Hello, and welcome to the Takeaway, where we teach through the Bible, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse, to help you understand God's Word so that you can have a more intimate relationship with Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

Hello, welcome again to the takeaway. I'm your host, Pastor Harry Barrens, and in today's episode, we're going to be looking at Revelation chapter 18, the judgment of commercial Babylon. In our last episode, we covered the judgment of the false religious system that played a part in manipulating the people of the earth to turn from God. Now we're going to see the collapse of the world's commercial system that the merchants of the world have become wealthy off of. The problem that we will see here is not so much the wealth, but how they became wealthy. This is a corrupt system that will destroy or use anyone to receive wealth. Something else I touched on in our last episode is that the events taking place here in chapter 18 have already happened in the seal, trumpet, and bold judgments. John is just once again giving us a recap with more details to help us understand the systems that were judged during the tribulation. Throughout Revelation, John gave descriptions of events before and after each series of judgments. By doing this, he showed us what was driving the events on earth from being from behind the scenes in the heavenly perspective and what exactly was being judged on earth and why. In chapter five, we saw Jesus take the scroll to begin his great judgment. Then in chapter six, the seals were opened, which released the judgments on the earth. In chapter seven, John looked back to see the 144,000 sealed who would evangelize the people of the world before judgment began. Chapter 8, there was silence in heaven as the angels prepared to blow the seven trumpets that began the wrath of God. In chapter 8 and 9, we see the trumpets blow, and God's wrath begins on earth. Then chapters 10 through 14, he gives us the description of events that took place during the second half of the tribulate tribulation when the trumpet judgments were happening. Chapter 15 was the preparation of the bull judgments, and chapter 16, we saw them poured out. Now chapter 17 and 18 are the systems that were completely judged with the bull judgments. No doubt the judgment of these systems began with the opening of the seals, but were completed with God's full and final wrath in the bowls. Humanity will hold on to these corrupt, wicked systems until the very end, when God destroys them to the point they are rubble and ashes, never to be resurrected ever again. Then from chapter 19 till the end of the book in chapter 22, we will see Jesus setting up his kingdom and making everything new and perfect once again. When we see revelation for what it truly is, the revelation of Jesus, it becomes easy to understand and paint a beautiful picture of God redeeming his people, judging the wicked, and making all things new again, just as he originally intended. Throughout the study of this book so far, I have referenced about 50 of the 66 books of the Bible, showing that all things from the beginning of time have always pointed to Jesus and his coming kingdom. It was and always will be about him. And Revelation wraps it all up for us to show that God has written into the history of this world the most beautiful love letter ever written to mankind. First John three. See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God, and so we are. And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird. For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. The kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury. This is most likely a declaration of final judgment, as we will see in the coming verses. The statement that Babylon the Great is fallen is not to say that it has physically fallen, but that it is as good as fallen, and nothing or no one can undo what's about to fall upon it. We see next that it has become full of demons and unclean spirits, indicating that there is nothing good left in it. It is pure evil and wickedness, and the nations, rulers, and merchants have all taken part in her evil to benefit themselves. Verses two and three are clearly a declaration of judgment and the evidence for that judgment. We have to remember that God is a righteous judge, and he will not judge the righteous with the wicked, as we will see in the next verse. All throughout Scripture, God declared judgment was coming and why it was coming. Then, before he would drop the hammer, he would always remove his people or call them out of that wicked place so that they wouldn't take part in her judgments. But notice as we look at verse four, they will have a choice to come out. We need to respond to God's call to remove ourselves or separate ourselves so that we don't take part in the judgment that is coming. In verse 4, and I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. We have many examples throughout Scripture that point to God removing the righteous before he brings judgment. And in every situation we see, it requires a choice. Even though God calls the righteous out, it requires a response from them. First Thessalonians chapter 5, verses 9 through 10. For God has not destined us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we might live with him. This requires us to choose to put our faith in Jesus, to receive this promise of protection. In Genesis chapter 18, verses 23 to 33, God tells Abraham that he is going to destroy Sodom, and Abraham asks if God would destroy the righteous with the wicked. In verse 23, it says, Then Abraham drew near and said, Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city, will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked. Far be that from you. Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just? And the Lord said, If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake. Abraham answered and said, Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I whom but dust and ashes. Suppose f uh five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five? And he said, I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there. Again he spoke to him and said, Suppose forty are found there, he answered, For the sake of forty, I will not do it. Then he said, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there, he answered, I will not do it. If I find thirty there, he said, Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there, he answered, for the sake of twenty I will not destroy it. Then he said, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again, but this once. Suppose ten are found there. He answered, For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it. And the Lord went his way when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place. As we see here, God does not desire to destroy the righteous, and in fact, he did not find ten righteous in Sodom that would have prevented his judgment on that wicked city. All he finds, if you continue to read this story, is Lot and his family. God removed them from the city prior to his judgment, but told them not to look back, or they would be destroyed also. And if you know the story well, then you know Lot's wife failed to do this as she looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. Genesis 19, 17. And as they brought them out, one said, Escape for your life, do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley, escape to the hills, lest you be swept away. In verse 23, it goes on to say, The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zor. Then the Lord reigned on Sodom and Gomorrah, sulphur, and fire from the Lord out of heaven, and he overthrew those cities and all the valley and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. As we see, Lot's wife looked back because she desired what that wicked city offered more than she feared the judgment of God. It's that very issue we have to watch for in our own lives, so that we don't get caught up in God's coming judgment as well. There will no doubt be many believers in this world who look back and miss their opportunity to be removed from God's coming judgment, just as we saw in verse four. And I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. In Genesis 6, we see that Noah also had a choice, even though he found favor with God. In verse 11, Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence, and God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood, make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. Noah had to make a choice to believe God and obey him to make the ark. If he hadn't done that, he would have been swept away with the wicked for of this world because of his disbelief. But because he believed God, he obeyed him as well. Belief always produces obedience. If we don't obey, we are no different than the demons. James chapter 2, verse 19 says, You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble. They believe, but they don't obey. Instead they rebelled. When we don't obey, we have rebelled. This shows us our true hearts and where we stand with God. Where do you stand? Do you say you believe? Do you obey? Do you even know what it is to obey? If this describes you, then how do you know if you are saved? What assurance do you have that you will escape judgment? James chapter 2, verse 14. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can the faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, Go in peace, be warmed and filled, without giving them the things needed for the body. What good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. I can't stress enough what James is saying here. Works is not what saves a person, but works are the evidence of the faith you have. So again, what works are being produced in your life that are a result of your faith? Take the time today to evaluate yourself and ask the question: why do I not serve God or why do I serve God? If you are not serving God and you say you believe, then you are missing something. And that is most likely a genuine relationship with God that can only be found in Jesus. Once you realize that God sacrificed his only son for you so that you can be saved, how can that not produce good works? You will spend the rest of your days giving everything to him once you recognize that you can never pay him back for the gift he has given you. John 3 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Now moving on to verses five and eight. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her inequities, render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works. In the cup which she has mixed, mixed double for her, in the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure, give her torment and sorrow. For she says in her heart, I sit as a queen and am no widow, I will not see sorrow. Therefore her plagues will come in one day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her. Now notice that she will be paid double in the measure that she glorified herself. We see this double portion throughout Scripture. In Exodus 22 4, if what he stole is actually found alive in his possession, whether an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double. Exodus 22 7. If a man gives his neighbor money or goods to keep for him, and it is stolen from the man's house, if the thief is caught, he shall pay double. Exodus 22 9, for every breach of trust, whether it is for ox or donkey, for sheep, for clothing, for any lost thing, about which one says, This is it. The case of both parties shall come before the judges. He whom the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor. Jeremiah 16 18. I will first doubly repay their inequity and their sin, because they have polluted my land. They have filled my inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable idols and with their abominations. Whenever we see that a double portion is to be paid back, it indicates that one or more of God's laws have been broken and restitution is required. In this case, the system and the people in it have lived luxuriously, glorified themselves, and saw no sorrow, indicating self-indulgence, pride, and the avoidance of suffering, representing worldliness and materialism. Because of this, her judgment will come quickly and with great intensity, showing God's great strength. Verses 9 through 20. The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city, for in one hour your judgment has come, and the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore. Merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble, and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men, the fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all. The merchants of these things who became rich by her will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, the great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, for in one hour such great riches came to nothing. Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What is like this great city? They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas, that great city in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she is made desolate. Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her. These verses have led many to believe that this is one particular city, possibly the capital of the one world system that will be set up by the Antichrist, and it may very well be. However, I don't think that should be our takeaway from these verses. If God wanted us to know if this was a particular city and where it was going to be set up, he would have made it clear for us. Instead, he calls it Babylon, indicating to us that this system represents idolatry, materialism, and self-indulgence that all originated from Babel, as we discussed in our last episode covering Revelation chapter 17, which describes Mystery Babylon the Great. Chapter 18 is just a continuation of these wicked systems and God's dealing with them. I don't think we should be looking at them to discover which false religion, city or governmental system this is talking about, as it would only lead to speculation anyway. Instead, we should realize what it represents and how it impacts us and points to Jesus. As a reminder, we should never lose sight of that truth that Scripture is always pointing to our sin and that we need Jesus to redeem us. This is his story, not ours. With that in mind, what can we take away from these verses? If we look at them carefully, we can break them down into seven categories. These categories represent the things the merchants of the earth were weeping over. It's not that they were sorry for taking part in her riches. It's that they can no longer benefit from them. Everything that they trusted in and worked for was burned up with her. One, they had valuables, gold and silver, two, costly apparel, fine linen, silk and scarlet. Three, furniture, wood and ivory, four, ointments and spices, the cinnamon and frankincense, five, gourmet foods and drink, wine and oil, flour and wheat, cattle and sheep. Six, travel, the horses and chariots, seven, bodies and souls of men. If we are honest with ourselves, we can say that we enjoy these luxuries as well in our society. Here in America, all these things are readily available to us and advertised continuously. In and of themselves, these materials are not sinful. But in this situation, it's how they are used that's the problem. They are used for selfish gain and self-indulgence. Notice that the seventh category I gave you was the bodies and souls of men. This points to all the prostitution, slavery, pornography, and human trafficking that happens within the system. Again, this is clearly happening in today's world, and it is a worldwide issue, not isolated to any one nation or city. Jesus is coming to destroy the system and the people who live in it, and they will weep and wail at her destruction. They won't even be concerned for God's judgment upon them, as they will only be mourning over their losses, just as Lot's wife did. Their eyes will not be focused on Jesus, but on the things of this world. If we do a self evaluation, how would you feel? If you lost these luxuries today, if you no longer had money to spend, find clothes to wear, comfy bed to sleep in, perfume or deodorants to smell good, find restaurants to eat at, or a way to travel. How does that make you feel? Does that pretty much describe your life and the things you take part in? What would it look like for you to separate from these things? We have no doubt become comfortable with the luxuries of this world that this system has made available to us. The people who are becoming wealthy from the system are really going to feel it when the system is finally destroyed. They will become nothing in an instant when God destroys her. This is why God calls us to come out of her so that we don't take part in her plagues as they will. And we are to look and act different from this world. That's why in verse 20 we see heaven, apostles, and prophets rejoicing, because they have been avenged. Avenged from what? When we live for God and his glory, we will be against the commercial system of this world and the people in it. When we stand for what's right, we are then standing in their way. How many friends or family have disassociated from you because you don't take part in their indulgences? You are the one that takes all the fun out of it for them because you remind them of the truth and righteousness. You remind them that there is a God and that they will one day have to stand before Him and answer for their actions. When you are not around, they don't have to give any thought to their actions and they dive deeper into their wicked lifestyle. We have to continue to encourage each other to stay out of these self-indulging lifestyles and pursue first the kingdom of God. That's not to say you shouldn't work or buy things. You are free to do so. Just remember what your motive is. God has kept us in this world not to indulge in it, but to be an ambassador for Him. James chapter 4, verse 13. Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow, we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make profit. Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. Second Corinthians chapter 5, verses 17 to 21. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new is come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. And moving on to verses twenty-four, twenty-one to twenty-four. Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down and shall not be found any more. The sound of harpist, musicians, flutists, and trumpets here shall not be heard in you any more. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you any more, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you any more. The light of a lamp shall not shine in you any more, and the voice of a bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you any more. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived, and in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth. As I said earlier, there may very well be a capital city in the last days that this is pointing to, where all the wickedness originates from. But as we have seen throughout the judgments, they are clearly coming upon the whole earth, and no place is going to escape God's judgment. So we can make a safe bet that this is more about a world system that will be judged and collapses, whose origin is found in ancient Babylon. And just as ancient Babylon was destroyed, never to be rebuilt, so the same will happen with this system. It will never be a system that will exist in this world ever again. Isaiah chapter 13, verses 20 to 22. Babylon will never rise again. Generation after generation will come and go, but the land will never again be lived in. In verse 21, we see an angel threw out a through a great millstone into the sea, representing what we saw in Daniel chapter 2, verses 35. Then the iron, the clay, and the bronze, the silver and the gold all together were broken in pieces and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. We cover Daniel's interpretation in great detail in Revelation chapter 13, part one, if you would like a refresher. But in verse 35, Daniel says, The image that represented the great empires of the past, and whose feet represented the future empire of the Antichrist would be struck down and destroyed by a stone that would become a great mountain. This stone is Jesus, and the great mountain is his coming kingdom. Psalms 118, 22. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. Daniel chapter 2, verse 43 to 45. As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage. But they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever. Just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, and the clay, the silver and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and the interpretation is sure. Daniel makes it clear that God will throw his judgments into the earth to break apart and destroy all these empires, systems and religions, to build his own perfect system, that Jesus will rule and reign over. Everything we read about in the Bible points to this one truth that Jesus is Lord of Lords and King of kings, and that he will have his day to sit as the one true King that the whole world, rich and poor, free and enslaved, will bow down to. Romans chapter 14, verses 11 and 12. For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. There is no escaping this truth. We will all give an account for our lives before Jesus, and he will reward us or condemn us, all based on what we did with the gift he gave us. John chapter 4, verse 10. Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, Give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. Romans 5 15. But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. Romans 6 23, for the wages of sin is death. But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8.32. He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him over for us all, how will he not also with him freely give us all things? What have you done with this gift? Are you living for him or yourself? The only thing you will have to stand on when that day comes is your life in Jesus. There is no one and nothing else that saves. It will only be your trust and faith in him that will save you. The result of you putting your trust in him will be a life that is spent glorifying our Father in heaven. Revelation 22, 12. And behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be. Let's pray. Father God, thank you so much again for your revelation, for your word and your truth, and how it transforms us into the image of Christ, that we can live more like him, that we can be purified, even though we are sinful people, we are broken and faulty, and we don't do anything perfect. It is glorifying you when we give ourselves over as a vessel of honor to allow you to use us for your glory. And it's only that that makes us righteous. It's the work you do in us and through us as we freely choose to allow you to use us, God. Thank you that you choose us, that you give us an opportunity to freely submit to you and allow you to use us. I think of Noah and Abraham, how you chose them, but then they had to choose to be used. They had to choose to obey, they had to submit themselves to you to show their belief and faith that you were their God. I pray that for us, Jesus, that we submit our lives to you today and that you use us to glorify yourselves. This is a daily dying to self that we have to do. Give us the strength to do so. Humble us, Lord, as we need humbling. Father, we love you so much and we thank you for the sacrifice that you made in your son, Jesus. Jesus, we love you and we thank you and we praise you in your precious, beautiful, holy name. Amen. Now I want to thank you for joining us today. I hope this message helped you take a step closer in your relationship with Jesus and that you have a better understanding for just how much God loves you and wants you to know Him. In our next episode, we're going to be moving on to chapter 19, where we will see all of heaven rejoicing over the completion of our Lord's judgment and the wedding feast beginning. What a wonderful time this is going to be for those who have trusted in Jesus. To be invited to this feast is nothing to take lately. This will be the wedding of weddings and the celebration to put all celebrations to shame. As believers, we should be looking forward to this moment as we are the bride of Christ and are just waiting for him to come gather his bride to himself. I can't think of anything else that brings more joy to my heart than this. We will be with our Lord for eternity, and his desire is to love us and bless us as a husband loves his wife. He has such a great love for us and wants nothing more than for us to enter into the joy of the Lord, so that we will forever be with him. We should all be looking forward to this day. Matthew chapter 25, verse 23. His Lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of the Lord. Now, before we go, I want to encourage you to visit us at thetaway. On our website, you can find out more about who we are and sign up to receive emails to get notifications on new episodes and ministry updates. This also makes it easy to share our podcasts and allows it, allows you to use it as a resource to help others. On our website, you can easily send us a message, a word of encouragement, questions, or comments. We would love to hear from you and encourage you to send us a message soon. God bless, and we'll see you next time on the takeaway.