Podcasts about babylon isaiah

The destruction of Damascus (Isaiah 17:1): In 732 BC, the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III conquered Damascus, fulfilling this prophecy.The fall of Samaria (Isaiah 17:3): The Assyrian king Sargon II captured the city of Samaria in 722 BC, leading to the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel.The desolation of the land (Isaiah 17:9): The Assyrian invasions left the region desolate, as the prophecy foretold.The fading of the glory of Jacob (Isaiah 17:4): The northern kingdom of Israel lost its power and influence after its fall to the Assyrians.The judgment on the nations (Isaiah 17:12-14): The prophecy speaks of the nations being driven like chaff by a storm, which can be seen as a metaphor for the rise and fall of empires throughout history.The destruction of Babylon (Isaiah 13:19-22): Babylon was conquered by the Medes and Persians in 539 BC, fulfilling this prophecy.The fall of Tyre (Isaiah 23:1): The city of Tyre was besieged and destroyed by Alexander the Great in 332 BC.The desolation of Tyre (Isaiah 23:9): After Alexander's conquest, Tyre was left in ruins and never regained its former glory.The scattering of the inhabitants of Tyre (Isaiah 23:15): The people of Tyre were dispersed throughout the world, as the prophecy predicted.The judgment on Egypt (Isaiah 19:1-15): Egypt experienced numerous invasions and changes of rulers throughout history, fulfilling this prophecy.The civil strife in Egypt (Isaiah 19:2): Egypt has experienced internal conflicts and political instability throughout its history.The drying up of the Nile (Isaiah 19:5-6): Although not a literal fulfillment, the Nile River has faced challenges due to pollution and water management issues, causing it to become less life-sustaining.The destruction of the idols of Egypt (Isaiah 19:1): Many of Egypt's ancient idols and temples were destroyed or abandoned over time.The judgment on Cush (Isaiah 18:1-7): The region of Cush, or ancient Ethiopia, has experienced numerous conflicts and changes of rulers throughout history.The judgment on the Philistines (Isaiah 14:29-32): The Philistines were conquered and their cities destroyed by the Babylonians in the 6th century BC.The judgment on Moab (Isaiah 15-16): Moab was conquered by the Babylonians and later by the Persians, fulfilling this prophecy.The judgment on Damascus (Isaiah 17:1): In addition to the Assyrian conquest, Damascus has been conquered and destroyed multiple times throughout history.The judgment on the nations (Isaiah 21:1-10): The prophecy speaks of the fall of various nations, which can be seen as a metaphor for the rise and fall of empires throughout history.The restoration of Israel (Isaiah 19:23-25): Although not fully realized, there have been instances of cooperation and peace between Israel, Egypt, and Assyria (modern-day Iraq) throughout history.

Isaiah 40:1-8 - Pastor Dan Baldwin - Sunday, March 3, 2024

Isaiah 40:1-8 - Pastor Dan Baldwin - Sunday, March 3, 2024

Reading Isaiah 47:1-15 where God promises judgment upon Babylon, even though God used them to bring judgment upon Judah, they will not escape God's wrath. Visit wwutt.com for all our videos!

Isaiah is a challenging book to study and even more challenging to understand. Many people avoid it because of its length, its prophetic language or its difficulty to understand without historical knowledge. These are certainly challenges, but Isaiah is too important a book NOT to read. Yes, it can be challenging, long and difficult to grasp in context, but this study will take you through that and help guide you on your way to becoming familiar with some of the most important prophecies in the Bible. This study will cover the first half of Isaiah. Because there is no cohesive narrative within Isaiah; it is a collection of prophetic words to various nations at different times; we are breaking it up in half to make it easier to digest. In this study, we will look at Isaiah chapters 1-33. From this study, you will gain the necessary historical background, insights into what has been fulfilled and what has not and all that you need to keep reading and know God's Word through the Prophet Isaiah. -----------LINKS----------Support 10WB on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/10weekbibleThe 10 Week Bible - http://www.10WeekBible.comTwitter: @DarrenHibbs - https://twitter.com/DarrenHibbsSign up for my newsletter - http://www.darrenhibbs.comGet a copy of the 10 Week Bible Study today - https://www.amazon.com/Darren-Hibbs/e/B00B4I47CE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=sl2&tag=darrenhcom0a-20&linkId=401f3d79974c70929517936977e32df9My other YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChUU0XHSHuhSyN8qk-7efYgSupport the show

Welcome to The Master's Voice End Times Prophecy Blog: (Hear the words of the Lord). https://the-masters-voice.com Today's word: Prophecy of the USA's future defeat in war using the example of ancient Babylon's defeat by the Persians and Medes. A sudden loud sound, like many soldiers on the hills- a tumult (an upset) takes hold of a nation that God has judged. No mercy will be shown by these soldiers, inhabitants will flee to their own countries and leave the U.S. alone. It is time to seek the safety of Jesus Christ while we can. Hear the word of the Lord. To avoid these judgements you need to be born again by confessing the Lord Jesus as King and son of God, as Lord of your own life and by asking God to forgive all sins and receive you as His child. Visit this page of my blog for more: https://the-masters-voice.com/basics/ The full prophecy in this video can be found here: https://the-masters-voice.com/2020/11/13/proclamation-against-babylon-isaiah-13-november-13-2020/ HEAR THE WORDS OF THE LORD. Follow this channel for updates. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: If you'd like to support this ministry it's appreciated. Kindly use Paypal or contact me at mastersvoice@mail.com. If using Paypal send gift ONLY as 'Friends & Family' not 'Goods and Services'. This is a freewill offering, I am not a seller. Thank you and God bless. Paypal ------- mastersvoice@mail.com SUPPORT & SUBSCRIBE TO MY OTHER CHANNELS: YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@themastersvoiceprophecyblog YOUTUBE (Spanish channel: "La Voz del Señor"): https://youtube.com/channel/UCeLTWSGwNTVMdXQV6oryQXg RUMBLE: https://rumble.com/c/themastersvoice BRIGHTEON: https://brighteon.com/channels/themastersvoice BITCHUTE: https://bitchute.com/channel/themastersvoice

The Burden of BabylonIsaiah 13-14Pastor Bill RandlesPreached on March 11, 2022Believers in Grace Ministrieswww.believersingrace.com

Isaiah Pt2: Bro. William Kantz. This weeks lesson: “The Idols of Babylon” ( Isaiah 46:1-7 Isaiah 47:1-11 )

The post The Burden Against Babylon – Isaiah 13:1 – June 23, 2022 appeared first on Enduring Word.

