Revelation 18 - Verse by Verse Bible Study

By Pastor Steven L Anderson

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January, 2013

Now in Revelation chapter 18, we read about the destruction of Babylon. The Bible reads

in verse number 1, "And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven,

having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with

a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation

of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings

of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed

rich through the abundance of her delicacies." So in this chapter, we read about the destruction

of Babylon. But first of all, I want to establish, who is Babylon. What is God talking about

when he talks about Babylon being destroyed. Well the first thing I want to point out,

and if you would turn to st Peter chapter ... The first thing I would like to point

out is the actual literal city of Babylon no longer exists. And not only that, but even

at the time of Christ, and even at the time of st Peter being written, and even at the

time of the book or Revelation being written, the city of Babylon no longer existed. That

is because the Old Testament story records how Nebechudnezzar, the king of Babylon conquered

the civilised world and had this worldwide empire, BUT, that empire was judged by God.

And it was prophesied in Jeremiah and , that Babylon would be destroyed. And the Bible

prophesied that Babylon would be destroyed and that it would never be inhabited. I'll

just read it for you quickly while you're turning to st Peter . "Therefore the wild

beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the

owls shall dwell therein", talking about birds dwelling there. And it says "and it shall

be NO MORE INHABITED FOR EVER; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.

As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD;

so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein." So when Babylon

was destroyed in the Old Testament, God said that it would not be inhabited again, it would

not be rebuilt. And to this day, that city no longer exists. So when the Bible is talking

about "Babylon", it is not talking about the literal city of Babylon from the Old Testament.

Some have said "well, it IS the literal city of Babylon, they're going to rebuild it".

And I've even seen different emails sent out, even going back to when I was a kid, they

would say "they're about to rebuild Babylon! The Bible is going to be fulfilled! They have

all the building materials..." And I've seen photographs of all these materials stockpiled

that they're supposedly going to rebuild Babylon with. But the Bible said that it was NOT going

to be inhabited again. And it's already been destroyed. I don't believe it's going to be

rebuilt. But second of all, God is already in the Bible referring to a different city

as "Babylon" in st Peter chapter . Because if somebody said "well, before the endtimes

come, the city of Babylon is going to be rebuilt." But wait a minute, in st Peter, he is already

referring to another city as Babylon, and the city still hasn't been built thousands

of years after st Peter was written. Look at this in st Peter chapter :. The Bible

reads "The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth

Marcus my son." So there, Peter is giving them a greeting, or a salutation from the

church AT BABYLON, and the city of Babylon did not exist at that time. So what was he

talking about? Well, just to show you one verse, the Bible says in verse , of chapter

, "And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings

of the earth." And then if you back up to verse of chapter , it says "And here is

the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth."

Now chapter was all about the great whore. And the great whore is sitting upon the scarlet

coloured beast. And the beast has seven heads, and those seven heads represent seven mountains

on which the woman sitteth. So in chapter , the great whore, I believe is clearly

the Roman Catholic church. Because the city of seven hills is Rome. And I believe that

when Peter is talking about the church at Babylon, he's talking about a church that's

at Rome. Because we know from reading the book of Romans, even before the apostle Paul

ever went to Rome, there was already a church there that was established and so forth. So

I believer that Peter was referring to the church at Rome. Revelation is prophesying

a future of the Roman Catholic church. And again, that's a whole sermon in and of itself,

just to talk about Revelation , and how it deals with the Roman Catholic church, and

the city of Rome, the city of seven hills. Now that has led some people to mistakenly

apply the Roman catholic church definition to chapter , and that is simply NOT correct.

Because you have to understand, and I am going to try to make this as clear as I can tonight,

you have to understand that the Babylonian empire was a worldwide empire. But then, the

Roman empire was a worldwide empire. Then there was the period where the Roman Catholic

church dominated Europe and much of the civilised world. And then in the endtimes, there will

be a one world government with the antichrist at it's head. Now, in st Peter chapter ,

when he talks about Babylon, he's talking about Rome, the Roman empire. Now, in chapter

, he's talking about the final empire being destroyed. Because in chapter , he's not

really talking about the destruction of Babylon. Chapter is where he talks about the destruction.

So we have to fast forward ourselves to the end times, and chapter is chronologically

taking place at THE END of the seven years, AFTER the tribulation, and AFTER God has poured

out all of his wrath. The last thing he does is destroy Babylon. But, all of this goes

back even further than that to a place called "Babel". And at the tower of Babel, you remember?

They all united together, all the people of the world were united together, and they were

going to build a tower that would reach unto heaven. And God did not want that, so he scattered

them and separated them into various nations. So the point is this. Babylon represents WORLD

EMPIRE. Babylon represents mankind united. Babylon, yes, in chapter , represents the

universal church. And that's what "Catholic" means. "Universal". But in chapter , we're

dealing with another place altogether. And the city that is destroyed, or the place that

is destroyed called "Babylon", I believe is the United States. I'm going to show you many

things in the chapter that lead me to believe that. As well as in Jeremiah and . First

of all, let me show you the most compelling piece of evidence that Revelation IS dealing

with the United States of America. Go down if you would to verse . This is talking

about the destruction of Babylon. And it says "And the merchants of the earth", merchants

are people who sell things, "And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her;

for no man buyeth their merchandise any more". Now, what place could be destroyed in ,

where it would be said "wow, because this place was destroyed, no man buyeth our merchandise

anymore." Think about it. The United States is the one who consumes the VAST majority

of the goods that are produced by the world. And if the United States were destroyed, people

would literally say "who are we going to sell all this junk to?" You know, this Walmart-bound,

made in China junk? Every single day there are gigantic ships coming from China just

bringing just masses of merchandise. Who has ever been to the Long Beach harbour, the LA

harbour, and seen those ships coming in from the Pacific? Isn't it an amazing sight? It's

unbelievable. I took a wrong turn, I didn't even mean to go there, I accidentally took

a wrong turn, and I was just blown away by the sight of these gigantic ships stacked...

And they look like little "Lego's", but each one of those little blocks is a train car

full of merchandise, just stacked up so high. It's unbelievable amount of merchandise that's

just constantly coming in. And that's probably the most compelling piece of evidence. But

if you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Because where is the world government right

now? The embryonic world government that will eventually become the kingdom of the antichrist

and so forth? Where is the world government, the United Nations, based? In the United States.

It is based in the United States. And really, if anybody has a world empire right now, it's

the United States of America. Because the definition of "empire", throughout history

is when we have our military bases in every country in the world. That's our empire. And

we have the world government located within our borders and we run it, we finance it,

we call the shots. We are the lone superpower. It used to be what was called "the two superpower

model of the USSR and the United States". But then after that, it became a new world

order where there was one superpower, the United States of America, and that's where

we're at. That's what we live in. Now, I will say this... And I'm going to prove to you

in alot of other ways that this is talking about America. I will say this. If the events

of endtimes Bible prophecy don't happen for hundreds of years, if the world's not going

to end for a few hundred more years, than maybe it's not America. But if this happens

anytime soon- and when I say "this", I mean all the events of Revelation, the tribulation,

the rapture, God's wrath... If that stuff happens in our generation, I'll guarantee

you that that's talking about America. If you would have talked to me several hundred

years ago, not that I was alive or around, but if I would have existed several hundred

years ago, and you would have talked to me... I would have said "hey, this is all about

the Roman Catholic church. Because obviously at that time, the world was in a different

place. But today from where we're at right now, if this were to happen in our lifetime,

which I think is very very likely, it's the United States of America. Because no other

place could be destroyed where the merchants could say "no man buyeth our merchandise any

more". Because we consume the masses of goods from all over the world. Look at the merchandise

that's listed there. Verse , "The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones,

and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood,

and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass,

and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine,

and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots"- and

chariots? That would be obviously automobiles today, right? "chariots, and slaves, and souls

of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things

which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more

at all." And so right there we see all that merchandise listed. And somebody could say

"oh, this is vatican city that's being described in Revelation ." Vatican city doesn't consume

that kind of merchandise! The United States consumes that kind of merchandise. And it

makes perfect sense that God would segue from his discussion in chapter about the universal

church and the whore of Babylon, and the Roman Catholic church, that he would segue into

the final phase of world government which is based in the United States, and refer to

the United States as Babylon. Now let's go back to Jeremiah and . And let's look

at some things in Jeremiah and that would point to this being the United States.

Now, before we got into tht sermon, when we read the whole chapter of Revelation , you

probably noticed over and over again, the Bible very clearly described how the United

States would be destroyed. And it said over and over again, that it would be "burned with

fire". It talked about the "smoke of her burning", "she shall be utterly burned with fire". And

it's a fiery burning that will be the fate of the United States. But then also, he made

it very clear that this destruction would take place in ONE HOUR. Three different times.

He said "in ONE HOUR is thy judgment come", in verse . He said "in ONE HOUR so great

riches is come to nought", or come to nothing in verse . Verse , it says "ONE HOUR is

she made desolate". So this is going to be a very swift, decisive destruction made with

fire. Not only that, but it's clear that it's going to be at the hand of Babylon's enemies.

