These middle chapters in Revelation expose the influence of empire and exhort the church to resist this influence. Babylon, has long been a nemesis of God's people since the Old Testament. The anti-God spirit of Babylon manifested itself in Rome and has continued to manifest itself in our world today. There is a distinction between those who are "drunk" with the influence of Babylon and those we are sober and "marked" by God, clothed in holiness. Revelation 19.