Revelation 17-19:5
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
My name is Spencer and I am one of the pastors here we are in Revelation chapter 17 and we're going to be going through 17 18 all the way into 19 uh today you can turn in your blue Bibles uh you can follow along on the screen as well but we got some quite a few verses to work through as we're getting closer to the end of uh working through this book before we jump in I want to play a quick game of would you rather would you rather be prosperous or would you rather struggle a few of you half halfhearted would you rather be comfortable or uncomfortable.
Okay would you rather be safe or at risk of danger okay would you rather drive a Tesla or a Prius the this it's an easy answer if you've been in the Church long enough you know you're Bob you're like oh I don't know if I should should I say comfortable is so good is good should I say that uh safe is better I think if we're honest there's an instinct in us that makes all of those answers fairly obvious it's not that any of those desires are bad in and of themselves it's not being comfortable or prosperous or safe is bad and of itself the problem is is is that often times those aren't directed.
Towards Christ or we'd find our comfort in him we find our provision in him we find our um prosperous in him we wouldn't uh seek other things we we we so quickly jump to those things as opposed to the Lord and finding those in him now that is built into human nature uh and there's a group of people that know that and they know that very well they're called politicians they just they know and every election cycle like the one we just went through plays upon those do do you want to be comfortable again do you want to be prosperous again do you feel unsafe and every four years some version of that shows up.
Over and over and over again it's playing into this this very human desire and when your side wins everyone's happy it's j ENT celebratory and if your side loses you're sad depressed I we saw that this week we saw that four years ago and happens every four years there's something within us some desires that are within us that are so easily displayed and what this few chapters in The Book of Revelation is going to do it's going to address those deep desires that have been in humanity.
For thousand thousands of years we're going to see what happens when those hopes uh are destroyed and my hope is is that we we will see the danger of what it means to be a Christian Living in a fallen world that plays to those desires and that we would respond in a way that we're supposed to and that God calls us to in faithfulness so I'm going to pray for us and then we'll walk through the text together hely father I pray that you might help us.
See what the Gospel saves us from and who it saves us to that we might not be people that are so influenced by the culture of our time that are molded and shaped into your image through your power so confront us in your word expose our desires so that we might respond in faith and in Repentance and and ultimately delighting in you over all created things we ask in Jesus name amen all right so we're going to start in verse one.
Then one of the Seven Angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me come I will show you the Judgment of the great prostitute who is Seated on many Waters again this is John in the vision the angel says come and I'm going to show you the next part of this vision and I'll show you the Judgment of the great prostitute who is Seated on the many Waters with whom the kings of the Earth have committed sexual immorality and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the Dwellers of the Earth have become drunk and he carried me away in the in the spirit into a Wilderness and I saw a woman se s.
Sitting on a Scarlet Beast that was full of Blasphemous names and it had seven heads and 10 horns the woman was arrayed in purple and Scarlet and adorned with gold and jewels and Pearls holding in her hand a golden cup full of Abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality and on her forehead was written the name of mystery Babylon the great mother of prostitutes and of Earth's Abominations so one of the things we saw a few weeks ago when we.
First were introduced to Babylon is that this language of sexual infidelity of immorality is actually pictures of idolatry this is language of the prophets of the Old Testament this is a picture of unfaithfulness but not wor worshiping the one true God by by worshiping created things in the place of God and the leader of this idolatrous worship of created over the Creator is called the Great prostitute the Harlot who is Seated on the many Waters and the Harlot here is Babylon.
Now when they hear Babylon they certainly know that a few centuries before this the nation of Babylon that once existed was a dominant power that dominated that region of the globe that had influence upon the Nations Financial dominance military dominance luring the people into their idolatrous practices so they would have known oh all about Babylon and how it existed but for these readers it would have been very clear to them that this isn't Babylon that he's talking about Rome he's talking about the Roman Empire.
