A name. A mistery. Babylon the Great

 

QUESTIONS TO KNOW IF BABYLON THE GREAT IS A NATION

Hundreds of references to the destruction of Babylon and unfaithful Israel are found in the Bible .

There are also hundreds of parallels between Israel and Babylon (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel...).

Being accustomed to drawing parallels to Christendom and the world empire of false religion, every time we read "Israel Shall Be Destroyed!" we read, in effect, "Christendom will be destroyed!" and every time we read "Babylon will be destroyed!" we read "The World Empire of False Religion Will Be Destroyed!"

Now the question is... "If in a specific passage the Bible meant that Israel will be destroyed meaning Israel ... what would we find written?"

Evidently we would find written "Israel will be destroyed!"

In the end it is a matter of understanding whether, whenever we speak of the destruction of Babylon and/or Israel after the day of the Lord , there is at least the possibility that we are referring to Israel, i.e. modern Israel which is a literal nation.

What is the biggest counterfeit of God's people today?

Christendom or the modern nation of Israel?

Before 1948 this hypothesis and these questions would have made no sense.

Any hypothesis would have excluded Israel a priori simply because Israel did not exist .

Since May 1948, however, Israel has existed and it is a matter of fundamentally understanding three things.

1) See if it is possible that Babylon the Great is a nation

2) If so, see if Israel fits the Bible's description of it

3) Compare with the current understanding and see which of the two subjects, in the light of the Scriptures and not of personal desires or ideas , is more likely to be.

Question 1

Can Babylon the Great be a nation?

Before you smile and think it's "nonsense" let's remember that Babylon the Great, throughout history, has been identified with many nations and for the most disparate reasons.

Imperial Rome, Papal Rome, USA, UK, USSR etc.

Many different people and religious groups have given different explanations but none of them has ever stood the test of fire i.e. the sifting of scriptures - 1 Thessalonians 5:21

What about us?

One explanation given in wt publications that Babylon the Great cannot be a literal nation is that she "commits fornication with the kings of the earth."

The question that usually arises is "How can it be a nation if it commits fornication with the nations?"

Reinforcing this statement would be the fact that both kings and traders mourn its destruction.

Ultimately it would not be a nation because it is said to mislead the entire inhabited earth through its "spiritual practices".

That's it?

We see.

In Isaiah 23:15-17 Tire is spoken of as a "forgotten harlot" and therefore, as such, " she commits harlotry with all the kingdoms of the earth on the surface of the ground ".

Tire was a nation, not a religion or religious system - Romans 15.4

So a nation can be described in the Bible as committing prostitution with all the kingdoms of the earth and remaining a nation.

Prostitution may have to do with trade or with acts of injustice and bloodshed and not necessarily with religion – compare Nahum 3:1-4

In particular, the prostitution of Tire has nothing to do with false religion because, if it were, Jehovah would not have considered his fee "holy" - Isaiah 23:18

Prostitution may have to do simply with the alliance and trust placed in other nations, as recorded many times in the Bible when Israel and Judah proved unfaithful by allying themselves with pagan nations.

It is clear, therefore, that if such a nation is likened to a prostitute the loss of this prostitute would cause grief to her lovers (the nations with whom she committed prostitution and the traders who grew rich off it) just as ancient Israel "felt joy" for the gifts of the prostitution of Tire and this not because Tire was a religion or because of the religion of Tyre.

A king may "mourn" over the loss of a political ally (hence the fall of a nation) and a great merchant may mourn over the fall of a trading ally (which may be large or small but certainly a wealthy nation ) .

So the arguments that "Babylon the Great" cannot be a nation because kings and traders mourn her passing are invalid because they are not supported by logic or Scripture.

What, though, of the stronger statement with reference to Babylon the Great, namely, that "by her spiritistic practice all the nations have been misled"?

This statement in particular has led many to think that it was a religious empire in fact for many sects of Christianity Babylon the Great is Catholicism and for some Catholics it is even the Second Vatican Council.

First we must realize that all ancient empires made regular use of spiritistic practices.

Pharaoh pitted Moses against his "magicians" and Nebuchadnezzar was practically surrounded by them - Exodus 7:11 - Daniel 2:2

The same thing can be said of Assyria, Syria, Media Persia etc.

So if the Bible, speaking of a literal nation , said it "uses magic" or "practices divination," it would say nothing exceptional.

We also know from scripture study that nations are ruled by demons who are misleading the entire inhabited earth and that not only humans are involved in warfare - Daniel 10:13 This part
of Revelation is saying nothing more than that Babylon has a greater power than the other nations as all the others have fallen under its influence (which is then of demonic origin, as we well know) but it does not say anything about its nature or whether or not it is a nation.

Can we hypothesize that the demons have given particular power to a nation and that this nation has, in the time of the end, "the kingdom over the kings of the earth"? – Revelation 17:18 see also Luke 4:5-7

Without forcing any interpretations, logic and Scripture do not permit excluding "Babylon the Great" among the nations.

Question 2

Do the literal people of modern Israel fit the Bible's description of Babylon the Great?

At Revelation 17:1, 2, we read that Babylon the Great "sits upon many waters" and we know that waters mean "peoples and crowds and nations and tongues"

Israel "sits on many waters" as it is surrounded by many peoples and nations who resent it ("sitting on" can also mean against the will of the neighboring peoples themselves).

In Isaiah 8:5-8 the mighty Assyrian army is spoken of as "devastating waters" so the waters are not always a symbol of protection - Isaiah 8:5-8

It was bullied there by the UN against the wishes of many neighboring nations.

It also sits "on many waters" because its position is due to the nations that make up the United Nations which, in addition to having established it where it still is, protect it militarily.

Assyria's armies are likened to "devastating waters", so can we say that he also sits on many armies? - Revelation 17:3, 16

It is also noteworthy that the nation of Israel is located right at the "crossroads" of three continents: Europe, Africa, Asia.

If you were to find a literal nation located over "many waters" (i.e., peoples and nations and tribes and tongues) both geographically and politically, no other nation would match better than the modern nation of Israel.

The harlot rides a beast.

