Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
Revelation 18:4 NIV
‘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;
The 17th and 18th chapters of Revelation deal with the great prostitute, Babylon the Great. These two chapters describe her in detail. Theologians have debated her identity over the ages, and it is still unclear. Some have identified her with the literal cities of Rome or Jerusalem. And some have identified her with the Roman Catholic church. Personally, I am partial to Augustine’s “Two Cities” view, where Jerusalem and Babylon represent two spiritual realms that are at war with each other. Jerusalem represents those who love God. While Babylon represents those who love this world and the pleasures that it has to offer.
This chapter describes Babylon’s judgment. Including the warning in this verse for God’s people to come out of her lest we take part in her sin and her judgment. We cannot have dual citizenship in the spiritual realm. If we want to belong to Jerusalem, we need to abandon citizenship in Babylon and come out from her.
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
1 John 2:15-17 NIV
