Judgment Comes in An Hour

(Image courtesy of Huffington Post)

We serve a God who is always there, anytime, day or night. We can call upon Him whenever we need to. Today, we find ourselves close to wrapping up the final moments of the Tribulation judgment that is coming to the world and God is still calling out to us, wishing none should perish. The patience of the LORD whether Old Testament or New Testament is beyond remarkable. His enduring mercy and grace and love for His people is amazing. It will run its course however when He deems it so, much like the door on the Ark for Noah. God extends His grace and mercy to us every single day, but He won't wait forever for you.

Revelation 18:5 ~ ""for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities."

This the most remarkable verse and speaks of something ancient, something current, something futuristic and it is an amazing verse. The meters been running since the creation of the tower of Babel. The sin has finally reached God's breaking point and He finally says, "Enough is enough. "Reached" her sins have been laid one upon another until a great tower has been made. It is like when you overload the circuits in your home and the circuit breaker is tripped. You don't have any more electricity until you reset it.

The sin of humanity from the beginning of the tower of Babel has reached the end of God's mercy and God is saying, "No more!" His judgment will come, make no mistake about it. Don't think because God hasn't judged you from the way you've been living your life apart from Him as acceptance because nothing bad has happened to you. That is simply His grace, love and mercy for you, hoping you'll turn to Him before His patience with you runs out and the only way to correct your bad behavior is punishment. Its the same way parents discipline their own children. Why wouldn't God care enough about us to get us back on track? Don't wait thinking you still have time to turn to God one day while you continue to live your life apart from Him. You might just wind up like Pharaoh and God will harden your willful, sinful heart and you won't be able to make that choice because you denied Him for far too long.

You'll know when you are born again, because it is something that God does. You don't have to change your own life to be a Christian. We don't become holy by our works, but in trusting in the power of Christ. God will begin to clean your house, your mind, your heart, one room at a time. And the older we get, there comes a time when He discovers rooms in our life that we have padlocked. He has to take that Hazmat suit and power washer and really get to those places in our life, we had hoped He might just overlook. That is what it means to grow spiritually old in the Lord. All we have to do is present ourselves to Him. He'll take over from there.

Genesis 11:3-4 ~ "And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said,'Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."

They had begun to build a tower of sin! What was their sin?

Revelation 18:2-3, 24 ~ "And he called out with a mighty voice, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast. For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth."

Its the love that is devoted to that thing or system that brings it about. The Babylonian system, rather than giving God the glory, is a worship system of the earth. Babylon will come to know that God is just to the unbeliever because they'll have their reward.

Revelation 18:6 ~ "Pay her back as she herself has paid back others, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed."

God says to take the cup of the woman who is riding the beast, mix it up, doubly strong. That's the wrath that I'm going to give her. This Babylonian system will reap what it sows and Babylon will come to know destruction.

Revelation 18:7-8 ~"As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, I sit as a queen. I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see. For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her."

We already know that according to Jeremiah 44, she has declared herself to be the Queen of Heaven. It will be destroyed because it will be a system without God. Remember the worship of Nimrod, Semiramis and Tammuz in Jeremiah's day, promised prosperity. It's a dangerous thing to be self sufficient. When you see yourself like Nebuchadnezzar, when he proclaimed to the city, "IS this not the great city of Babylon that I have created?!!" In Daniel, God judged his arrogance and pride and he spent 7 years without a kingdom living like an idiot among the animals. Only after 7 years did God have mercy on him and restored him to King again. Then He realized that he needed to give God the glory and that is when you can see the real attitude change that being humble had on him.

When the Lord is in it, you love where God has placed you. You can't wait to get there. When He is not, everything is difficult, and it becomes judgment from God. We know in the Tribulation Period, this city will be greater than any city in the world. It will be utopia, heaven on earth for those who see it and dwell there in their own eyes. But since it doesn't have God in it, it will face destruction.

Isaiah 47:1,5, 7-9 ~ "Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throe, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall be no more be called tender and delicate. Sit in silence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for you shall no more be called the mistress of kingdoms. You said, "I shall be mistress forever, so that you did not lay these things to heart or remember their end. Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, I am, and there is no one besides me; I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children." These two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day; the loss of children or widowhood shall come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the great power of your enchantments."

This woman, Babylon, is going to have another son, the antichrist.

2 Thessalonians 2:4 ~" who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God."

Matthew 24:15 ~ "So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),"

Matthew 4:8-9 ~ "Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."

Babylon will come to know destruction and will be destroyed because she has led the world astray.

Revelation 18:8 ~ "For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her."

This is all going to happen in one single day.

Remember 9/11 and everything that happened that day, it all took place in a couple of hours. Prior to this day, we never imagined how things could happen suddenly to change our world in a matter of under 2 hours. If man can do this in a couple of hours, imagine what God will be able to do in one single hour!

America is hated for supporting Israel! That is why Jihad began in 1990, despite what they would have you believe, to bring us down financially from being able to support Israel. Why? Because according to the Qu'ran, Allah can't capture the earth as long as Israel exists. Did you know that?

There is no promise given to America to succeed or fail, but there is a promise to Israel, that it should never again be uprooted from its land, says God from the Bible. This is the agenda today. It's all about Israel and destroying those who support her. Israel must stand alone in the last days. (Ezekiel 36-38). All the nations of the world will condemn a Russian-led attack by its Islamic neighbors according to Ezekiel 38. It might be by a UN resolution. That coalition will come down from the north to swoop down on Israel in the last days and it will fail! God said, I will not let my people be destroyed.

Revelation 18:8-9, 17, 19 ~ "For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her. And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning. For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste. And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off...And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out, Alas, alas, for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been lad waste."

On 9/11 people were told who were still in the buildings of the Twin Towers, that the fire department would not be able to reach them, as we have heard in the stories of those who communicated this by phone to family and friends. So what do you do in that hour? You tell them about Jesus, like one man named Al did. Makes you wonder how many people went to heaven that day by making their decision to accept Jesus in that final hour. We believe in a God who moves in a split second. God further asked one man in a Century 21 building to stop fleeing that day and instead go back in the shadow of his building and begin to pray for each person who jumped that day. Why? Because judgment can come in a single hour.

What will you do with yours?

Babylon Awakens

We have been learning about a two-fold system that has its roots in ancient Babylon from the creation of the Tower of Babel to the coming one world global, political, economic and religious system. There will be a reawakening in Rome regarding politics in the very near future and I believe we are seeing the stage being set for all this to happen even today.

