The Fall of Babylon, Part 1

Revelation 18. As we slowly but surely make our way verse by verse through this incredible, incredible book, we've been studying the great details of the tribulational period. And we are now at the point where it escalates with the fiery judgment of God upon the system of the world that will rule the world. As we've studied the book of Revelation, we know that Jesus Christ is going to return. In fact, the book of Revelation is about the unveiling of Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

at all talks about the time in which he one day will return to ear. And we as believers anticipate his coming. We know that when he first came, he was crowned with mock.

But when he comes again, he'll be crowned with majesty. We know that when he first came, he reigned from a tree.

But when he comes the second time, he'll rule from a throne. We know that the first time he came, he reigned and ruled with a reed.

But when he returns, he will rule and reign with a rod. The first time he came, he came to demonstrate his humility.

The second time he comes, he will demonstrate his sovereignty. We anticipate that. We look forward to the time which Jesus Christ will return to earth. And what we are doing in our study of the book of Revelation is coming to the point of that great and glorious return of Christ. That's in Revelation chapter 19. We're not there yet. We're getting there. But Jesus Christ in Revelation 19 returns. To this earth. Revelation chapter 20 and Revelation 22 tell us what's going to happen after he returns.

But before he returns back to the earth, Revelation chapter 6 through chapter 18 tells us what's going to take place on the earth before the king returns. We have found ourselves in that last chapter, Revelation chapter 18, that last chapter before he returns in Revelation chapter 19. And what we read about in Revelation chapter 18 is so incredible that if we didn't take the time to go through each of these verses and explain them, we wouldn't believe it if someone was to tell us. Because when you go through the book of Revelation and see the escalating events, the escalating wrath of God upon the world.

You'd think that no man would be left alive, let alone wanting to buy and to sell and to rule and reign on this earth. But when you come to Revelation chapter 18, you see something completely unexpected. You begin to see the world's condition. You begin to see exactly what God wants us to see through the vision that He gives to the Apostle John about how the world is going to operate during the most horrific time of its history. How man has so much will to survive. How man is so consumed with luxury.

And does all he can to live a life of luxury, so much so that despite the surrounding events, they live a lifestyle of the rich and famous. It's an amazing scenario. And as we go through Revelation chapter 18, we'll come to understand it. We spent the last three weeks talking about Revelation chapter 17. And now, as we go into Revelation chapter 18, we are going to see what I believe is the other key component of the world's leadership during the tribulational period. Entitled The Day of the Lord.

We have said that there are two systems: one is a religious system, one is a political system. We studied the religious system in Revelation chapter 17. Now, when we come to Revelation 18, we're going to study the political system or the economic system that rules. They both share the same name. They're both called Babylon. They're both ruled by a satanic power. One through the false prophet, the other through the Antichrist. Both come under the leadership, ultimately, of the Antichrist, and both rule like queens filled with blasphemy.

Both Associate with the kings of the earth in fornication, and both come under the judgment of God and are destroyed. Over the next few weeks, we want to cover six different aspect. Number one is the announcement of judgment.

Number two, the avoidance of judgment. Number three, the analysis of judgment. Number four, the acknowledgment of judgment. Number five, the acclaim. For judgment. Number six, the accomplishment of judgment. How long it takes us to cover that, only the Lord knows. But we will begin tonight in verse number one with the announcement of judgment.

Revelation 18 and verse number 1: After these things, I saw another angel. Coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory. And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great. And she has become a dwelling place of demons, and the prison of every unclean and hateful bird. For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality. And the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.

We'll stop right there for now. The announcement of judgment. The warning about the fall of Babylon has already taken place. So judgment was announced back in Revelation 14 by an angel. Now you come to Revelation 18. It's time for it to fall. Two things I want you to notice about the announcement of judgment: the cry of another angel, and the cause of Jehovah's judgment.

The cry of another angel and the cause of Jehovah's judgment. It says, After these things. I saw another angel. That phrase, after these things, is a phrase that we have looked at many times over in the book of Revelation. It introduces to us another vision or the next vision. It identifies a later period of time than Revelation chapter 17. That's why I don't believe Revelation 17 and Revelation 18 are the exact same thing, that they are two different system ultimately that come under one leadership, that is the Antichrist.

And the false prophet, according to Revelation chapter 13, causes people to bow down and worship the image of the beast, to fall down and worship this Antichrist. And so you come to Revelation 18. It says, After these things, this is not the same angel as in Revelation 17:1. 17, 7 or 17, 15. This is another angel, All, another of the same kind of angel. It's not Christ. It's another of the same kind as that which was in Revelation chapter 17. Same kind of angel. Same kind of angel, maybe, of Revelation chapter 14, verse number 8.

