Revelation chapter 16 in your Bibles. We are coming to the end of the chronological development of the 70th week of Daniel, that final seven-year period, climaxing with the personal bodily return of Christ to earth to establish a kingdom over which He will rule and reign. We've seen something in chapters 6 to 19 of Revelation. of how terrible that seven-year period is going to be. It's going to be a time of dreadful suffering. The wrath of God is going to be poured out in its fullness on the people on the earth. The only thing more severe to be experienced by fallen, sinful human beings will be hell itself. This seven-year period, the 70th week of Daniel, as we consider it together, we are reminded as a church, we are promised that we will be kept from this 70th week of Daniel. Back in chapter 3 of Revelation, verse 10, Christ gave a promise to the church at Philadelphia, which I believe is applicable to the church broadly and includes you and I as the members of the church of Jesus Christ today. Revelation chapter 3 verse 10 we read, Because you have kept the word of my perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth. Because of the redemption that Jesus Christ has provided for us as members of His body, the Church of Jesus Christ, We will be called from the earth to meet Him in the air and so taken to be with the Lord. That's discussed in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. So it's a reminder of the greatness and completeness of our salvation that we shall be removed from the earth and all of these terrible judgments are not for us. but for a world that has rejected him. This seven-year period is God's time for dealing with the nation Israel again. It's called the 70th week of Daniel because Daniel chapter 9 verse 27 says, 70 weeks, and they are 77-year periods, are determined upon your people, Daniel, the Jews, and your holy city, Daniel, Jerusalem. 483 years, or 69 weeks of years, have already been completed. We have one seven-year period to go. That's what we've been studying about in the book of Revelation. During these seven years, God is doing three things. He's displaying His power. He's destroying His enemies. And by the time we get to the end of this seven-year period, Christ will return. All living unbelievers will be executed. So that as you go into the kingdom, only believers will be left alive. He is destroying His enemies, literally. And He is delivering His people Israel. What will take place during this seven years is the nation Israel will be brought to their knees before Jesus as their Savior and Messiah. They will turn to Him. And when they do, He will return from heaven and deliver them physically as He has delivered them spiritually. And the kingdom will be established. Chapter 16 of Revelation is dealing with the final judgments of the 70th week of Daniel. We have the seven bowl judgments poured out in Revelation chapter 16. Seven bowls. filled with the wrath of God, one bowl dumped out on the earth after the other. These are the most intense of all the judgments of the 70th week of Daniel. They will climax with the return of Jesus Christ to earth at what we know of as the Battle of Armageddon. In verses 12 to 16 of chapter 16, the sixth bowl judgment was preparatory for Armageddon. The great river Euphrates was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the east to move into Palestine and that whole region of the world for the battle of Armageddon. Three demons go out of the mouth of Satan, the mouth of the beast and the mouth of the false prophet to draw all the armies of the world together. So, they're going to be a supernatural work. of Satan in drawing all of his followers together into Palestine at Armageddon to do battle with Jesus Christ upon his return. We'll have Christ with the armies of heaven in chapter 19 engaged in conflict with Satan and the armies of the world at Armageddon. Verse 15 gives a word of encouragement to believers as well as a word of warning to unbelievers. I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his garments, lest he walk about naked and men see his shame." It's a word of encouragement to believers. Hang on. Endure. Persevere. Keep in mind, not only are you going to have all the natural, quote, catastrophes, bringing such devastation and death on the earth, With this, you are going to have the intense persecution of the Antichrist, who under the leadership and power of Satan is doing everything he can to destroy the Jews and every person who will not worship him. And as we draw to a close in this seven year period, there's a danger that some people think it's not worth the suffering. We ought to give in and bow down Worship the Antichrist, receive his mark, and be spared this intense suffering at his hands. Well, here is a word of encouragement and endurance. There is blessing for the one who stays awake, keeps watching for the coming of the Lord. The one who keeps his garments remains faithful to him. Remember, we read in Revelation 3, verse 10, About those who keep the word of his endurance, it's characteristic of a true believer that they will remain faithful and endure through trial. But this is an encouragement to believers. Blessing is for those who remain faithful, but the word of warning also. If you don't remain faithful, you become a worshiper of the beast, you receive his mark. You are lost for eternity. Those who receive the mark of