Differing Responses to Babylon’s Destruction

Transcript

GR 1561
03/21/10
Differing Responses to Babylon's Destruction
Revelation 18:9-24
Gil Rugh

We're in the book of Revelation and in the 18th chapter and we're talking about Babylon and the city of Babylon and all that is associated with Babylon which will be the religious, political, commercial center of the world in the final days of the 70th week of Daniel leading up to the return of Christ to the earth. Fascinating events. We have certain things that have to come together in order for what God has prophesied to take place. For example, the nations Israel has to be in existence and has to be back in the land during the this 70th week of Daniel. Remember from Daniel 9 the six things to be accomplished by the 70 weeks of Daniel in which the 70th, the last seven-year period, is the final phase. All pertain to the nation Israel and to the Jews. We know that the Jews have to be back in the land, they will have a temple that will be rebuilt. Sacrifices and offerings going on in the temple, and in the middle of the 70th week of Daniel, that seven-year period, the Antichrist will set himself up in the temple, declaring himself to be God. That was prophesied by Daniel and it is referred to by Christ in Matthew 24, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place. You have to have the temple, Israel would have to be back in the land, the temple rebuilt during this last seven-year period. And we have Israel back in the land. We don't have the temple yet but that's not a major problem. You think that Israel is back in the land after having been out of the land, not having it as their land for close to 2000 years, now they are in the land and a major focal point. Open up the Sunday Omaha paper and the editorial page has two major editorials on Israel, what's going on in Israel. Just a focal point, what God says it is in His plan, and that makes it so in the world.

So we have Israel back in the land. We have the Roman Empire which has to be pulled back together again. We've noted this with the ten-nation confederacy, saw it in Daniel 2 with the iron of Rome mixed with clay in the ten toes. And then in Daniel 7 the ten horns on the Roman beast. So that's the last phase of the Roman Empire. We've seen then the unfolding of these things in the book of Revelation. So you have to have the Old Roman Empire being pulled back together again. Daniel 9 tells us that the coming Antichrist will himself be Roman because we are told that he will come from the people who destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D. And we know Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. So the coming Antichrist will himself be of those people. Again not so shocking. For centuries people would have thought it not possible that you could have the Roman Empire pulled together. But now we have a European Union that pulls together much of that region, would have been part of the Roman Empire. They have their own currency and now you can turn on the news and find out how the dollar does against the euro and the the power of the euro. And we find now that union can tell mighty American companies what they can and cannot do, those companies make the adjustments. So we things pulled together there.

And there is another thing that has to take place in biblical prophecy and that is Babylon is going to be rebuilt. Now I looked at these other things because people would say, how can you rebuild Babylon? There is not much there now and how are you going to build a major city that will be the religious, political, commercial center of the world empire of the Antichrist? I just know it is going to happen. We looked through prophecies in Isaiah 13-14, Jeremiah 50-51 just for the relentless emphasis on Babylon and taking us on to the day of the Lord, what will happen. We've noted Babylon is the second most often referenced city in the Bible. If my memory serves me right it's about 260 times that Babylon is mentioned, second only to Jerusalem.

We say, Israel is back in the land and their rebuilding a temple is not so far-fetched. The European Union coming together, we can see at least the outline of what could be the revived Roman Empire. Babylon, it seemed for a while maybe when Saddam Hussein was in power maybe he was going to try to rebuild Babylon, maybe that would help prepare the way. Then he's gone the way of all flesh. What are we going to do with Babylon? Well, I don't know how it's going to be rebuilt, but scripture is clear that it will.

