The opening chapters of Proverbs issue an urgent call: pay attention to wisdom. In Proverbs 5, that wisdom teaches us to overcome temptation by avoiding the path of sexual immorality and protecting the God-given intimacy of marriage.

If you’re a Christian fighting for purity, this conversation will help you bring ancient wisdom into a very present struggle—learning not only how to resist temptation, but how to walk in integrity by staying far from its doorstep.

Josh: Alright, so what we wanted to start doing here was produce some little conversations with you and me, Patrick, on a series that our audience may or may not have seen yet called Truths for Victory, where we highlight a verse or a passage that we really feel like can be used, and should be used, to assist men and women in walking in freedom from sexual sin. So, for this first one we're going to be in Proverbs 5:3-5 and verse 8. So, Patrick, why don't you go ahead and read that.

Patrick: “For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house.” (Proverbs 5:3-5, 8, ESV)

Josh: Yeah, so that's a snippet of one of the more complete chapters of Proverbs because most of the Proverbs are making one to two sentence points of wisdom. And this comes early in the book and it's obviously King Solomon who wrote most of Proverbs. In this particular chapter, he's imploring his son. He's saying, “Listen to me. I've got some advice for you.” And the whole thing is a comparison between an adulterous woman and marriage. He's saying, “Look, you're my son and you're going to be faced with temptations later in life. God has given you sexual desires. There are going to be people who try and trip you up. Don't go that way. But instead, use those sexual desires in the place that God has ordained, which is in marriage.” And Solomon doesn't condemn sexual desire, and we don't either. But he's saying that we need to give it its proper place which is marriage. How do you see this section fitting in the Bible?

Patrick: Well, yeah, so just to clarify for people, these are supposed to be short conversations. And we decided to start off by talking about the context of these verses and then get into the application. So, you're sharing the context as you see it. And what I had in mind, when preparing for this, goes right along with what you said. Because you're right, most of the Proverbs have these little snippets of wisdom. But I love the first nine chapters because it's like this sermon that Solomon's giving. And throughout the chapters leading up to chapter 5, there's this kind of call from Solomon to his son to keep listening to what he's saying. You hear three times in chapter 1, “Hear your father's instruction.” Verse 10, “If sinners entice you, don't consent.” (ESV) Verse 15, “Hold back, don't order your life in the way of sinners.” And then by the time we get to chapter 5, he says, “My son, be attentive to it.” He's still like, “Hey, pay attention.” I'm sure you relate to that as a dad.

Josh: A little bit, a little bit. I do feel like Solomon every once in a while. I have to tell my children, “Pay attention.”

Patrick: Haha. Yeah. But the thing is that he's warning his son of the dangers of not listening throughout the book. Proverbs 1:18-19 says that people who go out to do bad things to other people, they're actually doing harm to their own soul. I'm paraphrasing. And then verse 32 says that when the person who doesn't listen to God's wisdom turns away from wisdom, it actually kills them. He’s not just being negative though. He talks about the blessings of listening to wisdom. Proverbs 2:8 says that wisdom guards and protects us. Proverbs 2:16 says that wisdom delivers from the evil woman, which is kind of what chapter 5 is talking about. Proverbs 2:20-21 says, if you walk in a good way, you'll inherit the land. It's sort of a picture of heaven and eternity. And Proverbs 3:2 says that wisdom brings length of days and years of life and peace. Which I think we all want. So those are all the things that are a backdrop to this very practical instruction about sexual sin and lust. He’s saying that there's a danger if you don't listen to this instruction and there's blessings if you do listen.
       But then the other reality that's brought out in the chapters is that the response is often to not listen. Proverbs 1:22, “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long, scoffers, will you delight in your scoffing?” (ESV) They enjoy their ignorance. Everybody loves Proverbs 3:5-7, but typically we do lean on our own understanding and we are wise in our own eyes. Proverbs 3:11 warns not to despise the Lord's discipline. And what did you say about Proverbs 7?

Josh: I think I just said that Proverbs 7 was expounding on chapter 5.