It's not going to be God sending a divine destruction in the form of a miracle, or in

the form of fire from heaven. God is going to use other nations to destroy Babylon. He

says that he will put it in their heart to fulfil his will, and cause them to destroy

Babylon. God often brings judgment by using human means. And thats very clear. But let's

look at the highlight from Jeremiah and . And I want you to be looking for things

that are similar to the United States, or that just look similar to Revelation , to

show how these scriptures tie in together. Jeremiah chapter , and beginning in verse

, the Bible reads "The word that the LORD spake against Babylon and against the land

of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet." Jump down to verse , it says "For out of

the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and

none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast." And

you say "Pastor Anderson, a nation coming from the north? Is this Canada?" We've been

waiting for Canada to do something throughout history of merit, or something that would

make it noteworthy, but no, this isn't Canada. Because jump down if you would to verse ,

it says "Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans,

and be as the he goats before the flocks. For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up

against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set

themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be

as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain." So what we see here, is an assembly

of great nations coming from the north, and I'm not talking about Canada. See, this is

not hard to believe, because if you understand that the world is round, you understand that

a nation, or an assembly of great nations that were attacking the united states from

across the pacific, or across the across the atlantic, would come from the north. And you

say "how does that work, Pastor Anderson? That would be from the east or west." No,

I remember when I first learned this, I was years old, and I flew to Germany. And when

I flew to Germany... If you looked at a flat map on paper, you would say "okay, here is

the United States, here is Germany, I'm just going to go straight across the Atlantic ocean.

But because the world is round, that's not the way it works. Because the world is round,

it gets smaller at the top and it's wider toward the middle. And so when you fly to

germany, if you looked at it on a flat map, you actually go up like this, and then you

come back down. And the reason why it's called "the great cirle route", because you go upward.

And so when I flew back from Germany, I flew over all those snowy, icy, island, you know,

Canada just becomes a bunch of islands on the map? I flew over a bunch of those icy

island, because we were so far north, and I couldn't believe that we were that far north.

But the reason why is because it's a shorter distance. If you take a string and put it

on the globe, you can see it's a shorter distance to go that route. And so basically, that's

why they're coming from the north here in that passage. But then look at this, it says

"their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; NONE shall return in vain." Now think

about arrows that are being fired. When people fire arrows in battle, alot of times they

just fire arrows, and there are just arrows raining. And alot of them are missing the

target. But the Bible says here that when Babylon is destroyed, NONE of the arrows will

return in vain, they'll be like the arrows of a mighty expert man. Now if you think about

this, could this not be when it says "arrows", referring to missiles? Because obviously the

Bible is using language that Jeremiah could understand at that time, or that John, writing

the book of Revelation would understand at that time. And obviously, today, there are

missiles that always hit the target every time, because they're programmed with computers,

and because they have guidance systems, and they could be heat seeking, or whatever. And

keep in mind as we look at Jeremiah and , parts of these chapters are referring

to the destruction of Babylon that already happened in the Old Testament. The original

Babylon that was destroyed. But then there are other parts of Jeremiah and that

are pointing forward to something even further in the future of Revelation . But everything

in Revelation is talking about a future event. Stuff in Jeremiah and ... Some

of it is for back then, some of it is for future end times prophecy application. Look

down at verse , it says "Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall

be ashamed: behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land,

and a desert." You know, he says "your mother". Basically, our nation had a mother, if you

think about it. Because our nation was born of another nation. What nation was that? England,

right? Our nation was begotten by England. Basically, this is the hindermost of the nations.

Well, what does it mean to be hindermost? It means you are in the back. It means you

are bringing up the rear. That's what "hindermost" means. So maybe this could mean a nation that

has come lately. How about of all the great nations in the world, which is the newest

nation? The United States of America. Because at this point, the United States is only a

couple of hundred years old. Compare that with other world powers. Russia, how old is

Russia? Over a thousand years old? How old is China? Thousand of years old. If you look

at other major world powers? How old is England, depending on when you want to trace it back

to? AD? These nations are all much older and have a much longer history than our nation.

