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Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida. Clearly declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ through the radio and the Internet. Your regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. You can’t wait to be able to do that. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bibleline website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

In the book of Revelation, I want your turn there To the book of Revelation we have been going through the book Sunday I kind of spoke on the book of Revelation chapter 11 that was the next chapter that we were going to be looking at into cover. So we probably are supposed to go to the next chapter which would be chapter 12. So chapter 12 is where we are for real and but I know that sometimes it’s difficult to go on when you’re trying to maybe get hung up on one little word or phrase and in the 17th chapter of the book of Revelation it talks about a woman chapter 18 talks about a woman chapter 12 talks about a woman when you get right down to it the church is a woman.

Boy talks a lot about women in the Bible. But here in the book of Revelation, there is a phrase mentioned there in verse 8. If you look there in verse 8 of Revelation chapter 11, and their dead bodies shall lie in the streets of the great city which spirits is called Sodom and Egypt. We’re also able to re-crucify. As you go through, you’ll come across some verses that talks about that great city, that great city, that great city. And sometimes you want to just, who is this great city?

What I want you to do is look over there with me also in Revelation chapter 14 and look there in verse 8. And there followed another angel saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen that great city because she’s made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of our fornication. Here talks about this great city and that she’s guilty of making all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of our fornication. Now I have to admit over the years a lot of people tried to figure out just who is this woman that rides this beast found there in the book of Revelation chapter 17.

And who is this Babylon? The great Babylon is fallen, is fallen. Well here it says Babylon is a city. And in other places it seems like it’s a whole nation. Is it talking about Babylon that’s over there in Iraq? There are scriptures in the Old Testament that seems to be that everything that’s mentioned there hasn’t totally been fulfilled. So many people believe that Babylon could be rebuilt after it had been destroyed and maybe become this great city someday once again.

Maybe all this money that we helped spend over there in Iraq is going to help rebuild this country and Iraq will be the Babylon? Well, there’s people that believe that, yes, maybe a possibility. There’s also this possibility that maybe maybe it’s the United States. Some believe that the Antichrist is going to come from America and that America is that great city that comes up out of the sea. Because if you were standing in Israel and you’re looking straight across through the strait of Gibraltar there and through the Mediterranean and all out and keep on good.

And this beast comes up out of the sea. God, maybe it’s America. So there’s people that believe it, it could be America. Because if the Antichrist is going to take over and rule the world, well, it seems like it has to either conquer America or take over America and utilize the military power, the might of America in order to control the world. Either that or America has to be destroyed if it’s somebody else, so therefore it has to be America.

Well, that sounds good. Now, the problem that I have is I try to stay away from discerning the word of God by what I see going on in the world because the nations rise and nations fall. People come and people go. Over the years, there’s been many people that have named different popes as the anti-Christ. This is the one. They said, Hitler was the anti-Christ. Mussolini was the anti-Christ. Stalin is the anti-Christ. Obama is the anti-Christ. I’ve heard everything and you probably have to.

I think I’ve even had a few people call me an anti-Christ. But anyway, you don’t try to utilize the things in the world to explain the scripture. I believe that you should explain the scriptures with the scriptures that you have. Now, a lot of times we refer to Israel becoming a nation in 1948, and that’s true, but many people take that very same statement and say, well, the generation that’s living when Israel becomes a nation will be the nation that’s alive when Jesus comes back.

Maybe. better hurry because you know that was a few years back. And as we go, there’s not many years left, but then you got to get into how long is the generation. But then the Bible says this, in Matthew 24, when ye shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophets and in the holy place, let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains. Yea, that see these things. And then in chapter 24 of Matthew, then it makes this statement, this generation shall not pass until all these things be fulfilled.

Well, it’s talking about the people that are living in the tribulation period. When ye shall see the abomination of desolation, that’s the antichrist in the holy place in the tribulation period in the middle of it. I won’t be here. So that can’t be referring to when Israel becomes a nation, but Israel has to become a nation in order to fulfill the prophecies concerning it and a peace treaty and to rebuild the temple. So there’s a lot of things that comes together, but you have to be careful trying to put it all together and you try to force pieces of the puzzle where it don’t really go.

