Revelation (Written)

Saturday, 12 June 2021

Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her. Revelation 18:8

Because of the life of luxurious living noted in the previous verses, Babylon the great will be punished. A contrast to the life she has been living will come upon her, as is implied in the words, “Therefore her plagues will come in one day.”

There will be complete recompense against her in the form of plagues, and it will come suddenly. While she is sitting fat, dumb, and happy, the life she feels so at ease in will suddenly be snatched away, being replaced with great horror. As it next says, “death.”

This is given in contrast to the words, “I sit as a queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.” Next, it says, “and mourning.”

This is given in contrast to the thought that she had glorified herself. Next, it says, “and famine.”

This is given in contrast to the thought of her having lived luxuriously. A contrasting plague is to be cast upon her for each of her areas of comfort and self-indulgence. The final one is then stated with the words, “And she will be utterly burned with fire.”

This punishment is given for her fornications. It recalls the thought of Leviticus 21:9 –

“The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the harlot, she profanes her father. She shall be burned with fire.”

This harlot has brought disgrace upon the name of her heavenly Father by mingling what is sacred with what is profane. Her harlotries have become so great that there is simply no remedy for her actions, and she will be thoroughly punished for them. As it next says, “for strong is the Lord God who judges her.”

This is a sentiment found in Jeremiah 50 –

“Their Redeemer is strong;
The Lord of hosts is His name.
He will thoroughly plead their case,
That He may give rest to the land,
And disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.” Jeremiah 50:34

The major theme of the words of this verse are hinted at in the humiliation of Babylon as described by Isaiah –

“For you have trusted in your wickedness;
You have said, ‘No one sees me’;
Your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you;
And you have said in your heart,
‘I am, and there is no one else besides me.’
¹¹ Therefore evil shall come upon you;
You shall not know from where it arises.
And trouble shall fall upon you;
You will not be able to put it off.
And desolation shall come upon you suddenly,
Which you shall not know.” Isaiah 47:10, 11

As for the idea of contrasting punishments for such wickedness, that is seen in Isaiah 3 in regard to the punishments levied upon Judah and Jerusalem –

“And so it shall be:
Instead of a sweet smell there will be a stench;
Instead of a sash, a rope;
Instead of well-set hair, baldness;
Instead of a rich robe, a girding of sackcloth;
And branding instead of beauty.
²⁵ Your men shall fall by the sword,
And your mighty in the war.
²⁶ Her gates shall lament and mourn,
And she being desolate shall sit on the ground.”

The Lord God determines when judgment will come, how it will be brought about, and the level of punishment that will be brought upon the offender. In the case of Babylon, there will be complete ruin because of the sins she has heaped up throughout the years.

Life application: There is one God and one Lord. There is one and only one avenue to reconciliation with Him, and it is through the Person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent Power through whom man is either restored to God or destroyed in His presence. All who align themselves with Babylon the great will find an unhappy ending. So much for religious pluralism!

Either the Bible is true, or it is fairy tales. If it is true, we need to be about the Lord’s business. Judgment is coming for those who fail to heed the call. Respond to it today and receive what God offers. Come to the cross and be reconciled to Him through the shed blood of JESUS.

Lord, help us… help us to speak boldly and without fear about the truth of Your word and the wickedness in the world around us. If You are for us, then who can be against us? But in our natural selves, we shy away from conflict and the truth in order to be liked. Lord, remind us that the only one we need to be “liked” by is You. Nothing else will do. Glory to You! Amen.

Friday, 11 June 2021

In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’  Revelation 18:7

Instead of exalting the Lord, the pomp and pageantry of this harlot brought honor and accolades to herself. A more fitting description of the Vatican could not be found, but an equally fitting description is next given, saying, “and lived luxuriously.”

The word translated as “lived luxuriously” is stréniaó. It is a new word in Scripture and will only be seen again in verse 18:9. It is the verb form of the unique word found in verse 18:3 that spoke of wantonness and self-indulgent luxury. The idea is that this city sought its own glory and lived like a pampered queen.

She possessed much wealth and many articles of value, and her beds are certainly soft and comfortable. Again, the word exactingly described the imagery of the Vatican, surrounded by jewels, gold, finery, great wealth, large real estate holdings, and so on. But all of this will come to its end. As it next says, “in the same measure give her torment and sorrow.”

