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Imagine with me that you are walking down a road and around the corner you see a sign. You notice the road splits into two paths. You gotta pick one of them. One way looks rather easy, it’s paved, flat, but there’s a warning. “Warning: Dangerous Cliffs Ahead. Falls are Deadly.” The other path is narrow, looks difficult to navigate, and goes up a steep mountain to a beautiful garden city. You read a sign advertising an interactive zoo with brand new species. Which path do you take?

A first century document for followers of Jesus called “The Lord’s Teaching” begins like this: “There are two ways, one of life and one of death; and there is a great difference between the two ways. Now this is the way of life: First of all, you shall love the God who made you. Second, love your neighbor as yourself.”

Today is part 6 of our series studying Revelation of Jesus Christ. We’re going through the book sequentially and thematically, discovering its meaning and how it’s relevant for us today. We’ll look at the fall of Babylon from Revelation 17-19.

What is Revelation?

Revelation is a series of visions from God. It’s the last book in our Bible that’s three genres in one! (apocalypse, prophecy, letter, cf. Rev 1:1-4)

1] Revelation is an apocalypse (Greek word = to unveil) of Jesus. Apocalyptic literature communicates through symbolic images, colors, and numbers. We take the images seriously, but not necessarily literally. It’s meant to engage our imagination, and there are many allusions to the Old Testament in Revelation.

2] Revelation is a prophecy, a word from God spoken through a person to God’s people (usually to challenge or comfort them in crisis).

3] Revelation is a letter, written in Greek by John around 95 AD to seven churches (Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea) in Asia (modern Türkiye), followers of Jesus who lived under the Roman Empire in the first century.

What’s a brief outline of the book?

Revelation 1-3 describes the opening vision of Jesus and his messages to the seven churches. Revelation 4-5 describes the key vision of worship in heaven. Revelation 6-20 describes visions of God’s justice with interludes. Revelation 21-22 describes the final vision of the New Creation.

What’s the purpose and message of the book?

The purpose of Revelation is to confront us with a challenge and to comfort us with hope. Revelation invites us to see, worship, and follow Jesus into the New Creation as faithful disciples.

Revelation 17-19 | Babylon

One of the seven angels tells John, “Come with me. I’ve got something to show you.” Then the angel shows John a stunning woman dressed to kill. She’s wearing purple and scarlet, sitting on a red beast with seven heads (Rev. 13:1), covered in blasphemous names. (Note: Blasphemy switches right for wrong, truth for lies, calls evil good, and vice versa.) She is decked out with jewelry, gold, pearls, gemstones, and holds a golden goblet with a cocktail of nasty things. She is drunk with the blood of God’s people who were witnesses for Jesus. On her forehead was written a name: BABYLON the Great, Mother of all Prostitutes and Disgusting Things in the World.

The angel tells John this calls for wisdom. All the symbols of this vision were clear to the original audience because Rome was a city on seven hills and Emperor Domitian (AD 81-96) was notorious for killing followers of Jesus. The world’s kingdoms and political powers are complicit with the beast. Revelation 17:14 says, “They all wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all lords, and King of all kings, and and his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him.” So John is portraying the beastly military, economic, and political power of the Roman Empire, and also so much more!

Now, the ancient city of Babylon on the banks of the Euphrates River was the capital of a powerful empire that captured Israel in 586 BC and took God’s people into exile. Here, John is using language and blending images from the Old Testament about the downfall of Babylon and other cities (Isaiah 13, 23, 34, 47 Jeremiah 50-51, Ezekiel 26-27) to show that Rome is simply the latest version of Babylon.

Babylon is the archetype (recurring symbol) of any kingdom, empire, nation, or people in rebellion against God. She represents, as Tim Mackie says, “any human institution that demands allegiance to its idolatrous redefinitions of good and evil.” Any nation can become Babylon when it exalts itself and stands against God. That’s why we must be careful about anything that blurs the lines between Christian identity and national identity.

From scripture we see that Babylon is characterized by pride, arrogance, boasting, prosperity, abundance, wealth, luxury, opulence, exploitation, slavery, human trafficking, violence, militarism, evil, injustice, oppression, immorality, and idolatry.

