The Fall of Babylon City

Good morning, everyone.

My name is Sean, for those of you who don't know me,

and it's my joy to preach God's word to you this morning.

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 18.

Revelation 18 · chapter mention

If you don't have a Bible, if you raise your hand,

we'll give you a copy that you can use.

And you can keep that, actually.

Revelation chapter 18.

Revelation 18 · chapter mention

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Father, we are poor,

so we come to you who are rich.

Father, grace us

with your heavenly generosity,

your mercy.

We are naked,

so we come to you for raiment,

to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ.

Impress upon us our desperate need for you

and expose

the ways in which we have

consorted with

Babylon,

the sinful city of man.

And consecrate us,

sanctify us this morning

to yourself

and to your son,

our bridegroom,

Jesus Christ,

the lamb

who takes away the sin of the world.

Address us now

from your word,

we ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

We stand to honor God

and his words,

if you please,

if you're able,

stand,

and I will read

from Revelation chapter 18.

Revelation 18 · chapter mention

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

After this,

I saw another angel coming down from heaven,

having great authority,

and the earth was made bright with his glory.

And he called out with a mighty voice,

Fallen,

fallen is Babylon the great.

She has become a dwelling place for demons,

a haunt for every unclean spirit,

a haunt for every unclean bird,

a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.

For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion

of her sexual immorality,

and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,

and the merchants of the earth have grown rich

from the power of her luxurious living.

Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,

Come out of her, my people,

lest you take part in her sins.

Lest you share in her plagues,

for her sins are heaped high as heaven,

and God has remembered her iniquities.

Pay her back as she herself has paid back others,

and repay her double for her deeds.

Mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed,

as she glorified herself and lived in luxury.

So give her a like measure of torment and mourning,

since in her heart she says,

I sit as a queen,

I am the widow,

and mourning I shall never see.

For this reason,

her plagues will come in a single day,

death and mourning and famine,

and she will be burned up with fire,

for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.

And the kings of the earth,

who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her,

will weep and wail over her

when they see the smoke of her burning.

They will stand far off in fear of her torment and say,

Alas, alas,

you great city,

you mighty city,

Babylon,

for in a single hour your judgment has come.

And the merchants of the earth

weep and mourn for her,

since no one buys their cargo anymore.

Cargo of gold,

silver,

jewels,

pearls,

fine linen,

purple cloth,

silk,

scarlet cloth,

all kinds of scented wood,

all kinds of articles of ivory,

all kinds of articles of costly wood,

bronze,

iron,

and marble,

cinnamon,

spice,

incense,

myrrh,

frankincense,

wine,

oil,

fine flour,

wheat,

cattle and sheep,

horses and chariots,

and slaves,

that is human souls.

The fruit for which your soul longed has gone from you,

and all your delicacies and your splendors are lost to you,

never to be found again.

The merchants of these wares who gained wealth from her will stand far off in fear of her torment,

weeping and mourning aloud.

Alas,

alas,

for the great city that was clothed in fine linen,

in purple and scarlet,

adorned with gold,

with jewels and with pearls,

for in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.

And all shipmasters and seafaring men,

sailors and all whose trade is on the sea,

stood far off and cried out as they saw the smoke were burning,

what city was like the great city?

And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned,

crying out,

alas,

alas,

for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth,

for in a single hour she has been laid waste.

Rejoice over her,

O heaven,

and you saints and apostles and prophets,

for God has given judgment for you against her.

Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea,

saying,

so will Babylon,

the great city be thrown down with violence and will be found no more.

And the sound of harpists and musicians of flute players and trumpeters will be heard in you no more.

And a craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more.

And the sound of the mill will be heard in you no more.

And the light of a lamp will shine in you no more.

And the voice of bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more.

For your merchants were the great ones of the earth,

and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.

And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,

and of all who have been slain on earth.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

You may be seated.

Many of you have heard this parable before.

I heard it,

I think,

from David Foster Wallace first.

Two fish are swimming in the ocean,

and then two young fish are swimming in the ocean.

And then an old,

more seasoned fish swims right by them,

and then asks them,

morning boys,

how's the water?

And the two young fish swim on for a bit,

and then eventually one of them looks over to the other and says,

what in the world is water?

It's a parable that teaches us

that sometimes the most obvious

and pervasive and important realities

are the hardest for us to see and talk about.

When you're so immersed in something

every single day of your life,

it becomes hardly noticeable.

Such is the case with money.

