Babylon Is Fallen!

By Dantes Joseph

BABYLON Is Fallen, is the message I believe to be coming from the Bible today. But there’s a great deal of controversy as to who Babylon is. To understand whom she represents, we have to allow God to define His own terms. And since the Bible is spiritual, you will hopefully see here, that SPIRITUAL means that the gospel message must relate to the KINGDOM OF GOD on earth, the CHURCH.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jan 16, 2017
• ISBN: 9781365685330

Book preview

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Chapter 1: THE GOSPEL - A MESSAGE OF JUDGMENT AND SALVATION

As we study the Bible, we should keep in mind that God is trying to convey only ONE message through a variety of words, types and figures, anecdotes, parables etc… if we allow Him to define His own terms, we should begin to pick up the underlying message of both judgment and salvation. So what is this gospel of judgment and salvation? A few years ago, like many others, I used to see this primarily on the individual level; that is, we are born sinners and Christ came to shed His blood in order to redeem those who call on His name. And since every human being is a sinner in the eyes of God, His wrath (judgment) is on us before we come to Christ. Now once God saves the sinner, he or she is said to have found grace (salvation) and is no longer under judgment.

While I believe this approach to understanding the gospel message is correct, it highly limits our ability to understand judgment as it is revealed today. If we look a bit deeper, we see another level to the gospel: namely the corporate side of judgment and salvation. By corporate I mean how God is dealing with the Church (professed Christians) after Christ is revealed through the Bible. So the one picture where the individual is a sinner under the judgment of God would also be pointing spiritually to the Church (the body) who IS sinful as it embraces false gospels and falls away from truth (judgment). Now this would also include the believers within this body. Prior to salvation, this body which is made up of pastors, elders, deacons, church members OR anyone really, who wants to claim some type of identification with Christ. We should be careful not to limit this Body to only those who get together in the organized institution of the local churches. Doing so, I think, would lead us away from the spiritual picture that this institution was designed to represent. Below is a chart that should help to summarize the image I’m trying to convey. You will also see this chart in chapter 3 when we analyze the two bodies:

corporate vs human body.png

So in essence, the spiritual nature of the gospel today is primarily on the Body of Christ. Just as an individual is unclean before God prior to salvation, so the Church is seen to be under judgment and in need of salvation. This judgment comes in the form of God allowing the Body to fall away and come under the authority of antichrists. But as God unseals the Bible, The believers are redeemed (saved corporately) by bringing them out of Babylon.

Chapter 2: CORPORATE VS ETERNAL CHURCH - VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE BODY?

One area of scripture that is often misunderstood is the role of the corporate body of Christ vs the ETERNAL body of the elect in Christ. The reason for this, I believe, is that God treats both entities equally in terms of blessings. God treats both as ONE body, making it appear that this body is the eternal body. But in reality this ONE body is really made up of two sets of people: saved and unsaved. They are the wheat and tares that are growing together until God brings about a separation. This separation is what appears to be going on today. Anyone who claims a relationship with Christ is known as Professing Christians. But only the elect believers in this body are truly born again and will live with Christ forever.  The unsaved body, however, is said to lose the blessings it had in Christ due to its eventual falling away. 

CORPORATE CHURCH = Visible Body of Christ = Temple of God = ISRAEL (Wheat and Tares, Sheep and Goats, Vine and Branches, Saved and Unsaved, PROFESSED CHRISTIANS)

Eph 5:30  For we are members of HIS BODY, of his flesh, and of his bones.

Eph 5:32  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and THE CHURCH.

1Co 12:27  Now ye are the BODY OF CHRIST, and members in particular.

1Co 3:17  If any man defile the TEMPLE of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which TEMPLE ye are.

Mt 13:25  But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed TARES among the WHEAT, and went his way.

Mr 13:6  For many shall come in MY NAME, saying, I am {}; and shall deceive many.

Isa 4:1  And in that day SEVEN WOMEN shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by THY NAME, to take away our reproach.

Mt 7:21  NOT EVERY ONE that saith unto me, LORD, LORD, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Joh 15:5  I am the VINE, ye are the BRANCHES: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Joh 15:2  Every BRANCH in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every BRANCH that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

Ac 7:38  This is he, that was in the CHURCH IN THE WILDERNESS with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:

ETERNAL CHURCH = Invisible Body of Christ = Temple of God = ISRAEL (Wheat, Sheep, Saved, CHRISTIANS)

Joh 10:27  My SHEEP hear my voice,