Religion. Saints beware she's a mockingbird. Verse 4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, so that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues. Whatever the appearance, Babylon, in all her might, has in fact, in truth pitted herself against the Almighty in a battle of wills that has,
as a matter of fact, raged for over four hundred years. She has, and she knows full well that she has, gained full control of the high ground in virtually every area of our society schools of every variation and denomination, media in every form, etc., etc. She even squats jealously, haloed no less, like a giant, ugly warthog upon what should be the golden egg of every community,
the local church. She regards angrily with suspicion the encroachment of any apparent saint, for she knows well the steps, the mannerisms, the language and the voices of her own and of those not in conformity with her mock ministry of Christianity thus, God's warning to his true saints. I will be merciful, to whomever I choose. A statement which, when stripped of its evangelical, fundamentalist context, clearly implies most emphatically that God Almighty is in no way
obligated to extend mercy, simply because He is in fact a merciful God. Multitudes who envision and think that they should and will be afforded the mercy of God, are seriously disillusioned. Consider Jesus' handling of the lawyer who evaluated him, per Luke's account, chapter 10, 25-37. He knew well the law and the prophets. He knew equally the teachings of Jesus, his mannerisms, practices and habits, yet he was not able or willing to make the connection.
Never forget the greeting Christ has prepared for His churches, most of whom will turn up at the great white throne only to hear Him say, Depart from me, you who work iniquity. I have no idea who you are. Remember also Jesus' stern warnings to the lackluster churches at Ephesus and Sardis, each of which had reputations but no performance, and at Pergamos and Thyatira which did everything right but were also committed to spiritually unhealthy and unwholesome compromises that
undermined the faith. Contrast that to Jesus' dealings with the doubts of John the Baptist, Matthew chapter 11 verses 2-6. The rich young ruler who asked the same basic question as did the lawyer, Luke chapter 18 verse 18 and Zacchaeus, the tax collector who, knowing what the lawyer knew, responded enthusiastically in faith, Luke chapter 19 verses 1-10.
Babylon the Great is no exception. All roads do not lead to God. Her many different iterations of Christianity are but the various stillborn offspring birthed spiritually dead out of the great whore of Revelation chapter 17. In the eyes of the world, Babylon the Great has it all together. She, being blessed of God, therefore, has favor with God. Her future to them looks bright.
The command for the saints to come out of her for fear of being caught up in her punishment, however, actually implies that this Babylon has an aura of the true religion about her. She really does have the appearance and all the trappings of one serving God, in which case it would be easy for a true saint to get caught up in, and thus be sidetracked by, her false theological ideology. She is, as it were, a masterful, crafty, theological mockingbird, a fervent purveyor
of the poison of compromise. On the surface, she looks like the real deal. In addition, therefore, it should not be surprising that this warning implies strongly, that the true saints are among her ranks openly, practicing their faith largely unhindered, unmolested in any way. This, too, was something unknown, and that would not have been tolerated where Catholicism, the great whore of chapter 17, on account of whom the woman wore the aura of Babylon the Great had
absolute sway, consider the Inquisitions, and to some degree, the Crusades. On the other hand, in the eyes of him who sees not as a man sees, her future is not one of roses. He is looking not at her externals only, as he is studying and weighing, continuously, the internal thoughts and intents of her heart, over the external appearance.
In strict accord with the wishes of the likes of the preacher who said he did not believe in heaven or hell, life here on earth is as good as it gets, for her, with God, it can get no better. There is no, more, heaven on her horizon. Babylon has her reward. The pleasure of the encore will be the Lord's. And so, as John continued to observe the celestial proceeding
before him, he heard another voice emanating from heaven. Listening intently, the old, battered apostle heard that voice issue a stern warning to Christians or Jews, or both, to the effect that there is danger having eternal consequences in being too closely allied with Babylon the Great.
Her professed right standing with God is mockery and pure sham. Her ability to influence and seduce even a child of God can have a damning outcome to the extent that the saint, having become ensnared, becomes entangled not only in her sins, but in the end, winds up separated from God, and so is forced to endure the same punishment and fate as she. Moreover, the religion of Babylon the Great is just that, religion a charade of true,
biblical Christianity. Her professed relationship with the God of all glory, i.e., her Christianity is not a way of life. As she does in no way aspire to adhere to the word of God or His demands, her profession of faith in God has no impact upon her life, and no capacity for producing or inducing the requisite change and or transformative renewal of the mind that God seeks in the lives of all of His chosen. Herein lies the subtle danger of the God of all glory, and the
herein lies the subtle danger to every saint. In addition, it should be observed that the angelic being is delivering and issuing a command, not a suggestion. In recognition of Babylon's power to seduce and mislead his saints, Jews and Christians alike, thanks to her abundant wealth, education, things and services, and her apparent right relationship to God, he enjoins them to, come out, separate and distinguish yourselves from her, or you will suffer her fate.
