The Tale of the First City

Gary Jarvis

Revelation: All Things New • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

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Theme: The Arrogance, and Extravagance of unjust nations becomes their Downfall. Purpose: To Trust that Jesus wins over the Seductive way of the world. Gospel: Jesus comes to Judge the World. Mission: Trust Jesus even when it seems like Evil is winning.

Notes

Transcript

Revelation 17–18 NIV

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.” Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. The name written on her forehead was a mystery: babylon the great the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth. I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come. “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction. “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. With a mighty voice he shouted: “ ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’ She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.” Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “ ‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup. Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow; I will never mourn.’ Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her. “When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, you mighty city of Babylon! In one hour your doom has come!’ “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore— cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves. “They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’ The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn and cry out: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’ “Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’ “Rejoice over her, you heavens! Rejoice, you people of God! Rejoice, apostles and prophets! For God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you.” Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again. The music of harpists and musicians, pipers and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again. No worker of any trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again. The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your merchants were the world’s important people. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray. In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people, of all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”

Introduction:

49-Who is Babylon?

The Story of Deitrich Boenhoffer smuggling messages to and from prison through a code. This is the same thing happening here when Revelation talks about the Mystery that requires Wisdom. In other words the Symbolism is intended for the readers to get, but not for the Roman capters to get.

1 Peter 5:13 LEB

She who is in Babylon, chosen the same as you, greets you, and so does my son Mark.

- Peter is talking about the Church in Rome - That is where he and Mark are at this time. So Babylon is code for Rome in the Early Church.

The Prostitute = Babylon the Great = the City of Rome.

- 7 Mountains

-Waters representing peoples, crowds, nations, languages - So an Empire like Rome was in the day.

-The Woman is the great city that has sovereignty over the kings of the earth - Like Rome of that day

-Cities were often called prostitutes in the O.T.

- Isaiah 23:17 calls Tyre a prostitute

- Jeremiah 51:7 gives the same imagry of Babylon having a cup in its hand to make the whole earth drunk.

- The General imagry here is of any O.T. city that lures people away from the one true God - ie, Tyre, Jerusalem, Babylon, Rome -

How to interpret - Some look to the future, and see a One World Government set up - So it points to some specific nation in the future.

But with our principles of interpretation we have set out, the original readers would have seen that One World Government already present in their own day - the Roman Empire.

John is utilizing O.T. texts pointed at Jerusalem, Tyre, Babylon, and other nations to say, See Rome is the Babylon or City of our Day that is operating under that Spirit of Seduction. So for our context we can do what John is doing. Ask what are the cultural prostitutes of our day that are trying to lure us from God. What is the Babylon or Babylons of our day as there has been, and will continue to be expressions of Babylon until Christ comes again.

But, we might say, last week pastor Gary you said Chapters 14b-16 were the end, the end of God’s wrath, and Babylon was mentioned in it. So this has to be the end.

Two things - First - We will see that John lived out what this text said, believing that Jesus could come at any time, like a thief, so he very well did believe it was the end. We are all called to live that way.

Two - Remember God’s time which is multi dimensional. We are interpreting the present in light of the end. Christians do this all the time. - Something bad is going to happen, we have to make a decision, and we trust that God will sort it out in the end. So all Babylons so to speak, their fate can be rolled up into one. All Nations will ultimately be judged whether now or 2,000 years from now. John can see the fate of Rome in light of Christ’s 2nd Coming no matter the timing of it all in our earthly timelines.

51-Babylon’s Partnership with the Beast.

We have already been introduced to the Beast, and we know the Beasts Story from Chapters 12 - 14. The Beast is the Roman Empire.

The 7 kings are Emperors - and this is clear by John saying that 5 were, now one is, and one is yet to come. They are Emperors during John’s day.

The 10 kings are likely representative of provincial kings over the nations or regions that are subservient to the Roman Empire - Like the Herod present during Jesus’ Crucifixion as the King over Galilee. - As you may recall, I had suggested it is these provincial authorities that the 2nd Beast represents or otherwise known as the Beasts Prophet. They were the ones enforcing worship of the Roman gods, and the Emperors and why vs. 14 says they make war with the Lamb.

Listen to how Gordon Fee describes this relationship between the Beast, the Kings, and the Prostitute. Ie the Roman Empire, the provincial kings, and the City of Rome itself.

Revelation: A New Covenant Commentary The Introduction as Invitation (17:1–2)

Because of Rome’s generally benign policies as a conqueror, these “kings” had come to benefit far more than otherwise. Thus even though beneath the surface there existed a kind of love/hate relationship with Rome, it was more “love” on the part of the “kings” of these various lands than it was “hate.” Indeed, in the history of Western civilization, Rome probably benefited its conquered peoples at least as much as, if not far more than, otherwise. Nonetheless, from the divine perspective, especially given the early Christians’ refusal to concede that any other than their risen Christ (including the emperor) was “Lord,” the Empire in John’s eyes thus played the role of an alluring harlot.

52-Babylon’s Seduction of Extravagance

Revelation 18:3 LEB

For all the nations have drunk from the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich from the power of her sensuality.”

Sexual Immorality symbolic language for these things here.

- Getting rich and living in luxury through exploitation....

