This morning, take out your Bibles and turn them all the way to the right as we return today to Revelation. We have taken a brief hiatus and gone and done some selected Psalms. This is our second or third break as we've preached through the Revelation, and now we rejoined this letter in chapter 17. So join me in Revelation chapter 17. It is always difficult to take a break in Revelation and then come back because there is so much involved and it requires a certain amount of continuity for us to be able to continue to interpret this particular letter properly. So let me just bring you up to speed. Let me give you a sort of outline of where we've been. We've seen basically seven visions. There was an introduction in those first eight verses. That introduction tells us what kind of letter this is, and it also tells us how this letter is to be interpreted. So we see that in those first eight verses. In those first eight verses, we see that we're dealing with signs or symbols. And so we know that the book of Revelation is not a code book, but it's actually a picture book. that John is painting for us pictures and these pictures have symbolic images and so we're to interpret these images symbolically based on our understanding of what he is drawing from. We know that largely he is drawing from the prophetic books. that he is drawing largely from Daniel, largely from Isaiah and the other prophets. We know that he is also drawing from the Psalms. And there is a sense in which virtually the entire Old Testament is represented here in the Revelation. And so, because of that, we understand that if we're to interpret these pictures that he paints for us, we have to go back and understand what he's drawing from. We also understand that He repeats certain things so that He helps us get a glimpse as to what He's dealing with. We know that there are numbers that are important. We know that the number 3 is important, that number that refers to God. We know that the numbers 7 and 10 are important, those numbers that refer to completion and perfection. We know, or fullness, we know that the number 12 is important because the number 12 is a reference to the people of God. We know also that there's the multiplied number of a thousand, which is 10 times 10 times 10, if you will. And that number is important as a number that represents a large sum of things, if you will. We know also that what we have in Revelation is a repetition of the judgment of God on the world, this picture that is painted again and again and again. And it's in some ways opening like a telescope. And as it opens, we come to another part of the telescope that opens a little longer and another part that opens a little longer that gets us closer and closer and closer to what we're looking at. We know, however, that it also acts as though we're looking from different angles. And so we'll see the same judgments repeated again and again, but from different angles and different perspectives, so that when you put them all together, you get a more full-orbed impression or understanding of what it is that's being communicated. We know also that one way to divide the book is through these seven visions. Makes sense because of his repeated use of the number seven. Vision number one, the church on earth. That's 1-9 to 3-22. Vision number two, God's throne and the seven seals. That's 4-1 through 8-1. Vision number three, the seven trumpets, 8-2 to 11-19. Vision number four, The interlude, and there's a picture of warfare and salvation, and that's 12.1 through 14.20. Vision number five, the seven bulls of judgment, 15.1 to 16.21. Vision number six, the victory of Christ. We see that in 17.1, where we are today, through 19.21. And then finally, vision number seven is the new heavens and the new earth. And so here we are in that sixth of the seven visions. So we're almost there. Amen? We're almost there. In Revelation 17 and 18, we see the destruction of Babylon the Great. We'll begin that today. in 17, one through six. But again, chapters 17 and 18 give us the destruction of Babylon the Great. Interestingly enough, in chapter 17, we have the destruction of Babylon the Great from a spiritual perspective. In chapter 18, we see it from an earthly and economic perspective. So again, it's a theme that's carried out throughout the book, but here we see it sort of condensed in these two chapters, where we see the same judgment from two separate angles. But this judgment has also been seen earlier in chapters 13 and 14. In Revelation 19, we read of the fate of the beast and the false prophet. remember that unholy trinity we see the beast and the false prophet in revelation 20 we read of the fate of the dragon and so that unholy trinity will be dealt with in revelation 19 and 20 with that in mind Let's look here at Revelation 17. We're gonna concentrate on verses one through six, but let's read the entire chapter to sort of orient us. 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. There are those numbers. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet and adorned in gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hands a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. Now we have the symbolism of colors and of jewels as well. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery, Babylon the Great, mother of prostitutes and the earth's abominations. And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I marveled greatly. But the angel said to me, why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with the seven heads and 10 horns that carries her. The beast that you saw was and is not and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast because it was and is not and is to come. This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated. They are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen. One is, the other has not yet come. And when he does come, he must remain only a little while. As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth, but it belongs to the seventh. And it goes to destruction. And the 10 horns that you saw are the 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. They will make war on the lamb and the lamb will conquer them. For he is Lord of lords and King of kings. And those with him are called and chosen and faithful. And the angel said to me, the waters that you saw where the prostitute is seated are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. And the 10 horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled. And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth. Amen. Hallelujah. What does that mean? Again, we have to keep these things in their proper context. We have to keep them in the context of what John is doing and has done throughout this letter, and we have to keep them in the context of that to which John is referring. Particularly here, there are many references to Daniel chapter 7, but also there are references to the other prophetic books as well. Keep in mind also that this is a picture book, not a code book. Remember, we've talked about the different perspectives that people bring to the book of Revelation, and there's the perspective that basically looks at the book of Revelation and says, okay, where are we now? What has happened so far, and what is still yet to happen, and who is this person, and who is that person, and how do I find them on the world scene? How do I look in the newspaper and locate these things? There's another perspective that looks at Revelation quite differently and understands that the goal here in Revelation is not to give us a code by which we cipher particular events, but it's to give us something much more significant. And because of that, we see Revelation as a book that has meaning and value to every generation of Christians. Not just two generations of Christians. One, the generation that was alive at the time, and two, the generation that's alive in that very short period of history when these things actually happen. It's not the perspective that we take. but a perspective that says, if you understand this properly, as a picture book that is referring to certain universal realities, this book has value for every Christian in every age, in every time, and in every location and situation. With that in mind, let's look at this. First, let's look at the companion of Babylon the Great. That's important, the companion of Babylon the Great. We see that in verse three. Look beginning at verse one, then we'll concentrate on verse three. 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 10 horns." Now, this is familiar for a number of reasons. There's been another instance where we've been carried away and we saw a woman and we saw a beast. And we saw this beast rising out of the sea in chapter 13, but in chapter 7, there's another woman who was protected from a red dragon who wants to devour her child. so obviously there is a reference here that is connecting ideas the ideas here is that this dragon who is red by the way this is a picture of sin and sinfulness this woman is riding on this dragon her clothes look similar even to the color of the dragon so we have this picture of a personification of Satan, a personification of evil, and the woman rides on it. But this personification has also had other meanings attached to it. For example, some have said that it is a personification of the totalitarian state, the authoritarian state that forces compliance. so that you have the authoritarian state that forces compliance and the woman who seduces. The carrot and the stick, so to speak. Do you need to be forced to comply or do you need to be persuaded to comply? The other alternative, by the way, is that you are martyred because there is no way that you will comply. You will not accept the mark, so to speak. So it's important that we understand that this woman has a companion, that this companion has showed up before. It's important that we see that this picture of the wilderness and a woman in the wilderness is set at odds with this other woman who was in the wilderness, who was, by the way, protected from this same beast. so there's a woman earlier who's been protected from this beast and there's a woman now who is riding on this beast by the way as we read through to the end of the chapter this woman needs some protection from the beast as well amen Because the beast ultimately turns on her as well. So there's a woman who was protected from the beast and not devoured, and her child was not devoured by the beast. Now there's a woman who rides on the beast, who partners with the beast, and ultimately will be destroyed in part by the beast, who is accomplishing the will of God in this process. Not only the companion of Babylon the Great is important, but also the allure of Babylon the Great. Look at the next verse. 