The Church of God

by Harold Barber

"And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities."" Rev. 18:1-5

In this book of symbols, the Revelation, we find many thought provoking scenes. Many deep spiritual truths are revealed to those who care to tarry before God in earnest prayer and meditation. This is not a book which can be read hurriedly and its meaning grasped without thought and prayer. In its chapters are many truths that are very needful for those who would be kept from chaos and confusion existing in the world today.

In this particular part of John's vision he saw an angel come down from heaven having great power: and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit,þand a cage of every unclean and hateful bird " Also, he heard another voice from heaven. saying, "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." First, I want you to notice the source from which the message came. It was not a message from man but from God. The voice John heard came from heaven. God is warning his people of a place and condition which is called Babylon and is fallen (spiritually), is become the habitation of devils, and from which they must flee in order to save their souls. To ignore this warning is to be lost eternally. We must heed the warnings of God and obey Him in all things, even though it may lead us contrary to the preconceived ideas we have had all our lives. It is safe to follow God, as He leads us in truth. No one would dare deny the call of God for his people to come out of Babylon, for it is plainly written in our scripture lesson. The controversy is on the point as to what constitutes Babylon, what may be termed Babylon, the place that is fallen spiritually and from which God calls his people.

Most people as they view the nominal christian (so-called) world see three great branches of religion. They see the Roman Catholic Church, the Protestant churches, and the Jewish faith. To them, these three go to make up God's church, and it's only a matter of choice as to which one they embrace. But to speak the truth, none of the three, nor the three together go to make up God's church: but, on the contrary, they do make up Babylon of which our scripture lesson speaks. Popery, as found in the Roman Catholic Church today, dates back to A. D. 270. Years preceding this date it was developing, but did not exert much power until 270 A. D. and. fully developed in 530 A. D. and ruled along with its political power, the entire civilized world from approximately A.D. 530 until A. D. 1530, a period of one thousand years. This period is known in history as the dark ages. The Roman Catholic Church does not date back to the days of Jesus. It is not the church Jesus built.

During this period of one thousand years, Rome's teachings were forced upon the world at large, but in A. D. 1516 a venerable old priest of the Roman Church began to denounce and expose publicly the evil practices of his church, which finally resulted in his ejection from the church and the bursting forth of the 16th Century Reformation, which broke the world supremacy of the Roman church. As this priest, Martin Luther, began his preaching, thousands of people who were hungry for God rallied to the message he brought and embraced it. It was a Bible message to a sin benighted world. "the just shall live by faith." The result was that entire nations turned from the Roman Catholic religion throwing of f her yoke of bondage and embraced true Christianity insofar as God had revealed it at that time. Rome's power was broken by the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

The preaching of the Gospel which brought about the loss of Catholicism's universal dominion also brought about the rising of another evil just as great, the Protestant system of religion.