The book of Revelation was written by the Apostle John in symbolic language. And in order to understand correctly what is written, one must know the Scriptures well, have a personal relationship with Jesus, and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the meaning of what is written in the right light. It is also necessary to know history in order to see which biblical prophecies have already been fulfilled and how they were fulfilled.
In this lesson, we will examine a very important subject that may become a key to understanding the book of Revelation, what is happening in the world and in the church, and what influence all of this has upon me.
Many years ago, I decided to study this book with the help of the Bible. I took a concordance and used it to find in the Bible explanations of the symbols in which John enclosed the narrative of his book. And Holy Scripture very clearly reveals the meaning of many symbols that are not understood through a simple reading.
We read in Revelation 14:8: “And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” What do you understand from this account? And what does it mean? Without knowing the Bible, one can very easily attribute this warning to anything at all and build an entire teaching upon one’s own understanding.
We are studying the science of Agape Love, while the wine of Babylon is that which is opposed to our school and surrounds us everywhere. And the enemy of souls opposes everything that comes from God, offering his counterfeit or poison in its pure form.
Let us turn to the explanation. We read in Jeremiah 51:7: “Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.” This prophecy was spoken both of the literal Babylon of Daniel’s time and also has a bearing upon our days. Who, then, were among the Babylonian king’s counselors? We read in Daniel 2:2: “Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.”
Listed here are those people whom the Bible describes as very dangerous, having a direct connection with Satan and receiving power and revelations from the spirits of darkness. And these people had authority in Babylon and spread their teachings to all the nations that came under their influence. From the book of the prophet Daniel, we read that an educational system was established in Babylon which shaped the minds of the students and made them fit for service in that kingdom.
Jesus also sometimes spoke of wine as a teaching that should be poured into new wineskins.
In the Bible, fresh grape juice is called wine, as is what we consider to be alcoholic wine.
Wine, in the present understanding, is a light alcoholic beverage produced through the alcoholic fermentation of grape juice, causing dizziness in the one who drinks it.
The symbol of wine is very well suited to describe what is happening to all of us in our time.
Babylon is the name of a city and the name of a kingdom that ruled the world in the sixth century before Christ and was conquered by the Medes and Persians in 539 BC. Geographically, it is located in the territory of present-day Iraq, 90 kilometers from Baghdad.
Babylon in the biblical context is Satan’s kingdom, with its laws and influence, and the complete opposite of God’s principles and Love, meeting all the demands of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. In our time, the teaching of this Babylonian system has penetrated every sphere of public life and exerts its destructive influence upon the human mind, diverting one’s gaze from Christ and the purity of biblical truths, and offering its temptations and false teachings.
The influence of the Babylonian system has penetrated every sphere of human activity and is present in the teachings of all kinds of religions, and it spreads its influence to all nations except God’s remnant. The teaching of Babylon does not teach agape love, but it successfully uses the word “love” in its system, disguising debauchery, idolatry, and other abominations beneath it.
The second angel warns the world that Babylon is fallen, that it is a fallen system of false teachings which has made everyone drink of its deceptions, calling upon the thinking world to pay attention to this.
And the only deliverance from this influence can be found only in God and in His true teaching.
If my faith does not have God’s true foundation, then in its place I will accept the doctrines of Babylon, which skillfully distort the purity of the Bible and deprive the soul of love. I am given an intoxicating drink that clouds my reason and makes me spiritually drunk. And in such a condition, I am unable to appreciate what God offers me and will take the position of His adversary.
The first angel reveals the problem concerning the worship of God and quotes verbatim God’s words from the fourth commandment, making clear the essence of true worship, around which the closing events of our time will take place. The second angel pronounces judgment upon Satan’s intoxicating system. And these two angels warn us against accepting the image and the number of the beast described shortly before, while the third angel pronounces judgment upon those who did not understand the messages of the first angels and accept the mark of the beast.
But God offers us salvation at this time, and its conditions are very clearly described in the symbols of the message to Laodicea, where He Himself, in all His fullness, gives Himself to everyone who responds to this counsel. It is so simple. But a drunken person hears this voice and does not respond, and of him it is written in Proverbs 23:33: “Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.”
Strange women are fallen churches that have made the teaching of Babylon their dogmas and vigorously defend it despite the clear teaching of the Bible.
But the danger of the wine of Babylon lies in the fact that Babylon is a mixture of truth and falsehood in which truth predominates by percentage, and therefore it does not alarm many people. If someone teaches correctly and truthfully, then a lie in his mouth will not be noticed; and if it is covered with godliness, it will take on a very pleasing appearance. Babylon is founded upon this: God’s truth and a little poison—“delicious” poison for the mind and soul.
But God gives an antidote—Agape Love—which can very easily recognize falsehood and set the captives of false teachings free.
Adultery, for example, has already ceased to be considered a sin in the world, and the one who breaks this commandment will not be punished. But the enemy goes further: he presents it as the meaning of life and teaches everyone to live in this way. And there is no punishment, only pleasure.
Love firmly opposes such teachings and exposes them at their very root.
God has not changed, and even when armed conflict begins between nations, His commandments remain in force and call God’s children to obedience and worship in spirit and in truth.
God does not change His law to suit the times and prevailing ideas. Otherwise, there would have been no need to give His Son to die for our sins; it would have been enough to remove the commandment, offer something else, and call sin good. But God does not change, and He will judge the world precisely by His standard of righteousness.
John 5:24: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
And all of us today carry bottles of this wine in our pockets, but whether to drink it or not is something each person must decide and choose personally.
I choose love and desire to comprehend this science in everything.
Homework 205
Please read Proverbs 4:16–17; 9:1–7; 20:1; 23:29–35; Ecclesiastes 10:19; Song of Solomon 7:10; Isaiah 28:7; 55:1–3; Jeremiah 51:7; Daniel 5:1–4; Joel 1:5; Habakkuk 2:4–5; Matthew 9:17; Luke 5:37–39; Revelation 18:6; John 12:25; 14:24; Romans 13:8; 1 John 3:10, 14; 4:7; and Revelation 22:15 in the light of our lesson. What did you understand from this lesson? How do you understand the expression “the wine of Babylon”? Do you have your own understanding of this? Why can agape love not be part of Babylonian teaching? Is it important to understand correctly the Three Angels’ Messages and heed the warnings loudly proclaimed in them? Through what means does the Babylonian system make all nations drink of its wine? What means does it use for this? How can one avoid the influence of Babylon and not become drunk with this wine of the wrath of fornication? What should I do if I have tasted this deadly wine and become dependent upon it? Is love powerful enough to destroy every deception of the last days?