Population Decline Is Not An Existential Problem

 

One of the most common arguments made in support of our immigration system, is that we need more people because the population growth rate is too low, it is below replacement levels. Australia’s birth rate is about 1.5 children  per woman at the moment. However, this argument is based on a host of errors and underlying assumptions that need to be addressed. In this article I will begin the process of challenging this idea.

First, consider the primary premise: less people is bad? Is this true? No - Now I am going to state this outright now right at the start: this is not an argument for lowering the world population, not in the slightest. I am simply noting that the claim that a lower population is bad is wrong - Australia's population was far lower than it is now in 1970 and Australia was a successful, prosperous, industrial society. The population was about 12.5 million people, and we were doing fine. In fact, many people consider the 1970’s to the 1990’s to be the golden age of Australian society. In 1999 Australia still had just under 19 million people. At no point did our relatively small population cause our nation any serious issues.  

But let’s take the 1970 population figure. Those who talk about the low birth rates and say Australia is in trouble if we don't import more and more people are simply wrong. At a birth rate of about 1.5, according to Grok, it would take over a century for our population to decline to 1970's numbers, "Approximately 115 to 130 years, assuming a sustained total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.5 children per woman leads to a steady annual population decline of about 0.6-0.7%." So, it would take over a century for Australia’s population to reduce from its current number of over 26.77 million, to 1970’s style numbers. Hence, we are not facing any drastic population changes here, but at worst, a steady decline that will take some time. And that is only if birth rates stay as they are. Something which is not a given.

However, before a decade was out, if we removed anything but necessary skills training immigration, say at 10% the total immigration number of what we currently do, what would happen?

1.     House prices would begin to drop and recorrect in line with income, in fact probably lower. I did an analysis with Grok not too long ago and it noted that one way to reduce house prices back to 2019 levels would be to reduce our national population, by cancelling temporary residencies and other temporary visas, back to 2019 levels. However, effectively stopping immigration would have a similar effect over time, if the building industry kept building new homes. Houses would begin to exist in greater excess, people would have more options and prices would drop.

 

2.     Wages would increase because Australian workers would be able to command higher incomes. It is both very well-known, and established by the data, that the business sector uses working visas to suppress wages. Australians are effectively then hit from both directions: it is harder to get a home because of increased competition, and your wage is suppressed by a labour market filled with excess people looking for jobs.

Cutting immigration would change both of these situations for most workers and Australians. And, it would only take a few years before these two things started happening in a significant way. Countless women who are married right now and delaying having kids or having more kids because their teaching, nursing, or administrator job is required to help pay the mortgage would suddenly be much freer to not work. Think of what having to pay $600 rent for a small home does to a family’s budget? We actually need there to be less people coming in. And we would see this change take effect quickly.

As the population aged the pressure on house prices would go down even more, as more assets are put onto the market than usual. And the value of wages would also increase, as there are less workers in the economy. Immigration is used to stop these things from happening.

In other words, before 10 years had passed, let alone 115-130 years, Australia's housing, employment and birth rate prospects would have all increased for the better. Sure, the welfare system would not be sustainable at current levels, but that is also a good thing. Too many able-bodied people are paid to not work, which exacerbates societal decline. This change would begin to happen without even passing other laws like tax breaks for families with 3 or 4 or more kids, or other policies we see improving things in anti-mass immigration Eastern European countries. Ban the pill and see birth rates begin to escalate even more.  

Those who say we need immigration or our population will decline, don't realize this is neither a problem, nor something to fear. Australia is larger than most historical empires. We have about a third of the population of the peak Roman Empire. That makes us a massive nation historically, a nation with almost endless resources on top of that.

The evidence for positive effects from population decline in history are also observed. During the black plague in a generation perhaps 30-50% of Europe's population was taken out by the plague.[1] What happened? Feudalism faded away and Europe entered modernity and then conquered the whole world, literally. The drop in population created almost endless opportunity. Historian Rodney Stark writes,

“So, shortly after the plague the factories all across Europe became busier than ever, the transportation system ran at full capacity, the banking ledgers showed remarkable incomes, and in many places ordinary people enjoyed a standard of living beyond their parents’ wildest dreams. Capitalism was growing and spreading.”[2]

We don’t want to go through something like the black plague,  of course. But everyone who has studied this event in European history is aware of how it changed Europe forever. The drastic loss in population upended Europe’s social system and created more upward mobility than had ever been seen. We are facing something far less drastic than what happened in medieval Europe, we simply have an aging population. Population decline through an aging population and low birthrates that can be adjusted in time, is a much smoother transition than what Europe faced, and nothing to fear. The fear mongering about it is clearly social messaging designed to help push the government's immigration policies.

In fact, even the United Nations document on replacement migration shows that the real intention behind replacement migration is to sustain the current political and social structures, rather than to advance the interests of the nations involved. The report notes,

 “The projected population decline and population ageing will have profound and far-reaching consequences, forcing Governments to reassess many established economic, social and political policies and programmes, including those relating to international migration…

… The levels of migration needed to offset population ageing (i.e., maintain potential support ratios) are extremely large, and in all cases entail vastly more immigration than occurred in the past.”[3]

International migration in record numbers will be needed to maintain welfare supports, that are fundamental principles of our western social democracies. However, the report notes even this will not be enough,  

“Maintaining potential support ratios at current levels through replacement migration alone seems out of reach, because of the extraordinarily large numbers of migrants that would be required. In most cases, the potential support ratios could be maintained at current levels by increasing the upper limit of the working-age population to roughly 75 years of age.”[4]

Of course, this report was written before many wars in the Middle East had driven millions of immigrants into Europe. One wonders how much poorer regions are being deliberately destabilized to push an ongoing flow of people into the West?

