In 1817, Percy Shelley wrote this famous poem.
I met a traveler from an ancient, from an antique land who said,
Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert, near them on the sand.
Half sunk, a shattered, rigid lies, whose frown and wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
tell that its sculptor well read, well those passions read,
which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things.
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed, and on the pedestal these words appear.
My name is Ozymandias, King of kings, look on my works, ye mighty and despair.
Nothing beside remains.
Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, the lone and level sands stretch far away.
Shelley was a poet during the height of the British Empire, and he was not a fan of the empire.
And so he wrote this poem to talk about the ephemeral nature of the kingdoms of this world.
I've had the privilege of being in Berlin at the Pergamon Museum.
If you've ever been there, it's a great museum with lots of stolen treasures from the rest of the world.
That's not a good thing, but it's just true.
And one of the things that is there is something called the Gate of Ishtar, or the Ishtar Gate,
which is a reconstruction of one of the gates of the city of Babylon.
And it's about 30 feet high, a mosaic with symbolism of dragons and lions and the greatness.
But friends, where is that great city of Babylon today?
We wonder what happens to the kings of this world.
The church has always thought, what is our relationship to these kingdoms?
In the first century, as we turn to the book of Revelation,
we remember that during that time, the great kingdom of the world was not Babylon,
but it was Rome.
And they battled to know, how do we respond or how do we relate to this?
How do we resist the allure of becoming a partner in these kingdoms that will fall?
So we've read at the beginning of the book of Revelation, remember the letters.
This is way back in the fall.
Some of you weren't even here yet.
Way back in the fall, we looked at the letters to seven churches.
And to the church of Thyatira, the Lord said this,
but I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel,
who calls herself a prophetess,
and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality
and to eat foods sacrificed to idols.
There was false teaching connected to the Roman Empire
that was inducing Christians away from worship of God to serving Rome.
Similarly, to the church in Laodicea, chapter 3, Jesus says this,
Because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.
For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, I need nothing.
Not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich,
and white garments so that you may clothe yourself,
and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen,
and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
In the first century, there was this pull to be a part of the Roman Empire
because it would give you what seemed to be wealth, security, prosperity, and power.
The pressure to be a part of this church, part of this world, if you remember,
was a pull on the church.
And one of the reasons why the book of Revelation was written
was to remind us that we are to resist that pull.
Maybe some of you feel that pull in the kingdoms of this world that we live in today.
The pull of pride in the wealth of your accomplishments, connections, or belongings.
Your investment in building a world here and now,
thinking that you might become one of those who would be immortal by the things that you achieve.
Your hope in this life is for more comfort, more pleasure, more success.
Or your desire for acceptance and meaning becomes wrapped up
in conforming to the world around you so that you will fit in and be recognized.
Friends, as we turn to Revelation 18 today, God has words for us.
Revelation 18 is on page 974 in your pew Bible.
And God has something to say to us as we think about living in the worlds,
the kingdoms that we live in today.
So if you're there, Revelation chapter 18, we're going to read through the whole chapter,
and then we're going to make a few observations about it before we go to the Lord's table.
So let's read together God's word.
After this, I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority,
and the earth was made bright with his glory,
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.
For all the 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.
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.
For her sins are heaped high as heaven,
and God has remembered her iniquities.
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.
As she glorified herself and lived in luxury,
so give her a like measure of torment and mourning.
Since in her heart she says,
I sit as a queen,
I am no widow,
and mourning I shall never see.
For this reason her plagues will come in a single day,
death and mourning and famine,
and she will be burned up with fire.
For mighty is the Lord God
who has judged her.
And the kings of the earth
who committed sexual immorality
and lived in luxury with her
will weep and wail over her
when they see the smoke of her burning.
They will stand far off in fear of her torment
and say,
Alas, alas, you great city,
you mighty city Babylon,
for in a single hour your judgment has come.
