The Fall Of Rome Revelation 18 Revelation Verse By Verse /Greg L Bahnsen {Part 57 of 63}

We're going to go ahead and get started. Just count on our other friends to straggle in this morning. We're in Revelation, the 18th chapter. I'll give only one apology and give it at the beginning of the lesson for the fact that we're going to be moving through this chapter as quickly as we have chapter 16 and 17. But my reason for doing that is not that there isn't material to dwell on. I'd love to do that and to exposit the individual verses at length and. But if we do that, the time will come in God's providence when my family is going to be moving and we won't have finished the book. And I think it's important that we get to the end so that those who are listening to the tapes, if nothing else, will not be left with no punchline. We get down finally to the difficult chapter, chapter 20. All right, let's read Revelation 18. Up to this point. John, of course, has seen the various participants in the battle that God is tracing for him. He's seen the beast on the seashore. He has seen the second beast. He's seen the kings of the earth and the various men who dwell on earth, the unregenerate, following them in opposition to the Lamb of God and the 144,000 on Mount Zion. God has given him some preview of what is going to happen by the six angelic declarations about the gospel being preached and about Babylon, that is to say, Rome falling. And then John sees the judgmental action of God in the form of seven angels, bringing forth the terminal plagues, the terminal wrath of God upon Rome. Then we come to chapter 17, and John is given another vision of the fall of Rome, this time in terms of the desecration of the harlot of the earth. And John, of course, is wondering with great wonder. He's very amazed and confused by this. And God sends an angel saying, I will tell you the mystery. God does not intend for the Book of Revelation to be an enigma to us. We may stand back in awe at its literary grandeur and at the intricacy of its symbols, but God intends for it to be understood. And I think it is a grave mistake in our spiritual lives when we avoid the Book of Revelation in terms of its benefit for our lives. Well, now we come to chapter 18, and we're going to find in chapter 18 an extended, in fact, a detailed dirge against the center of opposition to God's people. And you will see throughout the chapter echoes from the taunt oracles of The Old Testament prophets. The Old Testament prophets brought oracles against the pagan cities round about them, and especially against Babylon, the oppressor of God's people. Well, the phrase taunt oracle is a fitting description because they were taunting these cities by saying, God's going to get you. That's what it amounts to. Now, chapter 18. John is doing the same thing after these things. I saw another angel coming down out of heaven, having great authority. And the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried with a mighty voice saying, fallen, fallen is Babylon the great. And it's become a habitation of demons and a hold of every unclean spirit and. And a hold of every unclean and hateful bird. And by the wine of the wrath of her fornication, all the nations are fallen. And the kings of the earth committed fornication with her. And the merchants of the earth waxed rich by the power of her wantonness. And I heard another voice from heaven saying, come forth, my people, come out of her. That ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached even unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Render unto her even as she rendered and double unto her the double according to her works in the cup which she mingled, mingle unto her double. How much soever she glorified herself and waxed wanton so much, give her of torment and mourning. For she saith in her heart, I sit a queen and am no widow, and shall in no wise see mourning. Therefore in one day shall her plagues come, death and mourning and famine, and she shall be utterly burned with fire. For strong is the Lord God who judged her, and the kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived wantonly with her shall weep and wail over her when they look upon the smoke of her burning, standing afar off, fearful of her torment, saying, woe, woe, is the great city Babylon, the strong city. For in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her. For no man buyeth their merchandise any more. Merchandise of gold and silver and precious stone and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet and thine and wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel made of most precious wood and of brass and iron and marble and cinnamon and spice and incense and ointment and frankincense and wine and oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep and merchandise of horses and chariots and slaves and the souls of men and the fruits which thy soul lusted after are gone from thee. And all things that were dainty and sumptuous are perished from thee. And men shall find them no more at all. The merchants of these things who are made rich by her shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying, woe, woe, the great city. She that was arrayed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stone and pearl. For in one hour so great riches is made desolate, and every shipmaster and every one that saileth any with her and mariners, and as many as gained their living by the sea stood afar off and cried out as they looked upon the smoke of her burning, saying, what city is like the great city? And they cast dust on their heads and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, woe, woe, the great city, wherein all that had their ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her costliness. And for in one hour she is made desolate. Rejoice over her, thou heaven and ye saints, and ye apostles, and ye prophets, for God hath judged your judgment on her. And a strong angel took up a stone, as it were a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, thus with a mighty fall shall Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers and minstrels and flute players and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee. And and no craftsman of whatsoever craft shall be found any more at all in thee. And the voice of a mill shall be heard no more at all in thee. And the light of a lamp shall shine no more at all in thee. And the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee. For thy merchants were the princes of the earth, for with thy sorcery were all the nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all that have been slain upon the earth. I think in all the literature of Scripture there is not to be found a dirge that is as violent and as mournful as this. What is brought against Rome, against Babylon, the new Babylon, the enemy of God's people. Over and over and over again John lays in with stroke and line upon line. You see how death and decay is going to come to Rome, how God will judge Rome, how God will do it. In one hour and