Your words were found and I ate them

When I was raised in Puerto Rico in the 60's, we celebrated Christmas, but "Reyes" or "Kings" was THE celebration of when the three Kings or Magi came to worship Jesus. The night before Three Kings Day celebrations on January 6 were special nights. Children all over the island would leave grass out (generally by a manger built or prepared for the occasion) to feed the camels of the Three Kings, and they in turn would leave presents. Many times, Reyes was a much bigger celebration than Christmas. We loved Reyes! As you grow up, and begin to follow Jesus, you learn a few things if you will study. For example, the names and the numbers of the wise men that came from the East are never mentioned in the New Testament. Not only that, but the word that is translated as wise men (magoi) is not the Greek word for kings (basileon)! Oops! So much for the tradition of the Three Gentile Kings that came to worship baby Jesus, all based on human invention. None of it is Scriptural! The above may be disconcerting for the unlearned, but the truth will not oppress you. The truth of God's Word will make you free from the traditions of men, if you will allow it. (John 8:32) Here comes much food for thought. The Wise Men that Came to See Jesus were Magi - Astrologers? Does anybody but me have a problem with the tradition that the wise men were astrologers of the Magi caste from Babylon? I hope not. For many years, as a Christian, that “scratched” at me on the inside. We know from Scripture how much God despises all the pagan practices of idolatry that include sorcery (deals with potions and spells), witchcraft (those that cast spells -incantations and curses and invoke (evil) spirits to get their will done), necromancers (those that attempt to speak to the dead, mediums), soothsayers (fortune tellers, and that includes the Ouija boards of today, tarot cards, divination, psychics), spiritists (those that channel evil spirits to tell your fortune), and astrologers (those that tell of events past, present, and future by “reading” the stars and planets). Here are a few verses of Scripture that put in view God's perspective: Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead. I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:31 NLT) I will also turn against those who commit spiritual prostitution by putting their trust in mediums or in those who consult the spirits of the dead. I will cut them off from the community. (Lev. 20:6 NLT) Men and women among you who act as mediums or who consult the spirits of the dead must be put to death by stoning. They are guilty of a capital offense. (Lev. 20:27 NLT)  And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead… The nations you are about to displace consult sorcerers and fortune-tellers, but the Lord your God forbids you to do such things. (Deuteronomy 18:10-11, 14 NLT) Manasseh also sacrificed his own son in the fire. He practiced sorcery and divination, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the LORD's sight, arousing his anger. (2 Kings 21:6 NLT) God calls these practices evil and wicked in the sight of the Lord, arousing His anger, spiritual prostitution, and a capital offense. He is the same today. He has never changed His mind on the subject. (Malachi 3:6) Here is one portion in the Scripture that specifically referred to the astrologers of Babylon (Isaiah 47:1- 5), the very caste that the wise men that came to worship Jesus were supposed to belong to! So, disaster will overtake you, and you won't be able to charm it away. Calamity will fall upon you, and you won't be able to buy your way out. A catastrophe will strike you suddenly, one for which you are not prepared. “Now use your magical charms! Use the spells you have worked at all these years! Maybe they will do you some good. Maybe they can make someone afraid of you. All the advice you receive has made you tired. Where are all your astrologers, those stargazers who make predictions each month? Let them stand up and save you from what the future holds. But they are like straw burning in a fire; they cannot save themselves from the flame. (Isaiah 47:11-14 NLT) God mocks them! They cannot save themselves from the flame! Destruction was coming to them for their evil and wicked practices. Yes, these calamities will come upon you, despite all your witchcraft and magic. “You felt secure in your wickedness. ‘No one sees me,' you said. But your ‘wisdom' and ‘knowledge' have led you astray, and you said, ‘I am the only one, and there is no other.' So, disaster will overtake you, and you won't be able to charm it away. Calamity will fall upon you, and you won't be able to buy your way out. A catastrophe will strike you suddenly, one for which you are not prepared. (Isaiah 47:9-11 NLT) There are a few references in the New Testament to witchcraft, fortune-tellers, and those practicing the magic arts. The story of the woman with the evil spirit (spirit of divination) and practiced fortunetelling (which was cast out by Paul- Acts 16:16-18) is one of them. Then, there is the story of Bar-Jesus the magician-astrologer (Acts 13:6-11). Paul called him “full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness!” That, my brethren, is the Holy Spirit's take on all that practice such things! It was the Holy Spirit that anointed Paul to speak a command to blind the sorcerer. Also, the Apostle Paul mentions sorcery (NLT, NKJV, etc.) or witchcraft (KJV, NASB, etc.) as a desire of the sinful nature, and the fact that those practicing it will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21) In Revelation, it is written that after devastating plagues hit many parts of the earth: But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood— idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk! And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality or their thefts. (Revelation 9:20-21 NLT) One more to clench the nail on the back of the board: But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. (Rev. 21:8 NLT) Those Scriptural references just threw off for me all the connection of the wise men to the caste of Magi from Babylon, but let's read the New Testament text, and move on from there. Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men (Gr. magoi) from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” (Matthew 2:1, 2 NKJV parenthesis- my addition) The star that they saw related to the King of the Jews was prophesied by none other than Balaam in his fourth prophecy. (Numbers 24:15-19) Balaam is a whole other problem, but I will summarize it the best I can. Balaam was a backslid prophet and became a “prophet for hire.” Balaam would bless or curse people for a price. Do we have similar “prophets” today? A few of those covetous and likeminded prophets are roaming around today among Christians. Who are they? They are those that for a fee will send you a personal “prophetic word.” The more money you send, the more personal the “word” will be. They are in the same category as Balaam was, a conniving and money hungry swindler!  Because Balaam was backslid, he was a false prophet whose teaching was despised by the Lord Jesus. The Lord denounced those who followed the doctrine of Balaam because it led to eating things sacrificed to idols and to committing sexual immorality. (See Revelation 2:14, Numbers 31:16.) Yet, in all the prophet's madness, the Spirit of the Lord spoke through Balaam's mouth, and a grand prophetic word from the Lord came forth about the future King-Messiah. You may be wondering how could God possibly use a “false prophet” to bring a real word from the Lord? He anointed a heathen king to help Israel. His name was Cyrus! (See Isaiah 43:1-10, Ezra 1). There are numerous examples in the Scripture of the Lord using pagans for his purposes. So, in the case of Balaam, the Lord anointed him to speak prophetically on a certain occasion. That does not mean he was right or accepted before the Lord, but that God used him on a selected occasion to express a prophetic utterance from the Lord. Here is the prophetic Word that the wise men followed into Israel in search of the King-Messiah. …The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, and the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened; The utterance of him who hears the words of God and has the knowledge of the Most High, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open: I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel… (Numbers 24:15-17 NKJV) The wise men saw the star rising out of Jacob or Israel and followed it from the East. Their point of origin was in the East, presumably from Babylon. Why Babylon? The word used for “wise men” is the Greek word magos (magoi- in the plural form indicating more than one “wise man”). In Spanish, no bones are made about it, and the three kings are called the three magician kings, "los tres Reyes magos." That is really a mess in my estimation. The tradition runs deep and scholars have not helped much in this area because they have more readily assumed the position of tradition instead of finding a solution to the dilemma.  The Complete Word Study dictionary of the Bible (coded to Strong's Concordance numbers) indicates (G3097) that the word magoi is of foreign origin from the Hebrew (H7248); a Magian, that is, Oriental scientist; by implication a magician: - sorcerer, wise man. Notice what Thayer's Greek- English Lexicon says about the same word magoi. The name given by the Babylonians, Medes, Persians, and others, to the wise men, teachers, priests, physicians, astrologers, seers, interpreter of dreams, augers, soothsayers, sorcerers, etc. It goes on to say that the oriental wise men (astrologers) who, having discovered by the rising of the remarkable star that the Messiah had just been born, and that therefore thy came to Jerusalem to worship him.