Revelation 18
After
this I saw another angel coming down from heaven.
He
had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor.
With
a mighty voice he shouted:
'Fallen!
Fallen is Babylon the Great!
She
has become a home for demons
And
a haunt for every evil spirit,
A
haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.
For
all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries.
The
kings of the earth committed adultery with her
And
the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.'
Then
I heard another voice from heaven say:
'Come
our of her, my people,
So
that you will not share in her sins,
So
that you will not receive any of her plagues;
For
her sins are piled up to heaven,
And
God has remembered her crimes.
Give
back to her as she has given;
Pay
back to her double for what she has done.
Mix
her a double portion from her own cup.
Give
her as much torture and grief
As
the glory luxury she gave herself.'
In
her heart she boasts,
'I
sit as queen; I am not a widow,'
Therefore
in one day her plagues will overtake her:
Death,
mourning and famine.
She
will be consumed by fire,
For
mighty is the Lord God who judges her.
When
the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her
And
shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning
They
will weep and mourn over her.
Terrified
at her torment they will stand far off and cry:
'Woe!
Woe, O great city,
O
Babylon, city of power!
In
one hour your doom has come!'
The
merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her
Because
no one buys their cargoes any more--
Cargoes
of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls;
Fine
linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood,
And
articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and
marble;
Cargoes
of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense,
Of
wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep;
Horses
and carriages; and bodies and souls of men.
They
will say,
'The
fruit you longed for is gone from you.
All
your riches and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.'
The
merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her
Will
stand far off, terrified at her torment.
They
will weep and mourn and cry out:
'Woe!
Woe, O great city,
Dressed
in fine linen, purple and scarlet,
And
glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!
In
one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!'
Every
sea captain, and all who travel by ship,the sailors,
And
all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off.
When
they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim,
'Was there ever a
city like this great city?'
They
will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry
out:
'Woe!
Woe, O great city,
Where
all who had ships on the sea
Became
rich through her wealth!
In
one hour she has been brought to ruin!'
Rejoice
over her, O heaven!
Rejoice,
saints and apostles and prophets!
God
has judged her for the way she treated you.
Then
a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large mill stone
And
threw it into the sea, and said:
'With
such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down,
Never
to be found again.
The
music of harpists and musicians, flute players and trumpeters,
Will
never be heard in you again.
No
workman of any trade will ever be found in you again.
The
sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again.
The
light of a lamp will never shine in you again.
The
voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again.
Your
merchants were the world's great men.
By
your magic spell all the nations were led astray.
In
her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints,
And
all who have been kill on the earth.' (Revelation 18)
A
second angel announces the fall of Babylon.
A
second angel followed and said, 'Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the great,
Which
made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.'
(Revelation
14:8)
The second angel
announces the fall of Babylon the Great.
The city that
personifies all human rebellion against God.
In her, every evil
practice takes place; everything that God hates;
Everything that
sentences man to hell, and is glorified by man.
Good is called evil and
what is evil is called good.
Satan had gloated over
his accomplishment, but not for long.
The kings of the earth
were figuratively in bed with the Prostitute,
Committing adultery
toward God with her.
The merchants of the
earth had become wealthy
From her insatiable
demand for ever increasing luxury.
Another
voice from heaven issues a warning:
Telling the people of
God to come out from the Prostitute,
The greatest city on
earth, in the greatest nation on earth.
So that they can avoid
the judgment of God that is about to fall upon her;
For the extent and
grossness of her sins has risen to heaven.
In
one day Babylon is destroyed,
she is consumed by fire,
By the holy and mighty
hand of God,
Through the instrument
of the ten kings and the Beast.
God uses the Beast and
the ten kings to accomplish His purposes.
The
kings of the earth mourn over
the destruction of the Prostitute.
These are not the ten
kings who destroy her,
But the remaining
rulers of the earth.
They also committed
adultery with her, and are terrified at her fate.
She is utterly and
completely destroyed.
The
merchants of the earth mourn
over her
Because she was the
primary source of their wealth.
The greatness of the
Prostitute was what every city in the world aspired to.
Never in the history
of the world
Had such wealth been accumulated in one place.
Now, in one hour, it
has all been brought to ruin.
The symbol of the
greatness of mankind is brought to nothing in one hour.
The
sea captains and the sailors
mourn,
Those who had become
rich through her,
And who had transported
her wealth exclaim:
'Was
there ever a city like this city?'
No, the truth is, that
in the realm of men, there never was a city like this city.
In the natural, this
city represented the ultimate accomplishment of mankind;
But what men call good,
God calls evil.
This city is like the
Tower of Babel; representing mankind exalting themselves,
Trying to become like
God, just as Satan does.
Mankind, the puppets of
Satan, pretending to be what they can never be
Just as the one who
rules over them does.
Rejoice
over her destruction!
The angel admonishes
all of Heaven to rejoice over her downfall.
He admonishes the
saints, apostles and prophets to rejoice over her downfall.
Because God has judged
her for the way she treated them.
A mighty angel picks up
a large millstone and throws it into the sea,
Symbolizing the
violence involved with the fall of Babylon.
With such violence she
will be destroyed never to be found again.
Her merchants were the
worlds great men.
Her magic spell, that
blinded men, by the power of Satan,
Led all the nations of
the earth astray.
Babylon is responsible
for the blood of all the prophets and all the saints,
And all who have been
killed on the earth.
This Prostitute is the
personification of wickedness,
The personification of
all that exalts itself
Against the Way, the Truth and the LIFE.
All that exalts itself
against God and His Christ.
Babylon
The Great, the last of the
great cities
That
personified the work of Satan
In this lost and fallen
world he dominates.
She was preceded by all
of the empires of old that lay in the dust,
Beginning with the
Tower of Babel from which she derives her name.
At the same time all
the cities of the Nations collapse.
They are all “little”
Babylons, of the same evil spirit. (Revelation 16:19)
Today,
the World is raging against God, rushing toward oblivion. (Psalm 2)
This
World in its present form is passing away. (1 Corinthians 7:31)
America
is being ground to powder because of her SIN against God.
Save
yourself from this Corrupt Generation! (Acts 2:40)
As
God has written, so shall it be! Hallelujah! Maranatha!
Father,
Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as in Heaven!
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