So then we come to Revelation
18. And let me remind you of one or two things. Satan, early
on, having seen God's purpose to elevate man, rebelled and
drew a third of the angels of heaven with him. They're the
evil spirits that are all around today. And Satan fermented the
fall of man in the Garden of Eden. And He put man, and Adam,
and all of those that descend from Him, put them in just condemnation. All have sinned. In Adam, all
die. All have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God. And He stole God's creation by
deception. He stole His kingdom. This world
is the kingdom of Satan, though it was made by God, and it will
be restored to God. So the Bible reveals, the whole
Bible reveals, the unfolding of God's plan to recover his
kingdom from Satan. And especially this book of Revelation,
remember when it was given? It was about 95 AD, and all sorts
of persecutions, terrible persecutions had gone on of the Roman Empire
against the Christians and the churches that there were in those
days. And they must have been Wondering,
were things going to just continue like that? Was this church of
Jesus Christ going to just peter out and cease to be? This book
is then given at that time to give a heavenly perspective on
world history, from the fall to the end, to its ultimate destiny. And you know it consists of seven
visions. Seven is the number of God's
kingdom. It is seven that completes the
kingdom of God. We saw in the fifth vision, chapters
15 and 16, that history ended at the end of chapter 16. That's
the battle of Armageddon, it ended. Christ's people were removed
before that to heaven, and then the seven vials of wrath in chapter
16 are poured out. They're the vials of God's balancing
justice against the sin that is in this world. Seven of them,
they pour out, and all things are ended. And then what you
say, well what are chapters 17, 18, 19, 20 for? Well, they're to give different
perspectives of the same events and situation. So let's briefly
recap Chapter 17, which we looked at last week. There's an awful
lot in it. It's world history in summary. What a viewpoint! What a viewpoint. Do you know,
I don't do much of it now, but I used to love climbing the mountains
in Wales in the Lake District. I used to love it. Because when
you get up about two and a half thousand, three thousand feet
above the valleys on a clear day, the perspective is phenomenal. It's like looking down on a map.
It's wonderful. Well, you know, down in amongst
world history you can't see the wood for the trees but this brings
us up and gives us a heavenly perspective of how things really
are what are the events you know the politicians and the historians
they can't make sense of it it's all confusion but here from God
is world history in summary what a viewpoint We see in chapter
17 an impressive woman sitting on a scarlet beast with seven
heads and ten horns. What's all this nonsense all
about? Hold on. A woman looks like God's church,
because in chapter 12 and verse 1, there was a woman there which
clearly was the church of God, the people of God. But this woman,
this woman, although it looks like the symbol of a church,
is unfaithful, is adulterous, is a harlot. She's drunk with
the blood of God's martyred saints, so she cannot be a true representation
of the true people of God. She's false. It's the religion
of Antichrist, that which is against Christ and the gospel
of his grace. And it's buoyed up by fallen
humanity and its political powers. In verses 8 to 13, we saw very
much, in summary, world history. Firstly, there's the global power
of Babel. You know, after the flood, there
was Nimrod, Genesis 11. Nimrod, who was that rebellious
panther, It says he was a mighty hunter, but it really means he
was a rebellious panther. What was he rebellious against?
The justice and grace and righteousness of God. And he formed Babel,
a global power, all of one language, that would build a tower to heaven,
would aspire to heaven without satisfaction for the justice
of God, because these people were sinners. They're always
sinners. When Noah and the seven with
him went into the ark and all mankind came from then, that
sin was still there. God had destroyed man from off
the earth, but sin was still there in Noah and those that
were with him. And at Babel it started to grow,
this global worldwide kingdom. But of course God dealt it a
lethal blow, a wound. What did he do? He came down
and he confounded the languages and that kingdom, that unified
kingdom against God and against God's justice didn't form, couldn't
form. He confounded it. It was a deadly
wound. And then there were several attempts.
We see there were seven heads, which are seven mountains, which
are seven kings. They're empires of world history. Empires of world history, excluding
the nations of Gog and Magog, which we'll read about later
in the book, where the gospel, the white horse of God's gospel
of grace, for all intents and purposes, never reached there.