[1] The acclaimed and scholarly Bauer's “A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature” (BDAG) basically says the same thing as the other two dictionaries mentioned. So, there is a case for the magoi (plural)- wise men to have been of this caste of astrologer-soothsayers. There is also the fact that magos was used referring to the false prophet Elymas (Bar-Jesus) in Acts 13:8. Also, God has at times used the ungodly for His purposes. Yet, that the magoi were sorcerer magicians doesn't sit right with my spirit and the witness of the Holy Spirit concerning the story of the wise men that visited Jesus. Too many Scriptures condemn the practices of the astrologers and sorcerers. There is too much evidence in Scripture of God's eternal displeasure with those that practice such things. God hates all of it! Could there be something else going on that has been ignored for centuries? In my heart, to believe that the magoi that visited Jesus were soothsayers- astrologers sounds like this: “Wait a minute! Do you mean to tell me that astrologers and soothsayers (practitioners of witchcraft or sorcery) came to worship the Messiah because they saw the star of the Messiah-King manifested in the sky? How did they know anything about that prophetic word in Number 24:17? Does that sound right to you? Do you mean to tell me that Joseph and Mary (strict Jewish followers of Torah) would have received heathens from hell that were astrologers, soothsayers, and served false gods? Would they have received myrrh, frankincense, and gold from these pagans?” Knowing something about Judaism in the first century, I would have to say emphatically, “No way Joseph and Mary would have received them!” The first foreign dignitaries to visit the child Jesus were magicians (wizards) and astrologers from Babylon? Yuk! The idea makes me throw up a little in my mouth because I know all those other Scriptures that I gave you above, where God rejects (and detests, hates) all forms of witchcraft and sorcery, including astrology! Scripture should be primarily interpreted with other Scripture. I think the story of the wise men has been interpreted without reference to other Scripture that should have made us reassess our conclusions. That time is here and now! If these magoi were pagan devils, they would never have been received by Joseph or Mary or anybody of the Jewish faith that was present that day. Jews had strict laws concerning receiving pagans into their home or going to visit pagans and coming under their roof. It was considered a violation of the law of Moses. To have received foreign devil worshippers into their home would have defiled them and left them in ritual impurity. Jews did not associate with pagans! Did you know that Jesus' first followers and converts after the day of Pentecost were ONLY Jews and their half-brothers, the Samaritans (Acts 8)? There were no Gentiles among the believers for at least ten years after Pentecost. Read Acts chapters 2-10 as a reference. It took a supernatural vision coming to the apostle Peter in Acts 10 to open the way for salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit to be preached to the Gentiles. Until then, it was taken for granted that association with the Gentiles was verboten, and the gospel message was only for Jews. Again, there was a separation of the Jews from pagans until salvation and the Holy Spirit fell on Cornelius and all his house as Peter preached to them. (Acts 10). Ok, if the magoi couldn't have been pagan, astrologer, devil worshippers that came to worship the King Messiah, and I have presented Scriptural evidence that would contradict the notion that they were, what and who were they, and can it be proven? Do you remember that I stated above that The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Bible says (G3097) that the word is of foreign origin from the Hebrew (H7248)”? H7248 in Brown, Driver, Briggs Hebrew- English Lexicon gives us these foreign words: rab-saris (H7249) and rab-mag. [2] It says these words are of Assyrian or Babylonian influence and “titles of As.-Bab. officers (that) are prob. loan words in Hebrew.” [3] Rab-mag could be a chief soothsayer (and I think that is the point that confused scholars), but BDB states this is equal to rab-mugi (chief of princes). BDB further states that rab-sarisis usually in Babylon chief of eunuchs, but it is equal to rabu-saresi, chief of the heads (the principal men). So, both titles could refer to government dignitaries that had little to nothing to do with astrology-sorcery. Chief of eunuchs (rab-saris) was also a minister or officer of the state, such as a general, governor, or prince. See the reference to the master or prince of eunuchs (sar-saris) [4] responsible for teaching a few selected children of Israel in all the learning and the tongue of Babylon. They (and Daniel was among them) were to be skillful in all wisdom, cunning in knowledge, and understanding science. (See Daniel 1:1-21.) Wow!! Does that not start to make you think differently? Are you beginning to get some light about this? The definitions above from the Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old Testament (BDB) leads us to believe that the magoi from the East that came to visit Jesus could have been governmental leaders like the Hebrews that were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar and later exalted to governmental positions overseeing his realm. Also, note the use of the word rab in the titles of these officials. You will see below why that word is so important.  Do you remember that Nebuchadnezzar had a dream he refused to tell the magicians and sorcerers? He wanted someone to tell him the dream AND the interpretation. God gave Daniel the dream and its interpretation, something only God could do. With that supernatural event, proving that Jehovah God was the one and only true God, Nebuchadnezzar exalted Daniel and made him chief (rab) of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. (Daniel 2:48) It would make perfect sense that these magoi from the East were Hebrew dignitaries from the eastern lands where Babylon and many other cities existed during the time of Jesus. That could satisfy our search. Did you know that there was a robust Hebrew or Jewish presence in those towns and cities of the East? Though the info is relatively sparse compared to other timeframes, some kings, queens, and whole areas seemed to have converted to Judaism. See references to the conversion to Judaism from paganism of the Adiabene kingdom in the first century. In the account of the ancient historian Josephus in his writings the Antiquities of the Jews (Book XX: Chapter 2), it shows that there was a substantial Jewish population in the kingdom. It led to the establishment of a prominent rabbinic academy in Arbela. There were Jews in many cities of the Parthian (Arcesid) empire. One prominent city with many Jews was Babylon. Historically, not all Jews left Babylon after the return to the land of Israel under Ezra and Nehemiah. Synagogues and academies were established in many cities under the Parthian and Armenian Empires. This trend of an increasing Jewish population in the Eastern lands continued for centuries. The largest rabbinical academies were in the East. I am emphasizing that because students of the Scripture in rabbinic schools would have read and understood the prophetic Word about the star of the Messiah-King rising out of the land of Israel. It would have signaled the coming of this Anointed one. The Jews would have sent their most able and learned leaders to investigate the matter. Now, that makes complete spiritual sense to me, especially when you begin to see that the title rab was given to especially gifted rabbinic leaders or chiefs. Rab was the title of the Babylonian sages who taught in the Babylonian Jewish academies. The titles "Rabban" and "Rabbi" (the root word being rab) are first mentioned in first through fifth century Jewish literature in the Mishnah and the Talmud. The term was first used in the Mishnah for Rabban Gamaliel the elder, Rabban Simeon his son, and Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai, all of whom were patriarchs or presidents of the Sanhedrin in the first century. The word rabbi occurs fifteen times in the New Testament (in the NKJV) speaking about Jesus or others. Jesus was called rabbi in the first century, and He was THE Greatest of the Great Rabbis! The root word of rabbi is rab! All that leads me to believe that the magoi were not devil worshipping astrologers, but they were the most honored Jewish religious leaders from the East that knew the prophetic Scripture and came to worship the King-Messiah Jesus! Now that agrees with my heart in the Holy Spirit! That I can believe! I can now understand how the strict Jewish family of Jesus and all the Jews of Bethlehem saw nothing wrong with visiting Jewish religious leaders from the East worshipping the King-Messiah. Joseph and Mary probably felt honored and received with great joy these Jewish leaders among the sages in Babylon!  It was all good! Much more info could be included here, but I will let it be for now. Be blessed! Jesus was born to die in our place and to redeem us. That was the purpose of His birth, to get God's Son into a human body! Only a perfect human without sin, the Second and Last Adam, could pay the eternal price for a guilty humanity. It was a great plan, one that changed things forever! Have you ever read my 244 page book, The Story of our Great Redemption? This is the link for the free download of the book!  Today's podcast gives you the story of redemption in a nutshell. Be blessed with the Word! Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year! NOTES: [1] Downloaded from Thayer's in the Mantis Bible Study app. [2] BDB p. 916, 7248-49. [3] Coded to Strong's numbers, p. 913, and see 7227 for both rab-mag and rab saris. I transliterated the words from the Hebrew found there.  [4] Daniel 1:3, 7 and look up the two titles rab-saris and sar-saris in CWS. Rab-mag and rab-sarisis also found in Jeremiah 39:3, 13. These titles referred to Babylonian princes.

