Revelation opens our eyes to see the empty promises of empires and systems that proclaim eternality and permanence. However, the reality is that they all fade and fall. In this sermon, Greg Boyd challenges us to set aside our hopes in these empires, and place our hope on the only kingdom that will last, the kingdom that is found in the cruciform king.
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The Great Babylon Must Fall
• Greg Boyd
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In this sermon, Greg asks about the difference between empires that fall and the one kingdom that will last forever. He introduces this question by speaking to the temporary nature of all things. For instance, we read in Isaiah 40:6-8:
“All people are like grass,
and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall…
but the word of our God endures forever.”
Science confirms this biblical maxim with the second law of thermodynamics. It states that everything tends toward entropy or decay. We experience this on a daily basis, e.g., the experience of our bodies, the encounter with nature, or the engagement of mechanical structures. Over time, things wither and fall.
At the same time, we also know that there is more to life than this second law of thermodynamics. Something eternal must exist, and if it does, then there is something that is permanent and stable. Logic points our minds to something that must be eternally permanent, utterly unlike everything we experience in our ever-changing experience.
C.S. Lewis spoke about this, saying that if we have a desire for something, that it then must exist. Nature never produces beings who long for things that nature itself doesn’t satisfy. We long for a permanent home and a permanent body that are not perpetually changing and perishing. We long for a love that is unwavering and does not fade and for an eternal purpose that gives our existence meaning. Based on the pattern we find in nature, where all desires point to their potential fulfillment, we can conclude along with Lewis that there is an altogether different kind of world where these desires are met. We must be made for “another world.”
This longing points us to see the kingdom that actually lasts, which is eternal and does not fade, in contrast to the kingdoms that always fall apart. This directly ties into the theme of Revelation found in chapters 14-18. The old order which we are told will last is actually withering away while the new order of God lasts forever, even though it might not appear this way when we look at things in the short term. In Revelation 14:8 we read: “A second angel followed and said, ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.’” Revelation 18:1-2 then states, “After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. With a mighty voice he shouted: ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’”
John is using Babylon as a symbol for the Roman Empire, which was promoted as being eternal. It had power, luxury, conveniences, pleasures, and entertainment to a level that the world had never known to that point. However, several centuries later, the unthinkable happened. It collapsed. At the same time, the symbol of Babylon refers to the trajectory of all empires. All historical empires have seen themselves as gifted by one god or the other to reign forever. They all saw themselves as a permanent home, but they all crumbled. This pattern has extended into modern history and current affairs.
As followers of the lamb, we cannot buy into the typical propaganda of the empire. We cannot fall for the lies that their rule and reign will last forever. We all long for stability and permanence, but it cannot be found in any governmental system, any political party, any economic strategy, or any scientific advancement. Our only hope is found in the person of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of cruciform love.
Babylon will fall because it is not founded upon the one thing that lasts: divine love manifest on the cross. It is sinking sand. But we read in Isaiah 26:3: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” We have a sure foundation, and therefore we do not need to fret over the failing of the empires of this world. We can have peace because our God is faithful, and he will always keep his covenant promises to deliver us into the permanence for which we all long.
Hide Extended SummaryTopics: Kingdom of God, Politics, Power
Sermon Series: The Unveiling, The Last Exodus
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The MuseCast: March 3
Focus Scripture:
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Revelation 18:1-2
After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. With a mighty voice he shouted: ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’
