Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven,
saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and
that ye receive not of her plagues.
I want to look at
what a Biblical scholar has to say on this chapter-- Please bear with me as we
study this more in-depth. It's too easy for us to just take the milk (the easy
to digest bits) from the Bible and not the meat (that which is much harder to digest
but nourishes all the more).
*******
"So much
Adventist tradition has been built around the "angel" of Revelation
18, that it is most difficult to analyze just what is written without reading
into the text some aspects of that tradition.
Rev 18:1 And after these things I saw another angel (((The "angel" of Revelation 18))))
come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his
glory.
Rev 18:2 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.
Rev 18:3 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.
The message of this
angel which comes down from heaven "having great authority" is
similar to the message of the second angel of Revelation 14 with certain
distinct differences.
Babylon has now
become "the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and
the cage of every unclean and hateful bird." (ver. 2) Instead of the
proffered wine which Babylon made all nations drink (14:8), (((Rev 14:8
And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen,
that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of
her fornication. ))))
the nations now have drunk (perfect
tense), and the leaders ("kings") of the earth have committed
fornication with her and the "merchants of the earth" have profited
by their association. (18:3) The union between the combined forces of religion
- "Babylon the great" - and the governments of earth is complete. The dire warning is that the power which
activates these religious forces is the power of the devil. To all outward
appearances, he has become the undisputed sovereign of the earth.
If we understand the
symbolism of this angel the same as the symbolism of the three angels of
Revelation 14, it represents a "movement" under the direction of this assigned angel of
heaven who is given great authority to carry out his mandate. But when
will this take place? Obviously from the text, it is just prior to the pouring out of the Seven Last
Plagues, because these are spoken of as still future in the context
(18:8).
Rev 18:8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day,
death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for
strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
Yet the message
declares that the forces of evil have fixed their abode in Babylon -
"Babylon ... is become the habitation of devils." (18:2) This prior event noted in the
prophecy is the working of "the spirits of devils" as they gather
"the kings of the earth and the whole world" to "the battle of
that great day of God Almighty." (Rev. 16:14) (Keep in mind that
Revelation 16:13-16 describes activity in "the last remnant of time"
which is the justification of the sixth plague, verse 12.
The revelation of
what the Harlot says in her heart –
"I sit a queen,
and am no more a widow..." (18:7) - clearly defines the time of the
message of this fourth angel as congruent with the "harlot" riding
forth out of the wilderness on the scarlet colored beast. (17:3-5) While yet future, it is the
immediate future! We can even now see the beginnings of this final
confrontation.
Within the two
chapters - the 17th and the 18th -certain time references are given. The ten
horns "receive power as kings one hour with the beast." (17:12) While
the harlot's plagues "come in one day" (18:8), in "one hour is
[her] judgment come" (v. 10). "In one hour" her "great
riches is come to nought" (v. 17). "In one hour is she made
desolate" (v. 19). A close comparison of the wording would indicate that
the same time allocated to the reign of the ten horns, is the same amount of
time that these horns use to turn on the harlot and make her
"desolate." (Compare 17:12, 17 with 18:19) While a prophetic day
equals one year (Eze. 4:6), the hour, if reckoned as a 24th part of the prophetic
day, would be 15
literal days. However, hora, the Greek word for hour, can mean a short period of time,
rather than a literal 24 hours. Whatever reckoning of time is used,
there is one thing certain -
"the final movements will be rapid ones."
It is indicated that
those on the side of the Lamb "are called, and chosen, and faithful."
(17:14) Little do we realize what faithfulness in that hour will mean. To all appearances, Christ
has come. Spiritual wonders convince the eye. ((( The FALSE CHRIST that
many will fall victim too))))
The third millenium
projects unity, peace and prosperity. For the human instruments to give the warning of the fourth angel
will require an absolute confidence in the revelation of the Word contrary to
all outward appearances. (((CONTRARY TO ALL OUTWARD
APPEARANCES!!!!!!!))))
For those on the side of the
Lamb will have to call the great return to "moral values" the working
of Satan disguised as an angel of light.
Those who cannot
stand for truth now, how can they expect to stand then?
The 18th Chapter
closes with an illustration. A mighty angel takes a millstone and casts it into
the sea, saying, "Thus with violence shall the great city be thrown down,
and shall be found no more at all." (18:21) Pen cannot describe, the carnage,
the anarchy - "the violence" - which will ensue when the inhabitants of
earth awaken to the fact that through religious deception they have lost all in
the battle of life and have joined forces with Satan against Christ.
*******
The truth is-- FEW
THERE BE THAT FIND IT!!!!
Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is
the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be
which go in thereat:
Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the
way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
FEW there be that
find it! We have to comprehend
this! We will NOT be in the majority!
We will not be on Facebook with a whole slew of people liking our pages as we
like theirs and all is well. This is so much more than the pseudo religion that
sounds so incredible wonderful to our ears, our sense of justice, of rightness,
of good. So many have a desire for good
things to happen, for a return to morals and right living and so on and so
forth, but that desire does not extend to them the WHOLE TRUTH and NOTHING BUT
THE TRUTH. They ONLY want the parts of the truth that make them happy, that
please them, that keep them in line with others of like mind.
The great call to
return to moral values- WE WILL HAVE TO CALL THIS the working of SATAN in
disguise! Imagine telling your friends
that you do NOT want prayer back in schools. That you do NOT want the Ten
Commandments posted in our court rooms. That you do NOT want to keep In God We
Trust on our currency. That you do NOT want to keep 'One nation under God' in
the pledge of allegiance. Go on,
imagine you're saying this to your friends and relatives that are great
advocates for all of those things. What do you think they'd think of YOUR
religion then, or YOUR walk with God. They certainly wouldn't think it is a
good thing, not at all.
Now why don't we
want these things?
We don't want CHURCH
and STATE together- it is CHURCH mingled with STATE that created the Papacy- a
powerful force that mingled religion and politics. The Beast of the Papacy, and
now the Image of the Beast- combining church and state. Remember, people who
receive the mark of the beast --
Rev 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by
the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast;
saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast,
which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Rev 13:15 And he had power to give life unto the image
of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as
many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great,
rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in
their foreheads:
Rev 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he
that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath
understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and
his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
More tomorrow by the
GRACE of GOD!
Please LORD we would
ONLY believe YOUR truth! We would only be YOURS and keep the truth fully,
wholly in the face of ALL that is to come, all through the HOLY SPIRIT, all
through YOUR POWER ALONE! Please LORD, save us!
In the name of Jesus
Christ our LORD and Savior now and forever-- amen!!!!!!!
