The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.
The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.
The preservation of the righteous and the destruction of the wicked is a common theme within the proverbs. As I read these passages right now, two prophetic scriptures come to mind.
The fall of Babylon the Great
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 (Revelation 18:1-5).
As in the Days of Lot
28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.
32 Remember Lot’s wife.
33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together (Luke 17: 28-37).
What are we getting at here?
The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.
The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.
How do all these ideas go together?
Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good (Ezekiel 16:49-50).
The above passage seems to capture the ideas of the fall of Babylon and the reference to Sodom in the future sense that Jesus made. In Revelation 11, the two witnesses are said to prophecy in a land that is spiritually Sodom.
I hope I’m not losing anyone here. This thread of thought is developing as I go, so thank you for reading along. I like to write in this manner. It feels more authentic because you get to “see” my in-the-moment thought process.
Babylon the Great is the apostate church of the false christ—a church that has become full of evil spirits, hateful leaders, and intoxicated with their love of this world and the prince of it. Are these not also as Sodom? Full of pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness.
When we are aligned with a Christianity or other social movements, ideologies, and the like that gear us towards a love of pride, leisure, and idleness, we are heading down a path of destruction.
Have you heard this saying: Hard times creates strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. Weak men create hard times.
This is true and this cycle will eventually come to a full.
Babylon the Great is decadent, full of leisure, and eschews any idea of suffering because they are too important, powerful, and joined with their powerful king. “I sit a queen and am no widow and shall see no sorrow.” Then comes the return of the True King. Babylon the Great falls. Many are “taken.” This is the same event, as far as I can tell.
Before Jesus returns, many “fall away” and are “taken” by the deceit of the false prophet. They are taken into his deception and his service, eventually waging war on the saints of God and preparing to war against Jesus Himself. This is the Battle of Armageddon.
19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh (Revelation 19:19-21).
And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together (Luke 17:37).
** If my use of this passage in Luke confuses you because of the rapture teaching, consider looking at: A Simple Rebuttal of the Rapture in Favor of the Resurrection. **
We like to harp over certain forms of wickedness. We see how corrupt the world is getting and we thank God that we Christians know better. What were the sins of Sodom? What are the sins of the Babylon the Great? Are we truly any better?
I don’t mean to accuse anyone. I ask myself also. I have lived a life of ease in many ways and I have seen how comforts and modern technology has had a negative effect. We all live very easy lives for the most part here in the West. If called to, are we willing to give this up as Jesus commands? Will we lose our life and find it or will we save our life and lose it?
While we look at the big sinners of our time, consider ourselves also. Will our love of security, wealth, and comfort be our undoing? Will we fall by our own devices? Will we join with a wicked system? Will we deny the teachings of Christ that call us away from serving the self and towards self-sacrifice for His Name’s Sake? How can we do better about laying aside our love of this world and its pleasures in favor of self-control, love of the poor, and reverence for the things of God that are far better?
If it were not for the knowledge that God is in control and all who are chosen by Him will be saved by the grace of God and faith in Jesus, I would be very concerned. People love their riches and all that they worked hard for. “They worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.”
For example, I have heard people say that they will not refuse a vaccine they are terrified of and do not believe in if it means losing their career and comfortable life. This makes me think of a parable Jesus taught. Everyone has their events to go to and their lives to plan buildup, but who regards the Supper of the Great God and the Battle of Armageddon?
Wear the mask. Get the vaccine. Worship the Beast and His Image? Is that too far? Is that where you wake up? No. As the scriptures say, “If you have run with the footmen and they have wearied you, how can you contend with horses?”
Perhaps now would be a good time for us to really consider where our priorities and allegiances lay. “You cannot serve God and mammon.”
By the grace of God and the strength of the Holy Spirit we can do anything. We can be like Paul the apostle who learned to be content in all circumstances (Philippians 4). We can be as Job who said, “naked I came into the world and naked I go out. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Jesus Alone 