Beauty On The Beast - Revelation 17:1-18

[0:00] Hey guys, thanks for listening to our Calvary Chapel Charlotte podcast. If you want to learn more about us, head over to cccharlotte.org. We are really excited for the work that God is doing in Charlotte.

[0:13] If you're ever in the area and want to come check us out, our teaching is expository going chapter by chapter and verse by verse through the books of the Bible. Our prayer is that you are encouraged in your spiritual growth and equipped to change this world for Jesus.

[0:27] Hopefully we will see you soon. In the meantime, grab your Bibles and enjoy this teaching. I will walk by faith and not by faith.

[0:48] Turn to Revelation chapter 17. As we continue, not too many chapters left. But there's so much good stuff at the end.

[1:02] We probably will slow down a little there. Praise the Lord. All right. Revelation 17. I love that. Where we're going to be looking tonight in Revelation 17.

[1:14] I love that line. Was what other name remains undefeated. And I think we've seen that through this book very clearly that it is an undefeated name.

[1:26] And that the Lord is not concerned with the combined forces of the world. He's not biting his nails.

[1:38] He's not worried about this. He's like, this is all going according to plan. And I am using the choices and decisions right and wrong of mankind to work out my plan.

[1:51] You know, we've said it before. The amazing thing is not that God would give us his word, but that he would use man to give us his word. And then that God could keep his word pure across the centuries using fallen man.

[2:08] It's remarkable. On our timeline for the book of Revelation, we have passed the half year point, the three and a half years where the abomination of desolation is set up.

[2:20] We are we have finished the last of the bowl judgments, which was the earth being shaken. And if you remember in Revelation 16, after it says there's a great earthquake such as there was not like since the earth began, it says in verse 19 of Revelation 16.

[2:41] And the great city was divided into three parts and the nations and the cities of the nations fell and great Babylon came into remembrance before God. And so as we have kind of come to the end of the last of the bowl judgments, we're now going to take a zoomed in approach.

[2:57] Look at what did that look like? What does it look like that Babylon is falling? This final judgment, in a sense, on the world system. So.

[3:09] We saw that the result, unfortunately, of that last final and horrific judgment of 100 pound hailstone falling, of the earthquake happening was that men blasphemed God. That was their choice in Revelation 16, 21.

[3:22] And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about a weight of a talent, 100 pounds. And men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

[3:34] And so God's judgment upon these people didn't cause them to blaspheme. It just revealed what was already in there. The response of these men, it proved the justness of God's judgment. So this isn't just of you, God.

[3:46] Well, it is because look at their response. You know, as Lily said at the end of it there, the goodness of God leads a man to repentance. Scripture says the wrath of man works not the righteousness of God. But God's righteousness, I mean, God's wrath always works righteousness because that's who he is.

[4:02] So God is able to use his goodness and he can use his wrath to bring people to a place of repentance. Right now, yes, it is the goodness of God. God has not sent his son to the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.

[4:16] And so that's what we preach. We preach the goodness of God that people might repent so they can avoid his wrath. If they don't, then all they have is a fearful looking forward to of judgment. Right.

[4:27] They're headed to a place of eternal torment and judgment. But the response of these men is simply proved the justness of God's judgment. And I think we live in a world that's proving that too.

[4:38] The response of people today is simply proving what the scripture says about man's heart that is deceitful and wicked above all else. You know, it's Christmas time and the predominant reason that it exists was to celebrate the birth of Christ.

[4:54] We've moved so far from that as a culture. So far from that. It's just one among many things now. But a heart full of blasphemies will eventually spill out because out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

[5:08] And so that brings us now into chapter 17, where we're going to look at what is the religious system called Babylon. And then 18 is the political or governmental system called Babylon.

[5:19] This is heaven's perspective of the world system. Right. This is how the throne room of heaven is how God looks down and says, this is what I see when I look at the world system. This is what I am seeing. And so we're going to get into the passage, the famous passage of a woman on the beast.

[5:35] So we're going to have the beauty and the beast. But it's more beauty on the beast. It's the woman on the beast. As we get into this tonight. If you want, you can turn to Isaiah chapter 50.

[5:46] We're going to look. I mean, not chapter 50, chapter five. Isaiah chapter five. We're going to look at a few scriptures here. Before we jump into Revelation 17. So in Isaiah chapter five, the Lord is pronouncing woe upon Babylon, upon this city, this system.

[6:05] And we know everything in Revelation. Whatever you read in Revelation, you can pretty much see in the Old Testament. It's where the Old Testament is the shadow. Revelation is kind of gives us more of the substance.

[6:17] But we find the same topics, the same ideas, and the same typology in the Old Testament. And we see that in Isaiah chapter five.

[6:28] We're going to pick up in verse 20. It says, Man, what a statement.

[6:53] Take away the righteousness of the righteous. The person is already in a place of righteousness. And then to remove that. I think where Jesus said, Better to be cast into the sea with a millstone tied around your neck than to stumble one of these little ones.

[7:07] Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble and the flame consumes the chaff. I'm sorry. Jump down to verse 24 here. So their root shall be as rottenness and their blossom shall go up as dust.

[7:20] They have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. So as God is giving this pronouncement upon the people that have chosen to call evil good and good evil that have completely formed a system, in a sense, apart from God's.

[7:37] And not just different than his, but opposed to him because we know anything that is not of God is by nature opposed to him. Second Corinthians chapter 11.

[7:51] Paul writes that Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works.

[8:04] So we read that, you know, woe to them that call evil good and good evil and light for darkness. You know, they're taking darkness and they're calling it light. I think we think of it often as like they're calling light darkness.

[8:16] They are. They're calling good evil. They are. But they're also presenting you with something that's good. They're saying this is light. This is good. This is wonderful. But it's actually something that's evil.