We live in the United States, in America, we always wonder where we are going to be and what about us. We talk about all these places but what about me, what about us here. Well if I wasn't a believer and wasn't confident of going in the rapture, I'd move my money to Europe. I don't know where the United States is going to be, if it will be, how it fits. It doesn't come up in prophecy but then the Bible is only concerned with the nations directly impacting Israel. So what about China, what about some other places in the world. A couple of possibilities for the United States. One is you believe the statistics, the United States is “the most Christianized.” More people in the United States percentage wise profess to be believers than in other parts of the world. And so the rapture may account for some of our decline and lack of impact. Some have estimated as many as 25% of the population, that may be high. But the rapture could have an impact upon the United States with people throughout the country being removed. We mentioned when we studied the seals in the first part of the tribulation in Revelation 6, one-quarter of the earth's population will be destroyed. I remember many years ago when I was a seminary student a professor from another seminary, well-known prophetic writer, said that maybe North and South America are the 25% of the world destroyed early in the tribulation through the judgments and catastrophes. I don't know. Earthquakes, one of the cable channels wants to talk about the end of the world and they've shown things that happen with volcanoes and what happens with the United States with earthquakes. I don't know.

We know where the focus is, we know the countries that will be playing a major part. Russia will be there, allies will be there, Middle East countries and so on, European countries. How the United States fits into that, other parts of the world, we're not told. But we know where we're going. We don't know every detail. But we can talk about Israel will be in existence, be in the land, the Roman Empire will be revived and some of these things going on. But what about the rest of the world? Don't know. Like we talked about, perhaps some of the judgments of the tribulation destroy large portions of the world rather than being spread equally through the world. Maybe the 25% of the world you focus and along with all the judgments and catastrophes those parts of the world no longer become major entities. Some of that will have to unfold. Would have been hard at one time to talk about how could Israel get back in the land and have the land and be a nation. How could the Roman Empire be revived? So in God's plan it will unfold.

We have to have Babylon rebuilt I believe, if we take prophecy literally. We noted that Zechariah 5 says in the last days sin will be focused and centered in sin. That doesn't mean there won't be sin throughout the rest of the world, but the center of satan's sinful activities, sinful empire will be again in the land of Shinar, Babylon. Babylon is unfolded in Revelation 18. Chapter 17 has talked about Babylon, and it seems it is there focusing particularly on the religious dimension of Babylon, the satanic empire. Satan always has a religious intention because he desires worship, he desires to replace God and to be honored as God and worshiped as God. Religion always permeates what he is doing, but he'll pull it all together in these last days.

For the first 3½ years false apostate religion is a key player in the revived Roman Empire, the ten-nation confederacy. We noted that in Revelation 17 the ten-nation confederacy, the kings there will be in agreement to destroy the false religious system and focus all attention on one person, the Antichrist. That will be the last 3½ years of the tribulation.

So chapter 18 opened up, after these things. So I take it we are in the last half of the seven-year period and at the end of that we're going to have the city of Babylon where religion has been focused, the Antichrist's kingdom has been centered. It is a commercial and political empire, it is a kingdom. And so Babylon is destroyed, completely destroyed. And we noted as we looked through the first eight verses here, the background for this is the prophecies given in Isaiah and Jeremiah. Babylon in the past has suffered destruction, but not the kind of destruction that was prophesied by the prophets and now is recorded here. When the Medes and Persians took over Babylon it wasn't a crushing overrunning with the armies and the city didn't suffer devastation and would become a center for other rulers. The kind of destruction seems to be yet future for Babylon.

Babylon doesn't see it coming, things are only getting better from the world's perspective, stronger. We have all kinds of babbling going on about government power but here we have the government that the unbelieving world wants. And the person ruling that is the person we can worship and follow. And all the world will go after him as we've seen in Revelation13. And it is a commercial empire because you have to have identification marking you as a follower of the Antichrist to even be able to buy and sell, carry out business and be identified with his number 666.

There will be sudden destruction on Babylon as the first eight verses told us, as the prophets in the Old Testament prophesied. The response of the people of the world to the destruction of Babylon is what picks up in verse 9. The fact of its destruction is set out in the first eight verses. Picking up with verse 9 you have the unfolding of the response of the world, that it is overwhelming. And we wonder, how does this get carried out? In light of the Old Testament prophecies it seems like Babylon is destroyed by armies and as we try to piece together the details, evidently in the plan of God the armies of the world as we have seen in chapter 16 are being gathered together to Armageddon. But armies are coming with different intentions, and this may speak to some other places in the world outside what we would call the revived Roman Empire. But the nations seem to be coming, some of them, in opposition to the Antichrist. And Babylon's destruction may take place at their hands. And that seems to be the description from the prophets, some of which we read. We won't go back there again now, you can take time to go back to Isaiah 13-14 and Jeremiah 50-51 in particular. Speaks about the armies coming and the crushing of Babylon and the total destroying of it and the weapons of warfare that are used an so on. So maybe those armies, remember Revelation 16, the Euphrates is dried up in preparation for the coming of these armies. They are moving toward Armageddon. They don't know the ultimate outcome here, they think that it is a battle for power here on the earth. But as they come together evidently to do battle with the Antichrist, then Christ returns and the armies of the world turn to do battle with him. God has brought them there for His purpose.

