If you have your Bibles with you, would you open them please once again to Revelation 17 as we continue in this pivotal chapter here. in John's Revelation. Revelation 17. We've come to the last section of this chapter. And so it's important for us to remember where it is that we've been. So we'll read chapter 17 in its entirety and then come back to that last portion. Beginning there in verse 15. As today, we look at a kingdom divided and destroyed. Revelation chapter 17. 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. 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? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with the seven heads and ten 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. There 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 seven and it goes to destruction. And the 10 horns that you saw are 10 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 now our passage. 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. A kingdom divided and destroyed. If you're reading through this for the first time, that last paragraph would be shocking. Because we're introduced to Babylon the Great, to the great harlot, the great prostitute, and she is seated on the back of the beast. In fact, they are color coordinated. There is the red of the woman's dress, the scarlet and the purple, and the red of the beast on whose back she rides. Not only are they color-coordinated, but they also coordinate their efforts. If you remember, as we have gone through this, we have seen that this picture of the great prostitute, the picture of the harlot, is actually a picture of the world itself, the world system, not the world as in the cosmos or the universe. but the world as in this system of the world, the mindset of the world that is opposed to Christ and all things that represent Christ and belong to Christ, which is why she is drunk on the blood of martyrs. And we've also seen that if she is the sort of spiritual and philosophical side of things, that the other side of things, the power side and authority side, the strong arm, if you will, is the beast. The beast is the one who is the stick when people don't respond to the carrot that is the harlot. Those who are not seduced by her are brutalized by the beast. So the beast is a picture here of all power and all authority. Particularly in Paul's context, he's using Rome as the kind of quintessential picture of the beast. The authoritative state that demands idolatrous worship and punishes with the sword, even unto death, those who won't offer it. So we have the harlot, the prostitute who seduces the kings of the earth to come and engage in her idolatry. And in her seduction, she also seduces and becomes drunk on the blood of martyrs because there's martyrdom and there's persecution there. But at the same time, there is the beast who says, you will take my mark. or you will not buy, you will not sell, and ultimately you will not live. The carrot and the stick. But even in the midst of the carrot and the stick, there are those who do not succumb either to the temptation of the harlot or to the threat of the beast, because they bear another mark. They bear the mark and seal of the Lord of lords and the king of kings. They will offer their worship to him and to him alone, regardless of the cost. And there is a cost, which is why the woman is drunk on the blood of martyrs. Many die at the hand of the prostitute and the beast. And just when you come to the place where it seems that this power is consolidated, we have seen these seven hills and these seven kings. And now we saw the 10 kings who really represent this power that rises at the very end of the age. And we see the union between them and the beast. And all of a sudden in this paragraph today, they turn on the harlot. and they destroy her. What's that about? Before I answer the question, let me tell you a story. The story is not original to me. It's one of Aesop's fables. It's one of his most famous fables. A scorpion and a frog met on the bank of a stream. And a scorpion asks the frog to carry him across on its back. The frog asks, how do I know you won't sting me? The scorpion says, because if I do, I will die too. The frog is satisfied and they set out. But midstream, the scorpion stings the frog. The frog feels the onset of paralysis and starts to sink, knowing they both will drown, but has just enough time to gasp. Why? Responds the scorpion, it's my nature. It's my nature. I know it doesn't make sense, but I just had to do it. It's my nature. The same is true here. Why? If the beast and the harlot are working together, she's riding on his back. Why on earth would the beast turn against the harlot who is seducing people and bringing people to the beast? The answer, it's his nature. It just is who He is. Keep that in mind. First, we see that the harlot will never be a wife. We contrasted this picture of the harlot here in 17 and 18, and then later on, the picture of the bride, the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven. Again, the harlot coming up out of the wilderness, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven. the harlot being a prostitute, the new Jerusalem being a bride, the harlot in scarlet and purple, the bride dressed in white, the harlot who is seductive, the bride who is pure, the harlot who is bedecked on the outside with things that are attractive, and the bride whose beauty emanates from the inside, the harlot who is attached to the beast, and the bride who is attached to Christ. We've seen that the harlot is the anti-bride, if you will. And here it becomes clear that the harlot will never be a wife. She will never be a bride. That is why he uses the illustration of the prostitute. We see that in that first section. John uses the prostitute word picture to make a point. We saw that in verse four. 