THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON
(continued)
“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 judgeth
her. 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. Standing afar off
for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that
great city Babylon,
that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; because no man buyeth their merchandise any more…and
every ship-master…and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, and
cried when they saw the smoke of her
burning…and they cast 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
(wealth, all the money involved)! for
in one hour is she made desolate” (Rev.
18:8-11, 17-19).
The
lamentation that begins here is the first of three listed in chapter
eighteen. The first is a lamentation by
the kings of the earth-realm, or the
lords and rulers of the carnal church systems of man (verses 9-10). The second is by the merchants of the earth-realm, that is, all those who have “made merchandize” of the gospel and the
Lord’s people in those carnal systems (verses 11-17). The third (verses 17-19) is by all the ship owners, all the sailors, all who make their living by the sea trade. Ships in Bible days were vessels of wood,
signifying humanity, the carnal nature, the Adamic life.
The ship owners and sailors were involved in merchandising, moving
goods, transporting the delicacies of the Babylonian
kingdom. In religious Babylon these are the deacon boards,
committees — finance committees, building committees, etc., money raisers, program
directors, music directors, campaign directors, concert organizers,
advertisers, all the “movers” by which the desires and ambitions of the leaders
of the church systems are planned, financed, produced, and fulfilled.
In
John’s vision he saw that all of the people mentioned above who witnessed the
fall of Babylon
were terrified and filled with horror. They
had trusted in it. Now it was suddenly being destroyed! It is significant to note that none made any attempt to come to the aid
of the great city Babylon. Fear of its torment, fear that they too might
suffer its fate, has already caused them to move far off where they are
standing, observing the destruction of the city. The lament of the kings, the merchants, and
the ship-masters and sailors is dramatic: “Alas,
alas, that great city Babylon,
that mighty city! For in one
hour is thy judgment come!” The cry is
one of displeasure, even horror. The
Greek may be translated either “Woe!” or “Alas!”
However, the cry is very emphatic and is like a hopeless wail. “Mighty” is the same word that is translated
“strong” in verse eight wherein we read, “…for strong is the Lord who judgeth her.” It suggests that Babylon claimed for itself the very power of
God! But Babylon was not strong “in the Lord, and
in the power of His might,” and
therefore could not stand before Him. It
was all a flimsy facade and it fell quickly when the breath of the Almighty blew upon it — and
great was the fall thereof!
It
is for Babylon’s
incredible wealth that the mourners
mourn over her. The “merchandise” of Babylon is itemized as an
inventory in verses twelve through thirteen.
These passages clearly indicate that Babylon is no literal city — and literal wares could not be meant, since no
single city in the world could be the sole emporium of the whole earth, as it
is presented here. All this merchandise
is not to be understood literally, but as representing the traffic in things
both carnal and spiritual and showing
the fabulous luxury of the church systems of man. That’s the merchandising spirit — you can make money in Babylon!
Religious Babylon
has become a merchandising business and has abounded in all that wealth. The world empire of Babylonish religion, after millenniums of
accumulating untold billions — probably trillions — of dollars in real estate,
bank accounts, and vast holdings of various kinds, is doubtless one of the
richest institutions, if not actually the
richest organization, on earth today.
Self-seeking businesses of all kinds have found it financially rewarding
to patronize the materialistic world empire of Babylonish religion. And day and night you can see them crying on
TV, pleading for finances for this and that project, offering CD’s, DVD’s, and
trinkets of all kinds. There is no shortage
of men and women seeking gold and glory.
The land is overflowing with them, those seeking their own gain and each
staking his own claim.
Some
years ago, CBS’s Sixty Minutes did a
profile on mega-pastor Joel Osteen and his “prosperity theology.” His sermons focus on how faith in God and
worship of God bring material blessing.
