END-TIME MESSAGES FROM JESUS – Sabbath Morning Evangelism Volume 2

14. THE CALL OUT OF BABYLON

1 END-TIME MESSAGES FROM JESUS
"Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you;
and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew
28:20)

2 Sabbath Morning Evangelism

3 THE CALL OUT OF BABYLON

4 It was Wednesday, October 5, 1982. Twelve year-old Mary

Kellerman awoke unusually early complaining of a sore throat and
runny nose.

5 Her parents gave her an Extra-Strength Tylenol capsule and at 7

a.m. they found her dying on the bathroom floor.

6 Before the week ended, seven Chicago-area residents had died after
consuming Tylenol—and more would follow.

7 Hurriedly drugstores and supermarkets from coast to coast pulled

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14. THE CALL OUT OF BABYLON
Tylenol packages from their shelves, triggering one of the biggest
nationwide drug alerts in history.

8 No one had suspected that the capsules weren’t safe! No one

dreamed that someone, somewhere, somehow, had tampered with
the analgesic capsules, lacing them with cyanide, a poison so
deadly it kills within minutes. People became wary of all “over-the-
counter” medication. Everyone wanted to know the facts before
buying. You see, those who died from the adulterated capsules
didn’t know the facts. They were victims of a mad-man’s hoax!

9 For centuries, a worldwide hoax has been deceiving millions—

maybe even you! A power has been tampering with the pure
teaching of God’s Word, adulterating His truth with fallacies just as
deadly as the tainted Tylenol capsules. And God has sounded a
worldwide alert!

10 In the Book of Revelation three angels are pictured heralding three

specific messages of warning to every person on earth just prior to
the Second Coming of Christ.

11 And the second angel’s message symbolically portrays how God

will expose this great religious hoax, or great religious system
which in the end of time vigorously promotes a counterfeit system
religion, listen:

12 And another angel followed, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen,

that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the
wine of the wrath of her fornication. Revelation 14:8.

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14. THE CALL OUT OF BABYLON
13 However, the ancient city of Babylon lay in ruins at the time John
wrote the Book of Revelation.

14 Is there a modern Babylon? Indeed there is! As we continue our

study we will discover from the Bible that the name “Babylon”
used in Revelation is symbolic of all apostate religious
organizations from antiquity to the close of earth’s history. The
“fallen” condition spoken of by John is a departure from the purity
and simplicity of the gospel.

15 We discovered from our study of Revelation, Chapter 12, that a

delicate and virtuous woman in prophecy represents God’s true
church and its pure teachings.

16 Now, let’s notice how the Bible described a corrupt, or apostate

system of worship:

17 …I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of

names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

18 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned

with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a
golden cup…

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19 …full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And
on her forehead a name was written:

20 MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF

HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE
EARTH. Revelation 17:3-5.

21 Here is described an immoral or adulterous woman, one who is

untrue to her marriage vows. She is called the “Mother of Harlots,”
or the source of all false teachings and abominations that have
poured into the world.

22 Many times in Scripture, God pictures idolatry, or apostasy from

His truth by His people as adultery, or fornication. Speaking to the
Israelites who had apostatized by worshipping the gods of the
heathen nations around them, God said:

23 You shall call Me, My Father, and not turn away from Me.
Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband,…

24 …so have you dealt treacherously with Me, o house of Israel,

says the Lord. Jeremiah 3:19, 20.

25 Why does God call this scarlet woman of Revelation, Babylon? To

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understand the significance of this title we must go back and trace
the history of ancient Babylon—the Babylon of the Old Testament.

26 While the world was still in its infancy, the wickedness of mankind
became so deep and widespread that God could no longer tolerate
it. For 120 years God gave the warning of coming destruction
through Noah to the antediluvian world. But, when the Flood came,
only Noah and his wife, their three sons and their wives entered the
ark and were saved.

27 As Noah’s ark came to rest on top of Mt. Ararat and the waters
receded, God promised that He would never again destroy all life
on earth by a flood. The rainbow was to forever remind man of this
promise. However, as the children of Noah multiplied and the
centuries passed, separating them farther and farther from the
Flood, they forgot the rainbow promise. In fact, some came to
disbelieve that a Flood ever happened.

28 God had instructed the descendants of Noah to scatter over the

earth and repopulate it, but the children of Gush had other plans. In
blatant defiance to God’s specific command, these rebellious
people decided to stick together and build a great city. So, leaving
the area of Mt Ararat, they settled on the Plain of Shinar, on the
banks of the River Euphrates.
It was here on the banks of the Euphrates that the people clamored:

29 …let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the

heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered
abroad over the face of the whole earth. Genesis 11:4.