God will one day condemn Jerusalem again in the last days for going after and following a pagan worship system. He will call Jerusalem, spiritual Babylon! This system is vast, it is broad, it has infiltrated and is alive in our day today if you simply know where and how to look for it. It is what we have been studying lately.

To sum up our study from yesterday, we learned what Babylon will come to know that the end is near because (1) Babylon lives in darkness, (2) Babylon lives in sinful practices, and because (3) Babylon lives in idolatry. We learned that the scriptures tell us that Rome will play a great part politically, Jerusalem will play a great part spiritually and Babylon will play a great part economically. The world's headquarters for the anti-christ.

We know that there is a chronological order to things between Revelation 17 and 18. Remember that the world at this time is being held in a supernatural darkness based on the 5th bowl judgment, much like the ancient plagues of Egypt.

We know that the world will one day have a political, economic and religious system that will all be based in ancient Babylonian practices under the control of the antichrist during the Tribulation Period. The antichrist will captivate the world by his belief system to lead the world astray. That has always been his agenda. Babylon will know that God is just to the believer and they'll have His appeal.

Revelation 18:4-5 ~ "Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities."

The European Union's vision is to be a one global unified world with no wars. The believers will make a mass exodus and leave Babylon when God calls them to do so. It is Jesus speaking to the believers, or Tribulation Saints in this verse, and this has been His word to all His children throughout the ages.

What will be said to them then?

What could be said to us today?

How does this warning affect us? It means for us to keep a light touch in this world.

What do I need to change today in my life? Are you being used by the world or are you using the world for the glory of God?

Is there something I need to separate myself from? Something we need to be free from? A thinking, an action that has kept us bound to this world like smoking or some type of addiction that you are struggling with? Did you know that 27% of women are admitting to being addicted to pornography? We need to pick our Bibles up, not put them down. God will do the work and He'll get all the glory. Find ways to make yourself accountable to others to help you.

Galatians 5:1 ~ "For freedom Christ has set us free, stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."

Post this scripture where you can see it everyday. Make it your screen saver!

Why does God want believers to leave Babylon?

1. Because judgment is coming
2. He doesn't want you to share in her sins. Don't get involved in that stuff. Remember how susceptible Israel was and how often God warned them to steer clear of their enemies idols and practices? It was because He knew if we allowed them to be nearby, we would get sucked into their practices and make compromises in keeping our faith to God pure!

This world should have no governing powers over us. Make sure if you've been blessed in your life, that you are possessing your possessions and that your possessions are not possessing you. Use them to the glory of God. Make sure you own them and they don't own you instead. We need to learn how to use this world all to the glory of God. We want to make sure that we are really in God's family. What evidence is there in your life that you belong to Jesus Christ?

John 3:1-5 ~ "Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." Jesus answered him,
Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."

More on this tomorrow as we finish up our study in Chapter 18 and prepare for the great news coming in Chapter 19!

Do Your Put Your Trust in God with a Big G or a Little g?

When you consider the question, do you need money, what do you need the money for? Is it for that second vacation house, or a sport's car? Or do you need the money to buy food to feed your family? There is a fine line between worship and a need for money. When people get blessed, most of time when that happens, we can forget God in the process and then we turn that blessings into an idol instead. How many times can you honestly say, "If I had an extra hundred dollars, I'd give it to the church or support a ministry?" It doesn't even have to be a specific amount. What do you do with all that God has blessed you with. Are you furthering yourself or furthering God's kingdom?

Money should be considered as tools to be used in the building up the kingdom of God. "In God We Trust." Our founding fathers realized that money is a blessing from God. In our prosperity we'd better not forget that, especially in America. That's why so many people are trying to get rid of that on our money even today.

Isaiah 13:19-20 ~ " And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them. It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there; no shepherd will make their flocks lie down there."

What Babylon will come to know because the end is near is because Babylon lives in idolatry.

Revelation 18:3 ~ "For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality; and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living."

Matthew 6:24 ~ "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."

Why do we put "In God We Trust" on our money. You should do some research and see what a true blessing it really is.

James 5:1-3 ~ "Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire."

1 Timothy 6:10 ~ "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs."

It is not wrong to be wealthy or to invest our money or even to be wise with it. Is it wrong to lean on it, trust on it, or depend on it? One way to find out is to get rid of God, stop going to church, burn your Bible and then see  how it affects your life? Then get rid of all money, stop relying on it, trying to earn more of it, give what you have away, and see how it impacts your life. Which one in your life is more important? Which one do you need in your life? The Big G or the little g? Be very careful where and what you put your trust in.

What Babylon will come to know in man's final stand, is that God is just.  He is just to the believer, they'll have His appeal.

Revelation 18:4-5 ~ "Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities."

There will be believers, Tribulation Saints, not only all over the world during the Tribulation, but also in New Babylon in Iraq. God is telling them to get out, before He destroys it, just like He did with Lot when it came to Sodom and Gomorrah. Do we as believers deal with non believers every day? Yes we do.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 ~ "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, 'I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God and they shall be my people. Therefore, go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty."

This doesn't mean you can't do business with non believers, it is not getting involved with others who are not of the Lord in personal matters, like marrying non-believers. Don't marry them thinking one day you will convert them to God. Many relationship problems we have today is because we disregarded God and became disobedient to His word.

Isaiah 26:19-21 ~ "Your dead shall live, their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead. Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by."

Those who have died believing in God, their bodies lie in the dust until the day of the rapture! Some of your Bibles may say indignation or fury, but it simply means God's wrath, not hell but the earthly judgment coming in the Tribulation Period. This is God's declaration that He will deliver His people from it.

We also read "reached to heaven" which translated means to lay one brick upon another until you reach heaven. Sound familiar? Nimrod built a tower of Babel intent on reaching heaven in Genesis. God is saying here, that "You've been building a long, long time, building your sin, and don't think I've forgotten all those bricks upon bricks you've been laying. It has reached a point that I need to deal with this once and for all. What began in Genesis, God deals with finally in Revelation.

Have you been building a life for yourself without God, brick by brick? What does your life look like? Don't say it, do it! Conduct yourself in such a way unto the Lord, that will draw people to you and they will want to work for you. They will want to draw near to you.

Who is your God? The One of the Bible or the one of the world, part of the system?

If you're living a  life or a lifestyle that isn't acceptable to God, don't think because nothing bad has happened to you, that He approves. You are receiving His mercy right now. There will be a day when His mercy reaches its intended goal, it was given for a limited time and then His judgment will come. Don't wait for His judgment and get swept away with what is false. 

The Rebuilding of Babylon Has Begun!

As believers, we look at things happening in the world today as bad, while the world sees them as good. But when we put it in Biblical perspective, we can see that everything that is happening has all been accounted for in advance in perfect detail, so for us, it should be awesome! We see the things coming in the future as of Satan, as of man, and as of the world, which the world will see as fantastic!

We are seeing these very things preparing the way for that to happen like chip implants. People think this type of technology is amazing and they are embracing it! They think it's wonderful and offers great conveniences, while we shake our heads in amazement. Don't people see this as being wrong? There are branches in the special forces that are using this type of implants in covert campaigns and other groups are using this to open doors and keep their identities from being falsified. It has great benefits when it comes to drying up the money supply for terrorist activities, to stopping human trafficking, but this is simply a bad idea with the wrong motive attached to it, but you can see how the world will fall for the lies.

God's judgment comes in stages. The destruction of Babylon in Iraq as the Bible predicts has not happened yet. It will become commercially larger than Hong Kong, Europe and even New York city all put together in the very near future.

Dr. Henry Morris wrote more than 25 years ago, "That which is today modern Iraq, will be some method or mode be brought to a place of dramatic change. The world community, headed up by the west and the powers of the antichrist, will make this now barren place, the International Headquarters for Global Commerce."

Even today, the US is pouring money into Iraq to make it a viable power in the world's economy. The Bloomberg Reports says, "There's talk that Iraq will be converting to either the US dollar or the European Euro as a currency to introduce it into the global world."

Here are some questions to consider:

1. Is Iraq/Babylon in the Bible?
2. Is Babylon/Iraq to be a topic in the world we are living in today?
3. Is Babylon/Iraq in the news today?
4. Is Babylon/Iraq to be rebuilt?
5. Is there a rebuilding process happening now?

The answer to all of these questions is Yes! Did you know that there are streets and sidewalks being paved; that hospitals are coming back online; some schools are being restored with electrical power; water plants are being installed; woman are going back to school and all of these improvements and more since the freedoms have been restored to that region?

When will Babylon be rebuilt? That is an easy question to answer! It must be rebuilt prior to being destroyed and we know that it will be destroyed at the end of the Great Tribulation Period. The timing then is very important to us as believers, and before Jesus returns in the Second Coming.

Revelation 18:1-8 ~ "After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. And he called out with a mighty voice, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast. For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living." Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Pay her back as she herself has paid back others, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double portion for her in the cup she has mixed. As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, 'I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.'"

What Babylon will come to know is that the end is near, because Babylon lives in darkness.

Revelation 18:1 ~ " After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory."

Notice a couple of things. "After this," this simply means after Revelation 17 has happened. There is an another angel, this is not one of the seven who was pouring out the bowl judgments. We know it is not the LORD because this angel is having given great authority, God has always had authority. We know one of the bowl judgments was plunging the world into darkness. This is not a spiritual darkness but a physical darkness. Then all of a sudden an angel appears in the heavens coming down illuminated and they can see this. In fact it is the only thing they can see and the people will know that something very, very bizarre is going on.

Be very careful when you begin researching some of this stuff on your own from the roots of ancient Babylon, Tammuz, Nimrod and Semiramis, on your computer, because you will find yourself at websites dealing with black and white witchcraft, demonism, and things that can be very dangerous is you are not rooted in the truth of God's word. You will find yourself in Nineveh and Babylon!

What will be of Babylon? We know for sure that it is certainly a system of spiritual doctrine and influence according to Revelation 17. If you want to compare things look at the European Union's Constitution versus the United States Constitution. The US Constitution contains 13 pages if you count the signature page, but the EU Constitution is 551 pages long. Ours begins with the words, "We the people," which means a government ran by the will of the people. When you read the EU Constitution, it is unbelievable. It asks for all the EU participants to pledge their allegiance to the government, that the government presides over and will take care of you. It is the government that demands the agreement of the people. It is a demonic agenda. God is mentioned in the US Constitution while God is NEVER mentioned in the EU Constitution. This EU Constitution will be the basis of a system that will be the perfect platform to allow man to be his own god. How do we know this? Because it is the antichrist that in that time will declare himself to be God and all the people will believe it.

This is a humanistic doctrine. We are talking about a global system, a Babylonia political power = Rome, a Babylonian religious headquarters = Jerusalem and a physical Babylonian city = New Babylon, Iraq. In totality, it is the Babylonian system! An all encompassing global attempt by man to create a utopia on earth. A world without God. The trees are god. The fish are god. The earth is god and man is god.

This is humanism defined and the world is currently en route to Babylon and it will be mankind's final stand. Babylon will come to know the end is near because Babylon lives in sinful practices.

Revelation 18:2 ~ "And he called out with a mighty voice, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast."

Note that there is now a new messenger that is bringing a most important message and his rank is tremendous.

Revelation 14:8 ~ "Another angel, a second, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of passion of her sexual immorality."

This event was announced previously in Revelation. This is the same event. So why does the angel say that Babylon has fallen twice?

Remember the woman riding on the back of the beast, which we know is the false religious system, and in the end, the beast will turn and consume her with fire. He will use her as long as he needs her. This takes place during the first 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation Period. Midpoint he will turn and consume her why? Because when he consumes her, he will turn to the world and declare himself to be God. In what city in Israel does this happen? In the newly built temple in Jerusalem. This commences the last 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation Period.

It is announced twice because (1) that false religious system is fallen and now (2) that commercial Babylon is fallen as well. Babylon is not only a geographical location, it is not only a false belief system, but it is also these entities of worship and of this economy. In essence to restate what the angel is declaring is "Chapter 17 has fallen and now Chapter 18 has fallen. Babylon is over! This is the announcement!

Isaiah 21:9 ~ "And behold, here come riders, horsemen in pairs! And he answered, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the carved images of her gods he has shattered the the ground."

This was written nearly 3000 years ago and 1000 years before the New Testament. The two Babylons are like a single coin with two faces. When we look at the Greek Euro we can see the woman riding the beast. To the right is the symbol for the European Union, 12 stars. Symbolism is important. On the US flag we have 50 stars with 13 stripes which represent the 13 original colonies with the 50 states that make up the USA. This coin is an active currency in the world today, and we know that it takes approximately 1.31 US dollars to buy 1 Euro. This is changing very rapidly and the dollar is slowly coming in second in the world.

