SERMON]-Jericho and Babylon

Jericho and Babylon

Now our brothers and sisters in Zion are preaching the gospel fervently in their given circumstances: students at school, employees at work, soldiers in the army, housewives in their neighborhoods. As we preach so eagerly, God has weakened the power of Babylon. These days, even those who have been in Babylon for a long time now seek the true faith according to the Bible and receive the truth. This is the current trend in the gospel. Babylon is to fall as prophesied in the Bible. Babylon's fall can be likened to the fall of Jericho in the days of Joshua. It was the work of God that the fortified walls of Jericho fell down flat before the Israelites. Since all the people of Israel obeyed the word of God, they were able to destroy Jericho and obtain the land of Canaan flowing with milk and honey. Now we are living in the prophetic age when Babylon is falling down. All of us should shout and preach. When we boldly proclaim the glory of Father and Mother and tell the good news of salvation to all people around the world, Babylon will fall according to the prophecy and the kingdom of God will come soon. Babylon the Great which is fallen, and Jericho 2,000 years ago, Apostle John saw a vision of what would take place in the future on the island of Patmos, and prophesied about the destruction of Babylon the Great. Rev 18:1-10 『After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. With a mighty voice he shouted: "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries." Then I heard another voice from heaven say: "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. . . . She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her. When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: ‘Woe! Woe, O great city, O Babylon, city of power! In one hour your doom has come! Babylon, which is so great and strong that no one dares look down on, is finally falling since God's judgment has come upon her. The scene where Babylon is falling is just like the scene where Jericho fell down in ancient Israel. The city of Jericho, which stood before the Israelites, fell down helplessly before the power of God. Everything that occurred in the past is a shadow of what is to come. In the past history of the Old Testament as a shadow, the great city Jericho fell down. This is closely related to the destruction of Babylon the Great. Comparing Jericho with Babylon, let's think about what kind of faith God's people should have in this age. Jos 6:1-5 『. . . Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in."』 On the way to the entrance to the land of Canaan, the barrier that the Israelites encountered first was a strong fortress, Jericho. Without conquering the fortress, they couldn't attain the land of Canaan flowing with milk and honey. It was a mountain they had to get over and a process they had to pass. Then God showed them how to conquer Jericho easily, and all the people obeyed what He said. Jos 6:15-20 『On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, "Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! . . ." When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city.』 When the people marched around the city seven times, Joshua said it was time to get ready and commanded the people, "Shout!" Then the people shouted with one mind. At that moment, something unbelievable happened before their very eyes. God made the walls of Jericho fall down and gave the people victory as He had promised them.

continue...