Revelation 17-18-The Ultimate Destruction of Babylon
Tuesday November 1, 2005
Genesis: Revelation 17-18-The Ultimate Destruction of Babylon
Lesson # 53
Please turn in your Bibles to Revelation 17:1.
On Sunday morning we studied that there are two Babylons mentioned in Scripture.
The first Babylon refers to the ancient Babylon of the Old Testament whose origins were at the Tower of Babel rebellion led by Nimrod recorded in Genesis 11:1-9.
The second Babylon refers to the Babylon in the future prophesied of in Revelation 17-18, which will be an apostate religious system as well as a commercial and political power.
This evening we will study the ultimate destruction of both the “political” and “religious” Babylon as prophesied in Revelation 17-18.
Revelation 17 describes Babylon in its mystery form, as a religious system or spirit of false worship whereas Revelation 18 describes Babylon as a political and commercial system embodied in a city, the city of Babylon of the future.
Revelation 17, which deals with the destruction of religious Babylon, would have to occur somewhere around the middle of the Tribulation when the Antichrist is finished using her as a means to his rise to power.
Revelation 18 describes the destruction of political and commercial Babylon as it is embodied in the city of Babylon, the headquarters of the beast aka the Antichrist.
Revelation 17:1, “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, ‘Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters (refers to the nations of the world).”
Babylon’s description as “the great harlot” refers to the spiritual prostitution and fornication that categorizes the apostate church of the Tribulation which is unfaithful and rejects the Lord Jesus Christ as her husband (2 Pet. 2:1 2).
The prostitute exists today in many forms (Roman Catholicism, liberal Protestantism, the cults, etc.), but after the church is gone, or perhaps even before it is gone, they will unite and become one great ecumenical religious system.
Revelation 17:2, “with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality.”
The wine refers to the demonic doctrines, ideologies and concepts pro¬duced by this religious/political alliance.
Revelation 17:3, “And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast (refers to Antichrist), full of blasphemous names (anti-Christ character), having seven heads and ten horns (ten nation European confederacy).”
“Seven heads” refers to the major world empires up to the time of Rome and which also were connected with the nation of Israel and her enslavements and these nations are Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and Revived Roman Empire of the Tribulation.
“Ten horns” refers to the ten nation European confederacy of the Tribulation period, which constitutes the Revived Roman Empire.
Revelation 17:4, “The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet (stands for apostate church’s political power), and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls (apostate church’s immense wealth), having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality.”
Revelation 17:5, “and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, ‘BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.’”
“And on her forehead was written”: The practice of harlots in ancient times was to write their names on their foreheads for easy recog¬nition, which showed the shamelessness of their character and it revealed a seared conscience from continual rejection of God’s truth.
“Mystery” here is not a part of the name but a description of the name, a secret and “Babylon the Great” is the secret name and is telling us that Baby¬lon the Great refers not only to the city of Revelation 18, but to a religious system, the Babylonianism of ancient time, which will reach its peak in the Tribulation.
“The mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth”: The word “mother” indicates the position the harlot will play in the final days where she will gather all the forms of false religions under her wings for the one great world wide harlot system.
Revelation 17:6, “And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered greatly.”
“And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints”: A reference to the rampant martyrdom of believers during this time where the one world church will destroy all opposition.
Revelation 17:7, “And the angel said to me, ‘Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.’”
Revelation 17:8, “The beast (does not refer to Antichrist but to the Revived Roman Empire as the description to follow indicates) that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.”
Revelation 17:9, “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, Revived Roman Empire all supported Babylonian religious system) are seven mountains on which the woman sits.”
Revelation 17:10, “and they are seven kings; five have fallen (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece), one is (Rome existed during the days of John), the other has not yet come (Revived Roman Empire of the Tribulation); and when he comes, he must remain a little while (3 ½ years of Tribulation).”
Revelation 17:11, “The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth (refers to the fact that the revived Roman empire will take on the form of an imperial dictatorship and by this change actually become an eighth kingdom, a whole new and vicious form of government, the blasphemous form seen in Revelation 13) and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction.”
Revelation 17:12, “The ten horns (ten nation European confederacy during Tribulation) which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.”
Revelation 17:13, “These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast (this time referring to Antichrist, Satan controlled man and not the Revived Roman Empire because we are speaking in the context of kings or leaders).”
Revelation 17:14, “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”
Revelation 17:15, “And he said to me, ‘The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.’”
