Episode Transcript
Jesus said in Matthew 28:19, go therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Welcome to go teach all nations, bringing you Christ's teachings through australian and international speakers.
And here is today's presenter, Tim Matsis.
Our Father in heaven, Lord, we ask, and again we beg for your Holy Spirit to be here with us. Lord, we know that the things that we read in your word are not capable of being understood just by the human mind, that without the aid of your spirit, they'll be misunderstood and misapplied. So, Lord, we ask tonight that you give us understanding above all, Lord, may you give us hearts that are willing to receive and act upon the message that you want to share with us.
We ask, Lord, that you humble our hearts, that you remove from our thoughts everything of today that may be bothering us or that may be intruding into our time with you tonight. We pray, Lord, that we will hear you. Speak to us clearly, for we ask it in Jesus name.
Amen. Well, I don't know if you've ever heard the term the fifth column, but tonight we're going to look at one of the experiences of the children of Israel as they came from Egypt to the Promised Land. And I've titled it Apostasy at the Jordan, because you know that the Jordan river was really the only or the last body of water that separated them from the land of Canaan.
They'd come out of Egypt, they'd gone through the Red Sea. Moses, it says, Paul says that Moses, or at least that they were baptised into Moses in the Red Sea and in the cloud. But then they had to wander through the wilderness until eventually they reached the Jordan River.
And so tonight's message, Apostasy at the Jordan, details their experience of what happened just on the borders of the Promised Land. The exact phrase, or the exact origin of the phrase, the fifth column, isn't really known, but it's suspected that it was first used during the Spanish Civil War in 1936. The leader of the nationalists in Spain, his name was General Franco, allegedly claimed that there were four nationalist columns approaching Madrid ready to take over.
But what surprised everybody was that he said there was a fifth column, a fifth column of troops. These troops weren't approaching Madrid. These troops were already in Madrid and ready to rise up, ready to attack from the inside the moment they had the opportunity.
And so we get this phrase, the fifth column. If someone calls you a fifth columnist, it's not generally a good thing. What they mean is that you're working from the inside to undermine, to destroy the existing system while pretending to be a part of it.
And so today, our message contains a warning of the same kind. Because many of us focus in our spiritual life on the dangers that we can see, the things we're aware of. But often the greatest danger comes from within.
The things that we are perhaps not so aware of. And so we find Our Hebrews Numbers 25. Camped down by the Vale of Shittim.
They had engaged in a successful campaign against the king of Bashan. And now they enjoyed a time of peace. While they planned their attack of Canaan.
It was a beautiful place not far from the city Jericho. Which was known as the city of palm trees. And as they relaxed near the Jordan river and this beautiful place, probably the troubles of the desert were far from their minds.
They looked forward again with hope and promise of the life that was to come. They relaxed in the apparent peace and tranquilly that they could enjoy. And it was to this beautiful place in this setting that arrived some friendly visitors.
Nearby were the nations of the Midianites and the Moabites. Two nations that were tied quite closely by nationality and religion. And these two nations, the Moabites and the Midianites, also had ties to the Hebrews.
It went back a long way. But the Midianites were actually descendants of Abraham through his wife keturah. Genesis 25:1 2 tells us that Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.
And she bare him. Zimran, Jokshan, Midan and Midian, and Ishbak and Shua. And so the Midianites were descendants of Abraham by the wife that he took after Sarah.
After Sarah died. And of course, the Moabites, who were also nearby. Were descendants of Lot, Abraham's nephew.
It was a rather unfortunate or unpleasant means by which the Moabites came into existence. But Genesis chapter 19 and verse 36 tells us that both of the daughters of Lot bore a child by their own father. The first of these bore a son, and his name was Moab.
And the same as the father of the Moabites to this day. Rather an awful existence or reputation you would have to wear if you were a Moabite. But you see, these near relations of the Israelites were not quite the same as the Hebrews.
Their religion was quite different. Even though they came from Abraham and Lot. Even though they had something of a knowledge of the true God.
Their religion had become compromised, corrupted by the culture around them. The culture of the Canaanites corrupted by their traditions that they had incorporated into their religion. We know from history that human sacrifice was a part of their religion and that sexual depravity had become a part of the rites that were involved in their temple services.
And that's not to say that there weren't good people among them. You know, Exodus 2:16 tells us that Moses own father in law, Jethro, was from the Midianites. The Bible tells us that he was a worshipper of the true God.
