Brother Mike Ministries

The many days of Judgment Day began on May 21, 2011!  
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ETERNAL LIFE: No Longer Possible!! ***

Whoso keeps the commandment shall feel no evil: and a wise man's heart discerns [will know] both time and judgment - Ec. 8:5

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Revelation 18 Commentary, part 3 (verses 20-24)
By Brother Mike (9-10-13, 58 minutes)  


Verse 20:

20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her .  

The first thing we read in this verse is to rejoice, be glad, or make merry. In the Greek it means much more than just to rejoice, be glad, or make merry one time, but it means to keep on rejoicing, being glad, or making merry. Furthermore, the command rejoice is in the passive voice of the Greek, which cannot be seen in the English translation, but it means that the command to keep on rejoicing, being glad, or making merry started in the past, which, according to the context, we know was upon the fall of Babylon the Great beginning on May 21, 2011. Remember that God is declaring Revelation 18 from the perspective of the fall of Babylon (the world) having already taken place in our day. Therefore, the command to keep on rejoicing, being glad, or making merry over her is directly applicable to the days we are now living in, Judgment Day, so all of us who are God's people should make a disciplined effort to keep on rejoicing. Rejoice right now: rejoice when you awake; rejoice in the noon day; rejoice in the evening; rejoice upon your bed, for such is the command, and how can we say that we know Him if we obey not His command. 

Now, we read of three entities that are commanded to be rejoicing, being glad, or making merry over the fall of Babylon the Great ever since May 21, 2011. These three entities are heaven, the holy apostles, and the prophets. Actually, the word heaven is used here as a general term to refer to anything and anyone living who is identified with heaven, and this would include the holy apostles and prophets. Therefore, probably the best translation would be to take the word and (kai in the Greek) between heaven and ye holy apostles and prophets and translate it as the word even, which is a possible translation of the word and (kai) in the Greek. The verse would then read with also all words taken out which do not appear in the original Greek,  

"Be Rejoicing over her, heaven, [even] holy apostles and prophets . . .

This makes it clear that the holy apostles and prophets are a part of heaven, and not something in addition to or separate from heaven

But who are the holy apostles and prophets? The word for apostles (apostoloi) can refer to the office of apostles of which only the twelve apostles belong, but it can also apply to some of the respectable leaders and teachers in the first century such as Barnabus, Epahproditus, and Titus (Acts 14:14; 2Cor. 8:23; Php. 2:25). In its broadest sense, it means the ones sent forth, messengers, or delegates, which could apply to all of God's people since each one of them has been commissioned by God to be His messenger (apostle), and this is how it is being used in this context: the Holy apostles in our verse refers to all of God's elect whether already in heaven or still on earth; they are the ones who have been made holy by the atoning work of Christ, and they are the ones who have been sent forth as His messengers (apostles), which brings us to the word prophets. 

Who are the prophets? The word prophets is a compound word and literally means to before declare, which in plain English might be translated as to foretell. So prophets in the most literal sense are those who foretell things before they take place. Actually, up until the Holy Scriptures were completed in about 95 AD, prophets were those who received divine, special revelation and spoke or wrote exactly what God wanted them to, but ever since the Holy Scriptures were completed, God ended divine revelation of this kind since everything that God's people need to know for Godliness and Holiness can now be found in the scriptures alone, and there is no need for any more. And so now, prophets are those who seek out the meaning of Holy Scripture and declare it. They no longer receive divine revelation apart from the scriptures as they once did such as in a tongue, dream, vision, or a voice, but they study the scriptures to show themselves approved, and then declare what they have learned.