Patrick: Yeah, it's like a more detailed, elaborate picture of what's being taught in Proverbs 5. But there, the young man goes near the prostitute's house and gets swept in. And we read at the end that it leads to death. So, it's a very strong warning, but you just keep seeing pictures of people not listening.

Josh: Yeah, well, that's a picture of the human heart. It wants to rebel and does not want to listen. I mean, when you rebel, what are you rebelling against? You are rebelling against what you know you're supposed to do. And God often has to tell His people, choose life. And then there's the whole consequence and then God coming in and rescuing His people and then His people getting comfortable. And then they’re like, “Okay. God loves us. Now, we're going to do whatever we want to do.” And then they just keep getting back into trouble.
       So, what we need to do, and what we're going to do now, is, we need to learn to apply the Word. We need to take the Word, not just read it and store it up in our brains, but use it in our life. So, we're going to go back and forth on what we pulled out of this section.
       One thing that I pulled out was that for us to live in victory over sexual sin, we need to view sexual sin as “strange.” And I say “strange” because of what Solomon says in Proverbs 5:3. “For the lips of an adulteress drip honey.” (NASB95) That word “adulteress” is translated different ways in different translations. Some say “immoral woman.” Some say “forbidden woman.” Some say “loose woman.” But the King James says “strange woman.” And I really like that translation for this verse because it helps see sexual sin in the right way when you look at how Solomon wrote this chapter in comparing this strange woman with a wife.
       “Strange” is often used in scripture as “foreigner.” And we're supposed to be familiar with our spouse. When, we often will say, “That thing is foreign to me.” Or, “That language is foreign to me.” We don't know anything about it. We don't know anything about foreign cultures and why they do certain things. And so, when we bring an adulteress in, when we are looking at pornography, or if we are going to someone who isn't our spouse and treating them as if they were our spouse, they're a foreign person. So, we're bringing in a foreign influence into our life.

Patrick: Which causes death.

Josh: Yes. Which causes death. “Foreigner” is defined in Webster's Dictionary as “Somebody who owes their allegiance to another country.” And anybody that is in an adult film or anybody that's tempting you to stray from your spouse, they owe their allegiance not to you. But that's what they tempt you with, right? They say sweet things. Honey drips off their lips as the Proverb says. It comes off smooth and you believe it. It's easy to believe it. But they really owe their allegiance not to you, they owe it to themselves. And the devil's going to use that to lead you into death.

Patrick: Yeah. I think that goes along with one of the things I was thinking, which is, “Keep your way far from her.” (Proverbs 5:8a, ESV) That's the action step here. But specifically, what I was thinking about is, whether you have not gone very far in sexual sin, or you have, most people still have a fantasy in their mind that they haven't lived out yet. And we can imagine that those things would satisfy us and we think “Maybe if I just gave into that, it would finally scratch that itch.” But you have to listen and you have to actually hear that, even though that thing in your mind may seem sweet, it seems like honey. It seems like love. It's really death. It always has been, always will be, because that's what God says. That's how He designed things to be.

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Josh: Yeah, and we could spend a ton of time on what not to do. But I like this chapter because Solomon doesn't just say, “Hey, keep your way far from her,” which is something that we should do. He also talks about what you should do in regard to your wife. He is saying that those desires that the strange woman is tempting you with are fine, but they are to be designated for your wife.
       And so, I find many encouragements to pursue your spouse in this section. Proverbs 5:15 says, “Drink water from your own well.” (NLT) That word drink actually means to feast. It means to be drunk. So, he's saying, get your fill of sexual desire from your wife. And in verse 15 he also says, it's fresh water. I view that as there's life in it. It tastes good. It's not stagnant. It's kind of like a comparison with the adulterous woman where her words are oil and honey. All those lead to death, but your wife is like this spring of life and you're not going to find death when you go to her. Proverbs 5:18 says, “Let your fountain be blessed” (NASB95) And the New Living Translation says, “Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you.” It is essentially saying, “Go to her. She'll be that blessing of life to you.” Proverbs 5:18 continues on to say, “Rejoice in the wife of your youth.” (NASB95) Verse 19 says, “Be exhilarated always with her love.” (NASB95) Other translations say things such as, “enraptured,” “captivated,” “intoxicated,” “lost in her love.” So, there's so much encouragement that I've found in this chapter to really pursue your wife or spouse.

