Well, good evening and happy Mother’s Day. Happy Mother’s Day.

We’re going to be in Revelation chapter 17.

Revelation chapter 17.

And it’s quite a passage here for us to consider. Not that you shouldn’t every time, but I would encourage you to closely follow with me in your own Bible as we kind of go through it.

I’m going to go through it kind of bit by bit instead of reading the whole.

So, chapter 17, starting in verse 1.

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, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.

There is a Russian parable.

And it’s that of a bear and a hunter. And the hunter goes to shoot the bear. And the bear says, maybe we can negotiate. Maybe we can sit down and negotiate.

And the hunter agrees. So they sit down and the hunter says, well, what is it that you want? And he says, I want my stomach full. And the hunter says, what I want is a fur coat. He’s a fur coat. So, at the end of this meeting, only the bear walks away with his stomach full. But the man did get dressed in a fur coat.

There’s a word that should be, I think, a dirty word. And it’s the word compromise for us as Christians. Sometimes you have a compromise and preference. But then there’s a compromise that I believe is to our shame when we engage in it as Christians. There should be very distinguishing features between a Christian and a non-Christian. Between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of Satan. And this passage reminds us of that. That there’s really no in-between. There really is no compromise. There really is no playing footsie with Satan. At least not to your advantage or safety.

Talking about the great prostitute and the beast here.

And the compromise that that kingdom would want from you, from us. We’ve seen the seven churches in the morning. The seven kings. Seven trumpets saying that the Lord’s coming. Your seals. And then the trumpets. And then the seven bowls.

Chase went over that last week. And that’s the final kind of outpouring of the wrath of God. And now we’re to the point where ultimate destruction is coming on Satan’s kingdom. And ultimate destruction upon those who are part of that kingdom. Amen.

So this distinction I want us to think about, it should be sharp. And it should be a distinction that you and I have a great sense of, I think, fear and sobriety for.

There’s two people in this passage. And I want you to see it because it counts the whole way through. The first is dwellers.

It says that those who dwell. On the earth. They’re the ones who are taken. They’re the ones who are swept up with the beast and the prostitute. They’re fully given. And then secondly, there are saints and martyrs. So dwellers of the earth. And every time you see it in Revelation, it’s those who are given to the kingdom of Satan. And every deception of the Antichrist. And then you have saints and martyrs. And there’s a very distinct line. Very distinct line.

Revelation makes a lot of things plain. I think when we think of Revelation, we think it’s a book and who can figure it out. And it’s all kinds of messiness. And it really isn’t in what it wants to accomplish. What it wants to say is there are obnoxious rebels. There are proud haters of Jesus. And the way they are. There’s a way of righteousness. And everything that Christ’s kingdom stands for. And then there’s those who are completely in full allegiance to Jesus. He’s the one true God. Period. That’s what it has to tell us. And that’s where it comes to in the very end. It comes to be that black and that white.

So again, in verse 1. One of these angels that poured out. Judgment. Comes to John. And John is witnessing what will be the judgment of this great prostitute. Who we’re told is seated on many waters.

And it’s with this prostitute we’re told kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality. And with the wine of whose sexual immorality. There it is. And these dwellers on earth have become.

Drunk. Have become. Drunk. Now, we’re going to go on to a different scene. But it is in fact the same thing. Just different imagery. Verse 3. He carried me away in the spirit into a wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast. That was full of blasphemous names. And it had seven heads. And ten 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 impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery. Babylon the Great. Mother of Prophets. And of prostitutes. And of earth’s abominations. And I saw the woman. Drunk. With. The blood of the saints. And the blood. Of the martyrs. Jesus. So we’re tipped off who the woman is in both passages. We were tipped off back in 14. But he says it in 5. And what is it? It’s Babylon. It’s the spirit of the Antichrist. It’s the mother of prostitutes. And of earth’s abominations. So in a broader biblical sense. When we talk about Babylon. We’re talking about any epic in human history. Where Satan has stuck his ugly head up. Be it through a kingdom. Or through adultery. A particular person. Or through a movement. To attempt to establish his kingdom.

