Corona Chronicles - Crown of Gold

Welcome back to Corona Chronicles. We're still in Revelation chapter 14. Yesterday, we spent time thinking about the first angel which was sent out to hover in mid air and to proclaim the eternal gospel. But there are other angels, each with their own equally important message, and we're gonna spend time just thinking about 1 verse today. This could be that shortest chunk we've dealt with so far in the corona chronicles, but really, really important.

So we're in verse verse 8. Of Revelation 14. A second angel followed and said fallen fallen. Is Babylon along the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries. And if you've been walking with us on this journey through revelation, You'll know that that quite often these big world powers like Egypt and sodom and Babylon, which which refer to kind of old testament nations really are are standing for more than just a physical place.

They're they're standing for a system. Mhmm. Which is which is in opposition to the eternal gospel. So they're saying, don't fear God. Don't worry about his judgments and worship the beast.

Not the creator. So they they're countering his message all the time. And yet, the message here is so clear, isn't it? That Babylon on the great has fallen. I remember being in the British Museum and you know, 1 of the most interesting things about it is is you can go around these galleries which tell the stories of age civilizations that were once great but have now fallen.

And all their gold and splendor power has been reduced to rubble and ashes, basically. And they're just in a little glass cabinet being looked at for a couple of minutes. Yeah. And all that splendor has has gone and they have physically fallen. Yeah.

But what they stand for spiritually is still alive, but a day is coming when this in a spiritual sense, they'll be in the museum as well. Yeah. They'll be fallen fallen. Yeah. And I suppose at the height of Babylon's power, at the height of each nation's power, you never think they're gonna fall.

But it is interesting that there is I mean, there are 3 angels here. Each 1 of them has an important message. The second angel has a message dedicated to this 1 simple thing. Yes. That this Yeah.

That 1 the greatest fallen. Yeah. And it's so it must be a significant message the world needs to hear -- Yeah. -- specifically this. Yep.

The things that you think are so strong and enduring Yeah. If they're not based on a Christ, and if they're not God, then they are gonna fall. Yeah. They are gonna fall. And as you said, just now, I mean, when you're living in them, it's impossible to conceive if that ever happening, isn't it?

You know, you think about nebuchadnezzar you know, in Babylon, the old king of Babylon standing on the rooftops saying, you know, Babylon along the great built by my own hands. You know, he's saying, what you know, what could possibly bring this to the ground? And, you know, we feel like that, don't we? You know, it the the kind of materialistic west with all the protections that we enjoy and the security that our money brings. How how and what kind of force could ever bring this to the ground.

And yet, so easily, you know, a virus begins to shake the foundations. We were reflecting just now on them. I can't remember where where exactly it is, but there's a there's a volcano somewhere. It's a very vague description, but people might know. And apparently, scientists say that if if that goes off in a big way and 1 flank of it collapses into the sea, it will generate a tsunami so big that it can wipe out the Eastern coast of America.

Yeah. That's crazy. Now, who living in New York City or on the Eastern coast? You know, would would imagine -- Yeah. -- that that could happen.

It belongs it's the stuff of films. Yeah. You know? And yet, so easily, just 1 earthquake, 1 trigger, and something could could come down. And as you said, that this second angel is devoted to telling us, it's not as strong as you think, you know, and it's coming down.

Yeah. And there's this maddening wine -- Yeah. -- that Babylon makes the nation's drink I think part of that Madening white is look how great I am. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Absolutely. That is a madness, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. And the way that the maddening 1 of her adulteries, it's interesting because in the first bit of chapter 14, you know, the the the saints are are kind of described as those in pure in a pure state. You know, they're wearing pure robes and white robes and they're described as virgins almost. Mhmm. Which is not really a sort of in just in the plain sexual sense that we might think.

It carries spiritual connotations, doesn't it? So the maddening 1 of the adulteries means that they they betrayed their god -- Yeah. -- and took on the other gods, other lovers. Yeah. Whereas the same by God's grace were devoted like a marriage to their to their 1 -- Yeah.

-- lover. So that's that's a big part of it. Yeah. I mean, really, that is the only adultery really. Net.

It's the true adultery. Mhmm. And you fall in love with this this sort of the world or the beast or other than serving and loving the Lord and fearing him going back to what we saw yesterday about fear God give him glory. Yeah. If we don't do that, we're giving Babylon the glory really.

Yeah. We are. And and so there's a there's a conflict here, isn't there? You know, in these in these 2 verses. We've got the first angel proclaiming an eternal gospel.

Fear god, the judge. Yeah. We've got a second angel saying fall and fall and babble on the great. And The question we're left with is who's going to win? The eternal gospel or babble on the great.

Yeah. And there's no competition, you know. The eternal gospel wins the day. And so even in this message of judgment, there is cause for us to praise God, isn't that? Because the eternal gospel.

Triumphs and do tune in if you can tomorrow and we'll have a think about this third angel and what he contributes to this growing picture.