"Commercial Babylon" REVELATION 18 From the Series: When The Lamb Stands.

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“Babylon is fallen, is fallen!

And all the carved images of her gods He has broken to the ground.”

Isaiah 21:9

The prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament foretold the immediate and ultimate [future] destruction of Babylon. The warning was taken up by Jeremiah: “Babylon is taken…For out of the north a nation comes up against her, which shall make her land desolate, and no one shall dwell therein. They shall move, they shall depart, both man and beast.” [Jer. 50:2-3] It is clear that the conquering of the city of Babylon by the Medes and Persians in 539 B.C. did not destroy the city; it remained to become one of the capitals of Persia after the Babylonian empire fell. In fact, the city was taken with virtually no blood shed or destruction. The prophecies in Isaiah and Jeremiah have not yet been fulfilled completely—when the city will be “desolate, and no one shall dwell therein.” The miraculous way in which the city was spared in ancient times is in itself a providential sign that God preserved it in order to reserve complete destruction for the future.

An ancient account alleges that a Persian general devised a plan to get inside the fortress city by diverting the Euphrates River. Since the river flowed through the city of Babylon, the lowered water enabled besiegers to enter the city under the walls without detection. They reached the palace, killing king Belshazzar and his guards, before the city was aware. [MacArthur Study Bible, p. 1236]

Daniel 5 describes this fateful night in order to punctuate God’s purpose. While the pagan Babylonian king feasted in distain for the Persian forces at his fortified high gates, he dared use the golden temple implements of Israel to drink from. He saw himself superior to Medo-Persia, but his mistake was in dishonoring the God of Israel. A disembodied hand suddenly appeared to write a mysterious message on the wall of Belshazzar’s banquet room, filling the king with terror—something Persia failed to do. Daniel was called to explain the cryptic meaning of the puzzle. In condemning words, Daniel announced: “This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” [Daniel 5:26-28] That very night, Daniel’s words were fulfilled. Babylon fell and Belshazzar was killed.

When the God of Israel, the God of all providence, determines it is time for a nation to fall, it is done. Daniel the prophet described the ultimate fall of all human empires at the close of the Times of the Gentiles. The final and complete fall and destruction of Babylon is reserved for this culminating moment—when the stone cut out without hands, Jesus Christ [Daniel 2:34], will crush and consume not just the existing empire, but the accumulated heritage passed down through Gentile world empires, specifically those that conquered Israel: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome/the Revived Roman Empire. “And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” [Daniel 2:44] The Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ will replace all human authority with His reign, and His kingdom shall stand forever never to be replaced.

Babylon is a symbol of man’s first empire and his first organized rebellion.

Rebellion began in Babylon, but its rebellion lives on.

THE ACCUMULATED WRATH OF GOD TARGETS BABYLON’S FINAL DESTRUCTION FOR THE END TIMES.

This is the strongest evidence I can offer that the Tribulation religion will be the final manifestation of a pagan mother goddess cult from ancient Babel/Babylon, and that Antichrist’s capital city will be Babylon, Iraq—the same city Nebuchadnezzar built as his Babylonian capital. Watch for it—ancient Babylon, which was being rebuilt by Saddam Hussein of Iraq, will be restored to its ancient glory before it is finally destroyed once and for all by the return of the true King of Kings. This is perfect wrath.

ACCUMULATED WRATH

           It is a strange concept for us that God, in His perfect timing, would delay judgment. To the Lord, it is not delay; His wrath awaits the perfect moment. This is demonstrated again and again in scripture.

· Our Lord at His first coming cursed the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy and also for the sins of past generations for killing the prophets. He promised that accumulated judgment was about to fall: “Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.” [Matthew 23:36] Christ’s generation was judged for centuries of innocent blood when the Roman legions invaded Israel in A.D. 70 to put down rebellion. The Jewish people were dispersed to the four corners of the earth and Jerusalem and the temple were burned.

· Our Lord prophesied that Jerusalem, which had been in bondage to foreign powers since their captivity to Babylon, would continue to be trampled by Gentiles “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” [Luke 21:24] But when the final Gentile empire, the Revived Empire of Rome/Antichrist runs its course, Christ Himself will return to crush all remnants of Gentile power, as we saw above, and restore Israel [Romans 11]. Gentile power accumulates the wrath of God over centuries of time.

· In the book of Habakkuk, the prophet laments that in answer to his prayer that God would send revival to sinful Judah, instead the Lord reveals He is sending the Babylonians to correct His people. However, after the Chaldeans [Babylonians] serve their purpose, He will turn and judge them—first with the Medo-Persians and finally with Christ’s second coming in ultimate judgment. But the prophet is told to be patient for the day of accumulated wrath: “For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” [Habakkuk 2:3] WHEN IT’S GOD’S TIME—IT’S TIME.

