But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; 5 and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? 6 “He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, 7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” 8 And they remembered His words, 9 and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest (Luke 24:1-9).
Five things the Bible says about the Resurrection
1 Jesus’ resurrection is prophetic (Psalm 16:10)
For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
2 Jesus’ resurrection is promised (John 2: 19-21)
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body.
3 Jesus resurrection is declared (Romans 1:3-4)
Concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, 4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord.
4 Jesus resurrection is a priority (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
5 Jesus’ resurrection is sobering (Acts 17:30-31)
“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
We mentioned earlier (from Revelation 16:19) that in the midst of the seventh bowl judgment, “Babylon the Great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.” Here, in chapter 18, are the details of His wrath, which we call the fall of Babylon.
Just as chapter 17 contains the religious and spiritual nature of Babylon, this chapter speaks of the visible, material and commercial part of Babylon. More specifically, it speaks of the place (or city) of Babylon, which is the capitol of the world and the headquarters of the world leader—the Antichrist. This city, as we discussed earlier, is, I think, the city of Rome. I think the best way to look at this eighteenth chapter is to view it in its five parts just as it is in the text.
Verses 1-3. An angel’s description of Babylon (Rome).The angel described it as a dwelling place of demons and a prison of unclean spirits. Moreover, it is a place where kings and merchants have made immoral dealings with demons and have become wealthy on their corruption.
Verses 4-5. Here, a heavenly voice warns believers to leave the city and not participate in sinful dealings. These verses remind me of what angels said to Lot to warm him of the soon coming judgment of God on Sodom.
When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the Lord was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city. 17 When they had brought them outside, one said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away” (Gen. 19:15-17).
Verses 6-8. In these verses, the same heavenly voice (probably an angel) calls on God to pay her (Babylon) back (take revenge on her): to give her the same torment and mourning as she gave out to others—in her sinful deeds. And because of her pride, thinking that she will never see mourning, in one day God will bring to her plagues, pestilence, famine, and will be burned up with fire.
I’m not sure that we can know positively how Babylon will be destroyed, but here are three ideas: 1) Babylon will fall just as all other cities, as it is described in Revelation 16:19-21; 2) besides the events of the seventh bowl, there may be a nuclear strike on the city; 3) the city may be leveled by God just as Sodom was destroyed (Gen. 19:23-25).
Verses 9-19. Those who will be most affected by Babylon’s fall. These three groups of people will be the most affected by Babylon’s fall:
Kings (vs 9-10). All kings, including all political leaders, will weep and lament over Babylon—because it will mean the end of Antichrist’s empire and of their power with him. They also may be weeping over their fear of Christ’s coming and of their certain punishment (Rev. 1:7).
Merchants (vs 11-17). All the merchants of the earth (traders, suppliers, importers, exporters, retailers and shopkeepers) who are tied to the Antichrist system will weep and mourn, because no one buys their goods any more (verses 12-13). The Scriptures are not specific as to what happens to them. We can only say what the Scriptures say—from verses 14-17: the fruit you no longer have has gone from you; and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you; and men will no longer find them.…In one hour such great wealth has been laid waste” (v. 17). Hence, we may sum it up by saying this: when the new kingdom comes the old kingdom of Satan isno more. It will be “passed away,” and “laid waste.” God will make all things new.
Transporters of the cargo (vs 17-19). The bible labels this group as those who “make their living by the sea.” But I think we may understand it as all the transporters of the cargo. In that day cargo was transported mainly by ships. But today, even though the city (of Rome) is located on the sea, transportation would be by ships, planes, trains, and trucks. And this group would obviously be affected because they make their living transporting the cargo—and that would all end. And this group and all others, as the Scriptures say, will stand and cry as they see the smoke of her burning. I don’t know how literal that is, but I’m sure they all will be devastated at the quick and thorough destruction of the city and of the Antichrist’s empire.
Verses 20-24. Rejoicing over Babylon’s fall. All those in heaven will rejoice over Babylon’s fall, not because of all who will be doomed to hell, but because of God’s justice that will prevail.Hence, they will rejoice because they will hear no more music played for the devil; and because there will be no more industry to make the Antichrist rich; and because there will be no more food prepared for all who take the mark of the beast; and because there will be no more laughter and weddings for all who partake of immorality and demonism; and because there will be no more deceptions and false teaching by which the prophets and the saints were slain.
Christ is the person of God who intercedes for believers (and for those who will become believers) before the Father in heaven. Here, in ten points, is a picture of His intercession.
1. He is our High Priest. God the Father appointed His Son as our High Priest. As our High Priest His job now is to serve us and to be our representative before God the Father (Heb. 5:1). Though He sits on the right hand of the Father in heaven (Heb. 8:1), He understands us and our weaknesses because He lived on this earth, had a body like ours, and was tempted like we are, yet without sin. Hence, He is fully qualified to help us in all our weaknesses and temptations (Heb. 2:17-18; 4:15).
