The fall of Babylon - Chpt. 17

Revelation 17:1-2 The fall of Babylon (chaps. 17-18) Babylon — the source of so many heathen and pagan religions which have opposed the faith of Israel as well as the faith of the church — is here seen in its final judgment. These chapters do not fall chronologically within the scheme of the seals, trumpets, and bowls of the wrath of God, and expositors have had difficulty in determining precisely the meaning of the revelation in these chapters. In general, however, in Rev_17:1-18 Babylon is seen in its religious character climaxing in a world religion which seems to fit the first half of the last seven years preceding Christ’s second coming. Rev_17:1-18 also records the destruction of Babylon by the 10 kings (Rev_17:16). Rev_18:1-24, by contrast, seems to refer to Babylon as a political power and as a great city and as the seat of power of the great world empire which will dominate the second half of the last seven years before Christ’s return. Babylon, referred to about 300 times in the Bible, is occasionally viewed as a satanic religious program opposing the true worship of God, but primarily it is viewed as a political power with a great city bearing the name Babylon as its capital. The end times bring together these two major lines of truth about Babylon and indicate God’s final judgment on it. Archaeologists tell us that Babylon is the cradle of civilization. Located on the shores of the Euphrates River, the ruins of this city have revealed some of the most ancient documents of past generations. This city begun by Nimrod, who was a rebel before the Lord, authored some of the greatest evils ever to fall on humankind. Two of these evils will be destroyed during the Tribulation period. Revelation 17 is the destruction of the religious Babylon that takes place about the center of the seven years after the Antichrist declares himself to be God and no longer news the One World Religion. In chapter 18 we will read about the destruction of the commercial, political Babylon when takes place at the end of the Tribulation. In ancient days Satan seemed to make Babylon the capital of this evil operation. From this headquarters was started false religion, humanity's attempt for self government in defiance of God's will and city dwellings for commercial and social purposes contrary to God's command to "be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth." (Gen. 1 v.28) These great evils, which have damned the souls of millions by substituting counterfeit solutions to natural human problems that would ordinarily lead a person to God, will all be destroyed at the end of the Tribulation period. Chapter 17 describes the coming judgment of God on the religious system that has enslaved the human race in superstitious darkness for centuries. The woman is a great city: "The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth" (Rev. 17 v.18) Many have taken this to mean that the woman represents the capital city of Antichrist's kingdom, but his cannot be, for Antichrist himself rules over the kings of the earth. If then the women is not the Antichrist, what other possible explanation can we have for such unanimous world dominance? The only answer is the one system before which all kings, dictators, and nations have been forced to bow down throughout history, that is, the Babylonian religion of idolatry. One cannot go anywhere in the world without being confronted with some semblance of the idolatry. No system in the world's history has enslaved more people than this awful religion. It should not take us by surprise that this prostitute woman, the religious system, is referred to as a city. When used symbolically, a woman is always intended throughout the Scripture to signify a spiritual or religious movement. If a good woman, it is "Jehovah's wife" or "the bride of Christ". If an evil woman, such as "a prostitute," it represents the evil religious system of idolatry. Since the woman who rides the beast gets her authority from the beast, the Holy Spirit uses this description to show how religious Babylon and governmental Babylon are so intertwined they are presented together. However, they are destroyed at different times. The prostitute (religious Babylon) is destroyed by "beast and the kings of the earth," who "hate the prostitute" and kill her. This clears the way for Antichrist to fulfill the lifetime dream of Satan to get people to worship him. She is destroyed in the middle of the Tribulation; Babylon the governmental system will be destroyed at the end, when commercial, political Babylon is destroyed (Rev. 18). With "Mystery Babylon, the Mother of Prostitutes" out of the way, "all inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast, all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world". (Rev. 13 v.8) The Vision of the Woman - Ten details describe this woman: 1. The great prostitute 2. Who sits on many waters 3. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery. 4. The inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries. 5. A woman sitting on a scarlet beast 6. Dressed in purple and scarlet 7. Glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls 8. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. 9. On her forehead: Mystery Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and of the Abomination of the Earth. 10. 10. Drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus Even before we come to the angel's interpretation of this vision, it is clear that we are not dealing with a mere human being, for no one woman can commit fornication with the kings of the earth, nor can a woman be "drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus." Religious Babylon Destroyed One of the seven angels (in Rev_16:1-21) who had one of the seven bowls invited John to witness the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. This evil woman symbolizes the religious system of Babylon, and the waters symbolize “peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages” (Rev_17:15). This "whore" here is not a literal woman. In Hosea, his wife (who was a whore) was speaking of Israel. Here, this "whore" is speaking of the idolatrous church. This statement "sitteth upon many waters", speaks of large groups of people. This is not the true church. This is the apostate church. God calls it the harlot church; the church that is not faithful to God, the church that is worldly. This church, while claiming to be Christian, finds many reasons to conform to the beast and the evil world system. This will be the one world religion which will appear which the church (Christians) have been raptured. This, without question, is the part of the church that has compromised with the world and is no longer a chaste virgin in the sight of God. I truly believe that a large portion of the church falls into this category today. Worldliness has crept into our churches. The sad thing is that if she would repent, God would take her back, but she will not repent. The Bride of Christ is called a city, and that is the portion of the church which has not compromised. The other (opposite) side of that is the harlot. It is also called a city but is evil because of compromise. This is not only the apostate church in Rome, but the apostate in many other churches, as well. Again, the waters let us know that this apostate church is throughout the masses of people. The angel informed John that the kings of the earth had committed adultery with the woman; in other words, they had become a part of the religious system which she symbolized (cf. Rev_14:8). We see here, that this universal apostasy (unfaithfulness to God) does not affect just one class of people. This unfaithfulness is from the very rich and powerful (kings) to the very poor. The same way a drunken person naturally has no earthly idea what he is doing, this apostate group is so carried away with the world that they, too, do not realize the terribleness of what they are doing. God will judge this idolatrous church. Judgment begins at the house of God. Revelation 17:3-5 John was then taken in the Spirit (or better, “in [his] spirit,” i.e., in a vision, not bodily; cf. Rev_1:10; Rev_4:2) to a wilderness where he saw the woman herself. She was sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names. The beast had 7 heads and 10 horns. The beast is an obvious reference to the world government (Rev_13:1). The 10 horns are later defined (Rev_17:12) as 10 kings who had “not yet received a kingdom.” The 7 heads seem to refer to prominent rulers of the yet-future Roman Empire. This "wilderness" here, I believe, means the world. This "scarlet coloured beast" shows evil world power. Since this woman sits upon this beast, it means that her power comes from this evil beast in Revelation 18 verse 2, as It supports her. This woman, it appears, has decided to trust the powers of this world over God's power. Seven denotes spiritually complete, ten denotes world government, and horns denote power. You can easily see, since she is on top of this thing, she guides it, but receives her support from the beast. The word "scarlet" can be very good or very evil. In this case, it is very evil. This great evil (blasphemy) that this woman (church) has committed is spiritual adultery (the watering down or changing of the Word). The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones, and pearls. Her adornment is similar to that of religious trappings of ritualistic churches today. While purple, scarlet, gold, precious stones, and pearls can all represent beauty and glory in relation to the true faith, here they reveal a false religion that prostitutes the truth. The elegant clothing and jewelry of the woman show her wealth and attractiveness, but her activities are filthy and abominable to God. Her mystery name is Babylon the Great verse 5. Ancient Babylon is a type or prefigure of this future Babylon. The harlot will do what literal Babylon did in the past: (1) Oppress God's people, and (2) Propagate a false religious system. Much of the world's idolatry can be traced back to historical Babylon (Gen. 11:1-9), including the mother-child cult of Semiramis -Tammuz (Jer.44:16-19; Ezek. 8:9, 14), which entered other cultures as Ashtaroth - Baal, Aphrodite-Eros, Venus-Cupid, and even Madonna-Child. Semiramis, who was both Nimrod's wife and mother, was worshiped as the "mother of god" and a "fertility goddess" because she had to be extremely fertile to give birth to all the pagan incarnate gods that represented Nimrod. Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. The color scheme of this one world religion as defined in Rev. 17 v.4 is most revealing: "The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet." If you are familiar with pictures of the Vatican Council as published in national magazines, you will have observed that the bishops and cardinals wore purple and scarlet robes. You will also see that the pope and other church leaders are "glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls." They hold "a golden cup in their hand, filled with abominable things and the filthiness of their adulteries." These abominable things and adulteries are the idolatry and worship of gods other than Jesus Christ. In Rome can be seen all manner of idols in the very headquarters of the Roman Church. More costly surroundings can scarcely be found than in the Vatican. The Catholic Church is many times decorated this way, but I believe this includes all of the apostate church, Protestant and Catholic. Perhaps this is people sitting on a church pew, but not really being the bride of Christ. There are some in all churches, but most assuredly the church in Rome. You can see great masses of gold, silver, and jewels. Usually when a church building is decked out like this, it is in an area where there is abject poverty. "purple" indicates that this was in the church, because purple means godliness. This was a false godliness. This "golden cup" also indicates this is inside the church, because gold symbolically means the purity of God. We know this "cup" belonged to God. To me, it just means that the sins of the world have been brought into the church. This "fornication" here spoken of, I truly believe is spiritual adultery or compromise with the world. God will tolerate most anything except the worship of someone else or something else. I truly believe this has to do with the watering down of Jesus. In her hand the woman held a golden cup… filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries (cf. “the wine of her adulteries” in Rev_17:2). This confirms previous indications that her character and life are symbolic of false religion, confirmed by the words written on her forehead: MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. The word “mystery” should be separate from the title which follows because the word “mystery” is not a part of the title itself; it describes the title. The Bible is full of information about Babylon as the source of false religion, the record beginning with the building of the tower of Babel (Gen. 10-11). The name “Babel” suggests “confusion” (Gen_11:9). Later the name was applied to the city of Babylon which itself has a long history dating back to as early as 3,000 years before Christ. One of its famous rulers was Hammurabi (1728-1686 b.c.). After a period of decline Babylon again rose to great heights under Nebuchadnezzar about 600 years before Christ. Nebuchadnezzar’s reign (605-562 b.c.) and the subsequent history of Babylon is the background of the Book of Daniel. Babylon was important not only politically but also religiously. Nimrod, who founded Babylon (Gen_10:8-12), had a wife known as Semiramis who founded the secret religious rites of the Babylonian mysteries, according to accounts outside the Bible. Semiramis had a son with an alleged miraculous conception who was given the name Tammuz and in effect was a false fulfillment of the promise of the seed of the woman given to Eve (Gen_3:15). Various religious practices were observed in connection with this false Babylonian religion, including recognition of the mother and child as God and of creating an order of virgins who became religious prostitutes. Tammuz, according to the tradition, was killed by a wild animal and then restored to life, a satanic anticipation and counterfeit of Christ’s resurrection. Scripture condemns this false religion repeatedly (Jer_7:18; Jer_44:17-19, Jer_44:25; Eze_8:14). The worship of Baal is related to the worship of Tammuz. After the Persians took over Babylon in 539 b.c., they discouraged the continuation of the mystery religions of Babylon. Subsequently the Babylonian cultists moved to Pergamum (or Pergamos) where one of the seven churches of Asia Minor was located (cf. Rev_2:12-17). Crowns in the shape of a fish head were worn by the chief priests of the Babylonian cult to honor the fish god. The crowns bore the words “Keeper of the Bridge,” symbolic of the “bridge” between man and Satan. This handle was adopted by the Roman emperors, who used the Latin title Pontifex Maximus, which means “Major Keeper of the Bridge.” And the same title was later used by the bishop of Rome. The pope today is often called the pontiff, which comes from pontifex. When the teachers of the Babylonian mystery religions later moved from Pergamum to Rome, they were influential in paganizing Christianity and were the source of many so-called religious rites which have crept into ritualistic churches. Babylon then is the symbol of apostasy and blasphemous substitution of idol-worship for the worship of God in Christ. In this passage Babylon comes to its final judgment. Just as God marked the 144,000 with the name of the Father, and just as the bride of Christ is marked with the name of Christ, we see here this group marked on the forehead. This name alone makes you know how evil and worldly this church is.This worldly part of the church, though nominally Christian, is yet more faithful to the world than to God. Notice here, that the church that pretends to be Christian and is not, does more to cause harm than those worldly people who claim to be lost. The worldly church always persecutes the faithful church. This evil in the church is an abomination to God. It is a mystery how this could happen in the church. As the fountainhead of idolatry, Babylon the harlot is the MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH; the harlot has killed many of God's saints and Christian martyrs throughout the ages, and will do so again during the Tribulation period. Revelation 17:6 The woman symbolizing the apostate religious system was drunk with the blood of the saints. This makes it clear that the apostate religious system of the first half of the last seven years leading up to Christ’s second coming will be completely devoid of any true Christians. As a matter of fact the apostate church will attempt to kill all those who follow the true faith. John expressed his great astonishment at this revelation. The faithless part of the church is guilty of the blood of the saints. In Matthew 12:20 we read that Jesus says "He that is not with me is against me". This watered down church is actually causing great problems for those who are sold out to God. We do know that Rome had a great deal to do with the death of the martyrs and even had a hand in crucifying Jesus. Of course, the Jews (church) of that day had even more to do with the crucifixion of Jesus. However, the most blame for His death has to be placed on each of us. Sin placed Jesus on the cross. He went to the cross to crucify sin. His sacrifice stopped us from being a servant to sin. The wonder of it all is, that with the Bible as their guide, how could these people get so far away from God and still occupy a pew? The answer is quite simple. They never read or study their Bible themselves. They allow someone else to read it and tell them what it is saying. I truly believe that much of the problem lies at the shepherd's feet. So many preachers are overlooking the need for the spiritual growth of their people. In the 34th chapter of Ezekiel, it says God will take the sheep away from the shepherds that do not care for them. Shepherds BEWARE! We are not to be as concerned with "our" needs as we are with the needs of "our people". We see from the last few scriptures above that this is probably speaking of Rome and the Catholic Church, who have brought the compromise. Even more than that, it is speaking to individuals in all churches who have compromised themselves. "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away”. 2 Timothy 3 verse 5 a person claiming to be a Christian on the outside but who is not on the inside. It's so easy to point to someone else, but in so doing we should examine ourselves as well. Revelation 17:7-8 The angel explained the meaning of the woman and of the beast she was riding. The beast… will come up out of the Abyss, the home of Satan (Rev_11:7) and the place from which demons come (Rev_9:1-2, Rev_9:11). This indicates that the power behind the ruler is satanic (cf. Rev_13:4) and that Satan and the man he controls are closely identified. Their power is one. The fact that the beast was, now is not, and will come up in the future is another indication of what was introduced in Rev_13:3. The supernatural survival and revival of both the world ruler and his empire will impress the world as being supernatural and will lead to worship of the beast and Satan. The Vision of the Beast - Five details describing the beast are given: 1. Blasphemous names (v.3) 2. Had seven heads (v.3) 3. And ten horns (v.3) 4. The prostitute rides it (v.7) 5. The beast was, and is not, and will come up out of the bottomless pit (Abyss) and go to his destruction (v.11) The careful Bible student will immediately recognize this beast even before examining the angel's interpretation. In the first place, it is similar to the beast of Rev. 13 and doubtless represents what all beasts used symbolically represent: either a king or a kingdom that opposes God's will. When John sees the great prostitute, he is "greatly astonished?" Actually, some parts of this vision should have been familiar to John, for it is obviously the same beast as that described in chapter 13. The angel introduces his explanation with the words, "This calls for a mind with wisdom" (v.9), which indicate that only someone with the wisdom of God (found in the Word of God) can understand this vision. Go to chapter 13 and re-read the first 2 verses and the descriptive comments of those two verses for an accurate description of what the beginning of verse eight's meaning is. This word "perdition" means ruin, loss, or damnable. "The beast that thou sawest" "Whose names were not written in the book of life". The false religious system of the end times will be very convincing and popular among the unsaved, but those who have committed themselves to Christ will understand that anything idolatrous is not of God. Revelation 17:9-11 The angel informed John, This calls for a mind with wisdom (cf. Rev_13:18). The truth that is being presented here symbolically requires spiritual insight to be understood, and the difficulty of correct interpretation is illustrated by the various ways it has been interpreted in the history of the church. The angel informed John that the beast’s heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. Many ancient writers, such as Victorinus, who wrote one of the first commentaries on the Book of Revelation, identified the seven hills as Rome, often described as “the city of seven hills.” This identification has led to the conclusion this passage teaches that Rome will be the capital of the coming world empire. Originally Rome included seven small mountains along the Tiber River, and the hills were given the names Palatine, Aventine, Caelian, Equiline, Viminal, Quirimal, and Capitoline. Later, however, the city expanded to include the hill