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The World of Babylon Is
Fallen
< Revelation 18:1-24 >
"After these things I saw
another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and
the earth was illuminated with his glory. And he cried mightily
with a loud voice, saying, 'Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen,
and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul
spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! For all the
nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,
the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and
the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance
of her luxury.' And I heard another voice from heaven saying, 'Come
out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you
receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and
God has remembered her iniquities. Render to her just as she rendered
to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup
which she has mixed, mix double for her. In the measure that she
glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give
her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, 'I sit as queen,
and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.' Therefore her plagues
will come in one day-death and mourning and famine. And she will
be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges
her. The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived
luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see
the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her
torment, saying, 'Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty
city! For in one hour your judgment has come.' And the merchants
of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their
merchandise anymore: merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones
and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind
of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object
of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; and cinnamon and
incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour
and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and
souls of men. The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from
you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from
you, and you shall find them no more at all. The merchants of these
things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear
of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, 'Alas, alas, that
great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet,
and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! For in one
hour such great riches came to nothing.' Every shipmaster, all who
travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood
at a distance and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning,
saying, 'What is like this great city?' They threw dust on their
heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, 'Alas, alas,
that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich
by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate.' Rejoice over
her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged
you on her!' Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone
and threw it into the sea, saying, 'Thus with violence the great
city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore.
The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall
not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be
found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be
heard in you anymore. The light of a lamp shall not shine in you
anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard
in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth,
for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. And in her was
found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain
on the earth.'"
Exegesis
Verse 1: After these things I saw
another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and
the earth was illuminated with his glory.
Through the servants whom God sent
to this earth to do His works, people can hear the sermons of God's
blessings and curses. To be freed from all their sins and unhappiness,
therefore, all of you must receive into your hearts and believe
in the Word of the spiritual blessings of Heaven preached by the
servants of God.
Verse 2: And he cried mightily
with a loud voice, saying, "Babylon the great is fallen, is
fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for
every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!"
In the phrase "Babylon the
great is fallen," the word Babylon is used by the Bible
to refer to the secular world. In the Old Testament, for instance,
we find the story of the Tower of Babel, a tower built by the mankind
seeking to defy God by garnering together their own strengths, which
was then brought down by God for this reason. When the above passage
says that Babylon the great is fallen, it is telling us that this
world would be fallen. There are some people who might think, "This
world is standing just fine now, and so how could it ever fall?"
But God is telling us here that when the plagues of the seven bowls
are poured one after another, He will bring down this world just
as He had brought down the Tower of Babel.
What, then, is the reason why this
world would be destroyed by God with the plagues of the seven bowls?
It is because the people of this world would have united themselves
with the Antichrist in murdering the born-again saints who believe
in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and it is because they
would have thus stood against God to their very end. It is also
because this world would have become "a dwelling place of demons."
Why would this be the case? Why, that
is, would this world have become a dwelling place of demons? It
is because when the end times come, many people would surrender
to the Antichrist and turn into this evil one's servants by receiving
the mark of Satan from him.
In the Scripture, Dragon is used to
refer to Satan, and demons to the servants of the Dragon. Thus,
when it says here that the world has become a dwelling place of
demons, it means that the Antichrist, a servant of the Dragon, would
fully occupy the world. The world of the end times will face the
age of extreme tribulations when the plagues of the seven bowls
are poured on it. This world will become a world of the Dragon,
and demons will run rampant as if the whole world belonged to them.
And this world will fall down rapidly, brought down by the final
plagues of the seven bowls poured by God.
Verse 3: "For all the nations
have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings
of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants
of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury."
Just as the verse says here, literally
"all the nations" on the earth have drunk of the
wine of the wrath of the world's fornication. In other words, the
people of this world have thought of this world as God, and believed
in and followed it as such. They have loved the world more than
God. This world has thus become a hotbed of sin, and its people
have lived their lives drunk in sin.
