Babylon

In chapter 18, we continue on with the description of Babylon and her judgment. In chapter 17 we were shown the reason for her judgment and in this chapter we will see her judged. 


¹ After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. ² With a mighty voice he shouted:

   “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’^[a]
   She has become a dwelling for demons
and a haunt for every impure spirit,
   a haunt for every unclean bird,
   a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.
³ For all the nations have drunk
   the maddening wine of her adulteries.
The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,
   and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”




At the beginning of this chapter we see an angel descending from heaven. John describes him as having authority and that the earth was illuminated by his splendor. Since John has not described any of the other angels in this way, we can guess that this is a special angel of high rank and what he has to say will be extremely important. In a loud voice he declares Babylon's destruction, similar to the destruction of the original Babylon in Isaiah.
⁹ Look, here comes a man in a chariot
   with a team of horses.
And he gives back the answer:
   ‘Babylon has fallen, has fallen!
All the images of its gods
   lie shattered on the ground!" Isaiah 21:9
The angel then gives the reason for her destruction, and describes her wickedness.

Warning to Escape Babylon’s Judgment

 ⁴ Then I heard another voice from heaven say:   “‘Come out of her, my people,’^[b]
   so that you will not share in her sins,
   so that you will not receive any of her plagues;
⁵ for her sins are piled up to heaven,
   and God has remembered her crimes.
⁶ Give back to her as she has given;
   pay her back double for what she has done.
   Pour her a double portion from her own cup.
⁷ Give her as much torment and grief
   as the glory and luxury she gave herself.
In her heart she boasts,
   ‘I sit enthroned as queen.
I am not a widow;^[c]
   I will never mourn.’
⁸ Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her:
   death, mourning and famine.
She will be consumed by fire,
   for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.


Then a voice calls out from heaven, we can assume that this is Jesus since He refers to "my people". He calls for any that are his people to leave Babylon before the judgment comes down on  Babylon. The first reason the godly must flee is so they won't be tempted to participate in Babylon's evils, and the second reason is so they do not experience her judgments. Jesus then states the reason for Babylon's destruction, she is so evil that her sins are piled up to heaven, indicating the degree to which she has sinned. Then Jesus asks God to punish Babylon double for what she has done. To give her the same punishment as the amount of luxury that she gave herself. Babylon, being the center of the Beast's kingdom thought that she would never be defeated. Because of her pride she will be completely destroyed.

Threefold Woe Over Babylon’s Fall

 ⁹ “When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. ¹⁰ Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry:   “‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,
   you mighty city of Babylon!
In one hour your doom has come!’
 ¹¹ “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore— ¹² cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; ¹³ cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves.
 ¹⁴ “They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’ ¹⁵ The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn ¹⁶ and cry out:
   “‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,
   dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet,
   and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!
¹⁷ In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’
   “Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. ¹⁸ When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ ¹⁹ They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out:
   “‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,
   where all who had ships on the sea
   became rich through her wealth!
In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’
 ²⁰ “Rejoice over her, you heavens!
   Rejoice, you people of God!
   Rejoice, apostles and prophets!
For God has judged her
   with the judgment she imposed on you.”


Now we see the reaction of the world when they see the destruction of Babylon. The kings of the world will mourn her, because they see that this great city has been destroyed and know that their destruction will soon follow. The merchants of the earth will mourn because Babylon was a great center of commerce. They will be crying for the wealth that they will lose as a result of her destruction. The list of trade goods is an example of goods from every kind of store. All those that make their living by industry, especially those that earn their living by the sea will mourn for Babylon.
Now the voice that called down the destruction of Babylon continues, there is a call for heaven, saints, apostles and prophets to rejoice because God has brought down judgment on Babylon.

The Finality of Babylon’s Doom

 ²¹ Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said:   “With such violence
   the great city of Babylon will be thrown down,
   never to be found again.
²² The music of harpists and musicians, pipers and trumpeters,
   will never be heard in you again.
No worker of any trade
   will ever be found in you again.
The sound of a millstone
   will never be heard in you again.
²³ The light of a lamp
   will never shine in you again.
The voice of bridegroom and bride
   will never be heard in you again.
Your merchants were the world’s important people.
   By your magic spell all the nations were led astray.
²⁴ In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people,
   of all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”


Then we see an angel throw a boulder into the sea and exclaim that just like the violence of the boulder crashing into the sea will Babylon be destroyed. Then he describes the fact that it will be so utterly destroyed that it will never be inhabited again. The reason for her destruction is because she led the world astray and slaughtered God's people. 

