Day 361..."Prayer changes things...I Peter begins...More destruction of Babylon"

The Book of James ends with a convincing message about the power of prayer..."Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit." Prayer does change things.

Peter begins with a call to holiness..."but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” Later we read one of the signature passages of I Peter..." But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." What a lofty thought! We are God's people!

Revelation has an image of a great prositute. The refererence according to NIV notes is "Babylon the great." In a reference to "seven hills" is the connection with seven hills of Rome. What is the outcome? We read a summary at the end..."And the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.” We see destruction of Babylon...much like the Old Testament.