When Babylons Fall, Cry, Or Celebrate? (Revelation 18:1-19) Series

This week, in Revelation 18, we find ourselves focusing exclusively on Babylon. Last week, we were told she was going to destruction. This week, that destruction has happened. It's past tense. She has fallen. She has been ruined. The focus isn't really on how that happens. The focus is on how you view her fall. When Babylon falls, do you celebrate it? Or do you mourn over it?

Let's read Revelation 18:1-3 (verse 4 has its own separate little intro-- trying to take this in the chunks Revelation splits itself into):

(1) After these things I saw another angel,

descending from heaven,

having great authority,

and the earth was lit up by his glory,

(2) and he cried out in a strong voice, saying,

"It fell! It fell! Babylon the Great!,

and it became a dwelling place of demons,

and a haunt of every unclean spirit,

and a haunt of every unclean bird,

and a haunt of every unclean and hated beast,

(3) because from the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality all the nations have fallen,

and the kings of the earth, with her, they have committed sexual immorality ["with her" is

focused],

and the merchants of the earth from the power of her sensuality/luxury have become rich,"

In verse 1, John sees another angel, and this angel has true glory-- the glory you get from God. This glory far surpasses the glory of the Prostitute. This angel dazzles the world with light.

And this angel announces-- celebrates, really-- that Babylon the Great has fallen. The only thing that can still be found in her, is detestable, hated things. It'd be like walking the strip at Las Vegas, and it's no longer filled with people. Instead, it's filled with snakes, and bats, and demons.

In verse 3, this angel says that there are two reasons God's judgment has fallen on Babylon. The first, is because she turned the entire world away from God. Her cup, filled with all kinds of detestable things, causes people to fall away, and that's not something God tolerates forever. People will always do dark, wicked things. But the source of that evil, gets judged hard by God.

The second reason God's judgment has fallen on Babylon is in the last sentence of verse 3. "and the merchants of the earth from the power of her sensuality/luxury have become rich,"

In every Babylon, the most wealthy people are its merchants. When it comes to luxuries, Babylon has a voracious appetite. Wealth flows in toward its center. And that flow never slows down, never stops. The people who produce those luxuries, and get it to Babylon, become wealthy themselves.

Now, let me just stop, and talk about wealth for a second. Sometimes, people are wealthy because God makes them wealthy. Sometimes, people are wealthy because they use their talents and abilities, and hone them, and work hard to become wealthy. But other times, the reason people are wealthy, is because they are providing for the Great Prostitute. Their wealth isn't a sign of God's favor. It's not evidence that they worked hard, and diligently. It's evidence that Babylon seduced them, and that they are chasing the Great Prostitute.