Babylon, the Prostitute on the Beast

In chapter Seventeen, we get a more in depth description on Babylon. We know it will be utterly destroyed as we saw in chapter fourteen, but we never received a full description of what Babylon is and why she must be destroyed. 


¹ One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. ²With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”
 ³ Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. ⁵ The name written on her forehead was a mystery:
   BABYLON THE GREAT
   THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
   AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
 ⁶ I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.
   When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. ⁷ Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. ⁸ The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.
 ⁹ “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. ¹⁰ They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. ¹¹The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
 ¹² “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. ¹³ They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. ¹⁴ They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”
 ¹⁵ Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. ¹⁶ The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. ¹⁷ For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. ¹⁸ The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”


One of the angels that was in charge of one of the seven bowls of judgment comes to John and tells him to come with him and see the punishment of Babylon. John is taken to the wilderness where he sees a woman sitting on a scarlet Beast, covered in blasphemous names with seven heads and ten horns. We know that this is the Antichrist because he is described in this way in Revelation 13:1. Now the woman is described as being dressed in purple and scarlet with gold, precious stones and pearls. Purple and scarlet are colors that only the extremely wealthy can afford and is usually associated with kings or rulers. The gold and gems and pearls signify extreme luxury and wealth. She is identified by the name written on her forehead, Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth. He calls her Babylon, but makes clear that this is not the original city of Babylon, but a new version. Calling her the mother of prostitutes means that she leads other cities to prostitute themselves to the Beast and worship him. Her adultery with the Beast is compared to wine with which she has made the inhabitants of the earth intoxicated. Her own drunkenness comes from the blood of the saints, those that worshiped 
Jesus. 
John appears astonished, but the angel tells John that he will explain the mystery. He describes the Beast as one who once was, now is not, and yet will come. He describes the Beasts seven heads as seven hills on which the woman sits. The city on seven hills is well known to represent Rome. The Beast is described as being the eighth king, someone in the line of Roman emperors, possibly a second Nero, since he will be like Nero in character. We can take from this that the Antichrist is the seven headed Beast, but he is also the eighth king. The ten horns are ten kings who currently do not have a kingdom, but will be given one to rule for a short time under the Beast. Their purpose is to hand over their power to the Beast. Together with the Beast they will wage war against the Lamb. These kings are probably the Kings of the East from chapter 16:12, or the Kings of the whole world, chapter 16:14-16, who gather for battle at Armageddon. They will be defeated by the Lamb and His faithful followers. 
Then the angel interrupts the scene of battle to describe the water where the prostitute sits. The waters are the peoples, multitudes, nations and languages, which represents her control over the whole world. Now we see dissension, the Beast and the ten horns hate the prostitute and will destroy her. We had earlier seen that the ten kings had one purpose, now the angel tells us that God is using them for His own purpose, to hand over their authority to the Beast until God's words are fulfilled. God uses their evil purposes to ultimately defeat them.

Tabernacle Experience

I am taking a short detour from continuing on with Revelation. I attended the Tabernacle Experience at Saddleback Church today. It was amazing! If you have read Exodus, you have read all the dimensions for the Tabernacle and the items within, including the Ark of the Covenant. Most people skip over the measurements and dimensions, thinking that they have no relevance. It is interesting that no matter how many times I have read the description and I try to picture what it would look like, I only get partial glimpses. To see the Tabernacle and to be able to touch and experience all the parts of it was really amazing. I will never read about the Tabernacle again without being able to picture what it looked like. 
When we arrived, we were given a pamphlet with the background of the Israelites from Abraham up through Moses and to the building of Solomon's Temple. We were asked to be reverent during this experience and really worship God as we would pass through the different stations. We were to be sent through in pairs, we were given headphones and an MP3 player that would take us through the stations. 
As we entered the outer court we could see the Tabernacle over at one end, around the perimeter of the fence were flags representing the twelve tribes of Israel and how they were situated around the Tabernacle. We listened to the MP3 which led us on a detailed journey as if we were back in the days of the Israelites and the active worship at the Tabernacle. At the end of each section, we would hear a Shofar blow, which is a ram's horn.
After the introduction, the horn blows and we are led to the first station. We are told that the priests would put on linen garments while they served in the Tabernacle. These were holy garments and only to be worn while the priest was in the Tabernacle. We are told to take a small square of linen symbolizing the priestly garments.