Janiculum and also a hill to the north called Pincian. While Rome is often referred to as having seven hills or mountains, different writers do not necessarily name the same seven mountains. We will see in this scripture that the city of seven hills is where this evil system has its headquarters. This is a marvel to the world who are not fully aware of the implications of the Bible it shows. Of course the bride of Christ, the Christians who have their names written in the Lamb's book of life since the world began, are aware of all of this and why it happened. The seven heads of the Beast represent, seven mountains, on which the woman “sitteth”. The city of Rome was known throughout the ancient world as a city built on seven hills or mountains. John notes that the wise mind will make the proper identification. The woman apparently represents idolatrous, anti-God civilization, centered at Rome but with worldwide influence (v.15). The identification of the seven heads as Rome shows that the Beast will initially have his major base of operations at Rome. It is thought by many studying the end times that after the Harlot has been killed, the beast will move his headquarters to the actual city of Babylon during the last three and one half years. This view is also supported by Rev_17:10, Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. John was writing from his point of view in which five prominent kings of the Roman Empire had already come and gone, and one was then on the throne (probably Domitian, who caused the persecution which put John on the island of Patmos). The identity of the seventh king, the one to come after John’s time, is unknown. A close study of the passage does not support the conclusion that this refers to the city of Rome. This reference is to rulers rather than to physical mountains. This is supported by the text which explains, They are also seven kings (lit., “the seven heads are seven kings”). If the mountains represent kings, then obviously they are not literal mountains and refer not to a literal Rome but to persons. The seven heads of this beast mentioned are kings of the Roman Empire. The best definition is that they represent five kings up to the time of John; the sixth, Domitian, was the Roman king at the time of John, who then skips forward to the end time for the seventh head, which will bring the king of the revived Roman Empire. This Roman Empire was in great power; it fell, and will be revived again. Then see verse 11 as this is describing the antichrist who will be the eighth and final king who will rule the entire world (kingdom). A rather interesting scripture regarding the Holy Spirit's description of the beasts that represent kingdoms appears in the book of Daniel. When one thinks of world governments, they take on a beautiful shape, as did king Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel. In his dream, the beast contained 4 different types of metals. Each section of that image represented one of the four coming world kingdoms which at that time were coming (Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon was already there and was the first of the four). Two governments had already come and gone at that time were Assyria and Egypt. Those 4 beasts found in Daniel 2 verse 35 are explained as Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar's dream for him. The four beasts in his dream is Babylon represented by head of gold. The two arms of silver represented the kingdoms of Media and Persia. The belly and thighs of brass (or bronze) represented Greece. And the fourth kingdom described the Roman Empire as the legs or iron. When God describes the coming world kingdoms, He uses beasts to symbolize them. Human beings look favorably on government as a great help to them, whereas God looks on government as a great hindrance to them, as does anyone who has studied history and observed government's bestial treatment of humanity. Whether this scripture is describing kings or kings doesn't matter as they still mean the same which makes up the beast described here. The seven kingdoms or empires throughout history that have ruled over Israel and much of the known world are: • Egypt • Assyria • Babylonia • Medo-Persia • Greece • Rome - The Roman Empire existing at the time of John which ceased to exist • And then the seventh, the revived Rome which has not yet come • Then the eighth and final will be the Antichrist (see verse 8) This revived Roman Empire is represented in the book of Daniel by the 10 toes in the image of Daniel 2:41 - 44 and by the 10 horns on the fourth beast of Daniel 7:7, 20, 24, and in Revelation by the 10 horns on the first Beast (13:1; 17:3, 12, 13). It will exist as a major power only a short while, since it will then give its authority to the Beast (11-13). Rev_17:11 adds that the final world empire will be headed by an eighth king.… The beast who once was, and now is not.… belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction. The eighth king is obviously identical to the final world ruler, the man who heads up the final world empire destroyed by Christ at His second coming. One possible explanation of the difference between the seventh and eighth beast is that the seventh beast itself is the Roman Empire marvelously revived in the end time, and the eighth beast is its final ruler. These verses show that in the end time, particularly during the first half of the last seven years, there will be an alliance between the Middle East ruler (the Antichrist) and the apostate world church of that time. This will come to a head, however, at the midpoint of the seven years, when that political power becomes worldwide. The beast, the final world kingdom ruled by the Antichrist, is the eighth king or kingdom. He is of the seven in that he is the culmination of all the previous, pagan, idolatrous empires and the reason many think the Antichrist will arise up out of the revised Roman Empire. But then he will go into perdition, the lake of fire, the second death. Put another way, the beast that John saw is the Antichrist, the satanic ruler of the last and most powerful empire in human history, who will serve as Satan's instrument to attack Israel, persecute believers, conquer the world for Satan and oppose Christ. Scripture portraits him as an intellectual genius Dan. 7 v.8; an outstanding orator Dan. 7 v.20; a military leader without parallel in human history Dan. 7 v.23; a shrewd calculating and manipulating politician Dan 8 v.25; 11 v.21; and the ultimate religious charlatan 2 Thess. 2 v.4; The angel briefly reviews the detailed description of him given in Rev. 13 verses 1 -10. Revelation 17:12-14 Rev_17:12 explains that the 10 horns… are 10 kings. While many commentators have tried to identify 10 successive kings in the past, the passage itself indicates that they are contemporaneous kings who are heads of the countries which will form the original alliance in the Middle East that will support the future world ruler. They will receive authority for one hour… as kings along with the beast. While the 7 heads may be chronologically successive rulers of the Roman Empire who are singled out as prominent, the 10 horns by contrast are contemporaneous with each other, and as the text indicates they will receive political power for a brief time. Reading in Daniel 2 v.45 the ten toes of the fourth beast (Roman Empire) were made of iron and miry clay making a brittle substance. This is speaking of the 10 kingdoms or kings which will emanate from the Roman Empire and be in existence at the time of Christ's return. Their worldwide power will come in association with the beast. One hour indicates a relatively short time (18:10, 17, 19). This is speaking of the reforming of the old Roman Empire. Presently the old Roman Empire has been reformed by ten common market nations in Europe today. There are more currently, but only 10 will come to prominence during the end time. In my opinion, these "ten horns" are those ten common market nations. The headquarters for these ten nations is in Rome. These rulers of a ten nation federation will unite to give their political authority and military power to the beast to conquer the earth and make war against Christ (16:14; 19:19) The purpose of Satan through the Beast and fellow kings is to establish an invincible kingdom that Christ cannot overcome when He returns. But Christ is King of all kings, and will overcome the beast and his kingdom when He returns (19:11-21). Those who follow Christ are called and chosen by Him, and faithful to Him (19:7-8, 14) At this point in his career the Beast will have total control of the world, for he will command ten "kings" who rule the nations of the earth: The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind, and they give their power and authority to the beast" Then the Beast's kingdom starts to come apart. He hears rumors of insurrection, which fill him "with great fury to destroy and annihilate many," in Daniel's terminology (Dan. 11 v.44). It is to fulfill prophecy. Kings and Kingdoms, good and evil, have to do exactly what God wants. Sometimes they are not even aware of why they are doing it. God puts the idea into their head, while all the time, they think it is their clever idea. He marches to the Valley of Megiddo, where he meets other armies of the world, and there they do an amazing thing as we see in the next scripture. The 10 kings will unite their power to support the beast (Rev_17:13), the Middle East ruler who will emerge in the end time and will make a covenant with Israel seven years before the second coming of Christ. Their antagonism to Christ is indicated throughout the entire seven years. And when Christ returns, these 10 kings will war against Him but will be defeated (Rev_17:14). Interestingly Christ the Lamb is also the Lord of lords and King of kings (cf. 1Ti_6:15; Rev_19:16). These shall make war with the Lamb. This will occur when these kings kill His faithful followers and come out to fight against Christ in the Battle of Armageddon. Those who join with Christ to overcome them are called "chosen, and faithful," titles used in other Scriptures to describe true believers (1 Pet. 2:9). You see, as has been said so many times before, we Christians are in a battle. Our leader is the Lamb (Jesus Christ). We are fighting a very real enemy. The devil and his demons are our enemies. This war we are in is a war of the spirit. We must come against the devil in hand to hand combat everyday. Our weapon is the two edged sword (Bible). This war is fought by an army of believers who always have their weapon (Bible) at their side. Besides having it at their side, they have its contents inside of them (their food is the Word of God). When they are in hot combat, the sword comes from their mouth. They are willing to lay down their lives for the cause of Jesus. The flag we Christians fly is the banner of righteousness. It is red because of the blood of our leader, it is white because of the righteousness of believers, and it is blue for our heavenly calling. This is a voluntary army. This battle is in the final hours before the return of the Lord. This army will be made up of boys, girls, men and women. God has called a vast army, as He did in Gideon's day. This group will be sold out completely to God. They will be willing to give up homes, family, friends, wealth, and position in their community to work for God. They will be loyal to Jesus even to the death. They will have a peculiar uniform described in Ephesians chapter 6. This uniform will be provided to us by our Lord (Jesus). Loins girded about with truth, breastplate of righteousness, feet shod with the preparation of the gospel, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. The big difference is that this army will have patches on their knees. This battle will be fought with much prayer (on our knees). You see this victory is the Lord's. We must fight the good fight. Give it everything you have. The war is peaking now. God needs good Christians who will not compromise for any reason. The battle is hard, but the rewards are beyond comprehension; a home in heaven forever with Jesus and the opportunity to hear Him say, "Well done thy good and faithful servant". You see, we soldiers shall be kings and priests (Rev. 1 v.6; Rev 5 v.10), but He will be Lord and King over all. We are the called, chosen and faithful. Hallelujah! Revelation 17:15 Rev_17:1 stated that the woman “sits on many waters.” These waters are now interpreted as peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. This indicates that there will be one ecumenical world religious system, embracing all nations and languages. The Prostitute Explained - Then the angel explains to John the meaning of the water on which the woman is sitting: It is the peoples of the earth. Peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages designate all humanity in the book of Revelation. As in the saying, "sea of humanity" Those who are followers of the evil system will be from all nations. There will be hundreds of millions lost. Revelation 17:16-18 The chapter closes with the dramatic destruction of the woman. The beast (the world ruler, the Antichrist) and the 10 horns (10 kings) will hate the prostitute and will bring her to ruin. While the exact time of this event is not given in this passage, it would seem to occur at the midpoint of the seven years when the beast will assume the role of world dictator by proclamation (Dan_9:27; Mat_24:15). When the ruler in the Middle East takes on worldwide political power, he will also assume the place of God and demand that everyone worship him or else be killed (cf. Dan_11:36-38; 2Th_2:4; Rev_13:8, Rev_13:15). The world church movement, which characterizes the first half of the seven years leading up to the Second Coming, is thus brought to an abrupt end. It will be replaced by the final form of world religion which will be the worship of the world ruler, Satan’s substitute for Christ. With the Coming Destruction of the Babylonian Prostitute during the tribulation age the Antichrist will permit the one world (apostate) church to govern his actions during the first three and one half years of the Tribulation while he is gathering more and more power. But in the middle of the Tribulation, when he feels he can become an autocratic ruler, he and the ten kings will throw off the prostitute because, in reality, while being dominated by her, they "hate the prostitute". None of the world's political leaders have enjoyed subjugation to religious leaders, but have continued in a servile role only for expediency. When it is no longer necessary, the ten kings will "bring her to ruin and leave her naked", meaning they will confiscate her temples, her gold, and her costly apparel. In so doing, they will unwittingly be the instruments of God in destroying this awful Babylonian system once and for all: "For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose." Here, we see these evil ten nations turning against the world and the world church. This power, these evil nations have been, and are being used to rule the little people. This fire speaks of war. These ten nations will do away with this church, even though it is the apostate church. When Will the Prostitute Religion Be Destroyed - The religious Babylon of Rev. 17, which is destroyed, comes in two parts. One occurs during the first part of the Tribulation when the governmental system of Babylon (pictured as this ugly "beast") is gaining world control but has to permit the "prostitute" to sit on and ride the beast. We see this as meaning she exercises a degree of control over the Babylonian system by bringing the nations of the world under her idolatrous religious power. During the first half of the Tribulation she incurs the wrath of the ten kings who see her use the authority of the Antichrist to advance her religious causes. So they plot to kill her. The reason we know this killing of the prostitute of "mystery Babylon" is done in the middle of the Tribulation is twofold: 1. "The deadly wound" of Antichrist is healed by the indwelling of Satan himself, simulating the resurrection of Christ, in the middle of the Tribulation. 2. From then on the world does not worship mystery Babylon but the image of the beast. The False Prophet will do away with all religion except the worship of Antichrist Satan, which he will enforce. That begins in the middle of the Tribulation, that's described in Rev. 13. This is the time when people will have to take the mark of the beast and swear their loyalty to the beast of face death. No middle ground, either accept Jesus or accept the beast. Since the woman who rides the beast gets her authority from the beast, the Holy Spirit uses this description to show how religious Babylon and governmental Babylon are so intertwined they are presented together. However, they are destroyed at different times. The prostitute (religious Babylon) is destroyed by "beast and the kings of the earth," who "hate the prostitute" and kill her. This clears the way for Antichrist to fulfill the lifetime dream of Satan to get people to worship him. She is destroyed in the middle of the Tribulation. Then Babylon the governmental system will be destroyed at the end of Tribulation, when commercial Babylon is destroyed (Rev. 18). With "Mystery Babylon the Mother of Prostitutes" out of the way, "all inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast, all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world". (Rev. 13 v.8) Religious Babylon Destroyed - Archaeologists tell us that Babylon is the cradle of civilization. Located on the shores of the Euphrates River, the ruins of this city have revealed some of the most ancient documents of past generations. This city begun by Nimrod, who was a rebel before the Lord, authored some of the greatest evils ever to fall on humankind. Two of these evils will be destroyed during the Tribulation period, according to Rev. 17, 18. In ancient days Satan seemed to make Babylon the capital of this evil operation. From this headquarters was started false religion, humanity's attempt for self government in defiance of God's will and city dwellings for commercial and social purposes contrary to God's command to "be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth." (Gen. 1 v.28) These great evils, which have damned the souls of millions by substituting counterfeit solutions to natural human problems that would ordinarily lead a person to God, will all be destroyed at the end of the Tribulation period. Chapter 17 describes the judgment of God on the religious system that has enslaved the human race in superstitious darkness for centuries. You see, all are subject to God whether they are following the beast or God. Even the devil has to do exactly what God tells him to do. Some of this has happened to fulfill God's word. The devil is not only subject to God, but he is subject to us, as well, through the mighty name of Jesus. We may dismiss the devil, just as Jesus did. The only difference was that Jesus used His own power, and we have no power of our own. We do it in the name of Jesus. It is Jesus' power. This is part of God’s sovereign purpose to bring evil leaders into judgment, for God has put it into their hearts to accomplish His purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God’s words are fulfilled. The final description of the woman is given in Rev_17:18 : The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth. The reference to the woman as a city is another link with ancient Babylon, this time regarded as a religious center for false religion. The apostate church represented by the woman was a combination of religious and political power. As stated in Rev_17:5, the city and the woman are a “mystery,” and are therefore a symbolic presentation. Rev_17:18, however, introduces the next chapter which seems to refer to Babylon more as a literal city than as a religious entity. Many have taken this to mean that the woman represents the capital city of Antichrist's kingdom, but his cannot be, for Antichrist himself rules over the kings of the earth. If then, the woman is not the Antichrist, what other possible explanation can we have for such unanimous world dominance? The only answer is the one system before which all kings, dictators, and nations have been forced to bow down throughout history, that is, the Babylonian religion of idolatry. One cannot go anywhere in the world without being confronted with some semblance of the idolatry. No system in the world's history has enslaved more people than this awful religion. It should not take us by surprise that this prostitute woman, the religious system, is referred to as a city. When used symbolically, a woman is always intended throughout the Scripture to signify a spiritual or religious movement. If a good woman, it is "Jehovah's wife" or "the bride of Christ". If an evil woman, such as "a prostitute," it represents the evil religious system of idolatry. Here we see again, Rome. In its heyday Rome was thought of as the capital of the world. They truly did reign over all of Europe. We conclude, then, that chapter 17 describes the destruction of the religious system, whereas chapter 18 denotes the destruction of "Satan's seat," the commercial and governmental city of Babylon, marking the prelude to the consummation of the Tribulation. No longer does the seer John have the ecclesiastical religious system in view but now turns the spotlight of God's judgment on the commercial and governmental systems that originated there. Babylon has had the most harmful effect on mankind of all the cities of the world. For all idolatrous religion, greed-based commerce, and secular government were begun there. At the end of the Tribulation, God will destroy them all in the seventh or last vial judgment in fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 47:1 - 9 (Isaiah 21:9).

