Posted on 12/13/2008 1:17:41 PM PST by WhatNot
Revelation 18:4
..."Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins, sso that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes."
There is a day when God is going to judge the system of Babylon around the world. What is Babylon? Babylon is a system of doing business. The stronghold of the marketplace is mammon and pride. Dependence on money and misplaced trust are at the core of a Babylonian philosophy of life. Revelation 18 describes a time when God will judge this Babylonian system. It is the one place that we see a system destroyed in one day, even one hour. I do not believe Babylon is a particular city, but a world system. "Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her" (Rev. 18:8a). "Woe! Woe, O great city, O Babylon, city of power! In one hour your doom has come!" (Rev. 18:10b).
As Christian businesspeople we are called to acknowledge the signs of the times. When the Soviet Union fell, many knew it was going to happen because they could recognize the signs of the times. God has a way of shaking things up. These shakings force us to determine who and what we will place our trust in. God says that we are to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Mt. 22:37).
Are you still living in Babylon in the way you do business? If so, expect to share in the sins of Babylon when God decides to judge her. Ask God to show you where you might be operating in a "Babylonian" system of work
I'd appreciate it if you could satisfy my curiosity. What does it take in addition to the blood of Jesus Christ to render us fit for the Rapture? Would you be so kind as to tell me what I need to do to make myself more saved than Jesus could?
Yeah, don’t turn your back on Jesus! Don’t start believing all the heresy and deceptions that has come upon the world. Read my homepage for more detailed explanation of what I choose to believe, as for you, well it’s a free country, believe what you want.
“The stronghold of the marketplace is mammon and pride”
Anyone care to speculate on the meaning of this sentence?
I thought the marketplace was there so people could trade the fruit of their labors for things of value.
Yes that marketplace is there for the reason’s you mention, but if your “stronghold” is on the marketplace, and not on Jesus, you will be let down.
So you can offer me more than Jesus? just want to be clear ...
If Jesus lives in your heart and reigns over your entire life, than you have all you need. Now and forever.
The great city in the Revelation is 1st century Jerusalem. In Ch 18 it is called Babylon, in Ch 11 she is called Sodom and Egypt (hint: where the Lord was crucified?). When Old Covenant Israel took on the lifestyles of the pagans around it, she was sometimes called by God and the Prophets by the name that best described her actions. The same is true here in Revelation.
The setting for the fulfillment of the book of Revelation is spelled out right in the opening and the ending of the book. The text of Revelation is sandwiched between two bookends of time statements.
Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must SHORTLY COME TO PASS...
Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is AT HAND.
Rev 22:10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is AT HAND.
The original recipents expected this in THEIR day. If was meant to be 2000 years in the future it would have had no relevance to its original readers.
God fulfilled all his promised and prophecies within His own time statements. This doesn’t always fit with our preconceived ideas. It is time to go back and study.
Yep. Very true. And don’t forget Christ’s words, “This generation shall not pass, until all these things take place.” Clearly, He spoke to that current generation, not the distant future.
Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD, and John wrote the Book of the Revelation of Jesus around 95 AD. Babylon logically would not be a reference to Jerusalem. How about those 7 hills? Is that not discriptive of Babylon?
The original recipents expected this in THEIR day. If was meant to be 2000 years in the future it would have had no relevance to its original readers.
God fulfilled all his promised and prophecies within His own time statements. This doesn’t always fit with our preconceived ideas. It is time to go back and study.
Very good! But your encouragement to study will most likely fall on deaf ears!
Oops, that's Os Hillman.
Not necessarily. If I remember correctly, he could have been speaking of the generation that saw the nation of Israel come to fruition, which would be in our lifetime.
The encouragement to study is for me also. I hope it didn’t sound condescending. If it did, my apologies.
The dating of the writing of Revelation is certainly debatable. Many scholars date it in the late 60s. The sources for dating Revelation in 96 can be traced back to a singular source, which is certainly not rock solid by any means. Between this and the internal evidence, for me, the dating of the late 60s is beyond a doubt accurate.
Babylon is a culture. It could also include business but it’s a culture that values money, beauty, power, etc. Sorta like we’re living in right now.
The Jews were defeated when the temple of God, and the alter were both destroyed in 70AD, years before John received the Revelation of Jesus Christ, around 95AD. Obviously, what the original recipients expected and what God had planned were opposite of each other.
He said, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, My people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put My Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it,' declares the Lord" (Eze. 37:11-14).
1948 AD 14 May - The British Mandate ends 14 May - The State of Israel is proclaimed15 May - Israel is invaded by five Arab states.
NOT
The vast majority of scholars date Revelation to the 90s. Yes, some praeterist date it to the 60s but they are the minority.One does not need to be a dispensationalist to date Scripture historically.
Exactly! You can watch most anything on TV, on any given night and Babylonian thinking will scream out at you. It’s sad that millions of people each night stay glued to that brain-bubble gum machine, without much concern for anything else.
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