That is a positive message, and I certainly prefer a positive gospel to
a negative one! But it can easily spill
over into ungodly superstition, and it explains the great conundrum of modern
religion: that many people’s faith is not necessarily making them into better
people, not establishing righteousness in their lives, not investing them with
the mind of Christ or conforming them into the image of the Son. How could it, seeing that religion is no
longer about righteousness, but rather about success, health, and wealth; no
longer about God’s will and plan, but about us;
no longer about compassion, love, and a laid-down life, but our own
physical and material needs? To inversely
paraphrase John F. Kennedy, what so many religious leaders today are essentially saying is,
“Ask not what you can do for God; ask what God can do for you!” I too want to be blessed! I too am thankful to my heavenly Father when
my needs are abundantly met! But in
turning God into a furry rabbit’s foot to ward off evil spirits and help us win
the lottery, what chance is there that we will ever find transcendence in life
or anything uniquely divine, heavenly, and spiritual? More so, what chance is there that we will
ever be liberated from the incarceration of the ego — the carnal mind? If the one thing that can free us from the
prison of the Self — the Christ-life — is changed into yet another shackle of the
self-life, then we are damned to self-absorption forever!
Within
recent decades, several of the most famous international television pulpiteers
have been exposed and their vast financial holdings have been publicized. They have millions of dollars invested in
their personal homes and property both here and abroad, while they fly around
the world in their private jets, at the same time begging and pleading for
money from the widows, the poor, and struggling families. They live sumptuously the lifestyles of the
rich and famous while those who support their grandiose programs are living as
virtual paupers. Where are those who are
true harvesters of souls rather than those who gather (harvest) money? Where are those who are building God’s
kingdom rather than their own? Where are
those who truly feed the sheep? Where
are those who are not lifted up with pride?
Where are those who are not puffed up with their own importance? Where are those who do not promote and exalt
themselves? Where is the preacher who
doesn’t seek to ingratiate himself to the one with expensive clothes, luxury
automobiles, fine homes, and all the marks of success and wealth? Where is the weeping before the altar? Where are those who refrain from using the
world’s methods to conduct God’s business?
Where are those who do not charge
for the gospel? Where are those who do
not have a ministry for sale? Where are
those who have not taken unto themselves the gold and the glory? Where are those who are not displaying their
flesh in their man-made promotions?
Where
are those of a broken and contrite spirit?
Where are those with the meekness and purity of the Lamb? Where are those who have not brought the
spirit of this world into their midst?
Where are those who do not put their picture on every page of their
magazine and their name on everything they do?
Where is the simple message of the kingdom
of God
without the Hollywood
extravaganza and showmanship? Where is
the worship in the beauty of holiness, in spirit and in truth, rather than
musical entertainment? Where are those
who approach God with reverence and godly fear and do not treat the sacred
things as though they were part of a carnival?
Where are those who have laid hold of God? Where are the humble? Where are the pure in heart? Where are those that are conformed unto the
image of the Son of God? Where are the
prayer warriors and the intercessors?
Where are those who proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God
without the slightest motive of financial reward for themselves? WHERE ARE GOD’S TRUE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE
HOUR? Of this you may be certain — these
will not be found within the halls of Babylon’s
religion! They will only be found among
God’s faithful remnant who have received the call to come out of Babylon and, forsaking
all, have gone unto HIM, without the camp, bearing His reproach, separated unto
HIM ALONE.
Yet
— all that is but child’s play when compared with the “merchandising spirit” of
Babylon’s
“Christian holidays.” Hear it! “And
the merchants of the earth shall
weep and mourn over her; for no man
buyeth their merchandise anymore” (Rev. 18:11). Let me quote that again. “And
the merchants of the earth shall
weep and mourn over her; for no man
celebrates Christmas and Easter anymore…”
Oops…I made a mistake and quoted that wrong. “…no man buyeth their merchandise
anymore.” Did you know that most
of the merchants, stores, and malls in the United States
of America depend upon Christmas alone for a full 50% of their annual gross sales? The fact is, without Christmas most of them
would go bankrupt and the entire American economy would utterly collapse! Add to that the other religious holidays —
Easter, St. Patrick’s Day, Thanksgiving, and a host of
others. The fact is — the stores
rearrange their merchandise and restock their shelves at various times
throughout the year based primarily on religious holidays! No sooner are all the products from
one holiday cleared from the shelves, than they are filled full with
merchandise for the next holiday! Then
add all the religious bookstores, religious cards, Christian concerts,
religious broadcasting, music sales, religious trinkets, etc., and you are
talking about far more than 50% of the economies of most so-called “Christian”
nations! Tell me that the gospel isn’t
big business — the collapse of which would cause the merchants of the earth literally to cry, and weep, and mourn!