Now as we've seen and as we've continued to talk through this that they in their context these seven churches we saw the very beginning receiving this letter are thinking Rome but we uh a few Millennia removed from this get to take a step back and see that this is not just Rome Babylon was an example of Rome and Rome ultimately is an example of all the kingdoms of the world that oppose the will of God that oppose his people and ultimately pointing forward to in the future some great Kingdom some great power that has this type of influence over the Nations.
Because as we're going to see in the moment the the streams of water that the The Prostitute is sitting upon those are the Nations that she has influence over and in her influence it's it's idolatry it's economic it's religious it's cultural and and it very much also is economic as we're going to see in a moment just like all roads led to Rome and through Rome all business in that time if you wanted to be prosperous it all went through the Roman Empire and all the kings of the Earth all the kings that the Romans ruled over all the kingdoms that parts of their Kingdom all them became prosperous off of the great prostitute the.
Harlot Babylon but here it's not just the Harlot it's not just the great prostitute she's sitting on a beast and it's the Beast with seven heads and 10 horns that we saw back in Revelation chap 13 and when Chad walked us through that then what we saw then was the Beast is representative of Rome which means we have two here that represent Rome we've got Babylon the Great prostitute and the Beast we have two different representations of Rome here and I would argue that the Beast is the military might of Rome the sword and power of Rome and the great prostitute is the economic cultural idolatrous influence of Rome and how both of those go.
Hand in hand together you've got political power you've got military power combined into one luring the Nations into rejecting the one true God and worshiping him and worshiping created things in the place of the Creator so the angel is helping us see this and this is why it's important if we don't see the danger of the Harlot if we become too comfortable with prosperity with comfort with safety then we'll find our comfort and safety living under the rain of a harlot and that's why it's important.
For every age of the Church as they've read this and the other problem here is the Harlot is not just in power but she's drunk off the martyred Saints and their blood as we pick it back up in verse six and I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the Saints the blood of the martyrs of Jesus this is all the Christians who were killed by the Roman Empire killed by the principalities and all the kingdoms that Rule and reign in a way that oppress Christians over the last 2,000 years that's the picture of what's Happening Here and he says.
When I saw her I marveled greatly but the angel said to me why do you Marvel I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the Beast with seven heads and 10 horns that carries her which when I read that at first I'm excited because I don't know if you've been studying this book I just want I want clarification all over the place can you please tell me what this means so when when I read that I get excited oh you're going to tell me what is it kind of verse eight the Beast that you saw was and is not and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction.
And the Dwellers of the earth whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will Marvel to see the Beast because it was and is not and is to come so not as clear as I want it to be but he is doing something here we're told the Beast was and is not this hearkens back to Revelation CH 13 when the Beast received its mortal wound and I think what's Happening Here is this General picture of the work of the Enemy being hindered by the cross of.
Jesus Christ by the resurrection of Jesus Christ by the advancement of the Church that the work of the enemy is hindered so the Gospel spreads across the globe that's my best read on this that the Church has been persecuted and has continued to be persecuted but not fully in what is going to come in the future there's a greater more widespread persecution that will happen when the Beast rises from the bottomless pit when he's no longer hindered in the way that he has been and again I believe that's the enemy at work just as he a work at Rome just as the devil pulls the strings in the Roman Empire that we saw.
So clearly when we read the letters in uh chapter 2 and chapter 3 and it's evident in today as he pulls the strings behind every single government Force because he has dominion and reign on this Earth so my best read to Revelation this point is that they were thinking about Rome but again this is pointing forward to a romeike power that is going to come verse n this calls for a mind with wisdom the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated there are also seven Kings five of whom have fallen one is the other has not yet come.
And when he does come he must Ser he must remain only a little while okay there are moments in the Book of Revelation where theologians and different readers have very very different opinions on what's Happening Here and when I read some of these commentaries sometimes it feels like Choose Your Own Adventure because it's just I this one says this and this one says this because this is hard as we said apocalyptic Scripture is hard to interpret but there I think some things we can.
See here the Seven Mountains and the woman seem to be an illusion to Rome because Rome had Seven Hills and even a coin that was Meed around that time uh shows the woman on the Hills of Rome so this is picturesque of Rome and the economic power that it has in this region but then you get to okay well this is talking about Rome but then it says five of whom have fallen we've seen these Kings five of whom have fallen it's like.
