Today in our land, we have come to regard other religious systems as somewhat legitimate. Be assured these are protected by our constitution that guarantees the right to believe and exercise any religion as long as the exercising thereof does not violate any of the other laws of our land. However, we have come to regard these religious systems as somewhat acceptable and, although we believe them to be in error, somewhat harmless. Indeed, it is politically incorrect to speak against them, to say they are tools of the devil leading people to eternal damnation. Nevertheless, that is exactly what they are. Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, and many others are adherents to false systems, satanic in origin, whose only purpose is to lure humanity from the worship of the only triune God, the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Son, the Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord, and destroy those who do worship Him. While we must always love those that are in error and on the wrong path, that broad way which leads to destruction, we must see these systems as God sees them, prostitutes who have lured people to their eternal death and have been responsible for the blood of believers throughout history.
Chapter 18 of the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ shows the judgment of Babylon the Great and the reaction of the world and the people of God to that judgment.
Revelation 18:1-24:
| 18:1 | After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory. |
| 18:2 | And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. |
| 18:3 | “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.” |
| 18:4 | I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; |
| 18:5 | for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. |
| 18:6 | “Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her |
| 18:7 | “To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘I SIT as A QUEEN AND I AM NOT A WIDOW, and will never see mourning.’ |
| 18:8 | “For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong. |
| 18:9 | “And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning, |
| 18:10 | standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’ |
| 18:11 | “And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more— |
| 18:12 | cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble |
| 18:13 | and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives |
| 18:14 | “The fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men will no longer find them. |
| 18:15 | “The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning |
| 18:16 | saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls; |
| 18:17 | for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!’ And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance, |
| 18:18 | and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What city is like the great city?’ |
| 18:19 | “And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!’ |
| 18:20 | “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her |
| 18:21 | Then a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer. |
| 18:22 | “And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; |
| 18:23 | and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery |
| 18:24 | “And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.” |
As we look at this passage, we will look at it in three parts: first, the announcements made of the judgment of the great prostitute by an angelic being and a voice from heaven, second, the laments of those on the earth at the destruction of Babylon the Great, and finally, the call for God’s people to rejoice at this judgment.
The Announcements
John has just been told of the judgment of Babylon the Great by one of the seven angels who poured out the bowls of God’s wrath. Now he sees another angel coming down from heaven. This angel is not identified except that he has great authority and that there was a radiance associated with him that illuminated the earth. The angel delivers an announcement in a loud voice. Where he descends to the earth and to whom he delivers the message is not indicated, but the message is this. Babylon has been judged! This judgment has fallen because it was she who had intoxicated all nations, luring them away from God into sin and selling herself in the marketplace of the world. As a result, she has become a dwelling place and a prison for demonic beings. This seems to relate to the prophecy found in Jeremiah 50:39-40, which states:
| 50:39 | “Therefore the desert creatures will live there along with the jackals; The ostriches also will live in it, And it will never again be inhabited Or dwelt in from generation to generation. |
| 50:40 | “As when God overthrew Sodom And Gomorrah with its neighbors," declares the LORD,v "No man will live there, Nor will any son of man reside in it. |
If, in the judgment of God, her location becomes the place of imprisonment for demonic beings, it is clearly understandable why it would not be repopulated during the 1000 years of the Kingdom period. Following the kingdom, and after the rebellion of the earth against the Messiah, the earth itself is destroyed. Babylon, then, will never be lived in again.
John then hears another voice, one that comes from heaven. This speaker first makes a plea to His people, then invokes judgment upon Babylon, and ends with a statement of the judgment that will come. This speaker is not identified yet; from what is said, it appears to be our Lord, the Messiah, speaking to His people. The voice cries out to His people to come out of her. This call seems to have both a physical and spiritual significance. Certainly, the call is to physically leave this place. Judgment is coming upon this city, and one does not want to be there when it falls! Nor does one want to be caught up in her sin and participate in it, and thus share her judgment! This is a call to spiritually leave, to be separated from this false system wherever and whenever it is found. The voice says, come out of her so that you do not participate in her sins. The people of God need to physically and spiritually get out of Babylon even today! Judgment is on its way.
The voice then calls for judgment. Although John has foreseen this judgment, and it is unavoidable, it has not yet come. The voice, the Messiah, cries to God for the judgment to come. It does indeed sound strange that our Lord would say, “Pay her back double!” We sometimes only focus on our Lord’s first advent, and we do not see Him as King of kings and Lord of lords taking judgment on those that oppose Him and those who throughout the ages have persecuted and killed His people. We need to know He will stand up for His own and seek vengeance for them!
In verse 7, there is a reference to a passage in Isaiah 47. In this chapter Isaiah through the Spirit of God, foreseeing the yet to come Babylonian Empire which will destroy Israel and enslave its people, speaks of judgment to fall on this yet future kingdom. What he prophesizes has a near fulfillment in the destruction of Babylon by the Media-Persian kingdom and a future fulfillment in the days of the Tribulation. Isaiah 47:7-9, speaking of Babylon, states:
| 47:7 | “Yet you said, ‘I will be a queen forever.’ These things you did not consider Nor remember the outcome of them. |
| 47:8 | “Now, then, hear this, you sensual one, Who dwells securely, Who says in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one besides me. I will not sit as a widow, Nor know loss of children.' |
| 47:9 | “But these two things will come on you suddenly in one day: Loss of children and widowhood. They will come on you in full measure In spite of your many sorceries, In spite of the great power of your spells. |
The voice from heaven speaking to John in Revelation 18:8 states, “For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong.”
The Laments
Three groups of people on the earth mourn her destruction: the kings of the earth, except for those ten whom God used to bring about this destruction, the merchants of the earth and the mariners on the sea. Each group, it is to be noted, stands at a distance for fear of her torment and laments that in one hour, such destruction came. This again is a strong indication that the means employed to destroy Babylon by the ten-nation confederacy of the beast could well be highly radioactive nuclear weapons. While mourning her destruction, no one wants to get close for fear of the radiation.
The kings or world political leaders express their dismay, for they were the ones who were in bed with her. They used her enjoyed their association with her, but now they will only stand at a distance and express their sorrow.
The businessmen, commerce magnates of the earth, also lamented her destruction because it was their loss also. They lamented because no one there buys their cargoes anymore. Babylon was obviously a vast city, and no one there will buy again. This is a significant loss of revenue. The lost cargoes included everything from luxuries the wealthy would purchase to essential foods and livestock. It also included human trafficking. Merchants had become wealthy from her and mourned the loss of their trade.
Shipmasters, sailors and passengers on ships also witnessed the destruction of this city. They, too, stay at a distance fearing to be contaminated with her destruction. They mourned as well because of the loss of their trade. For the great shipping lines had become wealthy by trading with her.
The question will naturally arise, how could the rebuilt city of Babylon become such an important port in the world economy. Can a whole city be quickly rebuilt? Certainly! Witness the construction of Brazil’s capital city, Brasilia, out of the jungle! The question remains and is unanswered is Babylon rebuilt on the original site, or will it be relocated to another location closer to the coast? If it is rebuilt on or near the original site, there is little doubt it could easily be connected to the sea via the Euphrates River.
As far as competition with other great ports, New York, Singapore or Hong Kong, for instance, if these ports are destroyed during the first part of the Tribulation Period by the devastating asteroid strikes upon the earth where one-third of the earth is incinerated and poisoned, this new city could easily step in and take up a leading role, especially considering the wealth due to oil resources in that area of the world.
The Rejoicing
The contrast of verse 20 of chapter 18 with the previous verses is striking. In verses 9 and 10, the leaders of the earth mourn the destruction of Babylon. In verses 11 through 17, the merchants mourn and in 17 through 19, the mariners of the earth mourn. However, in verse 20, heaven, along with the saints (believers), the apostles and prophets are instructed to rejoice at the judgment God has pronounced upon the city!
At first, this might seem a bit inconsistent with how believers are supposed to live today. We are supposed to weep and mourn with those who hurt. We are supposed to be kind and compassionate to every man, believer or not. We are to love our enemies. Now we are called upon to rejoice at this great destruction! How do we reconcile these things?
We often fail to separate the system and the organization from the people caught up and enslaved by the system. We are to have compassion upon the people and love them. The system, opposed as it is to our Lord and controlled by Satan, himself, we must hate. The Mormon sect and the Jehovah's Witnesses have for years led people down the path to destruction, denying the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal God, our Savior. We must love those who have been ensnared and trapped in this system, seeking to rescue them, but the system and its false and misleading doctrines we hate. The Islamic religion has enslaved a great portion of the world's population for centuries. It has locked people in a living darkness leading only to the eternal darkness of eternal death and judgment. It has murdered and killed the saints of God and is doing so even today. Nevertheless, we are to love the Muslims and seek to bring them to the light and freedom of faith in Jesus Christ. Do we love and accept the system? Not at all!
Whatever the religious system Babylon may be, the Islamic system or perhaps a unified world religion, it has been used by Satan to deceive the peoples of the earth, to keep them in darkness away from the light. He has used it to persecute and destroy true believers. When it is judged, although the world mourns this great destruction, the people of God are called upon to rejoice, for God has judged her for His people. We are not to take vengeance ourselves but wait upon Him to act. He will act at this point, and His people rejoice at the justice carried out. Today we are to love those who walk in the darkness caught up in this false system or systems. However, we do not love these systems or accept them as valid. We respect and love the people, not the system that leads them to their eternal death. We must also remember that our task is not to destroy this system of darkness and death but to present the light and life of our Lord Jesus Christ in both our words and written across our lives. God, Himself, will destroy the system at the appointed time.
To mark the emphasis of this judgment and its finality, the angel who has come down out of heaven picked up a huge millstone, a large stone used for grinding grain, and threw it into the sea. As he does this, the angel declares several things about this judgment. First, it is violent. If indeed it is accomplished with nuclear weapons, no more violent method can be found in our day. The judgment is final. The city will never be rebuilt or inhabited again. See also Jeremiah 50:39-40. Finally, the judgment fell because of the deception of this great prostitute and in vengeance for the prophets, saints and all others who had been murdered because of her.
Our Lord has revealed to John not only that Babylon the Great, the Great Prostitute, was judged in Revelation 16:19, but He gave two more chapters of information concerning Babylon the Great and her judgment. Therefore, we are to understand that this issue is very important to God. The false systems set up and used by Satan have endured for millennia. God has seemingly ignored them, and they have flourished while true faith has almost always struggled. However, God has not ignored these prostitutes proffered by the Great Deceiver, nor has He forgotten them. Judgment is coming! In the last days before the return of the King of kings, payment comes due. God uses the enemy himself to obliterate Babylon the Great.
While we must not become complacent nor begin to accept these false systems as legitimate choices, for they are false systems leading uncountable millions to their destruction, we must always love and work to rescue those within these systems.