again he says, in one hour and again he says, in one hour God shall do this. And over and over and over again all those who are there, be the kings of the earth or the merchants of the earth, or all the mariners of the earth, are going to be crying out, woe, woe. They are going to cast about and reel in confusion and amazement that a city that was that strong and an empire as powerful as Rome could fall so suddenly and so surely and just after. John has made his point, and you would almost say excessively made his point by saying it over and over and over again and giving all the detail of the imports and all that sort of thing. And he says, and all the luxury and corruption of Rome is going to perish with it. And then he says, and now a strong angel appears. And so he, after, already it would appear to a modern reader in terms of modern Western taste, has gone overboard with judgment. It says, it's even worse than that, for God will send a strong angel, and I'll tell you how bad it will be. That angel will take a boulder just like it is Babylon, and he will cast it into the sea. And Babylon will rise no more. And so no more shall be heard in her the sound of all those who are craftsmen, or the sound of those who are marrying, or the lights of the city. All the rest will be gone. Utter desolation. And what is of interest to me. And we'll look at this when we come to it in turn. But Notice in verse 20, the only note of joy in the entire chapter, rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye saints, and ye apostles and ye prophets, for God hath judged your judgment on her. I think that does not fit in with the general spirit of modern evangelicalism and Christendom as a whole. That matter. In fact, many commentators on this chapter have found the chapter not to be consistent with the teaching of the New Testament elsewhere with respect to the deference and submission and obedience that we are to give to the ruling authorities. Since Rome is the ruling authority, how could John, so it seems, relish the utter destruction of this ruling power and of all things? So we exhort the saints to rejoice that all these terrible things are going to happen. And we'll come to that toward the end of our lesson. Try to find an answer to it. Let's begin at verse one and work through the chapter again. Now with some comment after these things, I saw another angel. This is pretty standard now in the book of Revelation. John says, now we've gone through one way of putting it, and God sends another messenger to put it again, after these things, I saw another angel. This one comes down out of heaven having great authority, and the earth was lightened with his glory, the angel descends from heaven to declare the fate of Rome here, and heaven is taken as the dwelling place of God. So what we're told is that the angel comes forth from the very presence of God. And when he comes forth, he comes with a great authority. Probably that means that he's been authorized by God to give this great declaration of the fall of Rome. And interestingly enough, the angel comes from the very presence of God, radiating glory and light. Let's look at a couple of verses here in Psalm 104. 2. In the Old Testament, we are told of God that he covers himself with light as with a garment who stretches out heavens like a curtain. God is clothed in light. In 1 Timothy 6, 16, we have a similar type of expression used. Paul says, who only hath immortality dwelling in light unapproachable, whom no man hath seen nor can see. So God dwells in unapproachable light. He is clothed in light first. John says in his first epistle, God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. And so this angel, coming from the very presence of God, radiates the very light and glory of God himself. What Old Testament story does that remind you of precisely? It's interesting that Paul says, no man hath seen God. Yet the Old Testament portrays Moses as insistent that he wants to see God. God says in this metaphorical way, he could only see the back of God. He wouldn't be able to face God and live. But anyway, when Moses comes from the mount with the tables of the covenant, the Bible says that his face so radiated the glory of God that the Israelites would not look upon him and ran in fear. Have you ever stopped to think what that must mean? It's interesting to see how artists portray that. You know, the light horning out. The Hebrew expression is that the light horns out from the face of Moses. And of course, we have the impression it's kind of like the sun face, you know, and it's lighting like that and the people run from that. I don't know, maybe that's right. This is not biblical interpretation here, but just subjectively, psychologically, it's never struck me that if somebody had a really glowing face like that, that you'd run in fear. I mean, you might think it's unusual or something like that, but there was some kind of radiation of light of the glory of God, such that the Israelites were utterly convicted of their sins and couldn't look upon Moses any More than Moses, God said, could have looked upon him. Well, anyway, that Old Testament story, I think, is at least in the background of this kind of designation. Well, where do we see this type of this transfigured enlightening of the face again in scripture after Moses has this experience on the mount? Yes. Well, of course it would be centered in his face, but the transfiguration lightened his whole appearance so that even his clothes were whiter than Fuller's soap. Yeah, that's right. That doesn't mean something to some of you people. Obviously, my wife and these other Californians are the only ones who picked that up. Fuller Soap was a very big company out in Southern California for a number of years that sold soap and so forth. And so every time when I was a child, I read that passage. I couldn't understand how Fuller, you know, got their name into the Bible like that. Well, anyway, Moses has this transfiguration type of experience. He comes down and his face is shining with the glory of God. And Christ, of course, is glorified by the Father prior to his going to the cross and the mount of transfiguration. We have this angel that comes down in a similar way. Coming from the presence of God lightens the dark earth. It's like an explosion of light or a ray of light casting you see across the dark face of the earth as this angel comes down and he cries with a mighty voice saying, fallen, fallen is Babylon the great. Of course, that echoes the words of Isaiah 21, verse 9, where Isaiah the prophet was proclaiming against Babylon there in the middle of Isaiah 21:9. And he answered and said, fallen, fallen is Babylon. And all the graven images of her gods are broken unto the ground. Isaiah is predicting the day when news would reach Israel that Cyrus had captured Babylon. And when the horsemen come running back to Israel and people cry out, what has happened? What is the message? And the message will be, fallen, fallen is Babylon. And so just as sure as ancient Babylon fell, so the new Babylon Rome