Okay well what are you talking about and then you read one commentary and it says actually you know we can we can chart this out this was Julius Caesar and then Augustus and then Tiberius then Claudius and then Nero and now it's the emperor diishan and it's like maybe that seems like a good explanation and then you read another one and it says oh no no no this is bigger than just Kings this is whole Empires this is the Egyptians then the Assyrians and the Babylonians and the Persians and the Greeks.
Now the Roman Empire and maybe I possibly and then there's this language of one that is not yet to come which is future looking and when I piece it all together I don't know that's where I land after studying this I like I don't know you can poke holes in a lot of those theories and then it just keeps going verse 11 it says As for the Beast that was and is not it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven and it goes to destruction and it's like.
Okay got some interesting theories on that all right keep going verse 12 and the and the ten horns that you saw are 10 Kings who have not yet received royal power but they are to receive Authority as kings for one hour together with the Beast these are of one mind and they hand over their power and authority to the Beast so we get a little bit of pictures here that we should be familiar with at this point in Revelation the 10 horns here is the language of Daniel 7 and some will.
Look at this and say okay maybe this is the 10 10 different kingdoms that Rome ruled over these client states that that Rome ruled over at the time or maybe it's 10 future kingdoms over also that are under this future great Empire and it's like I I honestly don't I don't know for sure but they rule together with the Beast now up to this point there a lot of things that I'm just like I don't know and we said the very beginning of the series there be some moments where it's like I don't know this is a good argument this is a good argument just depends on how you interpret it.
But then there are some things that show up that are so abundantly clear and verse 14 is one of those moments they talking about the beasts in these Empires the 10 horns they will make war on the lamb and the lamb will conquer them for he is Lord of lords and king of kings and those with him are called and chosen and faithful and it's like I know exactly what that means that however this is going to unfold and however this is meant to be interpreted it is abundantly clear that.
Jesus wins we sang that song you've already won it is it is written that Jesus ultimately has Victory as the King of Kings at the L as the Lord of lords so however this is going to unfold Jesus ultimately wins which means that his Church the Christians who are chosen who belong to him will also share in that victory that no matter what persecution you're facing no matter what suffering you're enduring no matter hardships that you are facing you have victory in Christ it is written the lamb wins.
Verse 15 and the angel said to me the waters that you saw where the where the prostitute is seated are the peoples in multitudes and Nations and languages I referenced that earlier but that's the Seated on the waters this is the Nations the langu the all the nations all the peoples verse 16 and the 10 horns that you Soul they and the beasts will hate The Prostitute which is a bit of a plot twist because now we see that the Beast hates the Harlot continue they will make her desolate and naked and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire.
For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over the royal power to the Beast and until the words of God are fulfilled and the woman that you saw in the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth so the Beast hates the Harlot the Beast hates this great prostitute and ultimately will be devoured by the 10 horns by the 10 kingdoms more directly Babylon which could be seen as Rome which we.
See as this future Kingdom that has lured the people in to idolatrous worship that has dominated economically one day it's going to cave in on itself by God's Sovereign will and the Beast will destroy this great prostitute so that's the end of chapter 17 then we get this shift into both celebration at the fall of Babylon and mour at the fall of Babylon we're about to read is actually Poetic Justice very literally this is poetically written to show the justice that is coming down and what we're about to read feels a little bit like a courtroom drama have you ever seen a verdict that is handed down in a very emotional emotionally Laden case where.
This man is convicted of murdering this woman and there's tension because you don't know how it's going to be decide and all of a sudden the verdict is read guilty and on one side you've got this joyous celebratory I mean people will literally shout in a courtroom with joy they will hug and they will Cry tears of joy and they will they will they will say hallelujah they are excited the justice has fallen down but then on the other side of the courtroom you've got mourning you've got lament you've got sadness and that's chapter 18 in ver in chapter 19 that we're about to.
