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 on many waters. With her, the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.” Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 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. This title was written on her forehead: MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT AND THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. I saw her, I was greatly astonished. (Revelation 17:1-6)
Babylon is a spiritual entity, much more than the physical kingdom that was overthrown many years ago (first by the Medes – Dan 5:30). In John the Apostle’s vision, he saw a woman on whose forehead was written ‘Mystery Babylon’. Why is she a mystery? Isn’t she the same Babylon from the days of Jeremiah and Daniel? Let’s see how she’s described in the book of Revelations.
The Greek word for mystery is musterion, which means hidden thing, secret, mystery; not obvious to the understanding. In rabbinic writings, it denotes the mystic or hidden sense. John saw Babylon as a woman and the mother or source (meter in Greek) of all the abominations (bdelugma – a foul thing, a detestable thing, of idols and things pertaining to idolatry) of the earth. Remember that Babylon represents the system of this world, and we know that the whole world (kosmos) is under the control of the evil one (poneros) (1 Jn 5:19).
The word for ‘world’ in that passage is kosmos, which means ‘an apt and harmonious arrangement or constitution, order, government, the world, the universe, world affairs, the aggregate of things earthly, the whole circle of earthly goods, endowments riches, advantages, pleasures, etc, which although hollow, frail and fleeting, stir desire, seduce from God and are obstacles to the cause of Christ’.
The word for ‘evil one’ is ponēros which means ‘full of labours, annoyances, hardships, pressed and harassed by labours, bringing toils, annoyances, perils; of a time, full of peril to Christian faith and steadfastness; causing pain and trouble, bad, of a bad nature or condition, in a physical sense: diseased or blind’. In essence, John was saying that this age — this ‘present arrangement of things’ — lies under the power of wickedness.
Mystery Babylon sat on a beast with seven heads and ten horns. These heads and horns speak of authorities.
“This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 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 a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction. “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. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. (Revelation 17:9-13)
Babylon is a ‘mystery of lawlessness’ (2 The 2:7) that is already at work in the world. She is dressed richly, and she drinks the blood of the holy people of God – she takes their lives either by taking them out through persecution or the love of the world.
We will consider some facets of this Mystery: her harlotry, her offspring, her wine, and her cup of abominations.
Babylon is the mother of prostitutes (porne – a woman who sells her body for sexual uses, a prostitute, a harlot, one who yields herself to defilement for the sake of gain, metaphorically an idolatress). A prostitute will provide pleasure to anyone who will pay her. Does this mean literal prostitutes or prostitution? Babylon (or a church system under Babylon) commits (spiritual) adultery with the rulers of the earth, for material gain. She enters into all sorts of intimate and illegitimate relationships with the rulers of this earth and is never faithful to one.
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. (Jam 4:4)
In the Law & Prophets, idolatry was equated to harlotry.
Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices. (Exo 34:15)
But they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers and prostituted themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. (1Ch 5:25)
In the scriptures, God’s people were accused of prostituting themselves to other gods and Nations and being unfaithful to Him. So, He would refer to them as prostitutes. They were idolaters and defiled themselves with the detestable practices involved in the worship of other gods.
The LORD said: Ezekiel, son of man, listen to this story about two sisters. While they were young and living in Egypt, they became prostitutes. The older one was named Oholah, which stands for Samaria; the younger one was Oholibah, which stands for Jerusalem. They became my wives and gave birth to my children. Even though Oholah was my wife, she continued to be a prostitute and chased after Assyrian lovers. (Eze 23:1-5)
God used the marriage of Hosea and Gomer (a prostitute), to depict Israel’s constant desire for other gods and His relentless pursuit of them despite their persistent unfaithfulness (Hos 1:2, 3:1-3). I have heard stories of preachers who are openly involved in sexual immorality and hardly care. Their congregations are a cesspool of filth and adulteries.
In the church today, we see a lot of prostitution: apart from the reign of sexual immorality, God’s people have become lovers of themselves and are following, knowingly or unknowingly, the chief law of Satan: ‘Do as thou wilt.’
