We identify Babylon the Great – 1 part
This is yet another article dedicated to Babylon the Great and will most likely be the last.
The reason why it was decided to treat this subject again is because the previous ones, more or less, were born above all to make Jehovah's witnesses think 1 and in fact the whole fulcrum of the question concerned the reasons why this subject could not be an abstract "world empire of false religion" nor any particular religion.
Jehovah's Witnesses who are genuinely interested in understanding why Babylon the Great can in no way be the world empire of false religion are encouraged to read the original article (link is in the second footnote 2 ) .
This article will deal with the subject at a general level, that is, starting from the different interpretations and placing them under the scrutiny of Scripture alone.
Unfortunately, due to the many - too many - interpretations proposed by Christianity and beyond, it is not possible to go into the details of every single religion or sect, so this will be done by mentioning only the most common interpretations.
Even if it will not be possible to go into the details of many interpretations, the author of this article is reasonably convinced that, by accepting the Bible as the Only Authority and stripping himself of all the conditioning received, he will only be able to arrive at the most logical and scriptural conclusion.
The first part of this article will mention the different interpretations that go around on this subject and we will see which one of them stands in the light of Scripture - 2 Timothy 3:16, 17
The different interpretations that follow have been taken from wikipedia at the link https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babilonia_la_Grande
ROME
Most exegetes interpret the Apocalypse in the light of the historical context in which it was composed. The prevailing interpretation identifies Babylon the Great with ancient Rome , the center of pagan power with which the early Christians clashed. It should be noted that in the Old Testament idolatry is constantly identified with prostitution, as a betrayal of the "marital" relationship between humanity and God. In this perspective, the seven heads of the monster on which the prostitute sits would be the seven hills on which Rome rests and seven Roman emperors.
In the prevailing hypothesis that the Apocalypse was composed or at least finished in the time of Domitian the seven powerful kings could be Augustus , Tiberius , Caligula , Claudius , Nero , Vespasian and Titus , while the eighth king would have been Domitian , which a legend Roman identified as "Nero redivivus". However, there is no agreement among the exegetes on the choice and not even on which emperor to consider first.
An ancient tradition has it that Babylon, the city of sin and of the Antichrist , is identified with Rome , the capital of the empire. This identification finds nourishment in Peter's letter and in a controversial passage from the Apocalypse, the episode of the two witnesses : I will make sure that my two witnesses, dressed in sackcloth, fulfill their mission as prophets, for one thousand two hundred and sixty days. (…) And when they have fulfilled their testimony, the beast that rises from the abyss will make war against them, conquer them and kill them. Their corpses will remain exposed in the square of the great city, which is symbolically called Sodom and Egypt, where precisely their Lord was crucified(Rev 11, 3.7-8). Who are the two witnesses? For some, and this is the most suggestive hypothesis, the identification is with Peter and Paul . They were martyred in Rome under Nero. And Nero could then be the apocalyptic "beast that rises from the abyss", the great persecutor of Christians, the incarnation of the Antichrist. And Babylon, "the great city", is then Rome, also called "Sodom and Egypt" because of its two most serious crimes: indecency and the oppression of Christ's faithful. It can thus be hypothesized that the destruction of Babylon by fire corresponds to the great fire of Rome ordered by Nero. And the archaeological ruins that form the wings of many painters' hells are perhaps the ruins of classical Rome, a warning symbol of the now destroyed empire of evil.
Many of those who have clashed with the temporal power of the papacy have adopted a diachronic interpretation of the Apocalypse by identifying the whore with the corrupt Catholic Church.
Catholic church?
Prior to the Peace of Constance , for example, Frederick Barbarossa wrote to Pope Alexander III referring to his Church as the Great Whore and to him as the Antichrist . In the fifteenth century, the Dominican Jerome Savonarola railed against his Church, calling her a harlot of Babylon because he disapproved of the social policy and moral corruption of the papacy of his time and was later accused of heresy and excommunicated. Dante Alighieri also referred to papal Rome corrupted by simony with these lines:
«The Evangelist became aware of you pastors, when she who sits above the waters was seen whoring with the royals to him» |
( Divine Comedy , Inferno, XIX , 107-117 ) |
Even today some traditionalist and sedevacantist Catholics who do not accept what emerged from the Second Vatican Council believe that today's Roman Catholic Church, after the election of Pope John XXIII can effectively be identified with the great Babylon. [6]
Protestant interpretations
Cover of the 1919 edition of " The Two Babylons " by Protestant theologian Alexander Hislop
The founders of the Reformed Churches , from Martin Luther (who wrote the theological treatise On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church ) to John Calvin and John Knox identified the Roman Catholic Church with the whore of Babylon [7] .
