
To start this section, it is important to know that though commercial Babylon is different in that it deals not so much with religion, but with commerce, it is still linked with the old fallen religious Babylon and still has a strong foundation in its immorality and idolatry. I think we may capture this reality best by looking at what the angel said about the coming fallen Babylon in verses two and three.
And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. 3 “For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.”
I think John MacArthur comments well on these verses, pointing out the differences between the two Babylon’s.
Religious Babylon (chap. 17) lures the nations into spiritual drunkenness and fornication with false gods (17:2, 4); commercial Babylon (chap. 18) seduces the unbelieving world into a materialistic stupor so that the people of the world will become drunk with passion because of their relationship with Babylon.7
As for this Babylonian system of commerce; how is it run? Well, even before the Antichrist appears on the scene, the Scripture tells us that there will be ten kings with ten kingdoms. We don’t see this yet, but I think we will see it soon. And then, just as these kingdoms are put in place, a very powerful leader, who is the Antichrist, will come into power, and he will give authority to the ten kings. And with them, and with his prophet (the false prophet) leading, he will set up a government system by which no person on earth will be able to buy or sell anything unless he has a certain mark, a mark of the beast, on either his right hand or his forehead (Rev. 13:16-17). Hence, this Antichrist will control all commerce.
But even before this control system comes about, and even before the ten kingdoms are installed, we will see many global organizations come together in an effort to form a global government—and this will bring about these ten kingdoms and the Antichrist. But we don’t have to wait long. Most of these organizations are already in place and are making global plans with each other. There are probably over one-hundred of them, but here are the top seven.
1. United Nations (UN). It was established in 1945, and its mission is to ensure international peace and security.
2. United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It was established in 1945. Its mission is to promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, science, and culture.
3. World Health Organization (WHO). It weas established in 1948. It is an organization that specializes in international public health.
4. World Economic Forum (WEF). It was established in 1971. Their stated mission is to improve the status of the world by engaging commercial, governmental, intellectual, and other leaders of society to influence global, regional, and industry agendas.
5. International Monetary Fund (IMF). It was established in 1945. Its mission is to promote global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world while relying on the World Bank for resources on a periodic basis.
6. World Bank. It was established in 1944. This international agency lends and gives money to governments in low- and middle-income nations to fund capital projects.
7. World Trade Organization (WTO). It weas established in 1995. It is a multilateral organization that regulates and supports international trade.8
Most of these organizations on the surface look very good and helpful to the world’s people However, when they are used under the Antichrist system of government, they will be used for a evil.
One of the things that is progressing rather quickly is the idea of having digital currency dan a new cashless society. And it will be a currency that is programable by its leaders. In other words, we will be forced to buy and sell only the things that the Antichrist system approves of. They will control what we buy and sell.
But do not think that these things are ideas way down the road. There are actually many organizations that are presently discussing and working on these things. There is an organization called Digital Currency Governance Consortium, which is composed of 80 organizations to discuss these things. And this is all under the global organization World Economic Forum. And there are several of these groups that are promoting digital currency. Here are a few titles you should be aware of: Central Bank Digital Currency, The Digital Dollar Project, MIT Digital Currency Initiative, A New Era of Digital Money-IMF F&D. I think there is almost too many of them; too many ideas.
Big businesses will also be tied into the new Babylonian, Antichrist system. There will be nothing small anymore—no small businesses. It will be much easier to control big businesses. I’m sure that their executives will have no problem taking the mark of the beast and engaging in his evil system.
In Revelation 18:11-13 there is a list of all the “cargo” that the merchants of the earth are mourning over after Babylon falls. But that list should be updated and modernized for today. I have a list before me of one-hundred of the biggest global companies, having ten different categories (or sectors) of goods (“cargo”). Here is my revised tabulation, organized first by the ten sectors, then by the top three companies.
Sectors | Top Three Companies |
Technology | Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet |
Consumer Discretionary | Amazon, Tesla, Walmart |
Health Care | United Health Group, Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly |
Energy | Saudi Aramio, Exxon Mobil, Reliance Industries |
Financials | Berkshire Hathaway, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America |
Industrials | Visa, Mastercard, Accenture |
Consumer Staples | Procter & Gamble, Pepsico, Philip Morris |
Telecommunications | Cisco, T-Mobile, Verizon |
Basic Materials | Linde, BHP Group |
Utilities | Nextera Energy |
I noticed, according to verses 11-13 that this list of companies is in no way complete. There doesn’t seem to be a category for animals, vehicles, or slaves and human lives. Yes, apparently the slave trade will reappear in Antichrist’s commercial system!9
7 Ibid., notes on Revelation 18:3.
8 Team Leverage Edu, “Discover the Top 15 International Organizations in the World,” at https://leverageedu.com/blog/list-of-international-organizations/.
9 Visual Capitalist, “Ranked: The 100 Biggest Public Companies in the World.” At https://www.visualcapitalist.com/biggest-public-companies-in-the-world-2022/.