Patrick: I heartily agree with that. I'm also thinking about people whose marriages aren’t going well. And I was just thinking, there's still life there. If you don't get fulfilled by your wife or if you feel like at night you guys are just bickering with each other, if you pursue the right thing to do, which is to love her as Christ loved the Church, you will still get life. Whereas, maybe you have a woman that's interesting to you at work or you just love getting online and interacting with someone who makes you feel better, but there is spiritual death behind it. So, does that make sense? What you're saying is good and I think is the model and what a lot of people are missing. But even if it's not ideal at home, there's something really beautiful to find in the Lord and in one’s own wife.

Josh: Yeah, to your point, there are situations that are difficult, but I think if we look at it from the Lord's point of view and how He puts up with us and how He still pursues us, that should fuel us to pursue our spouse even when it's difficult. We need to get in our prayer closet and pray, “Lord, help me to see this person as you see them. Help me to love them and serve them, even when it's difficult.” And so, I think for those that are watching or listening that might be coming against what I am saying and be like, “Well, I can't love that guy. He's a jerk.” Or, “She always nags on me.” There's power in prayer and sometimes your feelings lie to you. God put you with that person so fight for the marriage. Fight for unity. Pray. And then just look at the situation the way that God sees it.

Patrick: Yeah. That’s really good. I have one more point. I was just thinking that probably most people watching or listening have not kept their way far from her. So it's like, what do those people take away from listening to this? And it's just, I think, admitting that you're wrong. That's what I had to do. I had been giving myself over to all sorts of depravity and eventually I just had to say, I'm wrong in what I'm doing and I've played a part in getting myself in these situations. It didn't happen by accident. I didn't stumble into it, as Proverbs 7 illustrates. I went really close up to the edge of the prostitute's house, maybe she grabbed me and pulled me in, but I opened the door. But if you admit those things, the Lord's going to pour in grace and He's going to begin to help you. But if we just keep saying, “No, I'm not doing anything wrong,” we're not really going to make it anywhere.

Josh: Well, I like too in Proverbs 7 where he starts off and he says, “I looked through my window, and I saw a young man void of sense.” I am paraphrasing, but he lacked wisdom. So, as what we talked about at the beginning, if you lack wisdom, it's always going to lead you into sin somehow.
       And the last thing that I pulled from this was verse 23. It says in the New Living Translation, “He will die for lack of self-control. He will be lost because of his great foolishness.” And one thing that I've learned in my Bible study that I do sometimes is that, since we believe the Word of God is inerrant, when it says a direct truth, the opposite of it is also true. So, when I read this verse, the converse of it is also true. There's this promise of life and faithfulness to the Lord and in the marriage when you have self-control. When you embrace wisdom. So, a converse for this verse could be, “He will have life when he exhibits self-control and he will not go astray because he embraces wisdom.” That's like the whole point of what Solomon is trying to get at here in this chapter. In fact, he’s basically telling his son, “Give attention to my wisdom, incline your ear to my understanding, listen to me and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Embrace what I'm telling you. If you embrace what I'm telling you, there will be life.” And it echoes all the way back to Moses in Deuteronomy 30, where he's saying, “Choose life.”

Patrick: And it goes all the way up to Jesus when He says, “The enemy has come to steal, kill, and destroy, but I've come that they may have life.”

Josh: Yeah, that's good. Well, we do pray that people would choose life and embrace wisdom. Hope this was a blessing to people.

Patrick: Amen.

Resources

• Check Out Our Residential Program

Have Any Questions for Us? 📧Email: podcast@purelifeministries.org

In today’s culture, it’s nearly impossible to avoid seeing sexualized images and messages. That means we must diligently protect our hearts. Otherwise, we’ll be influenced—we’ll be corrupted.

Maybe some of you already sense that your hearts aren’t where they should be. If that’s the case, then the question becomes “how can my heart be made clean again?”

In this episode, Pure Life Ministries Events Manager, Josh Rowand, talks about how today’s Christian can not only navigate a sexualized culture, but go deeper with the Lord in the process.