In seminary,

pastors in training are warned

about various heresies

and erroneous theological trends,

but rarely are they warned

against the dangers of wealth

because we're all entangled in it.

In discipleship groups,

in churches,

and in accountability groups,

sins like lust are often confessed,

but finding one's identity

and security in money

and what it could buy

is rarely confessed.

Every day,

we're clicking the buy button,

swiping the credit card

and depositing our checks

and Venmoing money,

but so many of us

spend very little time

reflecting critically about money

and the way we view it

and the way we relate to it.

The word of God, thankfully,

does not share our blind spot.

Jesus taught

that it's easier for a camel

with its enormous hump

to go through the eye of a needle

than for a rich person

to enter the kingdom of God.

And the fall of Babylon

that we see here

in Revelation 18

bears out that reality.

All those people

who committed sexual morality

with Babylon,

the kings of the earth,

the merchants of the earth,

the shipmen,

the seafarers of the earth,

fall along with Babylon,

come to judgment.

Babylon,

the great prostitute,

as I mentioned last week,

represents the city of man,

the center of the sinful world's

cultural influence

and economic power.

And in this chapter,

John uses the Old Testament language

of divine judgment

on wicked cities

like Sodom and Gomorrah

and Nineveh

and Edom

and Jerusalem

and most pertinently,

Babylon and Tyre

to describe,

it uses the language

of the judgments

of those cities

in the Old Testament

to describe

the end-time destruction

of Babylon.

And God's main exhortation

for us in this chapter

is found in verses 4 and 5.

Come out of her,

my people,

lest you take part

in her sins,

lest you share

in her plagues,

for her sins are heaped

high as heaven

and God has remembered

her iniquities.

The angel's warning

gives us two reasons

why we should come out.

Actually,

that voice,

saying that in verse 4 and 5

may be the voice of Christ,

it's not identified directly

and when he's not identified

usually in Revelation

it's the voice of Christ.

It says,

come out of the self-glorying

luxury of Babylon.

The first reason

why we should come out

of Babylon

is lest we take part

in her sins

and the second reason

why we should come out

is lest we share

in her plagues.

The first reason

is so that we might

avoid the defilement of sin

and the second is

so that we might avoid

the destruction

on account of that sin.

So I'm going to talk

about those two things

in turn.

It says in verses 1 and 2,

an angel from heaven

having great authority

whose glory illuminates

the earth

calls out with a mighty voice

and whenever an angel

cries out with a loud voice

in the book of Revelation

or a mighty voice like this,

there's an authoritative

pronouncement that follows.

This angel does not speak

timidly or quietly

or uncertainly rather

with great authority

and a mighty voice

because he has the authority

of the king of kings

behind him.

And that means

the judgment

that's announced here

about Babylon

is inevitable.

It's certain to come.

And that certainty

is expressed

in the past tense

of the announcements

that it uses.

It says,

fallen,

fallen is Babylon the great.

She has become

a dwelling place

for demons.

This is interesting

because we know later

from verse 21

that Babylon

has not yet fallen.

It doesn't fall

until the end.

And yet here,

so there it says,

so will Babylon

the great city

be thrown down

with violence.

That hasn't happened yet.

And yet,

when the angel

pronounces

the judgment of Babylon,

uses the perfect tense,

the past tense,

as if it has already happened,

to indicate the fact

that its fulfillment

is certain,

as good as done.

That's what the Hebrew grammarians

call the prophetic perfect.

Just as ancient Babylon

and ancient Tyre

and Sodom and Gomorrah

fell,

this chapter

uses that same language

to say that

this city of man

is doomed to fall.

And verse 2 continues,

she has become

a dwelling place

for demons,

a haunt

for every unclean spirit,

a haunt

for every unclean bird,

a haunt

for every unclean

and detestable beast.

This judgment

continues the contrast

between Babylon the harlot

and New Jerusalem,

which is the bride of the lamb,

as I began to talk about

last week.

In chapter 21,

verse 3,

the bride of the lamb,

which is the people of God,

the church of Christ,

become the dwelling place

of God himself.

But here in chapter 18,

verse 2,

Babylon the harlot

becomes a dwelling place

for demons.

That's the ultimate destiny

of the city of man

in its hubris

and luxury.

Those who feel at home

in this sinful world

will soon become

a dwelling place

for demons.

But Christians

who live as exiles

and aliens

in this sinful world

will soon become

the dwelling place

of God.