Revelation 17:3 reads, "And the angel carried me in the power of the spirit into a wilderness. And I beheld a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored wild beast which was full of blasphemous names, and which had seven heads and ten horns."

The nation of Israel is already today in a desert and rides the scarlet-colored wild beast which, according to the wt, would be the League or League of Nations ascended from the abyss with the name UN.

In reality we have seen that the scarlet colored beast cannot be the UN (see the articles entitled "A better understanding of the wild beast and its image" first and second part) but the fact remains that it is a military power multiple and Israel rides it having the same color as the beast , a detail that we will see better later.

The fact that this woman is seen riding a multiple political entity only demonstrates what Scripture states, namely that she has "power over the kings of the earth" but not that she is not a political power or nation herself.

Mother of all whores

Revelation 17:4-5: "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and was decked with gold and precious stone and pearls, and had in her hand a golden cup full of loathsome things and the unclean things of her fornication. And on her forehead was written a name, a mystery: 'Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and of the loathsome things of the earth.'"

If we accept the possibility that a nation is likened to a prostitute (exactly like Tyre), then the nation of Israel is the "mother of all harlots" because it has committed fornication to a greater extent than any other nation in the world.

How can we tell?

The existence of modern Israel is owed to the Anglo-American empire and the United Nations which have established and protected it until now.

To grace these powers, or to continue to exist in a land where it is poorly digested by the surrounding peoples, it must "commit fornications" with many political powers and on an ongoing basis if it wishes to continue to exist .

No other nation can compare to her in acts of prostitution because no other nation has an urgent need to please the UN simply to continue to exist.

It is also possible that in the Bible she is described as a prostitute because she is not a real "queen" but a stretch . It's an empire artfully crafted for a prostitute.

The woman is also "dressed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and precious stone..." so she is simply dressed like a queen but the colors purple and scarlet are still the colors of luxury and royal power and this would reinforce the idea that we are talking about a kingdom, a literal nation.

for in the same way also the beast upon which the prostitute rides is scarlet in colour.

According to the wt this beast is the League or League of Nations (all members of the United Nations represent literal nations) and although we know this is not the case, the fact remains that the color scarlet, the color of both the wild beast and the harlot, indicates a royal power – compare Matthew 27:27-30

Drunk on the blood of saints

The scripture continues saying "And I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the witnesses of Jesus."

Israel has an enormous bloodguilt and Jesus was referring precisely to this nation when he said "So that all the righteous blood shed on earth may come upon you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachias, whom you murdered among the sanctuary and the altar" - Matthew 23:35 - Luke 11:50, 51

So Jesus himself identifies Israel, not another nation , as responsible for shedding "all righteous blood" (compare also Stephen's words recorded in Acts 7:51-53).

The book "Insight," under the heading "Babylon the Great," rightly points out that not all Christians were persecuted by the Pharisees and that the Jews themselves experienced great persecution.

Yet even Abel was not killed by a Pharisee or even by some religious minister.

Furthermore, the millions of deaths caused by the godless Communist empire could hardly be blamed on false religion.

Can we speculate that Jehovah and Jesus hold particularly responsible those who have "known God" and yet commit unspeakable crimes?

The nation of Israel fits perfectly into this perspective. - Hosea 8:2 - Amos 3:2

Furthermore, we must not forget that the book "Revelation" is fulfilled "in the day of the Lord" so when we read that "in her was found the blood of the saints and of all those who have been slaughtered on earth" we are referring precisely to this period – compare Revelation 1:10; 18:24

Israel will be the cause of the last great war involving the king of the south and the king of the north, starting all the events described in the book Revelation - Daniel 11:40-42; Revelation chapters 8 and 9

Condolences for the end of Babylon

Revelation 18:9-14 says "And the kings of the earth who have committed fornication with her and lived in wanton luxury will weep and fight in pain for her, when they see the smoke from her burning, 10 while they will keep off for fear ^of  the their torment and they will say: 'Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon the strong city, because in one hour your judgment has come!'

¹¹  “And the traveling merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their full load anymore, ¹²  full load of gold and silver and precious stone and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every fragrant wood and all sorts of ivory objects and all sorts of precious wood objects and copper and iron and marble, 13 and ^cinnamon  and Indian spices and incense and perfumed oil and frankincense and wine and olive oil and flowers of flour and grain and cattle and sheep and horses and carriages and slaves and human souls. ¹⁴  Yea, the fine fruit which your soul longed for has departed from you, and all the exquisite things and the splendid things have perished from you, and shall be found no more."

As we saw at the beginning, both the kings of the land and the traveling traders suffer from the loss of their mistresses.

Unlike any other nation, Israel's destruction would bring despair and "doom" to rulers and traders around the world.

Why?

Today the Jewish people own the world's largest banks, almost all of the gold, oil, the largest multinationals and everything imaginable.

The world's major powers (including the USA, USSR and China) have used copious loans to wage war on other nations and to build massive and colossal structures (such as the Suez Canal).

It is enough to do a little research to find out in which and how many ways the owners of the world's largest banks have been involved in almost all the wars of the last two centuries and probably much further back in time.

The words of Revelation 18:11-14 which speak of 'a full load of gold and silver and precious stone and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every fragrant wood and every sort of ivory thing and every sort of of precious wood and copper and iron and marble, and cinnamon and Indian spice and incense and perfumed oil and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep and horses and carriages and slaves and human souls' are significant.

If this is already the situation today, we can imagine what the world scenario will be like after the next great war, or when there will be only one world trade reference point left.

We have seen that even if Israel is indeed invaded by the king of the north, it will be one of the few nations not "fallen" or destroyed by war.

When even the last anchor of this satanic world falls, indeed would the earth's remaining kings and traveling traders be right to beat their breasts and mourn and cry out "Doom!"

"Get out of it, my people"

Revelation 18:4 says, "And I heard another voice from heaven say, 'Come out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and if you do not want to receive part of her plagues.'"

An earlier version of this article stated that since Babylon the Great was the modern-day nation of Israel and God's people were Jehovah's Witnesses, then the invitation to "get out of it" was addressed to the Witnesses in that nation who would also be "a remnant to be saved."

More recently we have seen that Jehovah's Witnesses have no part, as a religion, in God's purposes because they are a part of Christianity like everyone else.