Of course, we know from later on in the Old Testament that Ruth came from the Moabites. Ruth 4:21 tells us even that she became part of the ancestry of Jesus when she married Boaz. So this is an interesting situation because the Hebrews are just about to enter Canaan, but nearby to them are people that are distant relations to them, family members, if you like, with some knowledge of the true God.
But it's been incorporated into a religion that is corrupt, that's carnal, that's worldly. In fact, some of it was quite disgraceful. But amongst them there are some good people.
And so we shouldn't write them all off as being evil and lost. The system that they're part of is something that's corrupted. But among them are people that God loves anyway.
These spiritual cousins, if you like, decided to come and visit the Hebrews. Among the visitors was a man of high standing with the Hebrews. The Bible tells us that he was once a prophet of God.
And the Hebrews actually still regarded him as a prophet. His name was Balaam. And they welcomed Balaam with open arms because they believed that he was still a prophet of God.
What they didn't know was that this once true prophet had gone rogue, as we would say. We know this. The apostle Peter records in the book of Second Peter, chapter two and verse 15, he says that there are people who have forsaken the right way, that they've gone astray, and that they're following the way of Balaam, the son of Bosaw.
And this was his character. It says he loved the wages of unrighteousness. Balaam, once a true man, once a straight up guy, had become corrupted by his love of money.
What they also didn't know when Balaam walked in the gate is that a short time before this, Balaam had been moving in other circles. You see, the king of Moab was alarmed at the progress that the Hebrews had made. He'd had news that this bunch of slaves had successfully fought wars against Amalekites and against the king of Bashan and so on.
And he feared for his own kingdom. And so, alarmed at the supernatural power that was accompanying the Hebrews, the king of Moab had employed Balaam to do something very sinister. All of this unknown to the Hebrews.
Numbers chapter 22 and verse 5 to 7 says that the king sent messages, messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, to Pethor, which is by the river in the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, behold, there is a people come out from Egypt. And behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me. Come now, therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people, for they be too mighty for me.
Peradventure I shall prevail that we may smite them and that I might drive them out from the land. For I know that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed. And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand.
And they came unto Balaam and spoke unto him the words of Balak. They took money to buy this prophet off, because they believe that if Balaam cursed the Hebrews, that the Hebrews would fall before them in battle. The Bible tells us that Balaam had gone to do the job, taken the money and said, sure, I'll curse them.
And Deuteronomy 23:4 tells us that the Moabites hired against thee, Balaam, the son of Beor, of Pethor, of Mesopotamia, to curse thee. And of all of this, the Hebrews had no idea when Balaam walked in the gate. I wonder how you would feel sleeping at night in your house with the neighbour next door, out with their candles and their circles or whatever they use, maybe with some little trinket that they've stolen from you, trying to put some curse over you.
Would you sleep knowing that there was some kind of spiritualistic activity going on? Maybe just up on the hill a group of them have gathered, trying to curse you so that you'll die. I wonder tonight what you can do to stop these workings of Satan, these things that go on in secret, these conspiracies that he's formed against you. You know they're going on, don't you? Worse still, it might even be people that you know that are conspiring against you.
And of all of this, you're unaware. But it could be going on, couldn't it? I want to assure you that your fears are not misplaced. Do you know, the Bible tells us that.
That there are forces of evil in high places that are constantly working for your destruction. And you will not know until you reach heaven of the times that angels have interposed on your behalf to save you from destruction. And meanwhile you go on through your life as if nothing is happening.
Listen to this. Ephesians 6:12 assures us. He says, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Friends, the devil is out to get you. He walks around like a roaring lion, seeking who he may devour. Every day of your life he's plotting and planning for your destruction.
And meanwhile, people walk through life as if there's nothing to fear. What would you fear if you knew what was going on? If you really knew what was going on, you wouldn't sleep at night. And down in the camp of Israel, while Balaam is up on the mountain or up on the hill beside them, surrounded by all the king and people that have paid him, surrounded by all the enchantments and the altars, Balaam is trying to curse God's people so that the Moabites and the Midianites can destroy them.
But Israel sleeps, unaware that anything is going on around them. You know why? No alarm goes off, no trumpet sounds. Everyone's sound asleep.
Do you know why? Listen to this. Psalm 121:2 4. This is what it says.