And when it is judged,

Babylon will be a haunt

for every unclean spirit,

a haunt for every unclean bird,

a haunt for every unclean

and detestable beast.

This judgment echoes

the judgment of ancient Babylon

prophesied of in Jeremiah 51, 37,

which says,

Babylon shall become

a heap of Romans,

the haunt of jackals,

a horror and a hissing

without inhabitant.

The fact that Babylon

in this picture

is overrun

by these wild beasts

and demons

is a sign

that Babylon

will be desolate

and abandoned.

It will have no inhabitants.

The repetition

of the word unclean

exposes the skeleton

that's in Babylon's closet.

In Revelation 17, 4,

when the Babylon,

the prostitute,

was described

as this beautiful,

seductive woman

arrayed in purple

and scarlet

and adorned with gold

and jewels and pearls.

However,

she was holding

in her golden chalice

inside it

abominations

and the impurities

of her sexual immorality.

And that word impurity

is the exact same word

as a noun form

of the word unclean

that's used here

in chapter 18.

So in her beautiful

and luxurious golden chalice,

Babylon hid

the uncleanness

of her sins,

of her sexual immorality

and idolatry.

And now that uncleanness

is exposed

once and for all

in God's judgment

of Babylon,

her punishment

fits the crime.

She filled the world

with her uncleanness

and now she will be filled

with all kinds

of unclean spirits

and beasts.

Verse 3 confirms this,

this last clause explicitly

hones in on the economic power

by which Babylon seduces

kings and merchants

and seafarers.

Babylon's sexual immorality

is a metaphor

for her idolatrous

economic activity.

Similar to how

the city of Tyre

is described

in Isaiah 23, 17

as prostituting herself

with kingdoms.

Chapter 18

is structured

like a sandwich.

The two pieces of bread

at the beginning

and the end

are the angelic pronouncements

of Babylon's judgment

verses 1 to 8

and verses 21 to 24.

And in between

those two sections

at the heart

in the middle

where the meat would be

are three dirges

or elegies,

funeral songs

sung by three different

classes of people,

the kings of the earth,

the merchants,

and the seafarers,

all mourning

the loss of Babylon

because they had grown rich

by their immorality

and idolatry

with Babylon.

And this structure

makes the heart

very center of the passage

the funeral song

of the merchants

in verses 11 to 17.

In verse 16,

the merchants

who had been enriched

by their dealings

with Babylon

mourn her fall

saying,

Alas,

alas,

for the great city

that was clothed

in fine linen,

in purple and scarlet,

adorned with gold,

with jewels,

and with pearls.

This is largely

a repetition

of the description

of the Babylon

prostitut we saw

in chapter 17,

verse 4 last week.

And interestingly,

these exact items,

fine linen,

purple and scarlet cloth,

gold,

jewels,

and pearls

are all listed

in verse 12

where it lists

the cargo

that Babylon

trafficked in

and traded

in order to enrich itself.

As I mentioned

before,

in the first century

during John's

time of writing,

Babylon was Rome.

Rome was the primary

expression of this

city of man,

Babylon.

Babylon.

And all the items

listed in 12 and 13

are items that Rome

trafficked in.

He traded those things.

You can see that

in the historical

writings from the time.

And these trade items

of Rome

that made the city rich

are like the fine

clothes and jewelry

that a prostitute

accumulates

as payment

from her clients,

from her sexual

morality.

I wrote out

kind of detailed

descriptions

of what all these

are like

in comparison

to what it's like

in our modern day,

but unfortunately

I don't have time

to go into that

because of time

constraints.

I will just mention

one maybe

representative example

of just the luxury

that Babylon

indulged themselves in,

and that's of pearls.

Cleopatra

was queen

of Egypt,

which was under

Roman rule

at the time,

and then she hosted

the Sumptuous Party,

and she at one point

boasted

to her guest

that she was going

to consume

what would be

worth of

$527,000

worth of food

and drink.

And the guest

asked her,

well,

how in the world

are you going

to consume

that much?

And then she promptly

asked her servant

to bring

a cup of vinegar in,

and then she removes

one of the most

expensive pearls

known to man

at the time

from her ears,

and puts it

in the vinegar

so that it dissolves.

Apparently pearls

dissolve in vinegar,

I didn't know that,

and then she drinks it

just to show,

to flaunt her wealth

and show what kind

of luxury

she lived in.

It's not

dissimilar from

musical artist

Post Malone,

who

I read

in the New York Times

has,

how much?

$1.6 million

worth of teeth done.

How many teeth

does he have?

