Come Out of Her My People - Revelation 18:4
Come Out of Her My People
Babylon is Fallen in Scripture ~ Revelation 18: 1-8 ...And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double to her double according to her works: in the cup which she has filled fill to her double. How much she has glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she said in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judges her.
*********************************************************************************************************
Revelation 18: 1-3 ...God Calls His People out of Babylon: Just before probation closes and the seven last plagues are poured out, “another angel” cries “mightily” and “the earth” is “lightened with his glory.” This angel represents a gracious message of salvation. It is the final and most powerful warning given to the world. It is so strong that every person on earth is forced to choose sides in the conflict between Christ and Satan. God’s people, energized by the Holy Spirit, take this message to the world with “great power.”
They provide a marvelous demonstration of God’s character of self-sacrificing love as they plead with the people to choose God and “worship Him,” reinforcing the first angel’s message of Revelation 14:6-7. They give the warning that “Babylon the great is fallen” repeating the second angel’s message of Revelation 14:8. They fervently implore God’s people who are still in Babylon to “come out of her” (vs. 4) and “be not partakers of her sins.” She has chosen to reject God, and her time of punishment is at hand when she will “drink of the wine of the wrath of God,” which is the third angel’s message of Revelation 14:9-11.
When this angel gives his loud cry, the “Christian” churches of the world have joined themselves to Babylon. The angel declares that they have “fallen,” and describes them as “the habitation of devils,” “the hold of every foul spirit” and as “a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” They have become spiritually, morally and doctrinally corrupt. They have rejected the Holy Spirit and embraced the most vile sins, chosen false doctrines over pure Biblical truth and have turned to spiritualism for wisdom and advice. Evil angels, posing as the spirits of dead loved ones, lead them astray; Satan himself appears as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), even going so far as to impersonate Christ. Thus, the churches will have cast aside their Biblical foundations are deceived.
*********************************************************************************************************
Revelation 18: 4-8 ...The mighty call, “Come out of her my people,” strengthens as Babylon is reaching the height of her power, the time when she has the universal support of the kings of the earth. In contrast of God’s people who are showing His character of love to the world, the churches of Babylon have begun to persecute God’s commandment-keeping people. They demand the strict enforcement of the Sunday law and call for a death decree upon those who will not obey this man-made edict rather than God’s commandment. God’s people, who are still scattered among many denominations, see the contrast between those who give this message and those who persecute them. They recognize the voice of their Saviour as He calls them out of Babylon.
In Daniel’s time, after seventy years of captivity, God’s people were called to leave their comfortable homes, come out of Babylon and return to Israel. Jeremiah 51:6. When the call is given to come out of spiritual Babylon, God’s people who are in churches will reject Bible truth and approve of sin must give up their comfortable traditions and unBiblical doctrines and come out. Christ says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27.
Babylon views herself as a “queen” ruling over the kings of the earth and no longer powerless. She says I “am no widow;” she sees her rise to power and deems herself secure in heaven’s favor, but her “sins have reached unto heaven.” It is time for God’s judgments to fall.
The seven last plagues now fall on Babylon, the great city, and on all its inhabitants, those who have received the mark of the beast. See Revelation 16. The terms “one hour” (vss. 10, 17, 19) and “one day” (vs. 8) indicate that the plagues are sudden and only last a relatively short time before Babylon is completely destroyed.
*********************************************************************************************************
The Result of Sacrificing Truth for the Favor of Man
Revelation 18:9-19 ...When the voice of God turns the captivity of His people, there is a terrible awakening of those who have lost all in the great conflict of life. While probation continued they were blinded by Satan's deceptions, and they justified their course of sin. The rich prided themselves upon their superiority to those who were less favored; but they had obtained their riches by violation of the law of God. ... They look with terror upon the destruction of the idols which they preferred before their Maker. They have sold their souls for earthly riches and enjoyments, and have not sought to become rich toward God. ...
The wicked are filled with regret, not because of their sinful neglect of God and their fellow men, but because God has conquered. They lament that the result is what it is; but they do not repent of their wickedness. They would leave no means untried to conquer if they could.
The world see the very class whom they have mocked and derided, and desired to exterminate, pass unharmed through pestilence, tempest, and earthquake. He who is to the transgressors of His law a devouring fire, is to His people a safe pavilion.
The minister who has sacrificed truth to gain the favor of men now discerns the character and influence of his teachings. It is apparent that the omniscient eye was following him as he stood in the desk, as he walked the streets, as he mingled with men in the various scenes of life. Every emotion of the soul, every line written, every word uttered, every act that led men to rest in a refuge of falsehood, has been scattering seed; and now, in the wretched, lost souls around him, he beholds the harvest. ~ The Great Controversy, Page 654-655
*********************************************************************************************************
The Last Message Ever
Revelation 18 points to the time when, as the result of rejecting the threefold warning of Revelation 14: 6-12, the church will have fully reached the condition foretold by the second angel, and the people of God still in Babylon will be called upon to separate from her communion. This message is the last that will ever be given to the world; and it will accomplish its work.
When those that “believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2: 12), shall be left to receive strong delusion and to believe a lie, then the light of truth will shine upon all whose hearts are open to receive it, and all the children of the Lord that remain in Babylon will heed the call: “Come out of her, My people” ~ The Great Controversy, Page 390
