"Ye Shall Know The Truth"
We have already learned that the first three of the seven vials were poured out in the sixth-seal age. The fourth vial was poured out on the sun, the New Testament, so that The Church might be stirred. Now, the fifth, sixth, and seventh vials are poured out in this seventh-seal ministry. They are actually a repetition of the first three vials, set forth in a clearer manner.

According to Revelation 18, Babylon was to get two cups. The sixth-seal ministry gave her the first cup, and the pouring out of those three vials again is very necessary. The seventh seal is necessary because we have people today who are ignorant of the truth and they don't know what Babylon really is. God returned with these three vials in a little more implicit manner so that people can have understanding in this generation. God loves the honest hearts of this generation just as much as He loved honest hearts of past generations.

Jesus said in John 8:32, And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. It is up to God to get the truth to you, and He will. No matter how man tries to lie on it, kill it or crush it down, God is going to get the truth to mankind; then it will be up to you as an individual what you do about it.

Revelation 16:10 says, And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness… We are hard on that beast because it bears an influence. This thing has shed an influence that still exists and is affecting movements of men clear down to our day and time.

The seat of the beast means "the extremity, or the extent, of his authority". When he poured out this vial on the seat of the beast, he was pouring it out on the extent of his authority. This beast got his seat and authority from the dragon. Paganism, and the dragon got his from the devil.

Holding the fact that the beast got his authority to speak, or to operate, from the dragon, I'd like to make a statement right here: none of Roman Catholicism's authority can be traced back to God OR the Bible. It is all of the devil, a deceptive work; there is NO God in it! There is no light or truth in it whatsoever. This deception, nevertheless, has risen up in these last days of time until it is considered just another faith, and takes its place right along with true Christianity. Friends, we need to have our minds straightened; this thing in the Bible is called the synagogue of Satan.

This spirit of the beast which is going out to the whole world has affected us more than we realize. Whenever The Church takes the attitude, "If a man wants to believe that, it's his business," we are saying, "If men go to hell, who cares? If he (or she or they) want to go to hell, that's his (or her or their) business." What if someone had taken that attitude about you? When you were lost, somebody infringed upon your affairs. Somebody brought an awakening in your life. This devil I am preaching against is sealing people, through these many different religions, into a lost hell. At the same time he is doing that, he is putting an indifference upon the hearts of God's people. Church of God, when you really get awakened, you'll be astonished at the work that God would have you do!

The Kingdom Of Darkness
When he poured out his vial on the seat of the beast, the beast's kingdom was full of darkness. "His kingdom" again simply means the extent of his authority, whatever he has authority over. However far his kingdom reaches, it is full of darkness. There is NO light in it.

You might ask, "How far does the extent of his authority reach?" We read in Revelation 13:8, And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Verses 12 and 13 tell us, And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men… That's right, it causes those in Protestantism to make an image to the beast and to worship the beast. Protestantism worships this beast by setting up their human organizations and building an image to that beast.

The extent of his kingdom can be told by the type of the corresponding plague that fell on Egypt. Remember, those plagues correspond. Babylon is spiritually called Egypt because it is holding men and women, who should be serving God, in darkness and sinful bondage. It is deceiving them, making them feel they are serving God when they are NOT serving God at all; they are worshipping the beast. For the same reason that God poured the plagues out on literal Egypt, to set His people free, God is pouring out plagues on false religion.

Our Scripture text says that his kingdom is full of darkness. In Exodus 10:21-23, we read of the literal plague of darkness that was put on literal Egypt: And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. Now that's a "thick" darkness, when it's so intense it "can be felt"!

This is a mystery that the world can't understand yet, how He can put light in one person while the one sitting right next to him is in complete darkness. When He poured out the plague of darkness in the Old Testament, how far did it reach? To every Egyptian. Everyone was wasn't an Israelite had darkness. Now, when this fifth vial was poured out and disclosed this darkness, how far did it reach? To everybody whose name wasn't in the Book of Life.

