Is Babylon on the rise?

Now it is the red cup at the local national coffee shop.  Holy cow, we go to coffee shops all over and one preacher has gone nuts over the one red cup.  Never complained about the red Solo cup but has his holy knickers in a bunch, cutting off the circulation to the beans.

Brings me to a topic that I have been thinking about and pondering for the last couple of weeks.  And Sunday’s sermon kind of pulled back on the pop top and things just go shook up.

I have been reading a book I picked up at a seminar that is discussing the issues of idolatry.  When we read the 10 commandments the first command is pretty darn strong and each command after follows in unison the first.  There shall be no other gods before me.  In other words we need to shun idolatry.  But what is idolatry?  Uhm, this is one of those topics that can cause some problems with a lot of Christians.  We have heard the sermons that money can be our idol but we have prosperity preachers telling us we can have all the riches we want. 

But besides money what else can we idolize?  The author of the book states that we can idolize people, government, freedom, self-inflicted of slavery to government subsidies, (ok, I added that one), and so much more.  In a sense the idea that everyone can have a free education can be a form of idolatry as we worship the paper of the education more than we do the honest hard work of a trade. Oh boy. 

I started reading Habakkuk and started seeing some similarities to what we are facing today in the US.  Now being an ESV for my reading I kind of slid over to the Message to get some more impact to what Habakkuk was asking or demanding of God and what God had for a response in the first chapter. “God, how long do I have to cry out for help
    before you listen?
How many times do I have to yell, “Help! Murder! Police!”
    before you come to the rescue?
Why do you force me to look at evil,
    stare trouble in the face day after day?
Anarchy and violence break out,
    quarrels and fights all over the place.
Law and order fall to pieces.
    Justice is a joke.
The wicked have the righteous hamstrung
    and stand justice on its head.”

We find ourselves asking the very same things as we look at the murders, the infringement of our constitutional rights, the insanity of our government, and the hedonistic activities of those around.  God, what is going on?  If you were a caring God you will stop this nonsense.!!!

Hah!  Well God does answer Habakkuk. “Look around at the godless nations.
    Look long and hard. Brace yourself for a shock.
Something’s about to take place
    and you’re going to find it hard to believe.
I’m about to raise up Babylonians to punish you,
    Babylonians, fierce and ferocious—
World-conquering Babylon,
    grabbing up nations right and left,
A dreadful and terrible people,
    making up its own rules as it goes.
Their horses run like the wind,
    attack like bloodthirsty wolves.
A stampede of galloping horses
    thunders out of nowhere.
They descend like vultures
    circling in on carrion.
They’re out to kill. Death is on their minds.
    They collect victims like squirrels gathering nuts.
They mock kings,
    poke fun at generals,
Spit on forts,
    and leave them in the dust.
They’ll all be blown away by the wind.
    Brazen in sin, they call strength their god.”

Wait a minute, God is a loving God. He would not allow such to happen?  Or would he? 

I think of a meme I want to create with the “Matrix” character stating, “What if I told you, that God is raising up the Babylonians to destroy the US?”  One of the issues that keeps coming up when the questions are why the Islamic followers want not kill Americans is because of what we have been exporting to the world, we have been exporting a lot of trash.  Be it the music, the lifestyles, the television, and more.  We have shown that we have more than the God of Jacob.  We have a lot of gods and many of those gods do not set well with parts of the world.  Oh boy. 

Read on into Chapter 2 and beyond of Habakkuk.  Anything sound familiar?  Uhm.  Well, when you finish this I want you to go to Revelations 13 & 14.  I felt that cold wash cloth hit me upside the head.  Not what I wanted to read but – Near the end there is that one scripture verse that outlines the mark of the beast, the 666.  I do not know who the beast is but it is interesting that for years we have discussed the issue of some numbers or numerology and that was the social security number, then our bank and credit card numbers, and when the SKUs came out and bar code readers, what an uproar.  But the preacher brought up a thought that is out there among scholars and theologians of this “mark”.  What if I told you the mark is not a tattoo on your body but the mark of the world that has been embraced and lived?  Your mark is based on your actions and activities.  What do you hold as your god? What do you idolize? 

Moving into Chapter 14 we are introduced to those that are marked with the mark of the Father, those that held fast and did not succumb to the ways of the world.  Start with verse 12 and 13 before you read verses 1- 11 as these two focus on the believer.  Now going back to Habakkuk, we could juxtapose the two books and get a picture that things have not changed for a few hundred years.  But…

Then as the preacher began to unpack Chapter 17 of Revelation, I began to see what we are dealing with in the world.  Babylon is in the picture again.  Babylon dressed as a whore, one with all the makeup in the right place, enticing. A Bruce in Catlin clothing.  John looks and then he looks a second time. 

We are tempted by the whore, the whore of idolatry, the greener grass, the image of a hedonistic, pleasure filled life.  But “attention”, this is not the case.  It is not what it looks like.  And when you read further you will find that not only would you be used by this prostitute, she as well has been used by the beast that ends up devouring her, and you along with her.  After the pleasure the pain and torture will begin.