Babylon Is Fallen | Revelation 18 | Pastor John Miller

did you know that there is what we would call a love that god hates there's an actual love that god hates and it's described in the bible in first john chapter 2 verse 15 to 17 well-known verse where it says love not the world neither the things that are in the world if any man love the world the love of the father is not in him now that's a well-known verse but it's the love that god hates because the world there is the greek word cosmos and it means the evil world system apart from god he's talking about the things that are not of god the evil world system of doing things and then he goes on to explain in verse 16 of first john 2 for all that is in the world and here's the description of the world the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life it is not of the father but it is of the world and the world is passing away and the lust thereof but he who does the will of god abides forever i believe that those verses there in first john 2 that they actually summarize what we're going to read about in revelation chapter 18. lust of the flesh lust of the eyes and the pride of life all that is in the world is going to come crumbling down in the form of god's judgment on babylon the great in revelation chapter 18 we see god's holy judgment upon the evil lustful materialistic commercial system of babylon now revelation chapter 17 and 18 are a unit i like to think of them as two sides of one coin so the whole babylonian system not the people of babylon the nation or not the city but the system because false religious system came out of babylon and commercialism came out of babylon the rebellion against god came out of babylon so all of this evil world system has this babylonian origin so the term babylon is used not for the babylonian empire for the city but for the system the evil world system apart from god so in revelation 17 we looked at it last sunday the religious system was judged by god and destroyed destroyed now in chapter 18 the commercial system you see babylon in the last days will have this mystery religion in chapter 17 verse 5 i think it is it's called mystery babylon the mother of harlots and so this false religious system will arise when the true church is caught up in the air to meet the lord in the rapture nothing but professing false christians will remain so there'll be this ecclesiastical ecumenical false religious system organized which is called mystery babylon the mother of harlots judged by god by using the antichrist to turn against her but now we see god directly destroys the antichrist kingdom of this network of commercialism that has the babylonian influence on it as well and i'm convinced as i studied again this week to prepare this message that that it's centered in a city that is the city of rome that the harlot and the babylonian system of commercialism will have its seat during the tribulation in rome now in revelation we don't know because these chapters are parenthetical they're a pause when will this happen but it's most likely that it'll happen in the midpoint of the tribulation this chapter chapter 18 will probably happen sometime in the second half of the tribulation when god himself will actually judge this system of commercialism that is so against god now in second first timothy chapter 6 and verse 10 paul said love not he said love the love of money excuse me is the root of what all evil now i want to make clear that in the greek translation of that verse that it would be better to render that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil not all evil but lots of different kinds of evil so a whole variety of plethora of evils come when we are loving money so certainly the commercial system of babylon is characterized by the evil lust of the flesh which is our sinful passion lust of the eyes which is our material possessions and the pride of life which is our self-made position so these sins are going to be seen as we go through revelation chapter 18 and we're not to love the world neither the things that are in the world now it will be destroyed by god babylon will indeed fall now i want to point out four sections in this chapter as you're taking notes i want to give you an outline which characterizes what's going on in revelation 18. the first three verses we see the announcement of babylon's fall in verses 1 to 3 there's an announcement babylon is going to fall follow with me in your bible verse 1. and after these things i saw another angel come down from heaven having great power the word is authority and the earth was lightened with his glory and he cried mightily with a strong voice saying babylon the great is fallen is fallen and become the habitation of devils or demons and the hold of every fowl spirit and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird why for all nations have drank the wine of the wrath of her occasion and the kings of the earth had committed fornication with her the merchants there it is of the earth have waxed rich through the abundance of her luxurious living now go back with me to verse one and notice paul or john says after these things after what things backing up into chapter 17 after the harlot has been judged by god he now says i saw another angel now when he sees in verse one another angel it indicates it's not one of the seven angels that had the wrath of god poured out earlier in chapter 16 the bowls of wrath by these seven angels this is another angel now there are some bible students that like to claim that this angel in verse one is none other than jesus christ but there's no indication or reason why we should believe this is christ his second coming is clear in chapter 19 but in this parenthetical section i believe that somewhere earlier in the tribulation is describing god's judgment on this evil commercial system of babylon so it's just an angel but it is an angel with great authority and it's an angel of great importance and it's an angel of great majesty for the earth was lightened with his glory now here's the announcement of babylon's destruction in verse 2. he cried mightily with a strong voice and here it is babylon the great is fallen is fallen now some believe the repetition fallen is fallen is because it fell in chapter 17 and it fell again in chapter 18. and that's possible but it's also possible that it's just repeated for emphasis we sometimes will repeat for emphasis so it could be just saying the certainty of the fall of babylon and it's not talking about the actual city of babylon revived i believe it's talking about the city of rome earlier we saw that sets upon seven hills or seven mountains and it's become notice verse two the habitation of demons now angels fell with lucifer who was an angel in rebellion to god and these fallen angels with lucifer the devil became demons so that's what it's referring to in verse 2 that it's the habitation of demons and it's the hold of every foul spirit again another description of demonic spirits and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird in the bible quite often birds are used as symbols of evil now sorry you bird lovers birds are beautiful creatures they're wonderful they're cool they're all but in the bible they're sometimes birds are used to represent satan when i have crows screaming on my roof i think those are demonic birds i'll stop right there in matthew 13 you have the kingdom parables and twice when jesus gave the story of the parable of the sower and the seed some seed fell by the wayside and who got the seed and ate it up and took it away the birds satan comes and steals it away so there we are demonic bird and then we see also that this tree grows up becomes a great big tree and then birds come and lodge in its branches it's a picture of christianity and the church growing and then satan coming to join christians and coming in and lodging in his apostate false teaching into the church evil coming into the church now in this passage we see one of many reasons in this chapter given the first actually in verse 2 why babylon will be judged because it's the habitation of demons and the hold of every foul spirit and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird so it's satan's house it's demonically influenced now there's nothing wrong with being a businessman there's nothing wrong with buying and selling but if you're doing it for sinful reasons and sinful motivation to exploit people you're doing it an evil way then it's condemned in the bible actually this theme of wealth and the believer runs all the way through the scriptures and it's amazing to follow it but in first john chapter 5 and verse 9 it says the whole world lies under the sway or the lap of the wicked one in the greek that literally reads the whole world is in the lap of the devil now i know we sing this as my father's world and in the sovereign way god is in control and it is this world but the bible also declares that satan is the prince and the power of the air the spirit who works in the children of disobedience so we live in a fallen world right now and there is a devil who rebelled against god and he did take demons with him so he has infiltrated the commercial systems of the world and with evil sinful men with the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life this is not of the father has become the habitation of the devil that references second corinthians chapter four verse four satan is the god of this world and then the second reason given in this text for the judgment of babylon is in verse 3 they worshipped pleasure so in verse 2 it's satan's house and in verse 3 they worship pleasure look at it with me for all the nations have drunk the wine of the wrath of her for an occasion now this foreign occasion is a reference to spiritual adultery by turning away from the true and living god and worshiping materialism and worshiping money they really make things and money and wealth and pleasure the god of their life so they're intoxicated so to speak by the materialism of this satanic demonic commercial system and it says the kings of the earth have committed foreign occasion with her and the merchants verse 3 of the earth have waxed rich through the abundance of her luxurious living they worship pleasure write down second timothy chapter 3 verse 4 where paul says in the last days men shall be lovers of pleasure more than lovers of god we certainly see that today men have substituted their own lust and their own pleasure for love of god so the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes their passion and their possessions jesus said this he said and jesus had a lot to say about earthly wealth and earthly treasures he said a man's life consists not in the things which he possesses take that to heart your life is more than the things you possess or your bank account or your portfolio or the value of your home and the car you drive life is more than these things and we need to keep that perspective he said in matthew 6 that we're to seek first the kingdom of god and his righteousness and all these things of earth he'll provide for us he'll take care of but we make him the passion him the goal and we seek him first so verses one to three is the announcement of judgment on babylon because it's satan's house and they worshipped pleasure rather than worshiping god the second division of this chapter is verse 4 to verse 8 and it's the appeal for god's people to come out of the babylonian system it's the appeal to come out of her notice verse 4. and i heard another voice from heaven so this is not the angel of verse 1 and 2. this is another voice and this voice it would seem to be the voice of god himself saying verse 4 come out of her my people so god calling to his people that you be not partakers of her sins and that you receive not of her plagues for her sins have reached unto heaven and god remembers her iniquities i'm going to come back to that concept of god remembering their iniquities god doesn't need to physically remember like we do oh i forgot now i remember because god is omniscient he knows all things but it's a it's a figure of speech in the bible for god finally saying enough is enough it's time to judge when it says god remembered their iniquities in other words god's going to now judge them in his holy righteous judgment verse six he said reward her even as she rewarded you and double unto her according to her works in the cup which she have filled filled to her double verse seven how much she hath glorified herself she's lived in luxury so much torment and sorrow give her for she said she said said in her heart excuse me i said a queen i am no widow i shall see no sorrow 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 who judges her now go back with me to verse 4 god calls from heaven and says come out of her referring to this babylonian system my people you say well wait a minute pastor isn't this the tribulation period yes it is well who are god's people in the tribulation let me tell you who they're not they're not the church i believe the church has been caught up to meet the lord in the air in the rapture and next sunday in our study of the second coming i'm going to contrast the rapture and the second coming to show you they're clearly two separate events i believe they're seven years apart so this is not the church the church the body of christ has been caught up to meet the lord so this is again what we call tribulation saints people who get saved after the rapture and god says he warns them don't get involved in this babylonian system either the mother of harlots or this commercial system come out of it my people so these are tribulation saints but guess what even though in the context it's a tribulation saint it has application to us today as the people of god there is a babylonian system of evil commerce in the world today and we need to be careful that we don't get intoxicated with its foreign occasion and substituted for the worship of the true and living god now notice the reasons to come out in verse 4 that ye be not partakers of her sins and that you receive not of her plagues god is always protecting his people and delivering him them from his judgments you know it's interesting the bible says be not conformed to this world romans 12 but be what transformed how by the renewing of your minds that you may prove what is that good perfect and acceptable will of god so don't let the world one translation has press you into its mold don't let the world conform you the worldly way of thinking about possessions and money and materialism don't become materialistic in your philosophy become biblical in your philosophy the steps can often happen that we begin to love the world and then we are conformed secondly to the world and then thirdly we will find ourselves condemned by and with the world so don't love the world don't be conformed to the world lest you be condemned by the world now notice the third reason in this chapter for god's judgment on babylon it's found in verse 7 and that is her pride so it's the place where satan dwells it is also secondly their pleasure they worshiped instead of god and then thirdly the pride verse seven how much he hath glorified herself she has lived in luxury so much torment and sorrow give her for she says in her heart i said a queen i am no widow i shall see no sorrow the bible says in proverbs 16 verse 18 pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before what a fall you know the bible actually says a proud look god hates it's one of the many things god hates it's the love god hates the love of self the proud look not only is there the lust of the flesh your passions lust to the eyes your possessions but there's the pride of life some have actually put them in the category of the sins of youth lust of the flesh although old people can lust in the flesh as well the lust of the eyes which is middle age your possessions and the pride of life which is your senior years the old days look what i have accomplished look what i've done look how marvelous i am look at all the achievements i have obtained remember in the old testament book of daniel when nebuchadnezzar in chapter 4 of daniel was strutting on the walls of babylon looking over the beautiful city of babylon historians tell us it was one of the most majestic wonderful beautiful cities ever in history and he's looking over babylon what did he say is not this great babylon which i have made now when i hear that i want to go i don't want to watch this is going to be bad is not this great babylon which i have made by the works of my own hands god smote him with insanity turned him into a wild beast his hair grew long like feathers his fingernails grew along like claws and for seven years he went out into the wilderness and ate grass don't don't live in pride god takes it very seriously every time i hear somebody shredding their stuff and talking about their accomplishments i just want to say i don't want to watch this is going to be bad you might just be eating grass in the backyard for a while can you imagine where's the king always in the backyard eating grass crazy until he finally it says looked up the king looked up to heaven and his sanity returned what a great statement when we look back to heaven when we look back to god when we get an eternal perspective our sanity returns and we realize that god gave us everything by his grace we deserve no credit it's all glory to god amen he gives us life and breath and strength if god has blessed you materially then give him the praise give him the thanks give him the glory and walk in humility so very important because if not god is able to humble you so one of the sins of the system of babylon is their pride so what happens verse 8 god certainly judges her this chapter is all about the certainty of god's judgment on this evil commercial system of babylon therefore verse 8 shall her plagues come in one day death mourning famine and she shall be utterly burned with fire this is a coming future judgment of god back in september 11th when the twin towers were destroyed people were using this verse to say god is judging america and that's a tragic way to interpret this passage this is yet future when god will judge the evil babylonian system for strong verse 8 is the lord god who judges her so the focus is actually on god and his holy righteous judgments how he will punish and destroy and utterly consume this evil world system now the third section is in verses 9 to 19. so we move from the announcement from the appeal to come out of her to the agony on earth over the fall of babylon verses 9 to 19. that's the longest of the sections we won't tarry on it but there are three groups of men and catch this statement on earth three earth dwellers groups of earth dwellers that wail and lament and mourn over the destruction of this commercial system of babylon the first is verses 9 and 10. it's the kings of the earth so they're going to be the most greatly affected because they're the world rulers and the whole economic system collapses so the kings of the earth of verse nine who have committed fornication and lived deliciously or luxury with her what do they do they bewail her and they lament for her and when they shall see the smoke of her burning standing far off for the fear of her torment so they don't they don't want to be judged with her they're fair-weathered businessmen they did business with her but when judgment comes and they get away as fast as they can for fear of her torment saying alas alas the great city not just a system but a city most likely rome babylon that mighty city for in one hour is thy judgment come so first to be wailed and to lament on earth will be the kings of the earth then the second group is verse 11 to 16 and this is the businessmen the merchants of the earth verse 11 to 16. he says and the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her for no man buys their merchandise anymore now i always hate to see a grown man cry especially when he's in a business suit and these dudes are looking at their loss and they're whoa they're wailing they're crying they're standing afar off because all of their profits have been lost all of their possessions have been lost all of their income is gone no one buys their merchandise anymore the merchandise and they list them for us in ancient terms verse 12 to verse 13 gold silver precious stones pearls fine linen purple silk scarlet fine wood which is a type of cypress wood that had a sweet scent to it all manner of vessels of ivory all manner of vessels of precious wood and a brass and of iron and marble and verse 13 cinnamon and odors and ointments and frankincense wine oil fine flour wheat beast and sheep and horses and chariots and then notice at the end of verse 13 slaves and the souls of men so even still yet in the future there's going to be human slavery and buying and selling people for profit and for gain the sex trade today is a very profitable trade but it's evil and it's demonic and god's going to bring judgment upon it now notice in verse 14 and the fruit of thy soul and lusted after and departed from thee for all things which were luxuries and goodly are departed from thee thou shalt find them no more at all verse 15. the merchants of these things which were made rich by her they'll stand again far off for fear of her torment and they'll be weeping and wailing these again are the merchants on earth saying verse 16 the last alas that great city that was clothed in fine linen and purple scarlet decked with gold and precious stones and pearls so the kings of the earth are weeping and the merchants of the earth are weeping because it all comes tumbling down now we know recently when a pipeline that provided gas crippled the east coast how how dependent we are on commerce and on these things when we had the covet crisis and everybody rushed to the store to buy toilet paper we freaked out so we stood outside walmart weeping and wailing because there was no toilet paper alas alas that great toilet paper has departed judgment of god we only got a little taste it's all going to come crashing down so what does it tell us don't put your stock in this world don't put your stock in your stocks put your stock in christ alone amen he's the