Revelation 18

CHAPTER 18THEME: Political and commercial Babylon judgedIn the chapter before us we see the judgment of commercial Babylon and the reaction of both earth and heaven to it. In chapters 17-18 two Babylons are brought before us. The Babylon of chapter 17 is ecclesiastical. The Babylon of chapter 18 is economic. The first is religiousthe apostate church which entered the Great Tribulation period. The second is political and commercial. The commercial center is loved by the kings of the earth; and the apostate church is hated by the kings of the earth, as we saw in chapter 17.

The apostate church is destroyed by the kings of the earth. When Christ returns, political Babylon will be destroyed by the judgment of God. Obviously, mystery Babylon, the apostate church, is destroyed first in the midst of the Great Tribulation, while commercial Babylon will be destroyed at the second coming of Christ. These two Babylons are not one and the same city. I personally believe that mystery Babylon is Rome and that, when it goes down in the midst of the Great Tribulation, the religious center shifts to Jerusalem because it is at Jerusalem that the False Prophet will put up his image of the Antichrist to be worshiped. Commercial Babylon is ancient Babylon, rebuilt as the commercial capital of the world.

This city is the final capital of the political power of the Beast. A few years ago it seemed rather farfetched that the power could reach back into the Mideast, but since then we have experienced a shortage of energy, and when they cut off the oil supply, the whole world feels it. They wield tremendous power. The wealth of the world is moving into that particular area because of the price of oil. It could well become the great commercial capital of the world. And this great commercial center, which will be Babylon rebuilt, will be destroyed at the second coming of Christ. Sometime ago a Jew challenged the Israeli minister of tourism by saying, “How does it come about that all the countries surrounding Israel have oil, but Israel doesn’t?” His reply was this: “God gave the Arabs oil and the Jews the Bible. Do you want to exchange with them? God forbid. The oil will run out quick enough, but the Bible will last forever.” There had been some disagreement among conservative expositors about whether or not ancient Babylon will be rebuilt. Candidly, for many years I took the position that it would not be rebuilt. However, I believe now that it will be rebuilt. Isa_13:19-22 speaks of the fact that ancient Babylon is to be rebuilt and destroyed, and this destruction is what is mentioned in chapter 18 of Revelation, which is before us. Actually, I don’t think it could be rebuilt on the same spot because the Euphrates River has moved about fourteen miles from the ancient city. There are two views of the destruction of Babylon which are diametrically opposed to each other. The viewpoint and perspective are highly important. (1) The reaction of men of business and politics is one of great anguish. To them it is the depth of tragedy. It means the total bankruptcy of big business. (2) The second reaction is that of heaven. It is one of joy that the holiness and justice of God is vindicated. It means the end of man’s sinful career on earth. This will bring to an end the Great Tribulation period.

Revelation 18:1

ANNOUNCEMENT AND FALL OF COMMERCIAL AND POLITICAL BABYLONChapter 18 begins with “another angel” who comes down from heaven with a message. As usual, I’ll give my literal translation of the Greek text throughout this chapter. After these things I saw another angel coming down out of heaven, having great authority; and the earth was lightened with his glory. Again we have this very interesting statement, “after these things” (Gr.: meta tauta). After what things? After the series of sevens and after the judgment of religious Babylon come these things. Progress has definitely been madethrough the seven seals, the seven trumpets, the seven personages, and the seven bowls of wrathand we are advancing to the end of the Great Tribulation. In fact, this brings us to the end of the Great Tribulation. John says, “I saw.” He is still a spectator. He saw “another angel,” which takes us back to chapter 14 where a series of six angels is mentioned, each with the sole identification of “another angel.” This angel is a divine, supernatural messenger of God, but faceless and nameless. He has great authority (power), which indicates that he has a superior rank to the other “another angel,” and he is bringing an important message. “The earth was lightened with his glory” seems to further signify the prestige of this angel (cf. Eze_43:2).

Revelation 18:2

And he shouted with a mighty voice, saying, Fell, fell is Babylon the great, and became a habitation of demons, and a prison (hold, cage) of every unclean spirit, and a prison (hold, cage) of every unclean and hated bird. The preliminary announcement of the fall of Babylon was made in Rev_14:8: “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.” The angel here is greater in authority than the one who made that first announcement. In the words, “Fell, fell is Babylon …and became,” the tense in the Greek is prophetic aorist which speaks of coming events as if they have already transpired. When God says something is going to happen, you can speak about it as though it had already happened, because it is going to happen. It is just that sure. In God’s plan and program it is just as though it had already taken place because He knows the end from the beginning. Babylon, this great commercial center of the world, is going to be destroyed. “A habitation of demons, and a cage of every unclean spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hated bird.” This indicates that Babylon is where demons of the spirit world and unclean birds of the physical world will be incarcerated during the Millennium. The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah confirm this (see Isa_13:19-22; Jer_50:38-40). These prophecies find a final fulfillment in the destruction of literal Babylon here in Revelation 18. If this is true, there is no prophecy which forbids Babylon from being rebuilt. Babylon is the headquarters of demons and has been the place of rebellion down through the years.

Revelation 18:3

For by the wine of the wrath of her fornication all the nations have drunk (or are fallen); and the kings of the earth committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth waxed rich by the power of her wantonness. “Have drunk” (or are fallen) are the two permitted renderingsboth have good manuscript authority. Both are true. The normal rendering is “have drunk.” This is God’s judgment on big business which denies God’s authority. This is the unholy alliance of government and business. We have seen some of this in our day and, frankly, it smells to high heaven. The word for merchants means “those who travel.” It is not those who produce goods or manufacture goods, but those who are brokers, engaging in business for a big profit. Business is a sacred cow that nothing must harm or hinder. This is true today, of course. Man uses business as the biggest excuse for having no time for God, yet these same men must finally stand before God. God will judge godless commercialism. Big business is in for it, I can assure you of that. In fact, it has had a rough time in our day.

Revelation 18:4

And I heard another voice out of heaven, saying, Come forth out of her, my people, that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. This verse reveals that God’s people are going to be in the world to the very end (it is not speaking of the church which has already been removed before the Great Tribulation began), but God will have His people on earth during the Tribulation. The question has always been: Will they be able to make it through? That is, will they remain faithful to Christ? Yes, they do make it through. Remember that God started with 144,000, and the number that will make it through the Tribulation Isaiah 144,000.

This is like the parable the Lord Jesus told about the shepherd who started out with one hundred sheep and one of them got away. But he didn’t end up with ninety-nine; he ended up with one hundred, because he went out and got that little sheep that was lost. The One who is speaking in this verse is none other than the Son of God, and He is calling His people out of Babylon before the judgment comes. It is a physical separation with a corollary in the experience of Lot in Sodom. As Lot was warned to get out of Sodom to escape the deluge of fire (see Gen. 19), so these people of God are warned. God’s Word tells us, “When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them” (Deu_4:30-31). Such was also God’s warning to Israel in Jer_51:5-6, Jer_51:45 and in Isa_48:20. The warning is twofold: (1) They are to have no fellowship with the sins of Babylon and (2) they are to flee before judgment falls. I think this has a pertinent application for us today. It should be a warning to us, not that God will fail to save His own from this hour, but that He wants us to be separate, not indulging the old nature, but walking by the Spirit. If we will not deal with sin in our own lives here and now by confessing and forsaking it, He will deal with it. Either He will judge sin now, or it will meet us at the judgment seat of Christ. God gives us the opportunity of judging our sin today: “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world” (1Co_11:31-32). How can we judge our own sin? 1Jn_1:9 has the answer: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” To “confess” means to say the same thing that God says about it. It means to take God’s viewpoint and say, “God, I agree with You. What I did was sin.” It is so easy to make excuses for our own sin. We say that ours is not really sinof course, if our neighbors do it, it is sin. But until you and I are willing to call our sin sin, we haven’t confessed it at all. If we refuse to judge ourselves, we will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ.

