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Voddie Baucham - The Good News of Judgment · Voddie Baucham Sermons

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  Speaker 1: Well, as we continue our journey in Revelation, we move
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  Speaker 1: to this middle section of Revelation 14. Look today at
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  Speaker 1: verses 6 through 13. If you'll remember, we are right
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  Speaker 1: in the middle of this reprise here in chapters 12
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  Speaker 1: through 14. And we see these seven events that are
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: a recap of God's judgment, his historical judgment that brings
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: about the consummation of all things. And it's before we
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: go into these bowls of judgment, which is another iteration
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: of that same idea of a series of seven judgments
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  Speaker 1: being poured out. We've seen in chapter 12... this war
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  Speaker 1: between the beast and the woman and her offspring. We
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  Speaker 1: saw in chapter 13 this picture of this dragon and
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  Speaker 1: the beast and the second beast and this sort of
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  Speaker 1: false trinity. And on last week, we saw a picture
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  Speaker 1: of the war of worship and that ultimately what this
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  Speaker 1: was about was a battle as to whom we would worship.
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  Speaker 1: There are those who've taken the mark of this beast
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  Speaker 1: and so that they may buy and sell, and they
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  Speaker 1: have worshipped him and are bringing about judgment as a
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  Speaker 1: result of this worship. This is a picture of those
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  Speaker 1: who turn toward idolatry and away from the authentic worship
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  Speaker 1: of the authentic triune God. And then we saw a
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  Speaker 1: picture of the lamb standing on Mount Zion, and this 144,000
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  Speaker 1: who are with him, And we looked at the symbolism
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  Speaker 1: there of that number, this picture of the complete people
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  Speaker 1: of God standing before the Lord there on Mount Zion.
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  Speaker 1: And this picture of perfect worship that originates in heaven
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  Speaker 1: and has an impact on earth. Now we move beyond
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  Speaker 1: that to a threefold proclamation by angels. And this war
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  Speaker 1: of worship has given way to the good news of judgment. Now,
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  Speaker 1: I know that sounds ironic. And there's a reason that
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  Speaker 1: that sounds ironic. We'll talk about that more. But the
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  Speaker 1: good news of judgment. We don't think about judgment as
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  Speaker 1: good news. But it is. And we find that here
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  Speaker 1: as we begin in verse 6 of Revelation 14. We read,
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  Speaker 1: then I saw another angel flying directly overhead with an
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  Speaker 1: eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth,
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  Speaker 1: to every nation and tribe and language and people. And
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  Speaker 1: so we hear here, there's a gospel coming. There's an angel,
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  Speaker 1: a messenger of God bringing an eternal gospel. What does
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  Speaker 1: that eternal gospel sound like? Verse 7, and he said
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  Speaker 1: with a loud voice, fear God and give him glory.
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  Speaker 1: Verse 8. And another angel, a third, followed them saying
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  Speaker 1: with a loud voice... If anyone worships the beast and
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  Speaker 1: its image and receives a mark on his forehead or
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  Speaker 1: on his hand, he also will drink the wine of
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  Speaker 1: God's wrath poured full strength into the cup of his anger.
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  Speaker 1: And he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in
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  Speaker 1: the presence of the holy angels and in the presence
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  Speaker 1: of the lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes
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  Speaker 1: up forever and ever. And they have no rest day
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  Speaker 1: or night. these worshipers of the beast and its image,
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  Speaker 1: and whoever receives the mark of its name. Here is
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  Speaker 1: a call for the endurance of the saints, those who
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  Speaker 1: keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 1: And I heard a voice from heaven saying, write this,
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  Speaker 1: blessed are those or excuse me, blessed are the dead
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  Speaker 1: who die in the Lord from now on. Blessed indeed,
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  Speaker 1: says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors,
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  Speaker 1: for their deeds follow them. If someone were to ask you,
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  Speaker 1: what is the most glorious announcement you could make about God?
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  Speaker 1: What would your answer be? Think about that for a moment.
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  Speaker 1: Because here we have, in the midst of Revelation 12
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  Speaker 1: through 14, this picture of the cosmic battle that is
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  Speaker 1: going on, this picture of time wrapping itself up, history
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  Speaker 1: being consummated, and God bringing things to an end. And
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  Speaker 1: right here at the apex of it, there are three angels.
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  Speaker 1: And one of them is said to bring an eternal gospel.
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  Speaker 1: to all the earth, if you're in the midst of that,
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  Speaker 1: this most important moment and this most important message, and
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  Speaker 1: you have to make a glorious announcement and pronouncement about God,
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  Speaker 1: what do you say? Time is running out. The war
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  Speaker 1: of worship is at an apex. God sends his perfect
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  Speaker 1: messengers with this perfect message and their theme, not love,
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  Speaker 1: but judgment. Is that what you thought? Is that how
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  Speaker 1: you would have answered the question? In fact, if we're honest,
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  Speaker 1: even knowing that this is the message that the angels proclaimed,
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  Speaker 1: If someone were to ask us this question even after
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  Speaker 1: we realize that this is what the angels proclaim, for
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  Speaker 1: the most part, we'd feel very uncomfortable saying, you got
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  Speaker 1: one shot. It's the apex of this battle, and you're
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  Speaker 1: going to say a glorious proclamation about God. What's your proclamation?
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  Speaker 1: You know the answer, and you don't like the answer. Judgment.
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  Speaker 1: But why don't we like this answer? There are reasons
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  Speaker 1: for that. We'll find those as we look at these proclamations.
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  Speaker 1: The first angel. The first angel brings this gospel of
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  Speaker 1: God's glory and coming judgment. We read, Then I saw
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  Speaker 1: another angel flying directly overhead with an eternal gospel to
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  Speaker 1: proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation
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  Speaker 1: and tribe and language and people. Again, we've seen this
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  Speaker 1: before a number of times, but also in the previous chapter.
