Revelation 18 – Lesson 23

 

Revelation 18 – The Fall of Babylon          

John saw another angel coming down from heaven.  He had great authority and the earth was illuminated by His glory.  God was always with John since the glory of God shone and was 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 had become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of unclean spirits and detestable birds.  Every nation was 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 tells 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 may become greedy and self-centered.  You may tend to forget God and what He’s done for you making Him 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 giving another chance for unbelievers to repent and turn to Him.  He is a God of second chances.  God wanted all the people 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 her consequences will a double portion of judgment.  (Rev. 18:5-8) 

God remembers the crimes of sinners, but if you are a believer God has forgiven you and remembers your sins no more.  Isaiah 43:25 – “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”

It’s sad and hard to believe that there were believers still living in Babylon.  God wants 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.

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)

Three groups of people will mourn Babylon’s fall - the kings, the merchants, and the sailors.  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 will mourn.  No more cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones, fine linens, spices, wines, and oil.  The sea captains and sailors will suffer, also.  They will suffer as Babylon suffered.  She will be destroyed in 1 hour.   They will all weep and mourn over her. (Rev. 18:9-19)

All the people of Babylon will mourn because they used their money solely for luxurious living.  They consumed it with their selfish lusts.  They valued their wealth over human life and suffering.  Money, prosperity, capital, treasures, materialism, affluence, and privilege are the gods they serve.  They put their trust and hope in these things, and it was gone in an instant.  They invested merely in temporary things and will not reap nothing eternal.  The lesson here is don’t trust in your money or your riches, but trust in God.   Live generously and serve God and your fellow man.

Matthew 6:19-21 tell us where true treasure if found and stored.  True treasures are not possessions and wealth, but it’s all about the hearts and motivations which are stored in haven.

Heaven is called to rejoice over the fall of Babylon.  They rejoice because finally God judged evil 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

Then a mighty angel promised that no one will ever see that city again.  He picked up a boulder and threw it into the sea.  The stone sank with a great splash and with such force that it destroyed Babylon.  Babylon fought against God and God punished her severely.  (Rev. 18:21-24)

Babylon’s evil empire is now dead,  but 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

Principles: 

Don’t’ trust in your money or your riches; trust in God.

People who love for the world will lose everything in God’s judgment.

There is a battle between God and Satan, good and evil - GOD WINS!

Next week we will study Revelation 19.  – I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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Revelation 17 – Lesson 22

 

Revelation 17:1-6 – The Woman and The Beast

One of the seven angels invited John to see how God would punish Babylon.  The angel called Babylon a great prostitute who sells her body for sex.  She had great influence upon the people.  The kings of the earth committed adultery with her.  The adultery mentioned is the worship of idols and false gods instead of Almighty God who created the earth.  The inhabitants of earth were intoxicated with her adulteries. (Rev. 17:1-2).  Her beauty is only skin deep.  She may look good, but soon her evil will soon be revealed.  Someone who is drunk has no idea what they are doing.  This is like these kings.  They were so wrapped up in the wealth, greed and evil that they didn’t realize the magnitude of what they were doing.

People are attracted to and worship many idols and false gods today.  There are many false gods in this world fighting for our attention.  People turn to money, power, reputation, sex, appearance, beauty, comfort, family, self, fame, entertainment, pleasure, and instant gratification.  Anything you put before God is a false god and an idol. 

This prostitute is not a literal woman.  We’re told in verse 18 that the woman is Babylon and some say it represents the city of Rome.  Babylon can be looked at as an ungodly world system that is against God or as the city of the Antichrist.  She turns good into evil.  She sits on many waters and has great influence.  We learn in verse 15 that the waters “are people and multitudes and nations and languages”.  All the kings of the earth shared the trade and culture with her.  They desired wealth, luxury and false gods.  She caused the nations and people of earth to worship the beast.

John was taken by the Spirit into a desert where he saw a woman sitting on a red beast covered with blasphemous names and had 7 heads and 10 horns.  She is dressed in purple and adorned with beautiful expensive jewels on the outside, but inside she was anything but beautiful.  True beauty in found in Jesus alone.  She carried a golden cup filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.  On her head was written, “Mystery Babylon the great the mother of prostitutes and the abominations of the earth” – Rev 17:5.  She was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. (Rev. 2-6)  She was a killer of believers.  She represents all who hate God, but someday she will face His justice.

This golden cup could mean that all this evil and immorality of the world has been brought into the church.  The church was tolerating almost anything and everything.  They were watering down Jesus and God’s truth. 

2 Chronicles 36:15-21; Jeremiah 39:1-10; and Daniel 5 show the name “Babylon” is appropriate for this woman.  These passages tell how they desecrated the temple of God and treated the people.  We see that today.  We see some churches watering down Jesus and the gospel.  They are tolerating life styles and choices that God does not approve of, because they don’t want to hurt people’s feelings or because it’s the popular thing to do.  They call it being tolerant.  They say times have changed and we need to accept those changes.  I think they need to read the Bible to see what God says.

The beast is the Antichrist who is the great enemy of Christ and God’s people.  The woman was drunk not with wine, but the blood of believers.  Babylon was responsible for the death of God’s people.  They died because they were loyal to Jesus.

Principle:  Anything you put before God is a false god.

