The Babylon system was built on sorcery— devices of deception. It is picture of rebellion consolidated. The Lord avenges His saints to establish the Holy City. (Revelation 18; Daniel 1)

Speaker: Justin Schaller
Date: 2026-11-08
Time: Sun 11 am
Sermon #13236

P. Justin Schaller –

Good morning. Can you guys hear me? Okay. Good morning. Great to be here. Praise the Lord. Let’s stand up. Say hello to your neighbor. Rejoice. Be a helper of each other’s joy just for a moment. All right. Let’s open up with a word of prayer this morning. (Prayer). Amen. We can go home after that!

 

This morning we’re going to look at Revelation 18. Have you liked the series on the book of Revelation? It’s been amazing. We said earlier in the service at 9 a.m. that the book of Revelation is so pertinent to us because it can define what we’re experiencing and what we’re feeling. And just like reading a good book that the author actually expresses in words what you feel and what you think. You can’t necessary put it into poetic words like a great author can, but when you read it, you say yes and amen. I agree with that. 

 

And the book of Revelation is telling us about the future, but we’re living in that future in this time and day and we know what’s going to happen moving forward. We know the end of the story. Praise the Lord. But for us to understand what the enemy is and to be refreshed in this because the enemy is very good at lulling us to sleep, but to understand what his devices are, and how to navigate through a world. Even as believers, to not be tripped up by this enemy…which the book of Revelation describes as Babylon. 

 

The book of Genesis is really just a preface to the book of Revelation. And I just want to look in Revelation 18 first and then look in the book of Genesis. We’re going to jump around but stay with one simple theme this morning. The theme is in Revelation 18 that you have a city which is called Babylon.

 

If you look in Revelation 17, John in his vision, he gets a picture or revelation of a woman. And that woman is beautiful. And it says that when John saw her, he was astonished. The word “astonished” is used in the New Testament as being astonished in a good way. When Jesus did miracles, people were astonished. When they saw something amazing, like when Jesus calmed the sea, they were astonished. 

 

When John sees this woman, he’s astonished by her. It says in chapter 5 that – let’s look in Revelation 17:3-6. The idea of being drunk is you’re disillusioned. She’s drunk off the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.

 

So, John gets a picture of a beautiful woman but then she is the most violent, vicious terror, animal. And he can’t put the two together. How can a beautiful think like this do such evil? Vs. 7. Look at vs. 6. Greek mythology depicts this very well of beauty but underneath the beauty is a sinister, evil, malicious woman that is bloodthirsty. Fairy tales are made up of that. Fiction is actually good because fiction is actually encoded in character narratives that are fictional hidden truths. The wicked witch of the west. Or you can even think of Oz and you have the man who is behind the curtain. And everyone was disillusioned by the beauty on the outside, but they didn’t understand that there was something on the inside that was controlling it that was full of evil.

 

Revelation 18 is the pulling back of the veil of the beautiful city called Babylon and when you get to the inside of it, it’s filled with demons and unclean spirits. But the point that I just want to bring out first is that the city is beautiful. It’s a beautiful, orderly system. Jesus even uses an analogy where he says a man had a spirit, a demonic spirit in him that was cast out. 

 

And when the spirit or the demon was cast out, the man put his house in order. He went out to Crate and Barrel, got a new rug. Got some new furniture, some plants, and put the mulch beds out front and the house looked clean and orderly. But the picture that Jesus is trying to portray is that the system on the outside looks orderly but what goes into the house? Seven more demons. The system of the world is used with good things that God created, but at the center of the city if God isn’t there, there will be demons that fill that place. 

 

When you get to Revelation 18, this is the unveiling of the city. And this city is called Babylon. And the Bible is one long book and it gives you pictures of the start and end of things and in the book of Genesis, just turn there briefly with me. In Genesis 4, I just want to give you one little theme that runs through the entirety of the Bible, and it’s this theme of a city. 

 

Now, we can say a city is not a bad thing. Obviously, we live in a city. But from a biblical perspective, it sets up a picture of people of God who are shepherds who are outside of cities. But people who are looking for security and prosperity end up in cities. 

 

And in Genesis 4, you have this man and his name is Cain. And the man Cain is afraid because he just killed his brother. And he knows if he leaves God’s presence and goes out into that big, dark world, there’s going to be people seeking revenge because he’s a murderer. So, God is gracious to him. God puts a mark on him, but Cain doesn’t trust that mark. We don’t know what that mark was. We just know that that mark was a security blanket around Cain, because – get the point – he was afraid. 

