The Jewish Final Solution to the World's Problem - Revelation - The Destruction of Religious Babylon, Part 3

[0:00] This is our 39th session together in the book of the Revelation, and my goal is to be finished in about three or four more sessions.

[0:12] We will combine chapters 21 and 22, having to do with the New Jerusalem and the Eternal State, into one session of a finale.

[0:24] And in our next session, if we are able to stay somewhat on schedule, we'll be dealing with the second coming of our Lord Jesus, and that's in Revelation 19.

[0:36] But for this morning, we are going to focus on chapter 18, which also deals with the subject of Babylon. And you will recall we looked at the subject of religious Babylon, which consists of all of the apostate churches and religions and faiths and ideas throughout the world that have come into existence over who knows how many the past thousand years.

[1:06] And this will include apostate Roman Catholicism. It will include apostate Protestants. It will include apostate Hindus and Buddhists and Islam and Jews and all the rest.

[1:23] This grand religious combination will be functioning in the city of Babylon, which is destined to be rebuilt.

[1:36] This is in southern Iraq. And right now, of course, it doesn't look anything like that. But I do want to make a careful distinction between the physical Babylon, which we will be looking at this morning in chapter 17, I'm sorry, chapter 18, and that you not confuse it with the spiritual Babylon, which actually is not a geographical location so much as it is a system, a worldwide system of religiosity, all of which is contrary to the Word of God.

[2:12] That is Mystery Babylon, the mother of harlots, as it is described in chapter 17. And that is going to come to an end, even though it will be exercising great authority, because it will be actually dominating the Antichrist and his forces for some time.

[2:34] This is the woman that rides the beast in chapter 17. But once the beast, which is actually the Antichrist, who surfaces, and he is the little horn of the seven heads and the ten horns, he is one of the little horns, he is actually going to commandeer the religious Babylon, turn on it, and virtually destroy it.

[2:59] And the reason he is going to do that is because he is going to erect and establish himself in the temple at Jerusalem and announce that he is God and demand the worship of the world, which much of the world will comply with.

[3:15] So, we've got numerous portions of Scripture to consider this morning from both the Old and the New Testament, having to do with the ancient city of Babylon.

[3:27] And as is indicated in the bulletin, The Destruction of Babylon Continues, Part 3, This is key and very significant in the plan and program of God.

[3:40] In actuality, it is the final demise of the very core of organized evil in the world. How significant is that?

[3:51] And it is, of course, very, very significant. So, first off, I want to share some introductory comments with you that I think will serve as a little bit of review and perhaps bring you up to speed as to where we will be engaging the text today, both from the Old and the New Testaments.

[4:11] I do hope that we will be able to have a brief time of Q&A when we finish this, but that remains to be seen. So, we've already noted that during the first half of the seven-year period of tribulation, numerous things of great worldwide significance will have occurred.

[4:34] First, the sealed judgments of Revelation 6, world impacting with a false peace, followed by the red horse, which symbolizes war, and the famine worldwide and the destruction of humanity, that will number one-third of the Earth's population being eliminated.

[4:59] We are talking in excess of two billion people. I agree it is a concept utterly incomprehensible.

[5:09] We cannot imagine two billion people being killed. That's what's coming. It will be one-third of the Earth's population, and it is described in Revelation 9 and verse 18.

[5:27] Secondly, the 144,000, 12,000 from each of the tribes of Israel, will begin their ministry early on in the first half, and they are described in chapters 7 and 14.

[5:38] These are 144,000 Jews, virtually indestructible. They are acting under the supernatural protection of God. They have the seal of God in their foreheads.

[5:50] They are going to preach the gospel and be responsible for an enormous spiritual awakening throughout the world. That is one of the key principles that is behind the tribulation period.

[6:04] And we've noted the two witnesses who are also indestructible, at least for a time. And they will prophesy and order a drought upon the Earth for three and a half years, as did Elijah in the Old Testament.

[6:20] These two witnesses, found in Revelation 11, will also be indestructible until the Antichrist arrives on the scene in chapter 11 and verse 7 and succeeds in killing the two witnesses, something that no one else had ever been able to do, even though they had really tried.

