Babylon.  The city in which this chapter is about.  Babylon is said to be a great city, a mighty city.  But it practices sexual immorality and luxurious living and is going fall.  Sexual immorality and luxurious living.  How many of you are, or know of people who are practicing sexual immorality and/or luxurious living?  I bet most of you can name 5 people.  These two reasons are part of why God is going to allow, or even be the one to destroy this place.  When reading this chapter, I thought of this country.  To the world, we are a mighty country.  To the world we are great.  We make other countries rich because they manufacture so much for us.  This country is in so much debt because of sinful decisions and unafforded luxurious living.  We try to keep up with the Jones'.   We go after whatever the billboard tells us to.  We go in debt to buy a new car that makes us look like we have money, when in reality we couldn't pay cash for a junkie used car.   The banks allow us to open a mortgage of an amount greater than we could pay- and we wonder why there is so much bankruptcy.  

        Let's talk about porn.  According to Familysafemedia.com, the US porn revenue exceeds the combined revenues of ABC, CBS and NBC.   The pornography industry is larger than the revenues of the top technology companies combined: Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Ebay, Yahoo!, Apple, Netflix and EarthLink.   Every second $3,075.64 is being spent on pornography.  Every 39 minutes a new porn video is being created in the USA.  So you think this country is sexually immoral?  In addition, we have allowed much sexual explicity in Hollywood movies, that numb us to the severity of sexual sin.  They've made it humorous and tolerable.  We walk through a mall and pass by a Victoria's Secret and don't think twice about the half-naked, air-brushed model, wearing skimpy lingerie or a bra way too small for her.  Her eyes lure your spouse into pleasurable thoughts- and we wonder why they struggle with porn themselves!  Sex is everywhere- and I'm not talking about godly sexual influence.  I'm talking about pre-marital sex, affairs, one night stands, and orgies.  Even in advertisements, you see a man- of course, a very good looking one, without his shirt- and who's beside him?  Not one girl, but two.  We wonder why marriages are in shambles and why spouses are having affairs?  Culture allows it!  Culture advertises it!  Culture lures us into it.   This isn't justification for your actions, if you are beginning to make an excuse for yourselves.  You are still fully responsible of your actions and YOU will be held accountable before God for your actions.

    In addition, we are seeing more young people lose their virginity, we have begun to allow homosexual marriage and some states are now giving vaccines for HPV!  

        This chapter of Revelation talks about the fall of Babylon, because of it's luxurious living and sexual immorality.  If we as a country are imitating the sinful attributes of Babylon- what will God do with us?  

On Revelation Chapter 18

• Leanne