The Drunken Harlot or the Sober Bride?

In the book of Revelation, the Apostle John saw a vision, a vision that included two women. And these women are quite different from one another. The first woman I want to focus on was adorned with, it says, purple and scarlet. And she appears to be a very attractive woman to this world. Many people are drawn after her, many people seduced by this woman. And she is pictured as riding on a powerful beast with seven heads and ten horns.

This woman is captivating as she seems, represents something false. It's a false religious system. It's a system that will become dominant at the end of the age and actually drive the religious focus of the beast's power that will come on the scene. So let's take a look at this woman as she is portrayed in the Bible. Revelation 17 is where I'd like to begin today. Revelation 17, because again, there's dramatic contrast between the two women I want to consider.

Revelation 17 and verse 1, and understand as the Bible describes this woman, it actually describes her in somewhat graphic terms. Revelation 17, verse 1 says, Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, and saying to me, Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, says with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

Verse 3, so he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple scarlet, and adorned with gold, with precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup, full of abominations, full of the filthiness of her fornication. Verse 5 says, A very descriptive write-up, a descriptive vision that John received of this woman. He's trying to put it into terms of what could be conveyed, and how we would understand it yet here today.

But this woman here is branded in Revelation as a faithless harlot. She's shown as engaging in this adulterous relationship, in these adulterous alliances with the kings of the earth, pulling them into her web of infidelity, her web of deceit, and they will respond in kind and return by then giving their allegiance to her. She's described here in verse 5 also as a mother. And we would say, maybe in our terms today, as a mother church. She's given birth to other spiritual harlots that have come forth from her, and she deals in mysteries.

She deals in secret knowledge. She deals, brethren, in paganisms, and the inhabitants of the earth will become literally intoxicated with her deceptions. They'll become drunk on a religious immorality. And like any other drunk that you could imagine, they will stagger about, not thinking clearly, not making sound reason and judgment because of the influence of the woman they've given themselves over to.

This is what is being described for us here in Revelation chapter 17. Now, if we go forward in the same chapter to the end, Revelation chapter 17 and verse 18, it says, So this woman is associated with Babylon the Great, that city that will be of great pride on the earth, that those that look to that city will love and lust and yearn after the things that that city has to offer. And what it says essentially about her is that her relationships will reach far and wide across the face of the earth into the highest levels of political office.

Her relationships will go out abroad into many of the social circles of mankind across the face of the earth, and she will be embraced. And again, as it's described here, the harlot is a woman. And if we use the Bible to interpret the Bible and how a woman is used in Revelation, we understand that this woman is a church. And her cultural and religious roots go way back. They go back into ancient Babylon in the Babylonian system. And it's a system of idolatry and paganism that's come down to our time today. In fact, it's run the course parallel with literally God's truth from the beginning.

If you go back to the Tower of Babel and that satanic uprising against God to let us make a name for ourselves and let us do it our ways, and you go to Nimrod and Cimaramis and what came out from them, frankly down to many of the pagan Christmas and Easter culture customs that we find in the world around us today. So Babylon, this religious system, this false religious system, has been running a line parallel in competition, but certainly not in any way that can stand up to the truth of God.

But it's been the great deception down to time, and most directly it's come down to our time today through the Church of Rome. And brethren, it is a thread that will continue to the end of the age, and then indeed the surge, the uprising of Babylon the Great again at the end of the age. Not only are the nations of the earth drunk because of her, but she's also found to be a drunk as well. If we go back to verse 6 of Revelation chapter 7, it says, This is drunkenness we're talking about here.

Maybe not literally physical drunkenness to its full extent, but spiritual drunkenness certainly. And an impairment of a mental and a spiritual state. She is literally intoxicated on the blood of the saints. The fact that killing and making martyrs of those that would be faithful to Jesus Christ is something that would, shall we say, give her a buzz. She is drunk here, as it is referred to, and the drunkenness as well goes out to all the earth. The kings, the nations, the peoples of the earth are drunk because of the influence of this woman.

And because what it is that she does, that indeed is now intoxicating even to them. And so it's a type of drunkenness that is being portrayed. And that's the picture of Revelation chapter 17 of this woman, of the system that she's associated with, and frankly, the allegiance that the world has given to her. But in the midst of all that, God has special instructions. And it's for you, and it's for me. And it's for the people of God who would live in that age.

Revelation chapter 18, verse 4 and 5. Revelation 18, verse 4 and 5, and it says, I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Instructions to God's people, the faithful ones who would be followers of Jesus Christ, the point is, Come out of her, my people. Don't share in her sins. Don't share in her intoxication. Don't give your allegiance to her. It says, she is a harlot in which, frankly, the kings of the earth have invested themselves with.

But he says, you as my people are to go a different way. Don't become spiritually drunk like the other inhabitants of the earth, because otherwise your judgment will be caught up with hers. So that's the first woman that we're given a glimpse into, maybe not in chronological order, but in terms of what we're looking at today. That's one woman, and she stands in a very clear and dramatic way, as opposed to God and the people of God. That leads us then to the second woman I want to consider from John's vision, because this woman stands diametrically opposed to this first woman.

