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If I Were Told the Future - Lesson 77

The Fall of Babylon
 

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Let’s address a short prayer to God:

Our Lord,

The impressive and tragic events which we studied in our last lessons will bring about the fall of Babylon.

Why will Babylon experience this sad fate? What are the circumstances that will surround this fall?

May Your prophetic Word enlighten us on this subject, just as it has so far.

We ask You this in the precious name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.




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Revelation 17:1,2,5,18

And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying to me,

«Come here; I will show to you the judgment of the great whore that sits on many waters: with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.» (...)

And on her forehead was a name written, «Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.» (...)

The woman which you saw is that great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.

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In our lesson «The Great Whore», we have seen that Babylon symbolizes a religious system that groups together all the apostate churches.

In the last days, this system will receive full authority over all the nations.




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Revelation 17:6,13,14

And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. (...)

[The ten kings] have one mind, and shall give their power and strength to the beast.

These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings.

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The union of the whore, the beast, and the ten kings (which symbolize the nations of the earth) will form a religio-political coalition that will attack God’s people refusing to submit to its authority.

But this war against Jesus and His saints will end badly for the apostate coalition.

This will be the fall of Babylon, which is the subject of this lesson.




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Jeremiah 51:8,9

Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed.

Forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reaches to heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.

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First, let’s see what leads God to pronounce such a severe judgment against Babylon.

Let’s note first that God was exceedingly patient towards Babylon, incessantly calling all the apostate churches to come back to Him, to rediscover His will and obey it.

But Babylon always refused to listen to God.




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Daniel 5:18-23 : Literal Babylon, too, was rebellious before its fall.

«O you king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor. (...)

But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him, (...) till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and that He appoints over it whomsoever He will.

And you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this; but have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you, and your lords, your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine in them.

And you have praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, have you not glorified.»




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Daniel 5:24-28,30,31

«Then was the part of the hand sent from [the Lord]; and this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written, “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.”

This is the interpretation of the thing:

“Mene”; God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it. “Tekel”; You are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. “Peres”; Your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.» (...)

In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom.

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Seeing the unrepentance of literal Babylon, God brought about its fall.




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Revelation 2:18,20,21

And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, (...)

«I have a few things against you, because you suffer that woman Jezebel, which calls herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce My servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed to idols.

And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.»

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Spiritual Babylon, in turn, displays the same unrepentance.

In the «Letter to the Church of Thyatira», symbolizing the apostate Church in the Middle Ages, Jesus had already called the impure woman, here named Jezebel, to repent of her immorality, but, even at that time, she refused to repent.




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Revelation 2:22,23

Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am He which searches the reins and hearts.

And I will give to every one of you according to your works.

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God allowed many plagues to strike Europe during the Middle Ages, in order to reason with the Church and «them that commit adultery with her».

Unfortunately, the Church preferred to sink more and more deeply into apostasy.




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Jeremiah 50:29,31,32

«Call together the archers against Babylon: all you that bend the bow, camp against it round about; let none thereof escape.

Recompense her according to her work; according to all that she has done, do to her: for she has been proud against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel.» (...)

«Behold, I am against you, O you most proud,» said the Lord God of hosts, «for your day is come, the time that I will visit you. And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up.»

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The main cause of Babylon’s unrepentance is her pride.

Having a very high opinion of herself, she is convinced of her infallibility, and does not see at all the necessity of repenting and coming back to God.




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Revelation 18:7,8

How much she has glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she said in her heart,

«I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.»

Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire.

For strong is the Lord God who judges her.

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On the contrary, Babylon, by saying «I am no widow,» shows that she really thinks she is God’s bride, and also thinks that God approves of all she does, in spite of her abominations and impurity.




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Isaiah 47:1,8,10

Daughter of Babylon, (...) hear now this, you that are given to pleasures, that dwell carelessly, that say in your heart, «I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow.» (...)

For you have trusted in your wickedness: you have said, «None sees me.» Your wisdom and your knowledge, it has perverted you; and you have said in your heart, «I am, and none else beside me.»

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Babylon carried her presumption to the point of believing that her will prevails over God’s will.

So she replaced the teachings and commandments of God with her own human concepts.