Resources We Mentioned

• Why You Should Read (Podcast Series) By Pure Life Ministries
• How to Minister to Christians in Sexual Sin (Seminar for Pastors and Counselors)
• Out of the Depths of Sexual Sin (The Autobiography of Steve Gallagher)
• I Dared to Call Him Father: The Miraculous Story of a Muslim Woman's Encounter with God (The Autobiography of Bilquis Sheikh)
• God's Hostage: A True Story of Persecution, Imprisonment, and Perseverance (Memoir) By Andrew Brunson
• The Pilgrim Church (Book) By EH Broadbent

Have Any Questions for Us? 📧Email: podcast@purelifeministries.org

When Hayden arrived at the Pure Life Ministries Residential Program, he was a man full of shame and anger towards God. Yet, as the Lord began to show him the wickedness of his own heart, Hayden saw his great need for repentance and to have a genuine relationship with Christ. While confessing his sins to his counselor, he was met with unexpected  forgiveness and mercy! In response, he went running to the chapel crying, "Thank You for the blood!" Getting a sight of the Lord's mercy through his counselor radically changed his life and he's never been the same since.

For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior. (Titus 3:3-6, NKJV)

Like most, I grew up in a Christian home. Growing up as an only child, I was very lonely and was almost always secluded by myself. For most of my childhood years, I sincerely considered God my best friend, talking to Him in the hallways at school even. However, my relationship with God was vague, immature, and fake at best. At about 11, I discovered homosexual pornographic images on my computer at home. I didn't know what I was seeing. I knew it was wrong, but something in me, however, wanted more of it.
       For about four years, I began to regularly view these images and give into self-gratification. I became angry and confused and incredibly bitter at God, who, despite my pleads and questioning, would not take this away from me. At one point, I said out loud, “God, if you don't take this away from me, then I want nothing to do with you.” Despite still going to church and hiding the truth of sin from my family, I began to run as far away from God as I possibly could. I even told people if there is a God, He is evil. I want nothing to do with Him, and I'd rather just believe He doesn't exist.
       So, I watched and read everything I could proving why God didn't exist. I openly and loudly supported evolution, abortion, humanism, anti-Christian media, and was openly homosexual online and with my friends. After graduating high school, I dove fully into sexual sin, dating multiple men at once, living on hookup apps, and regularly engaging in homosexual encounters multiple times a week. Even multiple times a day sometimes. Hiding the truth of my addiction, I lied and manipulated family, friends, and everyone that I'd ever known.
       I was slowly pushing everyone I knew away and diving deeper in anxiety and depression. Panic attacks happened daily and I even attempted suicide multiple times. I was hurting everyone around me, but I did not care. I was either going to get my sin or go to hell trying. But praise God, He had other plans. When my sin was uncontrollably forced into the light, I was told by my parents that I was going to Pure Life Ministries Residential Program. I arrived a month later. Then God changed everything.
       I don't know how and I don't know when. Perhaps through a sermon or my first counseling session. God became real to me. First, He showed me just how truly deceived I had been about everything. I spent late nights on the ridge, confronted with one thing after another by God–my skepticism on the things here, my distrust in the Bible, my very identity. I had to surrender everything I thought I knew and trust whatever my counselor said about me and whatever the Bible said about God as truth, however hard or unbelievable it may sound. The truth was, everything I knew was wrong. I needed God to tell me the truth.
       Quickly, He began showing me I'd never truly known Him at all. The lifestyle I was chasing after was not just wrong–it was sin against God Himself. I deserved to be dead. A real relationship with Him was my only hope. I was broken. How could someone who once hated God ever have a relationship with Him? It didn't make sense. How could He love me?
       So, God began to show me who He is. This came about through months of not being able to hear Him at all. Months of apathy, hopelessness, loneliness, and crying out, not knowing whether He could hear me or even wanted to. All ending with Him proving that He is always there. Random answers for prayers prayed for weeks in advance showed me that God is always listening and answering. Through that, He showed me that all those years of crying out to Him were not in vain, but that I was not only currently living out the answer to those prayers, He was always in control.
       He let me pursue my sin, knowing it would inevitably lead me to the place where I could discover Him like never before thought possible. Everything is mercy. One specific night, He taught me about His greatest mercy, the blood of His only Son, Jesus. I came late one night to my counselor to bring months of unconfessed sin into the light, trusting that if I was to be sent home, it must be God's will. After 5 or so minutes of bringing one thing after another into the light, Gabriel just looked at me and said what Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, “You're forgiven. Go and sin no more.” Running out of his office, God showed me in that moment that as much as I was just forgiven, the blood that Jesus poured out for me offers that same undeserved forgiveness every day and is what has washed away my years of sin. Overwhelmed, I ran to the chapel crying, “Thank you for the blood! Thank you for the blood! Thank you for the blood!”
       For the first time, I understood what the cross meant. That, despite all the things I had done to hurt Him, Jesus willingly took all the things I'd done, and sins I committed, and was brutally killed so that I may be set free. He died the death I should have suffered out of His love for me. My life will never be the same because of it.
       I want to thank the staff and my counselor Gabriel for both the painful and encouraging words of truth. For endless mercy and for sacrificing your lives for us, the least of whom deserve it. Thank you to my family who through years of persistent prayer and unconditional love were the first example of God's unconditional love that I had ever seen. Thank you to my Heavenly Father for your Son, Jesus. I live only because You loved me first. I love You, Lord.

