8. BABYLON THE GREAT

            Babylon the great was the subject matter that got me to start to think for myself in regards how I worshiped God. I loved God but worshiped him in a very restrictive religious environment. Babylon the Great or Babs stood out to me because 1) of the imagery and 2) the explanation of her never set well in my head. It was always explained to me that Babylon the Great was the world of false religion. I had difficulty believing that. So I decided to research for myself.  I’ll give you an idea of the process but first here are the scriptures that bring out the description of Babylon the Great.

Revelation 17

¹One 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 on many waters. ²With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries. ³Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. ⁴The 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. ⁵This title was written on her forehead: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

⁶I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.  When I saw her, I was greatly astonished… ¹⁵Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. ¹⁶The 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. ¹⁷For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled. ¹⁸The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth."

Revelation 18

¹After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. ²With a mighty voice he shouted:
   "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!
      She has become a home for demons
   and a haunt for every evil spirit,
      a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.
 ³For 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."

 ⁴Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
   "Come out of her, my people,
      so that you will not share in her sins,
      so that you will not receive any of her plagues;
 ⁵for her sins are piled up to heaven,
      and God has remembered her crimes.
 ⁶Give back to her as she has given;
      pay her back double for what she has done.
      Mix her a double portion from her own cup.
 ⁷Give her as much torture and grief
      as the glory and luxury she gave herself.
   In her heart she boasts,
      'I sit as queen; I am not a widow,
      and I will never mourn.'
 ⁸Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her:
      death, mourning and famine.
   She will be consumed by fire,
      for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.

 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. ¹⁰Terrified 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— ¹²cargoes 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; ¹³cargoes 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 bodies and souls of men.

 ¹⁴"They will say, 'The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your riches and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.' ¹⁵The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn ¹⁶and cry out:
   " 'Woe! Woe, O great city,
      dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet,
      and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!
 ¹⁷In 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. ¹⁸When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, 'Was there ever a city like this great city?' ¹⁹They 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!
 ²⁰Rejoice over her, O heaven!
      Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets!
   God has judged her for the way she treated you.' "

 ²¹Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said:
   "With such violence
      the great city of Babylon will be thrown down,
      never to be found again.
 ²²The music of harpists and musicians, flute players and trumpeters,
      will never be heard in you again.
   No workman of any trade
      will ever be found in you again.
   The sound of a millstone
      will never be heard in you again.
 ²³The light of a lamp will never shine in you again.
   The voice of bridegroom and bride
      will never be heard in you again.
   Your merchants were the world's great men.
      By your magic spell all the nations were led astray.
 ²⁴In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints,
      and of all who have been killed on the earth."

            Now the Watchtower Organization, which is where I grew up, explained that the above definition of Babs applies to all of Christendom or false Christian religion or any religion that wasn’t them. I could understand tying in magic spells with the religious teachings of the churches but the associating that with the wealth that is wielded by this woman wasn’t working. I questioned the identity because Chapter 18 brings out that Babs is associated with merchants, cargoes, and other listed items for sale. Also there is an over arching monetary connection. She seems to make a lot of people rich and she has dealings with many Kings of the earth. If just the Church system was destroyed, I doubt that merchants would weep, although sad to lose a customer, they would continue pretty much the same.

            Then who or what could this be? I explain who because the scripture mentions “she” has a kingdom that sits above all other kingdoms. Could she be America, Israel, or some other nation that wields monetary influence? It may surprise you to know that she isn’t any of these. Let us first look at why many may think these nations might be Babylon the Great.

            The US holds the international trade currency right now. The US also is the largest purchaser of goods from everywhere in the world. The US wields serious power within other countries leadership. The US also has the American dream that many people like and want to be like thanks to the media.  How about Israel? Israel also commands the use of money like an art form. They control it through sprawling financial companies that are boarded by some of the more famous Jews of the times. They get billions of money from their favorite ally every year. Not to mention the best military toys. They hold major portions of ownership in some of the biggest names in goods. They are not a poor people and apparently can maneuver things to go their way. Not to mention the heavy influence they have on media and movies. This is one of the reasons Americans have a difficulty seeing it because we see it everyday. Its like sunlight.

