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Babylon


TODAY’S BABYLON

Ch. 5

THE BLOOD OF THE MARTYRS


Babylon is drunk with the blood of the saints and martyrs (Rev 17:6). The prostitute is bloodthirsty. She is responsible for the deaths of many men and women of God. It seems possible that before the second coming of Christ, this place Babylon will begin to kill some, or even many of God’s people. This will be especially those who are walking in intimacy with the Lord, namely the “saints” and “prophets” (Rev 18:24). It appears that there could be a great persecution, a killing of those who rise up to speak out against the harlot and her wanton ways.
As this book is being written, no place on earth comes to mind which fits this part of the prophecy exactly. Although there are many believers being martyred all over the earth today, especially in Communist and Islamic countries, this is not directly connected with a nation which could be clearly identified as the prostitute as we have seen her.
Yet, perhaps this aspect of her personality has not yet been fully manifested. Just as Babylon’s sin level has not yet peaked, so too maybe this bloodthirstiness has yet to emerge. What we might find today would be the seeds of this sin – a kind of prelude to murder. We might encounter in Babylon an increasing hatred on the part of the worldly inhabitants for those who truly love Jesus and try to follow Him. It could be that we could detect a rising anti-Christian sentiment, a rage on the part of the unbelievers against God and His people which is only waiting for the opportunity to express itself.
It is easy to imagine that wherever Babylon is today, she has within her some citizens who do not like the direction in which they see her going. There is within them, just as there was in Noah and Lot, a certain moral fiber and resistance to rampant immorality. Perhaps even now some of these folks are fighting in various ways to resist the rush of filth and decay. It might be that they are marching, campaigning and preaching. It could be that they are investing a lot of time and energy trying to stop the moral slide of their society.
If this is so, their battle is destined to fail. They can never win. All their human efforts, political maneuvering and crusading are in vain. The tide of immorality is rising higher and higher while the resistance to it is slowly being eaten away. The population is becoming more and more decadent and inured to sin. Their consciences are becoming more and more calloused. Perhaps there are some Christians who are even being seduced into joining in with the rest (Heb 3:13).

THE DAM MIGHT BREAK


Sooner or later the tide of evil might rise so high and the resistance to it might become so weak that the dam will break and the flood of perversion will sweep in with great force. If this were to happen, the fabric of any society could change dramatically overnight. Sudden social changes of this type have happened throughout history and can happen again, especially with the power of an evil spirit behind it. One example of this could be the rapid rise to power of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi party, along with all that was associated with his reign. The dramatic, sudden social change which occurred was almost impossible for many to believe.
So we are led to conclude that there may come a point in time when Babylon will become completely unrestrained in her evil. When this happens she could turn with a great hatred on those who speak out against her fornication. When the tide of evil within her overflows the resistance of the few with a little morality left, those who are wicked will hate anyone who opposes them. This could then unleash a great persecution and even murder of the righteous.
This sudden social change could be aggravated by actions which the coming antichrist might take. We will be investigating this possibility in the second part of this series entitled “Antichrist.” In that second book, we will be looking at the ways in which the coming man of sin could pressure the world economically, thus inducing unbelievers to cooperate with him in his program to eradicate Christians from the globe.
Perhaps some of you readers think in your hearts, “That could never happen here! We have laws to protect us.” Let me be frank with you. Public opinion can change overnight. No laws are worth the paper they are written on unless there is some support for them. For example, in the United States, it has always been against the law to murder. But many years ago in the South, some black people were lynched and murdered according to the whims of local citizens. Few culprits were ever punished. No law protected these people.
Further, laws can easily and quickly be changed. For example, I have been told that Canada now has some new “hate crime” laws. If anyone speaks publicly against homosexuals they face a five year jail term. Also, I am told that Canada now considers parts of the Bible as “hate literature.” You can now be jailed and/or fined for publicly reading parts of the Bible. Be warned, other countries are even now considering similar legislation.
Let me tell you as lovingly and honestly as I can, no law will protect you if and when the moral resistance finally breaks down and the flood of unrighteousness roars in. The Bible says that the prostitute has become drunk with the blood of the saints and martyrs (Rev 17:6). This may indicate just such a disintegration of morality and a vicious turning on the righteous which we have been discussing.
Further on in this vision, we read that after Babylon is thrown down, not only was she guilty of the blood of the martyrs but also “of all who were slain on the earth” (Rev 18:24). How could this be? How could this end-times entity be responsible for all the murders since the beginning of the world? This is because of the spiritual aspect of Babylon. This spirit of lust and excess which is the spirit of the world, has always been with us. Greed, hate and murder have been around since the beginning.
Yet at the end of the age, this spirit comes to a great fullness in Babylon just as it did six other times in history. So it is this sin tendency, with the power of the spirit of this world behind it, which is responsible for all this bloodshed. This is what has motivated every murder and/or war throughout history. This then is why “all who were slain” since the beginning of the world can be put on her account.
It is certain that when this Babylon spirit rose to its zenith the last time, the killing of God’s faithful servants was also a part of its sin. The Roman Empire definitely acted in this way. Christians were persecuted and even killed for sport. We are not going to see anything which is new to this world, just something which is new to us in our generation. If and when the spiritual dam breaks and the flood of evil pours in unrestrained, the devil will use his people to persecute the people of God. You can count on it. This may correspond to the time we mentioned earlier when legions of evil spirits flock to Babylon.
Interestingly, it seems to be that when people feel the most safe and secure, they may in fact be in the most danger. We read in I Thessalonians 5:3 that it is just: “when they say ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.”

Chapter 6


Table of Contents

1. Today's Babylon
2. That Great "City"
3. The Prostitute
4. Mountains, Heads and Kings
5. Coming Persecution
6. The Roman Catholic Church
7. Come Out of Her my People
8. The Plan of God
9. Some Speculation
10. Obeying God