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. So there's the idea here of drunkenness throughout that first section. There's drunkenness on blasphemy, drunkenness on sexual immorality, and then finally, drunkenness on the blood of martyrs. So there is this sense of excess and drunkenness. He paints this picture so that we can understand the nature of the relationship between the prostitute and the beast and also between the prostitute and the kings of the earth and all the peoples of the earth. He uses this terminology intentionally first to say that this relationship is sinful. Again, this metaphor carries with it the idea of sinfulness, a sinful union, as opposed to a holy or righteous union. Union with a prostitute is fornication. Not only is this a sinful union, but it's a shameful union. It's shameful. When you think about prostitution, again, there is the idea of temple prostitution, which was something with which John would have been familiar, but not all prostitution was temple prostitution. Much of it was just like we know it today in the shadiest parts of town, usually beginning after dark because it's shameful and desires to be hidden from the light. The relationship is illegitimate. In fact, there is no relationship, just a mutual agreement to use one another momentarily. The relationship is adulterous. We're made for another, not for the prostitute. The relationship is temporary and fleeting. There is no long-term commitment. That's the idea here. That's the idea behind the prostitute metaphor. There is no long-term commitment. It's momentary. It's fleeting. It only lasts for a while. The relationship is deceptive. There is the illusion of love and desirability, but neither exists. There is the illusion of beauty, but it is not beauty in its truest sense. There is the illusion of satisfaction, but there is no satisfaction in the long run. This relationship is deceptive, and in the end, this relationship is destructive. Here's the idea of the destruction that comes. Again, verse five and six. On her forehead was written the name of mystery, Babylon, the great mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations. And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. We know who she is. But not only that, remember the Proverbs. Again, John is using imagery from the Old Testament, from almost all of the Old Testament, mainly from the prophetic books, but not only from the prophetic books. So as we read about these symbols, we have to be mindful of the prophetic books that go before so that we understand the word pictures that he's painting. But here, the idea of the harlot, the idea of the prostitute, as we've said before, we see this, not just in the prophetic books, but we see this in the Proverbs. Proverbs five, one to 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 life. Her ways wander and she does not know it. Again, 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. Again, remember what John says about the world and her impending destruction. So that not only is this relationship with her destructive from a spiritual perspective, but also this relationship is destructive in that destruction is where she is destined. So all of those united with her will experience it as well. 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, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life is not from the Father. but it's from the world, and the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. It's a destructive relationship. Any relationship with the world is based on a lie. We must know this. That's why she is called the great harlot, the great prostitute, the mother of prostitutes. Any relationship with her is based on a lie. Kim Riddlebarger writes, but what should be apparent to those who read this prophecy is that the glories of the city of man are superficial and fleeting. The beauty, celebrity, and wealth of the great prostitute are illusory. It doesn't last, it never lasts, and it's never enough. The world can't satisfy you. How many times have we heard the story and responded the same way? Young man works his whole life, and young man, you know, wants to be a professional athlete. Young man takes care of his body. Young man sacrifices. Young man makes it to the pros. Young man throws it all away with drugs. Just this week, another member of an NFL team, gone, suspended for a second time for violating the NFL's drug policy. And people look at that and they say, you're making millions of dollars. You can't stop getting high for a while. You can't stop getting drunk for a while. The answer is no, because there is no amount of money that will satisfy the longings of the heart. Or how often do we hear the story of the man married to the beautiful knocked down, drag out, gorgeous, just beautiful for no reason at all woman. I