It should be observed that the injunctions here is to those actual saints of God who are yet too closely aligned with Babylon so that their values, ideological assumptions, business practices, their very lives and manner of living is to a large degree shaped and controlled by the dictates of Babylon, more so than the word of their true and living God, very much so like that of the family
of Mordecai and Esther. They never abandoned or denied their Jewish identity, but, throughout their everyday lives, they never let it be known that they were in truth Jews, not Babylonians.
Thus no one knew, until the Haman incident. By contrast, Nehemiah and Ezra stood tall daily, letting their light shine so that all could see continuously that they were in fact Jews, living in close proximity and in association with, even doing business with the godless Babylonians but never blurring the line that separated them, leaving no room for doubt i.e., in the world, but clearly not of it. So then, when the hammer falls, it will fall on Babylon as well
as those caught up in her brand of perverse theology. The reason for this is, of course, by inference, quite simple. Practically everyone associated with Babylon has access to a Bible, and he has a brain with which he could have read, and where need be, he could have made the necessary adjustments and corrections, so as to live a doctrinally and theologically sound life. The Holy Spirit of God observing, taking notice of his action, stands ready to work with him,
guiding and giving him assistance. Considering the present, ongoing plight of God's people, the Jews who, having endured much trauma for thousands of years, and will to the very end of this age and in light of the Jeremiahs, the Daniels and company, and the Ezekials who were deported during the Babylonian captivity, he is among the damnedest of fools who supposes for even a moment that he means otherwise, they were not spared from the stigma and pain associated with the deportation
into captivity, in spite of their faith or righteousness. Recall that Noah was saved, along with his family, only because having built the boat, as commanded he and his family got into
it. They had worked in faith, for one hundred twenty years, before anything happened. Lot and his two daughters were spared, while Mrs. Lot, his wife and their mother having been delivered from danger together with the rest of the family was in the end lost, by virtue of her lingering and musing, due to her attachment to, and constant reflection upon, all that she was leaving behind.
In addition, just as the Israelite before the Exodus was spared only by obedience to the command to remain behind closed doors and the blood above the doorposts of the entrances to his home, so likewise, the end-time saint is to take stock of himself and his position in Christ so as to ensure that his relationship to the Father is intact, per the word of God, and not per the
theology of any Babylon, in which he might find himself. Again, as with the Jew and his brothers of old, he who is not in compliance with this simple mandate, will be left to face, on his own, the same horrible fate as the rest of the sinful, unsaved inhabitants of, that great city. No saint found outside of the blood of Christ will be spared, no matter how sincere his
profession of faith. In addition, the scriptures alluded to and or cited above stipulate clearly that it is by no means true to say that because a professing saint is found outside the faith, he must therefore have never been in the faith to begin with. The cancer of compromise doing and believing the right thing, while associating with and allowing a false religion to assert any degree
of influence over the saint's being will not be tolerated. The problem here, among others, is the bad precedent this state of compromise sets for new saints, who on their account might likely never break free from the sins of their past. They will never grow strong in their faith and walk as saints, thus, owing to what amounts to a cancerous relationship, they render the body of
Christ weak and feeble eventually destroying it altogether. God demonstrated his displeasure with this type of association amongst his saints in the letters to the seven churches at Asia Minor specifically, the churches of Pergamos and Thyatira, as well as any others like them. The Lord's only criticism of them was the unholy alliances they had formed, which took them out from under the blood of the Father's Lamb, recklessly endangering the spiritual well-being
of all newborn saints among them. Because of this, they were in danger of eternal rejection, though otherwise, they did all things well. One should also note that, this command to come out, means that the saints in question have been weighed in the balances. They have been found wanting. It is, therefore, on that basis that they will be rejected, if they fail to comply. There is no injunction here for the saints to be more proactive or diligent so as to return to
their roots. Strange as it may seem, they never left. Rather, they were in danger of eternal rejection. Rather, being susceptible to the infection of compromise, saints are to conscientiously ensure that they quarantine on the strength of an active faith as they socially distance within cocoons of obedience to God's inerrant word so as not to contract that
Babylonian cancer of compromise which has made victims of so many in their ranks. They need to strive to ascertain that they are numbered with the few among the seven thousand who have not and
the only things they can Kingdoms then that they ask for in this purpose. not cease, however, winding entity and the Contrary to popular misperception, her evident prosperity and wealth, although blessings indeed, from the hands of Almighty God, do not by any means grant her immunity, nor is it evidence of any special right standing or favor with God. One might hasten to interject that her standing is indeed special, albeit, not for good.