Babylon is seductively anti-God. When you elevate economic security, or military might, or political power to a godlike status, that’s idolatry (false worship). She looks promising, tempting, but don’t forget in spite of all her glamour, she’s a cheap substitute for the real thing. She rides on satanic deception, and her downfall is certain.

John sees that Babylon’s ultimate end is destruction. He writes in graphic poetry as if it’s already taken place. “Babylon is fallen — that great city is fallen!” She’s ruined. She’s a ghost town for demons, a hideout for vile vultures and wild beasts. Rulers and powerful people have gotten in bed with her. Merchants and businessmen have gotten rich off her.

Then John hears a voice from heaven. “Get out, God’s people. Come away from her. Don’t get mixed up in her sins.” God has remembered every evil she’s done. She brewed a cup of terror for others, so brew twice as much for her. She said, “I’m queen over all. Never a tear on my face.” But in one day, disasters will crush her — death, heartbreak, famine, fire, billowing smoke. God will bring her down. She deceived the nations with black magic and the blood of the innocent is on her hands.

And John hears singing in heaven, voices ringing out, “Praise the LORD!” (Hallelujah) For the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns. Let’s be glad and rejoice, and give honor to God. The time has come — the wedding feast of the Lamb. His bride made herself ready, a beautiful pure white gown to wear.” In contrast to the prostitute dressed in red is the beautiful bride dressed in white.

Notice how John sees the city of Babylon in stark contrast with the New Jerusalem. For followers of the Lamb, Babylon is not our home. We are going to the garden city of God. As Jon Foreman says,
Until I die, I’ll sing these songs
On the shores of Babylon
Still looking for a home
In a world where I belong

Here’s the truth: Empires and nations will rise and fall, but God’s kingdom is eternal.

All the empires of the past have fallen: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Rome, Britain and other slave trading empires, Hitler’s 1000 year Reich that lasted 12 years, Stalin and the Soviet empire, the ISIS caliphate, and on and on. It’s the same fate that awaits every empire of today. You can look at the news and be scared, or you can look at things from an eternal perspective. God’s in charge and will ultimately bring judgment on evil. Each day, I live in God’s care. My hope is in Jesus who will return and his reign fully established over all the world.

So what now?

I believe the question for us is, Will we resist Babylon’s influence and follow Jesus? This includes how we spend our time and money, who and what we allow to shape and influence us, how we talk about and treat others, how we live our lives.

Don’t let this world pressure you into status symbols, living for things that don’t matter in the end, seeking cheap thrills, gaining power, hating others, when Jesus clearly told us what to do.

Love God and love others. Love your enemies. Seek God’s kingdom first. Don’t worry. Give generously. Practice humility. Pray genuinely. Make peace. Forgive others. Get to the heart of the issue. Serve others. Seek and care for the last, the lost, the least. Make apprentices of Jesus, who build their life on Christ’s words and walk in his ways. The world will tell us differently! But it’s up to us to follow Jesus, to let his rule be completed in us and watch God in action all around us.

Michael Gorman says, “We follow Jesus out of empire into the new creation, and also paradoxically, into empire, where the vision of God and Lamb is needed, where death needs to be replaced with life, where we can bear witness in word and deed to the coming new creation, the end of pain, tears, healing for individuals and nations. We follow Jesus into a new heaven and earth, liberated from the effects of our sin, and even from sin itself, and alive with the never ending presence of the living God.” Thanks be to God.

Today’s Challenge: Come out of Babylon! Resist the ways the world tries to conform you.

Today’s Comfort: You’re invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb! Jesus will return and remove evil and renew the whole world.

Further Reading: Revelation for the Rest of Us, Reading Revelation Responsibly.

Resources:
Richard Bauckham, Theology of Revelation
Scot McKnight, Revelation for the Rest of Us
Michael Gorman, Reading Revelation Responsibly.
Alan Johnson, Revelation Bible Commentary
James Efird, Revelation for Today
Tim Mackie, Bible Project Guide to Revelation
Switchfoot, "Where I Belong"