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| Chapter 18 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ And after these things, I saw another angel come down from Heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened by his glory. 2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication; and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have waxed rich through the abundance of her self-gratifications pleasures." 4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues; 5 for her sins have reached unto Heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. 6 Reward her even as she has rewarded you, and unto her double according to her works; in the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double. 7 How much she hath glorified herself and lived voluptuously! That much torment and sorrow give back to her; for she saith in her heart, ‘I sit a queen and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.’ 8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day" death and mourning and famine, and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. 9 ¶ "And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived indulgently with her, shall bewail her and lament for her when they shall see the smoke of her burning, 10 standing afar off for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas! Alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour has thy judgment come.’ 11 "And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her, for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: 12 the merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls; and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet; all scented wood, all manner of vessels of ivory and most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble; 13 and cinnamon, and perfumes, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat; and cattle, and sheep, and horses, and chariots; and slaves, and the souls of men. 14 "And the fruits that thy soul lusts after have departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly have departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. 15 The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing 16 and saying, ‘Alas! Alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and bedecked with gold and precious stones and pearls! 17 For in one hour such great riches have come to nought!’ "And every shipmaster and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off; 18 and they cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What city is like unto this great city!’ 19 And they cast dust on their heads and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, ‘Alas! Alas, that great city, wherein all that had ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her extravagances! For in one hour is she made desolate!’ 20 Rejoice over her, thou Heaven and ye holy apostles and prophets, for God hath avenged you on her." 21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, "Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. 22 And the sound of harpers and musicians, and of pipers and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; 23 and the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee. For thy merchants were the great men of the earth, for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth." |
The destruction of Babylon. Babylon has always represented Man’s rebellion against God. In this chapter Babylon symbolizes the world of finance, trade and political systems. Though the destroyed city of Babylon was never to be rebuilt, Isaiah 13:19,20 19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. John refers to a "city" many times in Revelation. It is felt that John was probably referring to Rome, deliberately hiding the actual location for safety. v1-8 It was not an ordinary angel who makes the announcement, he was very powerful as his light shone through the earth. "Babylon is fallen, is fallen," in addition, v6 seems to confirm the city will receive double the punishment. v2 ‘Babylon’ is the home of Satan and a place for all that is evil. Note 1 John 2:15-17. The world appears very attractive and gives some satisfaction, the "world" rejects the Lamb, but, now the end is about to come. v4-8 A command comes from heaven for the people of God to separate themselves from this evil system, to avoid being polluted by doing wrong, like the world, v4. By separating themselves they would also avoid receiving the plagues (punishments) about to be poured out by God as punishment for all the sins of the world. God had been patient with the evil world, their pride, a ‘queen’ that was thought could not be destroyed, v7, their worship of pleasure and luxury "lived voluptuously!" v7. v8 The punishment will come with no warning, quickly sent by a judging God. The people of God must make sure they are separated from this system. v9-19 The following verses describe the feelings of the people affected by the punishment, the merchants, the financial, the banks, transport, land and sea even the governments (kings), all are in mourning. John seems to indicate that the destruction will be by fire, "see the smoke of her burning," v9. In John’s day the city of Rome was the center of ‘world trade’ and government, it was therefore a very wealthy city and many people in the Roman Empire directly or indirectly depended upon this city for their living. Today, with the many connections between countries, governments and businesses it would not take much to destroy the commercial "Babylon," to make it collapse. v9,11 The ‘cries,’ "bewail" & "weep" indicate ‘loud crying,’ the merchants are not feeling sorry for their city but for themselves, God’s actions were destroying their life of luxury and money. John gives a list of what they had lost. See v13, Manufactured objects and material, jewels, animals, spices and perfumes, even slaves and people. Slaves were very common in John’s day. Slaves may not exist to that level today but people are under the control of large companies and systems. We have already seen the control that "the beast" will have over the buying and selling. Rev 13:16-17 He will take advantage of peoples desires Rev 18:14. v19 The events happen quickly, - "in one hour is she made desolate!" v20-24 Heaven Rejoices. There is rejoicing in heaven because God is judging the evil world system. It is important to look at this judgement from the point of view of God, because every judgement means more people are lost to God’s saving grace, sinners condemned to eternal punishment. God is always a righteous God, His judgements are pure and true. God is patient with His enemies; but when He acts it is both sudden and complete. The wording shows that both luxuries and the needs of life and survival will be affected, candles, food grinding, all craftsmen even marriage will disappear as well as music. v20 The verses in this message are for the people of God, it confirms that God will punish, when He is ready, He will avenge what they had suffered by the world system. Remember Paul’s comment Rom 12:17-21. |
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