Revelation’s prophecies reveal what is coming, so that God’s people can be prepared for it. In his letter to the church at Thessaloniki, the apostle Paul clearly states the purpose of prophecy: “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thess. 5:4–6, NKJV). God’s Word provides light on the road ahead. In this week’s lesson, we will study Revelation’s predictions of the final movements of this earth’s history.
Understanding what is coming will help us prepare for the final conflict between the forces of good and evil. Revelation 18 predicts that a confederation of religious, political, and economic powers, called Babylon, will unite in an attempt to rule the world. But God is never caught by surprise. According to Revelation 18:1, 2, God will move through His Holy Spirit to lighten the world with His glory. Demonic powers from beneath will be met by heaven’s power from above. Then it will be demonstrated through God’s people that the glory of God is His character.
The focus of our study this week is on God’s glory, revealed through His people to lighten this sin-darkened world. Changed by grace, transformed by love, filled with the Holy Spirit, God’s last-day church gives His final appeal to this world, and tens of thousands hear and respond to the call. Thus, “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14, NKJV).
Part II: Commentary
The Glory of God
Revelation 18:1 is one of the most significant passages in the entire book of Revelation. It reads, “After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory” (NKJV). The expression “the earth was illuminated with [God’s] glory” is extremely significant. Throughout Revelation there are three words that are linked together—“God’s glory, God’s honor, and God’s power.”
Revelation 4:11 states, “ ‘You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power’ ” (NKJV). Consider Revelation 5:12, where John once again says that Jesus is worthy to receive, among other things, glory, honor, and power. We discover this thought again in Revelation 19:1: “ ‘Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!’ ” (NKJV). And notice how Revelation, referring to the habitation of the New Jerusalem by the saints, closes: “And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it” (Rev. 21:26, NKJV).
The great controversy between good and evil in the universe is about God’s honor and reputation. Satan, a rebel angel, has declared that God is unjust—that He demands worship but gives little in return. The evil one declares that God’s law is arbitrary and restricts our freedom and limits our joy.
Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection exploded that myth. The One who created us plunged into this snake pit of a world to redeem us. On the cross, Jesus answered Satan’s charges and demonstrated that God is both loving and just. Charmed by His love, concerned about His honor, His end-time people reveal His glory—His loving, self-sacrificing character—to a self-centered, godless world. Thus, the earth will be illuminated by a revelation of the character of God.
The Fullness of the Spirit
The Holy Spirit will be poured out in the fullness of His power just before the coming of Jesus, and the earth will be lightened with the glory of God. Revelation 18:1 is a fulfillment of the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk’s words: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14, NKJV). As we just commented, the glory of God is His character of love. But this assertion begs a question: How will this glory be revealed in the last moments of history on a morally darkened, sin-polluted planet?
To answer this question, let us consider an experience of Moses. Remember when Moses asked God to show him His glory? What did God reveal? Let’s read God’s answer to Moses’ question: “And he said, ‘Please, show me Your glory.’ Then He said, ‘I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion’ ” (Exod. 33:18, 19, NKJV). God’s glory is His character.
The glory of God fills the earth at a time of spiritual darkness, as His people—overwhelmed with His love, transformed by His grace, and committed to His mission—reveal to the world His loving character in their lives and witness. The witness of their unselfish lives and the proclamation of the message of His goodness, grace, and truth is in stark contrast to the selfishness, pride, and falsehoods of this world’s system.
God’s Final Appeal
An angel descends from heaven with a message directly from the throne of God, a message that calls His people out of an apostate religiopolitical confederacy named Babylon. God’s warning is that “ ‘Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons’ ” (Rev. 18:2, NKJV). This proclamation mirrors that of the second angel of Revelation 14 who also announced the fall of Babylon (Rev. 14:8). Revelation 18:4 is God’s last call to all humanity. He urgently appeals to those called by His name: “ ‘Come out of her [Babylon], my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues’ ” (NKJV). “Sin is the transgression of [God’s] law” (1 John 3:4). God is calling His people to come out of every lawbreaking church. Why is God calling His people out of Babylon at this point? Revelation 18:5 tells us: “ ‘For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities’ ” (NKJV). Babylon has filled the cup of her iniquity. God keeps an accurate record of the sins of earthly powers, and when the figures reach a certain amount, God says, “Enough!”
That’s exactly what happened in the days of Noah. God sent a message of redemption to the antediluvian world, but when their sins reached a certain amount, and after every person on earth had had a chance to repent, the rains came. We see the same thing again in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot made a solemn appeal to his children to leave Sodom with him. When the tally of sin reached a certain amount, the fire fell.
The same thing happened with ancient Babylon. God sent message after message to Babylon, calling its leaders and people to repentance, but when those messages were rejected, the Medes and Persians invaded. God’s mercy bears long with His wayward children. He gives them every chance to repent. He sends His Spirit to individual hearts. He sends prophetic warnings and makes urgent appeals, but He gives to all the freedom of choice. Spiritual Babylon, as did its ancient counterpart, hardens its heart in rebellion.
