March, 2021
Part 4
Beloved, we continue our study in chapter 18 of the book of Revelations.
1- Rev 18:1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from Heaven, having great authority. And the earth was lighted up from his glory.
And after these things… Let’s remember than in the original writings of the books of the Bible there were no chapters, nor verses with numbers, so when John says “after these things” he is referring to the time when the angel took him to watch the vision of the harlot, the beast & the 10 kings & explained that vision to him. It is good to remember that the angel of chapter 17 is one of the seven angels who had the seven vials of the Wrath of God. So “after those things” a different angel, a powerful one, so full of light that lights the Earth with his glory comes into the picture, apparently John doesn’t know his name, because in chapter 12:7 John does know it is the Archangel Michael the one who leads the Lord’s Angels against Satan & his angels, but this angel here, in verse 1, seems to be a different angel as John just describes him as having great authority & full of light. We know that all those very near the presence of God also shine, such as Moses 2Co 3:7, so this angel is most probably one of those high ranked angels in Heaven.
2- Rev 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great has fallen, has fallen! And it has become the dwelling-place of demons, and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a cage of every unclean bird which has been hated,
So the angel proclaims the destruction of the great city, saying that besides having been destroyed, she has now become the dwelling place of evil spirits, demons, & detestable birds.
I find it interesting that this angel repeats the same words that one of the horseman that Isaiah saw when he prophesied about the destruction about Babylon, & also that the result of her destruction was the destruction of her idol gods.
Isa 21:9 And, behold, here comes a chariot of a man, a pair of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon has fallen, has fallen! And all the graven images of her gods are smashed to the ground.
Babylon was the capital of the powerful & great Babylonian Empire, & it was one of the most grandiose cities ever built by men at the time. The city fell into the hands of the Medes’ empire when they conquered the Babylonians, as God’s prophets had predicted
in Isaiah 47, where a prediction of Babylon’s utter humiliation is given, and the foreview seems to relate primarily to the capture of Babylon by the Medes and the Persians. “None shall save thee” (Isaiah 47:15). The attention given to Babylon in Isaiah’s prophecies confirm Babylon’s importance in prophecy relating to the nations.
Also the prophet Jeremiah devotes two chapters to the prediction of Babylon’s ultimate judgment and destruction, Jeremiah 50, 51.
It is important to remember that Nabuconazard made an image of himself made of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and its width six cubits. Concerning his image, he commanded all people, nations, and languages to fall down and worship him & whoever would not fall down and worship his image was to be thrown into the middle of a burning fiery furnace. Dan 3:1-6. The Antichrist & his False Prophet will also make an image of him, the Antichrist, & all those refusing to worship it will be put to death. Rev 13:14-15. This idols made by men are a great abomination to God, for which He will pour His wrath upon the nations. Nabuconazard being a precursor of the Antichrist & his great city Babylon a precursor of the capital of the Antichrist world empire called Babylon the Great, the Mother of the Harlots is a precursor of the Antichrist’s world empire who will be in Jerusalem.
I looked in the web for the date of the fall & destruction of the Babylon of Nabuconazard, remember that Isaiah lived a few hundreds of years before Babylon became a world capital & Jeremiah lived when Babylon was becoming a world power. In her many conquests, Babylon destroyed the city of Jerusalem, completely smashing Salomon’s Temple.
I wanted to see when the prophecy of Isaiah 21:9 had been fulfilled… Babylon has fallen, has fallen, & the graven images of her gods are smashed to the ground, and I found this very enlightening accounts in the web.
From the web page Ancient Origins…
The fall of Babylon is a historical event that occurred in 539 BC. This event saw the conquest of Babylon by the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great and marked the end of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.
The fall of Babylon is significant for Biblical history as it is mentioned in a number of books in the Old Testament. In the Book of Isaiah, a story similar to that found in the Cyrus Cylinder is told.
The early history of Babylon is shrouded in mystery. First mentioned in the Bible is the record of Genesis 10:8-10 which names Nimrod, the grandson of Ham, as the founder of the city in the dim prehistoric past. Its name was derived from a later experience revealed in Genesis 11 where the inhabitants of the land of Shinar, the southern portion of Mesopotamia, are recorded as building a tower designed to reach the heavens. This may have been the beginning of a practice of building towers with religious significance. Such a tower is known as a ziggurat, designating an artificial mound of brick and soil elevated above the surrounding terrain.