Prophets are not always without error, but are being led by God through a process of growth in knowledge, which may require some steps in learning before what they declare is as accurate as it should be. This is what happened, for instance, with respect to May 21, 2011. God's prophets declared before hand May 21, 2011 to be Judgment Day, which it was, but they also thought there would be physical events on that day like an earthquake and the rapture, which there wasn't. This forced God's prophets to search the scriptures more deeply to see where they might have gone wrong, and what was found was that, yes, Judgment Day did begin on May 21, 2011, but it is completely spiritual, and no outward and physical events should have ever been expected. So what we see is that God's prophets had part of it correct - the most important part, which is that it was judgment day with the end of salvation - but had to be corrected on the rest through a process of growing in knowledge. This is due to the fact that God's prophets today no longer always receive a perfect understanding of scripture, but they must at times go through a process of growth in the scriptures before they can understand the full depths of a particular teaching. No longer do God's prophets receive divine, perfect and errorless revelation apart from the scriptures, but they must now compare scripture with scripture to find their conclusions, and sometimes their conclusions are not yet complete because coming to complete truth can be a process, which can take more time and study . . . plus it must be God's timing. The Lord only let's us know what He wants us to know at a given time, and if it is not His will that we yet know a particular truth, then we will not know it unto it is His time. I am sure He had His good reasons, for instance, why He did not let His people fully understand the completely spiritual nature of Judgment Day on May 21, 2011 until after the fact. 

But let's now return to our definition for prophets. Prophets are those who declare the Word of God from the Bible. No longer do prophets receive divine, errorless revelation directly from God, but they must study very carefully, and then declare what they have learned. Sometimes they must go through a process of learning before God reveals the complete picture of things to them. But it is a prophet's strong desire to always declare only the truth as God has opened them up to it from the Holy Scriptures. In the broadest sense, all of God's people can be considered prophets to some degree because they are all spiritually in Christ, and Christ is a prophet, priest, and king. Therefore, because they are all spiritually in Christ, they can also be considered prophets, priests, and kings. Just like the word apostles can refer to every one of God's people, so also can the word prophets. And this is how both these words are being used in our verse. Remember, it states, 

20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her

Given what we have learned about prophets and apostles, now we know that this is an ongoing command for all of God's beings both in heaven and earth to keep on rejoicing ever since Judgment Day on May 21, 2011. Up until this point, everything we read in Revelation 18 had to do with God's people weeping and mourning for their unsaved loved ones and the world because there is no more hope for their salvation, but now God's people are being commanded to keep on rejoicing along with heaven. It really gives you a sense of how bipolar God's people on earth can really be. In one sense, they are weeping and mourning during this time, but in another sense they are to be rejoicing. This has to do with still being in the flesh which is identified with this world, and being so connected to this world, we mourn over this world, but in our new resurrected soul we can rejoice over the fall of the world because this is God's righteous judgment being brought to fulfillment, and our redemption is one step away and right at the door. In fact, we are told as to why we are commanded to be rejoicing continuously: for God hath avenged you on her. Literally, this verse reads, for God did judge your judgment of her. In other words, God's people had already previously through their lives judged that the world deserves death due to all her sins, but the Lord had told them in Romans 12:9, vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord, and now ever since May 21, 2011 the Lord has unleashed His vengeance upon the world. This is a great occasion for rejoicing because finally Babylon (the world) is getting her due justice. All the terrible things which were wrongfully done to God's people throughout history are now being avenged. The door to heaven has been closed to her, and she has been given over to her own sins which are killing her. Then, in a short time from now, on the Last Day she shall be utterly destroyed forevermore. There shall be no trace found of her ever again! Yes, Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.

As we read in Psalm 149-150:

1 Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints .
2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King .
3
Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp .
4
For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation .
5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds .
6
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand ;
7
To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people ;
8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron ;
9 To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD

Psalm 150: 

1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power .
2
Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness
3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp .
4
Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs
5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals .
6
Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD


Verse 21:

21 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

In this verse, we are told that a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone. The word angel can be translated as messenger, and that this is a mighty angel infers that this messenger is Christ. We see, for instance, that a mighty angel can refer to Christ in Revelation 10, 

Re 10:1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire . .

Obviously, the mighty angel in this verse is Christ. And, we can see that Christ, the Lord God, is also referred to as being mighty in a verse like Revelation 18,

Re 18:8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong [that is, mighty] is the Lord God [that is, Christ] who judgeth her

Therefore, we are certainly within the bounds of scripture to see the mighty angel in our verse as being Christ Himself. 