2. He is our mediator. As our mediator He has positioned Himself between God and us, and He pleads with God on our behalf. …
It is not the Father’s role to intercede. The Father is the one who hears, receives, and answers our prayers. But I think He should be included in the intercession process, because if it wasn’t for the Father we could not pray at all. In fact, all prayer comes from the Father. We will take time now to consider seven things regarding how the Father is involved in intercession.
1.He is the head person of the trinity and is in charge over the whole intercession process. Jesus said that His Father is Lord over heaven and earth (Lu. 10:21) and that He is greater than all (Jn. 10:29). Jesus also said in John 6:57 that He lives because of the Father. This does not mean that the Father gave Him existence (Jesus has always existed); however, it means that His special life of power and authority was…
Yes, we are facing a constitutional Crisis. We are seeing a former President be indicated in order to destroy his political chances at taking office again. They will say he is guilty of something. But the only thing he is guilty of is being a billionaire and a conservative. Please read the following article.
Is the title of this piece apocalyptic hyperbole? I wish it were. But everyone in the country and most of the people in the wide world know that Donald Trump has not actually been indicted for the crime of giving hush money to a prostitute. He has been indicted for the crime of opposing the Leftist elites and challenging their control over the political system. For the first time in American history, a politician – indeed, a front-running presidential candidate – has been indicted in order to destroy his political chances. Americans used to take pride in the fact that such things didn’t happen in the United States of America. But that United States of America is over.
Donald Trump has been indicted on the thinnest of charges. House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan, House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer, and House Administration Committee chairman Bryan Steil recently wrote a letter to Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, the destroyer of the republic, pointing out that “even the Washington Post quoted ‘legal experts’ as calling your actions ‘unusual’ because ‘prosecutors have repeatedly examined the long-established details but decided not to pursue charges.’”
Even the New York Times on March 9, in an article about how criminal charges were pending against Trump, that “hush money is not inherently illegal.” Working hard to justify the looming pseudo-legal banana republic action of arresting the sitting president’s principal opponent, the Times suggested that “the prosecutors could argue that the $130,000 payout effectively became an improper donation to Mr. Trump’s campaign, under the theory that because the money silenced Ms. Daniels, it benefited his candidacy.” So the whole thing rests on a novel legal theory. Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA tweeted: “Alvin Bragg lowered 52% of criminal charges in NYC last year to misdemeanors. He just bent over backwards legally to raise the charges against Trump to a felony. WITCH HUNT!!”
That it certainly is, and worse. Former TV and radio host John Cardillo warned: “Don’t downplay the severity of this indictment. There’s still another GJ in NYC, one in GA, and a federal one connected to the Special Counsel investigation. We are watching the political weaponization of our entire criminal justice system. This is a constitutional crisis.”
Much more is coming. Many are saying that the indictment hands Trump the election of 2024, but it’s actually designed to do just the opposite, and the designers are not stupid people. The objective is to prevent Trump from being able to run in 2024, or failing that, to make it impossible for him to win. The average American still has unreflective confidence in our institutions, and will assume from the very fact of Bragg’s indictment, and the others that are certain to come, that Trump must be some kind of criminal. The flimsiness of the cases won’t matter. The public perception will be formed, and that could be enough in himself to make sure that Trump doesn’t return to the Oval Office on Jan. 20, 2025.
Then if all this legal harassment somehow fails, there is still the ballot harvesting, mail-in ballots, and all the rest of the new system that has been carefully put into place and will ensure that neither Trump nor any other dissenter from the Left’s agenda will have a chance to win in 2024.
America’s descent to banana republic status has now been confirmed, but it has been coming on for a very long time. Old Joe Biden signaled it on Sept. 1, 2022, in his infamous red-and-black speech, when he declared: “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.” For the first time in the history of the United States, a sitting president, such as he is, declared that his principal opponent and his opponent’s supporters were criminals who were outside the bounds of acceptable political discourse. Now the ruling Leftists elites have taken the next step in indicting Trump. After that will come various measures to treat his supporters as if they were terrorists.
This is a dark day for the United States. If there are any Democrats with integrity left, they would join the House Republicans who have already gone on record decrying this, and stop it before it’s too late. But if Trump is arrested, handcuffed, and perp-walked, it will be much more than just a photo-op for the salivating Leftist mob. It will be the end of the republic. Somehow, possibly, the republic may end up being reborn, and the rule of law saved. Maybe this will disgust enough Leftists to make that possible. The Hail-Mary football is in mid-flight now.
When we think of Babylon we normally think of the ancient city of Babylon; and we think of the tower of Babel where Babylon originated. And, of course, we think of the great evil in its idol worship that eventually spread all over the world. And so, I suppose, when we read in Revelation of Babylon and the fall of Babylon, we may naturally think of that ancient city of Babylon, which has to be rebuilt.