I have to be very careful of that because I just want to understand it all and something God hasn’t given me and it’s hard not to imagine. So I have a great imagination. And so I have looked at all these options and I’ve studied it from all of these viewpoints. I can preach a sermon on every one of these points that I just mentioned to you. And if I wanted to, probably could convince you that each one of those is right.

But they can’t all be right. If I wanted to, I could convince people that the religion of Mormonism is true. I know enough about it. I can talk to people about the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I know enough about their religion and I could make a good argument and people who don’t really know their Bible, I probably could convince them. I could convince people Catholicism is true. That’s dangerous. So what you have to watch is not using any of your talent and abilities that you may have to make people believe something that the book really doesn’t say.

So sometimes it scares me to death to say, the Lord says, the Word of God says, and it may not say that. But because I have a preconceived idea or I hurt somebody’s say and then you run off on a tangent, trying to make it fit into your little scheme of things. It could be a dangerous thing to do. So as I read it and I studied, I tried to figure out, well, what does it maybe, what does it really mean?

And I’ll have to admit, I don’t understand it all. But I got to read in the shear like in verse eight, where it says, and there followed another angel saying, by Evelyn is fallen. He has fallen that great city because she had made all nations drink of the wind of the wrath of a fornication. I wondered. What city is this? Well, look what he says there in verse 19 in the same chapter. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and cast it into the great wine press of the wrath of God.

Now this is the Hindu tribulation period. The wine press was trodden without the city. Blood came out of the wine press even unto the horses bridled by the space of 1,600 furlum. Well, this city here is not talking about some place in Rome. I don’t think it’s talking about the blood going to be that high in Rome or over there in Iraq. I believe there’s a good possibility it might be referred to some city in Jerusalem, a possibility. In words, there’s a lot of options.

But as you study the scriptures, you have to be careful of even getting somebody’s common terries, even though they might have wrote three or four hundred years ago, because you see, there’s a lot of things that they may not know or do not see, and you don’t want to polypare what somebody says, I don’t even want people to do that about me. I want you to study the book and you become convinced this is what the Word of God says.

But because there are so many options, and it looks like it could be so many, you don’t want to become divisive just because everybody don’t hold your view on prophecy. Because I just told you through four different options that certain things can be and yet they can’t all be true. So anyway, as we read this, I want to show you this in just a moment. Now look over there in the 17th verse of the 16th chapter, 17th verse of the 16th chapter.

In Revelation chapter 16, you look there in verse 17 and the seventh angel poured out his valent in the year. There came a great voice out of the temple of heavens from the throne saying, it is done. Now this is the seventh angel. You know you’re at the end of the tribulation period. It is done means that what God means that God is going to be consummated. In verse 18, there were voices and funders and lightning and there was a great earthquake and there stood on the shore, Tad, one and one of the thunder came from.

Oh, I just thought I’d throw that in there. But anyway, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty and earthquake and so great. Now, we know that when we read in the book of Zechariah chapter 14, when Christ comes back and His feet touch upon the Mount of Oluk, there’s going to be a great earthquake and Jerusalem is going to be divided. It’s going to be split in half. And the Bible says that that’s going to take place and it tells when it’s going to take place.

Now, you notice there in verse 19 and the great city, you’re on the line those words, that great city. It doesn’t tell you who the great city was, just says the great city. But then it’ll seem like it It says it’s just referring to Babylon, but Babylon has been destroyed, but is Babylon that same city that’s sitting over there on the Euphrates River? Here it says, was divided into three parts and the cities of the nations fail. In great Babylon came and remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of the wind of the fierceness of his wrath.

this this city is it’s gonna have to be because it’s one bad city this city is guilty of the blood of the martyrs of Jesus Christ they’ve killed God’s people I wonder who it is but as you go through and you read it and you see so many things and wonder what now who could this be this woman because it talks about so many women. You read the third chapter of the second chapter of the book of Revelation, talks about the woman there called Jezebel.