The woman riding the beast on the coin represents the past. The European Union is mentioned as reunification of Europe why? Because Europe was unified once before. When was the last time Europe was unified? Under the Roman Empire. This currency has symbols that goes back thousands and thousands of years ago. Depending on the culture, the woman and the beast, represent Europa an Zeus or Europa and Jupiter. This are the ancient religions of Babylon.

You have thus a coin with a religious system being represented by Revelation 17. You have an economic system represented by Revelation 18 and currently we have a system of ancient Babylonianism working right now as a current usable currency in the world. How can you doubt any of this as either a believer or non believer living in the world? This is all being played out before our very eyes. But like I have also said, research it for yourself.

Coming Global Commercial Influence of the Babylonian System

If the Bible says that something will happen, trust me, it will happen. As we spent quite a few studies going through Revelation 17 in detail, we learned that it spoke about an ancient religious system found in Babylonian roots. We see that those roots are still flourishing in some of the religions today, that have adapted some of those images, rituals and practices and made them a part of their worship system without questioning its origins.

Revelation 18 on the other hand is about the global commercial influence of the political and economic Babylonian system. It is interesting to note that Jesus spoke and said that you will either serve God or mammon. Mammon was the ancient god of commerce and wealth. We know that the antichrist will deceive the world with peace and prosperity and he will be absolutely convincing as these events are coming to a very near future.

There was a banner in Frankfurt, Germany with a picture of a tower of Babel, with the 12 stars at the top that today make up the national flag of the European Union. At the bottom of the banner were the words, "Never Again" and (building global communication - ATT). This actually makes sense if you remember our study of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 10 and 11, because before that time, there was only one language. God sent confusion upon the people because He knew what they were up to and if He didn't there would be no stopping them. By causing confusion and creating multiple languages. This all happened in a location known as the cradle of civilization. So if you think about the wording on this banner for communication to never pose an issue for civilization, the hidden message is quite clear.

The word "Babylon" appears or is alluded to in the Bible 290 times and is second only to Jerusalem. A key to understanding what Babylon is, we know from reading and studying of the Bible that "Babylon" in general represents the overall spirit of a satanically driven, worldwide system, focused on a life without God.

Satan's agenda from the very beginning has been to be worshiped. He wanted Jesus to bow down and worship him when tempted Jesus in the wilderness. He promised Jesus if he would only bow down and worship him, that Satan would give him all the kingdoms of the world. He will be hiding in the future inside the shell of a man known as the antichrist, peeking out the eyes as the world bows down and commits to their worship of him.

In the Tribulation Period, we know that people will have to make a choice. to serve the God of the Bible, or to not do so and by default worship the antichrist. When they do this, they will be required to receive the mark of the beast, which we know is 666.

As a Christian, we need to be discerning what we see and what we hear happening in the world in order to test where the origins come from.

1 John 4:1-3 ~ "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confessed that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already."

The spirit of the antichrist and his agenda is already in the world and has been for quite some time. If you think about it, how long has this been at work? Since the creation of the world! We are now much closer than ever before to see this all unfold before our very eyes and the stage is being set.

The Babylonian system in Revelation 17 and 18 have several meanings. There is no doubt is is a historical system. Babylon is modern day Iraq today. It will have three main corporate offices in Rome, Jerusalem and New Babylon. We know that it was established in Rome from our previous studies in Revelation. This coming world leader will set up his religious throne by sitting in the newly built Temple in Jerusalem according to 2 Thessalonians, but we will learn more about that later.

New Babylon will be located in Iraq. There are three things we should be looking for as the stage is being set.

1. Looking for a global political system that will be based in Rome. The Babylonian political system will have its corporate headquarters in Rome, Italy. It is where this coming world leader will have his career begin. It is interesting that the European Union established its Constitution and where it was signed was in Rome, Italy.

2. Looking for a global religious system that will be based in Jerusalem. The Babylonian religious system will have its corporate world headquarters in Jerusalem, Israel. It is important to realize that when anything happens in Jerusalem, it impacts the peace in the world. All 3 major religions of the world claim to have their roots in Jerusalem, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is also interesting to note that in all of Islam's writings, Jerusalem is never mentioned. Until 1948, then they began talking about Jerusalem. It is the focal point of the global religion and will be increasingly so under the influence of the antichrist.

3. Looking for a global commercial system that will be based in Babylon. The Babylonian Global Trade System will have its corporate headquarters in New Babylon, Iraq. If it is to be a global trading center, you would think in looking at the region that it is landlocked. But if you look at the small city of Kuwait, you have access through the Persian Gulf, which makes this very possible. The Bible doesn't say specifically how it will happen, just that it does. The prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zechariah, all specifically mention this that the city of Babylon will be rebuilt but only for a short time. It will be great in its wealth and power, but only for a short time.

The Bible says that all of a sudden in one day, it will be utterly destroyed and never to be inhabited by humans again. Some people claim that the Book of Revelation has already been fulfilled and all of these things have happened, but that is incorrect. We have people defending Iraq and thousands of people are becoming born again from Iraq and it is only increasing. It is currently inhabited today, but one day, the only inhabitants will be demons and foul spirits. No human life will live there. It will be devastated.

We need to ask ourselves three questions:

1. Is Rome important? Yes, politically according to our Bible Study through Revelation, it plays a huge part in the coming world's political issues.

2. Is Jerusalem important? I'll let you consider that question for yourself.

3. Is Babylon happening all over again? Could it be that France is upset with us, Germany is upset with us? We know that when the nation of Iraq was attacked, 22 nations made up the coalition that went to war against them. The media failed to mention this. That nations that were NOT part of that original coalition, were not allowed to be part of the rebuilding effort by President Bush. His concept was that the nations that were involved in the effort, should be the first to get the construction contracts. Australia, Poland and Spain got contracts, to name a few, but France and Germany weren't. Why? They didn't pull their weight in the effort against Iraq, now they are upset by this.

The global cry right now is to be allowed to help in the rebuilding efforts of Iraq, and that is what is going on in the global news today. Everyone suddenly wants to help. Makes you wonder why? The picture above shows the rebuilding efforts of the rebuilding effort of Babylon in modern day Iraq today.

More on our study tomorrow....

What Does It Mean to Be Holy?

