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6. An Angel Proclaims in Advance: Babylon is Destroyed! (Revelation 18:1-3)
REVELATION 18:1-3
1 After these things, I saw another angel coming down out of the sky, having great authority. The earth was illuminated with his glory. 2 He cried with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and she has become a habitation of demons, a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird! 3 For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality, the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from the abundance of her luxury.”
The Victory Proclamation of the Angel upon Destroyed Babylon (v 1-2a): News of the total destruction of Babylon is greeted in heaven with grateful satisfaction and a jubilant shout of victory, even before this world city has been annihilated!
An exalted, radiant angel descended from heaven and approached our dark world in the glorious light of his power and authority. His glory illuminated and shined through our small earth (Revelation 18:1).
The majestic angel cried out with the victory proclamation over Babylon, a prophetic announcement of an event that had already transpired (Revelation 18:2) His mighty voice could be heard in every valley, in every cave, and even in the most remote hideouts of earth. The devastating power of God's wrath cannot be held back by any creature. In His revelations to Isaiah (Isaiah 21:9) and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 51:8) the Lord had already prophesied, using the indisputable perfect tense, the fall of Babylon.
The wrath of God at that time had already been brought to a glow by the proud polytheistic Babylon (Jeremiah 50:2, 39) as a result of her luxurious living standards, which promoted sexual debauchery and sin, and, above all, because of her carrying off and enslaving the (disobedient) Jewish people. The measure of the sin of this famous city had reached to overflowing. The unlimited wrath of God fell upon her.
The Chaldean capital city of Babylon had been destroyed by Cores, the Persian king, more than 600 years (538 B.C.) before the days of the Apostle John. In his vision John would probably have thought of “Babylon” as representing Rome and her Caesars, who had destroyed Jerusalem and the second temple in 70 A.D. In the conquests of the Romans hundreds of thousands of Jews had been killed. In the slave markets of the Roman Empire they were sold and resold cheaply. The aged apostle now saw the inevitable judgment of God breaking over Rome and her Caesars. He proclaimed in his vision the downfall of the West-Roman Empire, which existed from 395-476 A.D., and the end of the rule of the Caesars in the “great city”. Still, the many years proceeding Rome's end would be marked by the bloody persecution of Christians, along with unspeakable misery for the Christian churches in the empire. The evil and malice of Rome must have reached to overflowing.
The victory-is-sure proclamation of the angel of judgment was also directed at every other anti-Semitic or anti-Christian power, whether the Catholic Church, with their unbroken papal rule, or for mass-murders and their people, like, Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Khomeini, who brutally persecuted and oppressed those of different opinion. This cry of judgment and warning, in the completed perfect tense, also applied to Jewish intellectuals and billionaires, who inspire and indirectly control anti-Christian powers. The angel's cry is equally intended for syncretistic minded theologians, politicians, churches, lodges and Media, who seduce the masses and suggest that, besides Jesus, there are other ways to God, other truths, and a continuation of life after death even without the Spirit of Christ.
Often it is not clear which of the forces is the Antichrist, which a false prophet, or which the Harlot of Babylon. All three operate together and are inextricably linked to each other. In the end all anti-biblical forces fighting against God and His Son will be judged and condemned. Every unbiblical tolerance leads inevitably to destruction. We, however, have no right to despise, reject or persecute those who think differently, lest we ourselves fall into judgment.
Dr. Martin Luther is said to have written in his treatise against the Turks that Allah in Islam, and the anti-Christian faith of Muslims, cannot be fought with weapons. This impure spirit can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29). Enemies of the gospel should be showered with love and blessed. Christ died for all sinners, also for the Turks. Nevertheless, their sins and their creed were judged and condemned through His death.
The Rubble Field of the Great City of Babylon (vv 2b-3): To better understand and be able to imagine the destruction of Babylon in the book of Revelation one should first read the texts of Isaiah 13:19-22 and Jeremiah 50:1-51, 64 in the Old Testament. From these Old Testament texts more than 40 verses were taken into the vision of John, practically word-for-word. The Old Testament judgment of God upon Babylon is exemplary of all the Lord's judgments upon those who throw together religions, and who fight to destroy His church. The church is the apple of His eye, His own Self, born out of the Holy Spirit. God fights more for His church than a lioness does for her young.
The angel of the Lord said that Babylon, the city which had expanded herself broadly along the wide banks of the Euphrates, had become a place of devastation, occupied by demons, evil spirits and carrion eating birds (Revelation 18:2b). No longer would a person feel well in this place of God's wrath. Previously the city had been bursting at the seams with all the crowds of people in the markets and religious festival arenas. But now this ruined city of death had become deserted.
In the 20th century attempts were made to excavate this mass graveyard of history, wherein some streets and buildings were restored.
The predominant sin of this city that hits the eye, and which called forth the holy anger of God, is described in Revelation 18 verse 3 as “drinking of the wine of the wrath of her fornication”. Excessive infatuation and scandalous immorality work together in the decay of moral values. A religion without the Holy Spirit degrades people, and causes them to sink to a level where not even animals feel well. We should study and read Romans 1:18-32 in order to grasp the setting in of God's righteous wrath upon our morally dissolute and affluent society. Nowadays ten thousands of lesbians and homosexuals parade through the streets of our large cities to be filmed, applauded, and greeted by statesmen. The Suabian poet, Friedrich Hiller, prophesied in one of his popular hymns: When the evil of Sodom cries out, Sulfur is soon to be about!
Wherever smug affluence and indifferent godlessness kiss there springs up every kind of sin. In some countries condoms are distributed free of charge, and, in school instruction for girls, contraceptive pills are freely praised. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7).
Most nations have dedicated themselves to progress and prosperity, and are ready to accept a multi-cultural syncretism in order to attain it. The slogan “Peace at all cost!” circulates, even though it tacitly presupposes the suppression of the crucified Son of God. Since the Second Vatican Council churches and people have been striving to study, tolerate and accept so-called truths in other religions, and no longer cling to the cross of Christ as the only way to God. Some leading politicians in our society fear that Jewish and Muslim politicians and businessmen might otherwise feel inhibited to work alongside Christians, and might feel like victims of “discrimination”. For the sake of “World peace” the United Nations, the European Union and other organizations indirectly contaminate faith in Jesus, the Son of God. Universal human rights have begun to eclipse the Apostles Creed.
In glorious power the angel condemned every appearance of a “Babylonian Captivity” in church and society, and assured every prayer leader of a multicultural society that the inevitable judgment of God and His Lamb was coming. Human logic and political considerations are often not in harmony with the salvation plan of Jesus Christ. Whoever understands the judgment of Babylon recognizes what will be the end of all who deviate from the law and the gospel.
Furthermore, the angel indicated that sin does not just happen in an air-tight room, but is mostly tied up with financial gain and business venture. Woe to the business-minded who make profit from Babylon's fall into sin and who use modern media and erotic advertising to massively seduce people. Their judgment will be so terrible that it would be better for every one of them to have a millstone hung around his neck and be drowned in the deepest ocean! (Matthew 18:6; Mark 9:42; Luke 17:1-2).
PRAYER: Dear heavenly Father, Your patience is great while You allow evil to ripen, and You wish that good be sanctified. You condemn luxury, indulgence in pleasures, and communication with spirits; but You bless the faith and justification in Christ, and living in the Holy Spirit. Deliver us from Satan's craftiness and his children's tricks. Amen.
QUESTION:
- Why do the Jews, Muslims, and unbelievers prevent reports on Christ's crucifixion and salvation in His Spirit from spreading in newspapers, education and society?