Rejoice in God's Judgement
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Have you ever wondered if justice will ever prevail?
Like me, do you find yourself lamenting because wickedness and injustice prospers?
I have good news! It will not always be so. We can rejoice in God’s judgement.
Revelation 18:1-3.
1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory.
2 And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.
3 For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”
In verse one we see a messenger comes from heaven, filling the earth with God’s glory. Since this messenger has glory, and the whole earth is made bright by it, many scholars think this messenger is Jesus.
The messenger has good news. Babylon has been judged. Justice has been served. It has not been done partially, but totally. This is communicated by repeating “fallen” twice, and in the description of it being the dwelling place for demons and unclean animals, which where often understood by Jewish interpreters to represent evil spirits, as shown in Isaiah 13:21 and Isaiah 34:11-14.
The reason for God judging her is that:
All the nations have “drank her Kool-aid.” Her “Kool-aid” is sexual immorality that represents the idolatry of choosing her instead of God.
The kings of the earth committed immorality with her as well, committing idolatry .
The merchants commit idolatry through the idolization of wealth and power.
We see that the wicked will not always prosper. In this we rejoice.
Revelation 18:4-8.
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues;
5 for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
6 Pay her back as she herself has paid back others, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed.
7 As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, ‘I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.’
8 For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.”
The OT background for verse 4 is Jeremiah 51:6.
6 “Flee from the midst of Babylon; let every one save his life! Be not cut off in her punishment, for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance, the repayment he is rendering her.
John reminds us in John 15:18-19 that we have been chosen out of the world, out of Babylon.
19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
Paul reminds us of how we come out of Babylon. We come out through the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection, as seen in Colossians 2:20-23; 3:1-17.
20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—
21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch”
22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings?
23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.
8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices
10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,
13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
In verse 5 Babylon’s sins are “heaped.” In the Greek the word is “kollao” which literally means ‘to be glued together,’ giving a picture of sins sticking to each other and accumulating until the pile reaches to heaven. Now that is a lot of sin that we are not to partake in, and it is the reason for judgement.
The OT background for verse 6 is Jeremiah 50:29.
29 “Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. Encamp around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has proudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.
In verse 6, Babylon will get the judgement she deserves. The idea of “double” repeated twice in the text is an idiom which communicates the idea of giving the exact equivalent and repayment in full. God is not softening his blow. Babylon will get her just deserts. In this we rejoice, for evil is vanquished and Jesus in King.
The OT background for verses 7-8 is Isaiah 47:7-9.
7 You said, “I shall be mistress forever,” so that you did not lay these things to heart or remember their end.
8 Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me; I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children”:
9 These two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day; the loss of children and widowhood shall come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the great power of your enchantments.
In both of these passages we see the pride and self-sufficiency of Babylon.
What does pride bring? It brings swift judgement, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
What do you want - judgement or grace?
Humble yourself before God and receive grace, rejoicing in his judgments.
Revelation 18:9-10.
9 And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning.
10 They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, “Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”
The kings of the earth are in deep mourning of her judgement. What are we to do? Rejoice in God’s judgments!
Revelation 18:11-19.
11 And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore,
12 cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble,
13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.
14 “The fruit for which your soul longed has gone from you, and all your delicacies and your splendors are lost to you, never to be found again!”
15 The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,
16 “Alas, alas, for the great city that was clothed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, with jewels, and with pearls!
17 For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.” And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off
18 and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, “What city was like the great city?”
19 And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out, “Alas, alas, for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been laid waste.
The OT background for this is in Ezekiel 26-28, with the judgment and lamenting of Tyre.
The merchants of the earth are in deep mourning of her judgement, for they lost their idolized wealth. What are we to do? Revelation 18:20 makes that clear.
20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!”
The OT background for verse 20 is Jeremiah 51:48.
48 Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, shall sing for joy over Babylon, for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north, declares the Lord.
I am reminded of the saints under the altar in Revelation 6:9-11 who were lamenting and are now called to rejoice in God’s judgment.
Beale writes “The focus is not on delight in Babylon’s suffering but on the successful outcome of God’s execution of justice, which demonstrates the integrity of Christians’ faith and of God’s just character.” In this we rejoice, for evil is vanquished and Jesus is King.
The judgement of Babylon is repeated in Revelation 18:21-24 in a different image to communicate the totality of its destruction.
21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more;
22 and the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will be heard in you no more, and a craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more, and the sound of the mill will be heard in you no more,
23 and the light of a lamp will shine in you no more, and the voice of bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more, for your merchants were the great ones of the earth, and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.
24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth.”
The OT background for this is Jeremiah 51, which prophesies the utter destruction of Babylon. Jeremiah 51:63-64 really make the tie clear.
63 When you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates,
64 and say, ‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her, and they shall become exhausted.’ ” Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
Babylon will be utterly destroyed - no more music, no more work, no more light, no more families. Why? Because of her leading the world in idolatry through sorcery and the persecution of God’s people.
Let’s look at Revelation 19:1-5.
1 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
2 for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
3 Once more they cried out, “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”
4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”
5 And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.”
Hallelujah! God is just. Rejoice in his judgments. Praise him, everyone, for salvation, glory and power are his. Hallelujah!