Just what does it mean to be holy? By looking at someone's outward appearance, do you think you can tell if they are holy or not? You can't tell. We judge people by their outer appearances, but God doesn't care about what is on the outside. It has nothing to do with it.

Did you know that in Iraq, thousands of people are coming to Christ? That is something that the media doesn't share with us, but it's true. These people worship Jesus Christ under the penalty of death. We don't have to deal with persecution here in our churches, so why do we hold back in our worship of Him?

1 Chronicles 15:28-29 ~ "So all Israel  brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting to the sound of the horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on harps and lyres. And as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came to the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out the window and saw King David dancing and rejoicing, and she despised him in her heart."

If we're going to dictate what worship should or shouldn't be, let's focus on what the Bible says it should look like. If we were to see these same people like King David and the people of Israel in our churches today, singing and dancing in the streets, we would think they are Pentecostal. Get over what you think is acceptable in worship in the church.

Today we want to focus on the 4 things we need to guarantee for our worship.

1. We want to be specific about our worship. (Presenting ourselves holy.)

Because Jesus has saved us. Because He is awesome in power. Because He is our salvation and righteousness and hope. Being specific is being holy.

Hebrews 12:14-15 ~ "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled."

Becoming a dedicated vessel of worship.

1 Chronicles 16:26-32 ~ "For all the gods of people are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place. Ascribe to the LORD, O clans of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, The LORD reigns! Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it."

Nehemiah 9:3 ~ "And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the LORD their God." 

2. We want to be constant about our worship. (In all things and at all times.)

Under King Solomon, worship was offered up to the LORD, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Psalm 33:1-3 ~ "Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings with loud shouts."

Psalm 40:3 ~ "He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD."

Psalm 96:1 ~ "Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth!"

Revelation 5:9 ~ "And they sang a new song saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,"

If we walk with an attitude of worship it will affect everything we do. Try it for just one day and see what happens. It can't be contained.

3. We want to be passionate about our worship. (Be careful, God is alive.)

God is living and He is alive!!! If you research the word enthusiastic from the 1828 dictionary from Noah Webster, we can see that based on the Greek origins of the word, "En" means indwelling or eternal. "Thusi" means God, and "astic" means spasm. We should all be enthusiastic unto the LORD in our worship.

1 Chronicles 29:20-21 ~ "Then David said to all the assembly, "Bless the LORD your God." And all the assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and paid homage to the LORD and to the king. And they offered sacrifices to the LORD, and on the next day offered burnt offerings to the LORD, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs with their drink offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel."

Nehemiah 8:6 ~ "And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground."

2 Chronicles 5:11-14 ~ "And when the priests came out of the Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves without regard to their divisions, and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with 120 priests who were trumpeters; and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the LORD, and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the LORD, "For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever." the house, the house of the LORD was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God."

First there was the cold, legalistic formality of worship that died. Second, under David a revival in worship was renewed, and third, with King Solomon, worship was something desired.

4. We want to be expressive about our worship. (Giving God our best dance!).

2 Samuel 24:24 ~ "I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing. "

Hebrews 13:15 ~ "Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name."

Psalm 29:1-2 ~ "Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength, Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness."

We have all heard the saying, "Tooting your own horn," but did you know that the meaning came from the Bible. It was in the story of the widow who gave two mites. In those days, they used to take a large horn and turn it upside down, so the large mouth was on the ground and the small opening was on top. As people came by to drop in their offerings, the amount of the offerings could be heard by the crowd and people would applaud. Then the widow came and placed her offerings of two mites, about a 1/3 of the size of a penny, into the offering place and no one applauded, but Jesus acknowledged her offering as being worth more than all the others. She gave all the money she needed to stay alive for the day and held nothing back from God. She knew she would go home and die because she had nothing left to live on for the day, but Jesus acknowledged her offering over those who gave more. What is your daily net worth? How much are you offering God each day?

We want to make very sure we are not like Jesus warned about the religious leaders of the day, those who would stand in the temple and say their lengthy prayers in public so that they could be heard, not caring if God heard it. They were doing it for public acknowledgment. We need to ensure our worship is for God alone. Nothing more. We want to make sure our worship is not what man dictates it should be.

2 Samuel 6:12-16, 20-22 ~ "And it was told King David, "The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God." So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing. And when those who bore the ark of the LORD had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal. And David danced before the LORD with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the horn. As the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart. 

"And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, "How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants' female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself! And David said to Michal, 'It was before the LORD, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the LORD - and I will make merry before the LORD. I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be hold in honor."

Psalm 29:2 ~ "Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness."

We all express ourselves differently in worship and we need to devote ourselves to Him when we do it! 

Is Worship a Big Part of Your Life?

We are picking up today with our continued application of taking what we have learned in Revelation 17 and finding out how this applies to our life today. We learned all about the false religious system that has its roots in Ancient Babylon and how that is infiltrating its way into the religion people practice today, because it is simply the way they have always done it. So how can we be sure we are not falling into the same trap?

We learned that there are four things we want to ensure we are not doing. We only got to the first one yesterday which was never be unwise in your worship. You can read more about that here if you missed it.

When we do what we're supposed to do when it comes to our time with God, our hearts will kick in and we see God for who He is. "Things" don't connect us to God. It is the connection we have between us and God. It's the expression from our hearts that make these things acceptable, like bowing down, kneeling, lifting up your hands, covering yourself with a prayer shawl, etc. People have a tendency to look at us funny when we worship a God that we can not see.

1 Peter 2:4-9 ~ "As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stand in Scripture: Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." and "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."

How we worship is determined by our heart. When you know Him more, worship will become a dynamic part of your life. It will be expressed different, but it will become important to you.

2. We never want to legalize worship. (Mandates never work.)

Mandating the acts and art of worship. It's not found in the Bible. Worship is a spontaneous and creative moment with God with you alone. There is a time to express ourselves. It is different for everyone. There is NO one way to worship, that is when it becomes legalized worship. Everyone doing it all the same way, all the time.

You are bound in a routine or legalism if you can't express yourself freely in worshiping God.

Romans 7:6 ~ "But now that we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code."

2 Corinthians 3:6 ~ "who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

3. We never want to sterilize worship (Establishing a form kills).

Is it possible that we have confused the holiness of God and the Glory of God with man-made formalism, and rituals. The order of how we conduct church service?

According to the Bible, there is no set way to conduct a church service, whether worship after the message or before the message. Just like people think worship time allows them extra time to not be late to church, as long as they get there before the message starts. They don't appreciate worship and God warns against this practice of robbing Him of it.