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  Speaker 1: Those who are receiving this mark, Are from where? Every
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  Speaker 1: nation and tribe and tongue and people. And he said
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  Speaker 1: with a loud voice, fear God and give him glory
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  Speaker 1: because the hour of his judgment has come. And worship
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  Speaker 1: him who made heaven and earth and the sea and
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  Speaker 1: the springs of water. Here's what we hear if we
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  Speaker 1: were to take this in the form of a statement
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  Speaker 1: to walk away with. You stand condemned before a holy
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  Speaker 1: and just God. There's the statement of the first angel.
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  Speaker 1: The first angel says, you stand condemned before a holy
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  Speaker 1: and just God. This is a global proclamation. Remember the
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  Speaker 1: importance of that number four. That number four is a
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  Speaker 1: number of completion as it relates to the earth. And
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  Speaker 1: so when we talk about the four winds and the
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  Speaker 1: four corners of the earth, so on and so forth,
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  Speaker 1: that's a reference to all of the earth. Here is
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  Speaker 1: a reference to all of the peoples of the earth.
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  Speaker 1: every nation and tribe and language and people. We've seen
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  Speaker 1: this a number of times, and it refers to the
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  Speaker 1: message being a global message, a message to all of
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  Speaker 1: the people on the earth. And this message of God's
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  Speaker 1: impending judgment is a message for all the people in
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  Speaker 1: all the earth. And from the time of Christ's death, burial,
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  Speaker 1: and resurrection, he gives a great commission. What is the
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  Speaker 1: great commission? The great commission is to go and make
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  Speaker 1: disciples of all nations. To go proclaim the gospel among
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  Speaker 1: all nations. and to teach them to observe whatever the
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  Speaker 1: Lord has taught us. What is being said there? Go
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  Speaker 1: tell every tongue and nation and tribe and people this
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  Speaker 1: gospel message. And so what's the picture here? The picture
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  Speaker 1: is an intensification of the gospel going forth as the
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  Speaker 1: time draws near and as history draws to a close.
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  Speaker 1: So as the battle intensifies, the people of God, the
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  Speaker 1: messengers of God, don't back off, but they step on
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  Speaker 1: the gas as it relates to persecution. the gospel. As
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  Speaker 1: we get closer and closer to getting the gospel to
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  Speaker 1: all people, we don't relax. Listen to this in Matthew 24,
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  Speaker 1: 9 to 14. Then they will deliver you up to
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  Speaker 1: tribulation and put you to death. And you will be
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  Speaker 1: hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then
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  Speaker 1: many will fall away and betray one another and hate
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  Speaker 1: one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead
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  Speaker 1: many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love
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  Speaker 1: of many will grow cold. But the one who endures
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  Speaker 1: to the end will be saved. And this gospel of
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  Speaker 1: the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as
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  Speaker 1: a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come.
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  Speaker 1: This gospel will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as
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  Speaker 1: a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come.
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  Speaker 1: God forbid that we should ever get so myopic that
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  Speaker 1: we just think about us. Amen? Amen. Our desire is
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  Speaker 1: that the gospel will be proclaimed to all nations. This
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  Speaker 1: is a global proclamation. And then look at the nature
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  Speaker 1: of this proclamation. Fear God. Is that what you think
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  Speaker 1: about when you think about an eternal gospel? Hey, you
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  Speaker 1: got a minute? I know you don't know me, but
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  Speaker 1: I'd just like to share the gospel with you. Fear God.
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  Speaker 1: It's generally not where we start. Amen? Amen. Fear God.
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  Speaker 1: Why are they taking the mark? Because they fear the beast.
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  Speaker 1: This idea of fearing God means you don't fear the
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  Speaker 1: beast and what he can do to you. Is this
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  Speaker 1: not what Jesus says? Don't fear man who's able to
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  Speaker 1: kill the body, but fear God who's able to destroy
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  Speaker 1: both body and soul in hell. Don't fear man who
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  Speaker 1: says that he can keep you from buying and selling.
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  Speaker 1: Fear God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills
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  Speaker 1: and who also will judge you, especially if you enter
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  Speaker 1: into the idolatry of fearing the beast as opposed to
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  Speaker 1: fearing God. Then he says, and give him glory. Fear
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  Speaker 1: God and give him glory. What happens when we fear
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  Speaker 1: the beast? We give the beast glory instead of giving
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  Speaker 1: God glory. Romans chapter 1 makes this picture clear, does
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  Speaker 1: it not? This is the essence of all sin. Beginning
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  Speaker 1: in verse 18 in Romans 1. For the wrath of
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  Speaker 1: God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness
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  Speaker 1: of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For
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  Speaker 1: what can be known about God is plain to them
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  Speaker 1: because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes,
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  Speaker 1: namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly
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  Speaker 1: perceived ever since the creation of the world. in the
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  Speaker 1: things that have been made. So they are without excuse,
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  Speaker 1: for although they knew God, they did not honor him
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  Speaker 1: as God or give thanks to him. But they became
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  Speaker 1: futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
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  Speaker 1: Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the
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  Speaker 1: glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man
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  Speaker 1: and birds and animals and creeping things. And they worshiped
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  Speaker 1: the creature rather than the creator. They give glory to
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  Speaker 1: man and not glory to God. This is very important
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  Speaker 1: when we get to the proclamation of the second angel.
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  Speaker 1: The third one says, worship him. We know that in
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  Speaker 1: Romans chapter 1, they give this glory to these creatures
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  Speaker 1: and not the creator. And ultimately, that's whom and what
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  Speaker 1: they worship. Fear God. Give him glory and worship him.
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  Speaker 1: Worship him. Ultimately, what this is, is a call for repentance.
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  Speaker 1: If you note what happened in chapter 13, what happens?
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  Speaker 1: They fear the beast, they give glory to the beast,
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  Speaker 1: and they worship the beast. In other words, the message
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  Speaker 1: of the angel is repent. Repent. Turn from the fear
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  Speaker 1: of the beast and giving glory to the beast and
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  Speaker 1: giving worship to the beast to fearing God, giving glory
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  Speaker 1: to God, and worshiping God. This is ultimately a call
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  Speaker 1: to repentance. That's where the gospel ends up. Amen? Repent.
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  Speaker 1: It's also a two-sided proclamation. There is mercy and judgment. Repent.
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  Speaker 1: There's the obvious statement that the day of judgment or
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  Speaker 1: the hour of his judgment has come. But this is merciful.
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  Speaker 1: Why is this merciful? Because the end has come and
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  Speaker 1: the message is still going out to the whole world.
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  Speaker 1: It's not quite over yet. And God hasn't stopped. This
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  Speaker 1: is merciful. This is like a countdown. You're about to
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  Speaker 1: be destroyed by a superior force. And the superior force
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  Speaker 1: comes to you and says, you're about to be destroyed
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  Speaker 1: and we're giving you one more chance to lay down
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  Speaker 1: your arms. You have no hope in this fight. None whatsoever.
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  Speaker 1: And whenever the moment comes and the decision is made,
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  Speaker 1: you lose. And you lose big. And so, in mercy,
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  Speaker 1: I'm saying to you, don't Fight me. Because I will
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  Speaker 1: destroy you. That's merciful. That's merciful. That it happens before
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  Speaker 1: it's too late. It's merciful that it calls for repentance
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  Speaker 1: and faith. Why is that merciful? Because that's the only hope.
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  Speaker 1: That's the only hope. Now, this is not merciful in
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  Speaker 1: that it says... It can go hard or it can
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  Speaker 1: go easy. It can be a painful death or a
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  Speaker 1: swift death. No, no, it's not that kind of mercy.
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  Speaker 1: This is the superior force who comes and says, the
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  Speaker 1: countdown is here. I am at your gates. This is
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  Speaker 1: your last opportunity. And it's not your last opportunity to
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  Speaker 1: throw down your arms and go easily. It's your last
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  Speaker 1: opportunity to To go from being my foe to my friend.
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  Speaker 1: From being my enemy to being my son. This is merciful.
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  Speaker 1: And it's merciful because it will bear fruit. God does
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  Speaker 1: not send forth the gospel just for sending forth the
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  Speaker 1: gospel's sake. Okay. He sends forth the gospel because the
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  Speaker 1: gospel bears fruit. You see that in the next section.
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  Speaker 1: And when this great harvest comes, there is a great
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  Speaker 1: harvest that comes before the end. That's merciful. That is
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  Speaker 1: absolutely merciful. By the way, we see a microcosm of this,
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  Speaker 1: do we not? The deathbed conversion. That's merciful. That's merciful.
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  Speaker 1: There are those who at a young age come to
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  Speaker 1: faith in Christ and spend their entire lives in this
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  Speaker 1: process of sanctification and growing in grace. And it is
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  Speaker 1: a beautiful thing. God uses them. They serve him. They
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  Speaker 1: give him their lives. Maybe they serve him in some,
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  Speaker 1: you know, ministry capacity or whatever. And they're saved. And
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  Speaker 1: we say, hallelujah, God is good. But there are other
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  Speaker 1: people who spend every day of their lives as enemies
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  Speaker 1: of God with nothing but venom toward God. And at
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  Speaker 1: the end of their lives, they respond to the gospel.
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  Speaker 1: And they are just as saved as the one who
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  Speaker 1: walked with God for 60 years. Don't count on that,
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  Speaker 1: by the way. Amen. Amen. If you're counting on that,
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  Speaker 1: then you're in trouble. If you're counting on that, it's
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  Speaker 1: not authentic. If you're counting on that, then you're presuming
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  Speaker 1: upon God. If you're counting on that, you're playing with God.
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  Speaker 1: If you're counting on that, you heard that somebody got
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  Speaker 1: saved at the last minute of their life, and you
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  Speaker 1: believe that you can live any way you want to,
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  Speaker 1: and then God's going to give you that same opportunity. No,
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  Speaker 1: you'll probably get hit by a bus. But even so,
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  Speaker 1: even so, you don't presume upon God. This is not
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  Speaker 1: about presuming upon God. This is about seeing the mercy
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  Speaker 1: of God. But then there's the judgment aspect. This seals
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  Speaker 1: the fate of those who do not repent. it heaps
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  Speaker 1: up condemnation and wrath for those who do not repent
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  Speaker 1: you think about how merciful God is for the individual
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  Speaker 1: who's at death's door when the battering ram has almost
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  Speaker 1: touched the wall and they throw up the white flag,
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  Speaker 1: and they repent, and they come to faith in Christ,
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  Speaker 1: and that's merciful. But think about the individual who sits
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  Speaker 1: under the preaching of the gospel week after week, year
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  Speaker 1: after year, and they still have not come to repentance
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  Speaker 1: in faith. Think about the individual who's heard the gospel
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  Speaker 1: again and again and again, and they play church and
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  Speaker 1: they play with God, but there has been no repentance
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  Speaker 1: in faith. Think about the individual who presents themselves as
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  Speaker 1: a member of the 144,000 all the while trying to
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  Speaker 1: hide the mark on their forehead and on their hand.
