Revelation 17 and 18 – www.heavenscent77.com

Revelation 17 Part One: Before we read the focal passage, here are some opening thoughts on Revelation 17 and 18. These go along with Isaiah 13 and 14:1-23 (which is also a dual focus passage dealing with the ruler behind Babylon – Lucifer) (also Isaiah 21) and Jeremiah 50 and 51.

Religious Babylon (primarily ch 17) vs. Commercial Babylon (primarily ch 18) = ‘Mystery Babylon’ – Several educated guesses, each with their merits as you’ll hear during the readings, of who physically ‘mystery Babylon’ could be.

*The USA, (#1 exporter of porn, sits on many waters, trades with the whole world)

*A rebuilt Babylon at the ancient site near Babel in Mesopotamia,

*Rome and the Vatican, (Dave Hunt, Alexander Hislop believe(d), but Dr. Andy Woods shoots this down as does Joel Richardson (slaughtered many Christians, sits on ‘seven hills’ (not mountains though), many other reasons. Peter called Rome Babylon metaphorically in 1 Peter 5:13 but he was acting as an undercover agent so couldn’t say ‘Rome’.

*Mecca, in Saudi Arabia proposed by Joel Richardson (who btw has a large ego and gets very defensive with those who disagree about anything. I watched him denigrate LA Marzulli at a conference once, he blocks fellow Christians on social media if they ask for public debate, all of which tells me he is very insecure about his positions)

*A new city yet to be built such as the one proposed in the UAE called for now, Masdar City.in Abu Dhabi (btw did you know that the people in Dubai don’t like the Flintstones, but the people in Abu Dhabi do?).

*The planned city in Saudi Arabia called ‘The Line’ that is only 200 meters wide but 105 miles long, 500 METERS above MSL (higher than the Empire State Bldg), no cars or roads, but a high speed rail will carry people from end to end in 20 minutes, costing many billions to build, mirrored skyscrapers, high walled, 1.5 million will live there by 2030 and construction has already begun.

Speaking of high-speed rails – did you hear that Israel is already planning a high-speed rail from Tel Aviv to the third temple in Jerusalem? Funny thing is, there is no third Temple yet.

This and the red heifers go under ‘Labor Pains’ – just another example that when you see Christmas decorations going up, you know Thanksgiving is close. When you see evidence of things in deeper parts of Revelation and elsewhere taking place, you know the harpazo is even closer.

*No physical locality – metaphorical only and only describes man’s materialism and idolatry

Anybody want to venture a guess right now? We’ll ask again after our study in a few weeks.

*Read Revelation 17 in a version other than NLT (we’ll read chapter 18 another time and compare it to several passages in Isaiah and Jeremiah)

Revelation 17 (NLT)

The Great Prostitute

17 One of the seven angels who had poured out the seven bowls came over and spoke to me. “Come with me,” he said, “and I will show you the judgment that is going to come on the great prostitute, who rules over many waters. ²The kings of the world have committed adultery with her, and the people who belong to this world have been made drunk by the wine of her immorality.”

³So the angel took me in the Spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns, and blasphemies against God were written all over it. ⁴The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls. In her hand she held a gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality. ⁵A mysterious name was written on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World.” ⁶I could see that she was drunk—drunk with the blood of God’s holy people who were witnesses for Jesus. I stared at her in complete amazement.

⁷“Why are you so amazed?” the angel asked. “I will tell you the mystery of this woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns on which she sits. ⁸The beast you saw was once alive but isn’t now. And yet he will soon come up out of the bottomless pit and go to eternal destruction. And the people who belong to this world, whose names were not written in the Book of Life before the world was made, will be amazed at the reappearance of this beast who had died.

⁹“This calls for a mind with understanding: The seven heads of the beast represent the seven hills* where the woman rules. They also represent seven kings. ¹⁰Five kings have already fallen, the sixth now reigns, and the seventh is yet to come, but his reign will be brief.

