The Judgment Of Babylon The Great

by PRASHER, G. | Category: God's Ways With Men | Mar 1932

Revelation 17. and 18.

"And he cried with a mighty voice, saying, Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great, and is become a habitation of demons, and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird."

"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, come forth, My people, out of her, that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."

It has been mentioned often that the book of Genesis shows a paradise lost, and that the book of the Revelation unfolds. a paradise regained. Similarly we may note that Genesis 11. gives us the origin of Babel or Babylon, and Revelation chapters 17. and 18. reveals its ruin and desolation. We have already looked at the chapter in Genesis, but if we are to enter into the subject of Babylon aright it will be necessary to keep well before us the outstanding features which belong thereto, and these are plainly seen in Genesis. The sudden confusion which engulfed a multitude of men as they were engaged in a work which was to have its climax in heaven, was the result of the work being undertaken and carried on without regard to divine revelation, the object being the exaltation of self. Moreover the mighty hunter Nimrod, the beginning of whose kingdom was Babel, and other cities in the land of Shinar, his very name means, rebel. Thus rebellion, self-seeking, and confusion are characteristic features of Babylon the Great. Professing to be making their way to heaven, yet the while taking the firmest possible hold of earth, they were truly rowing one way and looking another.

Later, Babylon became a place of captivity for the redeemed of the LORD, as Egypt was a scene of slavery prior to redemption: and the meshes of

THE BABYLONIAN NET

were such that, even after the period of captivity, decreed by the LORD, had run its course, many of the sons of Zion still dwelt with the daughter of Babylon (Zechariah 2. 7). The way to Egypt, and the way .to Babylon had many a beacon of warning, and so we read: "And now what hast thou to do in the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Nile? or what hast thou to do in the way to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates?" (Jeremiah 2. 18, R.V.M.). In Egypt we think of the child of God as like them that go down into the pit; whereas whilst the believer's life in Babylon may exhibit the tokens of individual piety, he is nevertheless ensnared in a system where the whole truth cannot be given effect to; and where, like Ezra, the scribe, though he may learn much of the Lord's will from the Book, yet before he is able to carry it out will require to escape "as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers," and make his way to the city of Jerusalem, the place of, the Name.

BY THEIR FRUITS YE SHALL KNOW THEM.

We have stated previously that from chapter 4. 1, of the Apocalypse to the end of the book, there is an uncovering of the things that will come to pass after the present things are over; yet as a matter of application it may be asked, is there anything existing on the earth to-day that could be called Babylon? To this question we reply and ask, Is there anything on the earth that has the characteristic features already referred to, namely, rebellion, self-seeking, and confusion?

We submit that these are fruits already formed in the Sects of Christendom. At the time of the fulfilment of Revelation chapters 17. and 18. the fruit, by reason of its ripeness, will be falling from the trees; but even now we are satisfied that the fruit is ripening fast. We are not like a person entering an orchard in the barrenness of winter when there is not so much as a leaf to indicate the nature of the trees. At such a time the expert's knowledge is required. The present season however, is such that "each tree is known by its own fruit" (Luke 6. 44), from the greatest to the least. In order to be definite we subjoin examples.

(a)"PRIESTLY ABSOLUTION" and the doctrine of salvation by works, with Mariolatry, has flourished in the Church of Rome, the Mother of Harlots.

(b)"PRELACY" AND "CLERISY," which found no place in the Churches of God in the New Testament, abound in the Romish Church and also in her many daughters. The priest styled "holy," and the minister styled "reverend," are of the same kind, and between them have divided the attributes which are ascribed to Jehovah's name (see Psalm 111. 9). If any reference to the evil of clerisy is found in the New Testament it is surely of the most condemnatory nature. The works and teaching of the Nicolaitans, (nikos, victory, and laos, people), of which the Lord expresses hatred (Revelation 2. 6, 15), would appear to be the commencement of this system that makes a division between the "laity" and the "clergy." This system is a denial of the risen Lord who has given gifts unto men (Ephesians 4. 8), not. the clergy: who can read chapters 12. and 14. of 1st Corinthians without seeing that the victory of the clergy over the people renders impossible the workings of divinely given gifts? Suppressed is the mind of God thereby, and repressed and stifled are the operations of the Holy Spirit of God.

{c)"INFANT SPRINKLING" and "BAPTISMAL REGENERATION" have perverted the doctrine and practice in relation to the BAPTISM OF DISCIPLES, as commanded by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 28. verse 19. The word baptizo, literally means, to sink, immerse; and in its metaphorical use indicates, being overwhelmed with any thing. The practice of Sprinkling, therefore, can have no authority from the Scriptures, whether for infants or for adults. Moreover that Regeneration takes place when a babe is sprinkled is utterly devoid of truth. Each person is shapen in iniquity, and conceived in sin (Psalm 51. 5), and can know the blessed experience of Regeneration alone through repentance toward God, and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20. 21; John 1. 12).