[8:27] And well, Paul says, well, yes, because that's what Satan is. He's a deceiver. He's going to give you something that looks like one thing, but behind it is a totally different reality. And how we choose to view wickedness, how we choose to view what we see here as evil and light and darkness, how we choose to view that is going to greatly impact the effect of God's word in our lives.

[8:50] How I choose to view that. When the world presents something to me says, well, this is good. How I choose to view that is going to impact the effect of God's word in my life. Because I'm now going to have a perspective that may be in opposition to God's word.

[9:05] Let's jump into verse one of Revelation 17 here. And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials. So this isn't necessarily the angel with the seventh vial.

[9:17] It's just one of them that's just poured out these vials. And he comes to John and he talked with me. And I like that. God wants his people aware of the ultimate downfall of wickedness.

[9:28] He comes to tell him. He's like, hey, I want you to be aware of this. God says it's essentially God saying, hey, go and tell him what's up. He wants him to be aware of the ultimate downfall of wickedness. And he also wants him to be aware of the pitfalls of wickedness.

[9:41] So he says, go talk with him. John here is being given greater detail about the events of the seventh bowl judgment. As we just read, that great Babylon came in remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

[10:00] And he talked with me saying unto me, come hither and I will show unto you the judgment of the great harlot that sits upon many waters. And we're going to get into all of what that is. But it's essentially this woman, this harlot that is sitting upon the beast, the beast that we have seen that's come up out of the sea.

[10:16] And so she's sitting in a sense upon many waters, many nations, many peoples. And she's not an ugly old hag. It's a beautiful thing. It looks good. It looks like, hey, look at this woman sitting on the beast.

[10:28] So in Revelation 17, we have the religious system of Babylon coming into judgment before God. And then Revelation 18 will be the political system. But Babylon is the source of every belief system that validates sin.

[10:45] God calls Babylon, when he says it's Babylon, it is the source of every belief system that validates sin. So it's like, well, what if it's not from the actual city?

[10:55] The actual city of Babylon today is in ruins. Saddam Hussein attempted to start rebuilding it, but it's still sitting there in ruins. But when the Bible talks about Babylon, it's a belief system.

[11:06] It's the world system. And when we get eventually over to Revelation chapter 18, verse 2 says, Babylon is the source of every belief system that will validate sin.

[11:35] The thing that says, yes, sin is good. When we see here, the woman sitting on the beast, it's the same idea of when the serpent comes to Eve.

[11:49] And what does he say to her? In Revelation 3, verses 4 and 5, he said, You shall not surely die. For God does know that in the day you eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened and you shall be as gods.

[12:05] Knowing good and evil. Babylon is the home of the divine feminine. It's the female goddess. It's that you can be God. Why a woman? Why is it a woman?

[12:16] Why not a man on the beast? Why did Satan come? Why did the serpent come to the woman? Because the enemy knows that if he can corrupt the woman, he can corrupt the very foundation of society. If he can corrupt the woman, he's got into the marriage.

[12:29] He's got into the home. He's got into the family. He's got into the very foundation of our society. If he can corrupt the woman. And he went for the one that was, Scripture says, the weaker vessel.

[12:41] That doesn't mean like, oh, we're so weak. It means, you know, we've talked about this before. You don't go out and dip water out of the well with your priceless vase. You know, I'm going to, oh, I'll use that. You know, I got to cook some spaghetti tonight.

[12:52] I'm going to use the priceless vase. No, you use the pot or the bucket. And that's the guy, you know, just a pot belly bucket. But that's what we're for, right?

[13:02] That the woman has a different place and it's a beautiful place. But it's susceptible to certain types of frailties that the pot is not, right?

[13:14] You can drop the pot. You drop the priceless vase and it's going to break. And so the enemy comes and he attacks the part that he knows is because he's a wimp. And he says, hey, I'm going to go for the thing is that it's weaker.

[13:27] Not weaker as in less valuable or that it's in its place and its purpose, it doesn't have strength. But in the scenario where Satan says, woman, you lead, that is a place where God says, no, that's a place that is not appropriate to lead over the man because of God's order and God's protection.

[13:45] So the enemy knows that if he can corrupt the woman, well, hey, he can corrupt the very foundation of society. And no matter how beautiful or how sweet or how subtle the lie of the garden appears, it will be judged for what it is.

[13:58] It seems so beautiful. Eat the fruit. It seems so sweet to do that. But it's going to be judged for what it is. And why a harlot?

[14:09] What is a harlot? Well, one who gains by the sale of that which is sacred through means of seduction. We're just going to call it that, right?

[14:21] It's one who gains by the sale of that which is sacred. They take something sacred. They take something that is not meant to be spread abroad. And they do what? They gain through means of seduction specifically.

[14:35] And so when God calls a nation or a people group or he says they play the harlot, that's what it is. He says, man, you have been seduced and you have used the opportunities I've given you.

[14:47] You've taken something sacred. And for your own gain, you've gone and you've used this to gain. Isaiah 47. This is the one I was thinking of that talks about Babylon. The other scripture was where it talks about calling evil good and good evil.

[15:02] You can turn to Isaiah 47 if you want or I'll just read it to you. I'm going to start in verse 1 and then we'll jump through a couple verses down through. But in Isaiah 47 verse 1, the Lord through Isaiah says, come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon.

[15:20] Sit on the ground. There is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans. For thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. It's like there's no throne for you. Sit on the ground.

[15:31] Jump down to verse 7 of Isaiah 47. And thou said, I shall be a lady forever. So that you did not lay these things to your heart. Neither did you remember at the latter end of it.

[15:44] Skip verse 8 and do 9 and 10. But these two things shall come to you in a moment in one day, the loss of children and widowhood. One who said, I shall be a lady forever.

