Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. - 1 John 2:15
In chapter 17 John described seeing a great harlot riding on a scarlet beast. The literary style of the text clearly indicated that these 2 characters were symbolic. Upon careful study, I proposed that together they portrayed the entire world system - its culture, politics, economics, religion, and so forth. The beast depicted the secular and Satanic kingdom of the Antichrist, which would be likened to the revived Roman Empire. The prostitute represented a vile and bankrupt human religion that denied faith in Jesus and instead gloried earthly things, narrowly exemplified by the image of Jerusalem and apostate Israel.
To a lesser degree, the prostitute and the beast might also illustrate the uneasy relationship between the Jews and Gentiles, who - though they hated one another - were jointly culpable for the crucifixion of Christ. In the end times they will stand together again, hand in hand as a singular “Babylon”, to oppose the forces of God Almighty. In spite of their unholy alliance, they will be resoundingly defeated.
I. THE ANGEL’S DECLARATION (Revelation 18:1-3)
John looked and saw another angel coming down from heaven having so much glory that it illuminated the earth. The angel called out mightily, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!” He went on to say that the once great Babylon had now become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of unclean spirits, full of unclean and hateful birds. In addition to and because of Babylon’s demise, all of the nations and kings of the earth had also fallen and its once wealthy merchants had lost all of their fortunes.
The message spoken by this angel is almost identical to that of the second angel seen back in Revelation 14:8. Perhaps they are the same, and this scene is simply repeated twice in John’s vision… who knows? Babylon had recently been the greatest power on the earth, admired by all others. But after her fall, she had become a miserable and wretched place where the demons and unclean spirits resided. Her excessive pride and arrogance were no more, as she had been justly humbled and judged by God. Oh how the mighty had fallen!
All of the nations on the earth had colluded with evil Babylon and compromised themselves with her, seeking to satisfy their carnal desires and lusts. As a result, they too had fallen. The world’s political structure and powers had crumbled. The economies and financial systems had completely collapsed. Money had become worthless as the entire world order had eroded. God’s judgment against His enemies was devastating and complete.
It would seem that this angel spoke after Satan, Antichrist, and the False prophet had been defeated. Their demise began with the bowl judgments and culminated at the Battle of Armageddon, just before the return of Christ. Therefore, I place this angel’s declaration at the end of the Great Tribulation.
II. THE VOICE’S WARNING (Revelation 18:4-8)
John heard another voice saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive any of her plagues”. The voice stated that Babylon’s sins were numerous and that God was fully aware of them all. It then urged Him to take retribution against Babylon in double-portion for the wickedness that she had committed. The voice asked God to inflict torment and mourning on Babylon because she had glorified herself, lived in luxurious excess, and boasted of her power and greatness. Finally, the voice declared that God would surely send plagues upon Babylon, including mourning and famine, and burn her with fire because of her rampant immorality.
Though the speaker in this passage is never expressly identified, it would appear to be another angel. In this portion of his quotation, the presumed angel expressed 3 distinct ideas. First, he warned any true believers to flee from the false pretenses and corrupt powers of Babylon before it was too late. Second, he urged the LORD to begin pouring out His judgment upon Babylon. Third, he promised that, though it may not have started yet, God’s judgment of Babylon would certainly come.
It would seem that this voice spoke prior to the fall of Babylon. After all, it would be unreasonable to urge God’s children to flee from Babylon if she had already fallen. Likewise, why would this angel plea with the LORD to execute His judgment upon the world if He’d already done so? Thus, the placement of this voice in John’s narrative is (in my opinion) yet another glaring indication that parts of Revelation are not written in chronological order. I would place this angel’s message with that of the third angel mentioned in Revelation 14:9-12, arguing that both spoke at the midpoint of the tribulation, just prior to the Antichrist’s reign and the rise of Babylon.
III. THE MEASURE OF GOD’S JUDGMENT
Notice that the angel asked God exact vengeance upon Babylon in proportion to the evil that she had committed. In fact, he wanted God to pay her back in double-measure for her sins. The angel’s words highlight an important Biblical concept, that of proportional judgment.
Jesus taught us as Christians not to judge one another. True, we should boldly stand against sin and strive to live above reproach by not participating in acts of willful disobedience, but at the same time we should not condemn those who behave unrighteously. Experience has taught me that this can be a difficult balancing act at times… hating sin, yet simultaneously loving sinners. Still, this God’s perspective towards us and it should be our perspective towards others.
When we do wrongly judge others, the Bible says that we will ourselves receive judgment by the same measure (Matthew 7:2). In other words, the more harshly we condemn others for their sins, the greater our judgment will be. On the other hand, the more gracious and forgiving we are, the lighter our judgment will be. It is somewhat unclear how this will play out, seeing as all born-again believers will receive eternal life, but perhaps these degrees of judgment will affect our rewards in Heaven or our proximity to the throne of God. Nevertheless, Scripture repeatedly teaches that we will be judged proportionally. Following this principle, the angel in today’s text implored God to judge Babylon according to the measure of her sin.
CONCLUSION
Satan is the god of Babylon. The Antichrist is the king of Babylon. The False Prophet is the priest of Babylon. The people who reject God and worship the beast are the citizens of Babylon. Idolatry and materialism characterize the religion of Babylon. Pride and arrogance describe the attitude of Babylon. Immorality and corruption exemplify the behavior of Babylon. In short, this world is Babylon… and it will someday fall before the mighty hand of God.
But as Christians, we are not of this world. Our citizenship is not here in Babylon, but above in Heaven. We are pilgrims and strangers on the earth, waiting to go to our eternal home. While we are here, however, may we echo the warning given by the angel. Let us also urge people to flee from the kingdom of darkness - to come out of her through faith in Jesus Christ - while there is still time. Judgment is coming soon.