mean, she's all that and he cheats on her. When we hear that story, what do we say? How in the world does he cheat on her? Really? You actually think that there's someone beautiful enough to end sin? You actually think that a man whose desire is to satisfy his lust will completely and utterly be satisfied with a woman because she's beautiful enough? She's beautiful. I love her height. And then I have her and there's somebody else who's taller or not as tall. And all of a sudden that's more attractive. She's beautiful. And I love her because of the beautiful tone of her skin. And all of a sudden I have her. And there are other people who are beautiful because their skin is lighter or darker. She's beautiful because I love fill in the blank and whatever it is, once you possess her, you realize Those things didn't satisfy you. They can't satisfy you. They were never meant to satisfy you. You're rich and you're wealthy. But then there's the Lee Iacocca answer. You remember they asked Lee Iacocca at the height of his time at Chrysler? He's making money hand over fist. How much money would be enough? And he said the answer is always the same. Just a little bit more. What the harlot offers will never satisfy. You can't be satisfied by it. You weren't meant to be satisfied by it. And ultimately, destruction is the only thing that she can guarantee. Beyond that, John uses this familiar symbol to remind us that this is not an isolated incident. There's a familiar symbol that he uses. He says peoples, multitudes, nations, languages. Again, four. He could have just said everybody, but he didn't. He used those four references to different people groups. or ethnicity, multitudes, hordes of people, nations, different nations around the world, language, different ethnicities, different groups. When he uses four, again, we know these symbolic numbers in Revelation, okay? When we look at three, we're talking about God. When we look at seven, we're looking at completion. Three and a half is a broken seven. That's something that doesn't come to completion. When we're looking at 12, we're looking at the number of the people of God. When we're looking at 10, we're looking at the number of decimal perfection, or perfection in the decimal system, but also perfect evil, because it usually refers to the beast. When we look at the number 4, that number usually refers to the earth. like the four corners of the earth. I've said it before, let me say it again, because it just needs to be said again. It amazes me how many people walk around believing this. How many Christians walk around believing this? You know, you talk about creation and evolution and they'll say, well, you know, the church used to persecute people because they thought the world was flat. They thought it had four corners. That's not true. It's not true. We've always understood that this was symbolic. It's not true. It's not true. It's never been true. It's not true. It's never been true. The statement about the four corners of the earth is a reference to the totality of the earth, to all of it. So when you see this number four and you see peoples and multitudes and nations and language, what it means is everyone, All peoples around the world, everywhere, nowhere is immune. There's no ethnicity that's immune. There's no country that's immune. There's no language group that's immune. There's no continent that's immune. None. None. You can't get away from the world. You can go to Antarctica. You can't get away from the world. Amen? Secondly, not only is there the beast, the harlot who will never be a wife, but there's a beast who can never be faithful. Verse 16, the ten 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. And this comes out of nowhere. It's just, I mean, it's like grinding gears in a Volkswagen. I mean, it just comes, you're reading along, and then there's this woman, there's the harlot, and she's on the back of the beast, and there's the beast, and there's the war against the lamb, and then there's the seven kings, and then there's the 10 kings, and then they're all united, and then they're fighting against the Lord, and all this stuff happens, and then, they hate the prostitute. Where does that come from? It's his nature. Remember, the beast is part of the unholy trinity with the dragon and the false prophet. The desire is to be God, replace God. He makes a mockery and mimics God. The beast's ultimate desire is to have all worship to himself. Back in chapter 13, verses five through nine. If you'll turn there, just a page or two back. And the beast was given a mouth, uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for 42 months. By the way, 42 months is what? Three and a half years. Three and a half is what? A broken seven. It's not literally three and a half years. Seven would be complete. If it's three and a half, it's a broken seven, which means God ends it before it comes to completion, okay? It opens its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. Also, it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them, and authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on earth worship it. Do you see that again? Do you notice that? tribe, people, language, nation, for all who dwell on earth. Everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the lamb who was slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. This