Last time we saw in John’s context that Rome was the great prostitute seated on 7
hills (17:9) which rides on the beast, the Roman empire,
which brought prosperity to the nations through the Pax Romana , but to the
Christian church Rome brought much suffering. A Roman instituted king
called Herod wanted Jesus killed . A Roman
governor called Pontius Pilate handed
Jesus over to Roman soldiers to
be crucified. The apostle Paul was killed by the Romans. So were many of
the apostles and Christian people. Rome,
for John was a prototype of Babylon,
the scourge of ancient Israel,
which became the symbolic city of sinful man which stood against God and
His people .
In
addition to this she was a temptress. Her many
seductive attractions and
features were used by Satan, and the antichrist and the false
prophet to seduce the kings of the earth, (17:2,5,15). But in the end,
we have seen that
when she has served her purposes, she will be hated and discarded. (17:16)This
is what happens to a prostitute . She is loved by everyone, and then she is
loved by no one . At the end of her usefulness she is thrown away.
This is
now described in greater detail in the 18th Chapter, following 17:16 .
The destruction
of Babylon is a part of the “7th bowl judgment” (16:17-21), which represents the final cycle of judgments in the Revelation of
the Lord Jesus to John. With this
judgment the wrath of
God is complete. With it, the
end of the world, as we know it, has come.
What about God’s people at this time? Just as God spared His people in the midst of
His terrible wrath poured out upon Egypt
by the 10 plagues (Exodus
7-12), so also God will spare His people from His wrath
upon the earth at the end of times. His people are marked and sealed in the name of Christ[1].
However, all those who worship the beast and who bear his mark [2] will
bear the full fury of God’s wrath.
I want to
repeat something important. The logic of the book of Revelation teaches
us that the church in every
age between Christ’s ascension and
descension (or the second coming) goes
through tribulation. This was the purpose of Revelation
2&3 – to show us the various sufferings of the church in all ages
. The faithful church is kept by the
power of God in all her tribulations . During the final battle at a
place called “ Armageddon”[3] (16:16),
just before Christ’s second coming ,
the nations shall gather with the intent to destroy the people of the Lamb of God (17:14),
and as they do this , the angel pours
the 7th bowl of God’s wrath
upon the world. Babylon, the city of man
and the cities of the nations (16:19)
will be judged (Ch’s 17 &18)
at this time.
During this
time the people of God will exist and live in their midst (as we do today!) , but those who hear the warning words will come out of her (18:4)-
just as Abraham avoided the sinful cities
of the plains , Sodom and Gomorrah where his nephew Lot had lived. God’s people
will continue to be on earth
during the time of this severe tribulation , and God keeps them in that situation as he also kept His people in the
time of the 10 plagues upon Egypt.
I mention this
because there is an
eschatological view [4]
that maintains that the
people of God (the church) will be taken
out of the world (raptured) by the Lord Jesus before the final , great tribulation after which,
they say , there will be a period of
seven years of great tribulation for the
world. After 7 years of terrible
suffering , it is said that the Jesus
will return to establish His millennial kingdom[5] (a
golden era on earth), after which Satan will be
freed for a short time to do more of his destructive work, after which
Jesus finally defeats him and sends him into eternal hell.
However this is not the flow
and logic of the Revelation to John. The
Revelation certainly teaches that the church goes through tribulation at all
times, BUT at all times we are assured
that the Lord keeps His people. Even those who lose their lives for the sake of the gospel , are
not forgotten . They are kept safe in heaven, awaiting the judgment of the
wicked and resurrection of the body at Christ’s
return. Judgment day occurs when
Christ comes back.
What about the
1000 years – the millennial age of peace and prosperity upon the earth? The millennium certainly is not a time of peace and
prosperity for those on the earth, but
we can certainly say that peace and
tranquility is certainly experienced
by those who are now in heaven , who have entered in His promised rest ( Hebr.11:13-16;39-40 )
Why do we
make this such a big issue ? Pastorally
speaking this is an important point !
Jesus through John offers hope and perspective to the
persecuted church in the time of His absence. He shows
us that God is not
indifferent to the sufferings of his people. He is pouring out
temporary judgments upon the earth, and He is directing everything
to a final end. In the end His
people will be vindicated when
all evil shall be cast into
eternal hell . We have reason to believe that
this knowledge not only brought tremendous comfort to John’s
immediate readers but also to us who are currently looking at the state of the
world and who are asking , “How long, oh
Lord , how long ?” The Revelation reminds us again and again :
Jesus will reign! The Lamb of God will triumph in the end!
Revelation 18
In the closing verses of
Revelation 17:15-18, John had already announced
what the end of the great prostitute would be. It is ironic that the
lovers of the prostitute (the
kings of the earth) whom she had seduced will in the end hate her and destroy her, and then
ironically again, mourn her loss.
When the news
of Babylon’s destruction is announced there are two responses:
(i)
Heaven’s response
in Rev. 18: 1-8 & vv.20 -24
(ii)
Earth’s response Rev. 18:9-19 - the lament of those who profited from the
great city and who participated in her idolatry.
