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If we also bring together the parallels that we find in
the book of the Revelation, we shall have a full reference to that Satanic
system of iniquity commenced at Babel, dominating the nations of the earth
from that time onward until judged at the Coming of the Lord in the day of
wrath.
The reference in Romans 1:19,20 to the evidence of creation finds an
echo in the Revelation.
So in the days when Babylon and its system shall be revived and in full
power, the 'everlasting gospel' will be preached, which gospel is nothing
more nor less than a proclamation of the Lord as Creator:
'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. And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon
is fallen, is fallen' (Rev. 14:7,8).
There is a slight alteration in the words translated 'change' in these
verses in the Authorized Version of Romans 1. We have attempted to indicate
the difference by using 'change' and 'exchange'. First they changed the
glory of God without actually giving up God altogether, but this soon led to
the next step, for they exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and then
worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator. It is not
possible for God to take second place. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Into the third item we cannot go. The defiling character of idolatry
may be gathered from its annals, and we do not feel that any good purpose
would be served by elaborating this revolting subject here. At the same time
we know only too well that human nature is not a whit better today than when
it openly practised the sins condemned in Romans 1. We need faithfully to
warn the rising generation, speaking very tenderly and lovingly, yet
nevertheless plainly, for Babylonianism in all its forms is rising like a
flood, and the book of the Revelation reveals Romans 1 in a superlative
degree. We need not go so far into the future as the book of Revelation,
however, for 2 Timothy 3:1 -8 uses many of the words of Romans 1 to describe
the perilous times at the close of this present dispensation. The sequence
of the apostasy and its relation to the development of the mystery of
iniquity otherwise called 'the lie', and the mystery of godliness, otherwise
called 'the truth', can be traced through Paul's epistles. Taking the
statements of Romans 1 we find them worked out in the other epistles.
A comparison of the list of sins in Romans 1 with that of 2 Timothy 3:1
-7 will show how completely the parallel is recorded. The reader must supply
further parallels by studying the intervening epistles.
(1)
'As God'.
'That man of sin ... as God'
'The creature more than the Creator'
(2 Thess. 2:3,4).
(2)
'The lie'.
'The truth'.
'They received not the love
of the truth ... they ...
believe the lie' (2 Thess.
2:10,11).
(3)
'Given up to an undiscerning
'God shall send them strong
mind'.
delusion' (2 Thess. 2:11).