Revelation 18:1-3
If you were here on Wednesday I taught through Luke 19:11-27 and as we heard Jesus telling of this parable of Himself at the end we heard this verse:
Luke 19:27 ~ But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”
Now this fits very well with what we just read in Revelation 17:
Revelation 17:14 They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”
But after reading the verse in Luke 19:27 about how Jesus when He returns will call for the slaughter of His enemies/the unsaved, it brought about a comment from me about that God hates the unbelieving wicked sinner.
Psalm 5:4-5 ~ For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers.
Psalm 11:5 ~ The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
I also mentioned this verse in Romans 9:11-13 ~ though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Scripture at times can be difficult to understand and hard to absorb why God does the thing He does. But I want to continue in what Romans says right after this verse, it says: Romans 9:14-18 ~ What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means!
15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
So what is the importance and relevance of this you may be asking yourself.
I have mentioned before the importance of understanding the drastic cost of being an unbelieving wicked sinner, and that the better we understand who we were pre-salvation, it then makes it even more clear to us the great value of God's grace, love and mercy in our salvation.
God both hates and loves and being an unbelieving wicked sinner is at the far end on the spectrum in the hate side. God's grace, love and mercy for the believer are on the other side of the spectrum. They are the farthest apart as they could be, and to attempt to bring them closer together diminishes what God has done for the believer and it takes away from what Christ did on the cross and as well makes sin less wicked.
We then looked at John 3:16 as a contrast to the God hates verses. Now understand all scripture is true and the difficult thing at times is how how we take John 3:16 as true and the verses about how God hates the wicked as true and make them fit together?
John 3:16- ~ “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
The term “the world” can be a very general term and not specific enough in my opinion for it to actually mean every single person or thing where as the God hates the wicked or Esau verses are very specific.
God is patient though scripture says, and He desires all to come to faith, grace, love and mercy.
But as you have also heard me say I present both sides as I did here and you the individual need to do the study yourself and find that conclusion.
I just want to make clear though, we as Christians are to love all in the hope that the wicked unbeliever will come to repentance and faith. That is our call.
Revelation 18:1-3 ~ After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. 2 And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast. 3 For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”
Chapter 18 now gives us some detail on the fall of Babylon. An angel with great authority it say came down from heaven and the earth was made bright by the angels glory.
In verse 2 the angel calls out “fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.
It is interesting that it isn't just mankind that have fallen here but also it mentions demons, unclean spirits, birds, and beasts. So animals as well have fallen to the will of Satan.
In verse 3 it says that all nations and kings have drunk of the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality. Not some nations but all.
All nations is also called the all the world. Here is where wording again needs to be properly understood. All nations or all of the world it says. Does all mean all or does the world mean all? No it doesn't, it is a general term.
We know this because of verse 4 “Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins.””
There are still Gods people on earth in which this Angel is calling out from the rubble. The nations or the world even though it even says “all” did not mean everyone just as in John 3:16 “loved the world” doesn't mean everyone because it is followed by the condemned.