The result, therefore, is the fall
of the world brought down by sin. Because people have loved and
followed the world like God, He will destroy them with His punishment
of the plagues of the seven bowls. Everyone living in this world
will ultimately be destroyed by these seven great plagues brought
by God and be cast into hell.
God is giving us His clear warning
that everyone who does not believe now in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit given by the Lord will face the plagues of the seven
bowls in the end. You must remember that if you do not believe in
this gospel and continue to stand against God despite His warning,
you will not only be punished by the plagues of the seven bowls,
but you will also receive the eternal punishment of hell.
People must realize, therefore, that
they have to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit now,
in order to escape from God's great and terrible plagues, and they
must return to the faith in the true gospel of the water and the
Spirit as soon as possible.
Though many kings and merchants of
the world have amassed great wealth with its material abundance,
they will all end up weeping, lamenting, mourning and wailing when
they see this world crumbling down with the great plagues brought
by God.
So, we must all never forget that
we have to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to everyone,
and that we have to live our lives by looking toward the new millennium.
We must lead everyone to the gospel of the water and the Spirit,
so that every mankind may escape from the great plagues.
Verse 4: And I heard another voice
from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you share
in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues."
"Come out of her, my people,
lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues."
This is the Word of God spoken to His saints. The saints must not,
in other words, belong to the world of the end times and live their
lives as its slaves. Even those who had already become saints before,
if they fall into the sins of the world of the end times, they will
not be able to avoid being judged by God with His fearful plagues.
God is telling all the saints, in other words, to not garner His
wrath by ending up as the slaves of the world.
Verse 5: "For her sins have
reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities."
God indeed remembers all the sins
and deeds of this world and waits only for its judgment day. With
the sudden appearance of the Antichrist one day, destruction will
soon cover the entire world just as God has planned. Yet there are
still some people who believe that this world would not be destroyed,
but that it would last forever.
This world will not, however, last
as they think, but be destroyed suddenly by the plagues of the seven
trumpets and of the seven bowls brought by God. When the end times
come, God will bring tribulations to everywhere in the world and
destroy it. We must thus be diligent in our lives of faith to the
very end, holding steadfast to our faith that the Kingdom of Jesus
Christ will indeed come.
Before God commands His angels to
pour the seven bowls on this earth, the sins of the world would
have become so rampant and widespread that it more than deserves
to receive God's judgment. God will therefore remember its sins,
and hold its destruction no longer. Moreover, the Antichrist and
the worldly people would be persecuting God's people, coercing the
saints to deny their faith, and making martyrs out of them. When
these things happen, this world will face the plagues of the seven
bowls.
Verse 6: "Render to her just
as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works;
in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her."
It is written here, "Render
to her just as she rendered to you." To whom does this
"she" here refer? This refers to this world, namely sinners
living in it, the Antichrist, and Satan. It tells us that God will
pay them back just as they had brought persecution, torment, tribulation
and death to the saints.
Verse 6 also says, "in the
cup which she has mixed, mix double for her." This is God's
command given to His angels to punish all the false religions of
the world that had led people to hell by spreading the Devil's lies.
It means that God will bring His wrath and punishment on today's
Christianity for its sin of giving false teachings, mixing the Word
of God with the teachings of Satan, and thereby leading people to
the Devil. Therefore, Christians who do not believed in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit will receive the same punishment of
sin as the secular people of the world.
Verse 7: "In the measure that
she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure
give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, 'I sit as
queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.'"
God says here to repay the sins of
these prideful people with torment and sorrow. To all the religious
people of the world who are not born again, and to the unbelieving,
secular people of the world, God will ask after their sins and punish
them.
Yet they remain prideful, saying to
themselves, "I sit as a queen, and am not widow, and will
not see sorrow." God will therefore bring to them the plagues
of their destruction. With the great plagues brought by God, they
will all suffer the sorrow of losing all their worldly possessions
and their beloved ones, all at the same time.
Verse 8: "Therefore her plagues
will come in one day-death and mourning and famine. And she will
be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges
her."
With the advent of the seven plagues,
the plagues of death, mourning and famine will come to this world
in one day. The Antichrist and all his worldly followers will thus
be punished to burn forever in hell.