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. This is a familiar story. This picture of the alluring woman. It's a story, for example, that we see in Proverbs a number of times. Proverbs chapter five, verses one through six. My son, be attentive to my wisdom, incline your ear to my understanding, that you may keep discretion and your lips may guard knowledge. "'For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, "'and her speech is smoother than oil, "'but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, "'sharp as a two-edged sword. "'Her feet go down to death, "'her steps follow the path of Sheol. "'She does not ponder the path of her life, "'her ways wander, and she does not know it.'" But this is more than that. This woman knows exactly what she's doing. Proverbs 7, 21 to 23. With much seductive speech, she persuades him. With her smooth talk, she compels him. All at once he follows her as an ox goes to the slaughter or as a stag is caught fast till an arrow pierces its liver. As a bird rushes into a snare, he does not know that it will cost him his life. It's a familiar story. the seductress. This is a picture that we've seen used also in prophetic literature. The picture of the woman, of the prostitute, as representing a nation under the judgment of God. Nineveh, for example, and Nahum 3, 4. And all for the countless whorings of the prostitute, graceful and of deadly charms, who betrays nations with her whorings and peoples with her charms. The idea that nations are being carried away like men carried away by a prostitute. Like men who are allured by a prostitute. Who see a picture of something that looks attractive and goes in for this thing that they consider to be attractive only to discover that it will not and cannot satisfy. But beyond that, not only will it not satisfy and can it not satisfy, but it will ultimately destroy. Tyre. In Isaiah 23, 16 and 17, take a harp, go about the city. Oh, forgotten prostitute, make sweet melody. Sing many songs that you may be remembered. At the end of 70 years, the Lord will visit Tyre and she will return to her wages and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. Again, familiar language. John is familiar with this language and he is bringing it to bear. Jerusalem is referred to with similar language. There's a picture here. Listen to this. Johnson writes, the harlot's seductive influence and the beast's coercive violence are symbiotic. The nations bow to Rome, not simply because its legions suppress insurrection, the beast, but also because Rome's far-flung administrative efficiency maintains social stability and economic prosperity, the harlot. The threat of force and the allure of affluence work perfectly together, so of course Babylon celebrates the slaughter of Jesus' people, since they refuse to buy into her economic interests. Babylon the Great is alluring. She's alluring like a prostitute. There is a picture of the colors that she wears, which is also important. She offers pleasure, which is symbolized by illicit sexuality and sexual immorality. But it's a pleasure that satisfies only momentarily. She also offers freedom. Freedom from what? Freedom from God. There are blasphemies and abominations. So here's a picture of sexual immorality which in one sense is equated with idolatry. Listen to Ephesians 5, 3 to 5. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness, nor foolish talk, nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure or who is covetous, that is an idolater, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. There is a sense in which there is this connection with all illicit sexuality and idolatry, but particularly here because of cult prostitution. where there would have been houses of worship and prostitutes attached to the houses of worship so that going into these prostitutes was actually part of the idolatrous worship. John is clear about the picture that he's painting. She's offering you satisfaction. She's offering you freedom. She's also offering you wealth. How so? Well, the idea that she's wearing scarlet and purple for one, the idea that she has these precious jewels for another, the idea that she has this golden cup for another. These are pictures, understand, John is in Rome. He is painting a picture here that everyone would have understood from the Roman Empire. That she's dressed like someone who is wealthy. She has the accoutrements of someone who is wealthy. So she is offering those who will come to her, her wealth. Come to me and you can have my wealth. This goes back to what we saw earlier, is it not? The idea that in Thyatira, there are those who are being seduced by these guilds, that you have to join these guilds in order to be able to work in a trade. In other words, come to me and engage in this process of sexual immorality and idolatry so that you can be a part of the guild, which is the only way that you can work, which is the only way that you can acquire wealth. This goes back to the idea of taking the mark of the beast. You have to take the mark of the beast, why? So that you can buy and sell, so that you can acquire and attain wealth. She's offering wealth. We know this because she's called Babylon. Now Babylon is in ruins, Babylon is gone, but she's referred to as Babylon. Babylon was extremely wealthy. Why was Babylon wealthy? Well, because it was seated on many waters. Much of their wealth was maritime wealth. Oftentimes, even today, there is a connection between a nation's wealth and their ability to have trade with other nations. And historically, that has always meant you had to be on the water. so that ships could come and bring goods from afar. And if you were on many waters, that meant there was much access to material wealth and trade. So the idea here is she's Babylon. Babylon is wealthy and great. She's on many waters. That's why Babylon was wealthy and great. Listen to Jeremiah 51 13. Oh, you who dwell on many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come. The thread of your life is cut. Being sat on many waters is connected to being wealthy. Also, to whom does John refer? Who comes into her? The kings of the earth. Again, a picture of wealth. John is not saying here that this is a high-class prostitute who only caters to men who are kings of particular countries. That's not the message here. The reference to kings of the earth is a reference to wealth. There's also later evidence. When we get in chapter 18, this becomes even clearer. Chapter 18, verse three, for all nations have drunk the wine of the passions 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. So there he takes away, you don't even have to guess. She offers wealth. 