Babylon is still Babylon

Many think that Mystery Babylon is America, or Italy (Rome), because it is a powerful, but sinful, country. Actually, every nation now is a sinful country, so America is not that unique in this. We need to go back, without prejudice, and look at the biblical description of Babylon.

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Babylon is an enemy of Israel, and is described in Revelation as falling twice. Babylon is a city that represents a wicked empire that the nations “commit fornication with.” that is, they will compromise their morals to stay in league with her.

Babylon is also not a new enemy of Israel. In ancient times, it took the Israelites into captivity for 70 years, before they were allowed to return to Israel by Cyrus.

References are to a real historical area in the Middle east, which includes modern Turkey, Syrian, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Kuwait, T’bilisis, Yerevan, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, and Iran. The capital city, Babylon, and the empire shared the same name. The actual city is destroyed, but the area is still there.

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Old and new testament references to the real historic location- Babylon:

Dan 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, [and] told the sum of the matters.

Mic 4:10 Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go [even] to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.

Zec 2:7 Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest [with] the daughter of Babylon.

Zec 6:10 Take of [them of] the captivity, [even] of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah;

Mat 1:11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:

Mat 1:17 So all the generations from Abraham to David [are] fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon [are] fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ [are] fourteen generations.

Act 7:43 Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

1Pe 5:13 The [church that is] at Babylon, elected together with [you], saluteth you; and [so doth] Marcus my son.

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Prophetic Babylon:

There is much debate about who Babylon is today. Good scholarship must consider the following:

1. the ancient capital city happens to be gone, but its empire is still there, under another name.

2. references in scripture that help us confirm the identity.

3. modern descriptions that match biblical descriptions.

The first clue is that Babylon falls twice, being unclean, full of devils, and full of hate.

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End times reference:

Rev 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.

Rev 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.

America and Rome have been tagged to be Babylon by many. Immorality is everywhere. But, I do not see this extreme description of being unclean, full of devils, and full of hate as applying to them at this time.

Also, notice the similarity to the following passage in Isaiah.

Ancient reference:

Isa 21:9 And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, [with] a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.

*** Notice that the expression “Babylon is fallen, is fallen” from Isaiah was also used in the reference from Revelation. This cannot be just a coincidence. God seems to be thinking of the same location to use the same description like this.

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The next clue is the Babylon economy

Rev 18:12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine [citron] wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,

Rev 18:13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

All or most countries carry on trade, and are known for their specific exports and imports. How does the economy of America, or Rome, compare to the list above?

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America:

What does the high tech U.S. economy export? Are you ready for this? Hides and skins, metal ores and scrap, pulp and waste paper, tobacco and cigarettes, rice, cotton, coal, meat, wheat, gold, animal feeds, soybeans and corn.

Main industries petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining, defense

Export goods agricultural products (soybeans, fruit, corn) 9%, industrial supplies (organic chemicals) 27%, capital goods (transistors, aircraft, motor vehicle parts, computers, telecommunications equipment) 49%, consumer goods (automobiles, medicines) 15% (2003)

Import goods agricultural products 5%, industrial supplies 33% (crude oil 8%), capital goods 30% (computers, telecommunications equipment, motor vehicle parts, office machines, electric power machinery), consumer goods 32% (automobiles, clothing, medicines, furniture, toys) (2003)

References:

http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:ptD9p1ry0L0J:www.vdare.com/roberts/trade2.htm+what+does+the+us+export&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_United_States

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Rome:

Main industries tourism, commerce, communications, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, automobiles, home appliances, clothing, footwear, ceramics

Export goods engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, electric goods, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals, nonferrous metals

Import goods engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; automobiles, electronics, food, beverages, tobacco

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Italy

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Conclusion so far:

Both America and Italy fail the economic description for Babylon

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So, continue the search !

If one searches for each merchandise item, this is what one will find:

gold	spain, greece, Iran
silver	spain, canada, mexico, peru, bolivia, australia, USA, balkans (Istanbul), bosnia ( ottoman)
precious stones	arabia
fine linen	asia minor. Greece, egypt
purple	Lebanon
silk	syria, greece
citron, wood	Persian gulf, assyria, palestine, africa, lebanon
ivory	africa (Ivory coast-muslim)
marble	Iran, Israel, Palestine. Greece, lebanon
brass	spain, Pakistan, Iran
iron	Iran
incense	spain., arabia
frankincense	Oman
myrrh	Yemen
cinnamon	spain, arabia, egypt
wine	greece, syria
sheep	Iran, Pakistan, turkey, sudan, syria, jordan, saudia arabia, egypt
cattle	Pakistan
oil	Iran, oil
olive oil	Spain, Italy, greece, Turkey
flour	Pakistan, turkey
wheat	Pakistan, turkey
horses	Iran, arabia
chariots	Iran ( Sumarian), egypt,palestine, Iran ( cars)
bodies/souls of men	africa (arab dominated), Pakistan, India

One can see that most of the merchandise comes from the Mediterranean and middle east regions. We will end up right back in the ancient Babylonian geographic area. So, when God mentioned Babylon, He meant the real one, not a future ideological one. Babylon has always been at odds with God. While the one capital city was destroyed, it left the rest of the region to continue and grow until the end times.