Specifically. When we talk about Babylon. We’re talking about here. Historic Rome. Rome was for John. When he’s writing. It was the actual place. That was anti-Christian. So Rome was the place. Killing Christians. And promoting. All forms. Of sin. And licentiousness. Tacitus the Roman historian says. Rome is the place where all the horrible. And shameful things in the world. Congregate. And find a home. So Rome historically. Then. When John’s writing this. Is very much so. The anti-Christian empire. Of the time. But then we have kind of a third way. That we need to understand. Babylon if you will. And that’s eschatological. Meaning the end times. We’re seeing Babylon being. That great empire. The anti-Christ will establish. In the future. When he comes back. So it’s a certain spirit. That shaded different empires. And people throughout time. Rome was historically Babylon. The churches largely interpreted. Rome to be Babylon. But then at the same time. There’s a eschatological. Coming of Babylon. Once more. That will be when the anti-Christ. Comes. Now if you’re saying. Why are we using the word Babylon? Well that goes back before Rome. To the actual literal Babylon. That enslaved Israel. And it also was full of all forms of. Sexual immorality. And it was against God’s people. So that’s a lot. But it’s tied up in that. Phrase there. As we consider these things. It is very reminiscent. Of Jeremiah. Jeremiah talks about. Babylon holding up. A golden cup. And with it the nations drink. And they become mad. So the great city. It influences. Great leaders. It inflames them. With all kinds of sinful indulgence. It’s peaceful. And people also. Just like it’s leaders. And we’ve said that before. So go the leaders. So go the people. They’re drunk. They’re intoxicated. In a very comprehensive sense.

With immorality. With immorality.

So John’s showing us one picture. Of the woman. She’s on the waters. What do the waters mean? Well if we go all the way to the end here. Waters are. It says the nations and the multitudes of people. So we get one picture. Where John is showing us. The spirit of the Antichrist. His city. Sits on many waters. That’s saying the whole of humanity. Again in those different ways. But now we’re kind of looking. At the end of time. End of world. And the way that Babylon. Will sort of have a global empire. And we’ve talked about that a little bit. Before. But now we’re seeing that woman. Which is Babylon. Sitting on a beast. Which is red. Now that beast is red. Like the dragon’s red. So remember we made the kind of tier there. You’ve got the red dragon. Which is Satan. You’ve got the Antichrist. Which is the beast. And then you had the second beast. Which was the false prophet. So we connect the power of the beast. To the power of the dragon. And that is the city. On top of. Of it. And where does that city get. It’s real power from. It’s from the beast upon. Which it sits. And now that beast. Has written all over it. Blasphemous names. So that very clearly shows us. This beast. Is expecting the world. To attribute to it. Titles of deity. That only belong to Jesus. And then we’re told. That this beast. Has purple. And scarlet. Clothing.

And what is purple and scarlet. You think those are just colors. They’re not just colors. Those would have been extremely. Expensive.

Dies to extract. So the fact that the woman. Is dressed in that. And adorned with gold. And jewels and pearls. It suggests opulence. It suggests. Lavish luxury. It suggests every carnal pleasure. You could want. This woman promises it. It’s very easy. To make the illustration here. Of vanity fair. In pilgrims progress. So vanity fair is that city. Of just opulence. And just carnal pleasure of all kinds. That Christian pilgrim has to go through. To get to the celestial city. And it’s spelled out. On. On. On her forehead. At the end. It’s not. It’s not hidden. In the end. It’s just right there. On her forehead. We’ll read that it says.

Exactly who she is. She’s Babylon the great. Mother of prostitutes. And of earth’s.

Abominations.

In verse six. This woman is drunk.

And she’s drunk. With something very specific. It’s the blood. Of the saints. And it’s the blood. Of the martyrs of Jesus. Same people groups. Just two different explanations. Of those two people groups. What you see in that verse. Is the woman’s passion. And this is really important. To catch.