[6:43] And we see that their dead bodies are going to lie on the streets, unburied, for three and a half days until God brings them out and takes them to heaven. This will be a time of great rejoicing for the world, because if you can imagine, a world that has undergone, and when I say world, I'm talking about the globe, planet Earth, in all its continents, is going to undergo a cataclysmic, geological, astronomical conflagration, the likes of which we cannot even imagine.

[7:19] Isaiah describes it as the world reeling to and fro like a drunken man. And part of this, at least, is going to be due to these two witnesses.

[7:35] I do not know who they are. There's a lot of speculation about them being Enoch and Elijah and so on. We do not know. But we do know that they are going to be supernaturally protected until the Antichrist succeeds in dispatching them.

[7:49] And he will gain enormous credit for having done so. In fact, the world will feel indebted to him. And they will stand in line to give him more power and more authority.

[8:04] And of course, he will take it and abuse it. If you can imagine the planet being without rain anywhere for three and a half years and the sun is described as scorching the earth, the aridity and the dryness and the deprivation and the loss is going to be incredible.

[8:36] drinking water will be at a premium. You won't go to Kroger's and buy a case of bottled water. It won't be available like that.

[8:48] It's going to be an incredible time. It's going to be the most desperate time in the history of humanity with the possible exception of the Nowaic flood.

[9:00] 4. The trumpet judgments begin in chapter 8 and 9 and bring great cataclysmic change again in earth and in the heavens.

[9:13] Chapter 17. We saw the fall of religious Babylon was treated in our last session. It consisted of the conglomerate of apostates worldwide and is depicted as the mother of harlots spiritually.

[9:28] Now you need to understand that this harlotry and infidelity and the adultery that is referred to is of a spiritual nature. And it has little or nothing to do in this context with physical adultery but it has everything to do with the worship of these heathen, pagan gods such as you find in Hinduism and Buddhism and all the rest.

[9:54] Well, not actually Buddhism. You don't even have to... You can even be an atheist and be a Buddhist but with all of the others they are simply idols and counterfeits of the true God.

[10:09] And that goes all the way back to ancient Babylon. And we are going to see Babylon in perspective how it is responsible for all of the immorality.

[10:24] I'm talking about the seedbed of immorality and evil religiosity. It started right there in Babylon and that's where it's going to end.

[10:38] It is a Babylon that is not now in existence but will be built in a unbelievable way almost overnight.

[10:50] Now, I want to stop here and just inject something because we cannot conceive of how this could come about especially given the turmoil that's going on in the Mideast right now. But I'm just going to throw out a hypothetical for you.

[11:03] Please understand I am not saying this is the way it's going to be. I am just saying this is a distinct possibility. And that is the Islamic influence that is being felt throughout the world in various acts of terrorism can morph into a unit worldwide that is virtually uncontrollable.

[11:33] One wonders if we are not beginning to deal with this right now particularly in Europe where whole enclaves have been established as Islamic where they are practicing Sharia law and these are areas where the French and the German police do not even go.

[11:54] They are called no-go areas and they are Muslim enclaves where Sharia law is practiced. These people are experts at violence and intimidation and deception.

[12:11] I don't know if you are aware of it or not but the Quran makes it very very clear that any time a Muslim can lie in a way that will further the cause of Islam they are not only permitted to do so they are expected to do so.

[12:30] They operate to an entirely different moral code than anything Christians know. Most people are not aware of that but it is true. And if this thing materializes the way Muslims want it to you do understand do you not that they have a counterpart in their 12th Imam which they are anticipating will come and rule the world and convert the entire world to Islam.

[13:02] That is the dream. That is what this ISIS thing is all about. That is what the Caliph is all about. That is what the Caliphate is all about. It is gaining a toehold so that Islam can spread throughout the entire world and the 12th Imam who is the Muslim Messiah will return and he will rule the world.

[13:26] Now if that sounds strangely familiar like Jesus Christ returning and ruling the world it is not by coincidence because Satan is behind the whole nine yards and if there's anything that Satan is masterful at it is counterfeiting and deception.

