The book of Revelations is filled with analogies that point to God’s glory and the hope we have only in Christ. In this message on Revelation 17–18, Pastor David Platt emphasizes the importance of loving God and not the world. He shares two implications for Christian life
The book of Revelations is filled with analogies that point to God’s glory and the hope we have only in Christ. In this message on Revelation 17–18, Pastor David Platt emphasizes the importance of loving God and not the world. He shares two implications for Christian life
You are listening to Radical with David Platt, a weekly podcast with sermons and messages from pastor, author and teacher David Platt.
Speaker 2:Revelation 17 and 18. Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk. And he carried me away into the spirit, into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality, and on her forehead was written a name of mystery Babylon, the Great mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations. And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her I marveled greatly. But the angel said to me why do you marvel?
Speaker 3:I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. The beast that you saw was and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated. They are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen. One is. The other has not yet come, and when he does come, he must remain only a little while. As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth, but it belongs to the seven and it goes to destruction.
Speaker 3:And the 10 horns that you saw are 10 kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. These are of one mind and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. They will make war on the lamb and the lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and king of kings and those with him are called and chosen and faithful. And the angel said to me the waters that you saw where the prostitute is seated are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages and the ten horns that you saw. They and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled. And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.
Speaker 2:After this, I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority. And the earth was made bright with his glory, and he called out with a mighty voice and the earth was made bright with his glory and he called out with a mighty voice Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great. She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast, for all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.
Speaker 3:Then I heard another voice from heaven saying Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues, for her sins are heaped as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Pay her back, as she herself has paid back others, and repay her double for her deeds. Mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed, as she glorified herself and lived in luxury. So give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see. For this reason, her plagues will come in a single day death and mourning and famine, and she will be burnt up with fire. For mighty is the Lord, god, who has judged her.
Speaker 2:And the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning.
Speaker 2:They will stand far off in fear of her torment and say Alas, alas. You great city, you mighty city, babylon, for in a single hour your judgment has come and the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon, spice incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots and slaves, that is, human souls. The fruit for which your soul long has gone from you, and all your delicacies and your splendors are lost to you, never to be found again. The merchants of these wares, who gain wealth from her, will stand far off in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud. Alas, alas, for the great city that was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, with jewels and with pearls, for in a single hour, all this wealth has been laid waste.
Speaker 3:And all the shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning. What city was like the great city? And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out alas, alas for the great city, where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth. For in a single hour she has been laid waste. Rejoice over her, o heaven, and you, saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her.
Speaker 2:Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying so will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence and will be found no more? And the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters will be heard in you no more. And a craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more. And the sound of the mill will be heard in you no more. And the light of a lamp will shine in you no more. And the voice of bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more. For your merchants were the great ones of the earth and all nations were deceived by your sorcery. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on earth.
Speaker 1:If you have a Bible and I hope you do if you're not already open to Revelation, chapter 17, let me invite you to open there with me. And once you find Revelation 17, let me encourage you to turn somewhere else as well. 1 John, chapter 2, which go ahead and go first to Revelation 17, last book in the Bible, one of the last chapters in the Bible, and then take a left just back a few pages. You'll go past just a couple of books. You'll go past Jude and 3 John and 2 John and you'll come to 1 John, chapter 2. So kind of, hold your place in Revelation 17. We're going to start in just a minute in 1 John 2. So I'll give you a minute to find both of those passages and then invite you to look up here.
Speaker 1:My heart is really heavy tonight and a lot of this text. We just heard there's an excellent book called worldliness by CJ Mahaney and in that book CJ says today the greatest challenge facing Bible-believing American Christians is not persecution from the world but seduction by the world. Charles Spurgeon said in his day words that I am convinced apply directly to our day. He said I believe that one reason why the church of God at this present moment has so little influence over the world is because the world has so much influence over the church. He said put your finger on any prosperous page in the church's history and you will find a little marginal note that says in this age, people could readily see where the church began and where the world ended. The reality is we live in a day where you cannot tell where the world ends and the church begins.