Anyone who has never been truly born again and is not walking in the light does not have his name written down in heaven. I don't care how many "churches" they join, how good their character is, how morally good they are, how much they donate each month or each year to charity; if they have never been born again, they're in darkness and heading for a devil's hell. The Bible draws the line. If you don't have your name in the Lamb's Book of Life, it makes not one whit of difference which church, synagogue, sanctuary or tabernacle you attend, you are in darkness.

God help us to see that this is a picture of spiritual darkness which covers the beast's kingdom. Brothers and Sisters, if you are going to keep light in your dwelling, you must walk in the light. Whenever you refuse to do so, as did Pharaoh, you are going into darkness. It is just that simple.

The spirit of the second beast is working today, trying to get us to compromise. God has no time for compromisers. Pharaoh tried to compromise with God, but God let him know, and that right quickly, that He doesn't compromise. If God allowed compromisers, how would we know where the path is? How would we know how much compromise He puts up with? Where is the stopping place? It is right at God's Word. The Word puts you in or it puts you out. It give you light or leaves you in darkness.

Babylon Has No Cure For Sin
Revelation 16:10 says, And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain. These old spirits would make you feel that things in religion are actually getting better, but let's just consider the picture before us in this tenth verse. Back in the sixth-seal age, when they poured out the first vial, it just fell as a noisome and grievous sore. According to Isaiah, that sore was sin, a sore that only Jesus can heal. Babylon has no ointment for sin. By the time we get over to the seventh seal, those sores have become so bad, people are gnawing their tongues because the pain is so bad. This is a picture of how much more corrupt our world is today than in the sixth-seal age.

Right in a world where people who don't understand will tell you that things are getting better, the sore of sin is worse. Our world is suffering more from sin than it ever did. We have a symbolic picture in this Scripture of how much worse sin is getting all the time. We have multiplied kinds of religion, but the sin business isn't being cured. The Church has so failed, that religious leaders are looking to the government and politics to try to clean up our nation! The only thing, however, that will ever clean it up is the men of God back in the pulpits and some people who live the message of truth. The same thing that turned the world right side up in the morning time of The Church can turn it right side up today.

You might ask, "Why is God so stirred?" We are in the final days of Armageddon, and too many people don't know who their enemies are. How in the world are you going to fight a battle when you don't even know who your enemies are? There are many white-washed religions which are enemies to the cause of Christ. The second chapter of Colossians, verse 23, talks of "will worship". "Will worship" covers multitudes of religious sects, and there is NO power of God in it. What is "will worship"? You're going to recognize it when I describe it to you, I guarantee it: "You just start doing better. Do the best you can. You'll just have to overcome; you need a stronger willpower." That is "will worship". You are NOT worshipping God; you are worshipping your own will. That is a million miles from getting on your knees and saying, "I couldn't help myself, but Jesus reached out and saved me and turned my life around!" The religious world is FULL of "will worship".

"Beware Of Dogs"
Why was Jesus so against the seat of the beast? Matthew 23:1 and 2 tells us, Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Moses was the interceder of the Old Testament. God put him in that seat. He never, however, put a one of the scribes and Pharisees in. They climbed up on their own and took authority. They took a seat and power, and tried to operate under the God-given authority that God had given Moses.

Christ would have us to know the true characters of men so that we may not be imposed upon by great and mighty names, titles, and pretentions to power. He tells us about the wolves, or false religious leaders. They are sitting in preacher's seats, but God never called them. They come to you with sheepskins, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. They have one thing in mind: destroy the flock. They desire to lead away some disciples after themselves, or to build up something for themselves.

Philippians 3:2 says to "beware of dogs". The rest of Paul's writing lets you know who the dogs are: people who "profess" Christianity but don't POSSESS Christianity. They are right in among the saints. How can you tell they are dogs? Every week or so they return to their own vomit. They repent on Sunday and by Tuesday, they are playing around in sin again.

We want to encourage and strengthen every weak Christian, but we have to beware of dogs. They will affect you. The devil will work through them to tear you down. He'll have you believing that nobody can hold an experience because this or that individual can't.

