“After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. And he called out with a mighty voice,
‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
She has become a dwelling place for demons,
a haunt for every unclean spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.
For all nations have drunk
the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,
and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,
and the merchants of the earth have grown rich
from the power of her luxurious living.’
“Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,
‘Come out of her, my people,
lest you take part in her sins,
lest you share in her plagues;
for her sins are heaped high as heaven,
and God has remembered her iniquities.
Pay her back as she herself has paid back others,
and repay her double for her deeds;
mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed.
As she glorified herself and lived in luxury,
so give her a like measure of torment and mourning,
since in her heart she says,
“I sit as a queen,
I am no widow,
and mourning I shall never see.”
For this reason her plagues will come in a single day,
death and mourning and famine,
and she will be burned up with fire;
for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.’
“And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning. They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,
‘Alas! Alas! You great city,
you mighty city, Babylon!
For in a single hour your judgment has come.’”
[REVELATION 1:1-10] [1]
The first time I remember becoming aware of the anguished cry, “Alas, Babylon,” was not while reading it in the Book of Revelation, it was while reading the apocalyptic novel, “Alas, Babylon.” [2] As you might surmise, the title of that book was lifted from the Revelator’s description of the anguished response people will have when they witness the overthrow of the world system that is set up in opposition to the Son of God. A day is coming upon the earth, it may be sooner than anyone can expect, when the Risen Lord of Glory brings the final, crushing judgement upon this evil world system. Survivors of that terrible judgement will see the destruction this is at last visited on the earth and bemoan the loss of all they valued, of all they held dear. That day may be closer than we realise, and it is certainly closer than when John wrote the Apocalypse.
“Alas, Babylon!” The cry that will involuntarily escape from multiple lips in that day admits the understanding of those living in those dreadful hours when the whole of life as they have known it will at last have been revealed to be nothing more than a gossamer veil masking reality. All the power the world imagined as reality will at last be exposed as being less substantial than a wisp of smoke. All the wealth that the world valued and sought to accumulate will be transformed into dust—worthless and despised, suited only for the garbage heap. Finally, the prominence for which those of the world thirsted will prove to have been empty. All who live for this dying world will at last be compelled to confess that nothing associated with this world has any permanence and all that is valued by those living for this world is incapable of moving the hand of the eternal God. All that is in the world is destined for dust. And all that live for this world and what the world promises shall at last be exposed as impoverished, destitute, and powerless, for they hold only the things that are destined to perish with the using.
Our concept of what will give us fulfilment is quite meaningless. Almost assuredly, we—and this is especially true of we living in the western world—imagine that we will be happy and our lives will be given meaning if only we have power over others, or that we will be happy if are able to amass possessions, or we will feel fulfilled if we can attain position. However, set against these common misperceptions is wisdom that is found among the sayings of the wise. In the Proverbs, we read,
“As Death and Destruction are never satisfied,
So the eyes or a person are never satisfied.”
[PROVERBS 27:20 NET BIBLE 2nd]
There is an arresting thought! We cannot be satisfied with what our eyes can see!
Solomon made a similar assessment of our drive to accumulate when he penned this dark assessment of human ambition,
“A man who is all alone with no companion,
he has no children nor siblings;
yet there is no end to all his toil,
and he is never satisfied with riches.
He laments, ‘For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?’
This also is futile and a burdensome task!”
[ECCLESIASTES 4:8 NET BIBLE 2nd]
Like Gollum, we are easily corrupted by the pursuit of the very things that are destined to destroy us, those elements of the earth that must at last perish with the earth itself. Things that were never meant to give satisfaction become our “Precious,” eating away at our soul and destroying us at the last.
The Word of God repeatedly confronts us with the knowledge that accumulating that which the world values is a fool’s game leading to impoverishment of soul and eternal disappointment. If you will be rich in the things that truly count—things of eternal worth, the Word of God will advise you to avoid pursuing what the world esteems. Have we not been warned, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him, because all that is in the world (the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance produced by material possessions) is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away with all its desires, but the person who does the will of God remains forever” [1 JOHN 2:15-17]. Is this instruction so difficult to comprehend as to make it of no value? Or is it that we allow ourselves to become so enamoured of this dying world that we are incapable of obeying the commands delivered by our God?
We joke about acquiring wealth; or maybe we don’t mean what we say as a joke! You possibly have heard someone say something along the lines of the following, “Money isn’t everything; but it is sure ahead of whatever is in second place.” That sentiment may be good for a chuckle, but in our quieter moments when we allow our thoughts to go where they will, we who possess the life given in Christ understand that this sentiment cannot be true. Money can pay someone to lie in your bosom; but money won’t buy you love. Money can purchase a house; but money can never buy a home. Money can buy a physician to tend to your body; but money will never buy health. Money can fill your life with things; buy money can’t bring contentment.
We who follow the Risen Saviour know the reality of the Apostle’s words that assure us, “Godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” [1 TIMOTHY 6:6-10].
It is essential that especially we who follow the Risen Saviour acknowledge that money is not inherently evil. That idea that is often bruited, though seldom embraced, is a falsehood resulting from the corruption of the world. The Word of God is quite precise that it is the “love of money” that lies at the root of every kind of evil. That love for money and what we imagine it can buy is what drives us to value the wealth of this world more than we value the true wealth of a redeemed life and acceptance into the Family of God. This world, and all that is valued in this world are passing away. The old saw assures us, “Just one life, ‘twill soon be past; what’s done for Christ is all that lasts.”
THE WORLD SYSTEM INSINUATES ITSELF INTO EVERYTHING — In the text we witness the exclamation of a holy angel who witnesses the destruction of this world system.
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
She has become a dwelling place for demons,
a haunt for every unclean spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.
For all nations have drunk
the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,
and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,
and the merchants of the earth have grown rich
from the power of her luxurious living.”
[REVELATION 18:2-3]
We who live in North America have lived with multiple threats disturbing the peace; but we have never experienced a fall from our privileged position in the world. There have been threats to the peace we have known, but there has been no major disruption of peace to the western nations. With the advent of nuclear weapons, we felt the tension arising from the possibility of nuclear conflict, but there has been no nuclear war. Tensions first arose as two nuclear powers, the Soviet Union and the United States, jockeyed for dominance in the world, and the threat of nuclear war has grown as more nations, including such potential belligerents as China, North Korea, and Iran, obtain or seek to obtain nuclear weapons. Nevertheless, to this point in history, we in the West have been blessed with growing wealth and a measure of peace. Canada, especially, has enjoyed peace because of the proximity to and the protection provided by the United States.
The protection we have enjoyed because of our proximity to the American States has served as a dividend for successive Canadian governments. Because of this benefit, successive governments were able to invest moneys into social programmes rather than armaments. But the peace dividend we have enjoyed has created a dependence upon the nation that provides our defence. We are not even aware of the fact that we have lost a measure of self-determination because of our dependence on our neighbour to defend us. In 1969, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, while meeting with President Nixon, coined a phrase that has come to define relations between Canada and the United States. In an address delivered to the National Press Club during that visit, Mr. Trudeau said, “Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, if I can call it that, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.”
I encountered the fallout arising from this condition shortly after arriving in Canada. I was participating in a meeting of the New Westminster Ministerial Association. Ronald Reagan was seated behind the Resolute Desk as the President of the United States. The Soviet Union then loomed as a major threat to world peace, especially threatening the western world. I had assumed a pastorate in Burnaby and participated as a member of the New Westminster Ministerial Association. One of the ministers present at that meeting presented a motion that the ministerial association adopt a resolution demanding unilateral disarmament of the American State. The resolution he presented demanded that the United States disarm, destroying all nuclear weapons they held. This step, the reverend minister introducing the resolution assured us, would lead the Soviet Union to respond in kind, thus bringing about world peace.
Most of those seated in that meeting expressed a fear that nuclear war could break out at any moment. Despite what is revealed in the prophetic scriptures, these men of the cloth appeared genuinely fearful that mankind could be wiped out because of this threat. It was thought that the two primary belligerents, the United States and the Soviet Union, possessed sufficient nuclear armaments to destroy the world, and these ministers representing various religious denominations were assured that they could broker a deal. My initial assessment of the proposed resolution was that the man presenting this resolution held an exaggerated opinion of his importance. He certainly was not lacking in chutzpah.
I requested and was given permission to address the proposed resolution. My first point was that none of the ministers present, other than myself, had ever voted in an American election, and they assuredly had not voted in the most recent elections that had elevated Mr. Reagan to the office of President. Thus, they had no legitimate standing to present such a resolution to the American President. Secondly, without an indication of good will from the Russian oligarchs, the end that the resolution sought was impossible to achieve. And lastly, it was the height of foolish arrogance to cower behind an American nuclear shield demanding that the United States remove the protection that had blessed Canada with unprecedented peace. The motion died and during the ensuing years while I served churches in that area, no similar resolution was ever again introduced in a ministerial meeting.
