God says in Revelation 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
There it is—as crystal clear as it can be. The Revelation 14:8 prophecy plainly predicts the future fall of Babylon.
Knowing that this prophecy about the future fall of Babylon exists, we simply must ask ourselves if the prophesied fall of Babylon has been fulfilled.
There is prophetic evidence in abundance that proclaims that the time for the fulfillment of the ancient prophecy has arrived. But let’s see what the scriptures actually say.
Revelation 16:16 announces the beginning of the Battle of Armageddon: “And he (God) gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”
The next three verses record the fall of Babylon the Great.
Verse 17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Verse 18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Verse 19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
This passage clearly teaches us that the destruction of Babylon will take place at the time of the Battle of Armageddon.
We know from the Bible that the Battle of Armageddon occurs at the end of the Great Tribulation, after the reign of the Antichrist and after the mark of the beast.
Now let’s look at another Babylon prophecy.
The entire ministry of the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah was devoted to prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem and the carrying away of Israel into Babylonian captivity. He also prophesied the return of Israel to Jerusalem after 70 years and Jeremiah foretold the ultimate destruction of Babylon.
The prophecy against Babylon is found in Jeremiah 50:1-23.
“The word that the LORD spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet. Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken…For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein… Because of the wrath of the LORD it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.”
Verses 17 and 18 establish for certain when this destruction of Babylon was to occur:
“Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones. Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.”
The above scriptures teach us that this particular prophesied destruction of Babylon would occur during the era of the Babylonian empire of Nebuchadnezzar.
Furthermore, verses 39-40 declared that Babylon would never again be inhabited. “Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands will dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever…”
The prophecy of Jeremiah clearly stated that Babylon would be destroyed, never to be inhabited again. Yet the book of Revelation prophesies the destruction of Babylon at the time of Armageddon. How do we reconcile what appears to be a biblical contradiction?
I want to emphasize I am not the final authority on these prophecies. I am merely trying to deliver to you the Biblical evidence as best I can. We are not babes on milk here friends, this is heavy duty Biblical material and a very difficult concept.
Let’s review what we have discussed so far. The prophecy of Jeremiah clearly stated that Babylon would be destroyed, never to be inhabited again. Yet the book of Revelation prophesies the destruction of Babylon at the time of Armageddon. We have been searching for an explanation to this conundrum.
We must keep in mind that God reveals to us his prophetic plan in due time. For example, most of the people living in 1800 and before could not understand the future rebirth of Israel in 1948 because God had not yet provided them with the clues to his prophetic plan. At that point 1800 and before it appeared that the Jewish people would be scattered to the four winds forever and the Jews had no Zionist aspirations.
Scholars differ on what Mystery Babylon is. At this point in time I do not totally agree with the the traditional view I will present to you today, I do know that Mystery Babylon is satanic in nature. Perhaps God hasn’t revealed the full picture of his prophetic plan yet. Let’s look at an interesting piece of scripture.
In Nahum 3:4 God says Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favored harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.
God is describing multiple satanic whores. Could these be false churches and secret satanic societies who sell witchcraft to nations and families? That could be a distinct possibility. Remember Chapter 6 of Ephesians.
Verse 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Verse 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Perhaps we will find an answer to our conundrum by looking at the difference between physical Babylon and Mystery Babylon. I think it is important to keep in mind that almost from the beginning the Bible has been a tale of two cities. Jerusalem is the city of God while Babylon has always been the city of man built by Nimrod the “rebel”. Both cities disappeared from the world stage for many centuries. Then Jerusalem came roaring back. The Bible says the same will be true of Babylon.
The physical city of Babylon was originally built by Nimrod after the great flood. It was located on the Euphrates River, about 55 miles south of where Baghdad, Iraq is today. The name Babylon came from the Tower of Babel (man’s tower to human pride, secularism & utopianism) that was constructed there.
Babylon became a large city of global prominence around 1728 B.C. during the reign of Hammurabi. The glory years of Babylon were achieved under Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 B.C.). The city declined during the reign of Belshazzar, and came to ruin when Xerxes, the Persian king, destroyed it in 478 B.C.
Thus, Jeremiah’s prophesied destruction of Babylon was accomplished, and, just as the prophecy said, it has never been inhabited to this day. In fact, Alexander the Great planned to make Babylon the capitol of his world empire and issued 500K rations to his army to begin rebuilding and modernizing mighty Babylon. Alexander’s plans never came to fruition and he died prematurely in 2 week from a mysterious illness. Alexander’s empire was split among his 4 generals: Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy and Seleucus. Saddam Hussein launched a massive project to rebuild Babylon in the 1980’s, but the effort was stymied by the Iranian war and was not resumed. Saddam and his two sons died prematurely like Alexander.
But if Babylon is never to be rebuilt, why are two entire chapters of the book of Revelation devoted to the destruction of Babylon? And why is the destruction of Babylon clearly described as occurring at the time of Armageddon?
The Babylon described in Revelation is called “Mystery Babylon.” The prophecy of Mystery Babylon is found in Revelation 17:3-5.
“So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”
Who is this Mystery Babylon?
A mystery is something secret or hidden— a thing that some understand while others do not. In Revelation 17, there are several clues given to the identity of Mystery Babylon.
