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Living Waters of Grace for May 6th, 2026 · Living Waters of Grace / Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland Sunday Services

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This is Living Waters of Grace, the teaching ministry of Clark
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Waffer, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland, County
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of Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Clark as he
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continues teaching through God's Word.
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The world system is a system where people live against God.
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They have no conscience. They have no conception of good
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or evil. They just basically do whatever
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they want to do. They're under the influence, the
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Bible says, of the Prince of the power of the air.
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Who's Satan? He's the one that blinds people
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to their need of a savior. He's the one that tells you it's
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not hip to follow Christ. It's not cool to be a Christian.
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It's better to follow the ways of darkness.
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Throughout history, we see nations conquering nations.
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There were times when that might have meant just wiping people
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out and taking their land. But many times the people were
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given a choice to pledge their loyalty to the conquering nation
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and assimilate into its culture. In today's message, Pastor Clark
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wants you to know that even if you live in this world, you
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don't have to pledge your loyalty to it.
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As a Christian, your loyalty belongs to Christ, and you have
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no part in the Kingdom of darkness.
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Now here's Pastor Clark in Revelation Chapter 17 with
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today's edition of Living Waters of Grace.
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Revelation 17 and some of your bibles will have a sub heading
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over the chapter. Mine says a scarlet woman and
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the scarlet Beast. Sounds like a good title for a
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movie, huh? And it's fascinating that we're
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living in these days of the religious world of Babylon.
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We talk about Babylon as at one time being a literal city in the
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Mideast, and it will rise up again in the last days to be the
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place of power for the Antichrist to roll into reign.
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But we are also living in this time of Babylon now, which is
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also seen and described in the history of the church as the
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world system. And unfortunately, we are all
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part of this religious Babylon. We're living in the world.
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The Bible tells us we're in the world, but we're not to be of
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the world. Amen.
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But we are all being exposed to the falseness of the religious
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system that is coming up on our country right now and the rest
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of the world. And so we'll get into that in in
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a couple minutes. But we studied back in
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Revelation chapter 16, verse 19 and chapter 14, verse 8,
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declaring the history of the eventual destruction and fall of
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Babylon. And in Revelation 17 and 18,
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which is what we're going to be studying the next several weeks,
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the fall of Babylon is very carefully detailed.
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It's interesting. Babylon is mentioned in the
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Bible 287 times in the Scriptures, more than any other
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city except for Jerusalem. Babylon at one time, as I said,
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was a literal city on the Euphrates River.
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In Genesis Chapter 11, verse one through 9, we see right after
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the flood that Babylon was the seed of the civilization of the
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world at that time, and it was a place that expressed organized
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hostility toward God. It's where the tower Babel was.
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If you remember when all those folks thought that they could
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figure out the secrets of the universe, if they build a tower
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high enough into the heavens, they would be able to find out
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what was happening behind the curtain, so to speak.
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Later on, Babylon was the capital of the empire that
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cruelly conquered Judah. To the Jews, Babylon was the
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essence of all evil, the embodiment of cruelty, the foe
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of God's people, and the lasting type of sin, carnality, lust and
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greed. In John's day, the apostle
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John's day, the city of Rome was seen as a type of this city of
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Babylon. It was and and a sense Babylon
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at that time because it antagonized and opposed the
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Christians faith. Now, when you think about cities
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today and where we live, you might think of the most
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decadent, ungodly cities in the nation.
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Usually they're the cities that have the most population, like
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Los Angeles or New York City. We think of Paris and and some
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other places in the world that just have a tendency to be
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cities that are set up to live in all kind of depravity and all
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kind of immorality and ungodliness and greed and lust.
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And they're cities that are, for the most part, clearly forsaking
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God and their political decisions and how they lead
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their communities. The concept of Babylon is even
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more intense, as we'll study in Revelation 17 and 18 here in the
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next couple weeks. The reign of Antichrist is
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spreading around the world today, even though he's
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literally not a real person as of yet.
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But today and throughout history we see Babylon as the world
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system and under the Antichrist it will even be more evident
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when he is set up on the earth as never seen before.
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Ephesians chapter 2, verse two and three.
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This is what it describes about the world and about where many
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of us were at one time and where some of you still maybe are.
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It says at one time you walked according to the course of this
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world, according to the Prince of the power of the air, the
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Spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also
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we all once conducted ourselves in the lust of the flesh,
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fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind.
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And we're by nature children of wrath just as others.
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So the world system is a system where people live against God.
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They have no conscience. They have no conception of good
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or evil. They just basically do whatever
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they want to do. They're under the influence, the
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Bible says, of the Prince of the power of the air.
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Who's Satan. He's the one that blinds people
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to their need of a savior. He's the one that tells you it's
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not hip to follow Christ. It's not cool to be a Christian.
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It's better to follow the ways of darkness.
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There's a propensity in the human heart before we become
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Christians to want to follow the Prince of the power of the air.
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We believe that there's a God, but before we know Christ, our
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God is the God of this world, the Bible says, and it's Satan
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himself. It says he's the spirit who now
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works. And everyone who's rebelling
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against God, everyone who hates God, everyone who denies God,
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everyone who's walking away from God is controlled by this spirit
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of Antichrist. And it says at one time all of
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us, not the some of us, all of us lived in some degree in the
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lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of what our fallen
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nature dictated to us. And we were by nature children
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of wrath, meaning enemies of God, even as the rest of the
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human race. So the only hope for people is
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Jesus Christ, because later on in that chapter it says, but God
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in his rich mercy when we were dead in Christ has quickened us
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together with Christ. By grace you are saved.
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So unless Christ came to pull us up out of that darkness and out
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of that place of rebellion, all of us would be doomed, right?
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Aren't you glad that Christ reached down to you when you
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weren't perhaps looking for Him, but He drew you to Himself?
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He called you to Himself and pulled you out of this wicked
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system of this world? Not the beauty of creation that
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God has made. The oceans, the mountains, the
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rivers, the wildlife, the forests, all the wonderful
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things of God's creation has been defiled by the evil 1 And
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so instead of man looking at the creation and worshiping and
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glorifying God, man ignores the creation, acts like there is no
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God, and changes the worship of God for the worship of the
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creators. It tells us in Romans chapter 1.
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And God eventually gives those who worship this world system
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over to a reprobate mind to do the things that are convenient
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for them. And that gets into all the
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sorted sexual perversions that are so rampant and prevalent on
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the face of the earth today. It tells us in first John
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chapter 2, verse 15 and 17. You might want to just flip over
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there. That's just a little bit to the
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left of the Book of Revelation there.
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And this also describes the present world system that we're
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living in right now. And this tells us in first John
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chapter 2 verse 15, it says do not love the world or the things
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in the world, meaning do not love the world system are the
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things that are in the world system.
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If anyone loves the world or the world system, the love of the
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Father is not in him for all that is in the world.
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Again, the world system, the lust of the flesh, the lust of
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the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of
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the world system of the world and the world or the world
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system is passing away and the lust of it.
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But he who does the will of God abides forever.
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So much of what you and I are impacted with or by daily,
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whether it's the media, the television, the movie industry,
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the music industry, the publications, the Internet, it
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we're being bombarded by the Prince of the power of the air.
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He's in control of the media. He's in control of the Airways,
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the marketing strategies. Talked to someone yesterday and
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and this woman, she hasn't watched TV.
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She said a long time and she told me that she was visiting
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some relatives and they had the TV on.
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They were watching some kind of sports thing.
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And what was being advertised on the TV and how it was being
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portrayed would have been seen as being pornography when she
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was a little girl. But we have been so like watered
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down. We're like the frogs in the
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frying pan. Our conscience isn't even
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bothered by some of the stuff that we see and hear anymore,
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not realizing that we're collectively, even as
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Christians, being sucked in by the world system.
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Many of us are impacted by the fashion industry and we look and
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we say, well, this is what the world's wearing.
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This is what I got to wear, or this is what the world's
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watching. I got to watch it, or this is
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what the world's buying and I got to buy it.
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And we're not supposed to be of this world, right?
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Jesus says, my Kingdom is not of this world system.
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He says come out from among them and be separate, sayeth the
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Lord. And so we see in first John
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chapter 2, the apostle John who also is writing in the Book of
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Revelation talks about this world system of being full of
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lust and pride. The definition for lust is self
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absorbed desire for an object, person or experience.
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You place it above all things in your life, especially God.
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Have you ever been guilty of that?
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I have lust. It makes you leave the path of
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the holiness of the person of God and begin to have a desire
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for something that is independent of His will.
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Pride, the definition of pride, independence of the Creator God.
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I'm going to do this. I'm going to do that.
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I'm going to go here, I'm going to buy this.
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I'm going to without ever running it by the Lord.
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Independence of the creator God, living as though he doesn't even
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exist. Living like there is no
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judgement Day. Inordinate self focus.
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The esteem of self that you're better than everyone else.
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An unreasonable conceit of 1's own superiority and talents,
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beauty, wealth and rank or position of life.
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The contempt of God, the contempt of humility, the
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contempt of love, and the contempt of living and sacrifice
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for the sake of God's Kingdom and others.
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That's the definition of pride. So in the last days in the world
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system, it says men will be lovers of themselves rather than
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lovers of God. And you see it everywhere,
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right? And we're also impacted by it,
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aren't we? If we're honest, we all get
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sucked into it to some extent. And that's why we have to
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continually ask the Lord to search our hearts and to purify
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us that we be holy even as He is holy.
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In the Revelation chapter 17, verse one and two, it says, then
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one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked
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with me, saying to me, come, I will show you the judgment of
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the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings
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of the earth committed fornication and the inhabitants
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of the earth were made drunk with the wine or for
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fornication. Again, we're seeing here
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describe religious Babylon described by this Angel.
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Here it says, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot
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and thank the Lord that one day this world system will be
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judged. I hate seeing what it does to
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people. I hate seeing how it destroys
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marriages and causes young people to rebel against their
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parents and how the systems of education now in the world are
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anti God and contrary to God, pushing evolution and scientific
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theory above the fact that we have been created in the image
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and likeness of God. I hate seeing young people who
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are growing up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord
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getting sent off to colleges where many of these colleges
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unfortunately are destroying the very faith that these young
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people wants to firm. I hate seeing what it does when
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parents send their kids off to school and the kids are being
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tempted to do what the world does, drink and have sexual
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immorality and take drugs and not follow the paths and the
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ways of God. But one day the Bible says that
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this fate of the suddenly girl ungodly world system will be
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destroyed. And as far as I'm concerned, the
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sooner the better. Amen.
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That's what the early church was right like they cried out, come
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quickly, Lord Jesus. They were living in such
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persecution and such difficulty with the Roman Empire.
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I mean, to be a believer in those days, it cost you your
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life. And so people were martyred and
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they were persecuted and they were in prison.
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And so the body of Christ, they saw the intensity of the
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wickedness of the world and they want it out of the world.
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And today, unfortunately, we don't sense that.
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As I said, we're like the frogs in the frying pan and the heat's
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being turned up and we don't realize how we're compromising
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our very lives in Christ. We have to come out and be
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separate, saith the Lord. So the system of Babylon, the
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interesting fact that existed long before Christianity even
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came into play, and yet it was aware of the fact that one day
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the Messiah would one day come. The system of Babylon again
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controlled by the devil and the devil's whole concern and
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interest in his Kingdom is to keep people from coming to know
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Jesus Christ. And this is some interesting
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history here and some people say it may, it may be legend, but
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there's some similarities and weaving into the Scripture
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regarding this story I'm about to tell you.