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  Speaker 1: Think about that individual who's heard this again and again
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  Speaker 1: and again, and the ram hits the wall and they
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  Speaker 1: face God. just as it is gloriously merciful for God
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  Speaker 1: to save at the last moment, it is gloriously fearful
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  Speaker 1: to play with God and then meet Him. Church, if
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  Speaker 1: you are here today under the sound of my voice
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  Speaker 1: and have heard and not responded to the gospel, I
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  Speaker 1: beseech you. I beg you. Consider this. Tomorrow is not
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  Speaker 1: promised to you. Tonight is not promised to you. The
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  Speaker 1: end of this service is not promised to you. Repent.
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  Speaker 1: Turn from your sin. Turn to Christ. Put all of
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  Speaker 1: your hope and trust in him because he's all the
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  Speaker 1: hope and trust you have. His judgment is coming. Then
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  Speaker 1: there's the second angel. The second angel brings the gospel
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  Speaker 1: of God's victory and coming judgment. The first one is
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  Speaker 1: his glory and coming judgment. The second one is his victory.
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  Speaker 1: Verse 8. Another angel, a second followed, saying, Fallen, fallen
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  Speaker 1: is Babylon the great, she who made all the nations drink.
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  Speaker 1: of the passion of her sexual immorality. This is interesting
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  Speaker 1: for a number of reasons. First of all, we don't
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  Speaker 1: know who Babylon the Great is. Now, again, mind you,
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  Speaker 1: I know you've read ahead and you've studied and you're
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  Speaker 1: sitting there, you're going, well, actually, I do, because, you know,
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  Speaker 1: I've been looking. No, no, no. If you are hearing
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  Speaker 1: this for the first time, like the first century audience
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  Speaker 1: who is hearing this, there hasn't been an explanation for
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  Speaker 1: of Babylon the Great. This is foreshadowing. Kind of like
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  Speaker 1: the beast was foreshadowed in 11 and then he was
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  Speaker 1: explained in 12. Just like the great city has been foreshadowed,
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  Speaker 1: you know, before we see the city at the end
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  Speaker 1: of the letter. Babylon the Great is just mentioned here.
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  Speaker 1: We're going to learn more about Babylon the Great next
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  Speaker 1: few chapters. We're going to see this picture in the
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  Speaker 1: But why would John make this reference without any explanation?
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  Speaker 1: Here's why. Because everybody who heard this knew about Babylon.
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  Speaker 1: They knew about Daniel. They knew about Nebuchadnezzar. See, Babylon
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  Speaker 1: is symbolic of this great city of man that opposes
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  Speaker 1: the city of God. And before there's even an explanation
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  Speaker 1: or an exposition of how Babylon falls and how great
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  Speaker 1: the fall is, the angel makes the proclamation, fallen, fallen
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  Speaker 1: is Babylon the great. She who made who? All the
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  Speaker 1: nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.
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  Speaker 1: That wine is going to be very important in a
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  Speaker 1: little while. Because there's her wine, and in a moment
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  Speaker 1: we're going to learn about God's wine. If there were
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  Speaker 1: a statement to go with this one, the statement would
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  Speaker 1: be this. Everything you know, love, cherish, worship, and believe
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  Speaker 1: stands condemned before a holy God. Everything you know, love, cherish, worship,
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  Speaker 1: and believe stands condemned before a holy God. That's the
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  Speaker 1: message that this angel brings. The first angel brings a
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  Speaker 1: message that says, you stand condemned before a holy God.
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  Speaker 1: The second angel brings a message. Not only do you
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  Speaker 1: stand condemned, but everything and everybody you know stands condemned.
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  Speaker 1: Everything you love stands condemned. Everything you worship stands condemned.
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: Everything you hold dear stands condemned. Everything that impresses you
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: stands condemned. Everything that your heart desires and you're working
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: toward in your life stands condemned before a holy God
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: because it's all part of Babylon the Great. Unless your
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: eyes are fixed on the Lamb of God, the one
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: who stands on Mount Zion, everything that you are trusting
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: in is condemned. This is a picture of the great
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: city of man and all of his accomplishments. And it
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: is great. The city of man is great. His accomplishments
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: are great. I think we make a mistake when we
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: fail to acknowledge common grace. I think we make a
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: mistake when we don't appreciate the city of man. For example,
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: I think we make a mistake when we look at
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: history and don't acknowledge the fact that modern medicine is
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: an absolute marvel. That the length of our lives today
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: compared to the length of men's lives 100 years ago,
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: is absolutely astonishing because of the marvels of modern medicine.
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: And that's not just because of saved people in medicine.
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: That's because of common grace. Folks, we landed on the moon.
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: That's awesome in the truest sense of the word. I
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: know we overuse that word. The word belongs there. Human
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: beings put foot on the moon. That's the city of
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: man doing awesome things. The things that have been accomplished
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: in art, in music, in architecture. When you go to
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: Dubai and try to look up at the verge, if
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: you get too close, you'll fall over backwards trying to
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: look up at that thing. That's awesome. When you look
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: at the bridges that we've built, when you look at
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: the cars that we build, the ships that we build,
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: the planes that we build, I double dog dare you
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: to stand outside an Airbus 380 and not be impressed.
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: It's almost frightening. Why is it so important that we
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: have a healthy respect for the city of man. Because
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: if you don't, you don't understand how magnificent God is
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: and what it actually means when he says, fallen, fallen
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: is Babylon the great. God calls it great. The city
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: of man is great. The things the city of man
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: has accomplished are great. and they will burn. They're awesome,
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: and they pale in comparison to our God. And for
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: us to trust in them is idolatry. Acknowledge them, but
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: we don't worship them or place our trust therein. Why?
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: Because one of the things that is great about the
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: city of man is the greatness of its sinfulness. Its
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: sinfulness is great. And in this short verse, we get
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: just a glimpse. We'll get more of a picture of it.
