In this compelling episode, we delve into the fall of Babylon as described in Revelation 18, where the great city that defied God faces its inevitable demise. Bible teacher David Hawking guides us through the powerful imagery of Babylon’s destruction and the global implications of this judgment. As heaven rejoices, the earth mourns, highlighting the stark contrast between God’s justice and earthly sorrow.
I just want you to know that no brothers and sisters in the family of God which we’re a part of, who have suffered for their faith, will be forgotten by the Lord. Never. He will not only judge those who did it to them, but he will reward them.
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The sky is red with fire and smoke as the city that ruled the nations, Babylon, crumbles into ashes. Her glory, it’s gone. Her power, broken. The kings who once drank her wine now watch from a distance, shaking with fear. The merchants who traded in her luxury, they’re now staring into the flames, their gold and silver melting away. In one hour, just one hour, her empire vanishes, gone forever. This isn’t just the fall of a city. It’s the end of a system that defied God himself. And while earth mourns, heaven rejoices because the judge of all the earth has spoken and his word stands. This is day three of our study in Revelation chapter 18 called The Fall of Babylon. Today, Bible teacher David Hawking takes us deep into God’s final verdict on hope for today. First, here’s a special word from David.
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We need your help, folks. We don’t have a church or organization behind us. We need your help right now. Just write out a check to hope for today. Not to me. I’m David Hocking, but I’m just a speaker on the broadcast. And I don’t take any money from all the books that you order either. I want God to be glorified in all things. Can you help us right now? Just stick a little extra in your envelope or contact us by phone at 1-800-75-BIBLE or in Canada, 1-888-75-BIBLE. Let us know that you’re listening and most of all, that you’re praying for us.
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To join with us in ministry through a donation, call 1-800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 1-888-75-BIBLE in Canada, Bible by the numbers 24253, or donate online at davidhocking.org. And we’ll have those numbers again for you later on, along with our mailing address. Right now, turn to Revelation chapter 18, and here’s David with day three of The Fall of Babylon.
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And after these things, I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was made bright or 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 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 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 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 pipers and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee. And no craftsman 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. In verse 4 and 5, we have a plea to God’s people. It says, Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Hey, God’s not going to forget, folks. Look at chapter 16, verse 19. It says in the middle of the verse, And great Babylon came in remembrance before God. God’s not going to forget. And it’s interesting that when he says, come out of her my people, I wonder if you’ve really thought that through. That means there are true believers in the wrong religious group. You know, it’s easy, isn’t it, to make it an us-them syndrome and everybody associated with something that’s not your thing or your name or your brand name is somehow not of God. But I want you to know the Bible is very clear in its warning here at a time of terrible tribulation and persecution that there are God’s people in these false religious systems who need to get out of it. That’s what he said. Come out of her, my people. Stay away from it. Don’t have anything to do with it. Get out of that. That’s quite a statement, isn’t it? By the way, when it says her sins have reached to heaven, that word reached is interesting to me. I just happened to notice going through this in a Greek text that it’s the Greek word kolao. That’s referring to putting bricks together with mortar. And I thought, boy, I wonder if the Holy Spirit is making a play there. Remember the Tower of Babel? Her sins have been putting bricks together, reaching unto heaven. It’s like a play on what the Tower of Babel was doing and reminding us to remember that and come out of her, my people, and God is going to remember her iniquities. Now the third thing I’d point out to you is the payment that Babylon’s going to receive for what she’s done. Verses 6 to 8. We have the statement, reward her, verse 6, even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works. Turn back to chapter 14 again and look at verse 10. This is talking about those who worship the beast and the image. It says, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. I’m simply making this point. People often ask, what does it mean, double under her, double what she has done? And I think the point is not only that this whole system is going to be destroyed and burned up and the secular world, the Antichrist himself is going to get rid of this once and for all. That’s one judgment. But we have also the judgment of hell itself. It is double. So that’s probably the point of the double. It’s one explanation of it. Back to chapter 18. Explaining this to us, the payment that Babylon’s going to receive, it’s interesting, verse 7, it says, “…how much she has glorified herself.” Boy, is there anything more arrogant and pompous than religious pomp? Hey, with Jesus I understand, but nobody else deserves the honor, you know? And I’m not trying to show disrespect for religious leadership. I’m just saying there is no pomp, there is no arrogance, there is no lavishness like religious pomp. And I think we all realize that. And here it says reward her double. She’s going to suffer, but she’s glorified herself. She’s lived deliciously or luxuriously. She said, I sit as a queen. That was pagan terminology from the Babylonian religious system. The mother of God, the queen of heaven, the woman with the child born by miraculous birth, all counterfeiting the glorious news of the gospel and making the mother out to be more than the son that was born. My friends, we have something serious here. I said as a queen, I’m no widow, you’ll… And yet God says you’re going to see a lot of sorrow. God’s judgment is going to come upon Babylon. They’re going to receive terrible torment and pain. And interesting, it says their plagues will come in one day. Verse 8. Death, mourning, famine shall be utterly burned with fire. Who’s going to destroy her? Go back to chapter 17, please. Verse 16. Verse 16. The ten horns, this seventh head with ten horns on it, they are some sort of new world empire with ten divisions. They’re going to hate this woman, this harlot, verse 16, this religious system. shall make her desolate and naked, shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire. Who will destroy her? That revived empire, the world, the seventh world empire. We