GOD’S PEOPLE WARNED TO GET OUT OF BABYLON

This chapter opened with a declaration of the fall of Babylon, the place from which all false religions were founded.  I can’t help but wonder if this declaration is the same as that recorded in chapter 14.

Revelation 14:8 “And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”

I think this section describes in detail the resulting destruction announced by that angel.  John hears yet another voice from heaven which according to the context of the message has to be that of God.  He is calling for His people to get out of Babylon. 

Revelation 18:4–5 “And 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. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.”

God is always faithful to warn His people of judgment to come.  There will be those who come to saving faith in the tribulation years, and some of these people will live in Babylon.  Again I am reminded of the words of Jeremiah.

 

Jeremiah 51:6--Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD’S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence. 

Jeremiah 51:45-- My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD. 

When you are surrounded with that which is wicked, you are going to be tempted to partake.  Those who choose to stay in Babylon will also partake of her judgment.  God is not going to separate out His own (like He did with Israel in the land of Goshen during the time of the plagues in Egypt) when He judges Babylon.  It’s going to be like Sodom and Gomorrah; if you don’t get out, you will experience her judgment.  As with Sodom, the sins of Babylon are well known in heaven, and God has decided that now is the time to exercise judgment in accordance with her sins.

Revelation 18:6–7 “Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.”

Babylon is deserving of great punishment.  She is deserving of more than just an “eye for an eye.”  She is deserving of at least double (or is it quadruple) retribution for what she has herself inflicted on others.  The cup is a direct reference to Revelation 17:4.

Revelation 17:4 “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication….”

Verse 7 continues the thought of determining how much judgment to impose upon her.  She has lived in haughtiness and pride and in great luxury.  In direct proportion to that lifestyle she should experience torment and sorrow.  She has positioned herself as a queen and not as a widow.  The Greek for the word widow implies the idea of deficiency or lacking.  Babylon thinks she lacks nothing and is immune to judgment.  This parallels the description of the church at Laodicea as described in the Lord’s letter to that church in chapter 3.

Revelation 3:17 “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked….”

There is also a parallel verse in Isaiah.

Isaiah 47:8-9 Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children.  But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.

Isaiah also points out that the lifestyle predominant in Babylon is based on sorcery, magic and wickedness—all prominent methods of deception employed by Satan and his forces.  

Revelation 18:8 “Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.”

As I looked again at the root words in the original language, it occurred to me that the reference to “famine” is probably that of spiritual destitution.  This would seem to fit the context better in reference to destruction “in a moment in one day” and the fact that she is prosperous until she is destroyed by fire.  In fact, Revelation narrows it to one hour.

Revelation 18:10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

Why/How will this happen to one who seems so strong?  Because mightier, stronger, and more powerful is the Lord God who condemns and judges her.

(to be continued…)

THE GREAT FINANCIAL EMPIRE OF THE WHORE OF BABYLON

Well, we finally made it to chapter 18.  As this chapter opens, John sees yet another powerful angel descending from heaven.  This angel’s power is evident from the brightness of his glory as it lights the earth.

Revelation 18:1–3 “And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And 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 of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.”

The angel declares his message loudly with great force.  “Babylon the great is fallen….”  Reminder, the chapter divisions most commonly used in bibles today are credited to Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury in the early 1200s AD.  In context with the previous chapter, the connection is clearly to the city mentioned in the last verse of that chapter.  As the birthplace of false gods and false religions, she has seduced the world and its leaders to practice spiritual fornication and has used that influence to emerge as the leading economic power base in the world as shown by the verses to follow. 

Remember, John is being shown the judgment of the “whore.”  The identity of city, woman and whore are inextricably connected to one another.  This city has become the dwelling place of demons/evil spirits, a cage for unclean spirits, sometimes pictured as birds in scripture.

Matthew 13:3–4 & 18-19 “And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up…. Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.  When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart.”

I couldn’t help but make a comparison to what is happening in the church today.  The “business” of church is growing day by day.  It’s becoming more like a picture of the Laodicean church on hormones.  Peter warned that this would become the modus operandi of false teachers in the professing church.  They are all motivated by the love of money as they promote their “damnable heresies” and deny the truth of God’s word. 