the beast, who become his worshippers, have made an irrevocable commitment to Satan. They will be lost for eternity. There will be no salvation for such people. Back in chapter 3, verse 18, Christ gave word to the church at Laodicea, which is by and large an unbelieving church. I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire that you may become rich. and white garments that you may clothe yourselves." Now note this, "...that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed." See the warning that Christ gave in chapter 16, verse 15, "...blessed is the one who keeps his garments, lest he walk about naked." He not had the garments of the salvation of Christ. So his lost state will be open for all to see. and his condemnation will be shown to be just. We are on the brink of the return of the Lord. Be ready. The book of Revelation is about the coming of the Lord. His people ought to be living in light of his coming. We, as members of the church, are to be alert and ready for his coming to call us into the air to meet him. His people during the tribulation are to be living, expecting His coming. The life of the people of God revolves around the coming of the Lord. Whether you're talking about the first phase at the rapture or the second phase at the return to the earth. But it is characteristic, if you are a child of God, your life revolves around the coming of the Lord. Look back in chapter 1 of Revelation, verse 3. Blessed is he who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it. For the time is near. The time is near. Blessed are those who are paying attention to what this book has to say. The children of God are people of God who live with the expectation of the nearness of the return of the Lord. The theme verse of Revelation, chapter 1, verse 7, Behold, he is coming. with the clouds and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him, even so. Amen. Look over in chapter 3, verse 3, in the message to the church at Sardis. Remember therefore what you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief. That's the warning of chapter 16, verse 15. I will come like a thief. You will not know at what hour I come upon you. Verse four, those who are worthy will walk with him in white. He who overcomes, verse five, shall thus be clothed in white garments. We know the overcomer is the one who believes in Jesus Christ, according to first John five. So a word of warning, be watching for the coming of the Lord, be prepared for his coming. How do you prepare by believing in him as the one who loved you and died for you? You repent of your sins. You turn to him as your savior. And those who do that walk with endurance, faithfully with Him. That's important in the book of Revelation. Many people are making a profession that they've trusted Christ, but they're going to be taken like a thief. The return of Christ at the rapture, the return of Christ at His second coming. Why? They really don't know Him. They have made a profession, quote, of faith, but are walking in the world. Jesus says those people will be surprised and they will be found naked at His coming. Not clothed with the garments of salvation. Verse 11 of chapter 3. That warning again. I am coming quickly. Chapter 3 verse 11. Hold fast what you have. Verse 12. He who overcomes. That context. I am coming quickly. Live in expectation of my coming. Here's a promise for the overcomer. Jump to the end of the book. Chapter 22. Look at verse 7, And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book. Look at verse 12, Behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me to render to every man according to what he has done. Verse 20, He who testifies to these things says, Yes, I am coming quickly. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. This book is about the return of Jesus Christ. This book is to prepare the people of God for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's written for us in the church today, verse 16 of chapter 22, I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things for the churches. It will say, oh, I'm not interested in the study of the book of Revelation and probably I just want things that are going to help me live today. That's the book of Revelation. Jesus Christ gave us this book as the church to prepare us for His coming. We are indeed the people of God. If this is a church comprised of people who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior, we will be a people, we will be a church that is living in light of the soon return of the Lord. Back to chapter 16. The spirits of demons go out into the world to gather the armies of the world to a place identified in verse 16 as Har-Magedon. Har-Magedon. We know it more familiarly as Armageddon. Armageddon. The Hebrew word har means hill. The hill of Megiddo. It refers to the mountains or hills near the plain where the city of Megiddo is located. There's a couple of other names in Scripture for Armageddon. Let me just mention them to you, so as you come across them, you'll be familiar with them. The city of Megiddo is located in the Valley of Esdraelon. E-S-D-R-A-E-L-O-N. The Valley of Esdraelon. You read of the Valley of Esdraelon in the Bible or in books writing about prophecy, we're talking about Armageddon. That's the valley where the city of Megiddo was located. It's also known as the Plain of Jezreel. The Plain of Jezreel. Sometimes in prophetic material you read about the Plain of Jezreel. We're talking about Armageddon. A number of significant battles in the Old Testament were fought here. I'm just going to mention some of them to you. We're not going to turn there for time. But you see that this has been a significant battlefield in Israel's history already. The greatest battle to take place here is yet future. In Judges chapter 4, Barak and Sisera did battle here, and Barak defeated the armies of Sisera. In chapter 5 of Judges, verse 19, this battle is located in the valley of Jezreel or Armageddon. This is the battle, you remember, where Sisera met his end by the lady who drove the tent stake through his forehead while he was sleeping. Second battle that took place here, Gideon and the Midianites in Judges chapter 7. Remember, Gideon and his 300 routed the armies of the Midianites as they surrounded them with their clay pots with a candle in them and then they broke the pot and the lights routed the Midianites. A third battle here, very interestingly, in 1 Samuel chapter 31, Saul, the first king of Israel, was killed in a battle that took place. He was killed on Mount Gilboa and Mount Gilboa is at the end of the Valley of Jezreel. It was in this location that this battle occurred and where Saul and his sons met their end. And King Josiah in 2 Kings 23-29 met his end in a battle here as well. A number of significant battles in Israel's history took place here. The Valley of Ezdraelim is 14 miles wide and 20 miles long. It's a great battlefield. Napoleon, Bonaparte identified it as one of the greatest and best battlefields in all the world. This is the place where Armageddon, the Battle of Armageddon, as we often think of it, will be centered. This is where the armies of the world are being gathered, but they spill over the length and breadth of Palestine. In chapter 14, verse 20 of Revelation, we saw that the blood will run to the horse's bridles, the length and breadth of Palestine for 200 miles. While this will be the center of the battle, the battle will not be limited here. Jerusalem is going to be destroyed. in the battles and conflicts that lead up to this final climax. The details of this battle will be set forth in chapter 19 of Revelation, verses 11 to 21. Verse 17 of chapter 16, the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air. This is a very climactic event. The final bowl is turned over and spilled out on the earth. And particularly, this bowl is poured out upon the air. Evidently, this emphasizes the fact that the whole world is encompassed in this judgment because the air is everywhere. It's not just the sea or the rivers, but this is the air. Some would connect this with the fact that in Ephesians 2.2, Satan is called the prince of the power of the air. And Satan's realm as the god of this world is now encompassed in one final climactic judgment. This is the most complete and encompassing of all the judgments. With this pouring out of the bowl, there is a loud voice out of the temple from the throne. That word loud is the Greek word great. We noted that the word great is used more often in chapter 16 than in any other chapter of the Bible. This great voice, or a loud voice, would be the same one we saw in verse one. A loud voice from the temple, and it's the voice of God the Father. Everyone else, according to chapter 15, verse 8, is excluded from the throne room until these judgments are completed. Now, so the voice of God thunders forth. It is done. It is done. This is a perfect tense. Remember on the cross, Jesus said, it is finished, a different word, but the same tense, the perfect tense. Perfect tense denotes something that has been done in the past is now being brought to its final completion. Everything is being gathered up and brought to fulfillment here. All the judgments of God in dealing with a rebellious man are now being brought to their completion and fulfillment. Keep in mind, The seventh bowl that is poured out includes not only Armageddon, but also the rest of the book of Revelation. Remember back in chapter five of Revelation, we saw a book or a scroll with seven seals. The book was written on the inside and the outside. And that seven-sealed book contains all the plan of God in bringing His work of redemption for creation to fulfillment and completion. Out of the seventh seal came the seven trumpets. Out of the seventh trumpet comes the seven bowls. So the rest of the book of Revelation is encompassed then in the seventh bowl, right on through chapter 22, because everything is encompassed in the seven seals. And it is done. The final act of God in judging the world and bringing to full realization His plan of redemption. For His plan of redemption includes ultimately the glorifying of creation. By that I mean that creation will all be brought into His presence ultimately when we enter the New Jerusalem in chapters 21 and 22. The presence of God Himself illumines everything. And we see that the work of Christ in redemption has accomplished fully and completely the plan of God. So, in a final sense, it is done with the pouring out of the seventh bowl. And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. All this activity in the heavens prepares the way for one gigantic earthquake. This will be beyond anything that has been experienced. In verse 18, "...for a great earthquake such as there had not been since man came to be on the earth." So great an