I guess you could say our nation is about years old, if you want to count every

thing leading up to the formation of the United States, the colonies and so forth. But when

it really became it's own nation, would be when they separated from England in ,

and declared their independence. So it says "the hindermost of nations", verse , "Because

of the wrath of the LORD it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one

that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues. Put yourselves

in array against Babylon round about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare

no arrows: for she hath sinned against the LORD. Shout against her round about: she hath

given her hand: her foundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for it is the vengeance

of the LORD: take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her." That reminds me of

Revelation , where he said "Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double

according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double." Look at verse

. "Come against her from the utmost border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps,

and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left." You know when he says "utmost border"

there, you can think of the United States has some utmost border, like for example,

think about Alaska. Basically a border that is an outer border. That's separate from the

rest of the nation. "Open up her storehouses". If you think about Alaska as having some of

the greatest storehouses of natural resources, especially oil in the state of Alaska, that's

part of why we even purchased Alaska, was to get to all the oil and natural resources

that are up there. Look at verse . It says "Call together the archers against Babylon:

all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about; let none thereof escape: recompense

her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath

been proud against the LORD, against the Holy One of Israel." Look at verse . "A sword

is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in

the midst of her". Now isn't the United States a place of mingled people? Because I mean,

the United States contains people from all different nationalities. Red, yellow, black

and white. It's definately a melting pot and a mingled people that are here. And it says

the mingled people that are in the midst of her, and they shall become as women, a sword

is upon her treasures. Verse . "Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild

beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein". Remember the

Bible said in Revelation , that Babylon was the cage of every unclean and hateful

bird? Well, what are unclean birds in the Bible? Because remember there are clean birds

and unclean birds in Leviticus? The unclean birds are the birds of prey that are eating

the carcasses, that's what the unclean birds are. Look at verse . "As God overthrew Sodom

and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD; so shall no man abide there,

neither shall any son of man dwell therein. Behold, a people shall come from the north,

and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth." Now

it's interesting that it said in verse , that they had become "as women". And then

he also says in chapter , verse , look at :, "The mighty men of Babylon have

forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became

as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken." So in chapter , he

says that the men have become as women. In chapter , he said "the mighty men have become

as women". And he said "it's going to be overthrown like Sodom and Gomorrah". Now tell me something.

Have the men in the United States of America become as women? You say "okay, Pastor Anderson,

I'm convinced now. I was skeptical until you got to this point. This point fits America

like a glove." Because let me tell you something. The men in America today have become like

women, and it makes me sick. And it makes God sick. God commanded over and over again

in the Bible, he said "the woman shall not wear that which pertaineth to a man, neither

shall a man put on a woman's garment, for all that do so are an abomination to the Lord

thy God." The Bible says it's a shame for a man to have long her, but a woman's hair

is a glory unto her. The Bible teaches over and over again that there should be a difference

between men and women. That men should dress like MEN, have hair like MEN, they should

live like MEN, talk like MEN... And the Bible says that no-one who is EFFEMINATE will inherit

the kingdom of God. And I'm not talking about queer, I'm just talking about a man who acts

effeminate, or acts like a woman, or has the attributes of a woman. You say, "you're down

on women". No, I think women should be very feminine and act like women. I want to exalt

and lift up women. But let me tell you something. Men need to be men and women need to be women.

And there ought to be a difference. And today we're seeing those line blurred, and we're

constantly seeing people in public where we can't even figure out if IT is a man or a

woman. And that's why we as God's people should stay as far away from that as we possibly

can. I'm not trying to see how close I can get to women's clothing without "technically"

being in violation of Deuteronomy :. And I don't think that you as a women can see

how close you can get to men's clothing, without violating God's word. Why don't you just be

as feminine as you can, and celebrate your womanhood, and why don't you men be as masculine

as you can, and why don't we just reestablish at least amongst God's people, the roles of

men and women today? Unlike this sick, queer filthy society that we live in. It's becoming

weirder every day. It's becoming more bizarre every day. And if God rained fire and brimstone

on Sodom and Gomorrah as an EXAMPLE to them that afterward should live ungodly... You

say "why would you say God is going to destroy America, why are you preaching that God is

going to cause America to be demolished?" I'll tell you why. Because America has become

like Sodom and Gomorrah in so many ways. America has embraced the homos and the homo lifestyle,

and therefore will suffer the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. Look if you would at chapter

. So we saw alot of interesting things in chapter , that could definately apply, or

symbolise America. And we definately saw things that tied in with Revelation . Look at Jeremiah

:. It says this, "Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and

against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind".

