Babylon had a particularly virulent set of motivations. They ended up being far worse than termites in the rafters. Babylon’s inclinations turned out to be much more like a sinkhole. Read the last verse of chapter 18.
24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth.” (Revelation 18:24–ESV)
When God showed up as the inspector of motivations he found much to be reckoned with. Babylon was found to be guilty of murdering those who were God’s very representatives. His ministers of life on the earth had fallen and not through natural means. Babylon had had its own program of demise. From the seat of the global community were orchestrations to eliminate and harm those who were on the path to life.
The last phrase of this verse goes even further generalizing Babylon’s guilt to all slain on the earth. The end of time as divulged in Revelation is a particularly bloody and disastrous time. Some of it was God’s judgment and others of it were Babylon’s conquest. Tyranny was the outcome of 20th Century fascism. It will be the outcome of end time Babylonian dominance as well. People do not want to be told what to do no matter who is doing the telling. Babylon will not shy away from violence in her methods. Many will be slain and as we know from Genesis blood spilled on the earth is an offense to their maker.
God came to Cain before that first murder. In Genesis 4 that encounter is revealed and God brought grace in the form of a warning. Cain was warned that sin was crouching at his door wanting to have him, to master him. Cain opened the door and sin mastered him. The Father of Lies began with murder so many millennia ago and will carry it on until God says enough. Babylon is the city of that Father of Lies. That is why such blood was found in her. Through her sorcery the world was deceived. The world still killed and destroyed. For that a violent destruction was assigned and delivered.
What currents will be found in your life, my life?
That really is a question for God and you, me and God to work through. Let us unpack some important points in this line though. In Proverbs 16:18 is tucked away a familiar verse. That is the pride goes before a fall verse. Don’t be haughty, don’t be high-and-mighty about something for along will come another thing and down will go so and so. Why? Well it is safe to write each of us has enough baggage to bring us down. On the walls of our hearts hang enough unpleasantries to bring us down. Our tendency is to wall-paper over those things and put on display the better and the best things.
So, you and I would do well to figure that truth be told there are plenty of humiliating scraps in each of our sinks. Dirt and debris could be scraped from all of our fingernails.
Maybe we have heard the verse from Romans which says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God?” Does that somehow become irrelevant when we run up the flag of Christ-allegiance? Does joining a church bring immunity to hypocritical outlooks?
While it is Biblical to figure that our passage to heaven is booked and safe because of what Jesus did for us it is not Biblical to rest upon our deeds. Are there inklings in our lives that we are somehow on par with God’s purity? Do we get to the point where we consider our passage to heaven more in our own doings than in God’s?
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