Babylon’s opulence, extravagance, wealth and its moral unrighteousness are crying out to Heaven, like the innocent blood of Abel cried out from the face of the earth, Genesis 4:10, Hebrews 10:4. It is at its core anti-social, devoid of any sympathy for fellow human beings and the fellow nations of this world. Life in the West is pre-occupied with accumulation of material possessions and self-indulgence with little regard for moral values. Refugees from the Third world or from Eastern Europe to the developed West are befuddled by the array and overflowing abundance of goods on display in our supermarkets that the rich have access to while the poor remain hungry. This awakens not just their desire for prosperity but also feelings of social injustice at the glaring income disparity between them and the advanced economies. The short hemlines and low necklines of women and girls which have become normal in Western society is decidedly provocative and decadent to them, not to mention topless fashions, nude sunbathing and explicit sex shows in mainstream entertainment. The materialistic and immoral lifestyle has drawn contempt and resentment, stirring up calls to punish the West and America for the grave social injustice and moral decay.
At the same time the Middle East, as a result of its oil dollars, and the Far East, China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, are visibly enjoying increasing growth, power, wealth and prosperity.
Africa is still the ‘poor man’ of the world despite their attempts to climb up the economic ladder. It looks like with all the nations chasing after wealth and self-indulgence, the entire world will soon become one great ‘Babylon’! And in that world, there are the people of God who are despised, persecuted and marginalised for their faith. And it is to that small group of people that another voice from Heaven calls: “Come out of her, My people!”
Do not be involved with ‘the world’ so that you will not be involved with the judgment that is coming upon ‘Babylon’ and the world. Come out! That is the call that always goes out to God’s people. God told Abraham: “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.”1 The angels tell Lot: “Get out from Sodom and Gomorrah, hurry, flee!” and when he hesitates they grab hold of him and lead him, his wife and his daughters out of the city.2 God says: “Go out from the slavery of Egypt,”3 and He sends Moses and Aaron to lead the people out.
In this verse ‘another voice’ from Heaven, God’s voice, says: ‘Come out of her, My people”! They are His people, Israel and the Church.
He says: ‘Go out from Babel,’ through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah:4 “Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the vessels of the Lord [that are used in the Lord’s service].”5 Flee from Babel; everyone save their own lives; do not perish in its unrighteousness, for this is the time of ‘vengeance of the Lord’; He is paying it—the city and the ‘whore’—the wages they deserve!6
• This appears to be the central message of the whole of the Book of Revelation. Jesus is on His way to planet earth. God’s judgments will come upon the ‘city of man’, upon its end-time culture.
• Take courage, ‘people of God’, it will only be a short while now. And: separate yourselves, keep far away from everything that has to do with Babylon. Remain pure and untainted. Then the ‘wrath of God and of the Lamb’ will not hit you.
Bible References:
1.Genesis 12:1 NIV 1984 2.Genesis 19:12–16 NIV 1984 3.Exodus 3:7-10 NIV 4.Isaiah 48:20 5.Isaiah 52:11 NIV 1984 6.Jeremiah 51:6
