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BIBLE
BELIEVERS REPORT
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Revelation 18:1-3
And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven,
having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice,
saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of
devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and
hateful bird. For all nations have drunk
of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have
committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich
through the abundance of her delicacies.
In the last chapter we were
introduced formally to Mystery Babylon, Satan's master plan for the conquest of
all mankind. From it's beginning in the Garden of Eden, this plan has grown
expansively. The first phase brought about the fall of man. The second phase
caused the destruction of nearly all the human race in the flood of Noah. The
third phase brought about the many different languages that mankind still
struggles with today. Now with the fourth phase comes the final destruction of
the world-wide system known as Mystery Babylon. In this chapter we are given a
ring-side seat as God goes into his final round against the devil for the
spiritual heavyweight championship of the universe.
As we begin chapter 18, we see
yet another angel proclaiming a message to the world during the Great
Tribulation. His message is simple and to the point.
To understand how this came about
we need to understand the seven doctrines of Mystery Babylon as they were
originally given in the Old Testament.
All false religious systems in the world today are based on one or more
of these seven doctrines. These
doctrines are unbelief, reincarnation (no final judgment), personal godhood,
salvation by works, idolatry, sorcery, and astrology.
Jesus described the Old Testament
as the Law and the Prophets. The first
of the books of the Law is Genesis. The
first five of these doctrines are given in the book of Genesis.
In Genesis 3, we find the first
three; unbelief (Yea, hath God said?), reincarnation (Thou shall not surely
die.), and personal godhood (Ye shall be as gods.). The fourth doctrine, salvation by works,
appears in Genesis 4 when Cain tries to make peace with God using the works of
his hands, as opposed to Abel who brought the blood of the lamb as God had
instructed. In Genesis 35, we see the
fifth doctrine, idolatry, when Jacob buried his family’s idols beneath a tree
before they could truly worship God. The
first book of the Prophets is Isaiah.
The final two of these doctrines, sorcery and astrology, appear here in…
Isaiah 47:12-13
Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy
sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be
able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.
Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the
astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save
thee from these things that shall come upon thee.
Sorcery is the casting of spells
or enchantments, Astrology is observed by those who tell the future using the
stars, or monthly prognosticators.
Revelation 18:4-5
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my
people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her
plagues. For her sins have reached unto
heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Come out of her, my people!
Notice these words carefully. Here God
is telling us that His children are involved with these ungodly practices,
while thousands of His children around the world are dying because they worship
God. No wonder it says that Mystery
Babylon’s sins reaches unto heaven.
These sins also reached back to the beginning of time, as we see in…
Genesis 11:4
And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may
reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon
the face of the whole earth.
Here we have the original story
of
Revelation 18:6-8
Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double
according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her
double. How much she hath glorified herself,
and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in
her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day,
death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for
strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
God is short and to the point
here also. Mystery
II Peter 3:10
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which
the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt
with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be
burned up.
God says very clearly here that
elements could melt or be destroyed. You have to understand that at the time
this was written, the Greeks and Romans had just determined that the atom was
the basic building block for the entire universe. They believed that these basic elements could
not be destroyed.
For centuries learned men laughed
at the Bible for daring to make such a preposterous statement. They were still laughing as little as 100
years ago. However, all of this laughter
stopped when
Revelation 18:9-10
And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived
deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see
the smoke of her burning, Standing afar
off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon,
that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
When the kings of the earth see
the smoke caused by this fire, they dare not approach the city. You would think they would run to her
rescue. Why not? The fact is that they have a very good reason
to be afraid because they see a very special smoke. Today we call it a mushroom cloud. Thus they know that, if they approach this
city to try to rescue it, they will die of radiation poisoning. This is the reason that they are standing
afar off for fear.
Just what causes an atomic
explosion, you may ask? The answer to
this is also found in God’s word, as we see in…
Colossians 1:16-17
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in
earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all
things consist.
Now let’s take a moment to go
back to our High School classroom. All
things hold together by Jesus. All the
atoms in the universe hold together, or consist, simply because at the
beginning of the creation Jesus told them to.
Put another way, if Jesus simply spoke the word, any one of us would
suddenly become a sizeable atomic explosion!
Revelation 18:11-13
And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no
man buyeth their merchandise any more:
The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls,
and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all
manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of
brass, and iron, and marble, And
cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and
fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and
slaves, and souls of men.