Now, I think this is a really interesting phrase, "a destroying wind". Now, we saw earlier,

first of all in Revelation , the Bible was really clear that Babylon would be destroyed

with fire. Burned with fire, the smoke of the burning would be seen very far away. As

the ships were coming in with their merchandise, they would see the smoke of the burning, they

would see the fire and the smoke, and they would have to turn that ship around. They

were afraid to come near, the Bible said, for fear of the smoke and they said "no man

buyeth our merchandise anymore". But then also in chapter , there was alot of talk

about arrows, and these arrows that were like expert arrows, that none of would return in

vain. Now he is talking about a destroying wind. I believe that this could be fulfilled

basically through nuclear warheads. Because if you think about these missiles with nuclear

warheads, when there is a nuclear blast, there is definately a destroying wind, when a bomb

is dropped. I don't know if you have seen that old black and white footage, or that

really archaic footage from when they're experimenting with the nuclear blast. And they'll set off

a nuclear explosion, and they have all the cameras set up really far away, and basically

you see the mushroom cloud come up, the fiery mushroom cloud. And then you see the shockwave,

and the wind. And all the trees are whipped, and remember, buses and buildings are just

being blown over, just by the wind, just the force of the blast of the explosion. Obviously,

in today's world, we don't fight with swords and knives and arrows and clubs and spears

and so forth. I mean, if you really want to utterly destroy something, that's what you're

going to use. A nuclear bomb, or nuclear missiles with nuclear warheads. So he says "a destroying

wind". Look at verse , "Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD'S hand, that made

all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad",

meaning they're crazy, they're insane. It's that definition of mad there. Look at verse

. "We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go

every one into his own country". Again, see it's a nation where everyone is from other

nations. So they're saying "let's go back to our own country, let's go back to the United

states, let's go back to wherever we immigrated from." He says "for her judgment reacheth

unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies." Verse , we already saw that the

men had become like women. Look at verse , "The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered

with the multitude of the waves thereof." So again, the United States, a perfect fit

of basically, tidal waves being able to come in, the waves of the ocean being able to come

in, if there is some kind of blast or a nuclear explosion. It says in verse number , "My

people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce

anger of the LORD." Verse , "Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she

should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her,

saith the LORD." Again, this is just kind of speculating and trying to see how this

stuff could play out. But if you think about what it means when it's talking about "mounting

up to heaven" and "fortifying the height of her strength", this could be some kind of

a satellite missile defence system that this is referring to. Because the United States

has an attitude that it can never be defeated, that our military might is unbeatable, and

that we have a military defenses and satellite missile defences, and nothing could ever get

through. And he says "you know what? Even if you fortify the height of your strength,

even if you do have a shield that mounts up to heaven, you're going down." He says in

verse , "Then shalt thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it

off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate

for ever. And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou

shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates: And thou shalt say,

Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her:

and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah." So go back to Revelation

. So, that judgment on Babylon, after it's read, then he basically, when he finishes

reading it, the scribe ties it to a millstone, throws it into the Euphrates river, and says

"thus with great violence shall Babylon be thrown down, and it's not going to be inhabited".

And again, alot of the things in Jeremiah and were referring to the destruction

of Babylon back then. But the things that I read to you seem to be more pointing toward

the future destruction of Babylon in Revelation . And alot of them are quoted in Revelation

, about the destruction of Babylon. So back to chapter , and let's go through this now,

with all those scriptures, and those things in mind. Verse , "And I heard another voice

from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and

that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath

remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double

according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. How much she

hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she

saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore

shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be

utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of

the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail

her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off

for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty

city! for in one hour is thy judgment come." You know, how long would it take to be destroyed

through nuclear weapons? Would one hour be enough? Think about it. One hour is enough

for it to just be demolished. It says in verse number of course that when it's destroyed,

no man will buy the merchandise anymore. It lists all that merchandise which is all stuff

that we consume in mass, mass amounts, as a nation. It says in verse , "And the fruits

that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and

goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. The merchants of

these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment,

weeping and wailing, And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine

linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!

For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the

company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, And cried

when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! And

they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that

great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness!

for in one hour is she made desolate." Now what do you notice about this? It's very repetitive

chapter, isn't it? It keeps going on and on about all the sailors and all the merchants

just keep weeping and wailing and crying and putting dust on their heads. Are they saying

"ah, that's so terrible that people are dying"? Has anyone mentioned that? "Ah, it's so terrible,

it's so sad, oh the humanity! All those people are dead!" No, they're all just saying the

same thing. "Oh man... All that money! All that wealth! Man, who are we going to sell

this stuff to? This is what made us rich, this is where we got paid! Man, look at the

gold, the silver, the precious stones, the pearls, the scarlet, the fine linen..." Is

there any mention here of them saying "boy, it's too bad for all those people. What a

sad, sad day that that Babylon is demolished." No, it's just all about MONEY. It's just all

about "oh, we can't do business anymore with these people." There is no love here in this

chapter, is there? Now look at this, though. So they're weeping and wailing. Because you've

got to get this chapter, there is alot of repetition. They're weeping, they're wailing,

they're lamenting, they're bewailing. It justs gives every possible word and every description

of sorrow. And then they just want to list all the merchandise. That's all they want

to talk about. The merchandise, the money, the gold. Now look at the contrast. Verse