[15:55] I shall sit on a throne. And God says, no, you're sitting in the dust. And you shall be without children and you shall be a widow. And they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries.

[16:06] That's the same word for witchcrafts. And for the great abundance of your enchantments. For you have trusted in your wickedness. You have said, none sees me.

[16:18] Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it has perverted you. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And you have said in your heart, and look at this in verse 10, Isaiah 47.

[16:31] You have said in your heart, I am. I am divine. I am. And none else beside me. In Nahum. How many have been reading Nahum lately?

[16:43] Yeah. Great book. Nahum is prophesying to Nineveh, the fall of Nineveh. But behind Nineveh is this same system. The same system that validates sin. And in Nahum chapter 3, he writes, Woe to the bloody city because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favored harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that sells nations through her whoredoms and families through her witchcrafts.

[17:09] Satan masquerades as an angel of light. He says, hey, come with me. Look at, look what he did with Eve. Did he sell a family? He sure did.

[17:20] He sold an entire world through that lie. What is witchcraft? Is it just a picture of someone on a broomstick?

[17:32] Well, witchcraft, sorcery, divination. It's essentially attempting to access the divine by any means other than God. So when you read in scripture, I mean, sorcery or necromancy or witchcraft, it's essentially saying I'm going to access the divine by some means other than God.

[17:50] Eve taking of the fruit was essentially, you could say she took the fruit and it was a spell and she was hoping to, yes, she was trying to access the divine by some other means than God.

[18:01] And this woman of deception and corruption, where is she sitting? She's sitting on many waters. She's lifted up. She's carried upon the shoulders of the world.

[18:13] Revelation 17, 15, which we'll get to, says the waters which you saw were multitudes and peoples and nations. And here she is. She's being carried. She's lifted up on the shoulders, essentially, of the world.

[18:23] They're elevating her. Say, yes. All of society is permeated by the seduction of the harlot of Babylon. Babylon is leading the world to hell by convincing them of what?

[18:36] They can be God. You can be your own God. That's the lie of the garden, which is permeated all the way through because of this system of Babylon. Babylon. And I will show you the great harlot that sits upon many waters.

[18:50] In verse two, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. Fun words tonight. Harlot and fornication. What is fornication?

[19:01] Fornication. An unlawful and unholy union. A union of corruption. It's a union that is unlawful. It's unholy, and it results in corruption. Paul would write in 1 Corinthians 6, verses 16 to 18.

[19:18] He says, What? Know you not that he which is joined to a harlot is one body? For two says he shall be one flesh. But he that's joined to the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication.

[19:29] Flee that which is an unlawful, unholy union and of corruption, whether physically or spiritually. Every sin that a man does is without his body, but he that commits fornication sins against his own body.

[19:41] And here it says that this woman, she's sitting there, and that it is, where is that verse? There it is. And she is drunk with the wine.

[19:52] Drunk on this. Ephesians 5, 18. Be not drunk with wine. We're in his excess, but we're filled with the spirit. What spirit is motivating us? And the spirit of Babylon is what?

[20:03] An unlawful, unholy union. A union of corruption. So the spiritual belief system of the harlot of Babylon, it is the primary means by which the world is governed and deceived.

[20:15] She's sitting upon many waters. She is the one here who has been made to drink. The inhabitants of the earth, I'm sorry, have been made to be drunk with her wine. So she's handing this out to them.

[20:27] It is the belief system of the harlot that is the primary means by which the world is deceived and by which our world is governed. We may call it something like this.

[20:39] Humanism. Humanism. Man can be as God. In government, in belief, in home, in entertainment, in purpose, man can be as God.

[20:49] That's what humanism is. It's just the belief system of Babylon. Humanism says man, like God, can decide his own destiny, his own needs, his own fulfillment, and his own value.

[21:02] I can do all that. Man, like God, can decide his destiny, his need, his fulfillment, and his value. See, man was created in the image of God, but he was not created to be without the God that he images.

[21:15] We're created in God's image. Every person out there is created in the image of God, but none of them were to be without the God that he images. And just because we're created in God's image does not give us the right to live our lives as God.

[21:32] And so he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness, and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, creature full of the names of blasphemy, having seven heads and 10 horns.

[21:43] And just like we saw the blasphemies that these people were speaking. And then from revelation 13, the beast that comes out of the water, it says that he is given a mouth to speak great things and blasphemy.

[21:56] This beast looked like sin. It's a beast. It sounded like sin. It's seduced like sin, but remarkably is accepted as a saint.

[22:09] It's accepted as if it came from God. And where this woman sits, she's sitting on this beast and she's sitting comfortably, confidently, carelessly, and contemptibly.

[22:20] She's just sitting there like on this creature that could devour her. And like, she's very comfortable there on this creature that's full of blasphemy. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand, full of the abominations and filthiness of her fornication.

[22:41] She was royally appareled. She was richly provided, but she was in reality quite raunchy. She looked beautiful, but in her hand was abominations and filthiness.

[22:56] She was beautiful, but filthy and defiling. And upon her forehead was the name written, Mystery Babylon, the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.

[23:09] Abominations means foul and detestable things. She is that which has birthed the mother of, she has brought forth the abominations of the earth. The foul and detestable things of this earth go back to the system of Babylon, which means what?

[23:25] Babel means anyone. You know what it means? Confusion. Yes. Confusion. And iniquity always leads to confusion.

[23:35] Confusion. With this name on her forehead, it's essentially a name of identification, right? We saw the mark of the beast is on the forehead. We saw how those that were 144,000 were marked in their forehead by God.

