Babylon in revelations 17 and 18 represents the system of the world that Satan will use through the antichrist to draw mankind away from the Lord. He has always used this system. It’s called Babel or Babylon because God will confuse it. He will frustrate it! He has done this throughout the ages. He allows Satan to operate, we know this. He allows war, economic failure and famine, he even allows death. We saw this in the first four seals and we see it today, But he put a parameter over it all. Especially since the release of the gospel he gave authority that not more than a quarter of the earths population could be destroyed by these negative things. Satan means them all for evil but God means them sovereignly for good and they will drive men to the gospel throughout the ages. Satan has always sought to get into mankind, he lures them with the riches of Babylon, and seeks to set up his kingdom against God through this. He’s tried this so many times through all the empires, and He references the Roman empire to John here in chapter 17. All these Cesars were gods upon the earth. But God thwarted all of it. He will frustrate the antichrist in every age. The message here is to say no to Babylon. Babylon speaks to all of us to set up a worldly system and bring glory unto ourselves. Pull away from it. It is impossible for us alone to say no to the system but listen and find out how we have a big NO within us so that we can we can overcome satans temptation.