Who will be the ones to restore true worship?

We have seen from the article titled “A Sacred Secret Revealed: The Restoration of True Worship”** that a select group of Messianic Jews will have this privilege and all Christians throughout the world will have the opportunity to accept the true and acceptable perfect will of God by making the necessary changes by abandoning their respective organizations.

So our loving Father, before bringing destruction to that wicked and apostate nation, makes one last appeal for sensitive-hearted people to get out of it, that is, the nation.

If they stay there, they will receive part of his plagues as a result of the wild beast's onslaught.

This also means that the destruction of Jerusalem in 537 BCE and then in 70 CE would have a further and final fulfillment . The third (Revelation 4:8; 8:13; 16:13, 19 – Ezekiel 21:14).

Question number two asked, "Do the literal people of modern Israel fit the Bible's description of Babylon the Great?"

Whether or not we like the above, and however much it may be a "domino effect" on other interpretations, it is in harmony with both secular history and Scripture.

The answer, therefore, is yes.

Question 3

Which of the two subjects, in the light of the Scriptures and not of personal desires or ideas , is it more likely to be?

Honestly, all of the Bible's description of Babylon the Great fits false religion very well, and so it may be difficult to understand whether the Bible is pointing us to a literal nation or to false religion as a whole.

Blatant immorality, extreme violence, lust for domination, spiritual prostitution, arrogance, and self-importance . . . are all characteristics of the world empire of false religion as well as of present-day Israel.

The clues, however, should be more than enough, if viewed without preconceptions, to understand the subject.

Below is a list of clues and a comparison of subjects.

Literal Nation of Israel (NLI)

World Empire of False Religion (IMFL)

NLI

Sits on the scarlet colored beast.

According to the wt, the scarlet colored beast would be the United Nations (it is not so, but if it were, it would further demonstrate that it cannot be anyone other than Israel). It exists thanks to the UN which established it and protects it militarily.

IMFL extension

Sits on the scarlet colored beast (UN?)

Shouldn't he ride the wild beast (again according to the understanding of the wt) that ascends from the sea since false religion has existed since the time of Nimrod?

NLI

Sits on many waters (tribes, peoples, languages). The nations that make up the UN include many nations, tribes, peoples and languages. The waters are also "armies": the UN is a multiple military power.

Israel is also located at the crossroads of three continents.

IMFL extension

Sits on many waters (tribes, peoples, languages).

False religion has always been a part of human history and has encompassed every people, kindred, nation, and tongue.

These waters have always been a protection for religion.

NLI

Mother of all harlots/ Fornication

Israel commits fornication more than any other nation. To continue to exist it must please the UN and every existing political and commercial partner.

No other nation in the world is obliged to do this to the same extent because other nations existed even before and can continue to exist even without the support of the UN.
Only Israel had a "marriage covenant" with Jehovah.

IMFL extension

Mother of all harlots/ Fornication

Christianity claims to be "God's people" but is adulterous because of its friendship with the world. Its practices are Babylonian in origin. He betrays the "marital owner," Jehovah. She's a prostitute.

Beyond Christianity, however, Babylon the great would include every religion that distances from God (therefore all non-Christian religions including tribal ones).

Why, then, is she seen as a prostitute?

Has Jehovah ever viewed himself as the marital owner of nations such as Egypt, Assyria, or Medo Persia?

NLI

Unbridled luxury

The nation of Israel includes nearly all of the world's bankers. The largest corporations in the world. Own gold and oil wells; restaurants, companies etc. It possesses weapons and world organizations of various kinds.

The most expensive works of art in the world are owned by Jews.

Their trading power is simply beyond imagination, but in the end time they will also be the only center of international trade in existence.

IMFL extension

Unbridled luxury

With few exceptions, false religion has always adorned itself with precious things. Temples, churches, statues, sanctuaries, paintings... works of art without number and without value.

He has also reduced millions of people to poverty by charging for every "spiritual service".

False religion, as a whole, also lives in the wildest luxury.

NLI

Misfortune of the rulers

The fall of Israel would lead the rulers to cry "doom" because they have always done business with them (from the sale of arms to any illicit traffic). Including the various secret services.

The fall of such a partner would plunge many nations into grim despair.

IMFL extension

Misfortune of the rulers

The fall of the world empire of false religion would cause rulers to cry doom because of its influence over the crowds but only in some parts of the world (e.g. Islam).

In all Western nations it is not clear why they should shout "misfortune". Religion has always taken from the people and has never shared anything with the host city.

The ascendancy that religion still had in Western countries was practically wiped out after the Second World War.

No Western nation has enriched itself through religion. On the contrary, scandals such as those of "Il Banco Ambrosiano" have further impoverished nations.

Many peoples and people would hardly cry "doom" at his fall. On the contrary, they would see it as a first step towards world peace.

NLI

Merchant's Misfortune

Israel is the world's largest trading partner.

Any international trader would be hard pressed to lose such a partner.

The same goes for all the smaller traders who are wholly or partly dependent on the larger ones.

The fall of Israel would be an unprecedented economic tsunami especially if we consider that this will happen after the last major war involving the two antagonistic kings, therefore the whole world.

IMFL extension

Merchant's Misfortune

Because of its works of art and its luxurious buildings, art dealers would cry "bad luck".

It's hard to imagine a trader of any other kind (electronics, space research or otherwise and perhaps an atheist) crying doom.

NLI

Spiritual practices

The Nation of Israel has its own "practitioners of magic" and quite possibly practice more magic than any other nation.
Kabbalistic and other spiritistic practices have replaced the Word of God in many aspects of the lives of some Israeli religious ministers.

We know from scriptures that nations are ruled by demons and therefore they can give power to a particular nation or entity - Revelation 17:18; Luke 4:5-7

IMFL extension

Spiritual practices

The world empire of false religion, by its nature, "misleads all nations through its spiritistic practices."

All the bloodiest wars have been fought because of religious conditioning.

NLI

Blood of the saints and of all those who have been slaughtered

The Jewish people, as owners of the world's largest banks, have fomented many wars, even recent ones, for their own economic ends.

Israel is embroiled in secret services, international arms trafficking and everything imaginable.