[23:48] So essentially she's identifying with all that is unholy with this name in her forehead. In Genesis chapter 10, verses eight through 10, it says, and Cush begat Nimrod and he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

[24:04] This is after the flood. And we're giving the genealogies of Noah's lineage. And he was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Wherefore it said, even as Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the Lord, and the beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Eric and a cod and Kelna in the land of Shinar.

[24:23] And so he built this kingdom in Shinar. This beginning of his kingdom was Babel and being a mighty hunter before the Lord. The idea is that he was a mighty hunter of men and the souls of men that he took them from before the Lord.

[24:34] He was hunting them. Genesis 11 verses one through nine. I'm not going to read the whole thing. If you want to, you can, but it tells us the account of Babylon. It says that God came down and they said, they essentially refuse to obey God's word and his command.

[24:49] They said, Oh no, no, we're not going to spread out upon the earth. We're going to stay here. We're going to build a tower. We're going to pitch it. We're going to cover it with, with the slime and mortar, essentially what the ark was pitched with.

[25:00] So that's waterproof and it's tall. What do you think they were building it for? But it says it was to reach into the heavens. It's not just height, but the idea was to reach into the heavenlies, to reach into the divine realm, to reach into a place that wasn't theirs to be.

[25:16] Therefore, the name of it is called Babel. Why? Because the Lord came down and scattered the languages. And his reasoning was what? He said, the behold, the people is one and they all have one language.

[25:28] And this, they begin to do building the city in this area. And now nothing will be restrained from them, which they imagined to do. What is the system of Babel, of Babylon trying to do since that day?

[25:40] It's trying to bring it all back into one unified system, right? That essentially you had a one world government under Babel. And ever since then, the enemy is seeking to bring things back under that system, because even God acknowledges, well, there's nothing that'll be prevented them.

[25:57] And they all have that one language. Second Corinthians chapter six, verses 14 through 18 says, Be you not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness?

[26:09] What communion has light with darkness? And what concord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has he that believes with an infidel? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God.

[26:22] As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them. I will be their God and they shall be my people. Wherefore, come out from among them and be you separate, saith the Lord. Where did Abraham come out of?

[26:33] He came out of the land of Shinar. He came out of Babel. God called his righteous man out of there. Come out from among them and be you separate, saith the Lord. Touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you.

[26:45] I will be a father unto you. You shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. What is the unclean thing compared to that relationship with God? What is worth grabbing a hold of that is of idolatry?

[27:01] That is of Belial when we have Christ. The world's wicked system, it's a confusion of both beauty and beast. It's rich and raunchy.

[27:12] It's fun, but filthy. That's the world's system. It looks fun, but in reality, very filthy. And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.

[27:23] When I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. What was she drunk with? She held in her hand, this cup of abominations that said that the world was drunk with. What was she drinking?

[27:35] The blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs. See, the price of worldliness is paid in blood. Worldliness has a cost to it. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.

[27:48] For all that's in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the father, but is of the world. And so don't love it. Don't put your value there. Don't put, the price isn't worth it to be paid.

[28:01] Interesting line here. It says, John says, and I wondered with great admiration. He wondered at this, that she was drinking this. I was thinking, why did John wonder? Did he wonder at this woman?

[28:13] Because the beast didn't eat her. She's just sitting there and he's not like, and eat her down. Did he wonder because she was not afraid? She just was completely unafraid of the beast or because she was just flaunting her sin?

[28:27] Or did he wonder because she claimed to be of God? Maybe he wondered that she claimed to be of God, and yet she was killing God's people. And yet the world was looking at it and saying, this is a religious system.

[28:39] This is a godly thing to do. It's the price of religion. But worldliness, worldliness will blind us spiritually and will kill our discernment.

[28:52] Worldliness, when we choose worldliness is doing exactly what just read in 1 John 2, 15, loving the world, putting a value in the world. And it's not like, well, I can't like anything in the world. I can't, I can't read any book that comes from the world.

[29:04] And I can't eat TV dinners. You know, it's like, no, what it means is the value that you placed on it. Here's God's word. Is anything of value above that? God's word says, yay and nay.

[29:17] Worldliness says, yay or nay. Worldliness will blind us spiritually. They'll kill our discernment where we'll look at something and say, that's valuable. That, that has some religious connotation to it. That's something that could be useful.

[29:29] And in reality, it's, it's the price is being paid in blood. Second Peter, Peter writes in chapter one, verse four, he says, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises whereby, in other words, through the sacrifice of Christ, that by these, you might be partakers of the divine nature.

[29:47] You can access the divine through Jesus, having escaped the corruption that's in the world through lust. Then he lists a whole list of things, adding to your faith, virtue and virtue, holiness and holiness, love.

[30:00] And he says, but he that lacks these things, he that's not building his life on these things. Now you can escape the divine, the corruption that's in the world through lust. You can be a partaker of the divine nature, but if you don't build into your life, the things that go along with that, and instead you're building into your life worldliness, it says he that lacks these things is blind and can't see a far off.

[30:22] And he's forgotten. He was purged from his own, his old sins. It does matter. It does matter. Our view of that, which God says is evil. And his view of that, which he says is good.

[30:34] It does matter because it affects how we view things, what our eyes are open and closed to. So even though this woman looked very beautiful, she was in actuality, very deadly. And the angel said unto me, why do you marvel?

[30:47] I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and 10 horns. I didn't have time to put pictures in. Remember the beast has seven heads. He's got 10 horns across those seven heads, or he's got 10 horns on one head.

[31:01] But anyway, he's got seven heads and 10 horns. But the focus here, even though like you say, it's a woman who rides the beast. The focus is actually on the beast, not the woman. He says, I'll show you the mystery of the woman and of the beast.

[31:12] And then we're going to see the focus is on this beast. But I think it's interesting that the woman's own drunkenness is deceived her because we're going to see that the beast is going to use her and lose her.

