"After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God." .....Revelation 19:1

 This, the first Hallelujah in the book of Revelation, is provoked by the downfall of a city which is again and again described as "great". Why does heaven rejoice so much at the overthrow of Babylon? Because Babylon embodies the spirit of empty show and pretence. Israel's first recorded sin after entering Canaan was the taking of a Bablyonish garment. Achan coveted Babylon's grand style because he wanted to look good. And the first sin recorded in the early Church was similar; an attempt on the part of Ananias and his wife Sapphira to win man's esteem by appearing more self-sacrificing than they really were. They too wanted to look good.

Today in the Church as the body of Christ, how readily we put on an act to impress others and establish for ourselves a place of repute and acclaim with them! This is the principle of Babylon the whore, and it is an abominable thing in the sight of God. Presumption and pretence walk hand in hand. Wherever one is then the other will be found to be there also! Anything that we put on that does not match our actual condition is the garment of the whore. How often we dress in the garment of Babylon to gain acceptance from fellow Christians or to avoid rejection. How often we dress up in the protective clothing of self-righteousness to avoid exposure to the Truth! Whenever we make ourselves to look like something we are not then we are in the principle of Babylon! We have become false. We have made ourselves a make-believer! We are an actor, a pretender and the truth is not with us!