¹¹“The scarlet beast that was, but is no longer, is the eighth king. He is like the other seven, and he, too, is headed for destruction. ¹²The ten horns of the beast are ten kings who have not yet risen to power. They will be appointed to their kingdoms for one brief moment to reign with the beast. ¹³They will all agree to give him their power and authority. ¹⁴Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him.”

¹⁵Then the angel said to me, “The waters where the prostitute is ruling represent masses of people of every nation and language. ¹⁶The scarlet beast and his ten horns all hate the prostitute. They will strip her naked, eat her flesh, and burn her remains with fire. ¹⁷For God has put a plan into their minds, a plan that will carry out his purposes. They will agree to give their authority to the scarlet beast, and so the words of God will be fulfilled. ¹⁸And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the world.”

*Greek word is ‘oros’ (3735) and most commonly means ‘mountains’ calling into question the bias of the NLT translators. A better word for hill is ‘bunous’ (1015). Dr. Woods emphasizes this point in his sermon on this passage. *WATCH HIM AND OTHERS BTW!*

Application

What competes against Christ in our lives? What idols do we cherish? Book we studied in The Huddle – ‘Redemption – Freed by Jesus from the Idols we Worship and the Wounds We Carry’ by Mike Wilkerson. Defeat your idols.

‘The church can’t heal you but we can introduce you to the One who can.’

Are you secretly sad that the harpazo is on the horizon because you are pretty comfortable here? That’s like the Jews when Cyrus allowed them to return – only 50,000 went! The others were so comfortable where they were they didn’t want anything to do with a ‘promised land’. Heaven with Jesus is OUR promised land, don’t be like Lot’s wife who looked back.

Revelation 17 part 2

Sonia read Revelation 17 last week (version?) . I will read it now in the NLT. Remember Rev 17 deals with religious Babylon and 18 with commercial Babylon, but they are linked in important ways.

⁹“This calls for a mind with understanding: The seven heads of the beast represent the seven (oros) (mountains) hills where the woman rules. They also represent seven kings. ¹⁰Five kings have already fallen, the sixth now reigns, and the seventh is yet to come, but his reign will be brief.

Big picture: Nimrod’s Babel – the origin of all false religions (Gen ch 10 and 11). After the Rapture, orthodox Christianity will be gone. After the Ezekiel 38 and 39 war, Islam will be decimated. What’s left is Judaism (relatively very minor), Hinduism, Animism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, New Age (numerous manifestations such as the Church Universal and Triumphant (founder of Montessori schools btw)), Wicca, Satanism, some Catholics, Laodicean Protestants, Mormonism, secular humanism, and atheism among others. Elements of all these will be wrapped up in an amalgamation that becomes the new religion of the day.

Religion will thrive after the Rapture – mankind reaching up to God, vs. Christianity which is God reaching down to man. God will send a strong delusion (2 Thessalonians 2:11). Satan will use many tools to deceive humans and form a chimeric one world religion in which most of those left behind can find a home in. Christianity will also rebound as people are led by several types of witnesses –1. the memories of testimonies of Christians before we were taken, and the realization that the prophesied Rapture did indeed occur 2. the writings and Bibles left behind by Christians, 3. the testimony of the Two Witnesses (Rev 11), 4. the testimony of the 144,000 virgins of Revelation 7 and 14 (good catch Kelly Steelman!), 5. the testimony of the angels in mid heaven (Revelation 14:6 ‘And I saw another angel flying in midheaven with an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation, tribe, language, and people;’)

And thereby ‘the gospel will be preached to the whole world before Christ comes again (Matthew 24:14 ‘This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.’)

The beast (Antichrist) will use this one-world religion to unite everyone, then will turn on its leaders (to transfer all that worship to himself) and destroy them (Revelation 17:15-17…

¹⁵And he *said to me, “The waters which you saw where the prostitute sits are peoples and multitudes, and nations and languages. ¹⁶And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the prostitute and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. ¹⁷For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.)

