babylon the great is falling

​   introduction

I refuse to watch the insanity of Caligula’s daily snake oil sales pitches live. They provide no information except to confirm the twisted state of the man’s mind, heart, and soul. I do everything in my power to keep from having his voice or image projected into my home… thank God for the remote control. Though I am not watching live, I do keep up on what the carnival barker is saying and doing. Often, as I catch up on the day’s madness, I am really, really tempted to say, “See! I told you so. I told you the man was insane. To say nothing of being evil as hell.”
 
But more than making me want to say, “I told you so,” the daily madness that is Caligula and his hordes of medieval thinkers has lately turned my mind to the comfort that Isaiah offered ancient Israel. It has comforted me. Maybe it will serve to comfort you too: “This too will pass.”
 
“In the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve…”[1]
 

 

   sweeping away the refuse

The past three years have been truly horrific. The very worse and most hardcore of pornography. It is difficult to express the disgust I have for the man I call Caligula or the sorrow that I have at times felt for my country, indeed, for the entire planet.
 
“How art thou fallen from heaven,
   O Lucifer, son of the morning![2]
 
Caligula’s is a truly Pharaonic kind of bondage. Deeply Babylonian. Utterly Satanic. He is not alone, of course. All the nations of the earth are in open rebellion against God. But he is a leading figure in the rebellion. He is the best example we have of the wicked rebellion against God in which the nations of this world are engaged.
 
“Why do the nations raise such a ruckus,
      and entire populations make a fuss that will come to nothing?
The world’s kings offer resistance;
      world leaders form a united front
   against YHWH
      and against his Messiah.”[3]
 
Of course, much to his chagrin, he is not a king. This is not a monarchy. So, unlike as was the case in the ancient world, the electorate who put him in power are the power behind the throne. The catastrophe is, ultimately, their fault. It is they who should bear the brunt of any catastrophe. One wonders “Given the depth of the nation’s perversion, can any catastrophe be too large, too severe for this people?”  
 
At times, it is all almost too much to bear. If not for the Savior,
 
“my feet were almost gone;
   my steps had well nigh slipped.”[4]
 
But, as one may have sensed from my recent posts, my feet are now firmly planted. I am done feeling sorrow for my country. It does not deserve my pity. Not anyone’s pity. Certainly, not heaven’s pity. It did it to itself. Willingly and willfully.
 
No, as my latest posts reveal, it is time to offer up complaint to God. It is time to execrate. It is time to curse.
 
It is time to speak truthfully, boldly, and joyously of that which a microbe has revealed: the nation that deems itself to be exceptional in and essential to the world is abjectly powerlessness. Its false god as helpless as the nation that humiliates itself by groveling at its lame feet.
 
It is, indeed, time to look to and hope for the end of this modern-day Babylon. And more, it is time to pray, not for this beastly nation, but against it, as I am now actively doing.
 
The Psalmist has taught me how to execrate, as I have shown in previous posts. Isaiah, on the other hand, has taught me how to rejoice—how to rejoice and taunt the deluded and powerless serpent—and remember, this was spoken long before the actual demise of ancient Babylon. “Thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say,”
 
How hath the oppressor ceased! 
   the golden city ceased!
The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked,
   and the sceptre of the rulers.
He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke,
   he that ruled the nations in anger,
      is persecuted, and none hindereth.
 
The whole earth is at rest,
   and is quiet:
      they break forth into singing.
8Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee,
   and the cedars of Lebanon, saying,
‘Since thou art laid down,
   no feller is come up against us.’”[5]
 
It does seem that we have heard, if we know what to listen for, nature breathing a sigh of relief during these past weeks of human “self-distancing.”
 
No, this exaltation at the serpent’s demise is not cruel. It is not inappropriate. It is long overdue. It is long past time to break the back of Babylon and its harsh sceptre.
 
“Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming:
   it stirreth up the dead for thee,
even all the chief ones of the earth;
   it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
All they shall speak and say unto thee,
   ‘Art thou also become weak as we? 
      art thou become like unto us?’”[6]
 
What will the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Romans think when they see America descending just like everyone before it? Now you know. Not so very exceptional, America, now is it?
 
“Thy pomp is brought down to the grave,
   and the noise of thy viols:
the worm is spread under thee,
   and the worms cover thee.
 
How art thou fallen from heaven,
   O Lucifer, son of the morning! 
how art thou cut down to the ground,
   which didst weaken the nations!”[7]
 
Yes, that’s right. This “superpower,” having spent most of its career. Satanic-like, weakening the nations of the earth, causing them to abandon the one and only true God for its tired old god, filthy lucre, will find itself a lunchable for maggots.
 
