could reach unto the heavens and ascend the throne of God.

[7:12] Man was putting himself on a pedestal, and the world was going to revolve around them, and the world was going to be ruled by them, and the world was going to be sustained by them, and they were going to be the ruler of their own domain.

[7:24] And we know that in Genesis 11, God went down and confused their language and therefore it was called Babel, which is Babylon. We have seen biblically in Babylon that Babylon was the center and the root of all idolatrous worship.

[7:38] And idolatry starts and ends with man worshiping himself. Do you know that to have an idol in your life, you do not have to have a statue, you do not have to have some carved image or some molten image, you do not have to have some object.

[7:53] The idol of your life can simply be yourself as much as it can be anything else. And the first idol which man worshipped was the idol of himself. He put himself on a pedestal and began to worship himself and promote himself and be full of himself.

[8:06] And this is the Babylonian mindset. Revelation 17 speaks of how this mindset creeps into what we call religion, that man builds a religion which revolves around himself.

[8:18] Remember what I just said a second ago. These are not things that are to come, these are the fulfillment of things that are already present. Because many of the world's religions today simply revolve around man and man is the center of that religion and man is the originator and the fulfillment of that religion and man worships himself.

[8:36] He takes care of himself first and he himself will attain his own position. Revelation 17 speaks of the religious mindset of Babylon and how God is going to destroy it.

[8:48] Revelation 18 now speaks of the political mindset of Babylon. Unlike Revelation 17, in Revelation 18, we are probably referring to a literal city because a number of times in Revelation 18, it speaks of a specific city.

[9:05] A city which will be called Babylon. It is the new Babylon. And that is important for biblical understanding and it is important for prophetic understanding and it's important as we study this chapter.

[9:16] Because in this city, friend listen to me, in this city we find the pinnacle of man's creative work. This is a magnificent city. This is a city of splendor and wonder.

[9:29] As a matter of fact, ancient Babylon, where King Nebuchadnezzar reigned, is a magnificent city itself. I don't know if you study history much, but you need to go back and just look at some of the drawings and the layings out of ancient Babylon and see how magnificent of a city it was, built with bridges that went over rivers and all these magnificent buildings that were there.

[9:49] No wonder Nebuchadnezzar stood up on the top of the building and said, This is my empire. I have built it. I am the king of this world. No one on this earth is greater than me. And then God said, You shall be an animal and go eat grass for seven years.

[9:59] And he did. This happened in Babylon. And the new Babylon, which we find in Revelation 18, is really the pinnacle of man's creative work. It is a magnificent city.

[10:10] I do not believe it's going to be in the same location as ancient Babylon. I believe it's not going to be in that eastern section. I actually believe it will be somewhere around the Roman Empire. That's just my understanding. That it will be centered in that Middle Eastern region of the world in which Rome once reigned.

[10:25] And now they will reconstruct and rebuild this magnificent city of Babylon. And that city will be the main city of all the world. It will be the greatest city of all the world. Because, by the way, I had a conversation with someone earlier this morning.

[10:38] The great cities of this world are what is determining the outcome of this world. I don't know if you have figured that out yet or not. But the great cities are that which dictates the actions and the reactions of everyone else.

[10:49] And so go the cities, so go the people. This is why Paul had a concern for the cities. You ever wonder why Paul said, I long to go to Spain when he's writing to the Roman believers. He said, I want to go to Spain.

[11:00] And if you see Paul in his missionary travels, he always stopped at cities because Paul knew if he could reach the city, he could change the world. And this is why as believers down here in a little town called Wartrace, living out in our country life and enjoying our peace and quiet, we cannot neglect the cities of this world.

[11:17] We need to pray for them. We need to reach for them. We need to long for them. We need to have a desire to see Christ move in them. Why? Because so go the cities, so go the world. You reach the city, you reach the world.

[11:28] If you influence the city, you influence the world. And that great city of Babylon is a world influencer like none other. Because this is the greatest city of the day. This is the greatest city of all time.

[11:40] And this city has been built and constructed by the height of creation, and which is man. Do you remember when we were reading just a little bit earlier where the number of the beast that was written on the forehead of those of the earth, and it says those who had understanding need to understand the number of the beast is the number of man, which is 666.

[12:00] So what we see here is the height of man's creative work and the height of man's creative power, and man finally attaining to that which he has always longed to, worldwide influence.

[12:13] And Satan operates through man. I want you to see this morning as we look at Revelation 18, a false hope in a fallen world. A false hope in a fallen world.

[12:23] Because that city will be the hope of those who live on the earth. That city will be the help of those who do business on the earth. That city will be the light to those who long to live on the earth, having already come through so many destructive events, having already come through the breaking of the seven seals and the sounding of the seven trumpets, having already come through such great loss and great tragedy, this city will be a beacon of hope for all those who do business.

[12:49] It will be for the merchants and the kings and the rulers and the princes and those who are in ships. I don't know if you noticed the listing of cargoes and wares that they sold, how they were selling all these things, cinnamon and spices and wood and sheep and cattle.

[13:02] And then at the end it says slaves and human lives, even trafficking human lives in this city. It will be man reaching the height of his power, man reaching the height of his creative ability, and man giving all the hope that he can because great wealth will be found in Babylon.

[13:17] And many will be made rich and many will find comfort and ease because of Babylon. But friend, listen to me, it is a false hope in a fallen world. I want you to see number one, the destruction that is already settled.

[13:31] There is a destruction that is already settled because Revelation 18 says, after these things, that is after everything he had seen up to this point, I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority and the earth was illumined with his glory.

[13:44] We'll come to that in just a little while. And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great. She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of unclean spirits and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird.

[13:57] For all the nations have drunk of the wine of her passion of her immorality and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality. What we see here is the angel comes out of heaven and just as many passages of the book of Revelation give us, God is making an announcement.

[14:14] He is saying something that has already been settled. He is making a proclamation of something that has already been passed in heaven. He is going to tell the world that which has already been decided. And we have this angel coming down and he comes upon the earth and he makes this great cry, Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great.

[14:30] One thing that we need to notice of this, before the battle was every fault, God had already pronounced the outcome. Before the battle of Armageddon has already begun, before all of the destruction comes, before anything happens, God has already pronounced the sentence.

[14:45] He says, Fallen, fallen. Earlier in the book of Revelations, the angel had cried out, Fallen, fallen. And it was speaking in a past tense voice of something that was still yet future. Because we see these events as God is laying them out.

[14:58] This has not yet happened. The battle of Armageddon is coming. The way has been prepared. It will happen. But what John is recording for us are things that are about to come. And he is stating very clearly here, Babylon is a fallen city.

[15:12] As a matter of fact, this isn't the first place in all of Scripture in which it says that Babylon falls. Now we know we cannot go back to ancient Babylon, but ancient Babylon deteriorated and kind of went down and went downhill until it finally went into non-existence.

[15:26] So there is reason to believe, biblically, that it will reemerge. And the reason is that both Isaiah and Jeremiah very clearly say that Babylon will be destroyed in a day.

[15:38] That Babylon will be destroyed in a moment. And someone else says that, and that is John, that the destruction comes in an hour. So to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies, Babylon has to be reborn because it is not a slow decline.

[15:51] It is an instantaneous fall. But what we know from Old Testament to New Testament, God has already pronounced that which is enriching the world, that which all the world is trusting in, that which all the world is finding hope in, is already a proclaimed fallen city.

[16:07] He says, fallen, fallen is Babylon the great. We understand that the destruction of this is a settled issue in the course of heaven. And why is it so settled? It says, because of her presence of demonic influence.

[16:20] It says, it has become a haunt in the residence of the demons. That the demons are there. Look at what it says, a place of demons in the prison of every unclean spirit and the prison of every unclean and hateful bird.

[16:30] Every one of these pictures are that of demonic influence. It says, this great city has become a city of demonic influence and demonic residence. And also not of the residence of demons, but also of the practice of immorality.

[16:44] It says, because the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.

[16:55] So the immoral practices and the demonic presence are that which leads to the destruction. Friend, listen to me. That which all the world was hoping and leaning upon had already been proclaimed as destroyed in the courts of heaven.

[17:09] And this, the book of Ecclesiastes says, there's nothing new under the sun. If we look around and we pay close attention, much of what the world trusts in today has already been proclaimed destroyed in heaven.

[17:24] Much of what we put our confidence in, much of what we put our hope in, much of what we put our trust in has already found its place of destruction in heaven.

[17:36] This world will pass away. It will be consumed as if by fire. Listen, I'm not a doom and gloom, Pastor. I'm not one here to make us down and out because until this thing is destroyed, the better one won't come.

[17:51] But putting our hope and confidence in something which the world has already said is destined for destruction is foolishness. If you said, hey, hey, Pastor, could I borrow one of your vehicles?

[18:05] And I looked at you and I said, yes, you're more than happy to take it, but I just want you to know when you get about five miles down the road that thing's going to swerve real hard to the right and there's going to be no overcoming it and it's going to put you in a ditch and it's probably going to turn over a couple times but you'll be alright.

[18:20] You'd say, you know what, Pastor, I think I'll find another vehicle because you would be foolish for me to say, yes, you can have it but the moment you get into it and you start trusting it it's going to take you down a path you don't want to go.

[18:32] Friend, listen to me, the Bible tells us over and over and over and over and over again that if we trust in this world and we hope in this world it's going to take us down a path we don't want to go because it's destined for destruction.

[18:46] So we see here the destruction that is already settled in the courts of heaven it's settled. Why? Because of the demonic influence and the presence of immorality.

[18:57] It is something that is already settled. Number two, we see heaven's cross of separation. Heaven's cry of separation. Verse four says I heard another voice from heaven and the word another is one like unto the first so many believe this is not God speaking this is another angelic being speaking out of heaven.

[19:14] So here's another voice from heaven saying come out of her my people so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plague. So here we have the heaven's cry of separation.

[19:25] This voice of heaven calls out come out of her my people so that you will not participate in her sins and you will not suffer her destruction or her coming plagues. This is heaven's cry from all the ages for God's people to separate themselves from that which is headed to destruction.

[19:41] This is heaven calling out to his people. We know that in that time of tribulation that there will be what we call tribulation saints people who come to faith in Jesus Christ they will live among the cities of the world and here we have to understand that some of them may be living in Babylon and God having this special destruction reserved for that city in particular.

[19:59] This is not yet the worldwide destruction that we find in the seven bowls. I told you this portion of Revelation is confusion because they go back and forth a little bit right? You say well I thought a couple chapters ago all the earth was destroyed and everything was poured out on one right?

[20:12] And now John is stepping back and showing us what led to that worldwide destruction. It was cities such as this Babylon that will have a specific place of judgment. So God is calling out to his people come out come out come out from her separate yourself because destruction is coming.

[20:27] Friend listen from Genesis to Revelation God has a call to his people and that call to his people is separate yourself from that which is coming. Separate yourself from the wickedness in the world in which you live in.

[20:40] God does not call us to live a life of isolation but he has most definitely called us to live a life of separation. That is what we call sanctification being set apart for a holy service. A sanctified item could live inside of a place that had normal items right?

[20:55] You could have something that was sanctified in my house. We have this flatware. It is gold plated flatware. It's not real gold because if it is real gold we'd never eat off of it but it's not real gold but it's this gold colored plated flatware.

[21:08] We have that in our house and we use it one time a year. We use it every year on Thanksgiving and the reason we use it every year on Thanksgiving is because that flatware belonged to my wife's grandmother and she used it every year on Thanksgiving.

[21:22] So we use it as a reminder of the family heritage. So if I was to go into the cabinet and say tonight I want to eat with the gold forks and the gold spoons and it's not Thanksgiving guess what? I would get in trouble.

[21:33] Now many husbands may do that. Well it's a spoon just like every other spoon. Well it may be in your mind but it's not in her mind right? That thing is sanctified. It's set apart for a specific purpose but it's in the same cabinets that the other spoons and forks and knives exist in.

[21:47] Why? Because it is quite possible for something to be in existence with but completely separate from. And God has not called us to live in isolation but my friend he has called us to live in separation.

[21:59] That is we do not have to be like everything else in which we live in. And sometimes he calls us out from just like he called Lot. Righteous Lot. I have a hard time thinking that Lot is righteous except for the fact that Hebrews 11 tells us that Lot was righteous.

[22:12] A Lot looked on the valley and saw it with his eyes and went and lived in the valley that he saw with his eyes and it looked good and he lived down there among the Sodomites and the people from Gomorrah and all the things that were going on there and then Hebrews 11 calls him righteous Lot.

[22:25] But righteous Lot is living in a land that he did not belong because he belonged to someone else. He belonged to the Lord God. And God could not destroy Sodom until Lot got out. Remember? That angel said we cannot do anything until you get out.

[22:37] Why? Because heaven's call is separate yourself from. And what we see here in this Babylonian city when the destruction is coming heaven is calling out separate yourself from this.

[22:48] Friend listen to me I believe God is still calling his people. I know. I don't believe. I know that God still calls his people separate yourself from that which is headed to his sure destruction. That means you need to live in it among it and around it but not with it and as it.

[23:05] Look a little bit different. Act a little bit different. Have a song on your lips and a tune in your heart when the world is in sorrow and destruction is coming. Why?

[23:16] Do not partake in her sins or you will partake in her judgment. Those who sin with the world suffer with the world. Those who separate themselves from the world rejoice over the world.