shall fall. And it's interesting that the past tense is used here. The reason for that is because of the prophetic certainty of what is being said. It's as though it has already happened in its past. That's how sure it is. Babylon has had it. It's fallen. And of course, the double, the use of fallen twice. The repetition is a dramatic way of speaking of how utter the desolation will be. Proud Babylon is going to become not simply fallen, but John now is going to rub it in somewhat. The hold the Habitation of demons and the hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird. You are to imagine here a city that is so in ruins, with no signs of human life and so much in decay that the only thing that wanders about its streets anymore are evil spirits and hateful unclean birds. Probably a reference to the vulture here. The word in Greek for hold in your translation is a difficult word, but there seems to be an indication that it could stand for a tower. And so the image may be of vultures in the towers and demons just waiting to prey upon anything that would wander into this devastated city. That's what Babylon is going to be like. John says. The background to that is in Isaiah 13, verses 20 through 22. John, you know, it's really amazing. You might sometime just sit down and just perform a little exercise to see what your knowledge of the Old Testament is like. Try writing an essay the length of chapter 18 in the book of Revelation. You know, about that many paragraphs. And try to make the illusions in your essay having to do with some subject. Try to make them, you know, just take them almost verbatim from the Old Testament. See how well you know the literary allusions in the literature of the Old Testament. It's amazing to me that John should be able to do this sort of thing. Of course, he has the benefit of inspiration. You can say the very words of God are put into his mouth. That's true. But nevertheless, God doesn't violate the personality of John in doing that. John was very familiar with the literature of the Old Testament. We've already seen that he's alluding to Isaiah when he speaks of this fall and fallen as Babylon the great. But now in Isaiah 13, verses 20 to 22, you'll find a further allusion that John is well, further passage of Scripture. John's drawing on speaking of the fall of Babylon. Isaiah said, it shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. Neither shall the Arabian pitch his tent there. Neither shall shepherds make their flocks to lie down there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there, and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures. And ostriches shall dwell there, and wild goats shall dance there, and wolves shall cry in their castles and jackals in the pleasant palaces. And her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged. So here you have the palaces of Babylon, and the only thing you see that now goes to the parties in Babylon are the jackals. And there's going to be ostriches and other unclean birds dwelling in the midst of the city. Now, it's likely that the reference to wild goats in verse 21 of Isaiah 13 refers to the satyr, the mythological creature that was a demon and a goat type of creature. And Isaiah is speaking, then, it would appear, of the demonic and unclean birds and other sorts of things indicate how utter the desolation of Babylon will be. And therefore John is picking up on those types of illusions when he says now of Babylon that it's become the habitation of demons in the hold of every unclean spirit, the hold of every unclean and hateful bird. In Deuteronomy, the 14th chapter, verses 12 to 18, you will note the list of unclean birds that is found there. We don't have time to look at that today. But you're aware, of course, in the Old Testament there was a division between clean and unclean animals, and certain birds are considered unclean. Now, what's the reason for this, According to verse 3 of Revelation 18? For by the wine of the wrath of her fornication, all the nations are fallen, and the kings of the earth committed fornication with her. And the merchants of the earth waxed rich by the power of her wantonness. The reason is that there were illicit relations, the kings of the earth had illicit relations with Rome, and the merchants profited from the very power of Rome's excessive luxury. Let's look at verses four and five. Now another we've had this angel come down with the cry, fallen, fallen is Babylon. The great John says, I heard another voice from heaven saying, probably this is a voice on behalf of God from heaven. Another voice from heaven saying, come forth, my people out of her, that she have no fellowship with her sins, and that she receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached even unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. This is a call for separation to God's people. By the way, the fact that Christians, the church considered God's people is very significant because that was a standard designation in the Old Testament for Israel, the people of God, God's people. And so now the Church stands in the place of Israel and the church, just as Israel of old is given a prophetic call to separation. Look at Isaiah 52:11. Isaiah says, depart ye, depart ye. Go ye out from thence. Touch no unclean thing. Go ye out of the midst of her. Cleanse yourselves, ye that bear the vessels of Jehovah. It's time to return from exile. Leave Babylon. Get out of Babylon. Depart, come out from among them, and touch no unclean thing. Of course, the reference to an unclean thing is specifically a reference to the sins of the Gentile nations. In the Old Testament, God made a separation between clean and unclean animals, clean and unclean meats. And it was. It's made very clear in the context of that Old Testament legislation that because God has separated Israel from the nations, he says, I have made a separation between you and the nations, and so you shall make a separation between clean and unclean. And ye shall be holy even as I am holy. Holy, of course, in Hebrew as well as in Greek, means to be set apart, to be consecrated. So even as I have set you apart and drawn a separation between you and the nations, so you shall draw separation between clean and unclean as a symbolic reminder of the holiness that God requires of you. So Isaiah says to those who can return from Babylon, come out from among her. Touch no unclean thing. Don't partake of the sins of Babylon, but come out. There are other Old Testament references that we could look at if we had the time. But it's interesting that in Second Corinthians 6:14, Paul himself quotes this passage. This is always a good section of the New Testament to look at when people ask the question whether the law of God is still binding to the today when it comes to such matters of ceremonial or holiness separation from the world. Paul says, be not unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? That is, you aren't to partake of the sins of unbelievers, their lawless behavior. And he goes on, speaking of the type of