“Come Out!”
“...Come out of her (i.e. Babylon) my people, that you may not participate in her sins and that you may not receive her plagues; for her sins have piled up as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities” (Revelation 18:4,5)
The Roman Empire (Political Babylon)
She who is in Babylon... sends you greetings (1 Peter 5:13)
Religious Babylon (The book of Revelation)
A religious organization of false teachings. (i.e. “The MOTHER of harlots”
Revelation 17?). Babylon, Mystery Babylon is the origin, creator, birthplace and
mother of ALL false teachings regarding any truth (i.e. The MOTHER of
harlots. See the book of Proverbs concerning the seductiveness of false wisdom.
She:wisdom / truth contrasted with She:harlot / falsehood). Babylon
goes beyond (i.e. before) the Old Testament City in Mesopotamia during the time of the
exiles, and pre-dates it’s existence from - at the very least - the book of Genesis (i.e. the
Tower of Babel), if not before. It’s existence (i.e. it’s nature? etc.) is called a “Mystery” in
the book of Revelation.
1 Peter
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia (i.e. the Roman Empire), who are chosen (1:1) Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers...But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession... who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (2:9)... for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God (2:10). Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers (2:11)... She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you sends you greetings (5:13)
Peter, himself in Rome (“Babylon” as he calls it) writes to the people of God, whom he
considers “aliens and strangers” (2:11), who are “scattered throughout” (1:1) the Roman
(Babylonian) empire (1:1). The Christians were very much scattered around empire the
same way the Jews were during Babylon’s reign over the land. They however, like the
Jews were still a people - although scattered - and still had an identity to maintain....
Revelation
Peter’s city of Babylon has become a church... full of false teachings...
The False Teachings Regarding
Marriage in the Church Age
Peter’s city of Babylon has become a church... full of false teachings...
Marriage in the Church Age
Brethren, the Babylon of the church age (i.e. religious Babylon) is a church which is
surrounded by 7 hills (Rev). It’s full of mixture and false teachings. It’s called a harlot in
the book of Revelation’s for she has been unfaithful to the truth. She is
contrasted with the True bride of Christ latter in the book. The reformers had trouble with
this institution regarding the doctrine of Justification by faith (as well as other things
including marriage / divorce). Martin Luther couldn’t see why a priest (i.e. minister)
could not - according to the Bible - marry, therefore he himself married (see 1 Tim?). I
have read (from a second hand source) that it was John Calvin who did the groundwork
for the verses in 1 Corinthians 7 regarding the unbeliever leaving. Many Protestant
denominations begin their history of their own “outcalling” from the day they left its
grasp, and even today many of these same churches are still in the process of reforming
the way their own services are conducted as well as what they feel is true biblical
teachings. God is continually reforming His church, and the doctrine of Marriage /
Divorce / Re-marriage is still in the process of being refromed.
Brethren, every church draws the line between divorce and remarriage somewhere. Some allow for divorce and remarriage on almost any grounds (I know of one church where the Pastor doesn’t even get into past grounds for divorce before he remarries people) and some churches (most notably the Roman Catholic Church) go the opposite way and don’t allow for divorce among it’s adherents for any reason at all [however they do annul some marriages, which - by the way - is a correct concept and I may get more into that later. e.g. see David taking back a wife that Saul illegally gave away]. Most Church’s however (as well as people) fall somewhere in between these two views.
While most people draw these lines in different places there seems to be a general agreement within Traditional Protestant churches that there are only two grounds for divorce for the true Christian (Adultery and Desertion), anything else usually is not permissiable.
Many newer non-traditional churches (i.e. Born Again, Spirit Filled) are modifying the views of Traditional Protestantism. Over the past few pages I’ve examined the views of traditional Protestasnism. Some of these views I feel I correctly modified (neglect, desertion, abuse) and one I think I did away with (adultery). Even if you disagree with my conclusions, I still feel I am on pretty solid ground with them and most churches - if they are not already going in this direction - should probably be coming around to this way of thinking in the future.
Brethren you have to draw the line somewhere. Not all covenants are permanent. If you are in a Conservative Evangelical Church and two homosexuals (who are married) get saved in one of your services, which one of you would say that they have to still honor their marriage vows to each other? Probably no one. And if someone in your church, as a Christian mind you, married his stepmother (1 Corinthians 5:1), wouldn’t you be on good grounds to tell them that they should dissolve their marriage? I think so.
We need wisdom brethren...
Babylon: a mixture of people. ‘Come
ye out’
Brethren, every church draws the line between divorce and remarriage somewhere. Some allow for divorce and remarriage on almost any grounds (I know of one church where the Pastor doesn’t even get into past grounds for divorce before he remarries people) and some churches (most notably the Roman Catholic Church) go the opposite way and don’t allow for divorce among it’s adherents for any reason at all [however they do annul some marriages, which - by the way - is a correct concept and I may get more into that later. e.g. see David taking back a wife that Saul illegally gave away]. Most Church’s however (as well as people) fall somewhere in between these two views.
