“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants (we are God’s bondservants today), the things which must shortly take place, and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw” (Revelation 1:1,2.)
It is necessary as a disciple, not only to agree with the words spoken in the scriptures, but to believe that God will reward with understanding those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6, 26; Proverbs 2.)
“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Revelation 1:3.)
Scripture warns us repeatedly to be on the alert and watch. Sodom is often used as an example of those who were not watching. In Sodom, only Lot was considered righteous. His righteous soul was tormented by the sensual conduct of his countrymen. We suspect that he was watching and recognizing that judgment was coming. The others in Sodom were eating, drinking, buying, marrying, selling, planting, and building. Obviously, they were not on their guard and their hearts were overburdened and weighed down with self-indulgence, drunkenness (a type of spiritual sleep), and worldly worries and cares pertaining to the business of this life. They were blind to spiritual understanding and attached to the things of the earth, not to mention their immorality.
Ezekiel 16 compares God’s people of that day to Sodom and says that God’s people were more corrupt in their ways than Sodom was in hers. Verse 49 explains that the sin of Sodom was: pride, overabundance of food, prosperous ease, and idleness and they did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy (those looking for true salvation). Does this sound like the American church to you?
If this does alert us, to our sinful condition, then we are instructed to be ready, praying that we may have the full strength and ability and be counted worthy to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man. Many things are going to take place, and we may not be involved in all of them, but we must be able to hear the Holy Spirit, so that as far as our part is concerned, we are able to be obedient.
Dear reader, even though your family may not be iving in `Babylon, the city to be destroyed’, we felt that it might be beneficial for you to study this along with us, so that we all can grasp these prophesies together and you can add your understanding to them for our benefit.
The following is a comparison of scriptures, which you as Berean’s can judge as to their validity, prophetic value, and application to yourselves personally.
Revelation 18:4,5 “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, that you may not participate in her sins and that you may not receive of her plagues; for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.”
Do you remember that we are told in scripture that history repeats itself?
Ecclesiastes 1:9 “That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done. So, there is nothing new under the sun.”
The destruction of Sodom will be replicated and be seen again in the destruction of Babylon, Revelation 18. Scripture continually repeats the example of Sodom for us as a warning; those of us on whom the end of the age has come. The Israel of today will learn her future from the Israel of the past.
The events of Revelation 18, which are going to occur (we are mostly focusing on verses 4 and 5 here) have already occurred in the beginning of history. We can read about this by comparing Revelation 18 to Genesis 18 and 19.
Genesis 18 begins in verse 1 with two angels and the Lord appearing to Abraham. In verses 17-32, the men (angels) started looking down towards Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham and said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed? (God is preaching the Gospel to Abraham, See Gal 3:8) For I have chosen him, in order that he may command (teach) his children and his household (sons) after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice; in order that the lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken (promised) about him. And the Lord said, `The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave, I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.’ Then the men (angels) turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the Lord. And Abraham came near and said, `Wilt Thou indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will Thou indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from Thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from Thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?’ …V32 Then he said, `Oh may the lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once (more); suppose ten (righteous men) are found there?’ And He said, `I will not destroy it on account of the ten.’”
We will do our best to show how the Lord is speaking to the sons of Abraham today, by unfolding what happened in Sodom and comparing it to what to what will happen again to Babylon. We believe that the USA fulfills the description of Babylon only if: 1) We are living at the time in history in which the church is in apostasy (lost, but convinced it is saved). 2) If the apostasy has come, then scripture says, this apostasy ushers in the man of lawlessness, the Antichrist (See 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2). 3) If the end of the age is upon us, then only the USA meets the description of the Babylon of Revelation, Chapter 18. If these three things are at the door, then also at the door is the cry of the Holy Spirit saying, `Come out of her, my people, that you may not participate in her sins and that you may not receive of her plagues.”
Scripture tells us that God does nothing unless he reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets (Amos 3:7).
God revealed the destruction of Sodom to His servant and friend Abraham. God will reveal his secrets to us, we who are Abraham’s offspring, if we are heeding Rev. 1:3. The question now is: Is God revealing to us today that Babylon is going to be destroyed and is it the USA? Is the Holy Spirit saying to us “Come out of her My people?”
Amos 3:6-8 “If a trumpet (voice of the Holy Spirit speaking out of the word) is blown in a city (such as is being blown in Babylon), will not the people tremble (being afraid of punishment)?” Surely the Lord does nothing, unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets. A lion (the Lord) has roared! Who will not fear? (Sleeping churches do not fear). The Lord has spoken! Who can but prophesy? (Who, if they see this cannot speak out about it?)