In one sense, they're both women, and that's the only thing they have in common. The second woman is diametrically opposed to the first woman. She's mentioned in various places throughout the Scripture, but I want to jump then to the conclusion of the matter of the second woman.

Let's go to Revelation chapter 19 and verse 7. Revelation chapter 19 and verse 7, and it says, "'Let us be glad and rejoice, and give him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready.' It says, "'And to her was granted to be arrayed and fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.' Then he said to me," verse 9, "'Right, blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.' And he said to me, "'These are the true sayings of God.'" And so what we see, brethren, is that the Lamb, Jesus Christ, is going to be married, and there is a woman who has prepared herself for that role, to be the bride, to be the one to be joined with Christ in marriage.

And this woman as well has religious connotations. Because as other passages would confirm, she is the Church of God. She is the true woman. She is one who has aligned herself with the truth of God. She's filled her life with righteousness and with purity. And that's reflected by the garments in which she is wearing. Right? The fine linen, bright and clean, it's the righteous acts of the saints. She has kept herself as a chaste virgin, as the Apostle Paul certainly admonishes in 2 Corinthians 11 and verse 2.

So she stands again diametrically opposed to everything that this other woman stands for. The other woman as well was associated with a city, was she not? Babylon the Great. And you know what? This woman of purity is associated with the city as well. But it's not a corruptible city. It's a city that stands more beautiful, more glorious than anything of this earth. Revelation chapter 21 and verse 9. Revelation 21 verse 9, it says, Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me.

And he talked with me, saying, Come, I will show you. Notice the bride, the Lamb's wife. Verse 10, And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain. And he showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. And her light was like a most precious stone. It was like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. Just a very, very beautiful description, very pristine, very pure. Very much of reflecting righteousness and godliness. Again, this is the opposite of what you see portrayed by the first woman.

So again, these are women of contrast in the book of Revelation, and we lay them side by side. The first woman is dressed in purple and scarlet, as we read. However, the bride is dressed in white, fine linen, clean and bright. The first woman is a false church influenced by Satan and devil. The bride is the church of God, led by the truth of God and the spirit of God. The first woman's religion deals in mysteries and paganisms.

The bride is the pillar and ground of the truth. The first woman is described as a harlot. The bride is described as a virgin. She is one who has kept herself and remained pure, fully dedicated to her spouse. The first woman is a mother. As it describes her, she is a mother of harlots and the mother of the abominations of the earth. The bride is the church of God, the mother of us all. So you have contrast upon contrast upon contrast. The first woman's city of association is Babylon. The bride's city of association is the New Jerusalem.

The final contrast is actually the contrast I'd like to spend the rest of my time on today. The final contrast, the harlot of Revelation, is described as a drunk. She's a drunk. She is a spiritual drunk. She is drunk on the blood of the saints. She is intoxicated by her own false perceptions and by the lead of the adversary. In addition, she promotes drunkenness among the kings and the inhabitants of the earth.

She holds others under her sway because the abominations that she has caused them to be intoxicated by as well. A drunken woman, a drunken system, a drunken world. That indeed was part of John's vision. Whereas, by contrast, the bride of Christ is sober. That's what I'd like to focus on today, the sobriety of the bride of Christ. The title of my message is, The Drunken Harlot or the Sober Bride? The Drunken Harlot or the Sober Bride. You see, at the end of the age, as John's vision clearly details, there's going to be a choice.

People will choose either one or the other. And the choice for you and I as the Church of God today is, who will we choose? What will our standard be? What will we be given over to, as Mr. Oliver said? How will we use our time? What are the things we're going to invest ourselves in? Are we going to be drunk?

Or are we going to be sober? I've used this dramatic illustration to introduce my sermon because I want to impact on us all just how strongly the Bible condemns drunkenness, and specifically among the saints of God, both physical and spiritual. What's portrayed by this end-time woman in scarlet is, I would say, more so spiritual drunkenness, but the effect is the same. And the people that follow her in that intoxication, the effect is the same, because they stagger around now without reason. It is apart from good judgment and reason to stand in opposition to Jesus Christ and to fight Him at His return, and yet this is the intoxication that the whole world would be given over to.

But as the people of God, with clarity of vision, we have a choice. So again, a hallmark of the woman that rides the beast and those associated with her is drunkenness. It is blindness. It's blindness that obscures sound judgment, and they will be a people who stagger about at the end of the age. But a hallmark of the bride is sobriety. Those who have lived God's way, those who have dedicated themselves to truth, those who are dressed in white, and frankly, those who remain sober until the end. Let's go to Psalm chapter 104 and verse 14 today. I want to spend the rest of my time looking at what the Bible tells us about the use of alcohol.

Psalm chapter 104 and verse 14, because again, brethren, there are physical elements to this, but ultimately there's a spiritual element as well, and we need to be aware of it. Psalm chapter 104 and verse 14.