, "Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets". So is heaven

weeping and wailing? Are the prophets weeping and wailing? They're rejoicing. They're praising

the Lord. It says "for God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone

like a great millstone"- kind of throwback to Jeremiah - "and cast it into the sea,

saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be

found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters,

shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall

be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all

in thee; And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the

bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants

were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in

her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the

earth." So there we see that this nation Babylon, this great city... The Bible is basically

using... And you say "well, this is a city, not a nation". But see, here's the thing.

We're not talking about physical Babylon at all, what we're talking about is that the

city of Babylon is a picture, or a symbolic of the United States of America. Because just

as the city of Babylon was once the ruler of the civilised world. Basically in the end

times, the United States, through the United Nations is basically ruling over the entire

world. In the way that the city of Babylon did, that's what the United States is doing.

And so the United States is symbolised by the city of Babylon. And that's what we're

seeing in Revelation . But notice, it says that "by thy sorceries were all nations deceived."

Let me ask you this... Has America been used to deceive the nations of the world? Is there

alot of deception coming out of America that is deceiving the entire world? And it says

"by thy sorceries were ALL nations deceived." ALL nations. Now, ALL nations have not been

deceived by Catholocism, even though I strongly believe chapter is dealing with Catholocism

there. And there is a judgment upon that wicked religion. But let me say this. All nations

have been decieved by the United States of America. And if you notice, one of the things

that he brought up in verse at the beginning was music. He said "the voice of harpers,

and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters". You have to understand, the United States

has a great impact and influence upon ALL nations of this world. ALL nations. I mean,

when it comes to fashion and clothing, who do you think sets the pace? Who do you think

sets the standard? Exactly. New York. This nation produces the music that the world listens

to. I mean, if you go... Look, I've been all over Europe. I've been to, what? countries

in Europe, and in Europe, I don't care what country you're in, you listen to the radio,

you're hearing American music. They don't even always understand the words, because

it's all in English. Of course alot of the young people all speak English. But, when

you're in Europe, they know all the American bands, all the American rock and roll and

pop music. They listen to it over there. I mean, it is the most popular music all over

the world. Is it godly music? Is it righteous? Is it of the Lord, or would it be a sorcerous,

wicked, ungodly music, that's a decieving music? And not just the music, what about

the movies? Where are all the movies made? Hollywood California. And the movies that

are made in Hollywood go around the entire world, and are translated into every language

on the planet, that's a major language. You're not going to believe this, but my wife used

to work... And isn't this where you worked when I met you? Kinowelt? When I met my wife

and even when we got married, right? You had to put in your two weeks notice, right? My

wife literally, when I married her, she worked at a company that basically took American

movies and Hollywood movies from America, and put them into German, and released them

in Germany. That's the business that she was in. And look, that business is in every country.

Because America makes these movies that cost MILLIONS and millions of dollars. And guess

what? It doesn't cost a hundred million dollars just to dub in some German voice, or french

or italian or japanese or chinese. And so these movies that put out whatever messages

that Satan wants to put out in these Hollywood movies, are all embedded with the Devil's

messages, they're all embedded with what the Devil wants people to think and believe, and

all of his agenda, and his philosophy. And it's ANTI Bible, it's ANTI Jesus Christ, it's

ANTI family, it's ANTI tradition, it's against everything that is good and righteous and

wholesome and godly. And it's promoting fornication, it's promoting promiscuity, it's promoting

adultery, it's promoting drunkenness, it's promoting drug use, it's promoting violence.

And these movies that are put out in the United States of America have been used to BRAINWASH

the ENTIRE WORLD. The TV shows of America have brainwashed the whole world. The music

of America has enamoured and enchanted, and brainwashed THE WORLD! The wickedness of our

nation has spread throughout the world. I mean there are still nations in this world

where the ladies still dress somewhat modestly, and feminine. And you would look at them and

they would look like a righteous godly lady. She's not wearing short shorts and a tank

top. But look, as soon as American influence comes through TV, through the music, through

the movies... And you go to the big cities in these countries, and the more access they

have to TV, internet, movies, they start dressing like American girls. They start acting like

American girls. Which is not a righteous model. And thank God... And I'm not just completely

down on America today, because obviously, there are alot of great people in America.