See is that when Babylon Falls you have two responses here and we're going to see both of them starting in verse one after this I saw another angel coming down from heaven having great Authority and the Earth was made bright with his glory so John sees another part of the vision in verse two and it says and he called out with a mighty voice this great Angel Fallen Fallen is Babylon the Great this is this is a joyful Herald the victory is happened that Babylon has fallen it's Fallen Fallen it's Babylon the great she has become a dwelling place.
For demons a haunt for every unclean Spirit a haunt for every unclean bird a haunt for every unclean and detestable Beast for all nations have drunk the wine of The Passion of her sexual immorality and the kings of the Earth have committed immorality with her and the merchants of the Earth have grown Rich from the power of luxurious living so the idolatry which is picture with sexual immorality which also would have included some sexual sin but the chief picture here is idolatry and infidelity against the one true.
God and all of its Financial dominance that was weaved in with this idolatry is denounced Babylon and its Financial dominance to lure in the Nations is celebrated as its downfall has happened and the Nations that got drunk off of this Unfaithful well we're going to see in a moment that they are mourning but the heavens are rejoicing Babylon was a dwelling place for demons for every a haunt for every unclean and evil thing and it is now over verse four then I heard another voice from Heaven saying come out of her my people lest you take part in her sins lest you share in her plagues he says please just the people of.
God the Church that reside in and under the authority of Babylon has come out of her don't take part in her idolatrous practices don't take part in her sins because if you do you'll take part in her plagues which is you'll take part in her judgments four verse 5 her sins are heaped high as heaven and God has remembered her iniquities he has brought judgment verse six pay her back as she herself has paid o pay back others and repay her double.
For her Deeds makx a double portion for her and the cup she mixed verse 7 as she glorified herself and lived in luxury so give her a like measure of torment and mourning since in her heart she says I sit as a queen I am no Widow and mourning I shall never see like in her pride and in her luxury and her vengeance upon those who don't take part in her idolatry she's pridefully saying I'm I'm I'm a queen the party will keep going the part is not going to stop I will not mourn I will not be a widow deceived self deceived in her Pride verse eight.
For this reason her plagues will come in a single day death and mourning and famine and she will be burned up with fire for Mighty is the Lord God who has judged her and the picture is when judgment comes it will be swift this Mighty Empire will fall and it will fall quickly verse n and the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning.
So the heaven rejoicing God's people rejoicing and then now you've got oh the Nations the kings that were involved in with this type of idolatrous worship this financial dominance are mourning this is the side of the courtroom that is sad verse 10 they will stand far off in fear of her torment and say alas alas you great City you mighty Babylon just remembering oh how great wasn't it wonderful when Babylon was in power for a single hour your judgment has come these are the Nations who joined battle Babylon and the spiritual adultery who enjoyed the party who lavished in the decadence who chased after other gods they will mourn and they'll be.
So shocked that it fell apart so quickly and then we get this long list this long list of of the things the merchants the ones who made money off of Babylon all the things they're mourning that they lost starting in verse 11 the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her since no one buys their cargo anymore so think Babylon this Mighty Empire the chief buyer on the market for all everything in the world they used to buy all these things.
Now they're they're mourning CU now no one can buy their cargo and it says cargo of gold silver jewels pearls fine linen purple cloth silk Scarlet cloth all kinds of scented wood all kinds of Articles of ivory all kinds of Articles of costly wood bronze iron and marble cinnamon spice incense myrr frankincense wine oil fine flour wheat cattle and sheep horses and chariots and slaves that is human Souls which not the main point of the text but something that I never noticed until reading this that each one of those Commodities is just stated as such until you get to the last one.
When it says slaves and it says that is human Souls which I would argue shows the evil of slavery in itself I would argue that's a condemnation there's nothing else not one of those Commodities get to qualifier the last one does and it says oh because they're human Souls which you used to traffic in which is the mark of a wicked nation in Babylon not the main point but I wanted to point that out so then it continues in verse 14 the fruit of which your soul longed has gone from you and all your Delicacies and your splendors are lost to you never to be found again you could.
