O! My dear brothers and sisters, won’t you heed
this warning from heaven:
NIV
Revelation 18:4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say: "'Come
out of her, my people,' so that you will not share in her sins, so that you
will not receive any of her plagues;
Come out of Babylon before it is too late!
Babylon looks so beautiful, so attractive, on the
surface. She is dressed in alluring clothes
and holds a golden cup. But look inside
the cup and you will find “abominable things and filth”. (Revelation 17:4)
But so many people are drinking from her cup
(Revelation 18:3). Her wine makes people
drunk. If we drink it we start to
quickly lose our spiritual discernment. Evil
starts to look good. Darkness starts to
replace light. Her magic spell quickly
ensnares (Revelation 18:23). And before
we know it we could be wallowing in her sins which are piled up to heaven
(Revelation 18:5).
Underneath her glittering attire and offer of
riches (and indeed, in this world, she does offer luxuries and riches, but they
are so short lived and lead to destruction), underneath we find evil. The type of evil that hates all that is
good. Evil that is in league with the
ancient dragon, the Devil, and his two terrible beasts of evil government and
false religion (Revelation 17:3). The
type of evil which hates God’s faithful people and kills us when it can.
Babylon is a prostitute (Revelation 17:5). She takes beautiful things and riches and the
talents and time of people which are all meant to be used for God’s glory and
she steals them and she twists them into evil that sickens and kills.
Babylon, like the antichrist, has come in many
forms (1 John 2:18). A final form may
yet be coming. But don’t be deceived, Babylon is already here and you are
living right in the middle of it.
In the days of the early church when John’s vision
was first shared with seven local churches in Asia Minor, Babylon took the form
of a system of emperor worship and the worship of false gods and goddesses and
idols. All were expected to participate in the idolatry if they wanted to also
share in Rome’s opulent wealth and power.
And for those who declined? Prisons,
swords, lions, and stakes with fire.
During our lives we have seen systems where people
joined the communist party, or the Islamic faith, or some other evil system, or
else they were shut out. And Christians
who refuse to bow to Babylon and her dragon and her beasts? At the very least they are shut out from
opportunities and power and privilege.
But Babylon never stops there, she is drunk with the blood of God’s
people (Revelation 17:6).
But what forms does Babylon take in America in the
early 21st century? While violence against Christians is still rare here
(and I pray that it may continue to be restrained, by God’s grace), the
alluring, gospel denying, God’s truth hating, intoxicating, prostituting forces
of Babylon are here. If you’ve already
begun to drink from her cup and to be enthralled by her magic spell, it may be
hard to even see her. O! May God open
our eyes before it is too late.
Here are some of the forms Babylon takes:
Materialism.
Living for money. And
comfort. And security based on bank
accounts. More and bigger everything.
Sexual immorality.
Of all kinds. Do whatever you
want with whomever you want. An ocean of
pornographic filth. The prostitute is
barely disguised anymore, and still so many follow ensnared by her alluring
magic which gives moments of pleasure, but it all leads to darkness and death.
And who do the leaders of the sex industry hate most? Anyone who calls what
they are selling “sin”.
Substance abuse.
Celebrating? Drink. Stressed?
Take pills. Sad? Use drugs.
But perhaps the most pervasive form of Babylon’s
magic spell in our culture is the entertainment industry. For while we are “relaxing” and enjoying our
favorite show or team or commentator, all the time interwoven are messages,
some subtle, some shockingly brazen, calling us to materialism, sexual
immorality, and substance abuse. It’s
everywhere, the drinking, the sex, and the materialism. And have you noticed that most of Hollywood
doesn’t especially like Christians?
Drunk with our blood? Not
yet. But like the vampires in her shows,
she longs for it.
Babylon does terrible things to those who drink
from her cup and commit adultery with her.
But what she does to her followers is not the most important reason to
flee from her. The main point of
Revelation 17 and 18 is what God is going to do to Babylon and to those who
share in her sins. His judgment will be
just, swift, and terrible.
Brother and sisters, listen to, understand, and
heed the urgent call from heaven:
Come out of her, my people, so
that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her
plagues
“Come out of her my people . . .”
Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .
