The fall of Babylon
Time is running out for the kingdom of the World. What is on the horizon?
God will give three final warnings before He pours out His wrath on this rebellious, sinful world. The warnings, each brought by an angel, are found in Revelation chapter 14. The first of these three warnings is a call to worship God the Creator. I wrote about that in the last edition of Sword. The second warning, found in Revelation 14: 8, is the fall of Babylon.
In an article published in the May/June 2019 edition of Sword I explained why I believe that Babylon that great city is best understood as the ‘kingdom of this world’. Babylon is man’s attempt to live independently from God. She is the opposite of the kingdom of God, which is represented in the Bible by the New Jerusalem. For both Isaiah and Jeremiah, Babylon was the personification of wickedness.
Babylon
In Revelation chapter 18 we have a description of Babylon as God sees her. Babylon is outwardly glorious. She surrounds herself in luxury and calls herself a Queen. The merchants of the earth, who became rich by her, praise her beauty. She is clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, with gold, precious stones and pearls. She has become wealthy through her extensive trade. There is a lengthy list of her merchandise. The list probably included everything which was considered of high value in John’s day. But her morality is exposed by the final items on the list, “chariots and the bodies and souls of men”. She trades weapons of war and slaves.
God sees both her outward glory, which men admire, and what is inside. Her glory is a façade to cover her true nature. She is “a dwelling place of Demons and a prison for every foul spirit”. Her crime is to make the nations drunk with the wine of her fornication. Fornication in the Bible represents the turning of people away from the true God and leading them to worship false gods. The rulers of the world have led the way in this. They are accused of committing fornication with her. By following her they gain power. Joseph Kennedy, father of the Kennedy clan, was asked what a person, who has all the money in the world, desires. His simple answer was ‘power’. Fall in with Babylon and she will offer wealth and power.
Like her father
Babylon is like her master, whom Jesus called “the ruler [prince] of this world”. We have a picture of the character of Satan in Ezekiel chapter 28. There he is described as, “the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.” He was covered with every precious stone on the day he was created. He was perfect in his ways until “iniquity was found in you.” The day came when pride was found in him. He exalted himself to imagine that he was equal with God.
That same pride is found in the kingdom of this world. It believes that it has no need of God. It has even dismissed the idea that there is a god. Hence the horror which will overtake the world when Jesus appears bringing judgment.
We also read in Ezekiel, “By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within.” Satan’s greed led to violence. The violence which filled the earth is the reason why God had to destroy the world which existed before the flood. It is to a world filled with war and bloodshed that Jesus will return to defeat the forces of evil.
Babylon is Satan’s creation. But at the end of this age we are told that he will destroy her. When cast out of heaven he knows that his time is short (Revelation 12:12). If he is to survive, he must brutally enforce his will on this world. He has to destroy all opposition. The system which has served him well, in blinding men’s eyes to the truth of God, will have to be dispensed with.
The Fall
I believe that within 10 years Babylon will have fallen. The fall of Babylon will open the way for the reign of the beast, which is the third warning of the impending outpouring of wrath. Babylon’s fall will be sudden. The merchants of the earth will mourn for her. They cry out “Alas, alas… …for in one hour such great riches came to nothing.” And “For in one hour she is made desolate.” Her destruction is said to take place in just one hour. That the phrase one hour represents not a literal hour, but a short period of time is indicated in Revelation chapter 17. The ten kings who reign with the beast are said to “receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast.” Revelation 17: 12. It is these ten kings who will be used to destroy the harlot Babylon. Their rise to power matches in time the demise of the 22 kingdom of the world. Although it is Satan’s kings who destroy Babylon, it is God who puts it into their hearts to fulfil His purpose. (Revelation 17: 17).
In her destruction Satan shows that he has no further use for Babylon, but he will not leave her wealth behind. They will “make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire.” Revelation 17: 16. The ten kings will strip Babylon of her wealth, then destroy her.
The world we know
We live in Babylon. It is the world we know and, dare I say it, it is a world we love. Babylon in our day offers unprecedented comfort and security. Babylon boasts that “I sit as a Queen and am no widow and will not see sorrow.” She is self-satisfied and secure. Babylon looks after us well. The supermarket shelves are stocked with food, we do not fear famine. Our homes are warm and dry. We can travel where we wish and even have our own personal transport to wherever we want to go. The luxuries we enjoy today were undreamed of in former generations. Babylon lures us into a state of complacency. We close our minds to the reality that in Babylon we are in great danger. Affluence is more effective than persecution in turning minds and hearts away from God.
Come out of her my people
We have been warned. The world system in which we are so comfortable will be destroyed. God reveals the future through prophecy on a need to know basis. There are many questions which the Bible does not answer. They are not answered because we do not need to know the answer. If the Bible does reveal an aspect of the future it is because we need to know it.
Because we are in such danger a voice from heaven cries out, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive her plagues.” (Revelation 18:4).
Two reasons are given as to why we must come out of Babylon. The first is the danger of sharing in her sins. It is very easy in Babylon to get caught up in her ways and adopt her methods. Living in her brings the danger of becoming like her.
The second reason we must come out is to avoid receiving her plagues. The plagues are named as death, mourning, famine and fire. One day, the proud boasts of Babylon will come to nothing. She said that she will never see sorrow, soon she will mourn as her wealth disappears. She will go hungry as trade collapses. Those who hate her will destroy her with fire. She has pursued a way which leads to death. A way which Jesus described as “the broad way which leads to destruction”.
Another way
Although it is the ten kings who bring about Babylon’s downfall, it is God who decrees the judgment. He does not want His people to suffer punishment.
How do we come out of Babylon? If the kingdom of this world were just one country we could flee to another. Babylon is not a single country. It is a system which pervades the whole world.
To come out we must decide which kingdom we belong to. Is it the kingdom of God or the kingdom of this world? Are we living by the values of this world, conforming to her ways or are living according to God’s kingdom?
As we noted above Babylon has no scruples over the trade by which she grows rich. In the list of commodities which she trades are weapons of war and slaves. We have lived in Babylon long enough to know that many grow rich through dishonest means.
Jesus calls us to be part of a kingdom founded on different values. Where the world is quick to condemn we are to forgive. Where the world looks after self we are to love one another. Where the world craves after riches we are to share. Where the world loves esteem we are to humbly give all the glory to Jesus.
This will not spare us from the hardships that are to come. Living in the world we are part of this world. We are to be in the world but not of it. Suffering will come but as part of the heavenly kingdom we will face it together. Supporting one another and sharing to meet each other’s needs. As such Jesus will bless and watch over His people.