Concluded in all of this is man's, the story of man's sorcery.
So let's look at some of those verses. Revelation 9 21, telling us what's really going wild in the end times. The end of the end times, I should say, because the end times began with Christ. The end of the end times is now, we're upon it.
Being back in her land and looking that, hey, you know, this cannot be sustained. What mankind is doing. And now here's Pastor Rick in the book of Isaiah chapter 13 with today's edition of Cross Reference Radio. Babylon not discerned, not the same. And in the history of Israel, ancient Babylon was God's scourge, used as God's scourge upon his wicked people. And so was Syria, other nations too. But Babylon was the one that wiped out Jerusalem's, the temple, the city.
I mean, it took the people prisoner and killed some of them, many of them. But they really, they're the ones that sat and destroyed the first temple. And so in Newt, and then you have New Testament Babylon, which more than any other city, it personifies the forces of the world deliberately against Christ. So when we're talking about Babylon now, we're talking about the kingdoms of the world that think they're getting away with defying Jesus Christ.
And, you know, we're seeing this more and more. There's not only a resistance to Christ or apathy, there's a hatred for Christ in many circles, especially in the bigger cities. Well, in the Great Tribulation, this Babylon is defiant humanity against the Godhead.
It's very deliberate. In the New Testament, in the Revelation, the word Babylon is used to describe the global governments against Jesus. And that's the part we don't want to leave out. They're not only, you know, apathetic, they are anti. Where does that really show up in Scripture? Anti-Christ. So evil is anti-Christ that the Bible calls him an animal.
He's a beast, and he's not the only one. He's just the one that's calling the shots. He has a planet of advocates behind him. So beginning in Revelation 17, John then describes the Lamb of God and his step-by-step victory over the beast and his kingdom, the many facets of Babylon. In Revelation 17, he deals with religious Babylon, or the apostate. The apostate has fallen away. It has been exposed to the truth, claimed to believe it, and then fallen away. This is Rome, for sure.
It doesn't stop there. In 17, this religious system is judged. Revelation 17, 5, and on her forehead, a name was written. Now, in ancient Rome, many of the brothels where the prostitutes were, they would wear headbands with their names on them. And so here we have something that, in that age, people would do.
I get this. Mystery Babylon, the great mother of harlots, and of the abominations of the earth. When God says that about something, what is he talking about?
I don't want to be on that team. Revelation 17, 18, and the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth. And, you know, the history of the pope's ruling kings, subjecting them to punishments, threatening them with excommunications, and all sorts of things. And, you know, Antichrist is going to play with them, play along with them. This harlot will have a ride along for a while until they destroy her because they hate her for many reasons. Anyway, the false religion is the harlot who has abandoned truth and sold herself for wealth. And when we see her riding the beast, going to ride along with Antichrist, she's bedecked in jewels, has this incredible amount of wealth. So the Bible portrays the false religion, the harlot, the apostate religion. The true church is the chaste virgin.
And we see that in 2 Corinthians 11, 2, where Paul says you are a chaste virgin. And then we see at the marriage wedding for the bride of the lamb, Revelation 19, 7 and 8. Verse 17 again, the religious system is judged. And there we read about the beast being destroyed and they eat the beast and cast it out. In Revelation 18 now, we see the judgment of the lamb upon the political and economic system. They fall victim to his judgment. Then you come to Revelation 19 and there the Lord himself returns to earth. He judges Satan, the beast and the false prophet. And we hear Paul talk about this.
One of my favorite verses in scripture is 1 Corinthians 15, 24. Then comes the end. When he delivers the kingdom of God to the father. When he puts an end to all rule and authority and power.
Because he is all rule and authority and power. And I'm going to be there to see that. And so will you. And again, when that angel grabs hold of Satan and chains him up. That's a tough angel man.
He just grabs him. And that's that. Don't you want to see that happen? Don't you want to say can we cheer? I know there's going to be that moment of silence in heaven but this is maybe not it.
