Chapter 17 and 18 are very important

Chapter 17 and 18 are very important. They go back over the second half. And you know what they tell us? The question you ask here is this, "John, what about religion in the Tribulation? Will there be religion?" Chapter 17 describes it. There will be religion. The false church, you know what it's called? If the true church is a bride, what is the false church? A harlot...a harlot. And it talks about the harlot that sits on many waters that drinks wine of fornication, that sits on the beast. The harlot rides the Antichrist. The Antichrist political leader and the false harlot religious world system exist together. But the Antichrist is consumed by his own power so finally he devours the harlot. He just gobbles it up. And he says the whole world will now worship me.

I believe that's when the false prophet sets up the image and the whole world is commanded to worship him. No other religion is tolerated but him because the Beast in verse 16 says eats up the harlot.

Now chapter 18 takes us back over it and asks another question. You say, "Well what's going on in the world at this time? I mean, what are the economics like?" This is an economic view of the same period. What's going to be going on? Well, when everything starts to collapse, in verse 2 this angel says, "Babylon the great..." and Babylon is the name for the final world economic system, "it's fallen, it's fallen. It's become the habitation of demons." Demons have taken over the world. And the nations are saddened. Verse 5 says, "The sins of the world are reached to heaven and God has remembered her iniquities." When they begin to see the whole system come to collapse, everybody's economy collapses, all the money collapses, the banks collapse, everything goes. In verse 10, "Alas they say in torment, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city in one hour is thy judgment come, and the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her, no man buyeth their merchandise any more." Nobody cares about that anymore, you're just trying to survive. Who is going to go shopping? Who is going to the mall then? And the merchandise of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet and thyine wood and all kinds of ivory and most precious wood and bronze and iron and marble and cinnamon and ointments and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, chariots, slaves, souls of men, who cares...who cares" And the ship trade is going to go, verse 17. All the transportation system falls apart. And people in verse 19 are throwing dirt all over their heads, weeping and wailing...alas, alas, it's over, it's over. And while everybody on earth is doing that, verse 20 says, "All you folks in heaven...what?...rejoice. Rejoice."

And you know what will be a worst thing of all in the world? Music will all end, no more music. Verse 22, "The voice of harpers, minstrels, flute players, trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee." No music and no craftsmen, no art. Nothing. It's the end of everything. It's all over.

Oh, the party is over on earth. You know what happens in chapter 19? The party begins in heaven. All of a sudden in verse 1, heaven , Halleluiah," verse 3, "Halleluiah," verse 4, "Halleluiah," verse 6, "Halleluiah." What are you all so excited about? At the end of verse 6, "For the Lord God omnipotent...what?...reigns." Finally and let's be glad and rejoice and give honor to Him for the marriage of the Lamb is come and the bride has made herself ready. And now the redeemed are joined to their Lord. Given linen clean and white, fine linen in the righteousness of the saints...glorious. I think this is going on in heaven. Everybody get your...get your duds on, folks, we're going to the Kingdom. We're going to the Kingdom. How we getting there? Here it comes. Here's how you're getting there, in verse 11, "I saw heaven open and behold a white horse and Him that sat on him is called Faithful and True and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. And His eyes are like flame of fire and on His head were many crowns, He had a name written that no man knew." And it goes on to describe Him and in verse 14, here we are, folks, this is us. "The armies that were in heaven followed Him upon white horses clothed in fine linen white and clean." That's us. This is Him coming back to set up His Kingdom, coming back in that seventh trumpet, seven seal, seventh vial judgment, that finale as He comes to Armageddon in blazing glory to establish His Kingdom on earth. And He's coming in white, on a white horse and we're coming on white horses in white garments with Him. We go to be with Him, we come in glory with Him.

I love it, the end of verse 16, "His name is King of Kings and Lord of Lords." And when He comes, devastation, Armageddon. And the result of Armageddon is in verses 17 and following. Carnage, death, He calls the birds to eat the flesh. Verse 20, the Beast, the False Prophet are both cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the people in the armies who remained are slaughtered with the sword.

You know what happens? Chapter 20, the Lord sets up His Kingdom. That's right. Look at verse 4, "I saw thrones," what are they for? Look at the end of verse 4, they're for the saints who lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. You know what happens at the end of the thousand years? Verse 7, Satan's loosed a little while, he's been bound the whole time. He's loosed a little while. He goes out into the world and you know that during the Kingdom there will be some people who went in in physical bodies, they'll have kids, they'll repopulate the earth, they'll be a population all over the earth, some of those won't even believe in Jesus Christ though He's been reigning in the city of Jerusalem for a thousand years.

Isn't that amazing? Not so amazing. They didn't recognize Him the first time He came either. And they rejected Him when they did know who He was. And so Satan gives a final rebellion and verse 9 says at the end, "Fire comes from heaven and devours all those rebels." And then in verse 11, "All the unsaved of all history are collected to the Great White Throne Judgment and verse 15 says, "When their names were not found written in the Book of Life, they were cast into hell. That's the end of the thousand year kingdom.

You say, "What happens after that?" Verse 21...or chapter 21, "I saw a new heaven and a new earth," verse 2, "and a new Jerusalem." You say, "What is it like?" Verse 3, "God is with men and He will dwell with them and they shall be His people and God Himself shall be with them and be their God and God shall wipe away tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away." That's the eternal state, isn't it? That's the new heaven and the new earth. And then the rest of chapter 21 and in to chapter 22 describes it.

Well the last message comes at the end of 22. Can I give it to you? Look at verse 17, "And the Spirit and the bride say...what?...Come, and let him that heareth say Come and let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." That, my friend, is the last invitation. Come, come to Christ, come and drink, come and partake of His salvation. Because if this happens it will be too late. Verse 11, "When the judgment comes, he that is unjust will be unjust still, and he that is filthy will be filthy still, but he that is righteous will be righteous still, he that is holy will be holy still." In other words, whatever you are when it happens is what you're going to be forever.

Can you say with John...Even so,...what?...come, Lord Jesus, I'm ready? I hope so.