Greetings to all. It has been a while since I've gotten the chance to sit down and type up my next article. Lately, I have been confronting Futurism, namely Premillennialism. To do this, I thought addressing Mystery Babylon would be beneficial. After identifying the timing of the last days as present in the first century, one of our first thoughts should be how, if possible, can the fulfillment of the eschaton fit within such strict limitations (the last days ending in A.D. 70, of course). This naturally leads us to identify the imagery of prophecy within such a context.
For example, if the last days really did occur in the first century, does it make a lot of sense for the harlot, Mystery Babylon, to be representative of America, a nation which did not exist until many, many centuries later? Does it make sense for the Antichrist to be a yet future world dictator if the tribulation was finished by A.D. 70? Not at all. We must be careful to identify the Bible's imagery properly, something Futurists cannot do.
Throughout the analyses of America and the Roman Catholic Church, I have offered a few passages and chapters which shed light on the true identity of Mystery Babylon. I offered these hints so that you may figure out the proper interpretation for yourselves, or at the very least become suspicious of some possibilities. This meant keeping the previous articles vague (and poorly written, I might add, as a result) as not to give the answers away too soon. While mostly Preterists read this blog, there are some Futurists who do, and have questions, so the intent was to cover the popular interpretations to the point in which it became obvious that the scriptural evidence backing them is severely lacking. So, without further ado, I can now present the true identity of Mystery Babylon: Jerusalem.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem...
For starters, is Jerusalem, or even Israel as a whole, ever spiritually identified as Sodom and Egypt? I argue this to be the case. Previously, I had asked for you to read Deuteronomy 32, Isaiah 1, Jeremiah 23, and Ezekiel 16. In case you missed what I was trying to reveal to you, allow me to explain.
In Deuteronomy 32, Moses is continuing to address the children of Israel. Make note, this is his audience. As we read the chapter, we find out a little bit about how God feels about Israel. God had delivered his children, protecting them through the wilderness (32:10), watching over them as an eagle watching over its brood (32:11). There was no strange god with them, either (32:12). However, the children of Israel began to take advantage of the Lord and forsook him (32:15).
So, the Lord became jealous, saying that he will turn his face from them, and show them what will happen to them in the last days (32:19-20). God declares that he will anger them with a nation void of understanding, consume them with hunger, and there shall be irremediable destruction (32:21-24). To come upon them would be a wrath like none other. Moreover, God had this to say about the deadness of Israel:
28It is a nation that has lost counsel, neither is there understanding in them. 29They had not sense to understand: let them reserve these things against the time time to come. 30How should one pursue a thousand, and two rout tens of thousands, if God had not sold them, and the Lord delivered them up? 31For their gods are not as our God, but our enemies are void of understanding. 32For the vine is of the vine of Sodom, and the vine-branch of Gomorrha: their grape is a grape of gall, their cluster is one of bitterness. (Deuteronomy 32:28-32)
Did you catch what Israel was likened to in verse 32? Sodom! Their vine is of the vine of Sodom! Was this said about America? The Roman Catholic Church? Is there any way we can know that this has spiritual relevance? After all, the whore is spiritually called Sodom. For this, I suggest we turn to John 15:
1I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (John 15:1-5)
Here, Jesus is telling us he is the vine. He says that the branch cannot bear fruit of itself lest it abide in the vine, just as we cannot bear fruit lest we abide in him, and he in us. And we know that the reference to bearing fruit is of a spiritual nature. So, when we read that Israel is as the vine of Sodom, and the branch of Gomorrah, we can understand this to have spiritual implications! In other words, they were not bearing fruit, for they were not abiding in God.