Can we like ring in with hallelujahs? Anyway, so you have political, economic, apostate, spiritual Babylon. All of these Satan used the men and the women in these institutions and nowadays their technology. And don't think for a minute he's not using the technology to protect. Satan knows how to protect his people but he just can't do it permanently. He protected Judas for long enough and then discarded him.
So anyway, John again could find no better picture to say look at what these people are doing. These kingdoms than Babylon. He says they're Babylon.
This fits a perfect fit. And included in all of this is man's, the story of man's sorcery. So let's look at some of those verses. Revelation 9 21 telling us what's really going wild in the end times. The end of the end times I should say because the end times began with Christ. The end of the end times is now we're upon it. Israel being back in her land and looking that hey you know this cannot be sustained what mankind is doing. Anyway, Revelation 9 tells us a little bit about the people. He says and they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
It covers a lot with that. Why is it that a politician can go into the White House making I don't know $200,000 a year and come out like a multi-millionaire. What is happening? Did they hit lottery or something? I think there's a lot of hands under the table.
A lot of lobbyists which are buying these politicians. This is stealing. The theft. The murders just with the unborn.
You can just do that one. Then how many other people have murder for power? So anyway 9 21 of Revelation calls it like it is. Revelation 14 8 and another angel follows saying Babylon is fallen. That great city because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And that again is just very descriptive about even what the angels.
When there's a repetition there's an emphasis. It's fallen. It's fallen.
It's gone. So we'll be in heaven when this is happening. All of Revelation 9 through 18. Then Revelation 18 7 in the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously in the same measure give her torment and sorrow. She says in her heart I sit as queen and am no widow and will not see sorrow. Wrong of course because she amassed wealth thought that she would just you know knew what she was doing and she did for Satan. I sit as queen. Let me ask you what religion on Earth worships a particular woman that would call that worship blasphemy?
Mary would go off. You're doing what to me? You're worshiping? You're praying to me? You're mad with hell to dare do such a thing.
I didn't die for you. I'm a sinner too. Anyway she makes a direct reference to her savior. And you only can have a savior if you have sin in this spiritual context. Anyway Revelation 18 23. No, no.
Let's go to 18 21. Then a mighty angel took up a stone a great millstone and threw it into the sea saying thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down and not be found anymore. This is a thorough judgment. Revelation 18 23.
The light of the lamp shall not shine on you anymore and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants. So you know its economic element.
Your merchants were the great men of the earth. Political element. For by your sorcery all the nations were deceived.
The occultic element. So you know it's a comprehension. It's inclusive of other sins directed against Jesus Christ.
And that is the thing. How will you know Antichrist? Because he will be against Christ.
And they will not be moral. Just because he's successful as worldlings go is no indication that he's in favor with God. Because there are those who got to be with God. God's blessing him.
No he's not. So Babylon. The dead weight of all the world's powers. You're finally resisting Christ.
Her burden will be the judgment. And what about all those evil people that came before those final judgments? Well I talked about them already with Mao and Pol Pot and Stalin. These guys were Satan on earth. And they weren't the only ones.
I mean Thomas Takamata. The Spanish inquisition. And what evil, what hatred for the Jews is horrible. Anyway which Isaiah the son of Amos saw. Again he sees the near prophecies and he saw the distance. And I think the prophets, you know how do you account for how they merge?
They go from like Isaiah's going to go from ancient Babylon prophecies. Then he moves over to apocalyptic. Then he goes back. Why is he doing this? Well he doesn't like us. He wanted to annoy us.
Of course not. I think they saw, they just knew a lot of stuff was going to happen. But they didn't have the whole picture.
They didn't need it. Those guys spoke what God told them to speak. And it's sometimes incredible when there's a near fulfillment and they tell a king, you do this because the army's doing that. And then it comes to pass. He says, man that takes courage to go do that.
And we see it. Anyway, verse 2. Lift up a banner on the high mountain. Raise your voice to them. Wave your hand that they may enter the gates of nobles. So this is sending signals to the armies to go conquer ancient Babylon. I'm going to go back just a moment to that reference where he talks about in Revelation, the queen.
