Our scripture reading for today is the entire 18th chapter of the book of Revelation. A very challenging chapter. Revelation 18. And after these things, I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power. And the earth was lighted with his glory and he cried mightily with a strong voice saying Babylon the greatest fallen is fallen and has become the habitation of devils and the hold of every foul spirit and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, that she be not partakers of her sins, and that she receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works. In the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her, for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death and mourning and famine, and she shall be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth who have committed fornication and live deliciously with her shall bewail her and lament for her when they shall see the smoke of her burning. Standing afar off for the fear of her tormenting, alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city, for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her, for no man buyeth their merchandise anymore, the merchandise of gold and silver and precious stones and of pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet and all thining wood and all manner vessels of ivory and all manner vessels of most precious wood and of brass and iron and marble and cinnamon and odors and ointments and frankincense and wine and oil and fine flour and wheat and beasts and sheep and horses and chariots and slaves and souls of men and the fruits of that and the fruits that thy soul lusted after or departed from thee. And all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things which are made rich by her shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing and saying, alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls. For in one hour so great riches has come to naught, and every shipmaster and all the company and ships and sailors and as many as trade by sea stood afar off, and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, what city is like unto this great city? And they cast dust on their heads and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, alas, alas, the great city whereon were made rich all that had ships in the sea, by reason of her costliness, for in one hour is she made desolate. Rejoice over her thou heaven and ye holy apostles and prophets for God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the sea saying thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers and musicians and of pipers and of trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee. And no craftsman of whatsoever craft he be shall be found any more in thee. And the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee. And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee. And the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee. For thy merchants were the great men of the earth, for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all that were slain upon the earth. May God help us understand his word today. You may be seated. Although I do not have Nor do I want, because I am not God, although I do not have the incommunicable, meaning non-transferable attribute of God, namely omniscience, meaning He knows all things, it would not surprise me that on this Sunday, that many people call Easter, that I'm going to be the only one preaching on the 18th chapter of Revelation. And I think you can see why because of what I have just read. This is a very sobering chapter. A chapter that exposes or reveals heaven's perspective, heaven's actions. Holy heaven's actions. Towards mystery, Babylon. That I sought to show from revelation last week. Is the Roman Catholic Church or the Roman Church state under the authority of the popes or the papal system. For if I'm not mistaken, this works righteousness system of salvation by sacraments Salvation by sacraments and not salvation by grace alone through faith alone in the finished work of Christ alone. If I'm not mistaken, this system looks upon this Sunday, Easter, as it does all Sundays as a holy day of obligation. But if my opening up of this chapter is correct, Mystery Babylon is going to be finally judged by God for its rejection of His saving gospel and replacing it with its soul-destroying sacramental system. And it is important to remember this And one of the reasons that you pray for those, you know, are being deceived by this false system of salvation. That the Lord would have mercy on them. That the Lord would have mercy on them and that they would flee this false system. Even as the Lord commands his people to do so in verse four of this chapter, the Lord is not calling his people to come out of America. He's calling his people to come out of the false system of Roman Catholicism for God is going to judge it as this chapter reveals. Now, the last thing I'm going to say is that understanding this chapter in this way is easy. It's not. This is God. If we believe that the Bible is the word of God. This is God revealing something to us. This is almighty God revealing something to us that is yet to take place. But is certain to take place. To take place against a false system of salvation that is still with us today. but hidden in plain sight if I dare put that away again as revealed by this chapter in the previous one. Yet how many of God's people have seen how false the Roman Catholic system of sacramental salvation is and continues to be and have come out of her? For let me put it as simply as I can. If the Roman Catholic system of sacramental salvation through such things as baptism and partaking of the Mass is correct, those we