Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

We are coming to a climatic end in our study of the Book of Revelation.

Over the last several months, we’ve examined chapter after chapter of God’s continual judgement to a rebellious and unbelieving world that is driven by a satanic leader we know as the Antichrist.

This is the 70th week of years defined by the prophet Daniel and a culmination of events known in the Old Testament as the Great Day of the Lord or the Day of Jacob’s Trouble.

There are a couple of things I want to remind you as we will close out Revelation 18 this week and next week and come to the victorious return of Christ and His Church starting in Revelation 19.

First, for the believer we have a tremendous hope that needs to be shared.

The Bible is clear that this judgement will not come on those who put their faith in Christ to be saved.

Second, everything we see happening in our world to day is clearly tied to this time that is quickly coming.

Third (and most important), God is in control.

Therefore, we have nothing to fear.

We are told to study these words and to keep our eyes open.

Hebrews 10:25 says, “[encourage] one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

There is nothing in the Bible that tells the believer to panic about what is happening in the world around you.

However, we are to keep our eyes open and be aware, not to be deceived, and to keep our focus on the coming of our King.

Luke 21:28 “28 “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Now, we finished Revelation 17, which discussed a world religious system and its destruction.

Revelation 17:5 “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”

Today we continue to see the final destruction of the Antichrist’s Economic & Political System.

These 3 systems are the governing force of the Antichrist and the world’s obsession with satanic rule.

The world is obsessed with the world economy.

We live in a day when there are no isolated economies in our much smaller world, now.

Rather, all the economies of the nations are interlinked.

In fact, there is a single, unelected group of elites that control the direction of these economies known as the World Economic Forum.

These elites control a vast amount of the world’s wealth and, in the name of saving the climate, dictate to global leaders their priorities.

Their desire is to control the masses, reduce global population, and stop climate change.

They do that by controlling vast amounts of the wealth of the world’s largest banks, energy corporations, entertainment groups, medical corporations, manufacturers, investments firms, and literally thousands of other entities.

In doing so they control not only the masses through commerce, but also the nations and the nation’s leaders based on their view on how the world should look and operate.

This is a stepping stone to the emergence of the Antichrist.

And so, the Babylon of Chapter 17 is a religious system that is used by the Antichrist to control the world along with his economic system and political system.

They will coexist for the first 3 1/2 years of the 7-year tribulation, but at the midpoint the Antichrist will not tolerate that coexistence and any other worship but himself and so, that religious system will be destroyed.

And so, the commercial system will be the ruling power of the Antichrist and he will demand himself to be worshiped as God.

Chapter 18, then is the final destruction of this economic system.

That destruction will come, at what I believe is the final bowl judgement in Revelation 16:17.

This is a system that is steadily being created in our world today and we see the judgement of that system in our study this week and next week.

One other word about this system before we start our verse-by-verse study.

The spirit of the antichrist is building this system based on the materialistic greeds of our culture.

You will see later in the chapter starting in verse 11 how men will be in sorrow over the loss of their material goods.

It underscores what Jesus said in Mark 8:36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?”

This is literally what is going to happen to many.

Now, we have talked extensively about the origin of Babylon, so I won’t go into much detail here.

It is called Babylon because its system, its ideas, its philosophies root all the way back to the Book of Genesis.

There was a man named Nimrod who built the Tower of Babel.

It was mankind's first attempt at humanism; for man to establish his independence apart from God. Man was at the center and the circumference of all that was done there.

God judged the Tower of Babel.

Nimrod was the main leader of that time period.

His name means, “rebel.”

Three times in the Book of Genesis he is called “a mighty one.”

Nimrod was a picture of the coming Antichrist who will rule over the last Babylon.

Babylon began with the Tower of Babel and it will end in chapter 18 of the Book of the Revelation.

It is a place in the Bible that is identified as the center of rebellion against God.

It is a place that is rooted in violence, idolatry, false religion, immorality, and humanism.

There is a spirit out of Babylon that seeks world domination through human achievement completely independent of and in rebellion of the God of the Bible.

Is this Babylon described the ancient, actual city, or is this Babylon simply symbolic of a system?

