How the Mighty Have Fallen

Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.

It must be quite a scene, when that darkness is pierced by the brilliant illumination of an angel.

This will certainly be an attention getter.

V.2:

Notice the certainty of judgment. It’s said as if it has already happened.

However, this is referring to the seventh bowl, which is yet to come at this point.

That doesn't really matter though, because God has said it will happen.

Because God has decreed it, it is as good as done.

When the devastation comes, the only thing that Babylon will be fit for, is demons.

V.3:

Babylon will have lured the world into a spiritual stupor of unashamed idolatry, materialism, and all forms of wickedness.

All who have participated in Babylon's sinful ways, are guilty.

No one can use the excuse that they were tricked or deceived.

There is no "the devil made me do it"!

V.4:

Through all of this, there will be some believers on earth.

This is God's call for His elect to separate themselves from this evil system.

This is the chance for the remaining believers to get out before judgment falls.

2 Corinthians 6:17

2 Corinthians 6:17 NKJV

Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.”

1 John 2:15

1 John 2:15 NKJV

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

It is the same message that Isaiah and Jeremiah gave for their people to leave Babylon.

Isaiah 48:20

Isaiah 48:20 NKJV

Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With a voice of singing, Declare, proclaim this, Utter it to the end of the earth; Say, “The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob!”

Jeremiah 51:6

Jeremiah 51:6 NKJV

Flee from the midst of Babylon, And every one save his life! Do not be cut off in her iniquity, For this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance; He shall recompense her.

if they don't heed God's call, they cannot escape the plagues that will come.

Had Noah and his family not gotten on the ark, they would've been destroyed by the flood.

If Lott and his family had not fled Sodom, they would have been destroyed with the city.

If God's people don't remove themselves from Babylon, they will share in her judgment.

Becoming entangled in sin always has consequences, and if Christians don't repent and get out of it, they will suffer those consequences.

V.5:

We may think that we or others are getting away with something, but God never forgets.

God will only forget the sins of the repentant.

Jeremiah 31:34

Jeremiah 31:34 NKJV

No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

But for the unrepentant, there can only be judgment.

Vv.6-7:

This call for God to repay according to her deeds is in keeping with God’s word.

Exodus 21:23-25

Exodus 21:23–25 NKJV

But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

Jeremiah 16:18

Jeremiah 16:18 NKJV

And first I will repay double for their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols.”

The call to repay double carries the sense of repaying in full.

In short, the punishment will fit the crime. . . All according to God's perfect law.

Indeed, the cup of wickedness that she has drunk, will be repayed with the cup of God’s wrath.

"for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’"

This is simply a prideful and delusional boast. The same claim was made by historical Babylon.

This Babylon makes the same boast as the original Babylon.

Isaiah 47:8

Isaiah 47:8 NKJV

“Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures, Who dwell securely, Who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, Nor shall I know the loss of children’;

She thinks she's a queen, but she has no power before God.

To say she is no widow, is to boast of self-sufficiency.

We would all do well to remember the words of Scripture.

We should never make prideful boasts.

1 Corinthians 10:12

1 Corinthians 10:12 NKJV

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

Proverbs 16:18

Proverbs 16:18 NKJV

Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.

V.8:

The judgments will be very severe and very quick. The plagues will all come in one day.

Death, mourning, famine, burned with fire. God is strong, and none can stand in the face of His judgments.

People will grow rich by exploiting the sinful desires of society. The people of Babylon had lived in luxury and pleasure at the expense of sin, while the city boasted.

Businesses and governments often do the same thing today. The powerful, wealthy people of this world are susceptible to this same attitude.

Many people are tempted to take advantage of an evil system in order to enrich themselves.

A person who is financially comfortable often feels invulnerable, secure, and in control, feeling no need for God or anyone else. This kind of attitude defies God, and his judgment against it is harsh.

Christians; however, are warned to stay free from the lure of greed and notoriety.

We are to live according to the values of Christ: service, giving, self-sacrifice, obedience, and truth.

We are told to avoid Babylon’s sins.

If you are financially secure, don’t become complacent and deluded by the myth of self-sufficiency.