Monday, October
23, 2017
After
all this I saw another angel come down from heaven with great authority, and
the earth grew bright with his splendor. He gave a mighty shout: “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen! She has become a home for demons. She is a hideout for every foul spirit, a
hideout for every foul vulture and every foul and dreadful animal. For all the nations have fallen because of
the wine of her passionate immorality. The
kings of the world have committed adultery with her.
Because of her desires for extravagant luxury, the merchants of the world have grown rich.” Then I heard another voice calling from heaven, “Come away from her, my people. Do not take part in her sins, or you will be punished with her. For her sins are piled as high as heaven, and God remembers her evil deeds. Do to her as she has done to others. Double her penalty for all her evil deeds. She brewed a cup of terror for others, so brew twice as much for her. She glorified herself and lived in luxury, so match it now with torment and sorrow. She boasted in her heart, ‘I am queen on my throne. I am no helpless widow, and I have no reason to mourn.’ Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day—death and mourning and famine. She will be completely consumed by fire, for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.” And the kings of the world who committed adultery with her and enjoyed her great luxury will mourn for her as they see the smoke rising from her charred remains. They will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will cry out, “How terrible, how terrible for you, O Babylon, you great city! In a single moment God’s judgment came on you.”
Because of her desires for extravagant luxury, the merchants of the world have grown rich.” Then I heard another voice calling from heaven, “Come away from her, my people. Do not take part in her sins, or you will be punished with her. For her sins are piled as high as heaven, and God remembers her evil deeds. Do to her as she has done to others. Double her penalty for all her evil deeds. She brewed a cup of terror for others, so brew twice as much for her. She glorified herself and lived in luxury, so match it now with torment and sorrow. She boasted in her heart, ‘I am queen on my throne. I am no helpless widow, and I have no reason to mourn.’ Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day—death and mourning and famine. She will be completely consumed by fire, for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.” And the kings of the world who committed adultery with her and enjoyed her great luxury will mourn for her as they see the smoke rising from her charred remains. They will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will cry out, “How terrible, how terrible for you, O Babylon, you great city! In a single moment God’s judgment came on you.”
And they will weep and throw dust on their heads to show
their grief. And they will cry out, “How
terrible, how terrible for that great city!
The shipowners became wealthy by transporting her great wealth on the
seas. In a single moment it is all
gone.” Rejoice over her fate, O heaven and
people of God and apostles and prophets!
For at last God has judged her for your sakes.
Revelation 18:1-10,
19-20(NLT)
The Green Mile takes place in 1935. “The Mile”
is Louisiana’s death row where John Coffey is electrocuted. Against all odds Paul Edgecomb, who was 44
when he supervised the death sentence, lives another 64 years and is now
telling the story to his friend Elaine in the nursing home of why he lived to
be 108:
I've had to see my friends and
loved ones die off through the years... Hal and Melinda... Brutus Howell... my
wife... my boy. And you Elaine... you'll
die too, and my curse is knowing that I'll be there to see it. It's my
atonement you see; it's my punishment, for letting John Coffey ride the
lightning; for killing a miracle of God.[2]
In
John the Revelator’s vision he sees the queen of Babylon ride the lightning in
punishment for leading the entire world into evil and darkness. It is a stiff penalty meted-out by a holy and
righteous God, who will one day put an end to even the presence of sin and its
twin, injustice.
No
one on earth can predict when that will be; only God in heaven knows. But Jesus preached of that day, as did every
prophet sent to warn Israel.
Sin
against God is as rampant today as in any epoch of history; all of it pushes
against the patience and lovingkindness God displays toward his creation. This passage of Scripture tells us that when
the cup of evil is filled, judgment will fall – and it will be swift and sure.
For You
Today
Want
a word for what to do about the evil you see – even in so-called high places? Hear the apostle James:
Pure and
genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and
widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. James 1:27(NLT)
I
take that to mean our distress with what’s going on in the world, and the
darkness we perceive covering the land isn’t going to change until God says
so. Our task, meanwhile, always
is to light a candle, not to curse the dark.
Get busy lighting candles. Let
the Queen ride her lightning.
