Luxury forms part of Babylon's system through reliance on wealth and the pursuit of satiety, allowing avoidance of suffering by choosing luxurious pleasure. Inter-related with pride, it leads to boastful self-sufficiency and a high tower in one's conceit. Combined with economic well-being and avoidance of suffering, luxury produces Laodiceanism as people seek more and more to excite themselves, going deeper into perversion. Human nature values eating, drinking, and being merry, lacking eternal worth, causing anxiety over accumulating luxuries instead of sowing goodness and generosity.

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Laodiceanism

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Babylon's alluring qualities include reliance on luxury and wealth. In Revelation it says that she lived luxuriously. These qualities are clearly delineated in Revelation 17 and 18. Reliance on luxury and wealth is inter-related with pride and satiety. When combined with other attitudinal factors these become the perfect matrix for producing Laodiceanism in the careless Christian. Satiety means to seek the fullness of everything. It is especially used in regard to seeking food to become full and then go beyond that. Satiety can apply to other things as well. The world is already largely caught up in these things but they are a temptation because they are the perfect matrix for producing Laodiceanism. A matrix is the environment in which something is developed.

What's So Bad About Babylon? (2003) (Part 1)

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Luxury forms part of the system of Babylon through reliance on wealth and the pursuit of satiety. Babylon avoided suffering through the pursuit of satiety as she chose to pursue luxurious pleasure. One of the attractions of Babylon is its luxury. Luxury and pride can lead to boastful self-sufficiency if it is not controlled. A person can allow this to become his high tower. The rich man's wealth is his strong city and as a high wall in his own conceit. Wherever there is idolatry, prostitution, self-glorification, self-sufficiency, pride, complacency, reliance on luxury and wealth, avoidance of suffering, and violence against life there is Babylon. It is not the luxury itself. It is what people allow the luxury, the wealth, to do to them. Babylon's sin includes the combination of economic well-being, pride, and avoidance of suffering. These conditions lead people to seek more and more because what they formerly did is not enough to excite them. They go deeper and deeper into perversion. The materials mentioned are luxury items such as gold, clothing, wine, spices, wood, ivory, pearl, and perfume. This environment is perfect for producing Laodiceanism. The Laodicean proclaims that he is rich and increased with goods and has need of nothing. There is the pride that precedes the fall and the sin occurs when he refuses to suffer and instead compromises in order to avoid it. The avoidance of suffering can be deadly.

Parable of the Rich Fool

Bible Study by Martin G. Collins

Human nature tends to value the wrong things in life such as to eat, drink, and be merry. These things lack eternal worth. Because of this temptation, people's main anxiety concerns accumulating this world's luxuries. The rich man may even have been embarrassed by his inability to store his hoarded wealth, but he never considered using his riches for the benefit of others. A generous person, however, sees the needs of others first. People should sow goodness and generosity so they will reap the same.

What's So Bad About Babylon? (1997)

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Babylon constitutes the fountainhead of instruction that, like strong drink, impairs the ability to function properly while creating the illusion of ability.

What's So Bad About Babylon? (2013) (Part Three)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

Babylon is a system, virtually irresistible to the carnal mind, appealing to ambition and self-centeredness. It is far greater than any church institution.

Faith (Part Four)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The example of Lot's wife teaches us that God does not want us to maintain close associations with the world because it almost inevitably leads to compromise.

Be Thankful!

Sermon by John O. Reid

The danger of abundant blessings is that we tend to forget the source of the blessings and cease being thankful. When we forget to be thankful, we forget God.

The World, the Church, and Laodiceanism

Booklet by John W. Ritenbaugh

Laodiceanism is the attitude that dominates the end time. It is a subtle form of worldliness that has infected the church, and Christ warns against it strongly.

Overcoming (Part 8): Self-Indulgence

Bible Study by Martin G. Collins

Few human faults can hinder Christian overcoming like self-indulgence. If we can learn to control our desires, we are a long way toward living a godly life.