It is historically proven that some of the most "important" super murders have Jewish origins.

Jesus identifies Israel as responsible for shedding "all righteous blood" - Matthew 23:35 – Luke 11:50, 51

Jehovah and Jesus hold especially responsible those who have "known God" and yet commit unspeakable crimes - Hosea 8:2 – Amos 3:2

Let us also not forget that Revelation is fulfilled in the time of the end so the reference to "all those slaughtered on earth" refers to the last great human war and not from the beginning of creation.

In fact, this nation will be responsible for the coming great war which will usher in "the beginning of pains of distress" - Matthew 24:7, 8 For
this very reason "the blood of all those slaughtered on the earth" will be found in it.

IMFL extension

Blood of the saints and of all those who have been slaughtered

The violence of false religion in its entirety is evident and unmatched by any other nation/organization.

With 6,000 years of crime behind it, it is like nothing else known on earth.
Obviously we must consider, however, that Revelation is fulfilled only on the day of the Lord and not in the entire history of humanity.

NLI

Get out of it my people

Israel, as we saw in the articles titled “Is Israel really a closing parenthesis?” and “Next stop: Israel” still matters a lot in God's eyes.

If the wild beast is about to unleash its fury upon this nation (because of Jehovah's will) it is obvious and loving of God that He will invite His people out of it.

Thus he would save a remnant, as recorded several times in the scriptures.

This would be the third time that Jehovah has destroyed "his people" because, by deeds, they show that they are no longer his people - Deuteronomy 32:5 - Revelation 4:8; 8:13; 16:13, 19 – Ezekiel 21:14

IMFL extension

Get out of it my people

Being a symbolic nation one cannot see this spiritual exodus literally .

The two subjects cannot be compared.

However, it is interesting to note that when Jehovah called his people from Babylon also telling them not to be yoked and "touch nothing unclean," they were already His dedicated and baptized people.

His people were to come from a (literal) pagan nation.

They were not people who were part of another religion and who, having good intentions, would then dedicate themselves and get baptized and subsequently become His people - II Corinthians 6:14-18

This is the version of the wt (and not only) to make the history of one's organization coincide with the people of God but by examining the Scriptures we know that this cannot be the case (and we will see it better later).

Reflections

As noted at the outset of this discussion, there are hundreds of parallels in the Bible between Babylon and unfaithful Israel .

Even the cup "full of disgusting things" from which the harlot becomes intoxicated is reminiscent of the utensils of Jehovah's temple.

The problem is understanding what we are meant to mean when we read these parallels.

From the table above, both subjects have strengths and, at least in appearance, weaknesses.

A strong point in favor of modern Israel is certainly the fact that it rides the scarlet colored wild beast and is itself clothed in scarlet (which brings us powerfully back to a literal nation).

What would appear to be a strength of the world empire of false religion is bloodshed; although the state of Israel has an enormous bloodguilt, it certainly cannot be compared to 6000 years of abuse and violence attributable to false religion (always if we start from the principle that Revelation is not fulfilled on the day of the Lord and therefore we exclude what Israel will do … which would bring her back as “winner” in this respect as well).

However, one should not make the mistake of thinking that it is the intensity of a clue that establishes the identity of the subject. If anything, it is the quantity of clues, indeed their totality.

If only one clue does not match, regardless of all the others, this will affect its identity.

If we are really honest with ourselves, we clearly see that many clues do not match false religion.

All of Jehovah's judgments recorded in the Scriptures have come upon literal peoples and nations , and even the plagues sent upon the land of Egypt, which served to destroy/humiliate their own false gods , still had to come upon a specific nation.

Furthermore, the war of Armageddon, by bringing down the nations (which are ruled by demons who, in turn, will be abyssed), would automatically eliminate all forms of religion.

If Babylon the Great were a nation of special interest , but a nation nonetheless, this would simply signal that the satanic system is coming to its tragic end - Daniel 2:44

In the book "The prophecies of Isaiah" volume 1, page 202 paragraph 28 it quotes Isaiah 19:3 and reads...

"Likewise, on the day of judgment, false religion will be unable to save this corrupt system of things."

But if Egypt represents the world as a whole, we are already in Armageddon (at Isaiah 19:2 Jehovah pits "Egyptian against Egyptian") and the world empire of false religion (if it were Babylon the Great) would already be destroyed.

Now, if the world empire of false religion has already been destroyed previously , in what sense will "people resort to worthless gods, charmers, and spirit mediums"?

Only a world still imbued with religion, after the destruction of Babylon the Great, could "have recourse to the worthless gods."

Could the above be in harmony with the scripture at Zechariah 13:4-6 which speaks of the "prophet" who will deny that he ever was?

The Watchtower of July 15, 2015, under the subheading "The Great Tribulation Begins," says… " Thus it seems that even some clergy will abandon their religious careers and deny that they ever belonged to false religion."

Yet if for the adherents of Babylon the Great it will be enough to "change coat" to save their lives (which the majority of them would do, having no real faith), it would not be said that it was "torn to pieces and completely burned with fire".

It is also difficult to imagine this "great mourning" since the majority of the clergy, especially that of Christendom, would still be alive after the destruction of Babylon the Great.

The book "Revelation: Its Climax" chapter 19 paragraph 29 says... "Neither literal mountain caves nor mountain-like political-commercial organizations will offer economic security or other help."

However, false worship is also associated with "high places" in the Bible, for example in Ezekiel 6:1-5 (high places that did not protect unfaithful Israelites from Jehovah's wrath).

Is it possible to hypothesize that, in the day of Jehovah's wrath (therefore after the great tribulation) human beings will seek protection in political, commercial and religious institutions?

All that follows is taken from the book "Babylon" and, as far as possible, it will be seen whether what he stated can be applied to the modern nation of Israel.

Even if the book is not updated to the so-called "current understanding" (later the book "Revelation: its culmination" will be used as a reference) reflections and principles on which it was based are still interesting and can be food for thought.