In the spring, we watched a video of Dr. Andy Woods of Sugarland Bible Church, Sugarland, TX explain some important things:

The woman who rides the beast is not the beast itself. They are distinct figures. The beast will turn on the harlot / woman and destroy her when he is finished using her.

That the seven heads of the beast represent seven world kingdoms (‘they are seven kings’) throughout time who have been opposed to the Jewish nation: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and Rome 2.

The ten horns are synonymous with the ten toes of iron and miry clay in Daniel’s vision in Daniel 2:41-43. (We will soon start our detailed study of Daniel.) This is ‘revived Rome’ We have previously discussed how the world has already been divided up into ten regions by the Club of Rome / UN…The kings of these divisions will swear loyalty to the AC.

(The illustrations did not transfer from the notes to the webpage)

THE CLUB OF ROME REGIONAL MODEL

The Club of Rome is a global think tank that deals with a variety of international political issues. It was founded in April 1968 and raised considerable public attention in 1972 with its report Limits to Growth. The Club is composed of “scientists, economists, businessmen, international high civil servants, heads of state and former heads of state from all five continents who are convinced that the future of humankind is not determined once and for all and that each human being can contribute to the improvement of our societies.”

The Club of Rome consists of members of the so-called Black Nobility of Europe, old families which lived in Venice and Genoa. These people have ruled vast financial empires for the past fifteen hundred years. ‘They are called the ‘Black’ nobility because of their constant use of dirty tricks, terrorism and unethical methods.

On September 17, 1973, they released a Report called the “Regionalized and Adaptive Model of the Global World System” which was prepared by Directors Mihajlo Mesarovic and Eduard Pestel as part of the “Strategy for Survival Project”. This revealed the Club’s goal of dividing the world into ten political/economic (both) regions restructured drastically into a ‘horizontal system’ which would involve interdependent ‘world regions’. The ten regions would unite the entire world under a single form of government.

The idea is now coming to life in the United Nations as regions begin to form economic blocks loosely modelled after the European Union. Since the time of this map, Mexico has been added to the North American region (1) as part of the coming creation of the controversial American Union and Israel is supposed to be aligned with region number (4). These regions are: North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Japan, Rest of Developed World, Latin America, Middle East, Rest of Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and China. The same plan was published in a Club of Rome book called Mankind at the Turning Point.

*For today, let’s focus on decoding verses 8 – 12 of chapter 17.

(NASB)

⁸“The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who live on the earth, whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was, and is not, and will come. ⁹Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains upon which the woman sits, ¹⁰and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. ¹¹The beast which was, and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction. ¹²The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.

Many great Bible scholars have interpreted this to be completely about ancient Rome, even listing off Roman emperors as the ‘seven kings’. While they make tidy and compelling arguments, I think the scope is much broader.

8a. John is told that the beast that he saw (Antichrist). was, (many ‘antichrists throughout history), and is not, (AC wasn’t currently on the scene at that time) and is about to come up out of the abyss (the demonic or satanic leadership of prior antichrist types will come into power again and bring about Rome II) and he will go to destruction (Revelation 20:10 (‘And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.’).

8b. And those who live on the earth (‘earth dwellers’ as opposed to saints who are heaven bound) will wonder when they see the AC that he was, (was alive and brought peace to Israel finally), and is not (gets assassinated Revelation 13:3 – ‘I saw one of his heads as if it had been fatally wounded, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;’)

9 and 10. That the seven heads of the beast represent seven world kingdoms (‘they are seven kings’) throughout time who have been opposed to the Jewish nation: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and Rome 2.

AC, was, and ‘is not’ (assassinated) is himself also an eighth (resurrected, he returns to power as an eighth king) yet he’s one of the seven (in fact, WAS the seventh, just resurrected now) and goes to destruction (Revelation 20:10)

The ten horns are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom. The ten horns are synonymous with the ten toes of iron and miry clay in Daniel’s vision in Daniel 2:41-43. (We will soon start our detailed study of Daniel.) This is ‘revived Rome’ We have previously discussed how the world has already been divided up into ten regions by the Club of Rome / UN…The kings of these divisions will swear loyalty to the AC.