Greed has taken centre stage in the body of Christ. A lot of pastors do not care how their members make their money, as long as they bring the tithes and offerings. People go to church and learn how to be greedy. A young lady once told me how she grew up quite content with what she had until she joined a Pentecostal church and caught the greed bug. She started aspiring to be a millionaire by 17 years old. How would she achieve that feat? By ‘sowing seeds’ (giving an offering in expectation of financial blessings). I could go on and on about this, but I believe this prophetic word illustrates it well:
I saw smoke coming out from the buildings, some of which were supposed to be places where the saints gathered, but it was not recognized in the realms of the spirit as a place of worship. It seemed like zombies were going in there. Thousands and thousands of people went in there, but each of them appeared to be what I would call ‘walking corpses.’ It was as though part of their skeletal frame showed under rotted flesh, and these were the ones walking into the ‘churches.’ It was most disgusting!
There was an angel (though I had the impression it represented the Lord) by my side who said: “This is no church, so don’t call it a church.” Yet he bent down and wept because their general overseers were once on fire for God and loved Him with everything… until Mammon showed up.
One would think that the god called Mammon would be ugly and unappealing, but I saw a handsome, spotless-skinned, tall and well-built man dressed in a shiny black suit. I just knew that the perfume which hung around him thickly like an aura was Fame. It attracted people; they saw him as a Messiah, a source of help, and the crowds surged towards him with outstretched arms like some superstar. As he walked down the aisle into the auditorium, the people embraced him wholeheartedly whenever he came around. They could not see him for who he was but rather as their help from God.
He walked into the pastor’s office and kept a suitcase on the table as they talked for a while. Then he pushed the suitcase towards the pastor and got a key and a ring from the pastor in exchange. At the same time, I was then shown that in front of the church, there were angels on guard hovering mid-air but when the pastor handed over those things, the angels moved aside for heavily armed men who had been kept outside through the prayers of the congregation as they stomped their feet and resisted. Now they had free access! They went in and opened fire on the congregation.
When the bullets hit them, they didn’t fall or die, but seemed to split into two and separate from their bodies, moving towards the soldiers and becoming like mist. They were still there, however, hands reaching out to Mammon continually.
I saw a scene of us outside the auditorium with the overflow crowd of zombies and walked away because they started fighting each other and like vampires, they would also bite and suck each other’s blood. I felt nauseated by the disgusting sight. Then we walked into the auditorium and the zombies there were praying seriously. However, their prayers came out as thick black fumes and had the stench of decomposing flesh. It was a very bad smell and was an abomination to God. Their prayers formed thick dark clouds over the auditorium.
Arrows began to fall out of this cloud like rain, on those inside and outside. Then they scrambled to pick them up, thinking that they were mantles from God. A lot of the zombies ran with the arrows out into the streets in small groups, preaching false doctrines and saying things believed to be from God while consistently living in sin. As they spoke, they created those same black fumes, and their collective effort led to an increase in darkness all over the land…
Covetousness/greed is idolatry and this was the number one reason God used to punish His people. It results in the shutting of the temple gates and eventual destruction of the temple.
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. (Col 3:5)
For of this, you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person–such a man is an idolater–has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. (Eph 5:6)
Three things are sure to deny you of the kingdom: immorality, impurity and greed. Greed creates discontentment in you. It makes you keep going after what God has not given you yet because everything has its times and seasons. When you are not happy you do not have some things showing you have the remnants of greed in you. Where a love of money is, immorality is lurking nearby.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Tim 6:10)
When you worship mammon (Jesus said it is possible to worship mammon in, Mt 6:24), you will be ensnared by its temple prostitutes! When the church partakes in this harlotry/idolatry, it is equivalent to joining the body of Christ to this great prostitute.
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! What? know you not that he who is joined to a harlot is one body? for two, says he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. (1 Cor 6:15-17)
Judas committed fornication with this system; he took the Body of Christ and was joined to a harlot (by his love of money).
He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. (Jn 12:5)
Then one of the Twelve–the one called Judas Iscariot–went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So, they counted out for him thirty silver coins. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over. (Mt 26:14-16)
Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. “What you are about to do, do quickly,” Jesus told him. (Jn 13:26-27)
Babylon offers you the pleasures of this world in exchange for your worship/loyalty. These pleasures are the wine with which she intoxicates the world. As a child of God, if your heart is not constantly focused on God and His Word, you will be swallowed by it.
