Scripture:
[3] For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”
[4] “â‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues;
[21] Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.
Observation:
Rev 18 Babylon is a symbolic depiction of the world chasing after materialistic worldly things in place of chasing after God – a city full of greed, corruption and self-indulgence.
God warns his people to come away from the worldly trap.
For those who do not remove themselves from Babylon, the end of the story is simple – The wrath on those who deceive and persecute the saints (God’s people) will be very serious.
Application:
The sorcery used in Babylon depicts a society filled with deception – deceptive advertising, deceptive politicians, deceptive “friends”, corruption, addiction, false idles, and so on, that permeates world societies today.
As Christ followers we are God’s people – we are the saints. Even we saints can be fooled by the deception of the world if we are not constantly vigilant.
We must be wary of the deception of this world as it comes in many forms – politics, advertising, false prophets, and other people in our social circles.
We must invest in our present and future with Jesus Christ, not in a future of materialistic things and worldly power.
Prayer:
Let us always be wary of chasing false teachers and deceptive people. Let us not be preoccupied or addicted to things of this world. Lord keep us grounded in You, with hearts filled with Your Spirit, chasing after what pleases You.