A victorious life begins with real faith in Jesus. If you’ve been living in defeat, it’s possible the anecdote is a deeper walk with God. In part two of his message, Ministry Outreach Director Patrick Hudson not only helps define victorious faith, but he also helps us understand how to live it out.

A struggle with sin is more than a matter of behavior, it’s a matter of faith.

The Christian caught in sexual addiction has allowed sin to master him. At first, sin disguises itself as innocent. But beneath that disguise is an enemy whose only desire is you—to master you, to control you, and to destroy you. For the believer, vigilance is essential.

So what if you haven’t been vigilant in pursuing godliness? What if your walk with Christ has been neglected? Perhaps you began your journey with Jesus with great joy and contentment, but now you hardly recognize yourself.

If that’s you, don’t miss this episode! You’ll find that restoration is still possible.

Have Any Questions for Us? 📧Email: podcast@purelifeministries.org

Do you realize how much we’re led by our feelings? And not simply our emotions—but also our thoughts and desires. Letting feelings like fear, anger, sadness, and lust drive us leads to sinful behaviors which result in corruption and bondage.

In today’s sermon, Ministry Outreach Director Patrick Hudson explains some of these feelings, having experienced their consequences, and having now taken the alternative path: following the truth of God’s word into right thinking and living, which always results in peace and freedom.

A simple definition of deception is to make someone believe something that isn’t true. Every Christian in ongoing sexual sin has mastered the art of deception. And while we often think of deception as something we do to other people, the most dangerous form may be the deception we do to ourselves.

Steve Martin, Biblical counselor at Pure Life Ministries, joins the podcast to talk about how to recognize self-deception, its dangers, and what you must do about it.

Resources We Mentioned

• At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry (Book) By Steve Gallagher

Have Any Questions for Us? 📧Email: podcast@purelifeministries.org

The last chapters of Revelation give us a glimpse of a new heaven and a new earth. God will purify this earth to usher in His Kingdom, free from crime, fear, and pain. Soberly, how you live now proves if you belong there. If we love and obey God here, we will in eternity; if we love sin now, we will not magically desire His Kingdom later.

Host: Steve, we have been talking through the Book of Revelation, and we have come to the end of this glorious book. Talk to us about how it ends.

Steve: Well, chapter 19 describes the coming of Jesus Christ to take over this world as its rightful ruler. Chapter 20 is judgment. And then in chapter 21 and on into chapter 22, we are shown the New Jerusalem that comes down out of Heaven. And then the rest of chapter 22 is basically the epilogue of the book. But really the conclusion of this book is a description of where believers can expect to spend eternity with the Lord.

Host: Man, I reread that this morning and you just can't help but want to be a believer when you read that. It's like, man, I don't want to miss that. Lord, whatever is in me that might get in the way, just crucify it, get it out of me. I want to be there.