separation God requires that be not unequally yoked is a reference to the fact that Israel was prohibited from yoking an ox and an ass together as a reminder that they were not to be yoked together with unbelievers. The gentiles. In verse 17, Paul continues, Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. You are to be separate, you're not to touch the unclean thing. So although we don't keep the laws of the Old Testament in their outward form, in the shadow form of the Old Testament legislation, we are to draw the distinction between clean and unclean. God says, touched no unclean thing. Don't be party with us. Don't have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. And so now, having said that, the unclean birds will inhabit desolate Babylon. God cries out from heaven through his agent. Come forth, my people, out of her, that you have no fellowship with her sins, that you receive not of her plagues. See, those who fellowship in the sins, the unclean things of Babylon are going to also fellowship in the plagues of Babylon. The call is not for physical separation here I would remind you, it's a call to moral and spiritual separation. Or else the covenant curses that will be recompensed upon Babylon will be recompensed upon you. It's a very interesting expression that her sins. Let's read it just the way we find it. For her sins have reached even up to heaven. In the margin of some translations, you'll find cleave together unto heaven. Actually, the word means an accumulation by adding things to one another, tying them together. And so what God is, we use this expression. The list of his crimes was a mile long. So if we start writing on a piece of paper, all the bad things this guy's done, you know, the piece of paper would have to be a mile long. It's precisely the metaphor being used here. Her sins have cleaved to one another, have been written, you know, a mile long, Much more than a mile from earth to heaven. John says that's how wicked this city is. And for that reason God will not forget. God will remember. You know, to the Christian, that should have a very devastating effect psychologically. Because isn't one of the things that brings joy to our lives the very fact that we know God promises as omniscient as he is to forget our sins, that he'll remember them no more, that they'll be separated from us as far as the east is from the west. The God who is so merciful to forget our sins says he will remember this long list of sins of Babylon, verses 6 through 8. Now render unto her even as she rendered, and double unto her the double according to her works. It's fascinating to me to read the commentaries, and they struggle with expression. Why is the lex talionis, the eye for eye, tooth for tooth made double? Now, why is it that we get the idea that there's going to be a double recompense? Those of you who are familiar with the discussion of the Old Testament law of God will know the answer to that. The Old Testament law required double restitution. And so those who stole from others had to return that which they stole and then had to add to it the value of it again. So that if I steal a loaf of bread from the store and I'm caught in it and convicted. I not only return the loaf of bread or the value of the loaf of bread, but I must add to it the value again, that is, you pay back double as restitution. And that's precisely what God is doing here, is operating according to his standards of justice. And he says, render unto her double what whatever she has mixed in her cup of fornication, mingle unto her double. So God says, we will convict Babylon, and then we'll make restitution. Or Babylon shall make restitution because of the righteous retribution of God. God is a holy God. He is a consuming fire, and his utter wrath is seen that this is required of Babylon. The Old Testament background to this particular expression is in Jeremiah 50:29. In Jeremiah 50:29, the prophet. Call together the archers against Babylon. All them that bend the bow encamp against her, round about. Let none thereof escape. Recompense her according to her work, according to all that she hath done, do unto her, for she hath been proud against Jehovah, against the Holy One of Israel. Notice how John goes right on to speak of the pride of Babylon here, after he says, recompense unto her double. Render unto her in verse six, render unto her even as she rendered, and double unto her the double according to her works, and the cup which she mingle unto her double. How much soever she glorified herself, and waxed wanton so much, give her of torment and mourning. Why? For she says in her heart, I sit as a queen, and am no widow, and shall in no wise see mourning. What an arrogant picture here is this harlot, this wicked wanton woman sitting as a queen, you know, almost on a pedestal, saying, and I am no widow, I shall never know mourning. There's Babylon saying that her men shall not go to war and be killed, thus rendering the city a city full of widows. I shall be no widow. My men shall be victorious. None shall overcome us. I sit as a queen. I am not touched with sorrow or mourning. Nothing shall bring me down. Babylon is going to reap the exact proportion of her wantonness and self glorification. The Bible teaches us in Proverbs 29:23, that pride goes before a fall, and the proud shall be brought down because of his pride. In Luke 14:11, all those who exalt themselves shall be abased. And here is, you see Babylon exalting herself with all this pride, and God is about to bring her down. This arrogant rhetoric of a mistress beyond personal calamity and beyond sorrow again is Drawn from the Old Testament. You're beginning to get the point that John knew his Old Testament. Line after line after line. You can find the old testament, Isaiah 47, 7, 8. And thou saidst, I shall be mistress forever. So that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end thereof. Now therefore hear this. Thou that art given to pleasures, that sittest securely that sayest in thy heart, I am, and there is none else besides me, I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children. So John's drawing on this prophetic indication of the pride of Babylon of old, what will happen to the Proud City? Verse 8. Therefore, in one day shall her plagues come. Death and mourning and famine, and she shall be utterly burned with fire. For strong is the Lord God who judged her. Because of this arrogant self confidence. The plagues will come, and they're going to come in one day, which was a symbolic way of saying suddenly and surely. As surely as the city falls in just one day's time, so you shall be judged. You have to remember Daniel, the fifth chapter here, the story of Belshazzar. As Belshazzar was having his wanton feast and using even the vessels of the temple of God to drink out of. Then all of a sudden he sees a hand riding upon a wall. What does a hand write upon the wall? Anybody remember? Very good. Mene. Mene. Tekel. Jepharson. What does miniminitekhelupharsin mean? Belshazzar didn't know he had to call for Daniel. But what