While most people draw these lines in different places there seems to be a general agreement within Traditional Protestant churches that there are only two grounds for divorce for the true Christian (Adultery and Desertion), anything else usually is not permissiable.
Many newer non-traditional churches (i.e. Born Again, Spirit Filled) are modifying the views of Traditional Protestantism. Over the past few pages I’ve examined the views of traditional Protestasnism. Some of these views I feel I correctly modified (neglect, desertion, abuse) and one I think I did away with (adultery). Even if you disagree with my conclusions, I still feel I am on pretty solid ground with them and most churches - if they are not already going in this direction - should probably be coming around to this way of thinking in the future.
Brethren you have to draw the line somewhere. Not all covenants are permanent. If you are in a Conservative Evangelical Church and two homosexuals (who are married) get saved in one of your services, which one of you would say that they have to still honor their marriage vows to each other? Probably no one. And if someone in your church, as a Christian mind you, married his stepmother (1 Corinthians 5:1), wouldn’t you be on good grounds to tell them that they should dissolve their marriage? I think so.
We need wisdom brethren...
“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what harmony has Christ with Belial?, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God has said... Therefore, come out from their midst and separate, says the Lord... And I will welcome you...(2 Corinthians 6:14-18)
This is an open source web-site. In
other words you can freely copy its pages and put them any server you wish. [If
you’re not sure what I’m talking about... just right click your mouse (if you have
Microsoft Windows) and
click on “View Source” and you will see the HTML code that underlies the particular
page you are viewing. If you ‘cut and paste’ what you see into a word processor you will
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server which
supports HTML (just about all of them). The pictures themselves can also be
copied by right clicking your mouse and using the “Save Picture As...” feature].
Thus you can have your own web site [Angelfire (Lycos ) offers free web pages as well as many other sites Click here and ask around].
Periodically I will update the links on these pages. Below you will find the dates of the ‘last update’ of a particular page. If you wish you can use the below “updates” as a guide to update your own pages or you can update your own at you own discretion.
Feel free to improve on any of the pages you copy.
Also, feel free to use this entire sites content (Music, Theology, Divorce and Remarriage etc.) in any way you wish (for example: if you wish to publish a page in whole or in part in another medium (let’s say in tract or book form), you have my permission to do so (and you don’t have to inform me or put my name on the work).
You can also sell the work at a profit if you wish, just having these works circulating in the world is reward enough for me).
Again, this is an open source web site. The code (as well as content) is free to all. Feel free to tinker, dabble and fiddle around with both code and content. God is a very creative Spirit. Who knows what kind of page(s) you will develop. Also, who knows what kind of influential tracts or books you may write. (If you want you can change the sentence structures around and put this sites content in your own words. Then put your name on the book or tract and shop it around to some publishers. Most of this sites content is desperately in need of rewrite so putting your name on a rewritten work is probably a good idea, actually a very good idea).
May God bless you in your efforts.
P.S. If you copy these pages to a server make sure you place your own e-mail address on the pages so people will know whom to write if they have any questions (you can also leave my e-mail address on them if you wish (i.e. StevenMRyan@cs.com), but as of now I don’t have the time to answer everyone’s questions so I think your e-mail address would be a better idea).
Thus you can have your own web site [Angelfire (Lycos ) offers free web pages as well as many other sites Click here and ask around].
Periodically I will update the links on these pages. Below you will find the dates of the ‘last update’ of a particular page. If you wish you can use the below “updates” as a guide to update your own pages or you can update your own at you own discretion.
Feel free to improve on any of the pages you copy.
Also, feel free to use this entire sites content (Music, Theology, Divorce and Remarriage etc.) in any way you wish (for example: if you wish to publish a page in whole or in part in another medium (let’s say in tract or book form), you have my permission to do so (and you don’t have to inform me or put my name on the work).
You can also sell the work at a profit if you wish, just having these works circulating in the world is reward enough for me).
Again, this is an open source web site. The code (as well as content) is free to all. Feel free to tinker, dabble and fiddle around with both code and content. God is a very creative Spirit. Who knows what kind of page(s) you will develop. Also, who knows what kind of influential tracts or books you may write. (If you want you can change the sentence structures around and put this sites content in your own words. Then put your name on the book or tract and shop it around to some publishers. Most of this sites content is desperately in need of rewrite so putting your name on a rewritten work is probably a good idea, actually a very good idea).
May God bless you in your efforts.
P.S. If you copy these pages to a server make sure you place your own e-mail address on the pages so people will know whom to write if they have any questions (you can also leave my e-mail address on them if you wish (i.e. StevenMRyan@cs.com), but as of now I don’t have the time to answer everyone’s questions so I think your e-mail address would be a better idea).
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