Corona Chronicles - Crown of Gold

Okay. Welcome back to Corona Chronicles. We're back in chapter 18 of the book of Revelation. We're gonna be continuing in verse 4. So let's read that.

Then I heard another voice from heaven say come out of her my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues. For her sins are piled up to heaven and God has remembered her crimes. Give back to her as she has given. Pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup.

Give her as much tormenting grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart, she boasts. I sit in thrones as queen. I am not a widow. I will never mourn.

Therefore, In 1 day her plays will overtake her. Death, mourning, and famine. She will be consumed by fire for Mighty is the Lord God who judges her. Yeah. So we're we're in another section which begins with a with a booming voice from heaven, and that's a big thing in Revelation.

These the big sort of shifts in history are announced by these angels. And yesterday, we thought about the announcement that Babylon will migrate despite all of her power and strength has fallen. And then in verse 4, this another this another voice comes. And is addressing It's not so much pronouncing the woe over Babylon. It's now actually addressing the church in light of this.

You know, given that that is her destiny, how should we then live? And come out of her my people so that you will not share in her sin, so that you will not receive any of her plagues. Yeah. In other words, if you want if you if you don't want to end up in the rubble, don't share in the sense. That's it.

You've gotta make a decisive break with the maddening idolatrous Babylon. Come out. If you want to avoid the plague. It's like, you know, if you were to I was just thinking as you were reading about a tsunami. You know, if you if you knew that a tsunami was rushing towards the beach.

You don't run down and start playing volleyball on the beach. You know, you you you make a physical separation as far away as you can so that you don't share in in the crash. And and that's the point, isn't it? That we are to and by God's grace, of course, can't come out and and to to live separate from Babylon. Yeah.

And I I think it would be easy for God's people to join in. It it it does look attractive. The the the sort of babble on the greats. The excessive luxuries, the the all the good pleasures that see people seem to be enjoying. That looks good.

And so it would be very tempting for God's people to join in with those things. It would be very tempting for us as Christians in in in this western culture. To join in with the sins of this world. We would We want to do the things that they do. We wanna have the thoughts that they have to do because it will make us more comfortable.

But we must hear the warning here that actually the sins, they are piled. I mean, that picture that they're piled up to heaven. Yeah. Yeah. That is amazing that there's just a huge tower -- Yeah.

-- of sins. And God is not gonna forget that. Yeah. God is remembering those crimes. He's gonna call people to account.

Mhmm. And and that is the warning. So don't be a part of that. You don't want anything to do with that. It's a bit like when you're with kids, you say don't be involved with those people because they're gonna take you down the wrong way.

Yeah. It's gonna end in trouble for you. So don't be a part of what they're doing. Yeah. I think that's what God's trying to say here.

Yeah. I think that's right. And I think as well as God's people, I mean, there's there's an application to to others who might be watching. And in this particular time, we're in that 1 of the things we've been we've been thinking about is how this virus has has shown that the things we normally trust it to keep us safe are actually not that strong after all. You know, and we put all our hopes, it's interesting how, like, even the language around vaccines has changed.

You know, so at the beginning, there was this talk, well, in a year, we might have a vaccine and there's hope. But now, there's a more sort of honest announcement, which is, well, we we haven't found 1 for SARS, and it's been 18 years of something. So let's do it. So we actually probably can't have 1, you know. And so I think that the craziest thing after all this is over would be to go back to trusting in the very things which have been seen to be so fragile.

Mhmm. You know, that that would be a kind of madness, wouldn't it, to to sort of lean on them again even after they failed us. And so there's partly something here, isn't there to say, look, come on, have let's learn from this season that we're in. Let's come out from the fortresses that we have been trusting in and trusting Christ, who is gonna actually stand on this on this day, And so that You know, that's the message to everyone watching, really. And then we've got this bit in verse 6.

It's not only come out and be separate, but give back to her -- Yeah. -- as she is given. Now I don't think we're to imagine a scenario where you know, Christians are personally, you know, battering members of Babylon. But but there is something isn't there in in that actually that those who are united to Christ will share in his victory and share in his judgment over evil. How that looks probably silly to speculate too much, but there's something in that, isn't it?

Yeah. We will share in the victory of Christ 1 day. Yeah. And the justice that we that we all want really will be done. Yeah.

And we are we are able to share as Christ and brings true justice. And it is true justice in this passage, isn't it? Because she is given exactly what she deserves. So give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. And and she was a boaster and really And what she does is then the punishment is appropriate towards that.

It's in other words, she did the crime and now she has to do the time. Yeah. Yeah. And it's exactly if proportionate. And she she had this amount of glory and luxury and she filled her life with this.

And this therefore is the amount of punishment that she deserves. And the punishment is great. Yeah. And I think we need to hear that as well. But why should we run?

Why should we flee? Why should we not take part in the sins of this world? Well, because There is a real severe judgement. There's plagues, death, mourning, and famine. Famine.

And Babylon on the Great will be consumed by fire. And God is gonna judge the mighty God of this work. Will judge those who fill up that lies with these sins. That's right. And the language, as you say, it's deliberately unsettling, isn't it?

Like and and you're right, you know, that this is a just repayment. By the living god and his people. The reason we feel uncomfortable about it is because we don't think that sin is that big a deal. You know, so we think, god, this is way disproportionate -- Yeah. -- this punishment.

But if we could see just how shocking it is and we've all done it, to to turn from our living holy savior. We would see that this punishment fits the crime, you know. And, you know, such a thing again, isn't it? We've had this before as well. We, you know, don't need to perhaps dwell on it too much today, but this idea in verse 7, but in her heart.

She's boasting. Yeah. I sit and thrown as queen. I'm not a widow. I will never mourn.

Therefore, in 1 day. Yeah. You know. So And that's interesting that therefore, isn't it? Because she boasts like that -- Yeah.

-- I'm not gonna take her apart in months or years. I'm gonna do it in 1 day. Yeah. You know, she's gonna fall down. It's gonna crumble.

And again, that is trying to say, look, why why would you join in her boasting when this is her end? Come out. Yeah. You know, come out. Be be separate.

So we've thought a bit more then about Babylon, the future and the people of God, and we're gonna continue even further in that theme over the next few days to do tune in if you can.