is his goal. Which means that the beast merely uses the harlot in order to achieve his ends. Because that's what people do with harlots, with prostitutes. They use them. That's the word picture. So that's what the beast is doing. He is using the harlot. That's why he turns on the harlot. Because he's using her. Remember, the harlot is the anti-wife. This beast is the anti-Christ. Christ has union with the bride. Christ lays down his life for his bride. Christ dies for his bride. The beast kills the harlot. When he is done, the beast's destruction of the harlot is brutal and complete. Notice the word picture. He makes her desolate. It's the idea of being empty and used up. You remember where John has to go to see the picture of the harlot? He goes to the wilderness. The wilderness is what? Desolate. He takes her back where he found her. She's desolate. She's naked, which means she's exposed and humiliated. Remember all of this reference to her clothes and to her jewels? Now she's back in a desolate place and she's stripped of everything. devours her. That's a reference to being attacked and eaten by a wild beast. He devours her and then burns her with fire. Remember, there's a double metaphor here. There's the metaphor of the prostitute, but there's also the metaphor of the city. Remember that idea? She's Babylon the Great. When a city is destroyed, She usually burned with fire. So there's a picture here of walking through a city that has been decimated by war and it's still smoldering with fire as evidence of what happened to it. This is what the beast does to the harlot after he's done using her. And he uses the same people whom she seduced. Irony of ironies. So here are these kings who have been raised up to partner with the beast. And all of a sudden the harlot looks and these kings who have been raised up to partner with the beast against Christ and against Christ's people turns with the beasts to destroy the very harlot who called them to him. Third, there is the Lord who is in control of it all. Verse 17, some find it disturbing. 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. So God's in charge of this? You think there's something God's not in charge of? I've told you before, God's not running for God, amen? These things don't happen by accident. There's a reason that Revelation could be written when it was written, long before things came to pass, why? Because God is in control, not because God is just good at divining things and figuring out what's going to happen, but because he's in charge, he's God. This goes to the doctrine of divine providence. Listen from our own confession, the second London Baptist confession. Chapter five, paragraph four. The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God so far manifest themselves in his providence that his determinate counsel extendeth itself even to the first fall and all other sinful actions, both of angels and men, and that not by a bare permission. which also he most wisely and powerfully boundeth and otherwise ordereth and governeth in a manifold dispensation to his most holy ends, yet so as the sinfulness of their acts proceedeth only from the creatures and not from God, who being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin. The classic example, Pharaoh. We read in Exodus 4, 21, 7, 3, 13 to 14, 22, 9, 12, 10, 1, and 20, and 27, 11, 10, 14, 4, 8, and 17. What do we read there? The Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. and yet in 8.15, 8.32, and 9.34 we read Pharaoh hardened his own heart and just to make matters clearer in 7.13 to 14 and 22 and in 8.19, 9.7, and 35 we read simply Pharaoh's heart was hardened so which was it the answer yes Yes. See, the hardening of Pharaoh's heart and the hardening of your heart and the hardening of the beast and the hardening of all sinful people doesn't mean that God takes someone who's good and holy and righteous and turns them into something that they're not. Amen? The fact of the matter is, you and I are not nearly as sinful as we could be or would be should the Lord not have prevented it. Whenever you hear the news or watch the news and see someone do something that is absolutely unthinkable, remind yourself that it's merely the grace of God that keeps more people, including yourself, from being that wicked. So what's the theological reality? Number one, God always uses sinful creatures to accomplish his purposes. God always uses sinful creatures to accomplish his purposes. Number two, he doesn't have another option. Where's he gonna find some unsinful creatures? If you can't say amen, you oughta say out. Where's he gonna find some unsinful creatures? And so we look and God uses Babylon to judge his people Israel. Israel falls into sin and God goes and gets Babylon. Why would he use a sinful nation to judge? Where's the righteous nation? Where's the righteous nation? Why would he use the beast to judge the harlot? What else is he gonna use? He uses the sinful world and the sinful powers in the world to turn them against each other. That's what he does. And each of them is doing what they desire to do. They're not being forced to be something that they're not. God is merely using who they are and who they are as a result of this fallen world that is being redeemed by Christ. Then there's that last verse. It sits