COME OUT FROM AMONG THE EVIL DOERS

PROCLAMATION

“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.’ ”  Revelation 18:4-5 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the words of prophecy which were revealed to, and written by, the Apostle John, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  In this eighteenth chapter of Revelation, while he was still in the spirit, John was carried away into a wilderness by one of the seven angels who had one of the seven bowl full of the wrath of God.  There he saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast.  The woman, the great prostitute, represented the city of Rome, the spiritual Babylon, the seat of idolatry, immorality, deception, and persecution. (Revelation 17:1-3)  After this John saw another angel coming down from heaven, who illuminated the earth with his splendor, shouting: “Babylon the great is fallen …”  Babylon had become a dwelling place for demons and a habitat for impure spirits. (Revelation 18:1-2)  Then John heard a voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, My people …”  Do not partake of her sins and you will not share in her punishment. (Revelation 18:4-5)  Babylon will be destroyed in one day. And the kings, merchants, and sailors who profited greatly from her will mourn her demise as well as their loss of future revenue. (Revelation 18:9-20)  He ends the chapter by revealing the things that will cease to occur after the destruction of Babylon. (Revelation 18:21-24)

 

APPLICATION

This text describes ancient Babylon, or Rome, but it can be applied to a number of sin-sick cities of today. (Ezekiel 22:1-13)  The take home lesson here is that those who gain by deceit will lose in the end.  We were taught not to be envious of evil doers who prosper and enjoy dishonest gain because The Lord God is against them and they will be cut down in the end. (Psalm 37:1-2 and Psalm 37:16)  We were also taught not to associate with evil doers because only birds of the same feather will flock together. (Amos 3:3)  If we participate with them in their sins, then we will share in their punishment. (Revelation 18:4)  The Lord God has called us, His people, out of sinful darkness into His marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9 and Revelation 18:4)  If we come out of our sinful existence and desire to go back to it, then we are not fit for the kingdom of heaven. (Luke 9:62)  Remember what happened to Lot’s wife as they left Sodom and Gomorrah.  Her longing for the past sinful life she left behind cause her demise. (Genesis 19:26)  Just as Christ was, we are in this world but not of it. (John 8:23)  We are just passing through it on our way home.