I sit as queen. I don't think ever before in history have women been targeted en masse like today. They are, you women are, you are in Satan's cross hairs, man, like never before. The only safe place you have is at the foot of Christ, the feet of Christ.
You're invincible there. But you want to step out of that, you just get ready because Satan has seemed like he's put a spiritual contract on the females. One of the ways he's been able to get away with that is by neutering the men. They're just males, many of them. They're not men. They're taking responsibility and he's just confused everything. I agree with Werner McGee when he says, you know, one thing that when a woman is competitive, there's an element of femininity that is gone.
And, you know, just things to be mindful of. And ladies, also, I would add, you wouldn't be in this predicament if the men would have done their jobs. So, just like the garden in Eden, you both share the guilt, male and female alike. But the fact remains, Satan's tactic right now is what his tactic was in Eden, mess with the woman.
And we're seeing it, you know, women wanting to be men. It's real spiritual. Anyway, and anyone caught in that, there's only one step back to Christ.
It's all you need. One step forward to Christ will resolve the whole thing. Anyway, verse 4, the noise of the multitude in the mountains, like that of many people, a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms, of nations gathered together. Yahweh of hosts musters the army for battle. Verse 5, they come from a far country, from the end of heaven. Yahweh and his weapons of indignation to destroy the whole land. And so this is a judgment on Babylon.
Usually we've been reading things like this against the northern kingdom of the southern, but this one's Babylon. And the ones that are singled out for this, you could say sanctified or anointed for this task, they're set aside for this purpose. It's nonmoral, it's not spiritual in that sense. They don't have to know that they are God's instruments. There have been people in history that have been God's instruments and they didn't know it. God used them anyway. I mean, you know, we'll come to Cyrus later in the latter chapters and God said, you know, he's my shepherd because I'm going to use him like a shepherd. Well, coming back to this, they're instruments of Yahweh and Babylon was overthrown, of course, by the Medes and the Persians. But there's more to the story in that. A lot of stuff about Babylon is not available, ancient Babylon is not available. The historians have not been able to preserve a lot of it.
And what is preserved often makes more questions than gives answers. Verse 6, well, for the day of the Lord is at hand, it will come as destruction from the Almighty. So now he shifts gears to verse 14, all the way from 6 to 14. Now he pauses on ancient Babylon's doom and he talks about end time, apocalyptic Babylon, and the context gives us that. And that's what you say, how come he does it like that? Well, I think because God showed him things and John, how much of what he saw could he communicate?
He does a masterful job using the symbols, the emblems. But how do you describe things that no one else has ever seen before and have it survive through the ages? Well, that's where the signs and wonders, the similitudes come from that Jesus said I've spoken in. Anyway, and that's why, with verse 6 to 14 he sees beyond the Medes conquering and he sees end time judgment of God on the whole earth to the end of the ages.
Read from verse 11 when we started this, I would judge the whole earth, the whole world. And the sign is the day of the Lord. That is that end time judgment, that greater day, the final destruction of Babylon by the intervention of Messiah, Jesus himself. And Messiah, he wasn't aware of Jesus, he was aware of Messiah, but not like we know him. It was very difficult for the Jews to see this. Paul missed it entirely until God got hold of him. Anyway, verse 7, therefore all hands will be limp, every man's heart will melt, verse 8, and they will be afraid, pangs and sorrows will take hold of them.
They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth, they will be amazed at one another, their faces will be like flames. Behold the day of Yahweh comes, cruel in both wrath and fierce anger, with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate, he will destroy its sinners from it. Verse 10, the stars of heaven, for the stars of heaven and the constellations will not give their light, the sun will be darkened in its going forth and the moon will not cause its light to shine. Well, we're very familiar with that kind of language from verse 10, but before I get there, you know, when ancient Babylon was conquered, it was really liberated. There wasn't a lot of killing going on in the city. That happened in another city, where the Babylonian army was defeated at Opus, and that allowed the Medes and Purges to pretty much just walk into Babylon. Such a big city, it was almost impregnable with moats and walls, and the Babylonians fell out, we're fine, so lose the battle here, lose the battle there, we're fine. And that's when the handwriting appeared on the wall, as Daniel records, and that night the king was killed by Darius the Mede, when he was 62 years old.