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: Right now, the angel's proclamation is not about the city
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: and its sinfulness. It's about God and his judgment of
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: this city. That's why he can be brief. This great
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: city is judged. The third angel brings the gospel of
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: God's wrath. and manifests judgment. Verses 9-11. And another angel,
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: a third, following them, saying with a loud voice, if
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: mark on his hand, on his forehead or on his hand,
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: he also shall drink the wine of God's wrath. Notice
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: the use of wine here again. Poured out full strength
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: into the cup of his anger. And he will be
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: holy angels and in the presence of the lamb. And
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: And they have no rest day or night, these worshipers
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: of the beast and its image and whoever receives the
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: mark of its name. If the statement of the first
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: angel is, you stand condemned before a holy God, and
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: the statement of the second angel is, all that you
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: know and love and believe stands condemned before a holy God,
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: then the statement of the third angel is this, all
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: that God condemns is condemned completely and eternally. All that
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: God condemns is condemned completely and and eternally. Folks, God
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: does not tolerate rivals of any kind or in any way.
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: The sin that brings judgment, what is it? It's pictured
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: here as worshiping the beast, receiving its mark, But ultimately,
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: it's a picture of idolatry. And we know that the
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: sexual immorality of Babylon the Great and the Whore of Babylon,
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: this picture of sexual immorality is a metaphor for idolatry.
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: And so this great sin ultimately is idolatry. All of
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: our sin ultimately is boiled down to idolatry. It is
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: either idolatry of self or idolatry of something else that
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: we value more than we value God. So when I
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: value myself more than I value God, it's idolatry and
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: it leads me to sin. It leads me to find
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: illegitimate ways to accomplish legitimate means. It leads me to
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: find alternatives to get things that only mean something when
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: they come to me from God. And it's ultimately idolatry.
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: All of our sin is idolatry. But notice the nature
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: of the judgments. Drink the wine of God's wrath. Listen
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: to this from Dennis Johnson. In Revelation, wine symbolizes God's
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: wrath in two ways. When the grapes are crushed, their
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: red juice flows from the wine press like the blood
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: of God's enemies when he treads them down. See that
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: in 14, 19 to 20, 19, 13, and 15, which
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: again correlates to Isaiah 63, 3. And when the wine
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: is fermented, Its mind-numbing strength symbolizes the confused stupor of
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: those who will drink God's cup of wrath. They will
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: drink down the dregs. They will be tormented. We see
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: fire and sulfur. This takes place in the presence of
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: the Lamb. It takes place forever and ever. It takes
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: place without rest. Now, watch this. Here's what people do.
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: They say, well, okay, there's this stuff here in Revelation
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: that's symbolic. And you've just said that this stuff here
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: in Revelation is symbolic. So here's a picture of hell
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: and sulfur, fire, eternal torment. So that too must be symbolic.
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: So hell's not real, it's just symbolic. Symbolic. Let me
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: give you a number of things here to answer that question.
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: Number one, hell is not talked about just in Revelation. Amen?
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: By the way, earth is also mentioned here in this passage, right?
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: That's not symbolic, right? Right? And just because you use
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: every tribe and nation and people and tongue to symbolize
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: the whole earth because of this number four, doesn't mean
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: that the earth that's being symbolized is symbolic. So the
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: picture here of drinking the dregs of the wine of
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: God's wrath, that's symbolism. But what's it symbolism for? Hell,
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: which is real. Amen? Amen. So this idea of fire
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: and sulfur and torment, this is symbolic. Symbolic of what? Hell,
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: which is real and eternal. Hell is real. Hell is
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: not symbolic. We see it in other parts of the Bible.
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: Throughout the Bible, we see pictures of hell in places
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: that aren't symbolic. So when we come here and we
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: do see symbolism as it relates to hell, the symbolism
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: is actually used to point to the intensity of God's
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: judgment that is poured out in hell. Not that hell
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: is symbolic. What would hell be symbolic of if there's
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: no hell? What would this be symbolic of if there's
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: no hell? God is going to judge you intensely. It's
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: going to be like fire and sulfur. Where? Where? Nowhere, really.
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: How does that work, folks? If hell is symbolic here,
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: what's it symbolic of? Well, it's symbolic of God's judgment
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: against sin, right? Okay, then how does God judge sin
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: if there's no hell? It doesn't work. But here's the question.
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: Why do we object to hell in the first place?
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: Let me give you a few examples and answer those.
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: We can't answer all the objections, but we need to
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: answer some because there are people who object to hell. First,
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: people object to hell because they say it makes God
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: seem cruel. It makes God seem cruel that God would
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: send people to a place of eternal torment. It makes
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: God seem cruel By the way, this objection is based
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: on a caricature of God. Have you seen caricatures? You
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: walk down the street in any tourist town and there's
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: someone there drawing caricatures. And what you do in a
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: caricature is you take certain features and you exaggerate those features.
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: And then the rest of those, the features of the
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: individual are underestimated. So you may have an entire picture
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: of an individual drawing and two-thirds of the picture is
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: their head and aspects of their head. And then there's
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: a little, little bitty body down there to let you
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: know that there's the rest of the person. But there's
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: this exaggeration of the head. When we're looking at a caricature,
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: we know that it's a caricature. And a good caricature
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: is only meaningful if you know what the real thing
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: looks like. We have a caricature of God. And what
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: is exaggerated in our caricature of God is love. And
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: there's all this love, by the way, not biblical love,
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: but man's sentimental understanding of love. And so there's this
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: huge picture of, you know, flowers and rainbows and, you know,
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: and unicorns and butterflies and all this. There's this picture
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: of man's love and all, you know, there's hearts and
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: so on and so forth. And then down there somewhere,
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: there's other attributes of God. but you can barely see them.
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: So when you begin to talk about hell, and all
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: you have is this caricature of God, it doesn't fit
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: the caricature. But ultimately, that caricature is idolatrous. Because it's
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: God formed in an image that is not accurate. That's idolatry.
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: Here's the other problem with this. Justice is never cruel.
