Blessed Are Those: A Journey through Revelation – Part 18

Mystery Revealed: Babylon, the Great

Crosspoint – Rick Bovell – May 11^th, 2025

Introduction

The purpose of the Revelation of Jesus Christ is not to give you a detailed timeline for the future, but to give you a way to see the world. Revelation offers insight, hope and direction.

Sermon In A Sentence

Find your joy in Jesus, not in the beliefs that fight to separate you from Him; opposing ideas and their followers will be destroyed, while only Jesus – the Lover of your soul – and those who love Him will remain.

Insight – God’s view of this present darkness

Babylon

·       Scripture – Rev. 17: 1-7

• ¹ One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. ²With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”³ Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. ⁵ The name written on her forehead was a mystery:BABYLON THE GREAT
  THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
  AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.⁶ I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. ⁷ Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns.

·       Rebellious

• The names Babel and Babylon are tied to rebellion in the Scriptures.
  • The people who built Babel, the first city we hear of after the flood, rebelled by trying to build a city where their name could be great, instead of spreading throughout the world (as God commanded) to declare the greatness of His name. – 9:7, 11:1-8

• • • Babylon brought the people of southern Israel into captivity (2 Kings 24 – 25:8), destroyed the temple, was extremely proud and used the objects of God’s worship for their own pleasure.
    • She murders the people of God – those who proclaim Jesus. The best way to show your hatred and rebellion to one you can’t touch is to insult and/or kill his ambassadors, and that’s exactly what Babylon does. – 2 Sam. 10:1-19; Matt. 21:33-46; Mark 12:1-12

·       Seductive

• • • John was astonished (lethal beauty) – 18:6. That word astonished has admiration in view. So even John thought “Wow! She’s really something to look at.” There are so many beliefs and ideas that attract us, and this book is written so that we can see them as they are.

• This is why the angel said, “Why are you astonished?” Let me show you what she is really like. He’s warning John like the good father in Prov. 7:27 warns about a prostitute: “Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.” – 2:16-18, 5:3-6, 7:21-27

·       Prostitute

• • • She brings:

• • • • Theologies that oppress the many to enrich the few,
      • Philosophies that reject God and His standards so that everyone can do what is right in their own eyes,
      • Actions damage and destroy because they are empowered by statements of: “My body is mine, and I can do with it as I please” or even worse “Your body is mine (or frankly does not matter), and I can do whatever I want with it.”
      • And all ideas that cause pain and degradation in this world because they are against God and His truth.
    • Often, they don’t seem harmful. In fact, they seem in step with the times and the tolerance and multiculturalism of the age. I agree that there is nothing wrong with embracing various cultures, but only to the extent that those cultures, including our own, do not conflict with the culture that God seeks to create in His people. Babylon, fights to disrupt God’s culture in any way that she can.
    • Her opposing cultures are portrayed in movies, TV, and in every corner of the internet and social media apps as enticing and beautiful. “This is freedom, this is normal, the ethics of the past from the old dusty Bible on somebody’s shelf don’t matter – we’re in a new age and stage of social evolution.
      • There is no God, so everything is permissible (The Brothers Karamazov), or
      • There are multiple paths to God, feel free to choose any one to get to her except the confining path of Christianity, or if you choose Christianity make sure it’s one that sees Jesus as a good moral teacher and not God who makes demands on your life, or
      • God is a god of love who doesn’t care about what you do as long as you are sincere, or
      • take your pick of any ideology that does not exalt Jesus as Lord of lords and King of kings.
    • She offers something for everyone :
      • More structure
      • More freedom
      • More fun
      • More spirituality
      • More possessions
      • More wealth
      • More pleasure and
      • Ultimately more death

·       Global

• • • v. 15 … “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.”
    • It is every where Jesus is not central and alone. No Jesus is Babylon. Jesus + anything is Babylon.
    • It can be:
      • The Catholic Church, and
      • The Baptist Church, and
      • Rome, and
      • New York, and
      • The United States, and
      • China, and
      • Islam, and
      • Christianity to the extent that it has any hope except the shed blood of Christ, and
      • It can be in our homes, and
      • It (God forbid) can be Crosspoint in 50 years if we do not hold fast to the truth.

·       Supported by the beast

• • • She rides on the beast, meaning that he empowers her to do what she does.
    • The ideas and beliefs that she brings are not just man-made, they are commissioned by demonic forces.

Beast

·       Scripture – Rev. 17:12-13,16-17,14

• ¹² “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. ¹³ They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast.
• ¹⁶ The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. ¹⁷ For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled.
• ¹⁴ They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”

·       Power Hungry

• The complete number of rulers (10) hand over power to the beast – 17:13
• He seeks and receives worship – 13:4, 13:11-15, 13:17

·       Predator

• He uses Babylon to get what he wants (worship) and destroys her when she is no longer needed.
• When the beast gets worship he destroys the one who stole God’s worship – This is God ordained. The beast is on a chain.

·       Provisional

• He serves for a short period of time until the Lamb destroys Him.

Hope – God’s removal of darkness and the Light that He has prepared for His people

Judgement

·       Scripture – Rev. 18:1-2, 5-8, 23b-24

• ¹ After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. ² With a mighty voice he shouted:“‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’

⁵ for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. ⁶ Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup. ⁷ Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself.