Verse 9: "The kings of the
earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will
weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning,"
The people and kings of the world
will witness with their own eyes their world being engulfed in fire
and earthquakes and destroyed by the plagues of the seven bowls.
The kings of the world will therefore weep and lament, wailing for
their loss.
Verse 10: "standing at a distance
for fear of her torment, saying, 'Alas, alas, that great city Babylon,
that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.'"
The people who had not believed that
this world would fall will be struck by fear when they see the whole
world actually crumbling down right before their eyes. On a world
glittering so much with its beauty, God's judgment will descend
in one day, and it will be fallen all at once.
Verse 11-13: "And the merchants
of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their
merchandise anymore: merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones
and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind
of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object
of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; and cinnamon and
incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour
and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and
souls of men."
Who could buy or sell anything when
the world's destruction is at hand? The merchants of the earth,
too, will weep and mourn over the loss of their world. When God
pours the plagues of the seven bowls, no one in the whole world
would be buying anything. This world will never be reconstructed
again, and only the Kingdom of Christ will be built on its ruins.
Here is a list of the extravagant
merchandises that people have adorned themselves in luxury to this
very day. But all these things will become useless in just one day,
and no one will ever again seek after such worldly things. All these
things are what the worldly religions trade in. The religions of
the world have done everything imaginable for their love of money,
not hesitating to sell even souls for a penny.
Verse 14-18: "The fruit that
your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which
are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them
no more at all. The merchants of these things, who became rich by
her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and
wailing, and saying, 'Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed
in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious
stones and pearls! For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.'
Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as
trade on the sea, stood at a distance and cried out when they saw
the smoke of her burning, saying, 'What is like this great city?'"
People will therefore never be able
to see any of their worldly possessions again.
The merchants who had become rich
through this world will weep and wail as they see their world crumbling
down. They will wail in desperation, for when the world falls, they,
too, will fall with it, and all their amassed possessions will disappear
in just a day.
When the religions built on the worldly
wealth fall, the people of this world will find themselves lamenting,
"alas, alas!" International traders and shipmasters crisscrossing
the world will also wail. These people will cry out in desperation,
"What civilization ever built by the mankind has been greater
and better than that of today?"
Verse 19: "They threw dust
on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, 'Alas,
alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became
rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate.'"
Seeing the world brought down by the
plagues of the seven bowls, all those who had thought that this
world would last forever will be wailing in great sorrow. Those
who still remain in this world will be weeping and lamenting as
they witness the whole world being destroyed all at once with the
plagues of the seven bowls brought by God, but all their crying
would be of no use, for by then this world and everything in it
would have ended already. If they have the strength to cry then,
they should be wailing now over their own fate, that they are bound
to hell because of their sins, and they should believe in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit to be delivered from their eternal destruction.
Verse 20: "Rejoice over her,
O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged
you on her!"
The raptured saints in the air will
rejoice when the plagues of the seven bowls are brought, because
with these plagues God would avenge them all. It is only right that
God would thus pour the terrible, great plagues on His enemies.
Verse 21: Then a mighty angel took
up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
"Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown
down, and shall not be found anymore."
God says here that this world will
never be seen again, as a millstone is thrown into the sea. Our
Lord will then renew the whole universe and all things in it, and
fulfill His work of turning this earth into the Kingdom of Christ.
Verse 22: "The sound of harpists,
musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore.
No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the
sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore."
When the plagues of the seven bowls
end, no sound of music that people had heard in this world before
will ever be heard again, nor will the sound of the hammering of
craftsmen be heard.
Verse 23: "The light of a
lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom
and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants
were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations
were deceived."
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When the plagues of the seven bowls
are completed, this world will never again see the light of a lamp,
nor hear the voice of bridegroom and bride any longer. The deception
of the sorcerers of the world will also end, for the world would
have ended.
Verse 24: "And in her
was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were
slain on the earth."
The reason why God would pour the
great plagues of the seven bowls on this earth is because Satan's
servants would have shed the blood of His prophets and saints.
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