Retirement benefits are the main reason put forward for pushing immigration ever upwards. The crafters of these policies know that our nations cannot afford them, and hence they need more and more people to come in to replace the aging taxpayers who become benefit receivers. These programs were always a pipedream anyway, the idea of maintaining a large percentage of your population on the pension for 15, 20 or 30 years was always unachievable.  Especially, if you encourage young women to either delay motherhood, or avoid it all together. These are dyscivilisational policies.

This does not even account for what we looked at last week, that immigrants are more likely to be on welfare. When you consider that fact, it shows that immigration is not the solution to any welfare or pension crisis. It is a growing welfare crisis in the making. An escalating crisis really.

And, those who say that we need the immigrants just in case we go to war with our neighbours, forget two things. First, such thinking is how Briton became Angle-land (England) and still is to this day. Second, multicultural armies historically perform very poorly. Infighting and fifth column events increase as militaries diversify, as the famous cry of Augustus, “Varus, Varus, give me back my legions!” reminds us.[5] If you don’t know what this is referring to, then go read the link in note 5.

Not only is a declining population not something to worry about, it is a natural part of the life cycle of a nation. Ebbs and flows. And of course, if in over a century we had declined to 12.5 million people - which would not happen because people would respond to increased opportunities and drastically cheaper assets - we'd still be larger than multiple European countries are today, with better beaches. Nations like: Belgium, Hungary, Greece, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Norway, and many, many more.

Our population level is not a problem. The declining population hysterics have been misled.

List of References

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[1] Stark, Rodney. The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success . Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

[2] Stark, Rodney. The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success . Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

[3] UN Report 2000, Replacement Migration: Is it a Solution to Declining and Ageing Populations, Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations Secretariat, p4.

[4] Ibid.

[5] https://www.britannica.com/biography/Publius-Quinctilius-Varus

How Foreigners Rule

 

Have you noticed how much of our government’s policies serve foreign interests, rather than our interests? Think of things like the Paris climate accord which has locked us into rising electricity prices, while other more powerful countries match our annual carbon emissions in less than two weeks. Or the Lima agreement, which was a deliberate push by nations like ours to disable our own manufacturing industry while simultaneously subsidizing the industries of other nations, and allowing them to sell their products here. Or something like this pension sharing scheme which allows Indian immigrants to come to Australia and claim the pension from Australian tax dollars.[1] Sure, Australians can claim the pension in India too, but far more Indians are moving to Australia than the other way around, hence this is heavily weighted in the favour of a foreign nation. Or there is also the fact that many cashed up foreigners are allowed to come here and outbid Australians for homes in this country, exacerbating our already bad housing crisis. Or how Australia gives so much money overseas in foreign aid, even though we have a growing homelessness issue. Or how Australia enacts environmental policies which means that we pay more for our electricity prices than foreign countries which use our very own resources. In so many ways our government appears to be serving foreign interests at the expense of Australians, and this has been true for over half a century.

Well, this should be expected when so many paper Australians hold positions of influence in our state and federal governments. Because when people of foreign descent are given positions of power they tend to serve foreign interests. This is a well observed phenomenon in history. We see this in how Herod, an Idumean who was part of a line that was forcibly converted to Judaism, actually led the nation of Judah. He may have claimed to follow the Jewish religion, but in many ways he was really an Hellenist, as much as any Greek ruler would have been. We read in The Life of Herod[2],  

“Herod disposed of his own military force. No Roman army was stationed in his kingdom after the first years of his reign, and Herod's force was amply sufficient to maintain order. His army was very varied in composition, being partly based on mercenaries from outside the country, amongst whom Galatians and Thracians were prominent. But gradually the men of the new cities Sebaste and Caesarea were utilised for this purpose, and the cities undertook to furnish troops to Herod and subsequently to his Roman successors. At the end of Herod's reign these troops numbered three thousand. This development reinforced the importance of the gentile population in relation to the Jewish, which was of great significance for the subsequent evolution of relations between the Jews and the Roman government. Along with the people of the new Hellenistic towns Herod also recruited soldiers from among the non-Jewish settlers originally settled in military colonies. These, as was the practice in the Hellenistic world, served as a permanent military reserve for the  defence of the kingdom. Gaba, the city of cavalrymen in the plain of Esdraelon, and Heshbon in Transjordan, are known to have been military colonies. Jews, indeed, also served in Herod's army. But as the king's attitude to most classes of the Jewish people was one of suspicion, he could draw on them only selectively for his army, confining his recruitment to those elements which he considered more loyal than the nation in general. Such were, tn his view, the Idumaeans, to whom he was related by blood. He used them also for purposes of military settlement, three thousand being settled in Trachonitis to protect the region from raids. After Herod's death, indeed, proof was forthcoming that even the loyalty of Idumaean troops was not over staunch, for they too felt greater solidarity with the Jewish people as a whole than with the house of Herod. Another Jewish element upon which Herod relied was the Jewish immigrants from Babylonia; these were settled by Herod in northern Transjordan and became the mainstay of security in Batanaea and Gaulanitis. Herod seems also sometimes to have recruited other Jews, as in 31 BC, when he was engaged in the difficult war with the Nabataeans, and there was no reason to fear that they would go over to the enemy. Among the commanders we encounter men with Roman names, such as Rufus and Gratus, and these probably furnished the army with their professional knowledge and skill. Herod was extremely sensitive to events and moods in his army, as may be seen from his reaction to the sympathy evinced by officers and men for Alexander and Aristobulus. The hostile attitude of the armed forces was of major concern to Herod's son Antipater.

Herod's taste for grandeur was notably expressed in the magnificence of his royal court, which resembled in every respect the courts of the Hellenistic monarchs of the East. Here too 'friends' and 'kinsmen' of the king were to be encountered, who fulfilled central functions of state and were in direct personal contact with the sovereign. The king, of course, was the object of organised adulation not only at court, but throughout the kingdom. The anniversary of his accession was celebrated through the length and breadth of the realm,3 and he was honoured by statues erected by his subjects in non-Jewish areas.' Functions were also created with particular reference to the person of the king and of his wtves, in accordance with the tradition of eastern sovereigns. We hear, for Instance, of the post Of chief huntsman5 and, of course, of eunuchs.

Many of Herod's principal assistants were Greeks, the most important being Ptolemy, who appears to have been responsible for the financial administration of the kingdom and perhaps also filled the role of prime minister. He had an estate in Samaria from the king. Some of the great luminaries of contemporary Greek literature were also to be found near Herod; the most important of them undoubtedly being Nicolas of Damascus, a distinguished historian, orator, philosopher, composer of tragedies and of works on natural science. Nicolas was originally in the service of Antony and Cleopatra, but some time after their fall he moved to the kingdom of Judaea and became Herod's trusted counsellor and special envoy. He accompanied the king on his journey to Asia Minor in 14 BC and there defended the privileges of the Jews before Agrippa. He also went to Rome with a delegation from Herod and played a central part in appeasing Augustus when angered by the Nabataean affair late in Herod's life. He claimed to have helped to broaden Herod's education, through studies of rhetoric and history, Herod for his part urged Nicolas to write his Universal History, a huge work of 144 books, one of the most comprehensive creations of historiography known to us in ancient times. He devoted much space in this composition to the reign of his benefactor Herod. The work stood out among contemporary Greek writings inasmuch as it cited occasionally biblical tradition as its authority and showed respect for this tradition.

Nicolas was not the only Greek writer at Herod's court. Philostratus, the Academic, one of Antony and Cleopatra's intimate circle, also seems to have spent some time there. But unlike Nicolas, Philostratus seems to have been with Herod even in the years before Actium.

Qualified Greeks also performed tasks as tutors and teachers to the princes of the blood. Athletes, musicians and actors were attracted to Jerusalem by the money and prizes offered to them, and a theatre was among the institutions erected by Herod in the city.

Herod's attachment to Greek culture is easily explained by his general ties with the Greek-speaking world and by the atmosphere prevailing in the world of the Roman principate, for Augustus and his entourage were themselves well known as enthusiastic patrons of literature.”[3]

The historian even goes on to note that by Herod’s time Greek was the dominant language and used for official functions and other aspects of the state. As we know the New Testament itself would be written in Greek.

This is what happens when you have a cosmopolitan elite. They will tend to want to reflect the dominant imperial cosmopolitan culture of the day, rather than the culture of the nation over which they rule. They might even see the desires of the people to preserve their culture and their way of life as at best parochialism and as something which needs to be changed with ongoing globalist influences. What we call globalism today is what empires have always done, they have sought to stamp out local culture and make cultures uniform with the dominant power of the day. In Alexanders day and beyond it was Hellenization, and to some degree this even continued under Roman rule. In Western Rome it was Latinization, but in the east Hellenization was still very dominant.

Herod was in many ways an Hellenist, and he ruled like one. Even at one point placing an image above the temple gates which caused a reaction amongst the Jewish population. A cosmopolitan elite will seek to rule in a globalist way, this appears to be a rule of history, we see it all over the place, when peoples are ruled by a growing number of foreigners.

This of course is why the Bible says this,

“14 When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ 17 And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold” (Deut. 17:14-17).

How many times must we prove the Bible right by ignoring its wisdom?

List of References

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[1] https://www.sbs.com.au/language/punjabi/en/article/ten-things-you-need-to-know-about-australia-india-social-security-agreement/nkg59arcu

[2] Josephus, The Life Of Herod, Folio Society,

[3] Ibid, pp. 208-211.

Episode 26 – Fallen, Fallen, is the Great City, Revelation 18.

 

You can watch the video of this study here at 8pm AEST.

Introduction

Last week we looked at who the great whore in Revelation 17 is. I laid my cards on the table and made a case for why this passage is prophesying about the destruction of Jerusalem. I argued that Revelation 17-19 presents the apostate people of God and contrasts this righteous people of God in Revelation 19, the bride of the lamb. I also posted something about this on my Substack as well: here.

Just to build on this, look at this passage in Ezekiel 16. This is a description of Judah in the days just prior to the exile:

“30 How sick is your heart, declares the Lord God, because you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute, 31 building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street, and making your lofty place in every square. Yet you were not like a prostitute, because you scorned payment. 32 Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband! 33 Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side with your whorings. 34 So you were different from other women in your whorings. No one solicited you to play the whore, and you gave payment, while no payment was given to you; therefore you were different” (Ez. 16:30-34).