But there is another option that I think is more probable. I think Babylon is Rome, and here are six reasons why:
1. After the ancient city of Babylon is destroyed by Cyrus of Persia in 539 B. C., the high-priest of the Babylon religion and his workers fled to Rome. Harry Ironside writes,
When the city and temples were destroyed, the high-priest fled with a company of initiates and their sacred vessels and images to Pergamos, where the Symbol of the serpent was set up as the emblem of the hidden wisdom. From there, they afterwards crossed the sea and immigrated to Italy, where, they settled on the Etruscan plain. There the ancient cult was propagated under the name of the Etruscan Mysteries and eventually Rome became the headquarters of Babylonianism.10
Then, as I point out in my book, After the Rapture,
Beginning with Julius Caesar, the Roman emperors seemed to share power with the chief priests. And then, under Constantine the Great, for the first time in history the emperor became both the head of state and the head of the church. Some say that Constantine became a Christian and was trying to Christianize the world. However, others correctly concluded that the devil was working through Constantine to corrupt the church… Hence, as it happened, idolatry was forced upon Christians and many of the pagan practices became part of the church.11
Thus, Rome became just as Babylon was. In fact, it is my contention that Rome, with the Catholic church, is, in fact, the Babylon of Revelation 17 and 18.
2. The false religious system (the harlot) is tied to the Catholic Church of Rome. When we read in Revelation 17:6 that “the woman [was] drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus,” we have a direct link to Rome. It began with the Popes against Christians such as John Wickliffe and William Tyndale, and many hundreds of others; and it will continue in Rome by the Church of Rome in the future Tribulation period.
3. The harlot (in Rev. 17) looks Roman Catholic.Not only does the harlot act like the Roman Catholic Church in her murders (pt. 2), she looks like the Roman Catholic Church. The colors of the harlot’s purple and scarlet, as well as her jewelry of gold, precious stones and pearls, are the colors and the adornment of the Catholic Priests and Cardinals.
4. The woman sits on the seven hills of Rome (Rev. 17:9). From Revelation 17:7-18, we read that the beast has seven heads and ten horns; and the woman sits on the beast. In verse nine we read that the woman sits on the seven hills.
Many scholars say that the seven hills implies Rome—because Rome is known for its seven hills. A group called City Wonders Team has written,
The Seven Hills of Rome are on the east of the Tiber in the heart of the Ancient City and are said to be the origins of the empire. Back in the day (there is proof of civilization on the hills from as early as 1,000BC) the seven hills were inhabited separately, each with its own independent tribe. Eventually, the tribes came together to compete in sports, strengthening their bonds and uniting their villages. And thus, began the great Roman Empire.12
5. The ten toes as well as the ten horns are the ten kingdoms of the beast and represent the Revived Roman Empire (Dan. 2:33; Rev. 17:12-13).This Revived Roman Empire will most likely be ruled from Rome.
6. The city (of Babylon) will be located on a sea port (Rev. 18:17-19).Here is the most convincing evidence yet that Rome is Babylon: because Rome is located on the Mediterranean Sea; but the ancient city of Babylon is not located on the sea, but on the Euphrates river, which may still be dried up (Rev. 16:12).
The one obvious result, of course, will be that we will see more answers to prayer, and we will experience the great joy in the Lord that follows (Jn. 16:24). But there are also other results. Here are three things that I can think of:
Importune Prayer will become Easier
The more you pray with importunity, the easier it will be to continue to pray with importunity. Not that importune prayer is ever easy, but the first few experiences of it will tend to pave the road and make the way smoother for more and more importune prayer. For when you have that prayer experience behind you, you will have gained the insight that makes your prayers more importunate.
Accordingly, with this experience, you will pray with more patience and strength, and with more ability to press on in prayer, even when it seems hopeless. You will have developed…
It is coming, a little at a time, and faster than we think.
And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17 and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name (Rev 13:16-18).
Yes, the Antichrist will control all currency. And the world banks will be programable. Everything you buy or sell will be controlled and programed. The banks are already planning for it. Read the following article.
Globalists have long promoted the idea of a central bank with a central world currency. These bank failures of recent days may be part of their overall plan.
When banks fail, governments or other banks come alongside them to ensure that their depositors are protected. Consolidation and control is usually the result. While the bailed-out bank may have its same name, it is now owned by or beholden to another entity, a larger entity that can afford the risk. This puts the money in control of fewer hands.
There are conditions for the bailouts. What currently may be happening is a shift in how banking is done, consolidation if you will, to bring tighter control and monitoring of money. A large step toward electronic currency.
Policy is a huge factor. During the early Trump years, the economy was humming. Then came COVID. And then came Biden. The Biden Administration policies caused this current bank crisis, likely in cooperation with the major financial leaders.
Locking down the economy was a huge step toward financial disruption. Immediately on the heels of that Marxist move was Biden’s barrage against the economy.
Christ is the person of God who intercedes for believers (and for those who will become believers) before the Father in heaven. Here, in ten points, is a picture of His intercession.
Stephen Nielsen 