The sins of some folk will not be settled until they stand before the judgment seat of Christ. I hope to get all of my accounts straightened out down here. Just because God may not take us to the woodshed immediately does not mean that He is letting us get by without punishment. He doesn’t spank the Devil’s children, but if you are His child, judgment will come to you.

Revelation 18:5

Babylon has a long history of accumulated sins, and God has the record. It is one of the oldest cities in the history of mankind and is probably mentioned more than any other city in the Bible, with the exception of Jerusalem. Finally judgment breaks like a flood upon this city and its system. The judgment of God may be delayed, but it is sure. It may seem to us that the unbeliever is getting by with sin, but God’s judgment is coming.

Revelation 18:6

Render unto her even as she also rendered, and double unto her the double according to her works; in the cup which she mingled, mingle unto her double. This is poetic justice (see Oba_1:15). The cup of iniquity is being filled to the brim; when the last drop is poured in, it is pressed to the lips of those who committed iniquity. My friend, this is justread Psalms 137. God is right and just in what He does.

Revelation 18:7

How much soever she glorified herself, and waxed wanton (lived in luxury), so much give her of torment and mourning; for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall in no wise see mourning. You see, the prosperity of Babylon blinded her to the judgment of God. Trading was active on the stock market, and everyone bought blue chip issues right up to the moment of judgment. Luxury, arrogance, pride, sin, and self-deception characterized the spirit of this godless city. World peace was in sight, and optimism was the spirit of the day. Only the prophets of gloom issued a warning, and they were classified as “squares,” as was Noah (and as Vernon McGee is today).

Revelation 18:8

This calls to our attention the suddenness of destruction and that it will be by “fire.” So great is her grief that “mourning” is counted a plague along with “death” and “famine.” Death, mourning, and famine are the three horsemen who ride roughshod over Babylon. The destruction is total and final. In the Scriptures this is the first city of prominence, but its long, eventful and sinful history ends with the judgment of God upon her. “For strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.” It is God who destroys this city because He alone is able to do it. He does this, we believe, at the return of Christ. Notice this as Isaiah predicts it: “Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come” (Isa_63:1-4). In His second coming Christ is seen coming from Edom with blood-sprinkled garments. It is my belief that He has come by way of Babylon, and He has executed judgment upon that wicked city. We will see Christ’s second coming in the following chapter. Next we will see the reaction to the destruction of this great center. There will be anguish in the world, and we will see who attends her funeral. Also there will be the anticipation of joy in heaven because of the judgment of Babylon. These are the two diametrically opposite viewpoints. It will be bad for one crowd and good for the other crowd.

Revelation 18:9

ANGUISH IN THE WORLD BECAUSE OF BABYLON’S JUDGMENT And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived deliciously (in luxury) with her, shall weep and wail over her, when they look upon the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. In that day Babylon will dominate and rule the world. The capital of Antichrist will be Babylon, and he will have the first total dictatorship. The world will become an awful place. In that day everything will center in Babylon. The stock market will be read from Babylonnot New York.

Babylon instead of Paris will set the styles for the world. A play, to be successful, will have to be a success in Babylon, not London. Everything in that city will be in rebellion against almighty God, and it centers in Antichrist. No one dreamed that this great city would be judged. Yet by the time the sun goes down, Babylon is nothing but smoldering ruins. When the news goes out, the world is stunned, and then begins the wail. The whole world will howl when Babylon goes down. I imagine that, if you were on the moon, you would have to tune down your earphones because the howl would be so loud! In chapter 17 we saw that the kings of the earth hated religious Babylon and that Antichrist got rid of it in order that he might be worshiped without any competition in that area of religion. And the kings of the earth joined in her destruction. In contrast to this, here in chapter 18 we see that the kings of the earth love commercial Babylon because of the revenue she brought to their coffers. In fact, it is called here fornicationyou can’t find a better word for it than that! All the lobbyists were in Babylon, not Washington, D.C. They were representing all the great corporations in the world. But the kings desert Babylon like rats leaving a sinking ship; their mourning is both pathetic and contemptible. They eulogize her with panegyrics of praise, but there is a hopelessness in their anguish.