30 Yes, they had decided to see to their own safety. They forgot God’s
rainbow promise. They would build a tower that would reach to
heaven! Sounds foolish, doesn’t it? And, of course it was. The
whole undertaking was one of pride and idolatry, a rebellion

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against the God of heaven. They had turned from their Creator and
were worshipping the sun, moon, and stars, as well as idols of gold,
silver and wood. They even sacrificed their own children upon
altars to their numerous gods.
And, God wasn’t pleased with their wickedness. In fact, the Bible
says He came down to see the city and the tower the people were
building. And He said:

31 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that

they may not understand one another’s speech.

32 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of
all the earth, and they ceased building the city.

33 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord

confused the language of all the earth. Genesis 11:7-9.

34 It must have been bedlam! Can you imagine the confusion at the
Tower of Babel? It was impossible to communicate. They finally
gave up in utter frustration. Most of the people scattered over the
face of the earth, but a few remained at the site of the unfinished
tower. It was here that we find the beginning of the ancient city of
Babylon. And to this day. Babel, or Babylon, is commonly
understood to be synonymous with confusion, division and
dissension. And Babylon became the fountain-head of all the
abominations and pagan heathen practices and rites that have
corrupted and tainted the religions of the world.

35 Notice what the prophet Jeremiah wrote concerning the wickedness

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of ancient Babylon, and God’s call to come out of her: Flee from
Babylon!

36 Flee from the midst of Babylon, and every one save his life! Do
not be cut off in her iniquity, for this is the time of the Lord’s
vengeance;

37 He shall recompense her… that made all the earth drunk. The
nations drank her wine; therefore the nations are deranged.
Jeremiah 51:6, 7.

38 In other words, the nations of the world had accepted her practices
and false teachings. They had become intoxicated with the wine of
her cup. Not only did the nations of antiquity become intoxicated
with Babylon’s cup of false doctrines and practices, but strange as
it may seem, Christianity today has become contaminated with
many of her customs and doctrines.

39 Historians tell how ancient pagan Babylon was not only the primal
source of all heathen religions, but how paganism, clothed in
various disguises has crept into Christianity today. Don’t be too
surprised if you find yourself unwittingly worshipping at the shrine
of some pagan god!

40 Let’s turn to the Bible and discover why God called His people out
of the false teachings and practices of ancient Babylon. He had
specifically warned the children of Israel not to worship the gods of
the heathen nations around them when He brought them out of
Egypt.

41 But, before many centuries had passed they had forgotten the

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instructions of their God.
During King Zedekiah’s reign, around 592 B.C., the Lord showed
Ezekiel the abominations being practiced in Jerusalem by the
Israelites, even in the Lord’s Temple!
They had the audacity to erect an idol, a rival god of Jehovah, at the
entrance to the altar of the Temple. They had also portrayed on the
inner walls of the Temple all the creeping and detestable animal
gods of the pagans.

42 Then, Ezekiel was shown seventy leaders of the house of Israel

secretly offering incense to these pictures on the walls! The Lord
said to Ezekiel:

43 Turn again, and you will see greater abominations that they are
doing. So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the
Lord’s house;…

44 …and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for

Tammuz. Ezekiel 8:13, 14.

45 Who was Tammuz? That’s a good question, one that takes us back
to ancient Babylon.

46 As the basic traditions go, when Nimrod, the first king of Babel
died, he left his widow Semiramis, on his throne. Not only was
Queen Semiramis very beautiful, she was extremely clever! She
announced to her subjects that the gods of the sky had revealed to

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her that their beloved king was now serving them in a more exalted
position. He was now the Sun-god.

47 They were to face the sun and fall prostrate before him as he made
his glorious appearance each morning, giving thanks for his
protection. Thus, the sun became the foremost god of heathendom,
one of the earliest forms of idolatry to be practiced.

48 James G. Frazer states: “In ancient Babylonia the sun was

worshipped from immemorial antiquity.” The Worship of
Nature, Volume 1, page 529.

49 Then, a couple of years later an interesting thing happened. Queen

Semiramis found herself in the early stages of motherhood, and that
without a husband. This produced a most stunning announcement
by the Queen. “It was a miraculous conception.” She claimed to
have been richly blessed by being impregnated with a sunbeam
from the Sun-god, Nimrod. And, of course, since the sun was
worshipped as god, and its direct descendant, Tammuz, was also to
be worshipped as “God incarnate”, then Semiramis must be the
“Mother of God,” also deserving of worship.

50 Thus began the worship of the “Mother and Son,” whose worship
spread throughout the ancient world. Of course, their names and
some of the facts were adapted to meet the culture of the various
nations: Isis, and Osiris in Egypt, Frigga and Balder in Scandinavia,
Venus and Adonis, Ishtar, Cybele, Diana, Mithras, Baccus,
Ashtorah and Baal, Zoroaster, etc.