The bowls of divine wrath - Revelation Chp. 16

Revelation 16:1-2

The bowls of divine wrath
Chronologically this chapter is close to the time of the second coming of Christ, and the judgments described fall in rapid succession. There can then be no doubt here, not only that the series reaches on to the time of the end, but that the whole of it is to be placed close to the same time. Daniel indicated that these closing days of the Tribulation will be a time of world war (Dan_11:36-45). World events are now pictured by John as rapidly coming to their climax.
The First Bowl
John recorded that he heard a loud voice from the temple instructing the seven angels to pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth. This is undoubtedly the voice of God speaking from His heavenly temple. The adjective translated “loud” (megalēs) is frequently used in this chapter (Rev_16:17 also refer to the loud voice). But the same Greek word is used in connection with intense heat (Rev_16:9), the great river Euphrates (Rev_16:12), the great day of God Almighty (Rev_16:14), a severe earthquake (Rev_16:18), the great city (Rev_16:19), Babylon the Great (Rev_16:19), huge hailstones (Rev_16:21), and a terrible plague (Rev_16:21). The judgments being poured out are greater, more severe, and more intense than anything that has happened in the preceding events. When the first angel… poured out his bowl of wrath, it produced ugly and painful sores on those who had the beast’s mark and worshiped his image.
The question has been raised as to whether the bowls of the wrath of God are chronologically subsequent to or identical with the seven trumpets of the angels. There is clearly much similarity between the trumpet judgments and the bowl judgments. They both deal with (a) the earth (Rev_8:7) or the land (Rev_16:2), (b) the sea (Rev_8:8; Rev_16:3), (c) the rivers and springs of water (Rev_8:10; Rev_16:4), and (d) the sun, moon, and stars (Rev_8:12) with only the sun mentioned in the bowl judgments (Rev_16:8-9). The fifth trumpet dealt with demon possession with the sun and sky darkened (Rev_9:1-3), which is similar to the fifth bowl in which darkness will cover the earth and sores will cause agony among men (Rev_16:10-11). The sixth trumpet deals with the river Euphrates (Rev_9:13-14), and the sixth bowl will dry up the Euphrates (Rev_16:12). The seventh trumpet implies that the Great Tribulation is coming to its end (Rev_11:15-19), and the seventh bowl of the wrath of God records a loud voice from heaven, saying, “It is done!” (Rev_16:17) with resulting destruction of the earth by earthquake and hail, which is also included in the seventh trumpet (Rev_11:18-19).
Similarities, however, do not prove identity, and a comparison of the trumpets with the bowls of God’s wrath reveals striking differences even though the order of the judgments is the same. In the trumpet judgments, generally speaking, a third of the earth or heaven is afflicted, whereas in the bowl judgments the effects of the judgments are on the entire earth and are much more severe and final in character. Accordingly it seems best to follow the interpretation which has long been held in the church that the seven bowls are an expansion of the seventh trumpet, just as the seven trumpets are an expansion of the breaking of the seventh seal. The order is climactic and the judgments become more intensive and extensive as the time of the second coming of Christ approaches. All indications are that the bowl judgments fall with trip-hammer rapidity on a world that is reeling under previous judgments and a gigantic world war. Some bowl judgments are selective and extend only to the wicked (Rev_16:2, Rev_16:8-11), and several affect parts of nature (sea, rivers, sun, etc.).
In the first bowl judgment people who followed the Antichrist received painful sores. Sores also come with the fifth bowl (Rev_16:10-11).

Revelation 16:3

The Second Bowl
After the second trumpet blew (Rev_8:8-9), “a third of the sea turned into blood,” killing “a third of the living creatures” and destroying “a third of the ships” (Rev_8:8-9). In the second… bowl, however, every living thing in the sea died (Rev_16:3). It is probable that the ocean here did not chemically correspond to human blood, but that it looked like blood and had the same effect in killing everything. Just as in the second trumpet, the blood here is analogous to the first plague in Egypt (Exo_7:20-25). As most of the earth’s surface is covered by the seas, this is a worldwide, tremendous judgment. The Second Bowl Judgment - Now the second angel pours out his bowl on the sea, and it turns into blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea dies.
We have already seen that God will cause a third part of the sea to turn to blood during the 2nd trumpet, but this second bowl includes the entire sea. Imagine when all living creatures in the seas die. Think of the unbearable stench and the potential for disease.
This judgment may well interfere with commercial shipping and send whole populations into confusion as people grope for an adequate supply of water, not to mention destroying what is left of the fish industry.

Revelation 16:4-7

The Third Bowl
Just as the third trumpet made “a third of the waters” bitter (Rev_8:11), so the third… bowl extends the judgment of the second bowl on the sea to rivers and springs and they became blood (Rev_16:4). John heard the angel in charge of the waters proclaim that God the Holy One is just in His judgments (Rev_16:5). For God’s work in turning the waters to blood is in response to the shedding of the blood of… saints and prophets (Rev_16:6). This is echoed by a word from the altar declaring the judgment just (Rev_16:7; cf. Rev_15:3). The Third Bowl Judgment -The third bowl, a sequel to the second, carries with it an interesting explanation as to why God will permit it. God will destroy the only remaining sources of water, the rivers and fountains or springs of the deep, by letting them turn to blood.
Whether this means literal blood is inconsequential, for if Christ can turn water to wine, He certainly can turn water to blood. What is significant is that it will become corrupt blood, which will breed disease and pestilence. One of the basic needs of humankind is water. Unless God provides water from another source or engineers by some process can turn this corrupted water into pure water, the world will be in a state of riot and confusion, seeking this necessity of life.
All of this describes devastation beyond what we can comprehend. The judgment of God has fallen. Sometimes, God uses wars to bring His will about. At any rate, this no doubt does away with a good part of humanity. Notice here, this is not the people saying that God is righteous. This is the angel saying God is righteous. At no time do the people repent. The angel here is saying that this judgment that God has brought is justified. This God mentioned here is the I Am. It seems that blood in their water supply is in punishment for the blood of the saints and prophets. Throughout the ages, the world and its evil system has been opposed to God and His people. They deserve this punishment. As bad as these judgments are, they are deserved. As it was said before, everyone likes to think of God as love, but few remember, also, that He is the Judge of the world. Thank God His grace saved me. He is longsuffering, not willing that even one should perish. However, there is a day of reckoning when the God of the entire world will judge fairly. This seems to be that time.

Revelation 16:8-9

The Fourth Bowl
This judgment focused the intense heat of the sun. In response people cursed… God and refused to repent (cf. Rev_16:11). By contrast, the fourth trumpet (Rev_8:12) darkened a third of the heavens but did not include additional intense heat. It is clear from this and other prophecies that dramatic changes in climate will occur in the Great Tribulation. The Fourth Bowl Judgment - The Sun Scorches Men - Their mouths already parched from lack of water, those who are unrepentant suffer even more intense thirst when God causes the sun to "scorch" them with "great heat". But even this does not drive the rebels to their knees in repentance. Instead, they blaspheme the name of God "who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory."
How right the angel was who said to God, "True and righteous are Your judgments". (16 v.7) Like Pharaoh, their hearts have become hardened (Exodus 7:13, 22, 8:15, 19, 32, 9:7, 34, 35).
The environmentalists are telling us every day that we are destroying the Ozone layer above the earth. Every time a person sprays their hair or uses an aerosol spray of any kind it does away with Ozone. The scientists tell us that this is so thin that it might just go away altogether. And if it did, people would die by the thousands from harmful rays from the sun that had not been filtered to make them safe.
You see, God put this earth together very intricately and man, in changing God's ways, has messed up the atmosphere. An interesting thing to note in connection with this is that it takes just a very thin coat of the shed blood of Jesus to protect us from the enemy. What a comparison. With this type of rays from the sun, they would be covered with sores. This terrible plague is vented at the beast and its followers. The worst thing they could possibly do was to curse God, and that is just what they did. They did not repent, their hearts had been hardened. They either were not aware of God's power or just did not want to give Him the glory. Either way, they are in trouble.
This type of "heat" would burn up all crops, cause droughts, and probably even melt the entire polar ice region.

