Come Out

Warren Brosi

December 8, 2024 (Second Sunday of Advent)

Dominant Thought: Come out before it’s too late.

Objectives:

I want my listeners to recognize the seduction of evil.

I want my listeners to feel God’s heart to draw us away from evil and to Him.

I want my listeners to reject something that does not honor Jesus.

On September 28, 1994, the MS Estonia, a ferry cruiser sank in the Baltic Sea en route to Sweden. 852 people died as a result of the disaster. Rolf Sorman, was a survivor tells how after midnight, there was a big bang and the ship listed and water started coming in the window of the fifth floor (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p06m1dvl). He knew they needed to get out into the open air and as high as they could. Some people froze in terror and unable to move. Some were stealing from others. Panic and chaos ensued. People fighting over life jackets. I took the woman, Yvonne, who was with me and took her to safety away from the fighting. They were trying to get higher up on the ship as the sea level was getting closer. They managed to get to the top. Yvonne was thinking of jumping into the water. “I took her hand and then we jumped.”

Today’s command of victory is, “Come Out.” Like Rolf Sorman responded to the sinking ship by leaving the ship, we encounter the command to come out of Babylon.

Babylon was an empire in modern day Iraq. It featured prominently in the Hebrew Bible as the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and carried the people of God into exile. The books of Jeremiah and Daniel give us descriptions of Babylon. Throughout Scripture Babylon is a symbol of culture that is at war with God’s ways.

The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery gives the following Biblical descriptions of Babylon:

Dictionary of Biblical Imagery Babylon

She is his tenant farmer, driving the nations as oxen under her yoke (Is 47:6; Jer 27:1–12; 28:1–17); his war club, used in their destruction (Jer. 51:20–23); a golden cup of wrath in his hand, making all the earth drunk and mad (Jer 51:7; cf. 25:15–38); a zoo keeper, keeping custody of dangerous Judean lions (Ezek 19:9); Judah, the prostitute’s spurned lover, taking his terrible retribution (Ezek 23:11–35); a fire set under the cooking pot of Jerusalem, “cooking” her inhabitants in siege and simultaneously burning off the pot’s impurities (Ezek 24:1–14); Israel’s captor, tormentor, devastator and the location of her exile (Ps 137:1, 8).

Many people think the references to Babylon in Revelation are a symbolic way of describing the Roman empire. I feel that Babylon does describe the Roman empire near the end of the first century A.D. when Revelation was written. I also believe Babylon describes any empire, government, or culture that is in conflict with the kingdom of God.

In Revelation 18.4, we read this command to leave Babylon.

Revelation 18:4 NIV

Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “ ‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues;

Jeremiah spoke about fleeing Babylon in Jeremiah 51.

Jeremiah 51:45 ESV

“Go out of the midst of her, my people! Let every one save his life from the fierce anger of the Lord!

Similar to Joseph fleeing the advances of Potiphar’s wife in Genesis 39. 12, God commands us to come out of Babylon.

As we look at the command to come out of Babylon, let’s consider five reasons why we should leave Babylon.

First, Babylon deals in evil (Revelation 18.1-2, 4-5, 23). Babylon is describe in these opening verses of Revelation 18 as as dwelling for demons, a haunt for every impure spirit and unclean animal. The church is warned to come out so as not to share in her sins or receive any of her plagues. We see the image of “her sins piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes” (Revelation 18.5). Later in Revelation 18.23, we read, “By your magic spell all the nations were led astray.”

Babylon deals in evil. We need to heed the warning to leave evil. David deSilva wrote, “John understood that a person cannot share in the profits of domination without also sharing in its crimes” (quoted in Michael Gorman’s, Reading Revelation Responsibly, p. 148).