And the reason

why it's $1.6 million

is because he has

18 porcelain veneers,

8 platinum crowns,

and 2 6-carat diamonds

to replace

his upper canines.

It's the kind of luxury

some people

in Babylon live in.

Now,

you may have already

noticed that these

categories of trade items

that I read

are each

in descending

order of value.

It first

lists

all the precious

metals

and stones

and jewels

in descending

order of value,

starting with gold.

And then it lists

clothing items

in descending

order of value.

And then it lists

construction

and craft materials in descending order of value.

And then he lists incense and perfumes

in descending order of value.

And then he lists food items in descending order of value.

And then finally, it lists livestock, labor

in descending order of value.

And the fact that slaves, that is human souls,

are mentioned at the very end,

after cattle and sheep, horses and chariots

is an indictment of Rome and Babylon's value system.

It's a culture that values animals more than humans,

where humans are treated like animals.

And the fact that slaves are described expressly

as human souls is a scathing critique

of Babylon's contempt for human life.

How do you deal in the trade of humans for your merchandise?

But all this busy trading will come crashing down

when God judges Babylon.

Verse 14 says,

The fruit for which your soul longed has gone from you,

and all your delicacies and your splendors

are lost to you, never to be found again.

The word delicacies conveys Babylon's indulgence in luxury.

The word splendors conveys Babylon's

extravagant display of wealth.

And in what ways, I want to ask,

are we complicit in this self-glowing luxury of Babylon?

Just this past week, I saw in the news,

in the headlines,

the vice president and head of communications at Baidu,

which is the Chinese equivalent of Google,

came under fire because of her unapologetic promotion

of her work-till-you-drop mindset

and her cutthroat management style

on her social media accounts.

I don't know if some of you guys saw that.

She posted a series of short videos

where she excoriates an employee

for refusing to go on a 50-day business trip

during the COVID pandemic.

And then she says,

quote,

Why should I take my employees' family into consideration?

I'm not her mother-in-law.

I'm 10 years, 20 years older than you.

I didn't feel bitter about it or tired,

even though I have two children.

Who are you to tell me that your husband can't stand it?

In another clip,

she talks almost both about how she worked so hard

that one time she forgot her older son's birthday

and what grade her younger son is in.

And then she insists that she has no regrets

because she, quote,

chose to become a career woman.

In another video, she says,

If you work in public relations,

don't expect weekends off.

Keep your phone on 24 hours a day,

always ready to respond.

This is what many executives think throughout the world.

She just has the gall to be in your face about it.

And she was foolish enough to post it on social media,

so I think she got fired eventually

because it was a public relations disaster.

Similarly, in 2019,

Alibaba co-founder of Jack Ma

endorsed the 996 trend,

meaning working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

six days a week.

That's a 72-hour work week,

which is actually not uncommon here in Cambridge.

Don't think that this happens only in China.

In 2021,

a presentation entitled

Working Conditions Survey

by first-year analysts at Goldman Sachs

became public.

And the answer to the question,

How many hours have you worked this week?

was 105 hours.

And then the question,

How many hours have you worked per week on average?

was 98 hours.

In New York Times article,

David Brooks comments,

quote,

I've heard countless presidential candidates say

they are running on behalf of their families

for their future,

to care for them,

even though their entire lives

have been spent on the campaign trail

away from their families.

In what ways

are we

complicit

with the self-glorying luxury of Babylon?

In what ways

do we perform

a kind of

child sacrifice

at the altar of success

and prestige

and wealth?

Jonathan Weber

writes in The Atlantic

in an article entitled

Greed, Bankruptcy, and the Super Rich

that exorbitant

executive salaries,

emphasis on luxury goods,

a cavalier attitude

toward enormous amounts of debt,

and risky, greedy deals

that enrich the dealmakers

at the expense of the common worker

are the

economic zeitgeist

of our age.

The spirit of the times.

In what ways

are we

in our work,

in the way

we manage our employees,

in the way we do our work,

complicit with the self-glorying luxury

of Babylon?

Sure,

we might not make

as much money

as Jeff Bezos

or Elon Musk,

but haven't we also

profited

from the wealth

of Babylon?

What do you think

the global median income is?

Americans were asked

that question

in a survey

in 2018,

and the average guess

was $20,000,

which is not that high

by our standards,

but the actual number

then was

$2,100 a year.

Some of you make

more than that

in one week.

The global median income

is now a little higher.

It's still

shockingly low

compared to

what we make here.

