Rev 18 part 2, The US and Babylon
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All right, tonight we continue into our study of the prophesies about Babylon in Rev 18. Now we must keep in mind that as we consider the topic of Babylon means more than one thing. Religious system, Chapter 17, and now in Chapter 18 the commercial or political Babylon. In other passages we are talking about the literal city of Babylon in Iraq.
Now we get into this we are going to explore the idea that America could be the commercial Babylon spoken of here in chapter 18. We are not endorsing this as the truth but neither are we completely throwing out the idea either. As I mentioned last time that right know in May 2021 the theory has a lot of truth. Clearly Rome is involved here was the historical identity associated with Babylon. But as with all prophetic passages we have to study what it says and wait for the fulfillment.
4 I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues;
5 for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
6 “Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her.
7 “To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’
8 “For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong.
Verse 4 has been quoted by many as applying to true Christians within the Roman Catholic Church. Certainly, if a church does not teach the bible, or believe in it, the true believer should not remain there.
In V7, 8; notice her hubris; “…and will never see mourning” i.e. I am untouchable- she is separate from the pain of the rest of the Earth. But then in V8 In one day she is destroyed. This was never possible before ww2. Historically, this actually happened to ancient Babylon, under King Belshazzar recorded Daniel 5 and ends with;
30 That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain.
31 So Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two.
That same pride and hubris that was seen in Belshazzar was also foretold by Isaiah re Babylon.
Rev18:7,8 are a definite allusion to Isaiah’s prophesies,
7 “Yet you said, ‘I will be a queen forever.’
These things you did not consider
Nor remember the outcome of them.
8 “Now, then, hear this, you sensual one,
Who dwells securely,
Who says in your heart,
‘I am, and there is no one besides me.
I will not sit as a widow,
Nor know loss of children.’
9 “But these two things will come on you suddenly in one day:
Loss of children and widowhood.
They will come on you in full measure
In spite of your many sorceries,
In spite of the great power of your spells.
Note the words spells, sorceries and enchantments. All these things that happens have there power coming from the spiritual realm. Paul wrote,
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Verse 8 mentions that the God who judges her is strong, so strong, so mighty, that in one day she is taken down.
9 “And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning,
10 standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’
Notice their amazement, in just one hour.
Now as we move on ask yourself- who buys the majority of the stuff the world produces.
11 “And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more—
According to the website: worldmeters.info
Measuring GDP/country
Report
Report on World Consumption
Back to Revelation; and the categories of goods and services listed;
12 cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble,
13 and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives.
V12 – think of this as Nordstrom or Macys
Floor 1 is Jewelry
Floor 2 is Clothing
Floor 3 is Furniture
Floor 4 is all thing culinary, from spices to wine
Floor 5 is automotive and transportation
Floor 6 is the Sex trade, porn etc., human trafficking
Re: Human Trafficking, Each year, an estimated 14,500 to 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States. The number of U.S. citizens trafficked within the country each year is even higher, with an estimated 200,000 American children at risk for trafficking into the sex industry.
Ask yourself, where are all these unaccompanied minors entering the US going? The government has no answer. Trump was critized by the Sen, Kamala Harris that even one child lost was too many. Right now under Biden and Harris there are thousands that are unaccounted for.
In regard to pornography; Article
We move on;
14 “The fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men will no longer find them.
In the Greek it sounds much stronger. It says literally the fruit “your soul (psuke), is superpassionate over, or addicted to.” The Greek word here is epithymia literally over heated. This can apply to porn or gambling or sex and many other things.
Now, those who see this comment;
15 “The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning,
16 saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls;
17 for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!’ And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance,
18 and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What city is like the great city?’
19 “And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!’
V17 Many see the actual city as New York City. This is a port city. Babylon is not a port and neither is Rome.
Now the chapter closes with this bleak picture;
20 “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.”
21 Then a strong 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 not be found any longer.
22 “And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer;
23 and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the 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 the earth.”
Here in V23 some see a clue to an EMP that will kill all electricity
and thus light. An EMP can be caused by an nuclear device detonated in the atmosphere or by extreme solar activity, like large solar flares.
From earthSky.com;
Powerful solar storms can hammer Earth, causing major technology glitches. One of the best-remembered events is the Quebec power grid failure of 1989, a 12-hour blackout in which millions of people found themselves in dark office buildings, stalled elevators, and underground pedestrian tunnels. Going farther back, there’s the famous Carrington Event of 1859, which fried telegraph wires. Scientists agree it’s only a matter of time until the next powerful solar storm affects earthly technologies. Next time, we might expect steeper consequences, since today’s world relies so heavily on technology. But, with few events to go on, no one knows when the next powerful Earth-directed event will erupt on the sun. That’s one reason researchers were happy to announce in March 2021 that they’ve unearthed new eyewitness accounts from a 1582 solar storm that startled skywatchers across the globe.
I listened to an interview yesterday, from a former FEMA employee, that they are monitoring the sun closely now for a potential huge event between now and 07/04/2021.
She was very upset as she shared as if this occurs we lose all of our Grid. No electric power would be available.
In verse 23, great he mentions that merchants were the great men of the Earth( worlds wealthiest) the nobility and ruling class of the earth. We might call them the “global elite.”
Also, in the same verse the word sorceries or “magic spell,” is used. The Greek word is φαρμακείᾳ where we get our word for pharmaceuticals or drugs.
According to the Rand Corp,
People in the U.S. spent between $121 billion and $146 billion per year on cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine from 2006 to 2016, according to a new analysis from the nonprofit RAND Corporation.
Additionally, Illegal drug abuse costs American society $181 billion a year in health care costs, lost workplace productivity, law enforcement, and legal costs.
According to recovery village.com
With all the things happening, all at once, if you are not awake yet you need to be; Jesus told us in Rev 1;
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,
The word for “soon” is τάχος , we get our tachometer. In other words when these things start coming at you really fast as on a trip the signs become more regular the closer you get.
I light of chapter 18, notice the ominous end of the earth dwellers;
20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk;
21 and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.
So the drugs, illicit sex and porn, human trafficking, and demon worship never stop for the unredeemed.
So as we close remember for those who are in Christ, Born Again and filled with His Spirit these events will not be happening to you. You and me we will be with Him in heaven. So for us we are looking for our blessed hope Jesus Christ. We look with anticipation and longing to see Him. But those who do not know Him are and should be terrified.
Pray