Here is the judgment against this
giant of merchandise. Not only will no
one buy her goods, but the souls of men will no longer be sold into her cursed
system. The merchants of the world weep,
not because they love her nearly as much as because of their love of something
else that is described in...
I Timothy 6:7-10
For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry
nothing out. And having food and raiment
let us be therewith content. But they
that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and
hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all
evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and
pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
The love of money is the root of
all evil. God could not have said it any
better or you can be assured that He would have. All the wickedness we see in the world today,
in one way or another, springs forth from this fountainhead of material lust.
Revelation 18:14-16
And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and
all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt
find them no more at all. The merchants
of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear
of her torment, weeping and wailing, And
saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple,
and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
The foul fruits of her ungodly
harvest are now rotted to the root!
Merchants are wailing because of this torment but no one loves her
enough to approach because God’s wrath is finally being poured out in full
measure. This is a far cry from our
earlier vision of the great harlot we saw in…
Revelation 17:4
And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with
gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of
abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
Here we see Mystery Babylon in
all her regal splendor. Even here we can
see the corruption of her evil just below the surface of her deceptive
beauty. Now we see her final judgment
and the full evil that has broken forth upon the world at the end of the Great
Tribulation.
Revelation 18:17-19
For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every
shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by
sea, stood afar off, And cried when they
saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great
city! And they cast dust on their heads,
and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein
were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for
in one hour is she made desolate.
Here we see that this great city
is destroyed in one hour. Only the fires of an atomic nature could create such
havoc in such a short span of time.
Whether this is done by some sort of nuclear strike by the antichrist
and his ten kings or simply God speaking it into existence, the evil of the
ages in this system is all gone in one hour!
When Jesus had something
important to say in the gospels, He would add the term “verily”. If it was of extreme importance, He would say
“verily, verily”. I think we see the same principle at work here when the Bible
states, concerning this judgment, “Alas, Alas!”
Revelation 18:20-21
Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for
God hath avenged you on her. And a
mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea,
saying, Thus with violence shall that great city
Remember back in Revelation 6
when the fifth seal was opened and we saw the martyrs of the Lord standing before
His throne and asking how long before they were avenged for the deaths they had
suffered. Well, here’s is the ultimate
end of God’s answer. Rejoice, the
faithful in heaven. God has kept His
word and Mystery Babylon has paid in full for the persecution she has caused
the church down through the ages.
I especially like the reference
to the millstone. It reminds me of
another passage found in …
Matthew 18:6
But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it
were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he
were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Being drowned would be a terrible
end, but you must admit this is mild when compared to the fiery end of Mystery
Babylon.
Revelation 18:22-24
And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters,
shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he
be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be
heard no more at all in thee; And the
light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the
bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy
merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all
nations deceived. And in her was found the
blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
Voices will be heard there no
more. No one will go there anymore. This
again seems to indicate an atomic destruction for this city because this is the
only thing I know of where people cannot go there afterwards. This is because of the nuclear fallout
poisoned the ground and no one can go there, sometimes for years, sometimes for
centuries, all depending on how intense the explosion is.
Thus comes the final judgment of
the great harlot, Mystery Babylon. When God created the earth, he set up a
specific world order. Then along comes the devil with a new world order. Man
has been following one of these two paths ever since. Either follows God's
heavenly order, or tries to set up his own worldly order. This has been true
since the world began and still is true today.
However, as always, God will is always done in the end. My question then becomes what is God’s will
for your life. Will you join the
faithful in heaven and share in the judgment of Mystery Babylon?
Seven
Doctrines Of Mystery Babylon
1-Unbelief-Genesis
3:1 2-Reincarnation-Genesis
3:4
3-Godhood-Genesis
3:5 4-Works
Salvation-Genesis 4:3
5-Idolatry-Genesis
35:4 6-Sorcery-Isaiah
47:12
7-Astrology-Isaiah
47:13
Genesis 5:1-32
This is
the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the
likeness of God made he him; Male and
female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the
day when they were created. And Adam
lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after
his image; and called his name Seth: And
the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he
begat sons and daughters: And all the
days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died. And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and
begat Enos: And Seth lived after he
begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Seth were nine hundred
and twelve years: and he died. And Enos lived ninety years, and begat
Cainan: And Enos lived after he begat
Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enos were nine hundred
and five years: and he died. And Cainan
lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel:
And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty
years, and begat sons and daughters: And
all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.