· The souls of the martyrs of the Tribulation cry out in the Fifth Seal “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” They were comforted but were told that “they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.” [Revelation 6:9-11] Our Lord chooses to reserve judgment until it accumulates His full measure of wrath.

· In the book of Romans, Paul writes that even God’s physical creation eagerly waits for the day when it “will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.” [Romans 8:19-22] Creation suffered corruption when man fell into sin [Genesis 3:17-18]; it waits for the final redemption of man at the return of Christ to restore all things to His original purpose and intention. But wrath and judgment accumulate until that day.

· Satan himself is allowed to have authority over every tribe, tongue, and nation in the Tribulation [Revelation 13:7] Evil is allowed to fill the cup of God’s wrath to the brink, accumulating to overflowing [Bowl Judgments], before our Lord returns to destroy Satan’s evil failed experiment. [Revelation 19:20, 21; 20:2, 10] In order to make all things new, evil was allowed to accumulate and run its course. [Revelation 21:1]

COMMERCIAL BABYLON

In Revelation chapter 17 we saw John’s vision of Mystery Babylon, Antichrist’s global religious system of the Tribulation. Mystery Babylon was destroyed by Antichrist himself, but it was God’s providence that accomplished it. In chapter 18 we are given a taste of the economic or commercial capital of Antichrist’s empire. How fitting that it is described as it is already in the process of destruction and judgment. “Babylon is fallen…”

• 18:1-2—The cry of Isaiah 21:9 is repeated and fulfilled: “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!” This is the fulfillment of the complete desolation described in Jeremiah 50:2-3. The nations that “drank her wine” are now witnessing her destruction [Jeremiah 51:7, Revelation 18:3]. How elegant a judgment that brings Old and New Testament together in RESOLUTION.
• This great announcement is given by “another angel” of great authority. The earth is lit up with his glory, the reflected glory of God from standing close to the throne. As the Fifth Bowl [16:10] plunged the throne of the beast, his capital headquarters Babylon, into darkness, this sudden blazing appearance will ensure the world’s attention to his message. Perhaps this supernatural act will “shed light” on the justness of God’s judgment.
• 18:3—Accusations of fornication are made against the nations that participate in the economic system of Antichrist, just as they were made for those who participate in the religious system. MacArthur: “…commercial Babylon [chap. 18] seduces the unbelieving world into a materialistic stupor, so that the people of the world will become drunk with passion because of their relationship with Babylon.” Both kings and merchants are caught up in the intoxication. In our materialistic culture, it is not difficult to imagine how the bull market of Antichrist’s economic upswing will seduce the world. The current global economic crisis is forcing nations into mutual dependence on a global economy. Allegiance to this economy and Antichrist will be rewarded; he will hold the purse strings [Daniel 11:43]. Those who follow him will be included in wealth-generating schemes, such as the looting of Mystery Babylon. It is also likely that the global system will absorb the unclaimed estates of believers raptured before the Tribulation, just as the estates of Jews were looted by Germany. The estates of those martyred by Antichrist will also become “spoil.” It is no wonder that all who participate in this corrupt system are likened to fornicators.

The world mourns Babylon’s fall. This great commercial center will represent the best and LAST of the wealth of the world. With its fall, Wilfred Hahn sees the complete economic collapse of the earth. [Midnight Call magazine]

• 18:4—MERCY IN JUDGMENT: “Come out of her, my people…” The Lord always warns before judgment. The remnant [my people] is called out of Babylon before its destruction. Given the significance of Babylon’s prophesied judgment, the remnant has been forewarned in the Old Testament as well as here in the Revelation.

Isaiah 48:20-21: note that the prophet speaks of the redemption of Jacob. This is not the return of a small remnant of Israel from Babylon in the Old Testament. This is the final redemption of the nation. [Zechariah 12:10-13:1; Romans 11:1, 2, 25-27]. The meaning is profound. MacArthur: “A redeemed Israel is to make a complete separation from the final Babylon and its wicked system, and proclaim to the world the Lord’s grace toward the nation.

Also in Isaiah, we are given detailed information on how the Lord will enable their escape. “…they did not thirst when He led them through the deserts; He caused the waters to flow from the rock for them; He also split the rock, and the waters gushed out.” Just as God miraculously provided for Moses’ generation, after He delivered them from Egypt [Ex. 17:6; cf. Is. 41:17, 18], …He will provide for redeemed Israel when they escape the final world empire of Babylon.” [MacArthur] Jesus Christ is the rock [Matt. 16:18; Acts 4:11, 12] who was pierced for our transgressions [Zechariah 12:10; John 19:34, 37]. He is the rock who was split, and living waters gushed out [John 4:14].

