John
sees another angel coming down from heaven.
He had great authority and the earth lights up with his glory. He was probably always with God since the
glory of God shines and is absorbed by those around Him. (Rev.
18:1) Remember when Moses met with
God on Mount Sinai. He came down from
the mountain and his face was shining from being in the presence of God. When we spend time with God, we shine as
well.
The
angel shouted “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!”
– Rev. 18:2a He said the city has become a dwelling place
of demons and a prison of unclean spirits and detestable birds. Every nation is influenced by Babylon. Every merchant grew rich from her excessive
luxuries. (Rev. 18:2b-3)
Who or
what is Babylon? In the
last sentence of chapter 17 it tell us that the woman that John saw is the
great city that rules over the kings of the earth. In John’s time that city was Rome. Rome was an enemy of God and persecuted many Christians. Babylon represents any evil city, nation, place
or even government systems. It has great
influence over people with material possessions, luxuries, wealth and the worship
of anything other than God.
There
are consequences for making riches and luxuries the top priority in life. The more you have the more it seems you
want. You never seem to be satisfied. You become greedy and self-centered. You tend to forget God and what He’s done for
you. He is not the center of your
life. Wealth and possessions are your
number one priority. The Bible warns
against this. “Set
your hearts on the things above, not on earthly things.” - Col. 3:1-2 “But store up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where
thieves do not break in and steal. For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matt. 6:20-21
Then
John heard another voice from heaven calling for believers to come out of
Babylon. He is also giving another
chance for unbelievers to repent and turn to Him. He is a God of second chances. God wanted them to separate themselves from
Satan’s kingdom. (Rev. 18:4) Babylon had so
many sins that they were piled up to heaven.
God remembered her crimes and will give her a double portion of
judgment. (Rev. 18:5-8)
It’s
sad and hard to believe that there are believers still living in Babylon. God want His people to physically leave the
city and to separate themselves from the evil worldly practices. God will not destroy the righteous with the
wicked. It’s like Lot living in
Sodom. God called him out of the city
before He destroyed it.
Are you
living in a commercial Babylon?
Is God
instructing you to come out of your materialism, commercialism, or immorality?
Are you
pursuing righteousness and godliness?
How are
you pursuing a higher standard than that of the world?
God is
going to pay Babylon back double her deeds.
Babylon boasts that she is a queen not a widow and will never
mourn. She would not repent of her
sins. Her heart was hard. God will destroy her. He will bring plagues, pestilence, mourning,
famine and fire upon her. (Rev. 18:7-8)
The
kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury and
sin will be sorrowful over the fall of Babylon.
Why? It won’t be for the city,
but for themselves. They will be
bankrupt. Their so called good life will
come to an end. They will have lost
their trade and profit. No one will buy
or sell any more. The merchants, sea
captains and sailors will mourn. No more
cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones, fine linens, spices, wines, and
oil. They would suffer as Babylon
suffered. She will all be destroyed in 1
hour. They will all weep and mourn over
her. (Rev. 18:9-19)
Heaven
rejoices over the fall of Babylon. They
rejoice because finally God judged them and put an end to sin once and for all
time. Evil will be gone forever! “Rejoice over her, O
heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles and
prophets! God has judged her for the way
she treated you.” – Rev. 18:20
Are you
a believer in Jesus? If so,
rejoice! He has chosen you out of the
world.
Then a
mighty angel picked up a boulder and threw it into the sea. The stone sank with a great splash and with
such force that destroyed Babylon. No
one will ever see that city again. Babylon
fought against God and God punished her severely. (Rev.
18:21-24)
Babylon’s
evil empire is now dead. God’s people
will live forever, because God promised if they believe in Jesus they will have
eternal life. “For
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes
in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16
Does
God’s mercy and justice give you peace or worry?
What
will you do about it, rejoice or repent?
Next week we will study Revelation 19. Hope to see you here.
__________________________________________
If you
have enjoyed my post and have found if helpful, please leave a comment or share
this post with the buttons below.
You can also join this site by clicking on the blue button at the top left "Join this site" or you can "Subscribe by Email". If you follow by email, you will receive an email every time there is a new post.