Now we are told that this mighty angel (Christ) took up a stone like a great millstone. The word stone can be symbolic of Christ Himself. For instance, we read in 1Peter 2, 

1Pe 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded

And, again, 

Ro 9:33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed

And, once again,

1Pe 2:4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious . . .

So we can see the stone as representing Christ Himself. But why would God say that this stone is like a millstone? A millstone is a large disk-shaped stone used on top of another stone called a nether stone to grind up, for instance, the wheat grains into flour so that they can be made into bread (see picture of a millstone here ). So we could say that the millstone takes the wheat (the grains) and makes it into usable food. Do you see how this is a picture of Christ (the millstone) taking His people (the wheat) and making them into the gospel (the food) for the world to eat? So a millstone is representative of Christ using His people to send out the gospel into the world. 

We can now begin to understand what it means that this millstone (Christ) was 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. The millstone being cast into the sea symbolizes the complete end of the whole process of Christ using His people to send out the gospel of salvation into the world, for it has been cast into the sea only to sink to the bottom by the weight of the stone - that is, the wrath of Christ - to never be realized again. This is the method by which Babylon has been thrown down. By removing salvation (the millstone) from her on May 21, 2011, she has been thrown down; she is guaranteed to die, and on the Last Day to be completely annihilated when she shall be found no more at all

But there is another meaning symbolized in all this. The sinking of the great millstone (Christ) into the depths of the sea is symbolic of the death of Christ for the sins of His people, and by saying, thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, we are being told that just as Christ suffered death on behalf of His people as symbolized by the great millstone cast into the sea, so also must Babylon suffer death for her sins. We read of this similar symbolism in Jeremiah 51: 

Jeremiah 51:63 And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates :
64
And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah

Here the stone and the book represent Christ who suffered death on behalf of His people as represented by the stone and book (the Word of God) being cast into the sea. And just like this was done, thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her. In other words, just like Christ had to die for the sins of His people, so must Babylon (the world) die for her own sins, which we know in a real sense took place on May 21, 2011 when she was left to die in her sins with no more salvation, and now awaits complete destruction on the Last Day of this world's existence.  


Verse 22: 

22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee . . .

Here we are told that the voice (sound) of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee. First of all, we recognize that there four listings: harpers, musicians, pipers, and trumpeters. This teaches that these musical instruments shall be heard no more at all in thee worldwide (see Meaning of Bible Number 4 ). Next, in the Bible, the sound of musical instruments is identified with the worship of God. We see this worship of God, for instance, when King David was bringing up the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem the first time and also the second time as recorded in 1Chronicles 13 and 15, respectively: 

1Ch 13: 6 And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, that is, to Kirjathjearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up thence the ark of God the LORD, that dwelleth between the cherubims, whose name is called on it .
7
And they carried the ark of God in a new cart out of the house of Abinadab: and Uzza and Ahio drave the cart .
8 And David and all Israel played before God with all their might, and with singing, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets

1Ch 15:28 Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps .

We see also the sound of musical instruments identified with the worship of God in the ministry before the Ark once the Ark had been brought to Jerusalem: 

1Chronicles 16:4 And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, and to record, and to thank and praise the LORD God of Israel :
5 Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obededom: and Jeiel with psalteries and with harps; but Asaph made a sound with cymbals ;
6 Benaiah also and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God .

Worship by musical instruments was also a part of the service in the house of the Lord in the days of King David and Hezekiah: 

1Ch 25:6 All these were under the hands of their father for song in the house of the LORD, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God, according to the king's order to Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman

2Ch 29:25 And he set the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandment of the LORD by his prophets

Worship was seen in the playing of musical instruments at the dedication of the wall in the days of Nehemiah:  

Ne 12:27 And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps .

And, finally, Worship was further seen in the playing of musical instruments at the dedication of Solomon's temple:

2Ch 5:12 Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:

So it is quite clear that the playing of all kinds of musical instruments with singing was tied to the worship of God Himself. With this in mind, let's return to our verse being studied, which states, 

"And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee . "

Since the voice (sound) of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, has to do with the worship of God, and we are told that these sounds shall be heard no more at all in thee, it means that the worship of God shall be heard no more at all in thee (the world including the church). This is because on May 21, 1988, God, the Holy Spirit, had removed Himself from the churches so that they were left with nothing to worship but false Gods, and no one could any longer be saved. And then on May 21, 2011, God removed himself from the rest of the world so that they too were left with nothing to worship but false Gods, and no one could any longer be saved. So what this verse is saying is that no one will ever worship God again by being saved because no one will ever again become saved ever since May 21, 2011. Indeed, the sound of worship shall be heard no more at all in thee, and we shall see that God emphasizes this end to salvation over and over again. 

Now we read further in our verse, 

". . . and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee .

A craftsman is one of God's elect who is building the temple of believers. Each of God's elect have somewhat different crafts: some teach, some prophesy, some evangelize, some are administrators, some are helpers, some are healers, some have gifts of giving, some have gifts of kindness, and so on. But each has the same goal, which is to complete the building of the temple of believers. Once this temple is completed; that is, God has saved all that He is going to save, there is no longer any need for craftsmen because the work is done. The sending out of the gospel into the entire world has done its job. This is what happened by May 21, 2011: all of God's elect had become saved so that the temple made of believers had been completed on that date. Therefore, there is no need any longer for craftsmen to send forth the gospel to the world in order to build the temple of believers because the temple has been completed and so salvation has come to an end. And this salvation has come to an end forevermore, so no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee. This is simply another way of teaching that salvation has come to an end ever since May 21, 2011. 

Finally, we read in our verse, 

". . . and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee .

This is once again teaching that salvation has come to an end ever since May 21, 2011. The sound of a millstone means that there are wheat grains to be grinned, but if the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee, this means there will never again be any wheat grains to grind, which, in turn, means that there will be no more wheat ever again from which the grains are derived. Now since the wheat represents God's saved people (Mt. 13:30), this is saying that there will never be saved people ever again ever since May 21, 2011, for the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee.  


Verse 23:

23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived

In this verse, we are first of all told that the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee. The light of the candle represents the gospel. So in that the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee means that the gospel of salvation shall shine no more at all in Babylon (the world). Once again we are being told that ever since the fall of Babylon on May 21, 2011, salvation has come to an end. 

Next, we read that the voice of the bridegroom and the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee. Can this also be saying that salvation has come to an end? Yes indeed, for the voice of the bridegroom and the bride represents the gospel of salvation being declared to the world. The voice of the bridegroom represents the voice of the Word of God who is Christ. He is the bridegroom of the bride who is God's elect. They both work together to send forth the gospel of salvation. And, in that this gospel shall be heard no more at all means that salvation has come to an end. So, here, for one last time out of the many in Revelation 18 we are told that ever since the fall of Babylon (the world) on May 21, 2011, salvation has come to an end. 

It is interesting to read about all this in Jeremiah 25. In this chapter we get a complete overview of God's judgment plan for the world. In this chapter God declares judgment first upon Judah and Jerusalem, which is a picture of judgment beginning with the house of God (the churches) on May 21, 1988, and then He declares judgment upon all the nations, which is a picture of judgment coming upon the world on May 21, 2011. It is important to note that the judgment upon Jerusalem (the churches) is the exact same judgment which comes upon all the kingdoms of the world, for it is the same wine cup of His fury poured out upon each, which is the removal of salvation from all the inhabitants of the earth. Let's begin reading Jeremiah 25 in verse 1: 

1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon ;
2
The which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying
3 From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the word of the LORD hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened .
4
And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear
5 They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever :
6 And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt .
7 Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the LORD; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt
8 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words ,
9
Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. 
10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle .
11
And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years
12 And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations .
13
And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations .
14 For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands
15 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it
16 And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them .
17
Then took I the cup at the LORD'S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me
18 To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day ;
19
Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people
20 And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod ,
21
Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon ,
22
And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea
23 Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners ,
24
And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert ,
25 And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes ,
26
And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world ,
which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them
27 Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you
28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink .
29
For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name [Jerusalem], and should ye [the world] be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts

So here in Jeremiah 25, we have a picture of God's judgment plan. He first brings judgment upon Judah and Jerusalem, which is a picture of judgment upon the churches beginning on May 21, 1988, and then He later brings the same judgment upon the entire world, which is a picture of the judgment upon the world on May 21, 2011. The nature of this judgment is that God has removed salvation from the world. We saw this back in verse 10 where it states, 

"Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle .

Now let's go back to verse 23 of Revelation 18. It says, 

23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived

We have already shown that the light of a candle, and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride both refer to the gospel. And that these things are no more means that there is no more salvation ever since May 21, 2011. But now we read, for thy merchants were the great men of the earth. In this statement we find one of the reasons as to why God has brought Judgment upon Babylon the Great: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth. First of all, we see that these great men of the earth are merchants, but not just any merchants, but thy merchants. In other words, these merchants belong to Babylon; they are her merchants. This immediately reveals that these merchants who are the great men of the earth are not God's saved people, but are of the unsaved people of Babylon. These are not the merchants of the earth (God's people) that we saw earlier in Revelation 18, but in that they are merchants, they are involved in the sending forth of their Bible teachings to the world. These can be none other than the great leaders of the churches ever since May 21, 1988 when all churches became ruled over by Satan. We see some of these great men on television as they weald their false gospels to the world, and we see them as some of the leaders of the largest churches in the world. Simply put, they are the leaders of the churches. These are the great men of the earth being spoken about here. 

But why has God brought judgment upon the whole world because of them? It is because they should have used all their God-given gifts and talents for the truth, but instead they have used them to bolster false gospels which cannot save, and to teach a whole array of false doctrines, which lead men astray, and to glorify themselves. As the Lord says such men,  

Lu 17:2 It were better for him [them] that a millstone were hanged about his [their] neck, and he [they] cast into the sea, than that he [they] should offend one of these little ones [God's people] .

We read of these great men in Jeremiah 5 who have broken the yoke, and burst the bonds,

5 I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these [the great men] have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds
6 Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased .
7
How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses
8 They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife .
9
Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this

Notice that it is the great men who have altogether broken the yoke and burst the bonds. What this means is that they have not stayed faithful to the true gospel, but instead have created their own gospels and teachings. They have gone their own way, and have not listened to the Word of God. Yes, it is a wise thing to realize this: 

Job 32:9 Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment .

But now returning to our verse, we discover another reason as to why God has brought judgment upon the world. We read, for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. The purpose of sorceries is to lead people into the worship of false Gods or idols. The way this is done is to get people to believe in things that are not true because to believe a lie is certainly not worshipping the true God, but rather it is worshipping the evil one, for he has been a liar since the beginning. This is why there are so many false religions and belief systems in the world. They are all a part of the sorceries of Babylon the Great, and are the reason why God has brought judgment upon Babylon the Great (the world).  


Verse 24:

24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth

Here we are given the final reason as to why judgment has come upon the Babylon the Great (the world or the kingdom of Satan). We read once again, And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. This verse is pretty self explanatory. It simply reveals to us who is responsible for all the killings of God's people whether spiritually or physically, and who is responsible for all that were killed upon the earth. Why it is Babylon the Great, which is the kingdom of Satan, which is the world, which includes the corporate church. She is responsible for it all. She has not only killed God's people physically throughout history, but she has often spiritually killed God's people by shunning them from the church, treating them poorly, or just looking down upon them as the scum of the earth. She is a killer, and deserves every bit of God's wrath that she is getting ever since May 21, 2011. In the present she is being punished spiritually by giving her over to her sins, and removing any possibility of salvation from her, but in the future, she will also experience the physical wrath of God as she is completely destroyed into oblivion. 


Now may the Lord bless thee, and keep thee; may the Lord shine His face upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; the LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace
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Part 3 

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