As much as she has enriched herself, as much as she has been pampered and glorified, and as much attention has been devoted to her – at the expense of sharing the gospel of Christ – so is this vile harlot to be given torment and sorrow. The blood of the countless martyrs who have fallen because of her will come back and testify against her. The city will be brought to utter desolation.

But even though the book is written, and even though it should be fully understood by her that she is what the ancient prophecies have spoken of, she will sit there, clueless till the end, thinking that she cannot be the target of God’s wrath. She is a delusional harlot that cannot see her own sins piled up right in front of her. Instead, she “says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’”

The ideology of the pope today is one of communism mixed with earth worship. He is like the long succession of popes before him. They have each had their own agenda, be it leaning heavily toward the worship of Mary, or be it the conquest of people groups. Their agendas have not been the proper presentation of the word of God or of the gospel of Jesus. And yet, because of her wealth and status, she thinks that she is married to the nations and above any chance of losing her status.

The words here come from the description of Babylon given by Isaiah –

“Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures,
Who dwell securely,
Who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me;
I shall not sit as a widow,
Nor shall I know the loss of children’;
⁹ But these two things shall come to you
In a moment, in one day:
The loss of children, and widowhood.
They shall come upon you in their fullness
Because of the multitude of your sorceries,
For the great abundance of your enchantments. Isaiah 47:8, 9

What is notable, however, is that this is the same way Jerusalem was described at the time of her destruction –

“How lonely sits the city
That was full of people!
How like a widow is she,
Who was great among the nations!
The princess among the provinces
Has become a slave!” Lamentations 1:1

Jerusalem thought it would endure, but she had violated the covenant, had brought dishonor to the name of the Lord, and it was ripe for judgment. However, Israel was given a covenant by God. Despite their destruction and exile, they were brought back and reestablished. For this harlot of the end times, such will not be the case. The Lord has made no covenant with Rome, only with the people who are His.

For those who heed the warning of verse 18:4 (Come out of her, my people), the Lord will be their God. For those who remain, only destruction lies ahead.

Life application: The woman riding atop the beast and who sits on many waters is Babylon the great. She is the mother of harlots according to the previous chapter. In Babylon the great, there is a political and a religious connection as was noted. The harlot, who is the religious aspect of the alliance, has “glorified herself and lived luxuriously,” and she had done it along with the politicians and rulers.

This religious entity has been so involved in the non-religious aspects of the beast’s dealings that she considers herself a queen.

The Vatican became its own nation-state in 1929 and has intermingled its religious influence with the political dealings of nations around the world. It holds great sway and influence through owning immense tracts of land and through the political voice of its adherents.

The pomp and luxurious living of the pope and those in the hierarchy is something that was never intended by Jesus as He hung naked and torn on the cross. The Vatican claims to be the bride of Christ, the King, and supposes therefore that she sits as a queen. And it is obvious that through the great power she exhibits, she feels she will not see sorrow, but rather, will continue on in her regal living forever.

Through this entity, there have arisen many unbiblical and anti-biblical doctrines. Marian worship, the servicing of idols, faith plus deeds (rather than faith alone) being required for salvation, sexual perversion within the priesthood, etc. These are all indications of the apostate nature of the church. Within the church, however, are found faithful followers of Jesus who are working to ensure the truth of the gospel is maintained – lone voices calling out amid the torrent of false teachings and unholy doctrines.

Now stand back and look at other denominations and see that this is not unique to Roman Catholicism. A departing from the truth of the gospel is to be found permeating through almost every major denomination as well as through independent churches. As the end times come closer, there will be a uniting of these organizations through the ecumenical and pluralistic movements until they are united completely as one giant apostate religion.

False Christianity mingled with the other world religions will think that they have attained the royal status of being united as a queen which will never see sorrow. But her luxurious living will have its end, and she will be paid in the same measure with torment and sorrow. What seems like a position of power and royalty will actually be a position of destruction and condemnation. What seems like the throne of permanence will actually be the chair of execution.

