We Are On Our Own Now

 

The real reason the US is going to war with Venezuela is simple, it's global power is ending, really it has ended, and now it is returning to the Monroe Doctrine, of dominating it's region. Because that is the only real effective reach it still has. If it even still has that.

-        Hamas outlasted US intervention.

-        Yemen outlasted US intervention.

-        Russia outlasted US intervention.

-        Afghanistan outlasted US intervention.

-        China is successful resisting US intervention.  

Etc, etc.

The ability for the united states to project its power around the world and actually effect change is declining. It is even possible their power will fail in South America. But not before they try to use it.

Look, I should note that I have no problem with the US military taking out drug boats. The military's job is supposed to be making borders secure. Returning to that honourable role is just and good. Borders should be patrolled by effective soldiers stopping people coming across. For too long western nations have abandoned this basic use of the military, preferring to send our soldiers far away for reasons of imperial extension. That is clearly now changing.

But we should also note that Venezuela has oil, rare earth minerals, and it is weak enough that the US thinks it can take it or at least force it to bow to its will. So, that is what it is trying. Effectively it is doing to Venezuela what Russia did to Ukraine, except with less actual justification. But it is basically doing the same thing: a dominant power is seeking to dictate to a much less powerful country.

I suspect there is also a recognition in the Trump administration that if the US is going to remain a dominant power in its region, it needs to turn its attention there. What appears to be happening in the US is that different elites with different visions over how the United States should project its power are in a political clash, and currently the faction that believes they should turn their attention to their own region is dominant. I think this faction will become more dominant over time as the reality of the United States relative weakness in the world becomes more evident.

But the lesson for us here in Australia is this: we are now on our own. Britain has no effective power, and the US's power is shrinking back to the Americas. They may still seek to exert influence from time to time outside their own region, but this will diminish over time as the new multipolar world becomes more entrenched. We are, therefore, now on our own. This will become more clear in coming years.

I say the only path to prosperity and peace for Australia is repentance and faith in God from the Prime Minister down. Others say the way forward is through a complicated series of alliances with countries that oppose China and counterbalance her power. If we go that second route, we guarantee that we will lose our sovereignty in this country. Because we will lose such a battle.

Australia got proud. We were lucky and squandered it. Prepare for a whole different world now guys.

 

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?

 

 

Episode 25 Revelation Study – Chapter 17 – The Great Whore

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

Tonight we are going to look at Revelation 17 and the rise of the Great Prostitute. This is a fascinating subject. I am going to lay my cards on the table for this one, I think the Great Prostitute is Apostate Jerusalem. I think there is a past fulfilment of this passage but it also points to a future fulfilment, a future judgement, which will incorporate all of God’s apostate people, which includes those who claim to be Christians but who become entangled in the world system. So, tonight I will make the case for my position, but I will also seek to show why others see it differently. As usual before we get into the passage though, let’s look at some of the imagery behind it.

Old Testament Background

The language and imagery of Revelation 17 is saturated with Old Testament themes, particularly from the prophetic books that pronounced judgment on corrupt and oppressive cities and nations.

-        The Harlot Motif: This is one of the most powerful and recurring images in the Old Testament for idolatry and spiritual apostasy. The prophets consistently portrayed unfaithful Israel and hostile foreign nations as a harlot or adulteress (Isaiah 1:21; Jeremiah 2:20; 3:1-10; Ezekiel 16, 23; Nahum 3:4, where it refers to Nineveh). "Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes" is the ultimate embodiment of this theme—the source and pinnacle of all spiritual unfaithfulness.

-        The Cup of Abominations: The golden cup "full of abominable things and the filth of her adulteries" (Rev. 17:4) directly echoes Jeremiah 51:7, where Babylon is described as "a gold cup in the Lord's hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad." This symbolizes the seductive and intoxicating nature of her corrupting influence.

-        Sitting on Many Waters: The description of the harlot sitting on "many waters" (Rev. 17:1) is drawn from Jeremiah 51:13, where it is a metaphor for Babylon's vast network of influence and trade, situated on the Euphrates. In Revelation, this is explicitly interpreted as "peoples, multitudes, nations and languages" (Rev. 17:15).