Revelation 17:16, “And the ten horns (ten nation European confederacy) which you saw, and the beast (Antichrist), these will hate the harlot (apostate religious system originated from ancient Babylon) and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire.”
Revelation 17:17, “For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.”
Revelation 17:18, “The woman whom you saw is the great city (Rome where the apostate church will reside, which promotes Babylonianism), which reigns over the kings of the earth.”
Revelation 18 predicts the destruction of “political” and “commercial” Babylon will be final and complete and will be destroyed with fire from heaven as God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah (Rev. 18:18; 16:17 21).
The Babylon of this chapter undoubtedly includes an actual city that will be rebuilt on the Euphrates and a politico commercial system that becomes the means and basis of a new worldwide religious system by which the beast will be worshipped (Rev. 13).
Revelation 18:1, “After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory.”
Revelation 18:2, “And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, ‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird.’”
Revelation 18:3, “For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.”
Revelation 18:4, “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.’”
Revelation 18:5, “for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.”
Revelation 18:6, “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.”
Revelation 18:7, “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.’”
Revelation 18:8, “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.”
Revelation 18:9, “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.”
Revelation 18:10, “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.’”
Revelation 18:11, “And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more.”
Revelation 18:12, “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.”
Revelation 18:13, “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.”
Revelation 18:14, “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.”
Revelation 18:15, “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.”
Revelation 18:16, “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.’”
Revelation 18:17, “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.”
Revelation 18:18, “and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What city is like the great city?’”
Revelation 18:19, “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!’”
Revelation 18:20, “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.”
Revelation 18:21, “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.’”
Revelation 18:22, “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.”
Revelation 18:23, “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.”
Revelation 18:24, “And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.”
A literal interpretation of Zechariah 5:5 11 demands a restored and rebuilt Babylon.
Zechariah 5:5, “Then the angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me, ‘Lift up now your eyes and see what this is going forth.’”
Zechariah 5:6, “I said, ‘What is it?’ And he said, ‘This is the ephah going forth.’ Again he said, ‘This is their appearance in all the land.’”
Zechariah 5:7, “(and behold, a lead cover was lifted up); and this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.”
Zechariah 5:8, “Then he said, ‘This is Wickedness!’ And he threw her down into the middle of the ephah and cast the lead weight on its opening.”
Zechariah 5:9, “Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens.”
Zechariah 5:10, “I said to the angel who was speaking with me, ‘Where are they taking the ephah?’”
Zechariah 5:11, “Then he said to me, ‘To build a temple for her in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.’”
An ephah to a Jew was a perfect symbol of commerce and was the largest dry measure of the Jews.
The ephah is then borne away by two women with wings of a stork “to build for it an house in the land of Shinar” (the land of Babylon).
This vision anticipates a final concentration of wickedness and commercialism in a great center in the land of Shinar (Babylon), which would reach out over the whole earth, which is the exact portrayal of Babylon as seen in Revelation 18.
The historical situation concerning Babylon shows much of the prophecies mentioned above have not been fulfilled and must await a final and complete fulfillment.
When the Medes and Persians conquered the city they came suddenly and gained immediate control, but they did not destroy the city but instead Cyrus the Mede beautified the city in 540 B.C.
Hundreds of years later many Jews still lived at Babylon and a Jewish Talmud actually originated from there and in the twelfth century A.D. Babylon had grown and several mosques had been erected.
Later a city by the name of Hillah was built there and in 1900 it had a population of ten thousand.
It is obvious from this historical information that the city was not destroyed suddenly or completely.
Instead, it continued to be inhabited after it was conquered and the land around her did not become des¬olate, but continued to be populated and fertile, which is a fact of history.
Her ruins were used in building other cities and there was no disturbance in the sun or moon, nor did universal peace follow.
The Word of God is true and these prophecies still await a future fulfill¬ment.
The description of Babylon’s destruction in Revelation 18 declares it will be destroyed suddenly (“in one day her plagues will come” [vs. 8]; “for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste” [vs. 17]).
The destruction will be complete and final, “it shall be found no more at all” (Jer. 51:63 64); “So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer” (Rev. 18:21) and that universal peace will follow the destruction.
All of this coincides exactly with the prophecies of the Old Testament and shows that Babylon must be rebuilt in the Tribulation in order to be destroyed as prophesied in “the Day of the Lord.”
Rome may well be the religious Babylon of the world in the first half of the Tribulation, but I am convinced that Babylon on the Euphrates will be rebuilt and will be the political and commercial capitol in the last half of the Tribulation.