Who
can deny that Christmas is indeed
a commercial season, sponsored and
kept alive by the heaviest retail advertising campaigns of the year. You see a masqueraded “Santa Claus” in the
stores. Ads keep us deluded and deceived about the “beautiful
Christmas spirit.” The newspapers,
magazines, catalogs, television
networks, and radio stations who sell these ads, print flowery editorials and
publish advertising slogans exalting and eulogizing the pagan season and its
“SPIRIT.” A gullible people has become
so inoculated, many take offense when told the TRUTH! Think about it. The “Christmas spirit” is actually created
each year, not by some unique moving of the Spirit of Christ, not even
to honor Christ, but to SELL MERCHANDISE!
Like all of Satan’s delusions,
it appears as an “angel of light.” Materialism and commercialism so dominate
this “season to be jolly” that there can surely be no soul so blind as not to
see it. Although it is the season of
giving — and everyone is propagandized to feel evil if they are not involved in
the giving — the overtones, from the candy store on the corner to the
department store that has everything and the mail-order catalog business and
the internet, obviously put the stress on getting them more business during this time of the year
than any other comparable season. In
fact, many commercial ventures rely on this season of the year for their survival.
Whenever a question is asked after the 25th of December
is past, it is generally, “What did you GET
for Christmas?” Each vies with the
other, determined to express the idea that he got more. But God is
revealing to His elect sons in this hour the
difference between the precious and the vile — the difference between that
which is born of God and that which is born of the harlot Babylon.
God by His Spirit is bringing forth a people OUT OF EVERY VESTIGE OF
BABYLON!
Historical
records in encyclopedias, which are available in any city library, and are
noted for their authenticity and reliability, give us these facts that
Christmas is of heathen origin. It is
traced back to sun worshippers and observed among the pagan nations. All these pagan festivals originated in
heathendom. The word “Christmas” means
“Mass of Christ,” or, as it later became shortened, “Christ-Mass,” and finally
just “Christmas.” It came to us as a Roman
Catholic Mass. But where did they get
it? Certainly not from Christ or the
Bible, for neither Christ or the Bible make any mention of it or even suggest
that we should in any way celebrate the birthday of Jesus. Since it has come to us through the Roman
Church, and has no authority but that of the Roman Catholic Church, let us
examine the Catholic Encyclopedia, published by that denomination. Under the caption “Christmas” you will find:
“Christmas was not among the earliest
festivals of the Church…the first evidence of the feast is from Egypt.” “Pagan customs centering around the
January calendar gravitated to Christmas.”
The
Encyclopedia Americana, 1969
edition, says: “CHRISTMAS. The name
derives from the Old English Chrites Maesse, or Christ’s Mass, and the present
spelling probably came into use about the sixteenth century. All Christian churches except the Armenian church
observe the birth of Christ on December 25.
This date was not set in the West until about the middle of the fourth
century and in the East until about a century later. The reason for establishing December 25 as
Christmas is somewhat obscure, but it is usually held that the day was chosen
to correspond to pagan festivals that
took place around the time of the winter solstice, when the days began to
lengthen, to celebrate the ‘rebirth of the sun.’ Northern European
tribes celebrated their chief festival of Yule at the winter solstice to
celebrate the rebirth of the sun (god) as a giver of light and warmth. The Roman Saturnalia (a festival dedicated to
Saturn, the god of agriculture, and to the renewed power of the sun) also took
place at this time, and some Christian customs are thought to be rooted in this
ancient pagan celebration. It is held by some scholars that the birth of
Christ as ‘Light of the World’ was made
analogous to the rebirth of the sun in order to make Christianity more
meaningful to pagan converts. Many early
Christians decried the gaiety and festive spirit introduced into the Christmas
celebration as a pagan survival, particularly of the Roman Saturnalia.” In our little booklet Five Reasons Why the Sons of God Should Not Celebrate Christmas (available
free upon request) we cite many more historical proofs of the pagan origin of
Christmas.
“But,”
you say, “isn’t exchanging gifts scriptural?”
