1 00:00:06,710 --> 00:00:11,310 Well, hello, glad to see you again, or 2 00:00:11,310 --> 00:00:12,490 at least for you to see me. 3 00:00:12,850 --> 00:00:16,030 This is the third session on the conference 4 00:00:16,030 --> 00:00:17,290 on church and state. 5 00:00:18,430 --> 00:00:21,270 If you haven't watched the first two sessions, 6 00:00:21,310 --> 00:00:23,310 then I would suggest that you do watch 7 00:00:23,310 --> 00:00:26,130 them before you watch this session, unless obviously 8 00:00:26,130 --> 00:00:26,990 you're watching live. 9 00:00:28,250 --> 00:00:32,150 Because they do lay the doctrinal foundation for 10 00:00:32,150 --> 00:00:34,910 what we're going to speak about in this 11 00:00:34,910 --> 00:00:36,630 third and last session. 12 00:00:37,390 --> 00:00:38,750 So let's open in prayer. 13 00:00:39,970 --> 00:00:41,850 Father, we come to you again in the 14 00:00:41,850 --> 00:00:43,850 name of the Lord Jesus, and we do 15 00:00:43,850 --> 00:00:45,010 pray for your help again. 16 00:00:45,290 --> 00:00:46,630 We pray that you would help me to 17 00:00:46,630 --> 00:00:49,830 deliver this very difficult message, but Lord, that 18 00:00:49,830 --> 00:00:51,850 you'd also help each one of us to 19 00:00:51,850 --> 00:00:55,510 understand and to receive the Word without prejudice. 20 00:00:56,010 --> 00:00:57,850 Lord, it is so easy to come to 21 00:00:57,850 --> 00:01:00,610 your Word with preconceived ideas as to what 22 00:01:00,610 --> 00:01:02,630 it says and what it means. 23 00:01:03,550 --> 00:01:05,050 Lord, we pray, Lord, that you'd help us, 24 00:01:05,510 --> 00:01:07,210 that we might be able to take a 25 00:01:07,210 --> 00:01:09,170 fresh look at your Word again. 26 00:01:09,650 --> 00:01:11,110 In Jesus' name we pray. 27 00:01:11,530 --> 00:01:11,990 Amen. 28 00:01:13,090 --> 00:01:15,550 All right, so I'm going to begin with 29 00:01:15,550 --> 00:01:18,190 a reading again as usual, and I'm going 30 00:01:18,190 --> 00:01:21,510 to read from the book of Hosea, and 31 00:01:21,510 --> 00:01:26,070 chapter 2, verses 1 through 13, or actually 32 00:01:26,070 --> 00:01:28,670 chapter 2, verse 2 through 13. 33 00:01:29,350 --> 00:01:31,370 Hosea is not a hard book to find. 34 00:01:31,590 --> 00:01:34,290 It is the first of the minor prophets. 35 00:01:34,710 --> 00:01:38,010 And so you have the major prophets ending 36 00:01:38,010 --> 00:01:40,910 with Daniel, and then the next book is 37 00:01:40,910 --> 00:01:41,510 Hosea. 38 00:01:41,890 --> 00:01:46,210 And I'm going to begin reading in verse 39 00:01:46,210 --> 00:01:46,570 2. 40 00:01:46,570 --> 00:01:49,230 It is a long reading, and you'll see 41 00:01:49,230 --> 00:01:52,970 the significance of this as we go along. 42 00:01:53,030 --> 00:01:54,650 God is obviously speaking to Israel. 43 00:02:17,630 --> 00:02:19,330 And slay her with thirst. 44 00:02:20,150 --> 00:02:21,770 I will not have mercy on her children, 45 00:02:22,470 --> 00:02:24,230 for they are the children of Harlotry. 46 00:02:25,210 --> 00:02:27,070 For their mother has played the harlot. 47 00:02:30,470 --> 00:02:33,050 She who conceived them has behaved shamefully. 48 00:02:33,490 --> 00:02:35,410 For she said, I will go after my 49 00:02:35,410 --> 00:02:37,650 lovers, who give me my bread and my 50 00:02:37,650 --> 00:02:39,650 water, my wool and my linen, my oil 51 00:02:39,650 --> 00:02:40,290 and my drink. 52 00:02:40,990 --> 00:02:43,710 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up your way 53 00:02:43,710 --> 00:02:46,730 with thorns and wall her in, so that 54 00:02:46,730 --> 00:02:48,210 she cannot find her paths. 55 00:02:48,790 --> 00:02:51,790 She will chase her lovers, but not overtake 56 00:02:51,790 --> 00:02:52,130 them. 57 00:02:52,930 --> 00:02:55,250 Yes, she will seek them, but not find 58 00:02:55,250 --> 00:02:55,490 them. 59 00:02:56,710 --> 00:02:59,070 Then she will say, I will go and 60 00:02:59,070 --> 00:03:01,850 return to my first husband, for then it 61 00:03:01,850 --> 00:03:03,370 was better for me than now. 62 00:03:04,050 --> 00:03:06,390 For she did not know that I gave 63 00:03:06,390 --> 00:03:09,470 her grain, new wine and oil, and multiplied 64 00:03:09,470 --> 00:03:12,150 her silver and gold, which they prepared for 65 00:03:12,150 --> 00:03:12,490 Baal. 66 00:03:13,090 --> 00:03:15,390 Therefore, I will return and take away my 67 00:03:15,390 --> 00:03:17,810 grain in its time, my new wine in 68 00:03:17,810 --> 00:03:20,590 its season, and will take back my wool 69 00:03:20,590 --> 00:03:23,790 and my linen, given to cover her nakedness. 70 00:03:24,390 --> 00:03:27,010 Now I will uncover her lewdness in the 71 00:03:27,010 --> 00:03:29,390 sight of her lovers, and no one shall 72 00:03:29,390 --> 00:03:30,730 deliver her from my hand. 73 00:03:31,370 --> 00:03:34,310 I will also cause all her mirth to 74 00:03:34,310 --> 00:03:37,270 cease, her feast days, her new moons, her 75 00:03:37,270 --> 00:03:39,430 Sabbaths, all her appointed feasts. 76 00:03:39,430 --> 00:03:41,850 And I will destroy her vines and her 77 00:03:41,850 --> 00:03:44,490 fig trees, of which she has said, These 78 00:03:44,490 --> 00:03:46,330 are my wages that my lovers have given 79 00:03:46,330 --> 00:03:46,590 me. 80 00:03:47,190 --> 00:03:49,570 So I will make them a forest, and 81 00:03:49,570 --> 00:03:51,290 the beasts of the field will eat them. 82 00:03:51,870 --> 00:03:54,930 I will punish her for the days of 83 00:03:54,930 --> 00:03:56,910 the Baals, to which she burnt incense. 84 00:03:57,450 --> 00:03:59,730 She decked herself with her earrings and jewelry, 85 00:04:00,410 --> 00:04:01,730 and went after her lovers. 86 00:04:02,270 --> 00:04:06,170 But me she forgot, says the Lord." 87 00:04:06,170 --> 00:04:10,210 A very, very harsh statement of God concerning 88 00:04:10,210 --> 00:04:10,750 Israel. 89 00:04:11,430 --> 00:04:13,950 And obviously he is dealing here with the 90 00:04:13,950 --> 00:04:17,550 concept of Israel, who really was his wife. 91 00:04:18,149 --> 00:04:20,649 And he says, you're no longer my wife, 92 00:04:21,029 --> 00:04:22,230 I'm not your husband. 93 00:04:22,590 --> 00:04:24,850 He deals with the issue of adultery and 94 00:04:24,850 --> 00:04:26,010 harlotry. 95 00:04:27,070 --> 00:04:28,910 And we're going to touch on some of 96 00:04:28,910 --> 00:04:31,270 these issues in the session. 97 00:04:31,270 --> 00:04:34,250 And so the title of the session is 98 00:04:34,250 --> 00:04:35,330 The Kings and the Harlot. 99 00:04:36,090 --> 00:04:38,230 And we're going to go a long way 100 00:04:38,230 --> 00:04:42,070 around through various scriptures, and again through history, 101 00:04:42,110 --> 00:04:44,270 because I want us to understand the context, 102 00:04:44,670 --> 00:04:48,830 in the context of our modern world, and 103 00:04:48,830 --> 00:04:51,270 how this applies to the church. 104 00:04:51,790 --> 00:04:53,970 Now, the first principle that we need to 105 00:04:53,970 --> 00:04:57,270 understand is that Satan has his counterfeits. 106 00:04:59,430 --> 00:05:02,330 He very much wants to be God. 107 00:05:02,470 --> 00:05:04,370 Remember the problem in the very beginning, I 108 00:05:04,370 --> 00:05:06,190 will be like the Most High. 109 00:05:06,690 --> 00:05:09,090 And so he has built his own counterfeit 110 00:05:09,090 --> 00:05:10,010 trinity. 111 00:05:10,350 --> 00:05:12,970 And he has counterfeits for so much else 112 00:05:12,970 --> 00:05:16,830 of the things of God. 113 00:05:17,830 --> 00:05:20,230 The counterfeit trinity, of course, instead of the 114 00:05:20,230 --> 00:05:22,310 Father, you have Satan taking the place of 115 00:05:22,310 --> 00:05:22,630 God. 116 00:05:22,630 --> 00:05:25,370 Instead of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son 117 00:05:25,370 --> 00:05:28,730 of God, you have the Antichrist. 118 00:05:29,230 --> 00:05:31,550 Remember the word anti is not just against, 119 00:05:31,710 --> 00:05:33,430 but also means in the place of. 120 00:05:33,870 --> 00:05:35,530 And so in the place of Christ, the 121 00:05:35,530 --> 00:05:36,770 second person of the trinity. 122 00:05:37,350 --> 00:05:39,370 And then instead of the Holy Spirit, you 123 00:05:39,370 --> 00:05:40,470 have the false prophet. 124 00:05:41,450 --> 00:05:44,410 But in addition to those, you also have 125 00:05:44,410 --> 00:05:45,310 the church. 126 00:05:45,790 --> 00:05:47,870 The church is the bride of Christ. 127 00:05:48,030 --> 00:05:51,050 And again, we're not specifically dealing with Israel 128 00:05:51,050 --> 00:05:52,070 in this session. 129 00:05:52,070 --> 00:05:54,450 But the church is the bride of Christ. 130 00:05:54,870 --> 00:05:57,730 And so Satan has his counterfeit to the 131 00:05:57,730 --> 00:06:00,930 bride of Christ, the great harlot. 132 00:06:01,130 --> 00:06:02,410 And we're going to end up in the 133 00:06:02,410 --> 00:06:03,970 book of Revelation, and we're going to look 134 00:06:03,970 --> 00:06:05,990 at the great harlot when we come to 135 00:06:05,990 --> 00:06:06,230 Revelation. 136 00:06:06,910 --> 00:06:08,970 Now, the moment I mention the great harlot, 137 00:06:09,070 --> 00:06:14,070 immediately we say, well, this is the church 138 00:06:14,070 --> 00:06:14,570 of Rome. 139 00:06:14,950 --> 00:06:16,790 And I will deal with that later. 