Judgment of Babylon

Revelation Series #35
Fred R. Coulter—December 3, 2005

- PDF | Audio | [Up]

Let's understand how God has used Israel and the Jews and Babylon. The very first mention of Babylon is under the name Babel (Gen. 11). What we find here is what Satan has always wanted to do in bringing about his kingdom. But God had to have more people born, created, live and die—which He's obviously going to take care of in the second resurrection—but Satan doesn't want that. He wanted to get everything to the point where God would have to intervene and destroy all human beings—just like he did at the Flood.

In Genesis 11 we find what the world is going to come to again. History repeats itself, and the reason it repeats itself is because of the way man is, Satan is and God is.

Genesis 11:1: "And the whole earth was of one language and one speech." That's what we are coming to—isn't it? There's another language that the whole world is coming to and that is digital language. So, it's going to come to that in a way that we have never, never, never understood, because now you can have everything funneled to you on your cell phone or your iPod—everything you need—and it's all coming in a digital language.

Verse 2: "And it came to pass, as they traveled from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar. And they settled there." Shinar is in what is called Babylon or Iraq today. Isn't it interesting, you look back and see the whole history of Iraq and all the nations that occupied it going down through time—what do you have? War! Killing! Death! That's just the way that fulfills the prophecy of what happened over there.

Verse 3: "And they said to one another, 'Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.' And they had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar…. [thick asbestos which made it waterproof] …And they said, 'Come, let us build us a city and a tower, with its top reaching into the heavens….'" (vs 2-4).

The ultimate purpose that man wants to do is get out into the heavens, and he's still doing that—all the technology and all the things that have been developed now in getting man into space. The only thing they haven't figured out is this: Since man is physical and bound to the earth, he's got to take everything that keeps him alive on the earth with him if he goes into space in the current time. He's limited, because how can he travel in space? It takes how many light-years to reach the first star from here? So, that's what they wanted to do, build a tower.
Look at the cities today, how many tall buildings are there? Look at the twin towers in Singapore. Well, the Japanese are not going to be outdone. They are going to build a taller building. Man hasn't changed!

"'…And let us establish a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered upon the face of the whole earth" (v 4). Of course, they were and you know the rest of the story of taking their religions and their societies with them.

Verse 5: "And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men had built." This is a very interesting statement—isn't it? God has given man free moral agency. He knows what He's created in us so that we can choose and build and make and do and so forth. God deliberately holds Himself back and waits to see what man is doing. How far will he go? Just like in another case where we find when God and two angels came down to find out if the cry in Sodom and Gomorrah was as bad as it appeared.

Verse 6: "And the LORD said, 'Behold, the people are one…'" That's why the Babylon at the end is a world system. It's not just a nation, but a whole world system composing of all nations.

"'…and they all have one language. And this is only the beginning of what they will do—now nothing which they have imagined to do will be restrained from them'" (v 6). God's plan had to be completed, because God needed to do the things that He needed to do, He intervened and did this:

Verse 7: "'…Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they cannot understand one another's speech.' So the LORD scattered them abroad from that place upon the face of all the earth. And they quit building the city. Therefore, the name of it is called Babel, because the LORD confused the language of all the earth there. And from there the LORD scattered them abroad upon the face of all the earth" (vs 7-9). And that's how everyone went to wherever their inheritances were.

As we find in the book of Revelation, you have the beginning and the ending. Here we have the beginning and then the dispersion of it. What did they do? They took their whole Babylonian society and way that they were living with them into all the world.

Let's fast-forward until we come to the time of Solomon. Solomon was supposed to be the one to bring God's Word and things to the nations of the world, with all Israel. Note: Exo. 19, where God said that He was going to have Israel be 'a nation of priests' for Him. That meant that they were to be a nation to represent God to all the nations of the world. Note: Deut. 6, that there never has been a nation that has had God so near to them with His statutes, judgments and laws, and so forth, that the nations were to do.

The only time in the whole history of the 12 tribes of Israel did they partially fulfill this, and that was after the reign of Solomon, after he built the temple. They had a worldwide communication; a worldwide empire. Once we strip away what the world has brought upon history—the theory of evolution, which creeps into everything—that only this current generation is smart and intelligent. Everyone else were cavemen and dunces until the time that we came, which is the height of vanity. That's not so!

1-Kings 10:23: "And King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. And all the earth sought Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. And every man brought his presents, vessels of silver and vessels of gold, and clothing and armor, and spices, horses and mules, at a rate year by year" (vs 23-25). So this was a world tax. Then it tells what Solomon gathered together (v 26).

Verse "And the king made silver like stones in Jerusalem…" (v 27)—and so forth.

• Now, what happened? Satan comes on the scene!
• How does he do it? The same way he did with Eve!