The answer is NO! From the Bibliotheca
Sacra, Volume 12, pages 153-155, we quote: “The interchanging of presents among
friends is a like characteristic of Christmas and the Saturnalia, and must have been adopted by Christians from
the pagans, as the admonition of Tertullian plainly shows.” The fact is, this custom fastened upon the
people of exchanging gifts with friends and neighbors and relatives at the
Christmas season has not a single trace of Christianity in it! This does not
celebrate Christ’s birthday or honor it or Him. The partiality which is even exercised in the
giving of gifts is another sign of failing to harmonize with scriptural
principles. We do not object to the spirit of giving gifts, God
forbid! But why wait until the traditional month of December when
often times other seasons of the year would be more practical. A dear relative who insisted on continuing to
send gifts to our house each Christmas long after we had ceased to reciprocate,
when the subject came up one day, said, “Can’t I continue to give to you just
because I love you?” “Certainly,” I
replied, “but why do you love me only on December 25?” Furthermore,
generally the method of giving fails to reveal the true spirit of charity. The major method of giving is to give to
those from whom we expect to receive again in return. Even if we only suspect that a person may give something to us we then feel obligated
to get something for him or her! That is
not the true spirit of “giving”! It is certainly apart from the Spirit of God
and all who give in that way already have
their reward!
Consider
this: Billions of dollars are spent for gifts every year because of one false doctrine. That false teaching is this: “The wise men gave gifts to
Jesus, therefore we should give gifts.”
But do we give our gifts to Jesus?
To His work? Even to the poor and
needy? No. NO.
NO! We give gifts worth billions
of dollars to each other. The truth
is just this: The wise
men gave their gifts directly to Jesus, not to one another. And their gifts were not birthday gifts! The Bible evidence shows that it was two
years after His birth when the wise men
visited the young child (not a baby)
in a house (not a stable) in Nazareth (not in Bethlehem).
When a visitor came into the
presence of a king he was supposed to bring a gift. That was a common custom in the far
East. The wise men did not give any birthday gifts to Jesus at all! They inquired for the KING OF THE JEWS and
they gave Him royal
gifts because He always was, is, and forever will be a KING!
Some
credit the activities of Christmas to a nebulous “spirit” which they call the
“Christmas spirit,” and many praise the workings of such a “spirit.” But, do people suddenly change their beliefs
and character? Do they suddenly all act
like Christians and then cease to act as such after December 25? But that isn’t right either, is it? The so-called “spirit” of Christmas has
absolutely no power to transform men!
For most of their actions under the influence of this “spirit” have
nothing what ever to do with Christ! In
fact, the “Christmas spirit” seems to cause almost all to behave in a manner
that is totally out of harmony with the spirit
of Jesus! Stores raise many
prices (except in bad economic times), often pushing cheap and flimsy
merchandise for “gifts,” men exchange bottles or cases of whiskey, employers
give “Christmas parties” with free liquor, often with consequences of
drunkenness, and sometimes with more tragic consequences of auto accidents, or illicit
sex liaisons. Tens of thousands of families, caught up in the “Christmas
spirit,” overspend, go into debt, max out their credit cards, and lay an
additional burden upon themselves for months afterward. Is this “spirit” that inspires them the Holy Spirit?
Of course not!
Then
what is this festival which is called CHRISTMAS? The answer, which should be suspected by all
true Christians as they watch both the secular and the religious world
“celebrate,” is that this festival called “Christmas” is NOT a Christian
holiday at all, but is exactly what it appears to be, a pagan debauchery whose origins are not, and cannot be, in the Holy
One of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus, in His sermon on the
mount, taught that “a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit”
(Mat. 7:17-18). The aged apostle John
wrote with the pen of inspiration and wisdom,
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but
try the spirits whether they are of
God” (I Jn. 4:1). This simply means that
the Lord’s people are not to be
influenced or moved by everything that seems to have a “spirit” behind it. As the “spirit of Christmas” comes wafting
out of the necks of millions of bottles,
as millions of people tiredly shuffle through the required routine, spending
money they often can’t afford, braving the jostling crowds looking for various
gifts, attending neighborhood parties, eating and drinking in excess, sneaking
kisses under the mistletoe, the nation inexorably heads toward that
all-too-brief evening called “Christmas eve,” followed by the nostalgia of
“Christmas day” with cuddly scenes of little children in their pajamas
gleefully giggling over what they find under their pagan “Christmas tree.” It’s a time of nostalgia; of childhood
memories, of family gatherings,
massive air travel, Christmas dinners, and football games — an orgy of
spending, gift-giving, burning the midnight oil, eating too much and drinking
too much, resulting in headaches and stomach disorders and other ailments that
go along with drunkenness and gluttony, followed by the inevitable letdown. All this is outright heathendom and an insult
to the Master, for it is done in His
name, yet it has absolutely no
connection with the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Some
contend that the Christmas spirit and
the giving of gifts is a good thing.
