The Life-giving Blood (Revelation 18)

The Passion of the Christ, a 2004 mega blockbuster directed by Mel Gibson, depicts the final hours of Jesus. Much controversy surrounded the film because of the extreme violence. The truth of the matter is the violence depicted in the film is probably mild compared to the real event. Jesus Christ's road to the cross was cruel and very bloody. The Romans wanted this road to the cross to be a brutal message. They wanted to discourage people from following Christ and his teachings. In truth, they had no idea they were actually helping to carry out God's plan for the redemption of mankind. Evil constantly thinks that by "destroying" anything or anyone connected to God, it will win. To the contrary, in "killing" Jesus, all they did was help to perpetuate the movement of the Gospel. Revelation 18 is a word picture of the victory of Christ over evil. Babylon represents the worldly system that is controlled by evil and anything or anyone contrary to the goodness of God. The one world system that will dominate the end times has one message. It is the same message that the Romans perpetuated in the days of Christ- Do not follow God!

I. The Real Power

Where does the real power live in the world today? Social media is an amazingly powerful entity in our lives today. Google and Facebook are the largest and strongest social networking companies ever created. By the end of 2016, Facebook's earnings was almost 28 billion dollars with about 2 billion users worldwide. Social media is a player in the one world system (Babylon) that is mentioned in Revelation 18. The very purpose of Facebook is to make the world smaller by connecting people. However, looking deeper inside Facebook and its activities, one realizes that Facebook has inconspicuously gained quite a bit of control over its users. Facebook collects massive amounts of data about its users. It uses this data to offer ads that it knows you will likely open. Facebook does not sell your data, but it does share your data if you open an ad while in the Facebook network. One disturbing act by advertisers that I have noticed is that a product that I view on Amazon will show up on a side bar of the internet screen. How does that happen? Is the internet able to control the actions of people? Yes, the internet is a powerful entity, but it is and never will be the real power controlling this world. It is only a deception of the real power. Revelation 18 describes the one world system as the dwelling place of demons, and by association, the kings of the earth have become rich with her excessive luxuries. However, this excessive luxury will soon be eliminated through a regal judgement put forth by the real power.

II. The Regal Judgement

Beginning in verse four, a warning of judgement is put forth. God will judge Babylon quickly - in one day. Additionally, payback will be double what the world did to persecute Christians. Joel 3 speaks of "The Day of the Lord" when the unbelieving world will be judged and God's people will be blessed, foreshadowing the destruction written about in Revelation 18. Verse four urges believers to come out of her (Babylon), so that they will not share in her sins or receive any of their plagues. Babylon's doom will be final and it will be great. All the riches the world has to offer will be gone before anyone can do anything about it. The mighty God will judge quickly and completely. He will judge not because people are addicted to riches, but because they are unbelieving and unrepentant. They are not sorry for their sins, and they do not mourn. The sad fact is, an unrepentant world will never believe that they will ever be held accountable. However, they certainly will, and it may not be until it is too late.

III. The Retched Disaster

Babylon will be thrown down like a stone being thrown into the sea- never to be seen again. Not one element of the previous world will be saved. It will be like Babylon never existed.

How can we as believers live in light of the upcoming judgement? First, we must stay in the word. Read, study, and even memorize God's word. Memorization is important in that no one will ever be able to take the word from you. When you know God's word, you can be assured of coming events and precious promises. Secondly, work for the advancement of the Gospel. Share the love of God with friends, family, and even strangers. Any person who does not know God at the judgement will be lost forever. Lastly, live simply. Our national debt has just topped 21 trillion dollars. 44 million Americans owe over 1.48 trillion dollars in student loans. The average household credit card debt in America is nearly nine thousand dollars. Much of the time, Americans are too busy working to pay off debt that resulted from selfish desires to have any time for God. Hope is not lost, however. Let your focus be on your relationship with God, and this resurrection Easter Sunday, plus every day to come, will live in you with no fear of the end times. Amen.

#Revelation18 #PowerfulGod #TheJudgement #Babylon #EndTimes