Judah is not just described here as a prostitute but as the worst of prostitutes, “34 So you were different from other women in your whorings. No one solicited you to play the whore, and you gave payment, while no payment was given to you; therefore you were different.” Remember we read in Revelation 17, “5 And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations.” Don’t forget the word “earth” here can also be translated “land.” Babylon in Revelation 17 is not just a prostitute, but the worst of them. Just as Judah is in Ezekiel 16.  

Babylon, the actual city of Babylon is also described as a woman who needs to be judged in in the Bible. We read in Isaiah,

“47 Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called tender and delicate. 2 Take the millstones and grind flour, put off your veil, strip off your robe, uncover your legs, pass through the rivers. 3 Your nakedness shall be uncovered, and your disgrace shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will spare no one. 4 Our Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name— is the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 47:1-4).

Babylon was the arch enemy of the people of Judah in the Bible. The one who destroyed their temple, took them into exile and where they were refined by God. But in the New Testament it is not the literal city of Babylon that opposes the church. Who is it? It is Jerusalem (cf. Matt. 23:33-38). I think in Revelation we see that Jerusalem has become like Babylon. It has become the oppressor of God’s people. In rejecting their God, the Jewish nation has gone back to their origins, which were in Ur of the Chaldees, Babylon. Things have reversed for that city. It has gone from the oppressed to the oppressor, and God is going to judge Jerusalem, and we know he did.

Even in the context of judging Babylon we see in Isaiah 48 God say this,

“1 Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who came from the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of the Lord and confess the God of Israel, but not in truth or right. 2 For they call themselves after the holy city, and stay themselves on the God of Israel; the Lord of hosts is his name” (Isa. 48:1-2).

They call themselves the holy city but really they are rebellious (cf. Isa. 48:3-5). They have whored themselves with the idols of the nations (Isa. 44).

So, we see that Babylon, the literal Babylon, is condemned in ways that are very similar to what we read here in Revelation 18. However, it is Judah who is the chief of prostitutes according to Ezekiel. Therefore, this descriptions in Revelation 18 fits better with Apostate Israel, or Apostate Jerusalem rather than the literal Babylon. The Babylon of Jesus’ day was not the persecutor of the saints and prophets. Neither the Bible nor history makes the claim that it was. By the first century Babylon was a minor city in the Parthian Empire.  

Of course, others see in this passage the Roman Empire of John’s day, especially those who date Revelation to about 90AD. Others see a resurgent future Rome. Still others see the Catholic Church, which was basically the standard theology of the Reformation from Luther on through to the Radical Anabaptists. So, we will take that into consideration in our study.

For background on this study I would encourage you to pause here and go read Jeremiah 40-41, Isaiah 13-14 and 46-47, and Ezekiel 15-16.

Analysis of Revelation 18: The Fall of Babylon

Revelation 18 is a dramatic and poetic chapter that depicts the final and complete judgment of "Babylon the Great," a symbol for the world's entire system of opposition to God, characterized by idolatry, immorality, economic exploitation, and violence. It functions as a prophetic dirge, announcing the downfall of this powerful entity and the resultant shockwaves throughout the world.

Old Testament Background

The language, imagery, and themes of Revelation 18 are deeply rooted in the Old Testament prophets, particularly their oracles against pagan cities and empires. We have already touched on some of this, but we will summarize it a bit more here, to keep our study formats consistent. We see the Revelation 18 imagery in many Old Testament passages:

• Isaiah 13-14 & 21:9; Jeremiah 50-51: These are the most direct parallels. The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah pronounced judgment against the historical city of Babylon. John borrows their phrasing directly. For example:
• "Fallen, fallen is Babylon!" (Rev 18:2) comes from Isaiah 21:9.
• The call for God's people to "Come out of her" (Rev 18:4) is a direct echo of Jeremiah 50:8 and 51:6, 45, warning Israelites to flee Babylon to avoid being caught in its judgment.
• The image of throwing a millstone into the sea (Rev 18:21) is taken from Jeremiah 51:63-64.
• The lament of merchants and sailors (Rev 18:11-19) mirrors the description of Tyre's fall in Ezekiel 26-27, a chapter that details the economic collapse following the destruction of a great maritime trading power.
• The Nature of Babylon: In the Old Testament, Babylon was not just a city; it was the archetypal enemy of God's people, the one that destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and took Judah into exile. By using the name "Babylon," John identifies the ultimate enemy of the New Testament people of God—a satanic system that is spiritually seductive and physically oppressive.

New Testament Background

In the New Testament, "Babylon" is reinterpreted spiritually and eschatologically.

• The Great Prostitute: Revelation 17 identifies Babylon as "the great prostitute" who sits on many waters (nations) and is drunk with the blood of the saints. This clarifies that Babylon is not merely a political power but a corrupting religious, economic, and ideological system that influences all nations (kings commit immorality with her) and is violently opposed to true faith (persecuting believers).
• A Contrast to the New Jerusalem: The fall of Babylon in Revelation 17-18 sets the stage for the arrival of the Bride, the New Jerusalem, in Revelation 21-22. The two are stark opposites: one is a prostitute, the other a pure bride; one is characterized by luxury, exploitation, and violence, the other by God's presence, righteousness, and life.
• The Seduction of the World System: The chapter expands on Jesus' warning that one cannot serve both God and money (Mammon) (Matthew 6:24) and the Apostle John's admonition to not love the world or anything in it (1 John 2:15-17). Babylon represents the ultimate expression of compromise with "the world" in its rebellion against God.