Picture an iceberg. A massive iceberg, with ice mountains rising from the sea in all directions, and ice roots stretching into the unseen depths of the ocean. Biblical revelation is like that iceberg. What we have in the Scriptures is the part of the iceberg that juts out of the water, but the fullness of God's meaning plunges to the depths. Thus, in seeking to know God through the Bible, we have to go deep and wide. We read biblical sentences and paragraphs and chapters and books, and we go deep, meditating on the word and drawing out implications as we seek to trace the depth of the iceberg. And we go wide, connecting biblical sentences and paragraphs and chapters and books to other biblical sentences and paragraphs and chapters and book, showing the connections between one part of Scripture and another as we seek to chart the breadth of the iceberg. A few weeks ago, Pastor Jonathan went deep, exploring the meaning and implications of God's name in Exodus 34. Last week Pastor Kenny went wide, connecting Exodus 35-40 back to Genesis 3 and forward to Revelation 20-21. So here at Cities, we're whole Bible people. We love the whole counsel of God. We ask questions like, “What must be the case, in order for everything in the Bible to be true?” That's a systematic theology question; it goes deep into reality to make sense of biblical claims. And we ask questions like, “How does God progressively reveal himself over time?” That's a biblical theology question; it goes wide into the Bible to trace themes from Genesis to Revelation. In doing this, our aim is to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, both the breadth and the depth. A fundamental conviction as we seek to go deep and wide is that we learn to read the Bible from the biblical authors. We learn to read the Torah by seeing how the prophets read the Torah. We learn to read the Old Testament by seeing how Jesus and the apostles read the Old Testament. We look for quotations and listen for echoes so that our minds begin to run in biblical ruts. We don't merely accept Paul's doctrine; we seek to imitate Paul's method. We follow Paul's train of thought and then seek to reproduce it elsewhere. This brings us to Isaiah 45. This is Isaiah's oracle concerning Cyrus, king of Persia. Isaiah wrote this 200 years before Cyrus appeared on the scene. Despite being a pagan ruler, Cyrus is the Lord's anointed, his messiah, his Christ. Though Cyrus does not know Yahweh, Yahweh knows Cyrus, names Cyrus, calls Cyrus, and equips Cyrus to fulfill God's purposes. God will go before Cyrus and subdue nations and open locked gates for him (45:1-3). He does this so that God through Cyrus will restore the fortunes of Israel following their exile to Babylon (Isaiah 45:4-5). And Yahweh acts in this way so that all people will know “I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God” (45:5, 6). In fact, the uniqueness of the Lord becomes the dominant theme of this entire chapter. Again and again, Yahweh asserts his unique divine prerogatives. Again and again, the Lord, through his prophet, shouts that he alone is God. Hear the trumpet blast of God's absolute uniqueness sound seven times in this one chapter.