It says, my help cometh from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved. Notice this.
He that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. Isn't that wonderful? You don't have to worry about what the devil is trying to do to you.
You don't have to worry about secret plots. You don't have to worry about what you read on the Internet about the Illuminati, secret government briefing papers, secret societies, all of them with their symbols on everything, trying to get you. You know why Psalms tells us that we have a 24 hour security detail that never sleeps and never slumbers.
He's awake every moment of the day, every moment of the night. His angels are sent to guard those that fear God. You know, some people like to make out that you won't make it to heaven unless you keep track of all the secret plans and all the hidden knowledge that somehow these poorly managed plotters have leaped onto the Internet for privileged people to know about.
You know what I'm talking about, don't you? You've all been on The Internet. You've all been sent something on messenger about something secret going on that nobody knows about apparently, except everybody on the Internet. Friends, anything that needs to be known by us is known by God.
And anything that we don't know is also known by God. Listen to this. Proverbs 15:3.
It says the eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good. Don't need to worry about things. He's got it covered.
In fact, the Bible tells us that everything that we need to know to get to heaven is contained in the Bible. God doesn't want us to worry about things that aren't under our control. In fact, sometimes, do you know, God even keeps things hidden from us for our good.
Can you imagine how the wives in Israel would have slept if they'd known that the Moabites and the Midianites were up on the hill with Balaam putting enchantments out? Sure. Some of them wouldn't slept a wink. Sometimes God keeps things from us because he knows it's for our best not to know the future, not to know what's going on around us.
Listen to this. Deuteronomy 29:29. God says the secret things belong to the Lord our God.
But those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever. That we may do all the words of this law. What does that mean? It means that what we need to focus on is obeying God.
That everything he's told us, these are the things we need to know and the things we don't know, the secret things belong to him and he'll tell us when we need to know. All we need to focus on is obeying the things he has told us. Don't worry about the fact there could be other cosmos out there and other planets and other dimensions.
And you know, you've probably heard people talk about this. Remember there was a comment from Mark Twain once and he said he was known for saying witty things. He said, I'm not worried about the things in the Bible that I don't understand.
He said, I'm worried about the things I do understand. We need to focus on the things we can understand, right? God will take care of the rest. Listen to this.
Isaiah, chapter 54:17. It says, no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper. And every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord. And their righteousness is of me, says the Lord. There's nothing that Satan can do.
There's Nothing that anyone else can do against you, as long as you follow the Lord, God will not allow anything that's not for your good, ultimately. And so Balaam stands up on the mount and he speaks curses to compel, well, to curse God's people. But God overrides what Balaam wants to say.
Balaam stands up on the hill and he's about to say all kinds of things that are going to destroy Israel. But God takes control of his mouth and when he goes to speak, curses out come, blessings. Listen to this.
Deuteronomy 23:5 records. It says, nevertheless, the Lord thy God would not hearken unto Balaam, but the Lord thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the Lord thy God loved thee. Israel was walking with God.
And while Israel was walking with God, nothing Balaam or anyone else could say was ever going to hurt them. God had it under control. And so now, having failed to curse Israel to bring about their downfall, Balaam conspires with those so called family members in Midian and Moab to bring them down.
I want you to notice something here. You know, we hear about Jesus and the things that he said, but how many times did Jesus ever talk about the dangers of the heathens to the Christians? Do you know Jesus never warned the Christians about the Roman religion? I can't find anything in the New Testament where Jesus says, now be careful of the Roman religion never gives a warning about the Greeks or the Syrophoenicians, barely a mention in the Bible about the tyranny of the Romans and the civil leaders. But Jesus preaching is replete with warnings about false prophets and false teachers who enter among God's people and corrupt them from within.
Listen to this. Matthew 7:15. Jesus says, Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Matthew 24:11, speaking particularly about the end times, says, and many false prophets shall arise, and shall deceive many. And again in Matthew 24:24, Jesus says, For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and they shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. In other words, the dangers from within are greater than the dangers from without.
And this supposed man of God, Balaam the prophet, only interested in his pay packet, only interested in his car allowance and his retirement plan, has sold out on the truths of God's word. And now he's turned up to the camp of Israel after having conspired with their relatives to destroy God's people. And so now, before some of you abandon your search of the Internet for the publicly available secret information about the Illuminati, before you start to worry about which pastor or elder might be leading you astray, or which family member might be having seances at night or something like this to destroy you, there's another danger that you need to be aware of.
