Rev. # 61~18:1-8—pt-2 COMMERCIAL BABYLON 7-3-10
Well last time we talked about the financial mess we have here in this country, and its not only here but most of the world is having finance problems as well, but according to the Bible it’s suppose to be this way here in these last days.
Although most people in the world and most here in our country don’t know that the economies are to go down hill, we ought to thank God that He has given us His Word to read and study and now you and I have a better understanding of these things. In one way of looking at it as we see things happening, is that these happenings are telling us that the Lord Jesus could come for His own just any time.
Ø Let me remind all of us that the key verse in the Revelation of Jesus Christ is chapter 1:19 and there the angel tells John;
Write the things which thou hast seen- (1: present tense); —and the things which are- (2:–3-church age); —and the things which shall be here after. - (4:–22-rapture and the rest). –We notice 3 divisions. –So these things that we see today are right where their suppose to be.
And let me say too, that this is the Revelation (singular), not revelations (plural), and it’s the Revelation (singular) of Jesus Christ, that mean that the things that are written down in this book will come to pass just as it says, and it will continue revealing each of the prophecies up and unto Jesus is revealed. Actually the entire Bible is His revelation; He is the center Attraction of the Bible.
LISTEN—He is in the 1st verse-Gen.1:1 in the beginning God—
He is in the middle verse PS.118:8 it is better to trust in the Lord << #8- new beginning--than to put confidence in man.<<#6
He is in the last verse, Rev. 22:21 the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen
He is the reason this old world doesn’t fly apart, or just drift off in space.
Col.1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist-
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Well here in chapter 18: we read about commercial Babylon, and it’s to do with how the worlds financial systems are to be in these last days.
Religious Babylon is destroyed in chapter 17: and the commercial system will be destroyed here in 18:, The Harlot church is destroyed about the midway point of the tribulation, and this commercial system, Babylon, will be destroyed at the end of the 7 years.
There are similarities between religious Babylon as described in Revelation 17 and the commercial system of Revelation 18. Both are filled with blasphemy; both are associated with kings in spiritual fornication that is idolatry; and both are under judgment and destroyed, and both hate the saints & shed their blood.
Jesus said in John 15:18-19 of the great hatred that ’the world’ had for Him and His own.
18If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. So Babylon, religious and commercial is against Christians and the true things of God.
As we think on it, what is the world comprised of any way? It’s a combination of religion, government and commerce? In other words, Babylon in all its parts stands for that which Christ called ’the world”.
Ø Listen as I read verse 1.
1And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
The very 1st word {AND} reveals that John connects the 2 chapters together, but not the same in word or deed, neither are they destroyed at the same time.
The opening phrase of chapter 18:1, “after these things,” marks a later time than that given in chapter 17. One is religious Babylon and the other is commercial Babylon, & both are to be destroyed, the great harlot the religious system in 17: will be destroyed about the middle of the 7 year tribulation, the political-commercial system of Babylon at the end of the 7 years.
The words, “another angel” let us know that the angel of chapter 18 is a different angel from that of 17:1.
Although this angel is introduced by the general word another, he is not one connected with the bowls of wrath mentioned in 17:1 as that angel there is.
Though the angel here in 18:1 is described as “having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. This is a literal angel and not a theophany,* {that is, a manifestation of deity} so this is not Jesus Christ in angelic form. In Gen. 18:1 we find Him as one of the 3 men that come to Abraham, Gen,18:1 And the LORD appeared unto him*{Abraham} in the plains of Mamre: and he**{AB.} sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
And two of these 3 men, {are angels} they go on to Sodom to destroy it, then all we’re told there about the Lord is 33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham—He didn’t go on to Sodom with the destroying angels.
The word “another” makes clear that this angel is not the same in kind as the angel of 17:1. And the facts that the angel has great power and that the earth is lighted with the glory of the angel tells us that this angel is here on behalf of God and that he is assigned to do a great work for God.
Lets realize as this angel leaves the presents of God he radiates as a shining light from being in the presents of the Glorious God, and as he enters the atmosphere of earth he lights up the entire world, there’s no mistake where he’s from.
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2And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold** {prison} of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
He announces that Babylon the great is fallen is fallen: the phrase is repeated like a solemn death sentence handed down to the damned.
The city Babylon has become a dwelling place of demons; this is a prophetic picture of absolute desolation where the proud achievements of man become the demonic haunts of unclean and horrible creatures.—we’ve all seen these pictures of the Vatican, there’s statues all along the walls, speaking of gross idolatry.
The downfall of the city of Babylon in 18:2 is followed by its becoming the habitation of demons, the “hold” or “prison” of every evil spirit, and the “cage,” the same Greek word as “hold” of every unclean and hateful bird.—notice- hateful bird.
In Matt.13: we have the parable of the MUSTARD TREE and its limbs are the lodging place for birds, which is a reference to demons in this parable, the MUSTARD TREE is the picture of CHRISTENDOM in the last days.