Have you ever heard of Jezebel before? talks about a woman named Jezebel there. And as always these women down through the book of Revelation. Now in chapter 17 of the book of Revelation, I want you to look here in verse 1. them. And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials and talk with me, saying, under me, come hither, I will show thee the judgment of the great whore that siteth upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication.

The inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wind of a fornication. Well, that’s what we’ve been reading about this woman, this other woman. That great city, Babylon. Now many people do not believe that the woman of chapter 17 is the same woman of chapter 18. Maybe it’s a different woman altogether. Maybe it is. But I sure like to encourage people to study the Word of God. Not to have everything spoon fed to you, but to study it.

If you really want to chew on something, buddy, the book of Revelation has a few little things. morsels for you. Paste you little morsels. And I guarantee you, you’re not going to swallow it all in one meal. You’re going to have to chew a little bit and then come back and then chew a little bit more. But now look what he says about this woman. In verse 3, so he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sit up on a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy having seven head, ten horns.

Now majority of people that I read and studied from, they almost all unanimously say, well chapter 17 is the spiritual church, the wicked church, you know the bad church. God took His people but this is the accommodation of all the wicked people that don’t believe right And this is the spiritual dead church in a sense that this represents the one world religion. And if this is the one world religion, you got to have ahead of this one world religion.

Well, and it has to be wrong because that’s what everybody says. So because everybody says that, it must be true. Now, I’m not saying it’s not, but I’m not satisfied to say that this is This is wrong. I don’t believe that they’re guilty of all the martyrs, of all the people that have been killed. I don’t believe. Now, there’s a lot of things that’s going to happen. And I don’t have time for all that right now. The colors and all that, maybe.

Maybe this woman is talking about the Roman Catholic Church. And that really causes you trouble when you accuse the Roman Catholic Church of the antichrist, you know, the Pope’s the head of it. And if you would captain now that don’t set too good. I’m not saying that but it’s not maybe the best way to win them. No more than, you know, talking about the angel baloney. I mean, Moroni, Momaroni. And you may have fun with it, but if you want to win somebody, you may want to choose the words a little bit more carefully.

Look what he says here in verse five. Up on her forehead was a name written, mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlitz, and abominations of the earth. I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. So this is some woman that’s guilty of an awful lot. She’s a bad woman. I just wonder who she is. But it says that this woman is riding this beast and that this beast is the last world government because it says that it has seven heads, ten horns.

See what it says there in last part of verse three? Full of names of blasphemy having seven heads, ten horns, seven heads and ten horns. I’ve heard of that before. If you look over there in verse nine, they talk about and this is the mind that hath wisdom. He says, the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sets. So here’s this woman who sets on the seven mountains. So does he roam, sets on seven, he also it has to be roam.

Well, maybe it is, but maybe it isn’t. He holds and mountains are not exactly the same. But when you read it down a little bit further, these seven heads or seven mountains in verse 10, and there are seven kings. So it’s not about seven heels on what a woman says. It’s talking about kingdoms upon the earth, kingdoms, kings. So I don’t believe it’s the city a room. So that kind of, see, I have a few little objections to certain things and I can’t swallow it all because I have problems with other verses that says, even what about this?

But what about this? So before I just believe something because, well, that’s the standard position of most independent fundamental Bible, admission, or reminded Baptist, I just have to wait. How do I know that’s the truth? So I read it and study a little bit more. And at least I want to be able and say I’ve read it, I’ve studied, I’ve looked at all the options, and this is what I think. So when I tell you what I think, it still might be a little yank-yology.

That means that I can’t swear by the hair of my chinny chin chin. But this beast that is talking about seven heads, 10 horns, the 10 horns, as you see, are 10 kingdoms. In verse 12, the 10 horns which thou sought 10 kings, which have received no kingdom as yet. So they didn’t exist at this time. So it’s not talking about Rome. doesn’t exist yet. And it’s talking about whoever this woman is is riding up on this beast and is talking about doing the tribulation period.

