Fire destroyed it all. The 128-year-old mansion was already engulfed in flames when firefighters in Monterey County, California, were called to the scene on the morning of May 26, 2023. The once-marvelous mansion was a Victorian-style masterpiece which was featured in many films and beloved by members of the community. Unfortunately, the historic home could not be saved and its loss left a void in the hearts of those who cherished its beauty and significance. And, according to The Monterey County Weekly, while local neighbors mourned the fiery massacre of the magnificent mansion, none were as overwhelmed with remorse as the mansion’s titleholder. 

All of the man’s riches vanished in one sweeping moment. Millions of dollars earned through decades of toilsome labor were burned in a single hour. The finest woods and metals that adorned the mansion, which required thousands of hours to perfect, were consumed in mere seconds. All of the luxurious furniture and lavish furnishings which filled the home were reduced to ash in less time than it took to make them. And no one dared to approach the burning mansion for fear that they would likewise be consumed. 

A day is coming when a greater consuming fire will rob the world of its pomp, pride, pleasures, and possessions in one fiery flash. The world and worldly things may appear to be a magnificent mansion now, but the Lord will eventually reduce them to nothing by His blazing fury, and all that will remain is smoldering smoke (Rev. 18:9-10). All who cling tightly to material things will have everything ripped away from them in a single hour on the day of judgment. All who love this Babylonian-like world will watch with heart-wrenching regret as the purifying wrath of God incinerates everything they lived for. They will lament, saying, “Alas, alas, for the great city that was clothed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, with jewels, and with pearls! For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste” (Rev. 18:16-17).

Therefore, the Lord commands all of His people, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues” (Rev. 18:4b). Believers must flee from the appealing “mansion” of this world lest they be singed from a distance (Luke 21:34; Rom. 12:2; Col. 3:2; 2 Peter 3:11-13). As John exhorted, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him . . . And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:15, 17, KJV). And besides, believers have a greater mansion waiting above: “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2, KJV).