A Tale of Two Cities Part 2
Revelation 18:1-24
Message #32
We began last week talking about a “Tale of Two Cities.” The City of Jerusalem (The City of God) versus the City of Babylon (The City of Man). And although some people see this Babylon as the physical city rebuilt there – built on the edge of the Euphrates River, right where we have the largest military embassy/base in the world built fifty miles from Bagdad. Some people believe it’s the spiritual name for Rome. And we see Babylon representing two systems of Man. It’s the epitome of everything that is contrary to God in the world ruling system of the End Times.
1). The system of the world’s False Religion symbolized by the goddess Asherah riding Baal
2). The world system of money and political power symbolized by Baal (the bull)
It is the economic and political control of the world that exists in the Tribulation. Babylon is the system of control both from the False Religion standpoint and from an economic and political control standpoint. It is the world-controlling (or world-ruling) system of the Antichrist fed by the Satanic trinity. You’ve got Satan (the Dragon), you’ve got the Antichrist, and you’ve got the False Prophet. They’re all in this system of the world that makes up Babylon.
In Chapter 17, we focused on the false religion of the world, symbolized by the goddess Asherah (who became Europe). Today, in Chapter 18, we focus on the bull side (Baal) of that statue we looked at in the last message. It is the economic and political control of the world that exists in the Tribulation. Babylon is the system of control both from the False Religion standpoint and from an economic and political control standpoint. It is the world-controlling (or world-ruling) system of the Antichrist fed by the Satanic trinity. You’ve got Satan (the Dragon), you’ve got the Antichrist, and you’ve got the False Prophet. They’re all in this system of the world that makes up Babylon.
And then, beginning in Revelation Chapter 19, we’ll see the earthly and eternal victory of the City of Jerusalem.
So, here’s some good news for you. This is the last chapter in Revelation of pure judgment.
So, Chapter 17, the world’s False Religion judged by God (Asherah)
Chapter 18, the world system of money and political power judged by God (Baal)
Chapter 19 begins the earthy and eternal victory of Jerusalem and the people of God.
The second of the two world systems in the Last Days is the world system of economic and political power, and it is symbolized by the Bull (Baal) that the goddess of False Religion is riding on from last message. Jesus used a word for this world system of money and power. Jesus called it mammon.
Please listen closely. Jesus used the word mammon because mammon speaks of more than just “money.” If it were just money, then Jesus would have said, “money.”
Mammon is defined as the things that wealth brings that are worshiped in opposition to God.
Mammon is NOT just money. It is the god of seeking and worshiping the “things of the world” that revolve around the love of money. You could add all kinds of things to that list. It’s “stuff.” It’s “affluence.” It’s “power.” It’s “control.” The things that money brings (loving and worshiping those things) that’s mammon.
That’s why Jesus said in Luke 16:13, You cannot serve God and mammon. Mammon was actually an ancient Babylon God that represented the love of everything wealth could gain, and Babylon was actually called “The City of Mammon.”
And so, the main street in our City of Babylon today we are going to call Mammon Road. It’s the road of loving and craving (in a way, worshiping) all the “things of this world” that revolve around the love of money, and Revelation Chapter 18 shows us exactly where that road ends.
I used to tell my kids – and I still use this – because I’ve always been involved with people who have been on some long roads that haven’t been great for them. And so, I lovingly tell my kids, “Hey. Do you want to end up like that? Because that’s the road.” That’s where this road leads. Ten years of alcohol, or porn, or adultery, or whatever the sin is, there’s a road that goes down this path. And it goes somewhere. And so, you have to look down at the end of the road and say, “Huh. Do I want to be there?” And if so, first, make a better decision. But if not, then get off that road. They have taken that to heart.
The point is, you’re going to see where the road of Babylon, the world-ruling culture of Babylon, ends.
Revelation 18:1 (NLT)
1 After all this I saw another angel come down from heaven with great authority, and the earth grew bright with his splendor.
After the complete destruction of the world’s False Religion symbolized by Asherah (the goddess of all false religion, but primarily sex, reproduction, and war) we saw in Chapter 17, we now see another angel coming down from Heaven with great authority and illuminating the earth with his splendor. Some people say, “Oh. That must be Jesus.” I don’t know. I don’t know if it is or not. We’re just going to move on; if it is Jesus, great. If not, it’s okay. Here’s the thing. Jesus gets to do whatever he wants. So, if he says, “Hey. Let me do this one. This is awesome,” then he might have just done it himself.
