When Jesus Manned Up

Lake Wendouree, Ballarat at evening.

There is something beautiful in the picture of God walking in the garden in the cool of the evening painted in Genesis 3. After all it is something many of us enjoy. The tranquility of that moment, surrounded by nature’s beauty can be quite therapeutic. It can be calming uplifting while at the same time giving my spirit a much needed lift. How different is that garden from the world around me, full of turmoil, anger, hatred, sorrow and ugliness.

On that evening God came looking, calling to Adam ‘Where are you?’ Didn’t God know? Isn’t He the all-seeing One? If God knew what Adam and Eve had done and knew where they were why the pretense?

As our children grow we slowly allow them greater freedom, giving them the opportunity to understand that their decisions, good or bad, come with consequences. If we don’t we are setting them up to fail as adults for our community expects adults to be responsible for what they do, or what they should do but don’t.

Adam and Eve failed on this point. In response to God Adam said ‘I hid because I was naked and afraid.’ It so reminds me of my own childhood. ‘Kenneth, come here.’ One day I heard the dreaded call and I bolted. When hunger finally got the better of me I tried to sneak home only to feel the switch from the peach tree on the back of my legs before I saw Mum.

Yes, God came to confront. Was it because He is vindictive, just waiting for us to step out of line? No. When confronted with the fact of their wrong-doing, of eating the forbidden fruit, they attempted to excuse their own action by passing blame. Said Adam, ‘You gave me the woman and she gave me the fruit’. Which interpreted means ‘If you had not given me Eve then I would not be in this pickle. It’s your fault.’

And Eve? ‘Blame the snake. He deceived me.’

There is always the ‘what might have been’. They could have said ‘God, we blew it. We understood what you said and we chose to disobey’. Does our idea of a perfect world mean we will never fail? Or is it a place where we are free to learn by trial and error, accepting responsibility for our failings and seeking to learn from them?

God could have turned a blind eye, pretending it didn’t happen. Can you imagine a society where no one was held accountable for what they did? Just look at the world around us and you will see that society.

Perhaps Genesis three is best understood in that light. God treated Adam and Eve as adults. He knew it was important that they, and us, learn the law of consequences no matter how much pain it may have caused Him and us.

But what of God’s part in this. Could He not foresee that humanity would fail? Did He not create the Serpent, the tempter? What of the Serpent itself? Was it created to tempt, or was it created with free will, the freedom to chose to obey or rebel and in doing so lead others into rebellion?

Our society expects us as citizens to give thought to what we do or fail to do. That means we should have an insight into the potential consequences of the choices we make. There are many lawyers making a living out of proving that the negligence of one party has resulted in injury or loss to their clients.

Should we expect any less of this all knowing God who is able to see the end from the beginning? If He could not foresee the potential consequences of His act of creating He is hardly the God He claims to be. He cannot claim to be just and fair if He holds us accountable for our actions but applies a different standard to Himself. Consider this.

Through Jesus God created everything (Col. 1:16). He was chosen before the Earth was made to rescue us from the mess resulting from our poor choices (1 Peter 1:20). So Jesus came and lived the perfect life of obedience but the Church of the day didn’t want Him. So they crucified Him.

God was not caught napping. He had a plan to respond to the possibility that free will could lead to a disaster. In contrast to Adam and Eve who tried to pass the buck, Jesus manned up and took responsibility for His part. He stepped into the Creation as a helpless baby. He grew to maturity in perfect harmony with the will of God, demonstrating faithfulness was possible.

Read the Gospels. He knew shame as the bastard child of Mary. He was rejected by the Jewish leaders, betrayed by one of his closest followers, and deserted by all in His hour of need. Falsely accused, he was flogged, had a crown of thorns thrust on His head and forced to carry the instrument of His crucifixion to the place of execution. There He hung naked, exposed to the world, an innocent man dying the death of the vilest of criminals.Just before He died He cried out “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Mat. 27:46)

Why would Jesus put Himself through all this?

The answer is found in three words: confession, repentance and forgiveness. Confession is the ‘manning up’ bit, accepting responsibility for what we have done. Repentance shows we are not simply going through the motions. Rather, it shows we properly recognise our failures and aim not to repeat them. And forgiveness?