[31:24] Right? But it's deceived her. Into thinking more of herself than she really is. She's sitting pretty. She thinks I'm, I'm controlling this beast. I've got this thing under my control. Where in reality, he was just carrying her along and using her.

[31:38] The beast, verse eight, which you saw, he was and is not. And she'll ascend out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition. So remember that was, he had that wound where he looked dead.

[31:49] Then it appeared as if he resurrected a false resurrection. But where does it end? He shall go into perdition, destruction, a false resurrection, ending in destruction.

[32:00] And they that dwell on the earth, they shall wonder whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. When they beheld the beast that was and is not, and yet is.

[32:12] And so those who have not chosen to enter life, there's those who've taken the mark. And they said, Hey, this is amazing. This guy's amazing. You know, the enemy seeks to counterfeit what he can never attain to.

[32:26] Remember what Jesus said in Revelation chapter one, verse eight. He said, I am alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord, which is, which was, and which is to come the almighty.

[32:38] And look at the beast, how he tries to copy that the beast that was and is not. And yet is, he's trying to, to counterfeit the Lord. He was, but he's not.

[32:51] And he is, but he's not going to last. He's going to go into perdition where Jesus said, which is, which was, and is to come the almighty. Verse nine.

[33:02] And here's the mind, which has wisdom. And now we're going to get an explanation of what the seven heads are upon this beast and the seven horns. And no, I don't know if they're the Catholic church. That was a very popular thing for a while.

[33:15] Well, you know, there's seven hills that the Vatican sits on and seven kingdoms. Maybe it is. I don't know. Maybe it's that it's going to be a, there's going to be a part of that. There's going to be a part of whatever's left.

[33:26] When we are taken out and the church is taken out, whatever part of the professing, calling themselves a church, there's going to be a one world religion. It's all going to become part of that. So whatever there is at this time, but this is wisdom, or this is the revelation.

[33:40] He's saying of the seven heads that are seven mountains on which the woman sits. John is receiving greater detail into the formation and structure of the beast's governmental system.

[33:54] And how is he receiving that? Through wisdom. This here is wisdom. Romans 12 to be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

[34:08] James one five, if any lack wisdom, let him ask of God that gives to all men liberally. There's nothing withheld us today in the ability to understand God's word and apply it to our lives.

[34:20] God says, I'll, I'll, I'll give you that liberally. You want to know what my word is? Well, here, I'll give it to you liberally. Don't be conformed to this world. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind to do what?

[34:32] To prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. It's through God's word that I can look and go, Whoa, that's part, that's part of the system that says divinity can be attained by some other means.

[34:45] That's part of the system that says, be your own God. Well, I'm going to renew my mind. So I know what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God. And I made up my own acronym for beast.

[34:57] So the beast system, it's beauty, it's entertainment, it's alluring, it's seduction, but it ends in torment is where it ends. This is the mind, which has wisdom.

[35:10] It may look beautiful. It may be entertaining. It may be alluring, but it will seduce you. And it will lead to a place of torment. Now, those of us who have, as we, as we read, have received the divine nature in the sense that we are joined with Christ.

[35:24] We're not going to be thrown into perdition, but we may live a life where we chase after things that look beautiful, that are entertaining, that are alluring, but they're seducing us to a place of mental torment, spiritual torment, a place where our mind is not filled with the things that, where John, where Peter said, that if you add these things, that the things that we choose to put in our mind, that unfortunately allow us to look at something like this woman and think, well, there's value in that.

[35:56] But this woman, it says that she is sitting. She is founded upon. She's established upon. She's residing upon this verse 10. And there are seven Kings.

[36:07] Five are fallen. And one is, and the other is not yet come. So this is referring to kingdoms, Kings, meaning those who rule a kingdom. It's very much parallels Daniel chapter two, a little bit.

[36:18] And Jen, Daniel two, the statue of Nebuchadnezzar that he saw or in his dream, the head of gold and silver and bronze, and then the legs that was Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome was the kingdoms he saw here.

[36:33] We have a few more. And there's the five kingdoms. There are five fallen five that were that ruled the world. One is, and another's not yet come.

[36:44] And when he comes, he will continue a short space. So it would be this kingdom. I don't know if these are the five that's referring to exactly, but it could be Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Medo-Persia, Greece, five are fallen, five kingdoms that were, and are no longer.

[37:00] One is, at the time of John is writing, what is the sixth one? The one that is, would be Rome. And then there is the other that has not yet come. What is the one that's not yet come?

[37:11] Some type of a revival of this Roman empire, a one world government. And so he says, this is what the seven kings, there are seven kings, meaning these seven heads.

[37:24] And the beast that was, and is not verse 11, he is the eighth. He's of the seven. So he comes out of this world system, out of this revived Roman empire, out of this one world system.

[37:39] He comes out of them, but he's an eighth kingdom. And is of the seven. And he goes into perdition. There's no question about the direction of this kingdom. And so the eighth is the kingdom of the beast of the antichrist.

[37:53] And you think, well, wait a minute. I thought the antichrist kingdom was the one world system. Well, yes, but there will be a one world system set up and that the antichrist will then come and take. So the kingdom of the beast, it comes out of these other seven kingdoms, but it is distinct from them.

[38:12] So the antichrist kingdom will come out of these seven kingdoms, but it's distinct from them. This is the world system. That began at Babel and it ends in destruction.

[38:22] This is, this is just the full arc of Babel of Babylon. Verse 12, the 10 horns. So the seven kingdoms, and then you have the eighth that will come out of the seven.

[38:33] And then there are 10 horns, which you saw, and they are 10 Kings, which have received no kingdom as yet. And so this is referring to rulers, but they receive power as Kings one hour with the Pete, with the beast.