51 Legend has it that Tammuz died an untimely death, being killed by

a wild boar. He supposedly rose to life each year and died annually.

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The Tammuz feast was one of the most widely celebrated festivals
among the ancient Babylonians. For forty days the people wept and
fasted for Tammuz. Hence the weeping of the woman in Israel at
the gate of the Temple for Tammuz, the son of the Sun-god, that
God showed the prophet Ezekiel.
Not only were the women weeping for Tammuz, they were also
making cakes to the Queen of Heaven, or Semiramis, also called
Ishtar, or Easter.

52 Do you not see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the
streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, the fathers
kindle the fire,…

53 …and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of
heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that
they may provoke Me to anger. Jeremiah 7:17, 18.

54 Have you ever wondered where we got the hot cross bun? Well,
now you know. These little cakes, or buns made in honor of the
queen of heaven were marked on top with a cross, or Tau in
devotion to her son, Tammuz. You see this is what made the
crucifixion of Christ so heinous. He was actually crucified on the
cross, or the Tau, which was the sign of the Sun-god.

55 Not only were the children of Israel weeping for Tammuz and
making cakes to Ishtar, or Semiramis, but God said they were
practicing greater abominations:

56 …at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and
the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward
the temple of the Lord…

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57 …and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the
sun toward the east. Ezekiel 8:16.

58 The children of Israel worshipping the sun? “Incredible,” you say?

So it seems.

59 But Ezekiel tells how it came about: Her priests have violated My
law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished
between the holy and unholy,…

60 …nor have they made known the difference between the

unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from
My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Ezekiel
22:26.

61 Because of their idolatry God allowed the city of Jerusalem to be

destroyed and his people taken captive by the Babylonians for 70
years. It was a hard lesson, but one they learned well. Never again
did the Jewish people go into idolatry.

62 But, before long, the pendulum swung to the far right! The Jewish
people became extremely legalistic in their religious observances.
Their worship of God deteriorated into rigid forms and rituals

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without a heartfelt experience. They looked only for a temporal
king who would physically deliver them from the Romans.

63 It was at this moment of earth’s history that Jesus came to

demonstrate the purity of the gospel—what a loving, caring God
was really like. And what a demonstration that was! No one’s life
ever changed the world as His did. He brought forgiveness of sins,
the joy of salvation and hope for a beautiful tomorrow. He met the
needs of all mankind.

64 While the disciples were alive, the Christian church retained its
purity of doctrine. But, even in Paul’s day he recognized that
apostasy was rearing its ugly head.

65 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will

come in among you, not sparing the flock.

66 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking

perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.
Acts 20:29.

67 Of course, from its inception, the Christian church suffered

persecution: first by the Jews and then by the Roman emperors.
It was during the next few centuries that Satan made a frontal
attack on Christianity. Many of the emperors made severe edicts
against the Christians.

68 The Roman Emperors declared themselves to be gods and

demanded that Christians burn incense to them.

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69 For refusing to obey they were fed to the animals in the circuses of
Rome. It wasn’t easy to be a Christian: it was a life and death
decision to confess the Lord Jesus Christ and live for Him during
these hours of Earth’s history.

70 While the fires of persecution remained, the purity of the gospel

remained. But as Christianity tried to disassociate itself from the
hated Jews and their customs, and at the same time win the pagans
to Christianity, apostasy began to spread in the church.

71 “At the end of the second century, within a little more than one
hundred and fifty years after the first preaching of the gospel,
…

72 …Christianity began already to wear the garb of heathenism.

73 The seeds of most of those errors that afterwards so entirely

overran the church, marred its beauty,…

74 …and tarnished its glory, were already beginning to take root.”

Wharey’s Church History, page 39.

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75 The history of the Christian church reveals a sad story of

tremendous apostasy during the fourth and fifth centuries.
With the ascendancy of Emperor Constantine as sole occupant of
the imperial throne of the Roman Empire, the Christian church
enjoyed peace and prosperity, not spiritually, but physically.
Constantine favored Christianity and eventually embraced it.
However, most historians suspect his motive, believing it to be a
political ploy to strengthen his empire rather than a conversion to
Christ.

76 “Paganism must still have been an operative belief with the

man… He was at best only half heathen, half Christian.

77 Who could seek to combine the worship of Christ with the

worship of Apollo (child of the sun-god)…

78 …having the name of the one and figure of the other impressed
upon his coins.”
Encyclopedia Britannica. Article, “Constantine.”

79 During the fourth century there was a flood of pagan converts into
the Christian church.
“Christianity had now become popular, and a large proportion,

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perhaps a large majority of those who embraced it, only
assumed the name…

80 …they were as much heathen as they were before. Error and

corruption now came in upon the church like a flood. Wharey’s
Church History, Page 54.