Second, Babylon affirms infidelity (Revelation 18.3, 9). In Revelation 17, Babylon is described as a prostitute (Rev. 17.1). Throughout these chapters in Revelation we encounter the phrase, “committed adultery with her.” Throughout Scripture, when God wanted to get His people’s attention when they broke their covenant with Him, He used images like adultery, prostitution, and unfaithfulness. God wants His people to realize that when you walk away from Him, it’s like cheating on your spouse.

God commands you to come away from the infidelity of Babylon. That’s one of the reasons, we see the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 described as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. God invites His people into an intimate loyal love relationship. John 3.16, “For God so loved the world...”

Third, Babylon boasts empty promises (Revelation 18.7-8). Babylon boasts as a queen. She say, “I am not a widow; I will never mourn” (Rev. 18.7). Then, in the next verse we read, “Therefore in one day her plagues will over take her...” (Rev. 18.8). Babylon is known for saying, “It will never happen to me.” My friends, watch out for the words, “It will never happen to me.” If you say it, then Satan has you where he wants you.

Several times in Revelation 18, we hear the phrase “weep and mourn” (Revelation 18.9, 11, 15, 19). When Babylon falls, those who do business with her weep and mourn. When the New Jerusalem descends from God, where hear this phrase, “God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21.3-4).

Fourth, Babylon lures with luxury (Revelation 18.3, 7, 9, 11-14). Babylon may make you rich with the treasures of this earth. In Revelation 18.3, “the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.” In Revelation 18.7, the voice from heaven declares, “Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself.” “When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and share her luxuries see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her” (Revelation 18.9).

Then we read through a list of the cargoes that the merchants of the earth are no longer able to sell. When Babylon falls, no one buys their cargoes: gold, silver precious stones, cinnamon and spice, myrrh and frankincense, wine and olive oil, fine flour and wheat; cattle, sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves (Revelation 18.11-13). Were you expecting to see humans sold as slaves in that list? Most Americans have some form of all of those things in our homes. Cinnamon and spice? Flour and cattle in the form of steaks? We’ve traded our horses and carriages for minivans and SUV’s. But humans sold as slaves? My friends, watch out for Babylon’s lure of luxury.

Michael Gorman in his book, Reading Revelation Responsibly, asks the following questions (page 149):

Is this a business that directly or indirectly promotes the rich and exploits the poor?

Does it harm the earth or other human beings?

Do our ways of spending benefit the least, the last, and the lost?

Do they promote justice and healing of the nations?

Do they reflect our convictions about the reign of God and the Lamb?

Do they reflect the values and practices of Babylon, of those who do not know God?

Fifth, Babylon falls in judgment (Revelation 18.2, 8, 10, 17-24). In this section of Revelation, we hear the refrain, “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!” We read about plagues coming on her (Rev. 18.4), consumed by fire (Rev. 18.8), in one hour your doom has come (Rev. 18.10), woe, woe you great city (Rev. 18.16, 19), and Babylon will be thrown down (Rev. 18.21). The list escalates as Revelation 18 concludes. The picture here is that God is judging her completely. There will be a time when it will be too late.

Come out before it’s too late.

For another picture of the day of God’s judgment, I read Isaiah 2.12-22, this week with Michael as we are spending 21 days praying together.

Since the MS Estonia, Rolf Sorman always looks where the emergency exits are locate. After this shipwreck, he said, “I always know the shortest way out.”

Jesus invites us to walk with Him. In Revelation, He pictured as the powerful son of man in Revelation 1 and a Lamb that was slain in Revelation 5 that we read earlier today. He is the victorious rider on the white horse in Revelation 19 who is victorious over the beast and the false prophet. He’s the innocent, pure and perfect Lamb slain for the sins of the world. hes the faithful one. His promises are true. His treasures are eternal. He reigns forever.

Mark Scott asks the following questions as we consider the command to come out and not be seduced away from God.

How can we flee the culture only to be sent back into it?

Is the call to isolation or separation?

What used to embarrass you that doesn’t now?

What about the inclusivist exclusivist, Jesus Christ?

Aren’t we best for our culture when we are most unlike our culture?