[38:46] So this is separate from the seven kingdoms. And it sounds a little confusing. So 10 Kings are not the same as the seven kingdoms, but are 10 distinct Kings who will rule over the seventh kingdom.

[39:01] So the seventh kingdom, which will be the revived Roman empire, there will be 10 Kings that will rule over this one world system. And it says they will receive power as Kings. So there will be the setup where the one world system sets up and it's ruled by these 10 regions or 10 Kings or whatever, but they're only there as a setup to hand it over to the Antichrist.

[39:21] Who will come and take it over. And they will reign as Kings one hour with the beast. You see this one world system. It's not a solution. It'll seem like a solution, but it's simply a setup.

[39:34] It's simply a setup for the Antichrist. And then for destruction. Verse 13. And these have no mind. Okay. Almost there.

[39:44] And she'll give their, and these have one mind. These have no mind. And these have one mind and she'll give their power and strength to the beast. They shall have one mind and one purpose. And that is to overcome God.

[39:55] And these shall make war with the lamb and the lamb shall overcome them. For he is Lord of Lords, King of Kings. And they that are with him are called chosen and faithful.

[40:07] See, the world is watching and the world is waiting and they're waiting for a man, but they're not waiting for a man who is God. You see, we wait for the man who is God. And they're looking for one who will overcome God.

[40:18] That's their hope. They're waiting the next Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord. But I love it. Who will overcome this mighty beast? These heads and these eyes and these horns.

[40:31] It's the lamb. This beast can't even defeat a lamb. Like, hello. Revelation 1a. I am alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord, which is, which was, which is to come, the almighty.

[40:47] And I behold, be held in low in the midst of the throne of the four beasts in the midst of the elders, stood a lamb. As it had been slain, he would overcome the lamb shall overcome.

[40:59] Overcome means to carry off the victory, to come off victorious. The lamb will be the one who overcomes. These Kings will answer to the true King, whether they choose to acknowledge him or not, they will be judged.

[41:13] There is an end. I love it. It says here, and they that are with him. This is one of those sections you could leave out. And there she'll make war with the lamb. The lamb shall overcome them for he is Lord of Lord and King of Kings.

[41:26] And you can go right into verse, you know, 15 and, and just read. And he said unto me, the waters, which you saw, this is one of those things that God just tucks in there. He says, Hey, and they that are with the lamb, they are called, they are chosen.

[41:39] And they are faithful. Those that are for him, those that are for the lamb and with the lamb, they're called. They hear his voice. They're chosen. They've responded to his voice.

[41:50] They're faithful. They obey his voice. Those that hear him, those that are for him, they hear his voice, respond to his voice and obey his voice.

[42:02] They shall overcome with him. We're not going to look at those, but Ephesians chapter four, verses one and four for called. Um, first Peter two, nine for chosen.

[42:15] And second Timothy three, 13 through 14 for faithful. Ephesians four, one and four for called. First Peter two, nine for chosen. Second Timothy three, 13 and 14 for faithful.

[42:29] Those that against that are against him, they're filthy. They're fighting and they're fake. Those are the ones that are against him. They're filthy. And they're just, they just want to fight.

[42:40] And they're just, they're phony. There's nothing real about this. It's fake. It's not going to last. The contrast between those who are for him and those that are against him should be very evident.

[42:51] There should be no, there should be no problem in telling them apart. Ephesians five, eight through 12 for you were sometimes darkness, but now are you light in the Lord walk as children of light for the fruit of the spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.

[43:09] Do you want fruit in your life? Do you want spiritual fruit in your life? It's found in goodness, righteousness, and truth. It's not found in worldliness, which looks good, which presents itself as righteous and has a little bit of truth.

[43:24] Providing what is acceptable, proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. You know, our walk proves out what's acceptable to the Lord. As we walk in the light, it proves it out. Wisdom is justified of our children.

[43:38] Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it's a shame even to speak of those things, which are done of them in secret.

[43:50] It should be very evident guys. The contrast between those are for, for him and against him should be evident. Now that doesn't mean we walk around and saying, you do this and you shouldn't do this. And no, we just live as light.

[44:01] We choose what we partake of and what we don't partake. And we just live that. We just stand in that. And I guarantee you that there will be opportunity when someone has you, have you seen this? No, I haven't.

[44:13] Do you go there and do this? No. On the weekend, I'm gonna, I don't do that. Why not? Well, I think you're a filthy, fake person headed for perdition. That's probably not the thing to say.

[44:24] No, what do we have an opportunity to do? We have to say, man, I'm a partaker of the divine nature. You're one of the, I believe in crystals too. No, no, no, no. It's Jesus, man.

[44:35] Jesus has cleansed me. He's washed me. He's given me a new mind, new desires, new appetites. And they are so fulfilling. I don't need all that junk. Right. He said unto me, the waters, which you saw where the heartlet sits, our peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.

[44:52] And that's just good Bible hermeneutics. When you see waters in scripture, a lot of times it'll represent nations. You see that in the Psalms a lot. You know, the, the, the waters have churned up.

[45:03] They've churned up. Oh God. And the Lord reigns upon many waters. So the waters, which you saw where the scarlet sits, their peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. Every aspect of society is covered here.

[45:16] People, multitude, nations, tongues. And the 10 horns, which you saw upon the beast, upon the creature, these shall hate the harlot.

[45:27] Wait, what? I thought we were like together in this. I thought they were like, you know, joined in this. She's sitting on him. It's the woman on the beast. No, they're going to hate her. They hate the harlot and they shall make her desolate, naked, and she'll eat her flesh and burn her with fire.

[45:45] So she sat pretty for a little bit. That's not going to end. Well, the woman must be removed. Why? To make way for the beast. All she is, is just the means by which to get the beast through the door.