The Westminster Confession of Faith of 1646 came to identify the pope with the antichrist, and the analogy between Babylon and the Catholic Church was taken up by evangelical pastor Cyrus Scofield in his annotated Bible and by Emanuel Swedenborg in his Apocalypse Revealed . In 1853 the Scottish pastor Alexander Hislop returned to the subject in a book, The Two Babylons [8] , which had many reprints. These views are still credited today by some Protestant believers and by controversial figures such as those of Ian Paisley and Jack Chick . Hislop's conspiracy theories are now considered to be a blending of "schematic knowledge of the ancient Near East with a wild imagination" [9]
Proponents of this theory look for analogies between the biblical description of the Great Whore and some characteristics of the Roman Church and point out, for example:
- that the woman was cloaked in purple and scarlet , highlighting that these same are the colors of the choral dress of the cardinals and the pope.
- that the kings of the earth have prostituted themselves with her and the inhabitants of the earth have become inebriated with the wine of her prostitution and underline that the Holy See has its own ambassadors in all the states of the world and has good relations with the powerful of the earth it is thought in destiny that mankind must return at the birth of Jesus on December 25th for the eternal return to atone for man's sins on earth.
Ecumenism as Great Babylon
One of the most widespread evangelical interpretations of Babylon the Great is that it could be ecumenism , as stated by the Baptist leader Tim LaHaye in the book "The beginning of the end", an interpretation also shared by Billy Graham in his book "Storm warning". [ without source ]
The USA
The comparison between the United States of America and Babylon can be based on the parallel between the American Empire and the Roman Empire as hegemonic military superpowers over other nations. Various US fundamentalist religious organizations [10] [11] [12] [13] see their country as decadent, corrupt and anti-Christian and therefore recall the image of the Great Whore associated with the United States or the city of New York [14 ] .
Some, such as writer Richard Coombes [15] think that the Statue of Liberty bears significant similarities to the biblical Great Whore. First, she was modeled on the Roman goddess Libertas, supposedly derived from the Babylonian deity Ishtar , whose cult promoted complete personal freedom and an uninhibited, hedonistic lifestyle. Furthermore, the characteristic of sitting on many waters could apply both to the United States, which extends from the Pacific to the Atlantic , and to the Statue itself, whose crown represents the seven oceans and continents of the world [16] .
The Ottoman Empire
There is a theory linking the whore of Babylon to a resurgent Ottoman Empire and militant Islam . Constantinople , today's Istanbul , is indeed known to have been built on seven hills, like Rome. Furthermore, as the metaphor would have it, it sits on many waters (it spans the Bosphorus Strait , which joins the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara ) and reigned over both the Roman and Ottoman Empires because it was the capital of both [17] .
USSR, Great Britain and the Third Reich
During the Cold War , popular culture in the United States was inclined to see the USSR as a sort of monster to be annihilated and attributed to it the characteristics of Great Babylon, emphasizing the symbology that could recall the seven hills of Moscow . Dispensational Bible studies and commentaries (such as the annotated Scofield Bible ) also identified the evil Biblical giant Gog in the Soviet Union and Russia . Various analogies can be traced between the Soviet power and the characteristics attributed to Great Babylon but similar parallels were also previously drawn with the British Empireand Nazi Germany .
After this roundup of interpretations the fog would seem anything but dissipated.
It is evident that, whatever your idea, these interpretations cannot all be correct at the same time.
Should he honestly conclude, in the light of the Scriptures, that most of these interpretations are wrong?
It is clear, however, that being "noble-minded" means at least admitting the possibility of being wrong.
If at least this possibility is not accepted, then there will be no reasoning or Scripture that can make us change our minds and indeed... we will try, more or less consciously, to bend the Scriptures to our doctrine or to our preconceived idea.
