The great commercial cities of the end times will be destroyed suddenly — in one hour — when God's wrath falls on the worldwide system called Babylon.
Revelation 18 shows the merchants and kings of the earth mourning as the great city Babylon falls in a single hour, their merchandise gone forever. Les Feldick teaches this Babylon is not one ancient city but the whole worldwide commercial, political, and religious system, so when it falls, all the great cities of the world will collapse at once by the spoken word of God.
Revelation 18:10 — Directly states that the great city Babylon's judgment comes in one hour.
Revelation 16:19 — Shows that when great Babylon comes before God in judgment, the cities of the nations fall.
Revelation 18 describes the fall of Babylon, the great commercial city. The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived deliciously with her will bewail her and lament for her when they see the smoke of her burning (Revelation 18:9). They will stand afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, "Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come" (Revelation 18:10). The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no man buys their merchandise anymore (Revelation 18:11). The profitable trade that enriched them is gone in a single hour. Revelation 16:17-19 shows when this happens. At the seventh bowl, a great voice out of the temple of heaven from the throne says, "It is done." There is a great earthquake such as was not since men were upon the earth, and the great city is divided into three parts, "and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath."
Les Feldick teaches that the Babylon of Revelation is not the ancient city of Babylon. The Old Testament, he notes, says the ancient city will never be rebuilt and will remain a habitation of wild animals and birds of prey. Rather, the Babylon of Revelation is the whole worldwide system — the one-world concept of economy, politics, and religion that is coming together today. He pictures Tokyo, Berlin, London, Rome, and New York as one tightly knit group, so interconnected that anything happening in Tokyo is front-page news in America within hours. Because Babylon represents the entire system, Les says when Babylon falls, it will not be just one city. All the cities of the world will in one hour fall into nothingness by the spoken word of God. He also sees a near and far pattern in the Old Testament: ancient Babylon was destroyed almost overnight when the Medes and Persians diverted the Euphrates, and the end-time Babylon — the whole worldwide system of economy, politics, and religion — will likewise come under the wrath of God and be suddenly and totally destroyed. Les connects the fall of these commercial cities to the seventh bowl of Revelation 16. When the voice from the throne declares "It is done," a great earthquake strikes, Jerusalem is divided, the cities of the nations fall, and great Babylon comes before God to receive the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. He says the whole planet will come under these convulsions, though the epitome will be in Jerusalem and the area of Israel.
Les Feldick teaches that the Babylon of Revelation is not the ancient city of Babylon. The Old Testament says the ancient city will never be rebuilt — it will always be a habitation of wild animals and birds of prey. Instead, the Babylon of Revelation is the whole worldwide system of economy, politics, and religion that is coming together as a one-world concept. Great commercial centers such as Tokyo, Berlin, London, Rome, and New York are already like one tightly knit group, so when Babylon falls, it will not be just one city.
Revelation 18:10 records the cry: "Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come." Les teaches that all the cities of the world will in one hour fall into nothingness by the spoken word of God. He also draws a parallel to ancient Babylon, which was destroyed almost overnight when the Medes and Persians gained entrance under the walls, and applies the same sudden destruction to the end-time worldwide system of economy, politics, and religion.
The kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived deliciously with the world system, will bewail Babylon and lament for her as they see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for fear of her torment (Revelation 18:9-10). The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no man buys their merchandise anymore (Revelation 18:11). The profitable trade system they depended on is gone in a single hour.
Revelation 16:17-19 places the fall of the cities at the seventh bowl of God's wrath. A voice from the throne declares, "It is done." A great earthquake — the greatest since men were upon the earth — shakes the planet. Jerusalem is divided into three parts, the cities of the nations fall, and great Babylon comes in remembrance before God to receive the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. Les says he does not see this as an isolated event; the whole planet will come under these convulsions, though the epitome will be in Jerusalem and the area of Israel.
The Rapture vs. The Second Coming — What's the Difference?
I'm going to show you from Scripture so that there is no doubt in your mind that these are not one and the same event. I'll never forget when I first came to Oklahoma, and I don't know if the gentleman watches my program anymore or not, but I'll never forget when I was teaching an evening class in the church that we were involved in at that time.
Kings and Merchants Lament Babylon's Fall
Les reads Revelation 18 and explains that when the great commercial city falls, the kings of the earth and the merchants who profited from the world system will stand afar off, lamenting that her judgment came in one hour and their merchandise is gone.
Babylon Is the One-World Commercial System
Les teaches that the Babylon of Revelation is not the ancient city but the whole worldwide system, so when it falls, all the world's great cities will fall together in one hour by the spoken word of God.
Babylon's Global Fall (Repeated Teaching)
Les repeats the same teaching in his Armageddon lesson: the Babylon of Revelation is the one-world system, and all the cities of the world will fall into nothingness in one hour.
Sudden and Total Destruction by God's Wrath
Les applies the words "Babylon is suddenly fallen, and destroyed" to the end-time Babylon — the whole worldwide system of economy, politics, and religion — and says it will come under the wrath of God and be suddenly and totally destroyed.
The Seventh Bowl and the Cities of the Nations
Les teaches that at the seventh bowl, when the voice from the throne says "It is done," the cities of the nations fall and great Babylon receives the cup of the wine of the fierceness of God's wrath.
Babylon Is Not a Single Rebuilt City
Les rejects the idea that ancient Babylon will be rebuilt as a trade center, pointing instead to Isaiah 13 and noting how the world's cities have become one interconnected commercial system.
Global Convulsion at Babylon's Judgment (Repeated Teaching)
Les repeats that the whole planet will come under the great earthquake of the seventh bowl, and the cities of the nations will fall when great Babylon is judged.
Revelation 18:10: Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
Shows that Babylon's judgment — and the fall of the great commercial city — comes in one hour.
Revelation 18:11: And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
Explains why the merchants mourn — the worldwide trade system has collapsed.
Revelation 16:19: And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Places the fall of the cities of the nations at the seventh bowl, when great Babylon is judged.
Jeremiah 51:8: Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.
Les quotes this sudden-destruction language as he applies the fall of Babylon to the end-time worldwide system.
Isaiah 13:20: It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
Les points to Isaiah 13 to show the ancient city of Babylon will never be inhabited again, so the Babylon of Revelation must be the worldwide commercial system.
No. Les teaches that the Old Testament says the ancient city of Babylon will never be rebuilt, so the Babylon of Revelation is the whole worldwide system of economy, politics, and religion. All the great commercial cities of the world are part of that one-world system.
In one hour. Revelation 18:10 says, "for in one hour is thy judgment come." Les teaches that when Babylon falls, all the cities of the world will in one hour fall into nothingness by the spoken word of God.
They will mourn because the worldwide trade they depended on will be gone — no man buys their merchandise anymore. The kings who lived deliciously with the world system will stand afar off, fearing her torment and lamenting her sudden destruction.
Watch the Teaching: The Rapture vs. The Second Coming — What's the Difference?