Idolatry, Oppression and the Development of Demons: Part 8, The Demon Haunted City

Let consider another example of how the demonic in the Bible mixes both the spiritual and political, both idolatry and oppression.

This illustration comes from the image of Babylon in Revelation.

That the image Babylon is used in Revelation connects us back to earlier posts. Remember how in the book of Daniel Michael the Archangel does combat with the angelic Prince of Babylon. Also recall how Lucifer was originally the name of the Babylonian king.

All that to say, the image of Babylon as a demonic power mixing both the spiritual and the political runs deep in the Bible. And it's the exact same mixture we encounter in the book of Revelation. A demonic brew that mixes both idolatry and oppression.

Consider the vision of the fall of Babylon in Revelation 18:

With a mighty voice he shouted:

“‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’
She has become a dwelling for demons
and a haunt for every impure spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.

For all the nations have drunk
the maddening wine of her adulteries.
The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,
and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”

The mixture we've been talking about is all right here.

The demonic: "a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit."

The idolatry: "For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries."

The political: "The kings of the earth committed adultery with her."

The oppression: "The merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries."

All that to say, you just can't talk about demons without bringing in all this political and economic stuff. And you can't talk about all this political and economic stuff without bringing in idolatry.