Last Judgement (Michelangelo)
"After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. And he called out with amighty voice,
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!She has become a dwelling place for demons,a haunt for every unclean spirit,a haunt for every unclean bird,a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.For all nations have drunkthe wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”" – Revelation 18:1-3 (ESV)
Here is an angel, a messenger of God, speaking truth to power – power that you are either attracted to or that you resist — or both.
What is your Babylon? What is that seat of power that attracts those who also want power and hope to get it through association, conspiracy, and sinister collaboration that oppresses the weak and the righteous? We are attracted to that bright, beautiful, lively, ostentatious "city of influence," its sensual pleasures and its facade of wealth, luxury, and illegitimate power.
It intoxicates and it draws in those who are inclined to be drawn.
And lest we lift our own heads in pride, something in it is inclined to draw something in us and it can intoxicate us as well — for a season or for a lifetime
— our choice if we remain conscious enough to make choices.
For Babylon is fallen. It is an eternal reality in Heaven where all is accomplished already.
Every false god and every pretender to every throne has eventually been vanquished and neutralized. It has been; it shall be. Ultimate rectification is
reality, but in the meantime, the dance is repeated throughout history.
The only history that immediately matters for us is the one we are living, the choices we are making, the alignments we are activating, and the loyalties we are forming.
It is an angel, a messenger, which has the authority to put power in check and glory gathers around the sound of his mighty voice.
That says that it is truth that brings powers to their knees. It is the voice of truth, the message of God that humbles the proud and pronounces judgment upon oppressors.
Let that be an encouragement to all of you who daily, and without apparent reward, consistently and faithfully, speak truth to power.
More on this … because at the end of the list is the real "cargo" of unscrupulous commerce in a marriage of convenience with illegitimate and oppressive power. It is the slavery of human souls.
"And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls." – Revelation 18:11-13 (ESV)
This subversive circular is calling out power for its tracking of humanity. The test of authenticity, legitimacy, and righteousness in any system of commerce and government with all their entanglements may well be — Does it profit from the enslavement of human souls?
If it does, and that includes the enticements of systems of addiction, then red flags go up everywhere.
This one is "Babylon" and it is going down.
The picture of judgment is telling. It is not poured down the throats of the proud and haughty. They lap it up. Warned not to be proud, they lust for more and it is judgment they consume that judges them in the end — and judges us daily. Pride of heart and haughtiness of spirit are not our friends. When we choose not to walk humbly before our God and graciously among our neighbors, we lap up judgment to ourselves.
" I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;do not lift up your horn on high,or speak with haughty neck.’”For not from the east or from the westand not from the wilderness comes lifting up,but it is God who executes judgment,putting down one and lifting up another.For in the hand of the Lord there is a cupwith foaming wine, well mixed,and he pours out from it,and all the wicked of the earthshall drain it down to the dregs"
=Psalm 75:4-8 (ESV)
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