have heard Arthur read about in Foxe's Book of Martyrs were wrong for opposing it. If this system of sacramental salvation is correct, the Reformation was wrong. If this method of sacramental salvation is correct, then everyone who has come out from Romanism is in error as well. But Revelation 18 reveals to do so is not wrong. Because this chapter reveals the judgment of God against this false system of salvation. For if God was to bless America or the world with true revival in these dark days, one of the ways it would be seen would be in lost souls coming to see that the Roman Catholic Church does not preach the saving gospel of God. And they would flee it. And the last thing this message and this understanding of this chapter should be seen as or taken as is hatred towards any lost Roman Catholic. No, it's a loving warning to face the folly of remaining within a false church that does not preach the saving gospel of Christ. Because after having mystery Babylon revealed in Revelation 17, what is John shown? The certainty of her coming judgment. Revelation 18 verses 1 to 3, And after these things, I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was lighted with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon, the greatest fallen, is fallen, and has become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. Notice, heaven. Notice it's heaven that's revealing the certainty of her judgment. Heaven is revealing the certainty of her judgment in imagery drawn from the Old Testament. More than one has said to correctly understand the book of Revelation, you need the rest of the Bible, especially the Old Testament and especially the prophets. Even as Old Testament Babylon was judged by God, the same is true for mystery Babylon. Just one verse, Jeremiah, speaking of the downfall of Old Testament Babylon in Jeremiah 50, 39. Therefore, the wild beast of the desert with the wild beast of the island shall dwell there, and the owl shall dwell therein. It shall be no more inhabited forever, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. Friends, how many heard Jeremiah prophesy this and said, mighty Babylon? I mean, if you know anything about ancient Babylon, Old Testament Babylon, the walls around Babylon were so wide, you could have two chariots cross one another and going in opposite directions. That has how big mighty Babylon was. And to have Jeremiah say, it's no longer going to be inhabited. How many heard Jeremiah prophesy this and said, mighty Babylon uninhabited? Impossible. But go to the deserts of Iraq today and there ain't no Babylon there. Mystery Babylon certain to be judged by God, who believes this today? But it is a certainty yet to take place even as nations of the world will suffer because of aiding and profiting off of this false system. Verse three, for all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her and the merchants of the earth are wax rich through the abundance of her delicacies. Now I will return to this in greater detail later in the chapter, but how many nations of the world have massive and ornate and expensive buildings in them called basilicas, Roman Catholic basilicas? One authority on this is there's over 160 of them in the world. Think of it from this perspective. Every one of them had to be built. Every single one of them had to be built. What did it cost? Who benefited? How many worked to see those edifices of error built? The economic impact and temporary benefit to those supporting Roman Catholicism in the world, dare I say, is impossible to calculate. Now this angel is revealing something yet to take place is certain. Why do I say that? Verse four. And I heard another voice from heaven saying, come out of her, my people, that she be not partakers of her sins and that she receive not of her plagues. This command to the people of God to come out of Babylon, mystery Babylon, would make no sense if the certainty of the judgment that is coming against her had already taken place. This is why you continue to pray. This is why you continue to pray for those you know being deceived by this false system. Not only this, but friends, this verse exposes the false teaching, the false idea that the church is taken out or raptured back in chapter four. Because if this was true, there would be no children of God for God to be calling out of the false and dangerous sacramental system of salvation of Romanism in chapter 18. But why is God commanding his people to come out of this false church? Because she is sinning against God. Because she is sinning against God by teaching a false way of salvation. Therefore, don't endorse this false system by remaining in it. A system that God is going to judge and you receive not of her plagues. Remember, this is the judgment of God that is being revealed. Verses 5 and 6, "...for her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities, reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works in the cup which she hath filled to her double." Let's remember, friends, God has not forgotten the impact of this false system of salvation on the lives of others. How many martyred because they opposed it and spoke against it? God hasn't forgotten this. But why do you have this repeated reference to double? Because should God's plan of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, be rejected and denied? Should it be? No. Rome does this. Rome does this by replacing it with her false system of sacramental salvation. But not only has she replaced the saving gospel of God with a false message of sacramental salvation, she has persecuted those who have confessed God's way of salvation. So it's not only rejecting the truth, it's persecuting those who are holding the truth. Yet as Romanism has done these things, what has she also done? Verse 7, How much she hath glorified herself and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her, for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Drawing again from what happened to Old Testament Babylon, the papal system is revealed for what it is professing to be, but something it is not. Think of it from this perspective. What is Rome called? The Eternal City. I sit a queen and am no widow and shall see no sorrow. Think of it from this perspective. If you were able to walk up to the Pope and ask him if he saw the church he heads as a widow, would he agree with you? She claims to be the one true church. And think of it from this perspective, the idea of a world without Roman Catholicism is difficult to imagine. Just as it was in the Old Testament, a world without mighty Babylon was difficult to imagine. A world without Roman Catholicism is difficult to imagine in view of its size and influence in the world today. Not only when it was at its peak prior to the Reformation, but today as well. Estimates are that there are over 200,000 Roman Catholic parishes in the world overseen by a Roman priest submitted to the papacy. Over 200,000. This massive false system of salvation is going to be judged by God. Yes. Verse eight, therefore, shall our plagues come in one day, death and mourning and famine, and she shall be utterly burned with fire for strong is the Lord God who judges her again. Remember, this is apocalyptic imagery. Because how is this going to take place? I don't know. I don't know. When is it going to take place? I don't know. I don't know. But friends, when it does, you will know. When it does, you will know. And who will mourn when this takes place, those who have profited off of this false system of salvation? First world leaders, verses 9 and 10, and the kings of the earth who have committed fornication and live deliciously with her shall bewail her and lament for her when they shall see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for the fear of her tormenting. Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city for in one hour is thy judgment come. Again, remember, this is not only imagery, but again, please remember what is being revealed. It's God's judgment against this false system of salvation. And if you see it as such, you cry out to God. You cry out to God that he would have mercy on those being deceived by it. But even as the false papal system that God will judge is hidden in plain sight, how many today are aware of the worldwide influence of the Jesuits? who some have called the storm troopers of the Vatican. For if you don't already have enough to read and ponder, there is a 700-page book available as a PDF file on the internet called Vatican Assassins, showing their influence in government up to the 20th century. And I say up to the 20th century because it was a book written before the 21st century. But not only world leaders, but the merchants of the earth will mourn, verse 11, and the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her, for no man buyeth their merchandise anymore. What merchandise? This lengthy list, verses 12 to 14, the merchandise of gold and silver and precious stones and of pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet and all thining wood and all manner vessels of ivory and all manner of vessels of most precious wood and of brass and iron marble and cinnamon and odors and ointments and frankincense and wine and oil and fine flour and wheat and beasts and sheep and horses and chariots and slaves and souls of men and the fruits of that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee and thou shalt find them no more at all." Friends, This is what. The merchants of the world profited off of. Consider it from just this perspective. Consider from just this perspective how much gold. Silver and precious stones. Have to be provided to over 160 Roman Catholic basilicas and over 200,000 Roman Catholic parishes in the world today. How much? If there are over 200,000 Roman Catholic parishes in the world today and 160 Roman Catholic basilicas in the world today, how much gold, how much silver, how much precious stone to name just three of the things? Listed have been and continue to be supplied by the merchants to Mystery Babylon. Some basilicas took decades to build, and if you visited one of them, what would you find them made up of and what would you find within them? But not just the buildings. and what they are built of and what is within them. Verse 13, again, and cinnamon and odors and ointments and frankincense and wine and oil and fine flour and wheat. Friends, what term was used on Thursday night to refer to Roman Catholicism? Smells and bells. My first exposure to a Roman Catholic church was as an unsaved teenager when I was invited to a midnight mass on Christmas Eve. What did I see but a man laid out in ornate clothing, wafting a golden container with incense in it. How much wine is needed? Think of it just from this perspective. How much wine is needed to supply 200,000 parishes with what is used daily in the unbiblical gospel denying mask? How much? What are the food requirements of the convents and monasteries all supplied by merchants? Then verse 13 ends with slaves and souls of men. When a man becomes a priest, when a woman becomes a nun, they become slaves of the papal system. This was one of the objections raised against Martin Luther when he forsook the Dominican order. He had sworn allegiance to the Pope and he is recorded as saying he would have killed for the Pope if asked to before he was set free. Slaves of a system of forced celibacy that is exposed as slavery by the