Jeremiah 51:6 “Flee from Babylon!
Run for your lives!
Do not be destroyed because of her sins.
It is time for the Lord’s vengeance;
he will pay her what she deserves.”

Back on June 16th, in reference to Proverbs 14:34, I was writing about how much America today looks like Babylon. At the time I was thinking of the references in Revelation, but this verse certainly seems to apply. As I wrote in June, today Babylon is much more a spiritual than a physical location, so “fleeing from Babylon” is more a matter of lifestyle than geography. Where the NIV has “Run for your lives,” the Japanese says, “Let each one save his own life.” This is very much an individual decision, and it involves at least standing firm, and probably moving, against the flow of society around you. That’s never easy, but it gets easier with practice. In the short term it’s always easier to “go with the flow,” but when that flow is other than the River of Life, (Revelation 22:1) that can be fatal. I recall being told by people who were in 3rd story rooms during the Nagasaki Flood of 1982 of seeing cars being swept out to sea by the water, with people inside screaming for help but no one could get to them. At least in the matter of escape from spiritual Babylon there’s always help available, and that is the Holy Spirit. However, we have to ask for that help, and that’s where it’s a matter of each one saving his own life. Those on the side of moral decay are quick to tell those who oppose them, “You’re on the wrong side of history.” That’s not true, because the Bible is very clear that the culmination of history is the righteous judgment of God, and it goes without saying that those who defy God will very much be on the wrong side there.

I am subjected to the same temptations and pressures as anyone, but I’ve had more practice in distinguishing good from evil than some. (Hebrews 5:14) Actually, that leaves me less excuse when I slip up! I am at a physical remove from America, but the Internet carries “Babylonian” culture everywhere. Actually, Islam uses revulsion against some of the elements of “Babylonian” culture to further their cause, when it is, if possible, even more from the pit of hell. I’ve got to stand firm against the tide of filth, while calling others to do likewise, and even being an example that it is possible to do so. The devil tries to convince people that “resistance is futile,” when nothing could be further from the truth. When we choose to submit to God and resist the devil, (James 4:7) we have all the power of heaven on our side! That’s why the devil flees. However, it’s got to be our choice, and sometimes that’s not easy. That’s why I’m to strengthen and encourage, rather than accuse and condemn, not depending on human strength or “willpower,” but on God.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me be an encouragement indeed to those around me, both those close and those I can influence via the Internet. May I always speak Your truth in love, so that it may penetrate and set people free from their Babylonian chains, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!