The Economic Collapse of a Hegemonic Power

There is also another way we can draw application out of Revelation 18. This passage provides a profound commentary on how the collapse of a central, dominant city or empire devastates the global economy that has become dependent on it. The chapter highlights several key economic principles:

• Global or Localized Interdependency: The extensive list of cargo in verses 12-13 is not just for poetic effect; it illustrates a complex, interconnected economy. The goods come from all over the region (precious metals, luxury fabrics, exotic woods, spices, livestock, and tragically, "human souls" or slaves). This shows that the economies of many nations were structured around supplying Babylon's demand for luxury and consumption.
• The Shock of Collapse: The repeated refrain "in a single hour" (vv. 10, 17, 19) emphasizes the suddenness and totality of the collapse. Modern parallels can be seen in the rapid fall of major financial institutions or the sudden disruption of a central economic hub, which causes immediate panic and chain-reaction failures. Many people do not consider the city of Baghdad as an economic superpower, but it once was. It was the centre of a large Islamic empire, a centre of knowledge and commerce, and then in 1258 AD the Mongols came and levelled the city. The city never reached the same heights. This would have also devastated all the traders who were reliant on this mecca of economic activity.
• The Grieving Stakeholders: The chapter identifies three groups who mourn:
1. The Kings/Political Rulers (vv. 9-10): They lost a partner in power and prosperity. Their political and economic alliances are shattered.
2. The Merchants (vv. 11-17): They are the most vocal in their grief because their wealth has been obliterated overnight. Their market is gone, their investments are worthless, and their supply chains are broken.
3. The Shipping Industry (vv. 17b-19): This represents the entire logistics and transport sector whose livelihood depended on the trade generated by Babylon. The collapse of the core city means the collapse of their entire trade network.
• The Illusion of Permanence: Babylon's boast, "I sit as a queen... and mourning I shall never see" (v. 7), is the classic hubris of a seemingly invincible power. Its sudden fall serves as a warning that any system built on exploitation, pride, and opposition to God's order is fundamentally fragile and destined for judgment.
• One of the reasons people so many different possible applications for what Revelation 18 says is because this is what it looks like when major cities or Empires fall. Imagine what would have happened to the British Empire had Britain been destroyed in 1850? What would happen if New York fell today? On a local scale, what would it do the Southeast Queensland’s economy if Brisbane of the Gold Coast were devastated by war? This passage is an incredibly accurate reflection on the ripples that would spread from the disaster of the destruction of a major city.

Study Questions:

1. What is amazing about the glory of this angel? And how does it contrast with what comes after this?

 

2. Do you agree Revelation 18:2, corresponds to Revelation 14:8? I think we are getting here a more detailed picture of the summary in chapter 14.

 

3. What did Babylon do for the merchants of the earth, and the kings of the earth or land? What are friends like who have to be bought?

 

4. Why are God’s people being addressed as being in Babylon, but told to come out of her? (wheat and tares, if this is the Catholic church this gives us an interesting insight into the fact that faithful people can be found in corrupt churches, which could equally apply to many evangelical churches).

 

5. According to verse 7, what is at the heart of her sin? What could allow Babylon to become so proud and so sure that she would not be judged? (cf. Jeremiah 28:1-4, the Judeans did not believe God would judge them, because they had the temple, Jeremiah 23:14-17).

 

6. V.9 Why are the kings of the earth crying over the destructions of Jerusalem? Vs 11 gives us the answer.

 

7. Vs 9, How could this possibly apply to the nation of Israel in the first century? Was it really that influential and rich? (Think about the commerce the temple brought in).

 

8.  What does human souls refer to in vs 13?

 

9. What does verse 14 teach us about lollypops and fancy pants? What does that mean?

 

10. V16-17 would people mourn the loss of the Catholic church like this?

 

11. Vs 23, And what does it mean by sorcery?

 

12. Vs 24, This city is obviously more than just a city, it also represents a worldwide system, doesn’t it? If not then why not?

 

 

Jerusalem is Babylon In Revelation

 

I love how the Bible fits together better and better the more you read it, meditate on it, and compare it to itself. One of the most important principles of handling the Bible is that Scripture interprets Scripture. Now, as we look through a mirror darkly, we know that we will have to continue learning everyday in this life and we will still not grasp all of the Scriptures perfectly. But that is what we should expect. The Bible reveals to us an eternal Lord who existed before creation, who is above all creation, and to whom we are called to surrender and trust. Even the Apostle Paul said,

“33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:33-36).

Paul saw Gods sometimes inscrutable ways as a reason to worship. And so should we.

Some might wonder, also, why I write so much about the issue of who the people of God are, and also why I challenge so many of the modern evangelical claims regarding the nation that calls itself Israel in the Middle East today. It is because I see dispensationalism[1] as a scourge on the Church, one that needs to be rebuked, corrected and challenged. Others might feel more inclined to address prosperity heresy, new age movements in the church, pagan influences in the Church, and things like this. And I will at time address such things, in fact, I have a book coming out soon which does a lot of this. But dispensationalism is a serious error that I see often in my context, with people I know, and also effecting events on the world stage, and so I have constant reminders around me of this error. I don’t associate with many new age types, or prosperity teachers. I am constantly encountering dispensationalists. I have seen this doctrine split families, churches, and cause all sorts of havoc, and it just happens to be a form of the same Judaizing error that the New Testament addressed often. This is why I address it regularly. Because I was raised in it, I also have insight into what it is from a personal perspective. But fear not, I will address many other things in my writings too.