Malachi 3:8-10 ~ "Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, 'How have we robbed you?' In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you blessing until there is no more need."

Worship is all about Him and it is all for Him. Worship groups simply lead us in worship. They are not there for us to enjoy. Some people don't like certain forms of worship. They don't like guitars, they don't like music loud, and I would caution you if that is you today. In fact research 1 Chronicles 15 and 16 today. This is radical worship you will find here in the Old Testament. You have sterilized worship when you say, worship needs to be the same way it always has been.

You're not growing up, you're growing older, spiritually. If you grow up spiritually, you become more like a child biblically. If you grow old in your growing up, you begin to sterilize things and it has to be cookie-cutter worship.

2 Chronicles 1:3-4 ~ ~ And Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon, for the tent of the meeting of God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness was there. (But David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place that David had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.)"

For 100's of years, the Ark resided in the tabernacle of Moses, but David had the Ark of the Covenant, not in Gibeon but at Jerusalem, outside and away from Moses' tabernacle. It had been sterilized by sin. David had made a new tabernacle. It was personal. It was new. It was available. It was where God was!

Don't save your act and art of worship for church on Sunday, give it to God and worship Him anywhere you want, in your car, at home, on a mountaintop! Remember that the Holy Spirit dwells in your life as a believer and our bodies are now the temple of the Lord. We don't have to go to church to worship Him. We can do it anywhere! No more sacrifices are needed. Jesus paid it once and for all with His blood, and that alone should be reason enough to worship Him!

4. We must never fossilize worship. (Holding on to the Past). 

Psalm 27:4 ~ "One thing I have asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, and to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple."

Notice the one thing David wants more than anything in this world. To worship and be in the presence of the LORD. Worship is the single most thing that we will be doing in heaven, time to practice that now!

We Are All Worshipers, What Are You Worshipping?

We all worship something in our lives, even Atheists. It's not a question today of "are" you a worshiper, it's a question of "what" are you worshiping?

Humans are created to worship. We just need to ask ourselves honestly, what and who are we worshiping?

If you're an Atheist, are you worshiping at the altar of Chuck Darwin? Are you worshiping your own intellect? Are you worshiping, "Fill in the blank"?

Every culture discovered by man has a system of worship and has practiced it despite anyone's beliefs or unbelief's. Even Communism worships at the altar of Lennon's philosophy, thinking and words. They all worship men.

The worship of Ancient Babylon has crept into every culture since the opening chapters of the Bible. To authenticate this, you need to go all the way to the civilization of Nimrod and the city of Babel.

Revelation 17:1-5 ~ ""Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk." And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations."

We notice the many names given to this woman found in Revelation 17, the first being mystery. Paul referred of the doctrine of the church as a "mystery." This represents a false church system. She is also Babylon the great. Third she is the mother of prostitutes or harlots. This is the birthplace of abominations. This is not referred to a sexual, physical harlotry or fornication. This is religious adultery, yielding to someone or something other than God, Himself.

God doesn't want to be #1 on a list of 10. He wants to be #1 on a list of 1. He does not want competitors in your life as a believer. Would you say that you are a believer of Jesus Christ today?

You would be indicting yourself before God, man and the angels if you said that you are a believer of Jesus Christ. People can determine the truth of that by what you choose to worship. So how does Revelation 17 apply to our lives today?

It all boils down to the issue of worship, man's passion and desire to worship. Jesus said, "You're either worshiping Satan, the devil, who you don't have to believe in to be worshiping him, by the way. Just be in disobedience to God. Or you worship the God of heaven and earth.

It's either black or white.

One way or the other.

As humans, we throw up a wall the minute because we don't like to hear black and white. We have been brought up in a culture of absolute liberalism and whatever is relative, so goes it. We have plenty of bumper stickers to prove that or sayings. "If it feels good...do it." "Look out for Number 1!"

The world doesn't say to love your neighbor, it says to love yourself first. It is all about survival of the fittest! The Bible on the other hand, says No to all of that. It is considered self-worship and idolatry, also spiritual adultery when our allegiances are given to something or someone other than Jesus Christ.

In an article found in Delta's Sky magazine there is an article by Tanja Mohn called, "Carnival would be nothing without its music." I found a particular quote interesting in light of what we have been studying:

"And why shouldn’t it be, with Carnival’s lusty history? Most accounts point to the ancient Greek spring festival honoring Dionysus, the god of wine, as a prototype of Carnival. The Romans continued the idea with Bacchanalia and Saturnalia, festival days when slaves and their masters would exchange roles. These pre-Christian celebrations are thought to have been adapted by the Roman Catholic Church for the period preceding Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Before the 40 somber days of Lent, when Roman Catholics abstained from eating meat, a party was definitely in order."

You can figure out quite a few of the reference mentioned here, but this goes to show you how Ancient Babylon and its influences are just about everywhere. We know that Dionysus is the god of wine and goes back to a different name in the Greek culture as Eros. We have mentioned here Baccahnalia and Saturnalia,  which are forms of Bacchus, the Roman name for Tammuz and Saturnalia, the Roman name for an agricultural deity that ruled over the world and from where Christmas traditions were developed. The interesting thing to note is it was adapted by the Roman Catholic church with the beginning of Lent. We know where the origins of Lent came from. Semiramis who lamented for her dead son Tammuz to be resurrected from the underworld for 40 days to the gods. 

Paganism was, is, and will be a threat to true worship. We want to look at certain things about our worship in this next three part study. If Babylonianism is in the Catholic or Christian worship systems today, how can we make sure that we are pure, healthy worshipers of God? 

There are 8 things we are going to study in depth with the first being:

1. We want to guard against being unwise in our worship. 

Satan demands worship. He deceived 1/3 of the angelic host to obtain worship. He infiltrated the Garden of Eden to get Eve to divorce herself from the obedience of God to listen to his false doctrine to worship Satan via the temptation. He surfaces again when Jesus' ministry commences and Satan comes to Jesus to tempt Him, saying to Jesus, "If you will only bow down and worship me, I will give you the kingdoms of the world." It is all about worship to Satan. 

It's all about worship when it comes to God. 

The battleground is earth and the war being waged right now if for your soul. What are you choosing or not choosing to do. What will you yield to or not yield to. What will you let yourself be free to do or not to do. It is all determined in the mind. What do you allow in and what do you allow to happen.We never want to be unwise in our worship. Knowing His person. We want to be smart about our worship. 

