We're turning today to this 18th chapter of the book of the Revelation. And the subject of the chapter before us is, of course, Babylon, its rise, its riches, and its ruin. Now, last week we had a look at chapter 17 of Revelation, and it's obvious from reading the both chapters that there is a very clear difference between the Revelation or the Babylon of Revelation chapter 17 and the Babylon of Revelation chapter 18. Clearly they are both parts of the same system, vital parts of the system of Antichrist and the culmination of the great rebellion which was spawned way back in the days of Nimrod and recorded for us in the tenth chapter of the book of Genesis. And that's why in chapter 19 and verse 2 of the Revelation, we have the whole system of Babylon of the previous two chapters referred to as the one great whore or the one great harlot. But while they form vital parts of the one system, they are nonetheless different parts of that system. And I have given you five points of contrast between the Babylon of chapter 17 and the Babylon of chapter 18. Chapter 17 speaks of Babylon as a woman. That is the outstanding symbol of Babylon in Revelation 17. And the outstanding symbol in chapter 18 is a city. You can see the difference immediately. Babylon in chapter 17 is considered morally and spiritually. You remember that we saw last week in chapter 17 a counterfeit church. This is the devil's counterfeit of the church of Jesus Christ. Well, she is considered, therefore, morally and spiritually. But in chapter 18, we have a city which is the devil's counterfeit to the city of God, New Jerusalem. And of course, he is therefore considered politically and also economically. You could say chapter 17 gives us mystical Babylon. Chapter 18 gives us literal Babylon. And to point out the difference, it is interesting to note in chapter 17 and verse 16 that the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these ten horns we have been told earlier in the chapter, Verse 12, are ten kings. So you could read, the ten kings. These shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire. So the kings destroy the Babylon of chapter 17. But when you turn to chapter 18 and verse 9, you find that the kings bewail the destruction of this Babylon. So there is clearly a difference between the Babylon of chapter 17 and the Babylon of chapter 18. If I could just sum it up for you, Babylon in chapter 17 is that mystical system of idolatry and rebellion against God which has always been in the world since the days of Nimrod, but which will be headed up in the last days under the Church of Rome. and the other apostate churches that gather in under her fold and acknowledge her leadership. But Babylon in chapter 18 is a city which is yet to be built upon the earth. The plans for whose building are already afoot and the preparations for whose erection are already being made with, at this very time, the political regime in Iraq raising funds for the building again of the city of Babylon. Now we are going to look at this city as it is set before us in the portion we have read. Revelation 18 and down to chapter 19 and verse 4. Now the first thing we will see about it is that this is a city which is the center of all worldly greatness. We read in verse 2, Babylon the great is fallen. Now obviously before it can fall, it must be built up. It must be elevated in order that it may be able to fall. And so we have here a city yet to be built, for today there is no city of Babylon. Now of course there are some prophecies in the Old Testament which tell us of the fall of Babylon. And many people say these were fulfilled in that portion of Scripture, Daniel chapter 5, in which we read of the successful outcome of the siege mounted by the Medo-Persian army in the days of Belshazzar, king of Babylon. You remember we read in Daniel 5, in that night was Belshazzar king of the Chaldean slain, and Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about three score and two years old. Many people say that was the fall of Babylon, and Babylon was wiped out from that time. But you know, when you turn to the Bible, you've always got to remember that God's Word is accurate. The Word of God is always right to the point. And when we read, for instance, in Isaiah chapter 13, that Babylon, the glory of kingdoms and beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, it shall never be inhabited. Neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation, and neither shall the Arabian pitches tempt there, neither shall the shepherds make their fold there, but wild beasts of the desert shall lie there, etc. When the Bible says that, it means it. And it means when this prophecy is fulfilled, that it will be just as it was with Sodom and Gomorrah, that this will be a site never again inhabited. that not an Arab will pitch his tent there, that not a shepherd will let his sheep graze there, that only wild beasts will be found there. Now, that's what God's Word said about Babylon. Now, that didn't happen in the days when Babylon was overthrown, in the days of the Medes and the Persians. In fact, the demise of Babylon in those days was slow, and it took quite a long time for that city to be reduced. Whereas we are told in the Word of God that its judgment will come in one day and even in one hour. Furthermore, we find that until the 19th century, that's not really very long ago. I don't think there's any of us here can quite remember that far back. But certainly, as far as the 19th