Revelation
Excerpts from --
Daniel and the Revelation by Uriah Smith
Revelation Chapter XVIII
The Doom of Modern Babylon
Verse 1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Some movement of mighty power is symbolized in these verse. (See comments on verse 4 of this chapter.) The consideration of a few facts will guide us unmistakably to the application. In Revelation 14 we had a message announcing the fall of Babylon. "Babylon" is a term which embraces not only paganism and the Roman Catholic Church, but religious bodies which have withdrawn from that church, but bringing many of her errors and traditions with them.
A Spiritual Fall.--
The fall of Babylon here spoken of cannot be literal destruction, for there are events to take place in Babylon after her fall which utterly forbid this idea. For instance, the people of God are there after her fall, and are called out in order that they may not receive of her plagues, which include her literal destruction. The fall is therefore a spiritual one, for the result of it is that Babylon becomes the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. These are terrible description of apostasy, showing that, as a consequence of her fall, she piles up an accumulation of sins even to the heavens, and becomes the subject to the judgments of God, which can no longer be delayed.
Since the fall here introduced is a spiritual one, it must apply to some branch of Babylon outside of the pagan or papal divisions; for from the beginning of their history paganism has been a false religion, and the papacy an apostate one. Further as this fall is said to occur but a short period before Babylon's final destruction, certainly this side of the rise and predicted triumph of the papal church, this testimony cannot apply to any religious organizations but such as have sprung from that church. These stared out on reform. They ran well for a season, and had the approbation of God; but bringing some of her erroneous doctrines with them, and fencing themselves about with creeds of their own, they have failed to keep pace with the advancing light of prophetic truth. This has left them where they will finally develop a character as odious in the sight of God as that of the church from which they withdrew.
Alexander Campbell, founder of the Disciples of Christ Church, says: "A reformation of popery was attempted in Europe full three centuries ago. It ended in a Protestant hierarchy, and swarms of dissenters. Protestantism has been reformed into Presbyterianism, that into Congregationalism, and that into Baptistism, etc., etc. Methodism has attempted to reform all, but has reformed itself into many forms of Wesleyism. . . . All of them retain in their bosom-- in their ecclesiastical organizations, worship, doctrines, and observances-- various relics of popery. They are at best a reformation of popery, and only reformations in part. The doctrines and traditions of men yet impair the power and progress of the gospel in their hands." [1]
Abundant testimony might be produced from persons in high standing in these various denominations, written, not for the purpose of being captious and finding fault, but from a vivid sense of the fearful condition to which these churches have fallen. The term Babylon, as applied to them, is not a term of reproach, but is simply expressive of the confusion and diversity of sentiment that exists among them. Babylon need not have fallen. She might have been healed (Jeremiah 51: 9) by receiving the truth, but she rejected it. In not accepting the truth of the second coming of Christ and in rejecting the first angel's message, the churches failed to walk in the advanced light shining on their pathway from the throne of God. As a result, confusion and dissension reign within their borders. Worldliness and pride are fast choking every plant of heavenly growth.
But in this chapter we have the fall of Babylon mentioned again. In the previous reference it followed the sounding of the first angel's message, and the divine declaration then was, "There followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen." Now the latter pronouncement from heaven heaven is, "He cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils." Here is a further step in the development of apostasy, and the next few pages will reveal the extent of this final phase of the fall of Babylon.
Time of This Fall.--
At what time do these verses have their application? When may this movement be looked for? If the position taken here is correct, that these churches, this branch of Babylon, experienced a spiritual fall by the rejection of the first angel's message of Revelation 14, the announcement in the chapter now under consideration could not have gone forth previous to that time. It is, then, either simultaneous with the message of the fall of Babylon in Revelation 14, or it is given at a later period than than. It cannot be at the same time with that, for that merely announces the fall of Babylon, while this adds several particulars which at that time were neither fulfilled nor in the process of fulfillment. We are therefore to look this side of 1844, when the previous message went forth, for the announcement brought to view in this chapter. We therefore inquire, Has any such message been given from that time to present? The answer is, Yes. We are now hearing the third angel's message, which is the last to be given before the coming of the Son of man. As declension has increased in the religious world, that message has been augmented by the warning of Revelation 18: 1-4, which thus constitutes a feature of the third angel's message which is now being proclaimed with power and lighting the world with its glory.
