If Babylon in Revelation seventeen and eighteen is not the ancient city of Babylon, or false religion or Rome, who is it? Although the descriptions in Revelation seventeen and eighteen have many parallels, they occur at different times. We know that the Babylon of chapter seventeen is destroyed around the time that the Anti-Christ comes to power (Rev. 17:16-17; 14:8f) and we know that a Babylon is destroyed by God at the end of Daniel’s 70th week (Rev. 16:19). So we must ask whether the Babylon of Revelation seventeen and the Babylon of Revelation eighteen are the same Babylon? Remember that the harlot is described as Mystery Babylon in chapter seventeen. In chapter eighteen the destruction of Babylon is described and then in 19:2 those in heaven rejoice that the harlot has been punished. This seems to indicate that the whole passage (17:1-19:2) is talking about the same harlot which is called Babylon, i.e. there is only one Babylon but it is destroyed twice.
The first key to identifying Babylon is to understand what the symbolic name means. Jerusalem was called Sodom and Egypt because of her sin (Rev. 11:8). Sodom in particular was infamous for it’s sin. What was Babylon famous for? In Daniel 2:24-45, Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a statue. In that dream, Babylon was represented by a head of gold. The other world kingdoms were all represented by metals of lesser value. This was no accident, Babylon was an extremely wealthy city (Jer. 51:13). The hanging gardens which were part of the city are one of the seven wonders of the world. The descriptions of the end times Babylon in Revelation seventeen and eighteen repeatedly mention her great wealth and luxurious living (17:4; 18:3, 7, 9, 11-19). This seems to confirm the idea that Babylon metaphorically refers to a place of great wealth and luxurious living.
What country and city today is most known for it’s wealth and luxurious living? Although Europe has great economic prowess, it is not known for it’s luxurious life style. Also if the anti-Christ is from Europe, you wouldn’t expect the anti-Christ to destroy his own kingdom. The U.N. has, at least in theory, helped to bring prosperity to the world, but not through its luxurious living. The place most known for its wealth and luxurious living is clearly the United States. I believe the harlot of Revelation seventeen, is the United States and more specifically New York City. New York City is a city just as Rev. 17:18 says and it is the center of U.S. economic power. It controls the rest of the world through its economic influence just as the harlot reigns over the rulers of the world in Rev. 17:18. The United States is hated by most of the world just as the harlot is hated by the ten kings in 17:16. Also we can expect the United States to resist the establishment of a strong world dictatorship, thus necessitating her destruction by the ten kings. The United States exercises some control over seven continents. Babylon is not described as a city on seven hills as some teach, rather she is described as a woman sitting on a beast with seven heads which represent seven mountains (17:9). Therefore this “sitting” probably represents controlling because a rider controls the animal he rides. The “mountains” could represent continents which are land masses which stick up higher than the surrounding ocean.
For Americans, perhaps the most difficult portion of the description to accept is the part where the harlot is described as being drunk with the blood of the saints (17:6). Part of the blood of the saints in this passage probably relates to Daniel’s 70th week and so is still future. However it is important to remember as well that the United States has looked the other way while thousands of Christians were killed in communist and Muslim countries. Also the United States played a major role in establishing the United Nations that is responsible for many atrocities around the world. It is interesting to note that the references to persecution (Rev. 17:6; 18:24 and 19:2) all relate to guilt but none clearly indicate direct persecution. In other words, she may not have killed the saints with her own hands. It may not refer to a state sponsored campaign to kill Christians, but only to doctrines that caused others to kill Christians. Although we cannot be dogmatic on this point, it appears that the Babylon of Revelation 17 is New York City and by extension the United States.
Now what about the re-description of Babylon in Revelation 18? Babylon is also destroyed during the 7th bowl judgment(16:19). The description in chapter 18 is of complete and total destruction (18:2, 21-23). It seems then that Revelation 18 is a description of the destruction mentioned as part of the 7th bowl judgment. The description of Babylon’s destruction in chapter 17 was very drastic but not total (17:16). It seems then that the United States will be put in her place so to speak at the mid point of Daniel’s 70th week, but will be totally destroyed and uninhabitable at the end of Daniel’s 70th week.
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