The devil fights, the devil threatens, the devil thunders, but God is sovereign, God is in control. And as we look today at Revelation chapter 18, I want us to be reminded that God reigns, and that this is not just religious propaganda, it's true. And we have been told in the book of Revelation, the future, how the devil, the antichrist, the false prophet will be defeated, totally defeated. And Jesus will establish his kingdom on earth, in a literal kingdom, and he will reign for a thousand years, a millennium. So with that in mind, we want to turn to Revelation chapter 18. Revelation chapter 18, we're speaking today and studying the fall of political and economic Babylon. Babylon is, as it were, a symbol. It's a code word. It's not talking about the literal city found in modern-day Iraq. taken from the history of that city and the wickedness of that city and the fact that that city usually was very anti-God and anti-Christ. The kingdom of the anti-Christ will be codenamed Babylon. So, we're looking at Revelation chapter 18. By way of introduction, the seventh trumpet has sounded and we're reading about various activities that occur during the seventh trumpet. In Revelation 15 and 16, we were told about the angels with the seven last plagues. And these seven last plagues are also known as golden bowl judgments. The angel each has a golden bowl, and one by one they're told to pour out their judgments upon planet Earth. These seven plagues occur at the end of the tribulation period during the last three and a half years, which is known as the Great Tribulation. We are seeing what happens during the seventh bowl judgment, which is within the seventh trumpet. In Revelation 17, we saw the destruction of the one world church, which initially was supported and promoted by Antichrist, the religious Babylon. the One World Church will be destroyed by Antichrist the Beast. So, the Antichrist who comes on the scene as a political problem solver between nations, he promotes peace in the Middle East, he establishes a treaty, a covenant of peace with Israel and the surrounding nations, which has not happened yet, And Antichrist will be acclaimed by the world as a wonderful, wonderful solution maker, a wise politician. The world will be immensely impressed by his skill set. And he will initiate and allow Israel to build a temple. It's the Tribulation Temple. And everything is seemingly going to be going Israel's way and the peace for the first three and a half years. Although there will be judgments and Revelation chapter 6, the various horsemen will perform their judgments on earth, but at the midpoint of the tribulation period, three and a half years in, Antichrist shows his true colors and reveals his true program. He's going to claim to be God himself. He is the Christ, and people are required to worship him, and so he will destroy the world religious system that he promoted and seemingly was in favor of when he reveals himself to be God and Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2.4, Matthew 24.15, he's going to go into the temple and cause an abomination, and it's called the abomination of desolation, and that's midpoint of the tribulation, and he'll require people to worship him if you want to buy or sell to take his mark. Now we're in Revelation 18 today, and this deals with the destruction and judgment of Antichrist's one-world government in its political and economic aspects. So in verses one through three, we have the prediction of the fall of economic and political Babylon. Again, this is Antichrist's kingdom. Reading Revelation 18, one, after these things, I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. So the blazing appearance of another angel, not the same as the angels mentioned in chapter 17, verse 1, verse 7, verse 15, that the appearance of this next angel will certainly rivet the world's attention on him and his message of judgment on Babylon. Listen to what he says, verse 2. And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird. Verse three, for all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, And the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury. So, in chapter 17, the religious Babylon lures the nations into spiritual drunkenness and fornication with false gods. Then Antichrist destroys that religion and establishes himself and his program as the true religion. So religious Babylon is destroyed by the Antichrist, but his kingdom, commercial and political Babylon, will seduce and draw the unbelieving world into a materialistic stupor, appealing to the spirit of greed and unsaved people, people like when they have more than enough material wealth. They love the luxuries and the things that this world can offer, and whether they're gotten unbiblically or not doesn't bother most people. We have next a warning to Christians to flee from the city, symbolically named Babylon. What city? Which city? The Bible doesn't tell us which city is going to be the seat of Antichrist, this commercial seat. As we read through this passage, we're gonna see that it's close to the ocean. So it's a port city. It's gonna be a financial center of world business. And so, there are various modern day options. Could it be London? Could it be New York City and Harbor? Could it be Los Angeles? Could it be Shanghai? Or could it be, who knows? And anyone who tries to pinpoint what city it is is going beyond the biblical data and has no proof for it. But when Antichrist comes on the scene, then people will know what city it is. Verse four, I heard another voice from heaven saying, come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins and lest you receive of her plagues. for her sins have reached to the heaven and God has remembered her iniquities. So any Christian during this tribulation period, as I understand the scripture, the rapture will have taken place before this period of seven years begins. However, People who knew about Jesus and weren't interested, when they see that the church indeed has been raptured, they'll be scared to death. Many people will turn to God out of fear. Other people will hear the message for the first time and turn to God in belief, but they will suffer and be persecuted And any Christians who become Christians and live in or near this city, symbolically called Babylon, are told to flee from it before judgment falls. So Christians are warned against compromise in sharing in her sins. You and I have to be careful of the culture in which we are living. Because the culture presently is telling us that various activities are politically correct, and are normal, and good, and it's the right of individuals to make their own choices. And