Speaker 1:Study after study after study shows that our lifestyles as professing Christians look just like the world around us. Look just like the world around us. We're just as materialistic, just as sexually immoral, just as self-centered as the world. We're just as materialistic. Our spending patterns look strikingly similar to the spending patterns of non-Christians. Even our giving patterns are strikingly similar to the giving patterns of non-Christians. Six percent of Bible-believing American Christians tithe. Six percent. And this is not just outside of us, this is inside, this is in this room. We know from giving patterns here that the overwhelming majority of people in this church do not tithe. We spend our money on all the same things the world spends money on. We're just as self-centered. We're just as sexually immoral. The percentage of professing Christian men who view pornography is virtually the same as non-Christian men. Men all across this room tonight have viewed pornography over the last week and the last month, the last year. We in this room are just as likely to have sex outside of marriage. Whether we're single or married, it doesn't matter. Sexual activity with someone who is not your spouse is almost just as common among professing Christians as it is among non-Christians in the world, and marriages were just as likely to divorce as non-Christians just as likely. Some studies in the past have even shown that divorce is more common among professing Christians than non-Christians. Other studies show that marital abuse is just as common.
Speaker 1:And in parenting, the priorities of professing Christian parents for their kids look virtually identical to the priorities of non-Christian parents for their kids. We cart our kids all over town in the exact same way that non-Christian parents do, teaching our kids, telling our kids to be good at the things this world says are most important, namely sports and entertainment. So they spend hours in practices for this or that, hours in video games, hours in front of the TV and minutes at most minutes in the Word or in prayer with their moms and dads. The effects are evident. So, looking at research on this one, it's somewhere. The low end is 60%. The high end is 90%. So somewhere between 60% and 90% of our children in the church by the time they reach 18, after that will leave the church 60 to 90 percent somewhere in there. Just take the middle. This is 75 percent. We've got three kids one on the way in a couple of months. So four kids Am I okay with? Three of them are going to fall away. At least one of them is going to hold on to their faith Because this acceptable to us. Something's got to change. We are living just like the world. We are living just like the world, we look just like the world, and God is saying so.
Speaker 1:1 John 2.15, underline it. Could there be a more important verse for us in our day? 1 John 2.15,. God says Do not love the world or the things in the world. Period. Do not love the world or the things in the world. Now, there's a lot of things this verse doesn't mean. It doesn't mean don't love the people of the world. We know God loves the people of the world. John 3, 16,. So much that he gave us one and only son for the people of this world.
Speaker 1:No, what John is saying here, what the Bible is commanding here is that we must not love and follow and imitate the ways of a world that is alienated from God and in so many ways is against God, a world that goes on day by day with people gratifying themselves and indulging themselves and entertaining themselves and exalting themselves, without regard for the character or commands of God. And John's saying the church should look different, very different. Our church should look different, very different. Our schedules should look different. Our spending should look different. Our marriages should look different. Our parenting, our purity, our possessions, our love, our lives should look different, not for the sake of being different, but because we love God, not this world. So John says right after that, if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Speaker 1:And then now this is key. John says worldliness, it's not a matter of externals, so we don't need to just okay, avoid this, avoid this, don't do this, do that. No, worldliness is a problem in our hearts. Listen to what he says next, for all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life, these are things inside of us. And John says they're not from the Father, but from the world. And then he closes with this warning. John says this world is passing away, along with its desires, but whoever does, the will of God abides forever.
Speaker 1:Now the reason I'm here to start is because Revelation, chapter 17 and 18, is a pictorial illustration of 1 John, 2, 15 through 17. The same John who writes these words is the same John who saw a vision, a picture of the world and its desires passing away in Revelation 17 and 18. And he wrote it down for the church to see, to remind the church, to wake the church up in the first century, to realize that this world and its ways are deceptive and dangerous and ultimately damning. So John is writing to Christians, to churches who don't see this they're being deceived by worldliness To Christians whose lives look just like the rest of the world. And John's saying don't love the world or the things in the world, they will destroy you. And this is a word we desperately need to hear. We desperately need to hear it in this room. The church at Brook Hills in comfortable, wealthy, worldly Birmingham, alabama, desperately needs to hear this word.
Speaker 1:You might say well, we're not as worldly as some places in this community. I mean, it's not like we're San Francisco or New York or cities and communities like that. The primary difference between this community and those communities is that we cover up our sinfulness with a dangerous and deceptive veneer of self-righteous religiosity that enables us to justify all kinds of worldliness. That's the primary difference. We're just better at covering up with churches on every corner. One article I read said divorce rates in the Bible Belt for many years have been higher than the rest of the country.
Speaker 1:So I can't help but think about Revelation, chapter 3 of the church at Laodicea. Who Revelation was written to a people? Jesus says to them I know your deeds, that you're neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one or the other, but because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I'm about to spit you out of my mouth. You say I'm rich, I've acquired wealth and do not need a thing, but you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. That's a passage that could be written directly to contemporary American Christians Enormously wealthy, proud of it, and we think things are going well as we give ourselves blindly to worldly ways around us.
Speaker 1:Those are strong words from God, but listen to his heart. Behind them, god says I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich in white garments so that you may clothe yourself in the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to annoy your eyes so that you may see. Oh God says I want you to see the danger of the worldliness that you are running after. And he says those whom I love, I rebuke in discipline, so be earnest and repent. Here I am, jesus says I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me. So hear the invitation of God to us tonight, to a church where we look just like the world.
Speaker 1:Jesus says repent, repent, repent, turn from the ways of this world and experience the delight that is found in fellowship with me, that is found in fellowship with me. So what I want to do tonight is simply, poignantly and briefly, I want to walk us through Revelation 17 and 18, an illustration of 1 John 2, here and then I want to lead us into a time of extended prayer and confession and repentance all across this room. I want to lead us to search hearts and see the subtle yet significant ways that worldliness is infiltrating our lives. This has been so humbling for me praying and working through this text and even just last night, just freshly humbled and realized that this is not just a normal Sunday Like this word is what? Not just church? This is what I mean to hear, seen as I've studied and prayed just worldliness in so many ways, my own thoughts, my own affections, my own actions. So I'm not saying tonight this is what's wrong with you, I'm saying this is what's wrong with me and with us. And we desperately need to address the danger of worldly desires in our hearts. Turn from them.
Speaker 1:So over to Revelation, chapter 17. You've heard this word read, this vision of a prostitute on a beast. So two questions I want us to walk through quickly what is going on in this passage and what does it mean? So first, what is going on? This is a vision. Revelation, chapter 17, verse 1,. John writes an angel comes in and says come, I will show you this judgment, I'll show you this vision.
Speaker 1:Which side note real quick last week I mentioned that a symbolic understanding of the book of Revelation is grounded in a literal understanding of the first verse in Revelation. And some people turn to Revelation, chapter 1, verse 1, and said I don't see how this verse is saying this book is symbolic, and so that's where I want to remind you of what we talked about in the first week. You might even go back if you really want to dive into this. In the first week of this series we talked about how Revelation, chapter 1, verse 1, john is using language there that goes back to Daniel, chapter 2, where God gave a symbolic vision to show how his kingdom would be established, and John is making a direct correlation there to set up this picture of how this symbolic vision of how his kingdom would be established. So anyway, I think there was a little confusion on that. So hopefully going back to that if you want, might bring a little clarification. But here we have this vision in verse 1 of a great prostitute sitting on a scarlet beast, and this vision is an expansion of what we saw last week with seven bowls of God's wrath. You'll notice that this is one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, who came to John, and so this is unpacking some of the picture that we saw last week God's wrath coming upon sinful world. Here's how it plays out, with this prostitute and beast.