Let me suggest three things. First, we accept the forgiveness of God. We believe Him when He says our past is behind us, that He is fully committed to helping us become the people we meant to be. If we are to accept that we must learn to forgive ourselves. Like Jesus we must recognise our past is behind us and live for the future. Once we accept our own forgiveness, we can accept that we are no better or worse than anyone else. As God has forgiven us, so we are to forgive others.

Can you imagine a community that lives this out? What I said in the previous paragraph is not a one of. In this life - and might I suggest the life to come - we will be continually failing, continually learning, continually growing. So the cycle will be continually repeated. But as the cycle repeats, community bonds will grow and our love for one another increase.

That is the community Jesus invites us to enter - a community that understands communal cohesion revolves around responsibility and accountability.

Quotes from the New Living Translation.

Under Orders - a Soldier's Faith

I was 16 when I joined the Royal Australian Air Force, or RAAF. One medal in particular gives me great satisfaction, the Defence Force Service Medal with clasp. One qualified for the DFSM after 15 years service with the clasp recognising an additional 5 years, or 20 years service. Probably less than 25% of those enlisting in the Australian Defence Force achieve the 20 year milestone. Yes, I am proud of my service.

Back in the days of Jesus Roman soldiers typically did 20 years service. There were some differences though. Officially they were meant to remain single although their commanders normally looked the other way when they formed relationships with local women, and these relationships tended to be recognised as marriages when their service ceased. It was also normal for them to remain in a particular place rather than experiencing the regular posting cycle I experienced.

It may come as a surprise but in the New Testament soldiers are generally seen in a positive light. Maybe it is only those of us who have had military experience who can begin to appreciate fully what the Bible is saying with its references to soldiers.

An example is found in Luke chapter 7. The much valued slave of a Roman Centurion is at death’s door. He is highly regarded by the Jewish leaders and at his request they seek Jesus and ask Him to come and heal the servant. The story continues in verse 6:

So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. 7 I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. 8 I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”

It seems that as he waited he had time to think and as he did so reflected on his experience as a soldier and what he knew of Jesus. In Jesus he saw someone who had great authority, the type of authority he could well relate to.

Doubtless the Roman Army of the first Century operated differently to that of modern military forces. That aside there are no doubt close parallels. Members of the Australian military forces are required to obey the laws of the land but they are also bound by Military Law. Unlike their civilian contemporaries they cannot strike, withdraw labour, resign at will or disobey a lawful command regardless of the threat to their safety. A command is a command is a command. It must be obeyed and, if circumstances so dictate, without question.

It is this that the Centurion saw in Jesus, one who had the authority to command with the expectation of instant compliance. Not however over subordinate soldiers but over nature and those forces, however understood back then, that caused illness and death. He saw in Jesus one who had authority over sickness and health, life and death.

So his friends went and conveyed his message to Jesus. ‘Just say the word … and my servant will be healed.’ And the Scripture says in verse 9: ‘When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!’

The Centurion was a Roman soldier, not a Jew. It was generally not the done thing for a good Jew to enter the home of a Gentile, although an exemption could be made if there was certainty the home was ceremonially clean, which in effect meant free of idols. Maybe this was something the Centurion considered before he sent the instruction for Jesus not to come.

The Jews came seeking an exemption, extolling the virtues of this Roman who had been so generous to them. We read in verses 4 and 5: ‘So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said, 5 “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.”

I am certain Jesus did not head for the Centurion’s home because of his ‘worthiness’. Throughout His ministry He demonstrated compassion and acceptance to society’s outcasts, the unworthy. Jesus was motivated by compassion.

Jesus makes no comment on the Centurion’s deservedness and expresses no surprise that a Roman could be so generous to the Jews. Rather Jesus extols the man’s great faith - faith that exceeds anything He has seen in the Jewish community, among the good Church people. The whole point of His mission was to bring people to the point in their lives where they would put their faith in God. And in this man He found someone with the type of faith He was looking for. Someone who was obviously attracted to the Church, but not part of it.

Is there a lesson in that for those of us who are members of the Church of the 21st Century?

Bible quoted: New Living Translation

Acknowledgement: NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible

What Implications Does the Law of Decay Have for Creationists?

Recently I picked up what I took to be a local paper in a Coles Supermarket in Ballarat. It turned out to be a publication produced by a Christian Creationist group featuring the story of an engineer who, during his university days, was challenged to think about the implications of the second law of thermodynamics and the origins of the universe. This lead to his conversion and belief in the Biblical account of Creation in six literal days.

The second law of thermodynamics, also known as the law of decay, are accepted by many in the Christian community as evidence for the existence of God and His role as creator. Simple observation tells us things decay or  breakdown. Science predicts that over time the Universe will expend its finite amount of potential energy. Long before this happens life as we know it will cease to exist. A brief explanation of the concept is presented in the attached link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0bSnL131zQ

While I find the argument compelling it also raises questions about my understanding of God. At the end of sixth day of Creation week it is said that ‘...  God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!’ (Gen. 1:31). It did not however remain that way for long, for we read in Chapter 3 how Adam and Eve disobeyed God and as a result were denied access to the Tree of Life. Consequently they would return to the dust from which they were formed.

On this basis some argue that death, and therefore decay, entered the Creation. Commenting on Genesis 3 Paul says in Romans 5:12 ‘Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned’. Paul is cleary dealing with the lot of humanity. Does it therefore follow that all other living organisms at this point in time also began to decay? I wonder.

As we observe the world around us we see that decay is essential to life. When living things die they start to decay, helped by insects, worms and other things that break them down, releasing nutrients back into the environment to support the continuation of life. Some birds, for example, require trees of a certain age so they can nest in hollows provided by the tree.

It has been observed that life as we know it requires a set of conditions to exist. One of these is the age of the Universe, our Galaxy and our place in it. Too young or too old we could not exist. That age is measured by decay. This being so, how old is the Universe? Is it a recent creation with all the appearance of the necessary age to allow our existence, or was life created on this planet after the Universe had sufficiently matured?

What of the decay inherent in our planet? Was it there from the beginning? Did God create trees of the right age to allow birds to be ‘fruitful and multiply’ and so fulfill the Divine command? (Gen.1:22) According the Genesis 3 the ground was cursed because of human disobedience to God. Consequently it would produce thorns and thistles, and humanity would die (v.17-19). Do we assume a fundamental change occurred in the natural world at this time, including the universe as a whole? Remember, if Adam and Eve had remained faithful they would have lived forever which means our decaying universe would have had to sustain them forever.

We should also remember the Bible talks of the Heavenly Hosts the number of which is too vast to count. We are not told a great deal about them other that they are there and appear before God’s throne. God, we believe, transcends time and space, but what of these created beings? Either we assume God created the Universe just for humanity, or we allow that He created it for all His created beings. Possibly they live in other galaxies, other solar systems, and God meets with them as He met with Adam and Eve in the beginning. If so, do they also see the laws of thermodynamics in action, the Universe in a state of decay? How could it be any different if they inhabit our Universe and our understanding of this law is correct?

Scripture looks forward to the time when all things will be made new (Rev. 21:5). How do we understand this? Earth, our home, is clearly in need of restoration. But if the damage done by sin is contained to our part of the Universe why the necessity of recreating everything? While He could, I don’t see God putting on a grand display of His creative power just to impress the Heavenly Hosts, having to evacuate them to a safe place outside the Universe while He does so. If He alone dwells outside time and space this universe is as much their home as ours and they have done nothing to deserve having their home destroyed and replaced.

There is another possibility. The universe as we see it remains as God intended it to be, and it will maintain that appearance throughout eternity. Remember, the Second Law of Thermodynamics applies to a closed system. We see it at work in our mobile devices. When disconnected from the power point their electrical system is a closed one with a limited life. When we plug them into the recharger they become part of the greater energy system and draw energy from that.

The first law of thermodynamics says that energy in a closed system remains constant, it can never be increased or decreased. God, as we understand Him, is outside time and space. It is from Him that the energy present in the Universe comes. So if the Eternal God does exist there is no reason why He cannot ‘plug into’ our closed system to resupply energy so as to sustain it forever.

Which raises the question: If decay is part of the original design of the universe and it is to remain part of its makeup forever, why did God make it such?

Paul affirms in 1 Timothy 6:16 that God ‘alone can never die’. Only God, by nature, is immortal. Everything else, including angels, the heavenly hosts - if they be different to angels, and humanity is mortal. Our continued existence is wholly dependent on Him.

Could there be a better way to demonstrate this to intelligent created beings throughout eternity that the universe in which they live should have ceased to exist eons ago?

Quotes from the New Living Translation.

The Flower and The Refugee

As Christians we should be concerned at the plight of the homeless, displaced, asylum seekers and refugees in the world. Does this mean we should all agree on the way we respond to the matter?

I took this photo recently. The camera was so focused on the flower that other than one leaf everything else is out of focus. This may be good if you want a picture of the flower, but it tells you nothing about it - where it is, what grows next to it, the time of day it was taken and so much more. There is a bigger picture.

I hear a lot about refugees, asylum seekers, illegal immigrants or whatever else you want to call them. But labels don't matter. They are after all human beings. The problem I have with all that is said and done about these human beings is that most of it is about a few people on Manus and Nauru and the inhumanity of the Australian Government. But, like the flower, there is a bigger picture.

Latest available figures from the UNHCR show there are 65.6 million forcibly displaced people around the world. Of these, 22.5 million are classified as refugees, more than half being children under the age of 18. A little over 89,300 of these were resettled in 2016. In that same year Australia's population was just over 24 million.

As I understand it most, if not all, those boat people who are now held on Manus or Nauru are recent refugees, fleeing from recent conflicts. They, their families or friends, have been able to raise the money to pay people smugglers and they come here demanding resettlement. They have a vocal support base only too ready to tell the media every atrocity committed against them.

According to Wikki there are something like 400,000 Karen people homeless, with 128,000 living in camps on the Thai-Burma border. These have little opportunity to earn anything, let alone save for a people smuggler.

Palestinians form the largest refugee group in the world. These people lost their homes and incomes with the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948. Many of the survivors continue to live in refugee camps with their children, grandchildren and later generations.

Australia has historically been one of the most generous hosts to resettled people on a per captia basis, a record we can be proud of. We are also the fastest growing nation in the developed world and that is stretching our resources if we are to believe some of the voices in the media of late.

So what is our response? Or, what should it be?

If we continue to resettle refugees who should get priority? Those from recent conflicts who have the means to pay people smugglers? Elderly Palestinians who because of their age would be unable to contribute to our economic growth? Poor Karens? Or should we give priority to those younger refugees who are in greater danger of harm? By this I mean those who live closer to conflict or in more hazardous situations than Manus or Nauru?

And what of those 'horror' stories from these near islands? Without all the facts it is hard to comment. However I find it difficult to believe they live in conditions that are anywhere near as difficult as Palestinians, Karens or many other refugees and asylum seekers around the world.

That I may not be as passionate about a particular group of people who tried to make the journey to Australia by boat does not mean I lack compassion. It may simply be that I see beyond the media hype, that I believe we need to have a limit, and that there are others who may be in greater need of assistance.

http://www.unhcr.org/en-au/figures-at-a-glance.html

Church - a Healing Place?

Paul penned his letter to the Roman Church around AD 57. The Church in Rome was largely Gentile with a minority of Jewish believers. After his opening remarks in verse 18 he turns his attention to the nature of fallen humanity. Although they had no excuse for doing so as the Creation gives witness to God, people had turned away from Him to worship idols. Consequently God had left them alone to follow their own desires, including the pursuit of homosexual practices. The picture he paints is not a pretty one:

Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. (Rom.1:29-31).

The Jews of the day considered homosexuality a Gentile sin. When Paul wrote the Roman elite had been influenced by the Greeks. As it was generally, but not exclusively, practiced male homosexuality was more akin to what we call paedophilia. Probably because of a shortage of women owing to the practice of abandoning girls at birth adult men engaged in sex with pubescent and adolescent boys - the latter being considered adult. Most Greek men married around the age of 30 by which time their numbers had been thinned by death to girls around the age of 18. Same sex marriage was considered an absurdity because of the need to produce heirs. Lesbianism, although practiced, was no where near as common.

Listening to the first chapter I can almost see the congregation nodding their heads in agreement and even pronouncing an amen or two. After all, Paul was speaking about those unbelievers and their objectionable behaviour wasn’t he?

In chapter two he turns up the heat on the believers. Who are you, he says, when you go around thinking you are better than everyone else. You’re ‘just as bad, and you have no excuse!’ (v.1). Just because you claim to be a Christian means nothing if you go around judging others when you do what they do.

Now here’s the point. Christians may take pride in their knowledge of the Law, but if they break it they are still sinners. And that puts us all in the same boat. Do we take pride in our law-keeping, our knowledge of Scripture, our Christian way of living? Are we like the Pharisee who stood in the Temple and prayed ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income’? Or do we bow with the tax collector and pray ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner’? (Luke 18:9-14)

There are ‘sinners’ in this world who do not have the knowledge of the Bible that you and I have. These include those who have been hurt by Christians or turned away from the Church by the way they see us behaving. We may see some of them as being rough, perhaps uncouth. Yet when they act with compassion for others, go the extra mile to help someone in need, they do as God’s Law requires. Some of them may shame us in the way they behave. Perhaps they are closer to God than we are in many ways, even if they are ‘living in sin’, straight or gay.

We come to the Cross as sinners, not saints. And, I suggest, that is what the world needs to see. Not good, moral people, but sinners admitting their need and supporting one another to  grow together in our understanding of God and of what it means to live with Him.

Inside the Garrison Church, Sydney

The Church has been likened to a hospital. It is a good analogy, yet it can only be a place of healing if it admits people in need of healing. Alcoholics, gamblers, straight, gay, abused, the foul-mouthed, the spiritually proud and more. More than anything else we need acceptance, and for many of us acceptance is a greater need than forgiveness, for it will only be when we understand we are loved and accepted as we are that we will truly understand we can be forgiven.

Bible Translation: New Living Translation.

Acknowledgement

I acknowledge the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible regarding homosexuality.

You Must Prophesy Again

Revelation excites me like no other book in the Bible. Saying this, I do not detract from the Gospels or any other Bible book. Through its lens the prophetic voice of the Old Testament comes alive to the political, economic and environmental conditions of the world I live in, challenges my views on these, and points me to Jesus as the answer to the problems of the day.

That which I find so compelling is they way its rich imagery is drawn from the Old Testament. The rainbow, the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant, the language of judgement, and the judgements that fall under the seven trumpets and seven seals reminiscent of the Old Testament covenant curses. Then there are those ancient cities and countries - Sodom, Egypt, Babylon, and Jerusalem.

The Sea Beast of Chapter 11 reminds us of the four beasts of Daniel’s dream in Daniel 7:4-6. The serpent who leads Adam and Eve astray in Genesis 3 appears in Revelation 11 as Satan or the Devil, the enemy of God who is cast out of heaven and wars against God’s people on earth. When Adam and Eve sinned they were barred access to the Tree of Life. Those faithful to God regain access to the Tree in Revelation 22.

As one reads Revelation it is obvious it is universal in scope. It encompasses heaven and earth, the sea and land, and people and tribes from all nations. On the other hand, the Old Testament primarily focused in Israel and the nations surrounding it.

The Old Testament is the ethical underpinning of the New. Its specific, cultural and economic rules reveal principles of justice, fairness and compassion. Israel and her neighbours are continually rebuked for their cruelty, injustice, exploitation of the weak and marginalised, and idolatry. One thing that stands out is the clear association between environmental degradation and the idolatry and injustices practiced.  

When I reflect on the promises God made to Israel I know they could only be kept by a supernatural power, one Christians believe in. This leads me to believe the calamities that fell on Israel and her neighbours were the result of God withdrawing His supernatural protection. It is clear the resultant curses were meant to cause reflection and give opportunity for repentance.

I see Revelation in much the same way as the OT. God's promises require a response. If we disobey we reap the results. If we obey, He blesses and protects. In fact, in the OT God states He will not bring harm if the evil repent, or good if the good turn away (see Ezekiel 18). Obviously there are things in there that are unconditional, such as the return of Jesus to usher in the reign of everlasting righteousness. There is also the call to come apart from all that is exploitative, destructive and evil, to follow God’s way and not Satan’s. So we must conclude there is opportunity for universal repentance, for accepting God’s forgiveness, and avoiding the consequences of our rebellion.

God does not change (Malachi 3:6). He always has, and always will, require us ‘to do what is right, to love mercy, and walk humbly with God’ (Micah 6:8).

I believe the symbolism of Revelation is meant to cause us to reflect on those Old Testament themes it reflects. It allows, or even mandates, us to recast the Old Testament prophetic call to all the world. Surely God wants the world to see the sharp contrast between that which He intended and that which we have created by walking away from Him.

It was God’s intent that Israel would be the model for the world, the nation through which the supremacy of His way stood out. We see this in Deuteronomy 4:5-8:

Look, I now teach you these decrees and regulations just as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy.  Obey them completely, and you will display your wisdom and intelligence among the surrounding nations. When they hear all these decrees, they will exclaim, ‘How wise and prudent are the people of this great nation!’  For what great nation has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him? And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?

Has the time come for the the Church, the people of God, to ‘prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings’ (Rev.10:11)?

Quotes from the New Living Translation

Star Wars - the Original

‘Then there was war in heaven. Michael and the angels under his command fought the dragon and his angels’ (Rev 12.7).

Like a good mystery novel the Bible contains different threads that weave through the story until they are finally pulled together at the end. This happens in the Book of Revelation. As the story unfolds we see different events that legitimately raise questions about the nature of God? Is He really a god of love as the Bible claims or is He a demonic, vengeful despot guilty of genocide and other atrocities as some claim?

While it is not my intention to answer those questions in any detail in this piece I would like to take a brief look at one of the themes woven into the plot of Scripture - the conflict between Michael and the dragon and their respective followers.

The dragon is identified in Rev 12:9 as ‘the ancient serpent called the Devil, or Satan …’ We are introduced to him in Genesis 3 as the one who led first Eve, and through her Adam, to sin. Consequently the serpent is cursed. In pronouncing the curse God says to Satan ‘From now on, you and the woman will be enemies, and your offspring and her offspring will be enemies. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel’ (Gen 3:15).

Other than Genesis 3 Satan, the serpent or the Devil, hardly rates a mention in the Old Testament.  He appears in 1 Chronicles 21:1 where he is said to have tempted David to complete a census of Israel and again in the first 2 chapters of Job where he is called ‘Satan the Accuser’ (1:6), a name repeated in the New Testament Book Revelation 12:10. In the Old Testament God generally is seen as the instigator of both good and bad. So the conflict foreseen in Genesis 3 is not readily apparent in the Old Testament. It is, however, there.

In Revelation 13 we are introduced to two beasts. The first looks like a leopard with a ‘bear’s feet and a lion’s mouth’ (v.2). The second appears like a lamb but speaks as a dragon (v.11). To the first beast the dragon gives ‘his own power and throne and great authority’ (v.2). In turn, the second beast exercises ‘all the authority of the first beast’ (v.12). Through these two beasts all earth’s people worship, or give honour, to the dragon, or Satan.

It is against this background chapter 14 portrays 3 angels crying out to the people of the world. The first calls on people to worship God as the Creator, the second announces the fall of Babylon, and the third warns of the consequences of worshiping the beast or of loyalty to him.

Of Babylon the angel says ‘Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen—because she made all the nations of the world drink the wine of her passionate immorality’ (v.8). One of the great cities of antiquity, Babylon had been nothing but a pile of ruins for well over a century and probably forgotten by most people when these words were penned, so the reference cannot be to the literal city. It is clearly symbolic, warning of something the city represents.

Babylon is first mentioned in Genesis 10 and 11.  After the Flood earth’s inhabitants planned to ‘build a great city ... with a tower’ reaching to ‘the sky’ in the Babylon area. Rather than spread out and fill the earth as God had commanded in Genesis 9:1 this was a move to keep the people together. The other, and perhaps stronger motive, was pride - ‘This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world’ (11:1-9). Jeremiah later describes Babylon as a ‘land of arrogance’ (Jer. 50:32).

Around 587 or 586 BC Jerusalem fell to the armies of Nebuchadnezzar and most of its elites were taken captive to Babylon. One of these was the young man Daniel, the authour of the Book bearing his name. The Book records a number of dreams, the first that of Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 2. Starting with Nebuchadnezzar the dream foresees the rise and fall of successive kingdoms culminating with the establishment of God’s Kingdom on Earth.

In his interpretation of the dream Daniel says, ‘Your Majesty, you are a king over many kings. The God of heaven has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor. He has made you the ruler over all the inhabited world and has put even the animals and birds under your control. You are the head of gold, (Dan 2:37,38).

Note the similarity to Genesis 1:26. ‘Then God said, "Let us make people in our image, to be like ourselves. They will be masters over all life -- the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the livestock, wild animals, and small animals."'

Human beings, created in the image of God, were given the authority to rule over the earth. When Adam and Eve succumbed to Satan they surrendered that authority to him. Hence Jesus could refer to  ‘Satan, the ruler of this world’ (John 12:31)

In chapter 7 Daniel is shown the future in a dream. It expands on Nebuchadnezzar’s in chapter 2 with further detail provided in chapter 8. Babylon’s rule passes to Medo-Persia and then Greece. After Greece comes a ‘fourth world power that will rule the earth. It will be different from all the others. It will devour the whole world, trampling and crushing everything in its path’ (Dan 7:23). As we read on we see a ruler arises from this power to war against God and His people. This power continues until God sits in judgment on the Earth and hands ‘the sovereignty, power, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven … to the holy people’, that is, the people of God (v. 27).

Compare the words of Daniel 7:23 with those of Revelation 13:7. ‘And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation.’ This beast, as we have seen earlier, gets its authority from Satan, the real ‘ruler of this world’ (John 12:31).

In Revelation 18 another angel appears, again proclaiming the fall of Babylon (v.2). This is followed by a call to  ‘Come away from her, my people. Do not take part in her sins, or you will be punished with her’ (v.4).

The pronouncements in Revelation 14 and 18 reflect the language of Jeremiah 50 & 51. Jeremiah foretells the fall and utter destruction of Babylon. ‘Flee from Babylon! Save yourselves!  Don’t get trapped in her punishment!’ warns Jeremiah (51:6. See also 50:8).

One final comparison between Jeremiah and Revelation. God, in Jer 51:25 says of Babylon, ‘Look, O mighty mountain, destroyer of the earth! I am your enemy’. In Revelation 11:18 the twenty-four elders who sit on thrones in front of God praise Him, saying ‘It is time to destroy all who have caused destruction on the earth.’

‘Then there was war in heaven. Michael and the angels under his command fought the dragon and his angels’ (Rev 12.7). The Old Testament is silent on this. In fact, as seen above, the Old Testament is almost silent on Satan. Yet the rebellion in Heaven must have taken place before Adam and Eve sinned. Looking back through the light of Revelation we see this battle working out in the conflicts of the Old Testament, in the rise and fall of arrogant, oppressive nations.

It is these nations that oppress and destroy as they work out principles that are diametrically opposed to those of God. The spirit behind them is much older than Babylon. We are told that the pre-flood world ‘had become corrupt and was filled with violence’ (Gen 6:11). While it says God was the destroying agent (Gen 6:13) I wonder.

I look to the history of Israel where God was said to bring either good or bad. Within the culture of the day nations worshiped their national gods. Wars between nations were understood as wars between the gods of those nations. This is seen in different places in the Old Testament and was obviously the understanding of some of its writers. It follows that God would communicate in a way the first hearers of His messages would understand.

It is only in the New Testament, and the Gospels in particular, that we begin to see the conflict between Christ and Satan. We see, for example, in the account of the Temptation in the Wilderness the issue is about worship and authority. In Luke 4:5-7 we read:

Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”

There is a place where Jesus says we reap what we sow. Hosea says in 8:7, ‘They have planted the wind and will harvest the whirlwind.’ In Rev. 11:18 it is we, the people of earth, that have brought its destruction.  So if God does not change, as He says in Malachi 3:6, it would seem that He intervenes in human history to save those of us who seek after Him from the destruction rebellion brings on the earth. So what of the flood, or other disasters such as Sodom and Gomorrah? Destruction by God, or intervention to save the faithful few from human caused or natural disaster?

Bible Quoted: New Living Translation