Hobie
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We see it in many verses and we see its destruction at the end, but is it the literal city or is it have another meaning..
Revelation 18:21
And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
In Hebrew, whether its the tower, the city, the empire, and its meaning in prophecy down to the close of human history and Christs return, are all the same Hebrew word "babel", "Babylon'. Babel is Babylon and Babel is confusion.
The name Babylon is derived from BAB-ILU which was “gate of the gods” or "the portal of the gods", and in a sense it thus portrays a means of access to the gods that is contrary to God's prescribed plan of salvation. Access is granted through the system and not by faith in Jesus Christ. It is a system where salvation by works replaces salvation by faith and the Protestant Reformers realized it and the system behind it.
The Babylonian system of worship has ever been a trap to the faithful, as it is more in line with a debased human nature to rely on salvation by works than on salvation by grace. From the very beginning, these two systems of worship have been in confrontation with each other. The story of Cain and Abel illustrates the point, as Abel listened to God and brought a lamb without blemish as an offering, but Cain brought the fruits of his labor. When the offering of Abel was accepted by God, Cain was jealous and his anger was aroused and ever since, this first confrontation between these two systems of worship, has been in conflict on this planet.
Ancient Babylon serves as a type of a much greater end-time confederacy of religious apostasy and intolerance that would seek to control conscience before the close of earth's history, and yet it will meet its end as we see in Revelation.
The Bible warns against Babylon, and urge God's people to come out of Babylon, and we see it also reflecting the spiritual decay of the system...
Revelation 18:2
And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
The unclean and hateful birds appears to reference a counterfeit Holy Spirit that would power the system and lead people to believe that they are working with the power of God when it is a deception masquerading as truth. In Revelation verse 4, we see it with a warning..
Revelation 18:4
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
God would not urge His people to come out of Babylon if it were impossible for them to identify Babylon. During the early Christian centuries, Jewish and Christian literature referred to the city of Rome as Babylon. 1 Peter 5:13 also refers to Rome as Babylon, as Peter wrote these words while in Rome, and literal Babylon no longer existed....
1 Peter 5:13
The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.
In Revelation 17, John is invited to witness the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters, seductively deceiving the inhabitants of the earth. This woman is subsequently identified as “ ‘Babylon the great, the mother of harlots’ ”.
Revelation 17:5
And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.
In the scriptures, a prostitute symbolically refers to God’s people in their apostasy. The portrayal of the prostitute in Revelation 17 shows that she represents an entity that was once faithful to God before aligning herself with the end-time opponent of God and His faithful remnant. Babylon is thus a corporate name for an end-time apostate entity.
The Protestants of the Reformation knew who it was and referred to it as spiritual Babylon, the antichrist entity and enemy of God's people. The woman that rides the beast in Revelation 17 also has all the identifying features which make it easier to find...
Revelation 17:1-2
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
The woman is first referenced to as sitting on “many waters” and according to Revelation, the waters upon which the prostitute was seen symbolize the civil, secular, and political powers of the world. Just as the ancient Babylon depended on the Euphrates River for its existence, so will the end-time Babylon depend on the civil, secular, and political powers of the world to enforce its plans and purposes.
Revelation 17:5
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots
Abominations Of The Earth
In the Bible the symbol of a woman represents the church. Isaiah the prophet extends the symbol of a woman to that of a bride. The pure bride represents the pure church..
Isaiah 62:5
For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.
We find in the New Testament the same symbolism is employed...
2 Corinthians 11:2
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.
Babylon is described in Revelation 17:5 as the "mother of harlots" an apostate religious systems or church, "Mystery" and the "abominations of the earth". Obviously if God's people are the chaste woman faithful to her husband, then Babylon is the opposite of this symbol or that system of worship which is unfaithful to God, and has a mystery religion and teaches and practices abominations.
Its not hard to figure out who persecuted the saints, and brought in the paganism and abominable practices into the church...
Revelation 18:21
And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
In Hebrew, whether its the tower, the city, the empire, and its meaning in prophecy down to the close of human history and Christs return, are all the same Hebrew word "babel", "Babylon'. Babel is Babylon and Babel is confusion.
The name Babylon is derived from BAB-ILU which was “gate of the gods” or "the portal of the gods", and in a sense it thus portrays a means of access to the gods that is contrary to God's prescribed plan of salvation. Access is granted through the system and not by faith in Jesus Christ. It is a system where salvation by works replaces salvation by faith and the Protestant Reformers realized it and the system behind it.
The Babylonian system of worship has ever been a trap to the faithful, as it is more in line with a debased human nature to rely on salvation by works than on salvation by grace. From the very beginning, these two systems of worship have been in confrontation with each other. The story of Cain and Abel illustrates the point, as Abel listened to God and brought a lamb without blemish as an offering, but Cain brought the fruits of his labor. When the offering of Abel was accepted by God, Cain was jealous and his anger was aroused and ever since, this first confrontation between these two systems of worship, has been in conflict on this planet.
Ancient Babylon serves as a type of a much greater end-time confederacy of religious apostasy and intolerance that would seek to control conscience before the close of earth's history, and yet it will meet its end as we see in Revelation.
The Bible warns against Babylon, and urge God's people to come out of Babylon, and we see it also reflecting the spiritual decay of the system...
Revelation 18:2
And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
The unclean and hateful birds appears to reference a counterfeit Holy Spirit that would power the system and lead people to believe that they are working with the power of God when it is a deception masquerading as truth. In Revelation verse 4, we see it with a warning..
Revelation 18:4
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
God would not urge His people to come out of Babylon if it were impossible for them to identify Babylon. During the early Christian centuries, Jewish and Christian literature referred to the city of Rome as Babylon. 1 Peter 5:13 also refers to Rome as Babylon, as Peter wrote these words while in Rome, and literal Babylon no longer existed....
1 Peter 5:13
The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.
In Revelation 17, John is invited to witness the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters, seductively deceiving the inhabitants of the earth. This woman is subsequently identified as “ ‘Babylon the great, the mother of harlots’ ”.
Revelation 17:5
And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.
In the scriptures, a prostitute symbolically refers to God’s people in their apostasy. The portrayal of the prostitute in Revelation 17 shows that she represents an entity that was once faithful to God before aligning herself with the end-time opponent of God and His faithful remnant. Babylon is thus a corporate name for an end-time apostate entity.
The Protestants of the Reformation knew who it was and referred to it as spiritual Babylon, the antichrist entity and enemy of God's people. The woman that rides the beast in Revelation 17 also has all the identifying features which make it easier to find...
Revelation 17:1-2
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
The woman is first referenced to as sitting on “many waters” and according to Revelation, the waters upon which the prostitute was seen symbolize the civil, secular, and political powers of the world. Just as the ancient Babylon depended on the Euphrates River for its existence, so will the end-time Babylon depend on the civil, secular, and political powers of the world to enforce its plans and purposes.
Revelation 17:5
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots
Abominations Of The Earth
In the Bible the symbol of a woman represents the church. Isaiah the prophet extends the symbol of a woman to that of a bride. The pure bride represents the pure church..
Isaiah 62:5
For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.
We find in the New Testament the same symbolism is employed...
2 Corinthians 11:2
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.
Babylon is described in Revelation 17:5 as the "mother of harlots" an apostate religious systems or church, "Mystery" and the "abominations of the earth". Obviously if God's people are the chaste woman faithful to her husband, then Babylon is the opposite of this symbol or that system of worship which is unfaithful to God, and has a mystery religion and teaches and practices abominations.
Its not hard to figure out who persecuted the saints, and brought in the paganism and abominable practices into the church...