But the seven empires of world history were Egypt, Assyria,
Chaldea, that's Babylonia, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome that was the Rome
is the one that was John says one is one now is that's the
one that was the Empire of Rome in the time when John was writing
and there's one to come briefly look at verse 10 There are seven
kings five are fallen and one is that's Rome and then the other
is not yet come and when he cometh He must continue a short space.
It's only brief and When he comes, the seventh, it's only a short
space. And there's a global unity of political powers. The ten
horns are ten kings which have received no kingdom as yet. And
then in verse 13, these have one mind and shall give their
power and strength unto the beast. There's a global unity of political
powers supporting this idea of a resurrection, if you like,
of that ancient kingdom of Babel, the deadly wound that was healed
that we saw in chapter 13 of the beast rising from the sea.
And we see it forming today. We see it forming, if not completely
formed, the reformed global beast of Nimrod, of Babel. Satan's
attempts at godless world unity, and they all fight against the
truth of God. Look at verse 14, These shall
make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for
He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings, and they that are with
Him are called and chosen and faithful. This world is at war
with the Lamb of God, the Messiah, the Christ. God manifested and
his people with him. They're at war with them. Earthly,
political, economic, philosophical, academic powers and peoples,
and the false religion that is born along by them. How do they
make war? How do they make war? It's primarily
with ideas, with philosophies, with values. With right and wrong,
the justice of God turned on its head, upside down. And it's
targeted at God's people. Who are God's people? Those who
we read elsewhere in this book have the commandments of God.
They keep the commandments of God. What's the commandments
of God? What are the things that we do to keep the commandments
of God? Jesus told the Pharisees who
asked him. This is the will of God, that
you believe on Him whom He has sent. The commandments of God
and the faith of Jesus Christ. And so they make it difficult
for the people of God to live in this fallen world. They make
it difficult to buy and sell, it tells us at the end of chapter
13. They make it difficult for us to interact with society,
to work. They make rules that mean that
it's increasingly difficult for those who hold to the faith of
Jesus Christ to maintain their faith and maintain lives that
are consistent with their faith and yet abide by the rules of
the organizations that they work for. It's become like that in
my lifetime. I was able to teach as I thought
what was the right thing. No, I couldn't. I would be dismissed
from school for teaching the things I used to teach in the
1970s. Why? Because they accord with
the Word of God. There's war against God's people,
and that war is against the Lamb, because Jesus said, if you do
it to one of these, you do it to me. If you follow Christ,
you will constantly be in a fight with the world and its false
religion. Now, here's the thing. Don't
try to make peace with it. Oh, by all means, strive to live
at peace with all men, individually, all around you, your neighbours,
your work colleagues. Don't be one who is constantly
at odds with people. But don't try to make peace with
this world. Don't try to make peace. You
see, in this war, the Lamb shall overcome them. The Lamb shall
overcome them. How does the Lamb overcome the
forces of this fallen Antichrist world? as the lamb. He overcomes
them as the Lamb, as it had been slain, that we saw in chapter
5. I looked at the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and in the midst
of the throne of God was a Lamb, as it had been slain, a sin-atoning
sacrifice. That sin-atoning sacrifice of
Christ, His precious blood, it disarms Satan, the accuser of
the brethren, and overcomes some children of wrath with saving
grace, and the rest by strict justice. And though they that
are with him bear the brunt of the warfare, that's you and me
if we're believers, they are as invincible as he is in him. He cannot be defeated. So then,
what's the symbolism of Babylon? Because this chapter 18 is all
about the downfall of Babylon. What's the symbolism of Babylon?
I put an article in the bulletin written by Don Fortner about
Babylon and come out of her my people and that's very good I
commend it to you but Babylon is a symbol of godless anti-christian
society around us. It literally was the literal
city of Babylon in about, when, sort of 600 to 800 BC, and Nebuchadnezzar
was that great empire. And he literally sought to subsume
Israel into that Babylonian empire so that there would be no distinctive
people of God. He took them away from their
homeland, it was the judgment of God on them for their idolatry.