did Daniel tell him? Yes, and what shall happen now? Yes, and this night your kingdom shall be taken away in one day's time, in this case a night. But I mean immediately and suddenly you shall lose your kingdom. And so here is this proud, arrogant Babylon saying, I'm not going to be a widow, I'm a queen. I'm above sorrow, I'm above any sort of calamity. And God says, oh, that isn't right. And one day your plagues will come upon you. Suddenly and surely you shall fall death, which is to say pestilence here, and mourning and famine will be your lot. And then you will be utterly burned with fire. Of course, that a city was burned with fire in the ancient world was an indication of its full collapse. It was very difficult to stop fires in that day. You know, all they had were bucket brigades. And in our day we still have difficulty stopping fires, although we have modern equipment. But in the ancient world, if a city was set on Fire. And you had, you know, a dozen buildings or so burning, it would likely burn the entire city to the ground, unless it was broken up in such lots that the flames couldn't finally get to the other buildings. God in his mighty power is going to burn Babylon to the ground. Utterly burned. It's guaranteed by the strength of the Lord, this shall happen. Okay, now in verses 9 through 19, John changes the picture again. He has spoken once of an angel coming down from heaven with the light of God's glory, saying, fallen, fallen is Babylon. He spoke in again of a voice from heaven saying, and this arrogant harlot shall be burned with fire, utterly destroyed in one day's time. Now John changes the image, and he says it another way. In verses nine to 19, he gives us three lamentations over the fallen city. And these three lamentations come from three groups of mourners. First, the kings who have shared in the wantonness of Rome. Then the merchants who have grown rich by supplying the appetite for luxury in Rome. And then the seamen, who have prospered by delivering Rome's desires to her. The kings, the merchants, and the seamen are all going to give a lament over Rome. And there's going to be a common way of expressing this lament in all three cases. But just to show you again John's knowledge of the Old Testament, these laments come, and this whole idea of the kings, the merchants, and the seamen come from Ezekiel, the 27th chapter. And there are so many references to Ezekiel 27 that what I'd like you to do is to turn to Ezekiel 27 and just keep your finger there or a bookmark there so that you can turn back and forth quickly. And we'll just keep moving along. Let's look at Ezekiel 27:35. All the inhabitants of the isles are astonished at thee. And their kings are horribly afraid. They are troubled in their countenance. The merchants among the peoples hiss at thee. Thou art become a terror, and thou shalt nevermore have any being. It shall Nevermore exist. Verses 29 and 30 had said, and all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea shall come down from their ships. They shall stand upon the land, and shall cause their voice to be heard over thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, and shall wallow themselves in the ashes. See, the same three groups of people. But now Ezekiel's prophecy is a lamentation over Tyre. Why would John think it appropriate to take the literary allusions to the fall of Tyre and the lamentation over Tyre as appropriate for Rome. All the other Old Testament references have had direct reference to ancient Babylon, which is appropriate since John is thinking of Rome as Babylon the great, the harlot. But why is Tyre an appropriate city as well? Well, because Tyre was the sea capital in a former age of glory. Tyre was a mariner's delight. It was a very rich port. It drew in all these things. And so, just as Tyre, this city with a port that brought great wealth to it, just as Tyre shall have the lamentations pronounced against it, and over it, so shall Rome. Interestingly enough, in the prophecy of ezekiel, in chapter 27, verses 12 through 22, I have an inventory of goods that come into Tyre. We don't have time to read it, but if you look through that inventory of goods, you will find 15 things mentioned there which also appear in the 29 inventory of 29 items in Revelation. So about half of those things mentioned in Ezekiel find their way into the Revelation. So those of you who are memorizing Scripture, we can test you to see how many of those items, even in the inventory, you might remember if you were to write out your own essay. Similar to Revelation 18, let's look at the lament of kings first of all in Revelation 18, 9, 10. And the kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived wantonly with her shall weep and wail over her when they look upon the smoke of her burnt burning, standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city. For in one hour is thy judgment come. These are not the kings mentioned in chapter 17, verse 16. Please note that in chapter 17, verse 16. And the ten horns which thou sawest in the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her utterly with fire. For God did put in their hearts to do this, and to have one mind, and to give their kingdom unto the beast and so forth. Those kings are the ones who are going to come and destroy Rome with fire. These are not the kings who now stand back mourning over Rome. Those who mourn over Rome are those who have entered into illicit relations with the harlot. And literally, the Greek says, have lived centrally with her. You see, the kings of the earth have gained security that have gained quite a bit of financial benefit from the perverted political order that was in Rome and centered in Rome. But now their fortunes have changed, and the Bible says they openly sob and they beat their breast in mourning. That's actually what the Greek says here. Open sobbing in the beating of the breast, for wailing and mourning at the smoke of Rome. You see, smoke was an ancient, not symbol, but was an indication. If you from afar saw the smoke from a city rising up, you would know of its utter fall and desolation. So they see the smoke of Rome and they openly sob and they beat their breasts. And isn't it fascinating these kings that were so delighted and so anxious and willing to enter into fornicating relationships with this harlot, now stand afar off from their lover, from their mistress. See, they don't rush. They don't rush to her rescue at all. They stand afar off and are terrified and horrified at the torture of Rome. The Bible makes quite a point. They're standing at a distance. They're not going to get involved now. They are astounding that a city so strong could fall so suddenly. Here it says, rome shall fall in one hour. In verse eight we had read, Rome will fall in one day. Now, those who wish to take a literal approach to the book of Revelation, literal where possible. Again, you're going to have difficulty reconciling these things. Is it one day or is it one hour? Well, the point is the same. Immediately, suddenly and surely Rome shall fall.

