🔥 AN OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION (PART 9) REVELATION CHAPTER 18 🔥

Mike Balloun teaches today. 01/13/24

🔥 AN OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION (PART 9) REVELATION CHAPTER 18 🔥

VERSES: Zechariah 5:5-11; Genesis 11:6; 2nd Thessalonians 2:3,4,9; 1st Corinthians 10:14-21; Matthew 24:24

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AN OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION (PART 9)
CHAPTER 18

The purpose of our studying of the Book of Revelation has less to do with being controversial or adversarial, or even to put my 2 cents into it; it has to do with finding the heart of God (whose main focus is on Israel, and in the Last Days, replacing the Gentile rule with Israel ruling in God’s Theocratic government in the Millennium, in answer to God’s Covenant Promise to Abraham and in fulfillment of the many Old and New Testament prophecies). Reading the Book of Revelation should bring us into a state of repentance, and of looking to understand it as a guide to prepare us for the events that will take place. It’s easy to see these things as far off, or easy to view it from a theological view and feel comfortable about our stances, but if we saw the events happening right in front of us, these things would take on a new importance.

While the Book of Revelation has a lot of moving parts, especially from Chapters 4-19, Chapters 17 & 18 may be the most controversial due to the differing viewpoints concerning it (mainly within Catholicism and Protestantism, as much of their doctrine and theology rests on these Chapters; much of the confusion caused by spiritualizing things that should be taken literally). But we can all agree that the Book of Revelation was written for the edification of Christ’s Church, and that there should be a sense of awe and reverence while studying it, and sense of a future accounting, where God will hold both humans and spirits accountable.

The mystery Babylon/the woman harlot of Chapter 17 is not nominal Christianity, but a religious system formed around commercialism and spiritualism in idol worship since post- Noah’s flood, in Babel/Babylon… where there was the establishing of a sovereignty by Nimrod without God. Then in the time of John’s writing of the Book of Revelation, that woman was seen as having been, at some point, mystically re-located to Rome, the City of 7 hills and associated with 7 kings. She is there in Verse 1 revealed as “the great whore that sitteth upon (has authority over) many waters” (many waters being symbolic for peoples and nations), aptly describing her previous home Babel/Babylon and then her home of John’s day, seen in Verse 9, which was Rome, the Empire’s ruling city; it also being a port city through which she was also able to influence many peoples and Nations. (John being the one that takes Babylon and then associates it with Rome, bringing this comparison out in Revelation 17:9… “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.”)

Such were two ruling harbor Cities in Biblical times that answer to the description of the City of Babylon during and following Daniel’s days… and later the City of Rome in New Testament days. She, being located in Rome in John’s day, did not in any way change her origin, which Scripture clearly ties to Babel, nor her wicked nature and spiritual power, in that no matter what guise or place she is in, she is still that Babylonian religious harlot and mother of harlots and mother of abominations of the Earth (Leviticus 18:27, Deuteronomy 32:16-17), then as much as now. She is the religious system tied to commercialism (it being hard to separate commercialism from worldliness) by which its ‘priests’ lord or glean favor to rule over people. She causes all kings and kingdoms to be drunk with the wine of her religious and commercial fornication.

And after her great work throughout this entire Dispensation in the “times of the Gentiles,” in the religious intoxicating of all the kings and peoples throughout the entire Earth, she will return to her origin for permanent residency in the great City of Babylon and avail herself to the Beast/Anti-Christ, fulfilling Zechariah 5:5-11… “Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth (Zechariah was in the Promised Land). And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah (a container of measure in commercialism) that goeth forth (from Israel/Jerusalem). He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth. And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman (a religious system wickedly commercial at heart that will bring present Israel/Jerusalem to its destruction. So it is that Mystery Babylon has always been able to array herself in purple and scarlet color, and deck herself with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication) that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women (2 similar harlots), and the wind was in their wings (the wind being demonic help); for they had wings like the wings of a stork: (a stork being an unclean bird noted for going back to the same nest) and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah? And he said unto me, To build it a house (a temple) in the land of Shinar (future restored City of Babylon): and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base” (where she originated).

So it is at the End of the “Times of the Gentiles” upon the return of Christ, that the literal City of Babylon on the river Euphrates will again be the seat of power and from where the religious worldwide outflow of wicked influence shall be directed by the king of kings, the Anti-Christ/son of man and ‘son’ of ‘god’, with all his father’s (Matthew 4:8-9) supernatural flesh-pleasing power in his ‘spirit’, who shall rule over the Nations of the Earth. As Babel’s defiant proclamation will be then victoriously realized “… and nothing (in their lustful imagination) will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do” (ultimately fulfilling Genesis 11:6b).

