The Wine of Babylon

Isaiah 5:11-16; Now in these opening verses we see the ways of the world as compared to the ways of God, isn’t it? Human society today, steeped in self-indulgence is rapidly going down the same road that Babylon traveled. This is the road of human pride and wisdom being exalted to take the place of God….The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar took the honor and glory to himself and I’m sure that wine had something to do with him being full of himself.

You know ungodliness always leads to unrighteousness. You leave God out of the equation, and soon you have materialism, sensualism and man’s reach not going beyond what he can grab with his own five senses.

Today, we no longer have physical Babylon, but rather the spiritual or mystical Babylon. Rev, 17:1,2 And who is drinking Babylon’s wine? Of course, every false religion has to look for political power when they have lost the power that only comes from God, so they have to look to the kings of the earth to establish their power rather than God. That is what the ecumenical movement is all about. When Christianity is pure, then it has vital power, but start to compromise truth in favor of political power, then we are actually partaking of the wine of Babylon.

In ancient Babylon, Nabopolasser, the father of Nebuchadnezzar had a problem. He was faced with two different people, that were like cousins to one another, the Babylonians and the Assyrians. If he could just get them together then he would have power, but how could he bring them together? He saw that religion was the way to unite the remnants of the Assyrian empire into Babylon. And they only came together because of Nabopolasser appealing to their ancient pagan god – which they had in common.

And today the modern version of Babylon is rapidly unifying all of the churches into one entity under the Pope in the ecumenical movement. So many different kinds of people, but they all have this in common, which appeals to nearly everyone: to be saved by our own works, or to be saved in our sins. Of course, this idea is foreign to Christianity and actually conies out of paganism.

This must be very maddening wine to lead the people to spiritual adultery – in other words to give up the truth and embrace error. Let’s read about the physical equivalent now. Prov.20: 1 and 23: 29-35
What does the drinker have happen to him? What is the special danger of wine? Of all the forms of deception – self deception is indeed the worst, isn’t it? And the Bible speaks many times about the curse that comes on those in power if they pervert justice, deceive themselves and others by means of wine.

Now Jesus turned the water into wine, didn’t He? That’s what we always hear from those in the world and in the churches who want to justify alcohol consumption. It’s true on the occasion of a wedding he did turn the water into wine – but what kind of wine was it?
During the time of the Passover, the Jews could have nothing in their homes that had leaven or yeast in it, which of course, includes wine, that is formed from a fermentation process with the yeast. And Jesus did turn the water into wine, new wine or what we would call grape juice. Isaiah 65:8 So new wine, or grape juice as we would call it was to be desired for there was a blessing in it.

Jesus also used an illustration about wineskins and wine in His ministry. Luke 5:37-39 Let’s take a look at that from DA 278-279 “Christ was not to close up the breach that had been made by the teachings of John. He would make more distinct the separation between the old and the new. Jesus further illustrated this fact, saying, ‘No man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.’ The skin bottles which were used as vessels to contain the new wine, after a time became dry and brittle, and were then worthless to serve the same purpose again. In this familiar illustration Jesus presented the condition of the Jewish leaders. Priests and scribes and rulers were fixed in a rut of ceremonies and traditions….While they remained satisfied with a legal religion, it was impossible for them to become the depositaries of the living truth of heaven. They thought their own righteousness all-sufficient, and did not desire that a new element should be brought into their religion The Pharisees thought themselves too wise to need instruction, too righteous to need salvation, too highly honored to need the honor that comes from Christ. The Saviour turned away from them to find others who would receive the message of heaven. In the untutored fishermen, in the publican at the market place, in the woman of Samaria, in the common people who heard Him gladly, He found His new bottles for new wine. The instrumentalities to be used in the gospel work are those souls who gladly receive the light which God sends them. These are His agencies for imparting the knowledge of truth to the world. If through the grace of Christ His people will become new bottles, he will fill them with new wine.”

Do you notice? Works go right along with lukewarmness. Not because the works are wrong in themselves, but because the people come to trust in those works for their salvation.
Do you see what I’m saying? Trusting in things like saying Hail Mary’s or Our Fathers, crawling up the church steps saying the rosary or for that matter even something good like coming to church or paying offerings – all of those things in themselves are only deception and don’t mean salvation.

Depending on an imposing round of display, ceremonies, numbers and our own power is quick… to go where? Right back to Babylon – having our own human pride and wisdom but throwing a religious cloak over it. This is what the wine of Babylon is all about…
“The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.”l Peter 5: 13 Now this was long after physical Babylon had been destroyed, so the Apostle Peter must have been referring to Rome as the new, spiritual Babylon in his time. Of course, that is exactly where all of those Scriptures in Revelation 17 point to – And Constantine, did exactly the same thing that Nabopolasser did in unifying the Roman empire by the means of religion. He did it in the form of passing the first Sunday law in 321 A.D. – thus Christians came together on the same day of the week with pagans and started to have the same spirit. And the truth was blended with paganism. Thus the way of the Roman Catholic Church was set up -which has never been Christianity, but paganism mixed together with the Bible.

If Jesus is not the center of every doctrine that we have, then we better give it up. Even if that doctrine or attitude is correct, we better make sure that Christ is the center or we will end up serving and being a part of Babylon; partaking of the wine of Babylon. Because you can’t use the methods and means of Satan to build up the kingdom of God.

The difference between Babylon’s wine and Jesus’ wine is not only a matter of physical difference, one having alcohol and the other not. But a spiritual difference is noted: One is corrupt and the other is pure. One will use souls to get money, the other uses money to get souls for God’s kingdom of righteousness and salvation….

So may the Lord help you and I to discern between Babylon’s wine and Jesus’ new wine and to partake of that only which is healthful for our bodies, minds and spirits. He is coming again for those who know the blessing of the truth contained in that wine, which itself is a symbol of His blood, shed to cleanse us from sin.