Evil. Evil doesn’t just have a passion. For evil.

It has a passion. For everything that is against. It’s evil.

So it’s not just like. They’re doing their own thing. There’s this city. And it’s evil. And it’s every form of sin you want. You see a passion in her drunkenness. For those people. Who won’t. Participate. Same thing you saw. In historic Rome. For Christians that were. Brutally horribly. Killed. Same way. In Pilgrim’s Progress. On purpose. John Bunyan writes that. They’re persecuted. And for not participating. In vanity. Fair. And so it will be. At the end. Of time. So. What does that teach me? What does that teach you? Through all that imagery. It teaches us this.

The idea of coexisting. With evil is ridiculous. And ignorant. And foolish. Evil left alone.

Evil left unchecked. Will swell. And it will grow. And as it swells and grows. What does evil demand? It demands conformity. That’s what evil demands. It wants everything. And everyone. To approve of exactly. What it does.

And. To celebrate evil. As it does. Evil is very proud of evil.

And I think for you and I. In the year 2024. We are willfully stupid. If we’ve not seen that play out. In the last. Even 20 years. Much less. 100 years.

You don’t like. Gay marriage. That’s not your opinion. Or viewpoint. You are. Hateful. You are. You are. Homophobic. You don’t. Think that. A woman should have any sort of choice. You know what she does with her body. Or a little. Body inside of her body. You are anti-women. You dominate women. You are an infinite number of bad names.

You think there aren’t. A limitless number. Of genders. You are so backwards. You are so cruel to others. You are a bigot. Your very presence in this room is triggering. So it is said so often. You see those videos of. People who debate this stuff on college campuses. And the students say. I’m just triggered. That they are on campus today.

There was just this past week. A news story about. A 16 year old. In Ontario.

Which Canada is farther than we are.

And he had a t-shirt on. That said there are two genders. And he was. They demanded he take that shirt off. And he said I’m not going to take this off. Everyone that thinks the opposite. They get to parade that around. And he was suspended.

There was. Just this past week. And you know as well as I. It’s easy to find these stories. It’s not even like where are you getting these stories from. You know as well as I. This is just our news cycles now. There was a transgender man. Had his hair all done. Curled up and pretty. He had makeup on. And there laying on his bare chest. In a hospital. Was a newborn baby. That baby came out. And they put that baby. Right on. On the chest of that man. And so many women were commenting. This is sick. This is horrible. All that baby wants is. It’s mother. Something that man could. And here. To top it off. They were wheeling in a wheelchair. Around the hospital. That man.

Evil is bold. Evil is loud. Evil is militant. It hates goodness. It hates truth. It hates beauty. Evil is expressive.

So I think when you and I see. The blood of saints and martyrs. There to be absolutely commended by you and I. We’re to hold them in deep reverence. That they did not do. I think what so many folks. Are prone to do. Inside the church. Even.

Compromise. Compromise. Dirty. Filthy word. There’s a sharp distinction. There is a sharp distinction. Between. The kingdom of Satan. And the Lord Jesus. Very sharp. And what I want to say to you. Here. On all this. Is. If evil. Is so committed to being evil. If evil. Is so committed to being evil. Why are we so often. Sheepish. In standing for truth.

Would you say that. On the whole. Christians today. In the church today. We’re more in the business of mimicking the world. Copying the world. Softening. Selling hard truths of the Bible. Apologizing for hard truths of the Bible. Well. I’m sorry the Bible says this. But it does say that. And I wish it didn’t say that too. But it’s. We’re so sorry for what the Bible says.

And. Part of it is. To connect it. You know. Back in the 80’s. In the 90’s. You had something called. The seeker sensitive movement. You know. And if you. You’ve probably heard that phrase. Seeker sensitive. And. And I think it was noble. Maybe in its original intent. To remove. Offenses. Unnecessary offenses. Of church. In the gospel. To get people to come. But. That’s a. Kind of a slippery slope. When you’re. When you’re starting. With. How can church life. Exist for non-church people. Because I think the seeker sensitive movement. When it wanted to reach. Non-believers. It did more. To be concerned about. Kind of the sensory experience. Purely the sensory experience.

