The Fall of Babylon of the Great

Bible Book: Revelation 18 : 1-24

Subject: Babylon; Tribulation, The Great; Judgment

Series: Revelation

INTRODUCTION

You turn on the television to watch a rerun of Diagnosis Murder, in part because you like a good mystery, in part because of a special guest (like Jerry Van Dyke), and in part because you have liked Dick Van Dyke longer than you want to recall. You watch as the suspense builds until you begin to wonder if they are going to have enough time to catch the murderer, or diagnosis the murder, before the time runs out. Suddenly, instead of apprehending the murderer they go to a commercial break. You look at the time and realize that before they get through running the last seven minutes of commercials the time will have expired. They come back from the commercial to announce that part two will be shown next week, which you hope (since this is a rerun) means tomorrow night. Sure enough, you tune in the next night in time for them to recap the first part which you remember, but someone else may have missed, probably because they were at prayer meeting.

I understand why they run the clips of the first part for the benefit of those who missed it because they were in prayer meeting, or for someone who may have forgotten it - for some reason I don’t think I will mention, for fear that someone may worry so much about their memory loss that they will not hear anything I say today.

Once again, to try to maintain a measure of continuity, I am going to do an overview of what we have already seen very briefly, rerun clips from the previous messages from Revelation:

In Chapter 1, Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, beginning and the end.

In Chapters 2-3, we have the letters to the 7 churches of Asia Minor.

In Chapter 4, we are introduced to the throne room of Heaven.

In Chapter 5, The One on the throne has a scroll with seven seals in His hand, a seal no one could open until the Lamb of God, Jesus, undertook the task of breaking the seals and opening the scroll.

In Chapter 6, the first six seals are broken, each with its own dramatic revelation.

In Chapter 7, God’s judgment is held back until a mighty angel seals those who are redeemed.

In Chapter 8, the seventh seal is broken, followed by 7 trumpet judgments.

In Chapter 9, the angel from bottomless pit unleashes plagues against those who are not saved.

In Chapter 10, John takes the little book, and eat it: it is sweet in the mouth, but bitter in the stomach.

In Chapter 11, verses 1-10, we see the Two Witnesses God sends to proclaim His message with awesome power, and supernatural results. In 11:11, God told John to take a reed and measure the sanctuary, excluding the court of the Gentiles.

In Chapter 12, we see Satan’s vicious attack on Israel, and God’s protection of His Chosen People.

In Chapter 13, we are introduced to the two beasts, the beast out of the sea and the beast our of the earth. Through these two beasts, Satan wages an evil war against God and all who honor Him.

In Chapter 14, there were three messages: Standing with the Lamb, Falling with the Beast, and the Harvest of the Earth.

In Chapter 15, preparation is made for the seven bowls of judgment.

In Chapter 16, we come to the pouring out of the bowls of judgment, the last plagues, as God’s wrath is poured out upon the earth.

In Chapter 17, we are introduced to the scarlet woman and the scarlet beast

In Chapter 18, we witness the fall of Babylon the Great.

I. THERE IS THE FACT OF THE FALL, 18:1-8.

"After this I saw another angel with great authority coming down from heaven, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. He cried in a mighty voice: It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen! She has become a dwelling for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, and a haunt for every unclean and despicable beast. For all the nations have drunk the wine of her sexual immorality, which brings wrath. The kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from her excessive luxury” (18:1-3).

“Then I heard another voice from heaven: Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins, or receive any of her plagues. For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Pay her back the way she also paid, and double it according to her works. In the cup in which she mixed, mix a double portion for her. As much as she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, give her that much torment and grief. Because she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never see grief,’ therefore her plagues will come in one day— death, and grief, and famine. She will be burned up with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is mighty” (18:4-8).

1) An angel with great authority coming down from heaven. This is not one of the seven angels of chapter 16. This angel shown so brilliantly that the whole earth was illuminated by his splendor. In 8:12, we are told that when “The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day was without light, and the night as well.” Then, in 16:10, the fifth bowl of God’s wrath was poured out on the sun. When the fourth trumpet sounds darkness will cause serious problems on earth. For one thing, the earth will suffer for want of the warmth the sun brings to earth. However, when the fifth bowl is poured out on the sun, the earth will be scorched with intense heat. This angel will provide illumination the earth needs. How does this angel illuminate the earth? Someone suggests that, “"So recently has he come from the Presence that in passing he flings a broad belt of light across the dark earth" [(ATR quotes Swete, Word Pictures in the New Testament].