"Honest is he who changes his thought to accord it with the truth. Dishonest is he who changes the truth to accord it with his own thought".
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| The book "The Two Babylons" proved to be full of forcing. Many Protestant religions are still inspired by this book |
IT CANNOT BE ROME
The first assumption explained by wikipedia that should lead us to Rome is wrong because John explains very well that he is "in the day of the Lord" - Revelation 1:10
So interpreting Revelation "in the light of the historical context", while apparently logical and effective, simply does not take into account Scripture.
Even accepting the idea of some according to which "the day of the Lord" would begin in the first century, it would have made no sense for John to specify that he was in that particular time if it really was known.
It is only he who is "in the day of the Lord" and no one else and this happens "by inspiration".
If the day of the Lord came at the time, then everyone would have met on that day, John would not have to specify it and above all it would not have been necessary to arrive there by inspiration.
Even if the book begins with the words "the things that must happen shortly" it is enough to read the context to understand that that lapse of time - short - has to do with the duration of the time of the end or, indeed, the day of the Lord .
From the moment John entered the "day of the Lord," he saw that almost everything would happen in a short space of time.
We have seen, in fact, that from the moment the day of the Lord begins, about six and a half years will pass at the time of the resurrection (a very important detail for John) and another three and a half years at the end of the world system 3 .
However, there are other aspects that should convince us that Rome cannot be Babylon the Great.
If the seven kings mentioned were Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Vespasian and Titus, then it (Rome) should have been completely destroyed by that time.
Meanwhile for those who are still convinced that from the name of "Cesare Nero" we arrive at the famous number "666" they would do well to reflect on what their belief is really based on.
Anyone interested in knowing the true meaning of this number may find the article linked in the fourth footnote 4 interesting .
Taking 666 out of the discussion, the problem is that Revelation says that it is completely burned with fire to indicate its complete and eternal destruction, not to indicate a simple fire - see Revelation 18:8; 7:30pm
What, then, does it mean that "the smoke of her ascends forever and ever"?
If that still wasn't enough Revelation 18:21 says very clearly "And a strong angel lifted up a stone like a great millstone and hurled it into the sea, saying, 'So with a swift throw Babylon the great city shall be hurled down , and will never be found again".
By this we mean only one thing.
Even leaving out the obvious and shameful forcing that would like to make Nero the number of the beast, it does not seem that after this famous fire Rome ceased to exist forever .
It doesn't seem that, after this fire, Rome was no longer found or maybe transformed into something better.
IT CANNOT BE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
Despite the classical interpretations of some Catholics as well as many Protestant religions, Babylon the Great cannot even be the Catholic church.
As we read at the beginning " Federico Barbarossa wrote to Pope Alexander III referring to his Church as the Great Whore and to him as Antichrist ... and in the 15th century the Dominican Girolamo Savonarola railed against his Church calling her the whore of Babylon because he disapproved of the social policy and moral corruption of the papacy of his time".
Of course, concluding that the Catholic church cannot be Babylon the Great is by no means belittling its corruption and wrongdoings, but again, we must come to a conclusion through scripture.
Meanwhile, those who have studied the Bible carefully will also have understood that, at the death of the last apostle, "the man of lawlessness" would arise - see Acts 20:29, 30; 1 John 2:18
It is very easy to mix "antichrist" with "Babylon the Great" just to be able to fit everything into one's religious organization but the Bible distinguishes these two subjects.
To cite just one of these differences, while Babylon the Great will be destroyed by the wild beast on the grounds that "God has put it into their hearts to execute his thought," the lawless will instead be destroyed "with the spirit of his mouth ( of Christ) and bring to naught through the manifestation of his presence" - see Revelation 17:17 and contrast with 2 Thessalonians 2:8
What do we mean by this?
Even assuming that the Catholic church could be that man of lawlessness indicated in Scripture (and we believe not, at least not only her) it would be destroyed directly by Christ at Armageddon, unlike Babylon the Great which will be destroyed before and by a human, politico-military instrument – compare Revelation 19:20
And of course there are many other reasons that lead us to exclude the Catholic Church, as well as other religions, such as Babylon the Great.
The same goes for the Protestant interpretations which, almost all, base their belief on that book entitled "The Two Babylons" mentioned above, whose image can be seen.