The great harlot who uses religion to align herself with the power brokers of the world will meet her end and receive her just due. There is one gospel and one path to restoration with God. Only that which is based on what is stated in God’s word is acceptable, and in His word, we find that both are found only in JESUS.

Lord Jesus, You alone are the head of the church and to You alone is our allegiance due. Yes, we participate in our governments as citizens of the nation in which we live, but we are first and foremost Your soldiers in a spiritual war and our highest allegiance is to You. Help us to be aware of the false doctrines in our churches and to work to change them back to right religion which is honoring to You. Amen.

Thursday, 10 June 2021

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. Revelation 18:6

The previous verse noted that the sins of Babylon the great have reached to heaven, and that God has remembered her iniquity. Now it says, “Render to her just as she rendered to you.” As a note, some manuscripts leave off the word “you” – “Render to her just as she rendered, and repay…”

Either way, it is not those who were called out of her in verse 18:4, nor is it those who have been martyred by her, that are being called to render retribution. Rather, this is a rhetorical way of highlighting the Lord’s right to judge. It is the Lord who renders according to His wisdom –

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people;
For He will avenge the blood of His servants,
And render vengeance to His adversaries;
He will provide atonement for His land and His people.” Deuteronomy 32:43

The Lord sees the ill-treatment of His people by the wicked, and He will act accordingly to ensure that justice is met. With this understood, it next says, “and repay her double according to her works.”

This is the same thought seen in Jeremiah 16 when referring to the Lord’s double repayment for the sins of Israel –

“‘Behold, I will send for many fishermen,’ says the Lord, ‘and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. ¹⁷ For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes. ¹⁸ And first I will repay double for their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols.’” Jeremiah 16:16-18

It is also found in Isaiah 40 when Israel is promised restoration after having received her just due –

“Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”
Says your God.
² “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her iniquity is pardoned;
For she has received from the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.” Isaiah 40:1, 2

Unlike Israel who was under covenant with God and thus spared total annihilation, Babylon is not. Israel found restoration, but Babylon will be completely destroyed. The verse ends with the thought of the rendering being exactly as she deserves. God is being rhetorically spoken to, and His punishment upon Babylon is to be such that “in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her.”

The cup of her fornication, as was seen in Revelation 14:8 and 17:4, will become the cup of God’s vengeance and her punishment. The “double” can mean either twice the quantity brought to bear upon her, or it can mean that the ingredients of the mixture will be double strength. Either way, a double rendering will come upon her for her iniquity.

Life application: To double something is to bestow a right – the firstborn son of a family in Israel received a “double portion.” This means that if there were 5 children, the inheritance would be divided into 6 and the firstborn would receive two-sixths, or a “double portion.” When Elijah the prophet ascended to heaven, his protégé Elisha asked for and received a “double portion” of the spirit he possessed.

A double portion then can mean blessing and honor in either a physical or spiritual sense, but it can also mean shame and punishment in both senses as well. The great harlot will face the latter, and her judgment for her treatment of the saints will be severe.

There is nothing good in this harlot, and she has filled her cup to overflowing with the righteous anger and wrath of God. Great and awesome will be her destruction. This is coming because she has rejected the good path that leads to life, and she has pursued only wickedness. Above all, she failed to simply present the gospel to her people in order that they might be saved.

The Lord will judge her. That time is coming. Before it does, be sure to come out from this wicked harlot and be saved through the simple gospel message – Christ died for our sins, Christ was buried, Christ rose again on the third day. Believe this unto salvation. Here is a short description of salvation as the Bible reveals – https://superiorword.org/salvation/

It is the gift of God through the coming of JESUS.

Heavenly Father, we look at the wickedness of the world around us and the false teachers of our religious institutions, and we desire You to remove them. And yet at the same time, it would be far better for them to repent and turn to You. We know all wrongs will be made right so help us to wait on Your time of judgment and work now to turn many to righteousness. Amen.

Wednesday, 9 June 2021

For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Revelation 18:5

This explains the reason for the words of the previous verse. There, it said, “come out of her my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive her plagues. Why will these things come about? The reason is now stated, “For her sins have reached to heaven.”

