This morning let us hear God's Word read publicly again, and this time we will be reading Isaiah chapter 47. Isaiah chapter 47, our scripture reading for this Sunday morning, a very powerful chapter. May God help you hear it as it is read, and then help me as I try and bring forth its truth. Isaiah 47. Come now and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground. There is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans, for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. Take the millstone and grind meal. Uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man. As for our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans, for thou shalt no more be called the Lady of Kingdoms. I was wroth with my people. I have polluted mine inheritance and given them into thine hand. Thou didst show them no mercy. Unto the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke, and thou saidst, I shall be a lady forever. So that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst thou remember the latter end of it. Therefore, hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures that dwellest carelessly that sayest in thine heart, I am and none else beside me. I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children. But these two things shall come to thee in a moment, in one day, the loss of children and widowhood. They shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries and for the great abundance of thine enchantments. For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness, thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee, and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me. Therefore shall evil come upon thee, thou shalt not know from whence it riseth, and mischief shall fall upon thee, thou shalt not be able to put it off, and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know. Stand thou with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth. If so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, Stand up and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble. The fire shall burn them. They shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame. There shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it. Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast labored, even thy merchants from thy youth. They shall wander, every one to his quarter. None shall save thee." God help us even hearing such a chapter in God's Word. You may be seated. There are many ways that all men, apart from the sovereign mercy and grace of God, clearly show themselves to be the dead and depraved sinners that they really are. One clear way is in man's rejection of the truth that in the Bible you have the infallible, inerrant, Holy Spirit-inspired written Word of God. The Holy Bible is the Word of God written. And the fact that men reject and ridicule this truth simply shows that they are. The dead deprave sinners that the scriptures declare us to be, apart from the grace and mercy of God. Because just as there are many ways in which a man displays his sinfulness, there are many ways that the Bible clearly shows itself to be the written word of God. One way is Isaiah 47. the chapter of Isaiah that I want to focus your attention on this morning and which we have just read. Now why do I say that Isaiah 47 clearly shows you that the Bible is the written word of God? Because Isaiah, the prophet of the true and only God, reveals the clear judgment of the Lord that is going to fall on mighty Babylon years before it takes place. There is no other book like the Bible that reveals things that are going to happen before they happen and then they happen exactly as they have been prophesied. The Bible is God's Word, not only to His elect people, but to all men, whether they choose to believe what it says or not, because it clearly reveals and declares to all mankind the utter folly of rejecting Him and persecuting and opposing His people. The Lord, through Isaiah, reveals the certain judgment of Babylon and the reasons for it, and what the Lord reveals prophetically through Isaiah, takes place exactly as predicted years later when the prophet Daniel was captive in Babylon, as recorded in Daniel 5. And I will just read the verses from the time Daniel is brought before Belshazzar. Daniel 5. Verses 17-31, here you see the historical fulfillment of the very things that Isaiah writes of in Isaiah 47. How men can mock and reject the scriptures when you have this example years before the fall of Babylon. Isaiah reveals its fall. And in perfect prophetic fulfillment in the days of Daniel, that prophecy comes to fulfillment. Daniel 5 verses 17-31, Then Daniel answered and said before the king, that is, Belshazzar, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another. Yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. O thou King, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom and majesty and glory and honor, the Babylonian kingdom. Verse 19, And for the majesty that He gave Him, all people, nations, and languages trembled and feared before Him. Whom He would, He slew, and whom He would, He kept alive, and whom He would set up, and whom He would, He put down. But when His heart was lifted up, and His mind hardened in pride, He was deposed from His kingly throne, and they took His glory from Him. And he was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that He appointed over it whomsoever He will. And thou, His Son, O thou Chazar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knowest all this. but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven, and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou and thy mords, thy wives, and thy concubines have drunk wine in them, and thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know, and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all Then was the part of the hand sent from him, and this writing was written, and this is the writing that was written. Mene, mene, tekel, ut, harsin. This is the interpretation of the