The Recovery Of The Church
Message Three
The Degradation of the Church—
the Principle of Babylon and the Way to Overcome It
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Rev.17:5 And on her forehead there was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Rev. 18:4 …I heard another voice out of heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that you do not participate in her sins and that you do not receive her plagues.
Word of Appetizer
What is the principle of Babylon?
The principle of Babylon (Heb. Babel) is man’s endeavor to build up something from earth to heaven by human ability, by bricks.
The principle of Babylon is hypocrisy
The principle of Babylon is that of not considering herself a widow but of glorifying herself and living luxuriously.
The principle of Babylon is the principle of a harlot
Spiritual Burden
The Lord’s call in the book of Revelation is for His people to come out of Babylon, the apostate church, so that they may return to the orthodoxy of the church.
In order to overcome the principle of Babylon, we need to daily take Christ as our burnt offering, which typifies Christ in His living a life that is perfect and absolutely for God and for God’s satisfaction and in His being the life that enables God’s people to have such a living
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
The principle of Babylon (Heb. Babel) is man’s endeavor to build up something from earth to heaven by human ability, by bricks
The principle of Babylon: hypocrisy；not considering herself a widow but of glorifying herself and living Luxuriously; The Lord’s call in the book of Revelation is for His people to come out of Babylon, the apostate church, so that they may return to the orthodoxy of the church; In order to overcome the principle of Babylon, we need to daily take Christ as our burnt offering
The Experience of Life
By laying our hands on Christ as our burnt offering, we are joined to Him, and He and we become one; in such a union all our weaknesses, defects, and faults are taken on by Him, and all His virtues become ours; When we lay our hands on Christ through prayer, the life-giving Spirit, who is the very Christ on whom we lay our hands , will immediately move and work within us to live a life that is a repetition of the life that Christ lived on earth, the life of the burnt offering.
Practice and Application
We need God to enlighten us so that in His light we may judge everything in us which is not absolute toward Him; The Lord requires that we delight and seek to be one who is absolute, not one who is living in the principle of Babylon
In order to overcome the principle of Babylon, we need to daily take Christ as our burnt offering; our offering ourselves to God as a continual burnt offering (cf. Rom. 12:1) should be laid as a foundation for our sweet fellowship with God
Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outline
Key Verses (1)
Rev. 18:7 As much as she has glorified herself and lived luxuriously, as much torment and sorrow give to her; for she says in her heart, I sit a queen, and I am not a widow, and I shall by no means see sorrow
17:5 And on her forehead there was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH
The principle of Babylon
• The principle of Babylon (Heb. Babel) is man’s endeavor to build up something from earth to heaven by human ability, by bricks
• The principle of Babylon is hypocrisy; Everything done in falsehood to receive glory from man is done in the principle of the harlot, not in the principle of the bride.
• The principle of Babylon is that of not considering herself a widow but of glorifying herself and living luxuriously
• The principle of Babylon is the principle of a harlot: make a name for himself and deny God’s name; confusion; scattering; a mixture of the things of God with the things of the idols
Key Verses (2)
Rev. 18:2 …He cried with a strong voice, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great! And she has become a dwelling place of demons and a hold of every unclean spirit and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird
4 …I heard another voice out of heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that you do not participate in her sins and that you do not receive her plagues
Coming out of Babylon, the apostate church, so that they may return to the orthodoxy of the church
• According to God’s Word, His children cannot partake of anything that has the character of Babylon
• God hates the principle of Babylon more than anything else; We need God to enlighten us so that in His light we may judge everything in us that is not absolute toward Him
• Anything that is halfway and not absolute is called Babylon
• When God judges the harlot and shatters all her work, and when He casts out all that she is and the principle she represents, voices from heaven will say, “Hallelujah!”
Key Verses (3)
Lev. 1:4 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him, to make expiation for him
Lev. 6:9-10 …This is the law of the burnt offering: The burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning….And the priest shall put on his linen garment;…and he shall take up the ashes to which the fire has consumed the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar
12-13 …The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on… the altar continually; it shall not go out
Overcoming the principle of Babylon, daily take Christ as our burnt offering
Burnt offering typifies Christ in His living a life that is perfect and absolutely for God and for God’s satisfaction and in His being the life that enables God’s people to have such a living
• By laying our hands on Christ as our burnt offering, we are joined to Him, and He and we become one
• The burnt offering being kept on the hearth of the altar until the morning signifies that until the Lord Jesus comes again
• Ashes indicate the result of Christ’s death, which brings us to an end; in relation to the burnt offering, the ashes are not the end, for Christ’s death brings in resurrection; for eventually the ashes will become the New Jerusalem
• “The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it must not go out
Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week
D1
T1 Babylon represents man’s ability（Gen. 11:1-9）
(Please illustrate that the principle of Babylon (Heb. Babel) is man’s endeavor
to build up something from earth to heaven by human ability)
T2 There is no reality, yet people act as if there is. This is hypocrisy.(Josh.7:21;Acts 5:1-11)
(Please illustrate that the principle of Babylon, therefore, is hypocrisy. )
D2
T1 We have to maintain a widow’s attitude toward the world daily. （Rev. 18:7）
(Please illustrate that the principle of Babylon is that of not considering herself a widow)
T2 We should order our living according to the principle of need (1Tim.6:6-10)
(Please illustrate that anything in our living that is in excess is luxury and is in the principle of Babylon)
D3
T1 The principle of Babylon is the principle of a harlot (Rev. 17:1-6)
(Please illustrate that we can see the four main points concerning the Babylon)
T2 Babylon is a mixture of the things of God with the things of the idols (Rev. 17:3-5;21:18-21)
(Please illustrate that Babylon is decorated, gilded, with all the things of the New Jerusalem.)
D4
T1 We must obey the Lord’s call to come out of her. (Rev.18:4)
(Please illustrate that how to practice to come out of anything that has the character of Babylon)
T2 Anything that is halfway and not absolute is called Babylon(Rev.17:5-6;18:4-5)
(Rev.17:5-6; 18:4-5)
(Please illustrate that God hates the principle of Babylon more than anything else)
D5
T1 In order to overcome the principle of Babylon, we need to daily take Christ as our burnt offering (Lev. 1:3, 9; John 5:19, 30)
(Please illustrate that burnt offering typifies Christ in His living a life that is perfect and absolutely for God and for God’s satisfaction)
T2 The life of the burnt offering(Heb.10:5-10; Phil.2:6-8)
(Please illustrate that since we cannot live such a life, we must take Christ as our burnt offering.)
D6
T1 The ashes, the result of the burnt offering(Lev. 6:10; Rom.6：3-5)
(Please illustrate that according to the experience that the ashes are not the end, for Christ’s death brings in resurrection)
T2 “The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it must not go out.( Lev. 6:12-13)
(And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning. What does it signify?)