[13:48] So if this should materialize it would be easy to understand how there in southern Iraq where Saddam Hussein already had it underway Babylon is being rebuilt on the banks of the Euphrates River and it is going to be a worldwide powerhouse economically and politically it will be hold on to your hats now it will be the new center of the globe won't be Washington won't be Moscow won't be London it will be Babylon and you need to understand that there is only one city in the Bible that is mentioned more often than any other and that's Jerusalem guess what second Babylon

[14:49] Babylon the roots of this go all the way back to the book of Genesis chapters 14 15 has to do with Nimrod his wife Samarimus and all that came from that is referred to as the very seedbed of religious and political evil and rejection and corruption and repudiation of the true God it began in great force in Babylon and it has spread out from there all over the world and all of these false cults and religions that you see today like like Hinduism for instance that has what 130,000 different gods and Buddhism and all the other isms they all originated from this one spot from Babylon they are all offshoots of that in different ways and it is targeted for demise

[15:51] I must hasten on the Antichrist is assassinated in Revelation 13 as was prophesied by the prophet Daniel in chapter 11 and verse 45 and the Antichrist will miraculously come back to life in Revelation 13 and verse 3 all throughout these events the supernatural will be front and center the mark of the beast the 666 comes into view in Revelation 13 promoted by the false prophet who is a counterfeit to the spirit of God and the mark of the beast will be a mark of loyalty that people will take and then in Revelation chapter 18 we have commercial and political Babylon as the world's most dominant city and it is going to be utterly totally destroyed we are not sure how this is done but it may well be the result of a nuclear devastation

[16:58] I'm going to ask Gary if he will come up now and read a portion from Isaiah chapter 13 and chapter 14 and if you've got your Bibles and I hope you do would you follow along please he'll be reading the first 13 verses of Isaiah and then in chapter 14 verses 22 through 27 and may I say these are all prophetic utterances that God gave to Isaiah 700 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem and it is talking about the end time and what is going to transpire in Babylon Gary would you come please Isaiah 13 1-13 the oracle concerning

[18:03] Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amos saw lift up a standard on the bare hill raise your voice to them wave the hand that I that they may enter the doors of the nobles I have commanded my consecrated ones I have even called my mighty warriors my proudly exalting ones to execute my anger a sound of tumult on the mountains like that of many people a sound of the uproar of kingdoms of nations gathered together the Lord of hosts is mustering the army for battle they are coming from a far country from the farthest horizons the Lord and his instruments of indignation to destroy the whole land wail for the day of the

[19:07] Lord is near it will come as destruction from the almighty therefore all hands will fall limp and every man's heart will melt 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 and he will exterminate its sinners from it for the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shed its light thus

[20:08] I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold and mankind than the gold of orpher therefore I will make the heavens tremble and the earth will be shaken from its place at the fury of the Lord of hosts in the day of his burning anger and then over to chapter 14 of Isaiah and this will be verses 22 through 27 I will rise up against them declares the Lord of hosts and will cut off from Babylon name and survivors offspring and prosperity declares the

[21:15] Lord I will also make it a possession for the hedgehog and swamps of water and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction declares the Lord of hosts the Lord of hosts has sworn saying surely just as I have intended so it has happened and just as I have planned so it will stand to break Assyria in my land and I will trample him on my mountains then his yoke will be removed from them and his burden removed from their shoulder this is the plan devised against the whole earth and this is the hand that is stretched out against all the nations for the Lord of hosts has planned and who can frustrate it as for his stretched out hand who can turn it back it's very significant that in connection with these prophecies some would tend to relegate them to history and say well that's already been fulfilled that stuff has already happened really there is not a shred of evidence available anywhere that documents this as having occurred at any time in the past this is all future and it all ties in with

[22:57] Revelation 17 and 18 and I would ask you now if you will go to 18 so we can take a few of these verses Gary will come back momentarily and read from Jeremiah Revelation chapter 18 John says after these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven having great authority and the earth was illumined with his glory religion surpassed that of our Lord during the four gospels, when he was performing different miracles during his three-year ministry.

[23:52] These are going to be spectacular things that are going to take place in the heavens and on earth. And in many instances, angelic beings are going to be behind these.