”For thou hast said in thine heart,
   I will ascend into heaven,
      I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:
I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation,
   in the sides of the north:
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
   I will be like the most High.”[8]
 
Who in their right mind, or with an ounce of discernment—spiritual or otherwise—can read these verses and not see Caligula arrogantly prancing about behind his lectern, his biblically condemned bama, threatening, bullying, boasting, lying, corrupting… destroying.
 
The unworkable formula of wickedness that Caligula has applied to American governance is so old and so tired. It has been tried over and over again. The Apostle Paul warned members of the church in his own day to be on the look out for such socio-political hacks, wanna-be-gods far more sociopathic than divine, or even human.
 
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”[9]
 
Not once, has this been fulfilled, but, over and over again. Caligula and his America are but the latest permutation. A mutation. Mutants. A nation of mutants.
 
But, not to worry. He will soon—if not soon enough—be made mute.
 
“Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell,
   to the sides of the pit.
They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee,
   and consider thee, saying,
 Is this the man that made the earth to tremble,
   that did shake kingdoms;
That made the world as a wilderness,
   and destroyed the cities thereof;
      that opened not the house of his prisoners?
All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory,
   every one in his own house.
But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch,
   and as the raiment of those that are slain,
thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit;
   as a carcase trodden under feet.
Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial,
   because thou hast destroyed thy land,
and slain thy people:
   the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.”[10]
 
Unfortunately, he will take others with him, not least those who have branded MAGA on their foreheads. Time to take out the broom. Sweep away the refuse.
 
“Prepare slaughter for his children
   for the iniquity of their fathers;
that they do not rise, nor possess the land,
   nor fill the face of the world with cities.
For I will rise up against them,
   saith the LORD of hosts,
and cut off from Babylon the name,
   and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD.
I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water:
   and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith
      the LORD of hosts.”[11]
 
We could just end here. Let “the LORD of hosts” have the last word. But, this isn’t his final word on the subject. Babylon is a persistent son of a bitch. Keeps popping up out of its bottomless pit. Therefore, God taught another generation how to taunt the wart infested, and putrid smelling dragon.
 



   alleluia

The 17th chapter of Revelation reveals the depths of Babylon’s wickedness. It is whorish—a selling of the soul for a bit of lucre. It is monstrous—a blood sucking vampire. Fortunately, the author of the Book does not make us remain in the belly of the beast for long. He announces its demise in the 18th chapter. He does this with a series of seven laments/taunts. When these laments/taunts are found in the mouth of angels, they are true, direct, full-throated taunts.[12] These glory in Babylon’s demise. The other laments/taunts come from the mouth of those who had previously been Babylon’s most ardent supporters: merchants and politicians, their erections thrusting deep inside the fornicating beast.[13] These co-conspirators lament the disappearance of their sugar daddy (a mixing of metaphors, I know): “Alas, alas.” “Alas, alas.”[14]
 
“And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, ‘Alas, alas’…”[15]
 
But their laments are presented in such a way as to expose the fornicating co-conspirator’s foolishness and insincerity before God. They only lament the fact that they are no longer profiting from their wickedness; no longer do they “live deliciously;”[16] no longer are they able to “buy and sell;”[17] no longer are they being “made rich.”[18]
 
 By means of these foolish laments, the author of Revelation turns even these laments into a kind of taunt.
 
“Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.”[19]
 
These laments/taunts are followed in chapter 19 with a series of “affirmations”: statements that show the rightness of God’s devastating judgments against Babylon.
 
“Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God. For true and righteous are his judgments.”[20]
 
These affirmations are full of praise and repeated full-throated expressions of ultimate joy at the demise of the whore: “Alleluia.” “Alleluia.” “Amen; “Alleluia.” “Praise our God.” “Alleluia.” “Blessed.” “These are the true sayings of God.”[21]
 
Yip. I am done with lamenting. No more “alas, alas” from me. It is time for affirmation. It is time for the high Alleluias of God.
 
Again, we could end this homily on this high note. But, God has had to repeat himself in these most recent days—otherwise known as “the latter.”
 



   setting forth clearly and understandingly the desolation of abomination

The anxious anticipation of Babylon’s fall is one of the great overlooked features of the latter-day revelation found in the Doctrine and Covenants. Is it overlooked, I suppose, because we don’t much care for such a message? Babylon’s fall represents a major inconvenience, nay a disruption to our comfortable lives. We quite enjoy the marbled palaces of Babylon, even if they do stink of a cesspool.
 