2 Peter 2:1–3 “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”

Paul warned Titus of the same thing.

Titus 1:10–11 “For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.”

I found a pertinent quote at www.biblelife.org in an article entitled Church Bondage:  “The modern Christian churches use brainwashing, mind control, indoctrination, oppression, coercion, intimidation, legalism, false teaching, guilt, shame, peer pressure, and other bondage techniques to control members, increase church attendance, and obtain more money. The goal is said to be "winning souls to Christ," but the underlying agenda is the desire for more power, control, and money. These mind control and bondage techniques are not needed to win souls to Christ. In fact, they are very counter-productive to soul winning.”

And another from an article at www.ukapologetics.net:  “The typical 'money-man' of tele-evangelism wears highly expensive silk suits, he (or she) purposefully strides the stage (yes, it often appears to be a stage-like setting, as for entertainers, rather than a pulpit, as for Bible teachers - significant?) while yelling out their spiritually-subversive money-based spiel (yes, they often seem to prefer to yell as this world yells, rather than to employ the 'still small voice'). They either directly state or, more often, imply that you too can share their obviously affluent and prosperous lifestyle if you will send your money in to them (oh, I beg your pardon, I mean send in your “tithes and offerings”). Yes, Jesus is mentioned too although quite often in rather a flippant way, rarely (I have noticed) in a respectful manner - but their gospel is a different gospel which would have been unknown to the original apostles.”

This scripture (Rev. 18:3) makes it clear that the one-world religion of the tribulation will be totally consumed by the love of money.  Scripture is very clear in declaring the love of money to be the root of all evil—and evil is unbridled at this point in time.

1Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

(to be continued…)

THE WOMAN ON THE BEAST WILL BE DESTROYED BY THOSE IN LEAGUE WITH ANTICHRIST

As we pick up where we left off in the previous post, the angel explaining things to John tells him about the waters surrounding the woman and the beast so that she appears to be sitting on them.

Revelation 17:15–17 “And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.”

The waters are identified as representing the peoples and nations of the world.  It is another picture of the fact that the kingdom of Antichrist and his false religious system will have worldwide authority.

Interestingly enough, the angel declares that the ten horns/kings that have been delegated authority under the Antichrist will hate the whore.  I think it is because they will not like the fact that this religious leader is allowed to have such influence on world business practices.  In fact, in accordance with God’s own purposes, they will bring about her destruction.  I believe the following words of the prophet Jeremiah refer to this destruction.

Jeremiah 51:27–30 “Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers. Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion. And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant. The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.”

Babylon was not destroyed by the Medes and Persians when they conquered Babylon in 539 BC as recorded in Daniel.  Because of the statement of complete desolation, I believe this has to be referencing Babylon’s future destruction.   The context in Jeremiah seems to be indicating that her destruction will come at the hands of those ruling the land of the Armenians and Medes and the area around the Black Sea (where the descendants of Ashchenaz settled). 

The verses in Revelation seem to indicate that those who destroy the false religious system have the approval of the beast.  Once she has served his purposes in getting all the nations to worship him, she becomes expendable.  I am reminded that though the kingdom of the beast will be rooted in Babylon, he will eventually establish his throne in Jerusalem.

2 Thessalonians 2:3–4 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”

John MacArthur makes a thoughtful observation in his commentary regarding the dissension in the kingdom of Antichrist.

“… Satan is finally going to wake up and realize that he can't do this thing to defeat Christ, he has no chance at all unless he pulls this division together.  So he does.  And he makes her desolate.  That is, I believe, he robs the system of its wealth, its treasure, its power.  Leaves her absolutely naked, he strips the system bare.  Takes it all.  The religious system of the world is left with nothing.   And by the way, the False Prophet cooperates in this and moves over...this False Prophet isn't dumb, he wants a job and so the job left is to be the one who points to the beast. 