[24:04] Now, I do not know whether these angels will be visible and obvious, and whether they can be seen doing what they are doing, or they're being spirit beings.

[24:15] They are just behind the scene, out of sight, but still very much in control, in charge of everything that is happening. Because when John gives this vision and records it, that I saw an angel, or an angel came, that is his picture of the event that is going to transpire.

[24:35] And as I've said, whether the angel will actually be visible and seen by people, I do not know. The text does not say that. But it could very well mean that simply angelic maneuvers and activity and power are behind it.

[24:50] Verse 2, and he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great. And she has become a dwelling place of demons, and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird.

[25:08] Just like the Old Testament prophets indicated. For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality.

[25:21] That means that this Babylon, this geographical area, was the seedbed for the launching of immorality in general that is going to permeate throughout the whole world.

[25:37] And we are covered with it today. In fact, the world has been covered with it for millennia. But it is even becoming more intense as we speak. All the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality.

[25:53] And the kings of the earth, these are heads of state, not necessarily kings with crowns on their heads or a monarch, but could be in some cases as well.

[26:05] They have committed acts of immorality with her. And the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality. And I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, that you may not participate in her sins, and that you may not receive of her plagues.

[26:25] For her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Pay her back, even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds.

[26:38] In the cup which she has mixed, mixed twice as much for her. To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously. To the same degree give her torment and mourning.

[26:51] For she says in her heart, I sit as a queen, and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning. For this reason, in one day.

[27:02] Her plagues will come. Her plagues will come. Pestilence, mourning, and famine. And she will be burned up with fire.

[27:14] For the Lord God who judges her is strong. And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, Whoa, whoa, the great city Babylon, the strong city!

[27:41] For in one hour your judgment has come. And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes anymore.

[27:52] This Babylon is going to be the economic capital of the world. And the political capital of the world. It will be installed as something the likes of which the world has never seen.

[28:07] It will make New York City and London and Paris combined look as nothing. In fact, when this time comes, they may not even be standing.

[28:22] The earth is going to undergo such an incredible conflagration of deprivation, both of institutions and individuals. Many will not recover from it.

[28:42] Cargos of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory, every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble.

[28:57] This is economic abundance that is going to be providing the world with its sustenance. And it is all going to come to naught.

[29:09] And all the shakers and movers and financiers and importers and exporters, multi-millionaires are going to be wiped out in a matter of hours. And verse 14, And the fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you, and men will no longer find them.

[29:32] The merchants of these things who became rich from her will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying, Whoa, whoa, the great city!

[29:46] She who is clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste.

[30:00] Every shipmaster, can you see all these cargo vessels? Some of these ships that are so enormous, they had to widen the Panama Canal before they could get these ships through there.

[30:17] And when they built the Panama Canal originally, they built it so it would be so wide, they would never have to worry about the need to widen it.

[30:28] Well, they widened it. Not too many years ago. And now these super tankers and these super container cargo ships, carrying hundreds of millions of dollars worth of goods on each ship, can pass through.

[30:49] And they were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like the great city? And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, Whoa, whoa!

[31:03] The great city in which all had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she's been laid waste. Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.

[31:23] And a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, Thus will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence and will not be found any longer.

[31:44] And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute players and trumpeters, the entertainment world, will not be heard in you any longer. And no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer.

[31:58] And the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer. And the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer. And the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer.

[32:10] For your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.

[32:22] And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.

[32:34] Gary's going to read for us now from the prophecy of Isaiah. And if you would turn in your Bibles, please, to, I'm sorry, Jeremiah, to Jeremiah chapter 50.

[32:46] Jeremiah chapter 50. Gary? Gary? Gary? Gary? Gary? Gary? Gary? Gary? Gary? Gary?

[32:56] Gary? Gary? Gary? Gary? Gary? Gary? Gary? Gary? Gary?

[33:07] Gary? Gary? Gary? Gary?

[33:18] Gary? Gary? Gary? Gary? Gary? Gary? Gary? Gary? Yang? Gary? Gary?

[33:29] The first one who devoured him was the king of Assyria. And this last one who has broken his bones is Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.