century, there were people living in a town called Hilla. And they numbered about 20,000 people. and they lived on the very site of ancient Babylon. So obviously the prophecy of the Word of God, as for instance in Isaiah chapter 13 and verse 19 to 22, has never yet been fulfilled. And that means, if the Word of God is accurate, and it is, that the prophecy is yet to be fulfilled. And in order for it to be fulfilled, there must be a literal city of Babylon. And of course, there will be such a city. It certainly is nothing very outrageous to say that there will be such a city because the Euphrates Valley is perhaps the most fertile part of the whole world. You'll go far to get a place so productive and so absolutely perfectly situated to be the center of worldly commerce and worldly greatness. And Babylon will be built Of course, on its ancient site by the river Euphrates. And that is the gateway to the east. And of course, it will be the highway from the west. Babylon will be built. And it is therefore called a great city. You see, you find again and again in this chapter that it is called a great city. We read that the angel in the first two verses, who is probably the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, He calls it Babylon the Great. We read that the kings of the earth, the merchants of the earth, the seamen of the earth, they all say, Babylon, that great city. And again, a mighty angel in verse 21 says, that great city Babylon. And if you turn back to chapter 14, you'll find it again. We read that Babylon is called that great city. There's no getting away from this, even in chapter 16, where it only gets a mention. You have in verse 19, great Babylon. It's a great city. You see, this is the city that is to be the center of the world's greatness. If you turn back to the Old Testament Scriptures, You'll find that Jeremiah chapter 51 and verse 44 speaks of the nations flowing together unto Babylon. Man, that's a very expressive form of speech. The nations of the earth flowing together unto Babylon. Again, in Jeremiah 50 and verse 23, Babylon is called the hammer of the whole earth. She hammers the earth into subjection. And then she is set up as the center of all the greatness of this world. If you read, as we were reading today in Revelation 18, you'll read that she is the great center for buying merchandise. Now, think of this list. Gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet, fine wood. all manner of vessels of ivory, most precious wood, brass, iron, marble, cinnamon, odors, ointments, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, beasts, sheep, horses, chariots. Man, what a list! Everything in which men deal will be centered in Babylon. And even more, slaves and souls of men. For I believe you will find very clearly that when the devil's Christ, the Antichrist, gets in control, you'll find these things which the gospel eradicated from most parts of the earth. Slavery, trafficking in the bodies and souls of men will be reinstated. Now this will be Babylon, the center of the world's greatness. You'll notice in verse 9 that all the world's power is centered there. For once he falls, the kings of the earth lament, You see, the kings of the earth are the political leaders of the earth. These are the men in power and they lament because Babylon falls. Why? Because Babylon is the great center from which their power is devolved. It's the center of all power in the earth and of all prosperity in the earth. You couldn't read Revelation chapter 18 without noting the continual use of the words merchants and merchandise and trade. Verse 3 speaks of the merchants of the earth waxing rich through the abundance of her delicacies. Verse 11 talks again of the merchants of the earth. The whole merchant world is gathered to Babylon because prosperity is centered there. And you know, the Bible is a wonderful book. It never, never falls out of step with itself. You hear people talking about the Bible contradicting itself? They don't know what they're blathering about. They don't know their Bible. When you get to the Word of God, you find there's a wonderful unity in the book. And here we have Babylon, the center of worldly merchandise, the worldly commerce. Now look at Zechariah chapter 5, and you'll find And I haven't time to go into this chapter in great detail. But you'll find in Zechariah chapter 5 from verse 5 onwards that you've got the symbol of an ephah. Now the ephah is the measurement. It's a measurement of weight which the merchants of the eastern world would use. And the ephah here is a symbol of commerce. We learn from Zechariah chapter 5, that it will be under the guise of commerce that the kingdom of Antichrist will be brought together. We're already seeing that in the common market. What is it that brought together the states in Europe? We're told it's economics that is the big argument. Of course it's not. This is only a guise. When you lift the lid off the ephah, We find in verse 7 that this is a woman. There is a woman that sits in the midst of the ephah. And last week we saw that woman in Revelation chapter 17. This is mystical Babylon. God says it is wickedness in Zechariah 5 and 8. But I want you to notice Zechariah chapter 5 and verse 9. Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and behold, there came out two women, And the wind was in their wings, for they had wings like the wings of a stork. And they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?" Listen. He said to me, "...to build it an house in the land of Shinar." Go back to Genesis chapter 10 and you will find when Nimrod built His city Babylon, He built Babylon in the land of Shinar. This is where they are taking it. You see, they are bringing the ephah, the symbol of all worldly trade and worldly commerce and worldly prosperity. And they are building it, a house in Babylon. Babylon is the center of the world's prosperity. You will notice from verse 3, 7 and 9 of Revelation 18, that it's also the center of the world's pleasures. You know, this world is going to have pleasures that it's never known before. The devil is going to delude many. If you're one of these people that's looking for pleasure in the world, and you're satisfied with that, and you're not worried about your soul, well, my friend, if you live long enough, the devil has pleasure for you that the world has never dreamed of in the past. We read in verse 3, that the merchants waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And in verse 7, we read of her, and she's living deliciously. And again, in verse 9, the kings of the earth live deliciously with her. My, this is going to be a time when they say we have never had it so good. Life is sweet. There's pleasure in every hand. Whatever you want, if you like the arts, there'll be arts of bending. If it's the theater you like, you'll find it. If it's the motion picture business, you'll find it. If it's gambling, you'll find it. If it's immorality, you'll find it. Man, whatever form of pleasure the ungodly want, they're going to get it when Babylon is raised to its position of power. It will be the great center of the world's pleasures. But from verse 3 and verse 24, I learned that it will be the center of the world's pollution, for from this polluted source will spread out filth to every part of the world that is intercourse with her. So here you have, then, Babylon, the center of the world's greatness. Now let's look at the main burden of the chapter, which is the collapse of this worldly greatness. Now I should say that the Word of God has a lot to say on the fall of Babylon. Babylon is a very important city in God's Word. For instance, you'll find that the key chapters are Isaiah chapter 13, chapter 14, chapter 47, while in Jeremiah you've got chapters 50 and 51, and of course the The great 11th chapter of Daniel has a few details of great importance to add to it. Now remember that the fall of Babylon in Daniel chapter 5 is only a picture of what is going to happen in the days to come. Let me tell you what the Bible teaches about the collapse of this great city of Babylon. First of all, I read that its final fall will be at the time when God judges the whole world. Now, when He judged Babylon in the days of Belshazzar, He did not judge the whole world. Obviously, for the Medes and the Persians took over the kingdom. They were allowed to go on. But in Isaiah chapter 13, we find in verse 11 that God says, I will punish the world for their evil. Verse 19, in Babylon, the kingdom, the glory of the kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees, Excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You see, He judges Babylon when He judges the world. Turn to chapter 14 of Isaiah, verse 26. This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth. You see, Babylon's final fall will come when the purpose of God for the whole earth is brought to a final fruition. Now again, let me point out to you one of the small things that is very easy to overlook in the Bible, and yet it shows you the wonderful unity of the book and how exact the Bible is. If you turn to Jeremiah chapter 51 and verse 31, you will discover from the language there that the king of Babylon is not in Babylon at the time of its final fall. Now, Belshazzar was in the city, whining and dining, when the city fell in his day. So, obviously, that is not the fall that the prophet is talking about. Listen to this. One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end. So you've got the messengers running and it's such a distance that one has got to run to meet the other. There is a whole relay of postal messengers to get the message to the king of Babylon that his city has fallen. Obviously then, the king of Babylon is not in his city when it falls. Now that's what Jeremiah says. Now turn back to Isaiah. Chapter 14 and verse 25. The king of Babylon has also the title of the Assyrian. And what does God say? I will break the Assyrian in my land. Babylon the city will fall on its own sight, but the king of Babylon will be broken, not in Babylon, but in the valley of Jehoshaphat outside the eastern walls of Jerusalem. He will be broken in the land that God calls His own. So when Babylon finally falls, its king will be broken in the Holy Land. And I believe it will fall to the kings of the East. Daniel 11.44 tells me that when the king of Babylon, Antichrist, is in the Holy Land, that he will be perplexed by tidings out of the East. And of course, We can read in Revelation chapter 16, that when the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates, the river in which Babylon is built, the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. I believe that Jeremiah gives us some of these kings of the east in their ancient name. Jeremiah 51 and 27. Set up a standard in the land. Blow the trumpet among the nations. Prepare the nations against her. That is against Babylon. Call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Mene, Ashkenaz. Appoint a captain against her. Cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillars. These are the kings of the East. And I believe that here you get a picture of the nations east of Babylon. Man, there are mighty multitudes of people in the Far East. China has often been called the slumbering giant. She is just beginning to awake, and there is no help for Babylon when she really does awake. She has also been called the yellow peril. Well, the kingdom of Antichrist is going to find out just how perilous that yellow peril is going to be. I believe it will be under their instrumentality that God will bring her down when the king of Babylon is in the Middle East carrying out his own policy of war. Forget tidings that the far eastern nations have come in And they have taken his city. And in one day, aye, in one hour, one hour, it will be completely destroyed. You know, in ancient warfare, I don't think that really would have been possible. I don't think that a city like Babylon could have been destroyed in one hour. Ancient Babylon had walls so thick that you could have five chariots racing side by side around the top of them. Walls so thick as to be impenetrable to the weapons of war of those days. And certainly the modern Babylon, this liberal city to be built in the Euphrates Valley, is going to be a city that will be the wonder of the world. It's going to be called the great city. My friends, such will be the weaponry loosed against it that in one hour it's going to be wiped out. You think of a city like London, a city like New York. Think of the fury unleashed against it if one hour was all that was needed to bring it crashing to the ground, to be burned with fire and to have its children dashed against the stones as we were singing this morning in the 137th Psalm, dashed against the stones. and its inhabitants slain. That's when Babylon falls and it will be utterly desolate. It will never be inhabited. There will never be a tent pitched on its site. And I believe that God is going to leave that desolate site standing throughout the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ on this earth as a token of what Sin-God and what rebellion against God does. Now, in the chapter before us, we have a lot about this fall of Babylon. The reason for the fall is quite simply her sins. That is the reason. She is full of sin. She is full of filth. But particularly, and I want you to notice this, she says, I set a queen and I am no widow. and shall see no sorrow." Now, this is taken from the 47th chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah. It's almost a direct quotation from Isaiah chapter 47. And in that chapter, the Lord has told Babylon that although she says this, that yet He is going to judge her. She says, I am a lady. I'll not sit as a widow, and I'll never know the loss of my children, never going to be judged. That's what she says. But God says otherwise. Yet she's up on her high horse, waving the fist of rebellion against God and saying, I'll never fall. But according to God's Word, fall she will. And the reason for it is her rebellion against God. You notice the rottenness of Babylon. You've got this right through the chapter. You've got the continual reference to her fornication. There's literal immorality in Babylon, but there's idolatry in Babylon. There's godlessness there. It's a rotten setup, and it's full of the blood of the saints and of the martyrs, for she's guilty of slaying the people of God. You'll notice what God says, therefore, in verse 4, He says, Come out of her my people. You see, there will be Jews living in Babylon, and I believe there will be Christians living in Babylon. And God will say, Come out of her! It's a bad thing for a Christian to live in the midst of rottenness. It's a bad thing for a believer to associate with ungodliness. Because if you live in the middle of sin, you'll get painted with sin. And if you run around with the ungodly, then you're going to get ungodly like them. And you can't work down a coal mine and come up without the dirt and the dust of the coal upon you. You can't play with sin without having the rottenness and the reek of sin about you. Therefore, God says, come out of her, my people. It's tragic, too, that there are many of God's people and they're in mystical Babylon. They're still stuck in the system of potpourri and apostasy. You get Christians and they're running as fast to Babylonish idolatry as they can run. God says, come out of her, my people, because God's people want nothing to do with Babylonianism, whether mystical or literal. You'll notice the reach of Babylon's sins. Let it be a warning to every sinner that God says her sins have reached unto heaven. She said, nobody sees me, but God says your sins have reached unto heaven. It may be like Babylon in this. You live on and you say, well, nobody sees me. I am a nobody. Nobody ever thinks very much about me. But my friend, let me tell you that God sees your heart. God knows your heart. God knows your sin. And sin reaches to heaven. Sin would reach up to the very throne of God and it would call for the judgment of God upon you. the reach of Babylon's sin. You'll notice that God says that God had remembered her iniquities. God remembers them all right. God remembers the sins of Babylon down through the centuries. He remembers the sins of every man and of every woman. And that's why you've got the reward. Verse 6, reward her double according to her works. You see, it is according to her works. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. And so you have got this double judgment, giving twice what she herself has given. And these plagues come with startling swiftness. One day, verse 8. One hour, verse 10. Look again at verse 17. One hour. Verse 19, one hour again. A day, not even take the whole day, in one hour shall go wiped out. Now that's the collapse of Babylon. Notice what happens on the earth. The kings cry out, verse 9, alas, alas for the great city Babylon. And then the merchants cry out, verse 15, And then the traitors of the sea cry out. And they all say the same thing, alas, alas, that great city. And they're all mourning. Do you know why? Because it has hit their pocket, that's why. And it has hit their prestige, and it has hit their position, and it has hit their power, and their pomp, and their pleasure. The kings cry out because their power is gone when Babylon falls. The merchants cry out because there's nobody left to buy their merchandise. And then the sea traders cry out because if the port of Babylon is closed, where are they going to go? All they're worried about is what they can enjoy. Here's the tragedy. The judgment of God is not very far away. When Babylon falls, according to Revelation chapter 16, it is in the time of the seventh vial. God is just about to judge the entire world of the ungodly. Babylon falls, and the judgment of these kings and merchants and sealers is just about to follow. They are within an inch of eternal judgment and hellfire, and yet what are they worried about? Their money. their pleasure, their worldly position, that's all that worries them, within a footstep of eternal hell, and all they can think about are the paltry things of this world. How many people are the forerunners of these very fools in Revelation 18? Go back to old Belshazzar, the king of Babylon. What happened to him? He was sitting in his palace. He was whining. He was dining. He was getting drunk. He blasphemed God. He didn't care something about God or God's Word. But the judgment of God for him was not a day away. It was only minutes away. You never stop to think about it. How many people in Ballymoney are like that? How many people in the north of Ireland are like that? Even in these times of our troubles, how many people have lived for pleasure and lived for sin, and they're worried about their money, and they're worried about their home, and they're worried about this and that and the other thing, and they don't give toughens about their soul, and yet they're within minutes of a lost eternity. Men and women, it's time to give attention to the things that really matter. You'll notice why they cry in lamentation, that there's a carol of jubilation. in God's heaven. Because from verse 20 we read, Rejoice over her. Man, the holy ones in heaven rejoice. Why? Because their prayer is answered. God hath avenged you and her. If you can remember way back in Revelation chapter 6, we saw in the fifth scene under the altar the souls of them that were slain by the king of Babylon. They cried with a loud voice, How long? How long? How long before God avenges our blood? God says that it is just a little season. Now the little season is gone and their prayers are answered and they are rejoicing. And they are rejoicing again from verse 21, because Babylon will never be built again. And this system of idolatry and of persecution and of godlessness and rebellion and hatred, it will never again besmirch the face of the earth. It's gone for good. You'll notice that the angel takes a great millstone and he casts it into the sea. What will happen to a millstone if you cast it into the sea? It will sink without trace. And that's what happens to Babylon. You'll notice what they once enjoyed. There were harpers. There were musicians. There were pipers. There were trumpeters. But there'll be no more of those things. Man, the fine arts will have gone forever. And then there were craftsmen of every kind. But there'll be no more craftsmanship in Babylon. There'll be no light there at all. There'll be no merchant men there. And the chief of Babylon's joys, her sorceries, her enchantment with drugs, That will be gone forever! Babylon will never arise. My, the people of God will begin to rejoice because the very source of wickedness on the earth is dealt with, taken away. Then, of course, they rejoice because in chapter 19, God is glorified. You know, there's a great battle going on in the world. There are only two religions. One is the religion of Christ and the other is the religion of Antichrist. One is the system of God and the other is the system of Babylon. You take all the heathen religions of the world and they are only variants of the one old Babylonish religion. So there are only two systems and there is no meeting point. There is no point where they can come together and where they can compromise and where they can come to agreement. It is battling and warring and fighting to the death. Now God in His wisdom is allowing Babylonianism to hold the field and He is going to allow it to gain great preeminence in the last days. My friend, the time is coming, and it is coming soon, thank God, when the Lord is going to reveal Himself in all His mighty power. And when Babylon falls in heaven, they will see that it is not the kings of the East who deserve the credit, for those kings are just sinners like the rest. They will cry out, Salvation and glory and honor and power unto the Lord God! God gets all the glory. Because in his true and righteous judgments, he has judged the great harlot of Babylon, and he has brought it to an end. And that is why when the saints in heaven see the false church, the false system of Babylonianism, and when they see the corrupt city of Babylon, they see them flourishing. My, they cry out, How long, Lord, before you judge them? When they finally see the whore of chapter 17 fall, and the whore of chapter 18 fall, they're going to cry out in one mighty carol, Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Now you take your Bible, and you find that this is the only place where we are told they shout Hallelujah in heaven. That's the only time. People sometimes say to us, you're very hard on the Pope. Man, you couldn't be hard enough. You're very hard on Romanism and Ecumenism. You couldn't be hard enough. In heaven, when they see them sunk in hell without trace, they shout hallelujah. And I'm very glad to be in the company of those whom God calls holy apostles and prophets. I am glad to be in tune with heaven shouting hallelujah at the demise of corrupt Babylon rather than among those of the earth who bewail her passing, who live deliciously of her fornication and who pat her on the back and come to an agreement with her. I want neither part nor lot in mystical or in literal Babylon for the judgment of God is upon them both. Now that's the plain and simple teaching of the chapter, and I haven't tried to go into it in any great detail or in any difficult way. But before I come out to church this morning, I was thinking of this chapter, and I thought, surely, surely there's a message there that ought to strike the fear of God into every heart. And I thought if I could pick three verses of Scripture to sum up all that Revelation 18 teaches about the fall of Babylon, I would pick these three verses. The first one is in Mark 8 and verse 36. Because here we have the question which the Lord Jesus Christ Himself asks, What shall it profit a man? if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul. When I turn to Revelation chapter 18, I read the lamentation of the friends of Babylon. And what are they saying? They are saying, Alas, alas, for in one hour so great riches is brought to naught. What would it profit a man If he had all the pleasure in the world, and all the riches in the world, and all the power in the world, and he was brought down to judgment, what would have profited him? My friend, you'll never have all the riches that Babylon will have, nor the king of Babylon. You'll never have the power that these will have. You'll never enjoy the pleasures that they enjoy, and yet it's not worth their while they're fools, for it'll profit them nothing. Tell me, with all the pleasure that the devil can give you, it's little enough, but with it all. With all the money that the devil can give you, it's little enough, but with it all. Tell me, what will it profit when you've gained it all and you'll lose? Your own soul. Man, you can be with the world. He cried then. And you can be crying and lamenting. It is no good. You can have the whole world gathering around and saying, Oh, we would to God that there is something we can do to save this man. But as God said of Babylon, He will say to you that they cannot help you. Not a thing they can do. What will it profit a man if he gave the whole world? and lose his own soul. Then I thought of a verse way back in the Old Testament in the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes chapter 8 and verse 11. Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. You see, Babylon runs on for a long time before she is judged. So do many men. You know, let me say this to you. If you knew that every person who walked through those doors rejecting Christ would be smitten dead on the doorstep by the hand of God, I want to tell you, you wouldn't dare walk through those doors without Christ. You wouldn't do it. If you had seen it happen to other people, man, you'd be scared to do it. You'd be saying, judgment is standing at the doorstep. I'm going to see it. But because God in mercy doesn't smite people dead in their sins as He could will, Because God in mercy doesn't speedily execute the sentence on sin. People's hearts grow hard, and your heart is fully set in you to do evil. My friend, be very careful, because one of these days, maybe this very day, you'll find that judgment is at the doorstep. And some day you'll walk out through the door, rejecting Christ for the last time. The last verse that I thought of was the question that was put by Elijah to the children of Israel. This is what he said to them. He said, How long halt ye between two opinions? 1 Kings 18 and 21. How long? Honky between two opinions. They were choosing between the religion of Baal, Babylonianism, or Christ. And the prophet was saying, in effect, that judgment of God is coming mighty quickly. You can't stand forever making up your mind. In God's name, repent and be Make up your mind today to repudiate sin and to receive God's Son, the only true Savior, even the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember these three verses. What will it profit you if you gain the world and lose your soul? Because a sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, tell me, is your heart fully set in you to do evil? Let me ask you, how long are you going to halt between two opinions in God's name while there is time and opportunity? Repent and be converted and your sins will be blotted out.