The Work of Spiritism.--The latter phase of the work brought to view in verse 2 is in process of accomplishment, and will soon be completed, by the work of spiritism. What are called in Revelation 16: 14, "spirits of devils, working miracles," are secretly but rapidly working their way into the religious denominations above referred to. Their creeds have been formulated under the influence of the wine (errors) of Babylon, one of which is that the spirits of our dead friends, conscious, intelligent, and active, are all about us.
A significant feature in the work of spiritism just now, is the religious garb is is assuming. Keeping in the background its grosser principles, which it has heretofore carried so largely in the front, it now assumes to appear as respectably religious as any other denomination in the land. It talks of sin, repentance, the atonement, salvation through Christ, in almost as orthodox language as do genuine Christians. Under the guise of this profession, what is to hinder it from entrenching itself in almost every denomination Christendom? We have shown that the basis of spiritism, the immortality of the soul, is a fundamental dogma of the creeds of almost all the churches. What, then, can save Christendom from its seductive influence?
Herein is seen another sad result of rejecting the truths offered to the world by the messages of Revelation 14. Had the churches received these messages, they would have been shielded against this delusion; for among the great truths developed by the religious movement in the time of the great advent awakening, is the important doctrine that the soul of man is not naturally immortal; that eternal life is the gift of Jesus Christ, and can be obtained only through Him; that the dead are unconscious; and that the rewards and punishments of the future world lie beyond the resurrection and the day of judgment.
These truths strike a deathblow to the first and vital claim of spiritism. What foot hold can that doctrine secure in any mind fortified by such truth? The spirit comes, and claims to be the disembodied soul, or spirit, of a dead man. It is met with the fact that that is not the kind of soul, or spirit, which man possesses; that the "dead know not anything;" that this, its first pretension, is a lie, and that the credentials it offers, show it to belong to the synagogue of Satan. Thus it is at once rejected, and the evil it would do is effectually prevented. But the great mass of religionists stand opposed to the truth which would thus shield them, and they thereby expose themselves to this last manifestation of satanic cunning.
Modern Liberalism.--
While spiritism is thus working, startling changes are manifesting themselves in high places in some of the denominations. The fidelity of the present age, under the seductive names of "science," "higher criticism," evolution," and "modern liberalism," has permeated most of the theological colleges of the land, and to a large extent has made serious incursions into the Protestant churches.
Public attention was forcibly called to this situation by a writer, Mr. Harold Bolce, in the Cosmopolitan Magazine for May, 1909. After making an investigation into the character of the teaching that was being imparted in some of the leading universities of this country, he reported the results in Cosmopolitan, which drew forth this comment from the editor:
"What Mr. Bolce sets down here is of the most astounding character. Out of the curricula of American colleges, a dynamic movement is upheaving ancient foundations, and promising a way for revolutionary thought and life. Those who are not in close touch with the great colleges of the country will be astonished to learn the creeds being fostered by the faculties of our great universities. In hundreds of classrooms it is being taught daily that the decalogue is no more sacred than a syllabus; that the home as an institution is doomed; that there are no absolute evils; that immorality is simply an act in contravention of society's accepted standards. . . . These are some of the revolutionary and sensational teachings submitted with academic warrant to the minds of hundreds of thousands of students in the United States." [2]
The results of modern liberalism have been all too apparent in the work of the Protestant churches. Writers in the various communions have freely pointed out the lack of interest in the preaching of the gospel and the decline of missions in particular. One writer states the situation in this way:
"Too largely I suspect our churches have become weak, uncertain as to their purpose, lifeless, characterized by a deadly respectability and lacking a sense of mission. The average congregation is primarily concerned with raising enough money to pay the pastor and to keep the property in good repair. There is little deep-seated conviction any longer that 'we have a story to tell to the nations.' The gospel of salvation and evangelism as respects the whole world has been diluted into a satisfactory and responsible ethic and the church is a society of good people who want the blessing of religion to attend them during their moments of exaltation or grief, but are quite content to absent themselves from the church and its divine mission so long as they can clothe themselves in the aura of respectability which attaches to church membership. Is this too caustic an indictment of the church?" [3]
Another writer states the attitude of the churches toward missions:
"Coupled with the fact that only a minority of church members give conscientiously is the change in belief about missions. Missionary boards may persuade themselves that the falling off in their receipts is due to high taxes and lowered incomes, but pastors who are in touch with donors recognize a definite increase of resistance to making donations designed for extension of the gospel beyond our borders. The number of otherwise loyal parishioners who doggedly announce that they 'don't believe in missions' is mounting. The caliber of these opponents gives pause. . . .
