Babylon is Fallen (Part 2 of 2)
Last week we discussed Ancient Babylon, and the fall and rise again of Israel because of a Babylonian siege that tested the people of God. If you haven’t read part one, please go back and read that first.
To bring this up to modern times, let’s look at the book in the Bible that tells us the future. The book that begins by stating it is “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” once seemed like a lot of things would have to change before it could come to pass, but as times have progressed, we quickly realize, that a lot has changed. We are more aligned with what the Bible says will happen than we ever have been in history!
By the time we get to chapter 14 of Revelation we’ve already witnessed seven letters to churches, seven seals of the book opened, and seven trumpets of judgment sounded. In chapter 13 two beasts rise up, deceive them that dwell on the earth, and rule the world. The second beast overcomes the first and performs signs and wonders, and force everyone to worship the image of the beast and take a mark of the beast or be killed.
Now remember Daniel chapter 3? Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made an image of gold and commanded EVERYONE to bow down and worship it or they would be killed. Daniel seemed to have escaped this trial. He likely was exempt from this because he had found favor for his dream interpreting gift. However, the other three boys, Hananiah, Mishael, an Azariah who Nebuchadnezzar renamed to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were among the people whom were required to obey this new law. It is startling to me that out of EVERYONE in Israel that were captured and brought to Babylon, only three young men were brave enough, and faithful enough to stand for what was right. Of coarse we know that they were willing to die rather than worship another god, but The Son of God went in the fire with them, loosed them, and kept them from harm!
Starting at Revelation 14:6 there are 3 angels sent back to back. The first one comes and preaches The everlasting Gospel to all of the Earth. The second one declares that Babylon is fallen, and the third one says if anyone worships the beast and it’s image and receives the mark he will also drink of God’s wrath.
Revelation 14:6-10
(6) And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
(7) Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
(8) And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
(9) And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
(10) The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Let me speak real plain. People will do what they want to, believe what they want to, and they’ll get a just reward for their decisions. If you don’t want to believe in Jesus Christ you don’t have to. You can ignore His warnings, and you can ignore His love for you. You can choose to go the way the world is going. However, you can also choose to take a stand and be different even in the face of adversity.
Here’s my whole point. Although a spiritual Babylon is rising again and deceiving nations, Babylon shall fall as fast as it rises. Revelation 18 describes the fall of Babylon the great. In its description it is described as a city that is:
The Revelation of Jesus Christ is really a book of victory! We should rejoice! Not because of the horrible things that happen to the world and those that love it, but because evil is judged, condemned, and destroyed! Everything that is fleshly and earthly either has to be redeemed by the blood of The Lamb, resurrected/changed to incorruptible and immortal, or it must be destroyed. Sin will be destroyed. Pain and death will be destroyed. Every demon, and foul spirit that plagues this earth now will be destroyed! Death, Hell, the false prophet, the beast and Satan himself will all be cast into The Lake of Fire, and whosoever was not found written in The Book of Life will be cast in the lake of fire. This is called the second death. This is where death dies! There is a promise in Rev. 2:11 that says they that overcome shall NOT be hurt of the second death. This is a great cleansing preparing the earth for The New Jerusalem. Rev. 21:1 says that the first heaven and the first earth pass away, and created new.
When everything is said and done, The Word of God will still be standing strong! Put your faith in that which is sure, not in that which will be shaken.
As for Babylon, here is her future:
Revelation 18:1-21
(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 the 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 the wrath 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 lived 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 goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them 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 on 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.
To bring this up to modern times, let’s look at the book in the Bible that tells us the future. The book that begins by stating it is “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” once seemed like a lot of things would have to change before it could come to pass, but as times have progressed, we quickly realize, that a lot has changed. We are more aligned with what the Bible says will happen than we ever have been in history!
By the time we get to chapter 14 of Revelation we’ve already witnessed seven letters to churches, seven seals of the book opened, and seven trumpets of judgment sounded. In chapter 13 two beasts rise up, deceive them that dwell on the earth, and rule the world. The second beast overcomes the first and performs signs and wonders, and force everyone to worship the image of the beast and take a mark of the beast or be killed.
Now remember Daniel chapter 3? Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made an image of gold and commanded EVERYONE to bow down and worship it or they would be killed. Daniel seemed to have escaped this trial. He likely was exempt from this because he had found favor for his dream interpreting gift. However, the other three boys, Hananiah, Mishael, an Azariah who Nebuchadnezzar renamed to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were among the people whom were required to obey this new law. It is startling to me that out of EVERYONE in Israel that were captured and brought to Babylon, only three young men were brave enough, and faithful enough to stand for what was right. Of coarse we know that they were willing to die rather than worship another god, but The Son of God went in the fire with them, loosed them, and kept them from harm!
Starting at Revelation 14:6 there are 3 angels sent back to back. The first one comes and preaches The everlasting Gospel to all of the Earth. The second one declares that Babylon is fallen, and the third one says if anyone worships the beast and it’s image and receives the mark he will also drink of God’s wrath.
Revelation 14:6-10
(6) And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
(7) Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
(8) And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
(9) And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
(10) The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Let me speak real plain. People will do what they want to, believe what they want to, and they’ll get a just reward for their decisions. If you don’t want to believe in Jesus Christ you don’t have to. You can ignore His warnings, and you can ignore His love for you. You can choose to go the way the world is going. However, you can also choose to take a stand and be different even in the face of adversity.
Here’s my whole point. Although a spiritual Babylon is rising again and deceiving nations, Babylon shall fall as fast as it rises. Revelation 18 describes the fall of Babylon the great. In its description it is described as a city that is:
- a habitation of devils (dwelling place of demons)
- caused all nations to drink of the wine of her fornication (immoral sexual acts)
- caused merchants of the earth to become rich with her delicacies (power and luxurious living)
The Revelation of Jesus Christ is really a book of victory! We should rejoice! Not because of the horrible things that happen to the world and those that love it, but because evil is judged, condemned, and destroyed! Everything that is fleshly and earthly either has to be redeemed by the blood of The Lamb, resurrected/changed to incorruptible and immortal, or it must be destroyed. Sin will be destroyed. Pain and death will be destroyed. Every demon, and foul spirit that plagues this earth now will be destroyed! Death, Hell, the false prophet, the beast and Satan himself will all be cast into The Lake of Fire, and whosoever was not found written in The Book of Life will be cast in the lake of fire. This is called the second death. This is where death dies! There is a promise in Rev. 2:11 that says they that overcome shall NOT be hurt of the second death. This is a great cleansing preparing the earth for The New Jerusalem. Rev. 21:1 says that the first heaven and the first earth pass away, and created new.
When everything is said and done, The Word of God will still be standing strong! Put your faith in that which is sure, not in that which will be shaken.
As for Babylon, here is her future:
Revelation 18:1-21
(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 the 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 the wrath 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 lived 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 goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them 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 on 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.
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