Maybe that's the angel. Their judgment was predicted. Now judgment's going to come to pass. Maybe it's that angel. We don't know. But we do know this. This angel has great. Authority. Why? Because he comes down out of heaven. He comes down out of the place of God's abode. He comes down with great authority. He acts for God. Note down in verse number 21 of chapter 18, it says. And a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, Thus will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence and will not be found any longer.

Maybe it's that same angel. But this angel has come to execute judgment. And then look what it says. And the earth was illumined with his glory. Now, this is incredible. This angel comes down out of heaven with great authority, and the earth is illumined with his glory. Now, why does the earth have to be illumined? W his glory. Go back to Revelation chapter 16. And in Revelation chapter 16, verse number 10, it tells us. And the fifth angel poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened.

So now the beast. Kingdom is darkened, and they gnawed their tongues because of pain. The kingdom now becomes dark. The kingdom not only specifically in Babylon where the Antich rule, but because the Antich rule encompasses the entire world. The entire world is the Antich kingdom. The entire world is now dark. So when the angel comes down out of heaven, it has to illumine the world because there is no light. The text says, he cried with a mighty voice. That means everybody hears him. Nobody can ignore him.

He will capture the entire world with his voice. And what does he say? Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great. Same thing the angel said in Revelation 14, verse number 8. That was the warning. Now you come to the execution of the judgment. He comes to announce, you were warned in Revelation 14. Now we're in Revelation 18. Now I'm letting you know Babylon is going to be no more. It's over. What you see before you will no longer be. And while historical Babylon fell in 539 B, this event Is far greater.

We've looked at the cry of another angel. Now I want you to look at the cause for Jehovah's judgment.

Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great. Why? She has become a dwelling place of demons, and the prison of every unclean spirit, and the prison of every unclean and hateful bird. For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality. Why does all this happen? Because Babylon has become a place, a dwelling place for demons. Demons are everywhere.

We read about them in Revelation 9. Read about them in Revelation chapter 12 when Satan and his demons were cast down to the earth. We read about them in Revel 16, verses 13 to 14, where filthy spirits like frogs came out of the mouth of the beast and the false prophet and Satan himself. The headquarters for demon activity will be Babylon, the great city. Isaiah 13, verses 20 to 22, speak of satyrs, or the Hebrew means devils or demons. Leviticus 17, 7, and 1 Chronicles 11:15 say the exact same thing.

Isaiah saw a place of demons, John sees a place. Occupied by demons. As literal Babylon fell, so will the final Babylon fall. The cause of Jehovah's judgment is because Babylon has become a prison of every unclean spirit. A dwelling place, a place where they live, and of every hateful bird or hateful fowl, unclean animals that occupy the land. He saw it in utter desol. The word for bird or ne is where we get our word or ornithology, which is a study of birds. It depicts evil spirits like hovering birds of prey, picturing hovering over the souls of man, waiting to consume and to devour individual people.

This kind of explains why men will continue to blaspheme God, because demons will infest their lives. Demon deception is everywhere. Her verse 3 says, For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality. And the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her. This commercial system, which is the worship of Antichrist, who sets himself up. To be worshipped as God would have led the world into global deception, into a materialistic stup. So deceived, the world's passion is out of control.

Satan is able to bring them to the worship of Antichrist. He's able to get them to long for what Babylon offers. It gets them to long for what the kings of the world have, and so much so that they commit immorality with the system. Why? Because the bottom line is money. The bottom line is the lust and the love for m. They want more. And amidst all the devastation, the merchants of the earth are cashing in. Amazing. Revelation 18 tells you the condition of how Babylon will be at the time the seventh bowl is poured upon it.

In spite of all that's taken place, in spite of man being covered with malignant sores, in spite of man having chewed through his tongue, bitten it off because he's in so much pain. Because man has been burned to a crisp almost because of the sun's fervent heat. Merchants are buying and selling because they are committed to lustful sensuality. They want more money. The love of m. I 'm reminded of the words of Christ in Luke chapter 6. And Christ says in verse number 24, but woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.

Woe to you who are well fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn. And you shall weep. One day, these merchants, these kings, these leaders who have made themselves rich. Because they have aligned themselves with Antichrist and find themselves having more and more things, consumed with more and more things. Will weep and mourn because the time of the destruction is upon them. And I heard another voice come from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, that you may not participate in her sins, and that you may not receive.