18.9, 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. Here's her allure. She's alluring and beautiful. Her clothing is alluring. Her jewels, her possessions are alluring. The wealth that people seem to acquire when they are with her is alluring. But beyond the allure, it's the identity of Babylon the Great. We get it pretty clear. Look again at verses one and two, and then we'll look at five and six. You put the beginning and the end together, there's a pretty clear picture. 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. Verse 5. and on her forehead. This is really important. We've seen this before, have we not, in Revelation? The idea of something on the forehead or a mark somewhere identifying you. There are those who have this mark that the beast demands, and then there are those who are marked or sealed as belonging to the lamb. Now we see this woman has a mark. On her forehead was written the name of mystery, Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of the earth's abominations. And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." Who is this? Who is this? Some have argued that this is Rome. And that's all it just represents. It's Rome. John is painting a picture here of Rome. No more, that's all he means. That's a hard sell for a number of reasons. There are others who have argued that, well, no, what he means is actually Roman Catholicism. That the Roman Catholic Church is actually the whore of Babylon. Again, very, very hard sell. There are others who identify this with a later Babylonian empire that will rise up. If you'll remember, during the first Gulf War, there were a lot of people who were pointing to the fact that Saddam Hussein saw himself as sort of a reincarnation of Nebuchadnezzar. They're in the same sort of region, although I would argue that probably would be more of an Iranian location than an Iraqi location, but he's in sort of the same region. He refers to himself as the reincarnation of Nebuchadnezzar. He has this huge statue, so on and so forth. So there are a lot of people during that time who were actually saying that what we had was Revelation 17 coming to pass, because that was Babylon the Great. But what does the text say? Well, whoever she is, she's aligned with the beast. We know that. Clearly she's aligned with the beast. We know that by her clothing, we know that by the fact that she rides on the beast, that she is aligned with the beast. So there is a satanic influence here that we're talking about. We know that she is seductive and impure. We know that she has seductive power and that her seductive power is impure. We know that she seduces people, which is symbolized by prostitution. She seduces people like a prostitute seduces people. We understand that what she seduces them to is blasphemy. Which goes back to this first idea, because this beast was filled with blasphemy. He was blaspheming God. Now she rides on this beast who is filled with blasphemy, and she encourages people and allures them toward blasphemy. And they drink from this cup of hers that is filled with blasphemies. But we also know this, that she has a timeless and universal appeal. This is why I'm going to say John is not talking about Rome. I think it's pretty clear that he's not talking about Rome. I think it's also pretty clear that he is talking about Rome. How can he be talking about Rome and not talking about Rome? Let me show you. Number one, she is called Babylon, but the Babylonians are gone. Babylon's in ruins. So he names her Babylon the Great. pointing back to a historic nation. So you know that he's not talking about Rome or that even if he is talking about Rome, he's talking about Rome to the degree that Rome has the same characteristics that have existed for a long time. So even to the degree that he's talking about Rome, and there's no doubt that he is actually talking about Rome, but not just about Rome. What he's saying is that Rome stands in a long line called Babylon the Great. So Babylon the Great, is Rome Babylon the Great? Is Rome of the first century Babylon the Great? Yes, but Babylon was also Babylon the Great. And the Medes and the Persians, they also represented Babylon the Great. And other great nations that existed between Babylon and Rome would also qualify as Babylon the Great. So he calls her Babylon. So we know that he's not just talking about Rome. It's not as though John is scared to call out Rome. Amen? Secondly, he describes her as Rome. There's an image on the Roman coin, this image of seven hills, and Rome is this great city on seven hills. So there's no doubt that he is making a reference to Rome. But again, is he making a reference to Rome only? No. We know that because he's pointing back even to Babylon, and he's referring to an idea that we see that refers to Babylon, that refers to Sire and Titan, and also refers to Jerusalem at different times in history, who has gone off whoring with other nations. So it's bigger than Rome. There's also a message about what is to come. So Whoever Babylon the Great is, she was, at least as early as Babylon, I would argue, before, from the fall. She is, because she's manifesting herself in first century Rome, and all of John's readers would have understood that. But she also is to come. She's future. from John's perspective. She's also multinational. There's not just one particular nation that equals Babylon the Great, which would have to be true since she was and she is and she is yet to come. She's