Only instead of one woman, now we have a thousand women, which is an irresistible thing to Solomon. What happened? Instead of bringing the laws and commandments of God to the world, Solomon becomes Babylonianized and Egyptianized and follows the religions of this world! And you know what had to happen; God took away the kingdom from Solomon. Then what did he do? He gave the ten tribes to Jeroboam, and He gave Jeroboam a chance. He said, 'IF you will keep My commandments…' You can read this is the subsequent chapters of 1-Kings '…then I will build for you a house or a dynasty like I did for David.'

But Jeroboam didn't trust God—did he? What did he do? He did worse! Set up an Egyptian religious system or an occult religious system in the ten northern tribes; built two calves; put one in Dan and one in Bethel; got rid of the Levites; made of the lowest people the priests. He even became a high priest and offered on the altar. What happened was this: Rather than Israel being the example to the world, and the people of the world and the governments of the world, to bring them God's laws and commandments, as God intended—that was a choice that God gave them; that was the mission statement that God proposed to them—no, they wanted to become like the world; they wanted to be like everyone around them. So, they chose to go against God, chose to live the way of the heathen with their 'religion' and their beliefs and things like that.

As I'm describing this, you can see a repeat infiltration of this in our society today—can't you? Who is the power and force behind it? God had to send them off into captivity, because of their sins and their rebellion! Let's see what happened? We're also looking at another principle. If you want to follow Babylon, God is going to let you do it 100%! If that's what you want, He's going to give it to you 'hook, line and sinker.' So, He sent them off into captivity and Israel was never the same after that.

2-Kings 17—here's where we begin dealing with Babylon and Israel and later the Jews. This has to with what's going to happen at the end. This is all building up to it.

2-Kings 17:24: "And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon… [into the Holy Land] …and from Cuthah and from Ava and from Hamath and from Sepharvaim and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel. And they possessed Samaria and lived in its cities."

Object lesson that is going to happen again: If you don't love God and keep His commandments, He's going to take it all away from you and give it to your enemies! The enemy is already within here in America! It's not going to happen until God says it will happen; just like this.

They were in their dwellings. They brought their religions. God sent lions to consume them. They sent to the king of Assyria and said, 'Help us out.' He said, 'I'll send one their priests.' So, one of the priests came back to Bethel:

Verse 28: "…And he taught them how they should fear the LORD." Here is what Babylon and the Babylonian spirit always does with the Truth of God. They take the name of God and here is what happens:

Verse 29: "And every nation made gods of their own and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived. And the men of Babylon made Succoth Benoth…" (vs 28-30)—and so forth and so on.

Verse 32: "So, they feared the LORD, and made to themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places who sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. They feared the LORD, yet served their own gods, according to the custom of the nations whom they removed from there" (vs 32-33).

That's the way people do. Human nature is never satisfied with loving and serving God the way that God says, beginning with Eve, Adam and Cain and all the way down through the wicked line. What did they want to do? They wanted to tell God how they'll worship Him! And they do it after the Babylonian manner. This does not surprise God; God knew this! He knows what's in the heart of man. That's why in the ultimate analysis there's the second resurrection, because God is never going to allow Satan to have the victory over Him.

Here's the time about Hezekiah; he was ready to die; he had this infection in his foot, or whatever it was; 2-Kings 20:1: "In those days Hezekiah was sick to death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, 'Thus says the LORD, "Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live."' And he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying, 'O LORD, I pray, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before You in truth and with a sincere heart, and have done good in Your sight.' And Hezekiah wept with a great weeping" (vs 1-3). Upon repentance, God will change His pronouncement. How quick will God change His pronouncement?

Verse 4: "And it came to pass, before Isaiah had even gone out into the middle of the court, the Word of the LORD came to him saying, 'Return again and tell Hezekiah the prince of My people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father, 'I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD. And I will add fifteen years to your days. And I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria. And I will defend this city for My own sake, and for My servant David's sake.'"'" (vs 4-6). So, God healed him!

Then you know the turning of the sundial going backward. Hezekiah said to Isaiah, 'How am I going to know this will take place. Isaiah said, 'Look, you have a choice, you want the sundial to go forward ten degrees or go backward ten degrees?' What did Hezekiah say? 'Oh, well it's nothing to go forward ten degrees, bring it back ten degrees.' So that happened. Then he was assured that he would be healed (vs 8-11paraphrased).

Verse 12—enter again, Babylon: "At that time Berodach-Baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon… [this was before Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar's father] …sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick." Isn't it true, every time that the nations of the world flatter the leaders of Israel, they're suckers.

What happened? Verse 13: "And Hezekiah welcomed them, and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion which Hezekiah did not show them."

Now, what do you suppose they thought when they saw it? How can we get our hands on this! What happened? God sent Isaiah on another mission! 'Go to Hezekiah and tell him he was foolish! Why did you do this? Your vanity got carried away and you showed them everything! What did you show them?' Everything! I left nothing that I didn't show them (vs 14-16paraphrased).