As a believer, you can overcome greed, but like the three Hebrew men (Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah) you must be willing to say, “Even if God does not save me, I will not bow to this idol.” Their submission to God and refusal to bow down to the idol in the face of death acquired glory and praise from God (Dan 3). Unfortunately, the messages preached in the church today encourage you to be greedy and drink Babylon’s wine. If you’re continuously dissatisfied and discontented, your preaching will be contaminated with greed. [To learn more about overcoming greed and the love of money, read our booklets on The Prosperity Message: True or False? and True Christian Giving].
The Vatican City, where the Roman Catholic church is based, is known as the city of seven hills.
“This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads [of the beast] are seven hills on which the woman sits. (Rev 17:9)
The Roman Catholic Church started with the Roman Emperor Constantine and he forged an integration of church and State. He integrated the religious practices of conquered nations into their own religion. This is why some of their practices reflect the pagan practices of those days. For example, the title of Pontifex Maximus (supreme pontiff, pope) was given to the leader of ancient Roman religion, centuries before Christ. In many other ways, the emperor merged the Roman and Christian religions to create the Roman Catholic church. He declared himself as the Pontifex Maximus, claiming authority over the universal church.
The Holy Roman Empire joined forces with the kings of this earth. Kings and nations have gone to war: England, Scotland, France, ‘for the church, in the name of God’. Kings have come under the control of the Pope and many insurrections and deaths have occurred by the hand of the Roman Catholic Church.
‘In her is found the blood of the saints…’ In the Middle Ages, it is estimated that between 50 million, and 150 million people were killed directly or indirectly by the Papacy. The Crusades began in about the year 1100, the Inquisition in 1231, and the Protestant Reformation in 1517. In between these dates, persecutions were most intense. The pope sent out the Knights of the Cross, including all sorts of evil people, to fight and take the ‘City of God’ from the hand of the infidels — the Muslims. They would kill Jews, and slash babies out of women’s wombs — in the name of God. And the Catholic priests would absolve them of all sin, such that if they died in the war, they’d go straight to heaven. What does that sound like? Islam.
When they wanted to build St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, they sold indulgences. If your loved ones were already in purgatory, you could give them money and buy them out. That’s how they built so many things and had so much money too. They lived like kings.
Today, the Vatican City is a nation of its own. It has a seat at the United Nations. It is a church that is a country, a mixture of religion and government, the only of its kind in the world. It has been around for nearly 2000 years.
Some theologians have limited Babylon to the Roman Catholic church system as it ruled the world (especially in the Dark Ages), but she has brought forth others according to her kind. Remember the description of her apparel? Purple and scarlet — are the official colours of the cardinals and the bishops of the Roman Church, till today. And today, Protestant Pentecostal churches have followed suit, literally donning their apparel. It’s fascinating.
Beyond physical apparel, those copying her behaviour are harlot churches as well – greedy, idolatrous, ritualistic, and mysterious. It’s about money and pleasure. Babylon’s daughters give pleasure for profit. They tell you things you want to hear.
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:2-4)
Remember what we saw earlier about Babylon — that she takes the life of the saints of God? Churches that turn away from the truth, to say things that are pleasing to the flesh, are taking away the words of God – the life of the people.
Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. (Zec 2:7)
Her wine intoxicates the people of the earth.
A second angel followed and said, “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries. “ (Rev 14:8)
The Greek word for ‘maddening’ (wrath in KJV) is ‘thumos’ which means passion, angry, heat, anger forthwith boiling up and soon subsiding again, glow, ardour, the wine of passion, inflaming wine (which either drives the drinker mad or kills him with its strength).
Those who drink from this harlot will have TROUBLE.
My son, give me your heart and let your eyes observe my ways. For a harlot is a deep ditch, and a seductress is a narrow well. She also lies in wait as for a prey, and increases the unfaithful among men. Who has woe? who has sorrow? who has contentions? who has babbling? who has wounds without cause? who has redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not you upon the wine when it is red, when it gives its colour in the cup, when it moves itself aright. At the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like an adder. Your eyes shall behold strange things, and your heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, you shall be as he that lies down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lies upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, you shall say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again. (Pro 23:26-35)
Those who have been intoxicated with her wine cannot hear, see, or understand. They keep drinking whenever her stewards present the wine, even in the house of God.
Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflames them! And the harp, and the lyre, the timbrel, and flute, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands. Therefore, my people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore, sheol has enlarged itself, and opened its mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that exults, shall descend into it. (Isa 5:11-14)
Take note of the similarities between the above passage, and the account of the people of Judah taken into Babylonian captivity (2 Kings 24:13-16). The cause of this captivity is the absence of knowledge of the word of God. It is spiritual. People may be gathered in church buildings to worship the Lord, but the entire congregation is in Babylon. They drink her wine and play music, and their shepherds do not feed them with the word of God.
As we will see subsequently, it is when the people of God return to Zion that they are fed with knowledge and understanding (Jer 3:14-15).
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. (Rev 17:4)
Her cup is golden (shiny, beautiful), but inside, it contains the abominations and the filth of her adulteries. She looks spiritual, in royal and divine apparel, but she’s full of sin.
In Matthew 23:23-28, Jesus said this about the Pharisees: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices–mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law–justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practised the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First, clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
Babylon and her daughters are skilled in hypocrisy and wickedness. She is ‘THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH’, though she presents herself in an appealing package.
And I said, ‘What is it?’ And he said, ‘This is the basket that goes forth.’ He said moreover, ‘This is their resemblance through all the earth.’ And, behold, there was lifted up a cover of lead: and there was a woman that sits in the midst of the basket. And he said, ‘This is Wickedness.’ And he cast her into the midst of the basket; and he cast the cover of lead upon its mouth. Then I lifted up my eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven. Then said I to the angel that talked with me, ‘Where do these take the basket?’ And he said unto me, ‘To build it a house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon its own base.’ (Zechariah 5:6-11)
Babylon is the mother – the source – of every vile thing on earth. Wickedness itself was established in Shinar (Babylon). Do not be deceived by the attractive packaging! You can’t get anything but wickedness from Babylon and judgment has been decreed against her.
Hollywood is the branch of Babylon responsible for indoctrinating you in Babylon’s ways. It is the highest-paid education system there is. Their job is to work on your brain to accept all that is evil, so you behave, laugh, dress, and act like them. Other film industries are copying what America already set in motion. They have even infiltrated children’s shows with sexual, occultic and raunchy content. Rituals are being enacted before your eyes. There are so-called family-rated things you watch and if you don’t have the covering of God, you will take demons.
For example, the movie Doctor Strange is about a man who is involved in the occult—they display occultic symbols, spells, creatures, and so on; it’s not hidden. To you, it is just a movie, but it’s propagating an agenda. Now, I grew up on comics and I like superheroes. I like talking about the last days and how we’re going to have authority and superpowers by the Spirit of God, but I have also warned my hearers that a lot of things seen in these movies like X-Men and The Avengers have a dark purpose.
Some time ago, a brother was telling me about a friend he had (when he was living a wild life) who had dreams. He would draw the things he saw as tattoos on people’s bodies. He used to say to this brother, “You no know beast?” (‘Don’t you know the beast?’). He was a bad guy, a criminal character, but he had all these spiritual encounters. I have always told you, a lot of these Japanese anime films and other TV shows are drawn straight from ‘the other side’ (the spirit realm). Do you think they are joking? They are doing active ministry for the dark one, working on the minds of people. You’re the one who’s still playing.
There are things you watch that are a full demonic ritual; they’re trying to show that there’s a good version of witchcraft. In that Doctor Strange movie, the enemy was a being from another planet who promised people eternal life if they joined him. Who else promises eternal life anywhere, other than Jesus? “I have come that you might have life and life abundantly.” (Jn 10:10) And what is eternal life? “That you might know the Father and Jesus Christ Whom He has sent.” (Jn 17:3) So He is the big horrible thing who wants the earth, and your job is to keep Him out. Who else are we waiting for? Who else are we trying to bring back? Jesus! They habitually change the narrative.