140 00:06:17,210 --> 00:06:21,390 But let's not just fixate on Rome. 141 00:06:21,390 --> 00:06:23,870 Let me just tell you at this point, 142 00:06:24,070 --> 00:06:26,410 so that we can try and clarify this 143 00:06:26,410 --> 00:06:29,570 as we move along, that the great harlot 144 00:06:29,570 --> 00:06:32,950 does not just represent Rome, of which Rome 145 00:06:32,950 --> 00:06:35,450 probably is the great harlot, but she also 146 00:06:35,450 --> 00:06:38,950 has daughters, those who come out of her 147 00:06:38,950 --> 00:06:40,650 illicit relationship. 148 00:06:41,230 --> 00:06:43,170 And that includes all false churches. 149 00:06:43,250 --> 00:06:46,310 So any form of false church, and I 150 00:06:46,310 --> 00:06:48,870 don't include Islam or other things like that 151 00:06:48,870 --> 00:06:52,270 in this, because they are clearly not in 152 00:06:52,270 --> 00:06:53,350 the place of the church. 153 00:06:53,950 --> 00:06:56,390 But every church that is not a true, 154 00:06:56,790 --> 00:07:01,910 genuine church is part of the great harlot. 155 00:07:02,390 --> 00:07:06,430 All right, so let's get back to the 156 00:07:06,430 --> 00:07:08,030 foundation that I want to lay. 157 00:07:08,130 --> 00:07:11,410 And probably I'm going to spend 60 or 158 00:07:11,410 --> 00:07:13,230 70 percent of the time that we have 159 00:07:13,230 --> 00:07:16,170 in laying a foundation and then getting to 160 00:07:16,170 --> 00:07:17,530 the real point. 161 00:07:17,530 --> 00:07:19,170 So forgive me for that. 162 00:07:20,070 --> 00:07:23,070 So we have these concepts of adultery, fornication 163 00:07:23,070 --> 00:07:23,750 and holotry. 164 00:07:24,290 --> 00:07:25,970 I'm not going to deal with the difference 165 00:07:25,970 --> 00:07:27,410 between adultery and fornication. 166 00:07:27,590 --> 00:07:30,030 Clearly they are two different things. 167 00:07:35,970 --> 00:07:38,230 Fornication is the overarching thing. 168 00:07:38,850 --> 00:07:42,170 Fornication includes things like pornography and bestiality and 169 00:07:42,170 --> 00:07:43,410 all sorts of perversions. 170 00:07:43,410 --> 00:07:50,070 But a subset of fornication, and the New 171 00:07:50,070 --> 00:07:53,450 King James uses the word sexual immorality, which 172 00:07:53,450 --> 00:07:54,810 is actually quite a good... 173 00:07:54,810 --> 00:07:56,850 When I first saw that, I really struggled 174 00:07:56,850 --> 00:07:57,750 with that concept. 175 00:07:58,870 --> 00:08:00,670 It was so different to fornication. 176 00:08:00,910 --> 00:08:03,030 But it really does encompass all. 177 00:08:03,270 --> 00:08:06,190 Pornia encompasses all sexual immorality. 178 00:08:06,730 --> 00:08:08,610 And adultery is part of that. 179 00:08:08,930 --> 00:08:10,170 Now we're not going to deal with that 180 00:08:10,170 --> 00:08:12,410 so much today, but we're going to speak 181 00:08:12,410 --> 00:08:15,210 about adultery and then holotry. 182 00:08:16,550 --> 00:08:19,210 Prostitution, if you will, in modern language, but 183 00:08:19,210 --> 00:08:20,810 using the biblical term holotry. 184 00:08:21,210 --> 00:08:23,010 There is a difference between the two. 185 00:08:23,110 --> 00:08:24,630 Obviously they are both sexual sins. 186 00:08:25,090 --> 00:08:27,750 Both of them involve an illicit relationship. 187 00:08:28,030 --> 00:08:30,310 And we're not going to be dealing today 188 00:08:30,310 --> 00:08:34,750 so much with the issue of illicit sex. 189 00:08:35,010 --> 00:08:37,330 We're going to deal with illicit relationships. 190 00:08:38,130 --> 00:08:40,929 Because that really is what adultery and holotry 191 00:08:40,929 --> 00:08:41,230 is. 192 00:08:41,490 --> 00:08:45,610 The difference between the two, really in the 193 00:08:45,610 --> 00:08:48,610 context of what we're speaking today, is adultery 194 00:08:48,610 --> 00:08:52,010 is an illicit relationship outside of the marriage. 195 00:08:52,430 --> 00:08:55,650 Holotry is selling yourself for money. 196 00:08:56,350 --> 00:08:57,650 Selling yourself for money. 197 00:08:58,430 --> 00:09:00,010 So there are two. 198 00:09:00,130 --> 00:09:03,590 The one, adultery, may be based on so 199 00:09:03,590 --> 00:09:05,170 -called love or whatever it is. 200 00:09:05,170 --> 00:09:11,250 Holotry clearly is a selling of oneself. 201 00:09:12,250 --> 00:09:15,450 And so we'll come back to that. 202 00:09:16,350 --> 00:09:20,250 So we're dealing then with illicit relationships outside 203 00:09:20,250 --> 00:09:21,610 of marriage. 204 00:09:21,810 --> 00:09:25,690 Now in the context of Hosea, and let's 205 00:09:25,690 --> 00:09:28,050 look very quickly at a couple of verses. 206 00:09:28,190 --> 00:09:29,430 I'm just going to look at two verses 207 00:09:29,430 --> 00:09:32,470 there, verses 5 and verse 8. 208 00:09:32,470 --> 00:09:34,550 And I want us to see how this 209 00:09:34,550 --> 00:09:36,570 now plays out. 210 00:09:37,590 --> 00:09:40,470 For their mother, that's Israel really, has played 211 00:09:40,470 --> 00:09:41,030 the holot. 212 00:09:41,330 --> 00:09:42,850 She has conceived them. 213 00:09:43,190 --> 00:09:45,410 Now we're going to speak about illicit children. 214 00:09:46,290 --> 00:09:50,490 Because an illicit relationship produces illicit children. 215 00:09:51,890 --> 00:09:54,490 Or as the old King James says, bastards. 216 00:09:55,570 --> 00:09:57,790 I will have, sorry, verse 5. 217 00:09:57,870 --> 00:09:59,250 For their mother has played the holot. 218 00:09:59,250 --> 00:10:03,690 She who has conceived them has behaved shamefully. 219 00:10:04,150 --> 00:10:06,150 For she said, I will go after my 220 00:10:06,150 --> 00:10:09,190 lovers, who give me my bread and my 221 00:10:09,190 --> 00:10:11,710 water, my wool and my linen, my oil 222 00:10:11,710 --> 00:10:12,490 and my drink. 223 00:10:13,350 --> 00:10:18,370 So she goes after her illicit lovers, because 224 00:10:18,370 --> 00:10:20,380 they give her certain things. 225 00:10:21,350 --> 00:10:23,670 This is cardinal to the whole message this 226 00:10:23,670 --> 00:10:24,130 afternoon. 227 00:10:24,130 --> 00:10:28,230 They give her certain things in exchange for 228 00:10:28,230 --> 00:10:29,550 her favors. 229 00:10:30,190 --> 00:10:33,230 But the Lord says in verse 8, She 230 00:10:33,230 --> 00:10:36,070 did not know that I gave her grain, 231 00:10:36,470 --> 00:10:40,230 new wine and oil, and multiplied her silver 232 00:10:40,230 --> 00:10:42,110 and gold. 233 00:10:42,870 --> 00:10:46,610 So instead of receiving the gifts and being 234 00:10:46,610 --> 00:10:49,450 grateful for the gifts that she receives from 235 00:10:49,450 --> 00:10:54,230 her husband, she forsakes that because her illicit 236 00:10:54,230 --> 00:10:57,150 lovers are giving her something different. 237 00:10:58,350 --> 00:11:00,610 And here is the heart of this whole 238 00:11:00,610 --> 00:11:00,970 thing. 239 00:11:01,490 --> 00:11:03,790 And if you can keep that in mind 240 00:11:03,790 --> 00:11:07,790 as we now go through the rest of 241 00:11:07,790 --> 00:11:10,850 the study, and particularly as we look at 242 00:11:10,850 --> 00:11:13,430 the examples in a few moments. 243 00:11:13,710 --> 00:11:15,550 Now the second thing that we need to 244 00:11:15,550 --> 00:11:18,810 understand is that as much as Israel committed 245 00:11:18,810 --> 00:11:24,210 adultery, against the Lord, was unfaithful to the 246 00:11:24,210 --> 00:11:28,970 Lord, by entering into illicit relationships with all 247 00:11:28,970 --> 00:11:31,010 sorts of things, but amongst other things the 248 00:11:31,010 --> 00:11:31,410 idols. 249 00:11:31,950 --> 00:11:34,370 And so instead of cleaving to the Lord, 250 00:11:34,610 --> 00:11:37,110 they leave the Lord and they go back 251 00:11:37,110 --> 00:11:40,830 to idols and to those weak and beggarly 252 00:11:40,830 --> 00:11:41,270 elements. 253 00:11:42,750 --> 00:11:44,610 And I'm just taking out of context a 254 00:11:44,610 --> 00:11:46,770 statement from the book of Galatians. 255 00:11:46,770 --> 00:11:49,850 Now this is also true of the church. 256 00:11:50,430 --> 00:11:55,270 It is possible for Christians to commit adultery 257 00:11:55,270 --> 00:11:57,170 in a spiritual sense. 258 00:11:57,930 --> 00:12:01,110 In James chapter 4 and verse 4, James 259 00:12:01,110 --> 00:12:05,350 says adulterers, now he's writing to Christians, adulterers 260 00:12:05,350 --> 00:12:09,330 and adulteresses, do you not know that friendship 261 00:12:09,330 --> 00:12:11,770 with the world is enmity with God? 262 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:18,030 They committed adultery because they entered into an 263 00:12:18,030 --> 00:12:20,710 illicit relationship with the world. 264 00:12:22,170 --> 00:12:24,230 And then he says, whoever therefore wants to 265 00:12:24,230 --> 00:12:26,030 be a friend of the world makes himself 266 00:12:26,030 --> 00:12:27,210 an enemy of God. 267 00:12:28,330 --> 00:12:31,990 So Christians commit adultery against the Lord when 268 00:12:31,990 --> 00:12:35,210 they forsake Him, and they enter into a 269 00:12:35,210 --> 00:12:37,790 relationship with the world. 270 00:12:38,350 --> 00:12:40,210 Now remember in the previous sessions we said 271 00:12:40,210 --> 00:12:42,070 that there are only these two things, the 272 00:12:42,070 --> 00:12:43,810 kingdom of God and the kingdoms of the 273 00:12:43,810 --> 00:12:47,670 world, or God's kingdom and the world. 274 00:12:48,410 --> 00:12:51,870 If we leave God's kingdom and we enter 275 00:12:51,870 --> 00:12:54,710 into a relationship with the world, we are 276 00:12:54,710 --> 00:12:58,370 committing adultery the same way as Israel committed 277 00:12:58,370 --> 00:13:03,170 adultery when Israel forsook the Lord and got 278 00:13:03,170 --> 00:13:05,230 into a relationship with the Baals. 279 00:13:05,530 --> 00:13:09,890 Now just incidentally, very quickly, it's interesting that 280 00:13:09,890 --> 00:13:14,270 we generally tend to think that Israel forsook 281 00:13:14,270 --> 00:13:15,730 the Lord, and I should maybe not have 282 00:13:15,730 --> 00:13:17,990 used that term, that they turned their backs 283 00:13:17,990 --> 00:13:19,570 on God and followed Baal. 284 00:13:19,770 --> 00:13:22,050 But in fact most of the times they 285 00:13:22,050 --> 00:13:27,770 cleaved to the Lord and they worshipped Baal 286 00:13:27,770 --> 00:13:28,590 at the same time. 287 00:13:28,690 --> 00:13:30,510 Many times the altars would be next to 288 00:13:30,510 --> 00:13:30,930 each other. 289 00:13:31,110 --> 00:13:35,050 Many times the worship would happen almost simultaneously. 290 00:13:35,950 --> 00:13:39,590 So they didn't entirely leave God. 291 00:13:39,690 --> 00:13:41,670 They didn't entirely turn their backs on God. 292 00:13:41,970 --> 00:13:45,870 No, they worshipped Him together with the idols. 293 00:13:46,850 --> 00:13:49,690 And you remember that the command says that 294 00:13:49,690 --> 00:13:52,950 you shall not have other gods besides me, 295 00:13:53,370 --> 00:13:55,850 not instead of me, but next to me. 296 00:13:56,510 --> 00:13:58,930 And so that is adultery. 297 00:13:58,930 --> 00:14:03,410 The church can and does commit adultery when 298 00:14:03,410 --> 00:14:05,930 it enters into an illicit relationship. 299 00:14:06,670 --> 00:14:08,090 Now, let's have a look at a few 300 00:14:08,090 --> 00:14:11,610 examples from Scripture and also from history. 301 00:14:12,370 --> 00:14:14,950 And I've just taken, I don't know how 302 00:14:14,950 --> 00:14:16,350 many I have here, it looks like about 303 00:14:16,350 --> 00:14:21,670 ten, and there are many, many, many more. 304 00:14:22,090 --> 00:14:25,050 I've just selected a few that just came 305 00:14:25,050 --> 00:14:26,770 to the top of my head as I 306 00:14:26,770 --> 00:14:28,130 was writing these things down. 307 00:14:29,250 --> 00:14:30,350 The first one I want to look at 308 00:14:30,350 --> 00:14:33,090 very briefly is Balaam and Balak. 309 00:14:33,370 --> 00:14:36,530 You remember Balaam was the prophet to whom 310 00:14:36,530 --> 00:14:37,410 the donkey spoke. 311 00:14:37,970 --> 00:14:41,890 And Balaam goes and enters into an illicit 312 00:14:41,890 --> 00:14:43,470 relationship with Balak. 313 00:14:43,850 --> 00:14:47,650 Balak, the king, pays him money to curse 314 00:14:47,650 --> 00:14:48,430 Israel. 315 00:14:49,090 --> 00:14:52,250 And remember that he fails in cursing Israel. 316 00:14:52,830 --> 00:14:55,870 And so he then goes to the king 317 00:14:55,870 --> 00:14:57,610 and says, Well, look, what you need to 318 00:14:57,610 --> 00:15:00,870 do is get your daughters to seduce the 319 00:15:00,870 --> 00:15:04,490 Israelite men, and when they then seduce them 320 00:15:04,490 --> 00:15:06,910 and get them to worship the idols, God 321 00:15:06,910 --> 00:15:08,870 will turn against Israel and God will punish 322 00:15:08,870 --> 00:15:09,330 Israel. 323 00:15:10,010 --> 00:15:11,910 And so, of course, that worked, and we 324 00:15:11,910 --> 00:15:13,950 have the warning in the New Testament that 325 00:15:13,950 --> 00:15:15,470 we need to be careful that there is 326 00:15:15,470 --> 00:15:19,710 not someone like Balaam amongst us who seduces 327 00:15:19,710 --> 00:15:23,630 and teaches the church to enter into an 328 00:15:23,630 --> 00:15:28,770 illicit relationship with something outside and something that 329 00:15:28,770 --> 00:15:32,470 has been forbidden by the Lord. 330 00:15:33,330 --> 00:15:34,550 And I trust that you can see how 331 00:15:34,550 --> 00:15:36,770 this begins to fit together. 332 00:15:37,150 --> 00:15:40,150 We have Israel and their kings. 333 00:15:40,590 --> 00:15:42,450 Remember, God said, I want to be your 334 00:15:42,450 --> 00:15:42,690 God. 335 00:15:42,770 --> 00:15:43,750 I want to be your king. 336 00:15:43,750 --> 00:15:47,050 He wanted them to be what we call 337 00:15:47,050 --> 00:15:47,870 a theocracy. 338 00:15:48,750 --> 00:15:53,290 He wanted them to be under His governance. 339 00:15:54,050 --> 00:15:55,890 And Israel says, No, we want to be 340 00:15:55,890 --> 00:15:56,750 like the other nations. 341 00:15:56,950 --> 00:15:58,190 We want our own king. 342 00:15:58,870 --> 00:16:00,950 This was a form of adultery. 343 00:16:02,030 --> 00:16:04,790 Solomon and his many wives and concubines. 344 00:16:05,170 --> 00:16:06,970 And we can say, Well, you know, it 345 00:16:06,970 --> 00:16:10,010 was permissible to have many wives those days. 346 00:16:10,010 --> 00:16:12,770 But remember that it was not permissible to 347 00:16:12,770 --> 00:16:16,030 have wives of foreign nations. 348 00:16:16,530 --> 00:16:21,370 And so, Solomon enters into illicit relationships. 349 00:16:21,690 --> 00:16:23,930 They may have been sanctified by the culture 350 00:16:23,930 --> 00:16:25,270 at the time in the sense that he 351 00:16:25,270 --> 00:16:27,990 could have more than one wife, although God 352 00:16:27,990 --> 00:16:29,150 never sanctifies that. 353 00:16:29,430 --> 00:16:32,290 But the fact that they are a heathen 354 00:16:32,290 --> 00:16:35,270 woman, that they are women who worship false 355 00:16:35,270 --> 00:16:37,950 gods, is clearly forbidden by the Lord. 356 00:16:37,950 --> 00:16:41,810 So he enters into those illicit relationships. 357 00:16:42,650 --> 00:16:46,710 And that results in Israel being divided into 358 00:16:46,710 --> 00:16:48,190 the northern and the southern tribes. 359 00:16:48,810 --> 00:16:49,750 That is the beginning. 360 00:16:49,910 --> 00:16:51,890 And while Solomon rode the crest of the 361 00:16:51,890 --> 00:16:57,110 wave, and Israel achieved greatness like at no 362 00:16:57,110 --> 00:16:59,270 other time, this was the end of the 363 00:16:59,270 --> 00:17:02,770 great days, and Israel declined from that moment 364 00:17:02,770 --> 00:17:03,050 on. 365 00:17:03,130 --> 00:17:04,390 We have Ahab and Jezebel. 366 00:17:04,569 --> 00:17:06,089 Jezebel was a Gentile woman. 367 00:17:06,089 --> 00:17:09,069 And Ahab enters into a relationship with her. 368 00:17:09,349 --> 00:17:13,089 And she seduces Israel again to worship Baal. 369 00:17:14,250 --> 00:17:15,569 So we have the same principle. 370 00:17:15,810 --> 00:17:18,150 And we have a warning in Revelation 2, 371 00:17:18,310 --> 00:17:21,150 verse 20, that there are Jezebels. 372 00:17:21,329 --> 00:17:22,470 Now, I'm not going to get into the 373 00:17:22,470 --> 00:17:23,530 whole Jezebel spirit. 374 00:17:23,990 --> 00:17:27,290 The Bible doesn't speak about a Jezebel spirit. 375 00:17:27,610 --> 00:17:30,010 But it speaks about those who are like 376 00:17:30,010 --> 00:17:33,210 Jezebel, who are teaching the children of God 377 00:17:33,210 --> 00:17:34,890 to commit adultery. 378 00:17:34,890 --> 00:17:40,270 The whole principle between Jezebel teaching Israel to 379 00:17:40,270 --> 00:17:44,730 worship Baal is brought into the church, and 380 00:17:44,730 --> 00:17:47,790 brought into the book of Revelation, the messages 381 00:17:47,790 --> 00:17:52,710 to the seven churches, worshipping idols being taught 382 00:17:52,710 --> 00:17:55,530 by so-called Jezebel. 383 00:17:56,470 --> 00:18:01,370 Israel often entered into illicit relationships with other 384 00:18:01,370 --> 00:18:05,930 nations when they felt that the enemy was 385 00:18:05,930 --> 00:18:06,450 too big. 386 00:18:07,190 --> 00:18:08,270 They didn't trust God. 387 00:18:08,830 --> 00:18:12,030 They didn't rely on the Lord's ability to 388 00:18:12,030 --> 00:18:14,190 deliver them, as He had delivered them so 389 00:18:14,190 --> 00:18:15,070 many times. 390 00:18:15,470 --> 00:18:18,030 And so, instead of trusting the Lord, they 391 00:18:18,030 --> 00:18:24,130 trust in illicit alliances with foreign kings, and 392 00:18:24,130 --> 00:18:25,730 with Gentile nations. 393 00:18:26,130 --> 00:18:28,150 And the Lord judges them for that. 394 00:18:28,610 --> 00:18:30,490 But you can see the same principle. 395 00:18:31,590 --> 00:18:33,950 While it's not called adultery, it's the same 396 00:18:33,950 --> 00:18:36,790 principle of an illicit relationship in order to 397 00:18:36,790 --> 00:18:39,510 get something out of that relationship, and that 398 00:18:39,510 --> 00:18:41,470 brings the judgment of God. 399 00:18:42,590 --> 00:18:45,490 In the New Testament, we have the temple, 400 00:18:46,350 --> 00:18:47,490 and we have the Sadducees. 