It has been amply demonstrated that that book contained great forcings and yet it was so suggestive as to inspire several confessions.
To begin with, analogies, even when they are not outright stretches, have no title in identifying the subject.
It has no logical basis to point out that " the woman was cloaked in purple and scarlet highlighting that these same are the colors of the cardinals ' and the pope's choral dress " because this meaning must be seen in the light of the Scriptures.
Meanwhile, these colors are not exclusive to a religion or a people.
Soldiers of the British Army wore scarlet red uniforms until 1914 (hence the nickname "redcoats"). Some units of the British and Commonwealth armies still use parade uniforms of this colour.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) wear a scarlet tunic in their classic ceremonial uniform.
United States Air Force Combat Controllers United States Air Force Corps wear a scarlet beret upon completion of the course at the Combat Control School at Pope Air Force Base . Scarlet is the color of the United States Army Field Artillery Corps and going forward you will find many other peoples, cultures or religions identifiable with this color.
Purple was also the dominant color in all the ornaments of the High Priest; he colored the spool of the Ephod and the pectoral cords so... why is the Catholic Church yes and Judaism not?
As said at the beginning, however, these analogies have no title in identifying the subject as the important thing is not the color but the meaning of that colour.
Otherwise, if we value the color to find a similarity and not the meaning of that color, we should also look for a real woman, a prostitute.
Why should color be literal while woman is symbolic?
The colors purple and scarlet identify not only luxury but also royal power – compare John 19:2, 3 – compare Revelation 18:7
Of this color, in fact, is the same beast that she rides and no one will want to deny that this beast, whatever meaning one wants to give it, does not identify a political, royal, geographical, territorial power - Revelation 17:3
This forcefully brings us back to a literal nation (and also skips the interpretation of ecumenism ) a nation which, however, cannot be Rome...
So who's left?
IT CANNOT BE THE USA, GREAT BRITAIN OR THE THIRD REICH
Starting from the principle that the USA can be Babylon the Great for the simple fact of being a corrupt global economy is a trivial mistake.
Meanwhile, it would have made little sense to draw a parallel between the wild beast and the USA, if we admitted the possibility that it (the wild beast) was first-century Rome.
But if Babylon the Great were first century Rome (and thus, in the time of the end, become the USA) who is it that destroys it, burns it completely with fire?
There is another far from secondary detail that pushes us to exclude the USA among the candidates and it has to do with its prostitution.
It is true that prostitution may have to do with commercial exchanges but the prostitute rules with her influence, with her spiritistic practices, not with force.
This means that one must not start from the principle that, in order to dominate nations, it is militarily stronger than the others.
This is evident from its tragic epilogue when it is struck and destroyed.
If Babylon the Great dominated the nations by force, even assuming she could not fight alone against them all…why is there no mention of any clash between the two antagonists?
Why don't we read of any battle or resistance, even minimal, on its part?
If he were really that powerful, how come his end comes "in one hour"? - see Revelation 17:10, 17, 19
It is evident, therefore, that considering Babylon a world military power only because it "sits over many peoples" is a mistake.
By the same token we can eliminate Great Britain, the Third Reich and even the Ottoman Empire… and why not choose at random today between China, Russia, India and Pakistan?
Moscow was built on seven hills (similar to Rome) and who more than India is a marriage of thousands if not millions of different religions?
From what we understand, therefore, Babylon must be a nation but not necessarily a global military power and must be present when John saw it, i.e. "in the time of the end."
At this point, it seems that none of the proposed nations has stood up to the severe scrutiny of Scripture.
Maybe such a prostitute has not yet revealed herself?
You are invited to read the second and last part of this article because, if it has been called "a mystery", perhaps you should look where you would never expect to look.
Footnotes
1 Initially the blog was dedicated in particular to Jehovah's Witnesses so many of the first articles were born under that perspective.
Subsequently realizing that the Witnesses are nothing more than one of the many religious denominations scattered throughout the world, the blog was then dedicated to all people sensitive to the Word of God regardless of their religious education.
2 Here the original article on Babylon the Great https://Attentionallaprofezia.blogspot.com/2017/05/un-nome-un-mistero-babilonia-la-grande.html?q=un+mistero
3 See the article "By understanding the order of events we will not be in the dark "
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