Afghanistan in Bible Prophecy - Pastor Rick Danna www.ccanaheim.com/donate     Afghanistan In Bible Prophecy 2 Peter 3:8-10 “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Daniel 9:27 Good News Translation (GNT) “That ruler will have a firm agreement with many people for seven years, and when half this time is past, he will put an end to sacrifices and offerings. The Awful Horror will be placed on the highest point of the Temple and will remain there until the one who put it there meets the end which God has prepared for him.” John 5:43 “I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.” ISLAMIC ANTICHRIST the Mahdi COMPARING THE BIBLICAL ANTICHRIST AND THE MAHDI 2:18 “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. ). Using other names, however, there are numerous references to the Antichrist found throughout the Bible. Some of the various names that Scripture assigns to him are “the Beast” (Revelation 13:4), “the abomination that causes desolation” (Matthew 24:15), “the desolator” (Daniel 9:27), “the man of sin,” “the man of lawlessness,” “the son of destruction” (2 Thessalonians 2), “the little horn” (Daniel 7:8), “the Assyrian” (Micah 5:5, Isaiah 10:5, 14:25), “the oppressor,” “the king of Babylon” (Isaiah 14), and even the mysterious “Gog” (Ezekiel 38:1, Revelation 20:7). There are several other names Daniel 7:25-27 “He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time. 26 ‘But the court shall be seated, And they shall take away his dominion, To consume and destroy it forever. 27 Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.'. Revelation 13:4–8 The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” 5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.. THE MAHDI AS WORLD RULER THE ANTICHRIST AS A SPIRITUAL WORLD LEADER Revelation 13:8 DARBY “and all that dwell on the earth shall do it homage, [every one] whose name had not been written from [the] founding of [the] world in the book of life of the slain Lamb.” FALSE PROPHET “But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. (Revelation 19:20) THE MAHDI AS A SPIRITUAL WORLD LEADER THE MUSLIM JESUS Revelation 1:18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. THE RETURN OF THE MUSLIM JESUS (Isa) ISA THE SLAYER OF THE DAJJAL “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Revelation 13:16-17 The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews. A MILITARY ATTACK AGAINST ISRAEL AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE TEMPLE...

Hezekiah reveals his wealth to Babylon—Isaiah prophesies the Babylonian captivity. The post Isaiah 39 appeared first on Sacred Text Daily.

Hezekiah reveals his wealth to Babylon—Isaiah prophesies the Babylonian captivity. The post Isaiah 39 appeared first on Sacred Text Daily.

July 4, 2021 Carried to Babylon (Isaiah 38:1-39:8) 2021 Sermon Series: The Book of Isaiah: God's Heart to Rescue & Restore July's theme: “Comfort for Exiles: The Goodness of God in a Broken World” Nathan Parker, Senior Pastor Woodmont Baptist Church

Isaiah 47:1-15 - Bad News for BabylonThe Future for the Cities of Man is BleakNotes: https://www.theunsafebible.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Bad-News-for-Babylon-Notes.pdfPastor Ken BrownSupport the show (https://pushpay.com/g/theunsafebible)

EBIs-05c We All Just Took A Big Step Towards The End – Beware Of The Coming Wrath Of God  201026PM Short Clip The Doom of Babylon • Destruction of Babylon Isaiah 13, 14; Jeremiah 50, 51 – “Never to be inhabited” – “Building materials never reused” – “Like Sodom and Gomorrah” • Fall of Babylon [...] The post TELESCOPIC PROPHECIES–Isaiah Confirms What John Describes In Revelation appeared first on Discover the Book Ministries.

EBIs-05 We All Just Took A Big Step Towards The End – Beware Of The Coming Wrath Of God 201026PM Short Clip The Doom of Babylon • Destruction of Babylon Isaiah 13, 14; Jeremiah 50, 51 – “Never to be inhabited” – “Building materials never reused” – “Like Sodom and Gomorrah” • Fall of Babylon [...] The post GOD DESCRIBES THE COMING END-OF-DAYS DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON appeared first on Discover the Book Ministries.

EPISODE 25 In our study of Isaiah 13, we get introduced to Isaiah 13-25, and we see the first nation under God's judgement, Babylon While ABP is not a scholarly work, I would like to reference any material that my teaching was based on or influenced by: -John Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1-39 (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament) (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1986) Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

February 14, 2021 - Rev. Alexander Brown

Fall of the Mountain “King”(Isaiah 14)In response to the fall of Babylon (Isaiah 13), which frees God’speople (Isa. 14:1–3), Isaiah 14:4–23 utters a figurative taunt (see alsoMic. 2:4, Hab. 2:6) against the king of Babylon. It is poetic, not meantto be literal, obviously, as it portrays dead kings greeting their new col-league in the realm of death (Isa. 14:9, 10), where maggots and wormsare his bedding (Isa. 14:11). This is simply the Lord’s dramatic way oftelling the haughty king that he shall be brought low, as other proudmonarchs before him—it is not a commentary on the state of the dead!How could Isaiah 14:12–14 apply to a king of Babylon?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________Babylonian kings did not suffer from lack of self-esteem (Daniel 4, 5).But aspiring to “be like the most High” (Isa. 14:14) would be beyond eventhe most inflated ego. While kings claimed strong connections with thegods, they were subservient to them. This was dramatically demonstratedevery year on the fifth day of the Babylonian New Year Festival, in whichthe king was required to remove his royal insignia before approaching thestatue of Marduk so his kingship could be reaffirmed. The idea of displac-ing even a lesser god would have been looked upon as crazy and suicidal.As in Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28 identifies heaven-daring arrogance withthe ruler of a city. Here also, the description goes beyond that of anearthly monarch, and God’s crosshairs come into sharper focus: theproud potentate was in the Garden of Eden, an anointed, covering, orguardian cherub on God’s holy mountain, perfect from the day he wascreated until sin was found in him, cast out by God, and will eventuallybe destroyed with fire (Ezek. 28:12–18). Applied to any human being,the specific terms of this rhetoric are so figurative as to be meaningless.But Revelation 12:7–9 does tell of a mighty being who was cast out ofheaven with his angels: “Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” (Rev.12:9, NRSV), who deceived Eve in Eden (Genesis 3).Satan has a proud imagination: “You have said, ‘I am a god; I sit inthe seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,’ yet you are but a mortal,and no god” (Ezek. 28:2, NRSV). The manner of his death will prove heis no god. Unlike Christ, Satan will perish in the heart of a sea of fire(Rev. 20:10), never to haunt the universe again.Compare Isaiah 14:13, 14 with Matthew 11:29, John 13:5, andPhilippians 2:5–8. What does this contrast tell us about the char-acter of God as opposed to the character of Satan? What doesthis contrast tell us about how the Lord views pride, arrogance,and the desire for self-supremacy?