"The average annual per capita giving in twenty-two non-Roman communions now shows $11.28 for congregational expenses, against $2.19 for all non-local work. . . .
"The average of gifts beyond self-support coasts from 29.69 per cent of the total income with the United Presbyterian Church to 11.14, 12.30, and 10.02 per cent with the last-named trio. Small wonder we are being urged to 're- think missions.' " [4]
Such results as these are declared to follow:
"While missionary zeal was waning, the situation was further complicated by the revelation that other than evangelical missionaries were being commissioned and sent to the foreign fields. These were the 'adventurers' of a 'new civilization,' the 'creators of a new world,' and were mainly filled with a social passion. . . .
"World evangelization was again given a cruel blow in the critical findings of the Laymen's Foreign Missions Inquiry Report. Although the object of this enterprise, which began in 1930 and continued to 1933, was 'to aid laymen to determine their attitude toward foreign missions by reconsidering the functions of such missions in the world of today,' with undoubtedly the aim not only to remodel missions but to increase financial receipts, the results was only more controversy and decreased giving." [5]
Results of Apostasy.--From the standpoint of such a lamentable outlook, and under the leadership of such men, how long before Babylon will become full of spirits that are foul, and birds that are hateful and unclean? What progress has already been made in this direction! How would the godly fathers and mothers of the generation that lived just before the first angel's message was given, could they hear the teaching and behold the practices of the religious world, stand aghast at the fearful contrast between their time and ours, and deplore the sad degeneracy! But Heaven is not to let all this pass in silence. A mighty proclamation is being made, calling the attention of all the world to the fearful counts in the indictment against unfaithful religious bodies, that the justice of the judgments that follow may plainly appear.
Verse 3 shows the wide extent of the influence of Babylon, and the evil that has resulted and will result from her course, and hence the justness of her punishment. The merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. Who take the lead in all the extravagances of the age? Who load their tables with the richest and choicest viands? Who are foremost in extravagance in dress and all costly attire? Who are the personification of pride and arrogance? Are not church members in the very forefront of those who seek after the material and prideful things of life?
But there is a redeeming feature in this picture. Degenerate as Babylon has become as a body, there are exceptions to the general rule; for God has still a people there, and she must be entitled to some regard on their account until all who will answer are called from her communion. Nor will it be necessary to wait long for this consummation. Soon Babylon will become so thoroughly leavened with the influence of these evil agents that her condition will be fully manifest to all the honest in heart, and the way will be prepared for the work which the apostle now introduces.
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There are many facts to substantiate the belief that God's church, His people given the special message in 1844, those who ate that little book and whose bellies became bitter as a result- those entrusted with the sacred truths of the 3 angels messages have betrayed that trust. Uriah Smith speaks here in his immediate future and looks to other churches for this fallen Babylon not knowing the extent of betrayal to come in the future from the very people God gave His message. Betraying God is not something new for His people to do. The people he rescued from horrible slavery in Egypt- those who made a covenant with Him turned around and broke it over and over, and over again. From those who have broken the covenant remained a fraction- a remnant that held true to him. It's the same this very day in which we live. Come out of Babylon is the cry. Come out of the false church, the corrupt church. Who will heed this message? God's true people who are following the truth and nothing but the truth in Christ.
May God bless and keep us in Him now and forever! By the Mercy and Grace of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, His will be done in us.
Amen.
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