He is not enamored, nor is he the least bit enchanted by her prestige, her political clout, nor with her high standing in the eyes of the world, any more than he was with the Babylonians, or, with the Greeks, although in fact, God demands full credit for their being. Whereas, heretofore, there has been no response from heaven relative to her, misbehavior, neither she nor her sins have escaped his notice.
He has been patiently waiting all these years, more than two millennia, for this moment to arrive. Fate, kill the mockingbird. When God created a situation that was something out of the ordinary, involving a bigoted, stubborn messenger and rebel prophet named Jonah, by means of which to get the attention of the pagan, God-less Assyrians, there was not only the longing and desire within his heart that they should repent and be delivered from the certain destruction he would instigate,
there was also equally the settled assurance and certain expectation that they would turn, so as to respond favorably, if duly warned and given ample opportunity. In his grace and mercy, God knew that like his people rescued from the idolatry of Egypt they, in their pagan culture, had never been confronted before with the reality of the true and living God. They were, therefore, in his eyes, deserving of as much of a chance.
Unlike as was the case there, however, there is no such expectation, no such longing, no such determination in either the language, the message, or its tone for Babylon the Great. Her chance has expired. God's patience does have an end. There is only the warning issued with the saints, Christians and Jews, in mind. Come out, distinguish yourselves, or, by implication, suffer her fate.
The same antipathy, hostility, dislike, was expressed by God for her sister in apostasy, in chapter 17, namely, the great whore. Verse 6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double to her double according to her works, in the cup which she has filled fill to her double. Verse 7 How much she has glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her. For she says in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
God is very much determined to see to it that this Babylon the Great be duly rewarded for all that she has done. Not for tat, and I for an eye. The implication here is that, via her mock relationship with the Almighty, she has, effectively and in fact, waged a campaign of mistreatment and or misinformation against the saints, as well as against the nations of the earth, as she has done to them, so she should and will be repaid.
Just as she has feasted sumptuously, pampering herself in a spirit of conceit, living high on the hog thinking herself to be one high and lofty, above reproach, having many friends, secure, serene so likewise now she should, as well she will, be served the brine of everlasting sorrow, pounded deep into wounds that preface her eternal devastation.
Verse 8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine, and she shall be utterly burned with fire. For strong is the Lord God who judges her. The downfall of Babylon is assured, certain to the point of being sorely longed for by none other than the Almighty himself. Whereas he has issued clear warning and a summons to his saints to come out of her, there is no call to Babylon the Great to repent. Upon arrival of the moment of truth, he will not prolong the time.
She will be plagued, knocked off her pedestal of influence, plunged from the heights of her fame and fortune to the depths of despair and poverty, in one day hounded every step of the way down by death, mourning and the pangs of a hunger she has yet to know. The collapse in the US of some of the wealthiest institutions on earth, including the world's largest employer, serves as a constant reminder of just how real this possibility is, initiated, though it will be, by a military firestorm.
As now she parades hypocritically before the world, self-righteous in her own eyes, God issues no plea for her to either turn, or to return to any supposed Christian roots. Thus he, having no other plan, will expend no effort to redeem her. Her own power will not be sufficient to save her.
Her self-proclaimed exceptionalism is not and will not be a shield of protection from this hot outpouring of his wrath, nor will the fabled righteousness of her founding fathers be given the slightest remembrance. Her fall will be as if she were stood up to be knocked down.
A kind of shock and awe. This will strike terror and fear in the hearts of all who will have looked up to her, softening otherwise hard impenetrable minds, thereby creating a ripe base, for a full harvest of souls the stubborn, lethargic, useless churches in her midst cannot now reach. To top off her demise, she will be burned with fire. For strong is the Lord who will bring it to pass.
In today's language, this burning with fire could easily, and should be dismissed only as destruction by thermonuclear conflagration. Regardless of how it all starts or ends, it is the simplest, quickest way to ensure that she is completely destroyed, with not the slightest possibility that she will either retaliate or rise again. Clearly, even the most powerful nations on the planet in our times can be destroyed well within the one hour set aside for the cataclysmic ruin of Babylon the Great.
Suders and paramours, their cries and lamentations verse 9 and the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, verse 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 your judgment come. The time of Babylon's trouble will be a time of great duress and distress for multitudes, around the world.
Heads of state in numerous countries, all having followed her lead, will lament because to a large degree, the economic stability of their respective countries depends upon the stability and prosperity of a city, country, that now no longer exists. Unlike as was the case in the New Orleans, Gulf Coast area, following the wrath of Katrina, no one will be in any position to help. Although none believed in the Bible or its prophecies, all saw clearly the biblical ramifications.
