Interesting Facts Concerning Babylon’s Fall
By George I. Butler
BUT worse things than even these have occurred. The very foundations of Christianity and Bible religion are being undermined, even in the supposed houses of their friends. The Bible itself, the great bulwark and fountain of all true religious knowledge and instruction, is being set aside as a book of authority by so-called Protestants, even in their great schools of instruction. In the past, Protestants have believed that Catholics were in great error in holding tradition as equal with the Scriptures in authority, if not superior. But where do Protestants now find themselves in reference to Biblical authority? Since 1844, when the fall of Babylon was proclaimed, many views utterly contrary to Bible doctrine are being received by leading Protestants. The geological and Darwinian doctrines of evolution set aside the Mosaic account of creation, and consider it a fable utterly unworthy of belief. Few realize the effect of such teachings upon religious belief and character. The account of creation as given in Genesis, is upheld as a fact all through the Bible, Christ and his apostles often referring to the Mosaic record as an accepted truth. That account is interwoven into the very warp and woof of Bible doctrine and history. To disown that, as many intelligent Protestants now do, is to undermine, the whole Bible structure of doctrine and authority. The fall of man because of disobedience is the very foundation of Christian theology. It is quite popular nowadays to claim that man’s fall was upward, and not downward. Years ago, when first preached, that doctrine was called blank infidelity. Now it has become quite common and popular. We think it was rightly named back there; but suppose, for a moment, that it is true. What becomes of the doctrine of a Saviour dying to rescue man from sin because of disobedience? What becomes of the grand Bible doctrine of Christ’s coming to this world to suffer and die for the fallen race because of the effects of the fall of our first parents in the garden of Eden? Man’s supposed fall upward, and his supposed constant advancement through the evolutionary processes from the ape, and animal creations, to his present eminence, is utterly subversive of the whole Biblical doctrine of the atonement, and what Christ declared he came to this world to accomplish; and it virtually destroys the credibility of the Bible revelation. Multitudes of great and scientific men are seeking to cover up this issue, but it is too apparent to be denied. Hence the conclusion is reached in our highest schools of learning, that the Bible is not a book of authority. The foundations of our holy Christian religion, laid in the Word of God, are rapidly being relegated to the domains of fable and superstition by these evolutionary schools. And the worst of it is, through the spiritual blindness and darkness of modern Babylon, the professed people of God seem entirely ignorant of the progress being made in that direction. A large portion of the modern ministry is involved in this transition. The masses of the laity do not comprehend the dangers. They are looking to their leaders and great divines, who, as the Scriptures declare, are “blind leaders of the blind,” and are rapidly progressing toward the great and awful doom awaiting those in moral darkness. In the language of the revelator, Babylon the great becomes “the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit.” Every discerning mind can perceive that the process which finally results in this condition is even now making rapid progress. Hosts of church-members are already indorsing the doctrines of Spiritualism. This great and terrible modern delusion began near Rochester, N. Y., in 1848, this side of the great advent message of 1836-44, just after the first announcement of the fall of Babylon. With its “rappings,” “table tippings,” speaking and writing mediums, clairvoyants, etc., it made for a time very rapid progress, and attracted the attention of multitudes. Hundreds of ministers and church-members embraced it, but its diatribes against the Bible, its free-love doctrines, etc., disgusted the sober, better class of church-members, and covered it with infamy. Its true nature became apparent, and its true character was demonstrated.10In that form Satan could not use it with the greatest effect. Then it became very quiet, and but little public attention was drawn to it for a number of years. A change of methods became apparent, but not a change of character. It has now assumed a more respectable appearance. It has religious congregations. Its leading men put Rev. before their names. Here and there its famous mediums have been investigated by professors high in scientific attainment. For a number of years psychical societies for the study of spiritualistic phenomena have been giving much attention to this subject, and in many cases the result has been the acceptance of the belief of spiritualistic communication between the living and the dead. The belief in the reality of these communications is rapidly increasing, and is becoming quite popular. This is not surprising when we realize that the popular churches believe in the immortality of the soul. That doctrine is the foundation of Spiritualism. Granted that those we call dead, live right on, thinking, knowing, loving their friends as much as ever, or perhaps more, why is it strange that they should wish to communicate with their friends living on this mundane sphere? Multitudes who mourn the death of friends have become Spiritualists, and really think they are communicating with their friends. The only safety is in knowing and believing the Bible, which plainly declares: “The dead know not anything” (Eccl. 9:5, 6), and that at the very last moment of death all their thoughts perish, or cease. Ps. 146:4. The first great lie of Satan, when he deceived Eve with the declaration, “Ye shall not surely die” (Gen. 3:4), has been the foundation of multitudes of immortality-of-the-soul sermons. There was the true beginning of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. The idolatrous Egyptians, Grecians, and Romans got their notions of man’s immortality from that same source. The great apostasy from the teachings of Christ and his apostles which culminated in the establishment of Catholicism, imbibed the doctrine from the heathen philosophies of that age, and bequeathed it to Protestantism; and Satan is still working along the same lines, and hopes to deceive the whole world to its ruin through that same doctrine. His last great deception is rapidly permeating the popular churches, and it will continue to do so until they become “the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit,” and so are fitted for destruction. Another wonderful sign of Babylon’s fall is the later departure into the realm of politics. We expect to discuss this point later in this series of articles; but it is well to mention it here. The union of church and state in the last days is a matter plainly revealed in several prophecies which will be noticed later. Suffice it to say here that the trend of the current in the popular churches toward political methods is a wonderful sign of the times. The modern churches are looking more toward the government than toward the Almighty for the favors they desire. In this they are exactly imitating the Roman Catholic Church, which never fails to get the assistance of the government to carry its loads if possible. Great efforts to pass Sunday laws are constantly being made. Behold the federation of churches seeking to unite every denomination, unifying all to carry into effect certain things which are desired. Congress and State legislatures are constantly besieged to accomplish their ends. The gulf between the Catholic mother church and her Protestant daughters is rapidly narrowing. The Protestant churches generally acknowledge the Roman Church as a church of the Lord Jesus Christ, notwithstanding the millions of Protestant martyrs slain by that church in days past. The Bible terms used to designate that church are rarely, if ever, used by modern Protestants. They openly declare their desire for the help of the mother church to assist them in strengthening their Sunday laws and forcing their observance upon people who have no reverence for that papal institution. Catholics everywhere claim to have exalted Sunday, to have placed it in that position of sanctity once held by the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Not a passage of Scripture can be found claiming any sacredness for the first day of the week. We see every reason to suppose that Catholics and Protestants will unite hereafter in forcing the claims of Sunday upon multitudes of unwilling people. These combined forces will undoubtedly unite to effect this object. This trend of the current is unmistakable. They believe they can bring the government to their terms. These conditions assuredly indicate a fallen church. We shall next consider the third angel’s message.