One of the perceived strongholds of the dispensational worldview is the book of Revelation. This book has been taken, used and abused, by so many futurist predictions that most people just want noting to do with the book today. This is a shame, because ultimately the book is about Jesus. I have a study on YouTube which I have designed to help demystify the book a bit and help it be more applicable to everyday Christian living to try and counter these bad readings. I seek to give airtime to various perspectives in the study. But the overall aim is to de-sensationalize the book and show how applicable it is to encourage our walk with God here and now.   

It is probably because my latest episode was on Babylon and because I am preaching on Matthew 22 this week, that I noticed the synchronicity between these passages from Revelation and the gospel. They are just so powerfully talking about the same thing.

We see in Revelation 17-19 the contrast between the whore and the faithful bride. The whore of Babylon, the great city and prostitute, is likened to a city that sits on the many waters. In fact, Revelation 11:7-8 identifies the great city as the city where our Lord was crucified. Which can only be Jerusalem. The ‘Great City’ is always singular in Revelation. So, it stands to reason that there is only one great city mentioned, Jerusalem.

In chapter 18 we see the city is spoken of as fallen and rebellious.  

“1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. 2 And he called out with a mighty voice,

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
    She has become a dwelling place for demons,
a haunt for every unclean spirit,
    a haunt for every unclean bird,
    a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.
3 For all nations have drunk
    the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,
and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,
    and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”

Jerusalem was a dwelling place of unclean spirits when Jesus came in the first century. So, this is a faithless city gone over to evil. Just as Jerusalem rejected their God and was filled with evil in Jesus’ day.

We see that God’s people are warned to come out of her before she is judged,

“4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; 5 for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6 Pay her back as she herself has paid back others, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed.”

We also see that this faithless city is responsible for the bloodshed of the saints and prophets of God.

“20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets,
for God has given judgment for you against her!” 21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more;…24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth.”

God did judge the city of Jerusalem in the first century. One of the most powerful images in the ancient world is the inscription of Rome’s victory over Jerusalem showing the soldiers carrying out the Menorah from the temple. This is inscribed on the arch of Titus in Rome.

This is a powerful image of God’s judgement against his Apostate people for having rebelled against him. Taking out the lampstand represents the removal of the Spirit or God’s light from the temple system. It has not been rebuilt since, and even if it was rebuilt it would not be a true temple, as God has moved on from that system. The lampstand had been taken. 

Then we see this judged prostitute, the unfaithful woman is contrasted with the victorious and righteous bride, at the wedding supper of the lamb in Revelation 19,

“6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
    the Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and exult
    and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
    and his Bride has made herself ready;
8 it was granted her to clothe herself
    with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” 10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

So, we see that the rebellious city is judged. A city that had become corrupted and which had persecuted the men and women of God. And this is contrasted with the righteous people of God, the Church, who are presented before God at the wedding supper of the lamb dressed in fine and pure linen. This is a powerful imagery of God’s judgement on the Apostate and his vindication of those who truly believed and were faithful.

This just happens to be exactly what Jesus says in Matthew 22. We read there,

“1 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matt. 22:1-14).

Matthew 21:45 has already told us that Pharisees and Chief Priests know that Jesus is speaking about them. In this parable he warns them that the Apostate city, which persecuted the prophets and saints, will be judged and only those who are dressed appropriately will be vindicated on the final day. This is a prophecy about the judgement of Jerusalem which is made clear again and again in the context.

Jesus laments what is about to come upon Jerusalem in Matthew 23,

“37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 38 See, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” (Matt. 23:37-39).

And then in chapter 24 he famously prophecies the destruction of the temple.

If you read Revelation 17 you will see that it says this about the garments of the Great Whore, “4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality” (Rev. 17:4). This description just happens to match perfectly the robes of the priests described in Exodus,

“6 And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and of fine twined linen, skillfully worked. 7 It shall have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges, so that it may be joined together. 8 And the skillfully woven band on it shall be made like it and be of one piece with it, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. 9 You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, 10 six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth. 11 As a jeweler engraves signets, so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall enclose them in settings of gold filigree. 12 And you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders for remembrance. 13 You shall make settings of gold filigree, 14 and two chains of pure gold, twisted like cords; and you shall attach the corded chains to the settings” (Ex. 28:6-14).

This linen itself is not wicked. However, as we see in Matthew 21 the whole temple system had become rotten, and was now a den of robbers. What was once Holy is now Apostate. 

So much of what is happening in these chapters lines up. The synchronicity of Revelation 18-19 and Matthew 22 are incredible. This goes to show that you don’t need to harken to fantastical claims made by a continual stream of futurist predictors. I do think there will be a future fulfilment of aspects of this. God’s apostate people will have expanded to include all those who claim to be his but are not. All those who align with the world will be judged. 

However, the fact that a very strong case can be made for this having been fulfilled in the first century helps demystify this book for us. It shows us Jesus in more clarity and power. Though he appeared to be defeated on the cross, really he was achieving the salvation of all who would believe in him, whether of Judah or the Gentiles, by paying the penalty for our sins on the cross. He then judged the city which rebelled against him, as he prophesied he would, and he will return again to judge the living and the dead. So come out of the world system and trust in him, while you still can.

Also don’t fear the ongoing predictions of those who cry “rapture” “rapture”. Or claim every single new technology is the mark of the beast. Evil will seek to take control. But Revelation says when they do finally take control they will have it for only an hour (Rev. 17:12). We should more fear the Lord who will judge evil, than the evil that wants us to fear it.