Revelation 14:6-13 Series: Just Conquer #40 INTRODUCTION I've read too many British novelists, including Lewis and Tolkien, not to come across the word draught. It's apparently not an American English word; we use "draft.” They are pronounced the same, but, to me, draft doesn't seem quite the same. Though it has a number of meanings, for now, think of draught as a portion of drink, a gulp or swallow of a long and thirst-quenching drink, typically of some sort of adult beverage (or elvish). You sip tea, you down a draught of beer. In the middle part of Revelation 14 three angels announce a draught of doom and identify those who will drink a draught of God's wrath. God's anger is likened to wine that will be drunk and will cause disaster for them. The hour of His judgment has come upon those who have made the wrong worship choices, and their torment is just getting started. Satan (in chapter 12) has thrown himself against the Lord's anointed and any who follow the Lamb. The antichrist (in chapter 13) embodies the jealousies of Satan and sets himself up as a poser king over the nations. The false prophet leads the earth in worshipping an image of the false messiah. The lies are heavy and great pressure is applied so that all will take the beast's mark. None can resist in quiet. Worship the beast or lose your life. At the beginning of chapter 14 we see a remnant of God's people who do not bow to the beast, many of whom appear to pay the ultimate (earthly) price for it. They have the name of the Father and of the Lamb on their foreheads, and they will not defile themselves in fornication or in falsehood. Now, though, we begin to see what the future holds for the earth-dwellers. It is not good. I have preached around 460 sermons at TEC. Most of those sermons have tracked sequentially through a book of the Bible. We've finished John and Genesis, 1 Corinthians and some other quicker studies through shorter epistles. We're more than halfway through Revelation, and I don't remember ever working through a paragraph on hell, on the lake of fire, that is as explicit as this paragraph about eternal judgment. There have been sermons on Sodom and Gomorrah, and we've studied Psalms with judgment on rebels, but this is an unmistakable, and awful passage about God's everlasting punishment on sinners. There is even more to come in the Apocalypse. Hell is an almost unbearable subject, and who can imagine how triggering it is to today's average college graduate. Psychologically, as in, down in our psuchos/souls, our consciences accuse us and that torment is an prelude of the physical and mental torment coming on those who will not give glory to God. This is a terrible reality that points to the terrible offense of our sin, and it would be a good opportunity for parents to talk to their kids about it further. Most of the time we talk about adorning the doctrine of God so that it is appealing, especially to our kids. We emphasize that the Lord blesses obedience, and we will see that in this passage as well. But it is good to learn, or to be reminded, that every life on earth will come to an end, and that who we've worshipped has eternal consequences, in ceaseless song or the ceaseless smoke of torment. In verses 6-13 there are four voices making four announcements. ANNOUNCEMENT ONE: FEAR GOD (verses 6-7) As usual John "saw" another vision and he sees “another angel flying directly overhead.” The last angel John mentioned was Michael who threw Satan out of heaven (12:7), but the last similar flying announcer was an eagle proclaiming a trifecta of woes (8:13). This angel carries “an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.” Is this a saving gospel? There is no mention of Jesus or the cross, rather an appeal to their consciences as recognizing a Creator. This is part of what makes it "eternal," since it is about the eternal God, and it has eternal consequences. Beast-image worship belongs to a temporary mob. All those worldly worshippers are enslaved by the comforts and consensus (even the comfort of consensus itself) of the beast culture. This gospel ups their accountability. The angel's message is, “Fear God and give him glory because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.” We could call this creation theology, or natural theology. Honoring God is exactly what men refuse to do. The truth that He deserves honor is the truth they suppress (Romans 1:18-22). "The hour of his judgment has come," so this is the last call, the final warning to fear the Lord. It's one of the reasons that points to a future "hour," because this sort of "hour" is not cyclical. ANNOUNCEMENT TWO: BABYLON HAS FALLEN (verse 8) The second announcement is made by a second angel, and it also portrays the end. “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great.” Proclaimed as if it is completed, the system propped up by the beasts will not last. Count on it. The beast's kingdom is called "Babylon." The original Babylonians lived in luxury and dominated as a world empire. They loved themselves and took God's people captive. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon in Daniel's day, played at being god, and he was judged. king [Nebuchadnezzar] answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30) Rome had earned herself the nickname as a modern Babylon. Whether or not the future kingdom is centered in a renewed city along the Euphrates River or if the future kingdom can be represented as a new Babylon, the quote in Isaiah applies: ““Fallen, fallen is Babylon” (Isaiah 21:9). This Babylon has “made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.” She seduced the peoples as by giving them strong wine, enticing them to drink their fill. Later in Revelation Babylon is called a prostitute (chapter 17), and she has captivated the world. It's not right to take this as a symbol of Jerusalem, and it's not sufficient to call Babylon the papacy, at least not of the 16th century. Is "sexual immorality" their physical practice or a spiritual picture? It could be both. We are talking about nations, the wine and the sex are likely metaphors. And also, the relationships among and between the people are wicked. Babylon has set the tone and intoxicated the whole earth and made the nations mad (Jeremiah 51:7-8). ANNOUNCEMENT THREE: DRAUGHT JUDGMENT (verses 9-12) A third angel “followed” them, so all of these proclamations belong together. This angel exposes the real dangers of the beast and taking the beast's mark. In chapter 13 “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand” he can buy and sell. Refusal to worship the beast warrants the death penalty. The death penalty is better. In chapter 14 the one who takes the beast's mark will drink the wine of God's wrath. The one who drinks wine (of immorality) will get more wine (of judgment). The first cup tasted smooth, this cup leads to disaster. The first made men smashed, the second wakes them up. God's wine is “poured full strength” or “mixed in full strength” (NAS). It could be translated "mixed and unmixed/undiluted." Wine could be enhanced with spices, it could also be watered down. This wine is concentrated, undiluted and doctored with strengthening agents. It is poured into the cup of God's anger. For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup
 with foaming wine, well mixed,
and he pours out from it,
 and all the wicked of the earth
 shall drain it down to the dregs. 
(Psalm 75:8) The analogy changes in the second half of verse 10: “he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night.” Fire and brimstone/sulfur, are images that remind us of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19), but His hour of judgment is not just one hour of burning. Jesus said it was better to cut off your hands than to go to hell where the fire is never quenched (Mark 9:33). The “torment” appears to be both physical and mental. This is not annihilation, it is not to be lifeless, but rather to know conscious pain, with no stop, no rest. Ceasing would be a sort of rest, a pause in the pain or forgetting conviction. This is being alert to one's numbness to God's glory in a way that harasses and distresses. Like a boat caught in a storm of waves, so sinners are caught in unrelenting suffering. The duration is forever and ever (“unto the ages of ages”), day and night. This is eternal destruction. While the point in chapter 14 is to remind the saints to endure temporary troubles, the judgment will come to all who fall short of the glory of God. It is a just penalty. Verse 12 does not move us from the third announcement, but it does encourage the saints once again to endure. “Here is a call for the endurance of the saints.” Keep keeping on. Keep obeying whenever the obedience is called for. Hold fast the faith and follow Jesus as the Lamb. ANNOUNCEMENT FOUR: BLESSED INDEED (verse 13) The voice in verse 13 is not an angel. It is “a voice from heaven,” and followed up by "the Spirit." This promise comes from God Himself, unmediated. The voice tells John to write “Blessed. The Spirit agrees, "Yes" or “Indeed.” The favored are not abandoned by God even in their death, which is an argument from the greater to the lesser. Death is not the worst, by far. The “from now on” emphasizes those who die as Christians, they are “in the Lord.” They are untied with the Lamb, and cannot be separated from Him. He rules over all spheres, and we are to live in His sphere. The Spirit speaks explicitly two times in Revelation: when He says "Come" in chapter 22 and here. The Spirit seals believers and He strengthens them for love and good deeds. He brings about the obedience of faith and blessing. Believers will “rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.” The "rest" doesn't mean inactivity as much as it means no longer working amidst unresolved conflict. The deeds following refers to rewards. We're saved by faith, and our labors in faith are not in vain. Remember Paul's exhortation to take care how one builds, as each one's work will become manifest in “the Day.” If our work by God's grace is not burned up, we will receive a reward (1 Corinthians 3:10-15). Pay attention to the ends. Take heed of true torment and true rest, of His judgment and His blessing. CONCLUSION Those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness and ungodliness are threatened with eternal, conscious suffering. They go along with the crowd, and the way is wide that leads to destruction. The glory of God and the warning of hell prove the deceitfulness of sin and how hard-hearted/blind it makes the nations. One reason why this passage points to a future fulfillment is because today, the call to repentance is mixed with many graces. What a contrast. The beast offers no gospel, the Lamb offers eternal blessing and rest. “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” ---- Charge: I don't know who needs to hear this, but thanks be to God who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. You are what you are by the grace of God, so work harder than others, and remember that it is not you but God who is with you. You may be surprised at what it takes to be steadfast, but you will not be surprised when God accepts your deeds done in faith and says, Blessed! Benediction: But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:57–58, ESV)