Revelation 16:10-11

The Fifth Bowl
This judgment was directed toward the beast’s throne, imposed darkness on the earth, and inflicted painful sores (cf. Rev_16:2) on people. Again they cursed… God and refused to repent. This is the last reference in Revelation to a failure to repent (cf. Rev_2:21; Rev_9:21; Rev_16:9; cf., however, Rev_16:21). The fifth bowl is similar to the fifth trumpet (Rev_9:1-11) in that both will bring darkness, but the fifth trumpet has to do with demon possession rather than physical pain. The Fifth Bowl Judgment - Darkness: What's John talking about when he refers to the judgment falling upon the throne or seat of the beast and his kingdom? It's probably best to think of the beast's throne as a reference to his entire kingdom since his kingdom was full of darkness. Some see this to mean the city of Babylon, but his kingdom will be worldwide.
Notice also that tremendous darkness envelops the beast's kingdom. This same phenomenon occurred in Egypt during the plagues; the whole land was consumed in darkness so oppressive that Moses said you could actually feel it. That's the sort of thing that will come upon the kingdom of the Antichrist at this time. This divine judgment will give a physical illustration of their spiritual darkness.
You see, the beast may have control of evil men upon the earth, but he cannot control God or nature.
This "darkness" here was not just physical darkness, which is bad enough; but this "darkness" is of the spirit, as well, bringing depression, attempted suicide, and all sorts of evil attacks on the mind.
Two things indicate that this darkness will prevail for some time on the earth: the predictions of other prophets, and the effects on human beings. This judgment, a repetition of the 9th plague of Egypt, is to be understood literally:
"Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord! Why do you long for the day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light." (Amos 5 v.18)
"Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him" "but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into darkness." (Nahum 1 v.6,8)
"That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness". (Zephaniah 1 v.15)
Christ's own prediction was: "But in those days, following that distress, "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light" (Mark 13 v.24). The effects on people, described in Rev. 16 v.10 ("Men gnawed their tongues in agony"), indicate that the relief from the heat will soon produce an exasperating, frustrating darkness. We may forecast that human ingenuity in producing electricity may solve this problem, but we must remember that the water supply produces electricity, and with the tampering of the water supply, as seen in the second and third judgments, people may be incapable of continuing to draw electrical power and illumination from the rivers and bodies of water.
These judgments are so clearly supernatural that everyone will know that they descend from the God of heaven. But instead of falling down before Him to become the recipients of His mercy, people only "cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done." They not only blaspheme God, but refuse to change their ways. Let it be understood that those who reject the Lord do so not because of philosophical doubts or unexplained answers to unanswered questions, but as a result of hardness of heart and love for sin.

Revelation 16:12

The Sixth Bowl
According to John’s revelation, the sixth angel poured out his bowl and dried up the river Euphrates to prepare the way for the kings from the East. There has been endless speculation about “the kings from the East,” with many expositors trying to relate them to some contemporary leaders of their generation. A survey of 100 commentaries of the Book of Revelation reveals at least 50 interpretations of the identity of the kings of the East. The simplest and best explanation, however, is that this refers to kings or rulers from the Orient or East who will participate in the final world war. In the light of the context of this passage indicating the near approach of the second coming of Christ and the contemporary world situation in which the Orient today contains a large portion of the world’s population with tremendous military potential, any interpretation other than a literal one does not make sense. This is the only understanding of these words which will suit the context, or the requirement of this series of prophecies.
This is related to the great river Euphrates because this is the water boundary between the Holy Land and Asia to the east (Rev_9:12-16). While the implication is that the water is dried up by an act of God, the fact is that dams have been built across the Euphrates River in this century to divert water for irrigation so that there are times even today when there is little or no water in the Euphrates. The Euphrates River is frequently mentioned in Scripture (e.g., Gen_15:18; Deu_1:7; Deu_11:24; Jos_1:4). The drying up of this river is also predicted in Isa_11:15. The Sixth Bowl Judgment - Euphrates Dried Up: The sixth bowl judgment comes in 2 parts. (1) the drying up of the Euphrates River, which will be a preparation for the "battle on the great day of God Almighty;" and (2) the tremendous demon forces that will bring the rebellious armies of the world to the Valley of Megiddo for the purpose of opposing the Lord.
The Euphrates River is the eastern border of the land God gave to Abraham (Gen. 15 v.18). It is about 1800 miles long and so large that it forms a natural barrier against the armies of the world. Most people are not particularly conscious of the fact that it served as the eastern border of the Roman Empire. The sixth bowl judgment will dry up that river to make way for the "kings of the East."
It is likely that when the Euphrates River - the natural boundary between east and west is dried up," the "kings from the east" will march a sizable army across to battle with the King of kings. That army will probably be 3 to 5 million strong. These forces will be joined in the valley of Megiddo by huge armies from all over the world, and while that valley is vast as Napoleon has said, "the most ideal, natural battlefield in the world", even it has a limit to how many people it can hold.
This river could have dried up because of the problems caused by some of the other vials. There will be such a drought that this waterway will dry up and these armies from the east will come into Israel on dry land.
These kings from the east have befuddled Bible prophecy scholars for many years, for few scholars mentioned anything about them. That is, until the communist takeover of China after WW2. Since then it has become apparent that this largest of all countries, by population, has a prophetic role in end time events.
China is controlled by some of the most dedicated Communists in the world. They are not "reformers" or "progressive" as our media tried to represent them a few years ago. They are a ruthless group of elite gangsters who have never wavered in their plan to use China as a military platform from which to conquer the world. The events of the next 2 decades, if indeed we have that long, will prove that point. One thing we can be certain: China is not going to go away. John the Revelator saw them as players on the world scene in the end times.
Even so, the Bible has very little to say about China. In fact, what is said includes more than just China, for the terms "kings from the east" really means "kings for the rising sun," which would include Japan and possibly other Asian countries.
The Euphrates River, one of the first rivers mentioned in the Bible, has served for centuries as the natural dividing line between East and West.
The significance of the rise of China to become a principal player among the nations of the world was not lost on Dr. John Walvoord. He saw the prophetic significance of the Chinese rise to prominence back in 1967 when he wrote:
The fact that the rise of Asia has occurred in the 20th century with so many rapid and unexpected developments is further evidence that the world is moving toward its final climax and the end of the times of the Gentiles. In Asia, as in other parts of the world, the stage is being set for the final drama in which the kings of the east will have their important part.
If he were writing on that subject today, he might be inclined to say the curtain is about to rise. We are the first generation to witness the sleeping giant of China reach the potential of fulfilling this prophecy. No one doubts that unless something drastic and unforeseen occurs soon, China will gain control of most of the countries of the East, with whom she shares many religious and cultural similarities.
It is realistic to believe that she could be led in these very days by her master, the dragon, "that old serpent, the devil," to so rebel against God that she would actually join the armies of the world in opposition to the coming of Jesus Christ. What is needed to bring her to that point? Very little! Merely the deceiving spirit forewarned by John the Revelator. She is almost there today and could gain control of the entire Orient in 10 or 20 years.
Remember, the events of Revelation Rev 16 v.12 do not take place until 7 years after the rise of Antichrist, which follows the Rapture of the church. More than enough time to be fulfilled and just one more reason to believe Christ may return for His church in our generation.

Revelation 16:13-16

John was then given a symbolic and comprehensive view of the preparation for the final bowl of God’s wrath. He saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs coming out of the mouths of Satan (the dragon) and the two beasts (Antichrist [Rev_13:1-10] and the false prophet [Rev_13:11-18]). One need not speculate on the identity of the three frogs, for Rev_16:14 explain that they are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs. These demons go throughout the world influencing kings to assemble for the battle on the great day of God Almighty (“Almighty” [pantokratōr] is also used in Rev_1:8; Rev_4:8; Rev_11:17; Rev_15:3; Rev_16:7; Rev_19:6, Rev_19:15; Rev_21:22).
While the meaning of this symbolic presentation is clear, there is a major problem involved in what the demons do. The coming world government in the Great Tribulation will be established by the power of Satan (Rev_13:2). Here, however, Satan, the world ruler, and the false prophet unite in inciting the nations of the world to gather for the final world war. Actually the war is a form of rebellion against the world ruler. Why then should satanic forces be let loose to destroy the world empire which has just been created?
The answer seems to be in the events which follow. Satan, knowing that the second coming of Christ is near, will gather all the military might of the world into the Holy Land to resist the coming of the Son of Man who will return to the Mount of Olives (Zec_14:4). Though the nations may be deceived in entering into the war in hope of gaining world political power, the satanic purpose is to combat the armies from heaven (introduced in Rev_19:1-21) at the second coming of Christ. The three unclean spirits are demons who support the activities of Satan, the beast and the false prophet. By means of miracles, they will convince the eastern "kings" and all the armies and kings of the earth and of the whole world to gather in Palestine to fight against the second coming of Christ (Rev. 19 v.19). This is Satan's final attempt to prevent Christ's return.
These unclean spirits will no doubt perform supernatural signs as part of their deception. Undoubtedly they will work lying wonders to deceive the eastern kings, seducing them to make the difficult journey to their doom at Armageddon.

The war is said to continue right up to the day of the Second Coming and involves house-to-house fighting in Jerusalem itself on the day of the Lord’s return (Zec_14:1-3). The reference to “the battle” (ton polemon, Rev_16:14) is probably better translated “the war”. Thus it is better to speak of “the war of Armageddon” (see Rev_16:16) rather than the “the battle of Armageddon.” The war will be going on for some time, but the climax will come at Christ’s second coming. “Armageddon” comes from the Greek Harmagedōn, which transliterates the Hebrew words for Mount (har) of Megiddo. That mountain is near the city of Megiddo and the Plain of Esdraelon, the scene of many Old Testament battles. To gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty this is the battle of Armageddon.
You see, it tells you here that these are "spirits of devils". In other words, they are the followers of the devil. Demons are the fallen angels who followed Lucifer out of heaven. These "spirits of devils" have power to do miracles, just like the Egyptian magicians copied some of Moses' miracles. Their power is limited, just as was the Egyptians. When Moses threw his rod down and it became a snake, the Egyptians threw two rods down and they became snakes. The only difference was that Moses' snake swallowed their snakes, Exodus 7:9 -12.
The Bible says that at the end, the devil will have power enough to call down fire from heaven. His miracles will be so convincing that people will believe a lie. This is deception to the utmost. These evil spirits are so deceiving, that they convince these armies to come against Israel. They willingly come to the battle of Armageddon, believing they will win. This battle is actually the forces of evil coming against God Himself. This war has actually been going on for centuries, but here is the culmination of it all.

Accordingly John heard the warning coming from Christ Himself: Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.
Christ’s return is often compared to the coming of a thief. It implies suddenness and unpreparedness as far as unbelievers are concerned. Just as Christians are not to be surprised by the Rapture of the church (1Th_5:4), so believers at the time of the Second Coming will be anticipating His return. Blessing is promised to the one who is prepared for the coming of the Lord by being attired in the righteousness or clothing which God Himself supplies. We see here that this comes unexpectedly. The garment spoken of here is the robe of righteousness. We must not despair of His coming and fall away into sin. We need to walk in righteousness after we receive our robe of righteousness, washed in the blood of the Lamb.
Verse 15 is an exhortation to the surviving believers to be watchful and alert (Matt 24:32-25:13), and to remain faithful and loyal to Christ during a time of intense persecution. To have garments, rather than be naked, relates to spiritual preparedness. Armageddon is the place where this great battle is to be fought is in Israel. The blood will run to the horses bridle in this valley of Megiddo during this battle. This valley is called by the name Jezreal, also. There have already been twenty battles fought at this very spot, but never a battle of this magnitude. This battle will be the twenty-first (3 x 7). Three means God. Seven means spiritually complete. God Himself will settle the outcome of this once and for all. This truly will be the war to end all wars. Shortly after this battle, Jesus will set up His Kingdom.
Verse 16 identifies the place of the final battle as Armageddon, from the Hebrew Har Megiddon (the Hill of Megiddo). The hill country of Megiddo and the adjacent valley of Esdraelon have been the site of many important battles (Judge 5:15; 2 Kings 9:27; 23:29).
Taken as a whole, the sixth bowl of the wrath of God is preparation for the final act of judgment before the Second Coming, and is the later stage of development related to the river Euphrates, anticipated earlier (Rev_9:14). The time factor between the sixth trumpet and the sixth bowl is comparatively short.

