Chapter 18: The Final Destruction Of Babylon The Great Series

Dr. Bradford Reaves

Crossway Christian Fellowship

Hagerstown, MD

www.mycrossway.org

We are coming to a climatic end in our study of the Book of Revelation. Over the last several months, we’ve examined chapter after chapter of God’s continual judgement to a rebellious and unbelieving world that is driven by a satanic leader we know as the Antichrist. This is the 70th week of years defined by the prophet Daniel and a culmination of events known in the Old Testament as the Great Day of the Lord or the Day of Jacob’s Trouble.

There are a couple of things I want to remind you as we will close out Revelation 18 this week and next week and come to the victorious return of Christ and His Church starting in Revelation 19. First, for the believer we have a tremendous hope that needs to be shared. The Bible is clear that this judgement will not come on those who put their faith in Christ to be saved. Second, everything we see happening in our world to day is clearly tied to this time that is quickly coming. Third (and most important), God is in control. Therefore, we have nothing to fear.

We are told to study these words and to keep our eyes open. Hebrews 10:25 says, “[encourage] one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” There is nothing in the Bible that tells the believer to panic about what is happening in the world around you. However, we are to keep our eyes open and be aware, not to be deceived, and to keep our focus on the coming of our King. Luke 21:28 “28 “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Now, we finished Revelation 17, which discussed a world religious system and its destruction. Revelation 17:5 “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” Today we continue to see the final destruction of the Antichrist’s Economic & Political System. These 3 systems are the governing force of the Antichrist and the world’s obsession with satanic rule.

The world is obsessed with the world economy. We live in a day when there are no isolated economies in our much smaller world, now. Rather, all the economies of the nations are interlinked. In fact, there is a single, unelected group of elites that control the direction of these economies known as the World Economic Forum. These elites control a vast amount of the world’s wealth and, in the name of saving the climate, dictate to global leaders their priorities.

Their desire is to control the masses, reduce global population, and stop climate change. They do that by controlling vast amounts of the wealth of the world’s largest banks, energy corporations, entertainment groups, medical corporations, manufacturers, investments firms, and literally thousands of other entities. In doing so they control not only the masses through commerce, but also the nations and the nation’s leaders based on their view on how the world should look and operate. This is a stepping stone to the emergence of the Antichrist.

And so, the Babylon of Chapter 17 is a religious system that is used by the Antichrist to control the world along with his economic system and political system. They will coexist for the first 3 1/2 years of the 7-year tribulation, but at the midpoint the Antichrist will not tolerate that coexistence and any other worship but himself and so, that religious system will be destroyed. And so, the commercial system will be the ruling power of the Antichrist and he will demand himself to be worshiped as God.

Chapter 18, then is the final destruction of this economic system. That destruction will come, at what I believe is the final bowl judgement in Revelation 16:17. This is a system that is steadily being created in our world today and we see the judgement of that system in our study this week and next week.

One other word about this system before we start our verse-by-verse study. The spirit of the antichrist is building this system based on the materialistic greeds of our culture. You will see later in the chapter starting in verse 11 how men will be in sorrow over the loss of their material goods. It underscores what Jesus said in Mark 8:36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?” This is literally what is going to happen to many.

Now, we have talked extensively about the origin of Babylon, so I won’t go into much detail here. It is called Babylon because its system, its ideas, its philosophies root all the way back to the Book of Genesis. There was a man named Nimrod who built the Tower of Babel. It was mankind's first attempt at humanism; for man to establish his independence apart from God. Man was at the center and the circumference of all that was done there. God judged the Tower of Babel. Nimrod was the main leader of that time period. His name means, “rebel.” Three times in the Book of Genesis he is called “a mighty one.” Nimrod was a picture of the coming Antichrist who will rule over the last Babylon. Babylon began with the Tower of Babel and it will end in chapter 18 of the Book of the Revelation.