Revelation 18:1-24

(Revelation 18:1-24)

 

After these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 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. 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. 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. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.  Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. 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. 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. 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! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:  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, 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. 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.  The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,  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! 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, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! 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. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. 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. 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; 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.  And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

 

Chapter 17 records the judgment against Babylon, symbolized by harlots, focusing on the destruction of the great city of Babylon. Here, Babylon is not a Babylonian state in history, but collectively refers to an idolatrous empire that betrays God throughout the ages.
It can be said that it refers to a Roman resembling Babylon who conquered Israel and destroyed the temple of Israel, and plunged the world into fornication.

 

Chapter 18 describes this process of destruction upon Babylon in more detail and specifically the results of judgment. It begins with a declaration of destruction.『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. 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』 An angel of great power came down from heaven, and the earth was brightened by his glory. And what the angel cried out with a strong voice was a declaration that it was "fallen." The reason is that the great city of Babylon has become a dwelling place for demons, a den of filthy spirits, and a home of filthy and detestable birds. When Jesus goes to the temple and sees people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and people changing money, he makes a whip out of a string and drives out animals, pours their money, and overturns the table. And Jesus expressed his resentment to the people in the temple, saying, "My Father's house will be a house for all peoples to pray. You made a den of robbers."

 

The Bible refers to the great city of Babylon as a dwelling place for demons and a den of unclean spirits. If so, this Babylon would have been so degraded that Jesus would eat a whip. The book of Revelation describes the cause of Babylon's destruction. It is because all nations drank the wine of anger from fornication, the kings of the world had fornicated, and the world's merchants were dismissed by the luxury wind. But what's important here is that the city lies at the center of these three. All the nations drank the wine of anger from the fornication of the great city Babylon, and they fornicated with the great city, and became rich because of the luxury of that great city. In the end, the great city was not satisfied with the idolization of power, luxury and vanity, and moral indulgence, and other nations were brought into their own sins and sinned together.

 

The book of Revelation specifically describes the mourning through the kings of the earth, the merchants of the earth, and the sailors over the destruction of the harlot Babylon. But what is the fundamental reason for mourning? It is the grief caused by the losses that arise because their relationship with the big city is cut off by their interests. In the end, even though destruction is proclaimed and the moment of judgment faces, he is unable to judge what he is currently in, what he should see and what voices he should listen to, and even clings to the interests in front of him.

 

Jesus' death on the cross is the judgment of God's wrath. For whom is the judgment? It is the judgment against sinners. People think that sinners are to be judged, but Jesus died instead. This is where the misunderstanding of the gospel arises. Jesus was not simply a death for sinners, but a “death union” for the death of those who repent and come into Christ. In Romans 6:4, 『Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. It is the grace for God to save those who were buried with the death of Jesus.

 

In Romans 6:7, "For he that is dead is freed from sin. 』Canaan means Christ. “Because you have all become sons of God in Christ Jesus through faith.” Faith in Christ Jesus is the faith that enters Canaan, and is the faith that puts down my thoughts and will and obeys the Word of God only. So faith is a gift that God gives to those who repent.

 

In Acts 8:13, 『Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. Simon is a magician, decided to believe Philip's words, was baptized, and followed Philip. But this faith, says Peter, is not a saved faith. In Acts 8:21-23, "Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. 』What is evil? It is greed.

 

He tried to buy the Holy Spirit for money. The faith I believe in is that greed remains hidden in its heart. It is that evil is the sin nature. So repentance represents the very sinful death. Sin can be forgiven, but the sin nature (old man) must die. Man cannot know his wickedness because he is in darkness, unless the sinful nature dies. You cannot know unless God sheds light. What Peter said to Simon becomes the light of God.

 

It is an illusion to think that people have experienced miracles or that they have come to believe that they have experienced the Holy Spirit. Faith is God's gift to those who are buried with Christ who died on the cross. The gift of faith does not come unless the evil hidden in the flesh (old man, sinful nature) is buried. This is repentance. Repentance is also altered in human ways. Since the sin nature of man does not die, even if he repents, he deceives the flesh as being inevitable to sin. That's why they deceive that they just need to receive forgiveness of sins with the blood of Jesus. However, if you do not die, there is no forgiveness. The sin nature can be revived, but you must believe that the sin nature dies. When revived, we must look at the death on the cross again.

 

In Acts 8:24, 『Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the LORD for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me. 』Peter no longer answers. Simon asks Peter to repent. "He who teaches from Galatians 3:26" becomes a liar. This faith is the main bar under the law in 3:23. Repentance is the faith in which the old man dies in the wilderness and is exchanged for the new man. This is the mirror of rebirth. 40 years in the wilderness is a mirror of regeneration. It is not that the old person changes and becomes a new person, but the old person dies and a new person is born.