*They rule for ‘one hour’ a very brief moment of glory.

Play video

Revelation 55. Clash of the Titans (Part 1). Revelation 17:6b-12 – YouTube

Start at 47:00 and go until 1:11:00

The last four chapters of Revelation will go by pretty quickly. Revelation 17 and 18 are two of the most difficult books of the Bible, (along with Matthew 24, and 25 and Daniel 11).

So I believe it is worth our time to give them 2 or 3 more sessions including today. The last day, I’ll open the floor to hear your thoughts on it all. So hang in there if you are chomping at the bit to correct me.

*As we’ve discussed, Revelation 17 and 18 overlap in many ways. 17 emphasizes the religious side of Babylon and 18 the commercial side. But I agree with Andy Woods that these are not two different cities. The Bible wasn’t divided into chapters and verses until the year 1227 by Stephen Langton, a University of Paris professor. So chapters 17 and 18 were never divided initially.

*Revelation 16:17-21

¹⁷Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.” ¹⁸And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since mankind came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. ¹⁹The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. ²⁰And every island fled, and no mountains were found. ²¹And huge hailstones, weighing about a talent (a hundred pounds) each, *came down from heaven upon people; and people blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because the hailstone plague *was extremely severe.

*Before we finish the Book of Revelation, we might take part of a session to appreciate all the ways it compares to the book of Joshua again.

I have listened to dozens of hours of commentary from people like J. Vernon McGee, Andy Woods, Chuck Missler and John Courson on chapters 17 and 18, I have taken the entire course on Revelation offered by Dallas Theological Seminary on Revelation taught by Dr. Stanley Toussaint and have read many commentaries and even fallen asleep to the sermons, and have settled on Andy Woods’ having the best overall approach. (Only small points of disagreement with Dr. Woods is on the validity of Alexander Hislop’s book, ‘The Two Babylons’, on which most modern interpretations are based (which Joel Richardson does a great job disassembling), and his acceptance of Josephus’ report that the purpose of the Tower of Babel was to escape future floods.)

Some big points to make:

In 17:5, The KJV includes ‘Mystery’ in the name of the harlot

⁵And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.

while other versions such as the NASB say

⁵and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery: “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”

See the difference? The KJV allows for subjective interpretation – after all, if her name is MYSTERY, then she could be MYSTICAL and this justifies a symbolic interpretation.

**Of all the commentaries I’ve studied, after a lot of thought, I am most comfortable with Dr. Woods’. He says that when the Bible says ‘Babylon’ it means ‘Babylon’.

I’d encourage you to listen to all of his messages not on youtube.com but on SLBC.org look up sermons # 51 through 59 which covers Revelation 17 and 18.

We could spend years, literally, spending class time playing all the different view points on how Revelation 17 and 18 should be interpreted.

Obviously it would not be practical for us to do that. All I can do is tell you there are many viewpoints and steer you toward the one I think does the best job and leave you to research it for yourself, WHICH I HOPE YOU WILL.

YOU WILL GET OUT OF IT WHAT YOU PUT IN, As is true for anything. You will get out of this class what you put into it, reading the books provided, watching the videos, reading the notes, studying on your own.

Zechariah 5:5-11 also describes the Great Harlot.

⁵Then the angel who had been speaking with me went out and said to me, “Now raise your eyes and see what this is that is going forth.” ⁶And I said, “What is it?” Then he said, “This is the ephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their appearance in all the land. ⁷And behold, a lead cover was lifted up.” He continued, “And this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.” ⁸Then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he thrust her into the middle of the ephah and threw the lead weight on its opening. ⁹Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of the stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens. ¹⁰So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the ephah?” ¹¹Then he said to me, “To build a temple for her in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.” (NASB)

⁵Then the angel who was talking with me came forward and said, “Look up and see what’s coming.”

⁶“What is it?” I asked.

