Here is a truth we never want to take for granted. We are quite aware of the love between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In Jesus’ prayer to the Father, he revealed God’s awesome plan for humans. He wants to include us in the love that resides within the Trinity.
Jesus prayed, “I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them” (John 17.26).
John’s vision in Revelation 14 reveals God’s love for humans. He sends an angel to give the inhabitants of Earth another opportunity to live in a loving relationship with him.
Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation and tribe and language and people.
He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.” (Revelation 14.6-7).
The proclamation goes out to all the earth.
The good news message from the angel is a summons to fear, honor, and worship the Creator. The angel sets forth the eternal purpose of God for people.
As I read God’s last call for salvation, I sense Jesus’ pain as he cried out over Jerusalem.
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37).
Angels are God’s messengers, but so are we. We have the awesome privilege and responsibility to share with other people the good news of God’s love.
Another Angel’s Message
A second angel had a different message from the first. This angel proclaimed judgment on Babylon.
Then another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her prostitution” (Revelation 14.8).
Ancient Babylon was a great city but was also the great enemy of the people of God.
Full of pride, King Nebuchadnezzar looked at the nation he ruled and said, “Is this not magnificent Babylon, which I have built as a royal capital by my mighty power and for my glorious majesty?” (Daniel 4:30)
The first-century readers of Revelation identified Babylon with the Roman Empire.
Babylon is a symbol of the spirit of godlessness that in every age lures people away from the worship of God.
If you do an Internet search and ask which modern nations most resemble the characteristics of Biblical Babylon, this will be the answer.
In first place is the United States. The nation’s materialistic culture, consumerism, and perceived moral decline has been cited as parallels to the Biblical descriptions of Babylon’s decadence and corruption.
Other interpretations draw parallels between Russia and Babylon, emphasizing its historical association with Eastern Orthodoxy, its political influence, and its geographical expanse.
Some religious and political analyses have suggested that Russia’s actions and intentions align with the prophecies and symbolism found in the Bible’s portrayal of Babylon.
King Nebuchadnezzar, the Roman Emperor Domitian, and present-day political and business leaders reflect the pride of the countries they rule. They are expressions of the “spirit” of the populace of their countries.
We do well to recognize the message of the angel in Revelation and that of Isaiah.
Look, there they come, riders,
horsemen in pairs!”
Then he responded,
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon,
and all the images of her gods
lie shattered on the ground.” (Isaiah 21:9)
Revelation reveals the characteristics of the Babylonian spirit that pervades every age.
Babylon is called the great whore “with whom the kings of the earth have engaged in sexual immorality and with the wine of whose prostitution the inhabitants of the earth have become drunk” (Revelation 17:2).
The spirit of Babylon seduces the world with the intoxicating influence of her corrupt practices.
As Americans evaluate other nations, we do well to take Revelation’s warning about Babylon and Jesus’ counsel.
“Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye but do not notice the log in your own eye?
“Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye?
“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye” (Matthew 7.3-5)
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discuss this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 