And verse 2 tells us why he’s coming down from Heaven.
Revelation 18:2 (NLT)
2 He gave a mighty shout: “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen! She has become a home for demons. She is a hideout for every foul spirit, a hideout for every foul vulture and every foul and dreadful animal.
Remember that Babylon is the world system that is controlling the End Times through False Religion and the love of mammon.
Babylon represents the best and the most this world has to offer in the Last Days with the help and direct involvement of the satanic trinity of Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet.
But now, all that represents the best of those who belong to the world.
ALL OF IT has become a home for demons
a hideout for every foul spirit,
a hideout for every foul vulture,
and every foul and dreadful animal.
The ultimate world system symbolized by Babylon has quickly become the dwelling place of only the demonic.
Revelation 18:3 (NLT)
3 For all the nations have fallen because of the wine of her passionate immorality (Chapter 17). The kings of the world have committed adultery with her (Chapter 17). Because of her desires for extravagant luxury, the merchants of the world have grown rich.”
That is the mammon system – the world system of money and power. And so, not only from a “False Religion” perspective but also from a mammon perspective.
This “world system” has brought
spiritual immorality and adultery (and physical as well)
extravagant luxury and riches
Warren Weirsbe says This is the world system that caters to those who are “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”
Which is exactly how the Last Days are described in 2 Timothy 3:4. Men will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Have you sensed that in our culture in the last fifty years? Prayer was taken out of school in 1962, close to when the Beatles came on the scene. You can see the decline of Judeo-Christian values in our culture since then because they’re after the children. If they can get the children, then they get the next generation. Man, be alert.
So, today we look at our culture, and we think, hey! Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Yeah! I can see some signs of that in our culture.
Jeremiah warned God’s people to flee the world system of the physical Babylon (after Nebuchadnezzar took Israel captive and took them to Babylon for seventy years) because they were getting comfortable there. They were “Buying into it."
When Cyrus actually allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem, most did not. You may or may not know that the Israelites returned in three waves, Nehemiah being the last. And Ezra, probably in the first. And it’s a critical time. But if you really look at it as a whole, a whole bunch of Israelites didn’t want to leave Babylon.
Here is what Jeremiah said.
Jeremiah 50:8 - Flee from the midst of Babylon
Jeremiah 51:6 - “Flee from the midst of Babylon, let every one save his life!
Jeremiah 51:45 - “Get out of the midst of [Babylon], my people! Let every one save his life from the fierce anger of the Lord! (reference to judgment coming upon Babylon)
This, in around 500-400 BC, is the physical Babylon. But Babylon represents what we see in the End Times. Maybe even the city is rebuilt. All the way from Jeremiah, God has been warning his people to flee the midst of Babylon, which represents False Religion and the worship of Mammon, which is all the things that come from money.
God has sent his people warning after warning from Jeremiah to Revelation.
I don’t know when Revelation 18 is going to occur. We see God’s final warning here in Revelation 18, verses 4-5.
Revelation 18:4–5 (NLT)
4 Then I heard another voice calling from heaven, “Come away from her, my people. Do not take part in her sins, or you will be punished with her.
5 For her sins are piled as high as heaven, and God remembers her evil deeds.
God says, “Come away to me. . . " Don’t be seduced into the ways of Babylon. Don’t share in the sins of Babylon so that you won’t share in the judgment that’s coming.
The final judgment of God is coming on the world-ruling system of Babylon – both its False Religion and its worship of mammon.
This is why Jesus said We cannot serve BOTH God and Mammon.
And that is why 1 John 2, verse 15 says this.
1 John 2:15(a) (NLT)
15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you . . .
That’s mammon. The things of the world. The things that mammon offers you. And I made it clear, right, that it’s not about money. It’s not about money. It’s about how you feel about money.
This is critical. How much money do you have to have in your pocket to love money? Zero! You have ten dollars; you can have ten million dollars. It’s not the money. It’s your heart. It’s your heart condition.
I’ve seen very poor people that LOVE money!! And they usually spend all their money buying lottery tickets, hoping to get more money. And I’ve seen people with a whole bunch of money that look like they are greeters at Walmart. I mean, they’re just people, you know? You can’t tell. Because it’s the heart that God is looking at. That’s the thing. . . it’s the heart. So, don’t love money – it’s a heart condition. If God gives you money, then here’s what I say. “Be afraid. Because money is a dangerous thing.” And so, you have to guard yourself not to love your money. But if God gives you money, then he has a purpose for giving it to you. So, figure it out, and do it. If you’re doing what you love and God blesses you with money, then, again, be afraid. When I say afraid, I mean careful. Be careful. It’s so easy for money to get its claws in you.
Jesus didn’t say, “Money is the root of all evil,” right? You know that, right? He said, “The love of money is the root of all evil.”
1 John 2:15 (NLT)
15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.
Why? Because Jesus said, you have to serve God or Mammon. Choose. You can’t do both. So, if your heart loves Mammon, the things that you get through money – if that’s what you’re worshiping – then you can’t have the love of God in you because you’re full. You’re already full with the love of money.
Babylon represents the seductive and deceiving world system of all things worshiped in opposition to God. And God shows us here in Revelation Chapter 18 the end of the road for this world system.
God has been warning the world system since the Tower of Babel in Genesis Chapter 11. But the time of warning is over, and it’s time for action.
Revelation 18:6–8 (NLT)
6 Do to her as she has done to others. Double her penalty for all her evil deeds. She brewed a cup of terror for others, so brew twice as much for her.
7 She glorified herself and lived in luxury (that’s Mammon – the system of Mammon), so match it now with torment and sorrow. She boasted in her heart (again, a result of that Mammon kind of heart), ‘I am queen on my throne. I am no helpless widow, and I have no reason to mourn.’ (speaking about the system of Babylon)
8 Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day - death and mourning and famine. She will be completely consumed by fire, for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.”
This is the final judgment of the System of Babylon that worships the things of this world and stands in opposition to God.
And next, we get a picture of those who have been seduced by this world system.
First, it’s the Kings of the earth.
Revelation 18:9–10 (NLT)
9 And the kings of the world who committed adultery with her (again, most likely spiritual adultery) and enjoyed her great luxury (that’s the Mammon side) will mourn for her as they see the smoke rising from her charred remains.
10 They will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will cry out, “How terrible, how terrible for you, O Babylon, you great city! In a single moment God’s judgment came on you.”
The Kings of the earth cry out and lament of the complete destruction of this great world system. They are obviously being affected by it – you can see the connection there. But the judgment is obviously in the context, falling on them because they’re in the middle of Babylon, which is what God promised would happen to those who are.
Next are the merchants of the earth, who cry out in a similar way.
Revelation 18:11–14 (NLT)
11 The merchants of the world will weep and mourn for her, for there is no one left to buy their goods.
Let me just tell you about verses 12 and 13. If you could think of anything you could have in this world, as in unlimited money, and you could just have anything and everything you wanted, that’s what’s listed here in verses 12 and 13 in first-century terms. This is anything and everything that money could possibly buy you.
12 She (the system of Babylon) bought great quantities of gold, silver, jewels, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet cloth; things made of fragrant thyine wood, ivory goods, and objects made of expensive wood; and bronze, iron, and marble.
13 She also bought cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, wagons, and bodies—that is, human slaves.
14 “The fancy things you loved so much are gone,” they cry. “All your luxuries and splendor are gone forever, never to be yours again.”
Remember, mammon is defined as “worshiping the things of the world that revolve around the LOVE of money.” All that you were searching for in your deep desire for “things of this world” – it all comes up empty!! It all vanishes in a moment!! And the world system that represents all things that are in opposition to God is being finally and completely judged.
Then, in verses 15-17, is more about the money and power of the world system of Babylon.
Revelation 18:15–17(a) (NLT)
15 The merchants who became wealthy by selling her these things will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will weep and cry out,
16 “How terrible, how terrible for that great city! She was clothed in finest purple and scarlet linens, decked out with gold and precious stones and pearls!
17 In a single moment all the wealth of the city is gone!” . . .
Don’t misunderstand the picture here. This is not a warning to God-fearing business people today. The world today needs more godly business people.
Babylon is a picture of the epitome of
Those who love the things of this world
Those who love the pleasures of this world
Babylon is a picture of those who chase after – at all costs – the money, pleasure, and power of this world.
The picture of those who love and worship the pleasures of this world system is not done being painted.
Revelation 18:17(b)–19 (NLT)
17 . . . And all the captains of the merchant ships and their passengers and sailors and crews will stand at a distance.