Speaker 1:There's two main characters here and two main actions. So first character is an attractive woman who symbolizes worldly seduction. An attractive woman who symbolizes worldly seduction. Now, she may not seem attractive because she's sitting on a beast, but this introduction to her you look at chapter 17, verse 4, she's arrayed in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, and even this image of a prostitute is intended to evoke a picture of seduction. She's drawing people to herself. Even John, when you get down to verse 6, is awestruck by her. He marvels at this vision of her. There's a lot going on behind that marveling, but at least part of it is how attractive this woman on this beast is and clearly she's a symbol of worldly ways.
Speaker 1:John tells us down in the last verse of chapter 17, verse 18, that she is the great city, babylon, this city and people that we've seen already in chapter 14 of Revelation. It's a picture of worldly desires and worldly wealth and worldly pleasures and worldly fame that virtually ignores God. Now this picture goes all the way back to the Old Testament. Babylon has a history in the Bible and it's not a good history. Remember Genesis, chapter 11, the Tower of what Of Babel, where people assembled to exalt themselves above God. Then you turn the pages into the rest of the Old Testament and you see the nation, the people of Babylon, seducing the people of God into sin and then attacking the people of God. It's Babylon that eventually destroys the city of Jerusalem and takes the people of God into exile, here in Revelation, the first century. This is almost certainly a symbol of Rome, with all of its luxuries and all of its pleasures and all of its prosperity that was seducing the nations of the world around it, including first century Christians, first century church. So Babylon stands for worldly ways throughout history that have pulled away the world from God and even the church away from God.
Speaker 1:And this image of a prostitute. Obviously that includes sexual immorality, but it's not just about sexual immorality. Ultimately, this image of a prostitute is a symbol of infidelity. It's imagery that we see all over the Bible, when we see God's people turning from him to run after the things of this world. They're described as a husband who goes running after other women or a wife who goes running after other men instead of faithful love for a spouse. This is powerful, poignant, gripping imagery. It symbolizes the tendency of all of our hearts to leave our God and to run after love for this world, our God, and to run after love for this world. It's a symbol of infidelity. She's a symbol of idolatry. We run from the one true God to lesser gods in the world. Just like a man pays a prostitute for services, so we give our lives to the ways of this world in the hope of personal pleasure and gratification.
Speaker 1:She's a symbol of immorality. She's holding in her hand a cup filled with all sorts of impurities. She's drunk on them. So we have an attractive woman who symbolizes worldly seduction, sitting on a beast that symbolizes worldly persecution. We've already seen this imagery of the beast back in chapter 13,. Sitting on a beast that symbolizes worldly persecution. We've already seen this imagery of the beast back in chapter 13, the symbol of a government that acts and functions as God, a counterfeit God of that. So here we see the social and economic, societal ways of the world operating in conjunction with the state, the political structures of the world. The beast has seven heads, symbolizing seven mountains and seven kings. John explains this in the middle of chapter 17. And some people believe that this is a reference to seven Roman emperors. Other people believe this is a reference to seven world empires. Overall, the picture seven. We've already seen a picture of complete, seemingly perfect strength and worldly authority, also echoed by ten horns symbolizing ten kings who lead the world astray, operating under the authority of Satan, the dragon and the beast to persecute the people of God. It's what we've seen in the first century context here Rome definitely persecuting the people of God. So you've got this two-fold picture.
Speaker 1:Go back to CJ Mahaney's quote. He said today the greatest challenge facing Bible-believing American Christians is not persecution from the world but seduction by the world. And you've got both here. You've got seduction by the world in the woman, you've got persecution from the world and the beast, and both are working together for sure in this first century context to persecute Christians on one hand and at the same time to lure them into worldliness on the other hand.