earthquake and so mighty. Here is one final climactic earthquake that will shake the whole world. All the faults throughout all the world are going to move at one time to an extent and a degree that has never been experienced before. The earthquake is significant enough that it was mentioned in Old Testament prophecy back in Haggai chapter 2. A short little book. Verse 6, For thus says the Lord of hosts, once more, in a little while, Now, we, from our human perspective of short years, think, boy, it's been a long time. Here God, who sits in eternity, says, in a little while, I'm going to shake the earth. I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. That's the earthquake we're talking about. It's in the context of verse 7. I will shake all the nations, and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory," says the Lord of hosts. That earthquake comes in the context of the time when He is going to establish the glory of Jerusalem and the temple at Jerusalem and the nation Israel. This prophecy is repeated in Hebrews chapter 12, verse 26. But the context of this subject, verse 25, see to it that you do not refuse him who is speaking. This is serious, an awesome subject, a great danger that some people will hear the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, hear the message of warning of coming judgment and refuse Almighty God. See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, much less shall we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven." And his voice shook the earth then. But now he has promised, saying, yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven. There he is quoting from Haggai chapter 2 verse 6. That final shaking of the earth. Verse 28, Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. You see, believer, what this is to do to us, the understanding of what is coming, coming wrath, coming judgment. It's a reminder to me that we offer to God our service. is to be an acceptable service, offered with reverence and awe, because our God is a consuming fire. My study of these coming judgments is not to instill fear of judgment in me. Praise God, I have been delivered from wrath to come. But they remind me of the awesomeness of my God, of His absolute hatred of sin, of the greatness of my redemption that is cleansed and forgiven me. and provided me from deliverance from wrath to come. And it reminds me, I serve a God who is a consuming fire. My service for Him must be offered with reverence and awe. And I must never forget that. We as believers, if we are truly believers, we'll have hearts that are molded and shaped by the God that we serve. Much of which passes for worship today. Much of what passes for service for God is totally foreign to what the Scripture identifies as worship and service. True worship and service of the living God is offered with reverence and awe to a God who is a consuming fire. And it's only by His mercy and grace that we are not consumed. Back to the book of Revelation, chapter 16, verse 19. The impact of this earthquake is felt everywhere in the world. Three cities or groups of cities are mentioned in verse 19. The great city was split into three parts. Secondly, the cities of the nations fell. Thirdly, Babylon the Great was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of his fierce wrath. First, the great city was split into three parts. Now, Babylon is going to be called Babylon the Great in a moment, but I take it it's distinguished from the great city here. And the great city is distinguished from the cities of the nations or the Gentiles, for the great city is the city Jerusalem. Back in chapter 11, verse 8, it was called the great city where our Lord was crucified, clearly identifying it as Jerusalem in chapter 11, verse 8, where the bodies of the two witnesses will lay. The great city Jerusalem was split into three parts. Zechariah the prophet spoke of a great earthquake that will take place in connection with the return of Jesus Christ to deliver Israel. Turn back to Zechariah chapter 14. So next to the last book in the Old Testament, verse 1, Behold, a day is coming for the Lord. when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. So things will be brought back to Jerusalem and to Israel, not taken away. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle. The city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished, and half of the city exiled. But the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city." You see, Jerusalem is going to suffer great devastation in the conflicts that will climax at Armageddon. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations as when He fights on a day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. and you will flee by the valley of my mountains." See what happens? Connection with the return of Christ at the events of Armageddon. Christ will touch down bodily. His feet will come down and touch on the Mount of Olives. There will be an earthquake. I take it it's the earthquake at the end of chapter 16 that will split Jerusalem into three parts that will also run a split through the Mount of Olives. It will move north and south, and a valley will be created from east to west, and the survivors in Jerusalem will flee through that valley to escape the devastation that is overwhelming Jerusalem as God intervenes to deliver His people and fight on their behalf. Possibly then, the Mount