Verse 17: "'Behold, the days come when all that is in your house, and which your fathers have laid up in store until today, shall be carried into Babylon. Nothing shall be left,' says the LORD." This is when the invasion of Judah was sealed! Amazing! Howbeit, 'not going to happen in your day.'

Notice Hezekiah's attitude, v 19: "And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, 'Good is the Word of the LORD which you have spoken.' And he said, 'Is it not good if peace and truth are at least in my days?'"

Why, you selfish old man! That's good, 'peace for me.' Didn't think about the people coming after him. Then what happened? Because of that attitude, who took over when he died? Manasseh! The worst king of all the Jews! How long did he reign? 55 years, and was the most wicked king of all! Because of that, God finally had to send them into captivity.

When they got into captivity: Let's look at some of the things and some of the ways they came along. This is when the first invasion occurred; this is in the days of Jehoiakim who was next to the last king. The last king was Zedekiah.

2-Kings 24:1: "In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years…." First of all God gave him a chance. What I want you to see is the way God brought Judah down step-by-step; and we will see the same pattern will happen in the end-time again.

"…Then he turned and rebelled against him" (v 1).  He said, 'I don't want to do this' so he came up and he took care of him.

2-Kings 25:1: "Now, it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came. He and all his army came against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built a siege mound all around it. And the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah, on the ninth day of the fourth month… [approximately 18 months later] …when famine was severe in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land" (vs 1-3)—and eventually they were all taken into captivity to Babylon.

God warned of this! God warned them time and time again! You can read the whole book of Jeremiah concerning it. He told them over and over again. Let's read a summary of it. You can't talk of Babylon and prophecy without also talking about Israel and the Jews in the same context.

Jeremiah 32:1: "The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem. And Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah's house" (vs 1-2). I bring this up from this point of view that God rescued Jeremiah out of the difficulty that came upon them. Then he says why He did it. He gave them every chance.

Verse 26: "Then the Word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 'Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?' Therefore thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it. And the Chaldeans who fight against this city shall come up and set this city on fire, and burn it with the houses on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal, and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger. For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil before Me from their youth. For the children of Israel have only provoked Me to anger with the work of their hands,' says the LORD" (vs 26-30). Does that sound like today? Yes! Same thing!

Verse 31: "For this city has been to Me as a cause of My anger and of My fury from the day that they built it even to this day; that I should remove it from before My face." God lets it reach a point of maximum evil before He renders His judgment.

What does that mean for us today in America? I think this; one of the signs that we are Israel today is this: All the nations of the world hate us! Why do they hate us? They can't understand how we can become progressively so evil! And yet, appear to have the blessings of God! That all goes back to the promises that God gave Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Also, they hate us because God is raising up the whole world, which is going to be the end-time Babylonian system, and just like He used Babylon to punish Judah and Israel—through the Assyrians, but the Babylonians conquered them—He is going to use worldwide Babylon to punish to Israel in the end-time. That's why all the nations of the world hate us! So, for those who believe we are Babylon, you're highly mistaken, because if we were Babylon the whole world would love us, not hate us!

Verse 32: "Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me to anger, they…"

I want you to stop and think! You look at the government and say, 'How can they do it? How can they be so evil?' You look at the people and you can say, 'How can they do that?' Well, just like it was here!

"…their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem" (v 32).

Just like I read earlier: The so-called 'Christian' churches of this world are no different than the world, so God is again going to use Babylon. When He's done with Babylon—just like we're going to see here, He judged Babylon after He was done with using them—He's going to do the same thing again. They defiled it. They came, conquered them, took them away into captivity.

Let's refresh our memory; let's understand another principle that's very important: God deals with His Church, that is true—absolutely, He has to, because we have His Spirit—without a doubt! But too many times we get to thinking that God is not directly dealing with the nations of the world. That is not true! God is dealing with them. That's shown here because of the vision that was given, the explanation of the dream.

But what I want us to understand is that this image that started out with the head of gold and then the silver, brass, iron and clay, then the feet and the ten toes and so forth—what was it? It was an image of the whole Babylonian system from Nebuchadnezzar to the end-time! God had to reveal it. So, here again, we have the people of God and Babylon interfacing all the way down through history. That's what this is telling us.

Also, in Dan. 4, Nebuchadnezzar went through what he did, having seven years of being like an animal, eating grass like a cow for this:

Daniel 4:16: "Let his heart be changed from a man's and a beast's heart be given to him. And let seven times pass over him. This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the Holy ones, so that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He will, and sets up over it the basest of men" (vs 16-17). Quite a statement—isn't it?

Who raised up Adolph Hitler? God did because of the sins of the people! You can go right down the line: Stalin, Mao Tse-Tung, Tojo, all of them. God deals in all nations and all nations at the end-time are viewed as Babylon the Great. So, when God's judgment (Jer. 50-51), and we will see why the book of Revelation says that 'Babylon is fallen, is fallen!' Babylon, under Nebuchadnezzar—which came to an end in the days of Belteshazzar, his grandson—fell and became a habitat of dragons, of jackals, of unclean animals and was changed from a verdant, plush land to a desert, with just some good agricultural areas along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. It has been a bloody mess ever since.