Years ago, they made vampires and werewolves attractive till you were either on Team Vampire or Team Werewolf. They present two evils and tell you to pick one side. In children’s cartoons like Monsters Incorporated, you have children becoming friends with monsters and they are shown to be harmless. So, a demon can appear to your child and make her laugh, claiming to be her friend. I have cast demons out of people who had been talking to their special ‘invisible’ childhood friends. A brother shared how he used to walk on the road and talk to a spirit of depression.
When the movie Maleficent was released, I was surprised to see that she was portrayed as a good creature—a character we all knew was bad. All those horned angels who are obviously fallen angels are also good. Then, the white Queen who is opposing them is the evil one! They keep trying to explain or excuse evil and paint it as good. They call black white and white black (Isa 5:20). This is what Hollywood is known for doing and you should steer clear of their media because they’ll influence your thinking till you accept everything. If it were possible, I’d say people should be deep in Christianity and around 25 years of age before they watch anything that comes from those guys. If your brain is already formed in what is right, you will know how to discern between good and evil.
God’s judgment against Babylon has begun.
Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth–to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.” A second angel followed and said, “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.” (Rev 14:6-8)
We are to fear and glorify the Lord as His judgments begin. If you are in Babylon, you will share in her judgments! IT IS TIME TO LEAVE BABYLON!
And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was made bright with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of demons, and the haunt 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 have grown rich through the abundance of her luxury. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, 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 has remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she has filled, fill to her double. So much as she has glorified herself, and lived luxuriously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she says 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 judges her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived in luxury 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 your judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buys their merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all citron wood, and all manner of vessels of ivory, and all manner of vessels of most precious wood, and of bronze, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and incense, and myrrh, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that your soul lusted after are departed from you, and all things which were luxurious and splendid are departed from you, and you shall 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 adorned with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour such great riches is come to nothing. And every shipmaster, and all seafarers, 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 wealth! for in one hour is she made desolate. Rejoice over her, you heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets; for God has 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 of flutists, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in you; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he may be, shall be found any more in you; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in you; and the light of a lamp shall shine no more at all in you; and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride shall be heard no more at all in you: for your merchants were the great men of the earth; for by your 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. (Rev 18:1-24)
The kings and merchants of the earth weep and mourn over the fall of Babylon, but God’s people are to rejoice because as Babylon is being judged, the people of God are to return to Zion!
For Israel has not been forsaken, nor Judah by his God, by the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel. Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD’S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense. Babylon has been a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, that made all the earth drunk: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore, the nations are mad. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: wail for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go everyone into his own country: for her judgment reaches unto heaven, and is lifted even to the skies. The LORD has brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God. (Jer 51:5-10)
Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the male goats before the flocks. For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from there she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a skilled warrior; none shall return in vain. And Chaldea shall be plunder: all that plunder her shall be satisfied says the LORD. (Jer 50:8-10)
Babylon is a land of captivity where God’s people are sent as punishment. It’s a condition you are thrust into due to continued disobedience over time. A lot of the time, the disobedience is the worship of other gods – idolatry. Please understand that idolatry is not only when you bow physically to a physical idol. An idol is anything you place above God, and money is one of the biggest idols worshipped by men. It is what has led to the many evils in the world today (1 Tim 6:10).
When you disobey the most basic foundational instructions of God, over time, you will be flung out into captivity and compelled to stay there for the length of time that your banishment must last. You won’t come back before then. The church of God had been banished at some point into Babylonian captivity as she yielded to the worship of idols: money, men, fame, power and so on. She’s called Mystery Babylon. She will continue to exert power and influence until the Lord Jesus returns to destroy her. You can see this in the book of the Revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The scripture says He will burn her with fire as was prophesied by Jeremiah, Zechariah, and other prophets before. The book of Revelation seems to echo the prophecies, almost as if John just lifted them from the earlier prophets and pasted them (See Revelation 17-19). Babylon is the embodiment of this world’s systems. She was the first of the cities built by Nimrod before he added there Assyria, Nineveh. She’s the most ancient of cities built since after the flood and the Lord promises she will be judged. Therefore, He says, “Come out from among her, My people. I am bringing judgment on her.” (Rev 18:4).