had five that had fallen in John’s day, Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Medo-Persia, Greece. We had one that existed in John’s day, Rome. That one got a fatal wound and will be coming back to life as the seventh world empire with 10 divisions in it, out of which will eventually come the Antichrist who will become the eighth in and of himself as he’ll get rid of everything and he himself be declared as God. That’s what’s coming. Our world is already, in its global thinking and new world order junk, has already divided the world up into ten divisions. And they’re not the European common market. There are ten divisions. All of this is a part of the entire system of global thinkers, futurists, who have decided the only way to rule the world is to have a world economy, a world government, and to put them all together and they’ve got ten divisions. It’s already clear. It’s becoming more and more propagated globally. Friends, I think we’re about to see a new world empire that will control the entire world, made up of ten divisions, just like the Bible said. And they’re going to turn on religion and say, we don’t need you anymore, and they’re going to destroy her. And that’s how God’s going to do it. But look at what it says in Revelation 18 and verse 8. It says, For strong is the Lord God who judges her. God uses even wicked men to carry out his purpose. And look back to chapter 17, verse 17. God put it in their hearts. He’s… Ten leaders of the new world government. God put it in their hearts to fulfill his will and to agree and give their kingdom unto the beast until the words of God shall be fulfilled. God is fulfilling his purpose. God is in charge. God is the one who is bringing the judgment. Now the fourth thing I draw to your attention, which is kind of scattered through verses 9 to 19, are the people who are affected by the fall of Babylon. You have the kings of the earth. You have number two, the merchants of the earth who are going to weep in sorrow, according to verses 11 to 17. No one buys their merchandise anymore, verse 11. All the things which are dainty and goodly and luxurious have gone. They’re found no more, verse 14. In one hour, all their great riches are come to nothing, verse 17. Verse 17. the merchants, the kings of the earth, the shipmasters and sailors who trade by sea. That causes me to say that this religious system is represented by a city that is consistent throughout Revelation, that great city. And I mentioned to you that Babylon is sometimes associated with Jerusalem because of a statement back in chapter 11. But I think metaphorically that’s referring to the moral situation. It is not talking about the literal city that will represent this woman. This woman and her city has got to be a city that is a part of the seafaring business of this world. I think that’s clear from Revelation 18. I suggest to you that the city of Rome is already that. It could easily be many other cities. Some vote for the city of New York. because of the United Nations being there, but I don’t want to argue that. But there’s a lot of possibilities. But I think because of what it says about shipmasters and sailors who trade by sea, I think it’s clear, because they see what’s happening, that this city is associated with the great traffic on the sea. Have you ever seen that from an aerial view? I got a chance to see that a couple of times in a plane. And it is amazing to me. Do you know that the Mediterranean is the center of commerce in this world by ship? If you don’t know that, learn it. It’s unbelievable. The very thing that God talks about, a lot of us who live in the United States, we kind of think, well, maybe it’s Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, something like that. The Mediterranean Sea, that whole area is dominated by the shipping industry. It’s almost like you need traffic cops out there to just direct the traffic of ships alone. And I remember one time flying over, looking at all these dots down there and asking, what’s all that? Those are all ships. It’s unbelievable, the industry, the merchantmen, what’s going on there. It’s incredible, and it’s going to all be destroyed. Now, the fifth thing I want you to see is in verse 20, and that’s the praise of the believers. This is great. Verse 20, imagine God saying this, Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets, all the believers in heaven, all the angels, all the apostles and prophets, for God hath avenged you on her. We’re talking explosion of praise time because of the judgment of the great whore. One final thing, the pronouncement of Babylon’s fall in verses 21 to 24. It’s interesting, isn’t it, in verse 21 that a violent catastrophe is announced. This is a fulfillment of what was said in Jeremiah 51, verse 63 and 64. A stone is cast into the sea and with violence… that great city Babylon would be thrown down. Some have suggested that this new world empire of ten divisions turns on her, and we’re talking thermonuclear war or whatever, and they just blow her out of the sky. They just destroy the place. Lord only knows how. But in one day, the passage says, and people used to say, well, a day could be a longer period of time. But now as we have seen modern military technology, we now realize the Bible can be taken literally in one day. This whole thing can be blown to smithereens. Several consequences are described in verses 22 to 23. Maybe you want to jot it down. No more music. No more manufacturing. No more marriage. Boy, you talk about devastation. Why wouldn’t there be any more marriage? Because the religious system has been performing them. There’ll be no more music. Isn’t that interesting? But it’s interesting. All activity is removed so much that it says the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee. Wow. Wow. Well, look at the two basic causes for this. End of verse 23. For by thy sorceries, pharmaceutical drugs, by thy drugs were all nations deceived. In her, second issue, in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all that were slain upon the earth. In this little book I was reading on the bloodline, little booklet, it made the statement that there are more people who have been killed as believers than who lived as believers without being martyred. I know a lot of people have been killed for their faith. I know that there are still a lot of people being killed for their faith. And whether we like to admit it or not, my Christian brothers and sisters, we are an isolated society. And I just want you to know that no brothers and sisters in the family of God, which we’re a part of, who have suffered for their faith, will be forgotten by the Lord. Never. He will not only judge those who did it to them, but he will reward them. God will reward you too. Every drop of cold water given his name will receive a reward. Some of you go through pressure times. A guy yesterday told me he lost his job because he told him he was a Christian. But let me tell you something. You’ve never suffered anything that God isn’t going to reward a hundredfold. The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed. Don’t we have a wonderful Lord? Aren’t you glad you’re on the winning side? Praise the Lord.