[45:58] Right? She's got everybody drunk on her cup and they brings the beast in. She is there simply to make way for the beast. And that beast will tolerate no rivals.

[46:09] To hate. And the scripture here says, they shall hate her to detest or to thrust away and a pusher away. No king wants to be told what to do in his kingdom. Especially by a woman.

[46:20] Right? But no king wants to be told what to do in his kingdom. Right? No one wants to be told. No queen wants to be told what to do in her kingdom. You don't. The queen of her house.

[46:31] You don't tell her what to do, but they'll thrust her away. She will talk. The beast will tolerate no rivals. They will take her treasures.

[46:43] They will take her covering. They will take her fullness. And lastly, they will take her dignity. They will burn her with fire. Those that are burned with fire are the heretics.

[46:54] Those that were considered unworthy of sacred death, essentially of an easy death. See, religion is simply a means to an end, but it ends in destruction.

[47:07] This religion was a, the religion of Babylon was a means to an end for the beast to bring his system in, but it ends in destruction. Galatians 6.14 says, but God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world.

[47:31] I glory in the cross. What does the cross, what did the cross do? The cross created a great separation. It separated a life, separated Jesus's life. He went down into death so that sin wouldn't separate me from God's life.

[47:45] But what it has done now is it separated me from the world because this world is not my home. Nothing of this world is going to come with me into eternity. The world is crucified unto me and I to the world.

[47:58] And we also are detested by the world. Why? Because we stand in its way. We stand in the way of what the world wants to do. And so they detest us.

[48:09] They thrust us away. They push us away. For God has put in their hearts, verse 17, to fulfill his will and to agree and give their kingdom.

[48:21] So they will give this eighth kingdom, right? I mean, the seventh kingdom. They'll give it to the beast. To give their kingdom unto the beast until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

[48:34] It says God put into their heart to fulfill his will. God put in their hearts what their hearts were already open to do. Right? He didn't force them. Their hearts were already towards, yeah, we want to, we want to, we want this guy to rule.

[48:48] And God says, okay, I'm gonna, I, yes, that's all part of my will. That God can use, God can use a system so corrupt as Babylon. God can use a system as the beast to fulfill his will.

[48:59] He can and he has and he will. God put it in their hearts because their hearts were already open to it. God's will and God's word are the final authority, the final say and the final fulfillment.

[49:13] the words of God shall be fulfilled. God's word is the final authority, it's the final say and it is the final fulfillment. As Proverbs 21 verses 30 and 31 says, there is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord.

[49:31] The horse is prepared against the day of battle, the safeties of the Lord. And here they are gathering to make war with the lamb, to fight against him, taking counsel and understanding against him. And the Lord's like, guys, you don't, you're doing my will.

[49:45] I'm bringing all of this to a close. No effort or system of the enemy will ever be able to stand against God's word. And one other thing I think the enemy really hates.

[49:59] I think this burns him up. There's no effort or system of the enemy that can ever rule the heart. Enemy can't rule our hearts. Jesus stood and wept over Jerusalem and said, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who stone the prophets, how would I have gathered you as a hen gathers her chicks?

[50:19] But you would not. You wouldn't. You had to choose. See, no effort or system of the enemy can rule the heart because not even God is going to force a heart. Not even God is going to make it.

[50:31] These men that it says God put it in their hearts to fulfill his will, they were happy to do it. They were happy to do it. Like, yes, we want this. And God says, yeah, well, I do too because I have a purpose in it.

[50:45] Jeremiah 17, 9 and 10 says, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart.

[50:56] I try the reins. You know, he's kind of like seeing like, what are we willing to do? Meep, meep, meep, meep. Let's go this way. Come on. He doesn't go, yeah, and like yank us over there. He tries the reins.

[51:07] And I love this. Even to give, even to give every man according to his doings, according to the fruit of his doings, according to his ways, the fruit of his doing. Like, all right, what way are you going to go? Okay, if you're going to go that way, I'll let you go that way.

[51:21] You see, no effort or system of the enemy can rule the heart. That privilege belongs to God alone, but he will only rule willing hearts. And the woman, verse 18, which thou saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.

[51:37] That word reign there literally means no actual kingdom, but the authority to rule over a kingdom. She reigns. She doesn't have a kingdom, but has authority. The woman which you saw is the great city which reigns, which has authority to rule over the kings of the earth.

[51:54] And who is this woman? She's one who's defiled. She's one who takes that which is sacred, that which is holy, and makes it corrupt. She's one who makes all the nations to be drunk. She looks beautiful.

[52:05] She seems like she's got it all under control, but in reality, she is the one who is reigning over the kings of the earth. And we know from what the scripture says that leads to perdition.

[52:16] This is the religious epicenter of the fallen world. No actual kingdom, but the authority to rule over a kingdom. You know, right now, guys, we have no actual kingdom here in this world, but you know what we have?

[52:31] We have authority to rule over a kingdom. You know that? We have authority to rule over the enemy's kingdom, not to be like, yeah, enemy, this is what I'm going to tell you to do and you're going to do it, right?

[52:42] We're not going to hop on the beast and ride it, but we have authority. We have authority over that kingdom. We have authority in the sense that we can continue in the kingdom. We're part of the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven.

[52:55] The enemy cannot do anything about that. Can't touch our hearts, guys. Our minds are guarded with that helmet of salvation. We renew our minds. The enemy can't touch that.

[53:08] We don't have an actual kingdom here, but we have the authority of those that will eventually rule over a kingdom with Christ physically on this earth. So today, I guess our question or tonight as we end is, who is king over our kingdom?

[53:23] Who's king over your kingdom? Who's king over your daily kingdom? Who's king over your entertainment kingdom? Your food kingdom, your job kingdom, your occupations and times and priorities and values.