John 4:23-24 ~ "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

The only way we can know more of God is through reading His Word, the Bible, every day. Then it is worshiping Him through our Spirit, which is the Holy Spirit residing in us as believers. Making ourselves available to Him. Declare that intention in your prayers to Him. It's the expression of worship that can be found practiced in every culture of every civilization. 

No one can know our thoughts or the intentions of our hearts, although they can come close through spending time with us. The Bible declares us to be the Temple of God. Something we take for granted when you really think about it. 

We really need to careful. 

Acts 7:47-49 ~ "But it was Solomon who built a house for him. Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophets says, 'Heaven is my thrones, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?"

1 Corinthians 3:16 ~ "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?"

We are all created in the image of God. You are worth more to God than any temple or shrine built for Him. Don't live your life religiously going through the motions without personally knowing what is is like to have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling inside of you. 

More tomorrow....

Are You Married to a False Religious System?

I remember some 20 years ago when I thought about Bible Prophecy and the signs in the world at that time, I might be able to point to 1 or 2. Now however it is so easy to point to more than a handful and those readying us for the Tribulation Period to come in ways we have never seen before. They are paving the way for the things we have been studying in the Book of Revelation, Daniel and Ezekiel to come true with 100% accuracy.

We have the creation and revival of the European Union, which will be foundational support for the platform of the Antichrist to come. We see things being stirred up by Russia in the nation of Syria. Research Isaiah 17 to see what will happen to the city of Damascus instead of the National Enquirer. We see the formation of the Euro in comparison to the decline in the US dollar and how that is impacting the world economies.

You have the European Union that has formed a governing power in their portion of the world. We have the G7 which manage the world's finances and global economies worldwide from 7 nations of the world.

These 10 nations listed on the top are the policy makers in the European Union and they have originated from the Ancient Roman Empire without exception. You have Etienne Schneider appointed as the Defense Minister, which commands the EU forces, Chief General in Germany.

We have the image above of the European Leaders signing the European Union Constitution in Capitoline Hill, Rome. Remember our study into the Seven Hills of the Ancient Roman Empire, Capitoline Hill was mentioned as one of those seven hills. They are signing this Constitution in front of the statue of Pope Innocent X as noted in the Washington Post on October 29, 2004.

We know from our Bible study through Bible Prophecy and into the Book of Revelation that the first 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation Period will be the rise of the Ancient Roman Empire from which the Antichrist will rule from.

Revelation 13:1 ~ "And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads."

Daniel 7:7-8 ~ "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beast that were before it, and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things."

Revelation 17:12-13 ~ "And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast."

Daniel 9:24-27 ~ "Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in every lasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the world to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of the anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a trouble time. And after sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the price who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator."

This tells us of a coming man representing the world, who will come to the nation of Israel and offer a peace plan, a road map to peace, a UN resolution. We know this to be the seven years Tribulation Period, also known as Jacob's Trouble. Jacob was renamed to Israel. There have been many attempts at nations trying to broker a peace treaty with the nation of Israel and its neighbors. Not any other nation. That alone should make you sit up and take notice.

We've seen it since 2005 on the front page of papers like the New York Times and LA Times where we have national leaders attempting to broker a peace agreement, but so far none of them have lasted. It is almost like God is telling us to wake up and pay attention. We have known terrorist leaders like Muhammad Abbas trying to get a grip on what is happening without any sincere attempts behind them. We have had numerous new stories claiming an attempt at peace between Israel and Palestine to end the violence there.

Daniel 9:27 ~ "And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator."

2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 ~ " Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, who the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and be saved."

We know that one person will rise in the last days after the Rapture, to usher in this promised prophecy and he will create peace between Israel and her neighbors with a signed peace treaty that is to last 3 1/2 years. The question you need to ask yourself is, is there at temple currently in Israel today? We know that they isn't. Can you go online right now and donate money to the rebuilding of the Israel's temple? Yes, you can!

There are blueprints that are completed than a few select have been privileged to see. They even have the corner stone under intense security waiting for that moment when Israel is granted permission to rebuild their temple.

We know that the value of the US dollar to the Euro has been in decline for quite some time now. Out of 65 of the central banks, approximately 37 of them have shifted away from the dollar in favor of the Euro and we see this being played out daily in the stock exchanges and the world economies. Most countries in Europe won't accept the US dollar and you need to exchange it to be able to buy and sell anything in those countries. Even the US Central Intelligence Agency is taking notice of this.

We know that the European Union does not support the right of Israel to exist as a nation and slowly America is wavering in her support as well under Obama's administration for the first time ever. The European Union or EU is the foundation for the revival of the Ancient Roman Empire from which 10 kings will dictate what happens in the other 25 nations. We have seen the image on the Euro, depicting the woman riding the beast and she will enjoy incredible peace and prosperity. She won't be using US dollars but Euros.

These 10 nations are meeting to get away from a currency that can't be counterfeited, to avoid what the US has had to suffer by the illegal trafficking, terrorism and drugs in US dollars and illegal transactions.

It is the EU that is considering a cashless society dealing with numerical transactions that would put a stop to terrorist activity and illegal drugs and trafficking. This should truly wake you up to what is happening all around the world.

Do you know Jesus Christ personally or are you married to some pagan religion that goes through practices that you don't even know what you are doing?

Are you just reciting prayers when God says in the Bible not to repeat the same prayers over and over again?

Are you even connected to what Jeremiah 44 condemns as those who worship the Queen of Heaven?

Are you married to a system or does your heart belong to Jesus Christ?

Remember the Bible is clear on what one must do to enter heaven. You must be born again. You must put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone. He died on the cross for your sins and the Bible promises that if you confess your sins to Him, you'll be saved.

If you are looking for an earthly system to intercede for you before God to get you into heaven, you have missed the grace of God and you're standing before God on your own merits. It is no wonder that many of you are wondering why you feel so horrifically insecure right now because you are!

Wouldn't you want to be absolutely 100% certain that if you died today, you'd be in the presence of God without any doubts?

Trust in Jesus Christ alone, for our hope is not in this world or anything it offers us. The good news for those whose hope is in Christ alone:

Daniel 2:44 ~ "And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever"

Revelation 19:11-20 ~ "Then I saw heaven opened and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, "King of kings and Lord of lords." 

"Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the bireds that fly directly overhead. "Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great. And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with hit the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped the image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur."

Tomorrow we will study more ways man has rejected God and invented worship systems that bring us this much closer to the fulfillment of these final prophecies of the Bible.