there and ties it all together. The woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth. So here's a question. What do we do with this? What do we do with this? As we say, week after week, as we go through Revelation, there's a couple of challenges, at least a couple of challenges every week we're preaching in Revelation. Number one, there's the challenge of what does this mean? Amen? That's a challenge every week. What does this mean? And my prayer for you is that as we've walked through this and attempted to be consistent at every turn, you've seen that there's a way to read this and understand this that makes sense. Can it answer every question? No. There's some of those questions that are only going to be answered on that day. Amen? On that day, all the questions are going to be answered. On that day, there's going to be many a person who goes, oh, that's what that means. So there's the one challenge. But then the second challenge is the so what challenge. It's great. We see this. It's wonderful. We see that the harlot is never going to be a wife. We see that the beast cannot be faithful. And therefore he turns on her and destroys her. We see that. We see that. We see that the Lord is in control of it all. Amen, hallelujah, praise the Lord. We see that. So now what? Number one, we must resist the harlot and the beast. We must resist the harlot and the beast. I've said it every week during our time in chapter 17, because I believe it needs to be said every week during our time in chapter 17. Don't you dare sit there and believe that you are somehow holy enough and righteous enough to not be tempted by the harlot or afraid of the beast. Don't you believe it? You are. Again, Riddle Barker's words are helpful. The harlot uses her charms to lead us away from our bridegroom, Jesus Christ, so that we might become involved in her idolatrous adulteries. Let us never forget that true beauty is only found in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. For he purifies us from all our sins. His blood washes away every imperfection. He is making us into a holy people without spot or blemish. And for this, the beast and the harlot will hate us. And so will the world which worship them. And that is not easy to endure. It is not easy to resist the harlot when most of the people you know are gladly embracing her. It is not easy to resist the state when things and people that you love may be in jeopardy of experiencing a hardship because of your resistance. It's not easy. especially when some people who even call themselves Christian gladly embrace these things and call you nasty names because you won't. Therefore, we need to be reminded again and again and again that we must resist the harlot and the beast. This involves recognizing them both. Praise God for his word, saints. Amen? We have to recognize the harlot and the beast. We have to recognize the seduction toward the world. And we have to recognize the brutality that is aimed at those who resist the seduction of the world. This also involves being satisfied with and in Christ. Amen. Being satisfied with and in Christ. Reminding ourselves and us reminding one another that Jesus is enough. That He's more than enough. Every once in a while, all of us need someone to come alongside us and lift up our arms and lift up our head in the midst of the fight and say, remember brother, remember sister, Jesus is enough. You need no other. Christ is sufficient. However, it does not mean escaping from the world. We're in it, but not of it. We don't escape the world. That's not the answer. And this is actually made clear because there is no escape from the world. Remember, he uses that fourfold reference to all the peoples of the earth. Where are you going to go? Because here's the other problem, wherever you go, there you are. Amen? So we can't escape. We're not being called to escape the world. Nor is it possible for you to escape the world. And oftentimes, as we escape the world, what we end up doing is, you know, run away from the lion and meet the bear. You can't escape the world. God's redeeming the world. Since the harlot and the beast are both counterfeits, avoiding everything that they stand for would mean avoiding much of what God has made for His glory and our joy. Let me say that again. Since the harlot and the beast are both counterfeits, Avoiding everything they stand for would mean avoiding much of what God has made for His glory and for our joy. So number one, I can't run away from the world. Two, I can't just avoid the world because it's a counterfeit. It's a counterfeit of that which is good and true and beautiful. So if I'm gonna run away, I'm gonna run away from everything good and everything true and everything beautiful for fear that there might be some of the world in it. For example, we don't avoid marriage simply because of the existence of prostitution. So there's illegitimacy out there. There's fornication out there. Therefore, we run away from marriage. No, marriage is good. Just because God counterfeits, it doesn't mean we run from it. We don't avoid culture because of the existence of sinful excess. You can't avoid the culture just because there's sinful excess. There are all sorts of things that people abuse. That doesn't mean that we run away from it because there are some people who abuse it or use