Isaiah 48:20 Leave Babylon,
flee from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joy
and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;
say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.”

When recent events have impressed on me more and more strongly that America could well be the Babylon of Revelation, this verse hit me pretty strongly. At the time it was written, it was a call to the Jews to prepare to return to Jerusalem, but what would it mean today? I do not physically live in North America, so it might not seem to be an issue for me, but I have family and loved ones there, so it would certainly seem to apply. After all, this verse mentions “the ends of the earth!” There might be a geographical component to this today, but I think emotional/mental/spiritual location is far more important. What would make the same physical location be either part of Babylon or part of the Kingdom of God is the heart attitude of the people there. I am reminded of the Foundation Science Fiction series by Isaac Asimov, in which the evil Trantorian empire and the good Foundation were physically located on the same planet, though they were diametric opposites. “Babylon” is very much what John was talking about in 1 John 2:15 when he tells us not to love “the world.” The physical universe is beautiful and not evil, but the world system is very much polluted by the devil, and when we are seduced by it we are in deep trouble. Whatever depths the US descends to, the people of God can “come out” by being true to God and living in fellowship with Him by His Spirit. Writing that, I was struck by how the homosexuals have appropriated the phrase, “come out,” to mean only what they say it means. They and those allied with them have done and are doing that to more and more phrases, and that too is an example of the “Babylonian system.” The people of God are to come out of that in their thinking and their daily living, to stand as God’s agents for His glory.

I have recently been impressed with the dangers of living in the middle of Babylonian society, even for people who actively love God. All sorts of subtle pressures come to bear, and thought patterns and lifestyles are pressed into the Babylonian mold, to a greater or lesser degree. This actually is true anywhere in the world, so every believer, me included, has to be on their guard. This problem has been around as long as mankind, and Paul addressed it head-on in Romans 12:2. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Our minds are the battleground, so we’ve got to fill them with the Word of God. As a pastor, I am not only to be careful for myself, I’ve also got to help others recognize the traps around them, to get out of the ones they’ve fallen into and avoid the many, many others. This church is to be an embassy of the Kingdom of God indeed, and we are to live as His ambassadors, even in the middle of Babylon.

Father, thank You for all You teach me by so many different methods. Help me receive all You say to me however You say it, not simply to add it to my knowledge but to put it into practice, so that Your purposes may be fulfilled for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!