thing. Mene, God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it. Tekel, thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting. Perez, thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Then commanded Belshazzar and they clothed Daniel with scarlet and put a chain of gold about his neck and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. But then notice verse 30 of Daniel 5. In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain and Darius the Median took the kingdom being about three score and two years old. Isaiah reveals that Babylon is going to fall years before it takes place, and why? And the dead, depraved Babylonians, even though they have a prophet of God among them like Daniel, refuse to believe and heed the truth of the Word of God. But how many men today are no different? than the depraved Babylonians. My dear people, you and I have the complete written Word of God filled with fulfilled prophecy after fulfilled prophecy and then is the written Word of God. It amazes me how men would dare compare the written Word of God to other so-called holy books. The Koran is nothing like the Bible. You try and read portions of it and it is just a mixture of foolish sayings after foolish sayings. There is no fulfilled prophecy in the Koran. There is no fulfilled prophecy in the so-called holy books of the Hindus. This book stands alone. Why? Because it is the written Word of God and it declares itself to be God of all mankind declaring what's going to happen to the nation of Babylon years before it takes place. And my dear people, this truth could be multiplied chapter and verse over and over again. Oh, my dear people, What judgments lie ahead for the nations of men who refuse to believe that the Bible has anything to say to them by way of warning for the rebellious and wicked path they are walking down? For consider with me now how the Lord reveals through Isaiah the coming judgment of the nation of Babylon, which as recorded in Daniel, came to pass exactly as prophesied. And remember that when Isaiah was inspired to write these prophetic words concerning Babylon, Babylon was one of, if not the most powerful and prosperous nations on the face of the earth. Are there not warnings for a nation like the United States of America, which is the most powerful nation on the face of the earth at the present time, within this chapter? Are the things and attitudes that were present in Babylon, present in America today? But how many Americans or those in political power ridicule the idea that the Word of God has anything to say to mighty America today? Well, let us consider. What did the Lord have to say to mighty Babylon, to mighty ancient Babylon through Isaiah? Well, the first thing was the certainty of it being judged despite its privileged and powerful position. Verse 1 of Isaiah 47. Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground, there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans, for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. Now the words come down are in the imperative. They are a command of the Lord. This is what is going to happen to Babylon. Because of how the nation of Babylon had impenitently conducted itself, judgment was certain of the Lord. Now when Isaiah refers to ancient Babylon being a virgin, tender, and delicate, because Babylon was a debauched and wicked empire. Isaiah is using this figure to refer to how ancient Babylon had never gone through difficulty, had never gone through hardship. She had conquered other nations, as we saw in Daniel 5, even the nation of Israel, but had never known that condition for herself. But she was not going to remain in that exalted position after the Lord judges her. What ignorance! I mean, display when they say that God is not interested in or involved in what happens on the earth. The rise and fall of nations, my dear people, is in the hands of the Lord. Babylon, despite Lord as verses in this chapter clearly declare. In one night, in one night, Captives and slaves. Notice verse 2 in the first half of verse 3. Take the millstones and grind meal. Uncover thy locks. Make bare the leg. Uncover the thigh. Pass over the rivers. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered. Yea, thy shame shall be seen. See, after their fall, the Babylonians were taken into captivity, as Isaiah reveals here, to grind meal. one of the lowest and most difficult of occupations. From the height of glory to the lowest of occupations, a captured slave grinding meal. Oh, my dear people, what folly of men who boast about tomorrow. How many Babylonians were boasting about what they would be doing the day after Babylon fell. And instead of doing what they said they would be doing, were uncovering their previously pampered legs as they went to become grinders of meal. See, when you think of it in the history of man, that was usually, or we think of it when that millstone is turned, that was what animals do. You see those old pictures of animals walking around in a circle. But no, these mighty Babylonians went from being the key nation of the world to being those who were in the grinding wheel, in the grinding house. And my dear people, these ancient grinding mills were not well-lit places. They weren't good ventilation and all these things. The Medes and Persians did not have OSHA standards. for their grinding mills." Verse 5, "...sit thou silent and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans, for thou shalt no more be called the Lady of Kingdoms." Those grinding mills would be dark, sweat-filled places. Now, inspired history, as well as accurate secular history, records and tells us that the human agents In the downfall of mighty ancient Babylon were the Medes and the Persians. But I ask you, my dear people, you haven't looked at Babylon correctly. You haven't looked at human history correctly. If you stop with the Medes and Persians, if you stop with the secondary agents of the Medes and Persians, who was the primary agent? Who was the first cause? Who was the sovereign who had revealed and decreed and commanded that Babylon would fall on the very night that the reprobate