He replied, “It is a basket for measuring grain, and it’s filled with the sins of everyone throughout the land.”

⁷Then the heavy lead cover was lifted off the basket, and there was a woman sitting inside it. ⁸The angel said, “The woman’s name is Wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket (like Oscar the Grouch back into his trashcan) and closed the heavy lid again.

⁹Then I looked up and saw two women flying toward us, gliding on the wind. They had wings like a stork, and they picked up the basket and flew into the sky.

¹⁰“Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel.

¹¹He replied, “To the land of Babylonia, where they will build a temple for the basket. And when the temple is ready, they will set the basket there on its pedestal.”

(NLT)

Application – again, root out your Babylon, the things that are a counterfeit for the presence of God, all your idols, lusts, vain aspirations. Take it to the cross and see if God doesn’t honor that decision and bless you eternally. ‘Come out of her…’ (Revelation 18:4 ‘I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive any of her plagues;’

III. The OT gives many references for the destruction of Babylon – but that has not yet happened. Most of the OT references for the destruction of Babylon are YET TO BE FULFILLED. Some are DUAL FOCUS PROPHECIES.

Most of Isaiah 21 pertains to the fall of Babylon by Cyrus.

*Who remembers how Babylon fell the first time? Daniel 5 king Belshazzar and Cyrus, diverting the Euphrates so they could sneak under the gate. Documented by Herodotus and Xenophon. It was several days before the people fully realized they had been overtaken without a battle.

Babylon was not destroyed then, but it ‘fell’ to the Medo-Persians, as Daniel had seen through Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2 (the chest of silver) and his own visions of a lopsided bear in Daniel 7:5 and the ram with lopsided horns in Daniel 8:3.

But we’re not diving into the book of Daniel today, but will soon!

Read *Isaiah 21:1-2

This message came to me concerning Babylon—the desert by the sea:

Disaster is roaring down on you from the desert,
    like a whirlwind sweeping in from the Negev.
²I see a terrifying vision:
    I see the betrayer betraying,
    the destroyer destroying.
Go ahead, you Elamites and Medes,
    attack and lay siege.
I will make an end
    to all the groaning Babylon caused.

*Isaiah 21:6-10

⁶Meanwhile, the Lord said to me,
“Put a watchman on the city wall.
    Let him shout out what he sees.
⁷He should look for chariots
    drawn by pairs of horses,
and for riders on donkeys and camels.
    Let the watchman be fully alert.”

⁸Then the watchman called out,
“Day after day I have stood on the watchtower, my lord.
    Night after night I have remained at my post.
⁹Now at last—look!
Here comes a man in a chariot
    with a pair of horses!”
Then the watchman said,
    “Babylon is fallen, fallen!
All the idols of Babylon
    lie broken on the ground!”
¹⁰O my people, threshed and winnowed,
    I have told you everything the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has said,
    everything the God of Israel has told me.

*Did Belshazzar put a watchman on the wall? No, Belshazzar was busy partying with the temple dishes in Daniel 5 and was drunk.

Those were about Babylon’s first fall.

Revelation 18 (NLT) (I will read)

The Fall of Babylon

18 After all this I saw another angel come down from heaven with great authority, and the earth grew bright with his splendor. ²He gave a mighty shout:

“Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen!
    She has become a home for demons.
She is a hideout for every foul spirit,
    a hideout for every foul vulture
    and every foul and dreadful animal.
³For all the nations have fallen
    because of the wine of her passionate immorality.
The kings of the world
    have committed adultery with her.
Because of her desires for extravagant luxury,
    the merchants of the world have grown rich.”

⁴Then I heard another voice calling from heaven,

“Come away from her, my people.
    Do not take part in her sins,
    or you will be punished with her.
⁵For her sins are piled as high as heaven,
    and God remembers her evil deeds.
⁶Do to her as she has done to others.
    Double her penalty for all her evil deeds.
She brewed a cup of terror for others,
    so brew twice as much for her.
⁷She glorified herself and lived in luxury,
    so match it now with torment and sorrow.
She boasted in her heart,
    ‘I am queen on my throne.
I am no helpless widow,
    and I have no reason to mourn.’
⁸Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day—
    death and mourning and famine.
She will be completely consumed by fire,
    for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.”