only sure foundation so all of this comes tumbling crashing down i looked up some of the wealthiest men in the world this week jeff bezos elon musk bill gates the article i read said jeff bezos is worth 179 billion dollars one one human being think about that but he'll be like one of the leaders of this whale club because it's all going to come crashing down elon musk will be crying because it's all going to come crashed down you put your stock in this world you're going to lose it all how tragic that is and then the third group verse 17 to 19 and they are listed in these three groups are the ship masters in my king james bible that means those who own shipping lanes and run ships who transport goods verse 17 to 19. for one hour so there's a reference to one day and one hour so i think it's going to happen in one day and in one hour we've seen stop stock markets crash we know black tuesday and all the things that can happen this is going to happen in one day and in one hour because it's going to be a divine judgment from god so in one hour verse 17 so great riches has come to not every shipmaster and all the company and ships and sailors and as many as trade by the sea they stand far off and they cried when they saw the smoke of her burning saying what city is like under this great city and they cast dust on their heads and they cried weeping and wailing saying alas alas for that great city wherein many were made rich that all had ships in the sea by reason of the costliness for in her one hour she has been made desolate so again the emphasis one hour god is going to destroy her it's all going to come tumbling down now this is in preparation for christ's second coming the kingdoms of man will crumble and fall puny little man thinking that he is the god of the universe that he can create a utopian society and it all comes crashing down in one hour until christ returns our only hope sets up his kingdom which will be an eternal kingdom an everlasting kingdom now it's interesting that jesus said these words lay not up for yourselves treasures where on earth he said don't lay up your treasures on earth and then he gave us why moth rust corrupt and thieves break through and steal and then he gave us another reason he said because where your treasure is there will your what your heart is going to be also sometimes we'll leave the house and my wife will say you locked the door i said no i locked the door there's nothing to steal you know it's kind of cool to live simply not have a lot of expensive things thief breaks in the house he'll go this must be a pastor's house let's get out of here ain't nothing but bibles and commentaries everywhere let's get out of here but thieves break through and steal moth and rust corrupt you know i kid you not whenever i have a favorite sweater a moth eats it you never notice that this is my favorite sweater i really like it the moths are listening in the closet they purposely go that's the one he likes let's go eat it it's just whatever you set your heart on god has a way of ripping it out right so don't set your affections on things of this earth jesus said lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth and then he also says labor not for the food which perishes but labor for that which endures into everlasting life in second corinthians chapter 4 verse 18 paul said that we should look not at the things which are seen chapter 18 of revelation but the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are what eternal so get your affections set on things above on eternal things so my question is what are you living for now there's one last section to this chapter it's verses 20 to 24 and it's an intended contrast they are weeping on earth the kings the merchants the shipmasters they're wailing and weeping they lost everything on earth but what is happening in heaven here it is verse 20 rejoice over her thou heaven and ye holy apostles and prophets why for god hath avenged you on her god has to judge her so on earth they are weeping this is the worldly kind of way of viewing things but in heaven with an eternal perspective they are rejoicing so lamenting on earth and rejoicing in heaven and the mighty angel took up a stone verse 21 like unto a millstone cast it into the sea saying thus with violence shall that great city again babylon be thrown down and should be found no more at all now from verse 21 to verse 25 or verse 24 excuse me six times you hear that repeated phrase no more at all no more at all no more at all so this is the end of babylon and its evil corrupt system no more verse 21 at all verse 22 and the voice of harpers magicians pipers trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee no craftsman of whatsoever craft he be should be found any more in thee the sound of the millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee and the light of the candle shall be heard no more at all in thee the voice of the bride groom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee why for the merchants of this great work of the great men of the earth for by their sorceries were all nations deceived and in her that is babylon was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all that were slain of the earth so all the uh the persecution toward god's people originated in ancient babylon and it became a buzzword for the idea of the evil opposition to god now lest i forget notice in verse 23 and 24 there are two more reasons why god we're going to judge babylonian system because of her sorceries and deceiving the nations so because of deception and in verse 24 because of the persecution that she supported against god's prophets and god's people his saints now when he says this angel took a millstone and throw it into the sea the word mills don't have a familiar ring remember when jesus said that if you offend one of these little ones it would be better for what a millstone which is a big old honking stone to be tied around your neck and for you to be thrown into the midst of the sea than for you to offend or cause to stumble one of these little ones so jesus takes this very seriously whether it be the harlot in chapter 17 the false prop the false religion or whether it be the babylonian of the false commercial system this millstone is hung around the neck of this system and it's like destroyed by god judged by god thrown into the midst of the sea so no more music verse 22 no more celebration no more work no more light of the candle verse 23 no more bridegroom or bride no one getting married no one having parties no one celebrating it's the end of all the luxury and the tinsel and the glicks and the glamour of all the evil world system god brings judgment now this whole chapter is really a tale of two cities one city being babylon which is in rebellion against god and will be judged the other city being chapter 21 verse 2 the new jerusalem adorned like a bride for her bridegroom coming out of heaven so you're either living in babylon or you're living in the new jerusalem or you're looking for the new jerusalem you're either living by the lust of the flesh lust of the eyes and the pride of life which is of the world and it passes away are you living for that which not seen the eternal and you're looking for a city like abraham whose maker and builder is god now there's an interesting contrast two of the two between lot who is the nephew of abraham and abraham remember when they were kind of arguing over the land and who's going to live where and abraham told lot just pick wherever you want to go and i'll go the other direction what did lot do he saw the beautiful well-watered plains of sodom and gomorrah and his wife said look at the shopping malls it's not in the bible i'm just throwing this in look at the country clubs look at the outlet malls look at how beautiful the streets are and every let's go there and so mr mrs lot pitched their tents towards sodom big mistake and then the next thing we find they're living in sodom you know it just starts well let's just get a little house on the hill overlooking the city next thing they're down in the city so they are then conformed to the world and then they were condemned and god pulled lot and this family out of sodom come out of her my people but he told them don't look back remember those instructions don't look back guess who looked back mrs lot and didn't jesus tell us remember who lot's wife i always thought that'd make a great bumper sticker put that on your car remember lot's wife so she looked back and oh my country club oh no it's being destroyed my beauty parlor my beauty salon the malls the restaurants it's all being destroyed she's made into a pillar of salt be careful come out of her my people god says come out of her and touch not the unclean thing and i will receive you how important that truly is now i want to do something that i did a few weeks ago and this will only take a minute i want you to turn to first timothy chapter six to close it with a verse that really wraps it up for us first timothy six verses six to twelve timothy 6 6-12 this is a section of scripture that every christian should know paul is warning timothy about the false teachers who were teaching that godliness is a way to get rich they were teaching what a lot of people teach today that if you're super spiritual you'll be rich you'll have health and wealth this is what he said in verse six he said but godliness with contentment is great gain i'm in first timothy six verse six godliness with contentment is great gain that's a great verse for revelation 18. for we brought nothing into this world how true that is and we can carry nothing out you ever seen a baby born with a rolex watch looking at his iphone i don't think so naked we came in naked shall we return from whence we came having food and clothes let's be content because remember verse six godliness with contentments great gain but verse 9 here's the warning they that who desire to be rich that statement will be rich lee means liberty desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare too many foolish and hurtful lusts which drowned their soul in perdition for the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil which some coveted after have erred from the faith and they've pierced themselves through with many sorrows but thou o man of god or woman of god verse 11 flee these things follow after righteousness godliness faith love patience and meekness tells us what to follow and then thirdly verse 12 fight the good fight of faith lay hold of eternal life whereunto thou are called and asked professed a good profession before many witnesses i wanted to leave you with that passage in timothy's letter paul's letter to timothy godliness with contentment is great gain we brought nothing in we're going to take nothing out if we have food and clothes let's be content amen so flee follow and fight flee the lure of intoxicating materialism follow after christ with all your heart soul strength look for a city whose maker and builder is god and fight the good fight of faith amen let's pray

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Published: Sun May 23 2021