Surviving Babylon (Revelation): What looks good to you is not necessarily good for you. This is the trap of Babylon. When John envisioned the fall of Babylon, the great ‘city of man’ (personified as a prostitute), he saw the eventual end of earthly kingdoms built on the seductive promise of political power and economic prosperity apart from God. Recorded on Jul 19, 2026, on Revelation 17-18 by Pastor David Parks.
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This sermon is part of the Revelation: All Things Made New series. Christians live in incredible tension. In Christ, we’re already saved, but we’re not yet delivered from this broken world. We’re being made holy, but we’re not yet perfected. We have love, joy, and peace, but we still long for justice, healing, and the death of death. How can we endure all this without giving in to complacency or compromise? In our series, we’ll pull back the veil of reality, exposing both a cosmic spiritual battle and the truth about how this story ends. One day, Jesus will return and bring a final end to evil. He will defeat his enemies and vindicate his people, wiping away every tear. Jesus will finally, fully establish his kingdom on the earth, making everything new. “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
Sermon Transcript
Our family is gearing up for a big family fishing trip coming up in a few weeks. And I’m very excited, despite not having grown up doing much fishing. In fact, I’m not sure how I snuck into Holly’s family knowing so little about it! But one thing I’ve learned about fishing (and this is very important) is that there are about 50 million different pieces of fishing tackle to bring. There are all sorts of different kinds of bait, jigs, rods, lures, and other things—but they all basically do the same thing. The whole game is to try to attract the fish’s attention with something bright and shiny or some spinny thing or something, and then try to convince them that it’s a delicious meal and not the trap that it is. And when you feel them bite, that’s when you set the hook and reel them in. And there is great rejoicing! But here’s the point: what looked good to the fish is not necessarily good for the fish. A lot of temptations are like that. What looks good, helpful, fun, or like something you’d even be entitled to…has a hook; it’s actually a trap. What looks good to you is not necessarily good for you. Well, today, we’re continuing our series on the book of Revelation called All Things Made New. And we’ve said that Revelation was written by the Apostle John to seven churches in modern Turkey toward the end of the first century AD. And we’ve seen Revelation’s wild images, symbolic names/numbers, beasts, and more, but these are all part of the apocalyptic literary style, popular in their day. But despite its unusual style (for us), Revelation pulls back the veil of reality, revealing, from a spiritual perspective, why the world is the way it is today and where all this is headed. Today, in chapters 17-18, we’re going to consider the fall of Babylon and her attractive but destructive nature. Babylon hasn’t fallen yet. And while she endures, she remains a potential trap, even for Christians. Do you want to avoid the hook? Then you need this sermon. If you have a Bible/app, please open to Rev 17:1. We have a lot of Bible today, but we’ll unpack it as we go.
Revelation 17:1–18 (NIV), “1 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. 2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.” 3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. 5 The name written on her forehead was a mystery: babylon the great the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth. 6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. 7 Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come. 9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. 11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction. 12 “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13 They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” 15 Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. 16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” Ok! Let’s pause here and consider for a moment all the images from chapter 17. The Apostle John, carried in the Spirit into the wilderness, likely yet another Exodus reference, was shown a vision of a rich and powerful woman called the great prostitute, who was sitting on the grotesque, demonic beast from ch. 13. She was dressed like a queen but was drinking the blood of the saints from a golden cup. This is such a vivid image, isn’t it? But what does all this mean? Well, the angel interprets the vision for John, saying that the woman is a personification of Babylon, the City of Man, to use Augustine’s language, as opposed to the City of God, the heavenly Jerusalem, which we’ll consider in a few weeks. But the woman represents the great city of Babylon, which rules over and influences the kings of the earth during this current age. We won’t try to connect the kings in this chapter to specific historical kings. It doesn’t change the message of this chapter either way. But back in chapter 14, we were briefly introduced to Babylon. There, all we were told was that Babylon the Great had fallen. Here, John zooms in and expands on what we heard would happen at the end of time. Babylon was an ancient kingdom. But Babylon in Revelation represents any city or empire influenced by the beasts of chapter 13, any kingdom built solely on political power and idolatry, rather than on faithfulness/allegiance to God and the Lamb. NT scholar Richard Bauckham writes, “Babylon represents the perversion of this ideal, what it comes to when, instead of the true God, humanity’s self-deification is the heart of the city. All the proud, God-defying, tyrannical and oppressive cities and states of the Old Testament contribute to the picture: Babel, Sodom, Egypt, Tyre, Babylon, Edom. The Babylon of Revelation sums up and surpasses them all.” (Bauckham, Richard. The Theology of the Book of Revelation (New Testament Theology) (p. 130). (Function). Kindle Edition.) In John’s day, Rome was Babylon—a city built on seven hills, clearly represented by the seven heads of the beast (v.9). But Rome wasn’t the first Babylon or the last. When Rome fell, another Babylon arose, and then another, all the way up until our present day. Are we living in Babylon? To some degree, the answer is yes. Of course, if we lived in another country, the answer would likely be the same. We’ll come back to this point later. Why do we need to understand Babylon? Well, one of the main themes of Revelation is the mess of this world. But Revelation says that the mess of this world isn’t only an individual problem of human sin, although we, of course, do contribute to the mess. The mess is also not only a spiritual problem with the devil and the spiritual forces of evil. Although, again, they war against