[33:42] Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I punished the king of Assyria.

[33:57] And I will bring Israel back to his pasture, and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan, and his desire will be satisfied in the hill country of Ephraim and Gilead.

[34:13] 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.

[34:30] For I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant. Against the land of Meratham, go up against it, and against the inhabitants of Pecot.

[34:43] Slay and utterly destroy them, declares the Lord. And do according to all that I have commanded you. The noise of battle is in the land, and great destruction.

[34:59] How the hammer of the whole earth has been cut off and broken. How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations.

[35:11] I set a snare for you, and you were also caught, O Babylon. While you yourself were not aware, you have been found and also seized, because you have engaged in conflict with the Lord.

[35:29] The Lord has opened his armory, and has brought forth the weapons of his indignation. For it is a work of the Lord God of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.

[35:46] Okay, please turn then to Jeremiah 51. And there we'll be looking at verses 5 through 10.

[36:03] For neither Israel nor Judah has been forsaken. By his God, the Lord of hosts, although their land is full of guilt, before the Holy One of Israel, flee from the midst of Babylon.

[36:21] And each of you save his life. Do not be destroyed in her punishment, for this is the Lord's time of vengeance.

[36:32] He is going to render recompense to her. Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, intoxicating all the earth.

[36:44] The nations have drunk of her wine. Therefore, the nations are going mad. Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken.

[36:55] Wail over her. Bring balm for her pain. Perhaps she may be healed. We applied healing to Babylon, but she was not healed.

[37:08] For the Lord has been healed. Forsake her, and let us each go to his own country. For her judgment has reached to heaven, and towers up to the very skies.

[37:21] The Lord has brought about our vindication. Come and let us recount in Zion the work of the Lord God.

[37:32] Then, please take a look at Jeremiah 51, verses 27 through 32.

[37:46] Lift up a signal in the land. Blow a trumpet among the nations. Consecrate the nations against her.

[37:59] Summon against her the kingdoms of Arot, Minna, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a marshal against her. Bring up the horse like bristly locusts.

[38:13] Consecrate the nations against her. The king of the Medes. Their governors and all their perfects. In every land of their dominion.

[38:24] So the land quakes and rise. For the purpose of the Lord against Babylon stand. To make the land of Babylon a desolation without inhabitants.

[38:40] The mighty men of Babylon have ceased fighting. They stay in the strongholds. Their strength is exhausted.

[38:51] They are becoming like women. Their dwelling places are set on fire. The bars of her gates are broken.

[39:04] The courier runs to meet another. And one messenger to meet another. To tell the king of Babylon that his city has been captured from end to end.

[39:18] The fords also have been seized. And they have burned the marshes with fire. And the men of war are terrified.

[39:31] Then please turn to Jeremiah 51. And here we'll look at verses 54 to 56.

[39:42] The sound of an outcry from Babylon. And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans.

[39:53] For the Lord is going to destroy Babylon. And he will make her loud noise and vanish from her.

[40:04] And their waves will roar like many waters. The tumult of their voices sounds forth. For the destroyer is coming against her.

[40:17] Against Babylon. And her mighty men will be captured. Their bows are shattered. For the Lord is a God of recompense.

[40:29] He will fully repay. Up to this very present day.

[40:42] The inhabitants of the world have been taxing the longsuffering of God. What these passages reveal. Is that God's longsuffering.

[40:56] Has been exhausted. This is the end time. And this is precisely what it is coming to. And I want you to understand something very, very clearly.

[41:10] Don't allow yourself to think. Oh, those poor people. These people are receiving the just desserts.

[41:22] That have accumulated in humanity for centuries. God's justice is perfect. God does not punish more than is deserved.

[41:37] He is a purveyor of absolute justice. And absolute justice means you receive exactly what you deserve.

[41:48] No sympathy is in order here. These people who are in existence at this time, when this happens, are going to be people who, in a defiant way, have shaken their fist at God, refused to repent, have pledged their allegiance to the Antichrist, and have actually joined in his army against the God of heaven.

[42:12] And this is going to be their final end. I want you to just notice, as a matter of passing here, in the Jeremiah 51 passage, it is remarkable in that what it says here.