If one just reflects, America and Rome do not conduct slave trades (bodies and souls of men), and have not in centuries. The Muslim slave trade continues in Africa and elsewhere. While America sells cars, it does not sell horses. Items like frankincense, ivory and citron wood are not even found in America. Muslims control the ivory coast of Africa. You may find marble in Rome, but not citron wood. That is a very specific product to identify Babylon. Maybe this list was intentionally this detailed and specific, so that the end times Babylon would be properly identified.

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Horses and 200 miles

Rev 14:20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand [and] six hundred furlongs.

Here, we have 2 more hints. When this city is invaded, horses are used, and the blood from the battle covers 1600 furlongs (about 200 miles).

Where do we find this many horses, and what area around a particular city would be 200 miles in length or width?

While cars are the mode of transportation, or in the case of war, tanks, seeing horses here makes me think again of the Arab world. Others have horses in some numbers, but who would actually use them in an attack? This is something to ponder.

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Geography

Babylon was an empire, not just a city. And it included more than modern day Iraq. Keep this in mind when Babylon is mentioned. Recall the Babylonian map presented earlier.

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The Babylon who persecutes the apostles and prophets

Rev 17:6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

Rev 18:20 Rejoice over her, [thou] heaven, and [ye] holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.

Rev 18:24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

The apostles and prophets would have to know who this Babylon is, so it is an empire known during the time of Christ and before. It persecutes Christians and Jews. What empire does this over the ages, and even now?

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Babylon is the mother of sorcery

Rev 18:23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.

Sorcery originated in ancient Babylon, and spread to Western Asia, and then to Europe. The majority of the books in the library of Nineveh dealt with sorcery and magic.

Reference:

http://www.jstor.org/pss/1253424

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Babylon has a golden cup full of abominations

Jer 51:7 Babylon [hath been] a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.

Rev 17:2 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.

Rev 17:4 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:

The Babylon of Jeremiah and the Babylon of Revelation both have this golden cup. The wine represents spiritual fornication, or turning away from the true God, Yahweh. All the earth is involved with both Babylon because it is the same Babylon. Nothing has changed.

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Babylon sits on a beast full of blasphemy

Rev 17:3 … and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

I do not see the seven heads and ten horns as relating to America or Rome. The beast is described as a combination of ancient empires:

Rev 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as [the feet] of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

Daniel 7 clearly identifies these beast empires as belonging to the Middle Eastern and Western Asian countries. Babylon, according to Revelation 13, still sits where she has sat for thousands of years. The beast represents the modern Islamic countries, which replace Yahweh, God of Israel, with Allah, who defies Yahweh (blasphemy, contempt, provocation). Blasphemy is also cursing God, and Islamic protesters do curse, provoke, and have contempt for, everyone’s God but theirs.

Reference:

http://www.verulam-arc.com/Religion%20of%20peace.htm

For more about the 4^th Beast of Daniel and the beast of Revelation Click here for more

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Babylon (the empire) still seems to be Babylon. Nothing has changed. It is still corrupt. It is still evil. It is still full of devils, and full of hate. And it is still the enemy of Israel, after thousands of years.

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Finally, ancient Babylon, the city, may reappear. They have been excavating the ancient city. Or maybe an alternate city in the same empire will represent the resurrected Babylon.

Note: Most people know there are various opinions on who Babylon is. For those that stay open to all possibilities, it is most important to recognize that there is more than one system or group, city, or location that could fit this description.

There is evil everywhere, and we should not restrict our focus to just one view. If we did this, we would end up blind to all the other evils that exist. Anywhere there is a system that rebels against God and the Lord Jesus Christ is some form of Babylon.

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For the view that Babylon has a “sister city” that has been predicted to emulate Babylon in its fate, see

Babylon’s “Twin City” in scripture…  Click here for more

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For the purpose of balance, there are other views that America is a spiritual Babylon.  For this, see

Dimitru Duduman – “America will burn”  Click here for more