Speaking of God here, it says, So, you know, the question that sometimes comes up is, is alcohol consumption allowed in the Word of God? Is it appropriate? Is it okay for the saints of God? And honestly, the answer is yes. It's going to be clear as we walk through the Bible. The answer is yes, but brethren, within, hear me, moderation. And that's the key we're going to see. Within moderation. Within moderation, alcohol can play a very useful part in our lives. It does, in fact, have a cheering effect upon the heart. It can lift the spirits. It can lighten our mood in certain ways. And when people use it properly, it can be a benefit to us. Judges chapter 9 verse 12.

Judges 9 and verse 12.

It's interesting, we're not even going to come close to packing in half the Scriptures that you could walk through on this topic in the Bible. But I think we'll see enough to get the point. Judges chapter 9 and verse 12. It says, You know, it's kind of this sort of interesting dialogue that's been personified of sort of the trees and the vine, having this back and forth. But it just simply says, you know, the new wine of the vine cheers both God and men. And it's describing something that the wine would do, that alcohol would do, in terms of cheering the heart, again, of lifting up the spirit. And when it's used in moderation, a drink of alcohol can have a positive impact on our mood. It can liven our spirits and it can make our heart glad. And it says, it even cheers the heart of God.

Which that's an interesting concept, just to kind of sit and meditate upon.

Proverbs chapter 31 and verse 6 says, And so what you'll find in the scripture as well is that there is indeed legitimate medicinal use to alcohol as well. And there's times where it can be used as a cure to ailments or used in a way that would help to alleviate someone's suffering. But again, there's right and proper uses of this. First Timothy chapter 5 verse 23, Paul instructs Timothy to no longer drink only water. But use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities.

You know, it appears that maybe Timothy had a bit of a weak constitution. And as someone that has traveled around in Africa, I kind of maybe imagine that traveling around in the Middle East isn't quite so different. The wells are hand-dug and they're shallow, and there can be bacteria in the water and on the surface streams. And Paul's saying, you know, Timothy, don't just drink water for your stomach's sake. Actually, drink a little wine for your stomach's sake and your infirmities. And actually, that's something that I've taken on as a tool myself at times when traveling in Africa.

Several years ago, I was visiting Nigeria, traveling around with Dari, and one morning I woke up and I just really didn't feel so well. But, you know, you carry on on the travels, and as the day went on, and then the next day, I started just to get this stabbing pain in my stomach. And it got worse and worse. Eventually, I went over to Ghana for the second part of the trip, traveling around with Henry Aikens, and this stabbing pain in my stomach was literally to the point where I'd go to bed at night, and I would lay in bed in a fetal position, just kind of curled up, because I just, at my core, just this stabbing pain.

And I told Darla about it as I was talking with her, and she said, well, I hit a surprise in your luggage. It was coming up on my birthday, as I was going to be over there during my birthday, and she said, I hit two small, kind of like one-shot bottles of whiskey. And she said, maybe you should try that. Maybe it would help. I said, you know, I'll give it a try, because this is about debilitating, and I found it, where she'd hidden them, and I opened the first one, and I took a drink, and it was like, kind of the heat and the warmth, and the pain just started to ease, and I thought, well, that's interesting.

And I drank the second one, and I went to bed for the night, and when I woke up, it was gone. Just that pain was gone, and it never returned. So, you know, there's times where there can be a medicinal use. One time I was very sick, because we were traveling around Ghana and shook probably 200 hands, going congregation to congregation, and I came down with something, and we're coming back around to Accra, and I told Henry Aikens, you know, I'm really getting sick here. I had a fever. I just, I wasn't feeling well.

I said, I think I need a couple of days at the hotel, and just dropped me off at the hotel, and I said, bring me some Guinness. And so, Henry brought, I think it was like a six-pack of Guinness, and I spent two days at the hotel, and I just very slowly sipped that over the course of two days.

We're not talking intoxication. I didn't even drink it fast enough to get a buzz of any kind. This was medicinal. I just laid low, and I drank that for two days, and then I was fine, and we were on our way. So there's times, again, within moderation, within care, where there's actually a place where there's legitimate medicinal use, and times when it can be used to cure ailments, to ease someone's suffering. You recall that Jesus Christ himself, his first public miracle, was what?

We turned water into wine at the feast in Cana of Galilee. And it would not have done that if the consumption of alcohol was a sin, would he? Again, we're talking moderation. We're talking proper use as God intended. And in fact, Jesus Christ himself appears to have consumed alcohol from time to time. And we can know that based upon, frankly, the accusation that was brought against him in his response to it. Let's go to Luke 7, verse 33.

Luke 7, verse 33. Here's the words of Jesus Christ, again, in response to an accusation that was brought against him. Luke 7, verse 33, Jesus said, So Jesus Christ, who set the proper example of how we should live our lives in moderation in all things, would seem enjoyed a drink of wine from time to time. That's not a wrong thing. That's not a shameful thing to do or anything to hang our head about. Again, when kept in moderation as God intended, it can have a positive effect on our mood, on our health. And indeed, God created it and allowed it to be created and developed for a purpose. Additionally, Christ instructed his disciples to take wine as a part of the Passover service.