You may read Revelation differently. That is fine. But at least it can be said that this reading is scripturally consistent. If you read it differently, make your case from scripture and not from the newspaper, and we can examine it and see how it lines up with God’s own word.   

List of References

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[1] If you would like to see what dispensationalism is you can read my article here. https://revmatthewlittlefield.substack.com/p/inside-the-mindset-of-a-christian

Importing Poverty

One of the myths of the modern world is that immigration is a net positive for the economy. More people equals more workers, more workers equals more productivity, more ingenuity, and more wealth for everyone. At least so the argument goes. This myth is compelling for a host of reasons. For instance, when British settlers came from the United Kingdom to Australia in the 18^th century they did increase the wealth and prosperity of the land called Australia markedly. But people forget that this completely replaced the indigenous society that existed prior to settlement and pushed it to the fringes of society, many who still live in poverty today. Settlement replaced what was here before. However, people look at situations like that and then proclaim, “we are nation of immigrants” and argue that therefore there is no rational reason to oppose immigration.

However, comparing settlers from one of the most advanced nations on earth coming to a largely undeveloped country to modern foreigners who come here to drive Ubers and pick crops is at best underhanded and at worst down right deceptive. Data bears this out.

As Remix News notes,

“New data shows that foreigners account for a substantial share of people living in absolute poverty in Italy, even as the poverty rates of families with two Italian parents drops. One director of La Verita newspaper, Maurizio Belpietro, has run an opinion piece in his newspaper lamenting that Italy is “importing poverty.”

“We are importing poor people. Of the total immigrant population, 35.6 percent live in absolute poverty. This rate is five times higher than that of Italians,” writes Belpietro, who is an influential voice in Italian politics with 360,000 followers on X.

He further notes that although foreigners make up a small percentage of the population, they represent a huge share of the number of people living in poverty.

“Of the 2.2 million households living in poverty, i.e., do not have enough income to support a minimum standard of living, 1.5 million are Italian and 733,000 are foreigners. This means that, despite being less than a tenth of the population, poor non-EU citizens are one third of the total,” he wrote.”[1]

Because of the increased poverty rate, the idea that importing immigrants helps pay for pensions and welfare for the citizens of Italy, something we often hear claimed here as well, are shown to be false,

“Citing the article, Italian commentator Francesca Totolo wrote on X: “No, immigrants do not pay pensions to Italians. The absolute poverty rate among families of only foreigners is 35.2%, while among families of only Italians it is 6.2%. This means that it is and will be Italians who have to pay for assistance, subsidies, housing, and pensions to foreigners without resources.”

This is not just true in Italy, but is a phenomenon seen through the world in developed countries that are importing people from very poor countries,  

“According to a landmark study from the Netherlands, the report found that migrants had cost the state €400 billion between 1995 and 2019.

In Germany, the estimated cost of migrants is currently at €50 billion a year, including social benefits, housing, integration, education, and child allowances.

In 2021, French author and academic Jean-Paul Gourévitch said in an interview with Radio Sud that employment data show that it is a myth that immigration to France has economic benefits.

“I have studied this topic extensively and today everyone in France, from the left to the right agrees that immigration costs more than it brings in,” Gourévitch said. “There is a major difference between left and right (oriented) economists regarding the costs: the leftist economists say the deficit is six to ten billion [euros per year], while those on the right say it is 40 to 44 billion. My own scientific research shows that the deficit is 20 to 25 billion [euros],” he said.”[2]

Remix also notes something that is often overlooked by those who discuss this issue. China is developing economically at an incredible rate, surpassing all western nations in its rate of growth, and yet it strictly enforces immigration policies that allow much less immigration. This shows what a nation that is not importing poverty and welfare cases can do.

This really intuitive, is it not? Just because you have relocated someone from a poor country to a rich country does not mean you will drastically improve their economic standing, and it certainly cannot improve your nations economic standing, either. This is especially true when you factor in language barriers, training differences, the cultural shock of moving to another country and readjusting. This is born out in the data as well, because many Australian immigrants are working in jobs they are vastly over qualified for,

“Half of skilled migrants are working in occupations they are overqualified for, suggesting that Australia is failing to capitalise on the influx of foreign workers and best match their skills to the most productive jobs.

Migration and labour market experts argue rigid occupational licensing rules and discrimination against foreigners with sub-par English language are making it too difficult for migrants to fully exploit their skills…

…Committee for Economic Development of Australia senior economist Andrew Barker said a failure to formally recognise migrants’ skills and foreign qualifications, English-language ability challenges and, in some cases, discrimination, are key reasons Australia is not making the most of skilled migrants.

As a result, migrants who have been in Australia for two to six years earn more than 10 per cent less than otherwise similar Australian-born workers, and it takes 15 years to catch up, CEDA research shows.”[3]

They always blame “discrimination” rather than take responsibility for their bad policies. Language barriers are not perceived, but real. It is very difficult to work alongside someone you cannot understand in a skilled profession. We have all had that experience with a doctor where we knew they could not understand us and vice versa. Also, it takes 15 years for them to catch up, but an increasing number a constantly brought in. Hence this hampers economic growth and efficiency. 

Macrobusiness has reported this same issue,

“The AFR’s Ronald Mizen has published an article describing Australia’s broken ‘skilled’ visa system, which is importing many purportedly skilled workers who end up working in menial jobs such as driving Uber.

“More than 620,000 permanent migrants work below their skill levels and qualifications, according to Deloitte Access Economics”, writes Mizen.