The Washington Post

article entitled,

Most Americans

Vastly Underestimate

How Rich They Are

Compared With The Rest

of the World

claims that,

even the developed world's

poor and middle classes

are,

by global standards,

extraordinarily rich.

After adjusting

for cost of living

differences,

a typical American

still earns an income

that is 10 times

the income received

by the typical person

in the world.

After adjusting

for cost of living

differences.

most of us live

in an embarrassment

of riches.

And greed is a very

insidious thing

if you think about it.

It can creep in

and take us captive

without our noticing

because we don't

usually compare ourselves

with the rest of the world,

do we?

We compare ourselves

to the people around us.

And we're in

the city of Cambridge,

a very wealthy city.

There's already

a self-selected group

of people who can afford

to live here

living around us.

And so when we compare

ourselves to them,

oh, I don't live

lavishly like that person.

Oh, I don't take

vacations like that person.

So we think,

oh yeah,

I live pretty modestly.

That's what we think.

I think that's why,

according to a survey

from Gallup,

73% of people

in the U.S.

consider themselves

to be part of

the middle working class

while only 2%

think of themselves

as belonging

to the upper class.

because they're all

doing this peer comparison.

Oh, I must be

in the middle class.

I will venture to guess

that many of us

have standards of living

that are way higher

than they need to be

and or used to be.

When I was a college student,

I was challenged

by a pastor

to not let my standard

of living increase

with my income

but to maintain

a modest lifestyle

so that I can be

more generous with people.

I have not been

entirely successful

in that endeavor.

What kind of difference

would we make

in the world

if we all strive

to live like that?

In what ways

are we complicit

with the self-lowering

luxury of Babylon?

Do you know

that the gambling industry

in the U.S.,

including brick-and-mortar

casinos

and online casinos

and sports betting

generates $175.4 billion

a year in revenue?

That's more than

the revenue generated

by the entire

recorded music industry

and the entire

domestic box office

put together,

which is only $26 billion

compared to $175.4 billion.

One time

at a regional

pastor's retreat,

this is a little bit

embarrassing

to tell you this story,

we were doing a retreat

at an Airbnb

in New Jersey

and they decided

that we should go

have dinner

at Hard Rock Cafe.

I don't know

if you've been

to Atlantic City.

And so we're trying

to go to Hard Rock Cafe

and none of us

had ever been there

and so none of us

knew that in order

to get to Hard Rock Cafe,

you have to walk

through the entire

Hard Rock Casino.

And so that's the first time

I've ever walked

through a casino

and so for a pastor's retreat,

I know.

And so I'm walking through

and it was shocking.

I mean,

all the lights,

all these slot machines

and the card tables,

honestly,

it looked like a temple.

It looked like a temple

to the God of mammon, money.

These slot machines

are these totems

that people pray

and these card tables

are these altars

where they sacrifice

what they have.

And you know what?

What they have

for decorations,

I don't even know

who thought of this,

red dragons.

Like what you see

in Revelation 12.

The appeal of gambling

primarily, isn't it?

Isn't the appeal of gambling

primarily the thrill

of winning free,

unearned money?

Or the thrill

of gaining vast sums

of money quickly?

Isn't that the appeal

of gambling?

Proverbs 13, 11

teaches us,

wealth gained hastily

will dwindle,

but whoever gathers

little by little

will increase it.

The wisdom of Proverbs

is borne out

by the experience

of lottery winners

all over the country.

Certified financial planner

Board of Standards

estimates that nearly

one-third of lottery winners

go bankrupt

within three to five years.

Wealth gained hastily

dwindles.

1 Timothy 6, 6-10

says,

But godliness

with contentment

is great gain,

for we brought

nothing into the world

and we cannot take

anything out of the world,

but if we have food

and clothing with these,

we will be content.

But those who desire

to be rich

fall into temptation,

into a snare,

into many senseless

and harmful desires

that plunge people

into ruin and destruction.

For the love of money

is the root

of all kinds of evils.

It is through this craving

that some have wandered

away from the faith

and pierced themselves

with many pains.

If we really believe

what the Bible teaches

about money,

that the love of money

and the desire

to be rich

is the root

of all kinds

of evils,

then we have no business

as Christians

wanting to be rich.

Why do you want

to be rich?

So that the destruction

of the deceitfulness

of riches

and the desires

for other things

can choke the word

of God,

the gospel in our lives,

so that it doesn't

bear any fruit?

That's what Jesus warned

about in Mark 4,

18-19.