it to excess. They're workaholics, but you better get up and go to work. Amen? We don't avoid politics simply because of the brutal influence of the beast. That's ridiculous. We don't avoid pleasure simply because of the existence of idolatry. There are some Christians out there, and there may be some of you out there, and this may be your natural tendency, your natural instinct. You do something, and you like it a lot, and your first reaction is to say, this must be sinful. Because you've bought the lie that says you're not being a good Christian unless you're miserable. If you can't say amen, you ought to say ouch. You know that's where some of you are. Some of you come and you're like, you know, I've been praying and I've been praying is the Lord will give me a job. And well, what's the matter? Well, pastor, I just don't know about this job. Why? Well, you know, it's just, it's everything I want. It's everything I love. I've had a passion for it forever. It's in a part of the country that I just absolutely love. I had a friend of mine actually come to me, a minister, no less. Here's a minister. And he's like, I love that. He loves the outdoors. He loves, you know, fly fishing. He loves, you know, all this sort of stuff. He loves seas. He loves job opportunity came in Colorado. to go and work at a church in Colorado. And he's like, I just don't know. I was like, why? He said, well, you know how I love the outdoors and how I love fishing, and I love hunting, and I love, you know, the mountains, and I love skin, and I love this, and I love that, and I, you know, I just don't know. You just don't know what? Well, well, you know, I just, I just wanna make sure that, so you just wanna make sure that what? that there's not too much pleasure in this opportunity that your God has given you, that you've been praying for. It's like saying, I don't know if I should marry this woman. She's too good to me. Certainly God wouldn't want me to be married to a woman who's good to me. We laugh, but don't we do that? The minute we see any pleasure in anything, immediately we assume that it must be bad. It's not the case. Secondly, not only is there this warning to us, but we must warn those who love the harlot and serve the beast. We must. We must warn those who love the harlot and serve the beast. Not just condemn them, we have to warn them. They're headed for destruction and we need to let them know. Who else is going to let them know? Everyone else is in love with the harlot and afraid of the beast and riding along in the same direction. The beast is about to turn on the harlot and we look at them. What do we do? We look at them and do we just wipe our hands? No. We tell them this means heralding the gospel. This means heralding the gospel. Please notice the difference. Here's what we don't do. What we don't do is we don't herald a lifestyle. We herald the gospel. This goes back to the first point. The first point is we don't just avoid everything because it's pleasurable. We worship Christ and recognize the counterfeit when we see it. So what we do is we don't tell people, oh, no, no, no, no. You've got to come away from the culture. You've got to come away from pleasure. You've got to come away from this. You've got to come away from that. No, what we tell them is Christ died for sin once for all, but just for the unjust in order that he might bring us back to God. What we tell them is you're a sinner in need of a savior. What we tell them is the blood of Christ is the only answer. What we tell them is repent, turn from your sin, and embrace Christ. That's what we tell them. And then, by God's grace, the Spirit of God will walk with them just like He walked with you and me to try to figure out the things that we just talked about before. Amen? Otherwise, what we end up doing is communicating a version of Christianity that basically says it's no more than a counterculture. They like that, so we don't like it. They like this, so we don't like it. They do that, so we don't do it. They wear that, so we don't wear it. They say that, so we don't say it. All of a sudden, we've got a new law. This also means engaging the culture at specific points where and when they defy God openly. Remember, what they're calling for is blasphemy. What they're calling for is counterfeit deity. Areas like creation and evolution, marriage and its definition, the sanctity of human life, statism and the social gospel. These are areas where we need to recognize the counterfeit, call it what it is, and stand firm. But remember, there's the seduction of the harlot and the brutality of the beast, and when we do this, there's a price to pay. But we do it nonetheless. Four, we must celebrate and highlight the differences between worship and idolatry. we must celebrate and highlight the differences between worship and idolatry. This is that balance between running away from the world, pulling away from the world, and embracing that which is good and true and beautiful in a right and proper way, and helping others to understand the distinction. There's a difference. There's a difference. On the one hand, there is, oh, oh, oh, oh, art. The art that's out there is just terrible. The art that's out there is just awful. I'm just gonna run away from art. No, because there's art out there that's good and true and beautiful, and we ought to go and enjoy it and rejoice. in the goodness and truth and beauty of it, and let people know the difference between this piece, which is good and true and beautiful, and this piece, which is idolatrous and blasphemous, and that you can know the difference, and that God's the one who decides. Do you see the difference between that and just saying, forget it, I'm done? Finally. We must believe that there is hope. We must believe that there is hope. That's something that we're reminded of again and again in Revelation. There's a couple of places here. Look with me, if you will, at verse 14. 