And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
REVELATION 18:1,2
And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
REVELATION 18:1,2
These powerful words have become even more electrifying this week with the dramatic developments surrounding the media empire of Rupert Murdoch. The ramifications of News Corp's spiral into oblivion have not yet been fully realised, such is the speed at which Murdoch's business has hit the skids. Other newspapers may take a hit and even the government's stability is threatened with increasing revelations of Prime minister David Cameron's cosy dealings and intricate entanglements with News Corp's senior personnel.
Add to that the news of EU countries needing sticking-plaster bailouts to help pay already impossible debts coupled with the fact that almost 10% of Europe's banks could not cope with a major financial crisis and the future of the global economy looks increasingly grim. Perhaps not yet time for the angelic announcement above to be pronounced fulfilled but it is clear that the Babylonian Mammon system is under increasing pressure to bow to the inevitable doom pronounced on it by the heavenly messenger.
People may have different views on the "when" of the fulfillment of this passage in
Revelation but it is clear that proponents of any view which allows full or partial (including the plausible cyclical) fulfillment in our time will be encouraged by the perpetual stream of news which points to a coming complete crash of the world economic system. "Babylon is definitely falling" would be an accurate reading of our times. There is an hour in one day which will see the undeniable demise of the Great Harlot (Rev 18:8,17).
The key question for us as believers is what do we do? Well, we don't have to join the recession, for one. In fact, God tells HIS people to come out of Babylon so there is strong scriptural warrant for resisting fiercely the effects of the economic downturn in our lives. I have been preaching a lot recently on the Gospel being God's answer to the recession. The Gospel is for the poor so there can't be a better time to preach it! The Lord's call to "Come out of her (i.e. Babylon), MY people" is a clear commission for us to preach to people everywhere of the Kingdom of God. We are to call them My people who are not My people. This is the Gospel to the poor. It is God's message to a people under oppression. The answer to the present economic crisis is to tell folks they are the Lord's and that His Kingdom has come.
When old Babylon sinks, the economy of God will come in. This is heaven's economy. There is no poverty in heaven; no lack, shortage, debt or banks lending through usury! The satanic way of doing things is coming to an end. Now God's system is coming. This may upset a few religious folks who like to big up satan but to those who hear the Spirit of God, there is a victory sound arising.
It may take a while for Babylon to finally sink. We are called in the meantime to herald the Kingdom of God which is coming. We don't just do this with words. No, we can live in God's economy NOW. Sure, we have the Mammon system to deal with but we can be a prophetic people living in the Kingdom even in the midst of darkness. We can model Kingdom living and Kingdom wealth to those trapped in Babylon. We can and we must. It is every Christian's duty and calling to take dominion in the economic realm and increase the wealth they steward. Failure to do so is sloth.
Jesus became a curse to get Abraham's billionaire blessing on you. To ignore this is extreme disrespect. Events in the news should inspire us all. Media mogul and billionaire Rupert Murdoch is being taken to task for abusing a position of great trust and responsibility. Justifiably so. But let me ask you: If you owned a media empire the size of Rupert Murdoch's, what would you do with it?
Now you're starting to think like you were created to...
