Finally, a significant proportion of the writings about Mega-Babylon are contained in The Revelation, which was given to the apostle John – imprisoned on the island of Patmos – by Yeshua. He received this revelation many years after the death of Yeshua.
At this time the city of Babylon was simply a provincial town in Mesopotamia – albeit with a considerable Jewish population. The dominant power, by then, of course, was that of the Roman Empire.
Those who learned of and studied The Revelation would naturally interpret it in the light of the ruling ‘beast’ empire of their time – that of Rome.
This interpretation has continued to be accepted down through the centuries – after the Reformation, being applied by most Protestants to the Roman Catholic Church. As no other world empire was in existence at that time, this was perhaps understandable.
Today, however, things are very different. Rome has no temporal power any more than any other European nation, and – despite many predictions to the contrary – the Roman Catholic Church really only has any strong spiritual influence over its own members. And that, too, has been declining in recent years.
The Revelation 17:5 refers to Mega-Babylon as a ‘mystery’. – does this mean it is a code word?
Is Mega-Babylon past or present?:
1 Ancient Babylon was not destroyed in one day, or one hour, but continued to exist undisturbed for another 1500 years, under the Medo-Persians, the Greeks, Parthians, Arabs, etc.!
2 Jews were never forced to flee from ancient Babylon. Instead, the majority continued to dwell there in peace for centuries.
3 At the time of Christ there were more Jews living in Babylon than in the land of Israel.
4 The apostle, John, wrote The Revelation many years after the death of Yeshua, so he could not have been referring to a Babylon which, by then, was only a provincial town in Mesopotamia.
So, it seems clear from this that these prophets were referring to a nation still to be in existence at the end times, i.e. one that exists right now!
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2 A present day world system?
The apostle John, himself a Jew and one of the earliest followers of Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth, had a powerful vision while imprisoned by the Romans on the Greek isle of Patmos. In The Revelation an angel appeared to him, carried him off into the desert and showed him the punishment of the great prostitute.
In chapter 14, three separate angels appear one after another:
Revelation 14:6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth — to every nation, tribe, language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water." 8 A second angel followed and said, "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries." 9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on their forehead or on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath.
John wrote The Revelation in the Greek of his day. The Greek word used for ‘the Great’ is the word ‘mega’, which has now come into popular use again in today’s English. So, we could equally well use the phrase, ‘Mega-Babylon’, in order to differentiate from the original, ancient Babylon.
The above verses seem to indicate a chronological progression, i.e. that the fall of Babylon will occur immediately after the proclamation of the gospel has reached ‘every nation, tribe, language and people’, and that this fall, in turn, will usher in the rule of ‘The Beast’.
Though this first scenario has not yet been realised it is one which is rapidly becoming a possibility and then, it would seem, the other events will follow swiftly! We will take a look at these other events later. First, can we identify a modern day Babylon?
Revelation 17:1 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. 2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries." 3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. 5 The name written on her forehead was a mystery:
BABYLON THE GREAT [MEGA-BABYLON]
THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE
ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished.
In the koine (common) Greek of John’s day – unlike the Hebrew of the Tanakh (Old Testament) – capital letters were in use, and this phrase in verse 5 was originally written in capitals in the Greek manuscripts.
The Revelation, like much of prophecy, contains many pictures but, for the moment, let us just focus on part of the description. The woman is dressed in purple and scarlet, covered in gold and precious stones, and holding in her hand a golden cup full of filth!
This is a very accurate description of the Babylonian goddess, Ishtar – known in other languages as Ashtar, Astarte, Ashtoreth, Eostre, etc. and from whom we derive the English word, ‘Easter’.
Ishtar is dressed in purple and scarlet, with gold and jewels, and carries a golden cup in her hand. She was the main Babylonian deity, goddess of fertility, love and war – usually depicted riding on the back of either a lion or a leopard.
In The Revelation the woman rides upon a scarlet beast which has ten horns. It would appear that she is controlling this ten-horned beast. The meaning of the ten horns is explained for us further on, in verse 12:
Revelation 17:12 "The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13 They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast.
16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
So, although Mega-Babylon initially rides upon the scarlet beast, it is this very beast which will bring about her destruction! We are told that the ten horns are ten rulers who do not yet rule, but will agree to give their power and authority to one man – the scarlet beast.
These ten nations (not in existence in John’s time), acting as one under the beast, will eventually turn upon Mega-Babylon and bring her to ruin – leave her naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. They will then replace her authority with that of the man referred to as ‘The Beast’.
Revelation 17:18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
The Mega-Babylon described here is clearly associated with a particular group of ten powerful nations, who, although willingly participating in her ‘adulteries’ .(Revelation 17:2) and luxuries (18:3) will eventually get sick of her dominance and greed, turn upon her and destroy Mega-Babylon.
Ancient Babylon did not depend on other powerful nations, nor was she overthrown by a group of ten nations; she was conquered, without a battle, by the rising Medo-Persian Empire of Cyrus the Great.
In The Revelation 17:1, Mega-Babylon is also described as one, ‘who sits by many waters’. The same phrase is used in Jeremiah 51:
13 You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come, the time for you to be cut off.
The explanation of this phrase, ‘many waters,’ is given to John by the angel:
Revelation 17:15 Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitut
e sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.
So, firstly, this woman refers to a great city – a mega-city, ‘rich in treasures’ – that rules over the nations of the earth. The waters where she sits are ‘peoples, multitudes, nations and languages’. We are talking about a mega-city – and nation – which rules over the other nations of the earth and, as we shall see, is herself made up of many nationalities and languages – a city, and nation, of immigrants!