So Babylon has been destroyed, wiped out. The Antichrist is not destroyed here, he is not killed. And the evidence would seem to be that he is in Palestine, that region of the world where the armies ultimately are going to be gathered. But Babylon is destroyed and it makes a major impact on the world. You have something to replace the religious dimension when it's destroyed in Revelation 17, you have the Antichrist. So you've made a step forward, so to speak, because now you have this one-world ruler and God in the flesh to be worshiped. But with the destruction of Babylon the city there is the recognition of the crushing of the world system. It has been the center of it all, and you see just a little bit of the turmoil in the world with the financial problems we have had in the last year or so, how the world reacts to the crisis and the concern and the focus of nations. You can see when that city which has been the financial, commercial, political center of the world is destroyed.

So you see verse 9, the kings of the earth who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment saying, woe, woe, the great city Babylon, the strong city. For in one hour your destruction, your judgment has come. So this makes a tremendous impact. It is a recognition of dramatic changes being brought about. The destruction of the city here, similar in many ways to Sodom and Gomorrah, although the prophecies of the prophets seem to indicate this is brought about by armies. But the description is similar. People were left looking at the smoke rising from the city, cities that were great and prominent and influential destroyed. The city of Tyre in Ezekiel 28 is a similar description as a commercial center that suffered such devastating destruction.

They stand at a distance, they are afraid of what is happening. They don't want to get caught up in what they recognize is the fall of this city. But remember the fall of Babylon is not the end of the world, so to speak, is not the climax. Armageddon is the climax but its impact here is great. Woe, woe, the great city, the strong city. The city that had seemed invincible, that had proclaimed itself invincible. Remember in verse 7, I sit as a queen and I am not a widow and will never see mourning. They don't see this coming, this is the invincible city, this is the invincible empire.

Seems like for a time they triumph. Back in Revelation 13 it reminds you what it is like during these last 3½ years. Verse 4, the worshiped the dragon because he gave authority to the beast. They worshiped the beast saying, who is like the beast, who is able to wage war with him. Down in verse 7, it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. Now things are caving in. In World War II and with the German empire that they thought they were building, the 1000-year empire and they see it collapsing in on itself and the devastation and destruction. Here you see it in even a greater way.

In one hour, Rev 18:10 says, in one hour your judgment is come. Seemingly indestructible city, it's destroyed. Jeremiah 51:8 speaks of that sudden destruction. Again, that's not the way historic Babylon passed off the scene. It survived intact so that it could become a capital for succeeding rulers.

Verse 11, the merchants of the earth. So you have the kings of the earth, they see the political collapse here. You have the merchants of the earth, they weep and mourn over her. So we see the commercial collapse taking place here because no one buys their cargoes anymore, cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk, scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every article of ivory. All these costly things. Verse 13, cinnamon, spice, incense, perfume, frankincense, fine flour, wheat, cattle. All the commercial activity. This has been the capital of the world. Financial programs like to introduce themselves as coming from the financial capital of the world. Well here will be the true financial, commercial, political capital of the world. We are getting near the end of the 3½ years here and with this we are preparing the way for Armageddon. So you have the collapse of this which seems to be invincible.

Verse 14, the fruit you long for has gone from you, all the things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you. And men will no longer find them. The merchants of these things who became rich from her will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning. So you see people realize they don't want to have any part of this destruction that is taking place, but it's a crushing blow to them. All their assets, all their wealth is collapsed, it's gone, wiped out. What are we going to do? So they weep and mourn. So you see what causes them grief—they were fine with things that are going on and the destruction of the righteous and the persecution of the righteous, the persecution of God's people, Israel. But now they weep and mourn over the destruction of this city, the harlot city. Verse 3, the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality. So they are mourning because they delighted in this city and all that it represented and all that it provided for them.

