Babylon Falls God’s Love Triumphs

“After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, ‘Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.’” [1]

The angel descends from heaven with great authority from God. He announces the fallenness of Babylon. His presence lights up the earth. His voice is loud. He sets the record straight. Babylon is not a great place. Lawlessness is not good. Babylon is run by demons, foul spirits and hateful birds. Her kings and merchants are evil. Her antichrist leader forces people to receive his mark if they want to buy or sell.

Jesus said His return would light up the sky as lightning does. Paul wrote of the Lord consuming the antichrist with the Spirit of His mouth and destroying Him with the brightness of His coming. Peter wrote of the damnation of false prophets not slumbering but happening suddenly. [2]

The kings and merchants gained worldly wealth but lost their souls.

Jesus told a parable about the ground of a certain rich man that yielded plentifully. He thought within himself to build greater storehouses for his crops and goods, and then say to his soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” But God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?” [3]

Isaiah prophesied long ago saying, “You have trusted in your wickedness; you have said, ‘No one sees me;’ your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you; and you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me.’ Therefore evil shall come upon you; you shall not know from where it arises. And trouble shall fall upon you; you will not be able to put it off. And desolation shall come upon you suddenly, which you shall not know.” [4]

It is likely that “religious celebrities” with large payrolls to meet, much property to maintain, fine clothes to wear, great cuisine to consume, and polished reputations to promote did not speak against Babylon.

Jesus said of John the Baptist that John was more than a prophet and yet John did not wear fine clothes or indulge in luxury. [5]

Some Biblical scholars believe that the divine judgments of Revelation 17 are on her false religion and that the divine judgments of Revelation 18 are on her commercial malpractices.

Mystery Babylon (Revelation 17)
· Symbol: Harlot woman
· Guilty of religious abominations
· Destroyed by those that previously supported her

Commercial Babylon (Revelation 18)
· Symbol: Great port city (coastal)
· Habitation, great marketplace
· Guilty of greed and self-indulgence
· Destroyed by a sudden act of God

In this scenario, Babylon’s religious heresies are judged at the three and half year point of the seven-year tribulation, while Babylon’s business malpractices are judged at the end of the seven years. Her evil influence on people is the rationale for her destruction. She seduced people from God to Satan.

Babylon is a code word for Satan’s kingdom. Jerusalem is a code word for God’s kingdom. These two cities are contrary to one another. God’s direction is opposite of Satan’s. Thus, the call of Jesus on His apostle Paul’s life was to turn people from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God. [6]

The Lord urges us to turn our backs on Babylon as Lot did when he left Sodom. The angels told Lot, “The Lord has sent us to destroy it.” The Lord urges us to separate from Babylon as Israel separated from the tents of Dathan and Abiram. Moses told them, “Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.” The earth swallowed them up. [7]

“Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.” [8]

The people of Babylon are deceived, defiant and depraved. Her sins have piled up like a tower of Babel. God has remembered her iniquities.

Warnings to depart from Babylon resound in multiple passages of the Bible. Jesus warned: “When you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” Paul wrote, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” [9]

How do we change from Babylon to Jerusalem? By repentance! By changing directions! By being devoted to following Christ! By denouncing the devil and all his ways!

When we lived in San Francisco, we experienced fire, smoke, and small earthquakes. We experienced darkness during the daytime. Sin was rampant. Men dressed as women kissing in the streets! Cleaning the church property involved removing pornographic magazines that littered the ground, as well as human feces. The devil was bold there. He strutted around arrogantly like a proud rooster during the noon time. Unchallenged!

While God remembers the iniquities of unrepentant Babylon, He says to those in Christ, “I will remember their sins no more.” [10]

“Render to her just as she rendered to you and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ Therefore her plagues will come in one day — death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her. The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’” [11]

Her merchants ripped people off. The guilty of theft are required to pay back double according to God’s Law. [12]

And for whom did God write the Law? He wrote the Law for sinners. That’s all of us until we acknowledge our sins, ask God’s forgiveness, and turn to Christ for the infilling of His Spirit.

“The law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious Gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.” [13]

The way to become a citizen of spiritual Jerusalem is to be naturalized by the Holy Spirit. Only the Lord Himself can transform us from a sinner to a saint. Jeremiah wrote that a leopard cannot change its spots and a sinner cannot change his or her habit of sinning. Only Jesus can do that. We must be born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. [14]

Strong is the Lord God who judges Babylon. No weapon of humankind can cause God to retreat. No court on earth can alter His verdict. Her sentence is final.