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: By definition, it's just. Amen? Let me show you the
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: great irony of not believing in hell. We recently had
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: this national case that didn't get national attention. Kermit Gosnell,
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: this doctor in Philadelphia, who was slaughtering unborn children. He
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: was an abortion doctor. He did late-term abortions. He was
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: slaughtering not unborn children, but born children. They would survive
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: the process, and he would take their lives. He was
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: recently convicted. Now, you may not have heard much about
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: this if you were just relying on the news. It's horrible, gruesome.
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: They showed pictures of the courtroom and the press galley,
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: seats reserved for reporters who were covering this news story,
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: and the press galley was empty. Because the news did
• 39:52
  Speaker 1: not want to report on this story. Because it might
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: have a chilling effect on abortion. God forbid we should
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: stop murdering 4,000 babies every day in this country. But
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: when people heard about what Gosnell did, just like when
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: they hear about what other, quote, monsters have done through history,
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: immediately there is a hue and cry what is the
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: hue and cry the hue and cry is there needs
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: to be justice he needs to be punished for what
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: he did when we hear about Hitler's Nazi Germany and
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: the extermination of Jews what's the historical hue and cry
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: there needs to be justice he needs to be punished
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: for what he did Everyone cries out for justice and
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: punishment for what individuals have done. And then God says,
• 40:47
  Speaker 1: here is justice. And we say, I don't like that.
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: Man's justice is okay. God's justice, not so much. That
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: is sinful. We yearn for justice. And there's a reason
• 41:10
  Speaker 1: we yearn for justice. That's because we're made in the
• 41:13
  Speaker 1: image of God. Here's the other problem. If we reject
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: the idea of eternal justice, our only alternative is temporal justice.
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: And I've got to get you for what you did.
• 41:35
  Speaker 1: There are parts of the world where genocide has gone
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: on for generations. Because there is no sense of eternal justice.
• 41:43
  Speaker 1: There is only a sense of me paying you back
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: in the here and now for what your ancestors did
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: to my ancestors. Secondly, people object to hell because man's
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: sin is finite and hell is eternal. Have you heard this?
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: I mean, I get to sin for 60, 70, maybe
• 42:07
  Speaker 1: 80 years. And then I go to hell for eternity?
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: How's that fair? This objection is based on a low
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: view of sin. We don't understand the significance of sin.
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: If we did, then we would understand that when we sin,
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: we sin against infinite holiness and righteousness. And when you
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: sin against infinite holiness, you deserve infinite justice. What other
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: justice would be acceptable? Thirdly, people object to the idea
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: of hell because they say it contradicts the idea of
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: eternal joy in heaven. How can we have eternal joy
• 42:55
  Speaker 1: in heaven if there are people who are being judged
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: eternally in hell? How can we know that people are
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: being judged eternally in hell and actually enjoy heaven? This
• 43:12
  Speaker 1: objection is based on a carnal eschatology that sees heaven
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: as merely endless supplies of whatever it is that makes
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: us happy here and now. We don't take into account
• 43:26
  Speaker 1: that who we are in the here and now physically, emotionally,
• 43:31
  Speaker 1: and spiritually is not fit for heaven. We will be changed. Amen? Amen?
• 43:40
  Speaker 1: We just read about that in 1 Corinthians chapter 15.
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: We will be changed. We have to be changed. You're
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: not fit for heaven. You can't take heaven in your
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: current state. You're not ready for it. We talked on
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: last week about the fact that you can't even take
• 43:51
  Speaker 1: the singing in heaven. It would bust your eardrums, literally.
• 43:56
  Speaker 1: Your physical body can't take it. So the problem is
• 44:02
  Speaker 1: you are trying to use what it is that pleases
• 44:05
  Speaker 1: you in the here and now and project that onto heaven. Folks,
• 44:12
  Speaker 1: listen to me. The justice and righteousness of God will
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: be your all in all in heaven. And the eternal
• 44:22
  Speaker 1: punishment of sin and God pouring out his wrath on
• 44:26
  Speaker 1: sin is a glorification and magnification of his righteousness. What
• 44:32
  Speaker 1: else could you celebrate? What? It is just. There's a
• 44:42
  Speaker 1: biblical view of judgment that impacts the worship of the
• 44:48
  Speaker 1: people of God. Listen to this. In the worship book
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: of the Bible, the Psalms, and we can't do all
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: of them, but just listen to this. I want you
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: to get a feel for it. Psalm 3, verse 7. Arise,
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: O Lord, save me, O my God, for you strike
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: all my enemies on the cheek. You break the teeth
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: of the wicked. Amen. There is glory and worship of
• 45:10
  Speaker 1: a righteous God who manifests his righteousness in the destruction
• 45:14
  Speaker 1: of the wicked. Psalm 9, 5. You have rebuked the nations.
• 45:19
  Speaker 1: You have made the wicked perish. You have blotted out
• 45:22
  Speaker 1: their names forever and ever. This is worship. Psalm 10, 15.
• 45:27
  Speaker 1: Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer. Call his
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: wickedness to account till you find none. Psalm 11, 5-6.
• 45:35
  Speaker 1: The Lord tests the righteous. but his soul hates the wicked.
• 45:41
  Speaker 1: Did you hear that? The Lord's soul hates the wicked.
• 45:51
  Speaker 1: And the one who loves violence, let him rain coals
• 45:54
  Speaker 1: on the wicked, fire and sulfur and a scorching wind
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: shall be the portion of their cup. Again, this is
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: the book that teaches us how to worship. Psalm 37, 10.
• 46:08
  Speaker 1: In just a little while, the wicked will be no more.
• 46:11
  Speaker 1: Though you look carefully at his place, he will not
• 46:14
  Speaker 1: be there. Psalm 37, 28. For the Lord loves justice.