Is it a city, a system or both?

If it is a city, will Babylon actually be rebuilt on the shores of the River Euphrates?

Some think so but no one can be certain.

One thing I am certain of is this: Babylon stands for a wicked and vile system.

If it is a city, we have yet to see any city in the world that could be associated with it’s description.

If it we identify it as only a system, then there are many assertions that have to be taken for that to happen.

We know that Saddam Hussein was obsessed with restoring the original city and was actively building it prior to the first Gulf War.

We also know that many of the Old Testament prophesies regarding Babylon have not yet been fulfilled.

For instance, Isaiah 13 clearly has a reference to the judgements described by John in Revelation yet to come:

Isaiah 47:1, 7 “Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans!

For you shall no longer be called tender and delicate.”

7, “Yet you said, ‘I will be a queen forever.’

These things you did not put on your heart Nor remember the outcome of them.”

Jeremiah 51:1-3 “1 Thus says Yahweh: “Behold, I am going to arouse against Babylon And against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai The spirit of a destroyer.

2 “I will send strangers to Babylon that they may winnow her And may empty her land to destruction; For on every side they will be against her In the day of her calamity.

3 “Let not him who bends his bow bend it, Nor let him rise up in his scale-armor; So do not spare her young men; Devote all her army to destruction.”

There are many other references in the Old Testament pertaining to the destruction of Babylon including Ezekiel 26, Ezekiel 27, Zechariah 5.

All of which have yet to be completed.

That is, until we get to Revelation 18, and it is clear that this system described in prophecy, is now being established globally, and will soon meet the judgment of Christ finally.

This brings us to our expositional study of Chapter 18 and 7 points of the judgment of Babylon:

Babylon’s Judgement Commanded (vv.

1-4)

Babylon’s Judgement Contemplated (vv.

4-5)

Babylon’s Judgement Contended (vv.

6-8)

Babylon’s Judgement Cried Over (vv.

9-19)

Babylon’s Judgement Celebrated (v.

20)

Babylon’s Judgement Completed (v.

21)

Babylon’s Judgement Confirmed (vv.

22-24)

I. Babylon’s Judgement Commanded (vv.

1-4)

We first see the opening announcement of Babylon’s judgement.

The term ‘another’ (Gr., allon meaning ‘another of the same kind’) makes it clear that this angel is the same in kind as the angel of 17:1.

So we know this is great angel appointed by God to make the announcement of judgement.

But this angel is remarkable, even by Revelation’s standards because John describes this angel as “having great authority and illumined with glory.

Look at his announcement.

He cries out with a might voice - no one can ignore him.

As we will see later in the chapter, this announcement brings anguish to merchants, the wealthy, and the rulers of the world, but great celebration and rejoicing to God’s people and angels.

“Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the Great.

We see the same pronouncement in Revelation 14:8 “8 And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “FALLEN, FALLEN IS BABYLON THE GREAT, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality.” and both of these give reference to Isaiah 21:9 “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; And all the graven images of her gods are shattered on the ground.”

I beleive this is all related to the pouring of the 7th Bowl when the voice from the throne of heaven pronounces “It is done!” (Revelation 16:17).

So Chapter 18 is the description in detail of the destruction of Babylon in detail mentioned in Revelation 16:17.

Going on in Revelation 18:2 “And she has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean bird and a prison of every unclean and hateful beast.”

The destruction of Babylon -whether as a city or a system, or both, is significant because this is the central location of demonic activity, influence, and especially sexual immorality.

This is especially true with our world today.

The immorality of our world is at a fever pitch that is not going to be tolerated by the Lord much more - in fact it shows just how patient and long-suffering He is as he withhold his hand to allow every opportunity to repent.

This past week, the Grammy Awards had nothing short of a satanic worship service.

The performance was given by Sam Smith (who says he is non-binary) and Kim Petras, who is transgender performed the song “Unholy.”

Before the performance, Smith tweeted, "This is going to be SPECIAL," and CBS replied, "....you can say that again.

We are ready to worship!" (CBS since deleted the tweet).