From the website Bibl.org
The predictions of Isaiah have to do with Babylon’s ultimate destruction in the Day of the Lord. The near and the far view are often mingled as in chapter 13. The destruction of Babylon is pictured in Isaiah 13:1-11 as part of God’s program to punish the entire world (cp. 13:11). The historic conquering of Babylon by the Medes and the Persians is mentioned specifically in Isaiah 13:17-19.
Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
The prophet seems to refer to the far view, that is, the destruction of Babylon in relation to the second coming of Christ in 13:20-22. Here it is declared:
It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.
As far as the historic fulfillment is concerned, it is obvious from both Scripture and history that these verses have not been literally fulfilled.
The city of Babylon continued to flourish after the Medes conquered it, and though its glory dwindled, especially after the control of the Medes and Persians ended in 323 b.c., the city continued in some form or substance until a.d. 1000 and did not experience a sudden termination such as is anticipated in this prophecy.
Interpretation has been made more difficult by the varied meanings of Babylon itself. Sometimes the term (in the Hebrew Babel) refers to the city whose history continued and was flourishing even during the Apostolic period when it became a center of Jewish learning after the destruction of Jerusalem. Sometimes the term is used in reference to the political power of Babylon which obviously fell in one night when the Medes and the Persians took control of Babylon. Sometimes it is used in a religious sense, for Babylon has been the fountain of many of the pagan religions which have competed with Judaism and Christian faith ever since. The interpretation of Isaiah 13:20-22 is inevitably determined by the meaning assigned to Revelation 17, 18.
It has been estimated that Babylon was the largest city in the world c. 1770 – c. 1670 BC, and again c. 612 – c. 320 BC. It was perhaps the first city to reach a population above 200,000. Estimates for the maximum extent of its area range from 890 to 900 hectares (2,200 acres)
I believe that narrative is correct, the prophecy of Isaiah 21:9 is still to be fulfilled.
3- Rev 18:3 because of the wine of the anger of her fornication which all the nations have drunk; and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her. And the merchants of the earth became rich from the power of her luxury.
John hears the reason why she will fall: because of the wine of the anger of her fornication which she has made all nations to also drink & they have all gotten involved in the fornication that she promoted.
As I explained in part 1 the term fornication is used for spiritual fornication with the spirit of the Devil. You see when we get filled with the Word of God; we are receiving God’s seed within. But if we bow down to other gods & listen to their lies, we receive the devil’s seed within, spiritual fornication.
The love affair of the great whore with her god, the Antichrist, the worshiping of him as God & her initiative to push all nations to become devil worshipers will provoke the nations to become drunk with the wine of her fornication”.
Spiritual worshiping of other gods was the sin by which Israel of old ended receiving the judgments of God.
As I quoted Ezekiel…
Eze 16:35 “Therefore, prostitute, hear Yahweh’s word: 36 ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Because your filthiness was poured out, and your nakedness uncovered through your prostitution with your lovers; and because of all the idols of your abominations, and for the blood of your children, that you gave to them;
When we read “the anger of her fornication” it is interesting to note that the word translated into the English version here “anger” comes from the Greek word θυμός, or thumos (pronounced thoo-mos)' which comes from G2380; passion (as if breathing hard): - fierceness, indignation, wrath. So we find in the English Standard Version…
(ESV) Rev 18:3 For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living."
So we can expect the future Babylon to be a great promoter of the worshiping of the Antichrist as God (spiritual fornication) & also of the persecution of the Saints. But we also find that besides the spiritual fornication, the merchants of the earth will become rich from the power of her luxury. So besides being the world capital & the most powerful city in the world promoting devil worshiping, there will be a great interest in the business men of the world in making money from her, as they make business with the harlot, as there will be lot of riches involved, as the case is with many religions where the worship of idols is promoted.
4- Rev 17:4 And I heard another voice from Heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that you may not be partakers of her sins, and that you may not receive of her plagues.
Here is another voice now, & I am inclined to believe it is the voice of Jesus because He calls those who are His, to come out, so that they don’t receive the judgments that are coming upon the harlot, kind of like Yahweh did when He sent the two angels to Sodom, to rescue Lot, before they burned down the city in Genesis 19. So as the Lord is getting ready to let His Wrath fall upon the city, He urges his people, who will still be there for some reasons, to please come out.
Okay, I will make a pause here. The more you go over these letters the more you will understand them. Please realize that these letters are like a beginning of this study on Revelation 17-18 with the hope that it will motivate you to do your own study. There is no doubt you can receive much more with the Lord’s help.
Blessings… Alejandro
If this reading has been a blessing to you, please don’t hesitate to share it with the world. We need to be a blessing to others today, tomorrow may be too late. John 9:4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me, while it is day. Night comes when no man can work.
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