Isaiah: Tragedy & Hope - Hezekiah & Babylon - Isaiah 38-39 - 7/26/20 by Denton North Church

While reflecting on the tragedy of exile in Babylon Isaiah took Israel to task and upgraded her vision on who her Lord was. Fast forward to today and this provided the deep foundation for science as we know it today. Improbable? Read on or listen to Francis on audio.

Are we on the cusp of the Fall of Babylon?

Isaiah 14:1-9 - "Dodgy" and "Gone to the Dogs" - Taunting the Real King of Babylon -  Notes: https://www.theunsafebible.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Dodgy-Notes.pdfPastor Ken BrownSupport the show (https://pushpay.com/g/theunsafebible)

Isaiah 13:12-22 - Prophecies About BabylonNotes: https://www.theunsafebible.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Prophecies-About-Babylon-Notes.pdf Pastor Ken BrownSupport the show (https://pushpay.com/g/theunsafebible)

Themes 7 Scriptures Mentioned:The City of God - Salem (eventually Jerusalem) - Genesis 14The City of Man - Babel (Eventually Babylon) Genesis 10The Fall of Babylon- Isaiah 13 & 14; Jeremiah 50 & 51; Revelation 17 & 18Separation of God’s System from World System- John 17Revelation of the Church - Ephesians 3God Declares war on Satan - Genesis 3

