NOR will any other creatures either in heaven or in earth receive such marks of special favor as are and ever will be the portion of the beloved Bride of Christ. Although the whole family in heaven and in earth will be blessed through Him, His Wife, co-operating with Him in His work, will alone be His companion, His confidante, His treasure.

With this powerful scripture, the admonition to leave Babylon is clear. But what is Babylon? How do you know if you are in Babylon? We will attempt to answer these questions by finding what the scriptures say about the characteristics of Babylon. Based on identifying these characteristics, we should be able to recognize if we are in Babylon and if we need to come out.

All the work of this Gospel Age, is the getting ready of the food for the world, and of the blood which will be sprinkled upon them. But the Message of our Lord in our text was not intended for the world. As He tells us, “Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Hence, the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, from its first announcement in the Scriptures, has called for the strongest faith on the part of believers and has excited the general resentment of unbelievers, who seem to find it easier to believe anything else respecting the dead.

Many of us have false concepts of justice and grace, thinking something is ours by right. Suppose we were seriously unemployed, needing a job for our very survival and for that of our family. We would be thankful for any job and for getting a full day’s wage. We should start to reason from this standpoint, for otherwise, the view is distorted and disproportionate. It was grace that gave the laborers the opportunity to work in the vineyard and to receive payment. Had the laborers fully appreciated that point, the reward of the penny to all would not have been a sore point. The whole way through, the parable teaches grace, not merit.

The ruler had asked what he must do to inherit eternal life, and Jesus had said, “If thou wilt be perfect.” Only perfect obedience under the Law would give life, let alone consecration and following Jesus in the Gospel Age. The rich, young ruler went away sorrowfully, “for he had great possessions” (verse 22). The discussion terminated at that point, for a sensitive area had been touched.

Not many noble, wise, mighty, or rich are called (1 Cor. 1:26). The ruler’s neighbors probably considered him exemplary, but God does the calling. Usually He purposely calls those who are not so well esteemed in order to put to foolishness the wisdom of men. God can make something out of nothing, and He can make something into nothing. He calls the humble to put to nothingness that which men admire profoundly. As a result, no flesh will be able to glory in its own presence. Paul’s reasoning is like a sequel to this incident with the rich ruler. Those who know they are “sick” need a physician; those who feel whole are less likely to seek help.

First, the one or two witnesses listen to the alleged victim to hear what the grievance is. If it is a trivial matter, the witnesses would nip the matter in the bud, and it would be dropped. But if the accusation is judged worthy of attention if it be true, then the witnesses go to hear the alleged perpetrator’s side of the story. If the witnesses find the accusation is true—that the victim has been injured and has stated the case fairly (not exaggerating it)—they would try to help the perpetrator to see the error of his way. However, the witnesses do not start out with that motive, for at first, they do not know who is right. (Some claim injury when it is really a figment of their imagination.)

No, Boaz was not a born-again Christian. When Jesus came to earth, he came to provide the Ransom for Father Adam, in effect to buy the race from God, whose divine attribute of Justice had condemned the race in Adam. While Jesus was on his mission to buy back the race with his life, he also opened up a new and living way.

After a quick review of the scriptures quoted above. We will give our reasoning: First is that Elijah did not go to heaven. He is part of what we call the Ancient Worthies, a class of Godly men or women, who followed after God. John the Baptist being the last of this group. Jesus opened up a “new and living way.” which by implication of that statement it was not opened up before his death, therefore none had the opportunity of entering in. We are told two things in the scriptures quoted above, 1) King David, a man after God’s own heart, was still in his tomb, he hadn’t gone anywhere in the hundreds of years that had elapsed. 2) we are told that who ever is least in the Kingdom of Heaven was greater than John the Baptist, meaning John was not of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Mat 11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.