Faith Baptist Church
4258 Botetourt Road
Fincastle, Virginia 24090
(540) 473-2325
As we have stated Rev.18 deals with the downfall of commercial Babylon. Some say this is a rebuilt city, but I believe that city will never be revived. However, it represents a system that entangles men into its web of deceit. For many folks money means power. The saying is, the one who has the money has the power. The presidential candidates for 2008 have been at it for some time now, and all the reporters and news stations are saying the candidate who has the fullest coffers of money will be able to get their message out more and will most likely win. This doesn’t seem right, but this is the way people think.
As language barriers are being broken down across the globe and communication barriers are practically non-existent now commerce flows almost freely around the world 24/7. With opportunities abounding companies are ignoring any agreements they have with their workers who made them rich. Politicians are making deals at all hours of the night and day to appease world powers to bring jobs to them and their people. The economies of the world are flattening and our national security is suffering because of it. How is the believer to view this in light of God’s prophetic word?
A worldwide economic downfall is going to happen. The “How low can you go” philosophy of commercialism, as countries race to produce goods at the cheapest price, is going to eventually backfire. We are already headed that way and when the tribulation period takes place world economies will go into a tailspin when taking into consideration all of the ecological disasters that will occur as a result of the trumpet and bowl judgments of God. When you consider the rapid escalation of military campaigns in the second half of the tribulation period with all of its costs it will not be hard to imagine a universal collapse of trade and men’s trust in things. Praise the Lord we will not be here.
God will judge the god of money and those who bow down to it.
18:1
And after these things, the things regarding the beast turning on its rider, apostate Christianity is devoured. John says he saw another angel coming down [ Present Active participle]. This angel is said to come down having great power, great authority is a better translation as this word power is not dunamis, but exousian which is better translated, authority.
God’s angels have rank and he gives them the authority to pronounce his words and his intentions, and He also gives rank and authority to his pastor-teachers to pronounce His words and His intentions. We do not have apostles nor prophets today since the canon of Scripture is complete thus God has left the responsibility of announcing his word and his directions to the church through the rank of the pastor-teacher. This is an office that has been neglected by the pastors and it has been slighted by many of God’s own people.
This angel brings to the earth with him a bright light so much so that it lights the earth with its glory. This powerful angel reflects the glory of God.
18:2 His message is cried out loudly, [phone megale] a very loud voice saying. “Babylon the great is fallen is fallen.”
The city wherein resided the harlot church has been turned on by its scarlet colored beast of burden, and it is become a city of demons, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. Satan has his host of demons lurking in the belfries and towers of this city.
II Cor.11:13-15 Paul tells us Satan has his ministers of light that falsely portray Jesus Christ, by substituting human good in place of divine righteousness and justice. Human good always stands in opposition to divine righteousness and when God must judge a people, or heartache occurs human good accuses God of not caring and in doing so these peoples exalt their goodness above the righteousness God.
But in the last 3 1/2 years of the tribulation period Satan will not permit even apostates to name the name of Christ. He wants his worship and he gets it through his chief slave the Antichrist. As the Antichrist envy of the harlot church grows he throws her off and as we saw in 17:16 he and all the demons and foul spirits destroy her.
When human good served as the platform for the apostate church to gain control of the world it brought the world together, but this is evil and God will put an end to it.
Point of Doctrine!You cannot have a godly world without Jesus Christ and his word.
Not only does this apostate church seek to gain control of worshippers’ world wide, it will also hold great wealth as well.
It has always been the thinking of the RCC that the goods and lands of this world belong to her as she claims to represent Christ on earth. Of course Jesus Christ told his followers to seek those things which are above where moth and rust does not corrupt.
This church claims these goods for the furtherance of her political power and sway over humanity, but the Antichrist will want this wealth for his own purposes.
“Vatican II clearly states that the RCC today still seeks to bring under its control all mankind and all their goods. Pope Alexander VI (1492-1503) claimed that all undiscovered lands belonged to the Roman Pontiff, for him to dispose of as he pleased in the name of Christ as His Vicar (substitute). King John of Portugal was convinced that in the pope’s Bull [pope’s official written statements] Romanus Pontifex, that the pope had granted all that Columbus discovered exclusively to him and his country, but Ferdinand and Isabel of Spain, however, thought the pope had given the same lands to them.
This was settled in 1493 by Pope Alexander VI of Spain when he decided to divide the world by drawing a line down a global map. He granted all lands of the east to Portugal and all to the west to Spain. So Africa went to Portugal and the Americas went to Spain. The people were to be converted and brought under the domain of the RCC.
Historically it has been shown that those who refused to comply felt the edge of the sword. Governments of those territories and lands submitted to the wishes of the Pope and his bishops. South and Central America is an example of the unholy union of Church and State.”
A Woman Rides the Beast - Dave Hunt
Think of what our nation would be like if it had been claimed by the RCC. Instead God overruled as he saw the positive volition toward genuine faith and practice in this nation. He saw how men and women would worship him in spirit and truth, not in secrecy and oppression.
18:3 What John sees here is a church/state relationship where this union tramples on the freedoms of all people. This is what we have just been talking about with regard to this apostate church’s relationship with governments. “For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, [it’s called fornication because this apostate Christian church brokers deals with nations over the souls of men] as it gives to those nations masses of people who listen to the pope, and when the pope says obey your leaders, even socialist evil leaders, the people listen and those political leaders gain popularity and power].
If those leaders do not follow the ideals and wishes of the RCC they are removed or there is revolution. “Claiming to be the bride of Christ, the RCC has been in bed with godless rulers down through history, and these spiritually adulterous relationships continue to this day.”
I know they are not as widely noticed by us in the United States today and this is because true born again believers have influence over a large portion of this nation, and nations have been developed by believers who answer to no one but Christ, not the Pope. In other nations life is much different. I have seen the poverty and suffering in Central America and I have seen how apostate Christianity keeps the people in darkness.
Had North America not been settled mostly with Protestants in those early days we very well would be a third world country living in the religious oppression of the RCC.
In the second half of the tribulation period, with human good out of the way, all that is left is pleasure, and this pleasure would come from the commercial trade around the world.
Economies will not be built up to establish good nations or sustain families and good neighborhoods. Economics will be strictly geared to enhance the power and pleasure of the lost. Believers will be forced to hunt food or starve or give in to this commercial system. Some will give in and loose God’s reward, others will die for the faith and be rewarded as martyrs. We will see this in our next message.