of Olives will be split in two, literally. So when the great city, Jerusalem, is split into three parts by that earthquake, One of the impacts of that earthquake will be the valley created through the Mount of Olives to provide a way of escape. So you see, when we're at the end of chapter 16 of Revelation, we are at the brink of Revelation chapter 19, verse 11, and heaven was opened and Jesus Christ appears at his return. We have chapter 17 and 18. to fill in, but they won't move the chronology along. The chronology jumps from the end of chapter 16 to chapter 19, verse 11 in the book of Revelation. Back to Revelation 16. That's what happens to Jerusalem. Then we're told, secondly, the cities of the nations fell. And I think of the cities of the nations referring to the non-Jewish cities, Jerusalem, the Jewish city, then the other nations. Their cities are going to be impacted by this earthquake. We've seen just little, teeny earthquakes. The greatest earthquakes the world has seen are just minor, little earthquakes compared to what is going to take place here. Can you imagine what the earth is going to look like? The earth is literally being destroyed as the cities of the nations are reduced to rubble in this violent earthquake. The third is the most significant for the development of the book of Revelation. Babylon the Great was remembered before God, an awesome statement. It's not that God ever forgets, because He is omniscient and knows everything all the time. This is a way of expressing the fact that now God is calling them to judgment. Babylon the Great was remembered before God. Now it's time for God to deal with Babylon the Great, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. This event is so significant that chapters 17 and 18 of Revelation are an expansion of that last statement in chapter 19. Babylon the Great was remembered before God. I don't know what it means that she has to now drink of the cup of his wrath. We have to read chapter 17 and 18. So chapter 17 and 18 don't move the chronology along. They are going to expand on the judgment of Babylon, the great. Now, there's some discussion of the city in view, and there's two basic views by those who take prophecy literally. One is that Babylon refers to Rome. Because Rome was the great city of the world, as John wrote. Babylon represents the satanic system, both religiously, politically, and commercially in the world. And Rome will be that center. As a possibility, if that's the case, the impact and point of chapters 17 and 18 will be the same. The city which is the center of the world, religiously, politically, and commercially, is about to come under judgment. as the representative of the satanic empire. But I think there's reason in Scripture to take this as a literal Babylon rebuilt. I would take it, in light of what the Scripture says, that the city of Babylon is going to be rebuilt. In fact, some of that has been undertaken already. Saddam Hussein, who sees himself as the successor of Nebuchadnezzar in reestablishing the Babylonian Empire, Babylon is in the territory we know as Iraq today, and Hussein is in the process of rebuilding Babylon. If you read a book like The Rise of Babylon by Charles Dyer, he has, oh, I don't know, eight or ten pages in there of pictures taken around 1988 of the construction that's being done in Babylon. Hussein had a coin minute with his image. impressed alongside the image of Nebuchadnezzar to show that he is the modern-day Nebuchadnezzar to restore Babylon to its former greatness and reinstitute the Babylonian Empire. Back to Zechariah and look at the fifth chapter. Now, keep in mind, Zechariah is writing after the fall of the Babylonian Empire, the Neo-Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar. This is after that empire has fallen to the Medes and the Persians. Zechariah writes in chapter 5, verse 5, Then the angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me, Lift up your eyes and see what this is going forth. And I said, What is it? And he said, This is the ephah, the ephah is a bushel measure, going forth. And again he said, this is their appearance in all the land, and behold, a lead cover was lifted up, and this is a woman sitting inside the ephah. Then he said, this is wickedness, and he threw her down into the middle of the ephah and cast the lead weight on its opening. Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there were two women who were coming out with the wind in their wings, and they had wings like the wings of a stork. And they lifted up the ether between the earth and the heavens. And I said to the angel who was speaking with me, where are they taking the ether? Then he said to me, to build a temple for her in the land of Shinar. The land of Shinar is where Babylon is. And when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal. So you see, here Zechariah gives a prophecy after the fall of the Babylonian Empire, as we know it in Scripture, prophesies the time when evil will be centered in Babylon once again. when, if not before, the city of Babylon will be rebuilt, will be restored to its former glory and power and influence. Turn back to the book of Genesis. These are just some highlights. We'll be doing the detail of Babylon and its fall in connection with our study of Revelation 17 and 18. Genesis chapter 10. The city of Babylon originally was founded by Nimrod. Nimrod was the son of Cush, who was the son of Ham. Interestingly, most of the enemies of Israel come from the descendants of Ham, one of the sons of Noah. Verse 6 of Genesis 10, through the table of nations, talking about the development of the various nations. Verse 6 of chapter 10 of Genesis, the sons of Ham were Cush. We're just interested in Cush. Jump down to verse 8, Now Cush became the father of Nimrod. Nimrod became a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Verse 10, And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, or Babylon. Jump down to chapter 11 to expand on Babylon. Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. And it came about as they journeyed east that they found a plain in the land of Shinar. Where was the woman epitomizing wickedness in the ephah to be taken? To the land of Shinar. And settled there. Verse 3, they said to one another, come let us make bricks, burn them thoroughly, and so on. What they're doing, they said, we all have one language, we're one people. Develop one center of apostate worship that will keep us united. God's response to that, and this is the first attempt of mankind, to unify mankind by one apostate center for worship. This Babylonian system becomes pervasive then, down until the destruction we're going to talk about in chapter 17 and 18. They don't want to be scattered over the whole face of the earth. The end of verse 4. That's why all the movements today that talk about one world, we're becoming one people, are all forerunners of the revival of the Babylonian system under the revived Roman Empire. They're always contrary to the plan of God. That's why all the emphasis that you hear people with one people and so on. That doesn't mean that in Christ all nationalities and races are lost. That's true. But all movements outside of Christ to unify a world are movements that are in opposition to the personal plan of God, ultimately. Now, they're within the plan of God and using the sin of man. Verse 6, the Lord said, Behold, they are one people, they have the same language. This is what they began to do. Now, nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. Doesn't mean that God's afraid things will get out of hand. It means this is what they're doing with the unity they have. There'll be no stopping their corruption. We'd soon be back to the situation like the flood, where mankind's wickedness was so overwhelming it would necessitate destruction. In God's plan, He divides their languages, which will end up being divided into races and nationalities. The world's divided, so their plan of being united by one apostate religious center has been frustrated by Almighty God. But that plan will be revived. Babylon will be rebuilt. The apostasy of the Babylonian worship system will be instituted, and then we will have one man, the Antichrist, with one world worship system. And you have the world united in its opposition to the living God. So that's the background for Babylon. Jump over to Isaiah 13. Four chapters of Scripture you might want to write down, perhaps between the chapter divisions, between chapter 16 and 17 of Revelation. Isaiah chapter 13 and 14, Jeremiah chapter 50 and 51. These four chapters speak of the coming wrath of God in the destruction of Babylon. I believe they're not dealing primarily with the Babylon that is already history for us, even though both Isaiah and Jeremiah would be writing before the destruction of Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar's successors. But we'll see the things that are written in chapters 13 and 14 of Isaiah and Jeremiah go beyond anything that happened to historic Babylon. In Isaiah chapter 13, note verse 1, the oracle concerning Babylon. So we're talking about what God has to say about Babylon. I'm just going to pick out some verses now in our studies of chapter 17 and 18 of Revelation. We will come back here on different occasions. Verse six. Well, for the day of the Lord is near. The day of the Lord ultimately finds its focus in the 70th week of Daniel. Well, for the day of the Lord is near, it will come as destruction from the Almighty. Verse 8, they will be terrified. Pains and anguish will take hold of them. They will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another in astonishment, their faces aflame. Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, cruel with fury and burning anger. To make the land a desolation, He will exterminate its sinners. It did not happen with the destruction of the Babylonian Empire. In fact, Cyrus, And the Medes and the Persians did not destroy Babylon and the people of Babylon. In fact, they treated them very kindly. And Cyrus declared himself a worshipper of Marduk, the god of the Babylonians. And he declared himself the king of Babylon and set his throne up. So he did just the opposite of destroying Babylon. He simply made it a center of his empire. Here we're talking about a judgment that will come in the day of the Lord that will destroy the sinners. We're part of Babylon and we'll see in the judgments of Babylon, God will say, come out of her, my people, so that you don't partake of her coming judgment. Verse 11 of Isaiah 13. Thus, I will punish the world for its evil. The judgment on Babylon going beyond Babylon. I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their iniquity. I will put an end to the arrogance of the proud and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. Well, if