Matt.13:31-32 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field *(v.38 the world) 32Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
(birds of the air)
Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,* (Satan) the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
This abandonment of destroyed Babylon to demons is a divine judgment brought on by the utter wickedness of its inhabitants described in verse 3.
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3For all nations**(the citizens of the nations) have drunk**(willingly} of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth**(leaders) have committed fornication**(willingly practice idolatry) with her, and the merchants of the earth**(that buy sell and trade) are waxed rich**
(Become rich) through the abundance of her delicacies.
Babylon in her political character has had evil relationships with “all nations” described as “fornication.” In this, the rulers, “the kings of the earth”, have led them.
“the kings of the earth.” Simple means the heads of the nations, the presidents, prime ministers, any person that has been put in the position as that country’s leader.
The results of this evil association of buying, selling, and trading has made the merchants of the earth rich.
And so the nations have prospered, as they have abandoned God and sought to accumulate the wealth of this world.
1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith,*(not erred from a faith, but the faith) and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
The love of money will cause murder, theft, prostitution, extortion and much more.
There’s nothing wrong in having money and riches, it’s what people will do in order to get it some times.
Let me remind us that the wealth originally collected through the influence of the apostate church is taken over by the political system in the great tribulation,*(last half} which with universal political power is able to exploit to the full its accumulation of wealth.
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4And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
5For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Here in verse 5 we have the words (sin & iniquity} what is the difference?
“sin” is to transgress Gods law, if any of Gods laws are broken it is “sin”
God has put up the Law so that we can know that we are sinners, so that we can know what He requires. That is the purpose of the Law; to break any of His laws is a sin.
The Law was never given to save, it was given to reveal to man that he is a sinner.
“iniquity” covers any & all other types of transgressions, other types of sin that might not be specifically named in Gods law. –Many iniquities are to do with gross wickedness.
Many places in the Bible we find these two words in the same verse in the O.T.
And God hath remembered her iniquities, it is not that He had forgotten them previously. It is the biblical way of stating that the hour of reckoning and judgment had arrived. He don’t always pay off on Fridays, but He always pays off.
We’re not told who this “another voice from heaven” is in vs.4, but I believe because of the words” my people, that its highly possible that its God Himself, God Himself is deeply concerned about His people in every dispensation.
The voice now is not that of the angel of verse 1. And it is directed to God’s people, not primarily to lost sinners.
Ø Before judgment fell on the wicked back in Noah’s time, God warned Noah to build an Ark so that he and his family could escape the coming judgment of the flood, which is a type of the tribulation.
Gen 6:13– And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.** {or, from the earth}
It didn’t rain a single drop until Noah and his family was safe in side, it had never rained before this.
Genesis 2:5-6 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. 6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
And let me say right here that God is the One that shut the door of the Ark, not Noah.
Genesis 7:16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.
Gen.7:1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark;--and notice, God said “come thou” showing us that God was in side the Ark.
Well since God had shut the door no one could open it to get out or in, Noah and his family may have fallen down in side the Ark but they couldn’t fall out, and that’s the way you and I are as we’re safe in Christ Jesus our Ark, we may falter and stumble around as we’re on our Christian pilgrimage but we’ll always be hell proof, we’re safe inside the Lord Jesus.
Ephesians 1:1-- and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:--
And likewise the complete family of God will be safe with Him before any part of the tribulation begins.
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And then there’s Brother Lot. Lot is a real good picture of a saved person that’s away from God, he’s saved but he might not have a reward when he gets to heaven.—Lot was a JUST man, he had been justified, but he was in a backslidden condition as we might call it.
2 Peter 2:7-8 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
Lots flesh was not clean or saved, but he had a righteous soul it tells us.
Gen 19:12–13 And the men **{they are the 2 angels of chapter 18: remember} said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: 13For we will destroy**(notice; not might destroy it , but will, that’s their mission, that’s what God had commissioned them to do) this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.
The angels took them by the hand and brought them out of the city, we all no the story, Mrs. Noah disobeyed the command not to look back, she did look back and turned into a pillar of salt, do you suppose she was reminiscing?
Jesus said in
Luke 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
These 2 angels had safely delivered Just Lot and his 2 daughters out of harms way, not any “fire and brimstone” fell on Sodom or the other cities until they were safe.
The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah are a type of the tribulation, God delivered his people.
1 Thessalonians 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which deliver-ed **(pass tense) us from the wrath to come. –The tribulation--
And the same holds true of the True Church, we’ll be safely raptured out of harms way before any part of the tribulation begins.- Rev.4:1 the rapture takes place, the church is no longer on earth.
God mercifully warns His own in order to deliver them from the coming catastrophe.
Heb 13:13-14 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. 14For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
There will be multitudes saved in the tribulation according to chapter 7:
Both believing Jews and Gentiles will heed the warning of the 144000 true Jehovah witnesses as they preach, the gospel of the kingdom and will escape the burning destruction., their also in chapter 7 & 14.
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