And the merchants of the earth
will weep and mourn for her
since no one buys their cargo anymore,
cargo of gold, silver, jewels,
pearls, fine linen, purple cloth,
silk, scarlet cloth,
all kinds of scented wood,
all kinds of articles of ivory,
all kinds of articles of costly wood,
bronze, iron, and marble,
cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh,
frankincense, wine, oil,
fine flour, wheat, cattle,
and sheep, horses, and chariots,
and slaves, that is, human souls.
The fruit for which your soul longed
has gone from you,
and all your delicacies
and all your splendors
are lost to you,
never to be found again.
The merchants of these wares
who gained wealth from her
will stand far off in fear of her torment,
weeping and mourning aloud.
Alas, alas, for the great city
that was clothed in fine linen
and purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold,
with jewels and with pearls.
For in a single hour,
all this wealth has been laid waste.
And all shipmasters
and seafaring men,
sailors,
and all those who trade on the sea
stood far off
and cried out
as they saw the smoke of her burning,
what city was like
the great city.
And they threw down,
they threw dust on their heads
as they wept and mourned,
crying out,
alas, alas,
for the great city
where all who had ships at sea
grew rich by her wealth,
for in a single hour
she has been laid waste.
Rejoice over her, O heaven,
and you saints
and apostles and prophets,
for God has given judgment
for you against her.
And then a mighty angel
took up a stone
like a giant 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.
And the sound of the harpists
and musicians
of flute players
and trumpeters
will be heard in you
no more.
And a craftsman of any craft
will be found in you
no more.
And the sound of the mill
will be heard in you
no more.
And the light of a lamp
will shine in you
no more.
And the voice of the bridegroom
and bride will be heard in you
no more.
For your merchants
were the great ones
of the earth
and all the nations
were deceived
by your sorcery.
And in her was found
the blood of the prophets
and of saints
and all who have been slain
on the earth.
Well, let's pray
and ask for God's help.
Lord, thank you
for this word.
Lord, we know
that your word
is living and active
sharper than a two-edged sword.
And I pray
that as we consider
this word to us
this morning
that you would
help us.
Lord, give us
minds to understand
and hearts to receive.
Lord, help me
to speak clearly
as I ought.
Lord, that we might
sit together
under your word
this morning.
We pray this
in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, what are we
to make of this?
I believe
that
the point
of this chapter
is to give us
one command
and three reasons.
So, if you're
taking your outline,
there it is,
four points,
one command
and then three reasons
for it.
And the command
is simply this,
come out.
Come out
from among her.
Come out
from Babylon.
Come out
from the world
systems.
come out
for three reasons.
Because you will
lament all you
will lose
if you don't.
Second reason,
because you will
face God's
right judgment
if you don't.
And thirdly,
because you will
be filled
with great joy
at God's
greater kingdom.
We'll repeat
those as we go.
So first,
let's consider
the command.
Come out
of her,
my people.
We've talked
about her,
Babylon,
already.
And if you
haven't been here
before,
I'm going to
encourage you
to go back
and listen
to some
of the earlier
sermons,
particularly
Nick's sermon
last week,
or not last week,
but about
Revelation 17.
That was three
weeks ago
because he spent
a lot of time
talking about
the nature
and contours
of Babylon
and we don't
have that here.
So I'm not
going to spend
a lot of time
but just to say
her big picture,
you can see it
in verse three,
right,
that the kings
have drunk
of her sexual
immorality
and her pleasures
and her wealth
and what we see
is that Babylon
is a symbol
for the world
systems,
political,
societal systems
that entice
or seduce us
to put our hope
and find our life
in this world
rather than
in others.
And remember,
again,
you can go back
for the full
explanation
but in the
Old Testament
and here
we see
the images
of sexual
immorality
is also
a clue
to say
this is about
idolatry,
this is about
worshipping
other things
more than
we worship
God
and making
other things
ultimate
in our affections.
and the command
is to come
out of her
because she
has fallen.
This is what's
announced
in verse 2
and this is
what is described
in chapter 17.
Fallen so
completely
in verse 2
that it's become
a desolation
that the only
living things
that would remain
would be wild
animals
and wild spirits.
nothing good.