king of Babylon, Belshazzar, He could use the vessel set apart for the worship of the true Lord and the worship of His idols. It was the Lord who brought mighty judgment down upon the Babylonians. The last part of verse 3 and verse 4. I will take vengeance and I will not meet thee as a man. As for our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name, the Holy One of Israel. The words, as for our italicized, meaning they are added. I will take vengeance and I will not meet thee as a man. Our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts, is His name, the Holy One of Israel. That's what Isaiah is saying. Do you want to know who is the ultimate judge of Babylon? It's our Lord. Cyrus the Persian and Darius the Median were the human agents of the destruction of Babylon. Who was it, dear people, who was overseeing their success? Oh, dear people, when the Lord said He will take vengeance, pity the nation that His holy eye of vengeance is upon. Notice, I will not meet thee as a man, If the destruction of Babylon was only in the hands of man, there is a possibility that it might have survived. But when the Lord takes a nation in hand, when the Almighty God takes a nation in hand, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hand, the judging hand of the Lord. For who is it that is executing His holy vengeance upon Babylon? Notice, the Redeemer of His people, the Lord of hosts is His name, the Holy One of Israel. As we will see in the next verses, their cruelty towards His people, whom the Lord was chastising by subjecting them to captivity, was one of the reasons that the Babylonians were judged. What a warning, my dear people! This should be to any nation that thinks oppressing true believers is a minor thing. That we can persecute the Church of Christ. That we can oppress the Church of Christ. They obviously must not be reading Isaiah 47. Why is mighty Babylon no longer here? Because it oppressed the people the Lord had redeemed for Himself. And who is the Redeemer? Who executes vengeance upon ancient Babylon? The Lord of hosts. is His name. The Lord of armies is His name. The Lord has the armies of men and of angels under His sovereign control and power. What folly is seen by men who think it is a minor thing to persecute the Lord's elect and blaspheme Him. Look what happened to mighty Babylon. Because in Isaiah 47, you have a prophecy of judgment that has been fulfilled. But there is another prophecy of judgment that will involve the redeemed of the Lord that was spoken of by one of the first men who ever walked on the earth and has yet to be fulfilled, but it will be most certainly fulfilled. What am I referring to? Jude 1, verses 14 and 15. And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment upon all and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. See, what folly, what foolishness is exhibited by men today who think that they can reject their need of Christ, and mock the Bible, and mock true believers, and yet still think they will prosper. What happened to Babylon, what happened to ancient Babylon is a preview of what will happen to all the ungodly as Jude declares. And notice, as Jude records, believer, you will take part in that judgment. Yet how many professing believers dislike talking about the truth of the judgment of the Lord against impenitent sinners. But such dislike is a rejection of the truth of who the Lord is that is bringing this judgment. Not only the Redeemer of His people, not only the Lord of hosts, But who is it that brings this judgment upon ancient Babylon? The Holy One of Israel. The Holy One of Israel. See, all that the Lord does is holy. And that includes His judgment of wicked nations. And one of the reasons, I fear, that this popular but God dishonoring idea is present in the Western world is because those who dislike talking about the holy judgment of the Lord have never experienced the true hatred of reprobate sinners for the Lord and His people. Go into a place like communist China. Go into a place like North Korea. Go into a place like Iran. where true believers are persecuted and judged because they confess the living and true and only God. And they will understand the reality that the day is coming when God will take such people into His hand unless they repent. But the Lord in His patience And in His goodness towards His people, not only declares that He is the Lord who brings judgment upon the ancient Babylonians, but He also clearly reveals the just and holy reasons for Him doing so. Because, my dear people, we need to remember this. The Lord could simply have revealed that He was going to judge the Babylonians. And knowing the truth that the Lord is holy should be an adequate reason for all true believers. The Lord says He's going to judge the Babylonians. My Lord is holy. That's all I need to know. But, the Lord does reveal. The Lord does reveal the reasons behind His holy, sovereign judgment of the nation of ancient Babylon. And oh, my dear people, what wisdom rather than the present foolishness and folly would be displayed by the nations of men in the world today, including the United States of America, if they were to take to heart the reasons behind the holy judgment of the Lord upon the ancient Babylonians. For what are the holy and just reasons that the Lord judged Babylon? I will give you three. I will summarize three in this chapter. One is persecution. A second is pride, and a third is perversion. Oh, if you see any of these things in a nation today, should you not tremble for that nation and its people? Because the presence of these things in ancient Babylon were what brought down the judgment of God upon it. If you see all of these things in a nation today, oh, how you should tremble for that nation and its people. Well, why did the Lord judge Babylon? because of its persecution. people. I have polluted mine inheritance and given them into thine hand. Thou didst show them no mercy. Upon the ancient or the elderly hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke." When the Lord decreed that the Babylonians would take His