multinational. So whatever John's talking about here, he's not talking about one particular nation. She is an enemy of Christ and of Christians. Listen to the way he says it. Verse six, and I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. Other people are drunk with her blasphemies, but she's not getting drunk on her blasphemies, she's getting drunk on the blood of the saints. She's satiated, she's filled with the blood of the saints. Why? Here's why. Because there is the beast who says by force, you will worship me. Then there's the woman who's like a prostitute who says love for sale, but the only way you get it is you worship this beast. And then together they say to Christians who won't take the mark or who won't offer worship to the woman or to the beast, they say, fine, then you die. You bow to the beast, you sleep with the prostitute or you die. And the text says, she is drunk with the blood of the saints. drunk with the blood of martyrs. Absolutely filled, beyond filled, satiated, completely inebriated and out of control with the blood of the saints. There's a final piece of the puzzle. The final piece of the puzzle is that she is the anti-New Jerusalem. What do I mean by that? Well, John is being very careful with the wording that he uses. What I want you to do is I want you to put your finger here and I want you to turn to Revelation 21. This is one of those times I wish I had projected something up here, because when you see this, I kind of put it here and I color coded it, you know, so I could see the things that were similar and whatnot. And it just kind of screams at you. So. In Revelation 17, we read. Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bulls came and said to me, okay, Revelation 21, nine. Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bulls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me saying, okay, that could just be coincidental, right? Okay, fine. Revelation 17, next line. Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute. Revelation 19, next line, come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the lamb. I would argue that the opposite of a prostitute is a bride. You go on in Revelation 17, and he carried me away in the spirit into a wilderness. Next phrase in Revelation 19, and he carried me away in the spirit to a great high mountain. Bride is the opposite of a prostitute. High mountain is the opposite of a desert wilderness. Then we find at the end of Revelation 17, Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations. And next phrase in Revelation 21, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. One is called Babylon, great city. The other is called Jerusalem, great city. Babylon is a city that represents the antithesis of all things God and godly. Jerusalem is a city that represents all things God and godly. In Revelation 17, the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls. Revelation 21 nine, listen to this, it's radiance. like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. One had things on the outside of her that said I'm a prostitute. The other one has a radiance inherent to her that says I'm pure. Folks, this couldn't be clearer. Babylon the Great is the anti-New Jerusalem. But Babylon the Great is not a reference to a city. Newsflash, neither is New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is not a city, it's a people. The New Jerusalem is the church. Babylon the Great is the world. She is not a literal woman. couldn't be. She couldn't be. And I know that there are people who, you know, who push for, you know, we have to be literal, we have to be literal, we have to be literal. No one interprets Revelation 17 literally. You can't. It's ridiculous if you try to be literal here. So she's not a literal woman who lives on many waters. So there's an actual prostitute who lives on an island that connects many waters and kings sail out there. Come on now. She is not a literal city. She can't be, because she's timeless, boundless. It's not a literal city. This is a reference to Babylon. This is a reference to Rome. This is a reference to Paris. This is a reference to London. This is a reference to New York. To every city that has risen up and said, I have everything you want. Come to me. Bring yourself to me, but not your Christ. Worship at my feet and I will make your dreams come true. That's Hollywood. Amen, somebody. This is not a literal city in the future somewhere. This is every city that has represented the kingdom of this world and offered the kingdom of this world. and seduced people with the kingdom of this world. Listen to what Alan Johnson says, but the great prostitute Babylon that Revelation describes is not any mere historical city with its inhabitants. whether in John's past, present, or future. Rather, the city is the mother of all these historical prostitutes, the archetypal source of every idolatrous manifestation in time and space. That's Babylon the Great. She's the world. By the way, what do we know about the world? And John refers to the world in many different ways. When we say the world here, we're not talking about the planets. When you say the world, we're not talking about all the people. When we say the world, we're talking about that system of the world that holds itself up in opposition to God. What does the scripture say? Same author, 1 John 2, 15 to 17. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life is not from the Father, but it's from the world. Is that not a picture of this woman riding on the red? Come on, this is her. This is her, this is what she's selling. This is what she's wearing. This is what she's offering. John continues, and the world is passing away along with its desires. But whoever does the will of God abides forever. The world is passing away. Babylon the Great is fallen. Babylon the Great doesn't stand. So what's the meaning then of Babylon the Great? We see her companion, we see her allure, We see her identity, but what's her meaning? What does this mean? What good does it do us that John identifies Babylon the Great for us here? Here's the good that it does us. It reminds us that what the world offers is appealing. What the world offers is appealing. The biggest fool in this room is the one who says, I'm immune. to this particular prostitute. She doesn't even look good to me. That's the biggest fool in this room. The one who says, I don't want what the world has to offer. Yes, you do. Yes, you do. And to say that you don't is lying to yourself and to God. You want this. Your flesh yearns for it. It looks good to you. Feels good to you. Feels good on you. Feels good in your hands. You want it. You want this stuff. We all want this stuff. Every last one of us. Because here's the problem. This stuff is not inherently bad. Follow the illustration. There's a prostitute over here and going into this prostitute is evil and sinful. Why? Because sex is evil and sinful? No. It's not. It's a gift from God. It's a beautiful thing. But over here in this context, it's evil and sinful. So it's something that you ought to want. That's why it's alluring. Beautiful things. Beautiful things are bad. We should all avoid beauty at any cost. Really? That's not true. Beautiful things are beautiful. And we're designed to want beautiful things. We're designed to want to make beautiful things, to enjoy beautiful things, to watch beautiful things. We want to hear beautiful music. We want to see beautiful paintings. We want to admire. Beautiful creation. But the prostitute, just like she wants to offer sex that is illicit and wrong because of its context, she wants to offer us these things that are illicit and that are wrong because of their context. The world says, I will not only give you beauty, but I will define what is beautiful for you. I'll tell you what is beautiful and then I'll give it to you. Well, that's salesmanship right there. I'll tell you what you need and then I'll sell it to you. Is that not what the world does on our televisions every day? You're sitting there and you're watching your television and all of a sudden they show you something that you had no thought about before, which means you really didn't need it. Because if you did, you'd have been thinking about it already. And they show you this thing, and you're picking up your phone about to call a 1-900 number. Why? I gotta have that. Why? Well, because, did you see what that thing does? I just, I gotta, notice how you respond. I gotta have that. And I gotta have it now. Well, you've already got something like that. Yeah, but that one is altogether That's Babylon the Great. That's Babylon the Great. Babylon the Great has people at home during this time of the year because Babylon the Great says, why would you want to go to church when you can come watch the Texans? Amen, somebody. What the world offers is alluring, and we need to be aware of that. Secondly, what the world offers has strings attached. With shekels come shackles, okay? What the world offers has strings attached. What's the string that's attached here? Again, you can come to me, or you can be forced to come to me, but if you come to me, you do not bring your worship of your Christ. For that, you die. That's the string that's attached. The world says, come, and I'll give you all of this. But here's the price. You alienate yourself from Christ and from the people of Christ. You alienate yourself from the one who died to liberate you, from the one who died to save you, from the one who died to purchase you. And instead, you come to the counterfeit. And be satisfied with this. That's the string that's attached. The string that's attached is you can't have both. And we try, we really do try. We try to have both, we work to have both. And oftentimes, again, Babylon the Great, sharp, should deceive you into thinking that you can have both. But know this, there are strings attached. Thirdly, what the world offers is inferior. What the world offers is inferior. Just like the prostitute offers something that's inferior. A prostitute cannot give you what a bride can. It's inferior. It will always be inferior. Sexual immorality will never give you What true, God-honoring, biblical sexuality will give you? Never, ever, ever. It's inferior. It has always been inferior. It will always be inferior. What the world offers is inferior. How is the world going to offer you something that is more beautiful than the one who created the world? How is the world going to offer you something that is more satisfying than the one who created you and is the only one who can fulfill your greatest desires? How is the world going to offer you something that is of greater value than that which God can give you? It can't. It can only offer you that which is inferior. Fourthly, what the world offers is temporary. What the world offers is temporary. Again, this is the message from the illustration of sexual immorality. Sexual immorality is temporary. What the prostitute offers, it's temporary. It's not lasting. It's temporary. The satisfaction and the rush that the world offers you, it's temporary. That's why you gotta always go back. It's temporary. Finally, You cannot lay with the prostitute and march with the bride. It's one or the other. There is a choice to be made. Try as we might, we can't have both. We cannot serve both God and Mammon. You cannot give yourself to Babylon the Great and then see yourself come down with them in Jerusalem. It doesn't work that way. It's not even possible. And by