Verse 16, they are saying, woe, woe, the great city. She who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. For in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste. So you see a description very similar to what we had back in Revelation 17:4, the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet. Then we were told in verse 18, the woman is the great city. And this is the center just as we talked about. In the kingdom Jerusalem will be the city, it will be the religious center of God's kingdom on earth and the political center. Christ will rule from there. A commercial center, the world will be dominated by this. Well in this satanic counterfeit we have had that same thing, but the involvement with this satanic system being part of it, now man brings the consequences to those. So they are crying, woe, woe, the great city, all her splendor.

Verse 17, for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste. The world is overwhelmed with the loss. You see where the heart of the world is, it's in the world. That's why we are not to love the world nor the things in it because all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life. This is their life. What now? I mean, what greater catastrophe could have happened? In one hour such great wealth has been laid waste. Every shipmaster, every passenger, sailors, many make their living by the sea stood at a distance. They were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning saying, what city is like the great city? They throw dust on their heads, they are crying out, weeping, mourning saying, woe, woe, the great city. And this would fit with it becoming a merchant center again for ships and that on the Euphrates, as it once was. Any spiritual sensitivity is not there. You see they are caught up in this world—their wealth, their possessions, the good life. And we all get touched by that. You look and see when we've gone through some economic turmoil how easy it is for believers, we just get caught up in it. What's going to happen? How are we going to live? We're concerned about the political leaders, why do this, why they do .......... It's all under control. We may lose possessions, we have to buy and sell, work, pay bills. But this is not our life, right? When this is all done we are fine. But for the people of the world this is it. What greater catastrophe. And people commit suicide because they lost their wealth. Your money is worth more than your life? Well the overwhelming impact on the world is clear here with the destruction of this city. So you see something of its impact. They said that Babylon on the Euphrates was navigable for 500 miles from the mouth. That's quite something. I don't know what it will be like in the end of time, but here you see all aspects of commerce have been impacted.

We're reminded at the end of verse 19, in one hour she has been laid waste. Constant reminder, this is sudden, this is overwhelming, this is complete. How could it happen overnight in such a quick time? That's the response of the world, but here is the response for believers. Rejoice over her oh heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets because God has pronounced judgment for you against her. Heaven wins, the people of God win. We have that in the promise to the churches. He who overcomes, I will give to him, and then the promise. One is to reign with Him in His kingdom. So the destruction of this world and this world's system is not an overwhelming tragedy for us. And even precursors of that, that we might experience. Good reminder for us—hold the things of this world lightly. Don't become too attached to them. Then any loss of them will be held accordingly. So reminders for us even as God's people today. Remember this message is to the church and to the churches. So even though we won't be here, I'm glad for that, I hope my money holds out until the rapture, the Lord will take care of it. We may struggle, we may have tight times, we may lose a lot, but we're not going to be here for this time. But you see the impact on the world.

But the heavens rejoice, the collapse of Babylon, the destruction of Babylon, the collapse of this world system. Rejoice, this is what we are looking for. Rejoice over her oh heaven, you saints, apostles and prophets. God has pronounced judgment for you against her. Go back to the apostles, the prophets. This is their truth. All heaven is excited about this. We need to keep our perspective, even trouble in the world, we look and say this fits the plan of God. That's good. The world is mourning, heaven is rejoicing.

Again, since we read through Isaiah and Jeremiah, if you go back and refresh your mind you see some of this. Jeremiah 51:48-49 talk about heaven and earth rejoicing because the believers on earth at this time, particularly the nation Israel, they come to understand something of the purpose and plan of God. What more exciting thing to see happen than the satanic capital suffer destruction. Then you know you are on the brink of the return of Jesus Christ.

Then a strong angel took up a stone like a giant millstone and threw it into the sea saying, so will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence and will not be found any longer. Babylon's fall will be sudden, violent, complete, irrevocable. That will be the city wiped out and done.

