“Babylon has fallen! … Come out of her, my people!”
Revelation 18:2, 4
In the Book of Revelation, Jesus tells us through the prophet John that at the end of earth’s history, just prior to Jesus’ return to earth, God will be calling on His people to come out of Babylon.
In Revelation, Babylon—which means confusion—is a symbolic name given to the combined political and religious systems that Satan uses to spread false ideas about God in order to turn people away from the truth and the presence of God.
Would you like to know how to identify Babylon? Here are the red flags of this antichrist power.
Fear
If you are afraid of God, you are believing a lie about Him—a lie proclaimed by Babylon.
There is no reason to fear God. He loves you with an unconditional love.
God is not a dictator waiting for you to mess up so that He can punish you. He does not torture or kill people who do not love Him back or do not obey Him.
He is a loving Father, a kind Doctor, drawing you to Him with love so that He can heal you of your fatal condition and set you free from fear and pain.
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love”
1 John 4:18 (NIV)
If there is anything to fear, it is our own selfish natures, which cause great pain, suffering, and death.
Coercion
Whenever a system, be it religious or political, uses force or threats to accomplish some objective, it is using Babylon’s methods of governing.
God never coerces. He honors the freewill that He has given to all of His human children. He does not resort to threats or violence to get His way. He draws us only in love, with tender compassion, like a loving father or best friend who only wants the best for us.
God always presents the truth in love and leaves others free to decide.
Selfishness
If anything advocates for survival of self at the forced sacrifice of others, it is of Babylon. Whether we are talking politics or religion, forcing someone else to act in a way contrary to his or her conscience is contrary to love.
Many human governments force their citizens to be “compassionate.” That is not the method of God. True compassion—love—is given willingly and cannot be forced.
Confusion
God is not the author of confusion. If a belief system contains mutually exclusive or hard-to-reconcile ideas, it is of Babylon.
For example, “God loves you,” and “God will kill you if you do not obey Him,” are mutually-exclusive ideas. One statement tells us God is love, while the other tells us God is not love. That is confusing because they cannot both be true!
God’s ways might be mysterious, but His design laws are not. His law of love is just as consistent, reasonable, and reliable as are the laws of physics.
Of course, God Himself is mysterious to us mortals. That is the nature of the finite attempting to comprehend the infinite. But while there might be mystery, there is no confusion.
Superstition
Unreasonable beliefs, or beliefs with no evidence, are superstition. If you are persuaded to believe something without clear evidence of it, to reject reason and embrace feelings or spiritualism, it is of Babylon.
God never asks us to believe something without having given us significant evidence.
Conclusion
If you are a part of any system of beliefs that raises one or more of the above red flags, God is calling you to come out! If you remain in Babylon, it is possible that you will be trapped by its lies. It could cause you to reject a relationship with God and lose your paradise home, just like Adam and Eve rejected God in Eden and lost their paradise home.