The word translated as “people” is used repeatedly in Scripture to denote any grouping or family within humanity (Exodus 1:22). But with the addition of the pronoun “my” (where the pronoun refers to God/Christ; note the voice comes “from heaven”) the phrase is exceptionally rich in theological content since it conveys the notion that God has laid a claim of ownership on a particular people, family, grouping of persons so that they are his. This claim of ownership is known as the covenant, God’s bond of love with undeserving sinners so that these persons are made his family, his people, his children—all, obviously, through the work of Jesus Christ. See Exodus 19:5; 1 Peter 2:9–10; Revelation 5:10. What makes this designation so meaningful in the present context is the enticements of the great prostitute; she seeks to lure “my people” away from God and so make them guilty of spiritual adultery. Though the term in the first instance alludes to the members of the seven churches to whom John had to send his book (Revelation 1:11), by extension it refers to God’s people of all generations.
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues;