Make Babylon Great Again? A Call to Repentance and a Warning
The current drive to “make America great again” is long overdue and much to be celebrated. The whole movement is hopefully one of repentance, a change of direction motivated by the collective shame for our sins and abominable behaviors over the course of decades or more. The terror we have endured these past four years is the culmination of those many years, and apparently has been ample enough proof for millions to finally say “enough is enough”. It took decades of moral and ethical decay to get here, but many are confessing the error of their ways to the Almighty; while others are simply tired of being abused by our leaders in government, media, education, health care, and big business. Whether it is simple pragmatism or a matter of the heart, ¾ of our citizenry are ready to change both individually and collectively.
But I suggest that if our desire and effort to be “great” again is not motivated by a desire to grow spiritually and be more aligned with the Creator God of heaven and earth, our destiny will not be what we are currently hoping for. Rather we will be punished with the ultimate punishment of destruction by our enemies, allowed by the God we claim to worship. This is in fact prophesied to occur at some point in the future (Rev. 18, see end of this article).
If we are to avoid that inevitability in the near term, I exhort President Donald Trump to lead this nation continually with the repentant words of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon some 2,500 years ago:
“All the inhabitants of the earth are of no account, but He does according to His will among the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can fend off His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’ 36 At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the honor of my kingdom, and my state counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just; and He is able to humble those who walk in pride”(Daniel 4:35-37).
The unfortunate fact of history is that the king did not heed for long his own confession, and the nation and empire of Babylon fell suddenly to its enemies.
Let me dare to ask a question that will be deeply personal to us all, but perhaps will further motivate us to bring our national patriotism into line with our God. How does God see our own Statue of Liberty which stands in New York City’s harbor? Does He see it as we do, as a beacon of hope for the world…as a symbol of righteousness, justice, and freedom for all mankind? I hope He does. Let it not be that He sees it as described in the book of Revelation, chapter 17:
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of sexual immorality, and those who live on the earth became drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality.” 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls, holding in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her sexual immorality, 5 and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery: “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” (Rev. 17:1-5)
The God-ordained fate of this future Babylon the Great is as follows:
To the extent that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, to the same extent give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ 8 For this reason in one day her plagues will come, plague and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong (Revelation 18:7-8).
Let this fate of the end-time Babylon the Great be a warning to us. Our immediate future does not have to be like the one described above…we can choose another road. But though God is patient in his desire to see repentance, I think we do stand at a major crossroads right now. In our drive to be great again, we can and should “honor the King of heaven”. There is much to repent of…there is much to do. Let’s do what we must, with courage and determination, but also with humility toward our God and Father. We love our nation when it loves God. That means we love God more than our nation. The more important question is; will we make the great God great in our hearts and minds again?
But here is even the greater Biblical reality. All kingdoms of this age are flawed. One day, at the close of this age, Jesus the Messiah will usher in the government of his Father, the Kingdom of God on this planet. It will destroy all other kingdoms of men and will reign forever into all ages to come. He will rule the nations with complete authority in righteousness, and there will be lasting peace on earth. But until that day, our Father and His firstborn Son Jesus are looking for those who faithfully follow them now even though they live in and under the rule of imperfect governments who do not generally even acknowledge either one of them. The faithful will then reign with Jesus on the earth (Rev. 5:9-10; Rev. 3:21, etc.). Therefore, our real citizenship is currently in heaven, while we wait for Christ’s return in glory for all eyes to see.