Come back to Jeremiah 51:63. You see a comparison. This angel takes a great millstone. They have small grinding millstones that they used and then they had these huge, weighed thousands of pounds, that they used animals to grind with. And this is one of those great huge millstones that the angel throws into the water and it sinks. Look at what Jeremiah is to do. Jeremiah gives these prophecies in chapters 50-51 on Babylon. Verse 55, the Lord is going to destroy Babylon; verse 56, the destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon. The end of verse 56, the Lord is a God of recompense, He will full repay, the judgment coming. Then verse 63, as soon as you finish reading this scroll you will tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates and say, just so shall Babylon sink down and not rise again because of the calamity that I'm going to bring upon her. And they will become exhausted. Thus far the words of Jeremiah. Just like that scroll tied to the rock sinks down.

So that's the background here when you come over to Revelation 19. Similar picture, different items. Instead of a scroll with a stone, here you have a great millstone and had to take an angel to pick up this millstone that would weigh thousands of pounds and throw it in to the sea saying, so will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, will not be found any longer. Again, a picturesque way of describing the completeness of wiping out Babylon.

The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, flute players, trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer. No craftsmen of any crafts will be found in you any longer. The sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer, the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer, the voice of the bridegroom and the bride will not be heard in you any longer. For your merchants were the great men of the earth because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. You see the city is wiped out, nothing, no activity, nothing there. No life going on there any longer is the point that is graphically set out. Jeremiah talks about the same kinds of things in judgment.

And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints and of all who have been slain on the earth. Babylon is punished for what they are and what they have done. This is the culmination of the satanic system that has opposed God and God's people down through history. Interestingly, the times of the Gentiles which are characterized by the treading down of Jerusalem under Gentile control, Babylon is the first city to conquer and subjugate Jerusalem. We have that with the Babylonian captivity. This is the city and all that it represents in the satanic system opposed to God and God's people. The shedding of the blood of God's people. Again Jeremiah 51, start with verse 24 and read on. And you see Babylon being guilty of shedding the blood of God's people. This whole system, it's continued on and it comes to culmination here. That's why we went back to Genesis 10-11 and saw the start of that, that system, that Babylonian system has been operative and becomes focalized in this final city of Babylon. Guilty of all the violence against God's people. So now the blood of the martyrs, the blood of God's people that has been shed, their prayers are answered.

Go back to Revelation 6:9, when the Lamb broke the fifth seal I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, because of the testimony which they had maintained. They cried out with a loud voice saying, how long, oh Lord, holy and true will you refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth. And it was given to each of them a white robe, they were told they should rest for a little while until the number of their fellow servants, their brethren were to be killed even as they had been would be completed. Remarkable. God has a plan, fullness, if you will, of martyrs. And when that number is complete then it will be time to mete out judgment. The prayers of the saints are answered.

Over in Revelation 16:6, they poured out the blood of saints and prophets and you have given them blood to drink. They deserve it. Revelation 17:6, I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her I wondered greatly. Revelation 18:20, God has pronounced judgment for you, saints, apostles, prophets against her in response to their prayer. And we come into Revelation 19:2, praise in heaven to our God because His judgments are true and righteous. He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality. He has avenged the blood of His bond servants on her. Awesome judgment brought upon the city of Babylon.

That brings us to Armageddon. So the destruction of Babylon is not Armageddon, the destruction of Babylon prepares the way now for Armageddon. The armies of the world have been gathered by God in the plan of God to Armageddon in preparation for what happens now. Chapter 19 we have the Second Coming of Christ to earth, we have the events of Armageddon and the final destruction of the enemies of Christ. The destruction of this satanic system prepares the way for Armageddon. Now interestingly, with all that happens through these seven years and climaxing with the destruction of Babylon, the people of the world will be ready to do battle against Christ when He returns. So you see the awfulness of sin, the stubbornness of sin, the unrepentant nature of sin apart from the intervention of the grace of God in all of this. Because you think by the time you get here you have all the world on their faces crying out for mercy to God, and yet they are mourning over the destruction of Babylon and fail to appreciate what is taking place.