When God was sending Judah to captivity, he told them (through Jeremiah) to settle in and build homes (Jer 29:5) during the time of their captivity because they wouldn’t come back immediately. This is why there can be Daniels – men of high placement; Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. There’s Esther, Nehemiah, the king’s cupbearer, and Mordecai, a Prime Minister to the king. There are real children of God in authority. When Jeremiah first told them to go willingly, they beat Jeremiah, locked him up, and threw him into a well.
Eventually, when Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon came and captured them in two batches, Jeremiah had told them, “You will be taken, but it will be 70 years before you will come back.” (Jer 25:11-12, 29:10). When they got there, at the end of the 70 years, they refused to come back. This is the nature of people who end up in Babylon – always contending with their Maker. When He says go, they will not go; when He says come back, they will not come back. They got comfortable in Babylon and were well situated. A couple of tens of thousands eventually came back. Is that the number that was left? The king of Babylon, who had been succeeded by Persian King Cyrus (but they still occupied the Babylonian empire space) had to decree that every Jew should go back to their land, and he even sponsored the trip.
What’s the point? Separate yourself from Babylon’s system and practices. That’s the repentance that will exclude you from her judgments.
A few returned to rebuild Zion and escaped the judgement on Babylon. They are the ones who stood through the dark days of tribulation and came out victorious. This generation will experience the tribulation; if you are not dead before it begins, you will see it with your eyes, because the scripture says that it’s true much tribulation you will enter the kingdom (Act 14:22). There are many things that will happen in our days, but the Scriptures exhort us to lift our eyes for your redemption is drawing near (Lk 21:28). The powers of heaven will be shaken, you will watch the sun change and the stars will fall from the sky. Your eyes will see wondrous things.
Jesus prophesied that they would pull down the temple, and they pulled it down. He said the Jews would be killed; they were killed. He said they would see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, and it happened. Everything He said happened around 70 AD. That was the first phase. If these earlier prophecies came to pass, why do you think the latter ones won’t come to pass?
The church in Babylon is the church that loves the world and the things in it: the promises of money, gold and splendour. They are God’s people, I don’t question that for a second, but they are not aligned to God’s purposes. They have come to love the land of their captivity.
A preacher told a story of how he was told that a guy in his church was an armed robber, but he refuted it because the young man was an usher in his church. It turned out to be partially true; what happened? The guy needed money, so someone told him that he just needed to stand guard and hold a gun during the robbery. He agreed, and when they were caught, he went to prison. He was guilty. He was a friend of fools and he was judged (Pro 13:20).
As a Christian female, you cannot be so acquainted with a girl who is into ‘runs’ (high-profile prostitution) to the point that you are invited to join her in her escapades. That alone is an indictment at the highest levels. Why should she know you and then invite you? If she called you, you must be wearing Babylonian garments!
Babylon is the place most of us were born, but when it’s time to leave Babylon, you leave. When it’s time to leave the world system, you must separate from it. If you don’t leave Babylon when it’s time to leave her, you’ll be judged with her when she is judged. Imagine Lot staying in Sodom and Gomorrah the day it was to be destroyed, hoping God would keep him safe. Absolutely not! Rather, his deliverance came in his leaving the city (Gen 19:12-16). You have no right to be Babylonian in thinking and expect God to keep you, bless you, and give you the favour belonging to the inhabitants of Zion. The set time to favour Zion has come, but woe to you if you’re not in Zion when.
So, Babylon is coming under a phase of judgment, it is not yet a complete and total judgment. I don’t believe it has come yet but I think more importantly is that God is saying that His people should exit Babylon. If your lifestyle is Babylonian, if your habits are worldly and sinful, when the judgements come on Babylon, you’ll be swept away.
Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers! The Lord has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes because His plan is aimed at Babylon to destroy her, for it is the vengeance of the Lord— vengeance for His temple. (Jeremiah 51:11)
Arrows represent the children of God. Psalm 127:4-5 says: as arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that has his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
We are to fill the quivers with them till there’s no space, going into all the world, and making disciples from every nation (Mt 28:19).
Zion’s sons are the arrows against Babylon; they are the destruction of Babylon. God wants people who would rather die than bow. That is the nature of disciples, and they are the arrows to fire against Babylon.
Are you a son of Zion?