In the End-Times, this woman rides the political 4th ‘Beast’ made up of a prophesied 10- Nation confederation. It is seen that her power over these Nations rests solely on her commercially luxurious and idolatrous religious appeal and she uses them and their political power for a time in the shedding of the blood of many saints and the blood of many martyrs of Jesus. (Revelation 17:6) The mystery woman from her conception at Babel was to be a great morally luxurious drunken Harlot (never married), formed to cause her wanton and lustful paramours to drink of her cup of moral drunkenness. This mystery woman, having never been married, should be distinguished from Israel, in that Israel was a married woman who fell deeper in degradation from adultery into harlotry, and whose alliances brought forth idolatrous abominations (Ezekiel 16, Jeremiah 2, and Jeremiah 44:4)… and she is also distinct from Christians in like manner, who are betrothed to Christ, who now also are drunken with the cup of her idolatrous fornication. (2nd Corinthians 11:2-4)

Mystery Babylon is not Israel/Jerusalem per se, nor is she Rome per se, but the system into which they are thoroughly drunkenly enmeshed, defiled, and corrupted. And in that they would not “come out of her” (Mystery Babylon), they epitomize her in the Earth, and they are judged as her. (See Revelation 18:4… “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”) But in the burning cleansing fires of the End-Times and Last Days’ hatred and persecution of Israel and the lukewarm Church, first by the woman and then by the Anti-Christ, they are sobered, repentant, and finally separated from her clutches. (Revelation 16:19-19:3) But the mystery Babylon system survives until the end.

By End-Time idolatry, and as the Days of Noah, it is meant that there will be a growing knowledge and familiarity with the Queen of Harlotry, in the political and religious circles increasingly more being ‘adept’ (very skilled or proficient) in the supernatural, in her different forms of spiritualism, witchcraft, sorceries, drug use in connecting with the supernatural, astrology, and reading of horoscopes, divining, conjuring, spell casting, black magic, etc… (Now as Jannes and Jambres (the two magicians who copied God’s miracle by turning their staffs into snakes) withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth - 2nd Timothy 3:8). Paul tells us that idols are nothing… but man is not moved to worship nothing; only that to which there is some real power to be found behind the object of worship. There are those who make offerings of one kind or another, to that which seemingly are a representation of Deity… but their offerings and worship are unto demons Paul goes on to say. (1st Corinthians 10:14-21… “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.”) And by a man’s fellowship, through one form of idolatry or another, he may establish relationship with fallen spirits or demons of different sorts (Matthew 17:21, Acts 16:16), who in vast numbers, far exceed humans. They occupy the unseen parts of this Realm with this objective. That relationship, once being developed, is designed to be similar to that relationship between Jesus and His followers. (Most people not even realizing that they have idols in their lives, or an open door to the demonic through the things they allow into their mind or body.)

The fruit of inspired darkness is the humans’ belief in the supernatural, and that to be the source of guiding supernatural light. These End-Times are featuring more and more familiarity with the supernatural… a growing awareness of the unseen forces, in the lowering of the restrictive veil of God. Increasing communication is the result of salt and light diminishing as men increasingly love the dark and hate the light. It is Romans 1:18-32 in the indictment of the antediluvian (pre-Flood) period again most applicable to the End-Times and Last Days, where the atmosphere/environment is ripe for the embracing of communication with ancient demons and participation in forbidden practices by the masses. The enemy having the redeemed in view, any participation in this will thereby disqualify them from Kingdom inheritance and will open them up to severe judgements.

Seriously consider that satan is not looking to make skeptics of the supernatural out of man… but to make ‘believers’ out of them, using the supernatural to bring man under the influence and dominion of his and his unseen minions’ flesh-appealing powers. Be it ‘miracles’ on a secular, political front, or a religious pagan or nominal Christian front. It is through these means that the Anti-Christ will deceive those in the Last Days (“whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders” - 2nd Thessalonians 2:9) The Christian is to realize we are in the Age of faith, where Jesus said it is more blessed to believe without seeing. Christians beware lest you be swayed by signs, miracles, and wonders and be deceived. Matthew 24:24… “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first (the falling away from the faith by the apostate church is seen here) , and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” The End-Times and Last Days’ end goal for the unholy trinity is for the ‘resurrected’ ‘son of god’ to sit in the Temple of God in Jerusalem as God, destroy Jerusalem and kill all Jews and Christians and to sit in the Temple of his god in the City of Babylon and be worshiped as god by man. The scheme has always been to subjugate man to the organized satanic system; religion mixed with commercialism set forth after the Deluge, in Babel/Babylon… that cup from which every Nation has drank from and has become drunk.