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Isaiah 14:4,13,14

You shall take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, (...)

«You have said in your heart, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also on 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.”»

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In fact, Babylon’s pride leads her to share the very same mad ambition as that of Satan, as we have seen in the lesson «The Great Dragon and his Angels»: to take the place of God Himself.

And this is no surprise since, by rejecting God’s repeated calls to repentance, Babylon has entirely given herself to Satan.




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Genesis 11:4

And they said, «Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach to heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad on the face of the whole earth.»

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Revelation 18:5

For [Babylon’s] sins have reached to heaven.

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The first expression of Babylon’s pride was seen at Babel, from which she takes her name.

After the Flood, men wanted to prevent themselves from being struck by another similar divine judgment.

Rejecting God’s salvation, they chose to use human means, and to build a tower «whose top may reach to heaven», just like the sins of Babylon which «have reached to heaven».




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Genesis 11:8,9

So the Lord scattered them abroad from there on the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from there did the Lord scatter them abroad on the face of all the earth.

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The name «Babel» was linked with the Hebrew word «balal», meaning «confusion».

But, in Babylonian language, «Babel» meant «Gate of the Gods».

The famous expression «Extra ecclesiam non salus est», that is, «Outside the church there is no salvation», proclaimed by modern Babylon, echoes this ancient claim of Babel, presenting herself as the only door giving access to God.




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Revelation 18:2

Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit!

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Because of her pride and her satanic ambition to take the place of God, Babylon «is become the habitation of devils».

Even more, her false doctrine of the immortality of the soul, according to which a part of man survives after death and can communicate with the living, left the door wide open to all the deceiving wonders of spiritualism, the favorite weapon of Satan, as we have seen in our lesson «The False Prophet».




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Genesis 3:4,5

The serpent said to the woman,

«You shall not surely die.

For God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.»

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Nowadays, Babylon is made up of a multitude of religions and movements which adopted as their credo the lies of Satan, the ancient serpent.

The assertion of the immortality of man, even if he disobeys God, and the promise of becoming like gods, deceived our first parents and, still today, efficiently deceives millions of people.




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Revelation 18:2,3

Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird!

For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

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The spread of the deceiving false doctrines of Babylon, like wine which makes the nations drunk, is another reason for her fall.

In addition to all the lying spiritual movements, Babylon also groups together all the humanist and materialistic trends which negate the usefulness, indeed even the existence of God, and deem the Bible to be a collection of myths.




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Jeremiah 51:7,8

Babylon has been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunken.

The nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.

Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed.

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By rejecting the Bible as the sole basis of their faith, millions of people deprive themselves of the only source of truth which could help them unmask Satan’s wiles, and lead them on the path of salvation in Jesus Christ.

Preferring to believe tales which do not challenge nor bring into question their spiritual condition, they thus drink Babylon’s poisoned wine.




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Revelation 18:20,21,23,24

«Rejoice over [Babylon], you heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets; for God has avenged you on her.»

And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying,

«Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. (...)

For by your sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain on the earth.»

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In addition to having led astray the nations by her «sorceries», Babylon is found guilty of having severely persecuted the people of God.




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Jeremiah 51:24

«I will render to Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight,» said the Lord.

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Daniel 7:21

The same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them.

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As we have seen many times in our previous lessons, God’s people are often the target of the persecutions of Babylon under the guise of the little horn (the Papacy during the Middle Ages) and then, in the last days, under the guise of the great apostate religious coalition.




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Babylon was and will be, until her fall, a persecutor of God’s people:

«Call together the archers against Babylon. (...) The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go. Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is His name: He shall thoroughly plead their cause, that He may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.» (Jeremiah 50:29,33,34)

«And on her forehead was a name written, “Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.” And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints.» (Revelation 17:5,6)

«“The violence done to me and to my flesh be on Babylon,” shall the inhabitant of Zion say; “and my blood on the inhabitants of Chaldea,” shall Jerusalem say. (...) As Babylon has caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth.» (Jeremiah 51:35,49)




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Revelation 18:2,3

Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird!

For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

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Finally, Babylon will fall because she did not hesitate to reject God and His Word of truth, preferring to adopt a lukewarm position which allowed her to conclude political alliances with the nations, and thus increase her prestige, authority, and material wealth.




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Revelation 17:16

The ten horns which you saw on the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

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Now that we know the reasons for Babylon’s fall, let’s see how Babylon will fall.

When the seven last plagues (which we will study in the next section of this course) are poured out on the earth, the nations «drunk with the wine of her fornication» (Revelation 17:2) will then understand that they have been deceived by Babylon.

All these nations will then turn against Babylon to destroy her.




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Revelation 17:1,16,17

Come here; I will show to you the judgment of the great whore. (...)

And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

For God has put in their hearts to fulfill His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

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Therefore, quite ironically, God will use the rebellious nations to execute His judgment on Babylon, bringing about her final fall.




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Revelation 18:9,10

And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with [Babylon], shall mourn her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying,

«Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour is your judgment come.»

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Yet, Babylon’s wealth and opulence will have been very profitable to the nations.

This is why the kings of the earth weep when they see her ruin, although they themselves have contributed to her destruction, in their fury at having being deceived.




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Ezekiel 27:33-35

You did enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of your riches and of your merchandise.

In the time when you shall be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters your merchandise and all your company in the middle of you shall fall.

All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at you, and their kings shall be sore afraid, they shall be troubled in their countenance.

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But the kings of the earth don’t weep only over the extraordinary material loss caused by the fall of Babylon.

They are also filled with fear, knowing that, since they followed Babylon, the same fate awaits them.




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Revelation 14:8-10

Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. (...)

If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation.

And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone.

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These kings have good reason to be scared because, having drunk of Babylon’s wine, they will now have to drink the wine of the wrath of God.

They will thus have to suffer the seven last plagues, which we will soon study.




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Jeremiah 51:63,64

And it shall be, when you have made an end of reading this book, that you shall bind a stone to it, and cast it into the middle of Euphrates. And you shall say,

«Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring on her.»

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Revelation 18:21

And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying,

«Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.»

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The fall of literal Babylon was symbolized by a stone thrown into a river.

However, it is a millstone thrown into the sea that will confirm the fate of spiritual Babylon: a total destruction.




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The final fate of Babylon will be a total and permanent destruction:

«And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelled in from generation to generation. (...) Her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.» (Isaiah 13:19,20,22)

«Thus said the Lord; “Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the middle of them that rise up against Me, a destroying wind; and will send to Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.”» (Jeremiah 51:1,2)

«“For I will rise up against them,” said the Lord of hosts, “and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew,” said the Lord. “I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction.”» (Isaiah 14:22,23)




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Revelation 18:8,10

Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire.

For strong is the Lord God who judges her. (...)

«Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour is your judgment come.»

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Isaiah 47:1,11

Daughter of Babylon, (...) evil shall come on you; you shall not know from where it rises: and mischief shall fall on you; you shall not be able to put it off.

And desolation shall come on you suddenly, which you shall not know.

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These two passages clearly show that Babylon’s destruction will be sudden, unexpected, and completed in a very short time.




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Revelation 19:1,2

And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying,

«Alleluia! Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, to the Lord our God!

For true and righteous are His judgments: for He has judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and has avenged the blood of His servants at her hand.»

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The last stage of the fall of Babylon will correspond with the return of Jesus, as we will see in a future lesson on Armageddon.

This is why such a scene of rejoicing takes place in heaven.




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Jeremiah 50:2,6,8

Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces. (...)

My people have been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains. (...)

Remove out of the middle of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he-goats before the flocks.

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As we have seen many times in our lessons, let’s never forget that sincere people are still within Babylon, like lost sheep led astray by bad shepherds, their spiritual leaders.

God entrusts us with the important mission of calling them to come out of Babylon, and to bring other sheep with them, «as the he-goats before the flocks».

So it is now up to each one of us to accept this holy mission, and to accomplish it before the return of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.




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Let’s pray together:

Heavenly Father,

Your message is clear, «Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen! (...) Come out of her, My people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.» (Revelation 18:2,4,5).

Please grant us the latter rain, so that we may proclaim with power this message on Your behalf, and encourage the sincere believers who are still within Babylon to take a stand for You.

In Jesus Christ we pray.

Amen.


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