“And of these, about 60 per cent, or 372,000, arrived in the skilled migration system”.

It is a story that is as old as the hills.

“Only 50% of qualified engineers born overseas currently working in Australia are working as engineers – a reality that is impacting the nation’s ability to address the national infrastructure deficit and generate economic growth”, Engineers Australia chief executive Romilly Madew told Hare.

“An army of well over 100,000 qualified, skilled engineers are currently in Australia, driving Ubers or doing some other kind of work that is not related to engineering. This is an emerging national disaster”, she said.

The malfeasance of Australia’s ‘skilled’ migration system cannot be overstated. We are depriving poor nations of their talent while exacerbating skills and housing shortages at home. It is a lose-lose situation.”[4]

Those who come here for welfare reasons are even more likely to be struggling and in need of welfare support,

“Thousands of asylum seekers in Australia are suffering from homelessness, poverty, and poor mental health, a new report by the Human Rights Commission revealed.

The report, entitled Lives on Hold, is the first comprehensive look into the experience of 30,000 people who are unable to be permanently settled in Australia because they arrived by boat between 2009 and 2013.”[5]

But this is not just true of boat arrivals. For instance, this medical study notes,

“Women and immigrants from North Africa, Middle East, and Sub-Sahara Africa need additional support to reduce the risk of poor health. Refugees are more likely to have financial hardship and these hardships increase the likelihood of poor health. To help this vulnerable group to integrate into the host country it is important to provide long term economic support to reduce the risk of both financial hardship and poor health. Our findings can be used to help develop long term strategies to promote the health and economic well-being of a vulnerable population of HM, contributing to international SDGs of reducing health inequalities (SDG 10) and improving the health and well-being of all people (SDG 3).[6]

Large scale immigration is bringing down Australia’s wealth and prosperity, whether it is skilled immigration or refugees. And the data shows that certain types of refugees are far more likely to be in need of welfare and support than the average Australian.

The ABS even shows that migrants are more likely to be unemployed than Australians,

“While the overall unemployment rate was higher for recent migrants and temporary residents than for people born in Australia (5.9% vs 4.7%), it varied across the different migrant groups:

3.3% for migrants with Australian citizenship

4.8% for temporary residents

9.2% for migrants on a permanent visa (Table 2 and Graph 1)

Female recent migrants and temporary residents had a higher unemployment rate than males (8.3% vs 3.9%). (Table 3)”[7]

Though, we should note that some groups of migrants have a higher employment rate, they are not the average. This higher rate of employment is likely because some high skilled migrants come here with a job already lined up.[8] Which is not necessarily contributing to the wealth of Australians who were already in the country and did not get that same job. Also this pushes up the prices of rent and housing, severely harming the budgets of Australian families. 

Graph from ABS website.[9]

What is especially interesting is that one of the highest qualifications among migrants was engineers[10], yet we know that about 50% of them are driving Ubers, or doing other unskilled work.

So, while we could probably say that Australia’s immigration system is better than Italy’s, we are still seeing some of the same issues here that are witnessed there. On average immigrants are more likely to be unemployed, more likely to be working a job for which they are over-qualified, and therefore, this is not lifting up the strength of Australia’s economy. And in some instances we see that we are importing from some countries genuine charity cases which will cost this nation great amounts of money in welfare. Our advantage over Italy is probably less about our immigration strategy and more about the fact that it is much harder to get here from the 3^rd world than it is to get there. This, by itself, is probably saving us from the same level of imported poverty as Italy, but we still have done a fair bit of this ourselves anyway. 

Anecdotally, I have done a lot of work among the homeless, and a large number of those whom I have ministered amongst are from overseas. Many come from New Zealand, or from the Pacific. In fact, this general region is massively represented in the homeless communities I have ministered amongst. This problem is so well recognized, that one charity is offering New Zealanders who are homeless one way tickets home,

New Zealand citizens who find themselves homeless in Australia are being offered one-way tickets home amid the nation's worsening housing crisis.

A small community centre on the Gold Coast said it had helped hundreds of Kiwis with the last-resort flights over the past 15 years.

Repatriation was often "the best and only option", according to Nerang Neighbourhood Centre general manager Vicky Rose.”[11]

While the ABC article notes this is a small number of people who end up in this situation, this shows my observation comports with a larger trend in Australia. Our immigration system is importing poverty, and even when it is not doing this with skilled immigration, it is not running as efficiently as the home grown labour market. We all probably know immigrants who are highly skilled but cannot get a job in their field. How much more of this do we want to do during a housing crisis where Aussie kids can’t get their own rental or first home because of an increasingly growing population?

Australia’s immigration policy needs to change, and it needs to change quick.

List of References

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[1] Remix News Staff, 2025, https://rmx.news/article/we-import-poverty-italian-newspaper-argues-that-foreigners-are-impoverishing-italy-after-new-data-published/

[2] Ibid.

[3] John Kehoe, 2024,  https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/migrants-are-driving-ubers-not-working-skilled-jobs-20240523-p5jg1c

[4] Leith Van Olsen https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2024/12/australia-imports-engineers-to-drive-uber/

[5] Madeleine Keck, 2019, https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/asylum-seekers-in-australia-at-risk-of-poverty/

[6] Joanna Torliska et. Al, 2020, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8352014/

[7] https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/characteristics-recent-migrants/latest-release

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Daniel Mahe, 2025, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-22/homeless-new-zealanders-offered-one-way-tickets-home/105234516