The Judgment on the Beast and His Empire

I. The Judgment on the Beast and His Empire.

II. Introduction.

A. In tracing the campaign of Armageddon it has been seen how God judges the Gentile world powers and brings about their downfall. The northern confederacy was judged by God upon the mountains of Israel in the middle of the tribulation period. The Kings of the East and their forces and the armies of the Beast were seen to be destroyed at the second advent of Christ to the earth. A fuller description of this judgment upon the Beast and his citadel is given in Revelation 18. There the political empire is seen to have been so closely united with the false religious empire that both are called by the same name, even though two different entities are in view in these two chapters.

B. Two “Babylons” are to be distinguished in the Revelation: ecclesiastical Babylon, which is apostate Christendom, headed up under the Papacy; and political Babylon, which is the Beast’s confederated empire, the last form of Gentile world-dominion. Ecclesiastical Babylon is “the great whore” (*Rev. 17:1), and is destroyed by political Babylon (*Rev. 17:15-18), that the beast may be the alone object of worship (*2 Thess. 2:3, 4; *Rev. 13:15). The power of political Babylon is destroyed by the return of the Lord in glory.  The language of Rev. 18 (e.g. vs. *10, *16, *18) seems beyond all question to identify “Babylon,” the “city” of luxury and traffic, with Babylon the ecclesiastical center. The very kings who hated ecclesiastical Babylon deplore the destruction of commercial Babylon. Above Scriptures (*) are identified below.

* 1. Rev 17:1. Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters.

*2. Rev 17:15-18.  15 And he said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. 17 For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled. 18 The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.”

*3. 2. Thes 2:3-4. “the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”

*4. Rev 13:15. “And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.”

*5. Rev 18:10. “standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’”

*6. Rev 18:16. “saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls;'”

*7. Rev 18:18. “and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What city is like the great city?’”

C. The destruction of the seat of the Beast’s power is accomplished by a divine visitation of judgment by fire (*Rev. 18:8).

*Rev 18:8. For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong.

D. As the major lines of prophetic revelation concerning the tribulation period have been surveyed it becomes obvious that the revelation of God’s program for this period constitutes one of the major sections of prophetic study. The program for Israel, for the Gentiles, for the program of Satan all reach a climax in that time immediately preceding the second advent of Christ.

III. Study References.

A list of my study references can be found on my Page, “About My References.”