Revelation 18:4 says that a voice from heaven (which represents a trumpet being blown) is saying, `Come out from her My people, so that you may not share in her sins, neither participate in her plagues.’
Since God revealed the destruction of Sodom to Abraham, then we can know that He will reveal the destruction of Babylon to the true sons of Abraham. “Far be it from Thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike.” If we are unable to recognize who Babylon is, nor when the time is to come out of her, then we will find ourselves `participating in her sins and receiving of her plagues’ and being slain with the wicked.
Let’s go back to Genesis and see how Lot was delivered.
Genesis 19:1 “Now the two angels (men) came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.”
Lot was able to differentiate between the spiritual and the natural. These two men were not ordinary men, but angels. Today angels are still speaking to us, to warn us of the destruction that is to come
Revelation 18:1-3 “After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory. And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, `Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! And she has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird (demons). For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.”
After Lot compelled the angels to spend the night in his house and after the angels dealt with the men outside Lot’s door, smiting them with blindness, the angel gave forth their purpose for coming to Sodom.
Genesis 19:12,13 “Then the men (angels) said to Lot, `Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place; for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry (of sin) has become so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.’”
All of us know how difficult it is to persuade someone of something that they cannot conceive of and that their teacher has not taught them previously. This was the reason that Lot was not able to persuade his sons-in-law to leave Sodom, the idea that God was about to destroy Sodom was inconceivable to them. Let’s compare the way Lot was delivered out of Sodom with Revelation 18:4 and 5.
“And I heard another voice coming out of heaven (God is speaking), saying, `Come out of her, my people, that you may not participate in her sins and that you may not receive of her plagues; for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.’”
Some think that coming out of Babylon is only a type of coming out of sin, or of coming out of the ungodly church system. Of course it’s true, that we are to come out and separate ourselves from sin. However, as we continue to read further about Babylon, it is obvious that Babylon is a real nation that will be destroyed, just as Sodom was destroyed in the past. History will repeat itself, just as it is written!
Therefore, any of God’s people who do not come out of her will participate in her sins and will receive of her plagues, just as Lot and his family would have received of Sodom’s plagues, if they had not come out of Sodom.
Revelation 18:8,21 “For this reason in one day her (Babylon’s) plagues will come, pestilence (death) and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire, for the Lord who judges her is strong…V21 Babylon the great city… will not be found any longer.”
In Genesis 19:14-17 we read about the two angels urging Lot and his family into action.
“And Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law… and said, `Up, get out of this place, for the Lord will destroy the city.’ But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be jesting (not serious, over the top). And when morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, `Up, take your wife and your two daughters, who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city. But he hesitated. (Sounds like us, doesn’t it?) So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his daughters, for the compassion of the Lord was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city… `Escape for your life! Do not look behind you (with regrets for leaving), and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, lest you be swept away.’”
It humbles us to think that the compassion of the Lord is upon us, but we believe that it is. Nevertheless, if we are not able to discern what nation is considered to be Babylon, and if we cannot discern when the time is to come out of her, then who is it that will come out of her? If we cannot recognize that God is speaking to us today, then we will participate in her sins and we will receive of her plagues. Everyone must decide for themselves!
Genesis 19:27-29, “Now Abraham arose early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord; and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the valley, and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a furnace. Thus it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.”
Likewise, when God destroys Babylon, He will remember Abraham and send Abraham’s descendents out of the midst of the overthrow.
Repeatedly in Revelation 18 we read about `the smoke of her (Babylon’s) burning’ just as we read about the smoke of Sodom’s burning. The kings of the earth saw it (9), the merchants of the earth saw it, (15), every shipmaster, every passenger and sailor, and everyone who made their living by the sea, saw it (17,18) and the saints, apostles, and prophets saw it (20). In fact, the saints were told to rejoice over Babylon’s destruction, because God has pronounced judgment `for you’ against her.
Other things that we noticed when God delivered Lot from Sodom are: Lot was afraid to go and was hesitant, even though angels had just told him that destruction was certain. Others didn’t believe him. Lot escaped just in the nick of time and only then because of the mercy of God, sent through angels, who took him by the hand and brought him out. The place he was sent was not godly, but evil also. His standard of living went way down. He lost his wealth. He lost his wife, and his daughters lost their prospective husbands. However, as God promises us, the righteous shall not receive the wrath of God, as do the wicked, because God is merciful towards us and does not wish His own to participate in Babylon’s sins or receive of her plagues.
Conclusion: There is a nation called Babylon, which existing in the latter days will be destroyed in the same manner that Sodom was destroyed. We are living in that nation, the USA. Because God is compassionate and merciful, He lets us hear His voice saying `Come out of her My people, that you may not participate in her sins and that you may not receive of her plagues.’
“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Revelation 1:3.)