Here is an allusion to the Tower of Babel from Genesis 11 –

“Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:4

Babylon the great is a city (Revelation 17:18), its sins have reached to heaven, and instead of being scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth, it has made a name for itself all over the earth (Revelation 18:3).

To further solidify this idea, in some manuscripts the word translated as “have reached” signifies to join closely, glue, unite, and so on. In other words, like the tower that was built with brick and asphalt in Genesis 11, Babylon the great has likewise figuratively fabricated a tower with her sins so that it presses up to heaven itself.

The words here are also reflected in Jeremiah 51. In the previous verse commentary (18:4), Jeremiah 51:6, 7 was cited. Now, the next two verses continue to parallel those words here –

“Babylon has suddenly fallen and been destroyed.
Wail for her!
Take balm for her pain;
Perhaps she may be healed.
⁹ We would have healed Babylon,
But she is not healed.
Forsake her, and let us go everyone to his own country;
For her judgment reaches to heaven and is lifted up to the skies.” Jeremiah 51:8, 9

This symbolism continues with the second clause, saying, “and God has remembered her iniquities.” This is a close parallel to what was said earlier in Chapter 16 –

“And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.” Revelation 16:19

To remember in the Bible does not mean that God forgot. Rather, it is called to the forefront. Babylon has heaped up sins, each and every one of them known to God. When her cup of sin is full, then God’s wrath is poured out from His full cup of wrath. The iniquity of Babylon the great eventually will reach that point, and there will be no remedy except complete destruction.

Life application: Ecclesiastes tells us that the things that have been will be again. The repetitious cycle of things shows us that we are unwilling to learn from the past and so God calls it to account in the present. When it says that Babylon’s sins have reached to heaven, we see an interesting parallel in the 57th Psalm –

“For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens,
And your truth unto the clouds.” Psalm 57:10

Even as our sins rise, heaping up because of their immense number and the graveness of them, God’s mercy continues to withhold the coming judgment. However, God’s truth is also there, proclaiming that there is a point where His mercy must be mixed with wrath because every sin must be judged. At a point known to God alone, He will remember iniquity that has not been addressed at the cross of Calvary.

However, as God remembers such iniquity, He also remembers those who faithfully follow Him. Some examples of God “remembering” in this way are found when God remembered Noah on the ark – Genesis 8; when He remembered Abraham and saved Lot out of Sodom in Genesis 19; when He remembered Rachel and Hannah and their barren state in Genesis 30 and 1 Samuel 1; and etc. Again, and again, God “remembers” by acting upon such things, bringing about that which is in line with His nature for the benefit or destruction of His creatures.

God really never forgets, and it is a sad lesson that Babylon the great will eventually discover. For those who are in Christ, there is one thing that God will certainly not remember again. Hebrews 10:17 says of those who come to Him through His Messiah, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” This is the greatness of what God has done for us. Our sins are forgiven. Thank God for JESUS.

Lord God, a time is coming when the world will be judged for its rejection of You. Before that day, help us to be responsible and to get the word of reconciliation out to all people. May we be willing to simply open our mouths and speak. Either heaven or hell awaits all people. With Jesus, heaven is assured. Without Jesus, only hell awaits. Give us wisdom to speak, O God. Amen.

Tuesday, 8 June 2021

And 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. Revelation 18:4

The mighty angel has spoken concerning the fallen state of Babylon in the previous verses. Now it says, “And I heard another voice from heaven.” Because of this, it is generally assumed this is not the same entity (meaning the Lord) as the Angel who has just been speaking. Thus, one or the other cannot be the Lord.

This would be an incorrect assumption. The angel introduced in 18:1 is clearly tied to the Lord of the Old Testament as cited from the passage from Ezekiel. Thus, it is Jesus. However, this is also the Lord Jesus as is evidenced from the next words. He is “saying, ‘Come out of her, my people.’”

The voice is clearly the Lord even though it is “another voice from heaven.” This can be determined in several ways. First, the word “my” means that the Lord is speaking to His people words of warning and petition. Obviously, this does not mean they are His people yet. But they are people who think they are following Him, but who have been swayed by Mystery Babylon. If they will just come out of her and to Him, they will be His people.

