God has assigned a major and powerful angel in directing the fulfillment of Revelation chapter eighteen. I believe that angel has already begun his activities, although the ultimate fulfillment is during the seven years of final judgment. When I was in Babylon in 1988, the atmosphere was pregnant with evil. At the same time, there was a sense of the Divine hand of God absolutely in control. Satan and all his hordes of fallen angels are never free to act beyond the Divine hands of the Father of all. One day, while in Iraq, as we were racing towards the ancient cities of Ur and Erech, the taxi radio was blaring music. The music sounded like demons rejoicing over their prey. I asked the guide, that had been assigned to me by the Iraqi government, what the lyrics of the song was saying. He would not answer, but quickly turned the radio off. I could sense the battle of the ages in progress. I still remember that event with a sense of foreboding, but also a great feeling of impending victory. The world's best days are soon to begin.

Just as every action of the church, good or bad, cannot be disconnected from the center of all Revelation, which is Jerusalem, neither can any action of evil be separated from the city of Babylon, where it all began. The world's kingdoms, its commerce, political powers and all its designs of control are Babylon in spirit. That is why it's easy for Bible teachers to see the Babylonian nature or spirit in New York, Paris, London, and even Rome. The diabolical forces of fallen angels all have a bent towards Babylon. It is their inspiration and this spirit of the false religions and all evil actions will show a semblance to Babylon.

The eighteenth chapter of Revelation is the prophetic record of the final events of liberal Babylon. Do not confuse chapter seventeen with chapter eighteen. Chapter seventeen is "Mystery Babylon," the religious counterpart of the literal city. There is a clear break between the two chapters that move from the pagan religion to the political and literal city. Many good Bible teachers completely lose it at this point. The word "mystery" in chapter seventeen is a prefix before the word "Babylon" and shows this to be a type of the literal, not the literal itself. Let's look at the introduction of the eighteenth chapter.

"And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double." (Revelation 18:1-6).

This great picture reveals a lengthy process, which has already begun. The key words are, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen." Of course, the final judgment is not completed at the utterance of these words, nor was it completed when Isaiah or Jeremiah spoke these almost exact words. It is a process and began its descent into judgment when these prophets declared their prophecies. Throughout the Scripture, God's prophets have declared the end from the beginning and spoke of many events with a language filled with finality. We do not try to say that Jesus had already been born when the Psalmist David wrote the forty-fifth Psalm or that Jesus had been crucified when Isaiah penned Isaiah fifty-three. Neither should we say that Babylon had been forever destroyed when Isaiah and Jeremiah prophesied of the final judgment for this pagan city. Our God was simply declaring what the end would be, and we are living in the preparation for their fulfillment.

The fact that twice in Revelation we see the Holy Ghost using precise language to unite the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah with the world of John the Revelator shows the perfection of Scripture. How could anyone deny such precision? Let's look at these prophecies together.

"And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground." (Isaiah 21:9).

"Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed." (Jeremiah 51:8).

"And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." (Revelation 14:8).

"And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." (Revelation 18:2)

The prophecy world is filled with ministers and Bible teachers that refuse to take Revelation chapter eighteen literally. That is why I stress this point, because this will soon be a great frontier in fresh Bible prophecy fulfillment and hopefully new understanding. The entire history of Saddam Hussein is a picture of Bible prophecy in perfect expression. Just as God used the ancient character of Nebuchadnezzar to build the ancient city of Babylon, God has used Saddam Hussein to resurrect the name and location of this city and to begin the process of its reconstruction. The whole city foundations lay beneath the dust until this man began to dream that he was the modern day Nebuchadnezzar. He seeks Jerusalem's destruction exactly as did his ancient counterpart. He also finds himself just as frustrated with Israel as did Nebuchadnezzar and just as helpless to eliminate the memory of these chosen people. Remember, it was Israel's God that finally won the day with this evil despot of the past. Hallelujah, it will surely happen again!

When the angel descended from Heaven in Revelation chapter eighteen, he came with great power and his glory lightened the earth. His message was judgment of the earthly kingdoms that has been birthed from Babylon and Babylon itself as the source of all these kingdoms. This chapter may look foreboding and absolutely horrible, but the message is clearly one of hope. All the pagan ideas and human sorrows that the kingdoms of this world have championed are soon to pass beneath the purifying powers of His holiness. This chapter is a picture of the redemption of this earth from the effects of Babylon.

Babylon is declared to be the "habitation of devils and the hold of every foul spirit and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." Evil spirits (fallen angels) have an earthly center for their activities and Babylon has been that center since the very fall of Lucifer. Revelation nine records activities that spring from Babylon. "And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them." (Revelation 9:13-16).

The Euphrates River is intimately connected with the city of Babylon. It actually flowed through the city and beneath the walls in Nebuchadnezzar's days of earthly glory. Babylon has always been a name synonymous with evil. It originated as Satan's capitol when Nimrod sought to build a gate to Heaven and to rip God Himself off His throne. There is no other proper description of Babel and the evil intent of this first expression of false religion.