In Chapter 17, Deuteronomy 32:36-38 and Isaiah 2:6-21 are coming into view. One of the angels having the 7 Vials comes unto John to show him the judgement on the mystery woman/the great whore that sitteth upon many waters, who is mystery Babylon, or mystic Babylon (meaning unseen by the Old Testament prophets). The ‘fall’ is announced of the mystery woman… which is to say the harlot Israel and the City of Jerusalem, who epitomizes the mystery Babylon whore, who rode upon/exercised power over the beast (the 10 Nation’s kings and the Anti-Christ) and who is hated by the 10 horns/Nations who desolate and make her naked, and eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. This ‘fall” occurs after those of the ‘manchild’ (of Revelation 12:5) are caught up to the first heaven (in answer to Revelation 3:10), and just at the time of the great hour of temptation and Jacob’s Trouble begin, and the Abomination of Desolation of the Anti-Christ now sets in with his demand for worship of himself in the Holy Place in Jerusalem. (Matthew 24:15, Daniel 9:27; 11:40-45; 12:7, 2nd Thessalonians 2:3-4, Revelation 11:1-2;13:1-18) Placing then the great City of Jerusalem/the mystery Babylon’s destruction around 3 ½ years before the literal City of Babylon is utterly destroyed in the 7th Vial judgement of Chapter 18. (The Word says that at the time of the seventh Angel pouring out his final vial, the City of Babylon is brought to God’s remembrance as it is the origin of mystery Babylon “…and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.” Satan recalls/relocates the mystical religious and commercial woman of Babylon from the scene at Jerusalem (in that her work from his point of view is accomplished) as she is now to take her place in the promoting of his ‘sons’ kingdom glory as the Anti-Christ’s Great literal ruling City Babylon comes into full view. (Zechariah 5:5-11) (Mystery Babylon is like a chameleon who changes her form throughout the centuries to attract a different clientele/devotees. Just as the religious system of Babylon was subservient to the ruler, Nimrod, the system was relocated to Rome as seen in John’s vision, and in the End-Times, she is seen by Zechariah as in the Promised Land, but then relocated back to Babel/Babylon, coming full circle. The events at the tower of Babel also coming full circle back to the plains of Shinar in the future restored City of Babylon where the Anti-Christ intends to accomplish what Nimrod began, which was to make for themselves a unified alliance of men with fallen spirits to rule in the Earth to spite God and make a name for themselves building “…a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven.”)

See Revelation 18:1-24… “And after these things (after the events of Chapter 17’s Vision which makes it parenthetical. Now comes the continuation and completion of the 7th Vial and its destruction of literal Babylon. 3 ½ years now have gone by and the scene is that of Revelation 16:19) I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen…”

It is not the same Angel, in that this Angel is more splendid in glory, suggesting a greater and more encompassing judgement, as this Angel’s great pronouncement answers to the events of literal Babylon’s destruction, and the end of the “times of the Gentiles” ruling in the Earth. It is not mystery Babylon of Chapter 17 and Chapter 14, but is an amplification, it is now both mystery and literal together, in that both have committed fornication with kings and nations. Both shed the blood of saints. Both have cups of corruption. Both are called Babylon the great. Both are clothed in scarlet and purple and precious stones.

But It has been made clear they are not the same as seen by the many contrasting differences: one is a mystery the other is not. John wondered greatly at one, but not the other. One rides the Beast; the other does not. One is called ‘the woman’/the great whore; the other is not. One has names written on her; the other does not. One was known by the prophets; the other was not. One made herself wealthy; the other made others wealthy. One is destroyed by man; the other by God. The same men rejoice as they enrich themselves in the fall of one and lament over the fall of the other as they suffer financial loss. One is destroyed in 1 hour and is left uninhabitable forever; the other is burned with fire but left habitable.

Babylon’s destruction is twice proclaimed “…is fallen, is fallen…” which is an allusion to ancient Babel’s judgements coming upon it in two distinct places; the City of Jerusalem and the City of Babylon and on two distinct levels… spirits and the spiritual part of this Realm, and humans and the material part of this Realm.