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They believe that this concept of Babylon was founded by
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Nimrod's wife. Her name was Simarius SEMIRAMIS
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Simmer Miss or something like that.
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She was a high priestess of idol worship.
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She gave birth to his son, birth miraculously.
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Her son's name was Thomas and he was considered a savior.
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There's even ancient artifacts that have been dug up throughout
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the years that point back to this and shows her as pictures
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showing her holding the savior infant Tamas.
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He was killed supposedly by a wild beast and miraculously
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brought back to life. And Bahel was the local
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Canaanite name for the Babylonian tamas.
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So it's interesting how it's it's similar to the story of
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Christianity, right, with Christ and what he's done.
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What's interesting, it's referenced in the Babylonian
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religion and Ezekiel touches on this and Ezekiel 814 he's
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speaking about and protesting against the ceremony of weeping
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for this person named Tammuz. TAMMUZ Jeremiah 718 mentions the
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heathen practice and making cake for the queen of heaven.
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Jeremiah 44 also speaks of offering incense to the queen of
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heaven. So there there is this legend
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and also biblical history that ties into this story and
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teaching that Babylon and in this section of Scripture
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speaking about this scarlet woman, this evil ungodly
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representation of someone who would call themselves the queen
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of heaven is a part of this ungodly, wicked system.
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It says that this one sits on many waters.
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And if you look at verse 15 of chapter 17, it says, he said to
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me, the waters which you saw where the harlot sits are
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peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues.
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So the Antichrist will preside over many nations.
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The unification we see today, the One World Church, believe it
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or not, we don't maybe sense it here because we're not part of
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it. But the Church is moving toward
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this interest in becoming under one world ruler, 1 spiritual
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leader, one religious authority. If you're familiar with the
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World World Council of Churches, made-up of Orthodox Catholic
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Protestants, it's amazing what this organization is about.
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It has nothing to do with the scriptures.
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It has everything to do with humanism.
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It's let's set up a religion in this world that has nothing to
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do with anything that's going to get anybody uptight.
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We're basically going to make it up as we go along and we're not
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going to mention God really other other than a theory.
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And we're certainly not going to mention that Jesus Christ is the
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Messiah and the only way to the Father.
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And so these so-called religious leaders of these many
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denominations and big powerful spiritual entities are corrupt
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and they're bringing in all kind of false religion,
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representatives from apostate Catholicism and apostate
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Protestantism and apostate orthodoxy.
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And they're bringing in all these other religions of the
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world. It's called syncretism.
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They're bringing in the the Mormons and the Jehovah
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Witnesses and the Hindus and the Sikhs and the Muslims and this
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whole idea of having this simple organization that will rule the
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world spiritually, which is represented here as this great
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harlot in Revelation chapter 17. This woman represents the false
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religions and the tribulation and not just corruption of the
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Vatican. And we know the Vatican has a
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lot of problems today. It's it's common knowledge.
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I mean, it isn't anybody's particular opinion.
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It's documented through the legal courts right now of all
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the ungodly things that have happened in the name of
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Catholicism. And we can come up with plenty
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for Protestant Protestantism, too.
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It isn't just the Catholic Church, it's a Protestant Church
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too, where they're teaching deceptive doctrines, seducing
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spirits, doctrines of demons, and this is what the devil
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specializes in. It says in the last days people
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will give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons.
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It's amazing when you study these different denominations or
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religious groups to find out what their trust is in their
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trust many times is in the magisteria, magisterialism.
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Their, their trust is in the, the ceremonies of the church.
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Their trust is in anything and anything but Jesus Christ.
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And this is what's happening in these days that we're we're
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living as well, the compromise of our world leaders, our our
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government leaders, the compromise of our churches and
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our pastors and our people that are supposed to be pointing
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people to the truth are continually watering down.
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And it's almost like what Karl Marx said.
