The fall of commercial Babylon
Hi
good friends out there in internet land. I have reviewed the first eight
chapters in the book of Revelation in a very detailed way giving the readers
many cross references to each verse but due to time and the fact that I must
move on to other writing projects in the Bible the remaining chapters
(Revelation chapters 9-22) will be completely quoted with some comments at the
end of the chapter. I really do desire to cross reference every verse in these
chapters but this would take me way to long thus leaving out other vital
biblical studies that are also needed and desired to people that are very
hungry for the word of God. There will still be many interesting insights after
the chapter is quoted so please enjoy the rest of the study in this fascinating
last book of the Bible.
(1) "And
after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great
power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. (2) And he cried
mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen,
and is become a habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a
cage of every unclean and hateful bird. (3) For all nations have drunk of the
wine 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. (4) 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. (5) For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath
remembered her iniquities. (6) 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. (7) 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. (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. (9) And
the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and loved deliciously with
her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her
burning. (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. (11) And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no
man buyeth their merchandise any more: (12) The merchandise of gold, and
silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and
silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and
all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass and iron, and marble.
(13) And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and
oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and
chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. (14) And the fruits that thy soul
lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goody
are departed from thee, and thou shalt find then no more at all. (15) The
merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off
for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing. (16) And saying, Alas,
alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet,
and decked with gold, and precious stones and pearls. (17) For in one hour
so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in
ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off. (18) And cried
when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this
great city! (19) And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and
wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that
had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made
desolate. (20) Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and
prophets; for God hath avenged you for her. (21) And a mighty angel took up a
stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with
violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no
more at all. (22) And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers and
trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of
whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a
millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; (23) And the light of a
candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and
of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the
great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations
deceived. (24) And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints.
and all that were slain upon the earth." Revelation 18: 1 - 24.
These
most recent chapters that I have been reviewing are all leading up to the second
coming of Jesus Christ. In chapter seventeen religious Babylon will be
destroyed. In chapter eighteen this is a specific land mass. It is a
city or a country. The destruction of religious Babylon will be a world
religion that is contrary to Jesus Christ across the entire world. When this
specific city or country is destroyed in Revelation chapter eighteen the whole
world will mourn because the economics of planet earth have depended on this
area for their bread and butter. Tremendous commerce, trade and industry have
played a vital role for a very long time and the economics of the whole world
depend on this commercial area. According to Revelation chapter eighteen this
land mass will be destroyed.
The
Harlot of Revelation chapter seventeen seems to hang around this Babylon in
Revelation chapter eighteen. Remember according to the previous chapter
(Revelation chapter seventeen) this false religious system is destroyed. Just
like a human being knowing he or she is going to get murdered the Harlot gets very
nervous being in the general vicinity of the Babylon written in Revelation
chapter eighteen. Mystery Babylon (Revelation chapter seventeen) seems to
be destroyed by the antichrist Himself. The Babylon in Revelation chapter
eighteen seems to be destroyed by God Himself.
When
the Babylon in chapter eighteen is destroyed people around the world cry
because it seems similar to the stock market crash in 1929 but only worse. This
Babylon will be located near a large body of water because when the smoke of
the burning finally takes place in this destruction it is visibly
seen by many kinds of ships.
Although
this is one of the longer chapters in the book of Revelation I will be writing
a very short article on this passage of Scripture. The reason for this is a
lack of evidence of who this Babylon is in this world.
I
have read many commentaries on this chapter and have heard many sermons on this
chapter. Believe it or not the two most popular interpretations are Iraq and
America. I personally do not believe Revelation chapter eighteen is either one
of these countries. Rome is probably the third most popular choice but I am not
convinced this is the land mass described in this chapter. I have my opinion on
who this description describes but I have very little to go on; therefore, I
will not mention the country or share this with an internet audience.
What I am trying to say is if I went into a courtroom with such little evidence
I would be the laughing stock in the legal community. I am not a lawyer but I
get the basic principle.
When
the people that do business with this Babylon look at this destruction chapter
eighteen uses verbs that are sorrowful. Bewail, lament, cried, weeping
and wailing. The reason why this cut right through their souls is because
this destruction was also their loss. Commercial Babylon will
be their bread and butter. The points that will go straight over
their heads will be this city or country is steeped in
sorcery and directly against God. They sent many people to hell by their corruption
and deception. They even went so far as to be involved in martyring
the believers in Christ on earth. The onlookers were looking at their
pocket book but God was looking at their evil.
Jesus
Christ warned us about this scenario. He said, (24) "Therefore
whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto
a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: (25) And the rain descended, and
the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not:
for it was founded upon a rock. (26) And every one that heareth these sayings
of Mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built
his house upon the sand: (27) And the rain descended, and the floods came, and
the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell and great was the fall of
it." Matthew 7: 24 - 27.
These
people that mourned over their loss of money and possessions will not even
realize that the country that will be destroyed in one hour will
be meddling with demons as a lifestyle. They will look at the
symptom (loss of material possessions) but God will see the root
which will be evil to the core.
We
need to focus on building our house on the rock who is Jesus Christ through
obedience to Him. We can build our tower of Babel on earth but in essence
we will be rejecting God. He is just going to crush our building which is
an idol. Nothing will be left because when we build our house on
sand it is fragile at best.
One
time a Sunday school teacher taught his class. This is a true story. He
said this is what God wants to do in our life. He started building a structure
higher and higher and then looked at the class and asked, "Are you
watching." Then he got a hammer and completely smashed the structure until
there was nothing left. Then he said this is what God wants to do in our lives.
Wow
that is a different message than, "You can have it now" which many
preachers teach their congregation. We would be wise to make sure we first
accept Jesus Christ in our hearts by repenting of all our sins and
then give our life over to Him which is a daily process. This is not an
easy thing to do because our selfish nature is constantly tugging on our
sleeve. "Go get this," "Go store this up, "Get in line
first." I could go on and on but you get the basic idea. We are
selfish in our nature so we have to train ourselves to do the will of God. This
is not a passive thing but a trained disciplined process to give our life
over to God every day. Otherwise we will be just like the onlookers that will
see the destruction of commercial Babylon and be devastated because
of choosing the foolish road in building our life on sinking sand. This is
the result of not obeying Jesus Christ. We as Christians are blessed with all
spiritual blessings but according to the New Testament they are in
heavenly places in Christ. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ:" Ephesians 1:3.
LOVE BOB D