That is, many foreign countries offered assistance, to get that region back on track, because they realized that in a measure, their own well-being today more than ever, depends on the financial health of this one country. Everyone today realizes that now, like never before, one colossal financial center holds all the cards to their future, whereby it, inadvertently perhaps, threatens the economic stability of the entire world even as it teeter-totters on the brink of disaster.
And, for this, we say, thank you, egotistical, doubting, scoffing man. For once more you have led the pack of those who unwittingly have helped to establish and verify the credibility and viability of the Word of the Living God. See sidebar below. The handwriting on the wall. Page 35. Like Humpty Dumpty, her fall will be complete, being God ordained accomplished, from start to finish, in only one hour.
Having witnessed the awesomeness, the fearsomeness, and the thoroughness of her destruction from afar, her industrial might and her military power having been altogether overwhelmed and nullified, none will envision the possibility of any kind of a resurrection for her. None will come near, per the will of God, the producers, the merchants and the shippers of the earth will have been paralyzed with fear, so that none will venture to give her aid.
Furthermore, being heavily invested in her prosperity already, beyond the breaking point we might say, they will have nothing else to give from which they can justly expect to reap any kind of a reasonable ROI, as we shall see later. Chapter 18, verses 11 through 19 verse 11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her. For no man buys their merchandise any more.
Verse 12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thion wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble. Verse 13 And cinnamon, and odors, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and sleighs, and sautéchens.
Verse 14 And the fruits that your soul lusted after are departed from you, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from you, and you will find them no more at all. Verse 15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing. Verse 16 And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, which was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls.
Verse 17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nothing, and every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off. Verse 18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city? Verse 19 And they threw dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness.
For in one hour is she made desolate. Importers and exporters to and from her bosom, ocean-going or maritime transportation experts exchanging every kind of merchandise, including, dot the bodies and souls of men, all who became fabulously rich and wealthy through free trade with her, will join the chorus of their respective heads of state in dreadful lamentation.
Since this is an, n times, economic and political power, souls of men is meant to reflect God's concern not only for the selling of people as slaves, but for the killing of the millions upon millions of unborn babies as well, annually all killed for both pleasure and for profit.
More than fifty million unborn U.S. babies are dead. They will weep and they will wail. They will cry out, howling in fear and anguish of both mind and soul, alas, alas, that, so great and so powerful a city should be destroyed in only one hour.
What else is there like her, or who can replace her worth? What shall we do now? At her downfall, Babylon the Great will have been a force in global trade and world politics that knew no equal. She has no rivals. For no man buys their goods and services anymore.
The sudden, completely devastating collapse will leave a huge void, a vacuum and a footprint that cannot be filled. No other nation or people will have her purchasing power. Efforts on the part of the European Union, notwithstanding, no group of nations or people groups will be able to match her industry and resolve before her downfall. See the sidebar below. The EU no match for the USA.
As a rapacious consumer, Babylon will be known for her voracious appetite, as well as for her gluttony, for the fact that she consumes most of what the producers and merchants of the earth produce 40% of everything. Without her, they have no place to deposit or dump their wares.
They will realize too late that, as if they do not already the fact is, many do. Babylon's sudden demise, that is, the disappearance of 5% of 7 billion people from the world's marketplace, spells their doom. No one will have ever known, nor will they have just cause for anticipation of the coming of another like her.
No kingdom, no empire, whether the ancient Romans, the beast with seven heads, the most recent in the Ottoman Turks, the United Kingdom, the Napoleonic attempt, or the would-have-been Third Reich, none could or will ever be more sorely missed than the hypocritical Babylon the Great. Brute force and coercion was the common thread at the core of all their several foreign policy strategies, while the sword governed international commerce and trade relations always, to their exclusive advantage.
To signal their grief and despair, these will all throw dust upon their heads, crying, weeping and wailing, alas, alas, or, woe, woe, exclamations of grief or affliction, deep anguish of soul, that great city, nation, on account of which so many were made wealthy. For in one hour she has been irreparably trashed and reduced to rubble.
To date, there has been no foot that can better fill the shoes of Babylon the Great than the most prominent nation in the world today. No one city anywhere in Europe, Asia or the USA, past or present, can answer this call. Only one nation can.
Given its long-standing and general disenchantment with the idea of capitalism to begin with, no one is ever likely to want to see another, in light of the cost when things finally go wrong. No one ever thought that such an experiment as this would work, much less last for nearly 400 years. Verse 20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her.
Verse 21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and threw it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. Verse 22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in you. And no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in you. And the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in you.
Verse 23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in you. And the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in you. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorceries were all nations deceived. Verse 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.