The Fall of Babylon
Notes
Transcript
If you have your Bibles, We will begin with Revelation 18:1-3
After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. With a mighty voice he shouted: “ ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’
She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.
For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”
Two weeks ago we looked at the last judgements of the Lord, today we see the fall of Babylon. I want to take a minute for us to think about the last sermon and pause as we look at the fall of Babylon, the fall of what the world and satan set up in the aftermath of the initial judgements. As I have stated many times from the pulpit, the only the kingdom that has stood the test of time and the only kingdom left at the end is the kingdom of God. Every other empire has fallen and will fall in the future. I say this again because one great thing about following the Lord is that we can have discernment about culture, about the way we live our life, about the way our kids are raised. We can critically think and make decisions. We can do this because we are beholden to only the Lord. Thus we need to see out the logical conclusions of our choices and the choices of our larger community, church, city , etc.
There are but two paths laid out in front of us. That is honestly all there is. There is the narrow path of Christ. That path is tough to stay on, that path requires our faith, trust, everything that we are to be placed in our Lord and Savior. He is both our Savior and Lord. We give everything to Him. The path is difficult but infinitely worth everything because of Jesus. The end of the path is eternity in the glory of God.
The logical conclusion to the other road is quite simple, it ends in destruction. When we remove God, when we choose sin, when we decide what is best instead of the Lord it only leads to the fall. But this road seems appealing, it comes underneath the mask of offering freedom but it is not actually freedom, there are chains that come for all us. Sin is always creeping around the corner, the devil is waiting to snare you. This road also requires your faith and trust by the way. However that faith and trust is put into material things, riches and luxuries. And in all of that masquerading of success , your soul is what is at stake. Jesus saves your soul, Jesus offers a life that only He can offer. My point in all of this is to start taking an eternal view, not a short term view. What kind of Christian do you want to be in 5 or 10 or 20 years. What do you want to hear from the Lord when we all stand in front of Him?
So the judgement is announced
Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “ ‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup.
Another voice comes down and again we still see the grace of God. As we have covered many times through the tribulation period, there will be people coming to Jesus. The voice comes down from heaven to warn them, telling them to flee the city.
Here is another interesting call back to the tower of Babel. In Genesis, they attempted to build a tower to heaven, a way to get to heaven without God. Now though it is their sin that has piled all the way up to heaven. Again, we must look at the logical conclusion of a society in which there is no God present. There is no Jesus present. Jesus wipes away our sins when we put our faith in Him. Without Jesus, ours sins just pile up until eventually they reach heaven. This is why we desperately need Jesus in our lives, I can tell you it is why I need Jesus and repentance, this is where I would be as well.
Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts,
‘I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow; I will never mourn.’ Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.
The Lord is perfect justice. This is part of the trust and faith we put into the Lord. We are not impartial, even when we try to be. We have biases that cloud our judgement. We are also very quick to judgement, many times we do not wait for all of a situation to be reveled, we instead jump straight to rendering a judgement. The Lord is patient though, and the Lord waits until the correct moment to render justice.
Jesus says
“If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”
Jesus gave us the answer in the gospel. In life the Gospel , the Bible, a faith in Jesus that is all your need. We are no longer condemned because we have chosen Jesus. These commands lead to eternal life, do not miss what Jesus is saying. In Revelation we get a glimpse at the end, so do not wait to act on the call from Christ.
“The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore—cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves.
The political system of Babylon will fall, the economic system of Babylon will fall. This is why I say that everything is spiritual, here we have merchants they mourn because at the end of the day when the Lord acts, gold and silver no longer matter. Material things are exactly that, material, they do not last they and they are worth nothing when we compare them to eternity with God.
“They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’ The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn
They will cry out
and cry out: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’
“Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off.
In one hour all of that wealth was gone.
When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’
The people will mourn the fall of Babylon, they will mourn because what they build their lives apart in the matter of an hour is being dismantled.
“Rejoice over her, you heavens! Rejoice, you people of God! Rejoice, apostles and prophets! For God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you.”
In the span of 60 mins, God has judged Babylon for a couple of different things. First Babylon swayed people away from God, people, nations and communities. The treatment of Believers during this time is another reason for the judgement.
Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.
The music of harpists and musicians, pipers and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again.
No worker of any trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again.
The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your merchants were the world’s important people. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray. In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people, of all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”
Chapter 18 is incredible important chapter. This is the last chapter before the second coming of Christ. It also marks the end of the age of the gentiles. That is the age that we find ourselves in now. The age began when the Babylonian army attacked Jersualem in 605 B.C. It ends when the Lord judges what will be the new Babylon.
What I really want to stress though, is that this judgement is the logical conclusion to what happens when we remove God from our lives and our collective life whether it is communities or states or countries or even empires. What are you building your life upon? Are you building it upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Do not be swayed by false teachings and worldly trappings.
Jesus says
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
We are always Christians, we are always Believers in Jesus, and yet the enemy is always lurking. Do not go down that broad road, but instead look at what the Lord has done for all of us. Look toward Jesus who sacrificed Himself for us.
“We shall be of good cheer. What through destresses afflict me, though Satan assault me, though there may be things to be experienced before I get to heaven, those are done for me in the covenant of divine grace; there is nothing wanting in my Lord, Christ hath done it all”
Charles Spurgeon
As we leave here today and close in prayer, re-fill your cups with the grace of God. Understand that this path is tough, sin has broken the world but Jesus overcame the world and provided the way to the Father. If you would like to give your lives to Jesus today, or need prayer or re-affirm your faith, we are here at the front,
Let us pray
