Join us as we explore the fascinating interpretations of Revelation 18 and the significance of Babylon as both a city and a system entrenched in worldly vanity and spiritual falsehoods. Our discussion weaves through biblical prophecy and modern implications, revealing the entwined fate of religious and socio-political orders. With thoughtful analysis, we reflect on the eventual fall of Babylon and its representation of man’s ultimate confrontation with divine judgment.
00:00:00 Introduction and Critique of Organized Religion
The Roman Catholic Church in its organized religious sense is certainly representative of all the teachings of the Babylonian religion. They certainly perpetuate them, but I mentioned in our previous messages that you don’t just blame the Catholic Church, you’ve got to blame the Protestant churches too. For we are still following, as we indicated in previous messages, the Babylonian religious system. All that they represent. Our Christian, quote, holidays are celebrating Babylonian religion much more than they are the truth of the gospel.
SPEAKER 02 :
The clock on this world is nearly out of time. The wealth of nations, the pride of empires, the religious deception that has seduced the masses, all of it is about to meet the wrath of Almighty God. Babylon, the symbol of man’s rebellion and Satan’s system, stands in all her arrogance. But in a single hour, she falls. Her glory turned to smoke. Her power crushed to dust. And kings, merchants, and the great men of earth will watch in shock as everything they trusted in burns before their eyes. Wow. But for those who follow the Lamb, this is not a day of fear. It is a day of deliverance. This is Hope for Today. And coming up in our series through the book of Revelation today, we’re going to be turning to Revelation chapter 18 for a message titled The Fall of Babylon. And Bible teacher David Hawking is here to guide us through every verse in just a moment. Before we begin, we want to offer you a powerful resource, a free resource, right on our homepage. It’s titled Food for Faith. This is a 160-page book by our good friend Richard A. Bennett, and it’s available in multiple languages, completely free. Nothing to sign up for. Just click on the link right on our homepage, download it, read it, share it with as many people as you like. Again, that’s Food for Faith, and you’ll find it at DavidHawking.org. DavidHawking.org. Now here’s David with day one of The Fall of Babylon. And we’ll start out at Revelation 18, verse 1.
SPEAKER 04 :
Will you take your Bibles, please, and turn to Revelation chapter 18. Revelation chapter 18 on the fall of Babylon. Babylon is a mother and a mystery. Therefore, we do take the term as being symbolic, and yet the Babylonian religious system is what it’s all about. It has come from that time throughout all the nations of the world and cultures of the world. We gave you some evidence of that, and it is infiltrated everywhere. And this religious system has dominated the political structures and empires of the world. And God is speaking about the destruction of Babylon the Great in Revelation chapter 18. Now, just before we read it, I want you to understand that Bible teachers disagree over whether or not chapters 17 and 18 are talking about the same thing. It has been a standard argument of many pre-tribulational, pre-millennial people that in chapter 17 we have a religious Babylon, and in chapter 18 we have a political Babylon. This causes some, those of you who have read in the literature, prophetic books that are in the Christian bookstores, this has caused some to say that the religious one could be something like the Roman Catholic Church or some sort of ecumenical system of the end time. And that in chapter 18, we have a literal rebuilt city of Babylon. I hold the view that the Babylon here is the same in Revelation 17, 18. There’s no difference, and I’ll show you why in a moment after we read the chapter. Chapter 18, Revelation, beginning of verse 1. And after these things, I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was made great. bright or was lightened with his glory and he cried mightily with a strong voice saying Babylon the greatest fallen is fallen and has 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 live 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 live 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 anymore. The merchandise of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet and all thean wood and all, we would say, all kinds of or all manner of vessels of ivory, all manner of vessels of most precious wood and of brass and iron and marble and cinnamon and odors. 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 who 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 are come to naught. And every shipmaster and all the company and 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 in which 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… Some say this of pipers is like flute players. And trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee. And no craftsmen of whatever 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. I know you feel like saying, wow. Now verse 1 says, after these things. You might ask the question, is that a sequence of events or simply additional remarks to what was said at the end of chapter 17? And… apparently is additional remarks, because what we have is the destruction of this woman mentioned at the end of chapter 17, and now the details are going to be outlined for us. Now, I mentioned to you I believe that Babylon is the same in chapter 17 and 18, that I don’t separate them into religious and political categories. Let me give you some arguments for the harlot woman being the same in both chapters. One, The usage of the word Babylon. Back up to chapter 17, verse 5. Upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery Babylon the Great. Then in verse 18, the woman whom thou sawest is that great city. Now, what I simply point out to you here is that that is never used of the beast or any of its heads. which do describe political empires and the final empire of the end time. It is never used once of the beast. Not once in Revelation is it called Babylon the Great. So I think Bible teachers make a mistake there by taking the term and applying it to political kingdoms or empires. Or the final one of the Antichrist. I think that’s wrong. I don’t think that’s the point at all. And that would be the first thing is the very usage of the word Babylon. always refers to the harlot woman who sits on the beast, who has seven heads and ten horns, but never is a head or the beast ever called Babylon. A second thing I would have to say that makes both chapters exactly the same story is that the context, both before and after Revelation 18, would seem to suggest that. Let me show you what I mean. Go back to chapter 16 and look at verse 19. When we were looking at the seven last plagues, the seventh one is the great earthquake that destroys. Verse 19, the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and great Babylon came in remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. So even before chapter 17, you have that context. And then 17.1 says, come here and I’ll show you the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters. Verse 18, as you end that chapter, Now why would God in the context confuse us with two different things? It’s just flowing straight through. In fact, in verse 2 of chapter 18, it says, Go back to chapter 14. Look at verse 8. There’s a consistency throughout Revelation regarding Babylon the Great. In chapter 14, verse 8, there followed another angel saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Well, that’s the same language as over here in chapter 18 that you’re reading in verse 2 and following. Then would you notice chapter 19? Just talk about before and after. It says, after these things I heard a great voice, many people in heaven praising the Lord. Verse 2, for true and righteous are his judgments, for he hath judged the great whore who did corrupt the earth with her fornication, hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. So it seems like the whole thing just flows. It’s a context dealing with this woman, Babylon the Great. There aren’t two systems of Babylon. There’s not one religious and one political. We’re talking about the religious system that has infiltrated all the kingdoms of the world and will take a final form. And we did suggest that at least at the present state of things, the Roman Catholic Church in its organized religious sense is certainly representative of all the teachings of the Babylonian religion. They certainly perpetuate them, but I mentioned in our previous messages that you don’t just blame the Catholic Church, you’ve got to blame the Protestant churches too. For we are still following, as we indicated in previous messages, the Babylonian religious system. All that they represent are Christian, quote, holidays are celebrating Babylonian religion much more than they are the truth of the gospel. And I hate it when they put Merry Xmas. I hate it. Now, you know, some people who think they’re very erudite say, well, the X is the Greek word key and it represents the first letter of the name Christos. If you think any pagans are thinking that, you’re crazy. X to them is the unknown quantity, right? I mean, it’s like ruling out Christ. It’s doing what you can. But by the way, the fellow in the red suit has to go. I don’t want him in my home. I don’t want to look at him. I don’t want anything to do with him. And people have actually got a religious story about him. Hey, get rid of all this and look at the freshness of the word of God. God became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. I don’t care whether he was born on September 29th or December 25th. The fact is he was born. People say, well, there wouldn’t have been shepherds in the field at wintertime. I’ve been there and there are shepherds in the field. So, you know, everybody’s got their own arguments. And why don’t we just stop arguing and say, praise the Lord, Jesus is here. He came into this world. He came to seek and to save that which is lost. And so, you know, I know some of you are really upset with what I said before, but I feel like saying to you, good. May you be continually upset until we come back to the freshness of the Word of God and stick with what it says. And don’t let the culture around us and the commercialism of it come in and so dominate you that you’ve got to go around defending it. Hey, deal with it properly and be kind and sweet to everybody, but keep asking everywhere you go, where’s Jesus in this? That’s the whole issue. Okay, I said my piece. Okay, that’s all. I have another reason why I believe that religious and political Babylon are the same. I’d like you to notice the statements in Revelation 18 that remind us of something previous. In verse 3, it says, All nations have drunk the wine of the wrath of her fornication. The kings of the earth have committed fornication with her. But down at verse 24, it says, In her was found the blood of prophets and of saints. and of all that were slain upon the earth. Go back to chapter 6, verse 9. When the fifth seal was opened, in the seven seal judgments, when the fifth seal was opened, it said, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held, and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? I just want to point out to you that the avenging of the blood of these saints that have been killed is described as happening when Babylon the Great is destroyed. when the city is burned. So the connection is just too powerful. I believe that revelation is consistent. The woman that sits on the beast is not to be identified with the beast, any of its heads, or any of its final form. It is not the political system. It is a religious system that has infiltrated all nations of the world and corrupted them, and as a result of their influence, thousands, maybe millions, of God’s people have been killed for their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s pray. Father, we are very much aware that though our interpretation of these things be faulty and insufficient to really explain the truth of what will take place, we do realize that what is revealed, that even a child can read, is awesome indeed. I thank you, Lord, that it’s clear that the world isn’t getting away with anything. Payday someday. The Lord will avenge. You said vengeance is mine, I’ll repay, saith the Lord, and that we’re not to spend our time trying to vindicate ourselves. We’re to overcome evil with good. To heat coals of fire on their heads by being kind and gracious and blessing those who persecute us, praying for those who despitefully use us. Lord, we pray for believers around the world who are suffering terribly. God, we pray for their comfort and encouragement and protection and love. O Lord, that they may know that you will never desert them. And though many suffer and die for their faith, God, thank you for the promise that they will be rewarded and they will be avenged. And we do rejoice, as your word says, for the ultimate victory that’s in our Lord Jesus Christ. And we realize that death has no power over us. Because of the resurrection, we shall live forever. You said, don’t fear the one that can kill the body, but fear him who can cast both body and soul into hell. God, I pray for those who have not counted the cost carefully. You said, what is the profit of man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Some of us are as guilty as that which we read about. We’re living for the luxuries of this world. We’re living for financial gain and fame. And we’re committed to arrogance and pride and feeling important and trying to achieve and let everybody know how great we are. And we’re so far from God, it’s sickening. Oh, Lord, humble us before you by the power of your Holy Spirit. Break our spirit till we humble ourselves at your feet and confess that Jesus is Lord. and bow the knee to him who is King of kings and Lord of lords. I pray that people are not sure of their own relationship with Christ. God, may this be the night of their salvation, we pray. In Jesus’ name, amen.