God and God’s people, seeking to steal, kill, and destroy. Here, we see that the mess of this world also includes the wicked/corrupted kingdoms and cultures of this present age. That’s what Babylon is all about. But when you consider the problems of human sin, spiritual forces of evil, and corrupted systems and structures of human life, you might start to see why God needs a new heaven and earth. The mess runs from the top to the bottom of our cosmos. If we fail to understand the mess, we will never understand why the world is how it is today. But why is Babylon personified here as the great prostitute? This isn’t some sort of prejudice against women. The symbolic images of evil in Revelation are not limited to either gender. But as is true for so many things in Revelation, if you know the OT, and especially the OT prophets, you’ll know right away what John is doing here. You see, throughout the Bible, sexual immorality and adultery are used as sometimes shocking analogies for human unfaithfulness to God. When the ancient Israelites were pulled into worshiping the false gods of their neighbors (Canaan, Assyria, etc.), God accused them of cheating on him. But why a prostitute? Well, we’ll see this as we continue, but Babylon is happy to jump into bed, as it were, with anyone, provided the price is right. Her faithfulness is not to God but to economic prosperity and political power. In Babylon, it’s both “might makes right” (power) and “money makes right” (prosperity). Now, to be clear, the Bible teaches that power and prosperity aren’t inherently good or evil. It all depends on how you use them. But the kings of the earth, and many of the peoples of the earth (represented in this vision by the many waters), are often seduced by the promise of the power/prosperity of Babylon. It’s understandable, though. Power/prosperity are very attractive. I’ve joked that I wouldn’t mind if God tested my faith by seeing how I would do with just a few million dollars. (I wouldn’t need billions!) Now, I know that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Ti 6:10). I know very wealthy people who are miserable. Money can be very helpful, but it doesn’t buy happiness. But still…there’s this tug on my heart for more. But that’s the problem with temptations—they never look like they’d be bad; it’s why they are tempting. What looks good to you is not necessarily good for you. In the beginning, Adam and Eve “saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom” (Ge 3:6), meaning it looked good! It didn’t look like it would ruin everything…but it did. There was a hook. It was a trap. This is why Babylon is so alluring. She looks good! The temptations of power and prosperity seem good…until she consumes you (golden cup). But God has promised to one day bring justice fully to bear on the evil mess of this world, including Babylon. In tragic irony, v.16 says that the beast and the earthly kings—those who used Babylon for their own selfish gain—will come to hate her and will destroy her from within. Chapter 18 contrasts the mourning of those who used/benefited from her with the celebration of God’s people in her final judgment.
Revelation 18:1–24 (NIV), “1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 2 With a mighty voice he shouted: “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’ She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal. 3 For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.” 4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “ ‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; 5 for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. 6 Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup. 7 Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow; I will never mourn.’ 8 Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her. 9 “When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. 10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, you mighty city of Babylon! In one hour your doom has come!’ 11 “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore…17 In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’ “Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. 18 When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ 19 They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’ 20 “Rejoice over her, you heavens! Rejoice, you people of God! Rejoice, apostles and prophets! For God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you.” 21 Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again. 22 The music of harpists and musicians, pipers and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again. No worker of any trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again. 23 The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your merchants were the world’s important people. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray. 24 In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people, of all who have been slaughtered on the earth.” This is God’s word. Let no one be mistaken or deceived; one day, Babylon will fall. The mess of our earthly kingdoms, societies, and cultures, and all the ungodly uses of political power and economic prosperity will come to an end. But that’s the future. Is there anything we should do with this today? Yes! First, a warning, and then an encouragement. Here’s the warning: Babylon is attractive. Political power and economic prosperity are seductive. But there’s a hook; it’s actually a trap. What looks good to you is not necessarily good for you. Hear the voice calling from heaven: “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins.” Be careful how you think about money and power. These things can be tools to use to honor God and serve the needs of our neighbors. But they can just as easily be used for our own selfish gain, and often at the expense/abuse of others. Remember the main warnings of Jesus to the seven churches? He warned against complacency and compromise. This isn’t more of a trap for the political right or left. It’s a trap for all. And a trap that leads to destruction. Be careful about who you partner with here in Babylon. But here’s the encouragement: Babylon is where we are supposed to be Christians! This is where we are called to be salt and light. This is where we are called to love God and love our neighbors. This is where we are called, as the ancient Israelites were called when they were in exile (in actual Babylon!), to seek peace and prosperity of the city they were living in (Babylon!). It wasn’t the Promised Land, and this isn’t the Promised Land, but we can still follow Jesus here, with all the power and wisdom of heaven. We don’t have to fear Babylon, but we best not embrace her. And one day, we too will rejoice—at the fall of evil, the fall of injustice, the fall of exploitation, the fall of Babylon. Come quickly, Lord. But until that day, may we be your people, even in this distant land. Let us pray.
