Introduction

Chapter 18 of Revelation speaks a truth: disasters strike suddenly. People in this world lack the wisdom to foresee the abruptness of calamities. We often believe tomorrow will be better, but suddenly a disaster descends, and all the good things vanish. For example, someone happily goes to a wedding but takes the wrong taxi and embarks on a journey of no return, being murdered.

Recently in Shenzhen, someone received a phone call for an interview and was inexplicably attacked. Living in this world, it is foolish not to know the abruptness of disasters. For example, many people are still working hard to make money, but when a disaster strikes, everything returns to square one. Some have the chance to rise again from square one, while others go directly into eternity.

The Logic of Babylon is Enmity with God

Today, we must know that calamities and disasters come together, and such things are described many times in the Bible. For example, the two sons of old Eli took a piece of meat with a fork from the pot where the meat was being cooked. That meat was originally for sacrifice. The Israelites hoped to solve their problems through sacrifice. However, the forks of Eli's two sons pierced the hearts of the sacrificers, undermining their faith: Is my sacrifice still useful? Is my sacrifice in vain? Ruined by Eli's two sons, will God still be pleased with my sacrifice?

Later, God's judgment repeatedly reminded old Eli, but he did not repent. As a result, Eli's two sons died on the same day. When Eli heard that his sons had died, he fell backward and died that day. His daughter-in-law, hearing that they were all dead, went into labor and gave birth to a child named Ichabod, meaning the glory has departed from Israel. She died after giving birth. Today, our understanding of things is really insufficient. We are constantly pursuing and earning money. Why earn money? Because I need to live. How can I live without money? This is the logic system of Babylon.

In fact, the most important issue for a person to live is not money. When disaster strikes, wealth becomes pale and powerless. Babylon the great has fallen, has fallen, and calamities come together in one day. Babylon the great is actually the descendant of Nimrod, and they built the great city to promote their own name. Today, making money in big cities has become relatively easy because business is really better in those places.

People forget as they earn money, turning earning money into a very important thing, and earning money becomes the purpose of life. In fact, the purpose of life was not originally to earn money; the purpose of life is to live better. People's logic system is that I must have money to live, so I have to earn money! How can I live without earning money? I need money as soon as I open my eyes. It all sounds very reasonable, but looking at this matter from a spiritual perspective, there are many unreasonable things.

Let me give you a few examples. How can I live without money? It sounds so reasonable. I have to see a doctor when I am sick, and I have to spend money to see a doctor. I need to pay rent, phone bills, and internet fees every morning... all these things require money! But one thing is forgotten: money cannot stop any disaster!

I have said this many times: One day at 4 a.m., a Chinese tycoon in Singapore died in a car accident at the intersection outside my office. Money cannot stop car accidents, money cannot stop cancer, and there are many things that money cannot stop. In other words, if we know that there are many things that money cannot stop, isn't it foolish to still desperately earn money? But in the logic system of Great Babylon, the Tower of Babel, people forget these things and completely lose themselves.

And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.” (Revelation 18:2-3)

Babylon has become a prison, meaning that the logic system of Babylon has deceived a large number of people, and a large number of people have succumbed to this matter. Our ancient poetry says, Such is my country, adorned with rivers and mountains, that countless heroes bow before it. Emperor Qin Shi Huang led the iron cavalry of the Qin state to unify the seven kingdoms, but Qin Shi Huang died in his fifties. Qin Shi Huang took a tour to the East Sea, not wanting to die! He had to find an elixir of immortality! But in the end, he could not stop death. A small illness took his life.

People are truly pitiful. Qin Shi Huang went through a lot of trouble, unified all of China, made major reforms in politics and economics, and to this day we call him the First Emperor, the first emperor to create a feudal dynasty with great achievements. But in the end, a small illness took his life. This also confirms that all disasters will come together: death, mourning, and famine.

Brothers and sisters, if you still have the logic system of Babylon or the Tower of Babel, that is, I have to earn money, then you have entered the logic system of Babylon. If you still have a chance, you will be sent back to square one to start over. Some people live from twenty to thirty years old and return to square one, some live from thirty to forty years old and return to square one, some return to square one at fifty, or sixty, and there is no need to struggle after seventy; after that, there is no then. Isn't this a tragedy?

