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Yesterday I was greatly refreshed in my mind and soul as I read Revelation chapter 18.
It is a chapter which carries us into the future, to the time of the Saviour’s return in great power and of His judgment of that embodiment of rebellion and anti-God idolatry – Babylonianism!

Babylon, religious, mercantile and political is brought down most unexpectedly, decisively and conclusively.

“‭And‭ a‭ mighty‭ angel‭ took up‭‭ a stone‭ like‭ a great‭ millstone‭, and‭ cast‭‭ ‭it‭ into‭ the sea‭, saying‭‭, Thus‭ with violence‭ shall‭‭ that great‭ city‭ Babylon‭ be thrown down‭‭, and‭ shall be found‭‭ no more‭ at all‭,” Revelation 18:21.

Amidst the growing manifestation of Babylonianism all around us, in churches, parliament and commerce, it is so good to read God’s ‘epitaph’ for this evil system which He will most surely bring to an end!

I trust you benefit from the comments we made some 27 years ago on this chapter.

Sincerely in Christ’s name,

Ivan Foster

“For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities,” Revelation 18:5.

(The following is an extract from the book ‘Shadow of The Antichrist’ by Rev Ivan Foster, first published in 1996)

A PDF file of the whole book is available for reading or downloading HERE!

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GRIEF AND GLADNESS – Exposition of Revelation Chapter 18.

There is a distinction between the Babylon of chapter 17 and the Babylon of chapter 18. In chapter 17 we have the system of Babylon which had been at work amongst the nations of men, virtually since the beginning of time.

That system of wickedness will be centred in the city of Babylon, first in the incorporated union of false religions that is symbolised by the Great Whore and then, when she is destroyed by the Antichrist, residing in him.

The Babylon of chapter 18 is the great city of Babylon, which rebellious man left off to build (Genesis 11:8), but which will be built to become the capital of Antichrist and antichristianity. It is here that the spirit of iniquity, or lawlessness and wickedness, will be given a base. “This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah? And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base,” Zechariah 5:8-11.

In this chapter we have the judgment of God falling on and destroying the base upon which this wickedness has been established. Again, let it be noted that there is an emphasis upon the destruction of this evil city which will appear so glorious in the eyes of wicked men. This same emphasis was seen in the vision of the great Harlot in chapter 17. God would have His people ever to bear in mind the end of these things. He who can see the evil maggot in the core of the apple will not be persuaded to bite the fruit, no matter how red and luscious its skin may appear. So it is with the magnificence that will pervade the world, particularly the Roman or prophetic earth, in the final days of this age. In its heart is an evil that will bring down God’s wrath upon it. (more…)

UNRESTRAINED MAN WILL DARINGLY PUT FORTH HIS HAND TO THAT WHICH IS TRULY BEYOND HIS DOMAIN

“And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city,” Genesis 11:6-8.

The news today has been filled with the details of the report into the behaviour of Boris Johnson during the Covid 19 crisis. Unsurprisingly, it indicated that he lied repeatedly to the nation and to Parliament. While it appears that it is acceptable for politicians to lie, and that repeatedly, to their constituents, it is a ‘no, no’ to be caught lying to Parliament.

Consequently, Boris was called a ‘liar’, and he, understanding what was in the pipeline, jumped before he was pushed.

And true to form, he has issued a smoke-cloud of deceits, fabrications and fairy tales!

However, something even more serious was in the news today which highlights another mark of man’s depravity, a much more serious facet of fallen man.

Man was never prepared to remain within the territory assigned him by the Lord. But like a recalcitrant animal, he has stalked up and down the boundary line looking for a means to escape the limitations that the Lord has placed upon him — for his own good and safety — and enter upon territories forbidden of God.

In the text at the head of this article we are reminded of the occasion, just after the flood, when sinful man manifests his failure to learn anything from the display of judgment against sin which wiped out all of humanity, save the eight members of Noah’s family.

The will of God for the family of Noah and their descendants is set forth in God’s command to Noah after the flood waters had completely dissipated from the earth. “And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him,” Genesis 8:15-18.

The earth was to be replenished with a new race of humans and animals, springing from those borne to safety in the Ark. But, as our text shows, postdiluvian man was as stubbornly opposed to doing God’s will as was antediluvian man! (more…)