Speaker 1:So as this vision progresses, we see two particular actions take place. First, at the end of chapter 17, the woman is devoured by the beast. In graphic imagery, the beast turns on the woman, makes her desolate, devours her flesh, burns her with fire. The picture is an unbelieving, godless system turning on itself and destroying itself. And this happens. John writes according to the purpose of God, chapter 17, verse 17,. For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose. This happens according to the purpose of God. Chapter 17, verse 17. For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose. This happens according to the words of God. So again, god's sovereignty on display in world history. And because of this, ultimately the woman disappears from the earth. And that's what chapter 18 is all about. Babylon falls. We see the smoke of her burning.
Speaker 1:Chapter 18, verse 21. The angel takes a millstone, throws it into the sea. As a picture. It says so. Will Babylon, the great city, remember? The symbol of worldly ways and seductive promises of pleasure and wealth will be thrown down. The ways of this world will be thrown down with the violence and will be found no more. And this happens as a result of the judgment of God. Verse 20, just like we saw last week, we see God praised because of his just judgment of a sinful, fallen world. You get to chapter 19, verse 2, which we'll look at next week, and God is praised. His judgments are true and just. He's judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with immorality. So this prostitute, who symbolizes worldly seduction, ultimately receives the punishment that she is due.
Speaker 1:Now. What does all this mean? It's a quick summary of what's going on in chapter 17 and 18, but what does this mean Specifically? What does this have to do with life in Birmingham, Alabama, today? Well, think about what we learn about this world in this vision. To see, ladies and gentlemen, see what we learn about this world. Open your eyes and see that this world is full of deceptive attractions. Part of what John marveled at in chapter 17 was this alluring picture of what seemed like pleasure and strength and power. This appearance was enticing. Almost surely first century Christians would have looked at the strength of Rome and the luxuries of Rome and the pleasures of Rome and they would have thought is this so bad? Because this looks pretty good, it looks strong, looks enjoyable. Same way 21st century Christians Today, we look at the wealth and the technology and the advancement of things around us and we think are all these things so bad? I mean, ease up, not all this stuff is bad. So think here in this text, then in our lives, think about the lures of this world.
Speaker 1:Sensual pleasures Chapter 17 and 18, filled with delicacies and splendor, and music and dancing, seeming prosperity, sensual beauty, worldly delight. Do all of these things not entice us? Why else would we treat sex so casually, even in this room, among professing Christians, whether we're married or we're single, sexually involved with people who are not our spouses? Or why do we even go so far as to please ourselves while we look at images? Is this not why we treat marriage so flippantly? Because we've been lured into thinking that if our needs are no longer met, we can just throw aside our spouse in search of newfound pleasure? Is this not why our parenting looks the same as the world around us? Because we desire for our kids the same things the world desires for their kids? Is this not why we don't tithe? Because we desire the stuff of this world more than we desire sacrifice for the body and for massive needs around the world, captivated by sensual pleasures Exemplified by desires for material possessions?
Speaker 1:All over these two chapters, the wealth of Babylon is put on display as warranting wrath. Wealth of Babylon is put on display as warranting wrath. Wealth can kill. And it's not that money or material possessions are bad in and of themselves, but wealth. Money in the hands of sinful men and women is a dangerous thing. We have no idea the measure to which money controls us in this room. We're so attracted by more and better and bigger and nicer, and newer and cooler. So we save more than we need, store up treasures in barns, we spend more than we have, pile up debt. With our desire for more things, the thought of simplicity and material possessions seems monastic to us, strange, weird. As a result, you can hardly tell the difference between our spinning patterns and the spinning patterns of non-religious neighbors around us.
Speaker 1:The lure of material possessions, the promise of satisfaction in the things of this world this is what drives the desire for pleasure and possession. The promise that once I get this, once I do this, then I will be happy, or at least happier. The promise of satisfaction and the hope of security. Listen to the woman, chapter 18, verse 7. In her heart she says I sit as a queen, I am no widow and mourning I shall never see. With all the things this world has to offer, she says I'm safe, I have no reason to worry. Same thing that the church in Laodicea was saying I'm rich, I've become wealthy, I've needed nothing.