What People Need Most in Life is God

Brothers and sisters, you must clearly recognize this: what people need in life is not money; what people really need in life is God! People need God so much! Today, I am telling everyone, crying out to Heaven, reading Chapter 18 of Revelation, and bearing witness to tell you that people need God in life! But many people still fall into the logic system of Babylon.

The day before yesterday, I drove a mother and daughter (who used to be sisters in our church) to dinner. A Lamborghini drove past our car. I don't think Lamborghini is anything special; sitting in it is like sitting in a prison. But this sister's eyes lit up when she saw the Lamborghini, and she exclaimed. I thought to myself: She is really unworldly. What is this thing? Isn't it just a thing that makes a vroom, vroom sound from the exhaust pipe? I really don't like it. Some people say: You can't eat grapes, so you say they are sour. Maybe so, but I don't think I can enjoy it. What's so good about this thing?

Faced with worldly things: pearls, delicacies, all these purple and scarlet brand-name clothes, gold, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, etc.; white marble, copper, iron, and other precious metals, few people would not marvel. Looking at the smoke of burning Babylon from afar, they cry out, Alas! Alas!

What city is like this great city?” And they threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, “Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is laid waste.” (Revelation 18:18-19)

Today, all brothers and sisters, I want to tell everyone something: Do not commit fornication with the Babylonian logic system! What does fornication or adultery mean? It means wanting to love God on one hand and loving money on the other hand; having the logic system of God on one hand and having the logic system of Babylon on the other hand. This is a very bad thing. Therefore, God says:

Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. (Revelation 18:4)

Do you want to receive her plagues? If you want to receive her plagues, then you share in her sins. You join her in trusting Mammon, going to get rich, make money, eat well, drink well, use well—cars, horses, servants, people, delicacies, wearing good clothes, eating good food, drinking good drinks, using good things. And what is the result? Alas! Alas! That great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth is laid waste in one hour.

Many years ago, I went to Ephesus, and that place has become a wilderness. The pillars and stones are carved very beautifully, and one can imagine that the great city of Ephesus was the most expensive area in the whole city. How luxurious the great city of Ephesus was back then, but today it is in ruins. How luxurious Sodom and Gomorrah were back then, but now you can't even see their shadows. How luxurious the city of Jericho was back then, but today it is also in ruins.

We must begin to see that today, do not build your hope on real estate, do not build your hope on money, do not build your hope on stocks, and do not build your hope on eating and drinking well. There are also playing harps, making music, grand opera houses, playing flutes, playing trumpets, craftsmen, exquisite handmade products, beautiful lights, flashing neon lights. Nothing can prevent them from falling into judgment.

In fact, when we look at the history described in the Bible today, the people in Sodom and Gomorrah were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, buying and selling. In one day, fire rained down from the sky and burned Sodom and all the cities of the plain. Can you imagine that? Today, we don't need to be too surprised. Many years ago, when I was watching TV, the Japanese 311 tsunami came crashing down, scaring people to death! Large factories and warehouses were easily uprooted in the camera like matchboxes.

And further back, the Southeast Asian tsunami, tourists were playing on the beach. From those short tsunami videos, you could see a group of people standing there, and then someone realized something was wrong and ran away, shouting, Run, run! Another group of people just stood there, waiting for the wave to get higher and higher. When they were about to run away, the dozens-of-meters-high waves crashed down, and they couldn't escape. It was terrible!

Once when I went back to my hometown, I turned on the TV and wow! Unbelievable! The TV showed a plane crashing into an American building with a bang. Can you imagine that the people in the American building and the people on the plane had reached their end from that moment on? Are we still relying on money today? I have given you all the examples I can to tell you that money can absolutely not stop disasters.

If money cannot stop disasters, then what should you do? You must first put down the logic system of Babylon, the logic system of the Tower of Babel inside you. If you have not lived long enough, only in your teens or twenties, and have not seen luxurious things or experienced much of the world, you are easily tempted. Today, I am telling you this, and you should reflect on it in the future.