But Nebuchadnezzar, in the hands of Satan, literally sought to
subsume Israel so there would be no distinctive people of God. And why does that matter? Because
if there's no distinctive people of God, there is no line from
which Messiah can come. There is no genealogy from which
Messiah, who must be descended from Abraham and David, must
come. There's no line for that. If
it can be subsumed, Satan has achieved his objective. Babel
was globalism against God. It had risen from the sea of
humanity to what it is today. It's there today, look all around
you, you can't deny it, it's there. Anti-Christianity masquerades
as a church all over this planet, deceiving the nations. It's the
world in opposition to God's rule. And then in verse 16 of
chapter 17, it receives its just judgment. The ten horns which
thou sourced upon the beast, these shall hate the whore. Oh, oh. The whore, false religion,
False religion, named Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots,
that was buoyed up by all these nations, they suddenly hate her
and make her desolate and naked and shall eat her flesh and burn
her with fire. She receives her just judgment
at the hands of political powers that once supported her. Don't
we see that happening even in our day? All in accordance with
God's will and purpose. And you know I said that these
Chapters after the end of chapter 16 are different perspectives.
It's this, it's this. Those vials of chapter 16, vials
5 to 7, from a different perspective. It's the judgment of God against
this woman. It's the judgment of God against
all that is Antichrist. So just as at Babel, when God
came down and confounded the languages, God shall disrupt
Babylon's unity and shall strip it naked in strict justice. Is that not what it says there?
Shall make her desolate and naked. God shall disrupt Babylon's unity
and strip it naked in strict justice. The world, here's the
key thing, The world that multitudes trust in, you might even trust
in it yourself, the world that multitudes trust in is coming
to an end. I know I sound like somebody
in the marketplace with sandwich boards over my shoulders. The
end is nigh, be reconciled to your God. Well, if people laugh
at that, so be it, but it's the truth of God. It's what God has
revealed, the fall of Babylon. The world and all that opposes
Christ and his people, society, culture and all false religion,
whatever extent of manifestation it gets to, this world in which
we live now, it will end. Babylon is fallen, is fallen.
Everything that has rebelled against the truth and the justice
of God will be brought to a sudden end. Look in verse 10 of chapter
18. The kings of the earth 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. Everything that has rebelled
against the justice of God will be brought to a sudden end. It will be shocking when it happens.
In verse five, We read that the sins of this world will end. God will not allow it to go on.
Verse 5, for her sins have reached unto heaven, and God has remembered
her iniquities. If you look back in Genesis,
before the flood, it uses similar words about the The knowledge
of the sins, God knows everything, but you know it was particularly
before his face, the sin of the world. And God will say, enough,
this is it. It goes no further. Just as he
did with the flood, and as he did with Sodom and Gomorrah. He will stop it. He will end
that sin. He will end all sin. Babylon
is fallen, is fallen. Look, it says it in verse 2.
He cried mightily with a strong voice, this angel. Babylon the
great is fallen, is fallen. It has become the habitation
of devils and the hold of every foul spirit and a cage of every
unclean and hateful bird. There will be strict justice.
Verse 6, reward her, pay her even as she rewarded you. Pay
her for her sins and double unto her double. You know, it's a
perfect image. Perfect image. The sin perfectly
balanced with the wrath of God that counters it. Double her
double according to her works in the cup which she has filled
to her double. strict justice. Verse 7, this
world presumes it will go on unassailed forever. 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 I am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. You see the presumption
of this world. it's going to go on forever.
Don't you worry about the things of God and the justice of God.
That will never cause us any harm. Oh, that presumption will
be cut short. That presumption in a moment
will be cut short. Verses 8 and 9, Therefore her
plagues shall come upon her in one day. See, he's talking about
suddenly coming. We think everything, just like
before the flood, they carried on marrying and giving in marriage,
and everything just went on as they thought it would always
go on. And then in a moment, God took them all away, it says.
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 who judges her. 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, standing afar off for the fear of her
torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that
mighty city, Joy will be turned to sorrow in those times. In
verses 11 to 18, look, you read down there, as Peter read for
us earlier, the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn
over what they're losing when Babylon comes to its end. when
it's fallen. No man buys their merchandise
anymore. All trade stops. The merchandise
of gold, trade in coveted things, ceases. Trade in the necessities
of life, all of it ceases. Read down those verses. You see
everything, cinnamon, odours, ointments, frankincense, wine,
oil, fine flour, wheat, beasts, sheep, it all ceases. The fruits
that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things
which are dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou
shalt find them no more. If you trust in the things of
this world to give you your happiness, to build up that with which you
can say, well soul, haven't you done well? Eat, drink and be
merry, for tomorrow we die, but make the most of it. No, it's
all coming to an end, and to a violent end. We won't read
down those verses again, but read them for yourself. It's
all, the society of this world, the trade of this world, all
of it is coming to an end. In verse 21, And a mighty angel
took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the
sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon
be thrown down and shall be found no more at all. It's a violent
end that's coming. It's the end, verses 22 and 23.
