Mystery Babylon

Mystery Babylon

The early Christians were under the Roman empire; therefore, they had to be careful not to offend the Romans who hated the Christians.  Many Christians were put to death by the Romans by crucifixion, burning at the stake, by wild animals and other cruel  and inhuman means.  When the early Christians were writing some used the code word “Babylon” instead of the word “Rome”.  An example is 1 Peter 5:13   “She who is in Babylon” refers to a church in Rome.  The apostle John was a prisoner of Rome when he wrote Revelation.  I believe chapters 14, 16, 17, 18, and 19 of Revelation, John used the code word  “Babylon”  instead of “Rome”.  Many believe Rome is the subject John is referring to in these chapters.  However Paul and the writer of Acts did not use the code word Babylon.

 Many Bible scholars believe that in the end-time,  the Catholic Church will unite with the apostate protestant churches and form a one world religious order.  This group will unite with the Anti-Christ and  kill Christians and Jews. The Muslims hates Christians and Jews more than any one else, so could the Anti-Christ be a Muslim?

The following chapter shows how blood thirsty the Romans were. Revelation17:1-18, "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.  With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her    adulteries."

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. 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.  The name written on her forehead was a mystery:

BABYLON

THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES

AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

 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.  Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished?  I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns.  The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.  This calls for a mind with wisdom.  

"The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while."

The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.  Some believe that Antiochus Epiphanes, who sacrificed a pig on the alter in the temple in Jerusalem, is the one who was and the Antichrist is the one who is to come.  According to second Thessalonians, the Antichrist will come before the rapture occurs.

When the Antichrist comes, I believe, the evangelical preachers will be one of his first victims.  When that happens the church members will be scattered, especially those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture.  This will be the great falling away spoken of in second Thessalonians.

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.  They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast.  They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with Him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.

Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.  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.  For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish His purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled.  The woman you saw is the great city that rules (Rome).

Many believe the beast is the Roman Empire. The seven kings or empires could possibly be Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome and possibly the revival of the Roman empire (Anti-Christ}

The seven hills most likely are Rome, which is bult on seven hills.  Out of Rome came the Catholic Church which in the past has killed many Christians, possibly as many 50 million during the dark ages because they would not become Catholics.  However today this is not the case, as there have been many revivals in the Catholic Church.  The Catholic Church has taken a stand against abortion, homosexuality and same sex marriage. 

Recently Catholics have been killed by Muslims because of their Christian belief.

The symbols in these chapters, many believe, are the dragon which is Satan.  The beast with seven heads and ten crowns comes out of the sea. The sea beast is the   revised Roman empire, whose leader is the Anti-Christ.  The land beast is the False Prophet who is the leader of the Catholic Church and the apostate protestant churches.  The prostitute is the city of Rome which is the headquarters of the Catholic church and the apostate protestant  churches

 Revelation 18:1-2  After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor.  With a mighty voice he shouted:

“Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!  She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit.”

Revelation 18:4-5 Then 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 for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.”

God is calling his people to separate from the corrupt Catholic and apostate churches.  They must escape the judgment coming on the Catholic and   apostate church in Rome.   

God is getting His people ready for Jesus’ return, which will be before the seven final plagues.  It seems possible that the seven trumpets are sounding as the seven angels are getting ready to pour out their final judgements on the earth.

Revelation 6:9-11 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.

They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.    

Revelation 19:1-4 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah!  Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are His judgments.  He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of His servants.”  And again they shouted: “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”  The prayers of the martyrs has finally been answered.

I don’t believe the saints in heaven know what is happening on earth except when a lost soul accepts Jesus as their savior, however God seems to make an exception and lets the saints see the final judgement on Rome. (Catholic and apostate protestant churches)

The rapture of the saints happens before or just after the start of the pouring out of the plagues judgements by the seven angels.  Also, just after the rapture God pours out his judgement on the Catholic church and apostate world religious order with headquarters in Rome.

The marriage supper of the Lamb seems to happen prior to the battle of Armageddon. Jesus returns with the Armies of God and defeats the armies of the Anti-Christ.  The Anti-Christ and False Prophet are cast into the Lake of Fire.  Satan is chained and locked in the depts of the abyss for one thousand years.  This begins the millennium reign of Christ.