Living the Babylon Dream
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
If you have your Bibles let me invite you to open with me to the book of Revelation 18.
As you turn there I want to read a quick quote from C.S. Lewis’ book the Screwtape Letters.…
The book is C.S. Lewis’ reflections on what a demon would say if he were teaching another demon how to keep people blinded to the truth..,
I know some of the ladies in the church are reading a similar book reflecting on what spiritual attack would look like specifically for a woman…,
In the very first chapter of Lewis’ book…
the demon in training is warned not to use too much logic or argumentation when trying to keep someone an atheist.
Here is the warning…
“By the very act of arguing you awake the patient to reason; and once it is awake, who can foresee the results? Even if a particular train of thought can be twisted so as to end in our favour, you will find that you have been strengthening in your patient the fatal habit of attending to universal issues and withdrawing his attention from the stream of immediate sense experiences. Your business is to fix his attention on the stream. Teach him to call it ‘real life’ and don’t let him ask what he means by ‘real.’” - The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
The tactic of the enemy of your soul is to keep your eyes fixed upon the temporary and immediate experiences…,
like an animal who only knows that he is hungry by instinct…,
the true danger to the demonic world happens when you begin to think about what real life is…, what really matters…, what really brings lasting joy…,
Satan wants you to look at the world with no thought of the spiritual or the eternal …,
He wants you to destroy yourself with trinkets, and sex, and drugs, and ambitions that will waste away.
The last thing he wants you to do is to think deeply about what really matters.
The book of Revelation combats this scheme of the devil uniquely…
Through cycles of grand almost shocking apocalyptic imagery ….,
Revelation pulls back the curtain on reality
It shows us that there is a lot more going on in the world then what the world says is the good life…,
Revelation does this a lot of ways, but one of the ways is by contrasting two ways of life..,
In chapter 17 we saw a vision of a prostitute who ultimately
was destroyed by her own decisions…,
She is portrayed as riding the beast of this worldly empire…, but the beast actually turns on her…,
look back at verse 16 of chapter 17.
16 And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire,
This is the end of every person who pursues what “feels good” for the moment…, with no consideration of what God says is good for eternity..,
their decision to pursue what “feels good” in the moment will in the end be the very thing that kills them..,
Satan tempts with sugar coated rat poison…, It tastes good very briefly...
The end of chapter 17, however, changes metaphors…,
We move from the story of a prostitute to the story of a city..,
a city called Babylon which no doubt was symbolic for the city of Rome…,
but of course is symbolic for the whole world system we find ourselves in still today..
Verse 18 of chapter 17 makes the transition..
And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.”
Now we turn to chapter 18…,
and to the description of this city,
the fall of this city,
and the responses of the people who thought that this city was the path to the good life…,
This is the largest section of text we will have covered in our study thus far…, but I do think we need to read the whole thing
in order to get really one main point.
so lets read about this great city,
that the world says is the way to happiness..,
and then lets pray for God to give us understanding.
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.
20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!”
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.”
Lets Pray
Lord thank you for this chapter in our Bibles…,
please help us to get the point of this passage not just into our heads…,
but deeply into our Hearts…,
if we do,
it will change our lives,
and potentially through our ministry…, the lives of many others who are drunk with the lies of this world…,
speak now, by your grace, and for your glory, in Jesus’ name, amen.
Truth #1 The Babylon Dream Seems Great but Falls Apart Quickly
Truth #1 The Babylon Dream Seems Great but Falls Apart Quickly
This is the primary theological point being made in the whole chapter.
The sad and shocking irony of this chapter is how great the city of Babylon once appeared and yet how quickly it falls apart.
The irony is in initial sentence proclaimed by the angelic being…,
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!”
A city, a whole way of life, that seemed very great has fallen…,
first, I want us to look intently on why the city seemed great…,
What is it about this worldly city that captures the imagination of humanity?
The very first thing that is mentioned should come at no surprise to us….,
Revelation 18:3 (ESV)
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….,
The city is described to be a place that intoxicates or makes drunk with the allure of sexual immorality…,
It is known for the allure of intimacy that every human being longs for…,
That’s the language of verse 14…,
What Babylon offers is described in this way…,
Revelation 18:14 (ESV)
“The fruit for which your soul longed …
To be a human is to be born with desires..,
strong desires..,
You were made to have desires…,
and you were made in such a way that God would actually fulfill those desires for your joy and for his glory…,
The very nature of sin, however, is to reject God as the giver of every good thing…,
and to pursue satisfaction of your desires by disobeying God rather than obeying God..,
That’s why sexual immorality is so often used as the example…,
Sex is a good gift from God…,
He designed it to be enjoyed in a very beautiful and fulfilling way..…,.