2) “He cried in a mighty voice: It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen!” Here we have the same words of 14:8, “It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen.” The notorious prostitute of 17:1 wore the name on her head:

BABYLON THE GREAT
THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
AND OF THE VILE THINGS OF THE EARTH.

The connection between Israel and Babylon is an old one, reaching back to the earliest days of the history of God’s Chosen people. The city of Babylon was founded Nimrod, the mighty hunter of men. I realize that the traditional view is the Nimrod was a mighty hunter of wild game, but that would hardly have demanded this exclusive mention in the world of God. Nimrod was a mighty hunter of man, like Ghengis Kahn with his Mongol hordes. He established both Babylon and Nineveh. Nineveh became the capital of the Assyrian Empire and Babylon the capital of the Babylonian Empire. Babylon is synonymous with rebellion against God, idolatry, and false worship. The New Age religions were, in a sense, a byproduct of Eastern Mysticism, which in turn had its roots embedded deeply in ancient Babylon. All we have to do is recall the Tower of Babel to appreciate a little of the significance of the contribution of Babylon to false worship. If that is not enough, look to the Book of Daniel and see the attitude of Belshazzar, who profaned the sacred vessels of the temple of God from in toasting the gods of gold, silver, brass, wood, and stone while entertaining his guests at the banquet in his palace. Both adultery (the notorious prostitute) and Babylon stand for idolatry, false gods, paganism.

3) “...All the nations have drunk the wine of her sexual immorality.” Religious Babylon (ch. 17) seduces nations to drink of the wine of her false worship. We will see in chapter 18 the political Babylon (kings of the earth) and commercial Babylon (merchants of the world). Satan will use religious Babylon to sweep the nations into a worldwide system of politics and commerce.

At this time, the final period of the Great Tribulation, all the nations will have drunk to excess of the spiritual immorality of Babylon, “the mother of prostitutes,” who seduces people - not to commit physical immorality, but spiritual immorality - “which brings wrath.” Furthermore, “The kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from her excessive luxury.”

4) Next, John “heard another voice from heaven: Come out of her, My people.” God calls His people to come out of Babylon, He says, “So that you will not share in her sins, or receive any of her plagues.” Babylon is about to come under the wrath of God. The Righteous Judge states His reason: “For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Pay her back the way she also paid, and double it according to her works. In the cup in which she mixed, mix a double portion for her.”

One of the most famous sermons since Paul’s famous sermon on Mars Hill is Jonathan Edward’s SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD. However, I heard in person the sermon that ranks among the most amazing sermons ever preaches, PAY DAY SOME DAY, the sermon R. G. Lee preached over 1200 times! Can you believe that, over 1200 times. It is hard for the rest of us not to bore people by not repeating ourselves in one sermon! My son John and I got lunch before going to SAM’s to look at some tools, and as we talked about the Sermon Notebook, he asked me when I was going to send out my famous sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God! I told him about hearing that R. G. Lee once stopped somewhere and found a church and went in and listened to an evangelist preach Pay Day Some Day.

What this “voice from heaven” is saying is that the pay day has come. Babylon is going to receive her just rewards. Listen to the shocking words from 18:7-8: “As much as she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, give her that much torment and grief. Because she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never see grief,’ therefore her plagues will come in one day— death, and grief, and famine. She will be burned up with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is mighty.”

II. THERE IS THE FORCE OF THE FALL, 18:9-20.

1) The kings of the earth will mourn over Babylon’s fall, 9-10.

“The kings of the earth who have committed sexual immorality and lived luxuriously with her will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke of her burning. They stand far off in fear of her torment, saying: Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the mighty city! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”

The prince of this world is Satan. Whether we are talking about the beast out of the sea or the beast out of the earth (ch. 13), the power and authority behind the action is Satan. Regardless of what one’s understanding of the Anti-Christ, the power and authority behind him is the devil. Regardless of what one’s understanding of the “notorious prostitute” and the scarlet beast, the power and authority behind them is Satan, that old serpent, the dragon, the devil. The vile, scheming, diabolical mind behind the religions of the world is none other than the prince of the world, Satan, a liar and murderer from the beginning. Babylon and the notorious prostitute symbolize false worship, idolatry, spiritual adultery.

In chapter 17, we saw that the Anti-Christ used false religion - the great harlot - to help him take over the world, and then he turned on her to destroy her. In other words, he used false religions to get what he wanted and they he turned on them to destroy them, possibly because these false religions might be a threat to his plan, but more likely because that is what he does. It is his nature. Satan’s new instruments are the kings of the earth and the merchants of the earth. Remember the ten kings? The Anti-Christ appoints them and they serve under his administration and authority.

In case anyone has any problem following this, let me remind you that Satan is using politicians in his service right now - in countries darkened by animism, in countries enslaved by Islam, in countries dominated by communism, the so-called godless, classless, stateless society. But it does not stop there. Satan is getting his mileage out of politicians in America, especially now as we move deeper and deeper into the post-Christian era in our history. Evil politicians, supported by evil people in the media, promote and defend everything from abortion to euthanasia, to homosexuality. Consider a judge who strikes down the marriage law voted in by over seventy percent of the citizens of Nebraska. Consider a president who pollutes the White House with this immorality, and wins a second term, which he could not have done without the votes of many professing Christians. Consider the vicious attack on Christianity, led by the ACLU, liberal politicians, and many of the talking heads from the networks. I just received a copy of Chief Justice Roy Moore’s book, SO HELP ME GOD. I had been waiting for this one because I knew I would receive it in my complimentary shipment from LifeWay Christian Resources to all members of the board of trustees.
Judge Moore was forced out as the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court over a display of the ten commandments, to the cheers of the Rev. Barry Lynn, head of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, the ACLU, and liberals in the media.

While satanic activity will reach the boiling point during these last days of which we read in this chapter, you can be sure that the pot is simmering right now. We should not be surprised at what the devil will be doing during his last days before he is disposed of forever. His character has not changed. His nature has not changed. Nor, will it change during the Great Tribulation. If he uses politicians today, you can be sure he will use them in the end. However, his defeat has been accomplished and his fall can be addressed as an accomplished fact.

2) The kings of the earth will mourn the fall of Babylon. Listen to the words and sense the emotions we see expressed in the streets of cities in the Middle East today. They are often worked up into such a frenzy that they totally lose control. When the kings of the earth see the fall of Babylon the Great, “They stand far off in fear of her torment, saying: ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the mighty city! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”

3) The merchants of the earth will mourn over her, 18:11-19. Try to picture some of the street scenes we have seen from the Middle East on television in recent years. Incredibly, there will be a news report and withing minutes, or so it seems, the streets are filled with young men who are shouting, crying, jumping up and down, and waving frantically. Sometimes the crowd is overwhelmed with grief, other times with rage. In one scene, mourners were so overwrought over the death of one of their leaders that they toppled the casket, spilling the dead leader’s body onto the street. Picture one of these scenes and imagine what it would be like if the situation were amplified and intensified many times over. I will offer little or no commentary at this point. Just listen to the words and sense the weeping and wailing:

“The merchants of the earth will also weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their merchandise any longer— merchandise of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; fine fabrics of linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; all kinds of fragrant wood products; objects of ivory; objects of expensive wood, brass, iron, and marble; cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; wine, olive oil, fine wheat flour, and grain; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human bodies and souls. The fruit you craved has left you.

“All your splendid and glamorous things are gone; they will never find them again. The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand far off in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying: Woe, woe, the great city, clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls; because in a single hour such fabulous wealth was destroyed! And every ship master, seafarer, the sailors, and all who do business by sea, stood far off as they watched the smoke from her burning and kept crying out: “Who is like the great city?” They threw dust on their heads and kept crying out, weeping, and mourning: Woe, woe, the great city, where all those who have ships on the sea became rich from her wealth; because in a single hour she was destroyed” (emphasis added).

Just as the kings of the earth owed their power and prestige to the world system revealed here, so the merchants of the earth mourn the fall of Babylon the Great for their own selfish reasons. She was the source of their wealth. They are not weeping and wailing because of their concern for someone else. They are mourning their own loss. All they had trusted in was destroyed “in a single hour.”
4) Heaven will rejoice over her fall, 18:20.

“Rejoice over her, heaven, and you saints, apostles, and prophets, because God has executed your judgment on her!”

This does not state that Christians will be cheering the misery of every soul in hell. What it teaches is that all the saints, the apostles, and the prophets will be rejoicing over the victory of the Lamb of God. Remember that in 14:14, we read, “Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and One like the Son of Man was seated on the cloud, with a gold crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.” Then in chapter 17:14, we read, “These will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings. Those with him are called and elect and faithful.”

III. THERE IS THE FINALITY OF THE FALL, 18:21-24.

“Then a mighty angel picked up a stone like a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying: In this way, Babylon the great city will be thrown down violently and never be found again. The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again; no craftsman of any trade will ever be found in you again; the sound of a mill will never be heard in you again; the light of a lamp will never shine in you again; and the voice of a groom and bride will never be heard in you again. All this will happen because your merchants were the nobility of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery, and the blood of prophets and saints, and all those slaughtered on earth, was found in you.”

1) The fall of Babylon is symbolized by a mighty angel’s action, 18:21. This mighty angel picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea. He then declared, “In this way, Babylon the great city will be thrown down violently and never be found again.”

2) All normal things of this earth will cease, 18:22-23a.

1. Musicians will never play again. Music will never be used for entertainment on the earth again. Believe me, there is a lot that passes for music out there today that we can well do without right now. Music may express joy, sorrow, patriotism, love for God, or love for another person. Music today often glorifies immorality, drug use, alcohol abuse, and violence. But after the fall of Babylon the great, it will never be heard on earth again - ever.

2. There will be no more craftsmen forever. The craftsmen of the world are already mourning their loss here. The craftsmen will not be here to practice their trade - and there would be no one to purchase what they produce.

3. The mills and plants will shut down, never to be heard again. All commerce will come to an end. Is there any wonder the commercial world will be weeping and mourning?

4. The lights of the city will go out - forever. We do not know much about the street lights of ancient Rome, but they would not compare with today’s street lights. However, there is coming a time when street lights will not be needed: “Night will no longer exist, and people will not need lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever” (Rev 22:5).

5. Marriage vows will never be exchanged again. These readers might well have recalled the words of God through Jeremiah: “I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sound of joy and gladness and the voices of the bridegroom and the bride, for the land will become a desolate waste” (Jer 7:34).

3) There is a reason for all of this, 18:23b-24. When you see the word because you should take it seriously, especially if God is the One Who gives the Because. They are going to face severe judgment “because”:

1. “All this will happen because your merchants were the nobility of the earth,” and.
2. “Because all the nations were deceived by your (abylon’s) sorcery,” and because
3. “The blood of prophets and saints, and all those slaughtered on earth, was found in you.”

CONCLUSION

We have seen some shocking things in this chapter, as we have seen some shocking things in the preceding chapters. If you read this and it seems too horrible to comprehend, let me assure you that it will be too horrible to believe to the unsaved. For every saved person who reads this message, I would like to encourage you to pause and meditate on the opening words of our Lord in his Farewell Discourse: “Let not your hearts be troubled; you believe in God, believer also in Me.” If you trust Jesus, your heart will not be troubled. In fact, your heart will rejoice in the full knowledge that He is in control and He has already determined the outcome.

Why are we spending all this time in this very difficult book? In the first place, it is God’s Word and believers will want to know God’s will and His purpose for the world, for the lost, and for all the redeemed. In the second place, this Scripture was given, not to discourage us, but to encourage and inspire us. In the third place, all the saints will shout for joy as they see the prophecies of this book unveiled and the promises fulfilled.

God is in control. If you are in Jesus Christ, His victory is your victory. If you do not know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, there is a time coming when you will be weeping, wailing, and mourning
because of what you have lost. The Revelation was given to all believers to encourage them and motivate them to remain faithful to the Lord, and to warn unbelievers of the judgment to come. Let me urge you to place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ right now. If you sense that He is knocking on the door of your heart, you should open that door right now. The day will come when He may no longer knock. God gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. The Bible says that today is the day of salvation, this is the accepted time.

At the time of this prophecy, God will call His people to come out from Babylon (18:4) A similar appeal is made in Isaiah and Jeremiah. However different people may interpret this, let me stress one thing: God is calling all lost people today to come out from the world. You do that by trusting in Jesus Christ for His salvation. Furthermore, God appeals to all Christians to come out from the world and walk with Him in the spirit. If you are lost, let me urge you to come out from Babylon - come out from the world that is condemned, designated for destruction. If you are a Christian who has not been walking with the Lord, let me appeal to you to come out from the wilderness and walk with our Lord in the Land of Promise.