“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons…” — Revelation 18:2
In the ancient pages of Scripture, Babylon stood as a symbol of ultimate pride, power, luxury, and rebellion against God. But Babylon was not just a city—it was a spirit. And today, America has become its modern manifestation.
A Nation Drunk on Power and Wealth
America was once thought of as a “city on a hill,” a beacon of freedom and moral clarity. But now? We are a land intoxicated by our own reflection. Endless entertainment, moral confusion, unchecked consumerism, and the worship of state power have turned us from being salt and light into salt that’s lost its flavor.
In Revelation 17–18, John the Apostle saw a vision of a great prostitute, “Babylon the Great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations” (Rev. 17:5, ESV). This entity seduced kings and nations with her wealth and influence. She sat on many waters—ruling the masses—yet her end was destruction. And just like ancient Babylon, this new Babylon is not only political or economic; it’s deeply spiritual.
Worship of the State: The New Golden Calf
One of Revelation’s warnings is that Christians must resist the allure of powerful governments that demand allegiance above Christ. The “beast” of Revelation 13 compels worship through economic coercion and political domination. This is not some sci-fi scenario—this is happening now. From surveillance to censorship, from economic mandates to moral overreach, Americans are being trained to look to Caesar for everything from meaning to manna.
And many churches are going along with it.
But Scripture warns, “You cannot serve both God and money” (Matt. 6:24). Neither can we serve both Christ and Caesar when Caesar tries to become Christ.
High Society, Low Morality
Opulence is not evil in itself. Abraham was wealthy. Solomon was wealthy. However, Babylon was destroyed for the arrogance and decadence that accompanied her riches. Revelation 18:11–13 details the luxurious cargo of this fallen city—gold, silver, fine linens, and even “slaves, that is, human souls.” Sound familiar?
Today, billion-dollar industries traffic in both materialism and human lives—through pornography, trafficking, and exploitation—all while the elite dine at galas and push ideologies that erase biblical truth.
A Call to Come Out
Revelation 18:4 gives us a clear command:
“Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues.”
This doesn’t mean Christians must leave the country. It means we must leave the system. We must stop placing our hope in political saviors. We must abandon the idol of luxury. We must renounce the spirit of compromise. Babylon is falling. And we must not fall with her.
So What Do We Do?
- Repent – Ask the Holy Spirit to show us where we’ve aligned with Babylon’s values.
- Resist – Refuse to worship the modern golden calf of politics, media, or mammon.
- Return – Fall in love with the simplicity of Christ again.
- Remain – Stay faithful, even if the whole culture burns down around us.
Let the church be the church—not the chaplain of a doomed empire.
“For the Lord God who judges her is strong.” — Revelation 18:8
📚 Footnotes
- John’s apocalyptic vision identifies Babylon as a seductive and oppressive system, symbolized by a woman drunk with the blood of saints (Rev. 17:6). See: G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation, The New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 855–859.
- On parallels between modern empires and Babylon, see Richard Bauckham, The Climax of Prophecy: Studies on the Book of Revelation (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1993), 338–340.
- For a critique of the church’s political entanglements, see Carl Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020), 261–265.
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