Those who lived luxuriously weep and lament for Babylon, but her demise is their opportunity to consider where they will spend eternity. Jesus told a parable of another rich man. He had fine clothing. He enjoyed sumptuous meals. He died, and ended up living miserably in continuous fire, separated from God. To lose one’s eternal soul is the greatest catastrophe of all. [15]

The merchants mourn over Babylon, saying, “Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.” They mourn over her because no one buys their merchandise anymore. Their sorrow for Babylon is selfish.

How many people work day and night for corporations that will forget them soon after they die while their spouses and children, whom they neglected, will remember them long after they are gone? May the Lord grant us His wisdom to use our time on earth wisely!

It is also wise not to refuse invitations from God’s messengers to come to Jesus.

Jesus told a parable of people who were invited to the wedding banquet of a king’s son. They refused to come. The king sent some more servants and said, “Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.” They paid no attention. They went off—one to his field, another to his merchandise.” Jesus indicated that they exchanged an eternal Promised Land for a temporary place. [16]

John sees the bodies and souls of men in Babylon. The profits of commercial Babylon have come through cruelty towards people, such as abortion, drugs and surgical procedures that destroy people, sex trafficking, and slavery.

God’s Law demands death to anyone guilty of stealing a person. ““He that steals a man, and sells him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.” “If a man be found stealing any of his brothers of the children of Israel, and makes merchandise of him, or sells him; then that thief shall die; and you shall put evil away from among you.” [17]

Such slides into depravity are averted when people hear God’s voice and obey Him

“And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men. The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.’ Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’ They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping, and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour, she is made desolate.’” [18]

God lists 28 items of wealth in commercial Babylon. But in one hour the items disappear.

Think of March 2020! Planes grounded! Businesses shut down! Stores robbed! Americans on virtual house arrest! The seemingly unsinkable sunk! Remember Titanic the luxury liner? It only took an oversized ice cube to bring her down.

Someone said that B.I.B.L.E. stands for Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.

God’s Word says, “The lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God abides forever.” [19]

“’Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!’ Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, ‘Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore. The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore. The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.’” [20]

God’s judgment on Babylon compares with God’s judgment on Egypt in the time of Moses. The Egyptians treated God’s people cruelly. They whipped and beat them. Killed them at will! Made them drown their baby boys in the river. The Egyptians enjoyed a life of comfort, ease and extravagance while treating those who served them horribly. They preferred sorcerers (Satanists) to servants of Christ. They would have wiped out those who cried to God for help if God had not intervened to stop them.

What did You God do for Your people then, and what did You do to their oppressors? “You divided the sea before them [Israel], so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land and their persecutors [the Egyptians] you threw into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.” [21]

Thus, says God, it shall be done to Babylon.

Jesus declared, “whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” [22]

Babylon’s music, her crafts, her lights and her marriages will cease.

Babylon’s lights end, but heavenly Jerusalem’s brightness is eternal because God dwells there.

“And there shall be no night there [heavenly Jerusalem]; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.” [23]

Choose Jerusalem not Babylon! Choose the Bride of Christ not Harlot Babylon! Babylon offers temporary pleasures. Jerusalem provides eternal pleasures at God’s right hand forevermore! [24]

Jesus gives us a better kingdom. One that never perishes or fades away! The treasure of salvation by God’s grace! The treasure of fruits of His Spirit: love, joy and peace! The treasure of dwelling with God our Father forevermore.

We are our Beloved’s and He is ours! His banner over us is love. [25] To God be the glory!

[1] Revelation 18:1-3
[2] Luke 17:24; 2 Thessalonians 2:8; 2 Peter 2:1-3
[3] Luke 12:16-20
[4] Isaiah 47:10-11
[5] Luke 7:24-28
[6] Acts 26:18
[7] Genesis 19:12-13; Numbers 16:26-27
[8] Revelation 18:4-5
[9] Isaiah 48:20; 52:11; Jeremiah 50:8; 51:6, 45, 50; Matthew 24:15-16; 2 Corinthians 6:17
[10] Hebrews 8:12
[11] Revelation 18:6-10
[12] Exodus 22:4-9
[13] 1 Timothy 1:9-11
[14] Jeremiah 13:23; John 1:12-13; 3:3-6; Romans 12:1-2
[15] Luke 16:19-31
[16] Matthew 22:3-5
[17] Exodus 21:16; Deuteronomy 24:7
[18] Revelation 18:11-19
[19] 1 John 2:16-17
[20] Revelation 18:20-24
[21] Nehemiah 9:11
[22] Matthew 18:6
[23] Revelation 22:5
[24] Psalm 16:11
[25] Song of Solomon 2:4, 16