In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow; I will never mourn.’

⁸ Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.

^23b By your magic spell all the nations were led astray. ²⁴ In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people, of all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”

·       3 Woes

• Kings cry “‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, you mighty city of Babylon! In one hour your doom has come!’ – Rev. 18:10b
  • Babylon’s Power is gone!
• Merchants cry “‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’ – Rev. 16b-17
  • Babylon’s Possessions are gone!
• Sea captains cry “‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’ – Rev. 18:19b
  • Babylon’s Prosperity and Pride are gone!
  • Cites that reject and oppose God are judged and destroyed – 21:9, 23:17; Jer. 51:7-8

·       Why judgement?  Why not forgiveness?

• Do you remember last week when Dave preached through chapters 15 & 16? Judgement fell on the people, and they cursed God. They did not turn from doing evil and recognize that the punishment was their fault. They blamed the judge.
  Think of it this way:
  Someone is convicted of a crime and comes up for parole. Before the parole board he says, “I did nothing wrong! It was my right to do what I did. And that judge who convicted me, when I get out he’ll get what he deserves.” If you were on the parole board, would you let him out? Do you “forgive” him?

We have to wait to see that kind of rebellion – God does not! He knows and will judge rightly, every single time! He knows every heart deeper and better that that heart knows itself. Today, now, is the time of repentance – don’t reject the kindness of God. Don’t wait and say I’ll do it later. Later may never come. Either because you have no time, or you have no desire. You can become frozen in your rebellion and the only thing left is judgement. That is what we see from Babylon.

Joy

·       Joy in Judgement?

• How can we find joy in the judgement of others? By seeing the righteousness and goodness in that judgement. We need new eyes and we will get them. Even the judged will eventually see the rightness of God’s judgement. Note what the Sea captains say after their woe:
  • “Rejoice over her, you heavens! Rejoice, you people of God! Rejoice, apostles and prophets! For God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you.” – Rev. 18:19b-20

·       3 Hallelujahs

• A great multitude in heaven shouts: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” – Rev. 19:1b-2
• And again they shouted: “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”– Rev. 19:3
• A great multitude in heaven shouts: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!
  For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.) – Rev. 19:6b-8

Juxtaposition

·       The Prostitute & the Pimp vs. the Bride & the Groom

Prostitute & Pimp	Bride & Groom
Beast will disrobe Babylon	Lamb will provide linen clothing for Jerusalem
Beast supports Babylon temporarily	Lamb cares for Jerusalem forever
Beast causes Babylon to mourn	Lamb wipes away every tear from Jerusalem
Beast kills Babylon	Lamb dies for Jerusalem
The power behind the deception, murders and sorceries of Babylon is the Beast and the Dragon	The power behind the faithfulness and the good deeds of Jerusalem is the Lamb and the Father

• Read Revelation 21 to see where the name Jerusalem comes from 😊

Direction – Run from the darkness; Bask in the Light

Run

• 18:4
  Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
  “‘Come out of her, my people,’
  so that you will not share in her sins,
  so that you will not receive any of her plagues;

• 50:8, 51:6-9; Isa. 48:20, 52:11
• Check your heart and mind. Where do you run for comfort, hope, peace, satisfaction, identity and joy. If Jesus is not the answer to all of those questions run from whatever the answer is – it is a room in Babylon.

Bask

• 19:9
  Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
• 1 Chr. 16:27; Psalm 5:11; Psalm 16:11; Psalm 19:8; Psalm 21:6; Psalm 30:11; Psalm 43:4; Psalm 90:14; Psalm 94:19; Isaiah 12:6; Isaiah 26:19; Isaiah 35:10
• Isaiah 35:10
  …[T]hose the Lord has rescued will return.

They will enter Zion with singing;

    everlasting joy will crown their heads.

Gladness and joy will overtake them,

    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

• JESUS drank the cup of God’s wrath so we don’t have to – He rescued his bride.
  • Psalm 16:11 (ESV)
    You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
  • John 15:11
    I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

• • Read/Listen to the Word daily. Before you do, ask God to help you find your joy in Him as He speaks to you in the Word and he will. Scripture says that in Him there is fullness of joy, but it is a process. It requires real time with him, not a quick “Hi” on your way to the more “important” things of the day. Spend time basking in His light and truth and you will find joy – the kind of joy that makes Babylon look as foul as she truly is.

Conclusion

Jesus drank the bitter cup of God’s wrath so that you can bask in the Glory of God forever. Turn away from the pimp and prostitute of darkness and destruction, and turn toward Jesus, the lover of your soul, who offers light and life.

Questions for Growth Groups

• Read Rev. 17:1-2 – What is the wine? How do people become drunk with it?
• 16 shows total destruction, Rev. 17 focuses on how that destruction affects Babylon. Why is this important? How would this be helpful to the original readers? How is it helpful to you?
• Read 13:4, 13:11-15, 13:17 how do these passages give context to the beast’s relationship with the 10 horns?
• In what ways do you find the offerings of Babylon attractive? What truth do you need to see to fight its pull?
• 19:10 again shows John bowing to an angel, even after seeing the glories of the Lamb. What does that say about John? What does that point to in you?
• The angel’s response was “Worship God” how does that help with your answer to the last question?