BABYLON AND THE LOUD CRY.
By Elder John A. Brunson
“And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Rev. 18: 1–4. From this passage of Scripture we learn that when the fall of Babylon is completed, universal corruption will prevail; for “all nations” will then “have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” Her cup of iniquity will be full. Satan will then be working with “all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness;” “and they that ‘received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved,’ will be left to receive ‘strong delusions, that they should believe a lie.’ Not until this condition shall be reached, and the union of the Church with the world shall be fully accomplished throughout Christendom, will the fall of Babylon be complete. ‘The change is a progressive one.’”—Great Controversy, pages 389, 390. Then “darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people,” and the destructive thunderbolts of God’s wrath will be ready to fall upon the sin-benighted world. But at this juncture, just before “the overflowing scourge shall pass through,” and the awful, desolating “consumption, even determined upon the whole earth,” shall be accomplished, is heard the call of mercy, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” God’s wrath cannot fall upon Babylon as long as any of His people are found in her midst. Every soul who honestly loves the truth will hear and heed the voice of warning. The truth and the truth-lover were made for each other, and the gracious God will see that the two come together. The object of the “loud cry” is to accomplish the complete separation of the wheat from the chaff; and when the work is done, there will be none of Zion in Babylon, and none of Babylon in Zion. The people who compose Zion will be the complete embodiment in the flesh of the principles of Christ, while those who compose Babylon will be the complete embodiment of the principles of Satan. These two classes will be an object lesson to the whole universe. The one class stand as a living illustration of the result of the prevalence of the principles of God. The righteousness of God and the holiness of heaven are conspicuously manifest in their lives. What they are is what all would have been if Satan’s shadow had not darkened the world. What a contrast does the latter class present! They stand as an example of Satan’s finished work. Filthy and unrighteous, their hearts are the habitation of demons, and their characters the incarnation of all that is vilely selfish and selfishly vile. What they are, wicked, wretched, vile, is what all would have been if the light of God’s love from Calvary’s cross had not penetrated the darkness of Satan’s shadow, and rescued the truth-lovers from the gloom of despair and death. Upon this picture, with its sharply contrasted features of light and darkness, holiness and iniquity, happiness and misery, the universe gaze with intense interest. They see in the one class a clear demonstration of God’s infinite love, in the other of Satan’s deep malignity. The purity and peace of the one loudly and gratefully proclaim the eternal justice and infinite mercy of God’s law; the walls of woe that arise from the other declare the awful consequence of Satan’s rule. As they gaze upon the scene, they all acknowledge the wisdom of God’s plan of action; and when the mighty blasts of His fury are about to burst upon the world, they with one voice proclaim, “Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of ages.” Now let us endeavor to ascertain the cause of Babylon’s fall. The statement has already been made that it is not sudden, but progressive. The repulsive picture of Rev. 18: 2 is the logical and necessary consequence of causes that have operated slowly but surely for years. It is but an awful and vividly portrayed illustration of the unchangeable law—“whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” The fall of Babylon is in no way the result of an arbitrary decree of God, but the legitimate outworking of a competent cause. What is that cause? Let Rev. 18: 7 tell the story: “How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her; for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.” Note carefully the record. What did Babylon do? (1) She “glorified herself;” she was guilty of the sin of self-glorification; (2) she “lived deliciously.” This speaks loudly of self-indulgence; (3) she said in her heart, “I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.” This makes prominent the sin of proud, haughty self-exaltation. Look well at the abominable trio, self-glorification, self-indulgence, self-exaltation. Reduce them all to unity, and what have we?—Selfishness. Write it large; capitalize it—SELFISHNESS. Are you personally acquainted with it? Have you felt its withering, damnable sting? Have the fetid fumes of its blasting breath been allowed to blow upon your work that you have undertaken in the Master’s name? Look closely. Examine minutely. The principle of selfishness is the principle of Babylon, and Babylon is doomed to destruction. This principle is satanic in its origin. In Isaiah 14 we have an account of Satan’s fall: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. . . . I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.” Similar language is employed concerning Satan in Eze. 28: 17: “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.” Here we see manifested in Satan this same principle of selfishness exhibited in pride and self-exaltation, and to this principle his downfall is attributed. Hence we conclude that selfishness, which is the principle of Babylon, is only the manifestation of the principle of Satan, and will lead to Babylon’s downfall and utter destruction. But why call it Babylon?—Because ancient Babylon in its glory was the most perfect earthly embodiment of this principle, and hence has given name to it. “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?” are the self-important words of the haughty monarch of that proud empire of antiquity. Babylon, the earthly embodiment of the satanic principle of selfishness, is contrasted with Zion, the earthly embodiment of the heavenly principle of unselfishness. Babylon is Satan’s counterfeit of the Lord’s Zion. They are the respective representatives of opposite principles. They are irreconcilably antagonistic. The complete supremacy of the one must mean the utter extinction of the other; hence the statement above, that when the loud cry has completed its work of sifting and separating, there will be none, absolutely none, of Babylon in Zion, and none of Zion in Babylon. Now from the foregoing remarks it is easy to determine what Babylon is. Since selfishness is the great, fundamental principle of Babylon, wherever an embodiment of this principle is found, there is so much of Babylon. If it is found in the midst of the various churches of Christendom, then Babylon is in the midst of those churches. But we may come a little closer. If it is found in Seventh-day Adventist churches, then Babylon is in the midst of Adventists. But let us make a closer application still. Whoever we are, if this principle of selfishness is in our hearts, then Babylon is in us. Are we envious, sensitive, proud? Are we afflicted with a sense of self-importance, that disease of moral blindness that is almost an epidemic in Zion? Are we disposed to think our worth has been underrated, and our real value unappreciated? If so, we betray unmistakable symptoms of this dread disease of Babylon. Selfishness is the curse of Christendom to-day. All selfishness is sin, and like the bondwoman, must be cast out. It must be eradicated. Until that is done, we must remain weak. The weakness of the Church to-day is directly ascribable to selfishness. We pray for power, but power can never baptize a selfish heart; for that would be adding strength to the devil’s arm. It would be encouraging rather than destroying Babylon. The loud cry of the loud cry should be heard. The long-suffering Jesus is waiting to lead the advancing armies of Israel to certain victory. At a word He could cause the great mountains of difficulty to vanish like dew before the rising sun. He is calling to us now, just now: “Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; for thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.” This command is supported by the promise, “Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shalt fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the wealth [margin and R. V.] of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.” But something restrains the Captain of the Lord’s host. What is it? Shall I say it? Hold thine ear close and listen. The message is for you. The restraining cause is the selfishness of your heart and mine. Come, let us face the fact. Let us humble ourselves before God, and confess the sins of our hearts that He may cleanse. Christ can conduct797only a clean camp to victory. Selfishness is in Zion. But selfishness is Babylon. Therefore Babylon is in Zion. The logic is invincible. But Babylon must be overthrown. It must be cast out of Zion before the latter can be intrusted with the loud cry. Those in whose hearts Babylon is can never be intrusted with the cry, Come out of Babylon. That would be calling out of Babylon into Babylon. But God wants to call from Babylon to Zion, and those who give the call must be such as have heeded the divine injunction: “Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus.” Rom. 6: 31, R. V. What, then, is the antidote?—An experimental knowledge of righteousness by faith. This alone can take the boast of selfishness out of the human heart. This alone humbles the creature and exalts the Creator. It teaches one to use such language as this, “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.” It emphasizes the cardinal fact “that no flesh should glory in His presence.” It joyfully acknowledges that salvation “is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” He who knows the blessedness of righteousness by faith gratefully confesses that he is nothing, and that “Christ is all, and in all.” Then, and not till then, is he prepared to become a channel for the transmission of divine power and wisdom. He then becomes a true reformer. Every real reform that the world has yet known has had its foundation in the true doctrine of righteousness by faith. It was so in the days of Noah, in the days of Abraham, of Paul, of Luther, of Wesley. It will be so again. The true basis of the loud cry is righteousness by faith. This is the central thought of the message. It includes all, and in its light every part is readily and perfectly adjusted to every other part. May God add His blessing, and fulfill His promise: “All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.” Then we may expect to see “signs and wonders . . . done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.”