Rev. Seaton

Peace United Church of Christ
Loyal, OK
Leon Seaton, Pastor
Sunday, May 20, 2001

God wins the big one!

The kids in our schools did a fantastic job at baccalaureate and graduation this week. I thought all three nights had some outstanding speeches and prayers from our students. We are among the privileged few to enjoy that freedom!

The Choice Is Yours!

Revelation 17:1-18

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.

With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries."Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. This title was written on her forehead: MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished.

Then the angel said to me: "Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come.

"This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction. The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings--and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers."

Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 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 woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth."

Revelation chapters 17 and 18 describe the fall of Babylon the great. Babylon is the symbol for the whole world system dominated by Satan and manifesting wickedness in three ways:

Politically

Religiously

Commercially

Babylon will be completely destroyed during the last 3 ½ years of the tribulation. Religious Babylon ("the prostitute") will be destroyed by the antichrist. [16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 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.] (Satan’s kingdom has hate, jealously and strife in it! These are some of the tools that Satan tries to use in the church.)

In Revelation 19 we will read that Christ will destroy political Babylon at His coming.

The great prostitute mentioned in 17:1 not only represents religious Babylon, but also all false religions – including apostate Christianity. "Apostate" comes from the word "apostasy" which means "an abandoning of what one has believed in, as a faith, cause, principles." Thus an apostate Christian has given up the basic beliefs.

When the Bible refers to a prostitute in a figurative way, it generally means religious apostasy and unfaithfulness to God. It usually signifies someone who talks about being a Christian but serves other gods. There are both similarities and a sharp contrast between the Bride of Christ and the prostitute:

The prostitute is subject to Satan.

The bride is subject to Christ.

Satan clothes the prostitute.

Christ clothes the bride.

Eternal death is the future of the prostitute.

Eternal life is the future of the bride.

Christianity is more than a doctrine or a creed! It is a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe. Someone observed recently that Christianity is not a democracy but a kingdom. God is the King of the universe and we simply do not have a vote in how He runs it! Our choice is either obedience or disobedience.

What is your choice today?

Please allow me to give the introduction to a speech I used in a Toastmaster’s meeting recently. It started like this:

Every person in this room has the potential of being one of the most powerful people in the world! Every person! Oh, maybe not to every one in the world, but to those in your circle of influence.

Why? Each of us was made in God’s image. We have the power to create life or to allow death. We have the power of reason and of choice! And the daily choices we make are like the bricks we use to build our houses! One brick at a time… one day at a time… one choice at a time!

"Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."(Joshua 24:15)

When you and I chose God, we choose HOLINESS, PURITY, LOVE AND SERVING OTHERS. Many lives are saved every day because people like you and me decide to learn CPR and first aid. Then we chose to use what we have learned!

Those are great things to do… and I have done those things. But when I get to heaven the question will be, "What did I do with God’s will for my life?"

The people in Revelation 17 had a form of godliness, but they denied His power in their lives. When you and I read the newspapers or watch the news on TV we may be inclined to believe that Satan has won the battle. Well, he has won a few little battles, but God wins the big one!

Christians come under persecution – and martyrdom is pretty common these days in parts of the world. And if you and I do not become bolder in declaring what we believe we will be losing ground! But praise be to God, we can make a difference.

The kids in our schools did a fantastic job at baccalaureate and graduation this week. I thought all three nights had some outstanding speeches and prayers from our students. But we are among the privileged few to enjoy that freedom!

This chapter in Revelation is pretty self-explanatory, so I won’t go into more detail in the few minutes I get to preach. The whole thought is summarized in Revelation 17:17, "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 word the Bible commonly uses for Christians is "believers." Believers are those who have chosen to believe God and then act in a positive manner on His word and requests.

Obviously the unbelievers are those who chose to disobey. But just because we have chosen to ignore God does not mean that He forgets about us. Not at all! He will do all He can to woo us to Himself.

That failing, sometimes He will use us to accomplish His will in other ways… what we would consider very negative… as we see in verse 17. He is still God and our rebellion does not change that!

Many people refused to obey the law… they didn’t want to believe it… and today they are in jail. Disobedience will steal your freedom.

When you or I are in total obedience to God, we have total freedom to do the things we really want to do because as we walk closer to God we find that our desires change.
Will Satan attack us? Sure.Temptations may seem overwhelming at times. We may fail at times… Praise God, He understands! Hang in there! In the end we win!

Please feel free to contact Pastor Leon by e-mail.
He will be pleased to hear from you!

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