THE FALL OF COMMERCIAL BABYLON

 

The fall of commercial Babylon

Hi good friends out there in internet land. I have reviewed the first eight chapters in the book of Revelation in a very detailed way giving the readers many cross references to each verse but due to time and the fact that I must move on to other writing projects in the Bible the remaining chapters (Revelation chapters 9-22) will be completely quoted with some comments at the end of the chapter. I really do desire to cross reference every verse in these chapters but this would take me way to long thus leaving out other vital biblical studies that are also needed and desired to people that are very hungry for the word of God. There will still be many interesting insights after the chapter is quoted so please enjoy the rest of the study in this fascinating last book of the Bible.

 

(1) "And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. (2) And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become a 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 her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. (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 rewarded you, and double 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 deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give 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 loved deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning. (10) Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is 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, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass and iron, and marble. (13) And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. (14) And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goody are departed from thee, and thou shalt find then no more at all. (15) The merchants of these things, which 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 decked with gold, and precious stones and pearls. (17) For in one hour so great riches is 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 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 were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! 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 for her. (21) And 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 voice 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 all that were slain upon the earth." Revelation 18: 1 - 24.

 

These most recent chapters that I have been reviewing are all leading up to the second coming of Jesus Christ. In chapter seventeen religious Babylon will be destroyed. In  chapter eighteen this is a specific land mass. It is a city or a country. The destruction of religious Babylon will be a world religion that is contrary to Jesus Christ across the entire world. When this specific city or country is destroyed in Revelation chapter eighteen the whole world will mourn because the economics of planet earth have depended on this area for their bread and butter. Tremendous commerce, trade and industry have played a vital role for a very long time and the economics of the whole world depend on this commercial area. According to Revelation chapter eighteen this land mass will be destroyed.

 

The Harlot of Revelation chapter seventeen seems to hang around this Babylon in Revelation chapter eighteen. Remember according to the previous chapter (Revelation chapter seventeen) this false religious system is destroyed. Just like a human being knowing he or she is going to get murdered the Harlot gets very nervous being in the general vicinity of the Babylon written in Revelation chapter eighteen. Mystery Babylon (Revelation chapter seventeen) seems to be destroyed by the antichrist Himself. The Babylon in Revelation chapter eighteen seems to be destroyed by God Himself.

 

When the Babylon in chapter eighteen is destroyed people around the world cry because it seems similar to the stock market crash in 1929 but only worse. This Babylon will be located near a large body of water because when the smoke of the burning finally takes place in this destruction it is visibly seen by many kinds of ships.

 

Although this is one of the longer chapters in the book of Revelation I will be writing a very short article on this passage of Scripture. The reason for this is a lack of evidence of who this Babylon is in this world.

 

I have read many commentaries on this chapter and have heard many sermons on this chapter. Believe it or not the two most popular interpretations are Iraq and America. I personally do not believe Revelation chapter eighteen is either one of these countries. Rome is probably the third most popular choice but I am not convinced this is the land mass described in this chapter. I have my opinion on who this description describes but I have very little to go on; therefore, I will not mention the country or share this with an internet audience. What I am trying to say is if I went into a courtroom with such little evidence I would be the laughing stock in the legal community. I am not a lawyer but I get the basic principle. 

 

When the people that do business with this Babylon look at this destruction chapter eighteen uses verbs that are sorrowful. Bewail, lament, cried, weeping and wailing. The reason why this cut right through their souls is because this destruction was also their loss. Commercial Babylon will be their bread and butter. The points that will go straight over their heads will be this city or country is steeped in sorcery and directly against God. They sent many people to hell by their corruption and deception. They even went so far as to be involved in martyring the believers in Christ on earth. The onlookers were looking at their pocket book but God was looking at their evil.

 

Jesus Christ warned us about this scenario. He said, (24) "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: (25) And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. (26) And every one that heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: (27) And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell and great was the fall of it." Matthew 7: 24 - 27.

 

These people that mourned over their loss of money and possessions will not even realize that the country that will be destroyed in one hour will be meddling with demons as a lifestyle. They will look at the symptom (loss of material possessions) but God will see the root which will be evil to the core.

 

We need to focus on building our house on the rock who is Jesus Christ through obedience to Him. We can build our tower of Babel on earth but in essence we will be rejecting God. He is just going to crush our building which is an idol. Nothing will be left because when we build our house on sand it is fragile at best.

 

One time a Sunday school teacher taught his class. This is a true story. He said this is what God wants to do in our life. He started building a structure higher and higher and then looked at the class and asked, "Are you watching." Then he got a hammer and completely smashed the structure until there was nothing left. Then he said this is what God wants to do in our lives.

 

Wow that is a different message than, "You can have it now" which many preachers teach their congregation. We would be wise to make sure we first accept Jesus Christ in our hearts by repenting of all our sins and then give our life over to Him which is a daily process. This is not an easy thing to do because our selfish nature is constantly tugging on our sleeve. "Go get this," "Go store this up, "Get in line first." I could go on and on but you get the basic idea. We are selfish in our nature so we have to train ourselves to do the will of God. This is not a passive thing but a trained disciplined process to give our life over to God every day. Otherwise we will be just like the onlookers that will see the destruction of commercial Babylon and be devastated because of choosing the foolish road in building our life on sinking sand. This is the result of not obeying Jesus Christ. We as Christians are blessed with all spiritual blessings but according to the New Testament they are in heavenly places in Christ. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:" Ephesians 1:3. 

LOVE BOB D