The small band of early Christ followers lived in a world where the political climate suddenly changed from benign to antagonistic. The government, which doubled as a religion in order to encourage allegiance and headed by the “Son of God, Prince of Peace,” changed heads and the new one didn’t like the little, but fast growing, sect. Without the government’s stamp of approval, it was difficult to engage in commerce. Plus, some of your friends started disappearing only to found later–dead. Rome was the Great Satan as far as they were concerned.
People always have choices. Sometimes it’s like the old saying, a choice “between a rock and a hard place.” But it’s still a choice. You can choose how you respond. These people had to make a decision about how to respond. Should they buckle under to the pressures of the government and their neighbors? Did they have alternatives? In the end the question was–who is really right?
John, their exiled pastor, wrote to his followers in a popular style that has perplexed 2,000 years of scholars. The apocalyptic style uses imagery and visions and metaphors to make its point. The Revelation of John is unique in the Bible. It is neither history nor preaching. But it surely convinced his followers about where the choice lay and what was the correct alternative.
The choice is between doing business the way everyone else does recognizing more than one god. You acknowledge the state as god, get along with society, and then quietly worship your “other” god. That is just what people had done for some time in Roman society. John called that Babylon the whore. Or–you could choose to continue to follow God, reject the false gods, and live a “with-God” life. You choose.
John described two cities. In one lived everyone who was despicable, evil, cheaters, thieves, murders. It was ruled harshly. In the other one everything and everyone was pure and light. People there lived with God constantly. They had no fears. And, by the way, in the end–God wins. John says that many who faced the choice and saw the results still chose Babylon. He asks them to choose.
You have the same choice today. The new Babylon is not Rome, per se, but Babylon still exists. And the choice to live in the New Jerusalem in a “with-God” life still exists. You can choose whom to follow and how to live. As motivational gurus like to say, not deciding is a decision–the wrong one. John’s followers must have made the right decision. The body of Christ followers grew. How about you? Better decide.
Faith Venture 
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