- Rome is, obviously where the Roman empire started, and was the seat of power for the Roman Empire for many years, but not eventually.

- Rome would conquer a land, and when they did a couple of things would happen.

- Slave labor of some of the conquered peoples.

- Partnerships with local kings, with the promise of riches if they are in alignment, or military punishment if they don’t - most of the local kings preferred the riches.

- These arrangements with the buying and selling of slaves, and the local government officials getting wealthy off the arrangement, enabled the wealth to flow to the rich and powerful elites in Rome.

- What we see here are the people who benefit the most.

- The Roman Elite, The Provincial Kings, The Merchants, and Merchant Ships who are able to import the finest of things from all around the world from Egypt, Africa, Asia Minor, even as far as India, and silk from China.

- Who lost in this arrangement - The average conquered people, who many of them were sold into slavery see vs. 13, and anyone who didn’t tow the Roman line, the Jewish people, and the Christians.

- Side note - If anyone says the Bible is not really against slavery please point them to this passage. Here we see God Judging Rome for many factors, but precisely one of the reasons is the buying and selling of humans. God does not look kindly on societies that exploit others for the wealth and splendor of the Elite. Those societies will experience the fate of Babylon the Great. - What societies are those. Well I am hard pressed to find any that do not. The Prophets are Clear, that all nations will be judged, It is the pattern that we see for every nation, but there is a way out according to the prophets and Revelation as well.

- The Final thing to point out here is Rome’s lust for the blood of the prophets and saints, and all those who had been slaughtered on the earth. vs. 24 - Their conquering ways, their lust for the Colleseum.

53-Babylon’s Arrogance

Revelation 18:7 LEB

As much as she glorified herself and lived in luxury, give to her so much torment and mourning, because in her heart she said, ‘I sit as a queen, and am not a widow, and I will never see mourning!’

- What I learned about Rome calling itself the Eternal City in my study was fastenating. We might think it was named this because of the placement of Vatican City in the midst of Rome. However, this title for Rome was developed way before then, when the City was a Pagan City. It echoes the boast here of the Prostitute.

The message of the book, the Harbingers - It is a modern Prophecy from a Messianic Jew who sees the signs for the eventual fall of the United States. based on patterns he sees in the Bible, mostly around the patterns of Israel.

Problem - The author sees the United States having a similar covenant with God that Israel did, because of a pledge that Washington gave at the first presidential inauguration. - This is not theologically Biblical. Gods’ covenant was with Israel as His People, the equivalent today is the Church/both Jew and Gentile, no geo-political entity.

The Good insight - American Pride - And he quotes Obama at the building of the Freedom Center - “We remember, we rebuild, we come back stronger!”

Isaiah 9:9–10 LEB

And all of the people knew it, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria in pride and arrogance of heart, saying, “The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stone. The sycamore-fig trees were felled, but we will replace them with cedars.”

Proverbs 16:18 LEB

Before destruction comes pride, and before a fall, a haughty spirit.

- Nations need to stay humble

Story of Nate our Centerfielder.

54-The Arrogance and Extravagance of Babylons become their Downfall.

Revelation 18:5–8 LEB

because her sins have reached up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Pay back to her as she herself also paid out, and pay back double according to her deeds; in the cup that she mixed, mix double for her. As much as she glorified herself and lived in luxury, give to her so much torment and mourning, because in her heart she said, ‘I sit as a queen, and am not a widow, and I will never see mourning!’ Because of this her plagues will come in one day— death and mourning and famine— and she will be burned up with fire, because the Lord God who passes judgment on her is powerful!”

https://www.history.com/news/8-reasons-why-rome-fell

1. Invasions by Barbarian tribes

2. Economic troubles and overreliance on slave labor

3. The rise of the Eastern Empire

4. Overexpansion and military overspending

5. Government corruption and political instability

6. The arrival of the Huns and the migration of the Barbarian tribes

7. Christianity and the loss of traditional values

8. Weakening of the Roman legions

55 - How to Avoid the Fate of Babylons.

- So In my mind the Target here of Babylon is Rome if we are reading it as the original readers,

- But a glance throughout history shows us that many nations, and many cities before and since then have operated like Rome.

- Are call according to the Book of Revelation is to “Come out of her.”

- What does this mean? Does this mean literally leave the cities and societies you live in. Should we leave the US, or Grand Rapids, or Hudsonville when we see the Elite growing in wealth and luxury on the backs of the poor or because Slavery was a part of our history. No, because where would we go. Inevitably to another Babylon.

Two Ways to Come out of this First City in the Tale of Two Cities.

Make sure your name is written in the Book of Life. - Jesus has already paid for the Judgment of the World’s sins. We really can not escape Babylons fate on our own effort. We could try to be like Jonah and flee to Tarshish, but then he is only fleeing Ninevah (A Babylon of its day) to go to another Babylon. We can not escape on our own. The only escape so we don’t receive the wrath of God is to Align yourself with Jesus.

Live with the values of Jesus, not the values of the systems of this world.

The impossibility of that - 403b’s and removing investments

Not judging others then

But doing our best to operate with Jesus values - “Not Lording it over people like the Pagans do.” and Trust Jesus for His Grace when we fail.

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