seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Revelation 18:1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 2 With a mighty voice he shouted:
“‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’
She has become a dwelling for demons
and a haunt for every impure spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.
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.”
She has become a dwelling for demons
and a haunt for every impure spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.
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.”
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Here's a link to the commentary I read. There is quite a bit of commentary that I did not post here.
Illuminated with his glory: This angel coming down from heaven is so “fresh” from God’s presence that he glows. “So recently has he come from the Presence (of God) that in passing he flings a broad belt of light across the dark earth.” (Swete)
Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen: He announces that Babylon is fallen, fallen and the phrase is “repeated like a solemn dirge of the damned.” (Robertson)
Become a dwelling place of demons: A sad fate for a once-great city. This is “a prophetic picture of absolute desolation where the proud achievements of man become the demonic haunts of unclean and horrible creatures.” (Mounce)
Abundance of her luxury: Babylon’s sin was not only idolatry (referred to with the term fornication), but also pride, greed, and selfishly held wealth.
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The commentary this morning compares the Babylon of Chapter 17 and the Babylon in these verses. The Babylon in Chapter 17 is described as the Prostitute. The commentary for Chapter 17 taught us that the Prostitute of Babylon is a fake church that preaches a fake Gospel.
Here in Chapter 18 the Prostitute of Babylon must be counting the collection plate. It's all about the money. The Pew Warmers are finally ready to show the church how it's done. The only difference between a whore and a prostitute, apparently, is the prostitute gets paid for her services.
Check out the first verse. This angel let a little light in. Remember, the earth was so dark you could feel the darkness. Revelation 16:10 says the people were so horrified they were 'gnawing' their tongues.
Have you ever noticed how much whiter white looks like when it's next to black? It's whiter against black than white is against yellow or sky blue. White is whiter against the blackness that would make a human so anxious they would gnaw their own tongues.
Then an angel showed up "fresh" from Heaven. The angel was such a contrast to the blackness all over the world, it was shining!
A burst of light showed up in the sky. In the pitch dark, so thick you can taste it, and a flashlight just won't penetrate the dark very far. This angel was so bright, it lit a path across the earth!
It could also mean that someone actually had the fortitude to take on the fornication of the Apostate [fake] Church created by the Prostitute of Babylon.
Someone actually had the fortitude to call out the lies and the hate amongst "so called" Christian Churches all over the world.
When the church is only concerned about drawing crowds with lots of shiny duckets in their pockets than they are about healing the sick, feeding the poor, caring for the homeless, loving your neighbor as yourself, it takes fortitude to stand up and say something.
I remember when a local church in Lusby had a church meeting. This happened back when I was very vocal about abortion and gay rights. The church needed funds to build a new wing. The preacher wanted the church to vote to allow gays in. OMG I was upset! Someone in the membership told me to sit down and shut up because the church needed money and expanding the revenue was the only way. They had to get more money.
I told them "If God wants this church to have a new wing, God will provide the funding". That didn't compute for the membership. The preacher was "being practical" and "gays don't go to church anyway" they said.
The earth will be extremely dark. It will be angry and hungry and having a hard time even breathing.... and then... a bright angel, straight from Heaven, will show up and show them what they are missing.
It takes fortitude to stop fornication. Someone should open a real Bible!
It takes fortitude to stop fornication. Someone should preach the truth.
Recently I've seen a "new translation" of the Bible. The money gained from the sale of this "new translation" would be used for a political campaign. I've also seen the Bible held upside down to signify the person holding it up for the whole world to see, really didn't care how the Book looked, only how the person looked showing it off.
It takes fortitude to stop fornication.
An Angel was sent to shed some light on the problem.
It takes fortitude to stop fornication.