401 00:18:47,670 --> 00:18:50,190 And I'm really going to just cut to 402 00:18:50,190 --> 00:18:50,850 the chase here. 403 00:18:50,910 --> 00:18:54,450 But the Sadducees had entered into a relationship 404 00:18:54,450 --> 00:18:58,850 with Rome, whereby they were appointed to be 405 00:18:58,850 --> 00:19:00,790 the high priest and to run the temple. 406 00:19:01,970 --> 00:19:04,730 Rome would then collect the temple tax and 407 00:19:04,730 --> 00:19:06,530 then hand some of that over back to 408 00:19:06,530 --> 00:19:07,370 the Sadducees. 409 00:19:08,850 --> 00:19:12,370 And so the Caiaphas, the high priest, who 410 00:19:12,370 --> 00:19:15,610 hands Jesus back over to Rome, is one 411 00:19:15,610 --> 00:19:16,670 of the Sadducees. 412 00:19:17,370 --> 00:19:18,950 And so they had set up a thriving 413 00:19:18,950 --> 00:19:23,090 business, sold Israel, effectively, for money. 414 00:19:23,510 --> 00:19:26,250 And so they would keep Israel under control, 415 00:19:26,330 --> 00:19:28,010 they would keep Israel in check, make sure 416 00:19:28,010 --> 00:19:30,850 there were no problems, and in exchange, they 417 00:19:30,850 --> 00:19:34,430 would receive position and power and money from 418 00:19:34,430 --> 00:19:36,230 the Roman government. 419 00:19:36,970 --> 00:19:40,650 And this led directly to the crucifixion of 420 00:19:40,650 --> 00:19:41,290 the Lord Jesus. 421 00:19:41,510 --> 00:19:45,090 Because remember that Caiaphas said, it is better 422 00:19:45,090 --> 00:19:47,930 for one man to die for the nation. 423 00:19:48,030 --> 00:19:50,150 Now, he didn't mean that in an atoning 424 00:19:50,150 --> 00:19:52,390 way, as we like to understand it. 425 00:19:52,590 --> 00:19:55,550 He simply meant that Jesus needs to die, 426 00:19:55,610 --> 00:19:57,770 because if he doesn't die, there's going to 427 00:19:57,770 --> 00:19:59,830 be an uproar, and then the Romans are 428 00:19:59,830 --> 00:20:01,110 going to come down on us, and then 429 00:20:01,110 --> 00:20:02,230 we're going to have real trouble. 430 00:20:02,890 --> 00:20:07,470 And so they sacrificed Jesus for political expediency. 431 00:20:07,810 --> 00:20:10,250 That's what happens when we enter into these 432 00:20:10,250 --> 00:20:11,330 illicit relationships. 433 00:20:11,770 --> 00:20:13,530 Now, if we go beyond Scripture, I'm going 434 00:20:13,530 --> 00:20:14,910 to take a few examples quickly. 435 00:20:15,890 --> 00:20:22,090 We have Constantine in A.D. 300. 436 00:20:22,090 --> 00:20:29,710 Constantine becomes the emperor of Rome, and I 437 00:20:29,710 --> 00:20:34,910 was blessed to be in York, and probably 438 00:20:34,910 --> 00:20:37,990 our friends from York are watching today, or 439 00:20:37,990 --> 00:20:40,470 from Yorkshire are watching today, and it was 440 00:20:40,470 --> 00:20:44,490 quite something to see the York Minster, where 441 00:20:44,490 --> 00:20:49,090 in the original building, Constantine was crowned. 442 00:20:49,630 --> 00:20:54,590 But when Constantine became emperor, he married church 443 00:20:54,590 --> 00:20:55,090 and state. 444 00:20:55,710 --> 00:20:58,210 And in fact, the very first church councils, 445 00:20:58,690 --> 00:21:03,510 particularly the Council of Nicaea, Constantine chaired that 446 00:21:03,510 --> 00:21:03,850 meeting. 447 00:21:03,970 --> 00:21:05,530 Here is an unbeliever. 448 00:21:05,550 --> 00:21:06,850 I know some people like to think he 449 00:21:06,850 --> 00:21:07,330 was a Christian. 450 00:21:07,510 --> 00:21:09,070 No, he was far from a Christian. 451 00:21:09,930 --> 00:21:14,110 But here is this unbeliever, a Roman, who 452 00:21:14,110 --> 00:21:19,050 for political expediency married the church and the 453 00:21:19,050 --> 00:21:19,390 state. 454 00:21:20,310 --> 00:21:22,730 And so he sits in the chair, and 455 00:21:22,730 --> 00:21:25,210 he chairs the meeting of the Council of 456 00:21:25,210 --> 00:21:25,590 Nicaea. 457 00:21:25,790 --> 00:21:28,430 And in fact, he had tremendous influence on 458 00:21:28,430 --> 00:21:33,510 the final creed that the council produced. 459 00:21:34,550 --> 00:21:36,930 Now, you need to think about that, because 460 00:21:36,930 --> 00:21:39,990 many people put their total trust of their 461 00:21:39,990 --> 00:21:43,230 doctrine in the Nicaean creed. 462 00:21:43,830 --> 00:21:46,310 But remember that this was produced, and remember 463 00:21:46,310 --> 00:21:48,030 what these relationships produce. 464 00:21:48,390 --> 00:21:50,670 They produce illegitimate children. 465 00:21:51,510 --> 00:21:52,850 They produce bastards. 466 00:21:53,810 --> 00:21:58,130 And so the council produces this document, and 467 00:21:58,130 --> 00:22:00,990 he has a casting vote, and he changes 468 00:22:00,990 --> 00:22:05,350 some significant things in the Nicaean creed. 469 00:22:06,250 --> 00:22:07,730 And of course, out of that we know 470 00:22:07,730 --> 00:22:09,410 comes the Church of Rome. 471 00:22:10,710 --> 00:22:13,810 And so we're going to talk about that 472 00:22:13,810 --> 00:22:15,490 again a little later. 473 00:22:16,750 --> 00:22:18,590 Later on, we have the Reformation. 474 00:22:19,090 --> 00:22:20,670 And we say, well, this is a great, 475 00:22:20,870 --> 00:22:21,450 wonderful thing. 476 00:22:22,470 --> 00:22:25,230 And I'm not going to get into the 477 00:22:25,230 --> 00:22:25,610 Reformation. 478 00:22:25,930 --> 00:22:27,430 But we spoke earlier in one of the 479 00:22:27,430 --> 00:22:30,450 previous sessions, we spoke about the relationship between 480 00:22:30,450 --> 00:22:35,370 the magistrates in Geneva and Calvin, this relationship 481 00:22:35,370 --> 00:22:37,290 between the church and the state. 482 00:22:37,290 --> 00:22:42,830 And in Calvin's Geneva, the church and the 483 00:22:42,830 --> 00:22:46,570 magistrates, or the state, they empowered one another. 484 00:22:47,050 --> 00:22:49,330 The one gave power to the other, and 485 00:22:49,330 --> 00:22:51,070 the other one looked after the interests of 486 00:22:51,070 --> 00:22:51,410 the other. 487 00:22:51,810 --> 00:22:53,530 And so we have exactly the same thing 488 00:22:53,530 --> 00:22:54,770 operating at that time. 489 00:22:55,730 --> 00:22:57,970 And this continued for a long, long time. 490 00:22:58,070 --> 00:23:00,490 This was common in Europe at that time. 491 00:23:00,590 --> 00:23:05,530 So that Arminius, who opposed some of the 492 00:23:05,530 --> 00:23:08,950 teachings of Calvin and many modern Christians like 493 00:23:08,950 --> 00:23:10,730 to call themselves Arminians. 494 00:23:12,270 --> 00:23:14,270 I'm not an Arminian because I don't follow 495 00:23:14,270 --> 00:23:14,850 Arminius. 496 00:23:15,310 --> 00:23:16,890 I follow the scriptures. 497 00:23:17,670 --> 00:23:20,670 But during Arminius' time, and one of the 498 00:23:20,670 --> 00:23:25,330 things that Arminius stood against the Calvinists on 499 00:23:25,330 --> 00:23:30,230 was that Arminius perpetuated the popular idea at 500 00:23:30,230 --> 00:23:34,070 that time that the civil government would appoint 501 00:23:34,070 --> 00:23:35,310 the church officers. 502 00:23:35,310 --> 00:23:38,890 In other words, pastors and whatever other important 503 00:23:38,890 --> 00:23:40,690 officers they had in the church at that 504 00:23:40,690 --> 00:23:45,490 time, these were appointed by the civil government. 505 00:23:47,230 --> 00:23:50,690 And you'll find a modern representation of that 506 00:23:50,690 --> 00:23:53,670 still in the United Kingdom today. 507 00:23:54,410 --> 00:23:58,570 And so Arminius, and then the other states 508 00:23:58,570 --> 00:24:03,730 in Europe, until very recently, and I think 509 00:24:03,730 --> 00:24:06,050 in fact still some of the Scandinavian countries 510 00:24:06,050 --> 00:24:10,650 still take the church tax, which is then 511 00:24:10,650 --> 00:24:11,790 paid over to the church. 512 00:24:11,910 --> 00:24:13,930 And so you can see this relationship between 513 00:24:13,930 --> 00:24:15,930 church and state. 514 00:24:17,490 --> 00:24:21,610 Now because we're speaking mainly to, or not 515 00:24:21,610 --> 00:24:23,810 mainly, but from an English base in the 516 00:24:23,810 --> 00:24:26,430 sense that the conference is hosted in the 517 00:24:26,430 --> 00:24:29,970 United Kingdom, we have to speak about the 518 00:24:29,970 --> 00:24:30,690 Church of England. 519 00:24:31,530 --> 00:24:33,770 Now just think about what we spoke about 520 00:24:33,770 --> 00:24:34,330 yesterday. 521 00:24:35,790 --> 00:24:38,330 There's the church, and there's the state. 522 00:24:39,230 --> 00:24:42,350 When you have a church and state even 523 00:24:42,350 --> 00:24:44,570 married in their name, the Church of England 524 00:24:44,570 --> 00:24:47,310 or Anglican Church, and for my American friends 525 00:24:47,310 --> 00:24:49,990 here it's called the Episcopalian Church, so it's 526 00:24:49,990 --> 00:24:50,770 all the same thing. 527 00:24:51,610 --> 00:24:53,550 And we know the history, how that Henry 528 00:24:53,550 --> 00:24:57,310 VIII couldn't get an annulment of his marriage 529 00:24:57,310 --> 00:24:59,790 from the Pope, and so he broke from 530 00:24:59,790 --> 00:25:03,510 Rome, and he said we're going to have 531 00:25:03,510 --> 00:25:07,970 our own church, and he was self-appointed, 532 00:25:08,050 --> 00:25:10,230 appointed himself the head of the church, and 533 00:25:10,230 --> 00:25:12,270 we know that that is even true today, 534 00:25:12,630 --> 00:25:15,870 that the Queen still is the head of 535 00:25:15,870 --> 00:25:20,490 the church, and that the senior bishops are 536 00:25:20,490 --> 00:25:25,910 appointed by the government rather than by the 537 00:25:25,910 --> 00:25:26,150 church. 