Demonic forces will eventually take total control of modern, spiritual Babylon. She becomes “a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit” (Rev. 18:2, NKJV). God’s people are filled with the Holy Spirit, and, by contrast, the spirits of demons fill Babylon. When any individual or religious organization knowingly turns from the teachings of Scripture, they become open to spiritual delusions. The only way to avoid being controlled by unholy spirits is to be controlled by the Holy Spirit.
Spiritual Babylon’s deceptions become universal, for all nations will drink the wine of her fornications. Wine represents false doctrines, as we saw in a previous study. Those who drink the wine of Babylon become confused in their thinking. They mistake error for truth and conclude that truth is error. Carefully notice the wording in Revelation 18:3: “ ‘For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury’ ” (NKJV).
Fornication is an illicit union. There are three groups who unite in this illicit union, or end-time confederacy: Babylon (all false religions of the world, including spiritualism, in league with the papal power), the kings of the earth (political/state powers), and the merchants of the earth (economic forces). Speaking about the union of church and state that is coming, Ellen G. White warns us that “when Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near.”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 451. God will meet the “marvelous working of Satan” with the greatest manifestation of heaven’s power since Pentecost: the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain. The earth will be ablaze with the glory of God. The gospel will be preached to the ends of the earth by people who will be living witnesses of its transforming power. Tens of thousands of honest-hearted men and women will flee Babylon and unite with Christ’s followers. Then Jesus will stream down the corridor of the skies in glory and take His children home.
Part III: Life Application
Reflect: The two most important things in life are knowing Jesus and helping others to know Him. Stated another way, the two most important things in life are being ready for the coming of Jesus and helping others to be ready when He comes. The closer we draw to Christ, the more we reveal His glory to the world. As John writes: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace” (John 1:14, 16, NKJV). To reflect God’s glory is to be filled with Christ’s love, grace, and power. It is to live for the glory of His name and the honor of His kingdom.
Hymn 322, “Nothing Between,” expresses the longing of every converted heart: “Nothing between my soul and the Savior, naught of this world’s delusive dream: I have renounced all sinful pleasure—Jesus is mine! There’s nothing between.”—The Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1985).
Ask class members to reflect in the coming week on the questions below:
1. Is there anything that I would rather have than Jesus? If so, what is this “idol”? What occupies my time? How do I spend my leisure moments? What consumes my inmost thoughts?
2. In what ways does my life reflect my outward profession of faith? How do my actions testify to my spiritual commitment?
3. If Jesus came today, would I be ready? If not, why not?
4. Does Christ have complete control of my life? If He doesn’t, what is standing in the way, and what can I, with the Holy Spirit’s help, do about it?
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Revelation’s prophecies reveal what is coming, so that God’s people can be prepared for it. In his letter to the church at Thessaloniki, the apostle Paul clearly states the purpose of prophecy: “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thess. 5:4–6, NKJV). God’s Word provides light on the road ahead. In this week’s lesson, we will study Revelation’s predictions of the final movements of this earth’s history.
Understanding what is coming will help us prepare for the final conflict between the forces of good and evil. Revelation 18 predicts that a confederation of religious, political, and economic powers, called Babylon, will unite in an attempt to rule the world. But God is never caught by surprise. According to Revelation 18:1, 2, God will move through His Holy Spirit to lighten the world with His glory. Demonic powers from beneath will be met by heaven’s power from above. Then it will be demonstrated through God’s people that the glory of God is His character.
The focus of our study this week is on God’s glory, revealed through His people to lighten this sin-darkened world. Changed by grace, transformed by love, filled with the Holy Spirit, God’s last-day church gives His final appeal to this world, and tens of thousands hear and respond to the call. Thus, “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14, NKJV).
Part II: Commentary
The Glory of God
Revelation 18:1 is one of the most significant passages in the entire book of Revelation. It reads, “After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory” (NKJV). The expression “the earth was illuminated with [God’s] glory” is extremely significant. Throughout Revelation there are three words that are linked together—“God’s glory, God’s honor, and God’s power.”
Revelation 4:11 states, “ ‘You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power’ ” (NKJV). Consider Revelation 5:12, where John once again says that Jesus is worthy to receive, among other things, glory, honor, and power. We discover this thought again in Revelation 19:1: “ ‘Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!’ ” (NKJV). And notice how Revelation, referring to the habitation of the New Jerusalem by the saints, closes: “And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it” (Rev. 21:26, NKJV).
The great controversy between good and evil in the universe is about God’s honor and reputation. Satan, a rebel angel, has declared that God is unjust—that He demands worship but gives little in return. The evil one declares that God’s law is arbitrary and restricts our freedom and limits our joy.
Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection exploded that myth. The One who created us plunged into this snake pit of a world to redeem us. On the cross, Jesus answered Satan’s charges and demonstrated that God is both loving and just. Charmed by His love, concerned about His honor, His end-time people reveal His glory—His loving, self-sacrificing character—to a self-centered, godless world. Thus, the earth will be illuminated by a revelation of the character of God.
The Fullness of the Spirit
The Holy Spirit will be poured out in the fullness of His power just before the coming of Jesus, and the earth will be lightened with the glory of God. Revelation 18:1 is a fulfillment of the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk’s words: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14, NKJV). As we just commented, the glory of God is His character of love. But this assertion begs a question: How will this glory be revealed in the last moments of history on a morally darkened, sin-polluted planet?