pedophile priests that are protected and shuffled around. Plus, how many souls of men are in bondage to the false system of Romanism thinking that it is the way of salvation? They believe this. Their souls are in bondage. See, the atheistic world mocks and rejects the reality of the soul of man. But Romanism teaches that it alone can protect and save your soul. And God's judgment of this false system of salvation is pictured as having a sobering economic impact. Verse 15, the merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing. For again, who can measure the economic impact of Roman Catholicism throughout history up to and including today? Is the collapse of the Vatican city not pictured in verse 16 and part of verse 17? And saying, alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls for in one hour so great riches is come to naught. For if you were to take a trip to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, what would you see? Exactly what is listed in these verses. This false system is going to be judged by the Lord, for in one hour so great riches has come to naught. And again, I ask, is it even possible to calculate the worth of the Roman Catholic Church overseen by the Popes? Estimates are that the Vatican owns over one third of European real estate. It's one of the largest shareholders of various stocks. Friends, there is a Vatican bank. There's a Vatican bank. Friends, where in the scriptures do you read churches are to be in the banking business? And there are vaults, vaults under the Vatican filled with who knows what. How much land does the papacy own? I don't know. How many buildings does the papacy own? I don't know. The collapse of this false church and its false message of salvation is not something this lost world wants to see or face because it's the prophets. It profits off of it, but it is coming. Last part of verse 17 and verse 9 to 19. And every shipmaster and all the company and ships and sailors and as many as trade by sea stood afar off and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city? And they cast dust on their heads and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city wherein were made riches, all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness. For in one hour she is made desolate. who have taught that salvation is of the Lord, God's holy apostles and prophets, who have rejected this truth, the false system of sacramental salvation by Rome. Who is going to bring it to an end because of how it is rejected and persecuted those who have preached the truth of God. Yet again, God is. Rejoice. Verse 20, Rejoice over her thou heaven and ye holy apostles and prophets, for God hath avenged you on her. John is given a powerful picture of how the Lord is going to bring an end to a false system of salvation. And by application, not only a false system of salvation is seen in Romanism, but ultimately every system of man that rejects that salvation is of the Lord. Verses 21 to 23, And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers and musicians and of pipers and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee. And no craftsman of whatsoever craft he be shall be found any more in thee. And the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee. And the light of a candle shall no more at all In thee, in the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride, shall be heard no more at all in thee, for thy merchants were the great men of the earth, for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived." Friends, if you want verses that show you the folly of believing in salvation by the works of the law instead of the grace of God alone, read Revelation 18. No wonder you have the command of God to his people to come out of such a Christ-denying system. And I heard another voice from heaven saying, come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins and that you receive not of her plagues. A false system that is not only killed those confessing that salvation is of the Lord, but deceived how many? That double Payback to her double, not only killing those who hold forth the truth of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone. But how many in the world today are deceived by this system, thinking that it is the means and the way of salvation. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all that were slain upon the earth. So you can believe in salvation through the sacramental system of Romanism, supported and funded by a lost world. But it is going to be ended by the Lord. Or you can believe in salvation through the finished work of Christ alone. You cannot believe both. God commands his people to come out of her. And I heard another voice from heaven saying, come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins and you receive not of her plagues. May the Lord hear our prayers. For any we know. Trusting in sacramental salvation, trusting in Roman Catholicism to save them and not Christ alone. And may they show that they are one of the Lords by coming out of this false system of salvation, that the Lord is going to judge. May God have mercy on those being deceived by Romanism. Let us pray. Our Lord, this is a powerful chapter. Not one to easy to hear, easy to preach on. but needed, especially needed today when so many are believing in everything and anything but the salvation that is found in your Son alone. How many, Lord, in this false system of Romanism? Have mercy, Lord. Have mercy on the many that we know. Help them to see. that Christ alone saves. Help us to be a people of prayer for those lost in the false system of Romanism and Islam and all the others. Make us a people of prayer for this lost world. In Jesus' name.