[42:27] Let me see. Jeremiah is quite the prophet.

[42:46] And he has revealed things here that have already transpired, of course. Many have. And they are objects of history, and they can be cited.

[43:00] But many of these, of course, have not at all come to pass. I'm thinking of verse 31 of chapter 51, where it says, One courier runs to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to tell the king of Babylon that his city has been captured from end to end.

[43:24] Now, that is very, very interesting. Because according to the chronology that I have been able to come up with, the only chronology that I've been satisfied with thus far, is that when Babylon is actually physically destroyed, the Antichrist isn't even going to be there.

[43:46] He will get word by word of a messenger that his headquarters has been decimated. Well, where is he?

[43:58] He's in Jerusalem. He's in the temple. This is what is going to transpire during that middle time of the 70th week of Daniel.

[44:11] This is that time of which Jesus is speaking in Matthew 24, when he says, When you see, therefore, the abomination of desolation stand in the holy place, spoken of by Daniel the prophet.

[44:24] That's in Daniel 9. We've looked at that in the past. Then flee to the mountains. And those who will be fleeing to the mountains is this faithful remnant of Israel.

[44:35] And they are those of whom he has spoken here in Jeremiah and also in Isaiah in that passage.

[44:46] They will be the faithful remnant. And they will be headquartered in Petra, where they will be supernaturally protected and provided for in much the same way that Israel was protected and provided for when they came out of Egypt.

[45:05] By the manna from heaven, the quail, and everything else that was needed, the water from the rock. Because as we told you, during this time of Jacob's trouble, the emphasis is going to be on Israel.

[45:16] And Israel, being the focus of this, is going to revert to the dispensation of Israel because the church age is gone. It's over with. It's done. Age of grace has passed. And what has returned is the same time that was in vogue when Christ was here during the four Gospels.

[45:34] That was characterized by the supernatural, particularly by the miracles that Christ did, including changing the water into wine, stilling the storm, and all the rest of those things. That was Jesus' standard operating procedure.

[45:46] Well, it's going to be standard operating procedure during the 70th week of Daniel also. And the Antichrist is going to stand in the holy place, declare himself to be God, and demand the allegiance and the worship of the entire world.

[46:04] And there will be those who will be willing to give it. And, of course, he is going to be deposed. And the remnant of Israel that will be spared will be those there in Petra.

[46:17] And they will survive this time. There will not be many because during World War II, Adolf Hitler succeeded in destroying one-third of the Jewish population of the world.

[46:34] Over 6 million people met their end in Hitler's concentration camps and gas ovens. A third of all international Jewry was wiped out.

[46:48] During this time, this seven-year period of tribulation, two-thirds of the world's population of Jews are going to be killed.

[47:04] Many of them will be killed as martyrs because they will have responded to the preaching of their fellow Jewish evangelists, 144,000.

[47:17] Many of them will be saved during that time. And they will be martyred because it will be a time of great evangelism and great martyrdom, great persecution, all of these things.

[47:29] Because you see what's happening. This is evil's last hurrah. This is it.

[47:41] This is Satan's last-ditch effort to consolidate and to protect his whole spiritual domain.

[47:53] And it is on the verge of collapse. And what will be the coup de grace is coming in the next chapter.

[48:06] When Christ himself comes with his vestures dipped in blood and the sword that proceeds from his mouth.

[48:16] So we are very near the end time. I wonder if as a result of what we've studied so far in Revelation, if anyone now has any difficulty in understanding how it could possibly be, that when these things transpire, there is no mention at all of the United States of America.

[48:52] It is almost as if we didn't even exist. How can it possibly be that a nation like the USA, that has been such a major player in the actions of the entire globe, since the late 1700s, we don't even get an honorable mention.

[49:26] But, neither does France. Neither does Germany. Neither does England. These are all regarded as the citadels of civilization.

[49:40] They are the most advanced, the most progressive, the most accomplished, the most, right along with the good old USA. And the only thing I can suggest is that these that have been world powers over the last 100, 200 years are in some way going to be neutralized so that we will not have the wherewithal, the ability, to be a player.