See how sad they are the party is over no more Delicacies no more splendors the fruit of which there Souls longed for and desired is gone never to be found again verse 15 the merchants of these Wares who gain wealth from her will stand far off in fear of her torment weeping and mourning alow and have you ever been in a situation where you've disciplined one of your kids or you've been the kid amongst a few kids that are being disciplined is like the other two like the other two of mine they instinctively know that it's time to back away it's like they don't want to catch the heat they just I'm I'm not getting.
Involved in that I didn't have any part of that and that's these Merchants are like we're sad that's happening but it ain't happening to me and they weep from afar verse 16 alas alas for the great city that was clothed in fine linen and purple and scar adorm with gold with jewels and with pearls for a single hour all this wealth had been laid waste I mean that long list of all the things all the wealth all the decadence all of the all the goods destroyed.
So quickly and they're in mourning and all ship Masters and seafaring men Sailors and all those all whose trade as on the sea stood far off and CED cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning you can even picture that the ships that are at Bay not going to Port one because there's nothing there to get but too they don't want any part of the Judgment that's falling Upon This Nation mourning from a distance what city was great what city was like the great City and they cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning what city was like the great City.
Verse 19 they threw dust on their heads as they wept and M crying out alas alas for the great City where all who had ships at Sea grew Rich by her wealth for in a single hour she has been laid waste you get this repeated refrain of how sad it is that it's Fallen but oh how quickly it fell and how shocking it was that it fell verse 20 Rejoice over her o heaven and you Saints and apostles and Prophets for.
God has given judgment for you against her and you get this rejoicing on the other side Oh Heaven you Saints and apostles and Prophets for God has given judgment for you against her and it's this joy that as we saw earlier in Revelation the prayers of the Saints Rising like incense stored in the bowl of Wrath that was poured out the people for centuries have prayed for justice to come down pray for the blood of the martyrs to be have a response from.
God that falls upon the evil of this world verse 21 then an angel took up a stone like a great Millstone and threw it into the sea saying so will Babylon the great City be thrown down with violence and will be found no more and the sound of the harpist and musicians of flute players and trumpeters will be heard in you no more and a Craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more and the sound of the mill will be heard in you no more and the light of a lamp will be will shine in you no more and the voice of a bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no.
More for your Merchants were the great ones of the earth and all nations were deceived by your sorcery and in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth and you see the party Came Crashing Down no more music no more Milling no more light no more marriages no more happiness it will come crashing down and in her was found the blood of the prophets and of saints and all who have been slain by the Earth slain on Earth and that's this picture of judgment falling upon Babylon.
For all the persecution it did to the people of God so Babylon will receive its Fierce judgment and chapter 19 vers1 we see and the heavens are rejoicing after this I heard what seemed to be a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven crying out Hallelujah Salvation and Glory and power Belong To Our God for his judgments are true and just for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the Earth with her immorality and has Avenged on her the blood of his servants Heaven rejoicing that Justice is fallen down verse three once more they cried out Hallelujah the smoke from her goes up forever and ever and the 24 elders and the four.
Living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was Seated on the throne saying amen hallelujah and from the throne came a voice saying praise our God all you his servants you who fear Him small and great and the heavens Rejoice at her destruction from which the smoke never ceases to go up from and the elders shout hallelujah amen her judgment is Swift and complete and that's where we'll stop today before we get into the next part of 19 next week there's a lot of don't know in the Book of Revelation and a lot I can't figure out what it points to though in my feeble attempts I've tried.
So I don't know what Babylon is going to be fully I think every the history of the Church you see this this repetition where each each time in Church history they think it they know what Babylon is because they think Jesus is coming soon and he is coming soon just not in the time frame that we think of soon but in the time of the Lord so I I don't know when this is going to happen I don't know exactly what it's going to.
Look like I don't know what the makeup of Babylon is going to be but I do know and I can see that many of the descriptions of the corruption and the prosperity that Babylon had are very picturesque of what we enjoy in the west like I don't I don't know for sure but there ain't no way you read 18 and 19 in see the descriptions it would be foolish to not be reflective and not think wow a lot of this is what we enjoy in the west a lot of this is what we enjoy in America all these pictures of all these Goods all of the economic dominance that that is exerted over it's like.