Some time ago, one of our slightly older sisters discovered that many girls in their twenties who had not seen the world (and boys as well) were easily deceived by such things. She began to pursue wealth, and from then on, she embarked on the path of the Babylonian logic system. What will be the result? The result is to commit fornication with the Babylonian logic system, and be poured out for her fornication and wrath. Then Babylon becomes a prison for all kinds of demons and unclean spirits. I believe such a prison is prepared for Babylon and those who possess the Babylonian logic system.

If one does not see through the essence of what one pursues in life, I am truly telling you that it is a very deadly thing. Then you say, Have you seen through it? I say, I have truly seen through it. Then if you have seen through it, why do you still buy houses? Those who have seen through it buy them, and those who have not seen through it also buy them, but those who have seen through it buy them in a way that is different; those who have seen through it eat, and those who have not seen through it also eat; those who have seen through it buy and sell, and those who have not seen through it also buy and sell. But the results are completely different, and the purposes are also completely different. Some people buy and sell in order to live. Some people live for God, and they also buy and sell. The act of buying and selling cannot be used to prove a person's purpose in life.

Only a House with God's Glory is Called a Temple

Today, I want to tell you that some people live in Mingding Destiny because they have seen through the affairs of this world. When you see through the affairs of this world and finally come to know God; when you know God and realize that God is the answer to all these things, would you still choose to love money? Would you still love this Babylonian system of logic? If you ask me, I would say no, not even if you beat me to death.

I am very aware that in the past years, perhaps those disasters could have swallowed me, but because I have God, God has helped me avoid countless disasters. Why don't people know about such things? It is because they are too deeply陷 in the Babylonian logic system, too deeply involved in fornication. You think the kings of the earth commit adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth became rich through her excessive luxury. Can you understand? Many Christians have such a logical system.

Early on, when I was an executive in university, I met some businessmen who told me directly: Building a church requires money. When I heard this, I felt awkward. Why? Because there is no such sentence in the Bible. I thought, why does building a church require money? Building a church requires God. If you build a house and call it a temple, but God's presence does not descend, it is just a house, isn't it? If you build a house according to God's will and it is filled with God's glory, that is called a temple.

Building a church does not require money but requires God. Only a house filled with God's glory is called a temple. Moses built the tabernacle, and then the cloud of God rested on the tabernacle, and the glory of God filled the temple. God manifested His presence there, which is the same principle as us building a church today. If building a church does not have God's presence, it is called Babylon. The spirit of Babylon is that people want to promote their own names, and God will destroy it. Proclaiming God's name, God will make His name great, that is Abraham.

We know that without God's permission, disasters will not fall upon you. I believe in God's word, and God is with me, using my hands to perform miracles, allowing many people to be healed. It is a pity that many people see miracles and experience miracles, but in the end, they return to the Babylonian logical system, and they do not know to fear. Look, the great city of Babylon has fallen, and in an instant, it has become a wasteland. Do you still want to live by Babylon?

Standing far off for fear of her torment, saying, “Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.” (Revelation 18:10)

Revelation 18 is written for us! Brothers and sisters, today, let us all imitate Abraham and Jacob, see through the affairs of the world, and clearly understand that people need God. I want to shout to everyone, the end of loving money and loving the world is the sudden arrival of disaster. Disaster will come in one day. Why does God do this? Because blessings take time, and curses also take time. A person reaps what he sows. This is a spiritual principle.

Spiritual people see through all things, seeing through all things with the eyes of faith. They know that the seeds sown will eventually bear fruit. The Bible speaks very clearly, both the knowledge of good and evil and the indulgence of the flesh are death. I wish I could transform all the brothers and sisters from here. Cannot be told, after being told will be negative, the face will turn dark, and then be dominated, and finally become a prison of unclean spirits.

And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit... (Revelation 18:2)

Brothers and sisters, today, choose to be the Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob of the world, and will not be irritated by the jealousy of worldly wealth. If you see through it, you will not be deceived. What will people gain by pursuing those things?

And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. (Revelation 18:4)

Conclusion

Today, we must all come out of the system of the great city of Babylon. We should be thankful when we read this chapter that we will not fall to this point. Disasters in this world are continuous, even the most developed big cities are unavoidable, and cannot stop natural and man-made disasters. Therefore, I encourage brothers and sisters to be people who have God's logical system and live in God's plan and Mingding Destiny, that is infinitely good.

May God bless everyone!