[50:15] Unthinkable, isn't it? Indeed it is. But this, this is what's coming. We've got about five minutes left.

[50:26] Is there a comment or a question that you would like to offer? Up here, Ron Heser. Comment. Wait for the mic, if you would, please.

[50:41] Thanks. Well, Pastor Moore will comment. So, anyway, reading Matthew 24, I kind of gather that the church has already been taken out when Christ is telling them this, that this is what's going to happen at the end.

[51:08] Yes, I couldn't agree more. I do not see, I do not see the church or the rapture of the church being in the Gospels at all. It is the concept, the whole concept of the rapture of the church, the removal of the body of Christ, is what the Apostle Paul introduced in 1 Thessalonians 1 Thessalonians as, behold, I show you a mystery.

[51:33] That means this concept, the translation of the church, the removal of the body of Christ supernaturally, what's called a rapture, is something that is not a subject of Old Testament prophecy.

[51:48] You can search from Genesis to Malachi, you won't find anything in reference to it, because it is, as Paul describes, a mystery. And it is that which was hidden in God from time past, and that's spelled out in Ephesians chapter 3, and was not made known to men in previous times.

[52:07] So this is a whole new phenomena, this is something new. And the church is gone. I couldn't agree more. This is content in the Olivet Discourse, which is the longest discourse, well, it wasn't the longest discourse Jesus gave, that was the Sermon on the Mount, but this was the longest one he gave regarding prophecy.

[52:25] I couldn't agree more that the church will be gone. Other comments or questions? Yes, up here. Roger, okay. You talk about the word says there's three and a half years of drought, like you're probably never been before in the world, but Babylon evidently is right there at the middle of the tribulation going full tilt.

[52:50] I just wonder if the fertile crescent becomes alive again. It's something that God does. I don't know that is a possibility, but we also have to remember that we are told that during this time the Euphrates River is going to dry up.

[53:06] It's going to be a dry riverbed. If you have any idea how large the Euphrates River is, if I'm not mistaken, I think it is exceeded in its dominance only by the Nile.

[53:17] And for this thing to be dried up, that's quite a phenomenon in and of itself. But that is understandable if the globe if the globe is undergone three and a half years without rain, there's going to be a lot of things dry up.

[53:37] And all vegetation is going to be severely impacted and affected. And you can imagine how difficult it's going to be just to keep body and soul together physically. It's going to be a time of great deprivation.

[53:51] Up here, Sandy has a comment or question. You've referred to Petra several times. Is there a scripture reference for that?

[54:04] A scripture reference to what? For Petra? I'm sorry? For Petra, where the remnant will be secluded? Yes, there are several actually.

[54:17] And that's a really good question. Well, I just can't go into it now. But we'll do it next week. Okay? They are going to be, like I said, supernaturally protected.

[54:31] And they will be believers. These will be Jewish individuals who have come to faith in Yeshua HaMashiach.

[54:43] as their Messiah. And largely, I suspect it will be as a result of 144,000 Jews. 12,000 from each tribe. And I've likened this, and I don't know a better analogy.

[54:56] It's just like God is going to turn loose 144,000 Apostle Pauls. And they're going to get some things done. There's going to be a lot of people.

[55:07] And to receive Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah, during the tribulation period, you are just, you are putting your neck on a chopping block.

[55:19] Because the only other alternative, of course, will be to receive the mark of the beast. And those who do, those who do will be assigning their loyalty to the Antichrist.

[55:31] And, of course, they will be able to buy and sell, and things will be in short supply. But if you have the mark of the beast, you will have access to things that others would not have access to.

[55:45] And it could mean your survival. It's a good question, and we'll look at that next week. There are a number of references. Speaking of Basra and Petra.

[55:59] Before we dismiss, is there anything else? Anyone? All right, up here in the front. All the way up here. Come up here. There we go. Rachel?

[56:12] You may have already answered this, but the three and a half years of famine, and if everything is drying up, and there's no water available, and you said the vegetation is going to be impacted severely.

[56:26] So, how are people going to survive during that? That's a very good question. I do not. Of course, there will be a certain amount of accumulated foodstuffs that are available in different parts of the world.