• 46:20
  Speaker 1: He will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever,
• 46:24
  Speaker 1: but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
• 46:28
  Speaker 1: Psalm 58, 10. The righteous will rejoice when he sees vengeance.
• 46:34
  Speaker 1: He will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
• 46:38
  Speaker 1: Psalm 75, 8. I believe what John has in mind.
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: For in the hand of the Lord there is a
• 46:46
  Speaker 1: cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall
• 46:52
  Speaker 1: drain it down to the dregs. God is to be
• 47:01
  Speaker 1: worshipped because of his judgment. on the wicked. What's the
• 47:13
  Speaker 1: purpose of this proclamation? In the last two verses, we
• 47:17
  Speaker 1: see it here. Two things. First, here is a call
• 47:22
  Speaker 1: for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. Here is
• 47:31
  Speaker 1: a call. Four times that configuration happens linguistically in Revelation.
• 47:37
  Speaker 1: Four times. Three of them in this section and one
• 47:40
  Speaker 1: in chapter 17. Two times it's a call for discernment
• 47:45
  Speaker 1: in understanding what signs mean in 17 and at the
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: end of 13. And then twice it's a call for
• 47:53
  Speaker 1: endurance and perseverance. But I want you to notice something.
• 48:02
  Speaker 1: We're not told here, saints, you need to endure because
• 48:08
  Speaker 1: God is going to rescue you. That's true. And you
• 48:12
  Speaker 1: find that in Revelation. You're encouraged to endure because God
• 48:19
  Speaker 1: is going to save you. Here, you're encouraged to endure
• 48:22
  Speaker 1: because God is going to judge the wicked. Hang in there.
• 48:28
  Speaker 1: God is going to judge the wicked. It's a call
• 48:32
  Speaker 1: for endurance. It's a call for endurance. It's a call
• 48:36
  Speaker 1: for you to lift up your head because God is
• 48:39
  Speaker 1: going to judge the wicked. By the way, this also
• 48:42
  Speaker 1: calls you and me away from vengeance. God, did you
• 48:47
  Speaker 1: see what they did to me? Yes, I did. Endure.
• 48:53
  Speaker 1: You don't have to pay them back. I'm going to
• 48:55
  Speaker 1: judge the wicked. I'm going to judge the wicked. The
• 49:02
  Speaker 1: statement here is that God's condemnation of sin is a
• 49:06
  Speaker 1: source of encouragement to the saints. Not in the sense
• 49:11
  Speaker 1: of gloating. Not at all. But in the sense of worship.
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: This is the God whom we worship. He is just.
• 49:22
  Speaker 1: And in his judgment of the wicked, we are reminded
• 49:24
  Speaker 1: of that. There are two statements here about the purpose. First,
• 49:33
  Speaker 1: the saints in their endurance. And second, the saints in
• 49:37
  Speaker 1: their faith. This last statement is the second of seven
• 49:44
  Speaker 1: beatitudes in Revelation. It says, and I heard a voice
• 49:51
  Speaker 1: from heaven saying, write this, blessed are the dead who
• 49:54
  Speaker 1: die in the Lord from now on. Blessed indeed says
• 49:57
  Speaker 1: the Spirit that they may rest from their labors for
• 50:01
  Speaker 1: their deeds follow them. There's seven benedictions in this letter.
• 50:08
  Speaker 1: This is the second. There are five more to come.
• 50:12
  Speaker 1: Seven beatitudes, if you will. And here he says, blessed
• 50:17
  Speaker 1: are those who die in the Lord. There's several things
• 50:22
  Speaker 1: that you take from this. Number one, we take from
• 50:27
  Speaker 1: this that our greatest goal is not centered around the
• 50:35
  Speaker 1: things that we accomplish or experience in the here and
• 50:38
  Speaker 1: the now. Praise God for all of his blessings in
• 50:44
  Speaker 1: the here and the now. But they pale in comparison
• 50:48
  Speaker 1: to the blessings that are ours in eternity. Amen? Here's
• 50:54
  Speaker 1: the second thing that we take away from this. Being
• 51:00
  Speaker 1: sealed means that we are rescued from God's judgment. But
• 51:07
  Speaker 1: it doesn't mean that we are rescued from the wrath
• 51:11
  Speaker 1: of his enemies. Let me say that again. Being sealed
• 51:17
  Speaker 1: means that we are rescued from God's judgment. But it
• 51:22
  Speaker 1: doesn't mean that we are rescued from the wrath of
• 51:25
  Speaker 1: his enemies in the here and the now. In fact,
• 51:29
  Speaker 1: it usually means an intensification of the wrath of his
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: enemies against us in the here and the now. This
• 51:37
  Speaker 1: is important, saints. Because if we don't get this, we'll have, again,
• 51:41
  Speaker 1: we've said this before, we'll say it again, an over-realized eschatology.
• 51:47
  Speaker 1: And an over-realized eschatology looks at the consummation of all
• 51:51
  Speaker 1: things and what it is that we are promised in
• 51:53
  Speaker 1: the age to come and expects to experience those things
• 51:57
  Speaker 1: in the here and the now. We've already said that
• 52:00
  Speaker 1: this is what's wrong with the Word of Faith movement.