And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared: And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared
eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight
hundred ninety and five years: and he died.
And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch: And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight
hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he
died. And Enoch lived sixty and five
years, and begat Methuselah: And Enoch
walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons
and daughters: And all the days of Enoch
were three hundred sixty and five years:
And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and
seven years, and begat Lamech: And
Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and
begat sons and daughters: And all the
days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died. And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two
years, and begat a son: And he called
his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil
of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed. And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five
hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred
seventy and seven years: and he died.
And Noah was five hundred years old:
and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
While I am sure that today it is
true that cooler climates are good for health, I have read much that says this
was not true before the flood of Noah. I
have read many books that suggest this.
One is "The Genesis Record" by Dr. Henry Morris. This is the best work on the subject that I
have seen. There is also "Worlds in
Collision" by Emmanuel Velikowskly which describes in detail the
astronomical changes that took place during the flood. However, my biggest reason for believing this
is the Holy Scriptures themselves.
Compare the life spans in Genesis 5, when the average age is 700 years,
to the life spans in Genesis 11, when the life spans take a dramatic drop to
200 years. If you chart these ages, you
will see a fascinating trend toward shorter lives directly after the flood of
Noah. By the time of David, about 1,000
years later, men are already dying by the age of 70, which is about where we
are today.
This also explains the
dinosaurs. There is a doctor in
This would also explain the
extinction of the dinosaurs. Take, for
instance, the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Before
the flood Rex was a 30 foot giant. After
the flood, with a lifespan only 1/10 of what it was before, this same T Rex
would be about 3 feet tall. In fact, it
is much more likely that God would have put a smaller on the ark, so he would
have been much younger for reproductive purposes. After the flood, God allows man and animal to
eat meat. While a 30 foot Rex would
indeed be king of the jungle, a 3 foot Rex would not be hard to kill. Therefore
he would then fall victim to other natural predators, including man. Thus you can see how he became extinct in a
short while, and the lion became the new king of the jungle.
I have read many books by many
good scientists in this area, and they all tend to agree with these conclusions
that the Holy Scriptures give evidence to in this area. When you compare this evidence with the more
important evidence given in the Bible, to me the conclusions become
simple. Dinosaurs lived before the
flood. After the flood, they still
existed at the time of Job, who lived around 1800 BC. They are still mentioned during the time of
David, around 1000 BC, but are rare and continue to become rarer as time goes
on. These biblical facts confirm what
these scientists have concluded and I agree.
As I have always said, good science will always catch up with the Bible
sooner or later.
Matthew 5:10
Blessed
are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
One of the most enduring
Christian books is FOXE’S BOOK OF MARTYRS, a history of Christian persecution
by John Foxe. The following is a section from that work. Pray for the Persecuted Church!
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FOX'S
BOOK OF MARTYRS
CHAPTER
V
The Persecution of Dr. Aegidio
Dr. Aegidio was educated at the
Aegidio, however, had his enemies, and these laid a complaint
against him to the inquisitors, who sent him a citation, and when he appeared
to it, cast him into a dungeon.
As the greatest part of those who belonged to the
cathedral church at
He soon after visited the
The inquisitors having been disappointed of gratifying
their malice against him while living, determined (as the emperor's whole
thoughts were engrossed by a military expedition) to wreak their vengeance on
him when dead. Therefore, soon after he was buried, they ordered his remains to
be dug out of the grave; and a legal process being carried on, they were
condemned to be burnt, which was executed accordingly.
The Persecution of Dr.
Constantine
Dr. Constantine, an intimate acquaintance of the already
mentioned Dr. Aegidio, was a man of uncommon natural abilities and profound
learning; exclusive of several modern tongues, he was acquainted with the
Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages, and perfectly well knew not only the
sciences called abstruse, but those arts which come under the denomination of
polite literature.
His eloquence rendered him pleasing, and the soundness
of his doctrines a profitable preacher; and he was so popular that he never
preached but to a crowded audience. He had many opportunities of rising in the
Church, but never would take advantage of them; for if a living of greater
value than his own was offered him, he would refuse it, saying, "I am
content with what I have"; and he frequently preached so forcibly against
simony, that many of his superiors, who were not so delicate upon the subject,
took umbrage at his doctrines upon that head.
Having been fully confirmed in Protestantism by Dr.