Revelation 16:17-20

The Seventh Bowl
The seventh angel then poured out his bowl into the air. John heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, It is done! A similar pronouncement followed the seventh trumpet (Rev_11:15-19). Here also John saw lightning flashes and heard thunder, which was followed by a severe earthquake (Rev_16:18). John was then informed that this will be the greatest earthquake of all time (other earthquakes are mentioned in Rev_8:5 and Rev_11:19), and the resulting description indicates that it will affect the whole earth with the possible exception of the land of Israel. The great city which split into three parts refers to the destruction of Babylon. The most important event, however, is that the cities of the nations collapsed. The huge earthquake will reduce to rubble all the cities of the nations (Gentiles). The stage is thus being set for the second coming of Christ. Obviously in the collapse of the world’s cities there will be tremendous loss of life and destruction of what is left of the world empire.
Though Jerusalem is mentioned in Rev_11:8 as “the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified,” “the great city” here is specifically Babylon, as indicated in Rev_16:19. God will give Babylon the cup filled with the wine of the fury of His wrath, that is, she will experience a terrible outpouring of His judgment. Some have suggested that this city is Rome, but is called Babylon because of its spiritual declension. While this has been debated at length by scholars, it is preferable to view “Babylon” as the rebuilt city of Babylon located on the Euphrates River, which will be the capital of the final world government.
In addition to the terrible earthquake and probably because of it, John recorded, Every island fled away and mountains could not be found. These verses (Rev_16:18-20), if taken literally, indicate topographical changes in the earth which eventually will also include great changes in the Holy Land in preparation for Christ’s millennial kingdom. This "great voice out of the temple" was probably God. In Genesis, when God made the earth in six days, then He said "it is finished". When Jesus hung on the cross six hours, He said "it is finished". I believe that is just what this "It is done" means here. I believe this is at the close of the six-1000 year days of work for the earth, just before the 1000 year Sabbath of rest. God would be the one to decide, and I believe this is Him speaking here.
The Seventh Bowl Judgment - The Wrath of God: - Then flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed.
God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.
When the seventh angel pours out his bowl into the air a voice will be heard from the Temple of God before the throne, conveying a most welcome message: "It is done!" It is most welcome because it signifies the consummation of the Tribulation, the conclusion of the day of God's wrath on the ungodly, the end of the time of Jacob's trouble.
This final judgment of God will appear in the form of the world's greatest earthquake, one that "has never occurred like it since man has been on earth." As prophesied in Haggai chapter 2 verses 6-7 "For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;" "And I will shake all nations and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts."
In chapter 11 verse 8 we see where the witnesses were killed described as "the great city". This is Jerusalem where it is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
The massive earth quake will split Jerusalem into 3 parts. When the Mount of Olives splits in two, it will create a chasm into which the believers can seek refuge until the awful carnage is completed. Its interesting to note that there is a fault line that runs under the Mount of Olives that moves in exactly the same direction that the Bible prophesies.
Zech. 14 verses 3 to 5 says: "Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. And you will flee by the valley of My Mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah."
Jerusalem is being prepared for the central role it plays during the millennial kingdom. This is where New Jerusalem will come down out of heaven and rest.
In addition, "cities of the nations collapsed," meaning that all of the cities of the world will be destroyed. In addition, every island will vanish and the mountains will not be found. This will indicate a complete renovation of the earth, which may be a fulfillment of 2 Peter 3 v.10, which predicts that the entire earth will be destroyed, and "the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare." When it is done, the earth will basically flat with no seas, no islands and no mountains, preparing it for restoration to something like its pre-flood condition.

Revelation 16:21

In addition to the earthquake, huge hailstones of about 100 pounds each fell on people. Such huge masses of ice supernaturally formed would destroy anything left standing from the earthquake and would no doubt kill or seriously injure those they hit. In spite of the severity of the judgment and its cataclysmic character the hardness of human hearts is revealed in the final sentence: And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.
The question is sometimes raised why eternal punishment is eternal. The answer is that people in the hardness of their hearts will not change; they deserve eternal punishment because they are eternally unrepentant. With the final destruction coming from the seventh bowl of the wrath of God, the stage will then be set for the dramatic and climactic second coming of Christ, revealed in Rev_19:1-21. Before this event, however, a future detailed description is given of Babylon in chapters 17-18. If this were not enough catastrophes, great hailstones, weighing about 100 pounds apiece will come down out of heaven. It is difficult for us to conceive of hailstones that large or the devastating effect they will have on the people they hit.
"This is what the Lord said in Job 38 v.22, 23. He has filled His armory full of hail and snow "against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war."
Even now, these men do not repent. Instead of repenting and asking for God's help, they curse Him. You see, in all of these plagues, God wants them to repent and turn to Him.

Romans Chapter 2 - Part One

Romans chapter 2 - Part One

Romans 2:1

Condemnation according to divine standards
Truthfulness
In any generalization such as the preceding blanket indictment of pagan humanity (Rom_1:18-32) exceptions to the rule always exist. Obviously some pagans had high ethical standards and moral lifestyles and condemned the widespread moral corruption of their contemporaries. In addition the Jews morally stood in sharp contrast with the pagan world around them and freely condemned the Gentiles. Both groups of moralists might conclude that God’s condemnation did not apply to them because of their higher planes of living. But Paul insisted that they also stood condemned because they were doing the same things for which they judged others.
Therefore, Paul declared, at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself. Everyone in the entire human race has turned away from God and commits sins even though there are differences of frequency, extent, and degree. In addition the entire human race, especially moral pagans and the Jews, stood condemned before God (and have no excuse [cf. Rom_1:20]) because God’s judgment is based on three divine standards — truth (Rom_2:2-4), impartiality (Rom_2:5-11), and Jesus Christ Himself (Rom_2:12-16) — which are absolute and infinite, condemning every person. It is very easy for us to see sin in other's lives when many times we are unable to see the very same sin in our own life. Many ministers have the attitude that they are exempt, because they preach. The same law applies to us all. There are not 2 sets of rules; one for the congregation and one for the preacher. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Everyone needs Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Both Jews who was Paul’s primary audience here, and moral Gentiles who think they are exempt from God’s judgment because they have not indulged in the immoral excesses described in chapter 1, are tragically mistaken. They have more knowledge than the immoral pagan and thus a greater accountability.
“Condemn thyself:” If someone has sufficient knowledge to judge others, he condemns himself, because he shows he has the knowledge to evaluate his own condition.
“Doest the same things:” In their (the Jews) condemnation of others they have excused and overlooked their own sins. Self righteousness exists because of two deadly errors. (1) Minimizing God’s moral standard usually by emphasizing externals; and (2) Underestimating the depth of one’s own sinfulness.
Romans 2:2-3

The first divine standard of judgment is truth. Nowhere in Scripture is God identified as “Truth” as He is as “Spirit” (Joh_4:24), “Light” (1Jn_1:5) and “Love” (1Jn_4:8, 1Jn_4:16), though Jesus did call Himself “the Truth” (Joh_14:6). But God is called “the God of truth” (Psa_31:5; Isa_65:16). Truth — absolute, infinite truth — is unquestionably one of God’s essential attributes. God will not punish anyone on hear-say evidence. God judges in Truth. He knows what the Truth is even before we begin.
“According to the truth”: The meaning is ‘right.” Whatever God does is by nature right.
As a result when God’s judgment of people is declared to be based on literally “According to” “truth,” no escape from that judgment is possible for anyone. All are without “excuse” (Rom_2:1) and without “escape.” One may be moral and he may even judge his contemporaries as totally enmeshed in a depraved lifestyle, but yet he is judged by God because he does the same things (cf. Rom_2:1). This was covered in depth in verse one above. “Condemn thyself:” If someone has sufficient knowledge to judge others, he condemns himself, because he shows he has the knowledge to evaluate his own condition.
Romans 2:4

By not exacting His divine penalty on sinful humanity immediately, God is displaying the riches of His kindness (chrēstotētos, “benevolence in action,” also used of God in Rom_11:22; Eph_2:7; Tit_3:4), tolerance, and patience (cf. Act_14:16; Act_17:30; Rom_3:25). God’s purpose is to lead people toward repentance — a return to Him — through His kindness. (This word for “kindness” is chrēstos, a synonym of chrēstotētos, also trans. “kindness,” used earlier in the verse.) Both words mean “what is suitable or fitting to a need.” Chrēstos is used of God in Luk_6:35 and 1Pe_2:3 and of people in Eph_4:32. “Despisest”: Meaning to despise or to think down on, thus to underestimate someone’s or something’s value, and even to treat with contempt.
“Goodness”: This refers to “common grace,” the benefits God bestows on all men.
“Forbearance”: This word, which means “to hold back,” was sometimes used of a truce between warring parties. Rather than destroying every person the moment he or she sins, God graciously holds back His judgment. He saves sinners in a physical and temporal way from what they deserve, to show them His saving character that they might come to Him and receive salvation that is spiritual and eternal.
“Longsuffering:” This word indicates the duration for which God demonstrates His goodness and forbearance, for long periods of time.
Together these three words speak of God’s common grace, the way He demonstrates His grace to all mankind.
“Repentance”: The act of turning from sin to Christ for forgiveness and salvation.
Not realizing (lit., “being ignorant of”) God’s purpose, people showed contempt for (kataphroneis, “you thought down on”) God’s attributes and actions (cf. “suppress the truth,” Rom_1:18). People knew of God’s Being through natural revelation (Rom_1:19-21, Rom_1:28), but did not know the purpose of His kindness.
Romans 2:5-6

Impartiality
Why are people ignorant of God’s intention to be kind? (Rom_2:4) And why do they despise it? It is because of their stubbornness (lit., “hardness”; sklērotēta, whence the Eng. “sclerosis”) and their unrepentant heart(s). So God’s wrath against people’s sins is being stored up like a great reservoir until the day when it will all be poured forth in His righteous judgment. On that day God will give to each person according to what He has done (quotation of Psa_62:12 and Pro_24:12). God’s judging will be based on the standard of truth (Rom_2:2) and it will be impartial (Rom_2:11). The English word “sclerosis” (as in arteriosclerosis, a hardening of the arteries) comes from the Greek word. But here the danger is not physical, but spiritual hardness.
“Impenitent heart”: A refusal to repent and accept God’s pardon of sin through Jesus and cling to one’s sin is to accumulate more of God’s wrath and earn a severer judgment.
“Day of wrath … judgment”: Refers to the final judgment of wicked men that comes at the Great White Throne at the end of the Millennium. Although Scripture everywhere teaches that salvation is not on the basis of works, it consistently teaches that God’s judgment is always on the basis of a man’s deeds.
Paul describes the deeds of two distinct groups: the redeemed in verses 7 and 10, and the unredeemed as shown in 8-9. The deeds of the redeemed are not the basis of their salvation but the evidence of it. They are not perfect and are prone to sin, but there is undeniable evidence of righteousness in their lives. We are all storing up things in heaven now. Some who walk in the Light of Jesus are storing up good treasures in heaven.
Matthew 6:19-21 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:" "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:" "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
If our deeds are evil, the wrath of God will be our just payment. If we are working for God, only a warm welcome awaits us, and the statement (well done thy good and faithful servant). In verse 7 we see the rewards awaiting the believer.




Romans 2:7-11

God will bestow eternal life on those who by persistence in doing good seek (pres. tense, “keep on seeking”) glory, honor, and immortality. Notice that even though eternal life is a free gift; we must continue walking in the salvation Jesus has provided for us. We must continue walking in the Light. We must be doing the Word and not just hearing the Word.
Verse seven is not simply speaking in duration, because even unbelievers will live forever, but also in quality. Eternal life is a kind of life, the holy life that the eternal God has given to believers.
We see in verse 8 what awaits those who are not walking with Jesus in His Light.
On the other hand wrath and anger will be the portion of the self-seeking… who reject (lit., “keep on disobeying”) the truth and follow (pres. tense, “keep on obeying”) evil (adikia, “unrighteousness”; cf. Rom_1:18). God is not unaware. He will punish those who do not obey. From Genesis to Revelation we see blessings for those who live for God and curses to those who are the children of disobedience.
Each one who does (“keeps on producing”) evil will receive trouble and distress, whereas each one who does (“keeps on working”) good will have glory, honor (cf. “glory and honor” in Rom_2:7), and peace. This just recompense by God is without regard to ethnic background or any other consideration except what each person has done.
A person’s habitual conduct, whether good or evil, reveals the condition of his heart. Eternal life is not rewarded for good living; that would contradict many other Scriptures which clearly state that salvation is not by works, but is all of God’s grace to those who believe (e.g., Rom_6:23; Rom_10:9-10; Rom_11:6; Eph_2:8-9; Tit_3:5). A person’s doing good shows that his heart is regenerate. Such a person, redeemed by God, has eternal life. Conversely a person who continually does evil and rejects the truth shows that he is unregenerate, and therefore will be an object of God’s wrath.
The statement first for the Jew, then for the Gentile (lit. “Greek”) does not imply special consideration for Jews. Instead, in the light of the divine standard of impartiality (God does not show favoritism), it emphasizes that the entire human race is dealt with by God. Just as the Jews were given the first opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel, they will be first to receive God’s judgment if they refuse. Israel will receive severer punishment because she was given greater light and blessing.
The phrase “the day of God’s… judgment” (Rom_2:5) taken by itself may seem to lend support to the idea of a single general judgment of all humanity. However, the Scriptures do not support such a concept. This phrase must be interpreted in conjunction with passages which clearly indicate that several judgments of different groups occur at different times (cf. judgment of Israel at Christ’s Second Advent, Eze_20:32-38; the judgment of Gentiles at Christ’s Second Advent, Mat_25:31-46; the great white throne judgment, Rev_20:11-15). The focus of this passage is on the fact that God will judge all peoples, not on the details of who will be judged when. God is not impressed with our worldly wealth, importance, position, influence, popularity or appearance. We are what we are, because God chose for it to be that way. If you are jealous of some one's wealth or place in society, blame God. The real reason might be that God could not trust you with the wealth or importance. It might even be for your own good.
We do not even choose our own nationality, God does. We were born and raised in a particular family because God arranged it that way. Why should anyone be so proud of themselves, this being the case? The only wealth that really amounts to anything is what we have stored in heaven.
Romans 2:12