Let me just summarize some things here and we'll close. 1. The world is moving toward judgment. We mention this often, but if you believe the Bible, Revelation is the last book and it's clear where we are going, where the world is going. Again we don't want to be hand-wringers. That doesn't mean we are glad when bad things happen along the way—good, it's the judgment of God, in the wrong sense. But we do see the hand of God in it, we know where it is going. The world is not going to get better from our perspective as God's people. Now from the world's perspective these last 3½ years are great in the tribulation. But we understand the world is going toward judgment. So we are not cleaning up this world, we are not trying to make it better. We're bringing a message of salvation. Secondly, when judgment comes it will be swift and complete. God will bring destruction on this final satanic center very quickly—in one hour. The third thing to recognize or be reminded of, the people of the world focus on material loss in the destruction of Babylon. They have no spiritual sensitivity at all. They know the woes, the woes, the woes. All that we've gained, all that we've made ........... They are spiritually dead. We could not be any more different than the world. There are the children of God and the children of the devil and we are the children of God by His grace. I'm not saying that because we are better in and of ourselves, but understand this is what the world has, this what they are about, this is what they talk about. They have no spiritual perception or conception. They don't even know they are on the brink of judgment. They are just a few steps from the return of Christ and their own imminent judgment. Verse 20 a reminder, God's people will be vindicated. Heaven will reign and Jesus Christ will reign and so we rejoice in the destruction of this world system when it does come. Fourth, this world's joy and happiness will come to an end. It's a sad statement when you read verses 22-23, nothing left any longer. People invest their lives in these things and the city is destroyed with all that it provided and all that it represented come to an end. God will avenge His people.

A reminder, we live in a day of grace and these are times of salvation. Today is the day of salvation. Opportunity for people to flee from coming judgment. Don't want to be intimidated to talk about realities to people. This world is moving toward judgment. Somebody shared with me about a prophetic preacher who was identifying our President as the coming world ruler. We have to be careful, we discredit the message of the Bible when we get goofy and try to take the Bible and use it to focus on things. But the world is moving toward judgment, that is sure. Even the problems in the world are preparing the way. Israel in the land, the things going on, the problems in the Middle East, political activity in the world. All things are under control. So great times to talk to people—Jesus Christ is coming to earth again. And you know these things, God has talked about and we are to be ready. So we have the message of salvation. The church gets involved when it doesn't understand and doesn't take the Bible literally. They're caught up in the world, trying to improve the world, do the things that the world admires, that the world will speak well of, trying to improve the world, clean up things. I don't mean we ought to be throwing trash in the street, but we're not about trying to rescue this world. This world is doomed, but this world has a great future, but only for believers because this present world system will be destroyed and our Savior will reign. So we are ready for the celebration of heaven that opens Revelation 19, which verse 20 of chapter 18, rejoice over her oh heaven. And heaven is going to be rejoicing as we open up chapter 19 because now we're ready for the final step—Armageddon and Jesus Christ's return from heaven.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for unfolding for us future events. Lord, some of the details we are puzzled about, but Lord we see in awesome ways how you have brought about everything you have promised. Even in our days as we look, we open the newspaper, we turn on the news and we're hearing about Israel, we're hearing about conflict over the nation Israel. Our country gets involved with the nation Israel, other countries with the nation Israel. Your people cannot escape dealing with Israel. To see what is taking place in Europe in these days in the old Roman Empire. We are amazed to see Iraq in the news again and again and again. We look into your word and read about Babylon. And Lord, we puzzle and wonder how could a great city be built and become the center of world activity. And yet it is a minor thing for you to accomplish such things. Lord, may even our study of these events put life in perspective for us. The difficulties, the trials, the pressures, Lord, we are not invested in this world, we are not citizens of this world. Our citizenship is in heaven and it is from heaven that we are eagerly awaiting the return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ to call us into the presence of your glory so that you can bring to completion the final portion of your program for the nation Israel so that we can be part of a kingdom, ruling and reigning with the Savior that loved us and died for us and will someday reign over all creation. We praise you in His name, amen.