That doesn't mean he pulled the trigger, but he gave the order. Anyway, we'll come back to a little bit of that. So here in verses 7 through 8, he's depicting reactions of dreadful news, because this is global, this is going to be global. Everybody's going to be trying to get home, and the sun and the sky darkening, well in ancient times that could have some application to when they were burning a city, and if it were close enough, you know, that would be the effect, but this is bigger than that. Now, again, usually picturing Israel, this time it's a great tribulation misery, as God begins to execute judgment before he delivers the kingdom of man or the world back to the Father. But these cosmic disturbances, well, Joel talks about them, Jesus talked about them, Matthew 24, 29 says the same thing, Mark captures it, Luke captures it. And this is what Jesus was talking about in the tribulation period, and all of Matthew 24 is about the end times. So that's where Isaiah, he's certainly in agreement with Christ, Christ is not in agreement with Isaiah, Isaiah is in agreement with Christ. Anyway, verse 11, and here's the lead off verse we used, I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity, I will halt the arrogance of the proud and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
How many politicians in Washington do you think would be receptive to that? Well, some would be. Some, I believe, are genuine believers. But here's globalized judgment because of globalized defiance, and it is going to lead to the end, verse 12, I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, a man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.
Well, Ophir is that exotic and unknown place to us, Isaiah knew where it was, evidently valuable and precious goals came from there. But this is population reduction on a scale unknown to mankind, and it matches what Jesus said. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved.
But for the elect's sake, those days will be shortened. And in context there, the elect are the Jewish people because the Gentiles are getting beheaded for Christ, and the Jews are being wiped out. So the Lord will intervene on behalf of both. Verse 13, therefore, I will shake the heavens and the earth will move out of her place. The earth will move out of her place in the wrath of Yahweh of hosts and in the day of his fierce anger. Well, where earth has been moved out of place many times, but globally, there's a flood.
I was talking with my daughter today about a book from Immanuel Vilikovsky. He's got two of them out, one of them, Earthen Collisions and Earth in Upheavals. They're out of print because the scientific community wants to shut it down because he offers so much evidence that, you know, how come we're finding these giant boulders, don't hold me to the exact places, but for example, we found this giant boulder in Michigan that is found nowhere else in Michigan, but it is found in Scotland.
How did it get there? So, you know, he does many things like this. And the science community wanted to shut him down because he's not claiming to be a Christian, he probably was not.
He's just going with facts. Anyway, I have the books. If you want to borrow them, I'll set the price.
Let the bidding begin at 50 million dollars. All right. So, verse 14, it says, it shall be the hunted gazelle and as a sheep that no man takes up, every man will turn to his own people and everyone will flee to his own land. So, this is global, I think. It's a global picture. The people are defenseless, they're isolated, and they're paranoid. Now, just because you're paranoid, you know, this old saying, just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean someone's not after me.
Somebody may be after me and I am paranoid at the same time. So, now, back to chapter 15 to the end, Isaiah then returns to ancient Babylon and it's fate for her mysticism. And so, your context lends to that. You can say, wait, this is global. So, when we get to talking about Satan, we come across things that says, well, this is the king of Babylon.
But no human being is experienced with now this now says. And that's, you know, one of the indications, okay, this is moved into the spiritual realm. Thanks for tuning in to Cross Reference Radio today. Cross Reference Radio is a ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville in Virginia. If you'd like to learn more about this ministry, we invite you to visit our website, crossreferenceradio.com.
You'll find a number of teachings from Pastor Rick available there. We also encourage you to subscribe to our podcast. When you subscribe, you'll be notified of new editions of Cross Reference Radio. Just search for Cross Reference Radio on your favorite podcast app. You can also follow the links at crossreferenceradio.com. We're glad we were able to spend time with you today. Tune in next time to continue learning from the book of Isaiah with Pastor Rick right here on Cross Reference Radio.
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