Steve: Absolutely.

Host: Well, the first verse of Revelation 21 says that the first earth has passed away. I've always heard that means that this old earth is just going to blow up or be burned up. But you found that that's not necessarily agreed upon by everybody.

Steve: Yeah, actually, when I studied the Book of Revelation, I used nineteen different commentaries. Of those nineteen, only five of them believe in complete annihilation of the universe and of earth. But most of them believe that, really, what is being described in the Bible is more of a renovation. Let me use an illustration I used in my book, The Time of Your Life in Light of Eternity. As I was talking about what Heaven is going to be like in this book, I was reminded about something that happened back in the 1660s in London.
      London at that time was overrun with people from all over Europe. The tenements on the west end especially were crowded with people and they were living in squalor. Rats were infested everywhere. And what happened was the rats, unbeknownst to the people, were carrying bacteria that became the plague. And that plague broke out in Europe and tens of thousands of people were dying in London.
      Well, the next year when the summer came around, the plague broke out again and then at the worst possible time, a fire broke out and the fire ravaged those old rickety buildings and just swept across the city, burning it out. At the time, it seemed like a catastrophe of all catastrophes. But actually, what happened is it eradicated the plague. And yes, they had to rebuild, but they rebuilt on purified ground. That is what's going to happen. It's not that the actual physical world, the universe and so on has to be destroyed and completely done away with. When Peter is talking about the world being destroyed by fire, he is describing a purification process that's coming upon this earth. I believe the same earth is going to be here, but it's going to be in a purified form.

Host: Even as you're talking about that, my mind is going back to the Old Testament and the burnt offering, where the offering was completely consumed and it was a picture of that sin being completely cleansed and burnt up. That's an interesting analogy that you draw there. It helps us to understand that better. And when we look at these two chapters, 21 and 22, we see several times the words “no longer” coming up. What's the significance of that phrase?

Steve: When John is describing what this glorious land is like, how could he put into human language something that none of us have experienced? So, he's doing it in a negative way. There's no longer going to be any sea, which is what it says here in the first verse, meaning that whole pool of corrupted mankind. That's what that's representing. And there's no longer going to be any death. There's no longer going to be any mourning or crying or pain. There's no longer going to be any curse. There's not going to be any night. He's describing a world that has been ridded of all the negative elements that we consider part of normal life. What would it be like for there to be no crime, no selfishness and no pain? What would that be like? That alone is enough to really make you want to be there.

Host: Yeah, it really is. Even as you're describing that, I'm thinking, man, what must it have been like for John to be seeing these things? It’s incredible what the Lord is laying out before him here.

Steve: Yeah, and he was in his 90’s. So, you know that he realizes it's only a short time before he is going to be there himself. What an amazing thing.

Host: There is an intriguing statement in chapter 22. It says in verse 11, “Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.” (Revelation 22:11, NASB 1995) What does that mean?

Steve: You know, one thing that I have to continually remind myself as I'm going through the Book of Revelation is that it is written for someone to read. It's not just to tell a story, but it's trying to accomplish a purpose. This is another one of those statements of warning. Whatever spirit you are in, that is what you're going to be in throughout eternity. So, make sure you're in the right spirit.
      The punishment of sin is more sin. And the reward of holiness is more holiness. So those who have given themselves over to sin throughout their time on earth, their eternal punishment is really just giving them what they have shown they wanted. It's not so much an arbitrary law put in place by God because He wants to hurt people. They are only reaping the fruit that they have sown. And the same with the godly people. We are only going to reap the fruit that we have sown during our time on earth.

Host: Yeah, I think back to one of our earlier discussions when we were talking about that point in time where men, women and children must choose whether they're going to take the mark of the beast or not. And I know the response from most people is, “Oh, if it comes to that, then I'm not going to take the mark of the beast.” But the truth is that however you're living your life now, will define what you will do then.

Steve: Yeah, absolutely. And every day you stay in that mindset and in that lifestyle, you're making it more certain that you will want to do that in the following days. So, you can't just think that you're going to have a sudden change of heart at the last minute. It's not going to happen that way.