Come out of her,

my people,

lest you take part

in her sins.

That's the exhortation

of this passage

in verse 4.

This exhortation,

come out of her,

is picked up by Paul

in 2 Corinthians 6,

14-18,

where he writes,

Do not be unequally yoked

with unbelievers.

For what partnership

has righteousness

with lawlessness?

Or what fellowship

has light with darkness?

What accord

has Christ

with Belial?

Or what portion

does a believer

share with an unbeliever?

What agreement

has the temple

of God with idols?

For we are the temple

of the living God.

As God said,

I will make my dwelling

among them

and walk among them

and I will be their God

and they shall be my people.

Therefore,

go out from their midst

and be separate from them,

says the Lord,

and touch no unclean thing.

Then I will welcome you

and I will be a father to you

and you shall be sons

and daughters to me,

says the Lord Almighty.

This passage is often used

to counsel Christians

not to marry non-Christians,

which is a good application

of this principle.

But this passage

is articulating

a more general principle

that applies across the board.

If we are yoked

or hitched

to an unbeliever

or to an unbelieving world,

imagine two oxen

being yoked together.

No matter how much

you strain and strive,

you will never be able

to go where

that other ox

doesn't want to go.

You're yoked.

You have to go

where that other ox goes.

That's why this is so important.

Come out of her.

Come out of her.

But how do we do that exactly?

I don't think it means

literally remove ourselves

from the world's

economic system

and then go live

in a monastery.

Why do I not think that?

Because none of the seven churches

that are addressed

in chapters 2 and 3

by John

were in Rome.

So they never had

to actually leave Rome

because they were already

not in Rome.

I don't think this means

we need to go live

off-grid somewhere.

If we retreat

to a monastery,

then we forsake

our Christ-given mission

to bear witness to him

and to make disciples

of all nations.

You can't do that

as a recluse.

So what does it look like

to come out of Babylon then?

I'm going to share

a quote with you.

It might seem irrelevant

at first,

but I think it will be relevant.

In the book,

The Tech-Wise Family,

which is about

putting technology

in its proper place

so that it doesn't

dominate the lives

of our family members

and children,

the author,

Christian author

Andy Crouch,

writes that while

his approach,

quote,

doesn't require us

to become Amish,

entirely separating ourselves

from the modern

technological world,

it requires making choices

that most of our neighbors

aren't making.

He summarizes

his point this way,

quote,

you don't have to become Amish,

but you probably

have to become

closer to Amish

than you think.

I agree with him

when it comes to technology,

and I believe

that sentiment

is also true

when it comes

to our engagement

with the consumeristic

and materialistic world.

You don't have to

become Amish,

but you'll probably

have to become

closer to Amish

than you think.

we need to flee

its influence.

I think coming out

of Babylon

looks like finding

contentment in Christ.

Hebrews 13, 5 says,

keep your life

from the love of money

and be content

with what you have.

For he has said,

I will never forsake you

or leave you.

Are you discontent?

Are you always looking

for something else

to satisfy you,

something you don't have?

Are you envious

of others

who have something

that you don't have,

or are you content

in Christ

who said to you,

I will never leave you

nor forsake you?

I think coming out

of Babylon

looks like trusting

in God's provision

instead of our own

provision for ourselves

or the world's provision.

He says in Luke 12,

29 to 32,

do not seek

what you are to eat

and what you are to drink,

nor be worried.

For all the nations

of the world

seek after these things,

and your father knows

that you need them.

Instead,

seek his kingdom

and these things

will be added to you.

1 Timothy 6, 17

commands the rich

in this present age

not to be haughty,

nor to set their hopes

on the uncertainty

of riches,

but instead

to put their hope

in the certainty

of the God

who richly provides

everything we need.

I think people

who are content

in Christ

will be appropriately frugal,

but frugality

in and of itself

is not the goal

because people

can be frugal

because they trust

in money

as their sense

of security.

I need to have

more money

in the bank account.

I need to spend less

because if I don't,

something might happen.

that's still idolatry

of money.

Every bit as much

as spendthrift spending.

Job said in 31,

Job 31, 24,

to make gold

our trust

or confidence

is to be false

to God.

Riches are uncertain,

but God

who provides for us

is certain,

and that's

our anchor

and foundation

for us as believers.

I think coming

out of Babylon

looks like

radical generosity.

Jesus says

in Luke 12,

33, 34,

Sell your possessions

and give to the needy.

