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Jeremiah 50 and 51 speak concerning God’s judgment on Babylon:
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Babylon began from Babel—Gen. 10:8-10:
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At Babel Satan caused the human race to rebel against God, to worship idols, and to exalt man’s self; thus, Babel was the origin, the source, of man’s rebellion against God, man’s worship of idols, and human self-exaltation—11:1-9.
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Babel had its continuation in Babylon, which, in the sight of God, is the consummation of human government—Jer. 50:1; Dan. 2:32-34:
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Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, was even identified with Satan as Satan’s embodiment—Isa. 14:4, 11-15.
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Babylon destroyed God’s holy city and His holy temple and carried God’s holy people and the vessels of God’s temple into captivity—2 Chron. 36:17-20.
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In Revelation 17 and 18 the restored Roman Empire is called Babylon the Great, which has two aspects—religious and material:
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Revelation 17 is an unveiling of religious Babylon—the apostate Roman Catholic Church:
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In the eyes of God the Roman Catholic Church, which perpetuates much of Judaism and has assimilated much of paganism, is Babylon.
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The harlot in 17:1 is the apostate Roman Catholic Church.
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Because God hates the apostate church, at the beginning of the great tribulation God will cause Antichrist and his ten kings to destroy the Roman Catholic Church—vv. 16-17.
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Revelation 18 is an unveiling of material Babylon—the city of Rome:
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In Revelation 17 and 18 two aspects of Babylon—the religious aspect and the material aspect—are mixed together:
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The harlot in 17:16 denotes religious Babylon, signifying the Roman Catholic Church, whereas the woman in verse 18 denotes material Babylon, signifying the city of Rome.
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Since Babylon the Great is twofold, to come out of her means to come out of both religious Babylon and material Babylon—18:4.
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Material Babylon, the city of Rome, will become hateful in the eyes of God because it has been the source of both devilish politics and devilish religion—vv. 6-8, 20-24.
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Christ as another Angel will shine over the earth to destroy Babylon the Great, the city of Rome, with His great authority—vv. 1-2.
Morning Nourishment
Rev. 18:4 …Come out of her, My people, that you do not participate in her sins and that you do not receive her plagues.19:2-3 For true and righteous are His judgments; for He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and He avenged the blood of His slaves at her hand….They said, Hallelujah! And her smoke goes up forever and ever.
When Israel came out of Babylon at the time of Ezra, they came out of political Babylon but not out of religious Babylon, for at that time there was no religious Babylon. Israel’s captivity in Babylon typifies the captivity of today’s Christians in the Babylonian religion….In the Babylonian religion, the most striking thing is the worship of idols. This is especially true in Catholicism. Today, for us to be God’s people, we need to come out of Babylon in its two aspects. (Life-study of Isaiah, p. 166)
Today’s Reading
In the Old Testament, Babylon was mainly political, but this political Babylon also interfered with the worship of God. When Babylon invaded Jerusalem, it destroyed the temple of God and carried away to Babylon the vessels of the temple (Dan. 1:1-2), which typify the ways and means for God’s people to enjoy Christ. These vessels continued to exist, but they were marred. Furthermore, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, captured the people of high rank in Israel, including the royal family, and forced them to worship his god in Babylon. Hence, the worship of God was damaged and marred by Babylon. This shows that Babylonian politics went together with Babylonian religion. In the New Testament, Babylon is mentioned in a strong way in the book of Revelation. The religious aspect is mentioned first (Rev. 17), then the political aspect (Rev. 18). The religious Babylon is revealed as “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of the Harlots and the Abominations of the Earth” (17:5). In Revelation 2:20 she is signified by Jezebel. In contrast to political Babylon, religious Babylon, the apostate Roman Catholic Church, is very mysterious. It has God, Christ, and Satan within it. It has a name that it proclaims God and preaches Christ as the Savior. But when its members believe its preaching, they are brought into the secrets, mysteries, and deep things of Satan (v. 24) to worship idols. The apostate Roman Church preaches God but worships idols. This is hypocrisy.Political Babylon is somewhat in a state of repose, whereas religious Babylon is flourishing. For example, Christmas, which is celebrated throughout the world, is altogether from Babylon. Participating in Christmas may seem to be a small thing, but anything that is part of Babylon is abominable in the eyes of God. The system in the church meetings of one man speaking and all the rest listening is also a part of Babylon. This Babylonian element must not be allowed to remain among us.
God commanded His Old Testament elect, Israel, to depart from Babylon and to separate themselves absolutely from Babylon (Isa. 52:11). In the New Testament, God also charges His elect, the church, to come out of Babylon (Rev. 18:4). We all need to ask ourselves whether or not we have made a thorough clearance with today’s Babylon. We are here following our Christ, who is the Servant of Jehovah, and He requires us to depart from Babylon and to have a thorough clearance with Babylon.
In Joshua 6 the children of Israel gained the victory over Jericho, but in fighting against Ai they were defeated. Because Achan kept a Babylonian garment (7:21), God’s people suffered a defeat. Anything that is Babylonian gives Satan the ground to defeat the people of God. Therefore, we must forsake everything Babylonian. If we would serve God as His pure people, we first need to have a thorough clearance of all Babylonian things. (Life-study of Isaiah, pp. 179-180)
Further Reading: Life-study of Isaiah, msgs. 6-8, 24-26; Life-study of Revelation, msgs. 51-53; The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 71