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That’s Bible teacher and author David Hawking. And this is Hope for Today. David’s back in a moment or so to bring today’s lesson to a close. Just before that, his son Matt and I, we’re going to tell you about a book by David that has answers for you or someone you know to some of the most important questions of life.
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Matt? Each month, we air a special program featuring my dad’s answers from the Bible to questions we received from listeners over the years.
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And at the root of many inquiries, Matt, are basic but essential questions such as, who am I? Where do I come from? What is the meaning of life? Where am I going and is there any hope for me?
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You know, in life’s greatest questions, we go to the Bible, the sure word of God for the answers to the perplexities of the human heart.
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Matt, the psalmist asked, and you know this verse, what is man that thou art mindful of him and the son of man that thou visitest him?
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Psalm 84. Our Lord cares and the Bible doesn’t avoid tough questions. No. It answers them with the truth of God’s love, his plan of redemption, and his promise of eternal hope.
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The Lord Jesus himself declared, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me.
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John 14, 6. You know, friend, in him we find both the meaning of life and the assurance of life everlasting. And you don’t need to remain in darkness concerning life’s greatest questions.
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God has given us his truth, and in it, The truth of God’s Word, in that we find hope, assurance, and peace through His Son, our Savior, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Amen. John 8, 32. Go get your copy of Life’s Greatest Questions by David Hawking today for $10 from Hope for Today.
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Read, enjoy, and then share with a friend who also needs answers.
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Yeah, boy, so many folks around us do. And when you purchase this or any resource, would you prayerfully consider adding a donation to help us continue the ministry work of Hope for Today? Or perhaps send a donation by itself. And please do pray for us whenever you hear or remember Hope for Today. Amen to that. Amen. To get your copy of Life’s Greatest Questions by David Hawking, call 875-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. You can also order online at davidhawking.com. And you know, if you haven’t written us in a while, or maybe you’ve never written before, we’d really love to hear from you. Your letters are such an encouragement to us. They let us know you’re praying, you’re listening, and that you care about keeping God’s Word going forth and that it’s making a difference in your life. And also, if the Lord puts it on your heart, you can also send your financial support. You can do that by calling us at 1-800-75-BIBLE in the U.S., 888-75-BIBLE in Canada, online at davidhawking.org, or the old-fashioned way, through the mail. Our address in the U.S., Hope for Today, Box 3927. Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO 7 Oaks, Abbotsford, BC, V2S 8P1. Let’s get back to David.
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Thanks, friends, for listening to Hope for Today. We’re in Revelation 18 and finishing up with that. And it is talking about the destruction of this city and empire called Babylon the Great. And in verse 21, It says, “…a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, 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.” Goodbye, wicked Babylon and all that you represent. And it’s interesting in verse 24, it It says that in her, in Babylon, was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all that were slain upon the earth. Wow. Terrible time, the time of tribulation. But God Almighty and the Lord of hosts, our Messiah, they’re going to perform a destruction that the world will never forget. Babylon will be destroyed. God bless you.
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Well, thank you, David. And just before we go, we’d love to know where you listen and how you listen to Hope for Today. You might hear us on your local station every morning. Perhaps you stream the program online through our website. You might listen to the iTunes podcast while you drive to work or work out. Maybe while you wind down at the end of your day. However you tune in, we want to hear from you. Let us know where you’re listening. It really does make a difference. It helps us stay sharp and faithful with every dollar God provides through His people to this ministry. Your feedback and support, they keep the broadcast strong and the Word of God going out around the world. So do call us at 800-75-BIBLE. That’s in the U.S. Or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. You can also contact us on our website, davidhawking.org. On our next broadcast, the scene shifts from the fall of Babylon to the glory of heaven as the marriage of the Lamb is announced. The redeemed, they rejoice. The King is coming, and His bride is ready. That’s Revelation chapter 19. Join us for day one of The Marriage of the Lamb, right here on Hope for Today.
