Babylon is Falling

 June 16, 2022

September 11, 2001…do you remember where you were when you heard the news? The previous spring we had moved into our new facilities at Park church; I was walking from my office to the secretary’s office when someone said, “A plane just hit one of the towers!” Shortly afterwards came the news that a second plane had hit the South Tower. We watched as they burned, then were horrified when they collapsed. We watched over and over again, willing it to be a mistake or a lie, but it was neither.

The most chilling part of the day came when they aired video clips of Palestinians smiling, shouting with glee, shooting their AK-47s in the air. Rejoicing in such destruction and loss of life was, and remains foreign to me. But as evil as I saw this rejoicing to be, like whiplash snapping my neck, my mind turned to the Revelation, chapter 18.

“After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.” “The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’ “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore:” —-Revelation 18:1-3, 9-11 

“Babylon the great is fallen…the kings of the earth…and the merchants of the earth weep and mourn.” Then comes the rest of the story:

 

“After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!”” —Revelation 19:1-3 

As again and again I watched the towers collapse and the Palestinians cheering, I couldn’t help but wonder about my relationship with the systems of this world represented by Babylon. Would I be among those who weep at the loss and destruction of this world’s systems which are spiritually aligned in virulent opposition to the kingdom of God, or when that day comes, will I be among those who rejoice? 

I used to be quite confident where my loyalties lay, but since 9/11, I’m not as sure. I certainly mourned the towers and was stunned by the Palestinians’ rejoicing, so which side does that put me on? Revelation 1:7 says, “Behold, he is coming with clouds, and every eye will see him, even they who pierced him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him.” We want to believe we will rejoice at his coming, but John is clear: ALL the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. Will I mourn or rejoice? I fear the former and hope for the latter. As with 9/11 It all depends on our citizenship. We mourned; the Palestinians rejoiced. When Jesus comes with the clouds, the tribes of earth will mourn; the saints will rejoice.

Paul tells us that because our citizenship is in heaven, we wait eagerly for him. (Philippians 3:20). Do we? We have a choice in the matter. We who were citizens of hell can become citizens of heaven, but to have such citizenship means renouncing our loyalty to this world. That is easier said than done, which is why we have the Scriptures to challenge, convict, and correct us.