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Revelation 18 – Babylon Falls

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After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory.  And he called out with a mighty voice,

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“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!

    She has become a dwelling place for demons,

a haunt for every unclean spirit,

    a haunt for every unclean bird,

    a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.

For all nations have drunk

    the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,

and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,

    and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”

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Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,

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“Come out of her, my people,

    lest you take part in her sins,

lest you share in her plagues;

for her sins are heaped high as heaven,

    and God has remembered her iniquities.

Pay her back as she herself has paid back others,

    and repay her double for her deeds;

    mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed.

As she glorified herself and lived in luxury,

    so give her a like measure of torment and mourning,

since in her heart she says,

    ‘I sit as a queen,

I am no widow,

    and mourning I shall never see.’

For this reason her plagues will come in a single day,

    death and mourning and famine,

and she will be burned up with fire;

    for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.”

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And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning.  They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,

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“Alas! Alas! You great city,

    you mighty city, Babylon!

For in a single hour your judgment has come.”

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And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.

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“The fruit for which your soul longed

    has gone from you,

and all your delicacies and your splendors

    are lost to you,

    never to be found again!”

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The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,

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“Alas, alas, for the great city

    that was clothed in fine linen,

        in purple and scarlet,

    adorned with gold,

        with jewels, and with pearls!

For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.”

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And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off 18 and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning,

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“What city was like the great city?”

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And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,

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“Alas, alas, for the great city

    where all who had ships at sea

    grew rich by her wealth!

For in a single hour she has been laid waste.

Rejoice over her, O heaven,

    and you saints and apostles and prophets,

for God has given judgment for you against her!”

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Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

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“So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence,

    and will be found no more;

and the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters,

    will be heard in you no more,

and a craftsman of any craft

    will be found in you no more,

and the sound of the mill

    will be heard in you no more,

and the light of a lamp

    will shine in you no more,

and the voice of bridegroom and bride

    will be heard in you no more,

for your merchants were the great ones of the earth,

    and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.

And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,

    and of all who have been slain on earth.”

 

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Dramatic Reading:

What is the city Babylon in this passage?

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(Revelation 17:9, “This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated.” This identifies the woman as Rome.)

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(Revelation 17:5, “And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations.” So Rome is called Babylon.  When the revelation refers to Babylon, it means Rome.)

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Is Rome designated as Babylon in chapter 18?

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Rome is also alluded to in chapter 18, verses 17-18, “And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, “What city was like the great city?”

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Rome is 22 miles from the shore.  It would be easy for shipmasters see the smoke of it burning.  Babylon is about 550 miles from the sea.  Shipmasters would not see it burning from the sea.

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What is happening to Babylon in this passage?

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Look throughout the passage and list the details:

Vs 2: Fallen

Vs 2: a haunt for unclean spirits and unclean birds and animals.

Vs 7: a measure of torment and mourning.

Vs 8: plagues in a single day.

Vs 8: death, mourning and famine.

Vs 8: burned with fire.

Vs 10: Judgment in a single hour.

Vs. 11&17: Loss of merchandising.

Vs. 14&17: Loss of riches.

Vs 19: Allies will mourn.

Vs 21: Thrown down with violence.

Vs 22: No more music.

How much time will it take for Babylon to fall?

Verse 10: a single hour.

Verse 17: a single hour.

Verse 19: a single hour.

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Why is Babylon going to fall?

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Verse 3: “For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”

Verse 5: “for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

Verse 7: “As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, ‘I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.’

Verse 20: “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!”

Verse 23: “all nations were deceived by your sorcery.”

Verse 24: “And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth.”

Is sexual immorality equated with spiritual deception here?

Notice that the “nations deceived by their sorcery is separate from the sexual immorality.  The sexual immorality is not spiritualized here.  It is real sexual immorality.

What lesson does this chapter hold for Christians today?

Verse 4, “Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins.”

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How will Christians know it is time to get out of “Babylon?”

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When we hear a voice from heaven?  That could be, but here we have it in writing when we should hear God’s voice coming out of heaven telling us to get out.

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The time is when something is:

-Promoting sexual immorality

-Promoting materialism

-Persecuting Christians

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What things in history are like this?

  1. The reformationists left the Catholic Church in 1520 because they were selling absolutions from sin and had become materialistic.

 

What things are like this today?

  1. The Catholic Church is involving itself in world materialism by getting country leaders to sign an agreement to provide a digital identity for everyone in the world & committing to the material welfare of all world citizens.

  2. Pope Francis has stated that the qualities of God are the same in the Quran as in the Bible, allows Islamic prayers and reading the Quran in Catholic churches, and has made a pact with Islam.

  3. Ecumenism seeks not to unite just all Christians, organizationally.  It seeks to have a unified doctrine.  Many have thought this could lead to all religions in the future. Pope Francis has approved of this.

  4. The Prosperity Gospel.

  5. Churches that promote or allow for some forms of sexual immorality.

  6. Political correctness.

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Song: Babylon is falling by Slightly Stoopid: 

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