538 00:25:26,230 --> 00:25:28,310 Now obviously the church advises the government, but 539 00:25:28,310 --> 00:25:29,850 the appointments come from the government. 540 00:25:30,510 --> 00:25:33,810 The Archbishop of Canterbury, when he retires, becomes 541 00:25:33,810 --> 00:25:35,510 a lord and sits in the House of 542 00:25:35,510 --> 00:25:35,830 Lords. 543 00:25:36,090 --> 00:25:39,270 So you have this relationship, and forgive me 544 00:25:39,270 --> 00:25:41,370 if I have the history a little bit 545 00:25:41,370 --> 00:25:41,630 wrong. 546 00:25:41,690 --> 00:25:43,530 As I said yesterday, my perspective is from 547 00:25:43,530 --> 00:25:46,830 an American and South African one, but you 548 00:25:46,830 --> 00:25:51,270 have this intimate relationship between the church and 549 00:25:51,270 --> 00:25:54,250 the state, and we're going to come back 550 00:25:54,250 --> 00:25:56,690 to that again in a few minutes. 551 00:25:57,290 --> 00:25:59,630 In South Africa, we spoke about that yesterday, 552 00:26:00,050 --> 00:26:03,090 this relationship between the Dutch Reformed Church and 553 00:26:03,090 --> 00:26:06,970 the nationalist government in South Africa, ruled for 554 00:26:06,970 --> 00:26:09,110 many years, the same relationship. 555 00:26:09,490 --> 00:26:12,490 The church empowered the government, the church kept 556 00:26:12,490 --> 00:26:15,190 the people behind the government, and the government 557 00:26:15,190 --> 00:26:16,390 protected the church. 558 00:26:16,850 --> 00:26:20,890 The church, in fact, created a theology that 559 00:26:20,890 --> 00:26:27,230 would support the government's agenda and the whole 560 00:26:27,230 --> 00:26:28,130 apartheid system. 561 00:26:28,610 --> 00:26:33,290 They designed a complete, total theology around that. 562 00:26:33,990 --> 00:26:36,390 And so again, you see this illicit relationship. 563 00:26:36,550 --> 00:26:38,610 I said to you in the earlier session 564 00:26:38,610 --> 00:26:43,470 that any major event would be opened in 565 00:26:43,470 --> 00:26:46,010 prayer, and we'd say, well, this is a 566 00:26:46,010 --> 00:26:48,030 wonderful thing, look how religious we are. 567 00:26:48,410 --> 00:26:50,290 But in fact, it is more than that. 568 00:26:50,610 --> 00:26:53,050 It's a statement of this relationship between the 569 00:26:53,050 --> 00:26:55,370 church and the state, between the church and 570 00:26:55,370 --> 00:26:56,810 the government. 571 00:26:57,770 --> 00:26:59,810 And then we come to the United States 572 00:26:59,810 --> 00:27:01,570 of America, and this is where it gets 573 00:27:01,570 --> 00:27:03,970 really, really hairy. 574 00:27:04,430 --> 00:27:06,510 And I know that there's a certain percentage 575 00:27:06,510 --> 00:27:08,690 of those who are watching right now who 576 00:27:08,690 --> 00:27:10,430 are going to turn off at the end 577 00:27:10,430 --> 00:27:12,930 of this, and who will probably send me 578 00:27:12,930 --> 00:27:16,710 all sorts of nasty emails and stuff. 579 00:27:17,450 --> 00:27:20,430 But in America, in the last six years, 580 00:27:21,070 --> 00:27:23,910 the church, the evangelical church, has entered into 581 00:27:23,910 --> 00:27:27,810 a relationship with the government, with the Republican 582 00:27:27,810 --> 00:27:28,390 Party. 583 00:27:29,670 --> 00:27:32,210 Anyone will tell you, doesn't matter which side 584 00:27:32,210 --> 00:27:34,270 of the fence they're on, will tell you 585 00:27:34,270 --> 00:27:36,990 that Trump was brought to power as a 586 00:27:36,990 --> 00:27:40,010 result of the religious right. 587 00:27:40,010 --> 00:27:43,710 The so-called religious right, particularly the evangelical 588 00:27:43,710 --> 00:27:44,310 church. 589 00:27:45,030 --> 00:27:48,690 The evangelical leaders crowned him at his inauguration. 590 00:27:48,830 --> 00:27:51,310 They were there to put the seal on 591 00:27:51,310 --> 00:27:53,770 his inauguration, to pray for him, to bless 592 00:27:53,770 --> 00:27:57,330 him, and to prophesy to the nation that 593 00:27:57,330 --> 00:28:01,110 this man is the man of God. 594 00:28:02,450 --> 00:28:03,750 Now, I'm not going to get into the 595 00:28:03,750 --> 00:28:06,050 whole issue of whether he's saved or not. 596 00:28:06,890 --> 00:28:08,490 That's not the point. 597 00:28:09,230 --> 00:28:12,530 But we have a relationship now between the 598 00:28:12,530 --> 00:28:16,650 government and the religious right, and the church. 599 00:28:18,110 --> 00:28:20,190 It's a symbiotic relationship. 600 00:28:20,870 --> 00:28:23,730 Because what happens is that the church empowers 601 00:28:23,730 --> 00:28:26,510 and gives power to Trump. 602 00:28:26,790 --> 00:28:29,870 And Trump, in exchange, gives favors to the 603 00:28:29,870 --> 00:28:30,250 church. 604 00:28:30,810 --> 00:28:31,730 Can you see this? 605 00:28:31,910 --> 00:28:33,630 Can you see how this is the same 606 00:28:33,630 --> 00:28:36,130 pattern that we have seen right from the 607 00:28:36,130 --> 00:28:39,510 beginning, from Balaam right up to where we 608 00:28:39,510 --> 00:28:40,190 are today? 609 00:28:41,730 --> 00:28:43,210 Now, I know people say, well, you know, 610 00:28:43,270 --> 00:28:46,310 we want a government that will protect the 611 00:28:46,310 --> 00:28:46,490 church. 612 00:28:46,670 --> 00:28:49,770 We want a government that will stand against 613 00:28:49,770 --> 00:28:52,770 abortion, that will stand against homosexual marriage. 614 00:28:53,310 --> 00:28:56,030 We want a government that will restore the 615 00:28:56,030 --> 00:28:57,010 rights of the church. 616 00:28:57,570 --> 00:28:58,530 But here's the problem. 617 00:28:59,710 --> 00:29:03,590 Who is it that protects the church? 618 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:08,220 Who protects the church? 619 00:29:09,560 --> 00:29:14,400 Jesus said, I will build my church, and 620 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:16,960 the gates of hell will not prevail against 621 00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:17,380 it. 622 00:29:18,060 --> 00:29:20,400 And the day that the church entered into 623 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:23,220 a relationship with the government, whether it's in 624 00:29:23,220 --> 00:29:25,540 America or in England or wherever it is, 625 00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:29,140 the day that happens, you are committing adultery. 626 00:29:29,660 --> 00:29:32,460 Because you are saying, the Lord cannot protect 627 00:29:32,460 --> 00:29:33,140 His church. 628 00:29:33,140 --> 00:29:35,400 The Lord cannot keep us. 629 00:29:36,180 --> 00:29:38,800 The Lord cannot promote our agenda and our 630 00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:39,340 cause. 631 00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:41,800 The Lord cannot promote righteousness. 632 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:45,880 We have to enter into a relationship with 633 00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:48,860 the Gentiles and with the heathen, so that 634 00:29:48,860 --> 00:29:50,640 we may be preserved and that we may 635 00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:52,120 preserve our values. 636 00:29:53,260 --> 00:29:56,560 Folks, this is incredibly serious. 637 00:29:57,420 --> 00:29:59,580 This is incredibly serious. 638 00:30:00,760 --> 00:30:02,480 This has nothing to do with who you 639 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:04,540 vote for, whether you're Republican or Democrat. 640 00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:06,080 I'm not getting into that. 641 00:30:08,220 --> 00:30:10,540 But the moment we begin to enter into 642 00:30:10,540 --> 00:30:16,920 a tacit relationship with the government, and we 643 00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:20,960 receive favors from the government, and the government 644 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:25,300 receives our support and our vote, we have 645 00:30:25,300 --> 00:30:26,320 an illicit relationship. 646 00:30:26,540 --> 00:30:28,000 Now I'm not saying that you can't vote 647 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:30,640 according to your conscience. 648 00:30:30,780 --> 00:30:32,000 And if you want to vote for a 649 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:38,400 conservative candidate, whether it be conservative in England 650 00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:42,000 or Republican here, that's fine. 651 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:46,260 But there's a difference between performing your civic 652 00:30:46,260 --> 00:30:49,740 duty and entering into a relationship and beginning 653 00:30:49,740 --> 00:30:52,440 to look to that man, and beginning to 654 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:56,180 promote that man as the Savior, as the 655 00:30:56,180 --> 00:30:59,460 man who's going to save America, and particularly 656 00:30:59,460 --> 00:31:01,220 who's going to save the church. 