81 In other words, pagan practices that originated in Babylon of old

were slowly introduced into the Christian church, contaminating
her purity of doctrine and practices.

82 Wharey wrote: “Christianity became the established religion in

the Roman Empire and took the place of Paganism...

83 Christianity as it existed in the Dark Ages might be termed

Baptized Paganism.” Church History, Cent. 2., Chapter 2,
Section 7.

84 And sad to say, many of the doctrines and practices of pagan origin
introduced into the church have been passed on as ordinances from
God from one generation to another. Many of which are firmly
established in Christianity today. That’s what happened! That’s
why we have so much confusion in Christianity today.

85 The flow of false doctrines and rites from the cup of fallen Babylon
has corrupted and adulterated the pure gospel of the Bible. We
catch a glimpse of these practices borrowed from heathenism in so

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many celebrations and rites of Christendom today.

86 Cardinal Newman lists many examples of practices that the Roman

Church admittedly borrowed from paganism to recommend
Christianity to the heathen!

87 “The use of temples dedicated to particular saints... incense,

lamps, and candles, votive offerings… holy water...

88 …processions... sacerdotal vestments, the tonsure,… the ring in

marriage, turning to the East, images,… ecclesiastical chant,…

89 …are all of pagan origin and sanctified by their adoption into

church.”
An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, page 373.

90 Does the Roman Church admit she adopted these pagan practices?
Indeed, she does!

91 “The church took the pagan philosophy and made it the

buckler of faith against the heathen.

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92 She took the pagan Roman Pantheon, …temple of all the gods,
and made it sacred to all the martyrs; so it stands to this day.

93 She took the pagan Sunday and made it the Christian Sunday.

94 She took the pagan Easter and made it the feast we celebrate
during this season.” The Catholic World, 58 (March, 1894), 809

95 In St. Peter’s in Rome, there is a statute of Peter. On his head is a

sun disc, indicating that this statue was originally an idol devoted to
the worship of the sun. In artistic representations of the gods and
goddesses of paganism, all had the disc, or nimus, as it was called,
which was a symbol of the Sun-god and signified their divinity and
claim to adoration or worship. (Today we call them “halos.”)

96 But there is yet another widely accepted pagan custom which has
been adopted into Christendom, that is Sunday worship. Where did
it have its deepest roots? Webster says:

97 “Sunday—so called because this day was anciently dedicated to

the sun, or to its worship.” The first day of the week. Webster’s

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Dictionary, 1929 edition.

98 Again we read: “The sun was a foremost god with

heathendom… Hence the church… would seem to have said,
‘Keep that old pagan name.

99 It shall remain consecrated, sanctified,’ and thus the pagan

Sunday, dedicated to Balder, …

100 …became the Christian Sunday, sacred to Jesus.” The Catholic

World, (March, 1894), 809

101 Yes, they accepted and adopted a day dedicated to the pagan sun-
god as their day of worship, ignoring the day God had asked them
to remember to keep holy. As we have studied just a few of the
pagan customs that have contaminated Christianity, we discover
that the church has been imbibing the wine, or intoxicating
doctrines flowing from the cup of Modem Babylon and all of her
daughters.

102 A profession of religion has again become popular with the world.
It’s a sign of respectability. And, many of the cutting truths of
God’s Word are being ignored or compromised to make religion
inviting to the man on the street.

103 Confusion abounds in the religious world. That’s why God is

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calling His children to come out of the confused systems of
worship, out of Modem Babylon, back to plain truths of His Word.
He sends the warning:

104 Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest
you receive of her plagues. Revelation 18:4.

105 Today God is asking us to take inventory. What about our religious
practices and beliefs, are they all firmly founded on God’s Word, or
could we unwittingly be worshipping the teachings of fallen
Babylon—doctrines passed along from generation to generation as
tradition that have no foundation in God’s Word?

106 Won’t you make this your moment of decision and courageously
stand on God’s side, pledging your total allegiance and fidelity to
Him and His Word?

107 Won’t you say unhesitatingly, as Joshua did. As for me and my

house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15.

108 You may say it isn’t an easy decision to make. There will have to
be some sacrifices, some changes. Perhaps that is true.

109 But dear friend, it wasn’t easy for Jesus to carry the cross out to
Calvary either. It wasn’t easy to suffer ridicule, beatings, abuse,
desertion and betrayal by friends. It wasn’t easy to be nailed to a

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cross, to die of a broken heart.

110 But He did it because He loved you. He loved you more than life
itself. And He did it because He wants to save you and fellowship
with you throughout eternity. He wants to give you happiness
forever on the earth made new.

111 He paid the price and He longs to have you kneel at the foot of the
cross and accept that sacrifice made for you at Calvary. Yes,
Friend, there’s room at the cross for you. Won’t you find your way
there just now?

Appeal and Prayer.

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