Instead it is a CRUEL PAGAN CUSTOM.
Should you still think Christmas is a holy time, consider this: Christmas
is a time of high carnality and low spirituality. We know that the unregenerate do not worship or serve Jesus. But they SURELY DO ENJOY CHRISTMAS! Why?
Because of the decorations, the lights, feasts, gifts, parties, etc.,
all of which appeal to the natural
man. THIS IS THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT in
which the whole world is caught up! Is
it the Lord’s Spirit? Verily No! No one
can dispute that — yet those who pay no attention to Christ, or His Spirit, or
His Word all the rest of the year, those
who fit the description of “the world,” enter into the activities and rituals
of “Christmas” with a frenzy that borders
on a passion! How can this
be? How can the unbelievers be so
stirred by this “spirit” at this one time
of the year to venerate a day proclaimed as the “very birthday” of Jesus
Christ, when they ignore Him or blaspheme His holy name the rest of the
year! Oh, my beloved, that alone should
tell you something! It is high time for all who treasure the
beautiful hope of sonship to God to forsake the polluted
house of the Harlot!
If
with one sweep of the hand all the so-called holy days, all the commercialism
of Christian products and services could be erased out of our land, the economy
of the entire nation — and perhaps the world — WOULD COLLAPSE! Think about it! Can we not understand by this the
heart-wrenching scene in John’s remarkable vision: “And the merchants
of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth
their merchandise any more: the merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious
stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and
all kinds of scented wood, and all manner
vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of
brass, and iron, and marble, 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 slaves…the merchants of these things,
which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment,
weeping and wailing…for in one hour so great riches is come to nought” (Rev.
18:11-17). Check that list carefully,
my friend, and consider just how many of the items enumerated there have been
purchased by the untold billions of
dollars from the merchants of the earth just
at Christmas time!
That is the great word-picture of the
merchandising empire of religious Babylon! The luxuriance of the language must not blind
our eyes to the fact that though it involves the kings of the earth, the merchants
of the earth, and the ship-masters and
sailors, it is really just one great
lamentation, and one too of unequalled pathos; for the saddest sight imaginable
is not the judgment of a World but the crashing to destruction of a professing
Christian Church — the vision of a church first faithless, then fallen, and
finally destroyed, consumed by the fire of God’s judgment! So great a space is devoted in the Revelation
to the lamentations over her — one entire chapter — because so momentous,
surprising, complete, and far-reaching is her destruction! The age and the land in which we live are
full of the merchandising of Mystery Babylon.
On every side we see the church and the world on the best of terms, and
in such close alliance the one with the other that in reality they can only fall together! Thus, while Babylon burns, the world stands by and wrings
its hands, casts dust on its head, and in stark fear weeps and mourns!
There
is, of course, a spiritual dimension to the wealth and merchandising of Babylon. Our friend, Connie
Asbill, expressed it so well when she wrote:
“Like Israel who was rich in covenants and promises, this
woman (Babylon)
is rich with the word that has been brought to her, not only by the scriptures,
but by those men who have been raised up out of the midst of her to speak truth
under the anointings of God. In
Revelation 17:4 she is seen ‘arrayed in purple and scarlet color, decked with
gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand…’ Babylon
is, indeed, a RICH WOMAN! That she is rich by the hand of God, and is
not merely pretending to be rich, is seen in Hosea 2:8 where the Lord Himself
affirms that He is the source of her wealth.