Be that as it may, the Doctrine and Covenants has no use for Babylon’s blasphemy. The tone is set within its first dozen verses.
 
“Wherefore, fear and tremble, O ye people,
for what I the Lord have decreed in them shall be fulfilled.
 
Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth,
that all that will hear may hear:
Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come,
for the Lord is nigh;
And the anger of the Lord is kindled,
and his sword is bathed in heaven,
and it shall fall upon the inhabitants of the earth.”[22]
 
Have those of us with access to this book, those who have read it, been preparing? Or have we been happily swimming in the cesspool with the dragon? Humping the whore? We were warned about this danger.
 
“And my vineyard has become corrupted every whit; and there is none which doeth good save it be a few; and they err in many instances because of priestcrafts, all having corrupt minds.”[23]
 
Certainly, the “preparation” is spiritual. But it is more than that. The Book, itself, is clear about this. The preparation was also to be economic, at both the individual and societal level. Consecration. Socialism. But that’s a long-over-due story for another day—a story our prophets have refused to speak.
 
But this Book—a latter-day revelation, a latter-day recapitulation of Babylonian’s whorishness, and its welcome demise—kept at to the bitter end.[24]
 
“And the servants of God shall go forth, saying with a loud voice:
Fear God and give glory to him,
for the hour of his judgment is come;
And worship him that made heaven, and earth,
and the sea, and the fountains of waters--
Calling upon the name of the Lord day and night, saying:
O that thou wouldst rend the heavens, that thou wouldst come down,
that the mountains might flow down at thy presence.
And it shall be answered upon their heads;
for the presence of the Lord shall be as the melting fire that burneth,
and as the fire which causeth the waters to boil.
O Lord, thou shalt come down to make thy name known to thine adversaries,
and all nations shall tremble at thy presence--
When thou doest terrible things,
things they look not for…”
 
In which missionary discussion was that found, I wonder?
 
So, we have looked at preface and conclusion. What does the heart of the work have to say about Babylon and its joyfully anticipated collapse?
 
“For a desolating scourge shall go forth among the inhabitants of the earth, and shall continue to be poured out from time to time, if they repent not, until the earth is empty, and the inhabitants thereof are consumed away and utterly destroyed by the brightness of my coming. Behold, I tell you these things, even as I also told the people of the destruction of Jerusalem; and my word shall be verified at this time as it hath hitherto been verified.[25]
 
“But without faith shall not anything be shown forth except desolations upon Babylon, the same which has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”[26]
 
Sounding more and more like Isaiah and the Revelator by the minute, wouldn’t you say?
 
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, darkness covereth the earth,
and gross darkness the minds of the people,
and all flesh has become corrupt before my face.
Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth,
a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning,
and of lamentation;
and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth,
saith the Lord.
And upon my house shall it begin,
and from my house shall it go forth,
saith the Lord;
First among those among you,
saith the Lord,
who have professed to know my name and have not known me,
and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house,
saith the Lord.”[27]
 
“Mine indignation is soon to be poured out without measure upon all nations; and this will I do when the cup of their iniquity is full.”[28]
 
The preface had also warned that the catastrophes leading to Babylon’s final denouement would be “without measure.”[29] The reader might want to give a little thought to that “without measure;” consider what it means and why it would be so. Perhaps because Babylon’s blasphemous sins are “without measure”? I, for one, certainly find it difficult to keep up with, fathom, or adequately depict the vile oppression of America, but one of the beast’s many heads.
 
In just the past few days, America, the great whore that she is, has added to her inhumane treatment of her own citizens and demonstrated her willingness to engage in the human sacrifice of her own children. Concluding that Americans were already suffering enough by being asked to stay home—gasp, horror, oppression, incarceration!—the mad emperor has demanded that meat butchers be forced back to work to die so that the rest of us can engorge ourselves in gluttony as we enjoy our fatted calves.
 
Tell me, why should such a nation be allowed to continue! How is America one iota different than ancient Egypt with its task masters oppressing the poor to build “treasure cities.” God Damnit. Fools. Wake up and smell the poop.
 
“For behold, and lo, vengeance cometh speedily upon the ungodly as the whirlwind; and who shall escape it? The Lord's scourge shall pass over by night and by day, and the report thereof shall vex all people; yea, it shall not be stayed until the Lord come; for the indignation of the Lord is kindled against their abominations and all their wicked works.”[30]
 
“Put upon thy servants the testimony of the covenant, that when they go out and proclaim thy word they may seal up the law, and prepare the hearts of thy saints for all those judgments thou art about to send, in thy wrath, upon the inhabitants of the earth, because of their transgressions, that thy people may not faint in the day of trouble….
 