[53:34] Who's king over that kingdom? Who do you allow to rule in the kingdom of your heart? It's a kingdom that you have to open that door to. That heart has to bow before some king.

[53:46] Who do you allow to rule there in your heart? You see, those that are for him, they hear his voice, they respond to his voice, and they obey his voice. Proverbs 4, verse 23 says, to keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.

[54:06] Psalm 121, verse 7 says, the Lord shall preserve you from all evil. He shall preserve your soul. And what a promise. What a promise. The Lord's going to preserve me from evil.

[54:18] The Lord's going to preserve my soul. What's my part? Keep my heart. Keep my heart with all diligence. Out of it are the issues of life. What are the issues of my life? What are the things that are issuing from my life? What's my life a part of?

[54:30] Romans 12, 21, be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. And lastly, Isaiah 55, 7, let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts.

[54:45] And let him return to the Lord. He will have mercy on him. How many of you have done that more than once in your life? I do it like many times. Many, many, many times a week, multiple times a day.

[54:58] Let the wicked forsake his way. The unrighteous, righteous man's thoughts. Just let him return to the Lord. Return to the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him. And to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

[55:10] Isaiah 55, 7. You see, we are those, we've heard his voice, we've been called, we responded to his voice, we've been chosen. And as the scripture says, they are faithful.

[55:23] We can obey his voice. We can live in a world that is under a system of corruption and we can have discernment. We can have understanding. And man, we can return to the Lord at any time.

[55:35] How wonderful is that? Don't be deceived. God is not mocked. What sort of man sows, that shall he also reap. The world says that you can sow, you can sow humanism into your life and you can sow worldliness into your life and there's no consequences at all.

[55:53] Where God says, hey, there's only one way. There's only one way to reach the divine. There's only one divine source. I've called you. I've chosen you. Just come to me and walk in it. So I just encourage you guys in that.

[56:05] You know, a big part of that is just this, right? It's just priorities. Just prioritizing the things that we choose to do. I was, the last few days, I was able to go to a pastor's retreat.

[56:18] It was really good. But it's interesting because I've been to multiple different retreats and different guys do them different. And it's so neat because the Holy Spirit is at work, but he works with the vessels that he has, right?

[56:34] He's not going to like take someone who's kind of like quieter and reserved and be like, jazz them all up and make them super wild and crazy and whatever because that's what the Holy Spirit does. No, he just works.

[56:44] He just works with willing hearts. He works with those who've been called, chosen, and are faithful. It was interesting because we had a time of like prayer and it was like almost without fail, the things that like, as we were just kind of, guys are praying, like as you're thinking, the things that like came into my head, like, you know, like, oh yes, Lord, that, someone prayed it.

[57:05] Someone prayed it. It happened like half a dozen times. It was like, wow, Lord, okay, you're working, you're here. But it wasn't like there was any bright flashes of light or someone like, let me tell you what's, you know, I'm prophesying.

[57:15] It was just, it was so natural, so normal. And it was so laid back, this one that I was at. It's very different. I've been to ones that are very structured. This one was just laid back and just like, yeah, whatever.

[57:27] And going into it, I've been praying. I'm like, Lord, I just need a word. I need a word. In my mind, I have a picture of what that's going to be like, right? Oh Lord, that maybe someone will lay their hands on me and pray with me and be like, boom, boom, boom, boom.

[57:38] And like, whoa. Well, someone was praying for some other guy when we were doing communion, like guys were praying and he just prayed for another guy and he used a scripture and the scripture he prayed for another guy. The Lord was like, that's for you. That scripture is also for you.

[57:50] And as I was driving home, it was like, I had such a peace of like, man, Lord, you did speak. It wasn't what I thought it was going to be. It wasn't what I expected, but it was just so faithful.

[58:01] It's just so simple just to hear his voice, just to be called, to be chosen. And then that faithfulness, he does that for me. And so I want to respond to that. I want to respond to that by prioritizing his call, his voice, the things that he counts as faithful.

[58:18] And that doesn't mean I have to like, live a life that is so aggressively in people's faces. That means I just have to return to the Lord and allow him to be what is the source, right?

[58:34] Let him be the one who determines these things. So Lord, we thank you, Lord. We thank you so much that, Lord, you've called us, you've chosen us and Lord, you've counted us faithful.

[58:46] You have said, I see you as faithful because you have said yes to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Lord, remarkably, that is enough to be counted as faithful for all of eternity.

[58:58] And Lord, then you turn around and you say, now I'm going to leave you in this world and I don't want you to be unwise. I want you to understand what's going on. I want you to walk as children of light.

[59:09] I want you to be renewing your mind. I don't want you to be taken in by the angel of light, you know, as the enemy masquerades as an angel of light, as he looks good, but he's in reality evil.

[59:21] Lord, we're the only people in this world who really can know what's going on. And Lord, that is not to run around and condemn people because Jesus, that's not what you did. You didn't come to condemn the world, but that the world through them might be saved.

[59:34] And it is the goodness of God that leads a man to repentance. That doesn't change the fact we live in a wicked world that is full of filth and wickedness and corruption. It takes what is pure and it defiles it.

[59:46] It takes something like marriage and makes it something unholy. It takes something so beautiful as a family and it breaks it apart. And Lord, it is not for us to run around and slay the dragons.

[60:00] Lord, it's for us to be lights in this world and to let the truth be known that God, you love these people and you've loved us. Lord, I thank you for how simple and wonderful your word is.

[60:12] I thank you for the Holy Spirit that works in our hearts and our lives in such a low-key way to allow us, Lord, to be something we could never be otherwise, to be called, chosen, and faithful.

[60:24] We love you and thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless y'all.