Of her plagues. That's a very interesting statement to me. I think this is a good place for us to end this evening. Another voice. Another angel, maybe. That's another voice from heaven saying to my people, come out from her, get out of there. You know, I can imagine that during that time, even those who are believers, maybe it's an evangelistic call, because on the sovereign side of God's call, He knows those who are His, right? Although we don't know who he has elected, he knows who he has elected.

And maybe through that voice he calls one last time for the salvation. Of certain souls, and they respond to him. Maybe it's some people, some Gentile believers who are still trying to figure out how they're going to eat. Because you don't have the market the beast, you can't buy or sell, right? That's what Revelation 13 tells us. And so maybe they're there somehow trying to figure out a way they can eat and drink and purchase some clothes or something for their well-being. They're looking for any way to survive, and they hear a voice, come out from among them.

Get out of there. You know, it's a voice that I think, in terms of application, people today need to heed. I mean the Babylon of today is just as wicked as the Babylon of the future. It still centers around the lust for more, the lust for power, the lust for the God of self. And God all throughout the scripture has said, come out of there. Get away from those people. And I find that we in Christianity, we tend to want to be there more than we want to get out of there, don't we? And I read these words.

And I can't help but think of Romans 6:2, the wages of sin is what? It 's death. Always is. It's always separation. Separation from God. And the voice from heaven says, get out of there. In way of application for tonight, before we close, I don't know where you're at. I don't know what you're doing. I don't know what you're messing around in. But maybe through the scriptures, the voice of heaven is speaking to you, saying, get out of there. Don't mingle there any longer. Don't associate with those people anymore.

Don't let their pull, don't let their lure for you capture you. Get out of there. The Bible says over to 1 Timothy chapter 6 these words.

Verse number 17. Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches. But on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good and to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share. Storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed. You know, it's easy for us to sit back and look at people and say, you know, I mean, these people, they get what they deserve.

But you know what? As I studied this today, I thought to myself, there are many people today in the church who want to be rich and compromise many things in their lives to get more. To get more. And the words of the scriptures are very clear. If you're rich and God's blessed you that way, praise be to God. But Paul says, don't fix your hope on your riches. Don't rest in them. Instead, fix them on God. Who supplies us with all things. If you're rich, he says, Let me tell you what to do.

He says, be generous, ready to share. Share with those who are in need so you can store up for yourselves a treasure in the future. You know, the people of the world love money. The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil.

It's not money. There's nothing wrong with money. It's the love of money that kills you. It's the root of all evil. And I was just reminded of this fact today. You know, that whenever we love money, it gets us to. To forget our Father, doesn't it? Sure, it does. It gets us to forget Him. It says over in Proverbs chapter 30, these words in verse number 8. Keep deception and lies far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is my portion, lest I be full deny thee and say, Who is the Lord?

The writer of Proverbs knew riches cause you to forget your father, don't they? If they cause you to forget your father, they cause you to transfer your trust. Transfer your trust from God to yourself. That's found over in Job 31. When Job said in Job 31, verse number 24, these words: If I have put my confidence in gold, And called fine gold my trust, if I have gloated because my wealth was great and because my hand had secured so much. If I have looked at the sun when it shone, or the moon going in splendor, and my heart became secretly enticed.

And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth. That too would have been an iniquity call for judgment, for I would have denied God above. So Job knew so easy. Once you forget God, forget your father, you'll transfer your trust. If you transfer your trust, you'll compromise every one of your convictions. And if you compromise your convictions, you'll be greedy for more gain. You just will. And so, what is said in the book of Revelation is so important. Because in that day, men will be rich. Men will have so much money.

Yet money can't buy him what he needs. One man has said, money can buy you a bed, but it won't buy you sleep. Money can buy you pleasure, but money will never buy you peace. Money will buy you medicine, but money will never buy you health. Money will buy you companionship, but money will never buy you friendship. Money will buy you a crucifix, but money will never buy you a savior. Why? Because we are born again not with perishable things such as silver and gold, but with imperishable, as of a precious or of the precious blood.

Of the Lamb of God. And that's why these people hide themselves from the Lamb of God. That's why when the king returns, he returns as the Lamb. Because it was his blood that was shed for them, they refused it. They rejected it. And that's why when he destroys them, He splits the city of Jerusalem in two. He brings everybody to the Kid brook. The valley of Jehoshaphat, which is the valley of what? The valley of decision. Let's pray together.