Let me insert a follow-up thought on that right here: you know, that's why so many preachers and teachers laud loud and long that "Christians still sin every day". Why? Because they are! By way of example: when a person quits drinking booze, there are certain organizations which they can join, "support groups". In those support groups, that person is convinced that they are, and always will be a "drunk", excuse me, "alcoholic". No matter if that person hasn't touched a drop of anything even close to alcohol in 30 years, they are "still a drunk", er, "alcoholic". That's the world's view of it, and too many so-called Christians have got so much of the carnal intertwined amongst the spiritual, they operate under the premise: "once a sinner, always a sinner". How many ways can I say, "WRONG, WRONG, WRONG"?? You are EITHER a CHRISTian (follower of Christ) or you are a sinner, but you CANNOT be both!

In II Corinthians, Paul spoke of deceitful workers. We need to understand these things so that we can know where to stand upon our guard. There are still wolves; they may claim to be shepherds, but they're wolves. There are still dogs, and there are still deceitful workers.

We must own up to the fact that true religion has been greatly hindered and hampered by those who sit in seats of position or power (authority), but NOT according to God's direction. Because those scribes and Pharisees sat in Moses' seat, they thought they had a right to govern God's people and tell them what they ought to do and what they ought not to do. They got so far off the track that they began to add and re-interpret the Law!

The scribes' job was to write the Law out on paper and hand it out to the people. They moved up in Moses' seat to the place that they felt they could tell the people what was best for them, whether it was according to the Word or not. They would add to the Law and take away from the Law. They ended up teaching people the commandments of men, and telling them it was what God wanted them to do.

Jesus Is The Head
That is what false religion is doing clear through the extent of the seat of the beast. Every head of every religious organization that sits in the seat that belongs to Christ is an imposter and a blasphemer. Do I need to repeat that? I said, every head of every religious organization that sits in the seat that belongs to Christ is an imposter and a blasphemer. Brothers and Sisters, Moses' seat was never filled until it was filled by Jesus Christ. There was no interceder, no intercessor, no head, for New Testament Israel UNTIL Jesus came.

In Deuteronomy 18:18 and 19, God told Israel, I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. This was referring to Jesus. Whenever ANY man gets to the place where he thinks he can sit in the seat as authority and instruct people, irregardless of what the Bible says, he has climbed up into a seat that does not belong to him, and God is putting the heat on that seat.

My friends, it begins with the seat of the beast, and then it is the seat of the bishop, and the seat of many pastors and heads of local bodies. The extent of that seat is far. God never put any Pharisees or Sadducees in Moses' seat. God never put any man in that seat as the head of The Church! Jesus Christ is the Head of The Church, just as Moses was the head 'way back there.

Hebrews 1: 1 and 2 tells us, God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son… Brothers and Sisters, when Jesus Christ arose from the dead (Acts 2:32,33), He took His seat at the right hand of the Father. Jesus, being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high… Hebrews 1:3. When Jesus took His seat at the right hand of the Father, He became the New Testament HEAD of God's people. God is stirred when ANY man rises up and claims to take that seat as vicar of the Son of God!

So when this vial was poured out on the seat of the beast, his kingdom was full of darkness. Friends, when you put the truth on the thing, you begin to see how dark that kingdom becomes. If there were more truth preached over the country, it would appear a lot darker. There is nothing that makes darkness as dark as the light beside it. That is why the devil wants to curb the light from shining forth.

My friends, in too many places of worship, a Roman Catholic in his lost condition can come in and sit down and feel right at home. Why is that? Because there is NOTHING TO STIR HIM whatsoever! People can come in out of Protestantism, bound under the extent of the seat of the beast with their human head and their commandments of men, and feel right at home. Why is that? Because there is NOTHING TO STIR THEM! There is a difference in wanting people to feel welcome and them feeling "right at home". We want every sinner to feel welcome, but we don't want him to feel at home in The Church. He is in a far-off country, and he needs to come home.

The beast's kingdom is full of darkness because man sits in the seat that belongs to God alone. God is light and in Him is NO darkness at all. But man sits in the seat, and that is why God is putting the heat on it.