In chapter 17 John described seeing a great harlot riding on a scarlet beast. The literary style of the text clearly indicated that these 2 characters were symbolic. Upon careful study, I proposed that together they portrayed the entire world system - its culture, politics, economics, religion, and so forth. The beast depicted the secular and Satanic kingdom of the Antichrist, which would be likened to the revived Roman Empire. The prostitute represented a vile and bankrupt human religion that denied faith in Jesus and instead gloried earthly things, narrowly exemplified by the image of Jerusalem and apostate Israel.
To a lesser degree, the prostitute and the beast might also illustrate the uneasy relationship between the Jews and Gentiles, who - though they hated one another - were jointly culpable for the crucifixion of Christ. In the end times they will stand together again, hand in hand as a singular “Babylon”, to oppose the forces of God Almighty. In spite of their unholy alliance, they will be resoundingly defeated.
I. THE ANGEL’S DECLARATION (Revelation 18:1-3)
John looked and saw another angel coming down from heaven having so much glory that it illuminated the earth. The angel called out mightily, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!” He went on to say that the once great Babylon had now become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of unclean spirits, full of unclean and hateful birds. In addition to and because of Babylon’s demise, all of the nations and kings of the earth had also fallen and its once wealthy merchants had lost all of their fortunes.
The message spoken by this angel is almost identical to that of the second angel seen back in Revelation 14:8. Perhaps they are the same, and this scene is simply repeated twice in John’s vision… who knows? Babylon had recently been the greatest power on the earth, admired by all others. But after her fall, she had become a miserable and wretched place where the demons and unclean spirits resided. Her excessive pride and arrogance were no more, as she had been justly humbled and judged by God. Oh how the mighty had fallen!
All of the nations on the earth had colluded with evil Babylon and compromised themselves with her, seeking to satisfy their carnal desires and lusts. As a result, they too had fallen. The world’s political structure and powers had crumbled. The economies and financial systems had completely collapsed. Money had become worthless as the entire world order had eroded. God’s judgment against His enemies was devastating and complete.
It would seem that this angel spoke after Satan, Antichrist, and the False prophet had been defeated. Their demise began with the bowl judgments and culminated at the Battle of Armageddon, just before the return of Christ. Therefore, I place this angel’s declaration at the end of the Great Tribulation.
II. THE VOICE’S WARNING (Revelation 18:4-8)
John heard another voice saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive any of her plagues”. The voice stated that Babylon’s sins were numerous and that God was fully aware of them all. It then urged Him to take retribution against Babylon in double-portion for the wickedness that she had committed. The voice asked God to inflict torment and mourning on Babylon because she had glorified herself, lived in luxurious excess, and boasted of her power and greatness. Finally, the voice declared that God would surely send plagues upon Babylon, including mourning and famine, and burn her with fire because of her rampant immorality.
Though the speaker in this passage is never expressly identified, it would appear to be another angel. In this portion of his quotation, the presumed angel expressed 3 distinct ideas. First, he warned any true believers to flee from the false pretenses and corrupt powers of Babylon before it was too late. Second, he urged the LORD to begin pouring out His judgment upon Babylon. Third, he promised that, though it may not have started yet, God’s judgment of Babylon would certainly come.
It would seem that this voice spoke prior to the fall of Babylon. After all, it would be unreasonable to urge God’s children to flee from Babylon if she had already fallen. Likewise, why would this angel plea with the LORD to execute His judgment upon the world if He’d already done so? Thus, the placement of this voice in John’s narrative is (in my opinion) yet another glaring indication that parts of Revelation are not written in chronological order. I would place this angel’s message with that of the third angel mentioned in Revelation 14:9-12, arguing that both spoke at the midpoint of the tribulation, just prior to the Antichrist’s reign and the rise of Babylon.
III. THE MEASURE OF GOD’S JUDGMENT
Notice that the angel asked God exact vengeance upon Babylon in proportion to the evil that she had committed. In fact, he wanted God to pay her back in double-measure for her sins. The angel’s words highlight an important Biblical concept, that of proportional judgment.
Jesus taught us as Christians not to judge one another. True, we should boldly stand against sin and strive to live above reproach by not participating in acts of willful disobedience, but at the same time we should not condemn those who behave unrighteously. Experience has taught me that this can be a difficult balancing act at times… hating sin, yet simultaneously loving sinners. Still, this God’s perspective towards us and it should be our perspective towards others.
When we do wrongly judge others, the Bible says that we will ourselves receive judgment by the same measure (Matthew 7:2). In other words, the more harshly we condemn others for their sins, the greater our judgment will be. On the other hand, the more gracious and forgiving we are, the lighter our judgment will be. It is somewhat unclear how this will play out, seeing as all born-again believers will receive eternal life, but perhaps these degrees of judgment will affect our rewards in Heaven or our proximity to the throne of God. Nevertheless, Scripture repeatedly teaches that we will be judged proportionally. Following this principle, the angel in today’s text implored God to judge Babylon according to the measure of her sin.
CONCLUSION
Satan is the god of Babylon. The Antichrist is the king of Babylon. The False Prophet is the priest of Babylon. The people who reject God and worship the beast are the citizens of Babylon. Idolatry and materialism characterize the religion of Babylon. Pride and arrogance describe the attitude of Babylon. Immorality and corruption exemplify the behavior of Babylon. In short, this world is Babylon… and it will someday fall before the mighty hand of God.
But as Christians, we are not of this world. Our citizenship is not here in Babylon, but above in Heaven. We are pilgrims and strangers on the earth, waiting to go to our eternal home. While we are here, however, may we echo the warning given by the angel. Let us also urge people to flee from the kingdom of darkness - to come out of her through faith in Jesus Christ - while there is still time. Judgment is coming soon.