 

So, what does Cain do in vs. 16-17. Okay, we have a family. But guess what? Papa’s a murderer. What does Papa have to do? vs. 17. He built a city. He built a city. Again the theme in the book of Genesis is you have two seeds. The seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. The seed of the woman, those people like Enoch, walked with God on the outside of cities. The seeds of serpents end up building cities. 

 

You get to Genesis 11 after the flood, all the cities get wiped out because the end result of all the cities was they were filled with evil and demons and they were just shedding blood. And the blood reached up to heaven and God had to do something about all of the unrighteousness that was going on in the earth. 

 

So, he starts the program again. And in chapter 11, you get the start of a place called Babylon. We know it as the tower of Babel, but what we can miss is that they went out to build a city. Now, why did they build a city? Well, it says that God commissioned all the people to go out and to cover the globe and to have God be their God, but they didn’t listen to God’s decree and his wisdom, but rather they consolidated their power so they could protect themselves. More people, more protection. 

 

And they end up building a city. Chapter 11:4, come, let us build a city. And this city in the Hebrew text is called Babel, but Babel is just an ancient word, Semitic word, Syrian word for Babylon. And Babylon, the definition of it, Babylonia, gateway to the gods. 

 

The built a city and it’s tower reached into the heaven, and they called that tower the great tower of Babylon or the great tower to the gods. The picture the Bible is giving us as we move through Scripture is that Babylon is an image or a picture of rebellion against what God has said. 

 

But they need to be protected because they’re afraid. They need security. They need prosperity. They need an economy. They need to be fruitful and abundant. But they do it without God. 

 

So, who fills up the place of the city of Babylon but demons. And this is what we get in our text all throughout the book of Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah that Babylon is this great empire, and that empire on the outside looks so it can never fail, that it will never go away, that it’s fully capable of everything that it promises, but in reality when you pull the curtain back, it’s actually just demons. 

 

Now, let me just give you – follow this with me. I don’t want to lose you. Then we’ll get to our point here in Revelation. Just follow this with me. We talk about the devil’s devices. We talk about the kingdom of darkness. We talk about his schemes. What’s interesting to know about Babylon in Revelation 18, it’s sorceries will be revealed. 

 

And that word when we read “sorcery” we’re thinking fictional narrative Disney language of magicians and potions and all of that. But sorcery is a real thing. And the word in Revelation 18 is PHARMAKEIA, where we get pharmacy from. But it’s about altering perception. It’s about sorcery or magician or a wizard is able to manipulate people’s perception so they look at one thing, but then when the wizard or the magician speaks, they see it from a different perspective.

 

Any good magician does this. The power of a magician is hiding the secret of how he does the magic. As soon as you find out how a magician does what he does, he loses his power and most people hate the musician, because you realize he’s just deceptive. 

 

But the way that the devil has taught sorcery to Babylon is because that’s how he operates. He operates through language. And the language is the ability to say something in a different way so you see it from a different perspective. Like I could say the word someone was killed or I can say someone was slaughtered. I could say – they’re both the same thing. They’re just different language. 

 

I could say for instance someone went home or passed away or I can say that they died. I could say they went to a better place or I could say eternal separation from God. They’re both saying the same thing but they induce different emotions. So, in the story of Genesis 3, the devil comes in and he uses language to make Eve see the tree in a different way. She’s been passing by the tree with God’s wisdom, Don’t touch it. But as soon as the devil uses language, her perception changes and the next verse says she saw the tree and it was delightful.

 

Language is powerful. And deceivers use language not so that they try to change your mind through argument, but to change how you feel about something, so your beliefs change; therefore, your actions change. This is the sorcery of Babylon. 

 

One little story I told in the earlier story was there’s a little fairy tale called, “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” Does anybody familiar with that. Or even the phrase, The Emperor has no clothes. Where does that come from? Follow this with me. 

 

The story is depicted by a king and he’s a vain king. But there’s two swindlers, very crafty, very wise. And they come to the king and they say we can give you magnificent clothing, king. And he’s so vain in the sense of his outward clothing and he says I would love it. But the swindlers say to him, There’s a catch to it. The clothing is invisible and it’s only invisible to people who are stupid and incompetent in their job. 

 

But people that are competent and intelligent can see the clothing. The king is thinking, I want those clothes. This is so strange. So, he sends his stewards to go see the two swindlers making the clothes. And the two men, the two officials go in for the king, and they see two swindlers weaving an invisible clothing but they don’t see the clothes.