"He eats her flesh."  What does that mean?  Everything is gone.  Everything is consumed.  There's not a vestige of the former false religious system left on the face of the earth.  He is the new God, the new king, the new ruler, the new idol.  There's nothing left.  And even what may be the residue, the bones, if you will, of the consumed harlot are burned with fire.” [end MacArthur quote]

I think it is important to understand that God’s purpose for Babylon’s destruction will be accomplished by the actions of wicked people.  As Christians, I think we sometime forget that truth.  God is sovereign and will still be in control during Satan’s reign of evil in the person Antichrist.  In His omniscience, He has ensured that His purposes be accomplished sometimes through the choices and actions of the wicked.  Because these wicked men are acting in accordance with their own desires, they will still be held accountable for those actions.

It’s also important to note that Antichrist will be allowed to reign “until the words of God shall be fulfilled” (v17).  I love the way God declares this truth through the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 14:24 “The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand….”

Isaiah 46:9–10 “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure….”

This chapter closes with the angel declaring that the woman is specifically identified with a city, a great city that reigns over the kings of the earth—Babylon.

Revelation 17:18 “And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”

(to be continued…)

THE VICTORY OF THE LAMB IS SURE

Chapter 17 has caused me to slow the pace considerably in trying to take a fresh look at a difficult section of scripture.  I have shared my understanding that the woman on the beast represents the false religious systems of the world inspired by the deceit of Satan that were birthed at Babel through the leadership of Nimrod.  We have seen that the scripture has specifically identified the beast with Satan and his earthly proxies.  I have shared my conclusion that the mystery associated with the woman and the beast refers to the origination of false religion and false gods at Babel and will dominate the world from a power base in that same area (known as Babylon today) in its last manifestation of world power though its wicked influence has been felt throughout the world in many forms throughout history.  We saw that John’s revelation sees the great world kingdoms from the perspective of Israel, the nation through whom God chose to reveal Himself to all other nations of the world.   We saw in the last post that Satan will be allowed one last hurrah as he rules the last world kingdom in the person of Antichrist for a “short space.”

The angel explaining things to John now directs his attention to the ten horns on the beast.

Revelation 17:12–14 “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.”

The ten horns are associated with ten kings that will receive power and authority when they join in league with the antichrist for the short time he is allowed to rule.  Point is made that they willingly align themselves with the antichrist to strengthen and establish his power base.  Why?  They “have one mind.”  I think verse 14 identifies their common goal—to “make war with the Lamb.”  This Lamb is clearly identified in scripture.

John 1:29 “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

One cannot objectively assess global worldviews today without having to acknowledge that this goal aligns with those views.   The United States of America has exerted an ever-growing influence toward achievement of that goal.  We were basically recognized as a “Christian nation” because our government was founded upon biblical principles.  Our president has made a point of stating to the world that we are not a Christian nation, and we are leading the way in promoting moral degeneracy and rebellion against God. 

The buzzword of the day is “tolerance.”  True Christianity at its root is not tolerant because it identifies Jesus as the “only” way to salvation.  Those pushing for the new world order that will set the stage for the rule of antichrist consider biblical Christianity as the greatest detriment to the achievement of their goal.  Most disturbing to me is that those professing themselves to be Christians are contributing to their efforts by attacking the truth of the word of God and denigrating the sacrifice that Jesus made to atone for our sin.

Though most of the news making headlines today grieve me, I have hope.  Not hope as the world defines it, but the hope of scripture—a confident expectation of the fulfillment of God’s word.  I know these headlines are proclaiming the soon return of my Lord as King.  The angel explaining things to John boldly declares, “the Lamb shall overcome them.” 

Because God in His sovereignty has allowed man the privilege of choice and allowed Satan and his followers their time of influence with limited authority, many deny that He is sovereign and in control if they acknowledge His existence at all.  Because God does not fit their ideas of who He should be and how He should act, they deny Him.  Their refusal to accept the truth does not change the truth.  God is LORD both in heaven above and on earth beneath—in fact, throughout His creation.  His purposes and ways are far beyond our understanding.

Deuteronomy 4:39 “Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.”

Isaiah 55:8–9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:10–11 “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

Note that Isaiah declares the word of God to be just as sure as the rain and snow that fall to the earth to water it and allow it to produce food for us all.  Whether or not we can understand all that He tells us in His word, we can be sure that everything God has told us will come to pass just as He has foretold.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.”

