Text: Revelation 18:5-10
"5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and
God hath remembered her iniquities.
6 Reward her even as she rewarded you,
and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she
hath filled fill to her double.
7 How much she hath glorified herself,
and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith
in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
8 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 judgeth her.
9 ｦ And the kings of the earth, who have
committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her,
and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her
torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city!
for in one hour is thy judgment come."
Revelation tells about a harlot called "Babylon." Let's look at the the meaning of this Babylon. Her name is "mystery", so it is difficult to find its meaning. But, if we seek and ask Christ for the "hidden matter," it will be revealed to us.
In Revelation, there is a description about the new Jerusalem which is the bride of Christ. But, if we compare that description with the one of Babylon, we will find that the number of references to Babylon exceeds the number of references to the new Jerusalem, the bride of Christ. Therefore, it is important to understand the meaning of "the harlot Babylon."
In the new testament, the word "Babylon" appears in Matthew, Acts, First Peter, and Revelation. But, the old testament provides the most insight into this place name. What kind of relationship does Babylon have with God's people in the old testament? Let's see.
The kingdom of Israel, God's people, was actually inaugurated at the time of King David. (Of course, there was king Saul before him. But, his offspring were all killed.) David is the model and the standard for understanding kings. The history of the kingdom of Israel started with the two great kings, David and Solomon. But in time, the walk of the kings and the people of Israel became far from God. The kingdom separated into Judah and Israel. Judah continued to do God's will. But in the process of time, they too became unfaithful. At end of their history, they were delivered to Babylon as a whole nation.
This is the famous "captivity to Babylon". It is important to understand that this captivity to Babylon plays a very important role within the history of God's people. Many prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel appeared around this time period and prophetised about this captivity to Babylon. By the way, what kind of relationship does "captivity to Babylon" have to our faith?
One significant connection to our faith is this: At the time of "the captivity", the kingdom of God's people (Judah and Israel) closed out its monarchical history which had been continuous from the king of David. The time of the end and destruction of the kingdom of God's people is the time of the captivity to Babylon. Therefore, we may say that "the captivity to Babylon" stands for the time of the end of God's people.
Next, when we think about the word "an inheritance" which is something passed on from one's ancestor, in a biblical sense this word has deep meaning. When Israel occupied the land of Canaan, God gave them this land as "the land of promise." Therefore, for them this land became the land of promise, "an inheritance" like an ancestor would give. From father to son, and son to grandson, they successively inherited this land. What is the meaning of this? This figuratively indicates "to inherit the kingdom of heaven" in faith. See the scripture below.
Hebrew 11:8-10 "By faith Abraham, when he was
called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance,
obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
9 By faith he sojourned in the land of
promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and
Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
10 For he looked for a city which hath
foundations, whose builder and maker is God."
Abraham lived in Canaan. He lived here in that land of Canaan as "the land of promise." This is the imagery we are given. The promised land which he actually received was the heavenly city and this is the new Jerusalem.
When Naboth of Israel refused to give his vineyard to Ahab, he was killed for he refused to release his "inheritance" from his ancestors into the king's possession. This may stand for the figure of a martyr who refuses to give his "inheritance" of the kingdom of heaven away and so he ends up killed.
Through these comparisons, we can understand the hidden meaning of "the captivity to Babylon." The counterpart to God's people removed from land of Israel or the land of promise is the future believers who would be born again as the children of God and would be given the inheritance of the heavenly kingdom, but be separated from the land of promise in the end time. In addition, the land of Canaan is the land that "flows with milk and honey." In the Bible, milk indicates God's word. So, their removal from this land may typify their removal from the grace of God and a famine on God's word. That is to say, they are the figure of those who face the famine of God's word in the end time.
By the way, there is another type of God's people during this time period. They are the people of God who returned from captivity. They built a new Jerusalem from its ruins and burnt gates. They were the people of God who returned to their ancestors' "land of promise."
Therefore, please note that there are two types of God's people in this age. One is the people who are taken captive to Babylon. The Bible contains no record of their names or tribes. The other is the people who returned from captivity and built a new Jerusalem. They returned to "the land of promise" and their tribal names and their numbers are recorded in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. They are the figure of the people who receive the kingdom of heaven and have their names written in the book of life.
In addition, in the book of Ezra, it says that the vessels of God's temple are returned from Babylon back to Jerusalem. These vessels are also listed per kind and recorded by their number in the Bible. I think they are a model of God's vessels, that is his workers, to be returned from the "Babylonized" church in the end time.
When we look at Revelation, we can also find two kinds of God's people. One is the harlot Babylon. The number of people who live in this city is not counted and their names are not recorded in the book of life. Secondly, the other group of people are of the new Jerusalem which stands for the bride of Christ. Her dimensions are measured and the names of the people who live in this city are recorded in the book of life. Therefore, I think Babylon is the figure of those people who are removed from the inheritance of heaven or have gone out from the way of life. In other words, they are the tares written about in Matthew 13.