Worse than the Illuminati, worse than false teachers and evil relatives, worse than those with a corrupted faith around us that purport to follow God. You wonder how that could be possible. Here is Israel, surrounded by two heathen nations that are out for their destruction, who pretend to be their friends.
Here's Balaam, a false prophet, who comes among them, ready to deceive them. What could be worse? Listen to this. Numbers chapter 25 and verse 1.
It says there that Israel abode in Shittim and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. Balaam couldn't curse them, the Moabites and Midianites couldn't overthrow them. The greatest threat to the Hebrews wasn't the government or the secret societies.
The greatest threat to their own safety was themselves. Can you see that while they followed God, none of these other things mattered. Nobody could touch them.
All Balaam's falsehoods and enchantments, all their conspiring relatives, mighty nations that surrounded these slaves, none of them could touch them. But now it says that the people being began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. You know, one day the Pharisees came to Jesus and they were criticising Jesus.
Disciples, they came to him and they said, look you guys, before you eat your meals, haven't performed the ceremonial washings that you have to. I'm not talking about washing your hands after you go to the bathroom. They weren't talking about that.
They're talking about certain ceremonial washings that they had to do to make themselves religiously clean. And the Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, your disciples are unclean because they're not performing these cultural ceremonial rites that they have to perform before they eat. Jesus said something very interesting.
Listen to this. In Matthew chapter 15, beginning in verse 18, Jesus said something that applies to our spiritual life. He said, but those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart and they defile a man.
For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man. What's Jesus saying? There he's saying you can't become unclean spiritually because of things that are around you.
That's not what will derail you. The Moabites and the Midianites and Balaam, none of them could derail them. The Hebrews were safe, but they had to be careful, according to Jesus.
Because the thing that could defile them, the thing that could break their relationship with God and expose them to the dangers of their enemies were the things that came from inside, the things that come from the corrupt human heart. These things defile us. These are the things which separate us from God.
Isaiah 59:2 says that it's our iniquities that separate us from God. You know, when Jesus was about to go to the cross, he made a most remarkable statement. John 14:30.
He says, the prince of this world cometh. That was Satan, and he hath nothing in me. In other words, there was nothing in Jesus heart, no foothold that Satan could get, nothing that he could tweak or trigger that could defile Jesus.
Now that's not like that for you and I, is it? You know, Satan's followed us around for a long time. He knows the things that get our attention. Isn't that right? He knows how to push your buttons.
He knows the things that worry you, things that attract you when we're placed under pressure. Satan knows just the right buttons to push. You're not defiled by the things around you.
Jesus spent time with publicans and sinners. He wasn't defiled. But we can be defiled by the things that come out of our hearts, the things that we indulge, the things, the buttons which Satan can push.
The famous book the Desire of Ages puts it this way. Page 125. Listen to this.
She says the tempter can never compel us to do evil. He cannot control minds unless they are yielded to his control. The will must consent.
Faith must let go of its hold upon Christ before Satan can exercise his power over us. Isn't that good to know? If Satan could force you to do wrong, then it wouldn't be wrong, would it? You're not responsible for things. You can't choose whether to do them or not do them.
You know, if I was standing here with a kitchen knife in my hand and someone came up and grabbed my hand and pushed it into someone. Am I responsible for that? I didn't choose to do that. I didn't commit murder.
Someone forced me to do it. Satan can't force us to do evil. He can't blemish our conscience.
It's only when we agree with what Satan is tempting us to do that we become defiled. Listen to this. She goes further.
She says, but every sinful desire we cherish affords him a foothold. Every point in which we fail of meeting the divine standard is an open door by which he can enter to tempt and destroy us. And every failure or defeat on our part gives occasion for him to reproach Christ.
Satan looks for the things in you that he knows he can use, and he will tempt you on those points. But the fact that you're tempted doesn't mean you're defiled. It's only when your heart consents to the temptation.
It's only when your mind agrees with what evil you're seeing. Of course, in our human hearts, which harbour sinful desire, Satan finds a place, he finds a response. And so, through the influence of these Midianitish women, through the influence of Balaam, many of the Hebrews decided to accept an invitation, an invitation to a religious festival.
You can see it coming. Can't you imagine? You got an invitation like that. In the minds of these deceived Hebrews, they were probably thinking, what could possibly go wrong? These are our relatives.