Speaker 1:We think. We think that the greater pleasure we have in this world, the nicer possessions we have in this world, the more we will be not only satisfied, the more we will be secure. Is this not? Let's be honest, is this not one of the primary reasons that the majority of us are not willing to seriously I mean seriously consider the possibility that God may be leading us to move to the Middle East? Many of us have not given anything beyond token thought to that. I mean serious second thought to moving our lives, our marriages, our families to a place like the Middle East, because we've convinced ourselves that the stuff we have here is where our security is based and we can't imagine life without all those things. Stuff as if God is sovereign over this zip code but not sovereign over that zip code, and blinded by the hope of security and the things of this world. Or maybe from this statement in verse 7, it's the insatiable lust for power.
Speaker 1:Here's a prostitute who claims to be a queen. She thinks she is mighty. This is the danger of worldliness. We climb the corporate ladder, we achieve the cultural success and we think we've arrived. Look at us, we've made it. We have no clue the depth of our true place and position, and that's just it. The root of all of this is the subtle lure of pride. Verse 7, she glorified herself. That's it. That's the root, that's the theme that dominates these two chapters. She sees herself not as just a prostitute, she's a great prostitute Chapter 17, verse 1. She's Babylon the Great, chapter 17, verse 5. She's the great city, chapter 17, verse 18. Babylon the Great, chapter 18, verse 2. The great city, chapter 18, verse 10, 16, 19. Merchants were the great ones of the earth chapter 18, verse 23.
Speaker 1:The root of all these worldly desires is a priority on ourselves and we live. We live, brothers and sisters, in a world that plays on this and appeals to this with pleasures and possessions, promises, satisfaction, security, the desire for power. See this text showing us a world that is full of deceptive attractions Attempting to entice us on a daily basis. And they are deceptive because this world is headed to a definite conclusion it's fallen. John sees Fallen. Fallen is Babylon the Great, chapter 18, verse 2. Now, rome is still standing around him, but God says it's fallen, guaranteed. What you see standing will not last, though the power, the prestige, our culture and our country and our world stands today. Brothers and sisters, it has fallen, it's fallen, guaranteed. This world will be destroyed completely, completely.
Speaker 1:The list at the end of chapter 18 is deafening. One day there will be no more music, no more craft, no more work, no more light, no more joy, completely destroyed. And this world will be destroyed suddenly. So these kings and these merchants and these sea persons who profited from the ways of this world, they watch the fall of Babylon and they say with astonishment chapter 18, verse 17, in a single hour, all this wealth has been laid waste.
Speaker 1:Verse 10, in a single hour, judgment has come. Just like that, it's all gone. What have been built over years and years and centuries, just like that gone. This world will be destroyed suddenly, completely. And this world will be destroyed eternally. Its pleasures will perish forever.
Speaker 1:Verse 14. Never to be found again. Oh, see this, realize this, learn this. The world is full of deceptive attractions that will all one day be destroyed. The pleasures and possessions of this world, full of deceptive attractions that will all one day be destroyed. The pleasures and possessions of this world will one day be no more. They're going to burn up. The smoke will rise forever and ever. Satisfaction and security in the things of this world will not last. So don't build your life on these things. So don't build your life on these things.
Speaker 1:Who puts money in a stock that is guaranteed to fail. It's utter foolishness. You put stock in money that is guaranteed to succeed, in an investment that will count. That's why this world will be destroyed completely, eternally, suddenly, and all of its deceptive attractions will be shown for what they are. For we learn about sin and Satan. Sin is self-destructive and eventually damning. Is there any clearer picture of the self-destructive nature of sin than this woman's being devoured by the beast upon which she sits? This world will eventually turn on itself according to the purpose of God, and God will make clear Sin always destroys Always. Sin always destroys when you and I sin. When you and I walk after the ways of this world, we are like cows walking to the slaughter.