Yes, some of these things do seem somewhat literal in the sense that there will be utter destruction and devastation. I'm not very familiar with ancient history, but did indeed say something similar to this happened to Rome at one time where there were birds of prey?

No, you see the references to the Old Testament situation with Babylon where Babylon was destroyed to rise no more, and Babylon was. It became a desolation. And what John is saying is in the same way and just as surely as Babylon fell, so you too, the new Babylon, Rome, you shall fall. It's not literal. It is in fact symbolic and prophetic. However, it's true that Rome did suffer plagues and fire and the ravishes of being plain plundered by the barbarians numerous times in the long history of its fall.

But it seems to sort of live on as in the Roman Catholic Church.

Well, Rome as a city has lived on too. I mean, there hasn't been any cessation of a city in Rome. But the fact is that Rome is no longer what it was. John is using very vivid, dramatic literary expressions to make his point that Rome, you're going to be judged of God. But the judgment does not have to come in the same form as ancient Babylon. Although the language is the same, The powerful City is lying in ashes and the kings of the earth don't want to have anything to do with this. It's interesting, this expression. In one hour this shall happen to strong Rome. Because in chapter 17, verse 12 we read the ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. And what do they do in that one hour of their power? Well, they give their authority to the beast so that they might go and plunder Rome, so that they might ravish the harlot and burn her. Does that mean then that the ten kings are going to become the ruling power? In the fall of Rome, will there be another kingdom, another pagan kingdom that takes the place of Rome? No, because in that one hour notice what happens. Verse 12 of 17. We've read verse 13. These have one mind give their power and authority unto the beast. Verse 14. These shall war against the Lamb and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is lord of lords and king of kings. And they also shall overcome that are with him called and chosen and faithful. Through the fall of Rome, it will not be those who plunder Rome that rise to power, but through the fall of Rome, the fifth kingdom, the kingdom of God, of Daniel's prophecy shall in fact be established. And that's fascinating, the way John combines his ideas. Yes, Rome will fall, and in one hour, and at the hands of the ten kings, that is to say, the outlying tribes or nations that have not yet received power. And they're only going to have it for a short while. But in the process of their destroying Rome, it's going to be the Church that arises. What has history taught us? In fact, Edward Gibbon has made the point over and over again, hasn't he, in the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, that it was the Church that came out victorious. And of course he thinks the church was, you know, guilty for the fall of Rome, undermined the stability of Rome. But the fact is that John predicted this long ago that when Rome fell it would be to the benefit of the Church of Jesus Christ. Alright, we've seen the lamentation of King kings. Let's look quickly at the lamentation of the merchants in verses 11 to 17. And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no man buys their merchandise anymore. You can see they're not really sympathetic for a humbled city that was once, you know, great. This is selfish on their part, selfish sadness over the loss of their own financial gain. They've lost the market Rome has fallen, and now nobody will buy their goods. The excessive luxury and the tremendous trade volume that went into Rome has been made evident by contemporary writers of that day, such as Pliny and Aristides. And one commentator in particular has summarized very well some examples of just the excessive wealth and luxury of Rome. And I want to just give you some of those. See, this is what John wants to do when he goes on there and he lists this long, long list of all these items that come into Rome. Want you to know what kind of city Rome was for its luxury and excess. We know that at one of Nero's banquets, the Egyptian roses alone. How much do you think Nero paid for Egyptian roses at one of his parties? $100,000. The equivalent of $100,000 in Egyptian roses alone. Vitellius had a penchant for delicacies like peacocks, brains and nightingale's tongues. In his reign of less than one year, listen. In his reign of less than one year, not even 12 months, he spent $20 million on food. It's appalling. I mean, we can laugh, but you got to get to the point where you're just grossed out by this amazing. In his reign of less than one year, $20 million, mostly on food. One Roman, after squandering an immense fortune, committed suicide because he could not live on the pittance that remained. He only had $300,000 left, and so he committed suicide. In the Talmud we find this written, 10 measures of wealth came down into the world. Rome received nine, and all the world won. Of course, there's no way to consider that an inspired mathematical proportion, but that's the way the world looked upon it. Rome had nine tenths of the world's wealth. They ate peacocks, brings and nightingale's tongues as delicacies, and they could spend, you know, $100,000 on roses for one party. Amazing. Let me tell you a little bit about some of these items that are mentioned in this long inventory of imports as well. John gives that long list of imports to impress us with the large and the luxurious trade that came through Rome's port, which is very similar to the inventory, as I told you already in Ezekiel 27, that came into the port at tyre. There are seven basic groups. I don't have time now to read them again for you, but notice that John mentions metals and gems, then fabrics, then ornamental pieces, then aromatic substances, foods, animals, and then men. I want to tell you a little bit about these things that are mentioned very quickly, though, again from the commentary. Women would bathe Excuse me. At this time there was in Rome a passion for silver dishes. We know again, this is all coming from Pliny and Aristides telling us what the life of Rome was like. Women would bathe only in silver tubs. Even generals on the field insisted upon dining on silver dishes. Gems and pearls were greatly prized. I want you to remember. See, this is GROSS Even for 20th century America. A general out on the field has to have silver dishes and women will only bathe in silver tubs. But you have to remember that silver is a lot more plenteous today and a lot easier to extract and to use and to beat into tubs, into dishes and all the rest. In this day. It was incredible to buy even one silver dish. And yet the generals on the battlefields had to have silver dishes and their ladies had to have silver tubs. Gems and pearls