December 20: SLOW-MOTION COLLAPSE

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 for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! Revelation 18:2

There is an illuminating precept throughout God’s word that has been labeled “repeat and expand”. An established concept is repeated for emphasis, then followed by additional information. Here, the fourth angel is repeating the message of the second angel of chapter 14 (see verse 8a). The reason for the added emphasis — he cried mightily with a loud voice — is that spiritual Babylon only grows worse, never better. A slow-motion collapse.

We would have healed Babylon, But she is not healed. Forsake her… (Jeremiah 51:9)

Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the carved images of her gods He has broken to the ground (Isaiah 21:9b).

A common element shared by historical Babylon and spiritual Babylon is the gross propensity for idol worship. This is exactly why spiritual Babylon, under Satan’s usurped authority, deleted the second commandment from her special rendering of the Ten Commandments. The deleted second commandment begins: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image…” (Exodus 20:4; Deuteronomy 5:8). Babylon the great brings pagan idols into the church, renames them, and encourages people to trust in and pray to them. This practice is a downward spiral.

In the urgent cry of the fourth angel, the announcement comes as though it is already accomplished. This is because the demise of Babylon the great is certain. John uses well-known prophetic language to portray her end. It is just as certain as Ancient Babylon’s ruin and desolation. End-time Babylon has become a dwelling place of demons because the Spirit of God has been rebuffed, blasphemed, and grieved away. It is with indescribable grief and sadness that the Holy Spirit withdraws. Do not grieve the Spirit of God… (Ephesians 4:30)

For a dwelling place to also be a prison and a cage, there must be a decided cultivation of the very things that God pronounces an abomination. God said, “For among My people are found wicked men; They lie in wait as one who sets snares; They set a trap; They catch men. As a cage is full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit. Therefore they have become great and grown rich.” (Jeremiah 5:26-27) Sadly, the world’s “greatness” and “riches” are fleeting, like chaff blown away by the wind. The deceptions of the wicked are snares and traps.

Gently and progressively through Scripture, we learn of God’s desire to dwell with His people. From the building of the sanctuary (Exodus 25:8) to each individual’s potential to be a dwelling place for His Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16-17), we are also shown how readily Satan and his demons rush in to fill the vacuum created by a foul spirit of self-righteousness. Hear Jesus’s words: “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.” Matthew 12:43