“He is Righteous” — Revelation 19.1-10 — May 19, 2019 A king engaged to a beautiful princess. 
Well, a commoner. 
Actually, not very pretty. // But stole his heart. King went on a journey. // To a battle.
Warning: Others will try to sit on my throne. Try to entice my people.
BUT I WILL COME BACK…Only after I secure your freedom The King left. He was gone weeks. Months. Years. We have been looking at several portraits of Jesus in Revelation these last four weeks. We have done this because in our day and age it’s really easy for people to shape Jesus into who they want him to be. The problem is that these pictures of Jesus don’t come from how he has revealed himself. Instead, people make Jesus soft and gentle and weak. Someone who never demands anything. Surely, he loved everyone and revealed God’s mercy and grace in touching lepers and in healing the sick. It’s easy to forget that we are in the midst of a battle. A battle for not only our hearts and minds. But a battle for the hearts and minds of those we come into contact everyday. We have seen that Jesus’ resurrection has won victory over our greatest enemy in chapter 1 as Firstborn of the Dead. That he is worthy to open the scroll of God’s plan from the beginning of time in chapter 5. That he reigns completely and benevolently in chapter 7. And now we are at the end of the book where we see that he is righteous and just in all he does. The great multitude of the redeemed people of God we saw last week show up again here. Revelation 19.1-10 V.1: After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah!
 Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
 for his judgments are true and just;
 for he has judged the great prostitute
 who corrupted the earth with her immorality,
 and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” After what? Chapters 17 and 18 speak about the great Beast and the Prostitute who is defeated by the slain Lamb of God. Who are they? They are equated with the great and awful city of Babylon. But Babylon was not in power at the time of this revelation to John. So why Babylon? This forces us to go back to the prophets Ezekiel and Daniel and Jeremiah and Isaiah. They were the great prophets during the time of the Babylonian Exile of God’s people. Because God’s people had broken his law. The law we heard in Leviticus 19. Loving our neighbor as ourselves. Not being greedy. Not looking out for only ourselves, but looking to the needs of others. Because they had found security in the promises of other kings and found their security in their bank accounts. In their relationships. In good things that became more valuable to them than God. God sent them into Exile to cleanse them. Babylon, therefore, isn’t simply the socio-political entity of Babylon. It had already been destroyed. It represents anything that we would find our confidence in. This was the issue for Israel. They had put their confidence in political alliances with Babylon, Assyria, and Egypt. They had fooled themselves into thinking that anything other than God would give them the security and life they longed for. The Church was at risk of this same thing. As it looked around and saw Christians being crucified and burned and torn apart at the hands of Rome, you can rest assured that they were anxious. They needed to have the veil lifted from their eyes to see not only that God reigns in spite of what they saw. They needed to see his nearness. Though hidden. That’s the great temptation we all have. Egypt and Babylon and Rome were glorious. Their kings ate off plates of gold. Drank from goblets with jewels. They were the epitome of success and power. We haven’t traveled too far. Scripture makes it clear that we ought never to trust what we see with our eyes. This is what Revelation is at pains to reveal to us. Just consider how many times John says he saw. God wants to drill into our hearts the unseen and hidden reality. We trust our perceptions far too readily. This is what Satan is depending on to win our attention. And by winning our attention. Winning our affection. That’s what Babylons do. Just listen to Rev. 18.16-17: “Alas, alas, for the great city that was clothed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, with jewels, and with pearls! 17 For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.” Let me ask you a question. Is it wrong for the King to destroy the wicked? Is it wrong for Jesus to wipe out the sin in all the earth? No. In fact, our faith depends on this glorious fact. What hope do we have if evil is not dealt with? Honestly, what hope do we have if the evil we hear about everyday and that which goes on behind closed doors is never dealt with? God is not in the business of turning a blind eye to the evil in the world. He promises that all of it will be dealt with. Dealt with justly. Dealt with eternally. V.3: “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.” Eternal peace depends on eternal judgment. God shows up and is angry. Love gets angry when the object of its affection is threatened. When the king returns to his betrothed, love requires that he be angry! Until that peace is won by the blood-drenched sword of Jesus, there can be no celebration. This idea is not new to John. This was the very paradigm in Isaiah 34 and 35. Listen to a few representative passages:  1 Draw near, O nations, to hear, and give attention, O peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that fills it; the world, and all that comes from it. 2 For the LORD is enraged against all the nations, and furious against all their host; he has devoted them to destruction, has given them over for slaughter…For the LORD has a day of vengeance…Night and day it shall not be quenched; its smoke shall go up forever. So what happens after the judgment of the evil of Babylon? Isaiah 35.1: The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; 2 it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Is. 35:5    Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 7 the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water… Is. 35:8    And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. 9 No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. 10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Is this not what happens in our passage? There is a great wedding. The wedding Jesus spoke about in Matthew 25 that we heard. How shall we prepare? By always being ready for his return. By loving our neighbor as ourself. By not being greedy for selfish gain. By not believing that all that glitters is gold that will last. To not trust what our eyes see. But what faith demands from us. To lay down our tendency to put me first. Instead trusting that God is more valuable than anything we could gain in this world. But let me make this utterly clear. We do not do righteous deeds to earn his favor. All are invited to the feast. And the robes that the multitude are covered in…do you remember why they are white? Because they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. The righteous deeds we do are based upon the righteousness of Jesus. Day by day we are called to reflect his goodness and grace and love. Listen to what John also wrote in 1John 3: And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. He is Righteous. We are righteous because we have been forgiven. And in being forgiven we are freed from the slavery to Babylon and all its temptations. Temptation to sell our birthright for paltry porridge. Have you ever considered why Scripture calls the return of Christ a Marriage? I believe its due to the fact that there is no more intimate relationship on earth. No other relationship that angers us more. That changes us more. That accepts us more. Another marriage in Scripture. God loves the unlovely. Not just a plain commoner. He destroys the Beast and Prostitute in our passage—which represents Satan and his schemes. But we see another prostitute in Scripture. The Prophet Hosea marries a Prostitute. He clothes her. He cares for her. She runs away from him. How does the Lord respond—end at Hosea 14?
4 I will heal their apostasy;
I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
he shall blossom like the lily;
he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;
6 his shoots shall spread out;
his beauty shall be like the olive,
and his fragrance like Lebanon.
7 They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow;
they shall flourish like the grain;
 they shall blossom like the vine;
their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon. And it is at this Marriage Supper that all the evil in the world will be cleansed and we will celebrate. The righteous judgment on the evil in the world levels the high places of idolatry. And in so doing, we find that all that we longed for was waiting for us as his Table.

The three categories of YHWH'S ministers 1. The Elders 2. The living creatures and or the beasts 3. The Angels The Elders: 1. There are 24 of them (Rev. 4:2-4) 2. They seat in the counsel of YHWH 3. They preside over the 24 jurisdictions of YHWH The living creatures and or the beasts: 1. Cherubim and Seraphim ( Ezekiel 1: 4-8, Ezekiel 10: 8-15, Isaiah 6:1-4) 2. They have both animal and human features 3. They don't have particular territories assigned to them but serve YHWH in all of His jurisdictions 4. They are guardians of the throne and the holiness of YHWH 5. They do not have the will power to act on their own authority unless from YHWH or from a higher authority. They are kind of like our earthly military. 6. They can be friendly but they can also be brutal The Angels 1. They have human appearance (Genesis 18:1-3, Genesis 19:1) 2. They eat food ( Psalms 78:23-25) 3. They are ranked from the highest being principalities to the lowest 4. Among the principalities are also the Arch angels or the Great or the Chief principalities ( Daniel 12:1, Daniel 10:13, Jude 1:9, and Ezekiel 38:1-3) 5. Angels have specific territories assigned to them More about Angels and their territories The seven principalities that rebelled with Lucifer and their territories: 1. Lucifer the prince of Babylon ( Isaiah 14:4-12) 2. Pharaoh the great dragon the prince of Egypt ( Ezekiel 29:2-3) 3. The prince of Tyre, the anointed cherub of the land of Tyre ( Ezekiel 27:1-5, Ezekiel 28:1-2 and 12-15 4. The Assyrian of the land of Assyria 5. The prince of Persia 6. The prince of Grecia ( Daniel 10:20-21) 7. The Greco-Roman described by Daniel the prophet as dreadful and terrible and exceedingly strong. ( Daniel 7:7) 8. The chief prince of Gog of the land of Magog. The prince and the land in favour of YHWH: 1. Michael the chief prince of the land of Israel 2. The seven Angels that walk to and fro the earth 3. Numerous of angels etc. NB: Angel Gabriel is YHWH'S messenger from the third heaven. YHWH'S prophetic word for you Exodus 23:20-23

Will You Live For ''The Branch'' or Babylon? (Isaiah 13:17 - 14:2)