We know that thou hast spoken by the mouth of thy prophets terrible things concerning the wicked, in the last days—that thou wilt pour out thy judgments, without measure [there it is again!]; therefore, O Lord, deliver thy people from the calamity of the wicked; enable thy servants to seal up the law, and bind up the testimony, that they may be prepared against the day of burning.”[31]
 
“Behold, I send you out to reprove the world of all their unrighteous deeds, and to teach them of a judgment which is to come….For I, the Almighty, have laid my hands upon the nations, to scourge them for their wickedness.”[32]
 
“And verily I say unto you, the rest of my servants, go ye forth as your circumstances shall permit, in your several callings, unto the great and notable cities and villages, reproving the world in righteousness of all their unrighteous and ungodly deeds, setting forth clearly and understandingly the desolation of abomination in the last days. For, with you saith the Lord Almighty, I will rend their kingdoms; I will not only shake the earth, but the starry heavens shall tremble.”[33]
 
Poor world. Those who were to be its servants, those who were to lay the cards on the table have, instead, sat at the blackjack table gambling away their blessed heritage. The world never stood a chance with such slothful watchmen, eating, drinking and being merry on the job. And still, to this very day, with a monster defiling the white house, turning it into a the vilest of cesspools, they remain silent, mute.
 


 
   conclusion

Well, there you have it. Quite the picture, isn’t it. But we seem unwilling to look, let along step up close and examine its individual brushstrokes. Notwithstanding the many testimonies which have been given, we will not face either the filthy whoredom of our nation, or the unescapable ruin that the nation so richly deserves. Our only interests is to save our own necks, at any price.
 
Once, we sat on our padded pews in our beautifully adorned churched and smiled indulgently while our beloved children snacked on Cheerios. In our contentment, we engaged in what was little more than self-righteous self-congratulation. We offered half an ear to those who spoke of that which they had little understanding. And we sang. We sang the songs of Zion. Today, we have transferred all of that, at least temporarily, into our equally comfortable and well-adorned living rooms. Still, one wonders if we hear a word of what we sing as we sing the songs of Zion. If we did hear, would we want to continue… singing?
 
“Israel, Israel, God is calling,
Calling thee from lands of woe.
Babylon the great is falling;
God shall all her towers o’erthrow.
Come to Zion, Come to Zion
Ere his floods of anger flow.”[34]
 
“When the ungodly are fearing and tremble,
We’ll watch for the day when the Savior will come…
 
“In faith we’ll rely on the arm of Jehovah
To guide thru these last days of trouble and gloom,
And after the scourges and harvest are over…”[35]
“When the earth begins to tremble,
Bid our fearful thoughts be still;
When thy judgments spread destruction,
Keep us safe on Zion’s hill.”[36]
 
Israel, Israel, did you hear the call? Did you leave the whore behind? Did you issue the warning?
 
No. No. And no.
 
Israel. Mute.
 
Babylon. A maggot’s lunchable.
 
Alleluia. Alleluia and Amen.
 
 


[1] Isaiah 14.3

[2] Isaiah 14.12

[3] Psalm 2.1-2, author’s translation

[4] Psalm 73.2

[5] Isaiah 14.4-8

[6] Isaiah 14.9-10

[7] Isaiah 14.11-12

[8] Isaiah 14.13-14

[9] 2 Thessalonians 2.3-4

[10] Isaiah 14.15-20

[11] Isaiah 14.21-23

[12] 18.1-3; 4-8, 21-24

[13] 18. 9-10, 11-17a, 17b-18, 19-20

[14] 18.10, 16

[15] 18.19

[16] 18.9

[17] 18.11ff

[18] 19.19

[19] 18.20

[20] 19.1-2

[21] 19.1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9a, 9b

[22] DC 1.7, 11-13

[23] DC 33.4
 
[24] DC 133.38-43. Keep in mind that just as Section 1 was the Book’s “appendix,” Section 133 was originally the Book’s “conclusion.”:

[25] DC 5.19, 20

[26] DC 35.11

[27] DC 112.23-26

[28] DC 101.11

[29] DC 1. 9

[30] DC 97.22-24

[31] DC 109.38, 45-46

[32] DC 84.87, 96

[33] DC 84.117-118

[34] LDS Hymn # 7, “Israel, Israel, God is Calling

[35] LDS Hymn #3, “Now Let Us Rejoice”

[36] LDS Hymn #83, “Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah”