Essay About Roman Catholic Church And Personal Rights

Babylon the Great Is Fallen
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BABYLON THE GREAT IS FALLEN
In Revelation chapters 17 and 18 we read about the great whore named Babylon
who sits on many waters and is the mother of all harlots. The imagery in which the
apostle John uses to describe Babylon has very significant meaning, in particular
for the church as she approaches the end of the age. It is of paramount importance
to understand who this Babylon is and how she affects the life of every believer.
Throughout the ages there have been many attempts to identify Babylon. Most
have agreed that she is the Roman Catholic Church (in particular the Vatican),
even to the point of identifying the Pope as the anti-Christ himself. Others have
suggested that Babylon is not a religious structure but more likely political,
pointing to the EEC (the common European market), or to the United States (in
particular New York with Wall Street). Further more, others have gone as far as to
suggest that Babylon is geographical, pointing to modern day Iraq from where that
former great civilisation originated, and suggesting that one day that civilisation
will rise again to become a modern superpower.
While it is true that one may find levels of Babylon in all these things, however,
none of these things in themselves can fully make up Babylon. In other words,
Babylon may, and does exist in these things, but no one can point to any one of
these things and say, “This is Babylon”. The reality is, that all these (ie. the
European Union, United States with its “big business”, the Vatican, and other
political and religious institutions) are made up of people, and it is IN THE
HEARTS of people you will find Babylon. These entities have been allowed by God
to visibly show us Babylon and point to something of the nature of fallen man.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can
know it? (Jer 17:9).
The origins of Babylon, as far as mankind is concerned, dates right back to the
garden of Eden when Adam and Eve were given a choice as to whether they would
follow the Lord through a life of obedience and faith, or try to become as God
through their own striving. From the beginning, Gods intention was that man
would manifest the image of God and grow into full maturity through obedience
to the will of the Lord. As we know, Adam and Eve chose to disobey and eat from
the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that time on, man has an inherent
nature which attempts to attain to the image of God in his own strength.
The so-called “non-religious” use natural strength to become “gods” of this world.
They build lives for themselves without the reality of the Creator. In their own
delusions they believe that they themselves are “creators”. They are in charge of
their own destinies. They set up moral and ethical standards of life which cannot
be violated because of “personal rights”, while at the same time enforcing those
rights on the wider community and insisting that everyone “submit” to those
standards. They even go so far as to take it upon themselves to not only decide
when to give life, but when and how to take it also. THEY HAVE BECOME
“GODS” WHILE AT THE SAME TIME COMPLETELY DISREGARDING THE ONE
AND ONLY TRUE GOD!
Likewise, many “religious/spiritual ones” combine spiritual laws to natural ones
but with one difference – they become “gods” not only of this world, but also the
next. They actually “de-throne” God by living independently of the one true
Creator. Their decisions of what is right and wrong is quite often based on what
benefits them and not on the “absolutes” of God. On the surface there is an
appearance of piety, but underneath quite often lies the hidden enemy of pride
expressing itself through mans unsanctified intellect and emotions. This is the
“Babylon nature” in man.
It is this same nature resident in fallen man that makes man self-centred. Man will
tend to live His life and make his decisions based on how it will benefit him. Even
what appears to be the most sacrificial and compassionate acts can have traces of
selfishness in them. Even the church exhibit the characteristics of this nature –
from those with carnal lusts, to those who zealously attempt to build Gods
kingdom with their own strength. This is Babylon in the church. We all have done
it. But praise be to God, He understands and is not willing to condemn us, but
rather encourage us to see our hearts in order that we may turn to Him who is the
author and finisher of our faith (see Hebrews 12:2).
Babylon finds her expression through