Misc. - "Babylon Will Fall" - Revelation 18

Babylon Has Fallen

Recap Revelation 17.

This encapsulates all of the Tribulation time period.

And when you look at Revelation (and really all of Scripture) you see that there is a tale of two.

A Tale of Two Cities:

Jerusalem - A place of Peace)

Babylon - a place of confusion

A tale of two Women:

Bride of Christ

And the Harlot

A Tale of Two Kings: Satan and Jesus.

But again, this also shows the entire Revelation period.

The Anti Christ and False Prophet are going to go against one another here. When does that happen? The midway point.

But here’s what’s so wonderful… God will have the final word!

1. Look at the Messenger

a. His Authority

“Of the same kind.”

Of great authority.

The messenger comes, an Angel, to speak to John. He had great authority (Revelation 5:2, 7:2, 18:21, 10:1)

b. His Appearance

c. His Announcement

He spoke up and said, “Fallen, Fallen is Babylon.”

Revelation 14:8 KJV 1900

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.

Isaiah 21:9 KJV 1900

9 And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; And all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.

This is the end of a civilization as a whole.

2. Listen to the Message

a. Heavenly Prophecies Fulfilled

Home for demons.

Fowl of the air.

Jeremiah 50:39 KJV 1900

39 Therefore the wild beasts of the desert With the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, And the owls shall dwell therein: And it shall be no more inhabited for ever; Neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.

b. Heavenly Perspective about this Fall

The Monarchs were drunk

The Merchants were deceived

Revelation 18:5 KJV 1900

5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, And God hath remembered her iniquities.

Her sins have reached heaven.

Ezra 9:6 KJV 1900

6 And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.

Genesis 18:20–21 KJV 1900

20 And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.

Jonah 1:2 KJV 1900

2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

c. Heavenly Plea to Flee

d. Heaven’s Proclamation is Final

verses 6-8

Pay her back in full.

Jeremiah 50:29 KJV 1900

29 Call together the archers against Babylon: All ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about; Let none thereof escape: Recompense her according to her work; According to all that she hath done, do unto her: For she hath been proud against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel.

Arrogant self-sufficiency.

I am a Queen - I am the finest entity ever.

I am not a widow - the kings are my lovers

I will never mourn - I am in control.

Isaiah 47:7–9 KJV 1900

7 And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: So that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, Neither didst remember the latter end of it. 8 Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, That sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children: 9 But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, The loss of children, and widowhood: They shall come upon thee in their perfection For the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.

“One day” or “one hour” means that God’s wrath was poured out quickly.

Imagine great cities like NYC or Japan just crumbling in a day. This shows that The Lord is the God who judges.

3. Their Lament Will Be Meaningless

Monarchs, Merchants, and Mariners

Monarchs Mourn in verses 9-10)

Merchatns list losses in verses 11-13

City hears her death announcement verse 14

Merchants mourn in verses 15-17a

Mariners mourn in verses 17b-19

a. The Last Eulogy of the Monarchs

Woe! Woe! - pain and grief.

O great city - more disturbed by their own loses

One hour - rapidly.

b. The Lost Enterprise of the Merchants

verses 11-17a

c. Lavish Expression of the Mariners

17b-19

Mourning and lavish was selfish.

Regret is different than repentance.

4. The Legality of the Moment

a. Symbolism of the Bolder

Bolder in the water was several hundred pounds.

Jeremiah 51:59–64 KJV 1900

59 The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was a quiet prince. 60 So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon. 61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words; 62 Then shalt thou say, O Lord, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever. 63 And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates: 64 And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

What is lost forever?

Revelation 18:22–23 KJV 1900

22 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; 23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; And the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: For thy merchants were the great men of the earth; For by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.

b. Shouting of the Believers