Me and the 'Whore'...

If you've been reading Lettie's blog, then you'll have heard how obsessed we are with Revelation. So i'm surprised its taken me this long to blog about it. Although Collette has beaten me to it, i've been thinking about Empire, and what my 'Babylon' is.
Firstly, the idea's in Revelation are not solely found there. In John 17, Jesus is telling his disciples that he wants them to be present in the world, but to also keep themselves separate from it. He talks of being seperate from the ways of the world in the same way that he was whilst on earth.
In Revelation the idea of Babylon as Empire, is hugely relevant to me in a way i'd never seen before. What is Empire? Is it America? Capitalism? Communism? War? Terrorism? Or is it simply our greed as 'rich' people in the world? So often it is assumed that Revelation is a scary book of doom, because of the imagery used, but could it be that it is simply a warning for all the generations?

In some ways, the language and visions that John uses, and has created in Revelation, are the very thing that keeps people from opening and using the book in the way that it was intended. So much of what we hear and see in relation to it is mis-interpreted and this makes people scared to read it. But then if you think about it, we've had people lecture us our whole childhoods about using foul language, and then we have this book using words like 'whore', 'whoring' and 'prostitute'! So its unsurprising that we steer clear. But, if we look back to the Old Testament, we can find similar language in Ezekiel.

But the rich pictures contained in Revelation are, for me, what makes it so fascinating. I think that John was using the art of Jewish Mysticism, to give the message to us in a new, fresh way.

But anyway, i digress.

What i wanted to talk about was the fact that empire can be anything. Materialism, is something that, as Christians, we really need to be thinking about. Do we care too much about possessions? The merchants in Revelation, who had been entwined in Empire and business, mourned over its loss. In some ways we can be like that. Moaning and whinging about whether we have certain things, or how much money we have. God continues to crush and ruin Empire...Babylonian, Roman, and on and on throughout history. Some have even suggested that the issues in the financial market at the moment are a result of God's attack on our 'Babylon'. Whether or not that is the case, our involvement in empire is something we need to consider carefully.
We need to take ou discipleship seriously, and trust in the faithfulness of God.

Revelation 18 says "Get out, my people, as fast as you can, so you don't get mixed up in her sins, so you don't get caught up in her doom..." (The Message Remix)
This is a warning, to us, and to those that have gone before. Don't get too embroiled in 'Empire', rather, be the people God desires for his kingdom. So what is my relationship with the 'whore' of 'Babylon'? At the moment, I don't know...but what I do know is that it's something I need to work on. What really matters in my life is God, ad although I wouldn't say I was necessarily materialistic, I can always try harder.
Hope that wasn't too rambly and weird!! :)