Coming Out of Babylon

God commands His people to “Come out” of Babylon in Revelation 18:23. The objective of this post is to help you to that.

“Come out of her [Babylon], My people.” (Revelation 18:4)

After commanding them to “Come out”, God goes on to give a chilling explanation of the destruction which will befall them if they do not.

The Great Apostasy Gave Birth to Babylon, the Great Harlot Who Deceived the World

The Great Apostasy was an event foretold to happen when ‘some’ of the church fell from the faith by following a doctrine of demons. It Is called a GREAT apostasy because of the size of the apostasy.

Most of Christendom has been patiently waiting for the apostasy to happen without realizing that it has already happened and their faith is the result of that apostasy.

Through your sorceries, the entire world was deceived. Revelation 18:23

The History of the Apostasy

1 Timothy 4 Foretells how the great apostasy would happen:

1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 3 [men] who forbid marriage [and advocate] abstaining from foods

This verse not only foretells how the great apostasy would happen, but it also identifies those who would lead it by describing their doctrines; namely, those doctrines would be abstaining from foods and forbidding marriage. This verse also reveals that there was a true faith that the apostate church departed from.

It Began In Paul’s Day

Prior to the Catholic faith (and subsequent Christian denominations), the faith of the apostles was vastly different.

The study of Christian/Catholic history reveals that there were two distinctly different groups of early believers. One was the true faith, the other was a group that departed from that faith to what the Bible calls “a doctrine of demons”.

The true faith believed in the God of the apostle Paul, who clearly stated that the One God wasn’t three in one, He was God, the Father.

We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many so-called gods and lords), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father (1 Corinthians 8:6)

The other group believed a doctrine that sprang up in Paul’s day and which Paul repeatedly referred to as a false gospel of Jesus.

While Paul was still ministering, there was no official church body with one central authority; there were simply small home groups that were planted by different apostles and which were spread throughout Christendom. As the church grew and spread into the pagan world, differing gospels began to emerge that conflicted with what the apostles taught. The false gospels that sprang up during Paul’s ministry showed up repeatedly in his epistles to the churches. In those epistles, he railed against the false brethren who spread them. Try as he might to squash them through his letters, as pagan converts grew, the false gospels continued to spread.

False gospels frustrated Paul because he knew they were circulating and people believed them. Paul also knew that the Spirit said that some of the church was going to fall away because of false demonic doctrines. (1 Timothy 4)

18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. (1 Corinthians)

“we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions..” (Acts)

8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (Galatians)

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— (Galatians)

“For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.” (2 Corinthians)

14 But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets. (Acts)

“…. there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but ***one God, the Father,*** from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.” (1 Corinthians 8:4-6)

So, when Paul discovered that heretics were trying to lead his flock astray he set them all straight with a reminder of the truth.

Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

The false gospels of Jesus that Paul referred to eventually led to the Great Apostasy.

100 AD – Ignatius was an early church father who also battled the same false gospels and reiterated what Paul said, namely, that there is One God who sent HIS son:

Be not deceived with strange doctrines, nor with old fables, which are unprofitable. For if we still live according to the Jewish law, we acknowledge that we have not received grace. For the divinest prophets lived according to Christ Jesus. On this account also they were persecuted, being inspired by His grace to fully convince the unbelieving that there is one God, who has manifested Himself by Jesus Christ His Son, who is His eternal Word, not proceeding forth from silence, and who in all things pleased Him that sent Him.

200 AD – The false gospels of Jesus are defined by Tertullian, the Father of Catholic and Christian Theology, and are given a name. The Catholic Dispensation of the Three in One.

As we saw above, the characteristics of the men who would lead the church astray were that they would advocate for abstaining from food and forbidding marriage.

The group that departed from the God of the apostle Paul was the group led by Tertullian. Tertullian’s doctrine opposed that of Paul. Tertullian is the father of the Trinity and is credited with being the father of Christian and Catholic theology. He is also world-famous for being an advocate of forbidding marriage and abstaining from food.

Tertullian’s extensive writing, titled, “Against Praxaes” is a very extensive work in which he advocates heavily for the Trinity, abstaining from food, and forbidding marriage. He is the very definition of the men who would lead the church astray and he is the father of the group that departed from the faith.

Along with all of his doctrines, Tertullian also left evidence in “Against Praxeas”, that there was massive opposition to his newly arrived doctrine. In it, he railed against the majority of the church, who refused to believe in the new-fangled Catholic Dispensation of the Three in One and instead clung to the God that Paul so specifically articulated as One, the Father.

Coming tomorrow: How Tertullian’s Doctrine Took Hold