Numbers 25, 2, 3 tells us that they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods, and the people did eat. You notice the appetite here again, the people did eat and then they bowed down to their gods. And then it goes even further.
Verse 3 says that Israel joined himself. Now that's a phrase that is filled with meaning, like when a husband gets married to a wife and they become joined together as one flesh. It says there that Israel joined himself unto BAAL Peor, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.
Revelation chapter 2 and verse 14 says that Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And here we get that meaning of join together and caused them to commit fornication. Who was responsible for this? Balaam.
It was Balaam who suggested the feast. It was Balaam the false prophet, who conspired with these women to entice the Hebrew leaders to come to this feast and to engage in sin. But it only worked because the Hebrews consented to go.
Satan's powerful, isn't he? But he cannot override your will. Satan has amazing temptations out there. More so now at the end of time.
Revelation 12. Remember Revelation 12, verse 12 says that woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because the devil has come down with great wrath. Because he knows he has a short time.
His temptations today are much stronger. 6,000 years of practise. He knows just how to get you, but he can't get you unless you consent.
The Apostle Paul, writing about this tragedy, says in First Corinthians 10:13, he says, There is no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able, but will, with the temptation, also make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it. What does that mean? Every time the devil comes to tempt you, he knows how to get you.
He pushes the button. Do you have to give in? So what about all those times we say, I just couldn't help it? Is that true? It's not true, is it? Can we help it? With God's help, we can. Because the Bible says that with every temptation, God provides a way of escape.
He gives you the power to say no and the power to act upon that decision. You see, the devil would like you to believe that you can't help it, that you're powerless, that you're a slave. But Jesus tells us that when we're set free from slavery, we have the power to say no.
I don't know if any of you have ever taken part in the depression recovery programme, but one of the key things in a depressed person's mind is that they haven't committed themselves to obeying truth, because depression is often based upon lies. I can't help it. I can't live without him.
These are lies. And when we say we can't help it, Jesus says, yes, you can. I've made a way of escape.
You only have to choose. This history recorded in the book Patriarchs and Prophets puts it this way. Listen to this.
Page 421. She says, God has made ample provision for his people, and if they rely upon his strength, they will never become the sport of circumstances. The strongest temptation cannot excuse sin, however great the pressure brought to bear upon the soul.
Transgression is our own act. It's our decision. It is not in the power of earth or hell to compel anyone to do evil.
Satan attacks us at our weak points, but we need not be overcome. However severe or unexpected the assault. God has provided help for us and in his strength, we.
We may conquer. She's not saying anything new, is she? That's exactly what it says in Corinthians 10:13, isn't it? With every temptation, God will provide a way of escape. Well, these Hebrew leaders consented and foremost amongst the transgressors were the leaders in Israel.
The Bible records that swift punishment followed, and these leaders were executed and they were hung up before the people. Sounds harsh, doesn't it? But when you see the results of the actions that these leaders took, then perhaps you'll understand why this was justified. Because the Bible says it didn't stop there.
Listen to what Paul records in 1 Corinthians 10:8. He says, Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed and fell in one day, three and 20,000. Hmm.
Do you think someone that's responsible for the death of 23,000 people ought to be punished? That's why the punishment was so severe. Because as a result of this apostasy by the leaders, as a result of these leaders whose corruptions were indulged, 23,000 Israelites died. Friends, and whenever we depart from God, there will be a loss of souls amongst God's people.
23,000 men died because of sorcery. No, because of the Midianites and the Moabites. Not really.
Not even really because of Balaam, but because they allowed the temptations without. They allowed the temptations without to strike a chord with the temptations within, the corruptions within. And they separated themselves from God.
They forsook God, and they joined themselves to those whom they excused as being almost right, almost followers of God, perhaps. Believers who just worship God in another way. Believers who base their religion on the carnal desires of the heart, the culture of the Canaanite world, instead of conforming to the word of God.
But that's where it stopped. They might have believed, perhaps in God. They might have believed in Abraham as being a patriarch.
But that's where it ended. The rest of these Moabites and Midianites, their religion was unbiblical and worldly. Isaiah warns us today.
He says to the law and to the testimony, if they do not speak according to this word, it's because there's no light in them. But listen to what God says. God says in 2nd Corinthians 6:14.
