Rejoicing Over Babylon's Fall (Day 31)

 

Revelation 19:1-2 ⁽¹⁾After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, ⁽²⁾for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” (NIV)

            Babylon had fallen! All of the things that had once made her great were now only a distant memory. She was no longer the embodiment of success and wealth. She was ultimately destroyed and now laid as a heap of ruin. No one would ever sing of her praises. No one would ever boast again of becoming wealthy from her goods and services. She was repaid, by way of destruction from her enemies, for all the iniquities that she had done against God and others. She had been weighed on God’s scale and found wanting. Numerous warnings had been given. The alarm had been sounded. Chance after chance had been given for her to change, but without prevail. Now, there was no more hope and her destruction finally came. A repeat of what happened to the Babylon of old was repeated in this prophetic text. Jeremiah 51:6-10 ⁽⁶⁾“Flee from Babylon! Run for your lives! Do not be destroyed because of her sins. It is time for the Lord’s vengeance; he will repay her what she deserves. ⁽⁷⁾Babylon was a gold cup in the Lord’s hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad. ⁽⁸⁾Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken. Wail over her! Get balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed. ⁽⁹⁾“ ‘We would have healed Babylon, but she cannot be healed; let us leave her and each go to our own land, for her judgment reaches to the skies, it rises as high as the heavens.’ ⁽¹⁰⁾“ ‘The Lord has vindicated us;

come, let us tell in Zion what the Lord our God has done.’ (NIV)

            God never judges unfairly. He is never swift when it comes to His judgments, but always allow time for an individual or nation to change. It is only after He has done all He could to bring about conviction and repentance that judgment finally come. Psalm 103:8-9 ⁽⁸⁾The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. ⁽⁹⁾He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; (NIV) This is why everyone will come before the judgment seat of God and know that His judgments are fair. No one will be able to say that God was unjust. 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (NIV)

            America, as we have studied in the Word of God, is Babylon the Great. She will pay for the murder of God’s prophets and saints. Nearly 60 million babies have been aborted in this country, and sold as spare parts in the name of medical research. The funding of terrorists organizations who have killed thousands of Christians in various parts of the world require justice from the Almighty hands of God. However, God will give America the reward that she has earned. Deuteronomy 32:35-36 ⁽³⁵⁾It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.” ⁽³⁶⁾The Lord will vindicate his people and relent concerning his servants when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free. (NIV)

 Revelation 19:3-8 ⁽³⁾And again they shouted: “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.” ⁽⁴⁾The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: “Amen, Hallelujah!” ⁽⁵⁾Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!” ⁽⁶⁾Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. ⁽⁷⁾Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.) (NIV)

            Now some people may have a hard time understanding the concept of celebration at the destruction of Babylon. However, God always send warnings prior to judgment. He never does anything in haste. It is God’s desire to save the lost and not destroy them. However, sin will not be able to continue indefinitely. There is a time when God will say, “Enough is enough,” and those who deserve punishment will receive their due reward and give an account for what they have done, while here on earth. Romans 14:11-12 ⁽¹¹⁾It is written: “ ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’ ” ⁽¹²⁾So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. (NIV)

            The twenty-four elders will praise God for his goodness for they understand that God is worthy of praise and He is always just. We will all one day sing of God’s praises right before His throne because we will be happy to have made it into His righteous kingdom. Just as a bride adorns herself for her groom, we too must prepare for that glorious day when Jesus comes to get his bride. He wants us without spot or wrinkle. We must take great care to live in accordance to the Lord’s will, so that we may find favor in His sight. Psalms 90:17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us-- yes, establish the work of our hands. (NIV)

 

 

 Revelation 19:9-10 ⁽⁹⁾Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” ⁽¹⁰⁾At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.” (NIV)

        The angel told John that all who are invited to the Lamb’s wedding supper is blessed. Indeed a blessing that will be to finally make it to Heaven. There will be no more sin, death, disease, pain, tears, and suffering. Everything will be created new and most importantly, we will get a chance to see Jesus—the Man who died for us. This is why no earthly man is to be praised and worshiped. God is the only one who deserves our praise. Psalms 86:12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. (NIV)

        The angel made sure to tell John not to worship him because he too was a servant of the Most High God. We must ensure that we never worship pastors, priests, bishops and even popes. Just because a person has a title does not give him/her the authority to receive the worship that belongs to God alone. As a matter of fact, God tells us that He is a jealous God and only HE is to be worshiped.

Exodus 20:3-6 ⁽³⁾“You shall have no other gods before me. ⁽⁴⁾“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁽⁵⁾You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁽⁶⁾but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. (NIV) Whenever the pope comes to town, people make a big spectacle of themselves by worshiping the Pope as if he is Jesus Christ in the flesh. Even though the Catholic Church claims that the pope is the Vicar of Christ, he is nothing more than a mere man in a robe. There is only one Lord, one Savior, and one God who reigns supreme and has the only power to forgive sin. Hebrews 7:27-28 ⁽²⁷⁾Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. ⁽²⁸⁾For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever. (NIV)

 

Join us tomorrow as we continue our study in the book of Revelation.