Jesus Christ
God’s impartiality in judgment is also seen in the fact that He will deal with people in accordance with the dispensation in which they live. “The Law was given through Moses” (Joh_1:17), which marks the beginning of the dispensation of Law. The Law was provided for God’s Chosen People Israel, and the Gentiles were considered outside the Law. Therefore Paul declared, All who (lit., “as many as”) sin apart from the Law (lit., “without Law”) will also perish apart from the Law. Gentiles who sin will perish, but the Law of Moses will not be used as a standard of judgment against them. On the other hand the Jews who sin under (lit., “in the sphere of”) the Law will be judged by the Law. The Gentiles are not excused from God’s judgment, but they will not be judged according to the standard (the Mosaic Law) that was not given to them. “Sinned without law”: The Gentiles who never had the opportunity to know God’s moral law will be judged on their disobedience in relationship to their limited knowledge as we studied in chapter 1, verses 19 and 20.
“Sinned in the law”: The Jews and many Gentiles who had access to God’s moral law will be accountable for their greater knowledge.
To those whom much is given much is required.
Luke 12:48: "But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few [stripes]. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."
The Lord is a just God. He judges each according to their knowledge. If we know to do good and do it not, it is counted sin to us.
III John 1:11 "Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God."
We mentioned before that even nature tells you of God. Our conscience tells us when we are sinning. We all know right from wrong. The Jew had the law, so they will be judged by their law, if they do not receive Jesus. All will be judged guilty of sin, who have not accepted complete pardon through Jesus Christ our Lord. All deserve death. We receive our life in Jesus Christ who is Life.
Romans 2:13

Reading the Mosaic Law was a regular part of each synagogue service, so that Jews were those who hear the Law. However, being recognized as righteous was not the automatic concomitant of being a Jew and hearing the Law. Those who will be declared righteous (a forensic action usually trans. “justified,” e.g., Rom_3:24; are those who obey the Law (lit., “the doers of the Law”). James made the same point (Jas_1:22-25). God does not give eternal life or justification to those who perform good works, but to those who believe (trust) in Him and whose conduct reveals their regenerate hearts. Just to hear the law and to do nothing about it would not help at all, or just hearing about Jesus will not save you either. We must act upon what we hear. The burden is laid on the person receiving salvation to accept it. We have a free will which God will not violate.
Romans 10:9-10 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Romans 2:14-15

The Jews looked down on the Gentiles partly because they did not have the revelation of God’s will in the Mosaic Law. But, as Paul pointed out, there are moral Gentiles who do by nature things required by the Law. Such persons show that the Law is not to be found only on tablets of stone and included in the writings of Moses; it is also inscribed in their hearts and is reflected in their actions, consciences, and thoughts. The Law given to Israel is in reality only a specific statement of God’s moral and spiritual requirements for everyone. Moral Gentiles by their actions show that the requirements (lit., “the work”) of the Law are written on their hearts. This is confirmed by their consciences, the faculty within human beings that evaluates their actions, along with their thoughts that either accuse or excuse them of sin. This is why Paul called such Gentiles a law for themselves (Rom_2:14). Without knowing the written law of God, people in pagan society generally value and attempt to practice its most basic tenets. This is normal for cultures instinctively to value justice, honesty, compassion and goodness toward others, reflecting the divine law written in the heart.
“Law unto themselves”: Their practice of some good deeds and their aversion to some evil ones demonstrate an innate knowledge of God’s law, a knowledge that will actually witness against them on the Day of Judgment. “Work of the law”: Probably best understood as “the same works the Mosaic Law prescribes.”
“Conscience”: Literal meaning “with knowledge.” That instinctive sense of right and wrong, that produces guilt when violated. In addition to an innate awareness of God’s law, men have a warning system that activates when they choose to ignore or disobey that law.
Paul urges believers not to violate their own consciences or cause other to because repeatedly ignoring the conscience’s warnings desensitizes it and eventually silences it.
Conscience is an important part of human nature, but it is not an absolutely trustworthy indicator of what is right. One’s conscience can be “good” (Act_23:1; 1Ti_1:5, 1Ti_1:19) and “clear” (Act_24:16; 1Ti_3:9; 2Ti_1:3; Heb_13:18), but it can also be “guilty” (Heb_10:22), “corrupted” (Tit_1:15), “weak” (1Co_8:7, 1Co_8:10, 1Co_8:12), and “seared” (1Ti_4:2). All people need to trust the Lord Jesus Christ so that “the blood of Christ” might “cleanse [their] consciences” (Heb_9:14).

1 Corinthians Chapter One Part One

1 Corinthians Chapter 1

1 Corinthians 1:1

Salutation and description of the writer and readers
The legitimacy of Paul’s apostleship and its denial by some is hinted at in this letter (1Co_9:1-27), but receives explicit defense in 2 Corinthians. In the first words in 1 Corinthians Paul affirmed his appointment to this position by the will of God to represent not his own interests but those of Christ.
First we need to ask, who is this Paul? We know that he was a Pharisee. We, also, know that he was a Roman. His mother was a Hebrew and his father was a Roman. Paul was his Roman name even though it is taken from a Greek name Paulos, which means little. His Hebrew name was Saul which means asked. Paul was a native of Tarsus, a city of Celicia. We are told that he was a student of Gamaliel. He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees.
He was so against Christianity and it's teachings that he persecuted Christians. On his way on one of his many journeys to capture Christians and put them in jail, he encountered the Lord Jesus Christ, in a great and blinding Light. Paul was sought out of God to be an apostle to the Gentiles. Notice, in the verse above that it was God's will for Paul to be an apostle. The word "apostle" means ambassador, messenger, or delegate. It, also, means he that is sent. I like the last meaning best. In this case, it means one sent with authority. He had the power of attorney from the Lord Jesus. We must look at who sent him: Jesus Christ.
Sosthenes was probably Paul’s amenuensis and may have been the synagogue ruler publicly thrashed by the Jews (Act_18:17). If so, he illustrates how God can turn the worst circumstances to a believer’s ultimate advantage. Sosthenes {of safe strength} had been the ruler of the synagogue at Corinth. The fact that Paul calls him brother makes me believe that he converted to Christianity.

1 Corinthians 1:2

The church belongs to God, not man. Had the Corinthians recognized this, their problem of division might not have existed. Those who compose the church have been sanctified, set apart by God as His possession. The burden of Paul’s letter was that the Corinthians’ practice might more nearly approximate their position. Christ Jesus as Lord was to be obeyed. Herein was unity for Christians not only in Corinth but everywhere. This church had been established on Paul's second missionary journey. Notice that Paul writes this letter to individuals in the church at Corinth.
In other lessons we have talked about the word "sanctified" meaning set aside for God's purpose. Another meaning is to make holy. Notice how they are made holy. It is in Christ Jesus. The word “Saints” means sacred, blameless or religious. Saints are all, in every place, who call upon the name of Jesus.

1 Corinthians 1:3

Grace was what brought them together and what they needed to display mutually so that relational peace would be maintained. These qualities, especially needed in the Corinthian church, were produced by God in those dependent on Him. Grace is one word that is really hard to explain, because it is so all forgiving. It means unmerited favor. The grace of God toward man is unexplainable. It is really love to the utmost, and I might add, undeserved love.
The grace of God toward man brings great peace as a result of God’s saving grace. The only way to know real peace is in the Lord Jesus. I will just mention in passing, that the Father and Jesus are spoken of separately. Lord Jesus Christ is the true name of Jesus on the earth. Jesus means Savior and Christ means the Anointed One. When you couple that with Lord, you have said a lot. All agree, who are not even Christians that He was the Anointed One. They cannot deny the miracles. The next step is accepting Him as your Savior. The ultimate is when you know Him as your Lord.

1 Corinthians 1:4

Thanksgiving for the effects of God’s grace
Thanksgiving for a church so rife with problems may seem a bit strange. If Paul’s only resources had been his own, the prospects of reforming a group like the Corinthians would have been dim indeed. But God was at work and that, for Paul, was a matter of thanksgiving.
However prone the Corinthians may have been to self-exaltation, it was because of God’s grace alone that they were members of the body which existed in Christ Jesus.
Paul uses this greeting in all of his letters.
Paul feels very grateful to God for the church He allowed him to begin here in Corinth. These people, even though they were sinners, were very receptive to the message God had given them through Paul. Paul was always careful to give whatever thanks there was to God. We will find that people who are caught up in sin, and know they are, are easier to reach for God than the educated who want to analyze everything. This is why the Lord Jesus said that harlots and publicans would go into the kingdom quicker than the religious.
Matthew 21:31-32 "Whether of them twain did the will of [his] father? They say unto him, the first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you." "For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen [it], repented not afterward, that ye might believe him."
The self righteous did not even know they needed to repent. The harlots and publicans knew they had sinned, and asked, and got forgiveness for their sin.
Note that in Matt. 21:31 what they are speaking of. This is not the prodigal son of Luke 15:11, but the parable of the two sons, one who said he would work in the vineyard but didn’t and the other who at first said no but then repented and went.

1 Corinthians 1:5

It was only because they were a part of His body that they had been so enriched with the speaking and knowledge gifts such as tongues, prophecy, discernment of spirits, and/or interpretation (1Co_12:4-11). These gifts were not given to be abused as the Corinthians had done, but to be used for the good of all the church. In the present, the believer has everything the Lord has to give and, therefore, everything he needs. The two particular blessings spoken of here are related to presenting the truth of God’s Word.
The only knowledge worth having is that which the Lord sends to us through His Word and is explained to us by His Holy Spirit. We explained that knowledge is accumulated learning. That is the reason it is so important to study the Bible every day.
Utterance: In regard to speaking for God, believers are able to speak when God wants them to because of His enablement. Prayer reaches out for that ability, and diligence in the study of God’s Word aids it.

1 Corinthians 1:6

The presence of these gifts also bore testimony to the effectiveness of Paul’s message about Christ. Though it might have been feebly delivered (1Co_2:1-5), God securely implanted His Word. This is a reference to the moment of salvation when the gospel was heard and believed and settled in the heart. At that moment, the enabling of verse 4 took place, because the individual became a recipient of the grace of God.

1 Corinthians 1:7-8

Because it was God’s work, Paul had no question about the outcome. Because the Corinthian believers were justified by God’s grace, they would stand before Him blameless (anenklētous, “free from accusation”; cf. Col_1:22) when Christ returns. This is speaking of the ability to minister in a given area. The five fold ministry of the church was active here. They were not just sitting around waiting for the coming of the Lord, but were using the gifts of the Spirit that the Lord had given them to help them minister.
“Gift” in Greek is specifically “a gift of grace.” While the blessings of speech and knowledge were primarily for evangelizing the lost, the spiritual gifts (chapters 12-14) edify the church. Because these gifts are given to each believer (12:11-12) without regard for maturity or spirituality, the Corinthians, though sinful, had them in full.
Coming or “Revelation” of Christ: Paul looks to the blessing of future grace. At the Lord’s second coming, His full glory, honor, and majesty will be revealed in blazing splendor (Rev. 4:11; 5:12), at which time all true believers will be fixed solidly forever as holy and without sin, in full resurrected glory and purity, to live in heaven with God forever.
Thus they could eagerly await (apekdechomenous; used seven times in the NT of the return of Christ: Rom_8:19, Rom_8:23, Rom_8:25; 1Co_1:7; Gal_5:5; Php_3:20; Heb_9:28) for Him. This is referring to the coming of the Lord for His church, or the Rapture. Not the Day of the Lord which is a term referring to judgment on the ungodly.
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. This is speaking of the fact that the penalty for their sin had already been paid by the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, they could come boldly before the throne of God, and they would be just as if they had never sinned. They are blameless, because they are washed in the blood of the Lamb. The day, spoken of here, is judgment day, when we all stand before the Lord to be judged. He will find us not guilty of any sin, if we are His.

1 Corinthians 1:9

This was so because God… is faithful and He had called the Corinthians into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ. But one cannot enjoy fellowship with Christ while being at odds with other members of His body (Mat_5:23-24). So it is on this note that Paul made his transition from what God had done in the past and will do in the future to what the Corinthians needed to do in the present, namely, mend their divisions. God is faithful: Because of God’s sovereign and unchangeable promise, believers are assured of this grace; past, present and future, and will remain saved, assured of future glory at Christ’s appearing.
I believe the important word in the Scripture above is fellowship. There are three Scriptures in 1 John that can say this much better than I can.
I John 1:3 "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship [is] with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ."
I John 1:6 "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:"
I John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
We see closeness here with the Lord Jesus. Fellowship, in the verse above, means union. God is faithful and will do everything He promised to do. Many are called, but few are chosen. In fact, all are called, but only those who receive Jesus as Savior and Lord are chosen.

1 Corinthians 1:10

Divisions in the Church
Dissension in their church was the first problem openly addressed by Paul.
The reality of division
Paul appealed to brothers, not to adversaries, in the most authoritative fashion, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the 10th reference to Christ in the first 10 verses, leaving no doubt as to the One Paul believed should be the source and focus of Corinthian unity. His appeal was for harmony, not the elimination of diversity. He desired a unity of all the parts, like a quilt of various colors and patterns blended together in a harmonious whole. We are told that on the day of Pentecost, when the wind of the Spirit came, they are of one accord. Paul has begun to show them of the error in their church. First of all, he explains that they must be together, that division is not what God would have. If they are truly in Christ Jesus, then they would be one in Him. Paul is explaining to them that there is one message from God that saved them, and they must stick with that message.
We have discussed how many times people will hang on to one or two of their habits sometimes when they come to Christianity, and will try to teach that along with Christianity. This is the way false doctrines come into the church. In our day, it is how Christian rock crept into our churches. Even Paul, unwillingly taught things that were a leftover from his teachings by Gamaliel. It is hard to unlearn some things.