657 00:31:01,220 --> 00:31:06,040 Because in that process, you're committing adultery against 658 00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:08,320 the Lord Jesus Christ. 659 00:31:09,020 --> 00:31:10,460 And so here's the principle. 660 00:31:10,780 --> 00:31:12,020 We've established this over and over. 661 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:13,040 I want us to get this. 662 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:18,020 The principle is that the woman looks to 663 00:31:18,020 --> 00:31:23,860 the man, the false man, for help, for 664 00:31:23,860 --> 00:31:29,640 protection, for promotion, and sometimes for finances. 665 00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:34,920 In exchange, he looks to her for favors, 666 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:39,320 for support, and for affirmation. 667 00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:44,900 Now just by the way, I want to 668 00:31:44,900 --> 00:31:47,840 just take a little detour for a moment 669 00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:48,220 here. 670 00:31:51,540 --> 00:31:55,300 Because of what the church has done, the 671 00:31:55,300 --> 00:32:00,560 church has ruined its testimony in the face 672 00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:01,320 of the world. 673 00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:05,180 The church can no longer preach the gospel 674 00:32:05,180 --> 00:32:06,540 to a Democrat. 675 00:32:07,420 --> 00:32:09,580 And I'm speaking in general terms. 676 00:32:10,940 --> 00:32:12,940 Because when you speak to a Democrat about 677 00:32:12,940 --> 00:32:16,220 the gospel, they say, no, that is the 678 00:32:16,220 --> 00:32:19,840 religion of the Republican Party. 679 00:32:21,180 --> 00:32:23,340 Can you see how that you have married 680 00:32:23,340 --> 00:32:26,780 into a relationship which now closes the door 681 00:32:26,780 --> 00:32:31,040 and the opportunity to speak prophetically, and to 682 00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:34,620 preach the gospel to those who are not 683 00:32:34,620 --> 00:32:37,400 of your political party. 684 00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:40,100 For that reason, the church must always be 685 00:32:40,100 --> 00:32:43,260 independent of the state. 686 00:32:44,020 --> 00:32:47,180 Independent of either parties, or whatever parties there 687 00:32:47,180 --> 00:32:48,820 are in your particular country. 688 00:32:49,340 --> 00:32:51,460 Because the gospel is to everyone. 689 00:32:51,980 --> 00:32:54,020 It is not just for Republicans or for 690 00:32:54,020 --> 00:32:54,780 Conservatives. 691 00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:57,700 It is for Labor, and it is for 692 00:32:57,700 --> 00:33:00,360 Democrats, and for whatever parties are in your 693 00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:01,620 particular country. 694 00:33:02,500 --> 00:33:06,260 The church must remain independent in order to 695 00:33:06,260 --> 00:33:09,460 retain its witness, and in order to retain 696 00:33:09,460 --> 00:33:13,900 its right to speak prophetically in the time 697 00:33:13,900 --> 00:33:14,640 in which we are living. 698 00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:16,600 Now let's have a look at the fruit. 699 00:33:16,780 --> 00:33:19,760 And I want to look quickly at, because 700 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:23,100 we've spoken about the fruit of these relationships, 701 00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:25,620 and the fruit is always very, very clear. 702 00:33:26,580 --> 00:33:29,960 You see, because we've, particularly in America, put 703 00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:33,600 so much confidence in the present government, and 704 00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:36,080 hoping that this is going to turn America 705 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:39,900 back to greatness, is going to make the 706 00:33:39,900 --> 00:33:43,420 church great again, is going to restore morality, 707 00:33:44,020 --> 00:33:45,360 is going to get everything, is going to 708 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:46,880 be great. 709 00:33:48,500 --> 00:33:50,020 But folks, here's the problem. 710 00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:55,540 This relationship between church and state has in 711 00:33:55,540 --> 00:33:59,280 various shapes and forms been there for 250 712 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:00,120 years. 713 00:34:01,880 --> 00:34:05,180 And if it hasn't been there explicitly in 714 00:34:05,180 --> 00:34:08,520 250 years, it's been there explicitly in the 715 00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:11,659 last 50, 70 years. 716 00:34:12,980 --> 00:34:14,679 And what has it produced? 717 00:34:16,159 --> 00:34:18,340 Has the church grown? 718 00:34:18,960 --> 00:34:20,980 No, the church is dying in America, and 719 00:34:20,980 --> 00:34:22,219 we have to face the facts. 720 00:34:23,120 --> 00:34:25,760 Has it made society more moral? 721 00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:29,639 No, society in America has become more immoral. 722 00:34:31,060 --> 00:34:33,820 Has it turned people to God? 723 00:34:34,179 --> 00:34:36,920 No, people have turned more and more away 724 00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:37,360 from God. 725 00:34:37,540 --> 00:34:39,120 And we can speak about the United Kingdom 726 00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:39,760 the same way. 727 00:34:39,840 --> 00:34:43,920 This relationship between the king and the church 728 00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:46,199 has existed for 450 years. 729 00:34:46,679 --> 00:34:48,040 And what has it produced? 730 00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:51,900 It hasn't produced a more moral and just 731 00:34:51,900 --> 00:34:52,520 society. 732 00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:54,460 In fact, on the contrary. 733 00:34:55,280 --> 00:34:57,560 It hasn't produced a healthy church. 734 00:34:57,780 --> 00:34:59,340 In fact, the contrary. 735 00:35:00,240 --> 00:35:01,680 And so we can go on and on. 736 00:35:01,840 --> 00:35:03,840 You see, and all that comes out of 737 00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:06,560 that are illicit children. 738 00:35:07,060 --> 00:35:10,580 And so in a so-called Christian country, 739 00:35:11,800 --> 00:35:16,040 like America or the United Kingdom or Zimbabwe, 740 00:35:16,960 --> 00:35:21,120 any of the Western countries, you have millions 741 00:35:21,120 --> 00:35:23,500 of illicit children. 742 00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:26,440 People who grow up believing that they are 743 00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:29,180 born again, that they are saved because they 744 00:35:29,180 --> 00:35:33,500 were born in England or in Scotland or 745 00:35:33,500 --> 00:35:34,640 wherever. 746 00:35:37,960 --> 00:35:39,380 They are half-baked. 747 00:35:40,720 --> 00:35:43,660 They are half-Christian and half-not-Christian. 748 00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:47,720 That's all it produces. 749 00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:52,340 In fact, here's the other side of the 750 00:35:52,340 --> 00:35:53,620 coin, and then I'm going to turn to 751 00:35:53,620 --> 00:35:55,000 the book of Revelation. 752 00:35:56,360 --> 00:36:02,360 The church only thrives in difficult times. 753 00:36:03,180 --> 00:36:05,820 Because in difficult times, when the church is 754 00:36:05,820 --> 00:36:09,080 being persecuted by the government, when the church 755 00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:13,480 is being persecuted by its society, it knows 756 00:36:13,480 --> 00:36:15,040 where to run. 757 00:36:15,600 --> 00:36:18,340 It knows that its help comes from the 758 00:36:18,340 --> 00:36:20,780 Lord, that He is the only one who 759 00:36:20,780 --> 00:36:21,300 can keep. 760 00:36:21,300 --> 00:36:23,280 He is the only one who can protect. 761 00:36:24,740 --> 00:36:26,300 And there is no compromise. 762 00:36:27,420 --> 00:36:30,620 And it's under those conditions that the church 763 00:36:30,620 --> 00:36:31,400 does well. 764 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:35,100 We have a wrong understanding of this whole 765 00:36:35,100 --> 00:36:37,220 thing because we don't want... 766 00:36:37,220 --> 00:36:38,500 I don't want persecution. 767 00:36:39,720 --> 00:36:43,100 I want to live in a civil society 768 00:36:43,100 --> 00:36:44,220 where Christians can... 769 00:36:44,220 --> 00:36:45,980 where we can meet openly and where we 770 00:36:45,980 --> 00:36:47,480 don't have to meet in secret, where we 771 00:36:47,480 --> 00:36:48,540 don't have to go to prison. 772 00:36:49,580 --> 00:36:50,780 But it's changing. 773 00:36:52,880 --> 00:36:54,720 And it has to change if the church 774 00:36:54,720 --> 00:36:57,080 is going to be purified before the coming 775 00:36:57,080 --> 00:36:57,880 of the Lord Jesus. 