• 52:04
  Speaker 1: That it looks at those things that are promised to
• 52:07
  Speaker 1: us in our eternal state, and tries to bring them
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  Speaker 1: into the here and the now, and then blames you
• 52:16
  Speaker 1: if you don't get them by saying that you just
• 52:18
  Speaker 1: didn't have enough faith. Because if you did, you could
• 52:21
  Speaker 1: have it all in the here and the now. Folks,
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  Speaker 1: no one who reads Revelation can believe that unless they
• 52:28
  Speaker 1: deceive themselves. Not just revelation. I mean, 2 Timothy 3.12,
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  Speaker 1: all those who desire to live a godly life in
• 52:39
  Speaker 1: Christ Jesus shall be persecuted. Jesus said it. Know that
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  Speaker 1: if the world hated me, he'll hate you also. There's
• 52:51
  Speaker 1: the picture. Thirdly, God judges sinners. so we don't have to. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: God judges sinners, so we don't have to. First of all,
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  Speaker 1: I don't cast my judgment against sinners. If I have
• 53:30
  Speaker 1: to make any statement about sinners, It is a statement
• 53:32
  Speaker 1: of what God says about them, not a statement of
• 53:36
  Speaker 1: what I say about them. Secondly, what this means is
• 53:42
  Speaker 1: that people don't have to get their comeuppance from me.
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  Speaker 1: That's not my department. Amen? It's not my department. Amen?
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  Speaker 1: And so I don't have to seek people out and
• 53:57
  Speaker 1: find out what they did or know what they did
• 54:00
  Speaker 1: and experience what they did and then somehow say, I'm
• 54:02
  Speaker 1: going to get them. God takes care of that. God
• 54:14
  Speaker 1: takes care of that. This is where vengeance is mine
• 54:18
  Speaker 1: comes in. I will repay. God takes care of that. Finally,
• 54:29
  Speaker 1: knowing this should not lead us to sit back and gloat.
• 54:39
  Speaker 1: What do we have here? The judgment of God is coming.
• 54:44
  Speaker 1: The ram is about to hit the gate. And what
• 54:47
  Speaker 1: does God do? He sends his angels to proclaim an
• 54:51
  Speaker 1: eternal gospel. This is counterintuitive because here's our natural response.
• 55:02
  Speaker 1: Our natural response is, world, you hate us, but God's
• 55:06
  Speaker 1: going to get you and we're going to watch it happen.
• 55:10
  Speaker 1: That's our natural response. You say nasty things about us.
• 55:14
  Speaker 1: You marginalize us. You hate our God. God's going to
• 55:18
  Speaker 1: get you and I can't wait to see it happen.
• 55:22
  Speaker 1: That's not this text. This text says the ram is
• 55:29
  Speaker 1: at the gate. It's almost too late. So intensify your
• 55:34
  Speaker 1: proclamation of the gospel that those who deserve judgment might
• 55:42
  Speaker 1: by God's mercy be saved. That's counterintuitive unless you remember yourself.
• 55:59
  Speaker 1: How dare I have any other attitude toward another person?
• 56:06
  Speaker 1: How dare I remember my own life and my own
• 56:10
  Speaker 1: sin and the wrath of God that I stored up
• 56:18
  Speaker 1: and his glorious mercy that saved me and then turn
• 56:22
  Speaker 1: around and look at another person and say, you're not
• 56:24
  Speaker 1: worthy of that. Who do I think I am? So now,
• 56:37
  Speaker 1: as hatred comes and as violence comes and as the
• 56:42
  Speaker 1: marginalization comes from the world, what do we do? We
• 56:47
  Speaker 1: recognize that this comes from the same place that I
• 56:52
  Speaker 1: was in before God found me. And we preach to
• 56:58
  Speaker 1: them the same gospel that saved us. Why? Why? Because
• 57:08
  Speaker 1: we love God and we desire for his name to
• 57:12
  Speaker 1: be glorious. And when we preach the gospel, it's going
• 57:16
  Speaker 1: to be glorified in one of two ways. Number one,
• 57:19
  Speaker 1: before the ram hits the gate, sinners will repent and
• 57:23
  Speaker 1: God will be glorified as he shows mercy at the
• 57:26
  Speaker 1: last hour. Or number two, The gospel is proclaimed, sinners
• 57:31
  Speaker 1: will harden themselves, and God will be glorified as his
• 57:35
  Speaker 1: righteous justice and wrath is poured out against those who
• 57:41
  Speaker 1: chose the beast. Either way, our duty is the same.
• 57:49
  Speaker 1: We proclaim the eternal gospel. Our hope and theirs. Let's pray. Father,
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  Speaker 1: as we bow before you, we are humbled by your
• 58:25
  Speaker 1: justice and your wrath and your judgment of sin humbled
• 58:35
  Speaker 1: because we recognize that if anyone deserves it, we do.
• 58:45
  Speaker 1: And yet, you have been merciful. Yet, you have been kind. Yet,
• 58:54
  Speaker 1: you have been gracious to us. Grant by your grace
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  Speaker 1: that this would not puff us up with arrogance and pride.
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  Speaker 1: but that it would rise up in us in an
• 59:16
  Speaker 1: urgency to proclaim that same gospel by which we are saved. Father,
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  Speaker 1: I pray for those here under the sound of my voice.
• 59:30
  Speaker 1: who have heard again and again and again, I am sinful.
• 59:37
  Speaker 1: Christ is righteous. I deserve to die. He died instead.
• 59:47
  Speaker 1: That they've heard again and again and again that Christ
• 59:50
  Speaker 1: died for sin once for all, the just for the unjust,
• 59:53
  Speaker 1: that he might bring us back to God. that they've
• 59:55
  Speaker 1: heard again and again and again about his active obedience
• 59:59
  Speaker 1: that allows him to impute righteousness to us and his
• 1:00:03
  Speaker 1: passive obedience that allows God to impute our sinfulness to him.
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 1: They've heard again and again and again about our need
• 1:00:12
  Speaker 1: to come to him in repentance and faith and yet
• 1:00:15
  Speaker 1: they have not. God, would you be merciful here today
• 1:00:23
  Speaker 1: and save sinners. Do this, we pray, to the glory
• 1:00:35
  Speaker 1: of Christ and for the honor of His name. For
• 1:00:41
  Speaker 1: it is in that name that we pray and ask
• 1:00:44
  Speaker 1: all things.