Provide yourselves

with money bags

that do not grow old,

with a treasure

in the heavens

that does not fail,

where no thief approaches

and no moth destroys.

For where your treasure is,

there your heart

will be also.

Similarly,

continuing the reading

from 1 Timothy 6,

18 and 19

I read earlier,

Do good,

be rich in good works.

This is what he commands

the rich people to do.

Do good,

be rich in good works.

Be generous

and ready to share

the storing up treasure

for yourselves

as a good foundation

for the future

so that you may take hold

of that which is truly life.

Are you storing up

treasures in heaven

or are you storing up

treasures on earth?

Adam Smith,

the father of modern capitalism

and the author

of Wealth of Nations

understood

that the foundation,

the basis

for our capitalistic economy

is self-interest.

It works.

It works as a system

because humans are sinful

and selfish.

That's why socialism

doesn't work.

But,

as Christians,

we ought to do more

than generate capital

by enriching ourselves.

What purchases

can we forego?

What possessions

can we sell?

And how can we

order our finances

so that we can

give more

to the cause

of the gospel

and to the needs

of the saints?

That's how people

who are investing

in heavenly treasure

rather than

in earthly treasure

live.

Come out of Babylon.

French philosopher

Jacques Ellul

writes in his

provocative book

Money and Power,

I think I have a quote

if you want to

follow along with me.

The ultimate expression

of this Christian attitude

toward the power of money

is what we will call

profanation,

to profane money.

Like all other powers,

to profane money

is to take away

its sacred character.

We must bring money

back to its simple role

as a material instrument.

When money is no more

than an object,

when it has lost

its seductiveness,

its supreme value,

its superhuman splendor,

then we can use it

like any other

of our belongings.

There is one act,

par excellence,

which profanes money

by going directly

against the law of money,

an act for which

money is not made.

That act is giving.

It is, as a matter of fact,

the penetration of grace

into the world

of competition and selling.

We have very clear indications

that money in the Christian life

is made in order

to be given away.

Giving to God

is the act of profanation,

par excellence.

We need to regain

an appreciation

of gifts

that are not utilitarian.

We should meditate

on the story

in the Gospel of John

where Mary wastes

precious ointment

on Jesus.

The one who protests

against this free gift

is Judas.

He would have preferred

it to be used

for good works,

for the poor.

He wanted such

an enormous sum of money

to be spent usefully.

Giving to God

introduces the useless

into the world

of efficiency.

And this is an essential

witness to faith

in today's world.

Have you ever done

something for God

that is absolutely

wasteful

and extravagant?

Not for the sake

of usefulness

or efficiency,

but out of your love.

We also must come out

of the self-glorying

luxury of Babylon

lest we partake

in Babylon's plagues.

As it says

in verse 4,

the fall of Babylon

approaches

ineluctably

and when God

finally judges

Babylon,

his judgment

will be fair

and will be swift.

First,

God's judgment

of Babylon

is going to be fair.

As we saw

in verse 2,

Babylon the prostitute

filled the world

with her uncleanness

and she is herself

going to be filled

with unclean spirits

and unclean beasts.

Punishment fits

the crime.

Verses 6 and 7

say,

Pay her back

as she herself

has paid back others

and repay her double

for her deeds.

Mix a double portion

for her in the cup

she mixed.

As she glorified herself

and lived in luxury

so give her

a like measure

of torment

and mourning.

As Babylon glorified

herself

and lived in luxury

so God will give her

a like measure

of torment

and mourning.

But that principle

of equivalent punishment

or just retribution

seems to be contradicted

by the second half

of verse 6

where it says

repay her double

for her deeds.

makes a double portion

for her

in the cup.

How is that fair

or proportionate?

The word double

in Greek

is versatile

just says it is

in English.

It can mean

in certain contexts

twice as much

but in some other

contexts like here

it means duplicate

or twin

or matching equivalent.

punishment.

So when an actor

has a body double

in the movie

that means the double

takes the place

of the actor

for certain stunts.

It doesn't mean

that the double

appears with the actor

in the same scene

so that there's

two of them.

Right?

So in a similar way here

when it speaks

of double

it's not talking

about twice as much

it's talking about

equivalent punishment

a duplicate punishment

for the exact thing

that she has done.

That's what the word

double means

when it's used

in the context

of repayment

or recompense

as you hear

in Revelation 18

Revelation 18:6

verse 6.

So that means

the biblical principle

which is consistent

throughout all of Scripture

of lex talionis

which means eye for eye

the law of retaliation

is still holds here.