I I don't know how you can't read that if you're going to try to penpoint on your time and in your context I don't know how you don't look with him I said that a few weeks ago and I think it's even more clear here therefore I think it would be foolish for us to excuse ourselves and to not look at this and realize and hear what the angel says the fruit in verse 18:14 the fruit for which your soul has longed has gone from you and all your Delicacies and your splendors are lost to you never to be found again.
And if I'm honest like I just there are Delicacies and splendors that that I enjoy here now that when they're taken I'm just sad that Expos this desire for created things over the Creator that my soul Longs for I don't think I'm alone in this I think we all think about this we reflect upon our own reality and our own selves that there's this part of our soul that longs for the delices and splendors when they're gone we lose our minds the power goes out.
For 3 days for 4 days for a week and the things that we lose that we we Lo we exposes the intentions of our hearts and the desires of our hearts and I think we'd be foolish not to be sobered by this because this soers me and it exposes what my heart wants and we would be shortsighted to not hear Revelation 18:4 when he pleads come out of her my people lest you take part in her sins lest you share in her plagues and not just be absolutely say oh.
Lord help me because there's a real part of me that wants to take part in the sins I love the financial security and the financial dominance of the American dollar and I love all the things that it can buy and when I don't have it I feel less okay and that exposes our hearts and he says be careful L you take part in her sins L you take part in the idolatrous practices don't think little wooden objects think anything that we worship in the place of.
God anything that our heart so desired that if we don't have it we're not okay that that when those things are taken away is the moment we should realize oh no I I so badly want to take part in sin in these sins and he the next part says lest you take part in the plagues because if we're not careful and we so align ourselves with the kingdoms of this present world if we're not careful and we so enjoy the things of this present world and what our culture has to offer and a way that lures us away from worshiping the one true.
God we have run to the prostitute for satisfaction and don't be fooled the plagues will come and when it falls and when judgment comes you will fall with it too it is a warning shot that we should receive with humility so here the call that says come out of her don't hear me I'm not saying America's Babylon I'm not saying America's Babylon but boy a boy wear the same type of clothes sometimes wears the same typee of clothes that we see here that the prostitute wears in chapters 18 and 19 and we should absolutely with humility say I want to come out of it.
Jesus and the only way to do that is running to the cross of Jesus Christ the band's going to come up and we're going to sing and before you rejoice at the good news of the Gospel reflect upon it because there may be some of you who have never actually tasted and seen that the Lord is good you've only tasted the Delicacies and the splendors of this present world so much so that that is only your heart's desire and the God of the universe is looking at you R.
Now saying come out of her my people come out of her you don't don't take part in the sins of this world don't take part in the satisfaction that is found this world be satisfied in Christ and that means that in humility you confess your sin and you run to Christ and you see the death that he endured on the cross and the Wrath that was poured out on him as a picture of the Wrath that will be poured out on you.
If you don't trust in Christ but the good news of the Gospel is that Jesus went to the Cross to endure that judgment for you so that you might not have to but you must in humility submit yourselves to Christ trust in his death that your sins have been paid for by him and Trust in the resurrection that brings you to life the living hope that we sang about earlier that brings you to life so that you might not stand in the sins of the culture.
But you might run to Christ and be spared the Judgment that is to come and for the rest of us that have trusted in Christ we must be sober in our assessment of our own hearts and we do the exact same thing we run to Christ and we say Jesus I've so sought to be satisfied by created things I've so sought to be comforted and for my safety and for my prosperity in this present moment in this present age and I don't want to be here.
When the plagues come help me run to you help me repent of these sins help me trust in you we're going to have some time to do that this week in community groups I would invite you to to be a group this week so that you can do that so we can walk this out in Repentance and so that we can be a people that are on the side of the courtroom that is rejoicing when the Judgment comes but that only comes.
If we are motivated by faith and repentance and running to him.