The voice of harpers and musicians, and pipers, and
trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee, and no craftsman,
or whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee. And
the sound of a millstone, that's work going on, grinding corn,
shall be heard no more at all in thee. And the light of a candle
shall shine no more at all in thee. And the voice of the bridegroom
and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee. For thy
merchants were the great men of the earth, For by thy sorceries,
by thy sorceries, the sorceries of this world, to deceive the
nations, to deceive the peoples of the nations, it's all ending.
And in her was found the blood of the prophets and of the saints,
and of all that was slain upon the earth. There it is. It's
the end of this world's society. It's the end of the church's
persecution, as we just read in that verse 24. What about
the people of God? What about the people that are
with the Lamb of God? Those that are with Him, says
in verse 14 of chapter 17, they that are with Him are called
and chosen and faithful. What about them? The merchants
of this world are wailing and in mourning for the loss of everything
that they ever hoped in. But the people of God, verse
20, rejoice over her, thou heaven and ye holy apostles and prophets,
for God hath avenged you on her. God hath avenged you. Rejoice,
saints of God. Rejoice, people of God. The justice
of God is coming. The justice of God is going to
be poured out upon this world. Babylon, this society in which
we live, this godless antichrist society, is going to be brought
down. Justice is done. Vengeance is
taken. Rejoice people of God. God is
vindicated. What do you have invested in
this world? Will you be like these merchants,
grieving? Look in verse 11, the merchants
of the earth shall weep and mourn over her. What have you got invested
in this world? In verse 15, the merchants of
these things which were made rich by her shall stand afar
off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing. What do
you have invested in this world? Verse 16, saying, Alas, alas,
that great city that was clothed in fine linen and purple and
scarlet and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls.
Do you have these things invested in this world? Oh, that's my
comfort. The things that I've got to leave to those around
me. Is that what is your comfort? Look at them. It's all being
taken away. Verse 17, in one hour, so great
riches is come to nought. Everything that people trusted
in, in one hour is come to nought. And every ship master, and all
the company in ships and sailors, and as many as trade by sea,
stood afar off. or watching from the perspective
of God's kingdom? Will you be like those merchants
grieving, or will you be watching from the perspective of God's
triumphant kingdom, rejoicing that God is vindicated in justice
and gracious to his eternally loved people? Come out of her,
my people. How are we to do that? Verse
four, come out of her, my people. How are we to do that? What are
we to do? Do we go and live in a monastery?
Do we all leave this country and go and find a remote island
where there are only those of us who are Christians living
there? Is that what we do? Find a remote
island? Well, remember the flood, when
God took them all away in the flood. The flood didn't prevent
Babel from being raised, did it? The flood didn't prevent
sin, in actual fact it produced the empty earth, the fertile
empty earth, the fertile ground in which Babel thrived for a
season. So what are we to do? What are
the people of God to do regarding this world in which we have been
left, as Jesus said, until he comes again? What are we to do?
What are we to do? There are many references in
Isaiah and Jeremiah for God's people, because that was the
timescale of Babylon. Isaiah and Jeremiah was the timescale.
There are many references for God's people to separate from
Babylon. Even in the book of Zechariah,
chapter 2 and verse 7, deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest
with the daughter of Babylon. In other words, come out of her.
How are we to do that? How are we to do it? You know,
it says it there in verse 4 of chapter 18. I heard another voice
out of heaven saying, come out of her, my people, that you be
not partakers of her sins and that you receive not of her plagues. What are we to do? Well, you've
often heard the expression, but it's ever so true. For as long
as it pleases God to leave us here, we're to be in the world,
but not of the world. Live in Sodom, if that's where
you live, as Lot did, until he was taken out of it by the angel
rescuing him and dragging him by the hand out of it. Live in
it as he did, but unlike his wife, unlike Lot's wife, Although
he was in Sodom, his heart was not in Sodom. He was in Sodom,
but his heart was not there. Her heart, his wife's heart,
was in Sodom. And you know, she looked back.