I understand that our Master addressed these issues during His final days with the disciples as the time of His Passion drew near. You will recall that on one occasion Jesus taught His disciples, and consequently He has taught us, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains” [MATTHEW 24:4-8].
We have a divine assessment of conditions prevailing on the earth throughout the Church Age, intensifying as the end of this age draws near. Conditions will always be tumultuous, nations in conflict with one another, natural disasters and calamitous times befalling those living throughout those times, and a growing multiplicity of religious charlatans all attempting to lay claim to exclusive right to represent the Son of God. And for all this rise in confusion and violence, it is not the day of divine judgement. Each of these situations are but evidence that the end is approaching.
I don’t believe I’m reading too much into the words Jesus spoke at that time when I make an observation concerning “wars and rumors of wars,” or concerning His words cautioning that “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom,” as the age totters toward a conclusion. It does not appear that He is speaking of another vast worldwide cataclysmic war preceding that day when the nations of the world will be gathered to wage war against Israel.
According to Scripture, there is coming a day when many of the nations of the world will be arrayed against Israel, seeking to extirpate the Jewish people. Current events may be telling us that the groundwork for this event is being laid even now. What Jesus does say is that there will be widespread unrest as various kingdoms and nations engage in multiple “little wars,” and the incidence of such “little wars” will be increased as the age moves toward the time of the end. What we are witnessing in such conflicts as the Russo-Ukrainian conflict and the border conflicts between Afghanistan and Pakistan and between India and China may presage the fulfilment of Jesus’ prophetic warnings. It is astounding to observe the number of “little wars” now taking place throughout our world. In addition to the conflicts already mentioned, the world is witnessing multiple terrorist insurgencies and civil wars throughout Africa, Asia, and South America.
In the Middle East, we witness Israel defending itself against various Palestinian factions, against Iran, and against other non-Palestinian factions such as Yemeni Houthis. And as these conflicts continue and grow in intensity we are witnessing a growing number of the nations of the world taking deliberate steps to weaken Israel while strengthening the hand of the enemies arrayed against the nation.
What is going on calls to mind the prophetic words of Zechariah. “The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: ‘Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, “The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.”
“‘On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem’” [ZECHARIAH 12:1-6].
It is terrifying to the nations of the world to realise the prophecy delivered long ago, warning, “Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle” [ZECHARIAH 14:1-2a]. The nations will think to do a great evil against Israel, and it will appear for a brief while that these armies will succeed. However, the apparent success of the nations in their war against God’s holy people will be short-lived, for the Lord Himself will descend and His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives. God has promised, “The LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him” [ZECHARIAH 14:5b]. And Israel will be delivered.
Nations rise to power, displacing other nations that imagined their power and prominence would continue unabated forever. Falling from the position of power and prominence into a state of reduced importance may be difficult for a culture to accept, but if history is any standard, the fall from the lofty perch is inevitable. The average age of empires is something less than two hundred fifty years. There are cultures that are hungry for power and prominence always waiting to displace the current powerful nation. And the descent from prominence will happen for every nation without exception.
Thus, in our text a powerful nation identified by the name Babylon, will at last be thrown down from her lofty perch. For the one following the Christ, this fall is certain since the Living God has spoken. The downfall of this powerful system serves as a warning to all mankind that power and prominence are an illusion. We who follow the Risen Saviour understand that whatever power we hold is given to us to be used for the benefit of others and for the glory of God. If we imagine ourselves to occupy a position of prominence, we are thus situated so that we may glorify the Saviour Whom we serve.
EVEN AS JUDGEMENT FALLS, GOD PRESERVES HIS OWN —
“Come out of her, my people,
lest you take part in her sins,
lest you share in her plagues;
for her sins are heaped high as heaven,
and God has remembered her iniquities.
Pay her back as she herself has paid back others,
and repay her double for her deeds;
mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed.
As she glorified herself and lived in luxury,
so give her a like measure of torment and mourning,
since in her heart she says,
‘I sit as a queen,
I am no widow,
and mourning I shall never see.’
For this reason her plagues will come in a single day,
death and mourning and famine,
and she will be burned up with fire;
for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.”
[REVELATION 18:4-8]
“Come out of her, my people,” says the Lord. When in the text we witness the Lord calling His redeemed out of Babylon, we need to understand that this is not a call that is restricted solely to some future time. We witness multiple admonitions throughout the Psalms and the Proverbs to turn from association with the wicked. For instance,
“How blessed is the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand in the pathway with sinners,
or sit in the assembly of scoffers.”
