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Read Introduction to Revelation

 

“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“

 

Chapter 18 presents political Babylon. This is the judgment of international government, multinational organizations, and financial institutions.

In the previous chapter, the coming world dictator overthrows the one-world ecumenical movement. In this chapter, God overthrows the world dictator.

18:1

“After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory.

A different angel comes to John coming down from heaven with great authority. The glory of this angel was so great that it shed light on the earth.

18:2

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!

The angel’s message is that Babylon the great has fallen. This is not the same fall as Revelation 17:16-17.

Babylon is a home for demons. The Devil has an extensive religious organization to oppose the truth. The repetition of the word “fallen” is there for emphasis. With great force, the angel announces that God finally defeats this demonic system. God finally demolishes false religious and political ideas that contend for men’s minds.

18:3

“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”

All the nations of the world commit adultery with Babylon because she brings them great riches. They become intoxicated with her belief system of global economics. Apostate religion gains many converts from the political leaders of the world. Demonic religion gains these converts by appealing to their lust for power.

The word “merchant” means commerce, business, trade. A merchant is a person concerned with commerce. Super wealthy, transnational corporations make money their terminal value.

These multinational corporations use a certain kind of power to gain their riches. They use Babylonian “luxury” as their mode of appeal. “Luxury” means unrestrained sensuality. Unrestrained luxury and pleasure will influence the masses. Babylonianism is the philosophy of pleasure. That is why the Holy Spirit terms such as “whore” and “fornication” to describe this system. It is not that luxury in itself is wrong but that it usurps the place of God (18:7; 1 Timothy 6:5-11,17-19).

Principle:

God wants us to separate ourselves from religion and understand the true nature of Christianity – that God does the providing.

Application:

God commands the believer in the church age to separate from apostate religion. Hell will be filled with religious do-gooders, people who thought they were superior, but they found themselves in hell.

“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God.

As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).

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