God punishes

in a fair

and commensurate way

that's equal

to their crime.

And this fairness

of God's judgment

is expressed

in the repetition

of key words.

For example

the word found

is repeated

four times.

It says in verse 14

all your delicacies

and your splendors

are lost to you

never to be found again.

Verse 21

says so will Babylon

the great city

be thrown down

with violence

and will be found

no more.

Verse 22

the sound of harpists

and musicians

of flute players

and trumpeters

will be heard in you

no more

and the craftsmen

of any craft

will be found

in you no more

and the sound

of the mill

will be heard

in you no more.

And why will

none of these things

be found anymore?

Because verse 24

says in her

was found

the blood

of the prophets

and of saints

and of all

who have been slain

on earth.

Babylon enriched

herself

by impoverishing

God's people

by cutting them off

from its wealth

for their refusal

to partake

in her idolatry

and sexual immorality.

and Babylon

made Mary

at the expense

of God's people

persecuting them

while she partied

and reveled

in her sexual immorality

but in the end

the blood

of martyrs

that were found

in her

will cry out

for vengeance

and Babylon

will be found

no more.

Several times

in this passage

Babylon the prostitute

is described

as great.

She's called

Babylon the great

verse 2

the great city

in verses 10

16, 18, 19, 21.

in verse 23

it says

your merchants

were the great ones

of the earth.

Those who consort

with Babylon

in her sexual immorality

are the kings

of the earth

the merchants

the seafarers

the great ones

of the earth

and don't we all

have the tendency

to idolize

and worship

those who are great

and powerful

and rich

and famous.

But don't marvel

at the self-glorying

luxury of Babylon.

The great city

will fall

because her

corresponding punishment

will be great.

Her judgment

is announced

by an angel

having great authority

in verse 1.

Verse 21

says a mighty angel

took up a stone

like a great millstone

and threw it

into the sea

so will Babylon

the great city

be thrown down

with violence.

This verse

is an allusion

to Jeremiah 51-63

where the book

or the scroll

containing the prophecies

of judgment

God's judgment

on the ancient city

of Babylon

is contained

this scroll

and Jeremiah

instructs his servant

to take it

and tie a stone

around it

and then throw it

into the Euphrates

so that it can never

rise again.

And that symbolic act

is depicting the fact

that Babylon

will be judged

like that judgment scroll

that is sinking

to the bottom

of the waters

that will never

rise again.

There will be no

resurrection

after that final judgment

for the city

of Babylon.

It's a frightful

thing to think about.

I mean,

I think the Titanic

I think is still

at the bottom

of the ocean.

Nobody could get it out.

And to that Jeremiah

allusion,

John ties the idea

of the great millstone

which Jesus talked

about in Matthew 18.6.

Whoever causes

one of these little ones

who believe in me

to sin,

it would be better

for him to have

a great millstone

tied around his neck

and thrown into the sea.

Babylon,

the prostitute

who made

the people

who believe in Christ

to sin

will be sunk

to the depth

of the sea

with a great millstone

around her neck

never to rise again.

In verse 10,

Babylon is called

a mighty city.

So it is all the more

fitting that a mighty angel

takes that stone

like a great millstone

and throws it into the sea

in verse 21.

And it says

in verse 8,

For this reason

her plagues

will come

in a single day,

death and mourning

and famine

and she will be

burned up with fire

for mighty

is the Lord God

who has judged her.

In this day,

Babylon

appears mighty

to us.

But on that day,

we will all see

and the whole world

will see

that the Lord God

is mighty.

So will you

throw in your lot

with Babylon

or will you

throw in your lot

with the Lord God?

The wise investor

will take up

the yoke

of the Lord Jesus Christ

no matter how hard

things get

in this life.

God's judgment

of Babylon

will not only be fair,

it will also be swift.

Verse 8 said

that her plagues

will come

in a single day.

That idea is echoed

in the expression

single hour.

Verse 10,

for in a single hour

your judgment has come.

Verse 17,

for in a single hour

all this wealth

has been laid waste.

Verse 19,

for in a single hour

she has been laid waste.

This is a shocking revelation

because Babylon,

which was Rome

in John's day,

seemed permanent

and indestructible.

You can hear that boast

of Babylon

in verse 7,

I sit as a queen.

I am no widow

and morning

I shall never see.

That's her boast.

But for all her boasting,

God's judgment

comes on her

on a single day,

in a single hour

and she becomes