So. I think that leads to. Soft selling the Bible. And sermons. Soft preaching. More focused on. Your individuality. About you succeeding in life. You doing well. I think that movement. Has led to a lot of. Worship. Being. Therapeutic. For the individual. Rather. Exalting. The Savior. I think it. Often produces. Fellowship. That’s based on. Demographics. And shared interests. Not. Christ crucified. And to be clear. Should you and I remove. Silly unnecessary barriers. That keep non-believers. From hearing the gospel. Non-believers from. Visiting. A service. Yes. Is there wisdom. And keeping up with the times. And just being a part of the culture. You’re in. Yes absolutely. Yes absolutely.

But. There’s something very wrong. When the world dictates. The culture of the church. And the church is more ready. To adapt to culture. Than to hold on to. Love and be proud of. The headier. Weightier. More difficult. Teaching. Of the Bible.

Are we prepared. To follow in the steps. That would lead to where. These martyred saints went. If it came to that.

Are we prepared. To be the same kind of people. Who were killed by. The great prostitute.

Charles Spurgeon. Has wisely said. And prophetically said. The day will come. When the church doesn’t have. Shepherds. Shepherds. Feeding the sheep. But clowns. Entertaining goats.

And it’s an interesting phrase too. That John chooses to use. He says that she is. In verse five. She’s the mother. She’s the mother of prostitutes. It’s a very intimate term.

Babylon is. Intimately so. The mother. Of all those. Who hate Jesus. And hate doctrine. Why then do we want to. Cozy up to. A culture. And a time. And a place. That hates. Jesus. And would be drunk. On the blood of saints. So that’s truly. What D.L. Moody called. A martyr’s grace. A martyr’s grace.

To live with. The repulsion. I think that. Worldly culture has. Of Christians. And take. It as the highest possible compliment.

If the world. Rejects. The gospel you preach. The doctrines you hold to. And they’re disgusted with it. Take it as a compliment. I’m. Again. I’m not advocating. Like obnoxiousness. And. You know. Getting up in someone’s face. And looking for a fight. That. That’s not going to happen. Evil will come to you. But remember. The Lord Jesus. His words. In Matthew. In Matthew 5. In Matthew 5. Jesus says. Blessed are you. When you’re persecuted. Blessed are you. When they revile you. Because when. The world. Hates you. What does it mean? It means you find. Acceptance. With the father.

What an elite minority. Jesus talks about here. In verse 6. What an elite. Minority.

How much do you long to be named among these saints. These martyrs. Be at the end of the world. Or. You’re that awkward. 13. 14 year old. And. You found yourself. In a basement. With a bunch of other 13. 14 year olds. And one of them. Says. Hey. I brought this movie.

And. Everyone’s excited to watch it. And you know. In your gut. That’s not a movie for you. It’s full of filth. And you’ve got to be the one that says. Hey guys. I can’t. I can’t watch it. Not knowing. That. That. Is. Serious pressure. Isn’t it? You might as well put a gun to someone’s head. When you’re. A 13. 14 year old. In that situation. Or the variety of it. So again. The spirit of Babylon. Friends. It presses us. Everywhere. And on every side. And it’s a willingness. To be. The sore thumb. It’s a willingness. To be proud. Of Christ. And proud. Of righteousness.

Keep the distinctions. Of holiness. And righteousness. Alive. Sharp. In your own. Life.

You know. I like how. Paul Washer says. The day will come where. It may not be. Jesus. That the world hates. It’s your version of Jesus. Right? You can come up with the Jesus. Who is. All love. And boy. He’s just. An example. I heard one. Very famous. Actor say this. Just recently. In an interview. About why he’s a Christian. Because it’s just the. Ultimate example. Of love. And self-sacrifice. That’s fine. That’s fine. Everybody loves a Jesus. Who just. Shows us to. Be self-sacrificing. Artificial.