(d)"MODERNISM" which is the devil's doctrine, first propounded to our mother Eve in Eden, and now dressed up for popular use in the Establishment, and in most if not all of the dissenting churches, 1st, questions the Word of God, "Yea, hath God said?" (Genesis 3. 1); 2nd, it negates the Word of God, "Ye shall not surely die" (3. 4); and 3rd, it deludes poor mortals into thinking they may be as God (3. 5). This doctrine of demons paves the way for blasphemy against the Eternal Word, the Lord Jesus Christ; and so Modernism repudiates the doctrine that the Son of God, a Divine Person, became man, which is the teaching of Scripture (see e.g., John 1. 1-4, 14; Matthew 1. 22, 23; Luke 1. 31-35; John 8. 56-58), and substitutes an entirely different one-that perfect humanity is essentially divine, and that Jesus was divine merely because He realized human perfection. "Dr. Bethune-Baker (of the Church of England) said quite openly at the Cambridge Conference 'We must absolutely jettison the traditional doctrine that His (Christ's) personality was not human but divine . . . I do not for a moment suppose that Jesus ever thought of Himself as God.'" Surely it is clear that churches which harbour such pilots are ripening for the climax-"a habitation of demons, and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird."

(e)THE "FALLING AWAY" doctrine held by Wesleyans, Salvation Army, Faith Mission, and others, is a sad reflection on the abiding efficacy of the work of Christ. These people hold that Christ gives eternal life when a sinner believes apart from works, and yet if the works are not forthcoming afterwards that the believer will be lost. How contrary to the words of the Lord, "I give unto them (My sheep) eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand" (John 10. 28).

(f)DISAVOWAL OF DISCIPLES' BAPTISM by many of God's children, is a striking feature of the sects. "Plenty of good saints in heaven who have never been baptized" we are often told. Yes, heaven is entered by means of the shed blood of Christ, and not by means of water; but nevertheless the fact that the Lord commanded His disciples to be baptized should put an end to all argument. We know of no persons in the New Testament Churches of God who had rejected this divine ordinance (Matthew 28.19; Acts 2. 41). Read the Acts of the Apostles carefully and this will be abundantly clear.

(g)DISREGARD OF THE REMEMBRANCE OF THE LORD in the breaking of the bread on the first day of the week is another sad evidence of lack of real love to the Lord. His command is "This do in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22. 19, 20; 1 Corinthians 11. 23-26). Let us not be like the butler who forgat Joseph. The Spirit's words are, "For as often as ye eat... and drink...", and the early disciples' practice was to do this "on the first day of the week" (see Acts 20. 7).

(h)COMMISSIONING WOMEN TO PREACH AND TEACH PUBLICLY. This finds no warrant in Scripture. The Lord sent forth men only. The practice is contrary to the Lord's commandment through Paul, "I permit not a woman to teach, nor to have dominion over a man, but to be in quietness" (1 Timothy 2. 12; and see also 1 Corinthians 14. 34, 87).

(i)THE RECEPTION TO CHURCH FELLOWSHIP OF THE UNBAPTIZED is yet another token of departure from the Word. The divine principle of reception is unmistakable in Acts 2. 41. It is Receive the Word, "Be Baptized," be "Added." Departure in this must be classed among the fruits of Sectarianism, which by the Spirit is numbered with the works of the flesh (see Galatians 5. 20, where the word heresies, is sects).

These are but a few examples of the many evils which abound in Christendom, and which discover rebellion against the risen Lord, with accompanying self-seeking, and resulting in confusion. From the gorgeous scarlet of papal Rome, where prelacy ascends the throne and proudly wears the triple crown, right down to the dull terra-cotta of democratic associations, where confusion is so manifest, we find different phases of the principles which will culminate in Babylon the Great, answering to the tower of Babel, aiming at ~ top to reach unto heaven. How different all this from that which the sojourning Jacob saw in the vision of God! His vision, when he lighted upon THE place, was a "ladder, (or a way), set up on the earth, and the top of it reached unto heaven... And, behold, the LORD stood above it" (Genesis 28. 12, 13). What place was that? Let Jacob answer: "This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven" (v. 17). How great the difference between BABEL and BETH-EL. Babel rises on the earth but fails to reach heaven, for God will not have confusion; but Beth-el has a way right into heaven (Hebrews 10. 19, 20). The confusion of Babel to-day, is such as to confound many a child of God. Baffled and dismayed stands many an anxious soul before the conflicting scene where truth and error are so mingled and blended as to be well-nigh indistinguishable. Will you, dear reader, hear the voice which says, "Come forth, My people, out of her, that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues"?

A WILDERNESS SETTING.

In looking at Revelation 17. it is worthy of note that, despite all the gay colourings of the scene, which we judge to represent the manward aspect thereof, the real aspect as seen by God is expressed in the words of verse 3, "And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness." Like as the great monarchs of earth with their kingdoms, though so grand in the eyes of men, are seen by God as wild beasts (Daniel 7.), so here the woman's entire setting is a dreary wilderness. There is nothing in it for God.

(To be continued.)

PRASHER, G. | Mar 1932
God's Ways With Men