Slavery

Revelation 17 & 18     Joel Keller

We're now getting down to the nitty gritty of the Book of Revelation.  I am not going to attempt (once again!) to attack the numbers & symbolism in this chapter.  I'll leave that for Bob & those much more learned than I.   As I came to Rev 17:2, I thought about how the enemy of our souls uses sexual immorality and drunkenness (chemical use of various kinds) to destroy the lives of millions.   I work in the area of mental health, so I see through the filter or grid of the things that affect individuals' daily lives. I look at commercials on TV, advertising in magazines, online advertising; sex & alcohol figure heavily into this world of marketing products.  It is blatant.

I continued & was stopped (stunned, actually) at the end of 18:13.  At the end of a long list of wares of the merchants of Babylon - including gold, silver, silk, scented wood, articles of ivory, marble, sheep, cattle [all are items of great value] - comes the kicker: slaves, that is human souls.  Human trafficking.  This is a picture in the natural of what the enemy of our souls is doing in the spirt realm.  Selling an individual as a sex slave is as blatant as it gets.  The enemy's job description is to steal, kill & destroy (John 10:10) ... and he is using this despicable act as a means to that end.  We are in a battle for people's souls.  Look around you.  Ask God to give you eyes to see the source of things in your midst.  We as the Body of Christ, must be aware of the battle raging around us.  Even here in sleepy Central Minnesota, the enemy is at work ... in our families, our workplace, our schools, our government, etc.  Now, I'm not suggesting that we walk around with our eyebrows wrinkled, a serious look on our face, scanning left & right, looking for evil at every turn.  We don't have to be fruitcakes who cause people to run away as they see us coming.  But ... we have the opportunity to be light in this world of darkness.  Jesus, the Light of the world, is in you.  Live your life, moment by moment, looking for the agenda of the Father (John 5:19).  Be real; be honest.  The Holy Spirit in you will have an impact on the darkness around you.  And slaves will be set free - both in this world and the next.