⁹And the kings of the world who committed adultery with her and enjoyed her great luxury will mourn for her as they see the smoke rising from her charred remains. ¹⁰They will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will cry out,

“How terrible, how terrible for you,
O Babylon, you great city!
In a single moment
God’s judgment came on you.”

¹¹The merchants of the world will weep and mourn for her, for there is no one left to buy their goods. ¹²She bought great quantities of gold, silver, jewels, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet cloth; things made of fragrant thyine wood, ivory goods, and objects made of expensive wood; and bronze, iron, and marble. ¹³She also bought cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, wagons, and bodies—that is, human slaves.

¹⁴“The fancy things you loved so much
    are gone,” they cry.
“All your luxuries and splendor
    are gone forever,
    never to be yours again.”

¹⁵The merchants who became wealthy by selling her these things will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will weep and cry out,

¹⁶“How terrible, how terrible for that great city!
    She was clothed in finest purple and scarlet linens,
    decked out with gold and precious stones and pearls!
¹⁷In a single moment
    all the wealth of the city is gone!”

And all the captains of the merchant ships and their passengers and sailors and crews will stand at a distance. ¹⁸They will cry out as they watch the smoke ascend, and they will say, “Where is there another city as great as this?” ¹⁹And they will weep and throw dust on their heads to show their grief. And they will cry out,

“How terrible, how terrible for that great city!
The shipowners became wealthy
by transporting her great wealth on the seas.
In a single moment it is all gone.”

²⁰Rejoice over her fate, O heaven
and people of God and apostles and prophets!
For at last God has judged her
for your sakes.

²¹Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a huge millstone. He threw it into the ocean and shouted,

“Just like this, the great city Babylon
    will be thrown down with violence
    and will never be found again.
²²The sound of harps, singers, flutes, and trumpets
    will never be heard in you again.
No craftsmen and no trades
    will ever be found in you again.
The sound of the mill
    will never be heard in you again.
²³The light of a lamp
    will never shine in you again.
The happy voices of brides and grooms
    will never be heard in you again.
For your merchants were the greatest in the world,
    and you deceived the nations with your sorceries.
²⁴In your streets flowed the blood of the prophets and of God’s holy people
    and the blood of people slaughtered all over the world.”

The following OT (Tanakh) passages speak of her destruction at the end of the Tribulation. How do we know this? Because these prophecies have not yet been fulfilled. Babylon has not yet been destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah, the Arabs have pitched tents there, etc.

*Isaiah 13:1-6 (I will read)…

‘The pronouncement concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw:

²Lift up a flag on the bare hill,
Raise your voice to them,
Wave the hand that they may enter the doors of the nobles.
³I have commanded My consecrated ones,
I have also called for My warriors
Who boast in My eminence,
To execute My anger.
⁴A sound of a roar on the mountains,
Like that of many people!
A sound of an uproar of kingdoms,
Of nations gathered together!
The Lord of armies is mustering the army for battle.
⁵They are coming from a distant country,
From the farthest horizons,
The Lord and the weapons of His indignation,
To destroy the whole land.

Isaiah 13:6-9

Judgment on the Day of the Lord

⁶Wail, for the day of the Lord is near!
It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
⁷Therefore all hands will fall limp,
And every human heart will melt.
⁸They will be terrified,
Pains and anguish will take hold of them;
They will writhe like a woman in labor,
They will look at one another in astonishment,
Their faces aflame.
⁹Behold, the day of the Lord is coming,
Cruel, with fury and burning anger,
To make the land a desolation;
And He will exterminate its sinners from it.’

*What is meant by ‘the Day of the Lord’ in vv 6 and 9? Always refers to the events surrounding His second coming. His ‘Day’ (season) of Wrath which is the Tribulation

**How many of your Bibles have a footnote that says ‘My consecrated ones – these are the Medo-Persians whom God ordained to overthrow Babylon in 539 B.C.’ but then the footnote for verse 6 says ‘the day of the Lord. A time of judgement…during the coming days of the Great Tribulation. Well which is it? I and others maintain that those particular footnotes are erroneous.

*Isaiah 13:10

¹⁰For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not flash their light;
The sun will be dark when it rises
And the moon will not shed its light.

*this is eschatological language!

*Joel 2:30-31

³⁰I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth,
Blood, fire, and columns of smoke.
³¹The sun will be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.

*Joel 3:14-15

¹⁴Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
¹⁵The sun and moon have become dark,
And the stars have lost their brightness.

*Matthew 24:29

²⁹“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

As for relating these verses to the timing – when does Babylon get destroyed? At the very end of the Tribulation period, with the seventh bowl (Revelation 16:17-21)

*Isaiah 13:12

¹²I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold
And mankind than the gold of Ophir.

*Matthew 24:22

²²And if those days had not been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

*Isaiah 13:19-20

¹⁹And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans’ pride,
Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
²⁰It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation;
Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there,
Nor will shepherds allow their flocks to lie down there.

**(was the overthrow by Cyrus like when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed?)

Jeremiah 50:1 The word which the Lord spoke concerning Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet:

*Jeremiah 50:8-9

⁸“Wander away from the midst of Babylon
And go out from the land of the Chaldeans;
Be like male goats at the head of the flock.
⁹For behold, I am going to rouse and bring up against Babylon
A contingent of great nations from the land of the north,
And they will draw up their battle lines against her;
From there she will be taken captive.
Their arrows will be like an expert warrior
Who does not return empty-handed.

Compare with Revelation 18:4 (I will read)

⁴I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive any of her plagues; ⁵for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her offenses.

*Jeremiah 50:39-40

³⁹“Therefore the desert creatures will live there with the jackals;
The ostriches also will live in it.
It will never again be inhabited
Nor lived in from generation to generation.
⁴⁰As when God overthrew Sodom
And Gomorrah with its neighbors,” declares the Lord,
“No one will live there,
Nor will anyone of mankind reside in it.

*Jeremiah 51:61-62

⁶¹Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “As soon as you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud, ⁶²and say, ‘You, Lord, have promised concerning this place to cut it off, so that there will be nothing living in it, whether man or animal; but it will be a permanent desolation.’

*Again, has it been destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah? Is it a permanent desolation?

Genesis 19:23-25, 28-29

²³The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. ²⁴Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of heaven, ²⁵and He overthrew those cities, and all the surrounding area, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground…

²⁸and (Abraham) looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the surrounding area; and behold, he saw the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a furnace.

²⁹So it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the surrounding area, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the destruction, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.

*Jeremiah 51:7

⁷Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord,
Intoxicating all the earth.
The nations have drunk of her wine;
Therefore the nations are going insane.

*Revelation 17:1b-2 (I will read)

…the great prostitute who sits on many waters, ²with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of sexual immorality, and those who live on the earth became drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality.”

*Jeremiah 51:8-9

⁸Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken;
Wail over her!
Bring balm for her pain;
Perhaps she may be healed.
⁹We applied healing to Babylon, but she was not healed;
Abandon her and let’s each go to his own country,
For her judgment has reached to heaven
And it rises to the clouds.

*Revelation 18:5 (I will read)

⁵For her sins are piled as high as heaven,
and God remembers her evil deeds.

*Jeremiah 51:41-43

⁴¹“How Sheshak (Babylon) has been captured,
And the praise of the whole earth has been seized!
How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations!
⁴²The sea has come up over Babylon;
She has been engulfed by its roaring waves.
⁴³Her cities have become an object of horror,
A dry land and a desert,
A land in which no one lives
And through which no one of mankind passes.