Wasn’t doing it then. It doesn’t say it does it in between. It’s doing this seven year tribulation period. I saw a woman riding on a beast. Now, the beast hates the woman. Whoever the woman is, the beast hates this woman. Well, how do you know that? Glad you asked. Look what he says there in verse 13, these kings have won mine, give their power and strength unto the beast. So it’s done democratically. They do it because they want to.

They’ve been lied to, deceived, and in verse 14, these shall make war with the lamb, and the lamb shall overcome them, for he is the Lord of Lord and King of kings, and they that are with him are called and chosen and faithful. So this is talking about the kings that are going to be existed. Whoever this beast is, he’s the one that is destroyed by the Lord when he comes back. And when you read the book of Daniel in chapter 2, verse 43 and verse 44, it says, in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven come to the earth.

He’s the stone cut out of the mountain without hand and destroys this Gentile power. So the woman that’s riding on this beast, well the beast is the Antichrist because he’s the head of this last world government. So whoever this woman is, it’s got to be somebody that the beast don’t like, but he had to give him a ride.” Look, verse 15. And he said, to me, the waters which thou saw us with the horse, saideth our people and multitudes and nations and tongues, and the tin horns which thou sought upon the beast, these shall hate the whore.

Shall make her desolate and naked and shall eat her flesh, burner with fire. Whoever this woman is, the beast is going to destroy her. The beast don’t want her. The beast hates this woman. Whoever this woman is, the beast hates the woman. And it says in verse 17, For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will and to agree and give their kingdom unto the beast until the words of God shall be fulfilled and the woman which Thal thought is, there it is yawdah underlining that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth so whoever it is has to be a place where the anti-Christ the head of this last world government will set up his palace in the holy land and he is going to rule as king over the earth whatever city that might be now as you read it

and you come across a few other verses that says a little bit more that might give a little bit more light. Look there in chapter 18 in verse 10. When this city or a country or whatever it is when it falls, or whoever this woman is that’s riding upon this beast, she is thrown and whoever the beast is is going to try to destroy her completely. And verse 10, standing afar off for the fear of her torment, alas, alas, that great city, Babylon, that mighty city.

And one hour is that judgment come, one hour. Now that’s a short period of time. So whoever this woman is, she is going to be destroyed in a short period of time. Not long, but a short period of time. Looking verse 18, and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning saying, what city is like unto this great city? Now are we talking about New York City? Well, it might be New York City. After all, look how bad she is.

And there’s a lot of commerce being done. And when you reach some of the descriptions through this, you might come to the conclusion it has to be. Unless between now and the tribulation period, something else happens that overshadows the greatness of America. Now, it might be America. It might be Rome. It might be Babylon over there in Iraq. But maybe it might be something else. But look what he says there in verse 21. He said, and a mighty angel took up a stone like a giant, a great millstone, cast it into the seasam, thus would violence shout that great city Babylon be thrown down and shall be found no more at all.

And on in verse 22, found no more. In verse 23, no more. No more. No more. Wonder what city this is. Now maybe you have it all figured out. But I still have a few little problems with a few little things here and there. But let’s just jump over to a place where God wants to show somebody something. And it’s amazing that it uses this.

Take your Bible look there in Revelation chapter 21. Revelation chapter 21. And look in verse one. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth was passed away. No more sea. John saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Now here’s a holy city coming down from God out of heaven called the Holy City. Do you know of any other place that’s called the Holy City?

The Holy City. Jerusalem is called the Holy City. the nation of Israel called the Holy People, a holy nation. But look over here in verse nine. He said, and there came unto me one of the seven angels, which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, talk with me saying, come up here. I will show thee the bride, the land’s wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me and underlined these three words.

that great city. And what city was that great city? The holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God. So we know, according to the Bible, there is going to be a great city, New Jerusalem, holy Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, down to the earth. And there will be a new heavens and a new earth. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida, with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you were blessed by today’s message.

Our two of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach Bible Line and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing toll-free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. friend one day it will happen the trumpet will sound we will be changed caught up to meet the Lord in the air so live today and every day believing that the Lord is coming soon just keep looking up