Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

I. Judgment Pronounced (vs.

1-3)

A. Characteristics of the Messenger (vs. 1)

He has Great Dominion

He has Great Delight

He has Great Distinction

B. The Components of the Message (vs.

2-3)

The Fall will be Great (vs. vs. 2)

The judgment that was predicted in 14:8, will now be carried out.

The fall will be a more far reaching fall that even was predicted by the prophet Isaiah.

As we said last time, it is believed that this judgment will take place at the time of the seventh bowl judgment.

Remember the succession of the judgments that we have looked during the time of the tribulation.

There was the scroll that Jesus Christ took from the hand of the Father because the text says in chapter 5 that He alone was worthy to open the scroll and look at the contents of the scroll.

Picture of Scroll

Because remember that the scroll was sealed and that was an ancient legal practice to ensure that only the persons authorized to open the scroll would, in fact, open it.

And remember, we told you that there were two requirements to be able to open the scroll.

First, you have to have the authority to open the scroll.

Second, you had to have the power to be able to enact what the scroll said.

Jesus Christ possess both of those things.

So, remember that he began to pull back the scroll one seal at a time beginning in Chapter 6.

These were the first of the Tribulation judgment called the seal judgments and there are seven of them.

When Jesus the seventh seal at the beginning at chapter 8, we said to you that the judgment that was viewed in this seal were so horrific that the Scripture says that there was a silence in heaven for half an hour.

The reason for that is because as Christ unrolled the seventh seal, it unleashed the seven trumpet judgment.

The second string of judgments during the time of the Tribulation.

And as the angels began to blow those trumpets one by one and unleashing the judgment of God on the earth (and as we have seen really Babylon was the target), each one was a little worse.

When the seventh angel blows his trumpet in Chapter 11:15-19, this unleashes the seven bowl judgment that we see start to be poured out beginning in Chapter 16.

Remember that we said to you that these bowl judgments are rapid fire, one right after the other.

We believe that when the seventh and final bowl is poured out, that is the time that we are now seeing Babylon fall.

The fall will be so great that the angel speaks of the fall twice.

So we know that the fall will be great but what is the reason for such a great fall?

2. The Fortress will be Grotesque

The angel uses some very descriptive terms to speak about the reason for such judgment on this religious and commercial city.

The angel says that Babylon has become the dwelling of demons (devils and foul spirit both refer to demons).

It was in the vicinity of Babylon that 200 million formerly bound demons were released at the sounding of the sixth trumpet (9:13–16).

They, along with the demons released from the abyss at the sounding of the fifth trumpet (9:1–11), those cast from heaven with Satan (12:4, 9), and those previously on earth, will be confined in Babylon.

God will, so to speak, gather all the rotten eggs into one basket before disposing of them.

The text also tells us that it will be the home of every unclean bird; again, referring to demons.

I want you to get this picture.

You have all these demons in this city and we do not know the incalculable million or trillions that it will be.

We have some numbers, but some of the numbers are relative because we do not know the original number of the created angels.

So, the 1/3 that will be driven out of heaven with Satan is a relative number since we do not know the number of the original creation of angels.

We do not know how many million that will be released from the abyss.

But with all of this, the text says that these demons will be hovering over the city like a carrion bird, a vulture waiting for the destruction so that they can feed on the carcasses of the destroyed.

That is picture of this middle eastern city that the Scripture gives to us.

Picture of the map of Babylon

There will be a lot of Prophetic things that take place in the area of what we now know as Baghdad in Iraq.

These carrion demons will hover over Babylon just waiting for its destruction.

But there is another reason for this deserving judgment.

3. The Filthiness will be Global (vs. 3)

Babylon’s destruction will also come because all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.

Antichrist’s evil religious and commercial empire will spread its hellish influence to all the nations of the world.

Having drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality (cf.

14:8; 17:2), the people of the world will fall into a religious and materialistic stupor.

The all-encompassing terms all the nations, the kings of the earth, and the merchants of the earth reveal that Babylon will seduce the entire world.

The unregenerate people of the world will lust for Babylon, passionately desiring to commit acts of spiritual immorality with her.

Likewise, the merchants of the earth will have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.

In the beginning, the world will cash in on Babylon’s financial prosperity.

Having thrown off any semblance of self-control or self-restraint, sinners will indulge in a wild materialistic orgy.

Like those in ancient Babylon, they will be partying when their city is destroyed (cf.

Dan.

5:1–30).

II.

Judgment Avoided (vs.

4-5)

Having thrown off any semblance of self-control or self-restraint, sinners will indulge in a wild materialistic orgy.

Like those in ancient Babylon, they will be partying when their city is destroyed (cf.

).

There is another voice that is being heard from heaven.

“ἄλλος” indicates for us that this is a different voice but of the same kind.

So this is another angel proclaiming a message to God’s people.

A Command Proclaimed (vs.

4)

“Come out of her, my people,” is a call for God’s people to disentangle themselves from the world system.

It may also be an evangelistic call to God’s elect to come to faith in Christ and come out of Satan’s kingdom (cf.

Col. 1:13).

In both cases, the message is to abandon the system.

Throughout the terrifying judgments of the Tribulation, God will save people.

The result of the gospel preaching by the 144,000 Jewish evangelists, the two witnesses, and an angel flying in midheaven will be the greatest harvest of souls the world has ever known (cf.

7:9)

Many of these believers will be martyred for their faith in Christ when they refuse to take the mark of the beast (13:15–16).

The survivors will face powerful temptations to participate in the system.

Family and friends will no doubt pressure them to save themselves by accepting the mark of the beast.

The need to obtain the basic necessities of life will also pressure them to conform to the system (cf.

13:17).

Believers in the present day need to also fight the temptation to be caught up in the world system.

He sharply rebukes those who got caught up in the world.

The biblical truth that believers are not to be involved in the world system will take on new urgency as Babylon faces imminent destruction.

The angel’s message to the believers still in that city is the same one that the angels brought to Lot (Gen.

19:12–13): Get out before you are caught up in God’s judgment of that wicked place.

b.

A Combination Prohibited (vs.

4)

“…that ye be not partakers of her sins...”

The materialistic, pleasure-mad, demon-infested city of Babylon will exert an almost irresistible influence on believers to participate in her sins.

Like Joseph (Gen.

39:7–12; cf. 1 Cor.

10:14; 1 Tim.

6:11; 2 Tim.

2:22) they must flee to avoid succumbing to “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life” (1 John 2:16).

C. A Curse to Pass (vs.

4)

“…and that ye receive not of her plagues”

The only way that the believers of this time will be able to avoid the plagues of Babylon is to get out of Babylon.

The only way that you, today, will avoid the plagues of Babylon is to get out of Babylon.

The only way that our children will avoid the plagues of Babylon, is to make sure that we do not send them to Babylon.

D. A Condition Packed (vs.

5)

“For her sins have reached unto heaven...”

Piled is from kollaō, which literally means “to glue together,” or “to join.”