were greatly prized. Julius Caesar gave Servilia a single pearl. It is said that cost in our equivalent today $18,000. Purple was imported primarily from Phoenicia, where the expensive dye get. This was extracted. How did you get pearl dye? It was extracted a drop at a time from the shellfish called the murex. One drop at a time. Can you imagine how many drops you'd have to get to dye even one cape? Silk came from the distant land of China. It was extremely expensive. Yet it was imported in such quantities from China was such expense that Josephus reports how the triumphant army appeared before Vespasian and Titus arrayed. The entire army was arrayed in silken garments. The entire army, I mean, one almost gets sick to his stomach to think of the luxury Rome in the excess. Thynian wood was an expensive dark wood imported from North Africa and used for costly furniture and inlay work. Seneca is reported to have had 300 tables of Thynian wood alone with pearl or, excuse me, with ivory feet. Wealthy Romans ate from ivory plates. Have you ever eaten from an ivory plate in this day? And they had whole banquets with ivory plates. Ornaments of precious wood, brass, iron and marble decorated the houses of the rich. Cinnamon was an aromatic spice imported from South China. The harlot mentioned in Proverbs 7, verse 17 perfumed her bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. The word translated spice in your translation is an Eastern perfume used to scent the hair. Incense was burned for its fragrant odor. The ointment, excuse me, myrrh was used medicinally as well as a perfume. Wheat was imported mainly from Egypt. The word that you find there for cattle meant a beast of burden. The chariot that is Mentioned is a four wheeled carriage in which the Roman aristocracy rode. And then you come to the word slaves. Literally, it says bodies in the Greek. And they imported bodies as well. Why has John put it that way? Well, it's a vivid commentary on the social conditions of the day, isn't it? The same slave trade was regarded as mere human cargo. So much merchandise to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. In fact, it has been estimated that there were as many as 60 million slaves in the Roman Empire. The final item on the list, the souls of men, is an ancient Hebrew expression for human livestock as well. For those who are numbered simply because of their bodies, well, that's Rome for you. And John stands back and he says, the merchants will weep and wail when they see Rome burning. You know why? Because they have no trade anymore. Verse 14 says, and the fruits which thy soul lusted after are gone from thee. See, all those things that Rome was just dying to have will no longer be there. And all things that were dainty and sick, sumptuous. Our perishment. Imagine finding that kind of expression in the Bible. I think that's really quaint. All these dainties, all the peacocks tongues and our nightingales tongues, and all this, all your dainty foods and all your sumptuous clothing and ornaments are gone from you. They've been plundered from you, and they are no longer found. Now look at verses 15 to 17. The merchants of these things who were made rich by her, stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, saying, woe, woe, the great city. Who does that sound like the kings that we just mentioned? Precisely. They don't want to get close to Rome. Now they stand afar off and they cry out, whoa, whoa, look what has happened to the great city. But there's a difference. The kings mention that Rome was a strong city. You see how that would be the paramount conception in the king's mind? Here is my basic security. And Rome has fallen. The strong city has fallen. How do the merchants describe Rome? John's got such an excellent insight into human psychology here. The merchants describe Rome as lavishly arrayed. They don't see a strong city fallen, they see this one that is so lavishly arrayed and that they have supplied no longer there as a market. Well, now the third lament comes in verses 17 to 19. The lament of the shipping industry. The obvious reason for that is that for Rome to get all these things from China and from Egypt and various places, the shipping industry was made wealthy. And every Shipmaster and everyone that sailed anywhither, and mariners, and as many as gained their living by the sea, the entire lot of those connected with the sea, the pilots, the rank and file seamen, the passengers, and all those who gained their living in connection with the sea trade. And notice again what happens to them. And they stood afar off and cried out as they looked upon the smoke of her burning, saying, what city is like the great city? And they cast dust on their heads and cried, weeping and mourning, woe, woe, the great city, wherein all that had their ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her costliness. And in one hour she is made desolate again. Where are all of Rome's friends? Where are the merchants now that she made rich? Where are the seamen you see who were made rich by her? Where are the kings that she committed fornication with? They're all standing. You've got to see them all in your mind's eye. Back upon you see the cliffs and back upon the hills behind Rome, watching the smoke arising. And nobody rushes down to help Rome. Now everybody who is so anxious to commit fornication with her wants nothing to do with her as they see the smoke of her burning. And the mariners stand, stand in amazement looking at this, and have the sorrowing sign of dust cast upon their head, which you'll find in Ezekiel 27, verses 30 and 32. But now we come to that interesting verse, verse 20. In the midst of all of this, the angelic declarations of Rome's fall and the smoke of her burning, and the lament of all those who committed fornication with her, there is rejoicing. We can rejoice. We may be told that that is not proper in terms of the Christian psyche and outlook and attitude. But God says, rejoice, my people, rejoice. You apostles and saints and prophets, rejoice. All those who are in heaven, glorified church will rejoice that God has brought Rome's judgment upon her. I don't think we should ever forget that God can cares for the lot of his people. And we are so precious, we don't deserve it by any means, but by God's grace, we are so precious in his eyes. He'll let not a person touch a hair upon our head without bringing vengeance upon that person in Rome that has destroyed the saints and has tried to blot out the church. Rome shall fall in a day. In the Old Testament, the sentence delivered against the person guilty of perjury was that he would receive exactly the judgment that he tried to bring against the person he lied about. And even as Babylon and Rome has perjured itself and lied about the Christians and has brought them to their death because of the false charges, now God shall bring the judgment of perjury against Rome. And so verse 20 says, Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye saints, and ye apostles, ye prophets. For God hath judged your judgment on her, the very judgment she wishes to bring against the church God will bring against church. Now, we've got just five minutes. And so let me very quickly talk about this last section. Hasn't John made his point by now? You'd say the two angelic declarations, the three laments over Rome. John says, let me put it to you another way. And a strong angel took up a stone, as it were a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, thus with a mighty fall shall Babylon, the great city, be cast down and shall be found no more at all. And then he goes into this thing that we won't look at now, obviously internally, from the standpoint, not afar off, looking at the smoke of Rome, but in the very midst of the city, there'll be no signs of life at all. All right. But this image of Rome, of the Rome falling, Babylon fallen like a stone cast into the sea, comes from Jeremiah, chapter 51, verses 59 to 64. And I'd like to look at that. Jeremiah 51, 59 and 64. The word which Jeremiah the prophet, commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Messiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah, to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Sariah was chief chamberlain, and Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words which are written concerning Babylon. And Jeremiah said to Sariah, when thou comest to Babylon, then see that thou read all these words and say, O Jehovah, thou hast spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that none shall dwell therein, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever. And it shall be when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates. And thou shalt say, thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again because of the evil that I will bring upon her. And they shall be weary. Sariah, as he was to go into the very midst of Babylon. Note the. I don't know what it is, the brashness of this. Jeremiah says to Sarai, I want you to go into the very midst of Babylon and read all these evil words against Babylon. And if that isn't bad enough, that doesn't antagonize Babylon enough, then I want you to take this scroll on which the evil prophecy is found, and I want you to bind it to a stone and then cast the stone into the Euphrates river and say, in the very face of these arrogant opposers of God's people, and thus shall Babylon sink and rise no more. I mean, you've got to have chills coming up and down your back when God sends a messenger and he says, I'll tell you what you're going to be like. Boom. And that's what John is talking about now, the new Babylon. The strong angel takes up a stone as a great millstone, like a boulder now, and cast it into the sea, saying that with a mighty fall shall Babylon, the great city, be cast down and shall be found no more at all. And I'm going to add one more thing to this description. It's enough that all these terrible prophecies have been spoken that John's gone on and on. It's enough that there's a symbolic action that the stone falls to the bottom of the sea and never rises anymore. But the Greek actually says that the angel is to cast it into the. Into the water. Have you ever, you know, dropped just little piddly stones into the water to watch the ripples and all that? Well, when you were a younger child, you know, and you got a little bored with that, did you ever throw rocks into the water to see how hard you could get them in there? Well, that's what it's like here. And God says about this angel, he used to take a boulder and he used to cast it into the water. It's not just that he daintily drops it and says, and that's what Rome is going to be like falling to the bottom of the sea. But he cast it with all his strength into the sea and says, that's what God will do to you. Revelation 18, I dare say, is one of the most dramatic chapters in the entire Bible, speaking of how God will avenge his saints and will not allow the evil of the earth to go unpunished. But now our final question is, can that kind of antagonism, John, you can see in exile, knowing of the persecution of the apostles, knowing of the persecution of the saints, John in exile, writes with almost relish, all these things are going to happen to Babylon. Can that attitude of antagonism, antagonism toward the ruling civil power that is this strong as we find it in Revelation 18. Be reconciled with Romans, the 13th chapter, about deference and submission to the state. Well, there may be other ways to try to reconcile it, but I think the only genuine way and the only way that doesn't mean embarrassment at every turn is to say the reason we have deference and submission to the state is because it's recognized as a servant of God. And when the state ceases to be a servant of God and in fact violates the standards of God so as to come under his judgment, we are to rejoice over God's judgment upon the state. So the attitude is perfectly consistent. Paul, looking upon the state as a servant of God, says, be in submission. John says, and when Rome is not the servant of God, but is in fact a harlot, then rejoice over her fall. The modern application, I suppose, does not have to be drawn out. Let's pray. Father, we ask that you would reform our emotions and you would change our minds and our attitudes and make them more akin to what we find in the Scriptures. Lord, we pray that while we would be saved from a vengeful spirit, while you would rescue us from any sort of personal vindictiveness and pride, nevertheless you would give us the boldness to have that vengeance which reflects your own. That we might, with all the saints in the glorified church, rejoice over the fall of those whom you hate because of their sins and because of their oppression of your people. Lord, we pray that our emotions would in fact be biblical emotions, that we might rejoice at the proper places, that we might be humbled in love, that we might do all those things that please you. Lord, we pray that even in this day you would bring vengeance upon those that persecute your church throughout the world. We ask, Lord, that you would give your church great success, that you would protect your people, that you would make them ride upon the high points of the earth. Indeed, that they might, with Jesus Christ himself, reign from his throne over all the nations. Lord, we pray that you would give the nations to your son, and that through your church we'd see a mighty day of gospel prosperity ahead. For the nations of the earth will tremble before the rising army of the saints. Indeed, they will cast themselves down and honor you as you ought to be honored. Lord, we pray in all these things that we would recall that the glory is not ours, but in every way it belongs to you. And we pray these things for the glory and in the name of your only begotten son, Jesus Christ, the king over all the kings of the earth. Amen.