I read some of the statements of Saddam Hussein, and see his pictures plastered everywhere in the country, I would say that there's not yet been put an end to the arrogance of the proud or the haughtiness of the ruthless. Verse 12 sounds similar to what we're reading and studying in the Tribulation. I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold and mankind than the gold of Ophir. All of us have struggled as we've studied these judgments in the Tribulation. How could anybody survive? It's going to be very difficult. Like Jesus said, if he didn't intervene, there wouldn't be anybody left alive. But note here, we're talking about mortal man will be more rare on the earth than gold. That hasn't happened yet. That didn't happen in the destruction of the old Babylonian empire. Chapter 14 continues in this oracle of destruction of Babylon. Jeremiah chapter 50, just to draw your attention to one or two verses in this These chapters, Jeremiah 50 begins the word which the Lord spoke concerning Babylon. We're talking about Babylon again. Look at verse five. They will ask the way to Zion, turning their faces in its direction. They will come that they may join themselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten. See what happens here? The context with the destruction and judgment on Babylon that Jeremiah is talking about, Israel will be now reunited in the land in an eternal covenant that will not be broken. That's what it means, not forgotten. Verse 20 of Jeremiah 50, In those days, and at that time, declares the Lord, search will be made for the iniquity of Israel, but there will be none. And for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found. For I shall pardon those whom I leave as a remnant." So we experience the national salvation of Israel in context of the coming judgment of Babylon. With the destruction of Babylon, the salvation of Israel, you look around and say, where's the sin that Israel's guilty of and God's holding them for? No, it's gone. It's all pardoned. The remnants that have survived have experienced his redemption. There are no accusations that can be brought against them. That hasn't happened yet, obviously. It didn't happen with the destruction of the old Babylonian empire. Verse 40, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah with its neighbors, declares the Lord, no man will live there, nor will any son of man reside in it. That just didn't happen when the Medes and the Persians destroyed the Babylonian empire. I don't want to call it the old Babylonian empire because it was really the neo or new Babylonian empire under Nebuchadnezzar. The one of history that we're most concerned with. Cyrus set up his throne of Babylon. There are inscriptions identifying him as king of Babylon. But in this final destruction, we'll study in chapter 17, particularly chapter 18. When it's done, survivors on the world are going to be there with their mouths hanging open. Can't believe the totality of the destruction of Babylon. It'll be like Sodom and Gomorrah. You can take a trip to Israel. You can see a lot of ruins. You don't see anything of Sodom and Gomorrah. One more verse here. Chapter 51, verse 7. This will take us back to Revelation 17. Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, intoxicating all the earth. The nations have drunk of her wine. Therefore, the nations are going mad. Suddenly, Babylon has fallen. Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great. Come over to chapter 17 of Revelation, verse 4. The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand..." Does this not sound like Jeremiah chapter 51, verse 7? "...having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations of the unclean things of her immorality, upon her forehead a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS, AND THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." So, Isaiah chapter 13 and 14, Jeremiah chapter 50 and 51. They'll find their fulfillment in Revelation chapter 17 and chapter 18. So interestingly, we have a man ruling the country of Iraq who feels his call is to rebuild Babylon and restore the glory to Babylon. He may be gone tomorrow, but I as a believer in the prophecies of Scripture find it intensely interesting that there is a man who in no way would identify himself with the people of God who is demonstrating the same kind of arrogance that characterized Nebuchadnezzar. And if it isn't Saddam Hussein, there will be another man who comes on the scene who will carry out the purposes and plans of God. Come back to the end of chapter 16 so we can tie up this chapter of Revelation. Verse 20, every island fled away and the mountains were not found. You can see how devastating the earthquake is. We've seen islands created and islands disappeared. In earthquakes, well, we're going to have the mountains dissolving, the islands disappearing because this earthquake is worldwide. We're not done. Huge hailstones, about 100 pounds each, came down from heaven upon men. I try to get an idea of a hailstone. Our salt for our water softener comes in 40 pound bags. It takes two and a half of those to make 100 pounds. And really, the talent here, people say, is between 100 and 140 pounds. You're taking 100 pounds. Can you imagine the devastation in Lincoln? If we had a hailstorm and the hailstones each weighed 100 pounds each, there is not a house in Lincoln that could survive