Let’s review what we have discussed so far. We have learned that the prophecy of Jeremiah clearly stated that Babylon would be destroyed, never to be inhabited again. Yet the book of Revelation prophesies the destruction of Babylon at the time of Armageddon. We have been searching for an explanation to this conundrum. We learned that In Revelation 17, there are 4 clues to look at.
1—Mystery Babylon is a city
Notice in the above prophecy that a woman is used to symbolize Mystery Babylon. Verse 18 of the chapter tells us that the woman is a city. “And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”
2—Mystery Babylon presides over a vast international system
In verse 1, we are told that the woman sits on many waters. Verse 15 explains the meaning of the waters. “And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.”
3—Mystery Babylon’s city sits on 7 hills
In verse 3, we are told that the woman rides on a beast with 7 heads. Verse 9 reveals the meaning of the heads. “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.”
Remember, we’ve already learned that the woman is a city. This passage tells us that the city sits on seven mountains. There is a city on earth that is known as “The City of Seven Hills.” It’s the city of Rome.
But is Rome the headquarters for an international power that rules over “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues?”
The Vatican rules over one billion Roman Catholics worldwide. Remember, this prophecy was written by God via John long before the Catholic Church existed and long before the Vatican became her headquarters.
4—The woman is clothed in purple and red
Revelation 17:4 “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:”
There are two ruling bodies in the Roman Catholic Church: The College of Cardinals and the College of Bishops and Archbishops. Cardinals wear red, while Bishops and Archbishops wear purple.”
One other factor should be understood. In Revelation 17, God chose to use a woman—a whore—to symbolize Mystery Babylon.
God uses a virgin bride to represent His true church for example in II Corinthians 11:2 God says, “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” and He uses a harlot to represent a false church— as he did in Revelation 17-1.
Bible scholars like Hal Lindsey and others believe that Mystery Babylon is centered in Rome, the home of the Roman Catholic Church, a false religion. Some people believe Lindsey’s view was prejudiced by the Cold War and the RCC’s persecution of the saints & Jews during its previous history. Some Biblical scholars believe the Roman Catholic Church is this false religious system that has deceived the people of the world that will be destroyed at the time of Armageddon. This may be the correct view.
However, some people such as Joel Richardson and Bill Wilson believe that this focus is wrong. If we look at the world from God’s viewpoint in the Bible and that of his chosen people the focus is Jerusalem not Rome. I want to make it clear the Roman Catholic Church & the Vatican do play important roles in the End Times.
Joel Richardson believes Mystery Babylon is Mecca & Saudi Arabia as characterized in Revelation 17.
Let's look at Joel Richardson’s & Bill Wilson's End Times view.
Americans tend to view Bible prophecy with American centricity. We think the world revolves around us and the USA. However, the Bible is Middle East centric and revolves around Jerusalem, Israel, and the Middle East.
Joel Richardson believes the spirit of Islam is rising against the Jewish people, Israel and Christianity. He also believes Mystery Babylon is the spiritual and economic system that will encompass the greatest false religion the world will ever know.
In Rev 17:1 God says: And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters. Waters means a multitude of people - Islam has over a billion adherents worldwide.
Rev 17:18 says: And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. Joel believes this is the anti-christ’s throne in Jerusalem during the Great Trib.
In verse 3, we are told that the woman rides on a beast with 7 heads. Verse 9 reveals the meaning of the heads. “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.” Joel Richardson believes mountains represent kingdoms and the Islamic caliphate will be the next great global empire, the greatest anti-semitic kingdom of all time.
Jesus said in Mat 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (who so readeth, let him understand:) The anti-christ commits the abomination in Jerusalem not in Rome.
Is Mecca, Saudi Arabia the Mystery Babylon characterized in Revelation 17?
Joel believes Mystery Babylon sits in a wilderness (the desert) Rev 17:3 says: So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Also consider Jeremiah 9:26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart. All of these peoples lived in the wilderness or desert.
The kingdom of the anti-christ is drunk on the blood of the saints. Islam is killing Christians worldwide and is on course to eradicate Christianity from North Africa, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Indonesia and the Levant.
God says in Rev 17:2 The kings of the earth have committed fornication with her and have been made drunk with the wine or (oil) of her fornication. Every leader of every major nation except Iran has bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, and the world is addicted to her oil.
Rev 19:2 says: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
The great whore is the 12th Imam, the Islamic anti-christ who corrupts the earth with fornication. Fornication is a idolatry, not the religion of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The greatest false religion today is Islam and its center is Saudi Arabia. Its primary export is not oil but Islam and the Koran. All the presidents from Carter to Obama have personally rec’d tens of millions of dollars from the Saudis. Clinton alone rec’d $30 million. Prince Al Waleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia gave Harvard & Georgetown $20 million. So is it any wonder our universities are graduating pro-Islamists and are populated with Muslim professors?
Finally, below are the similarities between the Antichrist (AC) and 12th Imam
1 Both Arise out of global chaos
2 Both kill Jews & Christians
3 Both rule for 7 years
4 Both make a false peace with Israel
5 Both unite the world in a global caliphate
6 Both behead opponents - the Koran says “Strike the neck of the infidel”
7 Tradition (the Hadith) says Muslims will welcome the beast
8 Tradition says Muslims want the mark of the Beast
Remember the most important thing is that Lord is in control, he has his great prophetic plan and if you are saved your Rapture and eternal life in heaven is guaranteed.
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