Host: Right. One of those warning phrases that we hear Jesus Himself saying many times is, “Those who have an ear, let them hear.” You can hear it in His words. He's pleading with us. Listen to what the Spirit is saying. He loves us and He doesn't want to see us go to destruction.

Steve: Yeah, when it comes right down to it, I think the Book of Revelation is given to people as a gift to show us where things are headed. But it's always with what Jesus is saying in mind. “Anyone who has an ear to hear, let him hear.” Never mind the way the culture is screaming at you to believe something differently. This is the truth and this is where it's going. And now is the day of salvation. We need to respond to the Lord as we hear these things now and make the necessary changes in our lives that will keep us going down the right path so that we end up on the right side when it's all said and done.

Host: Amen. Steve, thank you so much for taking the time over these many discussions to give us some insight into this wonderful Book of Revelation.

Steve: It's been a real blessing. I'm glad I was able to do it.

Life in this world is a tremendous struggle for anyone who expresses the desire to follow God. The Lord understands the battle and greatly appreciates any who are willing to fight it. He is going to richly reward those who live their lives on the Narrow Way. In this message, Pastor Steve shares in great detail what heaven will be like for such people.

Resources We Mentioned

• Heaven (Book) by Randy Alcorn (Amazon)
• My Dream of Heaven (Book) by Rebecca Ruter Springer (Free PDF)
• The Time of Your Life in Light of Eternity (Book) by Steve Gallagher (Pure Life Bookstore)

Unfortunately, the American church is full of people who wear the mask of hypocrisy. And it’s not just sexual sin. Many “deeds of the flesh” are indulged in, like anger, envy, gossip, and greed. But you would never know it because many who sit in churches every Sunday have learned to play the Christian part so well, it’s hard to know what’s true or what’s just an act.

Vinny Pappas joins the podcast to share how the Lord exposed the hypocrisy in his life, and how that was crucial in leading him out of sexual sin.

Resources We Mentioned

• Check Out Our Residential Program
• Check Out Our Overcomers At-Home Program
• 20 Truths that Help in the Battle with Porn Addiction (Video Series) By Steve Gallagher

Have Any Questions for Us? 📧Email: podcast@purelifeministries.org

This week’s episode features a sermon Pastor Steve Gallagher preached in May 2023 titled “Light, Darkness, and the Great Decision.” Teaching from John 8, Steve shows how Jesus exposes religious pride and false assurance, declaring, “If you knew Me, you would know My Father also.” This message calls us to truly know the Lord and walk free from the kingdom of darkness.

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Revelation 18 exposes how mankind is affected by the spirit of this world and how it helps set one's mind and heart in opposition to God's authority. Join us as Steve Gallagher discusses how we can either be filled with the Lord and His Spirit or the enemy and the spirit of this world. Also, Steve breaks down the joy and hope we have in the coming of the Lord's Kingdom and the destruction of the spirit of this world, (the spirit of Babylon) in these last days.

Host: Steve Gallagher has joined us in the studio. Steve is the founder of Pure Life Ministries. Steve, thanks for coming in. It's good to see you again as always.

Steve: Yes, this will be a blessing today, I hope.

Host: I hope so, too. Well, all of our discussions in the Book of Revelation have been a blessing. They've been a challenge. As we've said a number of times, it's certainly a warning to us to prepare our hearts, to know where our hearts stand with God. We're going to be looking at chapter 18 today, Steve, and just to start off, tell us what the main focus of this chapter is.

Steve: Just like chapter 17, the main focus here is Babylon, the spirit of the world that's set against the authority of God in this world. And in this chapter, the commercial aspect of Babylon is what's being emphasized.

Host: So, there are different aspects of Babylon?

Steve: The Book of Revelation really shows different aspects of Babylon. But let me put it to you this way. Babylon is the spirit of the world, and it is affecting different aspects of earth life. You could think of it as a human being who has this sinful fallen nature, and that sin nature affects different functions of his inner world. So, in other words, he has an imagination, but his imagination has been corrupted by sin and can take him into fantasizing about all kinds of evil things. He has the power of perception, but it's been distorted by sin. So, it changes and alters and corrupts the way he sees things.