-        The Scavenging Birds: The call to the birds of prey to feast on the flesh of the fallen (implied in the judgment) is a classic Old Testament image of divine judgment, seen in Ezekiel 39:17-20 and Isaiah 18:6.

-        The Theme of "Mystery": The angel says the woman's name is a "mystery" (Rev. 17:5, 7). This indicates that while she shares the characteristics of historical Babylon (the archetypal enemy of God's people from Genesis 11 and the Exile), she is not limited to that single historical entity. She is the spiritual essence of Babylon manifested in a new form.

New Testament Background

For John's first-century readers, the imagery would have had an immediate and powerful contemporary resonance.

-        The Seven Heads and Ten Horns: The angel's interpretation is crucial. The seven heads are both seven hills and seven kings (Rev. 17:9-10). The city of Rome was famously known as the city on "seven hills." Some believe this strongly suggests that the first-century manifestation of "Babylon" was the Roman Empire. However, Jerusalem was also said to sit on seven hills.

-        The Beast: The harlot rides the Beast (Rev. 17:3), which comes from the Abyss and goes to destruction (Rev. 17:8). This connects directly to the Roman Imperial Cult and the emperor worship that was spreading across the empire. The Beast represents a satanic, political power that the religious/economic system (the harlot) uses for its own purposes. The "wound that was healed" (Rev. 13:3, 17:8) could be seen as a parody of Christ's resurrection, perhaps embodied in the unstable line of emperors (e.g., the chaotic "Year of the Four Emperors" in AD 69, which to many seemed like the death and rebirth of the empire). Or it could be a real supernatural event that occurred or will occue.

-        Persecution of the Saints: The woman is "drunk with the blood of God's holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus" (Rev. 17:6). This was the lived experience of the early church under Roman persecution. Rome, in its idolatrous power, was the direct persecutor. However, before Rome persecuted the church, many people forget that it was the Jewish religious system which targeted believers in Jesus.

-        Economic Alliances: The merchants and kings of the earth who commit adultery with her and grow rich from her "excessive luxuries" (Rev. 18:3, 9-19) point to a deep, complicit economic relationship. The global economy of the day was inextricably linked to Rome.

Some think that when you harmonize all of this that it shows that Revelation 17 presents "Babylon the Great" not as a single, static entity but as a transhistorical, satanic system of seductive, idolatrous, and violent power that opposes God and corrupts the world. It used historical Babylon as its type, was manifest in the first-century Roman Empire, and will find its ultimate culmination in a final, end-times system.

Top 5 Possible Identities for "Babylon the Great"

Given the "mystery" label, various theological interpretations have emerged throughout history. Here are the five most prominent:

1. The Roman Empire (Historical/Literal): This is often considered the most direct interpretation for the original audience among modern teachers. It fits all the details: the seven hills, the persecution of saints, the imperial cult (idolatry), and the economic dominance. In this view, John is using coded language ("Babylon") to prophesy the fall of the persecuting Roman state without explicitly naming it, for safety reasons.

In this view you could say that John is arguing that Rome is a “type” of Babylon. The seductive, powerful, corrupt empire that dominates over the people of the world within its reach.

2. A Future End-Times Global System (Futurist): This view, common in Dispensationalism, sees the Harlot as a future, one-world religious and economic system that will emerge in the last days. It will be a syncretistic, apostate world religion that allies with a revived political empire (the Beast) before being betrayed and destroyed by it. This is seen as the ultimate manifestation of the "spirit of Babylon."

Such futurists, who are not always dispensationalists which should be noted, would agree with the first interpretation and say that as God judged the Roman Empire, so too will he judge every empire and eventually the final world empire.