Revelation 18:9-11, 15-19 (I will read)

⁹“And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of sexual immorality and lived luxuriously with her, will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke of her burning, ¹⁰standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’

¹¹“And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any more—

¹⁵The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, ¹⁶saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls; ¹⁷for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!’ And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and all who make their living by the sea, stood at a distance, ¹⁸and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What city is like the great city?’ ¹⁹And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich from her prosperity, for in one hour she has been laid waste!’

***Conclusion of this comparison study ***

*Jeremiah 51:48

⁴⁸Then heaven and earth and everything that is in them
Will shout for joy over Babylon,
Because the destroyers will come to her from the north,”
Declares the Lord.

*Revelation 19:1-6 (I will read)

After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,

“Hallelujah! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God, ²because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great prostitute who was corrupting the earth with her sexual immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.” ³And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises forever and ever.” ⁴And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” ⁵And a voice came from the throne, saying,

“Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.” ⁶Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying,

“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.

“But Babylon right now isn’t great and can’t possibly be built in time” – there may be a gap between the rapture and onset of the Tribulation not just of 3 to 3.5 years as I proposed in the notes, (due to Israel burning the weapons for 7 years) but maybe much longer. Some writers, as Andy Woods documents, think a 25 or even 50-year gap is possible. After all there was an over 600-year gap between the rapture of Enoch and the flood of Noah!

She boasted in her heart,
‘I am queen on my throne.
I am no helpless widow,
and I have no reason to mourn.’

A dual focus prophesy – listen for similarities to Rev. 17 and 18…

Isaiah 47 (I will read)

47 “Come down and sit in the dust,
Virgin daughter of Babylon;
Sit on the ground without a throne,
Daughter of the Chaldeans!
For you will no longer be called tender and delicate.
²Take the millstones and grind flour.
Remove your veil, strip off the skirt,
Uncover the leg, cross the rivers.
³Your nakedness will be uncovered,
Your shame will also be exposed;
I will take vengeance and will not spare anyone.”
⁴Our Redeemer, the Lord of armies is His name,
The Holy One of Israel.
⁵“Sit silently, and go into darkness,
Daughter of the Chaldeans;
For you will no longer be called
The queen of kingdoms.
⁶I was angry with My people,
I profaned My heritage
And handed them over to you.
You did not show mercy to them,
On the aged you made your yoke very heavy.
⁷Yet you said, ‘I will be a queen forever.’
These things you did not consider
Nor remember the outcome of them.

⁸“Now, then, hear this, you luxuriant one,
Who lives securely,
Who says in her heart,
‘I am, and there is no one besides me.
I will not sit as a widow,
Nor know the loss of children.’
⁹But these two things will come on you suddenly in one day:
Loss of children and widowhood.
They will come on you in full measure
In spite of your many sorceries,
In spite of the great power of your spells.
¹⁰You felt secure in your wickedness and said,
‘No one sees me,’
Your wisdom and your knowledge, they have led you astray;
For you have said in your heart,
‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’
¹¹But evil will come on you
Which you will not know how to charm away;
And disaster will fall on you
For which you cannot atone;
And destruction about which you do not know
Will come on you suddenly.

¹²“Persist now in your spells
And in your many sorceries
With which you have labored from your youth;
Perhaps you will be able to benefit,
Perhaps you may cause trembling.
¹³You are wearied with your many counsels;
Let now the astrologers,
Those who prophesy by the stars,
Those who predict by the new moons,
Stand up and save you from what will come upon you.
¹⁴Behold, they have become like stubble,
Fire burns them;
They cannot save themselves from the power of the flame;
There will be no coal to warm by
Nor a fire to sit before!
¹⁵So have those become to you with whom you have labored,
Those who have done business with you from your youth;
Each has wandered in his own way;
There is no one to save you.

Isaiah 47:12 reminds me of Revelation 18:23

²³and the light of a lamp will never shine in you again; and the voice of the groom and bride will never be heard in you again; for your merchants were the powerful people of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your witchcraft.