2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

We can say just as surely today as Solomon proclaimed when he dedicated the temple, “there hath not failed one word of all his good promise.” (IKings 8:56)

I especially rejoice in the last part of verse 14, “they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.”  I am confident that I am one of those that will be with Him.

(to be continued…)

REVISED - THE WOMAN, THE BEAST AND SEVEN MOUNTAINS

We continue our study of Mystery Babylon and her destruction as revealed by John in Revelation 17-18.  I am revising this post due to input from my Mom, since it became clear that I didn’t address some obvious questions.

Revelation 17:7–8 “And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”

The angel doesn’t understand why John was so surprised at what he saw.  Implied—it was only to be expected from a time in which evil predominates.  The angel declares that he is going to explain the mystery of the woman and the beast that carries and sustains her.  He begins with the beast; without him, there would be no woman.

The angel goes on to explain to John that the beast carrying her “was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition.”  In our study we’ve already learned that the scripture uses the term “mountains” to describe both kings and kingdoms.  Later in the chapter, verse 18 tells us that the woman is synonymous to a city, so it would make sense for the beast to represent not only Satan in the person of Antichrist but the kingdom he rules on his behalf.  Reminder—Her sphere of authority is spiritual or religious, but her influence is powerful and extends to affect economic prosperity as well according to chapter 18.

Previously, I made a connection with the prominence of Babylon on the world scene as part of her mystery.  Maybe this thought also connects with the phrase “was, and is not and shall ascend…and go into perdition” in reference to Babylon as the originator of the false religions established through Satan’s deceit that will once again emerge as Satan’s seat of the final false religion that will dominate the world.  Babylon was not the recognized seat of satanic power at the time of John’s revelation.

It’s also interesting to note that point is made that those whose names are not written in the book of life will be in awe of the beast.  Why?  Because of His miracles.

This implies that those whose names are in the book of life will not be so awestruck. Why?  I think it is because they will understand what is happening and will be expecting him to do miracles in light of scripture. 

2Thessalonians 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders…

I think this wording concerning the Book of Life is a bit confusing.  It’s obvious to me from other scriptures that all names are written in the Book of Life until they are blotted out due to unbelief and rejection of God as LORD.  However, God knew the end from the beginning for every person ever born before He created the first thing.  In that regard, those whose names are not included in the Book of Life at the final judgment of sinners were known to God “from the foundation of the world.”

The angel continues to try to clarify our thinking by identifying the heads with mountains or kingdoms and the kings that ruled them.

Revelation 17:9–11 “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.”

Regarding the kings, we are told that “five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space (v10).”  It would seem that this woman has held sway in each of these kingdoms—each one rooted in the false religion of Babylon of old.  From John’s perspective, five of the kings are fallen, one is, and the other is yet to come and allowed to rule a short time.  Now he identifies the beast that was, and is not as the eighth king that rules one of the seven mountains and will end up in perdition. 

This description makes it clear to me that we are talking about mountains as representative of kingdoms—not the city of Rome (as I know many believe).  Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece were the great empires of the past from John’s perspective.  The Roman Empire would represent the ruling empire of John’s time.  Then there is the kingdom yet to come that according to Daniel will emerge from the ruins of the Roman Empire.  The king that rules the seventh kingdom only continues “a short space.”  John tells us that the beast will rule the seventh kingdom.  Actually, the final king is one of the seven kings but is actually the eighth (which I think refers to the fact that Satan indwells the antichrist in the middle of the tribulation after his miraculous resurrection from the dead).  In other words, Antichrist is the 7^th king, and Antichrist indwelt by Satan is the 8^th because at that point he becomes the person through whom Satan rules.

Why were other great kingdoms/empires of the world (e.g., the Ottoman’s) not included in Daniel’s or John’s visions?  Because God is using the scripture to tell His-story as reflected through His dealings with the nation of Israel.  After 70 AD that nation no longer existed.  When Israel reemerged as a nation on the world scene in 1948, the stage was set for the rise of the last world kingdom that will precede the coming of Jesus as King.

(to be continued…)