3. The Apostate Religious System (Historical/Protestant): Popularized by Reformers like Martin Luther, this view identifies Babylon as the apostate Christian church, specifically the papacy and the Roman Catholic Church. The arguments point to the Vatican's location on seven hills, the corruption and wealth of the church during certain historical periods, and the accusation of syncretism with pagan practices and political power.
4. The Spirit of Godless Civilization (Idealist/Symbolic): This view sees Babylon not as a specific institution but as the symbolic embodiment of any and all human systems—political, economic, religious—that are organized in rebellion against God. It is the world system, characterized by pride, idolatry, oppression, and seduction, which has existed from Babel to Rome to the present day and will continue until Christ's return.
5. A Symbol of Compromised Jerusalem (Preterist): A minority but significant view suggests that for John's audience, "Babylon" could also refer to the corrupt Jewish leadership in Jerusalem that had compromised with Rome and rejected the Messiah. The harlot imagery was used by Jesus (Matt. 23:35) and the prophets for Jerusalem's unfaithfulness. The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 is seen as the fulfillment of this judgment. However, this view struggles with the clear Roman imagery (seven hills) and the global, not just Jewish, scope of the Harlot's influence. How could Jerusalem be influential around the world?

Evaluation of Seven Mountain Dominionism

Seven Mountain Dominionism (also known as Kingdom Now Theology or Cultural Mandate) is significantly and directly influenced by a misinterpretation of Revelation 17:9.

But let’s evaluate this:

• The Core of the Influence: Seven Mountain Dominionists take the phrase, "The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits," and reinterpret it not as the seven hills of Rome or seven kingdoms, but as seven spheres of societal influence that Christians are commanded to "take dominion" over. These are typically identified as:
1. Religion
2. Family
3. Education
4. Government
5. Media
6. Arts & Entertainment
7. Business
• The Theological Flaw:

• Context is Judgment, Not a Mandate: In Revelation 17, the "seven hills/mountains" are part of a vision of a corrupt, evil system (Babylon) that is under God's judgment and destined for destruction. The chapter is a warning against this system, not a blueprint for Christian engagement. To take a symbol of supreme evil and turn it into a divine mandate for societal control is a fundamental misreading of the text's intent.
• Misidentification of the Symbol: The angel explicitly clarifies the meaning: "They are also seven kings" (Rev. 17:10). The primary meaning is political/kingly, not societal spheres. The "mountain" imagery in Daniel 2 (a stone becoming a mountain that fills the earth) is sometimes conflated with this, but in Revelation 17, the mountains are part of the Beast's structure, not God's kingdom.

• Conclusion on the Influence: The influence of Revelation 17 on Seven Mountain Dominionism is profound but is based on a contextual and exegetical error. It extracts a single symbolic detail from a passage about God's judgment on evil and re-purposes it to support a theology of worldly power and dominion, which stands in stark contrast to the New Testament's consistent theme of the church as a faithful witness, often suffering in the world, while awaiting the return of Christ to establish His kingdom.

Let’s now go through our questions:

Chapter 17 –

1. How is Babylon described in verse 1? Why is this significant? Let’s look at Ezekiel 16 because I think it is important in understanding the imagery of “faithful bride” and “whore.”

1.1  It is God’s people who get accused of being the whore, more often than not. So we must keep this in mind as we interpret the identity of Babylon.

 

2. What does he mean by the fornication and being made drunk with the wine of her fornication in verse 2?

 

3. If the woman sits on the beast? What does this say about her relationship with the beast? Note this woman is wicked, she is allied with evil, and she is contrasted with the righteous bride of 19, and 21. What does this tell us?

 

4. What does verse 4 bring to mind for some people (the statue of liberty, the Catholic church). But really it is just symbolic of her power, royalty, and wickedness. This woman is a devil woman in other words.

 

5. Vv.4-5 So the woman is Babylon – “Mystery, Babylon the Great, The Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth.”

 

6. So, this woman was drunk with the blood of the Martyrs (v.6, 18:24).

 

7. Vs. 8 is it possible that Babylon is Babylon rebuilt? Rome Rebuilt? Or the Roman Catholic Church rebuilt? What is the beast that was, is not, and is again?

 

8. “9 This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated…” What are the seven mountains? Some people say Rome, some people say the seven mountains of the world system? What is it?