the Bible gives us a different standard. The Bible tells us that God has established the truth and anyone who deviates from that truth is in violation of God's Word and is committing sin and will receive punishment for that sin. Verses 6-8, the reaping of judgment that Babylon will receive for her sins. Render to her just as she rendered to you. and repay her double according to her works. In the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. In the measure that she glorified herself, the city, and the people, and the prosperity, and lived luxuriously. In the same measure, give her torment and sorrow. For she says in her heart, this will be the prevalent attitude of the Antichrist kingdom in the city that he establishes as his commercial center, I sit as queen and am no widow and will not see sorrow. Therefore, her plagues will come in one day. Death and mourning and famine. and she will be utterly burned with fire, the city, for strong is the Lord God who judges her. May I remind each of us of God's principle of sowing and reaping. You reap the same as you sow. This is true individually. This is true of cities, states, nations. as a people group. They can sow righteousness or they can sow unrighteousness. And the principle of God's law of sowing and reaping is number one, you reap the same as you sow. So, if you tell a lie to someone, expect that you will be lied to. If you are hateful towards someone, expect that you will reap hatefulness from other people. Secondly, you're going to reap more than you sow. We know from farming, you put in a seed of corn, you don't get one seed of corn back, you get ears of corn with many Multiple seeds. So the second principle is you reap more than you sow. Now, that's wonderful if you're sowing obedience and righteousness and love and kindness. That's wonderful. You're going to get more love and kindness back. It's going to be multiple. But it's terrible if you're sowing unbiblical attitudes. You will receive, in judgment, the same unbiblical attitudes back. And you reap in proportion to what you sow. That means if you go out and make a 10 by 10 garden, you will reap what that 10 by 10 garden can produce. If you go out and make an acre garden, you're going to reap much more than a 10 by 10. And if you sow 50 acres, you'll have a much greater harvest. And so you and I can sow sin over a process of our life, and what kind of harvest after years and years of indulging in sin is going to come back to us? You can just expect that it will be a big harvest of negative things. Now, well, you say, what if a person gets saved? After sowing like that, God doesn't cancel. the harvest, he gives grace to suffer and go through the reaping. I will never forget the words of my older brother, Wayne, who, because of a tragedy and a betrayal of loved ones, he became bitter, and God told him, you can't be a Christian and be bitter. Well, I'm going to be bitter, and for 10 years, He was backslidden, and in God's mercy, after 10 years, God spoke to his heart again. And Wayne renewed that relationship, and he's been serving God for the last 35 years. But he told me about five or 10 years ago, he said, Alan, the harvest of those 10 years of rebellion and disobedience have started to come in. And he said, if it were not for the grace of God, I don't know how I could stand the problems and the difficulties that have come my way because of choices that were unbiblical that I made. I wanted what I wanted, and I got to pursue what I wanted, but there is a payday, and the harvest does come in. So let us, as individuals, sow obedience, sow kindness, sow the Christ-like attitudes, so we can have a good harvest coming back to us. And fourthly, you reap subsequent to sowing. You sow in one season, And later on, at harvest time, comes in. And what's scary about this is that nobody seemingly understands why the problems later on in life that come their way have come. Nobody I know is saying, you know, well, when I was a young person, I wanted my own way, and I did my own thing, and I didn't care, and I pursued it, and now I'm reaping what I sowed. God is just. God is good. It's my fault for making those choices. And consequently, be wise and don't walk in the footsteps that I walked in. You never hear anybody talking like that. They simply think, well, it's the devil doing this to me, and I don't know why God lets this bad thing happen. I don't hear anybody connecting the biblical principles of sowing and reaping. So you know what that means? Most people don't learn anything through their wrongdoing, and they don't learn anything through their reaping. because none of the problems come with a little card attached. 25 years ago, such and such a date, you did such and such that you knew was wrong. Payday has arrived. If we got a card, we'd say, oh, I was so stupid. Why did I do that? It's all my fault. But instead of knowing it's our fault, we want to blame God, we want to blame others, we want to call it bad luck. There is no such thing as luck. There are principles of sowing and reaping. The word double, reward her double, means full or overflowing. The punishment will fit the sins committed. Remember, God is just, and he never punishes anyone more than the punishment deserves. Never. And nobody gets by with any wrongdoing. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. Galatians chapter 6, whatever you sow you will reap. Babylon's pride and sense of power will be destroyed on that day of judgment. We come now to verses nine through 19, the effect of the destruction of economic and political Babylon. Listen to the lament of the various merchants and people who have made lots of money through the commercial endeavors. Notice that the lamenting and weeping is over loss of material prosperity. You know, the stock market has crashed. I've lost all my investments, oh no! My retirement, my this, my that. Well, people mourn over material loss. It takes the grace of God for people to mourn over sinfulness. So you have lamentation by the kings of the earth, verses 9 and 10. And the day that this city is destroyed, the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her, will weep and lament for her when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, alas, alas! The great city Babylon, that mighty city, for in one hour your judgment has come. Totally unexpected, unlooked for, in the midst of their partying and riches and luxurious judgment falls. Lamentation by the merchants of the world, verses 11 through 16. The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore. merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of the most precious