The remnant will be living on the Word to stay alive.

The living Word, Christ, will sustain spiritual and physical life in the midst of judgment.

He is spiritual living water; He will provide literal water in the physical desert of judgment.

SPIRITUAL GOOSEBUMPS:

The remnant is also warned to flee Babylon in Zechariah 2:6-13. Again, the immediate fulfillment was to warn the Jews to leave Babylon and return to Israel during the Old Testament restoration period. They were permitted to leave Babylon by Cyrus the Great of Persia, but only 50,000 actually returned. The majority stayed in the area of Babylon after it became the Persian Empire.

But this passage has much broader application FOR THE FUTURE. The warning is specifically to the believing remnant of Israel in the Tribulation, although a Gentile remnant is included by implication. However, Zion’s escape from Babylon is linked to a greater deliverance and fulfillment of covenant promise to Israel. After they are told to “Escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon,” the promise that Israel will soon receive their covenant promise to live and reign with their Messiah is restated: “’I will dwell in your midst,’ says the LORD. ‘Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem. Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for He is aroused from His holy habitation!”

• The Lord’s return to take possession of Judah is close when Zion is called out of Babylon. Believers are to leave the city of Babylon and the system, both physically and spiritually.
• When Christ returns, there will be no dispute about who owns Jerusalem!
• Notice the term Holy Land is used only here, not because Israel is the Promised Land, but because Jerusalem will be the capital of Christ’s earthly kingdom, the seat of His holy throne.
• But what thrills me about this passage is the last line: “Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for He is aroused [roused] from His holy habitation!” His holy habitation is God’s dwelling in heaven [cf. Ps. 15:1—“holy hill”; 24:3—“holy place”]. The Lord prepares to return to earth from heaven by rising up from the heavenly dwelling He has inhabited for over 2,000 years. This sentence is similar to Revelation 5:6 and 7, the verses supplying the title of our series, “When The Lamb Stands.” The Lamb stands to take the scroll out of the right hand of the Father to release God’s wrath on the earth. In Zechariah 2, He rises up or stands to return to earth because the wrath is nearly complete. In both verses, standing indicates taking action. I don’t know about you, but when the Lamb of God stands to take action, I get excited!
• 18:5-8 – The pride and arrogance of Babylon will decide her fate as well as the sins of the ages she has accumulated. God will remember and render to her in the same measure she has rendered to His people, but in a DOUBLE PORTION. She believes she is a “queen” and will never be brought low, but God will utterly burn her with fire. Because she glorified herself, her judgment will be designed to humble her and give her “torment and sorrow.” In 16:19, we are told Babylon will receive “the fierceness of His wrath.” Babylon will finally be desolate rather than glorious, a “home for demons,” 18:2. The reference to “queen” may be an allusion to the Queen of Heaven, the mother goddess of the Babylonian Mystery Religion. There is a close relationship between the commercial capital and the religion of the system.
• Her cup of evil is overflowing, demanding a double portion of judgment to fit the crime. The Bowl Judgments are a metaphor of the overflowing of God’s wrath on the earth, and Babylon’s judgment is within the final Bowl Judgments. Her “plagues” will come in one day, and in verse 10, “one hour.” Both times indicate a very short period of time. Could her plagues be limited nuclear armaments, orchestrated by God, possibly by the Kings of the East who are marching toward Israel [16:12]? The plagues result in “death and mourning and famine,” and she will be “utterly burned with fire,” all descriptions that could refer to the sudden total destruction of a massive bomb.

VISION OF THE WOMAN IN A BASKET

The Lord makes His opinion of Commercial Babylon clearly known in vision form to Zechariah, a prophet of the restoration period of Israel's Old Testament history. As Zechariah and his people were rebuilding Jerusalem after the year's of Babylonian captivity, the prophet was given a series of visions to motivate the people for the work at hand with broad and far-reaching pictures of hope and promise for the FUTURE.

Along with the hope were visions of warning to Israel. In Zechariah 5:5-11, the prophet sees a woman named Wickedness that the angel had imprisoned in a basket with a covering of heavy lead. The basket represents the ephah, a measuring basket used for selling grain in the market place. The wickedness she represents is particularly materialistic and is worshipped as an idol, represented by the "base" on which it is set when taken "home." The fact that she must be imprisoned by force under the lead covering indicates her influence is virilent and ongoing. Israel picked up the sin of materialism in Babylon and the Lord promises He will send it back where it came from, to ancient Shinar or Babylon, for future destruction. This vision is also a promise that the Lord will cleanse Israel of the sin of the final world system of Antichrist before establishing His earthly kingdom. THE LORD SEES THE WORSHIP OF COMMERCIALISM AS WICKEDNESS TO BE JUDGED.

• 18:9-20 – The economic collapse of the world causes extreme despair to men and the loss of all materialism, which is described in detail. Men mourn over the loss of their luxuries. But in verse 20, believers in heaven and earth rejoice! The destruction of Antichrist’s final system is part of God’s vengeance on their behalf. The smoke of her burning is seen from a long distance because her merchants who are not caught in the attack have distanced themselves from the city out of fear that they will be caught in her plague [torment] [vs. 10 and 17]. A nuclear bomb would leave radioactive fallout that would need to be avoided. It may be that the merchants are in ships on the Persian Gulf, far enough away to be safe but near enough to be able to see the billowing smoke of the burning city.
• 18:21-24 – The complete and utter destruction of the city, previewed in the Old Testament, is now described. In order to illustrate how she will be destroyed, a mighty angel takes a heavy millstone and throws it into the sea. In the same way, the city will sink like a stone. How? The prophet Jeremiah spoke of the destruction of Babylon in Jeremiah 51:61-64 using the same illustration of a sinking stone. “…it shall be desolate forever…Thus Babylon shall sink and not rise from the catastrophe that I will bring upon her.” Dr. McGee speculates that since the passage reveals God will burn her with fire [vs. 8, 9, 18], the city may quickly go up in flames because it is built on an asphalt plain. In the story of Babel, the ancient site of Babylon, scripture reveals they used pitch, which is oil-based, to build the Tower of Babel [Genesis 11:3]. The oil that made Babylon rich may also lead to is destruction, causing it to burn so greatly that the city will sink out of sight and be consumed, a just judgment.
• The greatest emotion of lost mankind is expressed in this chapter—mourning over the loss of all the merchandise and cargo of materialism. Babylon, the center of music, entertainment, art, and commerce, will be destroyed and all her pleasures with her. But she is not just the local mall. Verse 23 states that her sorcery deceived the nations, causing the death of prophets and saints. Babylon will be the best and worst of Las Vegas, New York, Paris, Dubai and Los Angeles. The worst of the red light districts of Amsterdam will be represented in her, until no light will shine anywhere any more. This probably refers to a loss of power that may be global. With the fall of Babylon, all semblance of “normal” will be gone from the Tribulation.
• Nothing that brings light and joy will ever be found in Babylon again. Although the Lord will restore the earth and the remnant will repopulate it during the Millennial Kingdom, Babylon, the great city of men, will never rise again. Such wickedness deserves no restoration.

Tim LaHaye believes the city may be attacked and destroyed by the Kings of the East as they advance to Armageddon [16:12] and could attack with nuclear force. As the war of Armageddon nears the final battle, the armies of the earth will begin by coming against Israel but will end up fighting God and each other in their madness and supernatural intoxication. It will be every nation for themselves, the failure of global unity. But even this is the design of a sovereign God. Thousands of armed men advancing across the Middle East to Israel, during a time when the judgments will have destroyed much of the infrastructure and food, will be forced to live off the land. They will plunder their way to Armageddon.

The battle of Armageddon will be a fight for final world domination between surviving powers. The army that takes the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is king of the mountain because Satan knows Zion is the prize. Our Lord has determined that Jerusalem and the Temple Mount are the epicenter of the earth. That is why the final battle to FINISH WRATH will take place there [Zechariah 12 and 14].

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REFLECTION: I appreciate the committment of all who have tracked with me through this demanding study so far. Don’t quit now, not when it is getting really good. We are nearly to the point in The Revelation narrative where our Lord returns in His glory [Matthew 24:30].

I am so ready—not just to study it in His Word, but to hear the trumpet sound that will call us to Him at the Rapture. Dear Friends, be prepared because we are going home before the Tribulation begins. We will not only witness the Second Coming of Christ first hand, we will return with Him, following in His train, as His entourage, when He descends from heaven to earth [Acts 1:11; Revelation 19]. STAY TUNED. WE LIVE IN INFORMED ANTICIPATION OF ALL THAT IS TO COME.

In Him We Wait, Work, and Watch,

Luke 12:35-59

Sharon Clemens

[Prophecy Chat is a commentary of current events in light of Bible prophecy. Sharon L. Clemens is an evangelical, premillennial, pre-trib teacher of eschatology. She can be reached for comment or questions by e-mail at farmgrove@frontier.com]