If you have chance to watch the History Channel, they had one on The History of the Kings of Iraq and all they have had is war and fighting and viciousness and hatefulness and killing! That's part of God's judgment that has happened. That's why what's going on in Iraq today is such a hard and a difficult thing. I do believe they will succeed to a measure, so that the whole one-world government can come together. But you see how difficult it is. When God said that He was going to 'take down' Babylon, it's quite a thing!

Jeremiah 50:21: "…says the LORD, 'and do according to all that I have commanded you. A sound of battle is in the land, and great destruction'" (vs 21-22). When Babylon was conquered by Cyrus, there was not a great destruction. You can read the book of Atradates, how he conquered Babylon. God said that He raised up Cyrus to 'free the people' out of Babylon so there would be some Jews to go back to the area of Judea (Isa. 45). What happened? God raised up Cyrus! God inspired him in a dream that you can read in Atradates, that he figured out how he could conquer Babylon without destroying the city and having a big siege. He diverted the river.

At that time the river came through the middle of the city of Babylon. It was on both sides, much like it is today. He built a trench—it took him several years to do so—and diverted the river and got the level of the Euphrates down so low that on the night that Belteshazzar (Dan. 5) had his celebration and God determined that that night the kingdom was going to be taken from him. the waters came down so low in the Euphrates River. According to the prophecy that God had given, the big brass gates that came down to the shoreline of the Euphrates that went through the city, were left open. So, Cyrus' men came in, walked through the gates, took over the whole city with hardly a spear being thrown or an arrow being shot. What we read here in talking about the destruction of Babylon is a prophecy that ties in with Rev. 17 & 18.

Verse 23: "How the hammer of the whole earth is cut asunder and broken! How Babylon has become a desolation among the nations! I have laid a trap for you, and you are also captured, O Babylon, and you were unaware. You were found and also caught because you have fought against the LORD" (vs 23-24). God judges the nations. Here's His judgment against Babylon!

Jeremiah 51:1: "Thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against those dwelling in the heart of My foes a destroying wind. And I will send strangers to Babylon who will sift her and will empty her land. For in the day of trouble they shall be against her all around. Do not let the archer bend his bow; nor lift himself up in his armor. And do not spare her young men; utterly destroy all her army. Thus the dead shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, those who are thrust through in her streets. For neither Israel nor Judah has been forsaken by his God, by the LORD of hosts, though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel'" (vs 1-5). God here is going to stand up and bring them repentance!

You can read all the rest of what happened here in the judgment of Babylon, the rest of chapter 51. Let's see how we have here the same thing as we started out in Gen. 11.

Verse 53: "'Though Babylon should mount up to the heavens, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet destroyers shall come to her from Me,' says the LORD." It's going to happen! It's going to be taken down! Then, God sent the message. I know how this is going to happen in the end-time: The two witnesses are going to be the witness against Babylon the Great in the end-time.

Verse 59: The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And Seraiah was an officer of peace. So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come on Babylon, all these words that are written against Babylon. And Jeremiah… [one witness who wrote it[ …said to Seraiah…" (vs 59-61)—the other witness; so a type of the two witnesses, I don't know.

"…'When you come to Babylon, see that you read all those words aloud, then you shall say, "O LORD, You have spoken against this place to cut it off, so that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be a desolation forever." And it shall be, when you have made an end of reading this book, you shall tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates. And you shall say, 'In this way shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring on her. And they shall be weary.' Thus far are the words of Jeremiah" (vs 61-64).

Read those things all the way through. How many of those things apply to the end-time. Well, I'll let you do the study and let you do the reading here. The book of Revelation is the prophecies of God for the whole world. What He does in the judgment against Babylon, He shows the reason why. This is why you have to have a history and a background of it. You have to understand that at the end-time there are three parts of Babylon the Great, consisting of all nations. This will help us to understand why there's globalization: The World Trade Organization, the United Nations, and all of these other subdivisions that go with it. It's going to encompass the whole world. There are three parts:

• religion
• government
• economics

What are the main things in the news today? Government, economics and religion! Another thing also to consider is this: The fulfillment of these prophecies could not be understood until our day! There were partial understandings of it as they went down through time and understood the Word of God. But the book of Revelation is an end-time book and is not meant to be understood until the end-time.

(go to the next track)

We're just going to hit some highlights, because we cover Rev. 17 repeatedly in this series. What I want to do is cover it in relationship to God's judgment, the reason for God's judgment and the final judgment of Babylon (Rev. 18).

Here we find the mixture of everything. Let's look at the religious aspect of it and we will see the intertwining of the government with the religious, and then we will see the intertwining of the economics and the governments and religion. Since we are right in the time of what the world calls 'Christmas,' what is the day in America after Thanksgiving called? Black Friday! That is the first day of great profits for the merchants. What do they do on the day after Thanksgiving? It has nothing to do with Thanksgiving. It has everything to do with Christmas! Are not all the business cycles of this world based upon the religious holidays of this world? All intertwined together? Does the government give you the days off? Yes! So it's all right there: religion, government, and business or economics!