He says, Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion has light with darkness? What concord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has he that believes with an infidel? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and be their God, and they shall be my people.
Verse 17 he goes on, he says, so come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. Friends, God is warning us in this story.
He's warning us not to join with those who who are not decided followers of Christ. Anyone who is not a decided follower of Christ is a servant of Satan. Now that sounds kind of harsh, but we have to ask ourselves, what is motivating my thoughts? Am I a person who submitted my will to God and allowed God to direct my life? Or am I a person whose heart is still enslaved to Satan, still a victim of those carnal desires? When the devil tempts me, I have to obey.
I don't have a choice. And if you're a person who's committed your life to Christ, committed to surrendering your will to God's will and doing what he says, then it's a very dangerous thing to unite yourself with someone who hasn't made that decision, who still got Satan pushing all the old buttons and having them obey like a slave. This has a particular warning for us living in today's world.
First Corinthians 10, 11, 12. Speaking again about this experience of the Israelites, listen to what he says, verse 11. Now all these things happen to them for examples, and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come.
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall. This story about the Moabites and the Ammonites and Balaam, this story of what happened at Jordan just before they entered the promised land, is a warning to us living at the end of time who are planning on going into the heavenly Canaan. You think, well, how could this be a warning to us? Why does this apply particularly to us? Well, there's two ways it applies.
The first, as we've already seen, is that Satan is trying extra hard to unite your interests with those who don't love God. He wants to drag you down with them. But there's something in the book of Revelation something that we have to be particularly aware of.
You see, Revelation describes a harlot woman and her daughters, just like these Midianite harlots who will conspire with a false prophet to bring down God's people and cause them to receive the mark of the beast. You know, in the Bible, a woman is used to represent a church. Notice this.
In Jeremiah 6:2, God says, I've likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman. A good woman is a good church. But now notice this woman in Revelation.
Revelation 17:1, 2, John says, There came to me one of the seven angels which had one of the seven vials and talked with me, saying, come here, I will show you the judgement of the great whore that sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. Does this sound familiar? Was it harlot or harlots that tempted the Israelites at the Jordan? And did they get them to engage in a riotous party where they ended up committing fornication? Revelation 17:4,5 says that this woman is arrayed in purple and scarlet and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls. She's there to deceive.
She has in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication. And notice her name. This is the name of the harlot in the book of Revelation.
Upon her forehead is a name written mystery. Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and the abominations of the earth. What's her name? Babylon.
She's the mother of harlots. She has daughters. She's called a harlot because she is a church that's been unfaithful to the word of God.
She has daughters that are harlots because they too have been unfaithful to the teachings of God's Word. And she's called Babylon. Babylon.
That word means confusion. It's taken from Genesis, chapter 11. You know the story of the Tower of Babel where God confused the languages.
That's why she's called Babylon, because it's confused. She's got a confused mixture of truth from the Bible, but it's mixed with culture, it's mixed with traditions, it's mixed with worldliness. Just like these Moabites, who had a knowledge vaguely of the truth, but it was mixed with their own culture.
Now Notice this, Revelation 13 warns us of another power, which, just like Balaam, who was once a true prophet but became an adversary to God's people, this power also is called a false prophet. Notice this. Revelation 13, verse 11.
It says, I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb. Is that good? Is a lamb good in Scripture? What does a lamb represent? It represents Jesus.
Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. That's why they sacrificed a lamb, wasn't it? So this beast has two horns like a lamb, but has it stayed good like Balaam? It's apostatized and now it speaks like a dragon. You see how the story has been repeated in the book of Revelation.
We have a harlot in the book of Revelation and now we have Revelation 19:20 calls this beast the false prophet. Friends, history is repeating itself. At the end times, we ought to expect that there will be a group of people who claim to worship God but are unfaithful to what the Bible teaches.
And this kind of puts us in an interesting situation, doesn't it? Because there are many people in the Christian world today who say, well, why don't we all just get together? You know, the world out there, the secular world is so bad. All us Christians, we need to stick together. We should all get together and worship together.
Why don't you come to a religious festival with us? We're relations, aren't we? Don't we all believe in Jesus? Friends, God has told us that any church which doesn't follow the Bible is not a safe church for Christians to fellowship in. It would be just like the Israelites going to a religious festival with the Moabites and the and the Midianites at the invitation of balaam. Remember Isaiah 8:20 to the law and to the testimony.