18 They will cry out as they watch the smoke ascend, and they will say, “Where is there another city as great as this?”
19 And they will weep and throw dust on their heads to show their grief. And they will cry out, “How terrible, how terrible for that great city! The shipowners became wealthy by transporting her great wealth on the seas. In a single moment it is all gone.”
Three times we have read in a single moment it is all gone. In a single moment, all of the world’s economic power will be destroyed. The entire world system built around the pleasure that comes from the love of money will be destroyed in a single moment. And all who have been seduced into loving the things of this world, every person caught up in the love of mammon – they will all be weeping and wailing when the end of the mammon road finally comes.
But not so for those who have chosen God over the love of this world.
In verse 20, God tells those who belong to him to rejoice over the judgment of Babylon.
Revelation 18:20 (NLT)
20 Rejoice over her fate, O heaven and people of God and apostles and prophets! For at last God has judged her for your sakes.
at last God has judged her for your sakes
At this point in the Tribulation, an untold number of martyrs have been killed by this world system of Babylon, and God says rejoice. I have poured out this judgment to vindicate the suffering of the saints at the hands of this final world-ruling system.
The martyrs first asked God way back in Chapter 6 when he would vindicate their suffering, and now that vindication is complete.
Next, we see a “tangible illustration” of God’s judgment. And God has already used this same “illustration of judgment” in the physical ancient Babylon (in Jeremiah 51). And now, God sends his final message to the world system of Babylon.
Revelation 18:21–23 (NLT)
21 Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a huge millstone. He threw it into the ocean and shouted, “Just like this, the great city Babylon will be thrown down with violence and will never be found again.
22 The sound of harps, singers, flutes, and trumpets will never be heard in you again. No craftsmen and no trades will ever be found in you again. The sound of the mill will never be heard in you again.
23 The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The happy voices of brides and grooms will never be heard in you again. For your merchants were the greatest in the world, and you deceived the nations with your sorceries.
At the end of Babylon Road, there is a cliff that this world is going over, like Thelma and Louise driving full force into the Grand Canyon.
The world system of false religion, the worship of all things mammon in the place of God, will end like a millstone being thrown into the ocean by a mighty angel.
And notice also at the end of verse 23 it says, the world system of Babylon has deceived the nations with her sorceries.
Have you ever known someone so obsessed with chasing after the things of this world that they seem possessed by it? It’s like when someone asked Rockefeller how much money is enough for him, and he answered, “One dollar more.” It’s like someone has a spell on this kind of person.
Then, our final verse.
Revelation 18:24 (NLT)
24 In your streets flowed the blood of the prophets and of God’s holy people and the blood of people slaughtered all over the world.”
Within the world system of Babylon
The streets flowed with the blood of the prophets
and of God’s holy people
and the blood of people slaughtered all over the world
The blood of God’s martyrs is on the hands of this final world ruling system of Babylon. Again, it’s not money; it’s the drive for it – I’ll do anything to get that money. Got to have that money!
Guys, the wheels of God’s justice grind slowly (really since Genesis 11 and the Tower of Babel – here they end), but they grind exceedingly fine. And finally, at this point in Revelation, the world system of Man and the Beast has been completely judged and destroyed.
And then we have the next chapter with “songs of victory in Heaven.”
From this point on - we are going to see:
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
The Second Coming of Jesus Christ
The Millennium
And the New Heaven and New Earth
There are still some “moments” of final judgment, the judgment at the end of the Millennium and the judgment at the Great White Throne of Judgment. But at this point, the wrath of God on the earth is finished. Say amen!!
So, in these two difficult chapters about the world system of Babylon, hopefully, we have learned
1). We’ve GOT to be ON GUARD for FALSE RELIGION and
2). We’ve GOT to be ON GUARD - For LOVING This World and Serving the god of MAMMON
Chapter 17 made it clear, the end of the road for false religion is judgment, and Chapter 18 makes it clear, the end of the road for this world system of mammon is judgment.
But isn’t it great that we can turn to the end of the book and see where these roads lead? And then we can say to ourselves, do I want to be embracing the false religion of this world. Do I want to be obsessed with chasing after the things of this world? Do I want to be loving and serving God?
Remember, it’s a Tale of Two Cities. You can be a citizen of Babylon, living in false religion and loving the things of this world, or you can be a citizen of the Heavenly Jerusalem, living with God for eternity.
When you get right down to it, it seems like a pretty clear choice, doesn’t it? So, let’s evaluate our lives and let’s see if we’re serving the right God. Not the god of this world’s Babylon called mammon, but the God of Heaven, Jesus Christ.
Let’s serve him, let’s love him, and walk with him. Let’s chase after our heavenly inheritance. Let’s store up our heavenly treasures. Let’s focus on our heavenly reward, and let’s leave behind this soon-to-be-judged world system of Babylon.
1). The system of the world’s False Religion symbolized by the goddess Asherah riding Baal
2). The world system of money and political power symbolized by Baal (the bull)
It is the economic and political control of the world that exists in the Tribulation. Babylon is the system of control both from the False Religion standpoint and from an economic and political control standpoint. It is the world-controlling (or world-ruling) system of the Antichrist fed by the Satanic trinity. You’ve got Satan (the Dragon), you’ve got the Antichrist, and you’ve got the False Prophet. They’re all in this system of the world that makes up Babylon.
In Chapter 17, we focused on the false religion of the world, symbolized by the goddess Asherah (who became Europe). Today, in Chapter 18, we focus on the bull side (Baal) of that statue we looked at in the last message. It is the economic and political control of the world that exists in the Tribulation. Babylon is the system of control both from the False Religion standpoint and from an economic and political control standpoint. It is the world-controlling (or world-ruling) system of the Antichrist fed by the Satanic trinity. You’ve got Satan (the Dragon), you’ve got the Antichrist, and you’ve got the False Prophet. They’re all in this system of the world that makes up Babylon.
And then, beginning in Revelation Chapter 19, we’ll see the earthly and eternal victory of the City of Jerusalem.
So, here’s some good news for you. This is the last chapter in Revelation of pure judgment.
So, Chapter 17, the world’s False Religion judged by God (Asherah)
Chapter 18, the world system of money and political power judged by God (Baal)
Chapter 19 begins the earthy and eternal victory of Jerusalem and the people of God.
The second of the two world systems in the Last Days is the world system of economic and political power, and it is symbolized by the Bull (Baal) that the goddess of False Religion is riding on from last message. Jesus used a word for this world system of money and power. Jesus called it mammon.
Please listen closely. Jesus used the word mammon because mammon speaks of more than just “money.” If it were just money, then Jesus would have said, “money.”
Mammon is defined as the things that wealth brings that are worshiped in opposition to God.
Mammon is NOT just money. It is the god of seeking and worshiping the “things of the world” that revolve around the love of money. You could add all kinds of things to that list. It’s “stuff.” It’s “affluence.” It’s “power.” It’s “control.” The things that money brings (loving and worshiping those things) that’s mammon.
That’s why Jesus said in Luke 16:13, You cannot serve God and mammon. Mammon was actually an ancient Babylon God that represented the love of everything wealth could gain, and Babylon was actually called “The City of Mammon.”
And so, the main street in our City of Babylon today we are going to call Mammon Road. It’s the road of loving and craving (in a way, worshiping) all the “things of this world” that revolve around the love of money, and Revelation Chapter 18 shows us exactly where that road ends.
I used to tell my kids – and I still use this – because I’ve always been involved with people who have been on some long roads that haven’t been great for them. And so, I lovingly tell my kids, “Hey. Do you want to end up like that? Because that’s the road.” That’s where this road leads. Ten years of alcohol, or porn, or adultery, or whatever the sin is, there’s a road that goes down this path. And it goes somewhere. And so, you have to look down at the end of the road and say, “Huh. Do I want to be there?” And if so, first, make a better decision. But if not, then get off that road. They have taken that to heart.
The point is, you’re going to see where the road of Babylon, the world-ruling culture of Babylon, ends.
Revelation 18:1 (NLT)
1 After all this I saw another angel come down from heaven with great authority, and the earth grew bright with his splendor.
After the complete destruction of the world’s False Religion symbolized by Asherah (the goddess of all false religion, but primarily sex, reproduction, and war) we saw in Chapter 17, we now see another angel coming down from Heaven with great authority and illuminating the earth with his splendor. Some people say, “Oh. That must be Jesus.” I don’t know. I don’t know if it is or not. We’re just going to move on; if it is Jesus, great. If not, it’s okay. Here’s the thing. Jesus gets to do whatever he wants. So, if he says, “Hey. Let me do this one. This is awesome,” then he might have just done it himself.
And verse 2 tells us why he’s coming down from Heaven.
Revelation 18:2 (NLT)
2 He gave a mighty shout: “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen! She has become a home for demons. She is a hideout for every foul spirit, a hideout for every foul vulture and every foul and dreadful animal.