As per the description of Matthew chapter 13, since there has been no clear distinction between wheat and tare, at least not in the former ages, a distinction will finally be made in the end of time. I think wheat symbolizes the new Jerusalem in Revelation and the tares Babylon.
This kind of interpretation may be not common. But, we can find many evidences of this interpretation in the Bible.
1). Babylon and the new Jerusalem are direct opposites in Revelation like "tares and wheat." Both of them are cities. Babylon is a harlot, and the new Jerusalem is a bride. And they are both women. They are written in contrast as one woman faithful to her man and the other as unfaithful to the Christ.
Revelation 18:7 "How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow."
When the Bible describes this woman, it uses the words like fornication and harlot as though this woman originally had a husband but she had not been faithful to him. If so, who was this husband? It was Jesus Christ. The phrase "and am no widow" indicates this fact. Basically, we Christians are widows in this world and have no husband in this world.
2). The Bible says the tares will be burnt at the end of this world. The same expression is used for the harlot who will be judged at the end of this world. Both wheat and tare grow similarly. According to Matthew chapter 13, it is difficult to distinguish them from each other. This suggests the fact that both grow in the same church.
"Revelation 18:8 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 judgeth her."
Both wheat and tare will grow similarly together till the end of this world. Because it is difficult to tell them apart until the end time judgment comes. At the end of the world they are clearly distinguished and the tares will be burnt up. Likewise, this harlot Babylon will be burnt.
3). Within the prophecies against Babylon, there are prophecies related to God's people. Both wheat and tares are written in the parable of kingdom of God in Matthew chapter 13. They serve as a figure that represents God's people, Christians. The scriptures about the harlot Babylon are located in the old testament. Most of them are scriptures about the old city Babylon and Jerusalem. Therefore, this harlot Babylon has a connection to both the old Babylon and Jerusalem. We can see how that this harlot has a relationship to the old Babylon, but how about Jerusalem?
Jerusalem is the capital of the country Israel. And it is a spiritual typology of the church in this current age. And we can say that the history of Israel foreshadows the history of the church. In the history of Israel, there was a captivity to Babylon and a rebuilding of the new Jerusalem. Likewise, we may suppose there will be the church's captivity to Babylon and a construction of a new Jerusalem in church history.
Concerning Israel and the church, the Bible emphasizes their similarity. There are 12 tribes in Israel and there are 12 apostles in the church. Both Israel and the church are called a grape vine. Both of them are offsprings of Abraham. We can find more similarities. God intentionally allowed these similarites and in his design wisdom and foreknowledge incorporated them into prophecy. BecausevGod wants us to understand the prophecies concerning the future church.
When we examine the Bible, we can find many prophecies about the future of Israel. In contrast, we can not find not very many prophecies about a future church. Why is that? I would suppose because the prophecy uttered in regards to Israel contains the prophecy of the church's own future too. The prophecies for Israel will be fulfilled both on Israel and on the spiritual Israel (the church). In other words, the history of Israel is the model of church history.
4). The text tells us the reason the tares will be consumed by fire. In the Bible, "seed" symbolizes the word of God, and wheat stands for a Christian grown from this seed. However, tare also grows together with the true Christians in the church. Actually, the book of Matthew says that it is difficult to distinguish the wheat from the tares until they are grown up. This fact indicates that it is possible to distinguish the tares from the wheat at the time of harvest. How does this process of separation become feasible at the end of the world? Maybe something will happen to the church which will allow for the distinction to clearly be made.
What might that be? Persecution of the true church. The tares in the church have a relationship to this world. They agree with the beast and fall away from the faith. The beast is the country with seven heads and ten horns. The harlot sits upon this beast. She abandons Christ and worships the beast. In addition, there is one thing: the blood of the saints is shed by her. That is to say, betrayal and persecution are committed against the wheat. At this time, there will arise a clear distinction between the wheat and the tares. Then Christ will have a clear reason to judge the tares. In other words, the tares will have acted as persecutor and betrayer as Judas has and the wheat stands for the persecuted and martyred Christians in the end time.
5). Scripture indicates that harlot Babylon and the saints have some kind of connection. Likewise, wheat and tare also have a connection because they grew in the same church.
Revelation 18:4 "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."
The word "Come out of her" indicates that the saints live in this city personified as a harlot. Like the wheat and the tares, there are two "people" who live together and are indistinguishable until the end time. And they will be clearly distinguished at the end of the world.
In normal times, we Christians should not depart from the church. But, at the end of the world it will be an abnormal time. When all of the church becomes corrupt, falls away and worships the beast, we are commanded to depart from this woman.
Let's do the will of Lord in the end time.
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