wood, bronze, iron, marble, cinnamon, incense, Fragrant oil and frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, chariots, bodies and souls of men. Somebody says, well, will there be slavery in that day? Well, you do know, do you not, that there is slavery today. It's called the sex trade. And when you hear about missing young girls and missing young boys, they're not all being murdered. Many of them are being kidnapped and sold into sexual captivity and exploited, and they are slaves. And in that day, there'll be this kind of trafficking, as well as people who get themselves so much into debt, thinking that because they have good income, and they have prosperous job, that they can support X amount of debt, and then the crash comes, and they're slaved into their debt, and they're gonna lose everything they have. The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all. Verse 15, the merchants of these things who became rich by her will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, alas, alas, That great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. Then here's the lamentation by the merchant marines, the people who moved merchandise and conduct their business by the sea. For 17, four and one hour, such great riches came to nothing. Every ship master, all who traveled by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, what is like this great city? They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, saying, alas, alas, that great city in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she is made desolate. Now, do you see that this must be a seaport city? We come to the last two verses or so, the rejoicing over Babylon's destruction by holy apostles and prophets. Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her. Now the angels exhort the tribulation martyrs to rejoice, but get this straight, not over the deaths of those doomed to eternal hell. Nobody rejoices when people die and go to hell. They're to rejoice because God's righteousness and justice has prevailed. Sin will be put down one of these days. The violence that will characterize Babylon's destruction, verses 21 through 23, Then a mighty angel took up a stone, like a great millstone, and threw it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down and shall not be found any more. The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, trumpeters shall not be heard in you any more. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you any more. And the sound of a millstone, preparation for food, will not be heard in you anymore. The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore. And the voice of a bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. God's vengeance is poured out on those who killed his faithful followers. And in her, verse 24, was found the blood of prophets and saints and of all who were slain on the earth. So the fall of Babylon ends, whatever semblance of normalcy will still exist in the world after all the seals, trumpets, and bowl judgments have been poured out. Life will be totally disrupted and the end near. No more music, no industry, no preparation of food. No more power for light, no more weddings, because God will destroy the deceivers and the deceived. The religious and commercial political systems embodied in Babylon will commit unspeakable atrocities against God's people. Anybody who claims to be a Christian will be persecuted and, if possible, killed. Jesus, the Lamb of God, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, will avenge the slaughter of his people. And in closing, you and I must remember Romans 12, 19. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath. For it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Judgment is coming upon planet Earth. America, with her millions of abortions, murdering unborn children, simply because we have legislated the right of mothers and the medical profession to take the lives of these babies in the womb. If you kill a baby before it's born, that baby is not legally called a person. If you kill a baby after it's born, they will prosecute you because you have committed murder. The insanity of people who believe they are so wise and intelligent, who think that the birth causes someone to become a person, and before they're born, they're not a person. They're just a fetus. They're just a collection of cells. And a woman has the right to do with her body whatever she chooses. Well, she may have the legal right, but God's keeping score. And that's just the surface. Now, homosexual marriage, same-sex marriage, all of the things that God abominates are becoming politically permissible. And many, many people who claim to be Christians think there is nothing wrong with violating scripture. And furthermore, most Christians don't know scripture well enough to even know what the Bible says on some of these subjects. And that's great tragedy and sadness because you and I are responsible, since we still have the privilege of voting, we are responsible to vote and to get the most biblically correct person in, even though that person may be a vile sinner. There are degrees of sinners, and we need to at least try to get the least sinful person in. And so I know there's sometimes not a good choice among the choices, but you and I are accountable before God for how we use our opportunities. Do not feel disempowered. Do not feel helpless. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous person avails much. And God said through Ezekiel, I looked for a person who would stand in the gap. who would intercede for the nation. I didn't find anyone, so I had to destroy the nation. Pray for our country. Pray for our state. Pray for our cities. Pray for our communities. Your prayers, if you are a righteous person, really makes a difference. And the enemy wants to discourage you to make you think that your prayers don't make any difference. They do. And the devil knows it, and that's why he wants to stifle prayer. God is keeping track. I want to reap a harvest of blessing and not a harvest of judgment. And through God's grace, the choice is up to each one of us. What are you sowing every day? Your attitudes, your behavior, your words, your thought patterns. Be not deceived, whatever you sow, you're going to reap. And so may God help us to focus on the things that are lovely, and be men and women of prayer, and let our light shine, and have Christ-like attitudes when we're in the store, when we're driving on the highway, that we can be the kind of examples that God wants us to be. Amen? We've been talking this morning about the fall of political and economic Babylon, the Antichrist's kingdom. Let us close in prayer.