From the book "Babylon the Great" (bf)

On Friday, September 8, 1922, an international assembly of nonsectarian Bible students in Cedar Point, Ohio, in a 9:30 a.m. lecture on “The Kingdom,” they were told that they were to be witnesses of the Lord God, that is, witnesses of Jehovah. The speaker, J. F. Rutherford, then president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, quoted Isaiah 43:8-12 to the assembled thousands and then went on to say:

Thus we see that those of the temple class are clearly designated as witnesses of the Lord in this day, to bring a message of comfort to the people, that the kingdom of heaven has come and that millions now living will never die. Thus we see that God has the purpose that his name be magnified, that the people know that he is the Lord. Thus we see that God's purpose is to have a people on earth in this time of distress, clearly marked as separate and distinct from all others, who stand as his witnesses, fearlessly announcing the message: "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." !”

. . . This is confirmed by the Lord in Matthew 24:14. Evidence is clearly expressed then that the temple class must continue declaring this message of the kingdom until their earthly career is over. They are to be his faithful witnesses until the walls of Babylon fall to the ground.

. . . Be faithful and true witnesses for the Lord. Advance in combat until all vestiges of Babylon are desolate. Announce the message far and wide. The world must know that Jehovah is God and that Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords. This is the day of days. Behold, the King reigns! You are his advertising agents. Therefore proclaim, proclaim, proclaim the King and his kingdom. —Pages 336, 337 of The Watchtower dated November 1, 1922.

Note: It was 1922 and at the time the birth of modern Israel did not exist and did not even imagine, which, in fact, took place on May 14, 1948.

(bf)

We recall that the original Babylon was established as a deviation from Jehovah's worship and loyalty to him as God, for Babylon was established by a rebel who turned against him. That rebel was stigmatized as “Nimrod a mighty hunter in opposition to Jehovah.” Later the inhabitants of the pagan city called it the "Gate of God". However, Jehovah called the city Babel, which means “Confusion,” because he confused the language of the builders of the city and its tower. (Genesis 10:8-10; 11:5-9) Babel ( Greek,Babylon) was never a Jewish city; she was never Jewish; it was never Messianic or Christian, for it was never Jehovah God's organization. It was always against his chosen people, and so it was against Zion. In the days of Nebuchadnezzar's dynasty as king of Babylon it had apparently engulfed the chosen nation of Israel “like a great serpent” or dragon. (Jeremiah 51:34) Babylon's purpose was to suppress Israel.

Note: If Babylon "swallowed" Israel, it now bears her name but it is a hoax. It's called "Israel" but it's Babylon. It manages to blend in with Israel, to resemble it.

(bf)

As a Semitic world power for over seventy years, Babylon was, of course, political. It was militaristic. It was highly commercialized. But she was remarkably religious.

If Babylon the Great were a literal nation, what nation would the description above seem to describe today?

(bf)

As soon as they could, the Babylonian priests converted into money all the animal sacrifices and all the religious tithes that the people presented daily on the altars, especially things that deteriorated quickly. Just as in Abraham's hometown in Ur of the Chaldeans, the Templar authorities had their necessary warehouses and ran their own shops. They thought it well to invest their religious income and therefore had their own banks for this purpose.

If it were a literal nation, what nation would it appear to describe?

(bf)

What, then, is Babylon the Great whose fall foretold by the angel of God in Revelation 14:8? It must resemble ancient Babylon in remarkable ways, particularly at the time of its fall . Otherwise, the name wouldn't be appropriate. First of all, ancient Babylon ruled an empire, the largest empire up to that time, so that in the line of World Powers it was the Third World Power. Politics, militarism, commercialism, and religion flourished there, but religion predominated, especially during the dynasty of Nebuchadnezzar. His religion set it against Zion or Jerusalem, where the Jewish king sat on “the throne of Jehovah” and where the temple built by King Solomon was the national center of Jehovah's worship.

If it were a literal nation, what nation would it appear to describe?

(bf)

Though a religious empire, it became commercial and political in itself and formed alliances with the political and commercial elements of this Gentile world.

These two lines, in some way, give the lie to the claim that Babylon the Great is not itself a religious (literal), political and commercial empire exactly as ancient Babylon was.

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Judaism also attached itself to Babylon the Great. In the first century, Jesus and his twelve apostles applied to the traditional Judaism of their day Bible prophecies that refer to Babylon as a place of exile and captivity from which Jehovah's people were invited to come out. Nineteen centuries ago, when the Messiah went to Zion, traditional Judaism turned virtually the entire nation against him. Thus he maintained his hold on his Jewish captives. To this day traditional Judaism has not changed. It still keeps its Jewish captives from the freedom that the Messiah promised.

(bf)

In 1914 CE Babylon the Great, or the world empire of Babylonish religion, approached its most critical period in world history. Until then she had, as God's angel said, "made all nations drink of the wine of the passion of her fornication!" (Revelation 14:8) she had befriended the political rulers of this world and thus committed spiritual fornication with them. (James 4:4) He had used his religious influence over worldly rulers to keep himself in power. She had swung the support of her religionists in favor of the Gentile worldly rulers. In this way she had made the nations drink the "wine of passion", that is, of political, commercial and economic oppression, of religious persecution, of holy wars, of religious wars, of crusades, and of the wars of nations for purely political and commercial reasons. Such selfish wars Babylon the Great sanctified, declaring them to be God's will, so that to take part in them would be to do her will.

If he were speaking of a literal nation, which nation would fit that description perfectly? Friendship with political rulers, religious influence on rulers to maintain power, world political, commercial and economic oppression, holy wars for political and commercial reasons etc.

There is also a contradiction (at least in appearance).

If Babylon the Great falls for the first time in 1919, how can she be seen riding the scarlet colored beast which, if it were the League of Nations (which it is not) would only exist since June 28, 1919?

Ultimately one should see Babylon the Great sitting on this beast only after its creation and then fall at a still later time but not before.

(bf)

What, then, is the image of the wild beast? Between World War I and World War II it was the League of Nations, which once had as many as sixty member nations, since the worship of the image and of the wild beast was then so great…

Another apparent contradiction . Religion is nothing but a "form of worship".

Now if Babylon the Great is the world empire of false religion (and therefore includes all kinds of worship that turns away from Jehovah) this should include wild beast worship. So should we downplay the title "world empire of false religion" by necessarily excluding nationalism and militarism? The worship of the wild beast? Isn't nationalism a form of religion?

More reflections

If we accept the possibility that Babylon the Great is a literal place (and is modern Israel) we must consider that the mountains, upon which the woman sits, could also be literal.

We always talk about the seven world powers of biblical history but we never talk about the seven mountains.

We never speak of the seven mountains because the political powers, it is said, are the seven mountains.

Yet the writing of Revelation 17 explains that there are seven kings... and (conjunction, in Italian, i.e. "and there are also") seven mountains and this conjunction could suggest that, even if the mountains represent powers as we well know , there are actually seven mountains as an object of similitude with the number of kings.

It would appear to be a literal clue to identifying Babylon the Great.
First of all we must establish whether the seven mountains mentioned in Revelation are to refer to the entire nation of Israel or only to the city of Jerusalem.
As the rabbis know very well, Jerusalem is called "the city of seven mountains" or "the city built on seven mountains" and they are, respectively.
1) Mount of the city of David 2) Mount Moriah (or of the Temple) 3) Mount Zion 4) Mount of the upper city 5) Mount Har Hamishka 6) Mount of Olives 7) Mount Scopus. it is obviously a predominantly mountainous nation and includes many hills and mountains, many more than seven.
However, even in this hypothesis the description of Revelation would fit perfectly because the question we should ask ourselves is... "Which and how many mountains are indicated in the Scriptures which were part of the Promised Land?"
Again, we need not ask ourselves how many mountains Israel actually has but which ones are indicated in the Scriptures and which ones had particular importance.
This is not an arbitrary choice but is due to the simple recognition that only the Bible is an accurate guide to understanding prophecy.

That is, what are the only mountains that exist for the Bible and to which the Word of God has always given a certain importance?

1) Mount Moriah 2) Mount Zion 3) Mount of Olives 4) Gilboa 5) Gerizim 6) Ebal 7) Mount Tabor.

NB Mount Nebo and the others, also mentioned in the Scriptures, were part of the territory of Moab and Edom and are therefore excluded .

This parallel is simply impossible to draw with the world empire of false religion.

Revelation 3:12 and other post-Sabbath fulfillment scriptures that mention New Jerusalem seem to be emphasizing a distinction with Old Jerusalem.

In the chap. In Revelation 18, Babylon the Great is destroyed.

In chap 19: 7, 8 the marriage of the lamb is being prepared, therefore...

The prostitute who was posing as a bride dies and the marriage can finally begin.

The marriage takes place with the " New Jerusalem "; Was the prostitute perhaps the " Old Jerusalem " that is, the carnal, impure, disobedient, idolatrous one? - I Corinthians 9:6-8; 10:18 - Galatians 4:26-29

If I were looking for a single people and a single literal nation that would have all the credentials to pass themselves off as God's people, which nation would I arrive at?

Only the people who actually were God's people would have what it takes, so to speak, to pass themselves off as legitimate spouses.

Babylon is also called "the great city" and the only biblical reference is Nineveh, the "city of bloodshed".

This seems in keeping with Babylon being drunk with the blood of saints, prophets and all others.

However in Jeremiah chap. 22 Jehovah condemns Judah, which is the city of Shallum and Jehoiakim, and the people call this city "the great city."

Hence, the city that once belonged to Jehovah is also referred to as the "great city."

Revelation 18:1, 2 " After these things I saw another angel descending from heaven, with great authority; and the earth was lighted up with his glory. ²  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, “She has fallen! Babylon the Great has fallen , and it has become a dwelling place for demons and a refuge for every unclean exhalation and a refuge for every unclean and hateful bird!"

In this thunderous description the angel repeats the word "place" three times (in the New World Translation of 1987 but in a similar way also the CEI, the New Riveduta and the New Diodati).

1 ) abode of demons

2 ) place of refuge for every impure exhalation

3 ) place of refuge for every impure and odious bird.

Can we hypothesize that by emphasizing the word "place" (jail or hideout) three times , we are indicating a literal place/country? Could this scripture strengthen the view that Babylon the Great is a literal nation?

If it were a phantom "world empire" and not a literal place , how could demons and unclean birds use it as a "place of refuge"?

Of the two sackcloth-clad witnesses described in Revelation chapter 11 it is said that, once they were killed, "their corpses will be on the broad street of the great city which in a spiritual sense is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was put to death." stake" - Revelation 11:8

To which nation does the scripture at Isaiah 1:10 address when Jehovah calls them “dictators of Sodom” and “the people of Gomorrah”?

And furthermore, in which "great city" was the Lord Jesus impaled or crucified?

Finally we might ask why, the writer of Revelation, after seeing fearful wild beasts, incredible heavenly visions both beautiful and terrifying, thundering pronouncements and so many other things, only at the sight of the woman did he "marvel with great wonder" - Revelation 17 : 6 , 7

Obviously we can't know so we can only make assumptions but we are generally surprised when we see something that we would never expect to see.

It's as if he were saying... "Are you okay? Really? You?"

She, who?

Could he have "marveled with great wonder" at seeing his own people and nation (which no longer existed at the time Revelation was written)?

