Get Out of There! (Rev. 18)
Call to Hear
Good morning BCC and to everyone watching online. Thank you for joining us today. We are Britton Christian Church and we are a “lighthouse of hope to our city”. I’m so grateful that you are here with us.
Take out your Bibles or open your apps and go with me to Revelation 18.
Last week we were in chapter 17 of the book of Revelation looking at the downfall of Babylon. While we didn’t go through every single verse we still learned alot. We learned about the importance and necessity of remaining faithful to God by not prostituting ourselves spiritually in this world. The apostle James, the half-brother of our Lord, warns us with these words:
James 4:4 NKJV
Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Think about the foolishness of that statement. You make yourself and enemy of God. If you have ever been in a losing battle in your life, this certainly is the greatest.
Last week, I reminded us of Paul’s words to the church in Corinth,
1 Corinthians 6:16–17 NKJV
Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.”
But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
Babylon has fallen and those who have laid up with her to commit spiritual adultery have found themselves on the receiving end of God’s fiercest wrath.
John was invited to see this judgment from God firsthand. When he observed what the angel had invited him to witness, he says that he marveled with great amazement (Rev. 17:6). The cause of his amazement may very well be that he sees the woman, Babylon, prospering instead of being punished. With that, I cautioned us not to lose sight of the justice and trustworthiness of our God. Those who prosper in this world only will soon see the end of all their accomplishments. And this is why the angel responds to John by asking him why he was so amazed by what he saw and promises him that those who dwell on the earth are the ones who will be truly amazed when God finally reigns down His judgment upon them (Rev. 17:7-8).
It is God who has inspired those who dwell on the earth to forsake the whore of Babylon. It is God who inspires them to
Revelation 17:16–17 (NKJV)
...hate the harlot, [to] make her desolate and naked, [to] eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.
God is in total control!
The late great evangelist and pastor, Charles Octavius Boothe, author of Plain Theology for Plain People, a systematic theology written for enslaved Black men and women, stated this;
“It will be seen, from what has been said in regard to the judgment of the last day that the decision of that day are both spoken of as final; that is, the Judge speaks of the lost as though his decision left for them no hope, and of the saved as though for them there was no more fear. The state of each class is regarded as fixed beyond change.”[i]
This morning, not only will I speak to the determined purpose of God to judge the wicked in this world, those who are intoxicated with the cup of the prostitute’s fornication, but I will also speak to our God’s determined purpose to save ALL those who have placed their hope in Jesus Christ!
Before we jump into chapter 18, let’s pray.
Prayer
Fall Repeated (Rev. 18:1-3)
Revelation 18:1–3 NKJV
After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory.
And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!
For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.”
Sometime after John is invited to see the judgment of God on Babylon, he hears two more voices. The first voice comes from an angel with great authority, and this angel comes from heaven shouting the downfall of Babylon. Now, this is the last time in this revelation that we will hear the words, “Babylon is fallen!”
The angel tells John that Babylon is a mess! She’s become a dwelling place for demons, a prison for every foul spirit and a cage for every unclean and hated bird (v2). How has this happened? Because of the ones who partied with her! They have completely trashed the place! These are the ones from Rev. 17:16 who “...will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire.” And this is the Lord’s doing (Rev. 17:17).
They have filled themselves on what she offered, but they were only using her. She did not love them and they certainly did not love her. How do I know this? Well, every single one who benefited from her left her high and dry in her moment of greatest need. The kings (18:9-10), the merchants (18:11-16), and every shipmaster (18:17-18) stand far away as they watch her burn to the ground. Their mourning isn’t for her per se, they are crying because they have lost their standard of living.
Think of the movies where the night before, everyone’s partying, drinking and sleeping around and the next day, they wake up and the entire house is in complete disarray, and no one remembers any of it. Beer bottles everywhere, broken furniture, random pieces of clothing just thrown about. And the homeowner who threw the party is left to clean up the mess. That’s the image that should, somewhat, come to mind here.
