Is Babylon Burning?
By Ron McGatlin
Even a casual observer of fundamental world systems is struck with an impression of general deterioration and decay that appears on a course toward complete disintegration. World economies threaten to collapse, and governments are buried in debt. Moral decay is mind boggling as lasting values that have served to strengthen families and nations for centuries are thrown off.
Agrarian lifestyles that fed and nurtured people throughout history have been traded for energy dependent systems of production that cannot sustain life of the masses without huge amounts of oil and other energy sources. Already numbers of people starve to death daily in parts of our world. Even small interruptions in the flow of oil can create chaos. An extended interruption of energy flow would starve many millions of people who no longer have the natural understanding or the ability to produce the necessities of life for themselves.
Corrupt leadership continues to be exposed in big business, governments, and churches. Western world family structures continue in decay. Violence continues to increase, and terror is a factor of life worldwide. Religious strife threatens to engulf the world as powerful militant religions seek to intimidate or eradicate others.
Our planet is changing. Forests are shrinking, deserts are growing, and ice caps are dwindling. These planetary changes are disrupting patterns of weather that have been relatively stable for millennia. Agriculture suffers from these changes and is affecting the world food supply. Animal species are threatened with extinction and oceans experience depleting numbers of living creatures.
The deteriorating world conditions are the result of mankind’s decisions to order their lives apart from the provisions of God’s love, wisdom, and power. God loves this world and gave His only begotten Son to redeem it from the destructive ways of the devil (John 3:16).
The declining world situations are not because God is angry and decided to send severe judgment. They are the result of man’s ways. God created the earth and created man to have dominion on earth. God knows what will make the planet and all that is on it prosper and has provided all that is needed to manage the world in such a way that life could be sustained and blessed on earth. Mankind needs only to avail himself of the provisions of God and appropriate the ways of God from heaven into the earth to manage the earth as the kingdom of God producing righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
New Jerusalem and the Israel of God coming forth on earth is the pattern for the life of the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. There is great conflict on the earth as the New Jerusalem pattern city is in opposition to Babylon now ruling much of the planet. New Jerusalem is the city of the light of God. Babylon is the city of the darkness of the enemy. When and where Babylon’s patterns rule, there is movement toward darkness and death. When and where the New Jerusalem patterns rule, there is movement into light and life.
Is Babylon and all it has built burning?
Babylon has already fallen spiritually and became a habitation of demons. Great authority and illumination of truth has come down announcing the fall of Babylon. The illumination or the revelation of New Jerusalem as the Bride of Christ and the kingdom of heaven potential in God’s people now is making way for the final burning of the Babylonian city as the ruling pattern city of the systems of the world.
Rev 18:1: After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory.
Rev 18:2: And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison (guarding of) for every foul spirit, and a cage (guarding of) for every unclean and hated bird!
The translation of verse two makes it sound like the demons inhabiting Babylon are in prison or a cage. The same word is used for both prison and cage and means a guarding. Looking into the Greek causes us to see that the evil spirits are guarding the prisons and cages instead of being in them. Some of the works of the imprisoning evil spirits in Babylon are pride, greed, lust, coveting, competition, addictions, strife, and violence.
Rev 18:3: "For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury."
What is mystery Babylon?
Some have believed the religious church system to be the whole of Babylon. Yes, the religious church systems are highly infected with and ordered by mystery Babylon. However, Babylon is much broader and has captured much more than religious systems. Yes, the wayward church system is primary because it should have been the force of the kingdom preventing Babylon from taking over the world systems. Some of the world systems taken over by Babylon are commerce, industry, family life, education, media, entertainment, recreation, world economy, and governments.
Babylon is a spiritual and universal ruling pattern city of satan’s design bringing his governance over the kingdoms of the world that fell into his hands through the fall of Adam. Fallen Babylon is now burning with fires of God for destruction of the enemy’s ruling city from domination of the world.
Rev 18:4: And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.
In the natural realm fire reduces matter to smoke, gases, and ashes leaving nothing to rebuild with except those things that will not gasify or liquefy (burn) at the temperature of the specific fire. The fire of God brings destruction to evil and what evil has built. The same fire of God brings cleansing from Babylonian ways that have infected the people of God. The presence of God causes real holiness in the people of God. Pure and holy people of God become filled and empowered with the joy of the Lord to bring forth the New Jerusalem pattern of life replacing the dissolved Babylonian rule.
Rev 18:8-11: "Therefore her plagues will come in one day; death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her. The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, 'Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.' And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore.”
The New Jerusalem pattern city of God is coming forth.
Rev 21:9: Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife."
Rev 21:2-4: Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
Rev 21: 7: He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.”
Luke 12:31-32: "But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
Mat 5:5: “Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.” Mat 5:10: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
1 Cor 6:9-11: Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
Rev 21:27: But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
God has chosen to give dominion to mankind and will not intervene without the agreement of mankind on earth. The world is reaping what man has sown.
There is a remnant who are of the seed of Christ being prepared to re-seed the earth with Christ and rule and reign with Him.
The old world of evil is being destroyed, and the new earth is the redeemed and cleansed earth filled with the kingdom of heaven.
The Wife of the Lamb will bring forth children unto the Lord that will not know the fallen ways of the first Adam but will be children of God. Many sons shall be brought to glory and God will have a successful colony of heaven on earth.
All things are being made new. However, we must first see the burning or dissolving of the old - the clearing of the land in His people and then in the world.
This is not a time to hold back or hide out. This is the time to run fast out of Babylon and toward New Jerusalem. Seek the kingdom of God in the Spirit. Repent and be cleansed of old Babylonian ways and be filled with the ways of Christ Jesus.
Pray not for the old systems to stand and keep on going, but pray for the people of God to be fully cleansed and empowered. Improved modifications of evil are still evil. The burning fire of the passionate love of the presence of God will set your heart and life on fire with passion for God and for His holiness filling the earth.
The burning love from God and for God will transform the humanly weak into the powerful carriers of the love, truth, wisdom, and power of God and nothing of the enemy will be able to stand before the remnant army of God. God is calling out the people of God and equipping many sons for glory.
Come out of Babylon now, and be filled with the Spirit of holiness and alive in the passion of His love and power. Now is the day for which you have been sent to this world. Now the gospel of the kingdom is being preached to the ends of the earth. The fields white for harvest are before you now. The grain is full-grown, and the tares are being removed and burned. The harvest time is beginning now. Are your sickles sharp? This is the time of your last call to come out and enter into the time of harvest.
Father, Your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven! Amen and Amen!
Keep on pursuing love. It never fails and His kingdom never ends.
Ron McGatlin
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