The following is what The Watchtower of November 1, 2010, pages 27 to 29 said… Did the Bible foretell the modern state of Israel? THE WORLD looks with apprehension at the Middle East. Rocket attacks, clashes between armed militias and terrorist attacks are the order of the day. To this explosive mixture must be added the concrete risk that nuclear weapons will be used. No wonder people everywhere are concerned. A similar atmosphere prevailed in relation to the Middle East 62 years ago, in May 1948. The British mandate over the territory then called Palestine was about to end and war was imminent. The year before, the United Nations had authorized the creation of an independent Jewish state in part of the occupied territories . Neighboring Arab nations had sworn to prevent this at all costs. The Arab League had warned: "The proposed line of division will be nothing but a line of fire and blood." It was four o'clock in the afternoon on Friday 14 May 1948. The last hours of the British mandate were consuming. 350 had gathered in the Tel Aviv Museum, by secret invitation, for the long-awaited announcement: the official declaration of the birth of the modern nation of Israel. Security levels were high, lest the many enemies of the newly formed state try to disrupt the event. David Ben Gurion, leader of the National Council of Israel, read the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel, which read in part: “We, the members of the People's Council, representatives of the Jewish community in Eretz Israel ... by virtue of our right natural and historical and of the resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations, we declare the foundation of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, which will be called the State of Israel”. Fulfilled a Bible prophecy? Some Protestant evangelicals believe that the birth of the modern state of Israel thus fulfills a biblical prophecy. For example, in one of his works, Pastor John Hagee states: “This memorable event was recorded by the hand of the prophet Isaiah with the words: 'A nation will be born in one day.' (See Isaiah 66:8 ). . . . It was the most important moment in the prophetic history of the 20th century, the clear proof, for all to see, that the God of Israel was alive and well." —Jerusalem Countdown. Is this statement correct? Isaiah 66:8did he predict the birth of the modern state of Israel? And was May 14, 1948 really “the most important moment in the prophetic history of the 20th century”? If the modern state of Israel is still God's chosen nation, and if by means of it God fulfills Bible prophecy, the subject is undoubtedly of great interest to all Bible students, wherever they are. Isaiah's prophecy says: “Who has heard a thing like this? Who has seen things like this? Will it be a country born with labor pains in one day? Or will a nation be born at once? For Zion has had labor pains and has also borne her children." ( Isaiah 66:8) The verse clearly foretells the birth of a nation which would happen suddenly, as in one day. But to whom should this birth be attributed? The next verse helps answer: “'As for me, will I cause to break and not cause to give birth?' says Jehovah. 'Or do I give birth and really do I quit?' your God has said." Jehovah God clearly indicates that the remarkable birth of the nation would be his work. Modern Israel is a democracy that has never officially claimed to trust the God of the Bible. Did the Israelis in 1948 acknowledge Jehovah God as the sole proponent of their national entity? No. In the original draft of the Declaration the name of God was not even mentioned, nor was the word "God" either. Regarding the final draft of the document, a Jewish history book says: “Until 1 in the afternoon, when the National Council met, its members had not been able to agree on the wording of the declaration of independence. . . . Observant Jews wanted reference to the 'God of Israel'. The laity objected. Finding a compromise, Ben Gurion opted for the word 'Rock' instead of the word 'God'”. — Great Moments in Jewish History. The modern state of Israel claims its national entity on the basis of a UN resolution and what is called the natural and historical right of the Jewish people. But it is perhaps reasonable to assume that the God of the Bible performs the greatest prophecy-fulfilling miracle of the 20th century on behalf of a people who refuse to honor him.

False religion has honored the birth of the nation of Israel as "God's will."

So can we say that the birth of this nation has created a certain "confusion"?

Confusion in all those who do not know the Bible.

So the name, "Babylon," would also be appropriate for the modern-day nation of Israel.

Following are reflections of some scriptures already seen explained by the book "Revelation its culmination" (re).

"Get out of it, my people" (explanation from the book "king")

Revelation 18:4 says, "And I heard another voice from heaven say, 'Come out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and if you do not want to receive part of her plagues.'"

The book of “Revelation—Its Climax,” page 265 paragraph 24 explains that God's servants must separate themselves from false religion if they do not want to receive part of its plagues.

However, can we reason on the meaning of the expression "my people"?

Anyone who belongs to false religion, even if they have the best of intentions, cannot call themselves "God's people."

In fact, this is one of the things that people of the world hold against us when they say "Only you believe you have the truth!".

In fact, one becomes a part of God's people only after one understands basic Bible truths, repents of one's former course, is converted, and then makes a dedication and gets baptized.

That's right?

How can God call his people into the ranks of false religion?

If Babylon the Great is the world empire of false religion we must necessarily assume that God calls those people who will become his people. Those people who could potentially become his people but who are not yet.

Scripture, however, seems to clearly indicate that when He calls these people "out of Babylon" they are already His people (just as it was in antiquity; they may have needed to be purified and disciplined but they had remained, all along, his people).

If Babylon the Great, on the other hand, is the modern nation of Israel then there isn't much to interpret but we really have to be of "noble mind" to accept such a profound change of views.

True worship will pick up right where it began, which is Israel, and it is only logical to expect that Almighty God will continue to encourage the faithful remnant, right up to the last minute, to get out of it.

When the early Christians were commanded in 70 CE to “flee to the mountains” in view of the destruction that would come by the “disgusting thing” (represented at the time by the Roman Empire) they understood it as “separate from Judaism” or Would this have been a natural consequence of Master's teachings? Did they not understand it as literally getting out of the city?

Could the scripture at Romans 9:27, where Paul quotes from Isaiah, have a literal fulfillment?

Jeremiah 25:10, 11 and Revelation 18:22, 23 are very similar to each other, yet Jeremiah speaks of Israel while Revelation speaks of Babylon the Great.

In Revelation 18:5-8 it says that "God remembered his acts of injustice."

Why did God "remember"?

Has false religion not always done evil, throughout 6,000 history, without stopping for a moment since the days of Nimrod?

Could it not be because "Babylon" no longer existed for many years, as a nation, but appears again after the "day of the Lord" under another name?

From the book "Insight", under the heading "Babylon the Great", we read...

Features of ancient Babylon. The foundation of Babylon on the plain of Shinar coincided with the attempt to build the tower of Babel. (Ge 11:2-9) The people's building of the city and the tower was motivated, not by the intention of exalting God's name, but by the desire to 'make a famous name for oneself.' Ziggurats discovered not only in the ruins of ancient Babylon but throughout Mesopotamia seem to confirm the essentially religious nature of the original tower, whatever its shape or style. The resolute action of Jehovah God to tear down that temple building is a clear condemnation of its false religious origin. While the Hebrew name of the city, Babel, means "confusion", the Sumerian ( Ka-dingir-ra ) and Akkadian (Bab-ilu ) both mean "gate of God". So the remaining inhabitants of the city altered its name to avoid the original meaning of condemnation, but the new form still reveals the religious nature of the city.

As has also been reported recently in WT publications, the creation of the modern nation of Israel and the return of the Jews to their homeland was not God's work and, far more serious, it was not done to give glory to God. On the contrary, all of this was done out of "the desire to make a famous name for yourself".