Let's look at the religious aspect of it, Revelation 17:1: "And one of the seven angels who had the seven vials came and spoke with me, saying to me, 'Come here; I will show you the judgment of the great whore… [God's judgment is going to be against the religions of this world, the leaders and businessmen of this world and the governments of this world. When it talks about Babylon in the end-time, it's talking about the whole world.] …who sits upon many waters."

Let's talk a little bit about the great whore. What did we read that these nations always did? They worshipped their own gods in the name of the Lord! What do we have with the great supposed Christian religion of the world? It's all Babylonian! But they mouth the words 'God the Father and Jesus Christ'—right? Yes!

We find in v 15: "…'The waters that you saw, where the whore sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.'"

Since it's Babylon, that's why we see all the religions of the world trying to come together. Satan wants them all together. How will they come together? Not as one unified thing, but they will come together in the same way that Babylon has always done: by association!

Verse 2: "With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication…" They have accepted the religions. You find this in every major religion of the world, be it Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism or Judaism, they are all intertwined with the government somehow or other.

"…and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication" (v 2). All the religious confusion that there is. That's why God has to intervene and call people out of it. That's why God has to perform a miracle in a person's life

• by calling each individual
• by opening his/her mind to the Truth
  • to have a desire for the Truth
  • to have a desire to repent
  • be baptized
  • and get right with God

Once they receive the Holy Spirit, their lives begin to change permanently from that day forward! That's why God has to do it. You're not going to save masses of people with this kind of religious environment in the world. Just like I got a memo from someone who said, 'please send me something so I can know the Truth. Protestants don't have it; I've been visiting their churches.'

Verse 3: "Then he carried me away in the spirit to a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns, full of names of blasphemy. And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and was adorned with gold and pearls and precious stones; and she had a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominations and the filthiness of her fornication; and across her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH" (vs 3-5).

It has been said that this is the Catholic Church, and the harlots are the Protestants. Not true! This is 'old mother Babylon' and all the religions of the world are her daughters—the religions that I just mentioned before—all came from Babylon. You read the history of religions from the time of the Babylonian  Empire and you find that it is called in history an 'axio' period.

The 'axio' period is when there is a mammoth change, which today in the language of politicians, is called 'sea change.' You will hear them say that from time-to-time. It was during that time that Buddhism came to the fore; that Hinduism came to the fore; that sowed the seeds that later became Islam. The Jews being there—Judaism—of which then when it shifted over and combined with what became Catholicism. What this is telling us is that not only is the society Babylonian, the 'religion' is Babylonian and her daughters are all the major religions of the world. What do we see today in the world?

In Rev. 13 we see the final marriage of government, religion and economics. We'll just cover several things, but we're not going to get into it very deeply at this time—we're going to focus on the final judgment of Babylon. There is coming a man (2-Thess. 2) whose coming is after the inner-workings of Satan the devil. This man is going to be the pinnacle of Satan's deception on earth and he will be called the manifestation of God. That's why he will go into the temple of God proclaiming that he 'is God'; proclaiming that he can be worshipped 'above all' other idols or anything. We find a reflection of this in:

Revelation 13:4: "And they worshiped the dragon [Satan the devil] who gave his authority to the beast…." Satan has the authority to do it. What did he tell Jesus in the temptation? 'If you worship me, I'll give you all the kingdoms of the world, because they're mine and I'll give it to whomsoever I will.' This is the man that he gives it to.

"…And they worshiped the beast, saying, 'Who is like the beast? Who has the power to make war against him?' And a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies was given to him; and authority was given to him to continue for forty-two months" (vs 4-5). We cover all of that in the other sermons and on the charts.

Verse 6: "And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. And he was given power to make war against the saints, and to overcome them; and he was given authority over every tribe and language and nation…. [it has not yet happened] …And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (vs 6-8). That is the dividing line that is going to come in the world.

Now then, we have the second beast who is the religious beast, who has two horns like a lamb and speaks as a dragon (v 11). Then we have the enforcement of the mark of the beast (which there are several sermons in this series). What is the key thing that it says concerning the mark of the beast in Rev. 13? You can't buy or sell! Economics! When the mark of the beast comes, it is going to be such a common thing that all of those who will not take it will be thought of as fools and will be counted:

• enemies of the state
• enemies of religion
• enemies of peace on earth!

It's going to be something! We have an inkling of what it's going to be, but some of the things that they are developing now, wait until you hear it!

Isaiah 47—we're going to see that this ties in with Jer. 50-51 and with Rev. 17-18. This is why it's so important for us to understand these end-time prophecies. Here's the thing: When you go through and read some of the commentaries about the things in the Old Testament, they can give you some important historical things.