1. Heaven’s Response : ( Vv 1-8)
V.1, “After
this I saw another angel coming down from heaven having great authority, and the earth was made bright
with his glory. And he called out with a
mighty voice : “Fallen! Fallen is
Babylon the Great!” The doom of
Babylon was first announced in 14:8
. These are images of Jeremiah 50 &51. Israel’s prophets foretold that Babylon and other cities that oppressed the people
and the work of God in this world
would be destroyed by God. All these OT images are pictures
of what will happen to Babylon –
the sinful city of man , the abuser of God’s people at end of time.
Note the angels words in vv 2-3. The city of man with all its seductions and glitter and attractions has become a haunt of demons. Her beauty is
gone . She has become
exposed for what she actually is – a demonic
haunt !
A second voice from
Heaven : vv 4- 8 : “Then I heard
another voice from heaven saying : Come out of her, my people, lest you take
part in her sins, lest you share
in her plagues; for her sins are heaped up to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities
.”
This is a
commandment and a warning to
God’s people, to flee from the city of man before God’s wrath is poured out upon her rains down upon her (see Jer 51:45ff ; Isa 52:11). John
stands in the line of these
prophets, as he repeats this message for
his and for our present day.
Remember that
we are strangers and aliens in this
world (Hebr. 11:13; 1 Peter 1:1,17;2:11).
We are not at
home. We live in exile in the city of man. We are pilgrims through hostile territory (John
Bunyan) . We are on our way to the
heavenly city whose Designer and Builder is God (Hebr.11:10). While it is true that we take
our journey in this life
seriously , leaving this world in a
better shape than we have found it (fulfilling the cultural mandate)[6] , we know that we are destined for this better city . Our
greatest challenge is this great
prostitute which continuously seeks
to seduce us away from our bridegroom , the Lord Jesus Christ and from our final goal – the heavenly city. Here we are warned not to be enticed, and Jesus words
need to be vivid reminders
of how we need to do that ( see Matt 5:27-30). John warns us here in Revelation 18 that the city of man (Babylon) will be judged
by God , and if we are involved in her sins we too shall be judged with the wicked city
.
This is why the
angel says in vv 6-8,
“ Pay her back as she herself has paid back others, and repay
her double for her deeds…” . Payback
time will come , and it a frightening
picture of what awaits those who have
loved the city of man more than the city of God
- who have chosen in a rather short sighted manner to live in this soul deadening luxury
( see Luke 16:19-31 – the
rich man and Lazarus).
2. The
response of the earth as they hear of
the fall of Babylon ( Vv 9-19)
In verses 9
& 10 we read : “And the
kings of the earth , who committed sexual
immorality and lived in luxury with her,
will weep and wail over her when they
see the smoke of her burning…” . The kings of the earth loved the
prostitute because she provided them
with a luxurious and lavish lifestyle
. But her destruction comes fast – “ in
an hour” . And now there is a vacuum – it is all gone ! All is up in
smoke ! They feel a sense of dreadful loss.
And not only
the kings , but also the merchants !
( vv 11-17) … “And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her , since no one buys their cargo any more….
( Note … this included human souls –
slave trading - v. 13) There’s a terrible sense of loss and a resultant emptiness here , for what do you have if you only have these things and no God ? What do you live for when your riches are gone? Do you see their dilemma ? What does your heart hope in and long for ?
The global
extent of the losses becomes even more apparent in 17 b. : “And all ship masters and seafaring men , sailors,
and all whose trade is on the sea stood far off and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning…” . They join the kings of the earth and
the merchants in a great outpouring of
grief ! “ Alas , alas, for the great city… in a single hour she has been laid waste
! ( v. 19)
Heaven rejoices ! (v.20)
Now note the
response of heaven once again: v.20:
“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her.” Here
is your comfort ! Years of abuse will be vindicated! And so
with the knowledge that heaven rejoices while the earth mourns, John now
describes the tragic, but inevitable end of the great city.
V. 21 ff: “Then a mighty 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 be
found no more…” Her end is certain,
the judgment upon her will be complete. Nothing will remain of her.
The lesson
is clear !
· Don’t
trust in that which the great prostitute
has to offer !
· Remember
that her beauty is false and her wealth is fake !
· Remember that all those who are enticed by her will
feel a great sense of loss as the
centre of their existence is ripped out under their feet .
· Christians
must be vigilant and not get caught up
in her schemes . Christians lead
productive lives and change their
world on the way to the heavenly city .
· John will
make clear in chapter 19
that true riches and satisfaction can only be found in Jesus Christ.
Jesus has died for His bride, purifying
her from every sin, and Jesus provide her with a perfect righteousness. While the bride of the beast (the prostitute )
faces certain destruction, the bride of Christ is being prepared for a glorious
feast, the marriage supper of Christ the Lamb.
What will it be for
you ?
No comments:
Post a Comment