So the command
is to come
out of that
but what does
it mean
to come out?
In the original
context
going back
to Jeremiah
50 and 51
you would see
that the prophet
was speaking
to the people
of God
who were literally
living in Babylon
and they were
predicting
the fall
of Babylon
as the Persians
would come in
and overthrow
their kingdom
and he's literally
saying you need
to leave the city
before it falls
under destruction.
But that is not
what's happening
here in Revelation.
That historical event
has now become
a symbol
of coming out
from participation
in a world
to forsake a land,
a culture,
and its religion.
Now listen,
we need to be
very careful in this
because there have
been times
when the church
has heard this call
and thought we need
to totally separate
ourselves out.
So monks
would go live
on pillars
in the desert
in the 4th century,
right?
Or in the early
20th century
we would create
the great
holy huddle
fundamentalist movement
that would separate
from everybody
in every way.
And so we would
only eat at
Christian restaurants,
only read Christian books,
only attend Christian schools,
only listen to Christian music,
only have Christian friends,
and live in this
completely separate bubble
that was not
in the world.
But friends,
listen to what Jesus
prayed for his
disciples
and for the world
in John 17.
He said,
I do not ask
that you would
take them out
of the world,
but that you would
keep them
from the evil one,
for they are not
of this world,
just as I am not
of this world.
And again,
go back to
Pastor Nick's sermon
three weeks ago,
these kind of pair
because he talked about
we're called to be
a city within a city.
We're called to be
a different community
within the community
of the world
while we live here
on earth.
Nancy Guthrie
had a really helpful
way of phrasing this
that I thought
was really good.
It's not separation
that requires
physical distance,
but distinction,
a difference
in how we live,
in what we love,
and what we worship.
It's not about
where we do our life,
but how we do our life
that makes us
those who come out.
So again,
the Apostle John
writes this
in his first letter,
1 John 2,
verse 15 and following.
He says,
Do not love the world
or the things
in the world.
If anyone loves the world,
the love of the Father
is not in him.
For all that is in the world,
the desires of the flesh
and the desires of the eyes
and the pride of life
is not from the Father,
but is from the world.
And the world
is passing away
along with its desires.
But whoever does
the will of God
abides forever.
So coming out
is a matter of
what we worship
and what we love.
what do we value
above all things?
What authority
do we seek
to ultimately please?
What do we set
our hearts on
in devotion?
What do we invest
our time,
our money,
our relationships in?
And what is
the meaning
of our success?
I'm sorry,
the measure
of our success
or the source
of our meaning.
Do we get these things
from the world around us?
We get this
from God
in heaven.
This is the word.
Come out.
Come out
from this world
and your dependence upon
and your investment
in this world.
Be distinctive
so that the aroma
of the kingdom
of Jesus
would capture
our hearts
more
than those
of this world.
Why does he say this?
Well, he gives
three reasons.
We'll look at these
briefly, hopefully.
See how we do.
First,
come out
because you will lament
of all you lose
if you don't.
Starting in verse 9
and going through
verse 19,
there is a picture
of three peoples.
They're kings,
merchants,
and seamen.
And each of them
were full participants
in the world
of Babylon.
Right?
In this picture
of this,
they're investing
in the world.
The kings
invested in the power
and the wealth.
The merchants
with the luxury
and comfort
of their wealth.
The seamen
and the accumulation
of wealth.
And what happened
was they see
Babylon fall.
The things
that they had
set their hearts
on and invested
their lives in
were gone.
And you see
a pattern.
Each of them
stand far off,
somehow trying
to distance themselves
at the last minute
from this
cataclysmic destruction.
They stood far off.
They wept
and mourned aloud
for the ending
of the things
they had invested
so much in.
And they trembled
in fear
that they too
might burn
along with it.
I don't know
if you heard it
but as we read through
did you notice
it happens
in an hour?
In a day?
Like that?
You think
of the parable
that Jesus told
in Luke 12
about the man
who had great barns
and they were getting
so,
he was so wealthy
that he didn't have
enough barns
so we had to tear
him down
and build more ones
and Jesus comes
to him that night
and says,
you fool.
Tonight,
your soul
is demanded of you.
He had invested
his soul
in the pleasure
and wealth
of this world
and yet,
as we all know,
we don't take it
with us.
And so,
this is why
we're called
to be distinct
from this world
because God
wants to spare us
from the lament
and from the loss
but even more
than that,
well,
from the lament
and the loss
that we will experience
when we invest
in things
that won't last.
When we build
our house
on a foundation
of sand
that gets washed away
in the stresses
of life,
there will only be
woe
and mourning
and lamenting
if we've invested
in these things.
So,
that's the first reason
because God wants
to spare us
from this loss,
from being in this
but there's more
behind it
than there isn't there
because what we see
is that
in the midst
of this lamenting
and loss,
there is also
again the picture
of God's judgment,
God's right judgment.
There's a commentator
that said,
to share in her wickedness
is to reap
her recompense.
if we invest
ourselves
in the lives
of this world
then the judgment
that God has
proclaimed and pronounced
against the world
that stands up
against him,
we will be
those who will
suffer that as well.
And it's a terrible
judgment.
You see this
in verses 5
through 8
as it describes
this,
says that their sins
are heaped
as high as heaven,
even as tall
as the Tower of Babel
way back in Genesis 11,
reaching up to heaven.
Verse 7,
did you hear the pride
where she says,
I'm a queen,
I'm not going to suffer
any consequences,
I am going to live
in this place
of power and privilege
forever,
I will have no mourning,
I won't lose my husband
and be a widow
and be in vulnerable
positions,
I have all of these
things and I will
never give them up.
And then if you heard
at the very end,
verse 24,
recognize that
this world system
that we so easily
invest in
is always at war
against the church.
Not always literally,
not always physically,
but certainly
throughout the ages
and as we've seen,
more likely
as we continue
that those
who live
for the kingdom
of God
will die
at the hands
of this world
because they're
following Jesus.
And so our,
and these people,
those who have died,
cry out,
remember Revelation 6,
10?
Oh sovereign Lord,
holy and true,
how long before you
will judge and avenge
our blood
on those who dwell
on the earth?
Babylon has earned
God's wrath.
It is a right judgment
against them
and it will come upon them
like the plagues
of Egypt
came upon Pharaoh.
You see the language
of plagues
being used here.
Plagues of mourning
and death
and famine
in verse 8.
Just like Pharaoh
who said,
I will not bow
my knee to this king.
I will seek
to maintain
my kingdom.
God will say no
and he will bring
judgment
in order to show
that these world's kingdoms
will not last
and will not stand
forever.
And then as we look
at the end
of this passage,
we see how complete
the destruction is.
This kingdom
that's characterized
by wealth
and pleasure
and power
such that people
are drunk with it,
what does it look like?
Starting in verse 21, 22,
there will be no music.
There will be no work.
There will be no food.
There will be no light.
There will be no love
and no celebrations
of marriage.
There will be desolation.
When we invest
in Babylon,
we will get
the dividends
that Babylon
will earn.
We tend to think
that God doesn't care
what we do
with our everyday lives,
how we spend
our time,
our money,
our sex,
our power,
our possessions,
our social capital,
but all of our investments
will bring some return
somewhere.
God will be sure
to make it so.
Let us invest well,
my friends.
Let us set a heart
on not this kingdom
that will ultimately
end and fall.
Did you see
the threat of hope?
Did you hear it?
Because there is
another kingdom.
There is a greater kingdom
and a greater one,
a greater king
to love and worship.
And this is the third reason
to come out of Babylon.
It's in verse 20.
You will be filled
with joy
in God's greater kingdom.
Now the ESV
is really unhelpful here
because it looks
very much like
verse 20
is a part of the speech
of the seamen
and the merchants.
But many commentators
think this is not,
this does not make sense.
This is not consistent.
Instead,
they separate this out
and say,
this is a thread
where the voice
says something
not to,
not in the mouths
of the seamen,
but the voice
from heaven
is now speaking
to the heavenly realms,
to the angels
and the saints
and saying,
rejoice.
Verse 20,
rejoice over her,
O heaven,
and you saints
and apostles
and prophets,
for God has given
judgment for you
against her.
Come out
because you will be
filled with a joy
that comes from being
a part of God's kingdom,
a song of praise.
When we look ahead
in the first five verses
of chapter 19,
we'll start to see
what will happen
as Babylon falls.
I don't want to steal
Nick's thunder,
but it's a beautiful picture
where God's going to invite us
to a great wedding feast
and it's going to be,
we will be the bride of Christ
and he will invite us
into this victorious,
triumphant,
eternal glory
of being his people.
We've seen the first five verses.
I'm going to summarize this,
but just compile
the songs of praise
that will be sung
at that moment.
Hallelujah,
salvation and glory
and power belong
to our God
for his judgments
are just and true
for he has judged
the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth
with her immorality
and has avenged on her
the blood of his servants.
Hallelujah,
the smoke goes up
from her,
goes up forever and ever.
Praise our God,
all you his servants,
you who fear him,
small and great.
friends,
this is the great triumph
and the great kingdom
that God promises
and as we continue
in the series in Revelation,
we will see what God will do
for as he brings low the Babylon,
the kingdoms of this world,
as he judges the serpent
and the dragon
and the devil
and the beast
and the prostitute,
as you see all of them
finally experience
the fullness of recompense
for all of the evil
that they have done.
You will also see God
recreating the heavens
and the earth.
He will make all things new
and there's a kingdom
that is worth living for
and a kingdom worth dying for.
For friends,
here's the thing,
we worship a savior
and on Good Friday,
just a week ago,
we celebrated something
unbelievable
because he fell for us.
He,
as he went to the cross,
experienced
and took upon himself
the sin of the world
so that all who believe in him
would know that he has fallen for us
and yet on Easter Sunday,
we worshiped him
because he did not stay dead
because his desolation
was not forever
but was for a moment
and then God raised him
from the dead
so that he might be
the eternal one,
the lamb of God slain,
the lion of Judah risen,
the one who sits on the throne
who is worthy to open the scrolls
and bring judgment
against the evil of this world,
the one who comes and says,
behold, I am making all things new.
Oh, friends,
let us not continue
to invest our lives
in this world
but let us see
that both out of avoiding
lament and judgment
and because there is
a greater kingdom for us,
let us come out
and be distinct
so that we might love him rightly.
if you are here this morning
and you haven't put your faith
in Christ,
know that you live
in the kingdom of this world.
There are only two kingdoms.
There is no in-between space.
And Christ says,
come out.
Put your faith in me.
Enter my kingdom.
Become one of my children.
And for those of us
who have been Christians
and followers for Jesus,
we know how easily
we fall into
that
proverbial pot
on the stove
and like frogs
we will
become like the place
around us
and be burned up.
Friends,
let us
consider
and examine ourselves
to see whether
we have entered
into partnership
with this world.
And may God
give us the grace
to bring clarity
to our devotion
and to our worship
and to our loves
because of what
he has done for us.
Let's pray together.
Oh Lord,
we came to you now.
Lord,
this is not an easy word
to read
and it is
sobering for us.
Lord,
for we do live
in this world
and we confess
how often
and how easily
our hearts,
our attention,
our affections
are turned away
Lord,
from you.
Lord,
to love the things
of this world more.
But Lord,
we pray,
we pray this morning
that by your spirit
we would be renewed
Lord,
so that we might see
the glory of your kingdom.
We'd be renewed
in our commitment
to and desire
for
living for you
in this kingdom.
Oh Lord,
we
ask for you
to help us
Lord,
as we go
to the Lord's Supper,
that you would
shine your spotlight
on our hearts,
reveal
where there may be
wickedness
and unbelief,
compromise
in our hearts.
We pray this
in Jesus' name.
Amen.