[PSALM 1:1 NET BIBLE 2nd]
The Proverbs open with an extended plea to turn from wicked people.
“My son, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.
If they say, ‘Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
let us ambush the innocent without reason;
like Sheol let us swallow them alive,
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
we shall find all precious goods,
we shall fill our houses with plunder;
throw in your lot among us;
we will all have one purse’—
my son, do not walk in the way with them;
hold back your foot from their paths,
for their feet run to evil,
and they make haste to shed blood.
For in vain is a net spread
in the sight of any bird,
but these men lie in wait for their own blood;
they set an ambush for their own lives.
Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain;
it takes away the life of its possessors.”
[PROVERBS 1:10-19]
Even now, the Risen Saviour calls His people to turn from giving even tacit approval of the wicked, just as He calls us to eschew union with wicked people who promote wickedness. Surely, this is the clear meaning of the stern words recorded as the Apostle writes in his second letter penned to the Church of God in Corinth.
Paul pleads with all who would walk with the Lord Jesus, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
and I will be a father to you,
and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.’”
[2 CORINTHIANS 6:14-18].
God instructs His people to avoid partnering with the wicked of this world, turning from even associating with such people. It is a certainly that the one who follows the Risen Saviour will discover that joining with an evil person who does not hold to biblical morality is a recipe for disaster. There is an example of one such business venture that ended badly for a godly king provided in the pages of the Old Covenant. The account is brief, but it does give us enough information to realise that God will not bless such an effort when the righteous is united in the venture with one who is wicked.
Here is the account in question. “After [a previous union with wicked kings] Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted wickedly. He joined him in building ships to go to Tarshish, and they built the ships in Ezion-geber. Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, ‘Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the LORD will destroy what you have made.’ And the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish” [2 CHRONICLES 20:35-37]. The simple lesson is that if you are a follower of the Lord, don’t imagine that a union with wicked people will work out. Not only will God refuse to bless such a union, but He is also unalterably opposed to such unions and will oppose His child in this. To engage in such an action is to set oneself in opposition to righteousness and to the Lord Himself!
This being the case, it also is true should one attempt to form a marriage union with one who is lost. A worshipper of the Lord Jesus sets herself or sets himself up for a life of sorrow when she or he determines to marry one who is lost. The Christian will be compelled to carry a dead person on her back for the whole time she is in that union and there will be long-term negative consequences. She will want to worship the Saviour and he will not share her desire to worship. She will want to raise their children in the Faith, and they will have the example of a father who is not simply disinterested in the things of the Faith, he will grow increasingly resentful of her efforts to worship. At last, she is likely to give up attempting to serve Christ because she cannot bear the opposition.
The American Humorist Samuel Clemens, known by his pen name, Mark Twain, married a cultured woman named Olivia Langdon Clemens. Olivia, known as Livy, came from a family that was wealthy and active in their religion. She practised her faith as a follower of Christ, even taking classes at Thurston’s Female Seminary and Elmira Female College. [3] Samuel Clemens, the proper name of Mark Twain, was anything but religious. Their daughter Clara presented heart-wrenching dialogue between Sam and Livy. In extreme circumstances when Livy spoke positively about God, Sam reacted with unhappiness. [4] Eventually, to keep peace, it is reported that Livy spoke of God less and less and ceased praying. It is reported that as their child Susy was dying, Livy is said to have responded to Sam’s suggestion that she pray, “Sam, I can’t pray any longer.”
To keep peace with her husband, Livy Clemens had given up praying. Then, when prayer was desperately needed, she was no longer able to pray. There will come a day when one who has turned her back, or his back, to God will want to pray, and the Lord will not hear. Thus, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah, “The LORD said to me: ‘Do not pray for the welfare of this people. Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence’” [JEREMIAH 14:11-12].
We are a rebellious people, even after we are redeemed and in the Faith of Christ the Lord. The Lord commands us to obey Him, and we do so incompletely. We have no excuse for our disobedience, but we disobey nonetheless. Here is what the child of God needs to know. Though we are disobedient, though we walk with the wicked, and even at times ignore our God, He loves us too much to surrender us to the judgement we deserve.
The Lord disciplines His child, but He does not abandon His child to the fate of the wicked. We witness this loving correction when we read of the Lord’s discipline in the Hebrew Letter. In that letter we see the writer urging us, “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
“Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.’