There are alot of great... I mean America, here is what's interesting about America.

Even though we are deceiving the whole world with sorceries and rock and roll and Hollywood

and Madison Avenue, the dichotomy is interesting because we also have the most Bible believing

churches. And we send out missionaries all over the world. But here is the thing about

it though. There are getting to be over time, less and less Bible preaching churches, and

more and more of the ungodly and wicked influence. So as we approach the endtimes, America is

becoming a force more and more of negative in this world. As opposed to in the past,

it was a force for positive in many ways. It modelled alot of freedom. I mean our country

for a while was modelling a good form of government, freedom, liberty, trusting in God, promoting

the Bible, alot of Baptist preaching, alot of Bible believing churches. But as we get

closer to the endtimes, isn't it getting worse every year? I mean, isn't America getting

worse every year? It's getting LESS godly, it's becoming MORE sinful, more wicked. And

by the time this takes place, it will be a totally wicked place. And keep in mind, the

rapture has already taken place, before this happens. Because this is happening AFTER all

the vials of God's wrath at the seventh vial, is when he says that "Babylon came in remembrance,

to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath". So God is judging

Babylon within the scope of the seventh vial judgment. So at this point, God's people as

far as the people that are saved right now, have already been removed, via the rapture.

Now I'm sure that there are other people who get saved AFTER the rapture. Anybody who has

not taken the mark of the beast already, and become reprobate, still has an opportunity

to get saved, and could still be saved. So there will be people that are saved, after

the rapture. There are going to be the , preaching the gospel and so forth. But, I'm

just saying, it's not going to help the United States at all, the fact that the Christians

are going to be caught up to heaven at the rapture. That's not making it any better of

a place. And it just... Even in our lives, we see it getting worse and worse and worse.

I mean, what is going to happen in our country in the next couple of years? Isn't it a scary

thought? I mean it's so bizarre, what's happened over the last TEN years, and we see it accelerating.

You know, it's funny because when I first started preaching, and when I first started

the church seven years ago, people thought that I was really a fanatic. Alot of the stuff

I preach, man, they thought I was crazy, they thought I was really radical. But now I am

getting less radical every day. It used to be, I'd preach stuff, like "man the TV is

wicked, you need to quit watching TV!", and people would get mad and think I was crazy,

think I was nuts, over the top... Now you say to people "man TV is wicked", and they're

just like "yeah, I know. You're right." Seriously. EVEN UNSAVED PEOPLE will say that. Even people

that aren't even Christians will say "yeah, it's really bad! I don't even want my kids

to watch it!" It used to be, I'd say that to other Baptist pastors and they would flip

out. Now they're like, "yeah, you're right". Our country is getting so wierd, my preaching

is starting to make sense. When I'm screaming and yelling about the homos... people thought

"man, this guy is over the top". But now it's starting to make alot of sense. And I'm telling

you, it's getting worse every day. And I don't know what's going to happen in the next few

years. Even so, come Lord Jesus. Our country is going down a bad path. But let me tell

you something, we as God's people need to make sure that we're different. Go to Philippians

chapter . Let me just end on a high note here, because it's not really that positive

of a sermon. I've just never been a really Joel Osteen kind of a guy. But anyway, Philippians

chapter number ... Because you know, this sermon is all about the destruction of Babylon.

It's about applying it to the United States. And like I said, the only way that I'm wrong

about this... And you've seen the evidence tonight, and if you disagree with me, that's

fine. Study the Bible on your own, I'm just planting the seeds in your mind. Go back,

read Jeremiah , , Revelation . Study your whole Bible. Put it all together, and

come to your own conclusion. If you disagree that Revelation is referring to the United

States being destroyed in the endtimes, you're more than entitled to your opinion. But in

my opinion, the only way I'm wrong about this, is if this doesn't happen in our lifetime.

Because obviously the world can change alot in a hundred years. But if this stuff happens

in our lifetime, this is talking about the United States. And the United States is getting

nuked. That's pretty clear, as I read it. But look at Philippians chapter number .

The Bible says this... It says in verse , " For it is God which worketh in you both

to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst

of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth

the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain,

neither laboured in vain." So right there, the Bible is telling us that God expects us,

even in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, he expects us to be blameless and

without rebuke. He doesn't say "well, you're in a crooked and perverse nation, so I understand

you have got to go along to get along. I understand if you compromise a little bit. You've got

to fit in a little bit. When in Rome, do as the Romans do." No. God's plan for our lives

is that we would be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, and that we would be without

rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom we shine as lights in the

world. Holding forth the word of life. That's our Job today, is to be a burning and a shining

light, and to shine the light of the glorious gospel in the midst of a crooked and perverse

nation. Not to make excuses and say "well, you know it's IMPOSSIBLE to keep my mind clean,

because of all the billboards and the TV and the rock and roll. I can't keep a clean mind.

I can't stay pure. It's just impossible." No, it's POSSIBLE! With God all things are

possible. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. And it is our Job

to decide "you know what? I'm going to be DIFFERENT to the people around me. I'm going

to be DIFFERENT to the people at work. I'm going to be DIFFERENT in my marriage. I'm

going to be DIFFERENT in my child rearing, I'm going to be DIFFERENT in my work ethic.

I'm going to be DIFFERENT in my morality, in my cleanliness, in my godliness." We ought

to be DIFFERENT today, and realise that yes, we live in a crooked and perverse nation.

And if you're in denial about that, you need to face it. Our country promotes sodomy now.

Our country promotes abortion. Our country promotes wickedness and filth of all kinds.

Our country, as a policy, believes that there is no God. That's the nation that we live

in. But it's our job to shine the light of the truth. And let me tell you something.

The darker the place that we live, the darker our nation becomes, the brighter the light

shines. It's like when you try to look at the stars in the city. You don't really see

the stars that much, because the city lights are so bright, they drown it out. Or it's

like if you are in the daytime and you turn on a flashlight. Let's say you are out in

the sunshine and you turn on a flashlight. You can hardly see the flashlight, right?

You have to look right at the flashlight. Is it on? But now, take that flashlight into

a cave in the earth, where you can experience total darkness. And I took my sons a few months

to the... Who has ever been to the lava tube in flagstaff? Anybody? Leslie if the only

person that has ever been there? It's up by flagstaff, there is this place where this

lava flowed and created this tunnel, and it's this cave, and you hike in and... How deep

is it kids? Did we go like quarter miles in? Yeah, it's this really neat hike, because

you hike quarter of a mile in, and then you touch the end of it. You got there. And

then you go three quarter of a mile out. And you go down into the end of this cave in the

earth, and man, when you turn off the flashlight, it's total darkness. We went in there, me

and my boys. We turned off the lights, we put our hand in front of our face, and your

imagination will tell you that your hand is there, but you can't see ANYTHING. It is just

total darkness. And we waited for our eyes to adjust. And you can't see anything in there.

You flip on that flashlight, and it lights up the whole place. Just BOOM. Just push a

button on a tiny little flashlight. BOOM. Take that out in the daytime, you don't even

hardly see it. So look, if we're living in a dark place, that just causes our light to

shine even brighter. Instead of hiding our light under a bushel, and saying "oh man,

I'm ashamed to be different, I'm ashamed to stand out... I'm ashamed to be looked at as

an oddball, because I don't fit in with the kids at school." And the Bible says that they

think it strange that you don't go to the same excess of rioting and drunkenness that

they go to. I'm paraphrasing but, the world looks at that as strange. Why you don't live

the lifestyle that they live. But you know what? At school, at work, in whatever groups

and circles that you run in, man, let that light shine bright. Don't hide it under a

bushel. No, I'm going to let it shine. And we should be a burning and shining light in

the midst of a crooked nation among whom we shine as lights in the world. And you know

what the Bible said? If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is

that darkness. You know what? Let's just make sure that the light in America stays on in

the churches. Look, we can't control what the world does out there. We can't control

what our criminal government does. But you know what? We can be a burning and shining

light. Faithful Word Baptist church can be a lighthouse on the hill. And every Bible

believing church in America, every independent fundamental Baptist church should be shining

that light, burning bright, and being a testimony of godliness. And a testimony of RIGHTEOUSNESS,

and the TRUTH. And we ought to take it as an opportunity, not say "oh man, it's so hard".

No. We ought to say, "this is just EASIER to let my light shine", because it shines

the best in the darkness. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father we thank

you so much for this chapter. It's a fascinating chapter. Obviously these are very deep things,

and Father I've studied this for a long time and looked at it and prayed about it. And

tried to understand it the best I know how. I've tried to express it tonight in the best

possible way that I could. But I pray that every person who is here would do their own

study and come to their own conclusions and read it themselves, and make their own decisions.

But Father, the biggest lesson that we can take from it is that we can be a burning and

a shining light, even in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. Help us to keep that

in mind. Help us to take it as a challenge, and to take it as our calling. And in Jesus'

name we pray, Amen.