Also for consideration is Isaiah 1. In verse 1, we have Judah and Jerusalem as our target audience (1:1). The Lord notes that they have rebelled against him. He regards them as a sinful nation, and lawless children (1:4). As his rant continues, he likens them to many things. Most notable to us are verses 9 and 10:
9And if the Lord of Sabaoth had not left us a seed, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been made like Gomorrha. 10Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodoma; attend to the law of God, thou people of Gomorrha. (Isaiah 1:9-10)
As found in Deuteronomy 32, the children of Israel are likened to Sodom. They were bearing no fruit, and were full of iniquity. Comparing their lawlessness as though they are Sodom seems to be a common correlation, and I believe it is the evidence we need to identify Mystery Babylon properly. The spiritual characteristics are irrefutably referring to Jerusalem, or Israel.
As in Deuteronomy 32 and Isaiah 1, we find similar representation in the book of Jeremiah:
14Also in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen horrible things: as they committed adultery, and walked in lies, and strengthened the hands of man, that they should return each from his evil way: they are all become to me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrha. (Jeremiah 23:14)
Lastly, turn to Ezekiel 16, where the same likeness is repeated regarding God's children. In this case, Sodom is regarded as their sister:
46Your elder sister who dwells on thy left hand is Samaria, she and her daughters: and thy younger sister that dwells on the right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. (Ezekiel 16:46)
48As I live, saith the Lord, this Sodom and her daughters have not done as thou and thy daughters have done. 49Moreover this was the win of thy sister Sodom, pride: she and her daughters lived in pleasure, in fullness of bread and in abundance: this belonged to her daughters, and they helped not the hand of the poor and needy. 50And they boasted, and wrought iniquities before me: so I cut them off as I saw fit. (Ezekiel 16:48-50)
In this chapter, the children of Israel are regarded as even worse than Sodom, their sister! Even still, the two seem to be inseparable in their comparisons. To deny this is to disregard God's own feelings toward them. I find this to be a perfect witness as to the identification of Mystery Babylon as Jerusalem.
Previously, we drew the conclusion that being spiritually identified as Egypt is to imply bondage. We also connected the old law to bondage (Romans 7:7,14). God's covenant with his people was what we know as the old law, or the Mosaic law. While this is not relevant to either America or the Roman Catholic Church, this is entirely relevant to Jerusalem! Paul, when writing to the Galatians, addressed the matter of the law's bondage. Note what he has to say regarding the two covenants:
21Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? 22For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the free woman was by promise. (Galatians 4:21-23)
In other words, Abraham's wife, Sarah, could not conceive. She was barren. Sarah had given Agar, the bondwoman, to Abraham to bear a child. This was done solely for the sake of producing offspring, a fleshly desire. However, God had promised Abraham that Sarah would conceive a son, whose name would be Isaac. So, one child is born of the flesh (Ishmael), and the other is born by promise (Isaac).
24Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. (Galatians 4:24-25)
Paul cannot be any clearer. If a spiritual relationship to Egypt represents bondage, and the old covenant law is to those who abide in it bondage, and Paul tells us that Jerusalem is in bondage to the law, then what we have is irrefutable evidence for Jerusalem's spiritual identity as Egypt! Paul plainly tells us Jerusalem is representative of this bondage. It is truly amazing what can be learned when we allow the Bible to interpret itself and define its terms for us.
This is not all Revelation 11:8 had to say. As we examined earlier, Mystery Babylon is located where the Lord was crucified. The gospels tell us Christ was crucified at a place on the outskirts of Jerusalem (Matthew 27:33-35), which no doubt gives us irrefutable evidence of who Mystery Babylon is. Also, the dead bodies of the saints were to lie in the streets of this city. Revelation 17 and 18 give us some details of the harlot's charges:
6And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. (Revelation 17:6)
20Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. (Revelation 18:20)
24And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. (Revelation 18:24)
Now, while many claim the Crusades of the Roman Catholic Church are fulfillment of this, this is simply not true. Is it possible for scripture to answer this for us? I believe so. Consider the following verses:
29Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 32Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? 34Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: 35That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. 36Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. 37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathered her chickens under wings, and ye would not! 38Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. (Matthew 23:29-38)
Mystery Babylon is guilty of the blood upon the earth, including the blood of the prophets. Christ, in his rebuke of the Pharisees, tells them they are guilty of such things! In verse 31, Christ says they are the children of them which killed the prophets, affirming this fact again in verse 37. I don't believe it gets much clearer than this. Jesus himself is placing such blame on the Jews.
22Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. 23Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. (Luke 6:22-23)
33Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent to thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! (Luke 13:33-34)
Does the text read, “O America, America, which killest the prophets...,” or, “O Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church, which killest the prophets...”? It is Jerusalem who is to blame, just like Mystery Babylon! This tells us the identification of Mystery Babylon must certainly be Jerusalem! There is simply no way around this without being dishonest with the scriptures. The same is affirmed when we enter the book of Acts and the Jews are blamed for Christ's crucifixion:
23Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: (Acts 2:23)
36Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God that made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. (Acts 2:36)
10Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. (Acts 4:10)
30The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. (Acts 5:30)
The list just goes on! For further proof of who is guilty of the blood of the righteous, you can read Acts 7:51-52, Romans 11:2-5, and 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16. In each case, it is the Jews who are guilty of shedding this blood, unto whom judgment shall come. There is simply no way of escaping this. But for some reason we are told to believe that the Jews are still God's chosen people, even though Jesus' generation (Matthew 23:36) would be judged and destroyed for the shedding of righteous blood. This tells us, beyond any doubt, that Mystery Babylon's identity falls within the first century. Any claim to the contrary would have to refute every single passage quoted thus far, which I argue to be impossible.
America and the Roman Catholic Church failed to be valid candidates for this harlot position once it became impossible to identify them as spiritual Sodom and Egypt. And while both have caused their fair share of bloodshed, scripture only blames Jerusalem for the shedding of the righteous blood of the prophets, saints, and Jesus. Therefore, it is without a doubt that Jerusalem is Mystery Babylon.
Another characteristic of Mystery Babylon is that she sits on the scarlet beast (Revelation 17:3). Geographically speaking, Jerusalem no doubt sits on the beast, which was the Roman empire. Recall that the Jews claimed they had no king except Caesar:
15But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. (John 19:15)
The Roman empire was enormous. Jerusalem, the harlot, was seated on top of the beast geographically-speaking.
The harlot is also dressed in scarlet and purple, gold, and precious stones (Revelation 17:4). As noted in the article on America's relationship to Mystery Babylon, this imagery is representative of the priestly attire for the temple priest. Aaron, Moses' brother, was to minister as priest of the temple (Exodus 28:3). He was to wear exactly what the harlot is depicted as wearing (Exodus 28:2-8,15-20). The harlot's attire is tied directly to Israel, namely Jerusalem and the temple. For those familiar with this imagery in the first century, identifying the harlot would have been rather easy, I imagine. For modern readers, we aren't immediately connected with such a thing, which is why I believe so many fail to understand the harlot's apparel as representing Jerusalem. Such was the case with me, as well.
The rest of Mystery Babylon's characteristics are rather self-explanatory. Jerusalem was blamed by Christ himself for the shedding of righteous blood. They were guilty of killing their Savior, and husband. They were to fill up the measure of their sins, and would be drunk with the blood of the saints. They would drink this blood with the golden cup held in their hands (Revelation 17:4). As for the title on the harlot's forehead (Revelation 17:5), the old covenant Jews were not faithful to the covenant between them and God. They went a-whoring with other nations, nations which knew not God. When they murdered Jesus, they became a widowed adultress. God's old covenant people were truly harlots.
“All roads lead to Rome,” we are often told, though I believe when it comes to identifying Mystery Babylon all roads lead to Jerusalem. This is a difficult interpretation for many people given the level of influence of Zionism. Christians are taught to worship every move Israel makes, and that God is coming back to save them. Thus, it makes little sense for them to believe they could be the harlot who is guilty of shedding righteous blood.
I mean, it's not like Jesus said so, or anything.
Blessings,
Jason Watt