¹ “Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests. ² Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron to give him dignity and honor.³ Tell all the skilled workers to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest. ⁴ These are the garments they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so they may serve me as priests. ⁵ Have them use gold, and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen. Exodus 28: 1-5

The second station is the altar. It is a large with the horns where the blood of the sacrifice was covered. At the Altar of Burnt Offering you will lay your sacrifice on it's consuming fire.   

You place a stick of wood on the fire representing the sacrifice that you would have offered at the altar
 ¹ “Build an altar of acacia wood, three cubits^[a] high; it is to be square, five cubits long and five cubits wide.^[b] 2 Make a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar are of one piece, and overlay the altar with bronze. ³Make all its utensils of bronze—its pots to remove the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans. ⁴Make a grating for it, a bronze network, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the network. ⁵ Put it under the ledge of the altar so that it is halfway up the altar. ⁶ Make poles of acacia wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze. ⁷ The poles are to be inserted into the rings so they will be on two sides of the altar when it is carried. ⁸ Make the altar hollow, out of boards. It is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain. Exodus 27:1-8


The third station is the laver, where you would purify your hands before entering the Tabernacle. 

¹⁷ Then the LORD said to Moses, ¹⁸ “Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. ¹⁹ Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. ²⁰Whenever they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting a food offering to the LORD, ²¹they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come.” Exodus 30:17-21


The next station is where the Atonement money is paid
¹¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, ¹² “When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the LORD a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. ¹³ Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel,^[c] according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the LORD. ¹⁴All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the LORD. ¹⁵ The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the LORD to atone for your lives. ¹⁶ Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD, making atonement for your lives.” Exodus 30:11-16


We then enter the Tabernacle and on one side of the room is our next station, the lampstand. 
³¹ “Make a lampstand of pure gold. Hammer out its base and shaft, and make its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms of one piece with them. ³² Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side and three on the other. ³³Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand. ³⁴And on the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. ³⁵ One bud shall be under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair—six branches in all. ³⁶ The buds and branches shall all be of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold. Exodus 25:31-36

The fifth station is the Table of Bread, where the Bread of the Presence was to be offered to God daily.

²³ “Make a table of acacia wood—two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high.^[d] 24 Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding around it. ²⁵ Also make around it a rim a handbreadth^[e] wide and put a gold molding on the rim. ²⁶Make four gold rings for the table and fasten them to the four corners, where the four legs are. ²⁷ The rings are to be close to the rim to hold the poles used in carrying the table. ²⁸ Make the poles of acacia wood, overlay them with gold and carry the table with them. ²⁹ And make its plates and dishes of pure gold, as well as its pitchers and bowls for the pouring out of offerings. ³⁰ Put the bread of the Presence on this table to be before me at all times. Exodus 25:23-29

The next station is the altar of incense, as the incense rises we can visualize our prayers and offerings rising to God.

 “Make an altar of acacia wood for burning incense. ² It is to be square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high^[a]—its horns of one piece with it. ³ Overlay the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it. ⁴ Make two gold rings for the altar below the molding—two on each of the opposite sides—to hold the poles used to carry it. ⁵ Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ⁶ Put the altar in front of the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law—before the atonement cover that is over the tablets of the covenant law—where I will meet with you.

Exodus 30:1-6

We then enter into the holy of holies, where the Ark of the Covenant lies. 

¹⁰ “Have them make an ark^[b] of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.^[c] 11 Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. ¹² Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. ¹³ Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ¹⁴ Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it. ¹⁵ The poles are to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed. ¹⁶ Then put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law, which I will give you.

 ¹⁷ “Make an atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. ¹⁸ And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. ¹⁹Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. ²⁰ The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. ²¹ Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law that I will give you. ²² There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites. Exodus 25:10-22

Only the high priest was able to enter into the presence of the Ark on one day of the year, the day of Atonement. Bringing burning incense to shield his eyes from looking directly at the Ark, he would sprinkle blood from a bull onto the atonement cover for his and his household’s sins, then sprinkled blood from a goat for all the sins of Israel. 

If you want to know more you can see where the Tabernacle will travel to next. The Tabernacle Experience.