Praise Jah for His Judgments

 BABYLON THE GREAT  is no more!  This is truly joyous news.  No wonder John hears a happy exclamation of praise in heaven!  "After these things I heard what  was as a loud voice of a great crowd in heaven. They said:  'Hallelujah!   The salvation and the glory and the power belong to our God, because his judments are true and righeous. For he has executed judgmen upon the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he had avenged the blood of his slaves at her hand."  And right away for the second time they said;  "Hallelujah!  And the smoke from her goes on ascending forever and ever." - REVELATION 19:1-3.

Hallelujah indeed! The word means "Praise Jah, you people," "Jah " being the shorten3ed form of the divine name, Jehovah. We are here reminded of the exhortation of the psalmist:  "Every breathing thing-let it praise Jah, you people!"  (Psalm 150:6)  John's hearing  the exultant heavenly chorus sing  "Hallelujah!" twice at this point in Revelation demonstrates the continuity of the divine revelation of truth.  The God of the Christian Greek Scriptures is the same as theGod of the earlier Hebrew Scriptures, and Jehovah is his name.  The God that cause the fall of ancient Babylon has now judged  and destroyed Babylon the Great.  Ascribe to him all the glory for that feat!  The power that maneuvered her downfall belongs to him rather than to the nations he used as instruments in desolating her.  To Jehovh alone we must attribute salvation. - ISAIAH 12:2; REVELATION 3:11; 7:10, 12. 

Why has the great harlot been so deserving of this judgment? According to the law that Jehovah gave to Noah-and through him to all manlkind-the wanton shedding of   blood calls for the death sentence. This was stated again  in God's Law to Israel.  (Genesis 9:6; Numbers 35:20, 21) Moreover, to the Mosaic Law both physical and spiritual adultery merited death.  (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 13:1-5)   For thousands of years, Babylon the Great  has been bloodguilty, and she is a gross fornatrix.  For example, the policy of the Roman Catholic Church of forbidding her priests to marry has resulted in gross immorality on the part of many of them, not for a few of these today contracting AIDS.  ( 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10; 1 Timothy 4:1-3)  But her major sins, 'massing together clear  up to heaven,' Are her shocking acts of spiritual fornications-this latter in teaching falsehoods and allying herself with corrupt  politicians.   (Revelation 18:5)  Since her  punishment has finally overtake her, the heavehly multitude now echoes a second Halleluhah. 

 Babylon the Great has been set afire like a conquered city, and the smoke from her "goes on ascending as long as the ashes are hot.  Anyone who tries  to rebuild it while it is still smoking will simpily get burned by the smoldering ruins.  Since the smoke from Babylon the Great will rise "forever and ever" in toke of the finality  of her judgment, no one will ever be able to restore that iniquitious city.  False religion is gone forever. Hallelujah, indeed!   Compare Isaish 34:5, 9, 10.

Next time: Praise Jah for His Judgments 

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