The next voice that John hears comes from heaven. We aren’t told who’s voice this is or what creature is speaking and yet, we can see and hear the salvation of the Lord in his message.
One commentator says that
“...the loud voice is meant to get the attention of any who are in danger of falling under Babylon’s spell.”[ii]
This voice awakens those who are slipping into the hypnotic trance of the prostitute.
So, what’s the message? “Run for your life!!” Get out while you still can!!
Sanctified
Three things are of great encouragement for the people of God in this chapter. Two of them are found in verses 4 & 5.
Revelation 18:4 NKJV
And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.
First, the call for God’s people to be separate from those who are not God’s people is a long-standing act of grace. We can go all the way back to the book of Exodus 8:20-24 for proof. When Moses was sent to Pharoah to demand the release of the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery, Pharoah was given an ultimatum, Let My people go, that they may serve Me. Or else I will send swarms of flies on the entire land with the except of Goshen. What made Goshen so special? Why were they exempt from the judgement of God? Well, Goshen was the place where God’s people were living. God said to Pharoah,
Exodus 8:23 (NKJV)
23 I will make a difference between My people and your people.
God promised to sanctify those who belonged to Him and when the plagues of God’s judgment came, no one was safe, except those in the land of Goshen. This has always been the work of God in our lives; to bring us out bondage and into blessing. To bring us out of slavery to sin and into saving grace. In doing this work in the lives of those who trust Him we are marked out as His own special people, a lighthouse of hope pointing the lost to the God of mercy.
Ezekiel 37:27–28 NKJV
My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
The nations also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” ’ ”
Come out from the world and be sanctified. Come out from your political affiliations and be sanctified. Come out from your ivory towers, come out from your selfishness and your greed, come out from your racism and hatred of others, come out from your secret sins, your sexual perversions, come out of Babylon and be set apart as a follower of Jesus Christ.
G.K. Beale is right,
“Christians are not being called to withdraw from economic life or from the world in which they live, but they may be ostracized because of their refusal to compromise. They are to remain in the world to witness (Rev. 11:3-7) and to suffer for their testimony (Rev. 6:9; 11:7-10; 12:11, 17; 16:6; 17:6; 18:24), but they are not to be of the world (Rev. 14:12-13; 16:15). This is an exhortation to persevere in the true faith.”[iii]
Again, the call to come out from the world is nothing new. The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah shared the same urgent call with the people of God in their day.
Isaiah 52:11 NKJV
Depart! Depart! Go out from there, Touch no unclean thing; Go out from the midst of her, Be clean, You who bear the vessels of the Lord.
Jeremiah 51:6 NKJV
Flee from the midst of Babylon, And every one save his life! Do not be cut off in her iniquity, For this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance; He shall recompense her.
Jeremiah 51:45 NKJV
“My people, go out of the midst of her! And let everyone deliver himself from the fierce anger of the Lord.
The purpose of separating ourselves, is not to isolate us from the world, but rather to identify us as the people of God and thereby protect us from the punishment of God. This is why Paul says that
Romans 8:1 NKJV
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
If you don’t sin with Babylon you will not suffer with Babylon.
Get out of there!
Remembered
The second piece of encouragement for the people of God is found in verse 5.
Revelation 18:5 NKJV
For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
The Message Bible translates it this way, “Her sins stink to high Heaven...” Be assured of this, there is always a tipping point for sin (Gen. 15:16 (Amorites); Dan. 8:23 (Four kingdoms); Matt. 23:32 (Pharisees)). Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you snuck one pass God. The Bible says that He is patient and longsuffering; that He is slow to anger. It doesn’t say that He is absentminded or that He has dementia.
Galatians 6:7–8 NKJV
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
When the Bible speaks of God “remembering” it doesn’t mean the same thing for Him that it does for us. For example, when we come to this communion table each week, we are remembering the Lord’s sacrifice. Because, honestly, some of us lose sight of its value and importance in our lives. We are distracted by the things of this world and we forget what this means Monday -Saturday. So then, when you and I remember, we are calling back to mind the significance of that event. The Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. We remember that Christ was tempted in every way that we are, yet he did not sin. We are being reminded of how Jesus freely and willingly laid down His life for us in order to give us the life that He has. We are remembering that death couldn’t hold Him.