 

So, the swindlers say, Guys, what do you think about the clothing? The men don’t want to be seen incompetent in their job. They can’t see anything. But if they can’t see it that means they’re incompetent and stupid, so they say, The clothing is beautiful. So then the emperor has the clothing brought in to him. And he’s thinking, There’s nothing there. There is nothing there. But he can’t say that because if he says that, he’s admitting he’s incompetent to be king. 

 

So, the emperor says and he pretends to admire the clothing, and he says I love how you weaved it and seamed it and give it to me. And the swindlers give him the invisible clothing and he puts it on. 

 

So, the emperor parades around town naked. But he’s got his new clothing on, and everyone in the village knows that if they see him naked, they’re incompetent and stupid. So, they go along with it and they say, king, it’s the best robe I’ve ever seen. Cuz they don’t want to be incompetent. 

 

But then there’s a little child, and the little child is there and the little child yells out the obvious, The king has got nothing on! Finally. That’s why children are so great. They can get right to the point because they see the world actually much better than people that have been deceived in the world for decades. They can state the obvious.

 

Here’s the moral of the story. The swindlers have no power. The swindlers need people to obtain power. Power is only when people because of fear of being stupid and incompetent, go along with the lie even though it’s obvious to them it’s a lie. 

 

The problem with it is that over time, people start to believe the lie. The devil has no power in and of himself. That’s why he needs people. And what the devil works on is he works on people’s fear. If you think about the fear that Eve had, it was the fear of not having something and that God was holding something back. 

 

When we talk about jealous people, jealousy is rooted in fear. It’s fear that someone is going to come along and take your position. Therefore, you’re jealous of them. Envy is fear. Someone has something and you want it. Envy is fear that you won’t have what they have. Why do people lie? Fear of rejection. Why do people fear poverty? Because of greed in their own comfort and they become dishonest and they exploit.

 

People that have control like tyrants are rooted in fear because they have to manipulate and dominate people because they have fear of control or losing control. Fear of losing status, people will envy or boast. People have fear of confrontation. They’ll refuse to speak truth. People that have a fear of being insignificant will have pride and self-exaltation. Every sin is rooted in fear. 

 

And this is where the devil designs a system that’s rooted in keeping people in fear. To control a population, just freak them out enough to get your solution to them so that they’ll accept it. The world system that the devil has is good things that promise good things like security and safety and money and prosperity and abundance but it’s not coming from God. It’s coming from the devil, and the devil cannot give what he promised. 

 

So, Babylon exploits people’s fear. Let’s look in chapter 18. Look at what Babylon gives starting in vs. 9. Are you guys following this with me this morning? Look at vs. 9 what Babylon gives. Vs. 9-10. The whole thing’s a sham. It’s the Oz picture of the man behind the curtain. He never had power. He just had the lie of illusion that he did. The world system gives the illusion of security and safety but it actually isn’t. 

 

But there are people like sailors and kings in vs. 12. All of these things. Vs. 15. It’s a system that makes people rich. The promise is if you’re in the system, and you live in our city, our system will make you rich. And that’s true up until a certain point. 

 

Why do people go into the world? People go into the world or love the world because it’s going to give them something that they are afraid they won’t have. Like significance, like security, like comfort, like prosperity. But we know all those things only come from a good God. 

 

So, he says yes you have fear because you’re an insecure creature like an ant, but if I am your God, I will be your protection. I will be your strong tower. I will be the one who provides for you in Philippians 4. I will be all of those things that you as a human should have fear over, but people in the world say the system will give me what I want but in Revelation 18 when the system collapses in one hour, the house is filled with demons. 

 

All the merchants and all the kings and everyone who got rich off of Babylon realize the whole thing was a Ponzi scheme. The only way it worked was it was a deception that the more people believed it, the more powerful Babylon became. 

 

That’s why Jesus says that the gates of hell will not prevail against his statement. I’ve said this before. Gates are not offensive. Gates are defensive. When the truth exposes Babylon for what she is, it collapses like a house of cards. Because the only way the thing functions is if everyone buys into the lie. Truth is the only thing that can reveal what the lie is. 

 

So, look at vs. 16-17. It’s like everyone that invested with Bernie Madoff. In one hour, they realized they had no money because the whole thing was a Ponzi scheme. He wasn’t what he said he was. That’s another story for another day. But look at vs. 17-18. They’re not weeping because they put their trust in something that was filled with demons. They’re weeping because it’s gone. They wanted the whole thing to keep on going. 