They marvel at the sudden destruction of that which they thought was gilt-edged security. The judgment came in the space of one hour, reminding us of the sudden devastation caused by atomic explosions. This is a frightful picture presented to us, and it is the final conflagration and catastrophic judgment that will bring Christ to the earth to set up His Kingdom.

Revelation 18:11

As you read these verses, did you feel as if you might be window-shopping down the main street of some of our great cities? In our store windows we see all these things in our day. These are the products of an affluent society, and these things were available to the Roman Empire in John’s day. Babylon will make these luxury items necessities, just as we think these items are necessities today. You will not find a cotton dress or a pair of overalls anywhere in this list. I remember when glazed bitreous terra cotta bathtubs first were introduced in this country. (Incidentally, it was opposed by the doctors in our land. They said that if you took a bath every day, it would shorten your life. They felt a bath once a week or once a month was enough.) In those days the bathtub was a luxury that many folk couldn’t afford. But now, when we go to a hotel or motel, my wife looks to see if there is a tub, and I look to see if there is a shower, and generally both are present. We live in a luxury age. Most of what we call necessities are actually luxuries. Let’s look at these items, using my literal translation. We will take them up separately: “And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no man buyeth their merchandise (cargo) any more: merchandise (cargo) of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and pearls.” Talk about a depressionthey are having one! No one buys their merchandise or cargo anymore. In Babylon there is merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls. You see, we are in the jewelry department here. Then we move from the jewelry department to the ladies’ ready-to-wear: “…and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet.” Then to the luxury gift department: “…and all thyine (citron) wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel made of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble.” We move on to the spice and cosmetic department: “…and cinnamon, and spice (amomum), and odours, and ointment, and frankincense.” They have a great deal of spray deodorant, you seeprobably the kind that works twenty-four hours a day. Now we go to the liquor department and the pastry center: “and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat.” This is the food of the rich; barley is the food of the poor. The wealthy were eating gourmet food and enjoying luxury until Babylon went down. We move on to the meat department where you can get porterhouse steaks, lamb chops and filet mignon"and cattle, and sheep." The merchandise covers every phase of business. The articles are for a society accustomed to the better things of the material universe. Even men were bought and sold, including their souls. I think this is becoming more and more true today where great corporations have men on the payroll who are bound there almost like slaves. Right now there is many a woman selling her soul. “And merchandise of horses, and chariots, and slaves (bodies), and souls of men.” “The merchants of these things who grew rich by her, shall stand afar off because of the fear of her torment, saying Alas, alas.” The Greek word for “alas” doesn’t need to be translated to get its meaning. It is ouai, ouai! The very sound of the word is a form of wail. The merchants of the earth sit before their TV screens and cry, “Ouai, ouai!” for in one hour wealth so great is laid desolate. We always have been able to find a parallel in the Old Testament. Do we have anything that corresponds to this in the past? Yes, Ezekiel predicted the judgment of Tyre, the capital of the Phoenicians. Tyre was to the ancient world what New York City is to us today and what Babylon will be to the future (see Ezek. 26-27).

Revelation 18:17

And every shipmaster and every one that sails anywhere (traveler) and sailors, and those who live by seafaring stood afar off. And cried out when they looked upon the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like the great city? And they cast dust upon their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe, woe [Gr.: ouai, ouai], the great city wherein all that had their ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her costly expenditure! for in one hour is she made desolate.The third delegation of mourners is composed of those who are engaged in transportation, the great public carriers. They had become rich by transporting the merchandise of Babylon, just as the Phoenicians had done in the ancient world. Now there is no more business. They mourn because of the depression.

All went up in smoke in a moment. They, like the others, marvel at the sudden destruction. All of this has an application for us. How do we see the luxury of this world? Do we see it as it really is? Can we use it without getting it into our hearts? How would you feel if the luxuries in your life which you have come to consider necessities suddenly went up in smoke? Today we speak about spirituality and spiritual things. Even in our Christian organizations there is almost an overweening zeal to get people to give, especially the wealthy people. Recently some wealthy persons threatened to withdraw their support from my radio ministry if I did not do a certain thing. I did not listen to their threats. It seems to me that we have paid too much attention to this world today. The world is passing away, and the things you see at your fingertips are also passing away. The great cities of the world are passing away. Los Angeles is a wonderful city, and I have enjoyed this city because I have lived in Southern California for many years, but it is passing away. God is going to judge Los Angeles. But the question is: Would it break your heart if you saw the things of this world go up in smoke? Or is your heart in heaven, fixed on Christ? It does make a lot of difference.

Revelation 18:20

ANTICIPATION OF JOY IN HEAVEN BECAUSE OF BABYLON’S JUDGMENT Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye saints, and ye apostles, and ye prophets; for God hath judged your judgment on her. The viewpoint of heaven is entirely different. It is no funeral procession there. Rather, it is the celebration of an anticipated event. The saints prayed for it; the prophets of the Old Testament predicted it. Now all is fulfilled and there is joy because God has exonerated His name. Judgment has come upon these things. Just what is your heart fixed on today? It will make a lot of difference in that day because you will either be with the mourners or you will be with the rejoicers.

Revelation 18:21

And one strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with a mighty rush (fall) shall Babylon, the mighty city, be cast down, and shall be found no more at all. Even heaven calls our attention to the violence, the suddenness, and the complete annihilation of Babylon. Like a stone that makes a big splash and then disappears beneath the waves will Babylon come to an end.

Revelation 18:22

Again, using my translation: “And the voice of harpers and minstrels and flute-players and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee.” You see, rock music will go out of style thenand I thank God for that! “And no craftsman, of whatsoever craft shall be found any more at all in thee.” All the factories will close down. “And the light of a lamp shall shine no more at all in thee.” All the neon lights on Broadway will go out. “And the voice of the bridegroom and the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee.” It’s all overno more marrying and giving in marriage here. “For thy merchants were the princes of the earth; for with thy sorcery were all the nations deceived.” I believe that more and more we are going to see sorcery, magic, and demonism. Satanism will increase more and more as we draw near the end of the age. It will be Satan who is going to deceive and blind people, just as he blinds many in our day. Popular music comes to an end in Babylon. Jazz and rock ’n’ roll cease in the destruction. Classical music will be stilled, also. The crafts that have been prostituted to the service of the Antichrist will end. The wheels of the factories will never turn again. The bright lights of the cities will go out forever. It is interesting to note the beginning of all these things are recorded in Gen_4:16-22. Also, social life and family life shall end. The great tycoons of big business will disappear. This city deceived the world with the worship of Antichristthis is the strong delusion.

Revelation 18:24

God’s people got rough treatment in this city and God judged it. This is Satan’s city, and he was a murderer from the beginning. Babylon was a city that murdered; its final crime was the slaying of God’s people. As we contemplate the destruction of Babylon, we think of other great cities and civilizations of the past which have fallen. One of the most widely read books of all time is The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire written by Edward Gibbon in 1788. In it he gives five basic reasons why that great civilization withered and died:

1. The undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home, which is the basis for human society.
2. Higher and higher taxes; the spending of public money for free bread and circuses for the populace.
3. The mad craze for pleasure; sports becoming every year more exciting, more brutal, more immoral.
4. The building of great armaments when the real enemy was withinthe decay of individual responsibility.
5. The decay of religion; faith fading into mere form, losing touch with life, losing power to guide the people. The oft-heard warning that history repeats itself has an ominous meaning in the light of the above. We can already see these five things at work in our contemporary culture in this country. The same things will bring Babylon down at the end. They destroy the nation and the home and the individual. Thank God, the sad story of man’s sin will come to an end. This chapter brings to a conclusion the frightful period which was labeled by the Lord Jesus Christ the Great Tribulation. In the next chapter we will see Him coming to the earth to bring to an end this dark, doleful, and disastrous period. This is the negative aspect to His coming. The positive side is the dawning of the Day of the Lord, called the Millennium or thousand years in chapter 20. Now let’s take a final look at the Great Tribulation period with its catastrophic and cataclysmic events taking place in rapid succession like a machine gun firing. The total period is seven years. It is the “seventieth week” of Daniel’s prophecy. In the Old Testament Daniel divided it, and in the New Testament John divided it into two separate and equal periods of three and one-half years each. However, after the church leaves this earth, the Antichrist comes to power as world dictator on a platform of peace, prosperity, and fame. During the first part of the Tribulation he will bring about radical changes that seem to benefit mankind. He will bring in a false peace. All government and religion are to be controlled by him. When that time comes, there will be one world, one religion, and one everything. The world will believe that they are entering the Millennium and that the world will become a Utopia. This is part of the big lie of that period. The true church, the body of Christ, will be removed from the earth before the Tribulation begins. It will become the bride of Christ, and we will see this bride shortlynear the end of this book. Israel will once again become God’s witness on earth144,000 strong, sealed by the Spirit of God. And they will witness here upon the earth. Also, there will be a great company of Gentiles that will be sealed. Somewhere near the middle of the seven-year period the king of the north, and I believe it will be Russia, will move against Israel. God will judge Russia just as He judged Sodom and Gomorrah. If you want to see that picture, you will find it in Ezekiel 38. This opens the floodgates of war. The Antichrist now begins to move, and the deception, I think, will become apparent to a great many folk. Restless mankind, under the control of Satan, begins to march. The world begins to fall apart, like a pear that is too ripe. The Man of Sin, the Antichrist, breaks his covenant with the nation Israel. The Mideast will become the center of world activity during this period. Babylon will be the political and economic capital of the world, and Jerusalem (also called Babylon) will be the religious capital. The Antichrist will begin in Rome, and the False Prophet will begin in Jerusalem. Antichrist, when he comes to power, will rebuild Babylon. The apostate church will be destroyed by Antichrist and by the kings of the earth who will be subservient to him. Ancient Babylon on the Euphrates River will become the political and economic center of the world. If a small nation in the Mideast can turn off the spigot to stop the flow of oil and thereby bring the world to its knees, what will it be when ancient Babylon in that very area becomes again the world center? New York City will then be a whistle stop on the Toonerville Trolley or not even worth the legendary string of glass beads. Los Angeles will return to an adobe village and no longer will be the city of angels but a dwelling place of demonsit appears as if they are already beginning to move in. London and other great cities of the world will become mere villages with muddy streets. Judgments from God will fall swiftly and suddenly on a God-rejecting and blaspheming world. At one fell swoop one-fourth of the population of the world will be destroyed, and at another time one-third will be blotted out. Nature will be afflictedthe grass and trees of the earth, the sun, moon, and stars in the heavens.

One disaster after another will fall on the earth, but the heart of man will still be unrepentant. In fact, he will defy and blaspheme the God of heaven. Then armies will march toward Israel. For three and one-half years the war will rage. It is not the Battle of Armageddon but the War of Armageddon. Millions of men will march at that time in that land. They will be engaged in a conflict there, but they will be destroyed. There will be blood up to the bridles of the horsesabout three feet deep! That is no exaggeration. Into this horrible arena of chaosthe t