Babylon
is not, however, aware in the depths of her being that He is her supply, and
therein lies her ultimate undoing, for the Lord said, ‘She did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and
multiplied her silver and gold…therefore will I return and take away my corn in the time thereof and my wine in
the season thereof and will take away my
wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness, and now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her
lovers and none shall deliver her out of my hand.’
“Babylon is a rich woman —
but it is with these very riches from the hand of God that she has prepared her
own idols, having held the truth in unrighteousness and changed these riches
and truths of God into a lie. That is
what the Lord says in this passage: ‘She did not know that I gave her corn and
wine and oil…which THEY PREPARED FOR BAAL.’
Deceived by the very riches that were given to bring her to God, Babylon exalts herself
because of that which she possesses, saying within herself, ‘I sit a queen, and
am no widow, and shall see no sorrow’ (Rev. 18:7). All that the church possesses was given to
her out of the anointing of God, imparted to her through anointed men, and
these men of bygone generations she admires.
Nothing has changed, however, since the days of Jesus when He said to
the religious leaders, ‘You garnish the sepulchers of the dead prophets — but
kill the living ones.’ The anointed word
has been set in concrete in the church system, and like the rephaim — the physicians of no value who
embalmed Israel — so has the church system
so embalmed
the Christ — fixed Him in a static position so that He can move
no further. Holding the very form of truth, the church system denies
the essence and
life of that truth…and boasts in her wealth!
Yet, the Lord says, ‘Because thou sayest, I am rich and increased with
goods (doctrines and forms and rituals and eschatology charts) and have
need of nothing (not even the anointing) and knowest not that thou art
wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked…’ because of all this, ‘I
WILL SPEW YOU OUT OF MY MOUTH!’” — end
quote.
With
this higher spiritual dimension
firmly in mind let us reverently and prayerfully consider together once more
all the things that are merchandised in Babylon. “And
the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth
their merchandise any more: the
merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine
linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all scented wood, and all manner
vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of precious wood, and of brass, and
iron, and marble, 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 slaves, and souls of men.”
It
is doubtful that in all of scripture there are words more specific, pungent,
and precise than these! The merchandise
of gold, and silver, and precious stones — to list only the first three. Gold bespeaks the divine nature. And I do not
hesitate to tell you that the ministers of Babylon will offer to sell you even the divine nature for a price! Oh, yes — if you are committed to the church, if you are faithful in attendance, if you pay
your tithes and offerings, if you sell
your soul to their programs and agenda — then you are promised that you
will thereby grow spiritually and become a strong, mature Christian, Godlike in
character — that is, full of divine nature! These ministers of Babylon will also sell you their seven-step book on Overcoming Made Easy. They
will sell you their CD’s and DVD’s on
Prosperity
and Healing. And if you want to
really understand how to grow and mature in Christ, if you need faith and
understanding on how to receive and move in the gifts of the Spirit, if you
covet to prophesy, if you need healing, if you seek to have your marriage
strengthened, if you want to be a better husband or wife, if you need wisdom to
nurture and raise your children, if you hunger and thirst after righteousness
and yearn to appropriate the riches and glory of the promises and covenants of
God — just register and PAY THE ADMISSION PRICE of $30.00, or $100.00, or
$300.00 to attend their Seminar or Retreat!
In Babylon
you must pay for all of this! Babylon does not freely
minister the deep spiritual truth, blessing, life, and reality of the Lord —
they neatly package it, then put a price on it, thus making merchandise of the
holy things of God! For a fee you are able to access the gold of divine
nature, the silver of redemption, the
precious stones of divine strength and
godly character, the pearls of death
to self, the fine linen of righteousness,
the purple of a kingly, royal life, the
scented wood of His fragrance, the
precious wood of a redeemed humanity, the
odors of His attributes, the
ointments of His healing power, the
wine of His joy, the oil of anointing, the fine flour and wheat of His word, the sheep of His humility and sacrifice, the chariots
of the movings of His power, and many
more besides. How wonderful are all these
things! Are they not indeed of great
value? Yet — one can easily discern the
difference between the great city Babylon and
the holy city New Jerusalem — in the “great city” of Babylon all these things are merchandised! In the “holy city” of New Jerusalem
they are freely given! “And the gates of it shall not be shut at
all by day: for there shall be no night there…and the Spirit and the Bride say,
Come. And let him that heareth say,
Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever
will, let him TAKE THE WATER OF LIFE FREELY!” (Rev. 21:25; 22:17). Great is the mystery!