He designed it to be enjoyed in the context of a relationship like no other relationship in the world…
a relationship with another human being who loves you unconditionally,
another human being who wants what’s best for you even sacrificially,
Someone who commits to you until death do you part…,
and who gives themselves to you physically in a way that they would never ever do with any other person…,
Intimacy like that according to God’s design brings no shame…,
intimacy like that according to God’s design ….,
is an intimacy that produces life…,
its how humanity multiplies…,
its how we image our God and enjoy reflecting his qualities to another generation…,
God’s design is good…,
but what do sinful people do with God’s gifts?
They respond to that longing in their soul for intimacy…,
and they turn to cheap,
shallow,
destructive,
distortions…
God‘s way is like that of virgin bride dressed and adorned waiting for the groom whom has committed to her..,
Babylon’s way is that of a dirty brothel where people give their body away to be abused and then shamefully thrown to the side, and ultimately destroyed.
Brothers and sisters…,
Don’t be deceived by the way of Babylon…
The Babylon dream seems great…, but falls apart quickly…
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!”
Toward the end of the chapter…,
the angel describes the ultimate end of Babylon as being a place where no real intimacy can be found every again..,
Revelation 18:23 (ESV)
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,
the first apparent greatness is the intimacy that Babylon promises..,
but it doesn’t deliver…,
The second is the luxury of it all…,
look at verse 3 again…,
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.”
The wealth gained by giving yourself to the Babylon dream is emphasized throughout the chapter…,
Verses 11-12 list out every luxurious item that could be found in the city of Rome due to its trade routes…,
This list describes the pinnacle of material wealth in the first century.
But the vision does not describe people living it up and loving the luxury that Babylon offers…,
the vision rather portrays the utter dismay…,
the overwhelming sorrow when everything that the merchants of Babylon thought was important is stripped away in a moment…,
Imagine someone like an Elon Musk
or a Mark Zuckerberg
or even a Donald Trump
Think about the accomplishments…,
the hard work…,
the labor…,
the sacrifice..,
the wealth..,
Imagine giving yourself to building a kingdom having accomplished so much…,
with big goals yet to reach…,
and in a single moment every thing you thought was worth sacrificing for becomes nothing…,
Or perhaps consider your own life…,
your own career…,
your own vision for retirement…,
Imagine the reaction…, if in a single moment it came to nothing…, and the bank account hit zero…,
thats the scene described here in the middle of the chapter…,
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.”
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.
This very much is the reality of earthly treasures…,
This very much is the reality of luxury…,
Wealth is nice for a short moment,
Wealth can be enjoyed to the glory of God…,
wealth can be stewarded to further the mission of God…,
but wealth makes a terrible god…,
It is a terrible thing to live for…,
for it becomes nothing in an instant…,
Babylon seems great because of the intimacy she promises…,
And the luxury she promises…,
but Babylon also offers an allusion of stability…,
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.’
Some of us don’t need elon musk’s money…,
we just want to live in security…,
we want to live free from the danger of disaster,
free from anxiety or worry or need…,
we just want to live a life where we are in control Of our health, our wealth, and our relationships and our future…,
So we give ourselves to the logic and the wisdom of babylon in search of security and stability…,
I can hear it in the logic of people who blame their jobs
or their children’s sports
or even their hobbies on why they are totally disconnected from God’s people…,
why they are not making any disciples,
whey they almost never evangelize or read God’s word,
or gather for worship,
or sacrificially care for any other Christian person in the community of faith ever..,
when asked about it…, they say, well I’m working all the time…,
as if that is the ultimate trump card for why we Consistently live a disobedient life…,
The only reason we think that answer makes sense…,
is because we are living our lives according to the logic of Babylon which says it is always better to be more secure and have more money no matter the spiritual cost.
That is the wisdom of the Babylon dream…,
I’m not calling out any one specific because their job makes them occasionally work on a Sunday…, in a lot of professions that may be inevitable…,
but I am calling out the logic that prioritizes any one job over faithfulness to God’s very plain commands…,
If a job functions more like god for you than god does…,
find a different job
and follow Jesus…,
drop your fishing nets and leave the boats, try to find a different way to provide and follow Jesus
The lie of Babylon is that we can achieve this god-like status of control over our own lives and our own destinies with the right plan or strategy or work ethic.
This is the promise of the world system we live in…,
intimacy
luxury
stability
so long as we prioritize these things as gods over our life…, giving them total control of our decisions, our motivations, our aspirations…,
The Babylon dream seems great, until it falls quickly…,
really quickly..,
Truth #2 The Babylon Dream Ends Suddenly and Permanently
Truth #2 The Babylon Dream Ends Suddenly and Permanently
Repetition in any text of Scripture can help us to discern main ideas.
so Listen to this repetition .