You see, again, with all the things that God has created, and as he calls them good, there is a good way to use them, a proper way to use them, and there's also improper. Unfortunately, man tends to take things that God created as good and take them to the extremes, take them to an improper usage that God never intended. People with a proclivity towards alcoholism and those who cannot drink in moderation should not drink. And frankly, anyone to whom it would bother their conscience to drink, because you see some believe I shouldn't touch it at all scripturally. I just say, don't violate your conscience. That is an instruction of the Bible as well. But ultimately, we all need to remember that the wrong use of alcohol resulting in drunkenness is a sin. Ultimately, it's a sin against God, and it's something that we must avoid as the people of God and as the bride that seeks to remain sober as we await His coming. Ephesians chapter 5, verse 15. As I was listening to Mr. Oliver's sermonette, I kind of wondered if he would go here. I appreciate him saving it for me. Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 15. The apostle Paul writing, he says, Again, how we use our time is an important thing to God. How we spend it. Is it used properly? Is it used in a way that goes to productive service, or do we perhaps squander the time God has given us? Verse 17, he says, You know, activities of dissipation are unbecoming a Christian. Dissipation is something that goes to nothingness. It's like I had something here. I had something of value, and it's dissipated and slipped through my fingers into nothingness. That's dissipation.

We have a wood stove in our house, and these cold winter days will fire up the wood stove in the morning and stoke it at night. But I get out and do chores in the morning, feed the horses, gather some firewood in, and I can look back at the house because I've gotten the fire going. And there's this little curl of smoke that's going out the chimney up into the air. But it only goes so far because then it dissipates. Right? You probably watch how that process works. You breathe your breath out on a cold morning at a vapor cloud.

It just dissipates. It goes up into nothingness. You can't grab it. You can't pull it back in. You can't hold on to it. It just goes up into nothingness. And that's what it is to be drunk with wine. It is taking something of value rather than redeeming it to a good use. You've dissipated it. You've squandered it. You have nothing good to show for it, and it's essentially gone up in smoke. Gone up into nothingness.

And the blessing of the Bible, and frankly the multiple scriptures that are in here, is that drunkenness will dissipate your time. Right? Just take your time, and what do you have to show for it when you wake up from that stupor?

It will dissipate your time. It will dissipate your money. It will dissipate your health, your job. If it's of bad enough extent, it will dissipate your relationships. It will dissipate your reputation. And taken to its most extreme end, it will dissipate your life. Just up in smoke, without rhyme and reason. And the value of what could be is simply gone. And that's not how God would have us conduct ourselves as His people.

The contrast here, again, in verse 18, Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. Use your time well to draw close to God, to cultivate that relationship, to grow in spiritual understanding. Be filled with His Spirit. I think it's interesting that alcohol is called spirits. But the Spirit of God, brethren, is what we want to be filled with and imbibe of, truly without reserve. A drunk individual in their inebriation is actually searing their relationship with God.

You see, that's a danger. They're cutting themselves off from God in the lead of God's Spirit in their lives because they've numbed themselves to it. God's Spirit in us, can you stop and hear the still small voice? Well, if you've numbed your senses, you've drowned your sensibilities, you've impaired yourself, dulled your responsiveness, you are literally cutting yourself off from God, again by excessive use of alcohol. It's something we have to be very, very careful of. Proverbs 31, verse 4. Proverbs 31, verse 4. Again, I can't say it often enough. In moderation, right? As with all things. In moderation, that's just the rule of thumb we need to live by.

Psalm 31, verse 4 says, It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes intoxicating drink, lest they drink and forget the law and pervert justice of all the afflicted. What law is it talking about? What law could you forget through a stupor? It is the law of God, ultimately. The kings and the princes of Israel weren't to drown themselves in alcohol to the point that they now have forgotten God, and their judgments are perverted. That was not why God appointed them to that position. When we're under the influence of excessive alcohol, we lose our judgment.

Sound judgment. Again, the kings and the inhabitants of the earth will be drunk at the end of the age spiritually, and their judgment goes out the window. They think they're going to defeat Jesus Christ and thwart the plan of God upon the establishment of the kingdom of God. We make poor choices under the influence, and we experience a lack of control over our own body. We stagger. We stumble. We fall down as human beings if you're intoxicated. That's a physical effect, but the spiritual effect is far more damaging and lasting even than that.

As Christians, we're called to be responsible for our actions, and to lose self-control is sin. That's indeed what the Bible tells us. To lose self-control is sin. Let's go to Proverbs chapter 20 and verse 1 and see what else the Bible describes as the effects of excessive alcohol consumption.

Proverbs chapter 20 and verse 1 says, wine is a mocker. That's an interesting phrase, isn't it? Wine is a mocker. Strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise. Remember, the book of Proverbs is a book of wisdom. It conveys wisdom for life. It's written as, to my son, walk in this way and serve the Lord, and it will be a blessing to you. The point of it here is that those who give themselves over to alcohol are not wise.

