With our troops in Iraq and a devastated country we see how fragile our modern civilization really is. We are living in a time where the destruction of the electric power lines and plants takes out the telephone service, water treatment service, natural gas service, and everything else that we use on a daily basis. The hospitals are closed, there is no water, or phone service. Also the pumps at the local gas station which depend on electricity don pump gas. This is the situation in Iraq today and could very possibly be the situation here in our own country. The Bible tells of the destruction of Babylon in a day.

Revelation 18:1-24

1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
2 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.
3 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.
4 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.
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
16 And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Our society has become so dependent upon technology that when the source of the power of the technology is destroyed the society will be destroyed. This is what we see happening in Iraq with the infrastructure destroyed. There is no water, no sewage treatment, no telephone system, no hospitals, or any other item that we consider as essential. There have been comments that it will take 8 to 10 years to get the electric and phone service back to being fully operational.

It takes such a short time to destroy and a much longer time to build. Our society is so dependent upon technology that we could be heading for another dark age. Also, the Bible tells us of a destruction of an end time Babylon that is total and not even worth rebuilding. A destruction of a nation that all of the world wonders if there will ever be another like it. They say, "What city is like unto this great city!" The United States prides itself of being the only Super Power, but the U.S. is very vulnerable to the destruction of the infrastructure just like Iraq.

As a world we still put our trust in men who are bent on conquest and destruction. We build huge Armys to destroy when we should be building a better society based on the principles in the Bible. Men who are filled with a desire to rule will rather destroy their neighbor rather than help their neighbor. As long as people will listen to words of hate and evil and are willingly lead by the wicked they will find that there will be wars and rumors of war. But there is a hope that the Lord Jesus will soon return to take away the wicked and enter in an era of peace and prosperity.

We read and hear on the news about suicide bombers that give their life by killing their neighbors. These people are so possessed by Satan that they have no hope except to kill themselves. The leaders of these are men so possessed by Satan that they are able to deceive their followers that they are men of God. Anyone that tells their followers to kill is a child of the devil.

The day is coming and now is the time that has been prophesied about. The day of the Lord is at hand and the rise of the beast is eminent. The days described in the book of Revelation are here and the Christian needs to be vigilant and on their guard against all of the wiles of the devil. Satan's main goal is to deceive the Christian just like he was able to deceive a third of the angels in heaven. It will not take much to totally destroy this fragile society so are you ready if the Lord should call you home tonight?

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Published by: Rev. LeRoy D. Cressy (215) 535-4037

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Copyright © 2002 LeRoy D. Cressy
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