Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
… for He has judged the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her immorality,
and has avenged on her the blood of His servants (Revelation 18:2, 19:2 ESV).
Any person, culture, organization, or even religion that sells out principles for control or power is participating in the spirit of Babylon. This spirit can be seen all around us today and it is detestable before the Lord.
Babylon is a spirit of arrogance and of whoredom.
The following parable was written by Joshua Noel as part four of five in a parable series, called "The Mark".
Whilst in the locker room of the high-school, in the town like any other, the Beast began the customary talk of sexual exploits. All of the guys began to brag of their recent conquests, parading their masculinity in all of its glory – all of them except for David that is. The Beast brought up the Foster Child, David’s girlfriend, and made the claim that he had been with her several times before. This proclamation lead to the whole team agreeing to the idea of David’s girlfriend being a whore, by claiming that they too had known her.
This started with the Pastor’s Son who also claimed to have laid with her, then others continued these claims. All but one of these claims were quite untrue. The Foster Child had always remained as pure as she could; however, the Beast was looking for a way to further the angry buzzing of the school and town. David tried to defend her honour in this hour, but his words were drowned out in the noise of the locker room.
David felt a heat that simmered behind his eyes durring the entire practice. The rage was such that even after a hard practice, he continued to push himself. With no one but the Refugee in the stands, the Beast approached David once the rest of the team was gone. With complete sincerity, he apologized to David for the whole team lying about having known the Foster Child. He then explained with a grin and a gleam in his eye, that he knew that only he had slept with the Foster Child, and at first she did not even want to sleep with him, but he did not give her a choice. David realised what the Beast was claiming to have done and at that moment felt something boiling up inside him like he never felt before. The simmering heat behind his eyes reached a climax and with a sudden move, the Beast was on the ground.
Never before had the Beast known the wrath of a righteous man. Blow after blow was imparted to the Beast, each punch, fertilizing the field with the essence of his being. This beating was like no other. Cracks and snaps could have been heard from quite the distance, as blood splattered from the Beast’s face. The Refugee came rushing down toward this act of righteous wrath. He ran over and pulled David off of the Beast, barely saving the Beast’s life. The Beast had to be rushed to the town’s emergency room. It is from here that the Beast will set the town ablaze.
One by one, the townspeople come to visit the Beast, out of religious duty. The Beast tells them all the story that they had been looking for. The story of how angry David got when he learned that his girlfriend was a whore and how David got the Refugee to help him beat the Beast like this. The Beast had to tell this version of the story, for the Beast could not let anyone know he was so easily beaten by David alone, nor could the Beast admit to what he truly did to the Foster Child. The Beast confirmed the town’s story that David was a hypocrite, the Refugee was a beast, and the Foster Child was the whore. He gave them the end times that they all had been searching for.
One by one, the townspeople came to trade in their fears and suspicions of the three for a false picture painted by a true monster.
One by one, they sold their humanity, their fears and loves, for the true control that comes with false certainty.
Despite the cruelty of the beast, the Foster Child made her way to see him, to help him in his time of need. As she approached the clinic, she heard the buzzing of the townspeople. The hatred and judgment made her flee to the only place she knew was safe.
The Refugee even came to visit the Beast, to apologize on behalf of David. The Refugee explained that David felt so bad that he was immobilized from confronting this side of himself. This did not sway the stories the Beast started, however. The Beast was trapped sticking to this story now; he could not let go of his reputation nor his pride. He already had begun the end times, for the town like any other.
The Pastor and the Mayor both spent much time with the Beast in the hospital. The Pastor wanting to show his care and support; the Mayor was looking after his reputation as a politician, sense his child was the one who caused this damage. As the town’s leaders were distracted, the town looked for someone to stand up, and they found just that.
For it was at this moment that the sheriff began to speak to the crowd. He asked what they heard, the only response was the buzzing of words spoken from lips not fully moving. Each question he asked got a response that was louder and clearer. The responses went from buzzing noises to clear, ringing tones.
It was now clear to them that David was the deceiver. It was clear that the refugee was the beast, and clear that the orphan was the whore. The sheriff repeated the questions over again, until the answer rang out with one voice. The townspeople had forsaken both their fear and their doubt, for the sake of certainty. The sheriff then shouted their clear path, to prevent the antichrist from being allowed to hurt another child.
The people were then incensed with rage. Their certainty gave them clarity and justification for action. The monster that hurt their child must be removed. The sheriff then stood up in front of many of the people and exclaimed that they no longer had to be afraid of the end times. They KNEW that the Foster Child was the whore. They KNEW that the Refugee was the beast. They KNEW that David was the antichrist. And, now was the time to do something about it, for the sake of their town. Thus a mob was formed to look for the Foster Child who went into hiding, as the rumours of her whoredom had spread.
When David heard about the mob and realized that they were looking for the Foster Child, he knew exactly where to find her. He had been in his room at home, coming to terms with what he had done to the Beast, but now he knew that he had to go to her. And so he did. David discerned that she would be in the church, as that was the only place she knew to be safe. He found her there, in the basement, and sat with her without saying a word.
After a couple days’ time, and few words between them about what the town was doing, the Mayor found the two of them. The Mayor pointed out the window, to show David what was coming. At the dying of the light, David could see the townspeople marching towards the beacon on the hill, as the last rays of sun reflected . The Mayor begged David to come home but David could not do so without the Foster Child, for he feared what the townspeople might do when they found her. The Mayor then turned his back to David and walked away from the church, with his only son inside.
Part 5, the finale of this parable series, "The Mark", will be relased on this site, June 2nd 2016.
So, dear readers, can you see the true Babylon in this story?
TEAMzao 