“It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
“Therefore, lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears” [HEBREWS 12:1-17].
God’s discipline can bring His child to the brink of disaster in this life. However, we know that the discipline God delivers is for our good and for His glory. He will not utterly abandon His child, though He will hold His child to account because He loves the child and seeks what is good. At the last, He will deliver His child from the judgements that fall upon the wicked even though His dear child has been disobedient. God delivered Lot, though Lot had dishonoured God and sought worldly wealth and fortune for himself. Remember that “the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment” [2 PETER 2:9]. Amen.
THE WORLD SYSTEM WILL BE DESTROYED AT LAST — “The kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning. They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,
‘Alas! Alas! You great city,
you mighty city, Babylon!
For in a single hour your judgment has come.’
“And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.
‘The fruit for which your soul longed
has gone from you,
and all your delicacies and your splendors
are lost to you,
never to be found again!’
“The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,
‘Alas, alas, for the great city
that was clothed in fine linen,
in purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold,
with jewels, and with pearls!
For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.’”
“And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning,
‘What city was like the great city?’
“And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,
‘Alas, alas, for the great city
where all who had ships at sea
grew rich by her wealth!
For in a single hour she has been laid waste.’”
[REVELATION 18:9-19]
“Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city!” Now the cry of despair is heard! That world system is used by demonic powers, having become a haunt for every unclean and detestable thing. Moreover, through the influence of the evil that goes unchecked, all the nations are polluted and contaminated. The merchants have enriched themselves through participating in and promoting the wickedness that marks life under the world system. No wonder, then, that the Lord calls His people out of that environment.
It has been almost thirty years since I was privileged to listen to the first message a young man preached in a church I was then pastoring. Dev had come to faith and was baptised under my ministry. Almost immediately he began preaching on the streets of the city, standing in front of a major department store to call people passing by to turn to Christ. He, together with two or three other young men, was aflame for Jesus. He certainly was not reticent in declaring Christ to be the Son of God, calling all who passed by to believe the message of life in Jesus Who is the Christ.
After some months of his preaching on the streets each Saturday afternoon, I asked the young man if he thought the Lord was calling him to serve in a preaching ministry. When he responded that this was the case, I set aside a time for him to speak one Sunday evening. As with many young preachers, given the chance to preach, he sounded like John the Baptist. He chose to speak from the third chapter of Peter’s second missive, entitling his message, “It’s All Gonna’ Burn.”
Some may not have found his message to be genteel, but he was correct in his assessment. And the final message for this present world system delivered by an angel appointed by God verifies the view that young preacher espoused in his first message. It reminds me of a message I delivered for the first time to the student body of a Bible college many years past. I made certain to deliver a fiery message, holding the hot end to the students assembled that day. When I had finished, the dean of students took me aside to say, “Mike, if you’re going to preach like John the Baptist, you had better get used to eating what John the Baptist ate.” Without thinking, I responded to what I understood to be a plea to temper my message by saying, “He didn’t starve to death!”
Nor was this the last time that someone in a position of prominence would urge me to temper my message just so I wouldn’t make others feel uncomfortable. Pastors of large congregations have asked me to tone down my rhetoric. Denominational leaders have attempted to induce me to temper my message, offering opportunities to pastor some of the largest churches if I would only be more moderate in what I might say. It was as if I heard the Prophet speaking in my ear.
“They are a rebellious people,
lying children,
children unwilling to hear
the instruction of the LORD;
who say to the seers, ‘Do not see,’
and to the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy to us what is right;
speak to us smooth things,
prophesy illusions,
leave the way, turn aside from the path,
let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.’”
[ISAIAH 30:9-11]
The world system is corrupt; and without a regenerate heart, those who imagine themselves to be leaders are incapable of making righteous decisions. Our politicians distort compassion to exalt wickedness and to punish righteousness. Those thinking with righteous understanding are silenced through threats or through social isolation. However, evil will not always prevail. One day our God will say, “Enough!” And then judgement will fall on those identified with this dying world. This is reason enough for any who follow the Christ to examine the actions they accept as normal and to examine the people of whom they approve and promote. It is time for us to be holy!
The Apostle warns, “You know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” [ROMANS 13:11-14]. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] Pat Frank, Alas Babylon (J. B. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia 1959)
[3] Olivia Langdon Clemens, Wikipedia, Olivia Langdon Clemens - Wikipedia, accessed 27 December 2024
[4] Clara Clemens, My Father, Mark Twain (Harper and Brothers, New York 1931) pp. 179-180