What about a Jesus. That’s crucified. For your sin. What about a Jesus. That tells us all. We’re wrong. And we must repent. Or perish in fire. See that’s a different Jesus.

That’s the Jesus. That’s the Bible. That you and I have to hold to.

So again. I’m not suggesting. We become Amish. And cut ourselves off from the world. I’m simply. Imploring us. To be fiercely biblical. And proud of it. That’s what I’m saying. The 66 books. In their grammatical. Historical context. Let’s be fiercely biblical. Let’s not be obnoxious. Let’s be wise. Right. As serpents. And innocent. As doves. In how we talk to the world. Yet we must be bold. And unshakable. In our convictions for Christ.

And let. Compromise be a non-word. A non-word.

Going on. Here in.

Verse 6. It says. In the second half of 6. When I saw her. I marveled greatly. But the angel said to me. Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery 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. And the dwellers on earth. There’s that phrase again. 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. So the tie between the woman. And ultimately. You know. Eschatological Babylon is what we’re talking about. And the beast and the antichrist. Those are inseparable. The city is the manifestation of the antichrist. And the city has the likeness of the antichrist. You can’t go back and forth. And say they’re two different things. At this point. And this is a flashback. To 13. Where we’re seeing. The antichrist. If you remember. He is there. He gets the mortal wound. He dies. And he comes back. It’s something of like a faux resurrection. It mocks. You know. The death and resurrection of Jesus. So that’s what’s being said here. When we read. He was. Is not. And is about. To rise. Now going on in verse 9.

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. One is. And the other. Has not yet come. And when he does come. He must remain only a little while. As for the beast. That was and is not. It is an eighth. But it belongs to the seven. And it goes to. Destruction.

Now what do we do with that? You never thought you’d have to bring a calculator. To a sermon.

One perspective here. Is that seven. And I’ve said this many many times in Revelation. Seven. Is that number of wholeness and completeness. So we could see this to mean. That historic Rome. Or. Rome in the sense of end times. It’s got a perfect power. It’s got a perfect completeness. In its strength. Another way to see that. Is that the seven. It represents. The different kingdoms. Over human history. That have been anti-God. Anti-Christian. So one commentator would say. You could do that if you started with Egypt. You go from Egypt. To Nineveh. To historic Babylon. To Persia. To Greece. And that would make Rome the sixth. Right? That would make.

End times Rome. Babylon when the Antichrist comes. The seventh. The seventh dies. It was. It is not. And it comes back. As the eighth. So that would be. The part of the tribulation. Where the Antichrist. He is in power. And it seems to be great. He gets the mortal wound. He dies. He comes back as the eighth. More powerful. Plain and raw. At that point. As the Antichrist. The Antichrist. He is the eighth. But what does John say? He belongs to the seventh. A third interpretation. Would be. We are talking about seven emperors. Of Rome. From Augustus to. Domitian. The problem is. You have to do some fuzzy math. To make the sixth. Be Nero. Who was explicitly anti-Christian. Or fuzzy math. To make the sixth. To make Domitian. The sixth. Who hated Christians. Especially. You have to do again. You have to pull out some minor emperors. To make it lay out. To be the sixth. So that you could talk about. The end times. Babylon being the seventh. When the Antichrist comes. What do we do. When we have so many options. I don’t think we have to. Tattoo. Our final answer on ourselves. And say. This is it. I want to quote Gordon Fee here. He says. The very ambiguity of all attempts. To interpret this literally. In terms of the history. That both preceded John. And was then in the making for him. Leaves one with more uncertainty. Than most scholars. Care. To deal with. I appreciate the honesty. I appreciate the honesty. However we see that. It doesn’t matter too much. I think the case for the successive. Empires throughout human history. Makes a lot of sense. As I explained it to you. It doesn’t matter. Because it doesn’t change the fact. That the Antichrist. He is the seventh. He is the one. That will appear for a time.

Will go away. And will come back. As the eighth. Will go back. Will come back as the eighth. That’s clear.

Here’s what’s also clear. About him. When he comes back as the eighth. He’ll go to destruction.

He’ll go to destruction.

As for the beast. That was and is not. It is an eighth. But it belongs to the seven. And it goes to destruction. You can translate that annihilation. You can translate that ruin. I think the strongest word. To get the heart of that. Is perdition. It’s not just ceasing or dying. It has a very damning sense to it. And that’s what’s being said here. That eighth. Will go to perdition. So I want you to see this. I want you to see this. Because it’s so important. For us to see. These seven empires. All that Satan does throughout human history. All that he did in historic Rome. All that he’ll do at the end. Then in verse 12. The ten horns. He says are ten kings. They’ve not yet received royal power. But they’ll receive authority as kings. For one hour together with the beast. Verse 13. They are of one mind. And they hand over their power and authority to the beast. They make war on the lamb. So. What will happen is. When he comes back as the eighth. He’s the strongest. Not only is he the strongest. We’re told the kings of the earth. All ten of them. They get authority for a minute. They give their complete and total support. To the antichrist. So you’ve got. You’ve got like every spade. You would think in the hand of Satan. He’s definitely going to win. Look how bad and dark. It’s going to get. Like shows over.

But we. We read.

Verse 14. They will make war on the lamb. And the lamb. Will conquer them. For. He is the lord of lords. And king. Of kings.

And those with him are called and chosen. And faithful.

Seven times. Does evil come. And eight. It comes back seemingly the strongest. It’s got the ten powerful kingdoms on its side. The dwellers of the earth. Everybody. They’re all in together. But what does the scripture say? The lamb will conquer. For he is the lord of. Look at it now. Lowercase l. Lowercase l. And he’s the capital K. King. Of kings. Big O. Period. That’s all. That’s all we need. That’s all you and I need. Jesus. Wins. Because. He’s. The king. Of kings. And lord. Of lords. And I want you to see this in verse 14.

John could have said. He could have said. They will make war on the son of God. They will make war on. The kingdom of God. They will make war on. The messiah. He could have used a number of synonyms. See how significant it is. That he says they’ll make war on the lamb. And the lamb will conquer. Flash back with me. In the beginning of revelation. And John’s weeping and freaking out. Because nobody can open the seals. And remember the point of the seals was to say. Who can finally bring an end. To human history. Who can finally bring an end. To the rule of sin and Satan. Who can do it. And it seemed like nobody in heaven. Was able to bring the end. And then just when John’s going to lose hope. The elder says. No no don’t weep. And then what presents itself. In the midst of the father. And all the elders. A lamb standing it says. It looked like it had been slain. But it’s a lamb standing.

Jesus already won at the cross. Jesus is already the victor. Jesus is the one. Who was slain. And through being slain. He is victorious. And risen. And forever more. He took away all of Satan. And the antichrist power. And everything that the great Babylon would do. To get the saints drunk. And to draw them away. Jesus is already the victor. At the end of the story. Because of what he did on the cross.

Friends. Jesus is our king. Jesus. Jesus is our conqueror.

He’s the lamb. And he stands.

Ought we not look upon him. And have all the courage in the world. And beyond. All the conviction in the world. And beyond. All the hope in the world. And beyond. When it seems as though. Hope is lost. When it seems as though. The world is successfully in the grips. Of Satan.

Oh friends. This passage. This passage. Puts a big light. On Jesus. And it shows us. That God. In the wild ways that he works. And we’ve talked about that. He looks so weak. And things look like the opposite. And God has a way at the very end of it. And Jesus pulling it out. And you’re like whoa. Look how awesome God is. Look how wise God is. Look how glorious and great God is.

