THE REVELATION OF JESUS
REVELATION 18
"And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; 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 is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." Revelation 18:1, 2. Chapter 18 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible because it shows us that this cruel power, that has hurt so many people, is going to come to an end. These verses also show us a repeat of the second angel’s message—only this time it is telling everybody to get out of these fallen churches before they end up destroyed along with them. And we see another angel, a special fourth angel, and he has so much power that the whole earth gets lighted up with his mighty message! This mighty angel represents the ‘Loud Cry’ message given by the great power of the Holy Spirit in what we call the ‘latter rain’. This is a very important part of our study! Here we see another angel, a fourth angel, and he is declaring again the message of the second angel of Rev. 14— Babylon is fallen, is fallen! But this time it says Babylon the GREAT! We learned that Babylon the great is the three-fold combination of the Beast, False Prophet and the Dragon and when it is seen here it is starting to be a persecuting power- a combination of the 6th, 7th and 8th heads of the cruel scarlet monster that represents Satan's efforts through man's organizations to fight and destroy God's people and His truth down through the whole history of the world! We are also told it has become full of devils—though claiming to belong to God it has rejected His Word and His ways until Satan is in full control of it.
And a cage of unclean birds! Crows, hawks, eagles, vultures and buzzards make their living by picking to pieces other animals and birds and eating their flesh! There are so many in our society now that profess to be helping people but that really are getting a very good living off of the misery of others and are actually increasing that misery by casting doubt on the Word of God which is the only real answer for man's distress! Also the informers and bribed officials that cast down justice and do not care about the suffering ones are also cruel and unclean kinds of birds.
Notice what it says about how the merchants of the earth have gotten rich because of Babylon’s delicacies. Have you ever thought about all the money that people spend because of holidays that had their start in the Paganism and were brought into the Roman church? Why if it wasn’t for all these holiday, the stores wouldn’t sell nearly as much stuff. Christmas, Easter, Valentines, Halloween, Christenings, 1st Communions, Birthdays and so on. It seems as if half or more of the things sold, have to do with one of these holidays. And people buy so much more food and special treats, and waste so much money, just because of holidays that have nothing to do with what they need to live. The holidays all came from paganism and really have nothing whatever to do with the Bible.
"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. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities." Revelation 18:4, 5. God has set a limit beyond which the wickedness of man will not be allowed to continue. It was that way at the flood; it was that way at Sodom and Gomorrah and it is that way now! "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain." Ps 76:10 As the end troubles come, God’s people will come very close to Jesus and put away all their sins and worldly ways; then the full power of God’s Spirit will come to them and He will send the final warning through the earth like lightening.
"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. 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." Revelation 18:6, 7. Remember how in Rev. 13 there was the warning that those who imprisoned and killed with the sword would get the same treatment? Well in this warning here we see these powers did not learn their lessons about treating others as they themselves would wish to be treated and now she is to get back double for all she has done. And as much as she has been rich and enjoyed to high life while others suffered poverty, she will suffer even more! Also here we see her saying that she is not a widow! She was a widow for a while when her beast partner was wounded in the head and unable to persecute—so we see her here at a time when she has her beast paramour back and sits proudly on its savage back. She thinks she really has it made this time--there is no one on earth that can stand against her—BUT what are we told? "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. 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, 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." Revelation 18:8-10. God judges this boastful, proud power and Babylon the Great will fall and receive the 7 last plagues. We are told here that some groups will bewail her: The powers of earthly governments will miss the help she gave them and the merchants will miss all the money she helped them make. Now this is a symbolic word-picture because no one who is part of Babylon, really will be able to stand back and watch her fall—they will all be caught up in the ruin. The only ones who will see 'A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee' (Ps 91:7) will be the people of God, the despised and afflicted remnant. But Jesus is here giving us a parable picture to help us understand how complete will be the final fall of this cruel power.
"And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: 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," Revelation 18:11, 12.
"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." Revelation 18:13. "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." Revelation 18:14. "The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 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!" Revelation 18:15, 16.
"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, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!" Revelation 18:17, 18.
Ships in prophecy represent economic interests--the financiers of our world and their power through controlling the wealth. "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. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her." Revelation 18:19, 20. Remember in Rev. 6 how the blood of the slain people of God cried to God for justice from the earth? Well here we see the justice. God has given much time and many warnings but finally it has to be that vengeance falls onto the cruel power so determined to destroy God's people and blot His truth from the earth.
"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." Revelation 18:21.
"And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;" Revelation 18:22.
We all know how candles and weddings are associated with the services of the church! And we all know that the 'great men' support the popular movements. Sorceries? One of the things sorcery stands for is claiming to speak to the dead—and praying to dead saints and relics sure fits there! This is a strange and interesting verse; “all that were slain upon the earth” but as you study history carefully, you will find that wherever there has been a war, or a terrible massacre or some cruel and hurtful thing done by people to other people, you will find the Roman power back of it somewhere. It is time to heed the voice and come out of organizations that despise the plain Bible Truths and take our stand stand firmly on the Word of God; claiming His promises and living in obedience to His requirements. None of us want to be part of this final fall of apostate powers!
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