it. It would just pulverize everything. So you have the earthquake, you have 100-pound hailstones. And here we have you say, can anybody survive anything? Well, the next event is Revelation 19, 11, the return of Christ. And what we have with the end of verse 21, we have the finality of the wrath of God poured out in its fullest, most complete form, except for hell itself. The only thing more awful than the wrath of God that's been experienced as we come to the end of chapter 16 will be hell, which is the fullness of God's wrath for all eternity. And yet we read in verse 21, middle of the verse, and men blasphemed God because of the plague of hell, because the plague was extremely severe. That is mind-boggling. Here is man's final response to God. They blaspheme Him. The next event, chronologically, chapter 19, verse 11, And I saw heaven opened, and Jesus Christ appears. Seven years of God's wrath being poured out in increasing intensity with the warnings proclaimed of the eternal gospel. Repent, fear God, give Him glory, worship Him. And to the very end, man is defiant in his last action before heaven opens in the face of the final wrath of God on earth is the blaspheme God. And we are given a clear picture of how totally, completely sinful we are. that the grace of God being bestowed today on man so abundantly, as God is not dealing in the fullness of His wrath with the earth, but He's demonstrating His patience in His long-suffering, man ignores Him. Man defies Him. And now after seven years of awful wrath, we say, could God really do this? Would God really bring such devastation and destruction? Through the smoke of it all, we see man's fist clenched and raised to heaven as he blasphemes God to the very end. Could the next stop be anything but an eternal hell for such defiant, sinful beings? It's an awesome picture. It ought to make you as a believer in Jesus Christ appreciate all the more intensely the grace and mercy of God, because that's you and that's me. just as hardened in heart and just as defiant against God as the worst sinner at the end of the tribulation. What made the difference? Almighty God, in His sovereign love, reached into my defiant heart and drew me to Himself. Why? I don't know. Why you? Heaven knows I don't know. Why any of us? Does the song say it's a mystery known only to Him? There's no explanation. The tragedy in it, such love, such mercy, such grace, falls on deaf ears today. There are people who sit here week after week who are sitting here today who continue defiance against the God who offers them mercy and grace. They say, look, there's no future in it. Why would you reject His love? when you know the alternative is his wrath. Because we are like those that gathered on the plain of Shinar in Genesis 11. We will make our own God and our own way to God. And I will do that to the very end. I will not under any circumstances, grace or wrath, either one, turn from my sin, agree with God that I am vile and wretched and deserving of hell. I will not do it. I will not bow and place my faith in his son. I will not do it. And you may not do it. But rest assured, the word of God will be fulfilled. Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Isn't it amazing we have such a God who has provided such a salvation that is so great it will deliver us from wrath to come. Should not that fact that we have received so great, so marvelous, so complete a salvation, should not our knowledge and understanding of wrath to come for those who do not believe in the Savior drive us with a passion to preach the gospel, to witness to the lost, to tell a lost and dying world, lost and dying friends and family, that you're destined for the wrath of God. You must believe in the Savior to have salvation. Any wonder the book of Revelation reminds us that believers are those who persevere. They have been dressed in the garments of His salvation. And they continue to walk faithfully, persistently before Him as they anticipate His coming. You believe He is coming? I ask myself, Drew this passage together with people who spent the week with you. Believe that you believe that Christ is coming quickly. If you have an unbelieving friend that had lived with you this week, would they have gone home saying, I can't believe it. Everything they do with their life and their home and family is shaped by one thing. They believe Jesus Christ is coming quickly. And if we don't live that way, what makes us think we believe it to be so? Let's pray together. Thank You, Lord, for Your grace. Thank You for the wonder of our salvation. Lord, it does not make us proud, but it humbles us to realize that You, in mercy and grace, have drawn us with cords of love that we might experience what only You can provide, that is, forgiveness of sin and righteousness for eternity. Lord, we who have received so much should be unrestrained in our boldness and endurance in representing You in these days. We look forward to the coming of our Lord very soon. Lord, I pray that that conviction might shape all that we are and all that we do. And Father, I pray for those who are here again, who have heard the message of life, but have yet to believe. By your grace, Lord, reach into that hardened heart. Bring it under such a deep conviction that they will indeed run from their sin to the Savior and receive as a free gift the salvation that he desires to provide. We pray in his name. Amen.