And it’s not just him. We get this glorious comma. It’s the Lord of Lords. And the King of Kings. And who else can be called conquerors with him? Those who are called. And chosen. And faithful. So I can have. A strong sense of conquering. Right now. I’m a victor in Jesus. When? Well if I make it to the end. No. God called me out. And he chose me. And because he did. I’m going to be faithful to the end. I’m going to be faithful. I’m going to win. Have 110% surety in yourself. And I know we all struggle with this. Some days it’s like. I don’t know. Am I really converted? Maybe I’m not. Or gosh. Would I really struggle with this sin. If I was really a Christian. Or I don’t know if I’m going to make it to the end. I don’t have faith. I don’t have faith. Other people have faith. And Jesus is saying. Stop looking at you. You’re a conqueror. You’re a victor. You’re going to make it to the end. Because Jesus is the land that stands. Just dwell on Jesus. He’s your victory. Man. In all things. He’s your victory.

Walk in the victory you already have.

Don’t cower when darkness seems to surround. You’re Christ’s. And in him you are a conqueror.

Let us also give ourselves to prayer. Prayer specifically for the persecuted church. Who’s experiencing things around the world. That probably more look and feel like. What we’re reading here. Like we read about. You know so often. As it concerns Middle Eastern countries. And India. And Nigeria. And all these places where. Where evil is violent. In a way it’s not here in the West. Let’s not be selfish. Let’s pray for them. And love them with our prayers. As much as we pray for our own times.

And then last. Paul says. We ought to encourage one another. As the day draws near. He says we ought to encourage one another. As the day draws near. So friends. Keeping our eyes on that slain lamb. Who’s standing. Being reminded of our conquering status. It requires each other. Sometimes I need the physical voice of my brother. Or the physical you know. Hug of my friend. I need to be in the room with the saints. As we’re worshipping. This is an encouraging work. We all need when we’re together. We need it. Encourage one another as the day. Draws near.

So. The great prostitute.

Seems like. All encompassing. Seems like she’s going to win.

But it’s according to the purposes of God. It’s according to the purposes of God. Because it’s according to the purposes of God. You and I can take it as a compliment. When we’re rejected by the world. And we can know that we’re conquerors. In the lamb.

And I want you to see this about the purposes of God here.

Verse 15. And the angel said to me. The water. The waters you saw. Where the prostitute is seated. Are peoples. And multitudes and nations and languages. And the ten horns that you saw. They and the beast. Will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked. And devour her flesh. And burn her up with fire. Verse 17. For God has put it into their hearts. To carry out this purpose. By being of one mind. And handing over their royal power to the beast. Until the words of God are fulfilled.

And the woman that you saw is the great city. And that has dominion over the kings of the earth. Do you know what you just read? You just read. There comes a point in time. When the beast. And the ten kings. Are going to turn on the city. The city that is the beast. And is so expressive of his evil. It’s his empire. It’s his dominion. It says that God. God puts it into their hearts. To eat each other alive.

Evil can’t even be good at being evil. It turns on itself. It self-destructs. This is amazing. Everything. Everything. Is in the palm of God. This is his story.

Evil is not working on its own timetable. It’s not working according to its own calculations. It’s working. It’s working according to God’s purposes for God’s glory and for the church’s salvation.

Man.

We read that and we think. Lord forgive me when I doubt your purposes. Lord forgive me when I think I’m lost to you. Lord forgive me when I think evil just might outdo you somehow. What if he pulls out? What if he pulls it off? Oh friends.

And then we just think about grace. That each of us in our own way. We played our part in that great city Babylon, haven’t we? We’ve all loved sin more than we’ve loved Christ.

Sometimes it still happens.

But God’s grace saves us out. It keeps us out. And it keeps us out. And it keeps us distinct. It keeps us distinct. For God’s glory. And for our salvation.

The lamb stands. Let’s pray.

Father your word.

There’s a lamp to our feet. It’s a light to our path.

It shows us all the deep things.

All the deep things. And your spirit uses it to keep us and grow us.

Lord let us be faithful.

Even faithful unto death.

Let us love you more than life.

Let us be faithful to you. Let us be faithful to you. Let us be faithful to you. Let us be faithful to you. Let us be faithful to you. Let us be faithful to you. Let us be faithful to you. Let us be faithful to you.

Preacher: Chad Cronin