Remember that Babylon is the world system that is controlling the End Times through False Religion and the love of mammon.
Babylon represents the best and the most this world has to offer in the Last Days with the help and direct involvement of the satanic trinity of Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet.
But now, all that represents the best of those who belong to the world.
ALL OF IT has become a home for demons
a hideout for every foul spirit,
a hideout for every foul vulture,
and every foul and dreadful animal.
The ultimate world system symbolized by Babylon has quickly become the dwelling place of only the demonic.
Revelation 18:3 (NLT)
3 For all the nations have fallen because of the wine of her passionate immorality (Chapter 17). The kings of the world have committed adultery with her (Chapter 17). Because of her desires for extravagant luxury, the merchants of the world have grown rich.”
That is the mammon system – the world system of money and power. And so, not only from a “False Religion” perspective but also from a mammon perspective.
This “world system” has brought
spiritual immorality and adultery (and physical as well)
extravagant luxury and riches
Warren Weirsbe says This is the world system that caters to those who are “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”
Which is exactly how the Last Days are described in 2 Timothy 3:4. Men will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Have you sensed that in our culture in the last fifty years? Prayer was taken out of school in 1962, close to when the Beatles came on the scene. You can see the decline of Judeo-Christian values in our culture since then because they’re after the children. If they can get the children, then they get the next generation. Man, be alert.
So, today we look at our culture, and we think, hey! Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Yeah! I can see some signs of that in our culture.
Jeremiah warned God’s people to flee the world system of the physical Babylon (after Nebuchadnezzar took Israel captive and took them to Babylon for seventy years) because they were getting comfortable there. They were “Buying into it."
When Cyrus actually allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem, most did not. You may or may not know that the Israelites returned in three waves, Nehemiah being the last. And Ezra, probably in the first. And it’s a critical time. But if you really look at it as a whole, a whole bunch of Israelites didn’t want to leave Babylon.
Here is what Jeremiah said.
Jeremiah 50:8 - Flee from the midst of Babylon
Jeremiah 51:6 - “Flee from the midst of Babylon, let every one save his life!
Jeremiah 51:45 - “Get out of the midst of [Babylon], my people! Let every one save his life from the fierce anger of the Lord! (reference to judgment coming upon Babylon)
This, in around 500-400 BC, is the physical Babylon. But Babylon represents what we see in the End Times. Maybe even the city is rebuilt. All the way from Jeremiah, God has been warning his people to flee the midst of Babylon, which represents False Religion and the worship of Mammon, which is all the things that come from money.
God has sent his people warning after warning from Jeremiah to Revelation.
I don’t know when Revelation 18 is going to occur. We see God’s final warning here in Revelation 18, verses 4-5.
Revelation 18:4–5 (NLT)
4 Then I heard another voice calling from heaven, “Come away from her, my people. Do not take part in her sins, or you will be punished with her.
5 For her sins are piled as high as heaven, and God remembers her evil deeds.
God says, “Come away to me. . . " Don’t be seduced into the ways of Babylon. Don’t share in the sins of Babylon so that you won’t share in the judgment that’s coming.
The final judgment of God is coming on the world-ruling system of Babylon – both its False Religion and its worship of mammon.
This is why Jesus said We cannot serve BOTH God and Mammon.
And that is why 1 John 2, verse 15 says this.
1 John 2:15(a) (NLT)
15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you . . .
That’s mammon. The things of the world. The things that mammon offers you. And I made it clear, right, that it’s not about money. It’s not about money. It’s about how you feel about money.
This is critical. How much money do you have to have in your pocket to love money? Zero! You have ten dollars; you can have ten million dollars. It’s not the money. It’s your heart. It’s your heart condition.
I’ve seen very poor people that LOVE money!! And they usually spend all their money buying lottery tickets, hoping to get more money. And I’ve seen people with a whole bunch of money that look like they are greeters at Walmart. I mean, they’re just people, you know? You can’t tell. Because it’s the heart that God is looking at. That’s the thing. . . it’s the heart. So, don’t love money – it’s a heart condition. If God gives you money, then here’s what I say. “Be afraid. Because money is a dangerous thing.” And so, you have to guard yourself not to love your money. But if God gives you money, then he has a purpose for giving it to you. So, figure it out, and do it. If you’re doing what you love and God blesses you with money, then, again, be afraid. When I say afraid, I mean careful. Be careful. It’s so easy for money to get its claws in you.