It says wine's a mocker. It probably doesn't take a lot of imagination to think of how that plays out. Have you ever seen somebody that had just a little too much to drink? What happens to the tongue? It starts moving uncontrollably. Wine is a mocker, as describing someone who succumbs to the influence, and they tend to mock, don't they? What do they mock? Well, oftentimes they mock good habits. They tend to mock and make fun of virtue. They scoff at the righteous things of God. Wine is a mocker, and strong drink is a brawler.

I like old Westerns. I like John Wayne movies and other old Westerns. What do you see time and time again in the Westerns happens in the saloon? Well, eventually somebody's going through the plate glass window, and a chair's getting smashed over someone else. That's just what happens in all those Western movies, right, in the saloon. It says, strong drink is a brawler, because again, strong drink will loosen our inhibitions, won't it? It causes us to do things we wouldn't ordinarily do in our right mind. In those states, people are often riled up. They're actually provoked much more easily, and frankly, much farther than they would normally be when they're in their right and sober state. In fact, in the end, it's not their own virtue that ends up being mocked by the alcohol. It is their virtue, excuse me. What gets mocked, ultimately? Because you're spouting out at the mouth, you're conducting these actions that are now out of self-control. What is mocked is you. What is mocked is what you stand for and who you say you are and what you represent. In the end, in fact, that is indeed what happens, because the boundaries of propriety are lowered in intoxication, and people forget their God. People forget their God.

Proverbs 23, verse 19.

Proverbs 23, verse 19. Hear my son and be wise, and guide your heart in the way. It says, Do not mix with wine-bibbers or with gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags. The end result of these things is not good. And again, written as wisdom from a father to the son, he says, don't associate with people of that kind.

Don't learn their ways. Don't become such as them, because in the end, again, it is not good. It doesn't lead to a righteous state. Ultimately, it leads to destruction. It leads to squandering. Verse 29, dropping down, it says, Who has woe, and who has sorrow? Who has contentions, and who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? You know, where did you get that bruise on your head?

Where did you get that scuff on your cheek or on your body? Where did you get this that's shown up? Well, I don't know. I don't remember. Who has wounds without cause? It is, as the Bible would say, the drunkard. Who has redness of eyes? Verse 30, those who linger long at wine, those who go in search of mixed wine. It says, if you go down that path as your focus, and what it is that is your ambition to pursue, then the end result will not be pretty.

It's going to play out in a number of different ways in your life. Verse 31, do not look on wine when it is red, when it sparkles in a cup, when it swirls around smoothly. Oh, you beautiful, beautiful glass of wine. At last it bites, verse 31. At last it bites as a serpent, and stings like a viper.

I don't know how many times our daughter Tabitha has been called into work to cover somebody else's shift, because the person that was supposed to be working in that time frame was drunk. And she's gotten calls time after time. She started this job, I don't know, a month and a half before the feast. Her second week she was scheduled to work 15 to 20 hours, and I think she ended up working around 45 hours, because the call was, there's nobody to fill in, can you come?

We called so-and-so, they're hungover. We called so-and-so, they're drunk. We called so-and-so, they're high. And I was just shocked, because it was day after day, and I thought, what's this process like? It was pretty good for Tabitha, she was making a lot of money, and frankly, she was earning a good reputation at work, because she was not drunk, and she was not hungover, and she was not high. And she said, okay, yes, I can come and fill in.

But I think, what a sad, sad circumstance for those other people. They're not adding to their lives, they're literally destroying it by a pattern of behavior. Verse 33, it says, your eyes will see strange things. You know, people that are given over to alcohol, maybe someone that is actually addicted to alcohol and trying to get off it, and now that you have the withdrawal and the complications, you're going to see things.

Your eyes will see strange things, your heart will utter perverse things. Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, or like one who lies at the top of the mast. It's like, you know, I'm going to go to bed, and I'm going to sleep this thing off. But what happens, the room is rocking and rolling and spinning.

It's like you've laid down in the midst of the sea in the waves, or you're in the open ocean, and you're up there at the top of the mast, pitching back and forth. And when you're in that sensation, usually doesn't end well, does it? But that's what, indeed, the Bible is describing. Verse 35 says, they have struck me, but I was not hurt.

They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake? They may seek after another drink. Subscribing someone who alcohol has become such a major focus of their life, that it's just a repetitive cycle, day after day after day. They wake up in the morning, reaching for the bottle again. It's a very destructive life. And it robs a person, again, of their time, of their productivity. It is dissipation, and it is not what is becoming the sober bride, the one who is in waiting for the bridegroom. It's not what's described in Revelation as the woman we want to be. Isaiah chapter 5.

Isaiah chapter 5 and verse 11. Again, these are destructive natures that the Bible speaks very clearly about. And it's not only our destruction, frankly, if we're caught up in it, it is those around us as well. Isaiah chapter 5 and verse 11 says, You know, as someone that's describing a person that needs a drink just to get started in the morning.

Again, I was watching a Western one time, John Wayne, I believe, and they needed the, I believe it was the judge of the town to do something very important, but the judge was a drunk. And they went to the judge's house in the morning, and he's passed out after a night of drinking. And the way they got him going was they took the bottle and they poured him a drink.

And once they poured him down to the guy, he was kind of like, he woke up and he was going to do something. And that's what it's describing. Someone that needs a drink in the morning, even just to get going. And they drink throughout the day, and they're inflamed in the evening, and they get up the next day and they do the same thing all over again. Verse 12, Isaiah 5 verse 12, it says, And that's the extreme danger in all of this, brethren, because in a state of drunkenness it says, you're not even mindful of the things of God, of who He is, what He's doing, how He's given you to use your time, of His Spirit within you.

Because suddenly you've dulled that awareness. You've removed that sound reason in judgment. And in their drunkenness they have forgotten God and the work He is doing in their life. And it's a very, very dangerous line to walk, both physically and, as we saw in the book of Revelation, spiritually as well.

As the book of Isaiah continues, we sadly find that even the priesthood, even in the prophets of Isaiah's day, were caught up in this snare. Isaiah chapter 28 and verse 1 says, Woe to the crown of the pride, to the drunkers of Ephraim. Ephraim here is representative of Israel in this case.

Whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which is at the head of the verdant valleys, to those who are overcome with wine. These are God's people it's talking about. He's given them such a blessing.

He's placed them in the Promised Land. He is their God. They are His people. He's given them His law, His covenant, His blessings. And yet in their physical and spiritual drunkenness, they were at the point of losing it all. Verse 2 says, Behold, the Lord has a mighty and a strong one, like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, like a flood of mighty waters overflowing.

Who will bring them down to the earth with His hand? Says the crown of pride and the trunkers of Ephraim will be trampled underfoot. And the glorious beauty is a fading flower, which is at the head of the verdant valley, like the first fruit before the summer, which an observer sees. Says He eats it up while it's still in His hand. Dropping down to verse 7 it says, But they also have erred through wine, and through intoxicating drink they are out of the way.

The priests and the prophets were raising this now to the highest level in Israel you can raise it to. The people who had accountability before God to walk in a sober manner, because they were the ones who set the example. They were the ones who were to teach God's people the difference between the holy and the profane.

They set the standard of right and wrong, and these people have now come down to this point. Again, in the middle of verse 7, The priests and the prophets have erred through intoxication, and intoxicating drink they are swallowed up by wine. They are out of the way through intoxicating drink. They err in vision, and they stumble in judgment. For all the tables are full of vomit and filth. No place is clean. Describing a very sad and frankly very grotesque state among the people of God, where those who were even their leadership, who should have been setting the example, were caught up along the wayside in drunkenness.

And it removed their vision to see God, it removed their ability to make sound judgment, and as the priest and the prophets went, so went the people.

The United Church of God has a very low tolerance for alcoholism in the ministry. It's actually a zero tolerance. And obviously the church doesn't know what the ministers are perhaps doing each and every moment in their house, but what I do know is one DUI, and I'm out of a job. One DUI. One having a little too much fun at a party, get in the car, get pulled over on the way home. I'm done. And that is standard, frankly, that I think is good that the church holds actually on a number of different fronts. There's a ministerial code of ethics that we function by, and indeed, it's not a fail-safe cure for any problem that could arise, but I'm just saying the standard is held.

And there have been people, frankly, who have been set aside because they did not meet what it was that the Bible gives as the standard. It's a very, very high standard that God had placed these leaders into of His people because their effects and their decisions impacted more than just themselves. They were wrongly teaching the people. They were erring in judgment. And that then, indeed, cut the people whom they instructed off from God. Very, very sad circumstance. Verse 9 says, There was coming a time when God would speak to them through their captivity, that the judgment would come because of their sin.

They would be taken out of the land, and they would be captives by people of another language, of another tongue, and it would be through stammering lips and another tongue that then they would receive the lesson and the instruction from God for their actions. Sadly, in their inebriated state, they wouldn't respond. Eventually, God took them out of the land. Verse 12, to whom He said, This is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest, and this is the refreshing.

God says, I brought you here, I placed you here, just be comfortable here as my people and obey, but they would not. Verse 13 says, But the word of the Lord was to them, precept upon precept. Precept upon precept. Line upon line, line upon line. Hear a little, there a little, that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and caught. Verse 14, Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men. God says, Hear my word.

In your drunkenness, in your stupor, in your staggering around, hear my word. Repents. And return again. And their utter stupor, those who should have known better, rejected the true word of God, and they led the people astray. And even though God had given them his word in spades, precept upon precept, line upon line, hear a little, there a little, they rejected the word of God that was before their eyes.

God said, Hear my word. And in their stupor, they would not. God gave them his word so that they would be without excuse. And you know what? The word wasn't the problem. The problem was the intoxication. The problem was the drunkenness. The problem was staggering around and falling backwards and being broken. And as a result, because God gave them the word and they were held accountable to it, and they did not obey, they were broken over it. And indeed, ultimately, they were hauled out of the land. Very, very sad outcome, brethren. Here's that outcome. While we're here, I'd like to address an erroneous interpretation of this passage that has come up from time to time in certain circles, not in the United Church of God, but I do think it needs to be addressed.

And it goes something like this, in this erroneous interpretation. Precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little, is not an appropriate way to study the Bible. It says the fact that the doctrinal standing of the Church of God today is largely misguided because we use this principle for assembling the Scriptures, for setting our doctrines and our teaching. That precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little, is actually the way not to use God's Scripture, as it says.

And again, this interpretation is at times put forward to say that this way is the way God gave His Word erroneously to the drunk priests and prophets in order to cause them to trip, to stumble, to fall backwards, to be broken. That precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little, is a curse. That it was God's curse to the people that if they responded to His Word in that way, that they would be snared. And that God Himself tangled up His own words and fed it to them intentionally, that they might be broken as a people. That you know what, if the Church of God uses this method of precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little, you're actually using what God gave as a curse to establish your doctrines and your teachings.

That's what's been said at times about the Church, and I'd like to contend with that concept for a moment today, because, brethren, it is not true. It is not true. Did God give Israel, again, these are His covenant people, did God give Israel an understanding of His Word in such a way that it would result in their destruction? Is that what this is saying? Did God twist up His own words intentionally as a curse to His people so that when they actually followed through and maybe they would respond and do what He said, the end result of following His Word then was destruction?

Is that what God would do? Is that what He would do for His people? It is not. It does not agree what the Bible tells us about the God we worship, and frankly, it does not agree with the context of this chapter.

The God who is not a man that He should lie would not do this. The God who is not willing that any should perish but that all would come to repentance would not do this. The God who cannot be tempted by evil nor does He Himself tempt anyone would not do this. And the God and Father of Jesus Christ, of whom Jesus said, Thy Word is truth, would not do this either. Brethren, God gave them a true understanding of His Word through this method so that they would hear.

Isn't that the plea? Hear the Word of the Lord, not to stumble but to turn, and to return to life. And He repeated it again and again, and He did so, and the result was they were now accountable. They were accountable for their actions before God because they knew the Word of God. But in their drunkenness, they went astray. The curse in all of this was their own drunkenness, their own stupor. That was the curse. The curse was not the words of God.

They were drunk, they were blind, they refused to repent, and even in the light of the truth that God was giving them, they fell backwards, they were snared, and they were tripped up, and they were broken over the Word of God because they indeed would not respond. That's the whole point. That's the whole point of the context of this. And if your argument is that this is a curse because of the wording of verse 13, then I invite you to go and look at Isaiah chapter 8.

In fact, let's take a moment. Isaiah chapter 8.

Isaiah chapter 8 and verse 11, let's notice the wording. Same prophet, same God, and as we'll see, very, very similar wording as well. What does this mean that God would give them something that they would fall backwards and stumble? Isaiah chapter 8 and verse 11, Verse 14, Verse 14, Brethren, is this saying that because God is their sanctuary, they're going to stumble, they're going to fall, they're going to be broken? Is it saying that it was a curse to have God as their sanctuary because he would be a trap or a snare to him, that to run to him and make him your fear and your dread would result in these things?

That's not what it's saying. But a similar wording to what we saw, again, over in the other chapter of Isaiah. I think we understand, ultimately, this is a prophecy pointing to Jesus Christ. Okay, the Messiah who would come. So what is God saying? What are you saying? Well, again, Jesus Christ would come. Jesus Christ would be the Messiah. And because of him, many in Israel would stumble, they would fall, they would be broken. Does that mean that God sent Jesus as a curse to them? Because he appeared to them and they stumbled and they fell, and they were broken.

It does not. In fact, just the opposite. Jesus Christ was sent to the people of God as his gift to the people for the purpose of their salvation. So they would turn back from their sins so that they would be reconciled to God. That's why he gives us what he gives us. His word, his spirit, his son. God doesn't give us things unto our destruction. Because of their spiritual blindness, many who were the leaders of the time of Jesus rejected who he was. Because of their spiritual drunkenness, God allowed them to stumble. He allowed them to fall. He allowed them to be broken over Jesus Christ.

Not because of who Jesus Christ was, but because of who they were. Again, the problem and the curse is not the Word of God or the Son of God or any other such thing. The curse is a spiritual condition of the people who would not respond.

1 Peter 2, verse 7 and 8. Let's just see the fulfillment of the result of Christ in their midst. 1 Peter 2, verse 7 and 8. It says, Therefore to you who believe, he is precious. Those who look to Jesus Christ to accept him as the Son of God and believe in his name, he is precious.

But to those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. And a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. Jesus Christ is a rock of offense that God gave them. Did he give them Jesus Christ so that they would stumble and fall and be offended and destroyed at his rejection? And so Jesus Christ is the curse. That's not what it is saying at all.

It's saying that in their disobedience, because they would not accept the truth God gave them, they stumbled. In their drunkenness, they fell backwards over God's Word and were broken. Because they were accountable. Because he gave it to them. And because, frankly, the judgment is contained in that Word as well.