776 00:36:58,580 --> 00:36:58,820 All right. 777 00:36:59,040 --> 00:37:01,680 Let's go to Revelation chapter 17 and now 778 00:37:01,680 --> 00:37:05,080 let's see how this whole thing comes together 779 00:37:05,080 --> 00:37:09,060 in Revelation and in the end. 780 00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:18,580 So, Revelation chapter 17 and I'm just going 781 00:37:18,580 --> 00:37:19,040 to look... 782 00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:23,320 The whole chapter is relevant as much as 783 00:37:23,320 --> 00:37:26,160 Revelation chapter 13 and part of chapter 18. 784 00:37:27,060 --> 00:37:29,340 But we don't have the time to go 785 00:37:29,340 --> 00:37:29,520 there. 786 00:37:29,560 --> 00:37:30,620 So I'm going to look at the first 787 00:37:30,620 --> 00:37:32,940 six verses and I'm going to look at 788 00:37:32,940 --> 00:37:34,040 them... 789 00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:39,420 I'm going to touch on some of them 790 00:37:39,420 --> 00:37:40,380 as we go through. 791 00:37:40,440 --> 00:37:41,660 I'm not going to read it through and 792 00:37:41,660 --> 00:37:43,120 then come back because that's going to take 793 00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:43,780 too much time. 794 00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:45,660 We have limited time left. 795 00:37:45,660 --> 00:37:48,620 So, verse 1 of Revelation 17. 796 00:37:49,180 --> 00:37:50,960 Then one of the seven angels who had 797 00:37:50,960 --> 00:37:52,660 the seven bowls came and talked with me 798 00:37:52,660 --> 00:37:54,980 saying to me, Come, I will show you 799 00:37:54,980 --> 00:37:57,280 the judgment of the great harlot who sits 800 00:37:57,280 --> 00:37:58,440 on many waters. 801 00:37:58,540 --> 00:38:02,600 Now if you go down to verse 15 802 00:38:02,600 --> 00:38:04,940 he says, Then he said to me, The 803 00:38:04,940 --> 00:38:07,020 waters which you saw where the harlot sits 804 00:38:07,020 --> 00:38:10,660 are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. 805 00:38:11,470 --> 00:38:15,400 Now, the harlot is a religious figure. 806 00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:19,000 She sits on nations. 807 00:38:19,680 --> 00:38:22,860 Verse 2, With whom the kings of the 808 00:38:22,860 --> 00:38:25,760 earth have committed fornication. 809 00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:29,160 Can you see this idea? 810 00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:31,240 You can see the same pattern running right 811 00:38:31,240 --> 00:38:35,660 through Scripture from Balaam and Balak to the 812 00:38:35,660 --> 00:38:36,080 end. 813 00:38:36,260 --> 00:38:38,300 So the kings of the earth have committed 814 00:38:38,300 --> 00:38:38,980 fornication. 815 00:38:38,980 --> 00:38:42,340 They've entered into an illicit relationship with her. 816 00:38:42,660 --> 00:38:43,500 Now, think Rome. 817 00:38:43,620 --> 00:38:44,880 And I didn't use Rome as one of 818 00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:46,740 those examples because I want to focus on 819 00:38:46,740 --> 00:38:46,980 that. 820 00:38:47,480 --> 00:38:50,060 But we know that this relationship between Rome 821 00:38:50,060 --> 00:38:52,940 and the church, the church of Rome and 822 00:38:52,940 --> 00:38:56,140 the governments has always existed right from the 823 00:38:56,140 --> 00:38:56,460 beginning. 824 00:38:56,540 --> 00:38:58,860 The kings needed the blessing of the Pope 825 00:38:58,860 --> 00:39:01,280 and the Pope needed the finances and everything 826 00:39:01,280 --> 00:39:04,640 else that came from the government. 827 00:39:06,220 --> 00:39:09,880 And remember that the reformers did exactly the 828 00:39:09,880 --> 00:39:10,380 same thing. 829 00:39:10,500 --> 00:39:12,540 Luther was protected by the princes and so 830 00:39:12,540 --> 00:39:13,020 on. 831 00:39:13,980 --> 00:39:15,840 And so, the kings of the earth committed 832 00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:18,320 fornication with her and the inhabitants of the 833 00:39:18,320 --> 00:39:21,100 earth were made drunk with a wine of 834 00:39:21,100 --> 00:39:23,200 her fornication. 835 00:39:23,320 --> 00:39:28,440 They were put into an altered state of 836 00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:28,920 consciousness. 837 00:39:29,160 --> 00:39:30,480 Their thinking was affected. 838 00:39:30,940 --> 00:39:32,760 And so, he carried me away in the 839 00:39:32,760 --> 00:39:34,540 spirit into the wilderness and I saw a 840 00:39:34,540 --> 00:39:36,760 woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was 841 00:39:36,760 --> 00:39:38,700 full of names of blasphemy having seven heads 842 00:39:38,700 --> 00:39:39,440 and ten horns. 843 00:39:40,300 --> 00:39:42,260 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet 844 00:39:42,260 --> 00:39:44,080 and adorned with gold and precious stones and 845 00:39:44,080 --> 00:39:46,540 pearls having in her hand a golden cup 846 00:39:46,540 --> 00:39:49,700 full of abominations and the filthiness of her 847 00:39:49,700 --> 00:39:50,360 fornication. 848 00:39:50,780 --> 00:39:54,460 Now, I'm sure that you've heard many messages 849 00:39:54,460 --> 00:39:56,380 speak about this as being Rome and the 850 00:39:56,380 --> 00:39:58,880 purple of the cardinals and the scarlet of 851 00:39:58,880 --> 00:40:02,440 the cardinals and the gold cup of the 852 00:40:02,440 --> 00:40:06,220 abomination of the Eucharist and all of those 853 00:40:06,220 --> 00:40:06,520 things. 854 00:40:06,720 --> 00:40:08,820 And I think there may be truth in 855 00:40:08,820 --> 00:40:09,080 that. 856 00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:14,340 But she is sitting on a scarlet beast, 857 00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:15,880 the Antichrist. 858 00:40:16,780 --> 00:40:18,240 We don't have time to go there. 859 00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:20,880 You can make the connections for yourself. 860 00:40:21,260 --> 00:40:23,620 But she sits on the Antichrist. 861 00:40:24,180 --> 00:40:26,360 In other words, he carries her. 862 00:40:27,200 --> 00:40:30,820 The government carries the false religion. 863 00:40:32,340 --> 00:40:34,980 Same principle that we've seen all along. 864 00:40:35,280 --> 00:40:36,460 Now I want you to look at verse 865 00:40:36,460 --> 00:40:36,940 5. 866 00:40:37,180 --> 00:40:39,800 And on her forehead a name was written, 867 00:40:40,720 --> 00:40:45,380 Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots 868 00:40:45,380 --> 00:40:48,900 and of the abominations of the earth. 869 00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:54,960 You see, even if the great harlot is 870 00:40:54,960 --> 00:40:56,700 Rome, and I'm not saying it is. 871 00:40:57,580 --> 00:41:00,200 I lean in that direction, but I'm not 872 00:41:00,200 --> 00:41:00,920 saying it is. 873 00:41:01,460 --> 00:41:04,180 But even if that is Rome, what you 874 00:41:04,180 --> 00:41:07,420 have is that she has daughters. 875 00:41:08,720 --> 00:41:10,820 The mother of harlots. 876 00:41:10,920 --> 00:41:13,160 So she produces children. 877 00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:17,000 And those children are prostitutes. 878 00:41:17,240 --> 00:41:18,620 Those children are harlots. 879 00:41:19,140 --> 00:41:21,680 Because they're entering into the same relationship. 880 00:41:22,940 --> 00:41:24,220 Now just think about that. 881 00:41:25,340 --> 00:41:30,640 Unfortunately, many churches today tie themselves back to 882 00:41:30,640 --> 00:41:32,340 Rome through the Reformation. 883 00:41:32,340 --> 00:41:35,420 They are daughters of the Church of Rome 884 00:41:35,420 --> 00:41:38,060 even though they may be Protestant today. 885 00:41:38,700 --> 00:41:40,160 And I know that opens a whole can 886 00:41:40,160 --> 00:41:40,520 of worms. 887 00:41:41,040 --> 00:41:42,720 I'm not going to develop that thought. 888 00:41:43,100 --> 00:41:44,320 You can go there for yourself. 889 00:41:45,280 --> 00:41:45,900 And then verse 6. 890 00:41:46,020 --> 00:41:47,340 I saw the woman drunk with the blood 891 00:41:47,340 --> 00:41:49,100 of the saints and with the blood of 892 00:41:49,100 --> 00:41:50,000 the martyrs of Jesus. 893 00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:52,900 And when I saw her, I marveled with 894 00:41:52,900 --> 00:41:53,780 great amazement. 895 00:41:54,320 --> 00:41:57,040 You see, here's the other thing that happens. 896 00:41:57,460 --> 00:42:00,100 And that is that the great harlot, the 897 00:42:00,100 --> 00:42:04,880 false woman, will always persecute the true woman, 898 00:42:06,040 --> 00:42:07,660 the bride of Christ. 899 00:42:08,040 --> 00:42:11,100 Don't we have examples of that in Scripture? 900 00:42:12,680 --> 00:42:14,760 Isn't there a principle that runs right through 901 00:42:14,760 --> 00:42:20,540 Scripture that the false persecutes the true, even 902 00:42:20,540 --> 00:42:21,940 beginning with Cain and Abel. 903 00:42:22,620 --> 00:42:24,500 And then there are several examples of women 904 00:42:25,020 --> 00:42:31,380 where the imposter persecutes the true wife. 905 00:42:33,000 --> 00:42:36,040 And folks, today we are not quite seeing 906 00:42:36,040 --> 00:42:38,900 this yet, but I believe it's begun. 