[23:29] We will see that in just a minute. We see heaven's cry for separation. Number three we see the world's growing sorrow. The world's growing sorrow because in a moment in an instant the destruction of Babylon comes.

[23:45] It says in verse 8 for this reason in one day her plagues will come pestilence and mourning. What was that reason? You need to know. Verse 6 says pay her back even as she has paid and give back to her double according to her deeds and the cup which she has mixed mixed twice as much for her to the degree that she has glorified herself and live sensuously to the same degree give her torment and mourning for she says in her heart I sit as queen and I am not a widow and I will never see mourning.

[24:09] What pride. What arrogance. The Bible says these things God hates. What's one of those things? A prideful look right? And the world is saying I am settled. I am comfortable. I have it all.

[24:20] Nothing's going to upset me. I've attained it all. I've got the position. I've got the prominence. I've got the wealth. I've got the people. All of the world is coming to me and for this reason God says okay you'll never weep.

[24:32] You'll never mourn. Listen God's day of reckoning will always come. It is not for his people to bring that destruction. It is not for his people to bring that reckoning but he will. And we see this cry God give them back double and God says okay I'll give them back double and he pours it out says for this reason and one day her plague will come pestilence and mourning and famine and she will be burned up with fire for the Lord God who judges her is strong.

[24:58] And then we have this list. Many people believe that Revelation 18 is nothing other than a dirge that is a funeral song and it is a funeral song being repeated by everybody in the earth.

[25:08] First we see those in prominent a place of prominence and the kings of the earth who committed acts of immorality and live sensuously with her will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment saying whoa whoa the great city Babylon the strong city for in one hour your judgment has come.

[25:25] So there you go their funeral song the kings of the earth those people who are in places of authority they are weeping and mourning and it says and the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore.

[25:37] They're weeping and mourning. Here's the merchants and then we get to the people who do their living by the sea. They mourn and they say whoa whoa is Babylon for her destruction has come in one hour. What we see is the world's growing sorrow that which they trusted in that which they longed for that which they did business in in a moment was taken away.

[25:58] Now why were they sorrowful? Well the first the one that is most telling is the merchants. They weren't upset that Babylon was destroyed they were upset because their way of profit was gone.

[26:09] It says no one buys their cargoes anymore. You know what upset them not that the city was destroyed and people died. What upset them is their place of doing business is gone. Nobody's going to buy these human lives from me.

[26:21] Nobody's going to buy these slaves from me. Nobody's going to buy this wood or these sheep or these cattle or these horses from me. It was self-centeredness that's called narcissism by the way focused on themselves.

[26:33] We see the growing sorrow that everything they hoped in everything that enriched them everything that brought them comfort all of the immoral practices all the sensuality all the prestige everything that made them great men on the earth as it says at the end of Revelation 18 is passing away.

[26:49] Friend listen to me they have not wept over their sins though the judgment of God has been poured out upon them time and time again. They have not repented over their sins but they weep when that which they long for in the world that is money power prestige and prominence and place is taken away from them.

[27:05] they weep over that which is removed from them and that is the city of Babylon. Many have said I will tell you the condition of your heart when you show me what you weep over I will know what you believe in.

[27:17] You will either weep over your sin and live a life of repentance service to the kingdom or you will weep when this world is taken away from you. Whatever we weep over is that which we worship.

[27:32] Another great saying that I have that was given to me but one of my dearest friends said we cannot weep we will not weep over the sins of others until we have wept over our own sins until our heart is broken over our own sins we cannot have a broken heart over the sins of others but when our heart fails to be broken over our own sins then God will break our heart when he takes all that which we trust in and destroys it in a moment.

[28:00] You know one of the most gracious things and I'm just talking as a side note here you know one of the most gracious things that God can do for you and I use the word grace intentionally is that if you are trusting in anything other than him the most gracious thing he can do for you is to take that away now because then and only then will we find out our confidence does not rest in the things of this world but our confidence rests in he who rules this world and I don't say that lightly or flippantly listen I've walked that path I've seen it God has been gracious to me and spared me major catastrophic events but I have seen listen as a young believer as a young believer and I'm talking about a brand new believer only been a believer about a year it was easy to believe when everything was going great right it was easy to believe and to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior when I had the job

[29:01] I always wanted I had the position I always needed I had the family that I thought I had everything was settled I had new home new home new to me cars newer cars so they weren't breaking down they weren't pulling me to the right and putting me in the ditch you know I had the job all these things were great and everything was going good and then God was the Lord of my life oh how great this is and then God says okay what are you really trusting!