Jesus didn’t say, “Money is the root of all evil,” right? You know that, right? He said, “The love of money is the root of all evil.”
1 John 2:15 (NLT)
15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.
Why? Because Jesus said, you have to serve God or Mammon. Choose. You can’t do both. So, if your heart loves Mammon, the things that you get through money – if that’s what you’re worshiping – then you can’t have the love of God in you because you’re full. You’re already full with the love of money.
Babylon represents the seductive and deceiving world system of all things worshiped in opposition to God. And God shows us here in Revelation Chapter 18 the end of the road for this world system.
God has been warning the world system since the Tower of Babel in Genesis Chapter 11. But the time of warning is over, and it’s time for action.
Revelation 18:6–8 (NLT)
6 Do to her as she has done to others. Double her penalty for all her evil deeds. She brewed a cup of terror for others, so brew twice as much for her.
7 She glorified herself and lived in luxury (that’s Mammon – the system of Mammon), so match it now with torment and sorrow. She boasted in her heart (again, a result of that Mammon kind of heart), ‘I am queen on my throne. I am no helpless widow, and I have no reason to mourn.’ (speaking about the system of Babylon)
8 Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day - death and mourning and famine. She will be completely consumed by fire, for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.”
This is the final judgment of the System of Babylon that worships the things of this world and stands in opposition to God.
And next, we get a picture of those who have been seduced by this world system.
First, it’s the Kings of the earth.
Revelation 18:9–10 (NLT)
9 And the kings of the world who committed adultery with her (again, most likely spiritual adultery) and enjoyed her great luxury (that’s the Mammon side) will mourn for her as they see the smoke rising from her charred remains.
10 They will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will cry out, “How terrible, how terrible for you, O Babylon, you great city! In a single moment God’s judgment came on you.”
The Kings of the earth cry out and lament of the complete destruction of this great world system. They are obviously being affected by it – you can see the connection there. But the judgment is obviously in the context, falling on them because they’re in the middle of Babylon, which is what God promised would happen to those who are.
Next are the merchants of the earth, who cry out in a similar way.
Revelation 18:11–14 (NLT)
11 The merchants of the world will weep and mourn for her, for there is no one left to buy their goods.
Let me just tell you about verses 12 and 13. If you could think of anything you could have in this world, as in unlimited money, and you could just have anything and everything you wanted, that’s what’s listed here in verses 12 and 13 in first-century terms. This is anything and everything that money could possibly buy you.
12 She (the system of Babylon) bought great quantities of gold, silver, jewels, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet cloth; things made of fragrant thyine wood, ivory goods, and objects made of expensive wood; and bronze, iron, and marble.
13 She also bought cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, wagons, and bodies—that is, human slaves.
14 “The fancy things you loved so much are gone,” they cry. “All your luxuries and splendor are gone forever, never to be yours again.”
Remember, mammon is defined as “worshiping the things of the world that revolve around the LOVE of money.” All that you were searching for in your deep desire for “things of this world” – it all comes up empty!! It all vanishes in a moment!! And the world system that represents all things that are in opposition to God is being finally and completely judged.
Then, in verses 15-17, is more about the money and power of the world system of Babylon.
Revelation 18:15–17(a) (NLT)
15 The merchants who became wealthy by selling her these things will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will weep and cry out,
16 “How terrible, how terrible for that great city! She was clothed in finest purple and scarlet linens, decked out with gold and precious stones and pearls!
17 In a single moment all the wealth of the city is gone!” . . .
Don’t misunderstand the picture here. This is not a warning to God-fearing business people today. The world today needs more godly business people.
Babylon is a picture of the epitome of
Those who love the things of this world
Those who love the pleasures of this world
Babylon is a picture of those who chase after – at all costs – the money, pleasure, and power of this world.
The picture of those who love and worship the pleasures of this world system is not done being painted.
Revelation 18:17(b)–19 (NLT)
17 . . . And all the captains of the merchant ships and their passengers and sailors and crews will stand at a distance.
18 They will cry out as they watch the smoke ascend, and they will say, “Where is there another city as great as this?”
19 And they will weep and throw dust on their heads to show their grief. And they will cry out, “How terrible, how terrible for that great city! The shipowners became wealthy by transporting her great wealth on the seas. In a single moment it is all gone.”
