Signs of the Times
Though we are to be cautious
in making specific predictions
about the second coming of Jesus Christ,
we are to be alert to certain signs
that may signal His imminent return.
Here’s Gene to explain:
The whole area of prophecy--
as believers we’re not too cautious
in terms of some of our conclusions.
But on the other hand, we need
to really be alert to certain things
that are happening in our world
that will point to the fact
that Jesus Christ is going to come
and that He could come very soon.
Now it’s been 2,000 years
since this letter was written--
or this book was written.
There were some people who thought it was
all going to happen within the first century,
or the second, or the third.
So all along the way there are indicators
that can be certainly positive indicators,
correct indicators. Some of them can be very false.
And that’s why we have to be cautious.
But tonight, I think you’ll see why
balance is so very, very important here.
Going into Revelation chapter 17,
let me highlight a few verses here
just to set the stage.
In Revelation chapter 17, verse 1--
and this really now is another vision, as it were.
Following the vision that John had
in relationship to the seals,
to the trumpets and those judgments,
as well as the bowl judgments.
This is sort of a--this is a breakpoint
and this takes us now to a
whole other concept and vision
that John had as he was recording this.
And this is what we read:
Then one of the seven angels
who had the seven bowls…
And of course, what we’re doing here
is finishing up, as it were, the continuity.
[It's] coming now at the end of the
seven bowl judgments.
And one of those seven angels:
…came and spoke with me: …
In John’s vision, which must have been
an incredible experience if you can imagine.
One of these angels that had
just released one of the bowl judgments
is now communicating with John in this vision.
And the angel said:
…"Come, I will show you the judgment
of the notorious prostitute
who sits on many waters."
Now obviously this is symbolic language.
And later on we’ll find out who this is
or what this is.
And also, when it talks about many waters,
it’s talking about many people.
In fact the chapters that we’re looking at,
certain sections, interpret some of these symbols.
And by the way, when you study
through the book of Revelation,
some of the symbols are interpreted
right within the sections,
once the symbols are stated.
In some instances, you have to interpret them
from the Old Testament setting.
In other situations, we’re not really
totally sure what the symbols mean.
We have to speculate a bit.
Be cautious. But try to interpret it
in the light of the whole.
Now here we have an interpretation
of this situation that we’re just reading about.
This is a further elaboration in verse 5:
On her forehead a cryptic name was written:
Babylon the Great…
That’s a partial interpretation:
…the mother of prostitutes
and of the vile things of the earth.
Doesn’t take much imagination
to realize that whatever we’re
talking about here, is we’re
talking about something that’s very evil.
Something is very wicked.
Something that's very immoral.
Now if you read on and you come
to the end of the chapter,
we have an interpretation as to
who this great prostitute is:
And the woman you saw is the great city
that has an empire
over the kings of the earth.
Now that tells you a great deal
about this situation.
A great city which has influence
throughout the earth.
Now let me give you
some interpretation here:
Some [actually] believe this is
a literal reference to Babylon, the great city
that was built by Nebuchadnezzar
and later captured by the Medo-Persians.
If this is an accurate interpretation,
ancient Babylon will be rebuilt
before Christ returns to rule
and reign on earth.
[Now] Jeremiah seems
to support this conclusion in a rather definitive way
in his Old Testament prophecies.
I could give you a lot of these
but I’m going to give you some samples:
For example, compare what he wrote
with John’s vision revealed
and recorded centuries later:
Now what we’re going to do is
we’re going to look into chapters 17 and 18.
And I’m going to give you some comparisons
with the prophecies of Jeremiah.
What Jeremiah actually wrote.
And what we’ll do is we’ll compare
what he wrote with what John wrote.
And notice the similarities.
Here’s the first one:
They both described Babylon
as a cup of gold.
For example, Jeremiah 51:7--he says:
Babylon was a golden cup…
Now he’s talking about a little city.
He’s not talking about some mystery
or some idea or some symbol.
He’s talking about a literal city:
...Babylon was a golden cup
in the Lord’s hand making
the whole earth drunk. ...
And that, by the way, is a significant metaphor
when you look at what this
symbol in Revelation says
about this great prostitute:
…The nations drank her wine; …
And there he’s actually using
a feminine reference to Babylon.
A literal reference to Babylon:
…therefore, the nations go mad.
Now if you just keep that in mind
and you read through chapters 17 and 18,
there’s some interesting correlations there
with the nations.
Now if you go to Revelation 17:4,
here you see some correlation:
The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls.
She had [What?] a gold cup…
Think that’s an accident?
That John is using the same language here
as Jeremiah used?
I’m quite sure that he didn’t have a copy--
a scroll of Jeremiah--
when he was recording this.