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.”
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.”
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
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 end will come so quickly…,
and the destruction of the world system and all that seemed important will fall in a moment
And that moment will not be one where you can suddenly change your mind…,
Its not a moment where all those drunk with the ways of Babylon can all of a sudden sober up…,
That judgment to come is sudden and it is permanent…,
Again listen for the repetition…
Listen to the permanence of all this…,
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.
If this is the absolute an inevitable end to the Babylon Dream…
The Roman dream…,
The American dream…,
how then Should we live?
Truth #3 Christ Calls Us Out of the Falling City
Truth #3 Christ Calls Us Out of the Falling City
Turn your attention to verse 4.
This is the primary command of chapter 18.
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;
Get out of there…
Like The Old Testament character, Lot and his family, fleeing from Sodom and Gomorrah as judgment is coming..,
Get out of that city and don’t look back…,
But what does it mean to get out?
Does this mean we are commanded to isolate ourselves from the rest of the world?
No, we can’t do that…,
So what does it mean in actuality..,
It means what Paul commands us to do at the turn of the argument in Romans chapter 12.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Don’t give in to the lies and the allurement of pursuing the good life according to the logic of Babylon…
Don’t be conformed to the rest of the world that is headed for destruction…,
Yes, live in the city of Babylon,
but live for the glory of a future city,
a better city,
a city that has been promised to you through faith in Jesus…,
The book of Revelation is a tale of two ladies…,
the prostitute,
Or the bride of Christ…,
but it also a tale of two cities…,
Babylon the great falling to eternal destruction…,
Or what Revelation calls the New Jerusalem with open gates to eternal life.…
This is the future that we are living for today…,
this is the inheritance that matters most to us who trust Christ Jesus...
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
There is a reason that in our text in chapter 18…,
the merchants are weeping and wailing at the fall of Babylon…,
but the saints,
the set apart ones,
the holy ones who had been living for a different city… they respond differently..,
20 Rejoice over her, O heaven,
and you saints and apostles and prophets,
for God has given judgment for you against her!”
For the believers in Jesus…,
the Fall of Babylon…,
will mean the final establishment of the new Jerusalem…,
a city of God’s building…,
a city where our faith in Jesus will usher us into a place…,
where we experience TRUE INTIMACY forever…,
unending luxury forever…,
incomparable stability forever…,
That future city is a place where the longings of our hearts..,
the thirsts of our souls…,
will finally be satisfied…,
to the glory of God.
God’s way is not the less fun, or boring, or a begrudging rule following way…,
It is the way of joy,
life more abundantly,
and life eternally…,
and that future city brothers and sisters changes the way we live in Babylon today…,
how so?
How do we practically “come out of Babylon” though we are living in it?
Next week,
Drew is going to preach a sermon from Daniel which is actually the backdrop for this concept of living for God while living in Babylon..,
Daniel was living in the pagan Babylonian empire,
while at the same time living for the kingdom of God even when it was costly to him…,
Daniel lived in Babylon,
worked a job,
provided for himself…,
while at the same time served the living God unashamedly and unwaveringly even when it was hard to do so and even when it was dangerous for him to do so.
That’s what the Christian life is.
We live in Babylon without giving in to the Babylonian dream…,
let me just leave you with a few simple takeaways on what it means to obey the command of verse 4...
#1 Coming Out of Babylon means Confession and Repentance
#1 Coming Out of Babylon means Confession and Repentance
We all are under the influence of our evil age…,
We find healing and transformation, when we confess that to others, and we lean in to the Christian community to help us repent and turn from our sin.
Ask God to reveal to you areas of sin that you need to confess and repent of.
#2 Coming Out of Babylon means Trust and Obedience
#2 Coming Out of Babylon means Trust and Obedience
There is no way to serve God together trusting him.
this journey requires faith.
and following God will require you to believe that his way is the better way.
and that living for that future city is better than this falling one.
Ask God to reveal ways that you don’t trust him enough to obey him…,
Ask him to increase your faith.
#3 Coming Out of Babylon means Rest and Rejoicing
#3 Coming Out of Babylon means Rest and Rejoicing
Following Jesus in this world system can be costly.
The last verse of chapter 18 reminds us that Babylon is hostile to believers
24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,
and of all who have been slain on earth.”
But at the same time following Jesus frees us from the slavery to the idols of this world..,
It can free us from the anxiety and depression and the pressure and the fears…,
Because it gives us something sure,
secure,
eternal,
unending,
14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.
Lets Pray