people into captivity, it was to chastise them. It was to punish them for their giving into idolatry of the nations around them. It was so the land would have the Babylonians did not take this to heart in how they treated them. They did not show them any mercy. They subjected the elderly to labor they were unable to accomplish. My dear people, there is a line. There is a line of conduct towards those taken captive in war. And the Babylonians had crossed that line. Nations and the governments in those nations that think they are accountable to no one but themselves need to heed what happened to Babylon because of their mistreatment of the people of God. But my dear people, not just the people of God. The Lord brings His sovereign judgment down upon pagan nations for how they treat those from other pagan nations. Amos chapter 1 verses 9-15, thus saith the Lord, for three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because why? They delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant. But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof. I saith the Lord, for three transgressions of Eden, and for four. I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever." See? They were judged because they went too far. Verse 12, But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Basra. Thus saith the Lord, for three transgressions of the children of Amnon, and for four I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because they have ripped up the woman with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border. But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind, and their king shall go into captivity. He and his princes together, saith the Lord." See? Pagan nation, crossing that line that the Lord reveals here in Amos, taken into captivity. But the first three verses of Amos 2, Thus saith the Lord, for three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime. But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Cherub. And Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the Lord." See? God is saying. There's a line. You crossed that line and I'm going to bring my judgment down upon you. I simply ask, based on these clear examples from scripture, did Nazi Germany seal its own destruction when the first crematorium And I simply lay the question before you in light of these clear passages that show us that the Lord is aware of how captives are treated. Are there any in the current administration asking, is how we are treating the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay something we should be concerned about as a nation in light of the fact that the Lord sees how we are treating them or mistreating them? But the persecution of God's people by the ancient Babylonians, my dear people, was not the only reason that led to their judgment. A second holy and just reason for it was their pride. Proverbs 16.18, Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. And truly, this is seen in Babylon. Ancient Babylon's pride is seen in their thinking, nothing bad could happen to them. Verse 7, And thou said, I shall be a lady forever, so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it. The end of verse 8, I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children. Ancient Babylon's pride is seen in their being addicted to pleasure. First part of verse 8, Therefore hear now this, Thou that art given to pleasures that dwellest carelessly, ancient Babylon's pride is seen in their thinking, there was no one else like them. the middle of verse 8, that sayest in thine heart, I am and none else beside me. Ancient Babylon's pride is seen in thinking that they were accountable to no one but themselves. Verse 10, for thou hast trusted in thy wickedness, thou hast said, none see of me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee, and thou hast said in thine heart, I am and none else beside me. But what happened to proud Babylon? the first part of verse 9. But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children and widowhood. They shall come upon thee in their perfection. My dear people, do not these reasons that God clearly shows you in Isaiah 47 as reasons for why He judged ancient Babylon cause you to tremble for the United States of America. I asked, do these Reasons that the Lord clearly lays out as the reasons for why He judged ancient Babylon, not cause you to tremble for the United States of America. For how many in this country think that nothing bad can or better should happen to this country? How many were honestly shocked that 9-1-1 took place? They were obviously surprised. How could this have happened? to the United States of America. What has America done to deserve such a thing? Babylon was addicted to pleasure. Therefore, hear now this thou that are given to pleasures that dwellest carelessly. My dear people, let's be honest. Ancient Babylon has nothing on the United States of America in this regards. What is the multi-billion dollar entertainment industry? What is the multi-billion dollar sports industry? What is the multi-billion dollar gambling industry? But testimony to the truth that the western nations of the world have given themselves over to the idol of pleasure! Ancient Babylon thought there was no nation like mighty Babylon that sayeth in their heart, I am and none else beside me. Now, my dear people, it is a God-honoring thing to thank the Lord for the blessings and the benefits you have received from Him due to living in a blessed nation like the United States of America, materially. But that is different! from parading yourself as the greatest nation that the world has ever seen. And be honest, what perception do people from other nations have of Americans? Proud and arrogant. Now in saying this, my dear people, I am not saying that people from other nations are not proud in Aragon as well, because I know Canadians who are proud that they are not Americans. But such pride is a stench in the nostrils of God, and exposes such countries to the judgments of the Lord. Ancient Babylon thought it was accountable to no one but themselves, for thou hast trusted in thy wickedness. Thou hast said, None seeth me." Now be honest, dear people. What is at the foundation of the wicked and evil decision of the Supreme Court of this country, known as Roe versus Wade? That I am accountable to no one but myself. that I am not accountable to anyone but myself as to how I use my body. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge hath perverted thee, and thou hast said in thy heart, I am and none else beside me. I can decide what is right and wrong for me. I do not have to listen to what men have said in previous generations or what the Word of God clearly declares. My dear people, should the evident pride for the face of the Lord not cause you to tremble? But there is a third reason that ancient Babylon was judged by the Lord. Not only its pride, but its perversion. for what was another reason that ancient Babylon was perfectly judged by the Lord. Verse 9 again, but these two things shall come to thee in a moment, in one day, the loss of children and widowhood, they shall come upon thee in their perfection, for, now that little word for, this little word gives us another one of the reasons for the perfect judgment of the Lord judgment come upon ancient Babylon for the multitude of thy sorceries and for the great abundance of thine enchantments. They were as answers to things, rather than seeking the Lord. Verses 12 and 13. Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast labored from thy youth, if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers Pronosticators, stand up and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. But could their embracing of witchcraft? Could their embracing of sorcery? Could their embracing of astrology save them from the holy and just judgment of the Lord? No, it could not. Verses 14 and 15. Behold, they shall be as stubble. The fire shall burn them. They shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame. There shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before. Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast labored, even thy merchants from thy youth. They shall wonder every one who is quartered. None shall save thee." My dear people, what was a contributing factor to the destruction of ancient Babylon? for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thy enchantments, and the astrologers, and the stargazers, and the monthly prognosticators." Oh, my dear people, how many popular TV shows and movies in the United States of America embrace sorcery and witchcraft! parents have no problem in letting their children read and watch the demonic series of books and movies known as Harry Potter? Even to the point of allowing their children to stand in line because some new book is out! They want to be first in line to get a book that will take that child to hell! What happened to Babylon, my dear people? What does almost every newspaper in the United States of America have in it? What's your horoscope for today? And how many people think that's a minor thing? How many people even in the church? Oh, it's a minor thing. But was it that brought the judgment of God down upon ancient Babylon? their monthly prognosticators. What are the law enforcement agencies of this land not ashamed of using soothsayers? My dear people, People who do not see the demonic side of these things simply show how ignorant they are of reality and how dangerous they are to the health and well-being of this country. A factor in the destruction of Babylon was its embracing of sorcery and all that is associated with it, and despite the fact precedent from the Lord as to his hatred of these things, because what was one of the reasons that the Lord judged and destroyed the Canaanite nations? Deuteronomy 18 verses 9 to 14, When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pastor the fires, or uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consultant with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer, for all that do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations, the Lord God doth drive them out from before thee. One of the reasons that the Canaanite nations were judged of the Lord was because of their embracing of witchcraft. One of the reasons that ancient Babylon was judged was because of its embracing of witchcraft! My dear people, people who use the First Amendment to justify witchcraft as a legitimate religion just show you how it is not only the infallible Word of God that can be twisted to the destruction of Those framers of that amendment had no idea that they were ever going to be perverted into such a foolish idea that that means we can worship the devil! They were simply saying that each man should have the right to worship the true and living God of the scriptures as his conscience guides him. The fact that you have people today petitioning the government to say that they can put the Wiccan symbol on the graves of their departed is a sign by their people, where are we as a nation? I ask you, have I stretched this truth? I mean, God lays up reason after reason as to why the ancient Babylonians were judged of Him. The Lord has not left Himself without clear witness and testimony as for the reasons for His just and holy judgment of nations. Oh, I pray that none of these things are seen in you this morning. May persecution of others not be seen in you. May pride not be seen in you. May perversion not be seen in you. And if any of them are, cry out to the Lord for the mercy and forgiveness found only through the Lord Jesus Christ. For it is these things, these very things, that expose nations in the mean in the nations who engage in these things to the holy and just judgment of the Lord. And my dear people, I simply close. Should not the truth of these reasons cause you to tremble for and pray for this nation that you live in? I don't have any hesitation in saying that each of these things that God clearly reveals brought down the holy judgment of God upon Babylon can be seen in the United States of America today. Are we praying? I pray that we are. Let us pray.