In Gn. 8:1 we read that “God remembered Noah”. That doesn’t mean that God had loss track of Noah or misplaced him out on the water. Rather, it means that God had turned toward him to fulfill His promise to deliver Noah. The Lord also remembered Hannah (1 Sam. 1:19 ) and Sarah (Gen. 21:1 ) and Rachel (Gen. 30:22) and He remembered His covenant w/Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 2:24). In a similar way, God remembered the sins of Babylon. She hadn’t gotten away with anything. He had given her a chance to repent of her evil, but she refused and now God has come to collect.
The same will be true you, for any of you have fooled yourselves into thinking that you can live how YOU want and escape the judgment of God.
Avenged (Rev. 18:20)
The third piece of encouragement is in Rev. 18:20.
Revelation 18:20 NKJV
“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!”
This verse fulfills the cry of those martyrs in Rev. 6:10.
Revelation 6:10 NKJV
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
In the remainder of this chapter, we see an end to the wild party of Babylon. As God judges her for her sin she is “thrown down, and shall not be found anymore” (18:21).
Revelation 18:22–24 NKJV
The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore.
The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived.
And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.”
Kendall Easley points out that,
“Babylon, both as Dame Civilization and as the final wicked city, had judged that righteous people should be murdered. God’s just judgment of Babylon reverses the sentence. She receives the penalty she imposed….”[iv]
One of my favorite passages in the Bible and most comforting when I am being treated unfairly or I find myself suffering for the Name of Christ comes from 2 Thess. 1:6-10.
2 Thessalonians 1:6–10 NKJV
6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you,
7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,
8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.
In the end, when Babylon is finally laid to rest, the faithful followers of the Lamb are invited to celebrate! ““Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!”” (Revelation 18:20). Robert Mounce appropriately explains the meaning of their rejoicing in this verse.
“The focus is not on delight in Babylon’s suffering but on the successful outcome of God’s execution of justice, which demonstrates the integrity of Christians’ faith and God’s just character (see further on 6:10).”[v]
Our rejoicing at that time is not acrimonious. It isn’t out of anger or malice toward Babylon, rather, it is in response to the justice and faithfulness of our God.
Call to Respond
I want to close our time together with a few words of comfort for the church, for those of us who have our identity in Christ. I also want to share a few words with those of you here this morning who aren’t Christians.
I opened this message with an intention to speak of God’s determined purpose to judge the wicked in this world, as well as, speaking to our God’s determined purpose to save ALL those who have placed their hope in Jesus Christ!
When John heard that God had remembered the sins of Babylon, I was reminded that scripture records how God DOES NOT remember the sins of those who have trusted in Him.
Isaiah 43:25 NKJV
“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.
Isaiah 44:21–22 NKJV
“Remember these, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me!
I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, And like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
Jeremiah 31:34 NKJV
34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
Psalm 103:12 NKJV
As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
2 Corinthians 5:19 (NKJV)
...God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
We all struggle with living a faithful life. We are human and in our humanity we are weak and incapable of living up to the standard that God has set. That’s why 1 Jn. 1:9 is so necessary for our Christian lives.
1 John 1:9 NKJV
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
As always, I want to invite you to come. This is a time of confess and prayer and repentance. Don’t be ashamed to confess your sin to Him. He promises forgiveness, not judgment.
If you’re not a Christian, let’s change that today! Without Jesus as the Master of your life, you have no advocate for your sins.
Works Cited
[i] Charles Octavius Boothe, Plain Theology for Plain People, p 137
[ii] G.K. Beale, Revelation: A Shorter Commentary, p382
[iii] G.K. Beale, Revelation: Shorter Commentary, p385
[iv] Kendell H. Easley, Revelation, vol. 12, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 335.
[v] Robert Mounce, Revelation: A Shorter Commentary, p394