Remember, before Satan sinned, he also shared the Garden of Eden with the Father, Adam and Eve, as an anointed cherub that covereth. There is a possibility that he was the "covering" that allowed Adam to walk with God in the evening shadows. Note this incredible passage. "Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee." (Ezekiel 28:12-15).

The Garden of Eden was in Southern Iraq, not far from where Nimrod, under Satan's motivation, built Babel, which was the beginning of Babylon. No wonder God forsook this area and directed His new found friend Abraham to travel to the Middle East, where the Father would choose the City of Jerusalem to be His earthly Zion. History is replete with the contrast of Babylon and Jerusalem. After thousands of years, the focus of the world has returned to Babylon and Jerusalem. That's how it will be from now until the end.

Babylon is intimately connected to the cities of the world in this great text of Revelation eighteen. "For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies." (Revelation 18:3). No one dares deny that the new shift in the Western world is back towards Eastern religions and ideas. Millions of Americans are involved with gurus, Islamic religion, pagan type New Age ideas, etc. The elitist educators are almost totally given to Eastern thinking and the trashing of the Western culture. Psychology is not anything but Eastern humanism. The liberals in our political parties are actually being mentally baptized into Eastern thinking. The homosexual and lesbian culture is Eastern and pagan at heart. The cultural war in America is a war between the supernatural revelations of God our Creator and the paganistic ideas of Eastern cultures. The world is under the final sway of fallen Babylon.

I do not dare suggest that anyone can know all that will happen between now and the great final moment of Babylon's judgment. Let's consider a couple of possibilities.

United Nations Moving to Babylon
The present United Nations is absolutely opposed to the Western culture. Everything we stand for, they hate. Israel has been condemned so many times that it has all become a joke. Biblical Christianity and Orthodox Judaism are considered by the majority of the United Nations personnel to be the plague of the earth. Nothing could be more fitting to their mindset than to move to Baghdad or Babylon. When Saddam Hussein is removed, the United Nations will be the proper entity to establish a new government. Americans are becoming more and more hostile to the United Nations and we would be blessed to have them off of our shores. I believe America will be a sheep nation right through the seven years of tribulation.

Iraq is an Archaeological Treasure
Almost every ancient civilization was connected to Iraq. When a world friendly government is established, this country could become the most visited country on the earth. If they will exploit their treasures of art, ancient history, archaeology and anthropology, it will become a world treasure. It may even be possible to identify the ancient location of the Garden of Eden. If the wealth of oil was used to rebuild Iraq and to promote the cultural and historic beauty, the cities would soon become the envy of the world. These are the kinds of things very possible in the fulfilling of Revelation chapter eighteen.

Regardless of what may occur, Babylon and the country of Iraq have a destiny with the Creator. The final judgment is a picture of horror. While this country must become a world center, it will be judged and left to be an ash heap. Jeremiah declared her final end. "Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies. The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God." (Jeremiah 51:8-10).

It is breathtaking to see that this city, whose builders and defenders have hated Jerusalem, will have the first announcement of her judgment announced and declared in Jerusalem. "Come, and let us declare in Zion (Jerusalem) the work of the LORD our God." When you consider the oil deposits that lay beneath this country and the fact that this oil is mixed with gas, which creates great pressure, you have all of God's needs to do exactly what Revelation chapter eighteen declares. I just heard this discussed on the news under the possibility of Saddam Hussein igniting the oil wells as he did in Kuwait.

Before this destruction occurs, the Antichrist will be defeated in the Valley of Megiddo, Israel, and will flee back to his capitol in Babylon. It will be in the gates of Nimrod (Babylon) that the Antichrist will be killed and cast into the Lake of Fire. A minor prophet, Micah, declared this long ago. He said, "And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders." (Micah 5:6).
It's neat that the Holy Ghost connects the Ancient Nimrod that founded this center of fallen angels and demons with the day of its judgment. The Gates of Nimrod is clearly the City of Babylon.

Conclusion
Anything that represents the spirit of Babylon, its pagan nature, or its demonic activities must be off limits to the saints of the Living God. There is a war occurring between the culture of absolute Biblical truth and the revelation ideas of the Babylonian world. The church world is quickly adapting to Babylonian thinking. The new theology says that the Bible is open and new revelations are occurring. The church world is calling it a paradigm shift. They are right, there is a paradigm shift. It is the spirit of Babylon preparing the world for the masterstroke of Satan. Remember, "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." (Revelation 18:4).

Flee every idea that is not rooted in clearly Biblical revelation. The Babylonian spirit is invading the world. Even though the city's reconstruction may be far from complete, its influence is breathtaking. The fallen angels that find their center of activity in this region are spreading its idea to the entire world. Every Eastern thought, the religion of Islam, the spirit of terrorism, and even the New Age philosophies are all Babylonian in nature. The world is under her sway to prepare for the invasion of that final manifestation of the Antichrist. It's exciting to be filled with the eternal revelations of the true God and to have the joy of soon beholding the end of all things that offend. Keep a pure heart and a pure mind saturated with the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.