REVELATION LESSON 36
We will begin in Revelation 18:1 "And after these things I saw
another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth
was lightened with his glory."
In the last lesson we saw that the beast, and his system, and the
great whore were revealed. Here in chapter 18, we will see the
judgement that comes from God poured out on them. This "...angel..."
in V-1 was sent from heaven. This "...power..." spoken of here is
power that God has endowed on this angel for the execution of this
punishment. This "...angel..." has been in close association with the
Light. We see here that this powerful Light of Jesus, even though
second hand through the angel, still lightens the earth.
Revelation 18:2 "And he cried mightily with a strong voice,
saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the
habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of
every unclean and hateful bird."
There is a similar description of this very same thing in Isaiah
21:9 "And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, [with] a couple of
horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and
all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground."
Here we see the fall of the great apostate church. We also see the
fall of these ten evil nations. God is not mocked. God wins the war.
God has given up on them completely. Now judgement comes. Babylon is
a very wicked group, but they are not the world. They are the church
gone bad. For a while the world and the apostate church were walking
hand in hand. The evil ten nations, at last, have turned against this
apostate church, both Catholic and Protestant. This is the church that
has committed spiritual adultery. Iraq is physical Babylon.
This "...strong voice... came from God. This apostate church God
doesn't even claim any more. The real Christians are already in
heaven. Now we see even this watered down church fall, and that leaves
the way open for every unclean spirit that exists. Demons control.
Revelation 18:3 "For all nations have drunk of the wine of the
wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed
fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich
through the abundance of her delicacies."
You can see right here, that this evil spreads throughout all
nations. You would be hard pressed to find a country, in this world,
that has not been touched by the Catholic church. As I said before, I
do not believe that the apostate church is just Catholic. I believe
that all churches, who have compromised with the world, are part of
this apostosy. It truly is worldwide. The world has sold much
merchandise through Rome.
Revelation 18:4 "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying,
Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and
that ye receive not of her plagues."
True believers, who are still in this type of church, are very
foolish. God through this "...voice from heaven..." is saying,
"...Come out of her my people...". This is not speaking of Rome, but
the apostate church. His people are the church. He leaves no doubt
what a person should do if they are caught in these apostate churches.
You see, even though you are not committing sin, as such. You are
committing sin by association. The Bible tells us over and over not
to be unequally yoked with those of unbelief. If you do not remove
yourself , you are guilty of her sin. In V-4 above, we read that her
plagues will come to you as well.
If your church preaches that Jesus was not born of a virgin, or
the Red Sea did not part, that Jonah was not actually swallowed by a
whale, or if your church recognizes homosexuals and lesbians as
equals, and does not condemn it as sin, you had better get out.
No one or nothing should be put ahead of God. THERE IS NO MEDIATOR
BETWEEN MAN AND ALMIGHTY GOD EXCEPT JESUS. I Timothy 2:5 "For [there
is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus;" We should not bow down to graven images of anyone or anything.
We read in Exodus 20:4, one of the Commandments of God. Exodus 20:4
"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness [of
any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth
beneath, or that [is] in the water under the earth:"
Be careful how you worship. Be careful about the things of God.
Know who Jesus IS and why you worship Him. Be thoroughly convinced in
your heart. Do not listen to someone telling you what the Bible says.
Read and study it for yourself. God will reveal to you what it is
saying, if you are earnestly trying to learn. Even check out what I am
saying. Do not be easily swayed by anyone. Be wise as a serpent and
harmless as a dove.
Revelation 18:5 "For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God
hath remembered her iniquities."
We can hide our sins from each other, but we cannot hide them from
God. He knows.
It is always good to remember that all of Revelation was addressed
to the church. God gives us warnings and gives us time to repent. Even
now, here, when He has already passed judgement on this apostate
church , He is crying out for individuals to come out of this apostate
church. Jesus calls us all to righteousness and holiness in Him. It is
up to us to answer that call.
Revelation 18:6 "Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double
unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath
filled fill to her double."
You reap what you sow. When you plant a bean, you do not just get
one bean back. You get a whole crop of beans, and that is exactly what
this is talking about here, reaping what you sow.
Revelation 18:7 "How much she hath glorified herself, and lived
deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her
heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow."
Self-righteousness to the utmost is here.
This church feels like they have everything figured out. They do
not need change. Some of them have slipped so far, that they do not
have mid-week services. Probably, some of these are wealthy, old
churches and think they have need of nothing. They need one thing more
than anything else (a transfusion of the Holy Spirit of God) to get
them off dead center. Most of these churches really haven't had many
really true converts in ages. Few of these really teach the Word of
God; instead, they emphasize social reform. Those things are good in a
civic club, but not church.