But I'm coming to realize more and more you see how so many prophecies in the Old Testament are actually talking about things which are going to happen at the end-time. What we are going to see is that understanding the Bible and the book of Revelation will open up so many, many more of these prophecies to our understanding. For example, Isa. 47 is really something! It talks about Babylon, also in Isa. 13-14. Let's see how that this also describes a whole world system, not just Babylon over in the Middle East and the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

Isaiah 13:1: "The burden of Babylon, which the Isaiah the son of Amoz saw"—and he talks about it in:

Verse 6: "Howl! For the Day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty." This is the end-time—isn't it?

Verses 9: "Behold, the Day of the LORD comes, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to make the earth a desolation; and He shall destroy the sinners out of it, for the stars of the heavens and their constellations shall not give light; the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not reflect its light." (Vs 9-10). {note: Rev. 6-9, 16}

This is the burden of Babylon, but what does God say? Verse 11: "And I will punish the world for their evil…" It's the world! The Babylonian system is the whole world at the end-time!

"…and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease…" (v 11). Who's the most arrogant and the most proud, but the beast? He says, 'I'm God.' And where does he get that from? Satan, who's Lucifer!

"…and will lay low the haughtiness of the tyrants" (v 11). Then He shows what He's going to do. We have then the immediate invasion of Babylon back during the days of Belteshazzar, which comes up next:

Verse 13: "Therefore, I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall move out of its place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger." Then v 19 talks about what will happen after Babylon finally came down and finally became a desert as we know it today.

Isaiah 14:4: "You shall take up this song against the king of Babylon and say, 'How the oppressor has ceased! How his fury has ceased! The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers who struck people in wrath, with unceasing blows, ruling the nations in anger, with an unrelenting persecution. All the earth is at rest and is quiet; they break out into singing'" (vs 4-7). That's when they get rid of him; beginning of the Millennium. Remember, we read in Rev. 13 that they get their power from the dragon.

Verse 11: "'Your pride is brought down to the grave, and the noise of your harps. The maggot is spread under you, and the worms cover you.' How you are fallen from the heavens, O shining star, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart… [both Satan and the man] …'I will ascend into the heavens…'" (vs 11-13). What has been Babylon's goal from the Tower of Babel? To get into heaven!

"'…I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High'" (vs 13-14). That's why God is going to judge it the way that He's going to judge it. This is the political arm.

Now we have the religious arm combined with the political that comes against the children of Israel when they go into captivity.

Isaiah 47:1, God says: "Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon…"—anything but a virgin. God is cynically talking to Babylon:

"…sit on the ground. There is no throne for you, O daughter of the Chaldeans, for you shall no more be called tender and delicate. Take the millstones and grind meal. Push back your veil, draw up your skirt, uncover your leg, pass over the rivers. Your nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, your shame shall be seen; I will take vengeance and I will not meet you as a man" (vs 1-3).

What does it say in Rev. 17? What does the beast that she is riding going to do to the woman? He's going to make her desolate and burn her with fire! That's what this is talking about here, God's judgment against them.

Verse 4: "As for our Redeemer, the LORD of hosts is His name, the Holy One of Israel. 'Sit silent, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for you shall no more be called the lady of kingdoms (Rev. 17). I was angry with My people, I have polluted My inheritance, and given them into your hand. You showed them no mercy…'" (vs 4-6). The coming martyrdom of the people of Israel and the saints of God.

"'…you have very heavily laid your yoke upon the aged. And you said… [repeated in Rev. 18] …"I shall be a lady forever"; so you did not lay these things to your heart, nor did you remember the latter end of it. Now then hear this, O lover of pleasures, who sits securely; who says in her heart, "I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, nor shall I know the loss of children"'" (vs 6-8). I'm going to keep all of my daughters.

Verse 9: "But these two things shall come to you in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood. They shall come upon you in their fullness for the multitude of your sorceries, and for the great abundance of your enchantments"—when it reaches its height.

God allows the wicked to rise up very high, just like He did with Pharaoh; just like He's doing with Babylon; just like He did then and just like He's going to do now. That's why we have noted in the past that God is going to allow this whole system to become so fantastic, and it's going to be the greatest thing that man has ever done under the inspiration of Satan the devil, that it's going to be just awe inspiring to the world. They're going to get caught up in their vanity. The Catholic Church is going to say, 'We have been all along. I am! I represent God.'

Verse 10: "For you have trusted in your wickedness…" Ezek. 28 tells about Satan and his wisdom. Satan inspires all three aspects of it: religion, government, and economics.

"…you have said, 'No one sees me.' Your wisdom and your knowledge has perverted you; and you have said in your heart, "I am, and there is no one else'" (v 10). What is the thing concerning the Catholic Church? It's the 'only one' in the world! 'We'll put up with the other religions, but unless you're a true bona fide Catholic there's no salvation.'