            Although very convincing arguments, it is difficult for many people to see the forest for the trees. Behind all this activity is actually the economic system that they use. This is the “what” that Babylon the Great becomes.

Babylon the Great IS the economic system. Our common era trade system is actually based off of systems that were first developed in the land of Babylon. At some point, humans had to assign a value to gold and then agree to use this value in exchange for real items. That point leads to Babylon. Babylon was the home of the first minted gold coins. After that, Persia; then Greece took the reigns. Interestingly, subsequent conquering nations didn’t eliminate the system itself. They just put their faces on it. From that point, it has grown to be an integral part of all monetary systems down to the current world we live in. So much so that it is often missed that it has not always been a part of human existence. Someone had to transition this pretty yellow metal used mainly for worship and decoration into something people could bargain real items against. This was the start of a faith based economy. This occurred in Babylon.

Banking began in the temples of Babylon. The priests were the first bankers of the world. They were the most trusted of their society and had sacred temples that could store these valuable items. Thus the ground work for the popular system we have now falls into place. Also a connection between worship and money was created. This was something highly detestable to God. So much so, he attempted to keep His people out of its influence. Unfortunately, the Hebrews gave into idolatry again and God had Babylon destroy their temple and take His people captive. Thus began the Gentile times marked by the beginning of this new sort of faith in gold.

This was a faith that replaced sin with debt and forgiveness with credit. It is slavery or at least this is the way it is used by uncaring leadership. The kings of the earth manipulate its existence in concert with their need for power. Jesus made this easy for us to understand and deal with because he tells us to pay back “Caesar’s things to Caesar but God’s things to God”.

Recall Jesus return to the temple. The money changers are run out of the temple by Jesus. God’s house is made impure by their intrusion.  It shows itself in each of the four Gospels because it was pointed and needed to be brought to our attention. Remember what is said to us about the “rich man” and the “eye of a needle”. There are many examples in the bible of the true value of money from the monetary system.

Babylon the Great is not a particular government or people. It is the very economic system, the lie, that there is value in something other than the thing itself. The mystery is that a yellow rock is worth a pair of pants, a car, a home, a life. We can put a monetary value upon practically everything in this world.

Consider as well that all of the governments are described in the bible as animals or beasts. Babylon the great is no animal. She is a woman. Symbolically, women in prophecy are often associated with systems of religious practices. For example, the two towns of Judah and the 10 tribes were depicted as two sisters. God’s children and true followers are described as Christ’s bride. Rebellious believers are often described as harlots or prostitutes. Could it be that there are religious elements that could depict the economy amongst leaders of nations? Do the leaders of the world have an insatiable appetite for money? Have the many smaller countries given up rights for gaining more money and influence? Does the use of money allow wealthier countries to control the poorer with the use of sanctions and other trade tools? To all I answer yes.

Babylon the Great is the key to fulfilling the rest of scriptures within our day. Babylon the Great has to fall which means a monetary car pileup. The potential for this lies in what is now occurring in our market places today. I place the timing of this probably occurring at the end of the Conqueror period because it seems to herald the following periods to come. Remember it was during the reign of the South King that the Jews became the Nation of Israel.

           

            Will this also eliminate the esoteric Freemasons? Nah.  Freemasonry will be handled at the very end of our times. They will still maintain influence in places you would not expect. Many of the stars that are on television are suspected of being linked in someway to Freemasonry. They just have the means and structure to survive. Only God himself can root them out.

            Eventually the Freemason’s will realize the dream of a one world power within that period through the leopard beast. Out of that will grow the final Dragon Period which will end up in the culmination of Armageddon. Then out of that will be the “little horn speaking grandiose things” which will do battle directly with Jesus himself and the final faithful remnant. There is no chance anyone will survive that.