LEARNING DAILY

 

Revelation 18:1-2, Them 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, fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!”

 

In Revelation 18, Babylon is shown as the religious, commercial, and economic center of the antichrist.  There are several thoughts about what this mean.  Is it an actual city that includes the ungodly characteristics mentioned in this chapter?  Or, is it a representation of the entire ungodly system that is under the control of the antichrist?  I remember when American troops went into the city of Babylon as Saddam Hussein’s regime fell.  They found he was trying to restore the city of Babylon to its former glory.

 

Jeremiah 51:7 is prophetic when it says Babylon will be famous around the world and allow all sorts of immorality and depravity to exist.  Jeremiah and Revelation 18:4 calls God’s people to leave Babylon; the reason is pretty simple – when one remains in an ungodly atmosphere, it is almost inevitable that he or she will become partakers in the sin around them.  By the way, everyone of God’s Believers are called to be separate from the worldliness and sin of this world.  This is a central teaching of the Bible.  Our redemption through Jesus Christ must involve no longer being friends with this world.

 

The warning to flee Babylon is for any of God’s people there to flee because the city is about to be destroyed; God does not want them to be there when His vengeance comes.  This time must be considered with the other prophecies of Jeremiah 51.  They are to flee and make their way to Jerusalem.  It is important to note that the “prophecies of the destruction of Babylon have never been fulfilled in the manner required by the statements of Scripture” (Dr. Arnold G. Fuchtenbaum).

 

Revelation 18:9-20 is about the destruction of Babylon’s commercial system.  These verses tell of the tremendous sorrow of the kings of the earth.  They “have committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her (Babylon), The rich and corrupt entrepreneurs who piled up wealth for themselves will no longer have it.  It is pretty clear how God feels toward those whose businesses and governments are founded upon greed and oppressive power.

 

Merchants, kings and those who make a living from the sea mourn for the destruction of Babylon.  But there are three classes of people I heaven who are called to rejoice (see verse 20).  The saints. Apostles, and prophets are called to rejoice and great joy breaks out in heaven as the people of God are finally justified for what they have had to endure. 

 

Revelation 18:20 declares that Babylon shall be found no more.  An angel declares Babylon’s final fall of political power.