# 14 2022 Dev. Rev. 18:4. God’s Call! Read all of Rev.18 first. We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think and interact with it. This is God’s story. How will it affect your story? All passages are taken from the NIV.
Rev.18:4 “‘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;”
Intro. These visions that John sees are not actual events but will come to pass at one time or another from the time of John’s writing and will be repeated in increasing intensity until the end. The vision is put into the words of men so that those who believe will understand by the power of the Holy Spirit. What is being described here is from eternity to eternity. God, who is outside of time, operates in the eternal present, represents to us what is about to happen in time, as long as time lasts.
Rev.18 continues from Rev.17 where Babylon is introduced as: “The mother of all prostitutes! And of the abominations of the earth.” She is the secular civilizations of the world, anti God, anti justice, anti peace and the exploiters of the poor that stand against all that is good, all that is decent, all that God wants for His world. Ch.18 describes her destruction. She is Babylon of old, she is Rome during John’s time and she is every city and every country, pretending to be good and just, but are not!
Vs.1-3 “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!” (Isaiah 21:9). A powerful glowing angel announces the fall of the civilizations and the result of her abominations.
Vs.4-5 “‘Come out of her, my people,’ (Jer. 51:45). God calls His people: run for your spiritual lives, even today He calls! Separate yourselves from even a hint of cooperation with anything that opposes God. This is of utmost importance today: look at the culture around us! How is it interwoven into our lives? How could it be woven into our church culture? Look at the world, Russia, China, Iran, N. Korea and some African countries, perhaps our own country as well. Ukraine, not without corruption, Yet, many followers of Jesus are the latest victim of the prostitute of Moscow.
Vs.6-8 Return to her as she has given, “a double portion from her own cup.” “In her heart she boasts,” (Is.47:7-9). That sounds like Putin, like China, it sounds like our own leaders, who talk big but do little, we can go on and on, but the point is made. Without warning, “plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire” God is the one judging the nations.
Vs. 9-20 “Threefold Woe Over Babylon’s Fall” The kings who committed atrocities with her stand afar off, there is no love here, only self-pity. “Woe! Woe to you, great city” The kings weep and the merchants, the exploiters of the poor weep, no one will buy, no one to exploit, anymore.
“’Woe! Woe to you, great city,” in all your splendor, gold and pearls! It only took one hour to take you down. That is my prayer for Putin and his generals.
“the merchants…will weep and mourn and cry out: Woe, woe to you, great city,”But there is no help from them, love has grown cold! That is on display in our world right now! Every sea captain…and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off.” They mourn the loss of the city and of their living, no love lost here, only self-pity.
V.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.” I trust we will rejoice with Ukraine, when God sends retribution on those committing horrible atrocities’.
Vs.21-24 A third mighty angel comes on the scene to demonstrate finality of Babylon’s doom. He picks up a huge boulder and plunges it into the sea, never to be seen again. What follows is a description of all that is good in a civilized, God fearing society, that will never be seen again, from which the nations were led astray. The leaders of the city/ of society had the blood of the prophets and God’s holy people on their hands. They had the blood of all innocent people “who have been slaughtered on the earth,” on their hands. Our God is Holy and Righteous, He will not sit by to what is happening on the earth, praise Him!
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