Now you may think that I am assuming too much here in identifying these ‘many waters’ as being a reference to immigrants, but just bear with me as we look at a few more references in these prophecies, and you may come to agree with me.
Jeremiah 50:16 Cut off from Babylon the sower, and the reaper with his sickle at harvest. Because of the sword of the oppressor let everyone return to their own people, let everyone flee to their own land.
Jeremiah 51:9 "‘We would have healed Babylon, but she cannot be healed; let us leave her and each go to our own land, for her judgment reaches to the skies, it rises as high as the heavens.’
Isaiah 13:14 Like a hunted gazelle, like sheep without a shepherd, they will all return to their own people, they will flee to their native land.
In each case the people who make up Mega-Babylon, those who survive her destruction, are encouraged to return to ‘their own land’. Although they are citizens of Mega-Babylon, they also each have another national identity and ‘their own land’ to return to.
This did not happen when the Persian Empire took over the ancient city of Babylon. There was no destruction, and no fleeing, or exodus, of people to their own countries. A short while after Cyrus came to power the Jews were given permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild it. Only 50,000 were to take up the offer. The majority remained in Babylon for many hundreds of years and prospered into the 10thcentury CE.
So, we conclude that the modern city and nation, referred to as Mega-Babylon, is composed of people from many lands and many peoples who, though now part of this nation, also still retain a national identity from the land of their birth, or their ancestor’s birth.
Let’s look at some more clues. How does this city rule over the nations?
Revelation 18:3 For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries."
9 "When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. 10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: "‘Woe! Woe, O great city, O Babylon city of power! In one hour your doom has come!’ 11 "The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no-one buys their cargoes any more— 12 cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; 13 cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and and bodies and souls of men. 14 "They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your riches and splendour have vanished, never to be recovered.’ 15 The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn 16 and cry out: "‘Woe! Woe, O great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! 17 In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’ "Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. 18 When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ 19 They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out: "‘Woe! Woe, O great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!
Jeremiah 51:7 Babylon was a gold cup in the LORD’s hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad.
There are a whole group of people referred to here, who are willing participants in the rule of Mega-Babylon – the kings and rulers of the earth, the merchants who trade with her and grow rich and the shipping companies who transport goods to her. These people are very willing to be allied with Babylon – because they share in her luxuries!
I would suggest that we are talking here in terms of a world trade system – the ‘market economy’, capitalism, globalisation – enthusiastically pursued by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and most world leaders today (with a few notable exceptions).
Is Babylon a present day system?
1 The fall of Babylon will only occur after the gospel has been preached to every nation and tribe – which has yet to be realised – though soon it will be.
2 Mega-Babylon will ‘ride upon’ a group of ten nations, whereas ancient Babylon did not depend on other powerful nations.
3 Mega-Babylon will be destroyed by fire, “in one hour”. Ancient Babylon was conquered by the Medes, without fire or destruction, and continued as an important city for many hundreds of years.
4 Apart from about 50,000 Jews some years later, the people of ancient Babylon did NOT return to their own lands, but became part of the Medo-Persian Empire.
5 Mega-Babylon operates in conjunction with the “kings of the earth”, who “share her luxuries,” which sounds like a world trading system i.e. globalisation.
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3 ID of Mega-Babylon revealed
Over the centuries many have attempted to interpret the identity of Mega-Babylon. The possibilities still debated are a restored ancient Babylon (possibly under US rule); Rome/the Roman Catholic Church (or a worldwide unity of churches, which includes the Church of Rome); Jerusalem; or possibly, Brussels.
Revelation 18:11, 12 refer to merchants actually weeping because there is no-one to buy their cargoes any more. This is a city and a land that enjoys ‘excessive luxury’ (v.3) and the rulers of the earth have shared in that luxury. This is a capitalist and very materialist nation, ‘rich in treasures’, (Revelation 17:13), used to having the best and importing these goods from all around the world.
This city and nation of Mega-Babylon trades with all the nations of the earth (v.3), which limits severely the number of possible candidates.
A city that trades in all these commodities (including ‘bodies and souls of men’ (v.13) – i.e. new immigrants! – and whose destruction causes such sorrow among ship’s captains (‘where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth!’ v.19), must therefore have a deep-water port and access for large cargo and passenger vessels. Again this limits the possible candidates to be Mega-Babylon.
The site of the ancient city of Babylon, in Iraq, for instance, is hundreds of miles from the sea. Neither Jerusalem, Rome nor Brussels are situated on the coast, nor have any deep water port or access for major shipping.
There are many cities around the world which trade in stocks and shares – including the commodities mentioned in The Revelation 17. The world trade in gold, for instance, is centred in both London and New York; the world diamond trade is handled in Antwerp, Tel Aviv and New York. The city which receives the greatest number of (legal) immigrants (‘bodies and souls of men’ – v. 13), is, once again, New York.
The Church of Rome DOES have control over great riches and has many valuable assets, but is not associated with trading in these commodities.
Brussels does have a trading connection – being one of the original three stock exchanges merged in 2000 to create the EuroNext exchange, which has since added other European centres. However, it has no access to shipping, or means of importing commodities, as already pointed out.
Neither of the other suggested identities for a modern Mega-Babylon are in any way regarded as centres of trade, or financial dealings. Nor are ANY of these cities regarde
d as mega-cities in international terms.
Until 2008, however, the City of New York had not one, but three, stock exchanges, on which the world’s commodities are traded every day.
New York City is home to the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange, 1792); the AMEX (American Stock Exchange, 1921) – which was taken over by NYSE in 2008 and has since been integrated with it; and the NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations, 1971).
The Whore and her Mother: 9/11, Babylon and the Return of the King Page 3