 

9. What does verses 10-11 mean?

 

10. vv 12-13 what is the role of the 10 kings who are not yet, and who give their power to the beast? If this is future, what does this say about the current world order?

 

11. These kings make war with the beast, an obvious reference to the final battle in chapter 13. Note, who is with the lamb in this final battle? “Called, chosen and faithful?” Who is that?

 

12. What does verse 15 tell us about the whore? Does this mean this is a cosmopolitan multi-cultural city? Or that this is a multi-cultural empire? What does this teach us about multi-culturalism: is it God’s idea for humanity, or the beasts? Why does evil utilize it?

 

13. Vv. 16-17 Why do the horns (kings) turn against the woman? This makes sense if it is religion or if it is an entity that the kings are not a part of. One way to look at this is that the last final empire will decimate false religions, and set up the worship of the beast as the final, and last world empire. You could hypothesize that this is a secular religion of some kind really. But what do you think? 

 

14. So, the great city, of v.19, is the woman. So the great city and Babylon are the same city.

 

Episode 20 – Revelation 14 – The City of God Vs the City of the World

 

You can watch the video version of this study on YouTube on Monday night between 8pm and 9pm AEST here.

144,000 thousand Jewish virgins are going to evangelize the world during the tribulation, and be part of God’s final plan to call God’s people back to him…

…that is an interpretation of this passage I have heard on many occasions. From both lay members of the church and prominent dispensational preachers. But is this what this passage teaches? Is this what Revelation or any other book of the Bible teachers anywhere? We will analyse this tonight and see how we can best handle chapter 14. In this chapter we will see a clash between the city of God and the city of this world. We will see God’s people lifted up and the apostate people of God brought low.

It is my contention that Revelation 14 is a summary of Revelation chapters 15-19. I will show a few indications of this in the passage tonight.

Others read this as the middle of the tribulation.

Others read this as summarizing the battle between the church and the kingdom of this world throughout history. We will consider these options as we go forward. Before we get into the text, I want us to consider some of the Old Testament imagery behind this passage, but also some of the New Testament imagery.

Of course. This is a fascinating and complex chapter that sits at the heart of Revelation's narrative. Here is an analysis of Revelation 14, focusing on its rich tapestry of Old and New Testament imagery, followed by an examination of the four primary identities of Babylon.

Analysis of Revelation 14

Revelation 14 serves as a divine countervision to the satanic parody presented in chapters 12-13. Where the beast demands worship and enforces a mark, this chapter reveals the true, protected people of God and the ultimate triumph of the Lamb. The chapter is structured in seven distinct visions:

1. The Lamb and the 144,000 on Mount Zion (v. 1-5)

• OT Imagery: "Mount Zion" is deeply OT, representing the place of God's dwelling, kingship, and salvation (Psalm 2:6; 48:1-2; Joel 2:32). The "144,000" first appeared in Revelation 7, alluding to the sealed and protected remnant of Israel (Ezekiel 9:4). Their purity ("they did not defile themselves") recalls the ritual purity required of priests and soldiers going to war (Leviticus 11:44-45, Deuteronomy 23:9-14). The "new song" is a common theme in the Psalms for God's redemptive acts (Psalm 33:3, 40:3, 96:1).
• NT Imagery & Crossover: The Lamb (a central NT Christological image from John 1:29) is now standing on the heavenly Mount Zion (Hebrews 12:22-24), not the earthly one. The 144,000 are now explicitly identified as those "purchased from the earth" and "redeemed from mankind," applying the Israelite remnant concept to the universal church, the true Israel of God (Galatians 6:16). Their purity is spiritual—"they are virgins"—meaning undefiled by idolatry (2 Corinthians 11:2). They are the "firstfruits," a term Paul uses for the first converts or the resurrection of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:20, James 1:18).