Understanding the Origins of Ancient Babylon and It's Influence on the Church

We have been studying both in our Bible, and through various resources on the Internet on the roots of Ancient Babylon and how it has influenced and infiltrated the church even today into a false religious system that is slow gaining a rise to power in both politics and influence in religion. As we have been studying Revelation 17, we can now come to an understanding of why so many churches refrain from teaching on the Book of Revelation, based on what we can study and reveal in this sole chapter. Does it just make you want to research this further? It is what I highly encourage and recommend that you do, as well as open your Bible to see how they connect the seemingly innocent dots in the picture that is starting to be revealed here.

We know that God's whole purpose at this point is to levy judgment on this false religious system once and for all. It has been committing spiritual pornography with the world and the church and is represented by the woman, the beast and the waters found in Revelation 17. The only influence we should want to have in the world is simply for salvation and nothing else. We know that this false church will rise to assist the antichrist in his rise to power in the last days and will be an indulgent religious system that is also levying persecution against the true saints of the church.

This is an unholy church. We need to be extra careful where we allow our hearts, our minds and our feet to cross the threshold of church on Sundays. We need to ask ourselves these questions. Is the church your attending a Spirit-filled, Bible-believing, Jesus-exalting, sin-fearing church that is alive? Is it alive with the hope of reaching others for Jesus Christ? Does it address sin or simply make you feel good?

The church we are studying today is the origin of sin. That is what makes this church or religious system different. It begs us to answer a simple question really?

How can you conduct counseling in the church on marriage and parenting, if you aren't married or have children?

1 Timothy 4:1-3 ~ "Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teaching of demons, through the insincerity of liars who consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth."

Catholic doctrine is not founded on the Bible. Search for these things yourself. It has it roots in ancient Babylonian rituals, images and practices. Daniel says that this false religious system will answer the worlds cry for money and peace.

Revelation 13:16-18 ~ "Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of man, and his number is 666."

We know that there are three distinct images or symbols in Revelation 17, the woman, the beast she is riding, and the waters. We know the waters are the symbol for the sea of humanity, the woman is Europa and the beast is Zeus on the Euro coin, but why are these images on the Euro coin? Most will simply say that these are just part of Greek mythology, but look into the roots. 

What is the connection? A woman rides the beast. Do you have any idea about the origin of Cupid, that cute symbol for Valentine's Day. This image is on a stamp along with the image of the woman and the beast riding over the waters, along with a dolphin.

We have learned in our previous studies that this little chubby angelic being with a bow and arrow is the son of Nimrod, from Genesis. His name was Tammuz. His father was an archer and so is Tammuz. Nimrod's wife was Semiramis, also referred to as the Queen of Heaven, from the Bible. In the Greek Mythology, the woman and child are referred to as Aphrodite and Eros, and in the Roman Mythology it is Venus and Cupid. The names have simply changed through the culture and ages but the roots began with Semiramis and Tammuz.

The dolphin image on the stamp underneath the beast in the water. Let's look at that.

Jonah was swallowed by a fish not a whale, because that is what the Bible tells us. How long did Jonah proclaim that Nineveh had before God's judgment against the city would be unleashed? 40 days. It is interesting to note that the largest salvation of a city was the city of Nineveh, 3 million people repented from a man preaching a fire and brimstone message. Why did they listen to him?

Because he was spit out of the belly of a fish. The people of Nineveh worshiped Dagon. He is found in the Old Testament and in human history. He was the god of the fish. They priests of Dagon all wore long robes of scarlet and green, and wore a hat that was pointed when you looked at it from one angle and when they turned it was the shape of a fish mouth. This is still in use today. Do you think the current Pope knows any of this?

It can be found in ancient antiquity before the Roman Catholic church was established. It was simply a practice that they adopted.

We know that this false religious system will have its wealth elevate its statues. The road to Babylon is a system having "gross" passions. She is a spiritual harlot.

Revelation 17:4b ~ "holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality."

She is unholy to God and instead has a passion for the world and what it can offer.

Revelation 17:2 ~ "with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on the earth have become drunk."

She has been and will be with the political leaders and representatives, the kings of the earth. She is indulgent.

Revelation 17:5 ~ "And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations."

An unholy marriage between the Babylonian worship system to what was called the Christian church under Pontiff Maximus Constantine in the early 300's A.D. When a carnal, apostate church united with the state. "When the emperor worship of the Roman Empire intercoursed with the church, together they produced the Holy Roman Church."

This is the world's ultimate goal of uniting church and state. The church was corrupt from the inside and this is how it all began. When Christianity mixes with politics, and they coincide peacefully someone will lose. Historically, Christianity has never won when it comes to politics. It never will until Jesus returns. We should vote and be vocal with our involvement in politics, to do things rightly, but we will never create a heaven on earth. Better to vote wisely than to not participate in the freedoms God has given to us.

This is a false religious system "given" to persecutions.

Revelation 17:6-7a ~ "And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I marveled greatly. But the angel said to me, "Why do you marvel?"

She has historically martyred Christians. There has been no other institution on earth that has killed more Bible believing Christian throughout the history than the Holy Roman Church. Study the inquisitions.

You had men like Wycliff, John Knox and John Bunyan who simply wanted the Bible in the hands of the people to read it for themselves and were labeled as heretics and were killed. Study and research it as well as the Huguenots. Why were 200,000 of them burned or killed?

Find out everything about Pope Innocent III, you will shocked by what you learn.

This false religious system has been alive in every sense and will continue to grow in the last days.

God has always had His timelines. No other nation has become a nation again in one day but the nation of Israel on May 14, 1948. This prophecy was fulfilled from the Bible. Where are we on God's timeline? He knows everything. The decree of God is His nature, that He knows all things actual and all things possible. That is knowledge!!! He knows the "what could have beens in our life."

John never imagined that something called the church could consume others. These events that God showed John are yet future. They, like us, reside along a biblical timeline. Let's bring this to our attention now. How many horns did John mention in Revelation 17? 10.

Daniel 7:24 ~ "As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall rise, and another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings."

Revelation 17:12 ~ "And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast."

The ten horns are ten kings. They are promised kingdoms for just a little time, the Bible promises. Do a Google search on E.U. or European Union. You will discover a Western European Union that the Bible speaks about in Daniel 7, 9, 11, Revelation 13 and 17.

We will study this in greater lengths tomorrow but begin your own search today on what you find.