First, let’s talk about the fall of the great city of Babylon. One of her fornications refers to excessive luxury and pursuit of material enjoyments. Christians know that the love of money is the root of all evil! Some people are tempted away from the truth because they are greedy for money. Second, Christians must come out of that city, not pursue material enjoyments, and separate themselves from the world. We also talked about how God would judge her in due time and she would receive double retribution. Third, the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her also pursued material enjoyments like her, and when they saw her punishment coming in an instant, just like if the rabbit died and the fox was sad. Fourth, we see what the merchants on earth did, especially since their goods included slaves and people. No reason that they’ll be spared. Fifth, those who make a living by the sea have enjoyed material abundance because of her. Now the values of pursuing material enjoyments have changed in an instant! Sixth, from the final encounter with the great city of Babylon, we know that God’s love includes justice, not doting. This is how God’s justice with love has been accomplished! We also mention by the way that we need to be able to read the Bible correctly! Reading the Bible is to read out what God wants to tell us through the Bible, not to read into it from a human perspective! We gave an example from the Book of Revelation to illustrate this point.
1. The fall of the great city of Babylon
“After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory. And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.””(Revelation 18:1-3)
We see the angel with heavenly glory. Last time we saw that the beast and the ten horns united to destroy the political power that controlled the earth, the great harlot. That means that the great city of Babylon fell. As the result, this place became the residence of demons and so on. Obviously, her prostitution includes this item, which refers to pursuing material enjoyment with excessive luxury. Such kind of values will naturally make merchants on the earth rich. Isn’t this the same as the values in today’s world for many to pursue?
Christians should pursue godliness, since “…godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”(1 Timothy 6:6-10) Christians must be separated from the rest world!
This does not mean that Christians must live in poverty. Wasn’t Abraham very rich? But he is not greedy for money; he is a blessing from God. If we live a comfortable life knowing that it is God’s blessing, is it right not to insist on it? This is disobedience to God and is viewed from a human perspective rather than from God’s perspective.
2. Don’t walk with the evil one
“I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong.”(Revelation 18:4-8)
Yes, Christians must come out of that city, stop pursuing material enjoyment, and separate themselves from the world. As we talked about last time, it reached the God’s appointed time to judge her. The verses says clearly that she would receive double retribution and also clearly stated what kind of retribution she would receive. From a human perspective, she thought she had already taken the position of queen, so how could she get retribution in one day? But she forgot that God is a powerful God, and when His time comes, judgment will come immediately, in one day. Think about it, how could God not be able to do so? If God had allowed it, even Satan could have caused Job to lose all his children and most of his property in one day. Not all of his property though since at least one person would be left to inform the news. We also see that this includes fire came down from heaven. (See Job 1:12-19) So the city was truly consumed by fire.
3. What the kings of the earth did
“And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’”(Revelation 18:9-10)
The kings of the earth who committed adultery with her could only watch from a distance. Like her, they pursued material enjoyment, and when they saw her punishment, it came in an instant. She was gone, and surely if the rabbit dies, the fox grieves. Although the Bible does not say that it will be their turn next, their turn should come since God is fair. He will not just punish her and skip them who have done the same thing as her. I wonder if they will think of this and repent? Or are you still hard-hearted?
4. What merchants on earth did
“And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more— cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble, and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives. The fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men will no longer find them. The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls; for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!’…”(Revelation 18:11-17)
Of course, the merchants on the ground will cry and mourn for her, because no one will buy their goods anymore, which means that they are really sad for themselves. They are sad from afar and don’t want to contaminate themselves! Will they be spared? To look at their goods is to see transcendent luxury, rather than to know, “For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.”(1 Timothy 6:7) Their value is to enjoy the glory of the world. Especially since their cargo included slaves and humans, could they be spared?
5. Doing business based on the sea
“…And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance, and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What city is like the great city?’ And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!’”(Revelation 18:17-19)
Many of the goods in the Roman period depend on shipping in sea. This is the case today. Now the value of pursuing material enjoyment has changed suddenly, and they can no longer be rich because of it. I wonder if they have ever thought, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”(2 Peter 3:9)
6. The final encounter with the great city of Babylon
“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.” Then a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer. And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.””(Revelation 18:20-24)
We mentioned before, “When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?””(Revelation 6:9-10) The first verse clearly states that God’s time for vengeance has come! We also see clearly in the last verse that her adultery also included the killing of saints. These verses clearly describe the punishment of the great city of Babylon, so we will not repeat it.
Some people may say, doesn’t God love the world? Is this love? You must know that God’s love includes justice, not doting. The Psalm makes it clear, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You.”(Psalm 89:14) Nowadays, many churches only teach the love of God, but often forget the justice of God. Especially from the teaching of prosperity gospel, it has created many churches like what the church in Laodicea which is mentioned in the Book of Revelation. They think that they have everything, but in the eyes of God, it is just the opposite. They have shut out the Lord Jesus without even realizing it! (See Revelation 3:14-22) What described is about the final judgment, and God’s love with righteousness is accomplished! In the era of the New Testament, Jesus paid the price for us because of His love and accomplished salvation. Believing and being baptized is just the beginning. We still have to embark on the road to sanctification and have acts of faith, so “…encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”(Hebrews 3:13)
By the way, you must be able to read the Bible correctly! Let’s take a passage related to the Book of Revelation. Demas was a Christian who was a co-worker of Paul, but the Bible clearly says that he fell and returned to the world. If Demas was not a saved Christian, how could he be Paul’s co-worker, unless Paul was blind! And Paul knew very well. He said, “I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.”(Philippians 4:2-3) Although their actions will be judged before the great white throne, they are still partakers of the book of life. The same is true for Demas. He only has a share in the book of life, but those who return to the world will never enter the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth!
Reading the Bible is to read out what God wants to tell us through the Bible, not to read into it from a human perspective! What people think is impossible and thus do not believe it may not be right! The Book of Job says, ““He (God) …hangs the earth on nothing.”(Job 26:7) Do you think the people at that time would believe it? Now that we have spaceships, we can see this! People have free will, which cannot be forced by others. Even God allows people to make their own decisions and will not force people to make decisions. You can know this by looking at the example of Adam.
The Bible clearly says, “Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”(1 Corinthians 3:12-15) So once you are saved, you are saved forever. God will not lie to you. You have a share in the book of life, but you cannot enter the New Jerusalem. You will be outside the city, weeping and gnashing of teeth. If you watch the videos on YouTube, you will find that there are people who used to be a Christian, even a professor of theology, and now he has fallen to the point of misinterpreting the Bible significantly, even worse than Demas, even to the point of thus lying even maybe he thinks that he was telling the truth from his viewpoints. How could it be that the man who was a Christian could not be, “Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.”(Revelation 22:15)
God is at work, and Satan will not stop his work too. “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”(1 Peter 5:8) Satan and his servants will use human nature and pretend to be angels of light! It is the ‘boiling frog’ effect, where to avoid of jumping out they put people in water and boils slowly so the people wouldn’t realize it until it is too late.
(Verses refer to those in NASB95 unless otherwise specified.)
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