2. The Three Angelic Messages (v. 6-12)
This trio of proclamations is the gospel's answer to the beast's propaganda.

• First Angel (v. 6-7): The Eternal Gospel
• OT Imagery: "Fear God and give him glory" and "Worship him who made the heavens" echoes the call of the Psalms (Psalm 96:4-5, 115:15) and the Prophets (Isaiah 42:5, 45:22). The "hour of his judgment" is a major theme in OT prophetic books.
• NT Crossover: This is called the "eternal gospel," showing that the core message of repentance, worship of the Creator, and impending judgment is consistent from OT to NT, now proclaimed to every nation in light of Christ's finished work.
• Second Angel (v. 8): The Fall of Babylon
• OT Imagery: This is almost entirely drawn from the OT. "Babylon" is the archetypal enemy of God's people, a city of pride, oppression, and idolatry that took Judah into exile (Isaiah 21:9, Jeremiah 51:7-8). The phrase "made all nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries" is potent OT language for seducing people into idolatry and sinful alliances (Jeremiah 51:7; Jeremiah 25:15-16).
• Third Angel (v. 9-12): Warning Against the Beast's Mark
• OT Imagery: The punishment—"drink the wine of God’s fury... poured full strength into the cup of his wrath"—is directly from the cup of wrath imagery in Jeremiah 25:15-16 and Isaiah 51:17. "Fire and sulfur" recalls the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24).

3. The Blessing on the Faithful Dead (v. 13)

• OT Imagery: The concept of rest from labor is found in the Sabbath principle (Genesis 2:2-3) and promises for the righteous (Job 3:17).
• NT Crossover: This is a beatitude unique to Revelation. It offers profound comfort to those facing martyrdom, assuring them their suffering is not in vain and their reward is secure. It echoes the Spirit's witness in Romans 8:16 and the promise of rest in Hebrews 4:9-11.

4. The Harvest of the Earth (v. 14-20)
This final vision uses two distinct agricultural metaphors: the grain harvest and the grape harvest.

• OT Imagery: The "son of man" on a cloud with a crown and sickle draws directly from Daniel 7:13. The imagery of divine harvest is a common prophetic symbol for judgment (Joel 3:13, Isaiah 63:1-6). The "winepress of the wrath of God" is vividly depicted in Isaiah 63:3, where God treads the nations alone.
• NT Crossover: The "son of man" is clearly a Christophany—an appearance of the glorified Christ. The angel crying out to initiate judgment shows that Christ executes judgment at the Father's command (John 5:27). The horrific scene of the winepress outside the city ("outside the city" was where sin was dealt with, e.g., the scapegoat, crucifixion) completes the cycle of judgment foreshadowed by the angels.

As you can see here there is a lot of Old Testament and New Testament imagery behind this passage that helps us to understand it better. This will help us as we go through the questions. We might not be able to exactly place when this happens or how this happens, but we can at least see many ways to apply this to our lives.

A central aspect of the book of Revelation we will be covering in upcoming weeks is the identity of Babylon. I have my views on this, as do other preachers. Here are some of the more common options.

The Top 4 Possible Identities of Babylon

"Babylon" in Revelation is a multilayered symbol. John uses the name of Israel's ancient oppressor to critique the powers of his day and to create a typology for any anti-God power throughout history. The four primary interpretations are:

1. First-Century Pagan Rome
This is the most direct historical (preterist) interpretation.

• Evidence: When John wrote, Rome was the dominant, idolatrous world power persecuting the church. It was the "great city" that ruled the kings of the earth (Rev 17:18). It was famously built on seven hills (Rev 17:9). It demanded emperor worship ("the wine of her adulteries") and was a center of immense luxury, trade, and moral corruption. Peter even uses "Babylon" as a code name for Rome in 1 Peter 5:13. The book's original audience would have immediately understood this reference.
• Challenge: While it fits the immediate context, many see the symbolism as too vast and cosmic to be exhausted by a single, historical empire.

2. A Future Reborn Global Empire / End-Times Political-Economic System
This is a common futurist interpretation.

• Evidence: The scale of Babylon's influence in Revelation is global ("all nations" drink her wine). Her description in chapter 18 involves a collapse of the entire world's economy. This suggests a system of even greater scope and integration than ancient Rome. Proponents argue that Rome was a pattern or type of a final, end-times Babylonian system that will unite political power, false religion, and global economics against God.
• Challenge: This view is inherently speculative, as it points to an entity that has not yet appeared on the world stage.

3. A Symbol of All God-Opposing World Systems Throughout History (Ideological)
This is a common idealist or spiritual interpretation.

• Evidence: Babylon's origins go back to Babel in Genesis 11—a human project founded in pride, rebellion against God, and the desire for self-glorifying unity. In this view, "Babylon" is not any one nation but the spirit of the world—any and every human system (political, economic, religious) that seeks to organize itself without God, inevitably leading to idolatry, oppression, and persecution of the faithful. Rome was just one manifestation of this timeless spirit.
• Challenge: Some argue this view can be too vague and fails to account for the specific, historical language of judgment and fall within Revelation.

4. A Corrupt Religious System (Often Identified as the Apostate Church)
This view, common in Protestant interpretation since the Reformation, distinguishes the religious aspect of Babylon from the political beast.

• Evidence: Babylon is called "the mother of prostitutes" (Rev 17:5), suggesting she is the source of religious apostasy. She is drunk with the blood of the saints, implying religious persecution. This view often sees a connection between the outward splendor, idolatry (veneration of images), and historical corruption of a specific religious institution and the description of Babylon. The "scarlet beast" she rides represents the political power she manipulates.
• Challenge: This view can be overly narrow and risk turning a profound theological critique into a sectarian attack. It also may not fully account for the primarily economic description of Babylon's fall in chapter 18.

Many scholars see these interpretations not as mutually exclusive but as layers of meaning. For John's first readers, Babylon was Rome. For later readers, it became a paradigm for understanding any power that assumes the role of Rome. Ultimately, Babylon represents the seductive and oppressive totality of the world in rebellion against its Creator, which will finally and utterly be overthrown by the Lamb.

Even though there is a solid argument for all of these identifications of Babylon, I am going to argue for a different identity as we go through these chapters. I will make some of the case tonight, and then come back to it when it is relevant to the passage. But I think it is a good idea that outline these possibilities because we can compare them to what the text says as we go through.

Let’s do the questions now.

Chapter 14

1. Who are these 144,000 people in verses 1-5. Are they the 144,000 from the chapter 7? If they are meant to be a literal number of people what kind of problem does this create for us? (compare to Hebrews 12:22-24). (Note Israel are called the virgin daughter of Zion in Lam. 2:13, Jer. 18:13. 31:4, 21; Amos 5:2). The idea of virginity being applied to God’s redeemed people: Jeremiah 31:1-6) James 1:18, we are a first fruits. (4 Esdras 2:42-48)

 

2. Are these literally 144,000 celibate guys? Are they Catholic priests?

 

3. What do verses 6-7 teach us about the rapture? Which gospel is this? (Gal. 1:8). Why is it called the eternal gospel (note the Birth of Caesar was called the gospel, it was a temporary kind).

 

4. If Babylon is fallen here in chapter 14:8, then why do we read about the fall of Babylon later in chapter 18? What does this tell us about the timeline of Revelation? (Jeremiah 51:7-8, Babylon has fallen, Isaiah 23:15-18, and 1-18). 

 

5. Who is Babylon the great? Is it the Catholic Church? Is it Isalm? Is it Judaism? Is it scientology? Or maybe feminism? Who do you think Babylon the Great of Revelation is?

 

6. According to verses 9-11 who goes to hell?

 

7. Is hell visible from heaven, and if so who to?

 

8. What does it mean to take the mark of the beast? Is the mark of the beast only an end times thing?

 

9. Ok, so dispensationalists argue that the church is not in Revelation from chapter 4 until the end of chapter 22. How does verse 12 disagree with that statement? Who was Revelation written to inspire, encourage and teach?

 

10. In the tribulation, how should we view death according to verse 13.

 

11. If the Spirit can speak, what does that tell us about the Spirit?

 

12. Who is the one sweeping the sickle in verses 14-16? Who is the one sweeping the sickle in verses 17-20? What is going on in this passage?

 

So, we are coming to the end of the tribulation, the end of history, the end of the world. Things get pretty brutal from here on in.