Three times we have read in a single moment it is all gone. In a single moment, all of the world’s economic power will be destroyed. The entire world system built around the pleasure that comes from the love of money will be destroyed in a single moment. And all who have been seduced into loving the things of this world, every person caught up in the love of mammon – they will all be weeping and wailing when the end of the mammon road finally comes.
But not so for those who have chosen God over the love of this world.
In verse 20, God tells those who belong to him to rejoice over the judgment of Babylon.
Revelation 18:20 (NLT)
20 Rejoice over her fate, O heaven and people of God and apostles and prophets! For at last God has judged her for your sakes.
at last God has judged her for your sakes
At this point in the Tribulation, an untold number of martyrs have been killed by this world system of Babylon, and God says rejoice. I have poured out this judgment to vindicate the suffering of the saints at the hands of this final world-ruling system.
The martyrs first asked God way back in Chapter 6 when he would vindicate their suffering, and now that vindication is complete.
Next, we see a “tangible illustration” of God’s judgment. And God has already used this same “illustration of judgment” in the physical ancient Babylon (in Jeremiah 51). And now, God sends his final message to the world system of Babylon.
Revelation 18:21–23 (NLT)
21 Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a huge millstone. He threw it into the ocean and shouted, “Just like this, the great city Babylon will be thrown down with violence and will never be found again.
22 The sound of harps, singers, flutes, and trumpets will never be heard in you again. No craftsmen and no trades will ever be found in you again. The sound of the mill will never be heard in you again.
23 The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The happy voices of brides and grooms will never be heard in you again. For your merchants were the greatest in the world, and you deceived the nations with your sorceries.
At the end of Babylon Road, there is a cliff that this world is going over, like Thelma and Louise driving full force into the Grand Canyon.
The world system of false religion, the worship of all things mammon in the place of God, will end like a millstone being thrown into the ocean by a mighty angel.
And notice also at the end of verse 23 it says, the world system of Babylon has deceived the nations with her sorceries.
Have you ever known someone so obsessed with chasing after the things of this world that they seem possessed by it? It’s like when someone asked Rockefeller how much money is enough for him, and he answered, “One dollar more.” It’s like someone has a spell on this kind of person.
Then, our final verse.
Revelation 18:24 (NLT)
24 In your streets flowed the blood of the prophets and of God’s holy people and the blood of people slaughtered all over the world.”
Within the world system of Babylon
The streets flowed with the blood of the prophets
and of God’s holy people
and the blood of people slaughtered all over the world
The blood of God’s martyrs is on the hands of this final world ruling system of Babylon. Again, it’s not money; it’s the drive for it – I’ll do anything to get that money. Got to have that money!
Guys, the wheels of God’s justice grind slowly (really since Genesis 11 and the Tower of Babel – here they end), but they grind exceedingly fine. And finally, at this point in Revelation, the world system of Man and the Beast has been completely judged and destroyed.
And then we have the next chapter with “songs of victory in Heaven.”
From this point on - we are going to see:
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
The Second Coming of Jesus Christ
The Millennium
And the New Heaven and New Earth
There are still some “moments” of final judgment, the judgment at the end of the Millennium and the judgment at the Great White Throne of Judgment. But at this point, the wrath of God on the earth is finished. Say amen!!
So, in these two difficult chapters about the world system of Babylon, hopefully, we have learned
1). We’ve GOT to be ON GUARD for FALSE RELIGION and
2). We’ve GOT to be ON GUARD - For LOVING This World and Serving the god of MAMMON
Chapter 17 made it clear, the end of the road for false religion is judgment, and Chapter 18 makes it clear, the end of the road for this world system of mammon is judgment.
But isn’t it great that we can turn to the end of the book and see where these roads lead? And then we can say to ourselves, do I want to be embracing the false religion of this world. Do I want to be obsessed with chasing after the things of this world? Do I want to be loving and serving God?
Remember, it’s a Tale of Two Cities. You can be a citizen of Babylon, living in false religion and loving the things of this world, or you can be a citizen of the Heavenly Jerusalem, living with God for eternity.
When you get right down to it, it seems like a pretty clear choice, doesn’t it? So, let’s evaluate our lives and let’s see if we’re serving the right God. Not the god of this world’s Babylon called mammon, but the God of Heaven, Jesus Christ.
Let’s serve him, let’s love him, and walk with him. Let’s chase after our heavenly inheritance. Let’s store up our heavenly treasures. Let’s focus on our heavenly reward, and let’s leave behind this soon-to-be-judged world system of Babylon.