By Brannon Howse, Worldview Weekend Hour, March 30, 2025

We’re living in a time where the pages of Scripture are coming alive right before our eyes. On Sunday night, March 30, 2025, during Lesson 35 of our ongoing study through the Book of Revelation on the Worldview Weekend Hour, we dug into Revelation 14:8 and beyond. The theme? A Vision of Coming Judgment. And let me tell you, it’s not just some distant prophecy—it’s a wake-up call for today.

We started with Revelation 14:8: “And another angel followed, saying, ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city.’” Babylon—58 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq—isn’t just a dusty relic of history. It’s a name that echoes through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, and it’s poised to take center stage again. I’ve been saying this since I wrote The Coming Religious Reich back in 2016: trust the Bible, and time will catch up. Well, guess what? It’s catching up fast.

Babylon Rising—and Falling

Let’s rewind to Genesis 10 and 11. Nimrod, Noah’s great-grandson, built Babel—later called Babylon—and the infamous Tower of Babel. Why? The ancient historian Josephus says it was to defy God, to climb high enough to escape another flood. God scattered them, confused their languages, and from there sprang the false religious systems—like the mother-son cult—that still plague the world today. Fast forward to Revelation 17 and 18, and we see Babylon reemerge as a great city, the “mother of harlots,” only to face God’s final judgment.

Some skeptics say, “Oh, that’s New York or Rome.” No, folks. When the Bible says Babylon, it means Babylon—the literal city on the Euphrates. Isaiah 13:19 and Jeremiah 51 prophesy its total destruction, like Sodom and Gomorrah, never to be inhabited again. Has that happened yet? No. People live there today. The stones of ancient Babylon have been plundered and reused, contrary to what Scripture says will happen when God’s done with it. This is future, friends—a judgment still to come.

And here’s where it gets wild. Just yesterday, March 29, 2025, an article dropped: “Rebuilding Basra’s Maritime Port: Is Al-Faw Port the Game Changer for Iraq?” Iraq’s building what could be the world’s largest commercial port, with five docks already done and a submerged tunnel in its final stages. Another piece from March 17 says the first phase of the Al-Faw Grand Port—expected to be the biggest seaport in the Middle East—wraps up by year’s end. Where’s this headed? Straight through Babylon.

I asked Grok, that AI supercomputer from Elon Musk, to map it out. It searched the web in seconds and confirmed: the “Development Road” from Basra to Turkey, dubbed the new Silk Road, likely runs through Babel, near Hilla, right in Babylon’s governmental zone. UNESCO made it a World Heritage Site in 2019, and now improved roads and railways could flood it with tourists and cash. Back in 2016, I could only point to UNESCO’s interest and some Army War College folks suggesting the UN move there. Now? It’s exploding into a global hub. When the Bible says Babylon will be a “great city,” mark it down—it’s happening.

The Mark of the Beast and Eternal Judgment

But Revelation 14 doesn’t stop with Babylon. Another angel warns of judgment for those who take the mark of the beast: “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation” (Revelation 14:9-10). This is the Antichrist’s system—economic, religious, governmental—flipping God’s design upside down. Revelation 13 told us the false prophet sets up an image in the temple, and you can’t buy or sell without the mark. Refuse it? They’ll kill you. Government, meant to protect the righteous (Romans 13:3-4), becomes a tool of Satan.

Here’s the kicker: “He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever” (Revelation 14:10-11). Forever and ever. Not a slap on the wrist, not a timeout—eternal torment. Yet, today’s seeker-sensitive churches won’t touch this. They’d rather offer yoga classes—yoking with Hindu gods—or life coaching than warn about hell. Why? The cross is foolishness to the perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18). They survey unbelievers: “What do you want in a church?” You think they’ll say, “Preach the wrath of God”? No chance.

Worse, some evangelicals now push annihilationism—claiming hell’s temporary, and then you’re snuffed out. John Stott, a big name, wrote it’s “intolerable” to imagine eternal torment, so Scripture must mean annihilation. Preston Sprinkle, influenced by Stott via a West Coast preacher’s seminary, flirted with it in 2015 and now peddles it alongside Christian universalism at conferences like “Exiles in Babylon” in 2022. This isn’t fringe—it’s mainstream poison. If you deny eternal hell, you’re not just tweaking theology; you’re attacking God’s nature. Next stop? “All roads lead to heaven.” Slippery slope, folks.

Henry Morris nails it: if physical matter can’t be annihilated, how can the human soul? Scripture’s clear—Matthew 25:46, Revelation 20:10, and here in 14:11: “forever and ever.” No rest, day or night, for those who take the mark. Contrast that with heaven’s promise: “Come to Me…and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Spiritual peace versus eternal torment. That’s the stakes.

A Personal Plea—and a Call to Action

A few weeks ago, I woke up in the night thinking of a friend who died of cancer. Brilliant guy. My last talk with him, I shared the gospel—salvation by faith alone, not works. He listened, then said, “Thank you, Brannon. But I believe all will be well.” No hell, no judgment—just “well.” I pray he repented before the end, but it haunts me. Emotions tempt us to soften hell’s reality, to sleep better. But truth isn’t about my feelings—it’s about God’s Word.

So here’s my plea: don’t take the mark if you’re watching this during the tribulation. Flee the wrath to come. Today, confess your sins to Christ—He’s faithful to forgive (1 John 1:9). Pass from judgment into life. And if you value this broadcast, support us at worldviewfoundation.com. We’re in Lesson 35, marching through Revelation every Sunday night, and we need you to keep it going—maybe even after the church is raptured, for those left behind.

Share this at worldviewtube.com. Tell your friends. Babylon’s rising, judgment’s coming, and eternity’s on the line. Take care, and I’ll see you next week for Revelation 14’s next chapter.

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