the way, that's from both sides. It's not possible over here, because Christ died for sin once for all, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us back to God. God is the one who makes us right with him, who declares us righteous, who sanctifies us. He does this through the person and work of Christ. So being part of the New Jerusalem requires that we turn away from the world, that we repent of our sin, and that we turn to Christ, that we trust him and him alone, not him and the world. So on this side, the bride, the New Jerusalem cuts off Babylon. But on the other side, Babylon cuts off the New Jerusalem. Babylon says, you get me and only me. You can't get me and the New Jerusalem. We kill those who belong to the New Jerusalem. Your allegiance must be to me and to me only. That's what Babylon says. Or it doesn't say it that openly and that honestly. It may say it like this. Listen, come on now. You come to me and I will give you wealth, I will give you riches, and I will give you pleasure in the form of this job. But it's going to require that you don't name the name of Jesus here. And incrementally, it's going to require that you give up those things that belong to the worship of God. Incrementally, it's going to squeeze tighter and tighter and tighter until you get the message and you get the message clear. If you're over here, you cannot be over there. The great irony is that the prostitute has us believing that it's the New Jerusalem which is really limiting and wants to withhold good things from us when the fact of the matter is the exact opposite is true. It's Babylon the Great. It's the great prostitute that wants to give us a counterfeit but only for a time. And who wants to do so only if we are willing to forsake our allegiance. to the pure bride. If you think the text of the book of Revelation is somehow way out there, not applicable, not practical, think again. This is right where we live. This is what we deal with every day of our lives. And John says to us, I want you to know who she is, but not just that. In the next couple of weeks, he says to us, I want you to know how she ends, because that's important to know. One of these stands forever. The other one turns in on itself. Babylon the Great doesn't just fall, but she falls, this colossal fall as she turns in on herself because that counterfeit is unsustainable. Saints, hear me. What we have is more than enough. Don't let the world tell you otherwise. If you're here today and you've not come to faith in Christ, hear me. What you have is not enough. What you have will never be enough. What you have is a counterfeit. What you have will only satisfy you temporarily, and what you have will ultimately pass away. But there is one who offers you truth and beauty and goodness that is a true truth, a beautiful beauty and a good goodness, There is one who laid down his life that he might redeem sinners, that we might have life and have it more abundantly, not so that he could withhold from us, but that we might find fullness of joy. And what he calls us to is repentance and faith. What is repentance? It is a turning, turning from what? Turning from Babylon the Great to the New Jerusalem. Turning from the world. And don't let anyone lie to you and say turning from the world means that you can't enjoy anything anymore. That's the lie the world tells. That's the lie the world wants us to believe. That the only place that you find truth and beauty and goodness and joy and enjoyment or anything else is over here in Babylon. Because there's none of that to be had in the New Jerusalem. Folks, don't believe that for a second. There is truth. There is beauty. There is goodness. It's authentic. It's genuine. It's lasting. It's satisfying. And it's only found in Christ. Babylon the Great will fall. The New Jerusalem will forever stand. The question is, to which city do you cling? Let's pray. Father, as we bow before you, we confess to you. that our lives are filled with compromises where we have offered ourselves to Babylon the Great. The lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh, pride and possessions. We want and we want and we want and we are never satisfied. Grant by your grace that we might see this great harlot for what she is. That we might see the world and all it offers as the great counterfeit that it is. That we might see beyond the purple and scarlet. That we might see beyond the jewels and the golden cups. And that we might see the abominations and the blasphemies And in seeing them, we might turn from them, that our hearts might be turned to Christ and to Christ alone, that we would turn from Babylon to the New Jerusalem. Father, I pray for those under the sound of my voice who are currently under the allure of the city of man. And pray that you would bring freedom, wholeness, deliverance. That the person and work of Christ would be seen clearly and embraced fully. And for those of us who are His, who have come to Him in repentance and faith, God, I pray that you would guard our hearts. that you would guard us from our sinful desires and that we might find satisfaction and fullness of joy in you and in you alone. Thank you that you have not called us to choose between that which is good and beautiful and true and satisfying and that which saves. Thank you for exposing that lie of the great prostitute, that lie that says you can only find joy, you can only find beauty, you can only find goodness outside of the place that saves. Thank you for reminding us that we can be yours and have fullness of joy. Grant by your grace that we would embrace this, that we would live this, that we would pursue this, and that on that day we would be found in it. This we pray in Christ's name and for his sake, amen.