Lessons From Revelation – Lesson 13
Last time we stopped with the earth prepared for Armageddon.
There is a pause in the action while John is shown a vision of what is called Mystery Babylon.
Many will get this wrong and say that Babylon must be rebuilt. No this is a vision. And it is one where objects stand for other things. And we do not have to guess what it stands for. We are told after the vision is given. Mystery Babylon is a great city and one that is a shipping center. So it is a port on the ocean. We know this from the reaction of it being destroyed.
Rev 18:15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
Rev 18:16 And 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!
Rev 18:17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
Rev 18:18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
Rev 18:19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
Rev 18:20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
Rev 18:21 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.
A mighty angel casts a stone into the sea. That would cause a tsunami and it destroys the great city.
Babylon of the Old Testament is land locked. So why use the name Babylon at all? I can think of some reasons. This great city will be rich, powerful, and ungodly and it will be against God and persecute God’s people. The Babylon of the Old Testament had the same attitude and did the same thing.
So it makes sense to use that name to make that connection to their spiritual condition and their attitude against God. It is not making connection to its physical location. Another similarity is that God made sure the Babylon of the O.T. was destroyed because of what they did to His people and this Mystery Babylon will have the same fate.
Not only do we see that it will be a port city of trade, we get some other details about it in this chapter.
Rev 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.
Rev 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.
The destruction will be announced ahead of time by an angel. And in this announcement the reasons are given. It is the habitation of devils and every foul spirit. It is a very wicked place.
Fornication is used for sexual relations outside of marriage and it is used for spiritual fornication. That is talking about the worship of false gods when man was created to be worshipping the creator. That is the way it is used in the next verse.
Rev 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.
Rev 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.
A voice from Heaven will say, come out of her, my people. So at least a few more people will get saved during this time who have not yet been killed. So most likely recent salvations after the 3 angels fly thru the air preaching their messages.
These few believers is another reason for the announcement by an angel that this city is about to be destroyed.
This is important. God does not want, and works so that, His people do not have His harsh judgment poured out upon them. This is consistent with the way He works. He sealed Noah and his family in the ark before His judgment fell.
He sent angels to take Lot out before the judgment fell. He saved Rahab and her family from the destruction at Jericho. He will take us out of here before the tribulation starts.
You might be thinking, He lets Christians get killed by the wicked during the tribulation. Yes but that is not judgment coming from the hand of God. God Himself is about to pour His judgment directly upon this city.
God is not going to pour His judgment for the wicked upon His children. So they are told to get out first. God will not just say oops I had some collateral damage and be ok with it. God’s love to His children is too strong. He will allow others to kill them and send them on to Heaven, and He will give them grace and hold their hand thru it all.
But He will not pour His judgment out directly upon His children with the wicked.
In verse 7 we see the pride of this city.
Rev 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.
Rev 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.
Rev 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,
Rev 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.
Rev 18:11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
The destruction that we have seen so far tells us that the world will be greatly changed. Notice this list of merchandise that is being traded at this time.
Rev 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,
Rev 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.
Rev 18:14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
They are rich in trading basic things. Natural things, gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, wood, brass, iron, marble, and spices.
They are trading in livestock. There is no big money in livestock today. Things change. You see nothing about technology. Some might argue that technology would not have been included because those who penned the Bible did not know what technology is and those reading it for thousands of years would not know what technology is.
But there isn’t even anything in this list that would typify anything other than the basics. And if they are trading in technology, they are also trading in the basics listed and getting rich and many of the basics listed have limited value today. If all of our tech is around and being traded then most of the items listed just are not that important.
Add to that the fact of all the destruction and a river having to be dried up just so an army can cross and it leads me to believe that the world has changed big time. The destruction has taken man back to living more like he did before the electronic age.
Civilization has taken a big step backward in technology and an even bigger step in morality.
The last thing on the list is the worst. They trade in slaves. The wickedness of slavery.
Judgment is coming down upon them.
Rev 18:22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;
Notice more evidence that things revert back to living before tech. Music is actually made by people playing instruments and not ipods or cell phones. The voice of harpers, and musicians and people playing trumpets.
And grinding flour with millstones. And craftsmen who make things instead of mass produced factories.
Rev 18:23 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 were all nations deceived.
Rev 18:24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
Rev 19:1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
Rev 19:2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
So now the earth is prepared for Armageddon and the great city has now been destroyed the scene shifts once again to what is going on in Heaven during this time.
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
Rev 19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
The bride is the church. This is a huge area of confusion for many and an area where many make mistakes. They will try to understand this in light of how things are today. They will say which church. Then do some mental gymnastics and then of course come to the conclusion that it is whatever church they are in.
What is a church? It is a local visible group of believers who assemble together to worship God and do His work. Each one is unique and local.
When we get to this time, the saved of all the ages are gathered together in one place. They are a huge local group in Heaven gather together in one place. The church at that time is Local and Visible and assembled in Heaven.
It is made up of all the saved. There are no more divisions between Southern Baptist and independent Baptists and old time Methodists who are saved. The sin nature and also the confusion that people had on earth has been done away.
We are joined with Christ to live and reign with Him. This marriage supper in Heaven is a celebration of that and it is done right before we leave the fathers house with all the mansions and come back for the 1,000 year reign.
The Rider on a White Horse
Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Rev 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
Rev 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
So Jesus is ready to come back and set up His long awaited reign on the earth. And we all get to come with. We also get to ride upon white horses. We are called an army, but we don’t have to fight. Only watch.
Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Rev 19:17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
Rev 19:18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
Rev 19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Rev 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Rev 19:21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
Jesus with no effort at all takes the beast and the false prophet and casts them alive into the lake of fire.
And Jesus Himself takes care of all their armies by just speaking. Armageddon really isn’t a war. There is no fighting. The wicked ones armies are marching on Jerusalem, Jesus comes and it just ends. It is quick.
The Thousand Years
Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
So those who are saved that have died before the reign is setup come back with Jesus and serve Him and reign with Him for 1,000 years.
All of the horrible wars and other sins of man will not be allowed anymore.
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