If they don't speak according to this word, it's because there is no light in them. It is not safe for us to unite in religious activities with those who do not follow the word of God, no matter how much they might say that they are Christians or they follow the same God that we do. Paul has warned us that this experience is written down as a warning for those in the last days.
And you know, God is kind enough to repeat himself In Revelation chapter 14, God sends a message through the three angels. He sends three angels as messengers right at the end of time to warn God's people. The second angel has a very important message for us today.
Revelation 14:8 relates directly to this story. Notice this. It says there followed another angel saying, babylon is fallen.
Is fallen that great city. Because she made all nations drink the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And God's message to you and me today, Revelation 18:4 and 5 says, I heard another voice from heaven saying, come out of her my people.
Remember I said they're not all bad in Babylon. They're God's people in Babylon. But he wants them to come out.
Come out of her my people. That ye be not partakers of her sins and that you receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven and God has remembered her iniquities.
Yes, the world is a bad place, friends, and it's not getting any better, is it? But it's not just the world that can ruin our faith. As we've seen, some of the most dangerous attacks to our spiritual life can come from within. Just like the Hebrews, we can put our confidence wrongly in those that we suppose know the truth and those that we suppose are doing the right thing because they call themselves Christians or because they are leaders in Israel, little knowing that they are following those who are not following God.
We have to be careful. Before we put our confidence in people, we need to make sure that they're following the words of Jesus and not the popular culture around them or the religious world around them. Friends, what we need to also remember is that the most dangerous enemy is not any of the enemies that are out there.
The most dangerous enemy to our spiritual life is the enemy in here. The heart that is not subdued, the heart that's not been touched by what Jesus has done to save us from a life of sin. The heart that's not surrendered its sins and its love of the world to Jesus.
That is the most dangerous enemy that we face today, folks. Proverbs 4:23 says, Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life an apostasy at the Jordan. And none of it would have happened if they'd kept their hearts.
Everything about their lives would have been different. 23,000 men might not have died. None of those temptations from Moab, from Midian, from Balaam.
None of them would have meant anything. It might not have even got a mention in the Bible. If the Hebrews and their leaders had kept their hearts with all diligence.
Because it's the heart, the state of the heart, that determines how your life is going to work out, both here and in the world to come. I want to ask you tonight, what's the condition of your heart? It's easy for us to talk about all the things going on in the news, about all the things that the government's doing and all the things that the bad people are doing over in some other country. And, you know, maybe what some religious leaders are doing to try and, you know, destroy us or undermine our faith or change this or change that.
Global warming or the economy. We can talk about all of that. We can talk about what the Illuminati are doing.
Or what the secret such and such are doing on the Internet. You can have all the codes to everything. When Jesus comes, you're going to sound like a bit of a fool if you stand there and tell him about it from outside the city.
Friends, we need to focus on what matters. What matters is what's going on in your heart. What gets in the way of your relationship with Jesus.
Because if you have your heart and Jesus heart knit together, if you know that you're walking in obedience, there's nothing that this world can do to you. Jesus says that he's holding us in his hand and there's nobody that can take us out of his hand. Only we can choose to separate ourselves from God.
I ask you tonight, how many of you want to have a heart with nothing between it and your saviour? How many of you want to say, nothing between my soul and my saviour? Nothing that's part of this world's elusive dream. Nothing that Satan can call upon to get me to head the wrong direction. I know there's people out there trying to drag me away from Jesus, but tonight I want to make sure that there's nothing in my heart, nothing that I love in this world that they can call upon to drag me away from eternal life, to drag me away from the love of God.
The Bible says nothing can separate us from the love of God. Only we can separate ourselves. I ask you tonight, who will stand with me and say, tonight I want Jesus to cleanse my heart of everything, to cleanse it again from those footholds.
Maybe those little hooks that I've left hanging there that Satan can come and pull. Maybe I love something that I shouldn't. Maybe I've got a relationship with someone that I shouldn't have.
Maybe I've indulged thoughts or I've got habits and practises like watching TV or being on the Internet, that Satan can come along and he can use that to drag me away from Jesus. He'll stand and say with me tonight, Lord, I want to be clear. I don't want there to be anything in my heart that will keep me away from you.
This message was made available by the Masterton Seventh Day Adventist Church. For more resources like this, visit MastertonSDA.NZ.
This programme has been brought to you by 3ABN Australia radio.