And you read in Genesis that as she looked back, she was turned
to a pillar of salt in judgment. Oh, we have to partake of the
things that we need for our life on this earth, our bodily necessities
of food and drink and air, and even enjoy those which don't
defile, But don't rest your hopes in it. Don't invest your treasure
in it. Rather, lay up treasure in heaven. You know what 1 John chapter
2 says, verse 15. John writing to those that had
believed the gospel. Love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life,
is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth
away, and the lust thereof. But he that doeth the will of
God abideth forever. What is the will of God? Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. Why? Because it's believing that
Christ has died for my sins. And the only ones who believe
that Christ has died for their sins are the ones for whom he
actually has died for their sins. He brings them to that knowledge.
He brings them to that knowledge in time. Jesus himself said more
or less the same thing in Matthew chapter 6 in the Sermon on the
Mount, verses 19 to 21. He said, lay not up for yourselves
treasures upon earth, whatever they may be, where moth and rust
doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But
lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth
nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through
nor steal. But where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also. Don't strive to heal this world
and its false religion. You can't heal it. God has said
it's coming to an end, hasn't he? What does his word say? What
we've just read in chapter 18. This world, this society, this
godless, Christless society, anti-Christ society is coming
to an end. Christians, whether they're true
Christians or not, I don't know, but they spend a lot of effort
trying to make this world a better place, in political campaigning
to get society to conform more to God's Word. Don't waste time
doing that. It's absolutely futile. God has
pronounced that it is coming to an end. He will judge it in
righteousness. What should we do? rather witness
to what God has done for you. You know when Jesus found the
man possessed with demons in the tombs on the other side of
the Sea of Galilee and no man could restrain that man and Jesus
came to him and cast out the demons, and there he's found,
clothed and in his right mind, sitting at the feet of Jesus,
listening to his words, having that light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ shine into his
heart. And he says to Jesus, can I come with you? And Jesus
said, no, go home and tell those that you should be living with,
tell them what the Lord has done for you. As Peter instructs those
to whom he writes, he says in verse 15 of chapter 3 of his
first epistle, But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and
be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you
a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and with
fear. No, don't try to repair, heal
this world and its false religion. You can't. You know, I remember
as a much younger man thinking that we could go off to some
compromised church and just by being there we'd make it a lot
better and we'd convert them and we'd turn them round and
experience shows how Naive that very thought is. You don't do
that. You don't do it. No. Maintain
the truth of God and be ready to give a reason to anyone who
asks you about the hope that's in you. Let me reuse. I'm going
to finish very, very shortly. I'm going to reuse the Titanic
analogy. If you remember a week or so
ago, I wrote an article for the Bulletin about the Titanic and
it's so apt for this. Let me remind you. You're a passenger. Are you a believer? Well, you're
a passenger on the Titanic, but your cabin, unlike the rest,
your cabin is the ship's only working lifeboat. You know, strung
along the side of the deck out in the open. That's your cabin.
There's only one of them that will work. There's only one of
them will not sink when the Titanic sinks. You're in that one and
only working lifeboat. It's called the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's called the Ark, like Noah's Ark. It's the only one that will
work. Your cabin and those, the cabin
of your fellow believers who are on that journey with you,
it's that same one and only working lifeboat. But yet, you're on
the Titanic. So what do you do? You go out
and about around the ship. You look at its opulence. You're
aware of its high society. You marvel at its ingenuity from
an engineering perspective. You admire the skill that built
it and its performance as a seagoing ship. You consume its food and
drink, because you're not getting food and drink from anywhere
else other than the kitchens and the stores on the Titanic.
You admire the views from the deck. But all the time, you know
for sure that it's destined to hit an iceberg and sink with
the loss of all apart from those in your lifeboat. You and those
in the lifeboat with you. And that lifeboat is Christ and
Him crucified. Christ and His justice satisfying
blood. You know, that precious blood
that has saved His people from their sins. Always keep that. at the front of your mind. And
comfort one another. You know the scriptures, is it
2nd Corinthians? It is, isn't it? Comfort one
another with the comfort of God, wherewith he comforts you. Comfort
one another with these certainties. Just imagine that you're on that
ship, you know it's going to end in disaster, but you're in
the only lifeboat, and that lifeboat is Christ and his precious blood,
and that which has saved you from your sins. Amen.