Revelation 18:8 "Therefore shall her plagues come in one day,
death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with
fire: for strong [is] the Lord God who judgeth her."
Here we see the outcome of their bragging in the verse before this
one. We see, in the verse before, where they were living deliciously.
Suddenly, the punishment comes. One day means a short time. The Lord
God , who judges, is Jesus. God will put up with a lukewarm church for
a while, but not forever.
Revelation 18:9 "And the kings of the earth, who have committed
fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and
lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,"
These "...kings of the earth..." are no different than the common
people, in that they will be judged by Jesus as to how deep their
commitment to God is. Some of them have sinned, too. Their punishment
will be the same. The delay, in it, is that judgement begins at the
House of God. There are several reasons for their mourning her. One
being, they have had a lot of commercial transactions with her.
Another, is the fact that many of them were involved in this type of
church. As I was writing this, I began to cry, because my Christian
roots go back to one of these apostate churches. For over twenty years
now, I have been out of this church, but it still hurts.
This could be a literal or a spiritual "...burning...".
Revelation 18:10 "Standing afar off for the fear of her torment,
saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in
one hour is thy judgment come."
Many people try to name a city for "...Babylon..." here; a literal
city. Some believe Rome, some believe London, some believe New York.
When we were in New York a few years ago, most of the churches were
closed. They had an underground church. This "...standing afar
off...", could mean those who heeded and came out of her. It really
doesn't matter where. It may be all of these cities and many more, or
it might not be a literal city at all. I really believe this is both
an evil system and many evil cities, as well, being destroyed.
Revelation 18:11 "And the merchants of the earth shall weep and
mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:"
There will be great weeping when the only semblance of
Christianity is taken away, it will be bad beyond our comprehension.
This is when no one can buy, anyhow, if they do not have the mark of
the beast. War and all of these plagues will be so bad, I imagine
people will only be concerned with the necessities of life, like
finding a loaf of bread that will be available for a full day's wages.
Revelation 18:12 "The merchandise of gold, and silver, and
precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk,
and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and
all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and
marble,"
Revelation 18:13 "And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and
frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and
beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of
men."
It appears that these are classed in several types:
1. Personal items of jewelry
2. Articles used for furniture
3. Nice smelling and tasting things
4. Food
5. Animals
6. Souls of men
What significance this has, I do not know; unless, it means
worldly things. Most of these are things a person could do without (if
hard times came and you had to).
This "...souls of men...", is one of the more interesting. In the
days of the old Roman empire, they sold people as you would animals.
Perhaps that is what is meant there. They thought no more about
selling a person than they did a pair of shoes.
It appears to me, in all of this, that trade has just about
ceased-period. Probably, all the plagues and wars had just about
stopped everything.
Additional scriptures: Ezekiel 43:2, Isaiah 21:9, Jeremiah 1:39,
Job 31:25, Ezekiel 28:4, Matthew 24:6, Jeremiah 51:9, Luke 16:25,
Isaiah 47:8, Ezekiel 26:16, Isaiah 23, Exodus 30:23, and James 4.
Memorize Revelation 18:4 and James 5:1 6.
Revelation Questions 36
1. In V-1, describe the angel that came down.
2. Who has this angel been near in heaven?
3. He cried with a loud voice saying what?
4. Who had Babylon become the habitation of?
5. Where in the Old Testament, do we read of the fall of Babylon?
6. What is this fall of Babylon? Two things.
7. Is Babylon the world? Explain
8. Who controlled fallen Babylon?
9. All --------- have drunk of the wine of the wrath.
10. The ------------------- ----------- ---------have committed
fornication with her.
11. Which churches are part of the apostosy ?
12. When this church goes bad, what does God tell the people to do?
13. Name several things taught that should trigger you to leave your
church.
14. Who is the only mediator? Give the scripture.
15. What are we told in Exodus 20: 4 about images ?
16. What are at least five things we should be careful to do to make
sure we are worshipping correctly?
17. Where had Babylon's sins reached?
18. Jesus called us all to what two things?
19. What braggadocious remark had Babylon made?
20. What do we see in this remark?
21. What do these lukewarm churches need?
22. When will the plagues come on Babylon?
23. Who bewails her?
24. Why?
25. Where does judgement begin?
26. Why do the merchants weep and mourn?
27. Name some of the things that will not be sold any more.
28. Give them six classifications.
29. What was responsible for just about all commerce stopping?
30. Write Revelation 18:4.
31. Write James 5:16.
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