Verse 11: "But evil shall come upon you; you shall not know how to conjure it away. And calamity shall fall upon you; you shall not be able to put it off. And desolation shall come upon you suddenly, before you know it. Stand now… [in the day when this comes] …with your enchantments…" (vs 11-12). Exo.—what happened with Pharaoh and the magicians and their enchantments and everything?

"…and with the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have wearied yourself since your youth. Perhaps you will be able to profit; perhaps you may prevail. You are exhausted by the multitude of your counsels…" (vs 12-13). This is counsels in the sense of consulting people or people giving counsel. But when you have that you also have counsels spelled with 'cil'—how many councils of religions have there been in the history of the Catholic Church to further the faith of the pope?

"…now let the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save you from these things that shall come upon you" (v 13).

When this judgment comes, it's going to come! The first one that's going to be judged by God is the 'religious' establishment—first one! And He's going to use the beast that she was 'riding' to destroy it. I can see how that's going to happen. They're going to come and they're going to—what's left of cathedrals and places of worship and idols and statues and things like this—just start destroying them! God is going to inspire that. All the power of Satan is going to leave and is going to come to an end.

Verse 14: " Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame; there shall not be a coal to warm them; nor fire, to sit before it. Thus shall they be to you with whom you have labored, even your merchants from your youth…." (vs 14-15).

Catholicism and merchandizing in the world has been the 'name of the game.' Look at Spain and what it did in the 'new world.' Portugal and what it did in Far East; etc. Who is one of the biggest holders of stocks and bonds in the world today, but the Vatican! Do they not control businesses? Do they not control banks? Yes! The whole system is wedded together; it's going to all come unglued!

"…Each one shall wander to his own quarter; none shall save you" (v 15).

Now, let's come and see God's final judgment; it brings all of the prophecies together that we find in the Bible against this whole worldwide system.

Revelation 17:15: "Then he said to me, 'The waters that you saw, where the whore sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. But the ten horns that you saw on the beast shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked…'" (vs 15-16). We just read of that (Isa. 47)]

"'…and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her with fire… [total destruction] …for God has put into their hearts to do His will…'" (vs 16-17).

• What did we say? God works in the kingdoms of men!
• What's going to happen at the end-time? God is going to put it in their hearts to do His will to help prepare the way for the beast!

"'…and to act with one accord, and to give their kingdom to the beast…'" (v 17). I think that when the United States is brought down—it will be brought down in stages, not all at once—and when it comes to the point of collapse, all the nations of the world are going to get together and they're going to say, 'We've got to have a one-world government.'

"'…to give their kingdom to the beast until the words of God have been fulfilled. And the woman whom you saw is the great city that has royal power over the kings of the earth'" (vs 17-18). Even China is now going to send an ambassador to the Vatican. All nations of the world go there! And from there it emanates out and affects the whole world.

Revelation 18 is the judgment of Babylon, I think it would be good if we read the whole thing. Just like Seraiah, the son of Azariah, was told 'you take this judgment that Jeremiah wrote and you stand on the bridge over the Euphrates River and you read it.

I don't think there were too many there to hear it, but he read it. The words of God do not have to be heard by people necessarily to make it effective, because if God speaks it, or inspires it, it is!That's what you need to understand about God. Then we can go back and look at all the prophecies where God gives us mercy and helps those who are His; watches over those. That's why when you go down through the book of Revelation, you have the beginning of the Tribulation and then you have the sealing of the 144,000 and the 'great innumerable multitude' because there's repentance and mercy granted.

Then another round of devastation comes, and then the greatest mercy is going to be extended—which will be the first resurrection of the saints! So, whenever we read these things, remember: God does this because of the hope that He's going to bring in making things right! We'll see parts of all these things that we read from the other prophecies.

Revelation 18:1: "And after these things I saw an angel descending from heaven, having great authority; and the earth was illuminated with his glory." That's going to be an awesome thing to see?

Verse 2: "And he cried out mightily with a loud voice, saying, 'Babylon the Great is fallen, is fallen…'" The first fall and destruction of Babylon, the second fall and destruction of Babylon.

"'…and has become a habitation of demons, and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hated bird; because all nations have drunk of the wine of the fury of her fornication (Jer. 25), and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the power of her luxury'" (vs 2-3). As we'll see toward the end, it says, 'and her merchants were the great men of the earth.' What do we have today?

• great businessmen
• international, global corporations
• international and global banks

All of this comes alive at the end-time.

Verse 4: "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, 'Come out of her, My people…'" God is continuing to call His people out of it, too. Israel, the physical people of God, which then will result in the 144,000 and the Church. You read the warnings given to the seven churches in the book of Rev., it applies to both.

"'…so that you do not take part in her sins, and that you do not receive of her plagues, for her sins have reached as far as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Render to her as she has rendered to you; and give to her double, even according to her works. In the cup that she mixed, give her back double. To the degree that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, give to her as much torment and sorrow. For she says in her heart, "I sit a queen enthroned, and am not a widow; and in no way shall I experience sorrow"'" (vs 4-7). We read that in Isa. 47. Quite a thing! This is really something!

Verse 8: "For this very reason, her plagues shall come in one day…" The wicked prosper for a while. Don't think that God is not going to execute His judgment. Yes, He will!

• Let them get a little higher!
• Let them get a little richer!
• Let them get a little more arrogant!
• Let them get a little more proud!
• Let them think how great they are!

And then it's going to come!

"…—death and sorrow and famine; and she shall be burned with fire; for the Lord God, Who executes judgment upon her, is powerful. Then the kings of the earth who have committed fornication with her and have lived luxuriously, will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning" (vs 8-9). This is not just the city of Rome. The city is a type of the whole world's system collapsing and coming down.

"…They will stand far off for fear of her torment, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city Babylon, the mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.' And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because no one will buy their merchandise any more" (vs 9-11). The mark of the beast isn't going to work any longer. What are we going to do with all these goods? We're going to lose all of our money! Everything is going to be broken! Yes! Everything is going down!

Verse 12: "The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and every article of ivory, and every article of rare wood, and brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and incense, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and the souls of men" (vs 12-13). Sounds like the shopping mall—doesn't it?

Verse 14: "For the ripe fruits that your soul desires will depart from you, and all the rich things and the bright things will depart from you, and you will not find them any more. The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, will stand far off because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, and saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, which was clothed with fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!'" (vs 14-16).

Look at the great buildings of the world; the great cathedrals of the world. Look at St. Peter's Basilica, whose very stones that built it were taken from the coliseum where they slaughtered and martyred the Christians and built St. Peter's Basilica. I think most fitting! And all the gold and all the silver and all the statues and all the riches that are there are going to be taken away in one day! Who is God going to give it to? Jesus Christ and the saints!

Verse 17: "For in one hour such great wealth has been destroyed…." Just when you think you've got it all—everybody in the world——it disappears!

Verse 18: "…And every shipmaster… [How many ships are there in the world?] …and all traveling in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, will stand far off. And they will cry out as they watch the smoke of her burning…" (vs 17-18). Why? Read Rev. 16 and what's going to happen to all the cities of the world—that's what they're looking at.

"…saying, 'What city is like this great city?' And they will throw dust on their heads, and cry out, weeping and mourning, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, by which all who had ships in the sea were made wealthy through the abundance of her costly things! For in one hour she has been destroyed.' Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you Holy apostles and prophets; for God has executed judgment upon her for your sakes" (vs 18-20). Where will we all be? On the Sea of Glass watching it happen!

Verse 21: "Then one strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone [Isa. 47] and cast it into the sea, saying, 'In this same way shall the great city Babylon be thrown down with violence, and shall never again be found; and never again shall the sound of harpers and musicians and flute players and trumpeters be heard in you; and never again shall any craftsman of any craft be found in you; and never again shall the sound of a millstone be heard in you; and never again shall the light of a lamp shine in you; and never again shall the voices of bridegroom and bride be heard in you; for your merchants were the great ones of the earth, and by your sorcery all nations were deceived'" (vs 21-23). But, before that can happen God is going to let it come to its great height of perfection.

Here's one verse that is really astounding, v 24: "And in her the blood of prophets and saints was found, and the blood of all those who were slain on the earth."

What does that say? It lays everything right at the doorstep of Satan the devil! It goes back and begins with Cain, clear up to this time. Think of it! Every war, every martyrdom, every persecution has come from Satan the devil using his system of Babylon down through history. The reason God has delayed His judgment is not that God is slack in judging it, but when God brings His judgment, He's going to

• wait until it rises to its greatest height
• wait until everyone feels safe and secure

Then He will bring His judgment and it will start with the two witnesses! That's the judgment of Babylon!

All Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version by Fred R. Coulter

Scriptural References:

• Genesis 11:1-9
• 1 Kings 10:23-25, 27
• 2 Kings 17:24, 28-30, 32-33
• 2 Kings 20:1-6, 12-13, 17, 19
• 2 Kings 24:1
• 2 Kings 25:1-3
• Jeremiah 32:1-2, 26-32
• Daniel 4:16-17
• Jeremiah 50:21-24
• Jeremiah 51:1-5, 53, 59-64
• Revelation 17:1, 15, 2-5
• Revelation 13:4-8
• Isaiah 13:1, 6, 9-11, 13
• Isaiah 14:4-7, 11-14
• Isaiah 47:1-15
• Revelation 17:15-18
• Revelation 18:1-24

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Exodus 19
• 1 Kings 10:26
• Deuteronomy 6
• 2 Kings 20:8-11, 14-16
• Isaiah 45
• Daniel 5
• 2 Thessalonians 2
• Revelation 13:11; 6-9; 16
• Isaiah 13:19
• Ezekiel 28
• Jeremiah 25

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 8-27-10
Reformatted/Corrected: 9/2014