1 Corinthians 1:11-12

Instead of this unity, however, the fabric was coming apart at the seams, or so Chloe’s servants said. While the divisions were certainly real, it is possible, on the basis of Paul’s remark in 1Co_4:6 that he made adaptations with regard to party heads so that the names cited — Paul, Apollos, and Cephas — were illustrative, in order to avoid worsening an already deplorable situation. Chloe was probably a prominent person in the Corinthian church who had written or come to visit Paul in Ephesus to tell him of the factions in the church. It is not known whether Chloe was a man or a woman.
We see from this there are divisions in the church Paul had established in Corinth. Contentions, here, means quarrels. This is still going on today. Strangely enough this is still going on today in the form of denominations. Some will say I am a Baptist, others say I am a Methodist; others will say I am a Christian. We must be careful not to be a Baptist Christian. We must be a Christian Baptist, if Baptist is our choice of denomination to join. I could have said that of all denominations, not just the Baptist. We must always remember that, we are first a follower of and a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and then join whatever denomination best takes care of our needs. We do not join Jesus like you would a club. Christianity is a family. If we are believers in Christ, we are all born into Him. We have a tendency, like these people here, to relate our Christianity to the one who led us to the Lord.

1 Corinthians 1:13

The three questions in this verse were rhetorical and expected a definite no. The universal body of Christ is not divided, and neither should its local expression be. No man won salvation for the Corinthians, nor did any of them owe their allegiance to anybody except Christ. No human leader, not even an apostle, should be given the loyalty that belongs only to the Lord. Such elevation of leaders leads only to contention, disputes, and a divided church.
Christ is not divided and neither is His body, the church. Paul depreciates his worth in comparison to the Lord Jesus so the answer to this is definitely no! Christ is not divided, then or now.
The message is Christ and He crucified. Even if Paul or anyone else other than Jesus had been crucified for you that would not save you. The only salvation that is real and able to save you, is the salvation the Lord Jesus paid for with His precious spotless blood. Only His blood cleanses from all sin.

1 Corinthians 1:14-17

Paul’s imitation of Christ apparently touched every aspect of his ministry. According to Joh4: 2 Jesus did not baptize, but left it to His disciples. This was usually Paul’s practice too. Could Paul then have believed baptism was necessary for salvation? Such is impossible (cf. 1Co_4:15; 1Co_9:1, 1Co_9:22; 1Co_15:1-2). We see that Paul did not want them to think of him as Christ. Had they been baptized by him, he is afraid some might confuse that with him being their Savior. Paul is very well aware of the dangerous effect it would have if he allowed anyone to worship him.
Cripus was the leader of the synagogue in Corinth, who was converted under Paul’s preaching (Acts 18:8).
Gaius: Since Romans was written from Corinth, this man was probably the host referred to in Romans 16:23a. “Gaius, my host and the host of the whole church, greets you.” His full name was most likely “Gaius Titius Justus” and the whole church or congregation met in his house.
Not that baptism is pointless. It was commanded by Christ (Mat_28:19) and practiced by the early church (Act_2:41), which makes it, with the Lord’s Supper, an ordinance of the church. But it is what an ordinance gives testimony to, not what it affects, that is more important.
Paul’s primary charge was to preach the gospel (1Co_9:16) not with words of human wisdom. Brilliantly persuasive eloquence may win a person’s mind but not his heart, whereas the unadorned words of the gospel, though seemingly foolish by human standards, are made effective by the Spirit of God (1Co_2:4-5). Nothing is known of this family.
Paul preached the gospel and set up churches where he went. His primary goal was to set up churches complete with believers who would continue to teach the gospel to those he had given the gospel to. Others who were given that responsibility did the baptizing.
Actually, just baptizing someone does not save them. They must hear the message of God and be convicted in their heart. They must repent of their sins and receive their forgiveness. The preaching of the cross of Christ is what saves people. When we are convinced in our heart that Jesus did this for us, and we accept Him as our Substitute for our sin, we will be saved. Salvation comes from believing Jesus in our heart and confessing this with our mouth. Romans chapter 10 verses 9 and 10 are the real way to receive the salvation provided for us as a free gift from God.

1 Corinthians Introduction

Book of 1 Corinthians Introduction:

We are beginning one of the most important letters that Paul wrote to the churches he had begun. The church at Corinth had been established on one of Paul's missionary journeys.
The city of Corinth was believed to be a city of about 600,000 people when this was written to them. One of the outskirts of Corinth was Cenchera, which was a seaport. This was a thriving city with much evil. They were thought of as being one of the wealthiest cities of the area. There was a mixture of nationalities here. Greeks and Romans made up the majority of the people.
This city had many false gods and goddesses. The most prominent of the false worship was of Aprodite. There were over 1000 prostitutes working to win converts to this very sensual religion. This was a very evil city. The democratic way of life was foremost here, and debates were allowed on all subjects. This, perhaps, was the reason Paul had an easy time being heard at first.
The most serious problem of the Corinthian church was worldliness, an unwillingness to divorce the culture around them. Most of the believers could not consistently separate themselves from their old, selfish, immoral, and pagan ways.
We will find in this book, as we do in many of Paul's writings that he deals with them within the confines of their customs. He does not try to change their life style. He shows them that Christianity is for all people. We will get into this a little more as we go along. One thing that we must remember from the outset: There were no iron clad doctrines that were to be used in all of these churches. We will see Paul trying to establish rules and regulations for each church that they could live with in the light of their customs.
In one way or another, wrong living always stems from wrong belief such as sexual sins including divorce, are inevitably related to lack of belief or trust in God’s plan for marriage and the family (7: 1-40)
Before, Paul had written the church other correspondence, (see 5:9) which was also corrective in nature. Because a copy of that letter has never been discovered, it has been referred to as “the lost epistle”. There was another non-canonical letter after 1 Corinthians, usually call “the sever letter” (2 Cor. 2:4). The introductions to Paul’s letters are frequently seedbeds for issues expanded on later; his prefatory words in 1 Corinthians are no exception. He touched on his calling to be an apostle, the Corinthians’ calling to be saints, and the unity which is theirs in Christ.

Romans Chapter 1 - Part Two

Romans chapter 1 Part Two

Romans 1:16

Emphasizing theme
Paul’s eagerness to evangelize sprang also from his estimate of his message, the gospel. (This is the fourth of five times Paul used the word “gospel” in these opening verses: Rom_1:1, Rom_1:9, Rom_1:15-17.) Many consider this the theme of the letter, which it is in one sense. At least Paul gladly proclaimed it as God’s panacea for mankind’s spiritual need. He identified it as the infinite resources (dynamis, “spiritual ability”) of God applied toward the goal of salvation in the life of everyone who believes regardless of racial background. He recognized, however, a priority for the Jew expressed in the word first, which has sufficient textual support here and is unquestioned in Rom_2:9-10. Not ashamed: Neither ridicule, criticism or physical persecution, could curb Paul’s boldness. He had been imprisoned in Philippi, chased out of Thessalonica, smuggled out of Berea, laughed at in Athens, regarded as a fool in Corinth, and stoned in Galatia, but Paul remained eager to preach the gospel in Rome.
Power: The English word “dynamite” comes from this Greek word. Although the message may sound foolish to some, the gospel is effective because it carries with it the omnipotence of God. Only God’s power is able to overcome man’s sinful nature and give him new life.
Salvation: Used 5 times in Romans, this key word basically means “deliverance” or “rescue”. The power of the gospel delivers people from lostness, from the wrath of God, from willful spiritual ignorance, from evil self indulgence and from the darkness of false religion. It rescues them from the ultimate penalty of their sin, i.e. the eternal separation from God and eternal punishment.
Believeth To trust, rely on, or have faith in. When used of salvation, this word usually occurs in the present tense “is believing” which stresses that faith is not simply a onetime event, but an ongoing condition. True saving faith is supernatural, a gracious gift of God that He produces in the heart and is the only means by which a person can appropriate true righteousness.
1. Saving faith consists of 3 elements.
1. Mental: the mind understands the gospel and the truth about Christ
2. Emotional: one embraces the truthfulness of those facts with sorrow over sin and joy over God’s mercy and grace
3. Volitional: the sinner submits his will to Christ and trust in Him alone as the only hope of salvation.
Genuine faith wills always product authentic obedience.
Jew First: God chose Israel to be His witness nation and gave her distinct privileges. Christ’s ministry was first to Israel and it was through Israel that salvation was to come to the world.
Because the Jews were God’s Chosen People (Rom_11:1), the custodians of God’s revelation (Rom_3:2), and the people through whom Christ came (Rom_9:5), they have a preference of privilege expressed historically in a chronological priority. As the Lord Jesus stated it, “Salvation is from the Jews” (Joh_4:22). In Paul’s ministry he sought out the Jews first in every new city (Act_13:5, Act_13:14; Act_14:1; Act_17:2, Act_17:10, Act_17:17; Act_18:4, Act_18:19; Act_19:8). Three times he responded to their rejection of his message by turning to the Gentiles (Act_13:46; Act_18:6; Act_28:25-28; cf. comments on Eph_1:12). Today evangelism of the world must include the Jews, but the priority of the Jews has been fulfilled.
Romans 1:17

The theme of the letter is expressed in the phrase a righteousness from God is revealed. The subjective genitive (lit., “of God”) identifies this as a righteousness that God provides for people on the basis of and in response to faith in the gospel (cf. Rom_3:22). (NIV’s by faith from first to last render the Gr. ek pisteōs eis pistin, lit., “out of faith in reference to faith.”) Such righteousness is totally unachievable by human efforts. This righteousness is not God’s personal attribute; however, since it comes “from God,” it is consistent with His nature and standard. In response to faith this righteousness is imputed by God in justification and imparted progressively in regeneration and sanctification, culminating in glorification when standing and state become identical. “Righteousness” and “justify,” though seemingly unrelated in English, are related in Greek. “Righteousness” is dikaiosynē, and “justify” is dikaioō;. Paul used the noun many times in his epistles, including 28 times in Romans (Rom_1:17; Rom_3:21-22, Rom_3:25-26; Rom_4:3, Rom_4:5-6, Rom_4:9, Rom_4:11, Rom_4:13, Rom_4:22; Rom_5:17, Rom_5:21; Rom_6:13, Rom_6:16, Rom_6:18-20; Rom_8:10; Rom_9:30; Rom_10:3-6 [twice in Rom_10:3], Rom_10:10; Rom_14:17). And Paul used the Greek verb 15 times in Romans (Rom_2:13; Rom_3:4, Rom_3:20, Rom_3:24, Rom_3:26, Rom_3:28, Rom_3:30; Rom_4:2, Rom_4:5; Rom_5:1, Rom_5:9; Rom_6:7; Rom_8:30 [twice], Rom_8:33). To justify a person is to declare him forensically (legally) righteous. “Declared righteous” is the way the NIV translates dikaioō in Rom_2:13 and Rom_3:20 and “freed” is NIV’s rendering in Rom_6:7. “Righteousness of God” is better translated: “righteousness from God.” A major theme of the book, appearing over 30 times in one form or another, righteousness is the state or condition of perfectly conforming to God’s perfect law and holy character. Man falls woefully short of the divine standard of moral perfection but the gospel revels that on the basis of faith, and faith alone, God will impute His righteousness to ungodly sinners.
From faith to faith: This may be a parallel expression to “everyone who believes” as if Paul were singling out the faith of each individual believer, from one person’s faith to another’s faith to another’s and so on. Or, each person has a portion of faith, but some seem to have more than others.
To make our faith stronger, we must use it. Each time we depend on our faith it becomes stronger. This (faith to faith) above just means that trials come and we must have faith to overcome each trial; as we do, our faith grows. The just means, as we have said before, just as if we had never sinned. Faith believes in our hearts in things we cannot see with our physical eyes.
Paul’s closing words in Rom_1:17, The righteous will live by faith, are a quotation from Hab_2:4, also quoted in Gal_3:11 and Heb_10:38. As a result of faith (cf. “believes” in Rom_1:16) in Christ, a person is declared “righteous” (cf. Rom_3:22) and is given eternal life. What a marvelous work of God!

Romans 1:18

God’s Righteousness Revealed in Condemnation
The first step in the revelation of the righteousness that God provides for people by faith is to set forth their need for it because they are under God’s judgment. The human race stands condemned before God and is helpless and hopeless apart from God’s grace.
Condemnation against pagan humanity
This section looks at the human race prior to the call of Abram and the establishment of a special people of God. This situation persisted in the pagan world of the Gentiles as distinct from the Jews.
Reasons for Condemnation
God never condemns without just cause. Here three bases are stated for His judgment of the pagan world.
For suppressing God’s truth
This verse serves as a topic sentence for this entire section. In addition, it stands in contrastive parallel to Rom_1:17. The continuing revelation (the verb is being revealed is in the pres. tense) of the wrath of God is an expression of His personal righteousness (which also “is being revealed,” Gr., Rom_1:17) and its opposition to human sinfulness. Therefore people need the continuing revelation of “a righteousness from God” (Rom_1:17) that He provides. God’s wrath is directed against all the godlessness (asebeian, “lack of proper reverence for God”) and wickedness (adikian, “unrighteousness”) of men, not against the men as such. (God’s wrath will also be revealed in the future; cf. Rom_2:5.) God hates sin and judges it, but loves sinners and desires their salvation. This is not an impulsive outburst of anger aimed capriciously at people whom God does not like. It is the settled, determined response of a righteous God against sin.
“Is revealed”: More accurately, “is constantly revealed”. The word essentially means “to uncover, make visible, or make known.” God reveals His wrath in two ways:
1. Indirectly, through the natural consequences of violating His universal moral law,
2. Directly through His personal intervention. The Old Testament record for the sentence passed on Adam and Eve to the worldwide flood, from the fire and brimstone that leveled Sodom to the Babylonian captivity, clearly displays this kind of intervention.
The most graphic revelation of God’s holy wrath and hatred against sin was when He poured out divine judgment on His Son on the cross.
God has various kinds of wrath:
1. Eternal wrath, which is hell
2. Eschatological wrath, which is the final Day of the Lord
3. Cataclysmic wrath like the flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
4. Consequential wrath, which is the principle of sowing and reaping
5. The wrath of abandonment, which is removing restraint and letting people go to their sins.
Here it is that fifth form, God’s abandoning the wicked continually through history to pursue their sin and its consequences.
“Ungodliness”: This indicates a lack of reverence for, devotion to , and worship of the true God, a defective relationship with Him.
“Unrighteousness”: This refers to the result of ungodliness: a lack of conformity in thought, word and deed to the character and law of God.
“Hold the truth in unrighteousness”: Although the evidence from conscience, creation and God’s Word is irrefutable, men choose to resist and oppose God’s truth by holding fast to their sin.
Failure to give God His due inevitably results in failure to treat people, created by God in His image, the right way. Conversely, people (in their unrighteousness toward others) continue to suppress (katechontōn, lit., “holding down”) the truth (cf. Rom_1:25; Rom_2:8) concerning both God and man. People had God’s truth but suppressed it, refusing to heed it. And these wicked ones did this in an attitude of wickedness (en adikia). This suppression of the truth is Paul’s first reason for God’s condemnation of the pagan world.


Romans 1:19

For ignoring God’s revelation
These verses declare that knowledge concerning God is available to all. This knowledge is called natural revelation because it is seen in the created world, is accessible to the entire human race, and is not soteriological, dealing with salvation effected by Christ.
Paul called this knowledge plain (phaneron), which means visible or clear. This is true because God has made it plain (ephanerōsen, the verb related to the noun phaneron). Some scholars translate the phrase to them as “in them,” insisting that Rom_1:19 is speaking of the knowledge of God within the being of man through conscience and religious consciousness. Preferable is the position that Rom_1:19 states the fact of natural revelation and Rom_1:20 explains the process. One support for this view is the word “for” which begins Rom_1:20 and indicates a tie between the verses. Manifest means to make visible, real, or to make known. God has not hidden Himself. He has made Himself real to mankind throughout all ages in his creation. He has especially shown Himself to mankind in His Son (Jesus Christ).
God has sovereignty planted evidence of His existence in the very nature of man by reason and moral law.
Romans 1:20

“What may be known about God” (Rom_1:19) is now called God’s invisible qualities and identified as His eternal power and divine nature. Since “God is spirit” (Joh_4:24), all His qualities are invisible to physical eyes and can be understood by the human mind only as they are reflected in what has been made, that is, in God’s creative work. The self-existent God, however, is the Creator of all things, and therefore since the Creation of the world His “invisible qualities” have been clearly seen. Paul may have intended a play on words between the noun translated “invisible qualities” (aorata) and the verb translated “clearly seen” (kathoratai) because they share a common Greek root. Both the verb “clearly seen” and the participle “being understood” are in the present tense, which emphasizes the continuous nature of the action. The word theiotēs, translated “divine nature,” occurs only here in the New Testament and embraces the properties which make God Himself. Creation, which people see, reveals God’s unseen character — the all-powerful Deity. An Old Testament parallel to these verses is Psa_19:1-6. “Invisible things”: Or attributes, referring specifically to the two mentioned in this verse.
1. “The things that are made”: The creation delivers a clear, unmistakable message about God’s person.
2. “His eternal power”: The Creator, who made all that we see around us and constantly sustains it, must be a being of awesome power.

“They are without excuse:” God holds all men responsible for their refusal to acknowledge what He has shown them of Himself in His creation. Even those who have never had an opportunity to hear the gospel, have received a clear witness about the existence and character of God and have suppressed it if a person will respond to the revelation he has, even if it is solely natural revelation, God will provide some means for that person to hear the gospel. (Acts 8:26-39; 10:1-48; 17:27)
Paul’s conclusion to this description of natural revelation is important — men are without excuse. The witness to God in nature is so clear and so constant that ignoring it is indefensible. Their condemnation is based not on their rejecting Christ of whom they have not heard, but on their sinning against the light they have.
Romans 1:21

For perverting God’s glory
This reason for God’s condemnation of the pagan world builds on the preceding one just as that one built on the first. The relationship is seen in the use of the same Greek connective (dioti) at the beginning of Rom_1:19 and Rom_1:21, in the latter translated for. People’s suppression of the truth is seen in their rejecting the clear evidence of God as the sovereign Creator and their perversion of that knowledge into idolatry.
The clause although they knew God refers to an original experiential knowledge of God such as Adam and Eve had both before and after the fall. How long this knowledge of God continued before it was perverted is not stated, but God was known by people. This fact makes human actions all the more reprehensible. One would suppose that to know God would be to honor Him, but these people neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him. They turned from the very purpose for which God made them: to glorify Him for His Person and thank Him for His works. With such willful rebellion against God it is little wonder that their thinking became futile (emataiōthēsan, lit., “became worthless, purposeless”; cf. Eph_4:17) and their foolish (asynetos, “morally senseless”; cf. Rom_1:31) hearts were darkened (cf. Eph_4:18). When truth is rejected, in time the ability to recognize and to receive truth is impaired (cf. Joh_3:19-20). “Knew God”: Man is conscious of God’s existence, power and divine nature through general revelation. (Verses 19-20)
“They glorified him not”: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and Scripture constantly demands it. To glorify Him is to honor Him, to acknowledge His attributes, and to praise Him for His perfections. It is to recognize His glory and extol Him for it. Failing to give Him glory is man’s greatest affront to his Creator.
“Neither was thankful”: They refused to acknowledge that every good thing they enjoyed came from God.
“Vain in their imaginations”: meaning futile in their thoughts. Man’s search for meaning and purpose will produce only vain, meaningless conclusions.
“Heart was darkened”: When man rejects the truth, the darkness of spiritual falsehood replaces it.
Romans 1:22-23

When the true Source of wisdom is rejected (cf. Psa_111:10), people’s claim to be wise is an idle boast. Progressively they became fools (emōranthēsan, lit., “became stupid”), a reality demonstrated by the worship as gods of idols in the forms of people and animals (cf. Rom_1:25). The ultimate irony in humanity’s refusal to glorify the true God is the insanity or stupidity of idolatry described in Isa_44:9-20. Man’s refusal to acknowledge and glorify God leads to a downward path: first, worthless thinking; next, moral insensitivity; and then, religious stupidity (seen in idol-worship). Man rationalizes his sin and proves his utter foolishness by devising and believing his own philosophies about God, the universe and himself. The children of Israel, on the way to the Promised Land, tired waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain of God. They talked Aaron into making them a golden calf that they could worship. God is the Creator not the created. Those that worship things they can see with their physical eyes are worshipping idols.
They are substituting the worship of idols for the worship of the true God. Historians report that many ancient cultures did not originally have idols. The historian Eusebius reported that the oldest civilizations had no idols. The earliest record of idolatry was among Abram’s family in Ur. (Joshua 24:2) Although the false gods which men worship do not exist, demons often impersonate them.
Romans 1:24

Results of Condemnation
In a real sense the results of God’s condemnation on rebellious humanity are nothing more than the natural consequences of suppressing truth, ignoring revelation, and perverting God’s glory. However, God did more than simply let nature take its course. God acted to abandon (the thrice-mentioned “gave them over” [Rom_1:24, Rom_1:26, Rom_1:28] is paredōken, “abandoned”) people to expressions of a corrupt lifestyle that deserved God’s wrath and the sentence of death (Rom_1:32).
Abandoned to fornication
One aspect of mankind’s corruption (to which God actively let people go) was sexual profligacy. The frequency of live-in lovers, wife-swapping and group sex parties today only confirms this result of God’s abandonment. Sex within marriage is a holy gift from God, but otherwise sex is impurity (lit., “uncleanness”) and the degrading of… bodies by using them contrary to God’s intent. “God gave them up” is a judicial term in Greek used for handling over a prisoner to his sentence. When men consistently abandon God, He will abandon them. He accomplishes this:
1. Indirectly and immediately, by removing His restraint and allowing their sin to run its inevitable course
2. Directly and eventually, by specific acts of divine judgment and punishment.
“Uncleanness”: A general term often used of decaying matter, like the contents of a grave. It speaks here of sexual immorality which begins in the heart and moves to the shame of the body.
Our heart condition determines what we are. Luke 6:45 "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh."
Romans 1:25

In a sense this verse repeats the truth of Rom_1:23, but it expresses more. The truth of God is not only the truth concerning God but also God’s truth concerning all things, including mankind. This truth is that people are creatures of God and can find true fulfillment only in worshiping and obediently serving God the Creator. A lie (lit., “the lie”) on the other hand says that the creature — angelic (Isa_14:13-14; Joh_8:44) or human (Gen_3:4-5) — can exist independent of God, self-sufficient, self-directing, and self-fulfilling. Mankind made himself his god in place of the true God. Because God the Creator is forever praised (in contrast with creatures who are undeserving of worship), Paul added Amen. This word transliterates in both Greek and English the Hebrew word meaning “so let it be.” As an affirmation, not a wish, it places approval on what has just been said.
Romans 1:26-27

Abandoned to sexual perversion
Also God gave them over to shameful lusts (lit., “passions of disgrace”). This involved, as the text states, both sexes engaging in homosexual instead of heterosexual relationships. Women deliberately exchanged natural relations (with men in marriage) for unnatural ones (with other women). This is the second “exchange” the unregenerate made (cf. Rom_1:25). Men… were inflamed with lust (orexei, “sexual lust,” used only here in the NT and differing from the more common word for lust in Rom_1:26).
The words translated women and men in these verses are the sexual words “females” and “males.” Contemporary homosexuals insist that these verses mean that it is perverse for a heterosexual male or female to engage in homosexual relations but it is not perverse for a homosexual male or female to do so since homosexuality is such a person’s natural preference. This is strained exegesis unsupported by the Bible. The only natural sexual relationship the Bible recognizes is a heterosexual one (Gen_2:21-24; Mat_19:4-6) within marriage. All homosexual relations constitute sexual perversion and are subject to God’s judgment. Such lustful and indecent acts have within them the seeds of punishment (due penalty). In these two verses, Paul mentions the woman first to show the extent of debauchery under the wrath of abandonment, because in most cultures women are the last to be affected by moral collapse.
God turned His back to these lesbians and homosexuals. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by God for this very sin. It is natural for Paul to write of this particular sin to the Romans, because this very sin was rampant in their society. God calls this sin an abomination. It is also called against nature, which God created.
Sex is for the procreation of life and these unnatural uses do not create life, they create death. Notice the last sentence of verse 27 (the recompense of their error which was meets (due). God's wrath will fall on this person for this type of sin if they do not repent.
Romans 1:28

Abandoned to depraved lifestyle
Pagan humanity’s rebellion also included the rejection of the knowledge (epignōsei, “full knowledge”; cf. Rom_1:32) of God. In a sense they put God out of their minds. God’s responding judgment was abandonment (cf. Rom_1:24, Rom_1:26) to a depraved (adokimon, “disapproved”) mind, which expressed itself in attitudes and actions that ought not to be done (lit., “what is unfitting or improper,” a technical Stoic word). Reprobate or debased mind, in the sense it is used here, means (worthless, castaway, or rejected). Debased translates a Greek word that means “not passing the test.” It was often used to describe useless, worthless metals, discarded because they contained too much impurity. God has tested some mans’ minds and found them worthless and useless.
God has turned away from this type person, because they have rejected God and all His teachings. I believe it is possible for a homosexual or lesbian to be saved, but only if they walk away from their old life. I do not believe a person practicing homosexuality or lesbianism is saved. Things which are not convenient: means against nature.
Verse 28 is saying that the Holy Spirit stops pursuing them for salvation.
Romans 1:29-31

The mental vacuum created by dismissing God was filled (the perf. tense implies filled full) with four forms of active sin: wickedness (adikia; cf. Rom_1:18), evil (ponēria), greed, and depravity (kakia, “badness or malice”). These four in turn express themselves in 17 more specific types of wickedness. The first two, envy and murder, sound much alike in Greek: phthonou and phonou. Also the four vices in Rom_1:31 each begin with the Greek letter alpha (“a” in Eng.). In verse 29 we see where the reprobate mind leads to all unrighteousness. Fornication has to do with sex sin (adultery is one example) and also spiritual adultery (idolatry). Covetousness includes greediness, wanting what others have, and fraud or extortion. Maliciousness means all sorts of evil and meanness. Malignity means bad character. We know that covenant breakers are those who do not honor agreements they have made. Implacable means a truce breaker.
II Timothy 3:1-5 "This knows also, that in the last days perilous times shall come." "For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy," "Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good," "Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;" "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away."
Can't you see our day here? This describes our day perfectly. These verses in 2 Timothy and in the Scriptures of Romans that we have been reading describe a people who are out of fellowship with God. We must repent and change now before God has turned our whole nation over to a reprobate mind. It is time to repent and turn to God.
Drug and alcohol problems will go away when we give our life to God. The answer for all of us is to heed the Scripture in II Chronicles 7:14 "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
Romans 1:32

This whole pattern of evil becomes the lifestyle of people who continue to do (pres. tense implies continuing or habitual action) these very things in open defiance of God, a defiance aggravated (a) by fully knowing (epignontes; cf. Rom_1:28) that such things deserve death and (b) by encouraging others in the same lifestyle. Such extremity of human rebellion against God fully warrants God’s condemnation. This is not just ignorance but blatant rebellion. We know that God is displeased. Just look around you. The weather pattern is messed up. Inflation is great. Earthquakes have increased and in fact all storms have worsened. AIDS and a lot of other incurable diseases have many people frightened. The threat of nuclear war is ever present. The normal life we used to have is now out of control. It seems we cannot depend on anything.
Luke 21:26 "Mens hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken."
WE HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO REPENT AND TURN TO NOW. GOD