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      Think of the world in the same way. The world in and of itself is neutral, and then the spirit of the world comes in and affects mankind. It affects the functions and the capacities and so on. What the Book of Revelation is bringing out are these different aspects of this thing called Babylon, or the spirit of the world. So, like in chapter 13, it's affecting the government or the way that mankind reacts to God's law. In chapter 17, it's affecting the religious system, or in other words, the relationship between man and God. And then in this chapter, we're seeing the commercial aspect of mankind being affected by the spirit of Babylon.

Host: Well, in verse 2, it says that Babylon has become a “dwelling place of demons.” What does that mean?

Steve: You know, what's really interesting about the Greek term for “dwelling place” is that it’s only used one other time in the New Testament, and that's in Ephesians 2:22 where it's used to describe the believer who is a “dwelling place for God.” So, the picture here is that a believer is an entity that has the capacity for God to indwell him. And in the same respect, or along those same lines, mankind has the capacity to be inhabited by spiritual beings – God or the enemy. And that's what we're seeing here, is that the enemy is entrenched in mankind and mankind has become the dwelling place of the enemy.

      So, if we keep with that line of thought and take it down to the level of the individual, by the time we get to this point, people will have taken the mark of the beast and will be demon-possessed. That is an amazing thing to consider. Every single human being who isn't following Jesus Christ will become demon possessed. I mean, think about it. Think about the demon-possessed man on the other side of the Sea of Galilee who had a legion of demons. He was cutting himself and he was crazy. People couldn't go around him because he was so unpredictable and violent. Can you imagine 7 billion people being controlled in that way by the enemy? What kind of hell is going to be unleashed on this earth? But at the same time, I do believe that by that point, God's people will have come into the spirit of the living God in a way that we have never seen before. So, we are not going to be required to go through this hell in our current spiritual condition. We are going to be full of the Holy Ghost and fire and that is going to be an amazing thing.

Host: Wow, yeah. Amen. Well, Steve, in the second half of this chapter, John is shown three different groups of people. What can you tell us about these people?

Steve: Well, he labels them the “kings of the earth,” the “merchants of the earth,” and the “sea captains.” And I think for his limited understanding in his world at that time, he was just using people groups that made sense to him. He couldn't comprehend the world in which we live today. It is so complex and enormous. But when you look at these groups, they represent those people who are profiting the most from the commercial aspect of this world system. So, you have the field of politics, which he's calling the “kings of the earth.” You have the entire manufacturing world, which he's calling the “merchants of the earth.” And you have the entire transportation system, which he's calling the “sea captains.”

      So, what's really interesting about these different groups as you go through this chapter is that there are certain common denominators amongst all of them. Each one stands at a distance, for instance. Each one weeps and laments at the fall of the Babylonian system. And none of these groups mourns over its sin against God. Their mourning is because they are losing that which they've given their hearts to, which is this Babylonian system.

Host: And maybe that is the most significant point of who these people are.

Steve: That really shows where their hearts are. And so-called Christians who go to church on Sunday, who read all the right books and all that stuff, but whose hearts are given over to this world, they better take these as warnings to wake up and begin to disentangle themselves from the things of this world.

Host: So, Steve, we have kind of a dark picture here. They're mourning over the loss of all that has been near and dear to them, all that their hearts have been given over to, and then in verse 20, there seems to be a sudden change in tone. It reads, “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.” (Revelation 18:20, NASB 1995) What's the significance of this verse and why this change of tone?

Steve: Let me put it to you this way. When I read the headlines in the news, my heart grieves. Every time I look at CNN or Fox News, the stories of what people are into and what they're doing are grievous to me. It hurts me. And to think that this Babylonian, devil-infested system is going to come crashing down is just so marvelous. And these people here on earth are going to be witnessing it. The saints, the apostles, and the prophets who are alive, and those who are in heaven, along with the angels, are going to be shouting with joy and rejoicing when Babylon comes down. It is going to shake the universe, because for 6,000 years, the spirit of Babylon has usurped God on this planet and has caused untold misery and pain and suffering. And now we're seeing it come to an end. What a blessing.