[29:25] because I had a long range plan and in a moment the job was taken away the insurance that I really needed was taken away because my wife was seven months pregnant so we really needed that and all these things were taken away in a moment thankfully God had grace on me and did that to me after a year of being a believer I had been a believer right at a year we know he was showing me things because he began to take care of everything in such a magnificent way I mean I just don't have the time and I would love to tell you because these are one of the things that I say you can tell me you don't think these things are true but you can never argue with what I know he has done and you can tell me that you think that I'm kind of crazy but you can never argue with what I have seen him provide and how I have seen him move because in that moment of desperation just time after time after time after time again God in his grace began to show me that I did not need to trust in anything in this world that I could just trust in him and it was grace that taught me that when I was a very new believer so that now 20 years later 19 years later even when things seem to be going good

[30:40] I know that my trust and my confidence is not in this world or of the things of this world because he's got me no matter what he is my confidence he is my trust he is my hope he is my steadfast I have no growing sorrow when the things of this world pass away as a matter of fact I have a growing joy because the one who rules this world never passes away which leads us to the fourth and final thing that we need to see not only do we see the destruction that has settled heaven's cry of separation the world's growing sorrow fourth and finally you must see this the wonder of heaven's strength the wonder of heaven's strength because Babylon the city Babylon that we find in Revelation 18 is the city that man always hoped for it was the city that had all the money the world needed it did all the business the world could offer it it would buy everything that would come there and anything went everything went in Babylon everything goes whatever you want to do do it have your way because this is a city of prosperity pleasure and ease you do whatever you want and all these things come to a destruction in an hour in a moment and now when we see all that man has done that is build up this magnificent city of Babylon we must stand back and be in wonder of heaven's strength and we see it all throughout this chapter and we miss it if we don't look for it the first time we see it is after these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven having great authority and the earth was illumined with his glory the world was dark the world was in misery the world was in a place of sorrow the city of the world was that which was offering it hope and listen the angel of heaven shined over the greatest city because that which proceeds from heaven is always more glorious than that which is built upon the earth a messenger from heaven was greater than a city on earth so we see he was given power and authority why because he came from heaven and he says in verse 4

[32:36] I heard another voice from heaven that is another angel with this decree come out come out verse 8 says for the Lord God who judges her is strong and then we are reminded again in verse 20 let's go back to verse yeah verse 20 rejoice over her oh heavens you saints and apostles and prophets because God has pronounced judgment for you against her then a strong angel took up a stone that was like a great millstone and threw it into the sea saying so will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence and will not be found any longer in an hour in a moment it's completely gone and the sound of the harpist and the musicians and the flute players and the trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer and no craftsman or any crafts will be found in you any longer and the sound of a meal will not be found in you any longer and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride will not be heard in you any longer for your merchants were the great men of the earth and because of all the nations were deceived by your sorcery and in her was found the blood of the prophets and the saints and all those who had been slain on the earth but we see this angel signifying what we see over and over again is the strength of heaven that the angels of heaven are stronger than the great cities of man and over and over that which man is trusting upon the earth in a moment in an hour is overthrown with the word of heaven all I want you to see from this is the strength of heaven you can put your confidence and your hope and all of your desires and all of your ambitions on the best that this world has to offer you can put all of your confidence and all of your hope and all of your dreams and you can put all of those in the basket of this world and hope and pray and long for this world to pull through but friend

[34:16] I want to tell you there's a stronger place to make a deposit than that is in the courtroom of heaven because a simple messenger from the court of heaven overcomes the greatest city this world can build not only it overcomes it physically it shines above it so why not trust in something stronger than that which you see today why not trust in something greater than that which the world has to offer and that which is greater is the strength of heaven because as we will see in Revelation 19 heaven sings the triumphant song of the lamb those in heaven stand in strength and victory because they have overcome through the blood of the lamb what joy it is to know that heaven is strong even when the world seems to be stronger that heaven is greater even when the world seems to reach its height or the greatest work that man can do is overcome in a moment of God's command and I would rather place my hope and my desires and my dreams in the strength of heaven than in the work of earth because I don't want to put a false hope in a fallen world let's pray

[35:28] Lord I thank you so much for all you've done I thank you for giving us this day I thank you for allowing us the opportunity to open up your word and Lord we pray that its truths would have captivated our hearts Lord we pray that it would have turned our attention to you that we would see you high and lifted up Lord in all of your splendor in all of your glory in the rightful position that you have as king of kings and lord of lords and we ask it all in Jesus name Amen Amen Amen

[37:05] Amen Amen Amen

[38:35] Amen Amen Amen

[40:05]  Amen