[56:40] There will be things that have been preserved, that have been salvaged, that will be available. It's interesting, now, they're hawking stuff on TV where you can get this machine and freeze-dry your food, and it will keep for, what, 25 years or something like that, and then all you do is add water to it to reconstitute it and it tastes just like it did.

[57:07] Yeah, well, that's true. Yeah, waterless. You know, we cannot, we cannot begin to imagine what this is going to be like.

[57:17] Why do you think it's called the tribulation? The word tribulation, the Greek calls it ho flipsis, which means tribulation, the great one.

[57:33] The great one. Jesus said, it is a time such as the world has never seen before and will never see again.

[57:45] Well, this world has seen some pretty rough times, but this is going to top everything. And the word in classical Greek the flipsis refers to holding a grape, a grape between your fingers and you begin to squeeze the grape and you squeeze and squeeze and you put pressure on the grape until it starts to spurt.

[58:19] That's tribulation. That's pressure. deprivation. It's going to be something. Like I said, this is evil's last hurrah and it is going to pull out all the stops.

[58:34] One more and then we'll have to dismiss. I saw a hand over here. Okay. My darling daughter. I'm not sure where you were reading when you said that one third of the earth of the population will be destroyed but you also mentioned two billion that that would be two billion and so today that's two billion people.

[58:59] But even a hundred years ago they would have said well two billion people there's not even six billion people on the earth for two billion to be wiped out being one third.

[59:15] So does it say one third or does it say both? Because that kind of gives it No it gives the fraction it says a third. It doesn't give the numbers and the billions it does say a third.

[59:26] A third of the world's population at the time that the event occurs will be wiped out and assuming that there are approximately six billion people now that's what it would roughly turn out to be two billion and like I said we just cannot imagine that.

[59:43] Can you imagine the corpses? And with the Russian invasion that we've already considered in Ezekiel 38 and 39 which I believe frankly I don't know this is just a wise man speculation and it may not be accurate at all.

[60:02] But I think I won't be here to know one way or another but I would not be a bit surprised if the Russian invasion doesn't happen within very close proximity to the rapture of the church because if you can only imagine the perplexity that is going to occur when all believers are removed where did these people go?

[60:40] What happened to them? And the controversy is going to be worldwide because there are believers all over the world and they're just going to be gone. And it would probably if something were injected into that situation that would maybe take some of the dynamic off of that some of the questioning off of that I think the Russian invasion might and Russia with its allies are coming into Israel to take a spoil and the text tells us in Revelation I'm sorry in Ezekiel 38 and 39 that the Russian horde and its allies is going to be totally decimated I mean just completely wiped out on the mountains of Israel and it is going to require seven months to bury the dead this invading force is going to be obliterated and God is going to be the one to do it.

[61:47] It won't be Israel won't be the Israeli defense force it will be God through supernatural means and the bodies of these Russians and their cohorts are going to die upon those mountains and it's going to take seven months to bury the dead and we are told that that when they go out when these burial crews go out and they find a bone a leg bone or something sticking out of the ground they're forbidden to touch it they have to go over and flag it put an indicator there that something is there I don't know if that's an indication of radio activity I don't know it may well be but I tell you this world is in for something and what you need to understand is this conflagration is coming one of the principal reasons is that God's long suffering has exhausted and he is finally going to deal with the world's evil and this is what it's coming down to so with that would you stand please father who is sufficient for these things nobody we know of but we do know that you are a long suffering

[63:12] God you are a God of tender mercy you are a God with the stretched out arm of appeal and invitation that has been extended to man for literally centuries and in every generation your love and your efforts have been ignored and spurned and rejected and the time is coming when you're going to answer you're going to respond to man's rejection and you're going to do so in a way that is utterly just and well deserved we are grateful that you are such a God and that you compound your justice with mercy and were it not for that it would be even worse than what we have been describing thank you so much for making a refuge for us in and through the person of

[64:15] Jesus Christ so that no one listening to these things need fear anything that is coming upon this earth whether they are here to experience it first hand or not for if our faith and our trust is in you we are provided a providential protection for now and eternity and our prayer is that each and every one may take full advantage of it in Christ's name Amen