Secondly, if this were a chronological account, they would not be, nor could they be, His people because they would have taken the mark of the beast. That would preclude their salvation. And thirdly, according to verse 18:2, Babylon has fallen. Thus, the words now in 18:4 precede its fall, demonstrating that the words are not chronological.

The Angel of verse 18:1 is the Lord Jesus performing His role as the destroying Angel as is revealed in several Old Testament passages. The voice from heaven in 18:4 is the resurrected Lord Jesus, in heaven at this time, and who is calling out through His word to the people of the world. This will continue through verse 18:8, and then it will return to the thought of Babylon having been destroyed. Thus, verses 18:4-8 are a parenthetical insert into the narrative.

The words of the voice of this verse, and some points in several coming verses, closely reflect the sentiment of Isaiah 51 –

“Flee from the midst of Babylon,
And every one save his life!
Do not be cut off in her iniquity,
For this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance;
He shall recompense her.
⁷ Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand,
That made all the earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine;
Therefore the nations are deranged.” Jeremiah 51:6, 7

The Lord is calling out to those who are united with “Babylon the great” to come out of her “lest you share in her sins.”

This continues to confirm that it is now referring to those of the church age. The petition is made. The word has been given. The Lord is calling out to His people (they are only potentially His people until they actually come to Him) to be spared what is coming. The sins of Babylon the great have been heaping up for eons, and the cup of her iniquity has been filling throughout the entire period. Eventually, judgment will come, and she will be destroyed. Of those who don’t come out of her, the verse finishes with, “and lest you receive of her plagues.”

The church is not a building. The church is the people of God. Paul shows us this in Philemon –

“To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer, ² to the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:” Philemon 1:1, 2

Likewise, Babylon the great is a body consisting of people. When Babylon the great is judged, she will receive plagues. In this, her people will also receive plagues. It is now, while there is time to flee from this great harlot, that the Lord calls out for His people (those He died for) to come out of her.

Life application: Jesus is calling to those whom He foreknew from the foundation of the world to separate themselves from Babylon the great. God’s people are His people regardless of when they live, and He has, throughout every age, sent prophets and wise men to call the world to turn to Him. This is confirmed by Jesus’ own words in Luke 11:49-51 –

“Therefore the wisdom of God also said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’ ⁵⁰ that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.”

Yes, from the time of Abel until the closing of the Old Testament period, and then following through to our current time, there has been a call for God’s people, by God’s messengers, to turn to Him and come out of the world in order to be separate and holy to God. This call is also directed to apostate religions.

As denominations grow old and/or wealthy, they naturally turn inward and away from the gospel. When this happens, the fire of sharing the true message is replaced with complacency and ease. God would have each one of us truly evaluate our place and mode of worship against the only standard by which it can be gauged – the Holy Bible.

If people were simply willing to read, study, and contemplate their Bible, there would be both a great revival in the hearts of the people and a mass exodus from denominations and practices that have fallen away from biblical tenets. But… it is so much easier to sit in a pew once a week and not have to think for oneself. And so, we cool to the things of God, and we sit in ease and luxury. All the while, God is speaking to us – “Come out of her, My people.”

The Lord is the Head of the church, and He will purge those parts of His body which are of no value. When He does, the people who comprise those parts will be cast off. And the separation will be self-inflicted. The choice is given to each of us to heed the call and be attentive to His word.

Quoting the books of Isaiah and Ezekiel, Paul writes the following to the Corinthians in hopes of their removing themselves from the corrupting influences of the world and of false religion –

“Come out from among them
And be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean,
And I will receive you.”
¹⁸ “I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the Lord Almighty.”  2 Corinthians 6:17, 18

O weak and faithless soul, are you willing to turn from a congregation you love if it isn’t properly handling God’s word? Which is more important to you – Christ or your comfortable church home? God will be a Father to you, if you will only heed His ongoing call. The church is not a denomination or a building. The church is the people of God. Being a part of that body comes through faith in Christ alone. It comes through faith in JESUS.

Lord, today – yes, right now – we ask that You show us the error of any incorrect teaching or rite which is being taught or practiced in our churches. Give us the willingness to stand against such things, and to proclaim the truth in hopes of correction, or to walk away from them and leave them to their own devices. May we be responsible and choose Christ over all else. Amen.