907 00:42:40,020 --> 00:42:43,240 There's been a persecution that has been unleashed 908 00:42:43,240 --> 00:42:48,140 against true Bible-believing, born-again, God-fearing 909 00:42:48,140 --> 00:42:54,300 Christians by other Christians of all sorts and 910 00:42:54,300 --> 00:42:55,080 all kinds. 911 00:42:56,200 --> 00:42:59,200 This is what the book of Revelation is 912 00:42:59,200 --> 00:43:00,080 speaking about. 913 00:43:00,520 --> 00:43:06,200 When we begin to persecute one another, and 914 00:43:06,200 --> 00:43:07,800 when some of us are not the real 915 00:43:07,800 --> 00:43:11,220 thing, because we've been born out of adultery, 916 00:43:11,300 --> 00:43:13,600 we've been born out of an illicit relationship. 917 00:43:15,500 --> 00:43:19,800 And I'm particularly concerned about Christians who defend 918 00:43:19,800 --> 00:43:24,820 civil governments and become uncivil in their attack 919 00:43:24,820 --> 00:43:27,240 on Christians who say what I've been saying 920 00:43:27,240 --> 00:43:28,460 in these last three sessions. 921 00:43:28,900 --> 00:43:30,780 We stand on the Word of God. 922 00:43:31,240 --> 00:43:33,820 Our relationship is with Jesus Christ and with 923 00:43:33,820 --> 00:43:34,700 Him alone. 924 00:43:35,200 --> 00:43:38,280 He is the only one who can save. 925 00:43:39,180 --> 00:43:40,780 He is the only one who can protect 926 00:43:40,780 --> 00:43:41,240 us. 927 00:43:41,920 --> 00:43:43,500 He is the only one who can promote 928 00:43:43,500 --> 00:43:44,000 us. 929 00:43:44,860 --> 00:43:46,900 And unless we get it at the hand 930 00:43:46,900 --> 00:43:50,560 of the Lord, we have entered into an 931 00:43:50,560 --> 00:43:52,160 adulterous relationship. 932 00:43:52,860 --> 00:43:54,920 When you're looking to man, when you're looking 933 00:43:54,920 --> 00:43:57,440 to business, or when you're looking to politics 934 00:43:57,440 --> 00:44:01,400 or to politicians to help the church in 935 00:44:01,400 --> 00:44:04,320 whichever way, it is adultery. 936 00:44:05,880 --> 00:44:08,580 And I'm going to close with Revelation chapter 937 00:44:08,580 --> 00:44:11,160 18 because this is the continuation. 938 00:44:11,440 --> 00:44:14,040 Do you remember she's called the Babylon and 939 00:44:14,040 --> 00:44:17,400 verse 2 says, and he cried mightily with 940 00:44:17,400 --> 00:44:19,340 a loud voice saying, Babylon the great is 941 00:44:19,340 --> 00:44:22,720 fallen and has become a dwelling place of 942 00:44:22,720 --> 00:44:25,680 demons, a prison for every foul spirit and 943 00:44:25,680 --> 00:44:29,780 a cage for every unclean and hated bird. 944 00:44:31,640 --> 00:44:32,820 That's terrible. 945 00:44:33,700 --> 00:44:36,040 But that's the conclusion. 946 00:44:37,000 --> 00:44:39,820 Those who will enter into illicit relationships and 947 00:44:39,820 --> 00:44:42,340 become part of the daughters of the harlot 948 00:44:43,140 --> 00:44:48,820 will become a habitation for demons, foul spirits 949 00:44:50,440 --> 00:44:53,780 and a cage for every unclean and hated 950 00:44:53,780 --> 00:44:54,280 bird. 951 00:44:55,320 --> 00:44:57,260 For all the nations have drunk of the 952 00:44:57,260 --> 00:44:58,920 wine of the wrath of her fornication. 953 00:44:59,260 --> 00:45:02,340 The kings of the earth have committed fornication 954 00:45:02,340 --> 00:45:04,860 with her and the merchants of the earth, 955 00:45:05,080 --> 00:45:06,380 you see business gets into it. 956 00:45:06,480 --> 00:45:07,740 It's all big business today. 957 00:45:08,120 --> 00:45:10,140 The merchants of the earth have become rich 958 00:45:10,140 --> 00:45:12,360 through the abundance of her luxury. 959 00:45:13,700 --> 00:45:16,080 And here's the bottom line. 960 00:45:16,200 --> 00:45:18,360 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, 961 00:45:19,520 --> 00:45:22,360 come out of her my people. 962 00:45:23,420 --> 00:45:26,500 Come out of her my people lest you 963 00:45:26,500 --> 00:45:30,260 share in her sins and lest you receive 964 00:45:30,260 --> 00:45:32,220 her plagues. 965 00:45:32,580 --> 00:45:35,500 The Lord is preparing for himself a bride 966 00:45:35,500 --> 00:45:38,960 that is without spot and without blemish, that 967 00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:41,560 is pure, that is devoted to him and 968 00:45:41,560 --> 00:45:45,180 loves him and trusts in him alone for 969 00:45:45,180 --> 00:45:47,280 everything they need. 970 00:45:47,560 --> 00:45:50,220 Now we've spoken about the church and I'm 971 00:45:50,220 --> 00:45:51,780 a couple of minutes over time. 972 00:45:51,940 --> 00:45:56,240 But I want to ask you personally, who 973 00:45:56,240 --> 00:46:00,640 are you looking to for your help, for 974 00:46:00,640 --> 00:46:02,420 your promotion, for your salvation? 975 00:46:04,140 --> 00:46:09,360 Are you looking to money, business, the world? 976 00:46:11,200 --> 00:46:13,360 Are you hoping that the next government will 977 00:46:13,360 --> 00:46:17,580 be a righteous government that will do the 978 00:46:17,580 --> 00:46:19,020 things that you want them to do? 979 00:46:21,140 --> 00:46:22,860 Or are you looking to the Lord? 980 00:46:24,080 --> 00:46:25,380 Come out of the world. 981 00:46:26,300 --> 00:46:27,880 Forget about the world. 982 00:46:28,820 --> 00:46:30,640 Turn to the Lord Jesus with all your 983 00:46:30,640 --> 00:46:31,040 heart. 984 00:46:31,820 --> 00:46:34,000 Build your hope and your confidence and your 985 00:46:34,000 --> 00:46:36,700 faith on him and him alone. 986 00:46:37,640 --> 00:46:39,580 We're living in a time of sifting and 987 00:46:39,580 --> 00:46:42,180 God is purifying for himself a people. 988 00:46:42,840 --> 00:46:46,380 But in this process, many are proving to 989 00:46:46,380 --> 00:46:47,120 be tares. 990 00:46:47,320 --> 00:46:50,340 Many are proving to not be real children 991 00:46:50,340 --> 00:46:51,040 of God. 992 00:46:53,720 --> 00:46:56,240 And they're falling by the wayside, left, right 993 00:46:56,240 --> 00:46:56,840 and center. 994 00:46:57,800 --> 00:46:59,900 Oh, may the Lord help us that we 995 00:46:59,900 --> 00:47:01,840 may remain true and faithful to him, that 996 00:47:01,840 --> 00:47:04,200 we may come out of the world, that 997 00:47:04,200 --> 00:47:05,460 we may cleave to him. 998 00:47:05,460 --> 00:47:07,460 Remember this principle right back in the book 999 00:47:07,460 --> 00:47:11,040 of Genesis, that we leave, we cleave. 1000 00:47:11,360 --> 00:47:12,540 Let's leave the world. 1001 00:47:12,640 --> 00:47:13,480 Let's leave Babylon. 1002 00:47:13,640 --> 00:47:14,940 Let's leave false religion. 1003 00:47:15,440 --> 00:47:17,900 Let's leave whatever it is that we're finding 1004 00:47:17,900 --> 00:47:19,080 comfort in out there. 1005 00:47:19,680 --> 00:47:22,820 And let's cleave to the Lord Jesus Christ 1006 00:47:23,360 --> 00:47:24,780 with all of our heart. 1007 00:47:25,180 --> 00:47:27,000 Father, I pray that you'd help us. 1008 00:47:27,540 --> 00:47:30,160 Lord, that we may not put our trust 1009 00:47:30,160 --> 00:47:32,920 and our confidence in princes or in horses 1010 00:47:32,920 --> 00:47:34,340 or in the legs of a man. 1011 00:47:34,340 --> 00:47:36,640 But Lord, that we may put our trust 1012 00:47:36,640 --> 00:47:38,260 wholly and totally in you. 1013 00:47:38,980 --> 00:47:41,120 Lord, I pray that you'd help us. 1014 00:47:41,900 --> 00:47:43,620 Lord, that we may get our thinking straight. 1015 00:47:44,540 --> 00:47:45,900 Lord, forgive us for promoting. 1016 00:47:46,140 --> 00:47:47,600 And Lord, there are those who may be 1017 00:47:47,600 --> 00:47:51,840 watching today who've been promoting some political party 1018 00:47:51,840 --> 00:47:52,960 or some politician. 1019 00:47:53,940 --> 00:47:56,660 Forgive us, Lord, that we may be those 1020 00:47:56,660 --> 00:47:58,100 who are known that we promote the Lord 1021 00:47:58,100 --> 00:48:00,280 Jesus Christ and the gospel of salvation. 1022 00:48:01,260 --> 00:48:03,480 And that is what we are known as. 1023 00:48:03,480 --> 00:48:04,160 We're Christians. 1024 00:48:04,360 --> 00:48:05,560 We're followers of Jesus. 1025 00:48:06,880 --> 00:48:11,580 We're not conservatives or liberals or democrats or 1026 00:48:11,580 --> 00:48:12,420 republicans. 1027 00:48:12,620 --> 00:48:14,120 We are born again. 1028 00:48:14,920 --> 00:48:16,860 We are his children and his people. 1029 00:48:17,360 --> 00:48:20,620 And we receive from his hand alone. 1030 00:48:21,000 --> 00:48:22,860 We pray that you'd help us, Lord. 1031 00:48:23,600 --> 00:48:25,500 Pray that you'd burn this message into our 1032 00:48:25,500 --> 00:48:25,880 hearts. 1033 00:48:26,400 --> 00:48:29,280 Lord, that you would change the attitude and 1034 00:48:29,280 --> 00:48:31,720 the mind of so many Christians who've been 1035 00:48:31,720 --> 00:48:33,740 caught up in the politics of this time. 1036 00:48:35,540 --> 00:48:36,840 And Lord, that we may be caught up 1037 00:48:36,840 --> 00:48:39,660 in our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. 1038 00:48:40,380 --> 00:48:42,520 We ask these things in Jesus' name. 1039 00:48:43,500 --> 00:48:43,800 Amen. 1040 00:49:02,240 --> 00:49:02,420 Amen.