Our Personal Babylon
The rest of chapter 18 covers a central point and, instead of going through it verse by verse or line by line, we’ll comment on it as a whole.
“For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
“How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
“And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
“The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
“The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
“And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
“And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.” Rev 18:5-24
This indeed sounds like what the fall of Babylon represents – a major disaster.
The description of destruction is accurate for the old Babylon that represented the corruption of wealth and power in the days of Daniel and King Nebuchadnezzar.
It indeed was destroyed and did not rise again. However, in writing this prophecy, you know that John had Rome on his mind because much of the description is peculiar to it in John’s time. For instance, all of the merchandise mentioned was desired by and traded by Rome. Rome was the great financial empire of the time and was the greatest symbol in recorded history of the misuse of sex, money and power.
As we said earlier, however, this Babylon stands for something greater than ancient Babylon, Rome, the United States or any other country or empire. It stands for the corrupt use of money, power and sex, which in their purity are gifts from God to be used with wisdom.
There are two major interpretations we need to examine here, the inner and the outer. Let us first look at the inner.
The vision of John has taken us through the life of Christ, or advanced disciples, from his work in the world to how it develops through the group work of disciples as the work reaches a consummation. The fall of Babylon happens by an event that takes place as the teachings of Christ are maturing through his followers.
But the question that needs to be asked is this: why does a Babylon even exist among dedicated workers who are seeking to manifest the kingdom of God?
The answer is that they have not come out of Babylon, but are a part of it as the scripture says. What does this mean? It means that, as even those who are fairly enlightened grow up within a corrupt system. They are captivated by the corruption and buy into much of it. We covered a few things earlier, but the basic reason for the corruption is that money, power and sex are seen as a means to satisfy self above and beyond their use to promote the ways of the Spirit and to build a better world, or the kingdom of God.
So, why do disciples get deceived? Are they not aware they use money, power and sex for self above the selfless service?
The answer is that they are not aware.
Why, then, are they not aware? Should it not be obvious?
It is not obvious. Let us give an example to clarify.
Jim is a believer in the scriptures, the kingdom of God and sees himself as a follower of Christ. He is active in his church or organization that represents his belief system and listens to the teachings. He donates regularly to the organization and feels that he has done his part as far as right use of money. Then he spends the rest of his money on making his life as comfortable as possible.
What is wrong with this picture?
What is wrong is his attitude of mind more than the black and white of his actions.
Why does he give to his church or organization?
More often than not, it is to get approval from an unseen God or to satisfy the Beast of authority. This is a necessary step to secure a good place in the hereafter and maybe some praise in this world.
Does he know how the money is put to use? Does it go to build buildings or to pay the salary of a minister who is not advancing the world of Spirit on earth?
Then what is the motive of his use of the rest of his money? It is to make life more comfortable and secure. Will the use of his money and power have any beneficial residual effect if he were to die the next day? In most cases no.
This is illustrated in a parable given by the Master:
“And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:15-21
This rich man had only one thought of what to do with his abundance – use it for self and security. He was probably a good person by most standards. He legitimately earned his wealth, did not steal and kept the precepts of his religion. Even so, he was a victim of his own personal Babylon. That night he died and discovered that he had done little or nothing to use his money for the good of humanity. He had no treasure in heaven.
Eventually, in the life of the disciple comes the realization that his money and power have been misdirected, and nothing he is doing is laying up the true treasure in heaven. When this realization comes, his personal Babylon falls within the hour and he makes a personal commitment to use all his energy, money and power in the service of humanity as he sees it through the eyes of the soul.
Before this realization, he was unwilling to take any risk in order to render service. After the realization, he is prepared to lose everything – all his wealth, power, sacred honor and even his life, if necessary, to take a step toward making the will of God manifest on earth as it is in heaven.
The Higher Self
Question: Is my solar angel supposed to be me (my higher self) or some entity between me and the highest?
Your solar angel is more like your divine mother who has nourished you from an embryo, or your monad. The source of your monad, or spiritual seed, is your divine Father.
Your higher self is your upper Triad often called Atma-Budha-Manas. These are three higher vehicles wherein consciousness can reside. Since only an advanced disciple can ascend in consciousness to reside in the upper Triad the upper Triad of the regular seeker is occupied by the Solar Angel. From this upper Triad the Solar angel seeks to guide and stimulate you.
When your consciousness then ascends to the upper Triad your Solar Angel returns home and then through the Triad you seek to know your true source, your Father. The conclusion of this step was spoken of by Christ when he said “I and my Father are one.”
There is no darkness and no fog. There is no night or day. There are no storms nor peace, no rest nor strife; only the steadfast will of God which works toward good. Discipleship in the New Age, Vol 1 Page 460
Aug 11, 2006
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