SPEAKER 03 :
Have you been born again of the Spirit of God? Because if you haven’t, you will not be entering the kingdom of heaven. It’s so important that every one of us understands it isn’t just going to church. It isn’t just listening to certain religious programs or messages. My friends, we need to read God’s Word and find the truth there. The truth is the gospel of our Lord Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus Christ. Have you opened your heart to Him? Have you? Have you confessed your sin and repented of it and expressed by your confession your faith and belief in the finished work of our Messiah who died for your sin and rose again from the dead and has promised eternal life to all who put their trust in him.
SPEAKER 02 :
This is Hope for Today with David Hawking. And if you’d like to know more about the Christian faith, or if you’re a new believer, well, we’d like to send you David’s booklet called What Is Christianity, as well as a free Bible study by mail. These, again, are free. You don’t have to sign up for anything. What is Christianity? And a free Bible study by mail if you’re not yet a Christian, but you’re curious, or if you’re new to the Christian faith. Call us at 800-75-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada, and Bible by the numbers 24253, and we’ll get these free resources to you. You can also request them using the contact form at DavidHawking.org. And just before David returns to bring our time to a close for the day, Matt’s here, and we have something that’s really going to bless you, a special resource.
SPEAKER 01 :
Matt? This month, Jim, we’re featuring our book, Life’s Greatest Questions. And let me just read a few lines from it. Many have no time for God, choosing rather to ignore and neglect His role and importance in their lives. But what has all this secularism and individualism produced? Is there a greater degree of happiness? Has our nation been delivered from its psychological troubles? Do our marriages and family reveal the blessings of selfism? Are we closer to peace on earth? Are questions of poverty, alcoholism, drug abuse, pornography, divorce, abortion, diminishing or increasing? Is everything answered by money?
SPEAKER 02 :
Mathis’ quote continues, It’s time for intellectual honesty and courage. What are we looking for? What do we hope to discover by our obsession with pleasure and personal needs? Does God have anything to say about our experiences?
SPEAKER 01 :
Does he exist? Does he care? Is there anything he can do about our dilemmas? Can he make us happy? Life’s greatest questions are consistently dealt with in one book, the Bible. Its message is like fresh air in a polluted atmosphere.
SPEAKER 02 :
It speaks with authority and clarity about human life and its problems. And Matt, these questions address pressing issues in our culture today. Yeah, in many churches and even in our families. And it’s crucial we have the answers. Life’s Greatest Questions by David Hawking takes us into scripture for wisdom and answers. Life’s Greatest Questions, our featured offer is just $10. And your purchase will prepare, strengthen, and bless you, your family and friends, and it will help the ministry of hope for today. Get your copy of Life’s Greatest Questions by calling 800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. You can also make this purchase at our website davidhocking.org. Remember, when you purchase these resources, you’re also supporting the ministry of Hope for Today and helping us continue bringing the teaching of God’s Word to listeners every day. Again, to order any of these resources, visit davidhawking.org or call us at 800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And again, Bible by the numbers 24253. And just before David returns, let me ask you a simple question here. Has this ministry… made a difference in your walk with the Lord? If it has, would you consider supporting us? You can make a donation at davidhawking.org or call us at 800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And if you prefer to write, our address, hope for today, Box 3927, tustin california 92781 in canada right to hope for today box 15011 rpo seven oaks abbotsford bc v2s 8p1 and thank you for helping others hear the truth let’s get back to david
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, friends, I hope you’re enjoying. Sometimes I don’t know whether to say enjoying or enduring. But this is Revelation 18 on the fall of Babylon. Yes, this serious problem of Babylon, not only a political system but also a religious system represented by the woman, the great harlot who rides the beast, the Antichrist. Well, they’re all energized by Satan himself. And the fall of Babylon is taught in the book of Revelation. And it mentions in chapter 18, verse 1, 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 has become the habitation of devils or demons, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. My goodness! We’re talking about a destruction of a wicked, idolatrous, immoral, Kingdom, that is going to be the final one, and Babylon the great will be destroyed. And that’s what we’re reading in chapter 18. There’s only 24 verses, but my people get confused as they read it. So plan to have your Bible open and listen carefully as we study it together. And thanks again for your help.
SPEAKER 02 :
God bless you. Thank you, David. Well, next time, the smoke of Babylon’s fall still rises. Can you imagine the sight? And the world, well, the world weeps as everything they trusted in goes up in flames. Heaven, though, heaven’s rejoicing because God’s righteous judgment has come. Well, don’t miss day two in our study of Revelation 18. It’s right here on Hope for Today.
