Mystery Babylon

Dennis McCallum
Revelation 17:1-18:24

John's vision continues with three "impure spirits" going into the world and gathering people for battle. Meanwhile, the seventh bowl is poured out, and natural disasters rip through the earth. God's wrath is unleashed on those who follow Satan and commit spiritual adultery. An angel explains the mystery of Babylon, walking John through the imagery used around her (Babylon): she presents a false unity and gets people to waste their lives and die. She will eventually fall, showing that the only lasting kind of unity is with God.

Fallen, Fallen is Babylon

Scott Risley
Revelation 16:13-19:7

The city of Babylon was defined in the Old Testament by greed, selfishness, violence, and idolatry. In the book of Revelation, Babylon has the same characteristics, along with being predicted to lead the rest of the world astray have a direct link with the Beast. Here, John identifies Babylon as both the World System (kosmos) and a harlot whose toxic ways we should avoid at all costs. He describes a day of justice when Babylon will be judged for their sins and be cast into the sea.

The Beast(s)

Dennis McCallum
Revelation 13:1-18

Three Beasts emerge in the next part of John's vision. The roles of the first Beast are reinforced by prophecy from Daniel, including his humanity, his total world dominion, and the abomination of desolation. The Beast will persecute the people of God, but will ultimately be destroyed by Christ when he returns. The course of history that would allow these predictions is dissected, and the possibility of this prophecy becomes clear.

The Two Foundations

Jim Leffel
Matthew 7:24-27

How do you know your foundation? Jesus speaks on the lives of people who build their foundation; either those who live by his words, or those whose foundation is on shifting sands that can't hold up to lifes' turmoil. Are you building your foundation on your possessions or on your status? We can build on a foundation of rock which is based on God's love, truth, and grace. Audio of Bob Dylans' ?A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall?.

Jesus' Letters to 7 Groups (Pt. 3)

Dennis McCallum
Revelation 3:6-22

The final churches Christ addresses in John's vision are Philadelphia and Laodicea. While the former is encouraged, Laodicea is completely rebuked. Laodicea was content in the world, and they refused to be more than lukewarm towards God. This passage digs into the dangers of being like Laodicea, including the impact on ministry that can have.

Babylon The Great

Doug Patch
Revelation 18

John elaborates on Babylon, now as a second personality. Besides the harlot that was described in the previous chapter, Babylon is now described as The Great. Babylon now represents a drive within humanity to create a God-tight society, or a society focused on materialism. Materialism is described as dangerous because of its seductive affect on individuals and society, and it is run by Satan. Individuals will need to recognize how they relate to the material world (a list of probing questions is included), and then choose how to respond to this knowledge.

Babylon the Great

Gary DeLashmutt
Revelation 18:1-23

In one of John's visions of the great tribulation, he sees a woman with the title "Babylon the Great," which signifies the way that this spirit of deception works politically and economically. This manifests in three ways: 1) It is the ultimate expression of human empires that defy God's rulership; 2) its materialism corrupts every political and economic system; and 3) it seduces individuals by turning good things into idols that distract and enslave. All of us live under the influence of this entity, and Jesus alone is able to break the "spell" and reconcile people with God.

Letters to the Churches Part 2

Scott Risley
Revelation 2:12-3:5

We compare three early churches who were all struggling with compromising their loyalty to God for things of the world. The church of Pergamum had been suffering faithfully, but drifting into compromise through idol worship and sexual immorality. The church in Thyatira was doing a lot of good things but they were highly compromised; even allowing a false teacher to rise to prominence. The church in Sardis wasn't even trying to be faithful to God at all. God cares more about our faithfulness than our works. Do you trust God's promises enough to take a stand against compromise?

Contours of a Counter-Cultural Christianity

Jim Leffel
Matthew 5:13-16

What does it mean to be salt of the earth and lights of the world? We take a look in detail as to how these are both righteous ways of standing out against our current culture. Do we live as salt and lights or do we hide away and try to dull how we look to the witnessing world?