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And he said something that was really true, even though he was
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a extreme atheist and heretic. He said religion is the opiate
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of the masses. And if you want to retranslate
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that in a Christian way, false religion is a deception of the
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Antichrist. And we see that happening today
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everywhere. It's amazing what people are
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saying. You know, there's all roads lead
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to heaven. This is the common thing that
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you hear. It doesn't matter what you
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believe as long as you believe something.
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Anybody that doesn't know the truth will tell you that they
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just want to water it down. Second Timothy chapter 4, verse
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three and four says for the time will come, well, they will not
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endorse sound doctrine. Well, the time has come, people
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will not endorse sound doctrine, but according to their own
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desires because they have itching ears.
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Tell me, you know, basically tell me what I want to hear, not
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what I need to hear. They will heap up for themselves
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teachers and will turn their ears away from the truth and be
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turned aside. The fables like Diwali, like
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Babylonian New Age heresies. If you turn to 2nd Thessalonians
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chapter 2, verse 9 through 12, this also speaks of the coming
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of the lawless 1, the Antichrist, the coming, and
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verse nine of the lawless 1 is, according to the working of
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Satan, with all power signs and lying wonders and with all
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unrighteousness deception among those who perish because they
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did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved.
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So people who are blowing off the truth and ignoring it and
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walking away from it and want to be part of the world system,
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they don't have any love for the truth that they might be saved.
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And so it says in verse 11. And for this reason God will
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send them a strong delusion that they should believe the lie,
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that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth
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but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
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Verse one and two, it talks about this scarlet woman who
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makes the inhabitants of the earth are made drunk with the
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wine of her fornication. How she does this, she gets
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people to compromise. The world system gets people to
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compromise with spiritual idolatry.
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You know, a Christian has no business sitting in Zen prayer
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circles. A Christian has no business in
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being involved in yoga. A Christian has no business
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being involved in any of the eastern religions because they
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are all Pagan. But today it's amazing.
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Churches will have yoga classes in the basement of their church
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and you can go online. Churches in Greensburg yoga and
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Christianity see how they mix. They don't mix. 1 is light and
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truth. The other one is darkness and
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destruction. People don't realize when they
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do yoga, they think it's interesting.
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You know, just do stretching exercises.
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Nothing wrong with stretching exercises.
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But if you do stretching exercise under a a yoga teacher,
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you don't realize, and many of them don't realize it, but the
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positions you're sitting in are setting you up to be in line
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with the energies of the Pagan demons.
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In the Book of Revelation, Pastor Clark is taking us
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through all kinds of events and happenings that are predicted
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for the future. But for those who believe and
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follow Jesus, there's much to look forward to in heaven with
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Jesus. However, for those who are here
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on earth during the Tribulation, there's all kinds of chaos that
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will unfold. The Bible talks about an
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Antichrist, a false prophet, and of course, that evil enemy,
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Satan. Do you see how there are such
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clever attempts for the enemy to disguise himself as God and even
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the Trinity? The true Savior of the world is
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God and how He comes to rescue through his triune nature God
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the Father, Jesus the Son, and God the Holy Spirit?
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Just like Satan tried to take over for God in heaven and was
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cast out, Satan will try to convince people on earth that he
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is the Triune God to be worshipped instead of the
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legitimate God in heaven. It's an attempt, and although he
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will capture plenty in his schemes, he will not win.
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The true God wins, and Revelation unpacks how that will
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all happen in detail. Be encouraged because there's a
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way out for all of this madness that will ensue on this earth.
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But you don't want to wait indefinitely to make that
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decision about Jesus. We don't know when the church
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will be raptured, and you want to be ready to be with Jesus.
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To learn more about this, head over to calvarychapelonline.com.
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We're so glad you've been with us today.
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And if you'd like to connect further with this ministry, find
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us on Facebook or YouTube. You can also download our mobile
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app at calvarychapelonline.com. Be sure to join us for weekly
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services at 400 E Pittsburgh St. Ste. 6B in Greensburg, PA 15601.
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This has been Living Waters of Grace.