The Book of Daniel: End Time Playbook for the Saints (Part Two)
The Wine of Babylon
“Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank.” - Dn 1:8
In chapter one, Daniel and his three friends refused the table of Babylon. But is this a story of dietary restrictions or something more? I believe it points us higher than just the reward of self-discipline. I believe there are keys here to help us overcome in the days ahead. As we accelerate towards the final years of this age, many of the same forces at work in ancient Babylon will culminate in the end times. If we want to overcome in the end times the way Daniel and his three friends did in ancient Babylon, we must reject idolatry and immorality in favor of the food Jesus desired for His disciples.
Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” - John 4:34
To eat the food of Jesus requires submission of the will. We must do what God wants us to do. Our flesh tells us one thing, but the Spirit of God tells us another. The question for us to answer is who will we follow? The wine of Babylon and the cup of Christ are diametrically opposed, and we cannot have two masters.
We can see ancient Babylon at work in our world in growing measure. Idolatry comes to us in the form of religious syncretism. The idolatry of Babylon insists there must be many gods with many expressions of these gods. All religions are expressions of the same god or gods it claims. The world cannot stand for Christianity, because it cannot stand for the exclusive claims of its King. Jesus declared Himself the way, the truth, and the life. Babylon is the idolatry of religious syncretism. Christ is the King of all.
Ancient immorality hasn’t changed all that much over the years. Today we label it moral relativism. The name may have changed, but the essence remains the same; doing whatever is right in their own eyes; no matter how wrong it may be. The authority of God’s judgement of sin is dismissed in favor of the perversion of personal perspective. The Christian claim that there exists ethical authority is unfathomable to the world today.
It is perilous to underestimate the spiritual forces at work at the end of the age. The Bible teaches that Babylon will return with more power than ever. And when it does the Bible declares,
“With the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” - Revelation 17:2
When we distill the wine of Babylon down to its core essence, we are left with its primary element: sexual immorality. It is the intoxicating effect of uninhibited sex that Babylon uses to dull the spiritual senses of the nations and conditions them for the reign of the Antichrist. Sexual immorality is the sugar that makes the medicine go down.
And what do we see in our day? Take a look around. Have the lines that once gave barriers to sexuality been blurred? Nevertheless, the Bible warns of a day when the world becomes thoroughly inebriated with Babylon the Great. If we are honest, we must admit, we are well on our way.
As Christians living in the days before the return of Jesus, we must be aware of the prophetic calendar and cling to the wisdom of the Word of God. This means rejecting the idolatrous and immoral practices of a world becoming drunker by the day with Babylon. Like Daniel and his three friends, we must reject the wine of Babylon and instead eat from the table that Jesus provides. It will be at this table that we will experience the favor of God that Daniel enjoyed.