Speaker 1:So listen, listen to the words of Proverbs 7. So I'm going to read it. You just listen to the words of Proverbs 7 through the lens of Revelation 17. So Proverbs 7 is describing a young man going after a prostitute. So see a picture of our lives running after the ways of this world.
Speaker 1:The writer of Proverbs says At the window of my house. I looked down through the lattice. I saw among the simple, a youth who had no sense. He was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house at twilight, as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in. Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute, and with crafty intent, she took hold of him and kissed him With a brazen face. She said I have come out to meet you. I have looked for you and have found you. I have covered my bed with colored linens from Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. Come, let's drink deeply of love till morning. Let's enjoy ourselves with love.
Speaker 1:My husband is not at home. He has gone on a long journey. With persuasive words, she led him astray. She seduced him with her smooth talk. All at once, he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare. Little knowing it will cost him his life.
Speaker 1:Now then, my sons, listen to me, pay attention to what I say. Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths. Many are the victims she has brought down. Her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is a highway to the grave leading down to the chambers of death. Ah, hear the gracious warning of God. He's saying to us the ways of this world lead to death. If you love this world, you follow after the ways of this world. You're like deer stepping into a noose to have your liver pierced.
Speaker 1:Behind these ways there's an evil adversary, satan, who is a destroyer and who knows he's inevitably doomed. His doom is all over this passage. We're going to see this even more in the next couple of weeks. The beast and dragon are dealt with. But notice the correlation here. Satan knows he's doomed, and so he aims to deceive and destroy all that he can on the way to his own destruction, all that he can on the way to his own destruction.
Speaker 1:And oh, in the middle of all this, what we learn about Jesus? What we learn about Jesus. He is chapter 17, verse 14,. He is the conquering lamb, the Lord of lords and king of kings, and by his overcoming grace he calls us to be saved. He calls us to be saved. He calls us to be saved. So the good news, the great news all throughout history, every single man and every single woman has succumbed to the seduction of the ways of this world, has turned aside from God to seek after the things of this world. All of us have. But there came one man in all of history, on the scene of human history, who did not succumb to the ways of this world, who resisted the seduction of this world at every single point, who fully sought his satisfaction only in his Father, who fully obeyed his Father and yet the one man who deserved no punishment, no wrath, no death, died on a cross in the place of sinners, taking the wrath and punishment that are due rebellious men and women who have turned aside from god. He died on the cross. He rose from the grave in victory over sin and death and satan, so that everyone, every rebellious sinner who turns to him and trusts in him as Savior, lord conquering King, will be saved from their rebellion forever and reconciled into a relationship with God. Glorious news for rebellious sinners all across the strip who have given in to the ways of this world your sin is covered, your guilt taken away, sin atoned for by the blood of Christ.
Speaker 1:Turn. If you're a non-Christian, not a Christian, tonight. I urge you to turn from the ways of this world tonight and trust in Jesus as the only one who can save you from coming judgment and coming wrath in this world. I know some of these verses may sound confusing. They're confusing to all of us, but don't miss the overall point. God is holy. We are sinners. We deserve just judgment for our sinful rebellion against him. But God is loving. He has sent his Son to pay the price for our sin so that when you turn from your sin and trust in him, you can be saved forever by him, by his overcoming grace. He calls us to be saved by his overcoming grace. He calls us to be saved and then, for all who know him, called by him and saved by him with his overcoming power. He calls us to be faithful. Those who are with him are called and chosen, and faithful.
Speaker 1:The main point in many ways of this whole section of Revelation is chapter 18, verse 4, when a voice from heaven cries out Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her playing. God here is pictured as pleading for his people to turn from the ways of this world before it's too late. He is saying my judgment is coming on the ways of this world. Do not be found indulging in the ways of this world before it's too late. He is saying my judgment is coming on the ways of this world. Do not be found indulging in the ways of this world. Show yourself not to be my child when that day comes. Through his overcoming power, he calls us to be faithful, which leads us to what we learn about our lives. Clearly, this is abundantly clear in Revelation 17 and 18. It's the point of 1 John 2.15.
Speaker 1:Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Very clearly, love for the world and love for God cannot coexist, cannot coexist. Love for the world and love for God cannot coexist. Here's the way this works. It's simple Love for the world pushes out love for God. The more we love the things and the pleasures and the possessions and the pursuits of this world, the less we will love God. The more we nibble at the table of this world, the more we feast on the things of this world, the more our hearts will grow numb toward God. Do we wonder why we don't have a deeper abiding hunger for God in our day? Do you wonder why there's not a deeper abiding hunger and longing for God in your life? Isn't it surely because our stomachs are so full with the pleasures and possessions that we have partaken of at the table of this world, that we have no room left in our stomachs for a hunger for God. The more we love this world, the less we love God. And then it works the other way Love for God pushes out love for the world. The more we love God, the more delight we have in God. The more we commune with God, the less we'll love this world. The more we see God as infinite pleasure, the more we see God as our supreme possession, the less we will run after lesser pleasures and possessions in this world. The more we look to God as the sole source of our satisfaction and security, the less we'll look to this world for satisfaction and security. We'll we'll look to this world for satisfaction and security. We'll see this world pales in comparison to God. Oh, don't miss this.
Speaker 1:The call to turn away from the ways of this world is not a call to a dull, drab, dreary life where you miss out on all the fun. The call to turn from the ways of this world is a call to turn to superior joy and pleasure and possession and satisfaction and security in God. It's what CS Lewis talked about, remember he said, we are half-hearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy has been offered to us. We're like ignorant children who go on making mud pies in the slum because we cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased, he says. It's true If you are turning aside from your spouse, if you are indulging in pornography, if you are casual with sex, if you think climbing the corporate ladder or achieving worldly aims, whether in your life or your child's life, if you think these are the end game, if you think a nicer car or a second home will make you happy in all of these things, your problem is not that you desire pleasure too much.
Speaker 1:It's that you desire pleasure too little. Your desire for pleasure is weak. You play with mud pies in a slum when infinite joy has been offered to you. It's utter foolishness. Yet the world has convinced us that it's satisfaction. Don't buy it. Love for God pushes out love for this world. So then every one of us has a choice. That's the point here. This is the point. There's no neutrality in this world. There's no such thing as riding the fence. We got two options Either we can love the things of this world. And if we do this, let us know this If we love the things of this world, our pleasures will always be fleeting, always be fleeting. The things that promise pleasure in this world will all fade. Guaranteed Church man One, student, teenager. Guaranteed Church Christian man, student, teenager. Hear this the pleasures of this world are fleeting. The pleasures of this world are fleeting. They don't last, they won't last. If we love the things of this world, our pleasures will always be fleeting.
Speaker 1:And our pleasures will always be fleeting and our destiny will be hell. Our destiny will be hell. If you love this world and it will pass away, then it will take you with it. You'll not only lose true pleasure, you will lose your life. I don't know how to say this any more plainly If you love this world, you will perish with this world. You will perish with this world. Period.
Speaker 1:It's clear in God's Word. So this is the first option. We can love the things of this world. Second option we can love the God over this world. We can love the God who reigns supreme over this world. We can love the God who reigns supreme over this world. We can love the God who alone can satisfy us in this world. And when we take this option, our pleasure will be unfading, For there is pleasure in Him that far outweighs all the possessions this world could ever offer to us. And when we love the God over this world, we will know. We will know that our security will always be in heaven. We hope you've enjoyed this week's episode of Radical with David Platt. For more resources from David Platt, we invite you to visit radicalnet.