Furthermore, the Jewish religion still believes that it is "the Gate of God" but it is a mystification of reality. She is not a legitimate consort or queen but, with her political and business alliances with her, she has proven to be a sordid prostitute (biblically speaking).

In Revelation 16:16-21 we are now in Armageddon, the great city is divided into three parts, the nations fall and Babylon "was remembered".

So Babylon is related to the fall of other nations as if it were a "special" nation, something to remember, but a nation nonetheless.

Which of all the nations of the earth could be considered "special" by Jehovah God?

Could the golden goblet filled with "disgusting things" held in the hand of the great whore resemble the utensils of God's temple? - Compare Daniel 5:1-4

In 2 Kings 17:24-30 some Babylonians become "Israelites" by settling in Samaria but they are idolatrous Babylonians and God has them devoured by lions.

Doesn't this seem like a parallel to what the Bible says about Babylon the Great?

Furthermore, in the book "Insight" under the heading "Samaritan - The Samaritan religion" we read...

The Samaritan religion.The development of the Samaritan religion was due to several factors, not the least of which was the result of Jeroboam's efforts to remove the ten tribes from the worship of Jehovah centered in Jerusalem. In the approximately 250 years following the division of the nation into two kingdoms, the divinely ordained Levitical priests were replaced by a man-made priesthood, which, in turn, led the kingdom of Israel to engage in a degrading form of idolatry. (1Ki 12:28-33; 2Ki 17:7-17; 2Ch 11:13-15; 13:8, 9) Then came the fall of the northern kingdom. The pagan immigrants who came from Babylonia, Cuta, Avva, Amat and Sefarvaim worshiped many deities: Succot-Benot, Nergal, Asima, Nibaz, Tartac, Adrammelec and Anammelec. Even though they had learned something about Jehovah through the teaching of a priest of the Jeroboam priesthood, however, as Samaria had done with the golden calves, so they, generation after generation, continued to worship their false gods. (2Ki 17:24-41) Nearly a century after the fall of Samaria, all of Josiah's attempts to stamp out the idolatrous worship of those northern communities had no more lasting effect than his similar reforms in the southern kingdom of Judah. — 2Ki 23:4-20; 2Ch 34:6, 7.

In 537 BCE a remnant of the twelve tribes returned from Babylonian exile ready to rebuild Jehovah's temple in Jerusalem. (Ezr 1:3; 2:1, 70) It was then that the “Samaritans,” who were already in the land when the Israelites arrived and who were described as “adversaries of Judah and Benjamin,” approached Zerubbabel and the elders, saying: “Let us build together with you; for, just like you, we have been searching for your God and sacrificing to him since the days of Esar-addon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.” (Ezr 4:1, 2) This supposed devotion to Jehovah, however, proved to be only formal; in fact, when Zerubbabel declined the offer, the Samaritans did everything possible to prevent the construction of the temple. All their concerted attempts to harass and intimidate the Israelites failed, they sent a letter containing false accusations to the Persian emperor, and managed to obtain a government decree which suspended construction for several years. —Ezr 4:3-24.

In the mid-fifth century BCE, when Nehemiah began repairing Jerusalem's walls, Sanballath (governor of Samaria, according to an Elephantine papyrus) made several energetic but unsuccessful attempts to stop the work. (Ne 2:19, 20; 4:1-12; 6:1-15) Later, after a long absence, Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem and found that the grandson of the high priest Eliashib had married the daughter of Sanballath. Immediately Nehemiah 'drove him out.' —Ne 13:6, 7, 28.

“The Levitical priests ordained by God were replaced by priests of human origin” : isn't this what happened to Israel after God abandoned the unfaithful nation in 70 CE?

The pagan immigrants who came from Babylon become "Israelites" in a forced way (that is, not by the work of God), also learning something about the religion of the Jews and mixing with them even through intermarriage but they, fundamentally, are Babylonians. Can it be assumed that God considers this modern nation for what it really is, namely a modern Babylon?

In 537 BCE the “adversaries of Judah and Benjamin” turned to Zerubbabel and the elders, saying: “Let us build together with you; for, just like you, we have been searching for your God and sacrificing to him since the days of Esar-addon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.”

So Babylon present in the territory of true Israel never disappeared and never stopped claiming to serve God.

In the book "Revelation" on page 207, paragraph 5, the explanation also fits very well with the modern nation of Israel.

Jews still believe they are the chosen race, God's people, and they attribute their military and commercial victories to God. They believe that God has given them authority over all the nations of the world but they, according to the Lord's words, have another father. - Matthew 4:8-10 - John 8:43-47

They still say "I sit queen and I'm not a widow and I will never see mourning".

Question one

According to the explanation of the book "Revelation: its climax" it is appropriate that the great harlot sits on the scarlet colored wild beast as false religion has always had power over the kings of the earth even naming and overthrowing them.

We know that this beast cannot be the League or League of Nations but we admit that it is for the sake of reasoning.

The explanation of the wt is that in the UN there are representatives of the "old nations" mentioned in the Bible such as Rome, Medo-Persia and others... but wouldn't it have been more logical to see the "great whore" riding the first wild beast and that is the one that ascends from the sea (and which again according to the wt would be "the world political empire") since false religion has existed since the times of Nimrod?

Instead the great harlot sits on that beast which " was, but is not, and is going to ascend out of the abyss, and shall go away into destruction " - Revelation 17:8a

What did the world empire of false religion ride when the beast was not ?

Question two

As has been pointed out, Israel is compared in the Bible to a wife and Jehovah to her husbandly owner.

When Israel proved unfaithful, allied with other nations and mixed with false worship, Israel became "unfaithful" and even "whore."

Christendom claims to serve God but, in reality, prostitutes herself with the nations and with every false doctrine of pagan origin.

However, if Babylon the Great were the world empire of false religion (and therefore also includes religions such as Buddhism, Shinto, Hinduism, tribal religions etc), why would it be considered, as a whole, a prostitute?

Jehovah has never identified himself as the "marital owner" of such nations as Ammon, Moab, Egypt, or any other.

So if we applied the concept of prostitution exclusively in a spiritual-religious sense, one would think that this infamous prostitute is exclusively Christianity .