REJOICE OVER HER!
“Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets;
for God hath avenged you on her” (Rev. 18:20).
If
ever there was a facet of the pleasure of the Lord that we desire to see in
manifestation, and to joyfully participate in, it is this — that He do His
pleasure on Babylon. In the natural it would appear cynical to
rejoice over a city that is burning and merchants who are lamenting, weeping,
and mourning. Yet what a day of
rejoicing and singing when HE delivers, yes, when HE breaks asunder the prison bars, removes the
blindfolds from the faces of the inmates, when HE REDEEMS man from all of the
religious systems of our day, and finally men are freed to truly know God and
“worship the Father in spirit and in
truth.” Even now His remnant have
been drawn out and cut off from the world of man’s religion, and from the
contention of creeds, to partake of HIS LIFE in a very personal and powerful
way.
But
the hour draws nigh when the Son, and those who follow the Lamb, shall execute
the will of the Father, and the command shall be given, “Repay to her what she herself has paid to others and double her doom
in accordance with what she has done.
Mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed for others. To the degree that she glorified herself and
reveled in her wantonness, to that
measure impose on her torment and anguish and tears and mourning…so shall
her plagues come thick upon her in a single day, pestilence and anguish and
sorrow and famine; and she shall be
utterly consumed with fire, FOR MIGHTY IS THE LORD GOD WHO JUDGES HER” (Rev.
18:6-8, Amplified).
We
find so many today, even among God’s elect, who bemoan the awful conditions of
the church and the world. Shame on
them! God reminds you and me now, when
we see Babylon
made desolate, “REJOICE OVER HER, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and
prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.”
This is the day of reckoning, the day of judgment on this ungodly
system. It will be followed by peace and
righteousness and glory and rejoicing!
It is indeed
wonderful! Only faintly can our hearts
contemplate the wonder of such a day when the Babylon religious system exists no more, replaced
with the manifestation of the sons of God
and a universal outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord! And while false prophets and
calamity-howlers of every brand and hue are prophesying the darkest days of
earth’s history soon to fall as a shroud upon the whole world, yet the word of
the Lord tells a far different story. To
all the people in Babylon
the Lord says, “Come out of her, my
people!” Make no mistake about it,
precious friend of mine, every single person in Babylon is
the Lord’s people. And now we find, “Thy
people shall be delivered,
EVERY ONE that shall be found written in the book” (Dan. 12:4). This is the day of victory, not of
defeat. It is the day when God is
“bringing again Zion” (Isa. 52:8), that is,
bringing all His people out of Babylon and establishing
Zion as the city of God
in the earth. This deliverance is for “every one” that belongs
to Christ, whose name is written in the book.
THERFORE, “Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and
prophets!”
The
whole system shall come to nought, and we shall see the establishment of HIS
KINGDOM in righteousness throughout the earth.
Believe it, my beloved, He taught us to pray it, “”THY KINGDOM COME, Thy
will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.”
And this pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand! “The kingdoms of this world are become the
kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever”
(Rev. 11:15). Truly, redemption
means a “loosing away” from all of Babylon’s corruption. And most especially is this essential from all of its religious tyranny
and corruption. And what a day of
rejoicing that brings!
We stand in the glory that Jesus has given,
The moon as the day-spring doth shine;
The
light of the sun is now equal to seven,
So bright is the glory divine!
Now
filled with the Spirit and clad in the armor
Of light and omnipotent truth,
We’ll
testify ever and Jesus we’ll honor,
And stand from Babylon aloof!
The
prophet’s keen vision transpiercing the ages,
Beheld us to Zion return;
We’ll
sing of our freedom, though Babylon
rages,
We’ll
shout as her city doth burn!
THE MILLSTONE CAST INTO THE SEA
“And
a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone,
and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus
with violence shall that great city Babylon
be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all” (Rev. 18:21).