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. Verse 17, For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose by being of one mind and handing over their power to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled. Even in the midst of all of this chaos, where there is in the first section the blood of martyrs and the saints of Jesus, And in the second, the beast who makes war against Christ and those who are with him. Even in the midst of all of this, there are these words of encouragement. These words of encouragement do not say to us, you're gonna be raptured and you won't experience any of this. Those are not the words of encouragement. The words of encouragement are, even though you are experiencing this and will continue to experience this, and it will get worse at the end of the age, even so, Christ is Lord of lords. Christ is King of kings. You are chosen in him. You are sealed in him. And what's the worst they can do to you? Kill you? What is that to you? For you are already crucified with Christ. And yet I live, not I, but Christ who lives in me. That's who we are. We serve the King of glory. Whom shall we fear? There is nothing ultimately to fear. Things not may get dark, but they will get dark. And yet Christ is our all in all. We have nothing to fear. Things will get difficult. Yet Christ is our all in all. You and I will stumble. There are times when you and I will blur the line between enjoying and embracing that which is good and true and beautiful. and going over into idolatry. And when we do, the reminder is repent, turn, embrace Christ, don't run, be forgiven, and carry on. This is the truth that we embrace. And again, the call to you, to all of us, is not to just know that Christ is the answer, but to walk in that reality. If you are here, whether you've been here over the last three weeks or just today, the call to you is this, the threat from the harlot and the beast is real. The victory of Christ is assured. And the hope that we have is the only answer. There is still time. Turn from your sin and turn to Christ. Turn from embracing the harlot and be the bride. Turn from the fear of the beast to the fear of the Lord that brings liberty and freedom. Turn from serving yourself and embracing this world because of what it offers to you and turn to serving Christ and embracing that which is good and true and beautiful because He made it so. And all of this begins with acknowledging that you are a sinner in need of a Savior and that Christ is the only place that you can turn to find said Savior. Let's pray. Father, as we bow before you, we come confessing once again. that the world is alluring, the harlot is attractive, that the beast is intimidating, and that our tendency is to embrace the adultery and the idolatry that they offer and demand. Grant by your grace that we might be strengthened in the inner man, That we might be reminded of the glory and the majesty of Christ. That we might be satisfied with Him. That we might be satisfied in Him. And that first and foremost, we may be found in Him. That we would turn from sin. That we would turn from the world. That we would turn to Christ. That we would embrace Him and offer to Him and to Him alone the worship that is due to His name. and that in doing so, we would not escape from the truth and the beauty and the goodness in the world around us, but that we would embrace it and that we would highlight it, that we would proclaim it, and that we would rejoice in it because You, O God, are the One who has made it and called it good. Grant by Your grace that as we proclaim the Gospel, the Gospel would bear much fruit Grant by your grace that we would have a sense of urgency, recognizing that the days are hastening to a close, and that there are those in the snare of the harlot and the beast who desperately need to be redeemed and rescued by the grace of God, through the gospel of God, which is the power of God to salvation. Thank you for the victories that we see. Thank you for your church, militant and triumphant, even in the midst of this dark age. Thank you for lives changed, souls saved, sinners redeemed, right in the face of the harlot and the beast. Thank you for your bride, the church, that is pure and radiant, even in the midst of a culture filled with counterfeits. Thank you for the hope that is ours, the hope of eternal life, the hope of the Lamb's victory being ours. For all of these things, we are grateful. And Lord, as we bow before you now and prepare our hearts for the Lord's Supper, we ask that you would remind us of our great need to feed on Christ, to be filled with Him, satisfied with Him, and sustained by Him. For it is in His name that we ask all these things. Amen. In a moment.