Aegidio, he preached boldly such doctrines only as were agreeable to Gospel
purity, and uncontaminated by the errors which had at various times crept into
the Romish Church. For these reasons he had many enemies among the Roman
Catholics, and some of them were fully determined on his destruction.
A worthy gentleman named Scobaria, having erected a
school for divinity lectures, appointed Dr. Constantine to be reader therein.
He immediately undertook the task, and read lectures, by portions, on the
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Canticles; and was beginning to expound the Book of
Job, when he was seized by the inquisitors.
Being brought to examination, he answered with such
precaution that they could not find any explicit charge against him, but
remained doubtful in what manner to proceed, when the following circumstances
occurred to determine them.
Dr. Constantine had deposited with a woman named
Isabella Martin, several books, which to him were very valuable, but which he
knew, in the eyes of the Inquisition, were exceptionable.
This woman having been informed against as a Protestant,
was apprehended, and, after a small process, her goods were ordered to be
confiscated. Previous, however, to the officers coming to her house, the
woman's son had removed away several chests full of the most valuable articles;
among these were Dr. Constantine's books.
A treacherous servant gave intelligence of this to the
inquisitors, and an officer was despatched to the son to demand the chests. The
son, supposing the officer only came for
The inquisitors being thus possessed of
After being detained upwards of two years in prison, Dr.
Constantine was seized with a bloody flux, which put an end to his miseries in
this world. The process, however, was carried on against his body, which, at
the ensuing auto da fe, was publicly burnt.
The Life of William Gardiner
William Gardiner was born at
At the age of twenty-six years, he was, by his master,
sent to
A marriage being concluded between the king of
The erroneous worship which he had seen ran strongly in
his mind; he was miserable to see a whole country sunk into such idolatry, when
the truth of the Gospel might be so easily obtained. He, therefore, took the
inconsiderate, though laudable design, into his head, of making a reform in
To this end, he settled all his worldly affairs, paid
his debts, closed his books, and consigned over his merchandise. On the ensuing
Sunday he went again to the cathedral church, with a New Testament in his hand,
and placed himself near the altar.
The king and the court soon appeared, and a cardinal
began Mass, at that part of the ceremony in which the people adore the wafer.
Gardiner could hold out no longer, but springing towards the cardinal, he
snatched the host from him, and trampled it under his feet.
This action amazed the whole congregation, and one
person, drawing a dagger, wounded Gardiner in the shoulder, and would, by
repeating the blow, have finished him, had not the king called to him to
desist.
Gardiner, being carried before the king, the monarch
asked him what countryman he was: to which he replied, "I am an Englishman
by birth, a Protestant by religion, and a merchant by occupation. What I have
done is not out of contempt to your royal person, God forbid it should, but out
of an honest indignation, to see the ridiculous superstitious and gross
idolatries practiced here."
The king, thinking that he had been stimulated by some
other person to act as he had done, demanded who was his abetter, to which he
replied, "My own conscience alone. I would not hazard what I have done for
any man living, but I owe that and all other services to God."
Gardiner was sent to prison, and a general order issued
to apprehend all Englishmen in
Gardiner himself was then tormented in the most
excruciating manner; but in the midst of all his torments he gloried in the
deed. Being ordered for death, a large fire was kindled near a gibbet, Gardiner
was drawn up to the gibbet by pulleys, and then let down near the fire, but not
so close as to touch it; for they burnt or rather roasted him by slow degrees.
Yet he bore his sufferings patiently and resigned his soul to the Lord
cheerfully.
It is observable that some of the sparks that were blown
from the fire, (which consumed Gardiner) towards the haven, burnt one of the
king's ships of war, and did other considerable damage. The Englishmen who were
taken up on this occasion were, soon after Gardiner's death, all discharged,
except the person who resided in the same house with him, who was detained two
years before he could procure his liberty.
The Story of Galileo
The most eminent men of science and philosophy of the
day did not escape the watchful eye of this cruel despotism. Galileo, the chief
astronomer and mathematician of his age, was the first who used the telescope
successfully in solving the movements of the heavenly bodies. He discovered
that the sun is the center of motion around which the earth and various planets
revolve. For making this great discovery Galileo was brought before the
Inquisition, and for a while was in great danger of being put to death.
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This brings us to our Bible Believers question
of the week. Who are the guests at the two
suppers mentioned in Revelation 19? God
bless. MARANATHA!
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