So again, to you who believe, he is precious. But to those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. And a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. It says, notice, they stumble being disobedient to the Word, to which they were also appointed. So the stumbling over God's Word and the stumbling over Jesus Christ didn't come because those things were a curse.

Those things were the truth. Precept upon precept, line upon line, hear little, their little. Then God said, hear the Word of the Lord, that was the truth he gave to them, to turn them back from destruction. But they would not heed it. They fell over it backwards in their stupor and were destroyed.

Jesus Christ is the truth the Father said and said, this is my beloved Son, hear him, the way, the truth, and the life. And it says, to those who were disobedient, they stumble. Not because of the Word, not because of Christ, but because of their disobedience. They stumble being disobedient to the Word to which they were appointed. Line upon line, precept upon precept, hear a little, their little, when it is done responsibly and correctly, is an appropriate way to understand God's Word.

And God himself has set the example. And he said, hear my words. And maybe in case we hadn't noticed, it's what we were doing all along through the sermon. Somebody's laid out for you. Precept number one, the Bible permits alcohol. Take that precept, lay it out there. But that's not the only precept. So what else can we find? Precept number two, alcohol has a proper place in our lives when used in moderation. Now lay that precept on top of precept. Precept number three, drunkenness has consequences. And you can see that throughout the Scripture.

Precept number four, drunkenness is sin and causes us to forget God's law. Lay that line upon line, precept upon precept. You see, you have to look at all the Scriptures as a package and what God has written here, what he has written here, what he's written there. And we put them together to understand the fullness of what it is that he gives us. Precept number five, a drunkard will not inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6 and verse 9. Let's move on now to conclusion shortly. 1 Corinthians 6 and verse 9.

A drunkard will not inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6 and verse 9. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, will inherit the kingdom of God. If we're going to make proper choices leading to eternal life, brethren, as the bride of Christ, these things can't be a part of our character.

And you know what? This is actually not such a popular verse to read these days. Some might consider this even to be hate speech, but it is the true word of God, and it is a standard we've been called to live by today. Drunkenness can have nothing to do with our physical character or our spiritual character.

It is that serious of a matter. Verse 11, he says, And such were some of you. Such were some of us. Let's bring it to our day. Some of us might fit into this category. Such were some of you. He says, But you were washed, you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

By the blood of Jesus Christ, you've been made right with God. And so whatever we were before, we're not that now. Hopefully, by God's Spirit, by His blessing, sometimes it's a process. Sometimes it takes work to overcome these things, but God gives us the help that we need along the way.

Let's keep ourselves, as we must be, the pure and the sober bride waiting for the return of our husband and of our Savior, so that when we are presented to Him, we can be unblemished, unstained, and the fine linen of the righteous acts of the saints. Romans 13. Romans chapter 13 verse 11.

Romans chapter 13 verse 11. And do this knowing the time. It's amazing, brethren, just how many scriptures referring to drunkenness are tied into time. Again, how we use our time and the valuable result time should have in our life. But Paul says, Do this knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep. Now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night as far spent, the day is at hand. You and I are called to be people of the day, because He's called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. The night as far spent, the day is hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness. Let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts. That is our calling, brethren, and that must indeed be our steadfast commitment day by day by day.

Let's conclude in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 4. Paul says, But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light, and sons of the day. We are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as others do, but let us watch and be sober. Paul says, Let us watch and be sober. The bride of Christ is to be found waiting and watching and sober, so that we're not fuzzy, so we're alert for His return. So our judgment is not compromised, and our thoughts and our actions are not in some way a skew from what God's Spirit would be directing us to. Verse 7, For those who sleep sleep at night, those who get drunk are drunk at night, but let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore, Paul says, comfort each other and edify one another just as you also are doing.

Brethren, there is a stark contrast between the two women in the book of Revelation. A hallmark of the woman who rides the beast and those associated with her is drunkenness. Through the Scriptures of God today, and frankly, multiply it by three, four, five times, you can find instruction, instruction, and instruction. We have seen just how destructive drunkenness can be to our spiritual and physical lives. It blinds people to the truth, how it obscures sound judgment, how it calls people to go stagger around, to fall backwards, and to be broken. A hallmark of those who will be the bride of Christ is sobriety, soberness, awake, alert, watching, preparing, and it is what you and I must pursue with our entire zeal, with all of our being. If you and I endure until the end, just as Jesus Christ endured to the end, we will be among those who will be granted to drink of the fruit of the vine anew with Jesus Christ in the kingdom of God. That will be like the wedding supper, the bride adorned and prepared, and there for her husband. Christ says, I go to prepare a place for you, but I will come for you again. And our job is to be ready for his return. And a huge portion of this is that we be, at the end of the age, alert, awake, and sober, so that we will partake of the fruit of the vine again. When Christ said, I will take it there, and not before. And indeed, what a rejoicing that will be. It will indeed be an event that will cheer the heart of God. Amen.