To answer this question, let us consider an experience of Moses. Remember when Moses asked God to show him His glory? What did God reveal? Let’s read God’s answer to Moses’ question: “And he said, ‘Please, show me Your glory.’ Then He said, ‘I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion’ ” (Exod. 33:18, 19, NKJV). God’s glory is His character.
The glory of God fills the earth at a time of spiritual darkness, as His people—overwhelmed with His love, transformed by His grace, and committed to His mission—reveal to the world His loving character in their lives and witness. The witness of their unselfish lives and the proclamation of the message of His goodness, grace, and truth is in stark contrast to the selfishness, pride, and falsehoods of this world’s system.
God’s Final Appeal
An angel descends from heaven with a message directly from the throne of God, a message that calls His people out of an apostate religiopolitical confederacy named Babylon. God’s warning is that “ ‘Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons’ ” (Rev. 18:2, NKJV). This proclamation mirrors that of the second angel of Revelation 14 who also announced the fall of Babylon (Rev. 14:8). Revelation 18:4 is God’s last call to all humanity. He urgently appeals to those called by His name: “ ‘Come out of her [Babylon], my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues’ ” (NKJV). “Sin is the transgression of [God’s] law” (1 John 3:4). God is calling His people to come out of every lawbreaking church. Why is God calling His people out of Babylon at this point? Revelation 18:5 tells us: “ ‘For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities’ ” (NKJV). Babylon has filled the cup of her iniquity. God keeps an accurate record of the sins of earthly powers, and when the figures reach a certain amount, God says, “Enough!”
That’s exactly what happened in the days of Noah. God sent a message of redemption to the antediluvian world, but when their sins reached a certain amount, and after every person on earth had had a chance to repent, the rains came. We see the same thing again in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot made a solemn appeal to his children to leave Sodom with him. When the tally of sin reached a certain amount, the fire fell.
The same thing happened with ancient Babylon. God sent message after message to Babylon, calling its leaders and people to repentance, but when those messages were rejected, the Medes and Persians invaded. God’s mercy bears long with His wayward children. He gives them every chance to repent. He sends His Spirit to individual hearts. He sends prophetic warnings and makes urgent appeals, but He gives to all the freedom of choice. Spiritual Babylon, as did its ancient counterpart, hardens its heart in rebellion.
Demonic forces will eventually take total control of modern, spiritual Babylon. She becomes “a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit” (Rev. 18:2, NKJV). God’s people are filled with the Holy Spirit, and, by contrast, the spirits of demons fill Babylon. When any individual or religious organization knowingly turns from the teachings of Scripture, they become open to spiritual delusions. The only way to avoid being controlled by unholy spirits is to be controlled by the Holy Spirit.
Spiritual Babylon’s deceptions become universal, for all nations will drink the wine of her fornications. Wine represents false doctrines, as we saw in a previous study. Those who drink the wine of Babylon become confused in their thinking. They mistake error for truth and conclude that truth is error. Carefully notice the wording in Revelation 18:3: “ ‘For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury’ ” (NKJV).
Fornication is an illicit union. There are three groups who unite in this illicit union, or end-time confederacy: Babylon (all false religions of the world, including spiritualism, in league with the papal power), the kings of the earth (political/state powers), and the merchants of the earth (economic forces). Speaking about the union of church and state that is coming, Ellen G. White warns us that “when Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near.”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 451. God will meet the “marvelous working of Satan” with the greatest manifestation of heaven’s power since Pentecost: the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain. The earth will be ablaze with the glory of God. The gospel will be preached to the ends of the earth by people who will be living witnesses of its transforming power. Tens of thousands of honest-hearted men and women will flee Babylon and unite with Christ’s followers. Then Jesus will stream down the corridor of the skies in glory and take His children home.
Part III: Life Application
Reflect: The two most important things in life are knowing Jesus and helping others to know Him. Stated another way, the two most important things in life are being ready for the coming of Jesus and helping others to be ready when He comes. The closer we draw to Christ, the more we reveal His glory to the world. As John writes: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace” (John 1:14, 16, NKJV). To reflect God’s glory is to be filled with Christ’s love, grace, and power. It is to live for the glory of His name and the honor of His kingdom.
Hymn 322, “Nothing Between,” expresses the longing of every converted heart: “Nothing between my soul and the Savior, naught of this world’s delusive dream: I have renounced all sinful pleasure—Jesus is mine! There’s nothing between.”—The Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1985).
Ask class members to reflect in the coming week on the questions below:
1. Is there anything that I would rather have than Jesus? If so, what is this “idol”? What occupies my time? How do I spend my leisure moments? What consumes my inmost thoughts?
2. In what ways does my life reflect my outward profession of faith? How do my actions testify to my spiritual commitment?
3. If Jesus came today, would I be ready? If not, why not?
4. Does Christ have complete control of my life? If He doesn’t, what is standing in the way, and what can I, with the Holy Spirit’s help, do about it?