 

And they said what city is like this city? Well, guess what? There’s another city in the book of Revelation that is rejoicing. And they’re citizens of another city that are rejoicing. Because you got to conquer the rebellious city so that the new city can arrive. The old city has to be seen for what it is. 

 

Look at vs. 21 or actually vs. 20. Look at it. There’s rejoicing upstairs. Vs. 20. In heaven, the saints are rejoicing. Why? Vs. 21. In the ancient world, once a millstone went into the sea, they had no technology to get it back up. It was so heavy. Babylon is gone forever. So that another city can come down. 

 

So, that means that all the people in the Old Testament that looked as though they were wandering around destitute in Hebrews 11 and wanderers and pilgrims, they were looking for another city that wasn’t physically like Babylon, but that was the different zip code called heaven. And their economy was rooted in the ethics and the economy of that city. And they’ve been waiting for that city to come, because they know it’s coming down here on earth, but like any great civilization, the one has to go out so the new one can come in. 

 

Now, the book of Revelation tells us we are a people that are sojourning in this place called Babylon. And how do we act in Babylon. Very quickly. Just in closing. Time goes by fast. Very quickly. There’s great examples of people in the Scripture living in Babylon. And the best picture we can use I think this morning is Daniel 1. Let me just show you this. Because wisdom in the Scripture is the principle thing. Wisdom is the principle thing. All throughout the Proverbs, it says that wisdom is better than anything Babylon can give you. 

 

But what is wisdom? Wisdom is able to perceive something from a different angle. But when God’s Word speaks to you, he shifts your perspective on something so you can see it for what it is. But get this principle, when you get wisdom, you will be tested with the wisdom. And when you’re tested with the wisdom and you obey him, you’ll be upgraded in your wisdom.

 

Daniel 1 is a replay of Genesis 3. Genesis 3, you have two trees with two fruits. Daniel 1, you have a king food and God’s food. And the whole thing is rooted in wisdom. Let me just show you this and then we’ll close. Daniel 1, Daniel is living in Babylon. Look at vs. 4. These guys were a beautiful tree. These guys were in their essence something beautiful on the outside, but let’s test where it’s coming from. What’s on the inside of the house?

 

So, the king appointed all of these young men food. And I love how the King James or the ESV, they use this word “dainties.” Beautiful food. Ribeye. Beautiful food. If you’re Italian, meat balls and spaghetti. It’s a gyro if you’re Greek. Or lamb. Shawarma. It’s beautiful food. And it’s presented to him and what’s up with this idea of wisdom and food? What is going on here? 

 

Vs. 8. He’s in Babylon. He’s in the king’s chambers. That’s where he should be. But now he’s the test of wisdom. The king has all this food and the king’s eunuch comes in and he says to Daniel, vs. 10. If you don’t eat this food, you’re going to waste away and die. You’re not going to look good. If you’re just eating beans and fruit, you’re not going to look good. You got to get your protein in. You got to get the king’s food in.

 

Look at what the eunuch says, vs. 8-10. Look at this question. This is something you guys can go home and meditate on because this is the question of how the system works. It raises a question to produce doubt, to change your perspective on the two foods sitting in front of you. 

 

Look at what he says, vs. 10. If you eat this food Daniel – he’s already loading the question with an imperative. If you don’t eat this food, the king’s food, you will look gaunt and skinny. Daniel could have fear. If I don’t eat the king’s food, I will look gaunt and skinny. He’s already received wisdom from God not to eat it. So, this is a test. Will you obey God’s wisdom? 

 

But the world, the eunuch is saying, No, Daniel. If you don’t eat it, you’re not going to be useful. Daniel could say, I might not be useful. Maybe it’s better if I do eat the king’s food. I know it’s not what God wants me to do, but the end will justify the means, right? 

 

This is like what we just heard. Mental gymnastics. This is what the devil does in his wisdom. In James, it’s devilish and it’s confusing. So, look at what he says. Vs. 10. You’re face is going to look worse. Daniel, if you don’t eat the king’s food, you’ll die and I’ll die. That’s a lie, but if he accepted it, his perspective would shift. 

 

But Daniel doesn’t fight against him. All he says with wisdom, vs. 12. Just prove your servants. Just give me ten days. Vs. 12. Give us that Eden diet to eat for ten days. Vs. 13. You will see, eunuch. You’ll see.

 

Daniel has compassion. Vs. 14-15. Book of Leviticus given us the fatty calf, the fatty lamb. It’s the choice. It’s the best looking. It’s the unblemished. He ate lentils. He became fat. The other youth ate the king’s dainties. They didn’t look so good. The lie didn’t work cause he was just obedient. 

 

Now, look at what happens when Daniel obeys the wisdom and the temptation of Babylon and goes according to what God has called him to do, look at what happens. Vs. 17. Look at what the steward did in vs. 16. What’s the point of that story? Daniel was in Babylon. He had God’s wisdom but he only had a limited amount, so God tested him to see if he was going to be obedient to obey his wisdom, and when he did, he had blessing for himself and he had blessing for Babylon.

 

When Joseph was obedient with God’s wisdom, he became a blessing for Egypt. And the reason why is wisdom gives you God’s perspective on what you’re looking at and you realize what you’re looking at isn’t your Savior. It isn’t your comfort. It isn’t your protection. But you’re living there and you’re seeing people that are mystically enchanted with the magic of the sorcery of Babylon and you speak truth and truth is the only thing that can get them out of the disillusion of what they are attached to. 

 

We speak a language, the Gospel, and the Gospel is the only thing that can pull back the curtain so people can realize that they’re attached to something that is going to the bottom of the ocean. People say live in the real world. What does that even mean? No, the real world you’re living in is an illusion. I honestly think when the veil gets pulled back and we see hell pop up in our culture today, people are astonished and they can’t handle it. So, they just say give me more entertainment so I can go back to the reality of my invisible security and comfort that’s non-existent. 

 

They have this idea, the world has this idea that the world will give you security and comfort and peace. Just give your loyalty to us. But you don’t realize they are creating that through idolatry. And through casting, if I can use that word. Casting a spell on people in Ephesians 2. Walking in darkness. 

 

But look at this. The last part is this and I think this is the point that I want to say. How did Daniel, how did Daniel deal with it. Look at this. Babylon tried to change his location. Take him out of Israel. Put him in Babylon. That didn’t work. They tried to educate him through their indoctrination. That didn’t work. They tried to give him a different name and change his identity and give him a Babylonian name. that didn’t work. They tried to change what he ate and give human wisdom to him. But that didn’t work.

 

Daniel was in Babylon but Babylon was not inside of him. The wisdom of God was inside of him. Therefore, Daniel could have mercy and grace for the eunuch and the king so that they would see that God’s wisdom brings blessing, not Babylonian food. 

 

So, Daniel, he refused to defile himself. He maintained his conviction. He treated authority respectfully. He offered a practical alternative to the situation. And he trusted God with the outcome. He did not fight Nebuchadnezzar. He did not fight the eunuch. He had compassion and gave them respect like Paul tells us we should do with our government. 

 

But he offered a practical alternative. Let me live with my wisdom. And just see. In Revelation 18, when you unmask Babylon, it’s filled with demons. And when you unmask a wise person, he’s filled with this thing called goodness, called the Holy Spirit which is eternal. 

 

So, for us, wisdom is the principle thing. Daniel 1:17, I would say wisdom is such an amazing thing and it comes from us being able to see God’s pictures in the Scriptures and he teaches us what these things mean and we compare spiritual with spiritual, Scripture with Scripture. And the picture becomes clearer and clearer. Then you’ll be tested. You’ll be tested with what the world promises and what God’s promises say. 

 

And when we fail and we go back and we trust ourselves to Babylon, God does not condemn us. We’re like Lot. We’re just dumb. We look at Sodom and it looks like the Garden of Eden but actually it’s just a fire ball. But when we attach ourselves to it, if we are under his covenant and we’re one of his children, he will pull us out again and again and teach us wisdom. The whole thing is he wants a wise group of people ruling and reigning with him when his kingdom does come back on earth. And this church is our preparation for that day with testing and knowledge and God teaching us and we apply it in this world and let us not get sucked into the promises of this world. 

 

Let me just say this, too. The world is always going to keep you in a state of fear. The whole thing is an allusion. It’s an allusion. Do not be afraid of the future. Do not be afraid of the economy. Don’t be afraid of kings. That is a snare. We are not meant to live in fear.

 

And I’ll just say this. Any king who’s insecure, will castigate fear to control people. We are not to live in fear. We know the end of this story. And even if you do find yourself being a martyr, once you get there, you’re going to be given those beautiful garments and you’re going to be happy that you were a martyr. 

 

I say that in the pulpit today. I’ll be shaken if that ever happens to me one day, but I believe that the wisdom of God and the power of God is indwelling us and he will give us perseverance so we can be that testimony that God is that good and he is that much of our protection that they could cut you up and you will say it is worth it because God is my protection and my shield. Amen. 

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