The Daily Word of Righteousness

Babylon, #7

The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more—Cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; (Revelation 18:11,12—NIV)

Notice the impact of the destruction of organized religion on the merchants of the world!

Think about the United States, for example. What would happen to the retail merchants in our country if there were no more Christmas, Easter, or Thanksgiving sales because the true Christians had left the great denomination and refused to celebrate their holidays by buying gifts or surfeiting themselves with food?

Cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men. (Revelation 18:13—NIV)

Indeed, in the eyes of the huge denomination of the future, the souls of people will be just another commodity like cinnamon and spice. The great idol will be money, as it will be also in the Antichrist government.

The golden idol described in Daniel was erected in Babylon.

Self-willed religionists always will attack God's true saints. This accounts for the following verse:

Rejoice over her, O heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets! God has judged her for the way she treated you. (Revelation 18:20—NIV)

Notice that before the time Babylon was destroyed, the voice of the Lamb and His Bride could be heard in this organization. So it is today that in just about every Christian organization and in every church one can find true disciples of the Lord. The remainder are church members and some are fine people. But they never have denied themselves, taken up their cross, and followed the Lord Jesus. They have never set aside their own will that they might do God's will. Fine people, but not Christians; for a true Christian is a disciple, not just a church member.

The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. (Revelation 18:23—NIV)

After the great Babylon is destroyed there never again will be found a Christian organization, only individual members of the royal priesthood who personally are known to the Lord Jesus and are an integral part of Him, and who personally know the Lord apart from any group influence.

If we go back and include the man-directed institutions of Judaism, and add to them the Christian institutions, we find in the whole the blood of prophets and of the saints. In fact, Revelation states that the blood of all who have been killed on the earth can be found in this huge Christian organization.

In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth." (Revelation 18:24—NIV)

The answer to this broad statement may be found in the Book of Ezekiel. God told Ezekiel that if the watchman did not warn the people of the coming danger, then the people would be slain in their sin but their blood would be on the watchman's hands.

To be continued.