The Second Angel's Message

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We are in the final episode of a spiritual crisis that has been building for centuries. The Second Angel warns that a false religious system that exists today will be exposed and brought down. 

The first angel carried its appeal to return both to the everlasting Gospel and to the true worship of the Creator God. The second angel follows closely with a message of warning.

Babylon was a pagan empire that existed in ancient times. It is mentioned in both the Old and New Testament sections of the Bible. The name is symbolically used in Scripture to represent a corrupt and defiant spiritual power that opposes God and His will. In general, it refers to all religious bodies and movements that have fallen away from the truth.  

Babylon has its beginning in the story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). It is connected with the idea of confusion. Spiritual confusion has continued to our day through a false religious system that has corrupted the Word of God. Claiming to be the "true church" it is a church of compromise, corrupted doctrines and unbiblical traditions that are not based on God's holy Word. 

For almost 2000 years this system has claimed to be a Christian church. It has claimed authority over kings and governments and ruthlessly defended its beliefs through persecution and murder. It has enthroned a man over it who claims to stand in the place of Jesus Christ on Earth. It is a powerful system that has set itself up against the Kingdom of God through compromise, corrupted teachings and meaningless rituals. 

The Bible depicts this spiritual Babylon as an immoral woman -- a harlot who is full of abominations, spiritual filthiness, and who is guilty of the blood of martyrs (Revelation 17:1-6). She is depicted in contrast to a pure and beautiful woman who represents Christ's true church (Revelation 12:1).

In the languages of the Bible, repeating a word two or three times adds emphasis to the message. Writing the word "fallen" twice indicates a complete collapse. As Jesus said in the parable of the house built upon sand, "Great was its fall" (Matthew 7:27). The second angel announces the complete downfall of the religious system that parallels ancient Babylon in its rebellion against God.

The ancient city of Babylon eventually became the center of an great empire. The city at that time was massive. During the period of its existence recorded in the Old Testament, Babylon was the largest city in the world. Throughout the Book of Revelation, Babylon is referred to as "great."

The second angel's message focuses on Babylon, not as a physical city or empire, but symbolically as a spiritual or religious power. Revelation 17:5 refers to this great, end time city as "Mystery Babylon," identifying the name Babylon as symbolic.

That "great city" in this angel's message is a great religious system that has existed for almost two thousand years. Although claiming to be a spiritually based church, its foundation is built on the arrogance and power of ancient Babylon.

From its beginning, Babel/Babylon demonstrated disbelief in the Creator God and stood in defiance of His will. The Tower of Babel was just one example. The statue of Nebuchadnezzar is another (Daniel 3). The underlying issue was one of worship and of truth. 

The symbolic Babylon that exists today has over the centuries corrupted both worship and truth. Compromise began to creep into the church in the first century following the death, resurrection, and ascension of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Compromise allowed pagan beliefs and practices to enter in. Those beliefs and traditions became doctrines, rituals and traditions that were forced upon the people. Over time, the church, through threats and intimidation, controlled kings and governments. During the Middle Ages the church tortured and murdered over a hundred million people who opposed her teachings and ordinances. This period of time was also known as the Dark Ages because the church restricted access to information, even forbidding people from reading or having access to Bibles.

You might be wondering what this false religious system is and what impact it will have on our world today. To understand that, we must go to the Bible for answers.