He is recording this by the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, who centuries earlier
had inspired Jeremiah to use the same symbol:
…She had a gold cup in her hand filed
with everything vile
and with the impurities of her prostitution.
This is all symbolic language
but it really communicates.
Revelation 18:6, you see,
going into chapter 18.
We just looked at 17 but in 18:
…Pay her back the way she also paid,
and double it according to her works.
In the cup in which she mixed,
mix a double portion for her.
In other words, judgment is coming.
As she poured out her impurities,
so you’re going to see a mixture in a cup
that will double and judge her.
Namely this city--this great city.
They both described
Babylon as residing by or dwelling
on many waters.
And note that John described
these waters as--as I said earlier,
"peoples, multitudes, nations and languages."
That’s the symbolism.
Waters refer to all these peoples.
And in Jeremiah we read:
You who reside by many waters,
rich in treasures, your end has come,
your life thread is cut.
Now remember, Jeremiah is
talking about a little city.
He’s talking about Babylon.
Talking about Nebuchadnezzar.
In Revelation we read:
Then one of the seven angels
who had the seven bowls
came and spoke with me:
"Come, I will show you the
judgment of the notorious prostitute
who sits on [What?] many waters."
And we know that refers to people:
They both prophesied that
Babylon would be destroyed suddenly.
And by the way, that’s a very important
thing to underscore: suddenly.
This Babylon would be destroyed.
In Jeremiah 51:8:
Suddenly [Jeremiah says] Babylon fell
and was shattered. Wail for her;
get balm for her wound--
perhaps she can be healed.
This is a prophecy regarding Babylon.
And he’s speaking first and foremost
of the city of Babylon at that time,
but there’s another meaning here.
There’s a prophetic meaning here.
And when you get to Revelation
this is what you read:
Therefore her plagues
will come in one day [that’s sudden]--
death, and grief, and famine.
The city is symbolized by this great prostitute.
Another comparison. They both prophesied that
Babylon would be destroyed by fire.
Jeremiah wrote this:
Babylon’s warriors have stopped fighting;
they sit in their strongholds.
Their might is exhausted;
they have become like women.
Babylon’s homes have been set [What?]
ablaze, her gate bars are shattered.
Fire. But notice what Revelation 17:16 says:
The ten horns you saw, and the beast,
will hate the prostitute. ...
There you see the mixed emotions:
...They will make her desolate and naked,
devour her flesh,
and burn her [up] with fire.
Notice it says "the beast."
The beast there is referring to the beast
that came up out of the sea,
which is the anti-Christ.
Which we saw earlier in our study last week.
The beast, the anti-Christ,
this man of destruction
that Paul talks about in Thessalonians.
Again, in Revelation we read:
As they watched the smoke
from her burning and kept crying out:
"Who is like the great city?"
This is talking about this great prostitute.
That’s the symbolism.
What both Jeremiah and John
envisioned are almost identical events
related to Babylon.
We’ve seen that.
However, it is also very significant
that historically much of what they
envisioned has never come to pass.
It hasn’t happened
in relationship to those specific prophecies.
Now if these are correct conclusions,
it appears the literal ancient city of Babylon
will be rebuilt at some point in the future
and have an evil worldwide influence.
If you go back into the passage,
interpret it as we’ve just interpreted it.
…Furthermore, this city will suddenly
and completely be destroyed
by the beast. And we read that
in chapter 17: completely be destroyed
by the beast prior to Christ’s return.
All of that will happen.
Suddenly it will happen if indeed
John is accurate in his prophecy
and if indeed Jeremiah was accurate.
And they came together
and made the same basic statements:
[Now,] the 10 horns that you saw,
and the beast, will hate the prostitute.
[Revelation 17]
They will make her desolate and naked…
In other words, the beast,
the anti-Christ, and the 10 kings
that are in cahoots with him,
they’re going to destroy this rebuilt city.
If indeed the interpretation is accurate:
…They will make her desolate and naked,
devour her flesh, [and] burn her [up] with fire.
For God has put it into their hearts…
God is still in charge of this even though
they’re human in they're evil endeavors:
…For God has put it into their hearts
to carry out His plan by having one purpose,
and to give their kingdom to the beast
until God’s words are accomplished.
In other words, here we have
a statement right from
Revelation chapter 17.
If indeed the prophecy is literal
that Babylon will be rebuilt.
Just as Israel became a state,
so perhaps this is an indicator
that something is going to happen in the future.
Well we know something is
going to happen in the future.
And things can happen
very, very quickly in culture
as we see happening around us even today,
apart from that kind of crisis.
Such as the church being removed
and all Christians removed from the world.