And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened 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 devils, and the hold 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 are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith 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 judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously 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 thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth 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 thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, which 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 decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come to nought.
And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, 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, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath 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 pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; And the light of a candle 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 great men of the earth; for by thy 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. "
Seven disasters have hit the earth at large, and gave caused GLOBAL devastation. Yet, there is still a part of Earth that is the recipient of special attention.
That " that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!for in one hour is thy judgment come. ". This city has been broken into 3 parts, and in one hour, death, mourning and famine, have come for her! A powerful view of a city burning is presented to us.
How the LORD must have felt when the gates of Jerusalem were burnt with fire by Babylon! Now it is HER burning that is being recorded in the Bible, a disaster, that occurred suddenly, and was completed in almost as short a time... (one hour).
The burning can be observed by people at sea, from afar off, the city itself, disappearing under the waves or from the face of the earth, as illustrated by the angel.... mourned by those that traded or were made rich by her, but her passing, celebrated by those that were harmed by her actions.
"Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath 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 pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; And the light of a candle 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 great men of the earth; for by thy 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. "
Babylon is not going to exist as a city ever again. A city, that once housed the Head of Gold (Nebuchadnezzar,cf Daniel's vision) , of false religion, is going to be removed from existence entirely as a city, and be remembered no more.
In today’s age, the broad majority of people have traded paganism and idol worship for the worship of self, atheism and following the traditions of men. “I am God and am accountable to no one except myself” is the cry, and supreme selfishness and hedonism has replaced the worship of the One who is our Creator. “Fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: “: Col 3:5,6 (RV) Idolatry is not just worshipping a graven image!
Beyond religion however, there is another god who is worshipped by the world today. It is Mammon. Commerce and the love/desire for money have been the driving factors for human endeavor, and in this day and age, the new empires of the world are the Fortune 100 corporations.
They work across national and cultural boundaries, they subvert governments to their will through bribes and lobbying, while obeying the laws of the land on the surface – internally, they are working to change them to their advantage. Their CEO’s have more than any ancient king could desire – palaces, jets, food, clothing, and armies willing to do their bidding.
Their employees are the slaves of this new world order. Destined at birth to find a place/home in an enterprise, educated so that they are useful to factories/corporations, and put to work not only to earn their living, but to actually pay their hard-earned money back to the same corporations that are using them- only now these slaves are called “consumers”. Whole systems have risen up that feed on the consumer with ever more sophistication and finesse. From tuition payments, to mortgages, credit cards to health insurance. From food and clothing to drugs and medicine. The business of buying and selling is highly profitable to a whole ecosystem built around it!
In the Apocalypse, what is revealed is this triumvirate of political power, false religion and worldwide commerce.
The Beast regulates commerce with his mark, has a prophet to propagate his false religion, and exercises political power! The Beast wants his system to rule, and cannot tolerate the rule of Babylon - her fall is actually a result of the 10 kings and the beast that burn her with fire!
The Kingdoms of world end with the rule of the Beast. The rule of the Beast ends with the Kingdom of the Lamb! ... there is a final battle, yet to be waged, but all the dominos have been toppled!
Hallelujah!
