p. 4 (452) | Babylon the Third by C. L. Emerson

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 21, 1898

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 24, No. 29.

Babylon the Third

By C. L. Emerson

THE THREE BABYLONS. No. 12.

Babylon the Third.

We have already learned what Babylon is, and how it is developed. We have seen why it was that Satan did not have the second great apostasy renounce churchly allegiance. We will in this see that his experience has taught him to develop his plans sooner and with more skill to-day than ever before.

In the sixteenth century God led Luther away from the heathen darkness that had settled on the church during the Dark Ages. But the Lutheran Church wrote out its creed and said, “This is what we believe.” There was danger in that step; for it turned men's minds from the Source of truth to the truth revealed to Luther. This naturally clogged all the wheels of progress; God could not well reveal more to the adherents to that creed. For if God led another into more light, and Luther's followers accepted it, they had either to alter their creed or to go outside of the Lutheran Church to accept it.

This fact, then, of writing out a creed and saying, “This is the true belief,” placed the church where God had to seek some other agency through which to reveal more truth. Thus the creed made them reject truth, and so they became Babylon. So it happened that God had to call out one church after another; for each wrote out its creed and refused to go farther. So God called the Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and others.

In the early part of the nineteenth century God had a message to give to the world. It was the announcement, “The hour of God's judgment is come.” He chose as a herald in this country a man named William Miller. In other countries others were chosen, so that each country heard it. But, strange to say, those of one country often did not know that the others were receiving the Word as well as they. So it happened that men were telling the same story in different countries independent of outside influence.

The knowledge of the fact that the hour of God's judgment was to come in 1844 was received from the book of Daniel. The time was made so plain that no one could gainsay it. But while the different denominations did not find any means to prove the falsity of the argument, yet they rejected the message and

cast those who did accept it out of the churches. Now note: if the churches could not disprove the claims made from the Bible, they were bound to accept it, or at least to let others; and when they set themselves against it without being able to disprove the time, they were rejecting the Bible. But says one, “The message was not true that the Lord was coming in 1844; for He did not come.” That does not matter; if it was so plain to them that the Bible taught it that they could not say aught against it, they rejected God's Word to them in rejecting it.

More than once has God given a message that was true, tho not true as understood by those who gave it. When Christ rode into Jerusalem, God gave the message that their king was coming unto them. That was true, and so necessary was the message that had the people remained quiet, the stones would have heralded the fact. But the message was far from being true as those who gave it thought. They thought He was coming to sit on a temporal throne. How mistaken, yet how necessary to be given! Just so it was with the 1844 message. The hour of God's judgment did begin, but not as they who gave the message supposed. We have not time to explain here; we are dealing with principle.

When the churches had rejected God's Word in 1844, they took their own ways; that is, they became Babylon and fell. More properly, the lost church that God called out did, while the others showed themselves to be Babylon. Do not misunderstand. Many good Christians still existed in the churches, but the churches as churches fell.

Having taken their own ways, they could but develop what Babylon the first and Babylon the second developed after their fall. The same moral aspect must appear—not in a day, but begin then to develop. I do not mean that bad men would begin to come in; for even the apostolic church had its Ananias. But I mean the churches as churches would begin to drop their standard and reject and accept customs according to their own liking, not according to God's Word, for that is rejected.

But we do not have to speculate about this. Look at the churches of to-day and see them carrying on “grab-bag” and “gambling” and “betting” games to sustain the church. The cards and dice are allowed. The pool tables are thought to be all right for church basements. Dances are given, where immorality is bred, to raise money to pay the preacher. Suppers are given, and the carnal desires of man drawn upon to secure money to preach to him that he must be unselfish. The discourses are such that they do not denounce popular sins. Having itching ears, the people heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts.

The popular minister is not the pious man but the orator; if he is respectable, that is enough. Spiritualistic séances—the council chambers of the devil—are held in church circles. A man who dares to condemn sin in no uncertain way is asked to resign before the following Sunday. The ministers go where they can get the largest salary instead of the largest harvest of souls. There is not one professor of religion in a hundred that loves his neighbor as himself. The Bible lies on the shelf from Sunday to Sunday. The religious world is far from converted. These things are not talk. Every honest, observing man knows this to be the truth. Modern Christianity is as verily a counterpart of old paganism as one could wish to see. But let me say again, there are good Christians in every church. But they are few.

But as the churches have rejected God's Word and His power, they must have something to convert men with. Hence the organization of all sorts of auxiliaries to draw the young into the church. But still the Sunday trains and newspapers are a great annoyance to them. The government must stop them. The power that they have not from God to convert men's souls, they must get from the outside. The government must supply what was lost by leaving God's Word. Not only must all Sunday work be stopped, but “all Christian laws, institutions, and usages of the government” must be placed “on an undeniably legal basis in the fundamental law of the land.” Men must act as tho they were religious by keeping the Sabbath anyway.

Who can not see that this is a living likeness of Babylon the second? As the leaving of the Word caused men to apostatize and lose God's Spirit and power then, so it has now. As they asked other power—governmental—to enforce their apostasy on men then, so now. As when that apostasy received that power, it became the beast, so now it becomes the image of the beast. As persecution arose then, so it has arisen now. As the death penalty was the sentence imposed for refusing to bow to that apostasy, so it will be now. As surely as leaving God's Word there caused the apostasy, and the apostasy became the beast by union with civil power, just so sure this apostasy could develop nothing but the image.

It may be said that those living now, generally speaking, are a later generation than those living in 1844. True, but a church that fell at that time could not teach a later generation better things than it had itself.

But there is a test for every soul in every age to see whether he will receive God's Word. Since 1844 God has been sending a message to mankind that their observances were pagan instead of Christian in one particular at least—the Sabbath. Light has been brought out to show that the Ten Commandments have neither been abolished nor changed, and so must be binding. Also that the change in the Sabbath came about in the days of Babylon the second. These things are shown with such clearness that there is but small effort to contradict it now.

And what do the churches say to these things through their ministers?—All sorts of things. “It doesn't make any difference, just so you keep one day in seven.” That is, it does not make any difference if God did bless the Sabbath day, another day is just as good. As well say, Let us take the bread and wine for communion after it is blessed and give it to the dog, saying, “One piece of bread is as good as another.” Yes, far better, for man blesses the bread, or asks God to, while God of His own accord blessed the day. Yes, all sorts of excuses are given for not obeying God. Babylon is stamped on every such excuse.

What will be the outcome of all this? We are not left in doubt about this, nor about our duty. Babylon is filling up her cup, and will receive double for all she has done. Her plagues shall come in one day,—“death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.” Time only lingers that the message may be given, “Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” God doesn't need to wait till she is farther developed. Twice has the picture been placed before her that shows what it means to leave God's Word and follow her own way. With this before the people of this generation, God can in all justice write upon Babylon, and against them, all the sins that ever occurred in the apostasies of old. It is all in embryo in the first step. Note that carefully. As the Jews of Christ's day had all the blood from righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias, who was slain between the porch and the altar, placed to their account, by rejecting all previous light in Jesus Christ, so this generation have all the apostasy from that of Cain down, written against them, because they have turned from all the light of the past. Soon will great Babylon be thrown down and be no more at all. Apostasy will have ceased, and those who remain will be those who listen for the least word of God, and follow it without hesitation. God will be all in all—all that exists in any who exist.

C. L. EMERSON.