Revelation 17:7-14 – The Woman and The Beast Explained

John was astonished, because this vision had to be shocking and confusing.  The angel explained to John.  The beast we saw in chapter 14 is the Antichrist.  He was killed yet rose from the dead to deceive the people of the earth.  He is red like the red dragon, Satan.  He is full of blasphemous names against God.  The people of the earth whose names are not written in the book of life will worship the beast.  Scripture calls for us to be wise.  The 7 heads are mountains.  They are also 7 kings.  Five had fallen and one had not come yet.  Some believe the five fallen are Julius Caesar, Tiberius Caesar, Caligula, Claudius and Nero.  The 6^th was Domitian and was alive in John’s day.  The 7^th is the Antichrist, the coming leader revived from the Roman Empire.  He will also be the 8^th and rule the entire world. (Rev. 17:9-11) 

We know the Antichrist is coming and will be a Gentile and will have some connection to the ancient Roman Empire.  It could be through ancestry, geography, or a structure of his government.  He will be a Gentile ruler leading the modern remnants of the Roman Empire which includes lands as distant as Indian, Turkey, and Egypt.  Read more about this in detail in Daniel 2 & 7 where you will see the succession of Gentile world powers that conquer Israel and Jerusalem.

The description of the beast and the Lord is very different.  The beast once was, now is not, and yet will come and will be destroyed. (Rev. 17:8)  The Lord is and who was, and is to come.  He will live forever.  (Rev. 1:4; 8; and 4:8)  The beast is a counterfeit of Jesus.  The beast comes to destroy and Jesus came to save.  Jesus triumphed over Satan on the cross.  Satan’s final days will end to total destruction.

Rev. 17:9 states wisdom is required.  How do you gain wisdom?  We gain wisdom by asking God for it; we stay in His Word and ask Him to help you understand it.  Then we will be able to discern between a lie and the truth.  Stay in prayer.  Our faith will be strengthened and our trust in God will become stronger and stronger.

The 10 horns are the 10 kings who haven’t received their power yet, but they will receive authority as kings for a short time along with the beast.  Their goal it to make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings.  With Him will be His chosen and faithful followers. (Rev. 17:12-14)

Principle: The Lord is and who was, and is to come; He will live forever.

Revelation 17:15-18 – God’s Purpose Will Be Accomplished

There is no unity of God’s enemies.  We see that in Judges 7:22 and 2 Chronicles 20:22-23.  God is in control and God’s purposes will be accomplished.  “For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God’s words are fulfilled.” – Rev. 17:17  This was God’s plan in order to punish Babylon.  God is in control and His plans will succeed, because He is the only real God.

We can see Babylon traits in the world today.  There is a cultural system that pulls people away to ungodliness.  It encourages sin, selfishness, tolerance of all things, greed, love of money and material things.  But remember, God will still achieve His purposes in the world.  He is sovereign and in control – and – He wins in the end!

Jesus never sought power or authority, but lived as a servant and lived to glorify God.  True beauty is in Jesus.  His punishment on the cross for us brought us peace that is true beauty.

Principle:  God is in control and His purposes will be accomplished. 

 Next week we will study Revelation 18.  – I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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Revelation – Lesson 21 (Various Scriptures)

Romans 1:18-32; 3:10-20 – All Humanity Needs God’s Mercy

God can execute justice against sin as well as extend mercy to all sinners who accept Jesus’ salvation.  We see this throughout the book of Revelation.

What is justice?  Justice is the ethical idea that all people are to be treated impartially, fairly, properly, and reasonably by the law.

What is mercy?  Mercy is compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone when it is within one’s power to punish or harm them.  It means “price paid”.

The Bible tells us that God exercises justice and mercy.  In Exodus 34:6-7 He is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. But He doesn’t leave the guilty unpunished. 

In John 3:16-18 He loved the world so much that He gave us His Son, Jesus so we would not perish but have eternal life.  In 2 Peter 3:9 He is not slow in keeping His promises; He is patient not wanting anyone to perish, but wants all to repent.

I have received justice and mercy throughout my life.  He has blessed me in so many ways they are too numerous to count.  He gives me more good than I deserve.  When I really think about it, I am so grateful and humbled.  It makes me want to do better.

Humanity’s natural traits can be self-centered, selfish, deceitful, rebellious, wicked, evil, and sinful.   Jeremiah 17:9 says our hearts are deceitful and beyond cure.  Based on these traits we don’t deserve God’s mercy, but deserve His judgments.  Psalm 51:4 tells us that we have sinned and have done evil in God’s sight and deserved to be judged by Him.  Romans 3:23 tells us we all have sinned and fall short of His glory. 

Exodus 32; 33:12-14; 34:4-7 – Justice And Mercy Displayed in Old Testament.

God wanted to punish the Israelites when they worshiped the golden calf.  When Moses saw what they were doing, he was so angry that he broke the stone tablets with God’s commands.  But Moses interceded for them before God and God relented and showed justice and mercy.  To punish them God commanded them to arm themselves and go through the camp to kill those who were involved in the idolatry.  This was a lesser punishment and the people got what they deserved.  This showed justice and mercy.  God then gave Moses new stone tablets with His commands.  This reminds us of God’s justice and mercy that was demonstrated by Jesus’ death on the cross.

Romans 5:6-11; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-10 – Justice And Mercy Displayed in New Testament.

Go perfectly expressed His justice and mercy despite our sinfulness and on-going transgressions at the cross.  He sent His own Son, Jesus to die in our place showing justice and mercy by the cross.  1 Peter 2:22-25 – “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

What should our response be?  Our response to God’s mercy should be to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.  This is an act of worship.  Also we should not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds so we are pleasing to God. (Romans 12:1-2).  We ought to be humble recognizing we are sinners and not think more highly of ourselves than others. (Luke 18:9-14). We should believe that God gives us eternal life through His Son, Jesus. (1 John 1:5-10)                                                                    

Next week we will study Revelation 17. –  I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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