Here
an angel appears. Observe that it is a strong and powerful angel. What he is
about to do requires great strength. All
alone — we read one strong angel — he
picks up an enormous millstone. Not any
ordinary stone from a handmill but a great
millstone, that is, one from a mill turned by strong oxen. What does the
angel do with this great millstone? Does
he roll it upon the land? No, he thrusts it into the sea where it disappears into the depths. Does he merely permit it to fall? No, he lifts it up and then hurls it into the sea — quickly the
waters close over the stone so that it may be buried deeply in the ocean floor.
Violence, suddenness, and permanence combine in the overthrown of Babylon. So thoroughgoing and complete will be Babylon’s
destruction! Never will the millstone be
retrieved! The “angel” prophesied that
in the same way, that is, with the same sort of power and violence, the great
city Babylon
would be thrown down and disappear forever.
The prophecy is emphatic — Babylon
will never, ever, be found any more at all! Thus, this wicked system, as center of
seduction, will perish forever. Its devastation
will be final, total, and irreversible.
By this we are assured that God is bringing in an order in which apostasy
cannot and will not ever raise its
ugly head anywhere, or at any time, ever again!
Oh, saints of God — it’s REJOICING TIME!
The
prophet Daniel beheld a stone cut out without hands which became a great
mountain and filled the whole earth. The
stone of Babylon,
on the other hand, is removed from the earth and cast into the sea! The beast
of Revelation 13:1 came out of the sea; Babylon
is, as it were, engulfed in the sea, never again to raise its proud head to
deceive the nations with its sorceries.
The imagery of the scenes is very precise. We have seen again and again that the sea represents symbolically the
unconverted state of mankind, the wicked which are tossed about like the
troubled sea, the raging, surging, restless masses of humanity foaming out
their shame in the old Adamic
mind and nature. As the Father
graciously unfolds this mystery to our wondering hearts, can we not see that
the destruction of Babylon
as a millstone cast into the sea signifies that she will sink to such a low
level of degradation until she comes to a devastating collapse. She will become completely absorbed by the
world and simply disappear into the sea of humanity as a viable system in the world of religion.
Verses
twenty-one through twenty three of chapter eighteen are like waves sealing Babylon in the deathly
silence, stillness, and darkness of a watery grave — from which there is no
return or recall. The recurring words
“no more at all” are used six times in these three verses. “No more at all” has about it the doleful
sound of a dirge and of the somber tolling of a death knell. No more
music (praise and worship), no more craftsmen
(true ministries), no more sound of a
millstone (preparation of the word of God), no
more light of a candle (even the little truth she had), no more the voice of the bridegroom (the
voice of Christ the Head), no more the
voice of the bride (God’s remnant) — all spiritual progress, all spiritual
action, all spiritual life, all spiritual reality, and all spiritual people CAN
BE FOUND NO MORE AT ALL IN HER!
I
now close this message with the sober and urgent
admonition of brother George Hawtin from one of his issues of The Page.
“Thus with violence endeth great Mystery Babylon, which for
centuries has ruled the nations…binding the professing church with the chains
of tradition and bringing into slavish subjection all who are unaware of her
whoredoms. Times without number I have
sought to show God’s dear people the cunning mystery of ecclesiastical Babylon, warning
continually of the danger of remaining in her fold. Oh that God’s people would awaken and obey
the Father’s call, ‘Come out of her, my people,’ that God may be their Father
and they may be His sons and daughters.
I solemnly warn and admonish the people
of God that it is not possible to
attain to sonship or a life that is controlled by the Spirit as long as their
lives are under the influence of this satanic system, which is doomed to such
utter and complete destruction. Not
only are the kingdoms of the world doomed to desolation, but the whole church
system, identified as it is with the world system, is also doomed to
irreparable dissolution and ruin. If you
obey God and come out of it, you will be spared her woes; but, if you remain in
it, you will be condemned with it. For
what other reason does the Lord call to His people, saying, ‘Come out of her,
my people, that ye be not partakers of
her sins, and that ye receive not of
her plagues?’” — end quote.
To
be continued… J. PRESTON EBY
