Tag: great authority

8.e. The nations drank of her wine; therefore the nations went mad.

Revelation  18:1  After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast. For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”

Isaiah 13:19    And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.

Jeremiah 51:7    Babylon was a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, making all the earth drunken; the nations drank of her wine; therefore the nations went mad.

Just as ancient Babylon was heathenish and unbelieving so is this new Babylon which has seduced the kings, people, and nations of the world.  It is a place where demons, unclean spirits, and detestable sexual immorality not only exist, it is the way of life.  It is cherished, sought after, and thought to be acceptable and morally correct.  People intentionally choose to follow and take part in all of this unholy activity.  It is so sad isn’t it, that people intentionally choose to reject Jesus Christ and eternal life.  You have to wonder why it is chosen when it is so obviously wrong.  Yet, today we see the effects of this already starting to evolve more and more.  Where people water down what it means to live for Jesus Christ.  They may have bowed down at some point to seek the grace, mercy, and love proclaimed through the gospel of Jesus Christ but their life reflects no fruit, no humble service, no rejection of the enticements of this world, no seeking of His Word, no want to be led by the Holy Spirit, no desire to be led by and through the word of God, and no understanding of what it means to follow, obey, trust, and rely on Jesus Christ.  They have found satisfaction in this world and what it has to offer.  They see no need for God in their life other than a promise of eternal life.  It is as if they say I deserved  Jesus for being beaten, whipped, and nailed to the cross for my sin rather than humbly bowing down in an overflowing heart of thanks and worship.  They have made His sacrifice of little significance and it shows in their life of self-centered satisfaction.  Oh, that our heart, mind, and soul would see more and more of the glory of this great mercy, grace, and love, freely given for our redemption and salvation.  I fear many of these people will hear “depart from Me, for I never knew you”.  We have not been saved for our glory, prosperity, and ease in life but, rather for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ.  We do well to remember this each moment of every day.

7.p. Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them.

Revelation 13:1  And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”

And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear: If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.

Think of all of the ruthless, charismatic, cruel, and cultic rulers there have been over the course of history.  Some of these are recent and some more distant.  One thing is for sure they despise God and think of themselves as “god-like”.  The antichrist will rise to power through Satan and he will be worshiped by the masses.  He will persecute those Christians who have come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ during the tribulation period.  He will kill many but he will also take great pleasure in tormenting them physically, financially, and mentally.  He will do supernatural things so that multitudes of people we flock to Him.  He will have a way of convincing people to follow Him and allow how he is treating Christians.

This will not be a time you would want to live through and most definitely would not want this to be what opens your heart to the message of Jesus Christ.  Now is the time to repent and come to Him.  Now is the time of salvation.  Now is the time to live for Him.  Seek and desire Him more than the things that are keeping yours for giving Him your whole heart, mind, and soul.