Are You Part of Babylon?

What is the origin of Babylon?

The word “Babylon” originated at the Tower of Babel because it was the place where God confounded language, leading to confusion and bringing construction to a halt. “Babylon” and “Babel” both mean “confusion.” Later on in the 600s BC, the pagan kingdom of Babylon arose (see “Europe’s Future Revealed”) and developed into an economic and religious center of the world. Its religion was characterized by idolatry, ancestor worship, and sun worship, and it became an enemy of God’s people, Israel (Jeremiah 39:6, 7; 50:29-34; 51:34). Babylon was also marked by a boastful and prideful spirit, as seen in the Babylonian king’s boastful remark in Daniel 4:30. In fact, in Isaiah 14:4-22, God uses Babylon as a symbol of Satan due to its pride and wickedness.

What kind of legacy did ancient Babylon leave behind?

Because of its power and influence in the world, Babylon made drunk, or confused, the nations of the world with its false pagan teachings, and due to its refusal to turn from its wickedness, idolatry, and persecution of God’s people, God allowed it to be destroyed (Daniel 4:30; Jeremiah 51:24, 47) by the Medo-Persians. On the night of its fall, the king of Babylon threw a party, during which he desecrated the holy vessels stolen from the temple of God in Jerusalem by drinking wine out of them and using them for the unholy worship of false gods. He ended up perishing that very night (Daniel 5:30). The Bible makes it clear in Isaiah 13:19, 20 that ancient Babylon would never be rebuilt or inhabited again, so the Babylon of the book of Revelation is not a literal Babylon, but a spiritual one.

How does Revelation describe Babylon?

The Bible gives seven characteristics to describe Babylon:

1. She is called the “Mother of Harlots” (Revelation 17:5),
2. She persecutes the saints (Revelation 17:6),
3. She is dressed in purple and scarlet and decked with jewelry (Revelation 17:4),
4. She is sitting on a beast (Revelation 17:3),
5. She has worldwide influence (Revelation 17:1, 18),
6. The beast she’s sitting on has seven heads and ten horns (Revelation 17:3),
7. The beast is guilty of blasphemy (Revelation 17:3).

What does a woman represent?

In the Bible a woman represents the church. A pure woman is a pure church that is faithful to Jesus, while an impure woman, or a harlot, is an unfaithful, or fallen, church. In Revelation 19:7, 8 the true church is portrayed as Christ’s bride, and her members are covered by and reflect the righteousness of Jesus.

Who does the harlot represent?

The Bible gives seven characteristics to identify the harlot of Revelation 17 as the papacy. Now it’s important to emphasize that this is not a condemnation of Roman Catholics; rather, the Bible is pointing out a system—Catholicism. In other places the Bible also points out the faults of the Jewish and Protestant faiths. Moreover, God has devoted Christians in all churches, including the Roman Catholic church. It is also true that the papacy has done many good deeds for the poor and the needy, but she has also committed serious errors that the Bible clearly points out in Daniel and in Revelation. God must sometimes chasten and rebuke because He wants us to be aware of error and compromise, and people who are truly loyal to Him will heed His warnings, no matter the faith. With this in mind, let’s examine each of the seven characteristics.

1. She is called the “Mother of Harlots.” There is only one church that calls itself the mother church—the Roman Catholic Church. A prominent Catholic priest has made the following point: “They [non-Catholics] have continued the custom [of Sunday-keeping], even though it rests upon the authority of the Catholic Church and not upon an explicit text in the Bible. That observance [Sunday-keeping] remains as a reminder of the Mother Church from which the non-Catholic sects broke away—like a boy running away from home but still carrying in his pocket a picture of his mother or a lock of her hair.”^[1]

2. She persecutes the saints. The papacy persecuted and killed millions of people during the Dark Ages for following their conscience.

3. She is dressed in purple and scarlet and decked with jewelry. The colors listed match those of papal vestments. Red is the robe color worn by Catholic cardinals, and purple is the color of royalty, often worn by the pope at significant events since he is considered to be Christ’s representative on earth. Revelation 18:7 confirms this when it says that Babylon considers herself a queen. She is also decked with gold, precious stones, and pearls, all of which point to great wealth, which can be seen in her ornate and extravagant cathedrals. The golden cup in her hand looks impressive on the outside, but the inside is full of abominations—or false teachings based on human tradition, which is elevated above the Bible.

4. She is sitting on a beast. A beast represents a kingdom or nation (Daniel 7:23), so the fact that she is sitting on the beast represents not just the union of church and state (though they remain separate entities), but power over the state and its policies. This was fulfilled in the Dark Ages when the papacy united with, and exercised power over, the state to implement her policies and persecute people who disagreed with her teachings. This will be repeated again in the last days (see “USA in Bible Prophecy”).

5. She has worldwide influence. Her influence is not limited to just one civil government. Her sitting on many waters (Revelation 17:1, 15), which represent people and nations, shows her influence and power over them, and Revelation 17:18 confirms this again by saying that she reigns “over the kings of the earth.” The papacy fulfills this point too. According to historian Alexander Flick, by the 13th century the pope was “at least in theory ... the ruler of the whole world in temporal and spiritual affairs.”^[2]

6. The beast she’s sitting on has seven heads and ten horns. The seven heads are seven mountains (Revelation 17:9), and Rome, the headquarters of the papacy, is known, and has been referred to by classical writers, as the City of Seven Hills. The ten horns represent the ten barbarian tribes that arose after the fall of the Roman Empire (see “Europe’s Future Revealed”).

7. The beast is guilty of blasphemy. Blasphemy has two definitions in the Bible: claiming to forgive sins (Luke 5:21), and claiming to be God (John 10:33). The papacy is a continuation of the pagan Roman Empire, and just like the Roman emperors claimed to be gods, the popes claim to be Christ (see “Who Is the Antichrist?”).

There is no other earthly power that fulfills all of these characteristics. Many leaders of the Reformation, including Huss, Wycliffe, Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Melanchthon, Cranmer, Tyndale, Latimer, and Ridley, also agreed that the power described here is the papacy.^[3]

Who are the harlot daughters?

Just as the harlot represents a fallen church, her daughters also represent fallen churches. Since the mother, just like ancient Babylon, has confused the world with her teachings, these daughter churches follow and teach the same key errors as the mother church. No woman, however, is born a harlot. These harlot daughters were originally undefiled and separate from the mother when during the great Protestant Reformation they protested her unbiblical teachings, but slowly, over time, they began to come back to her in acknowledgment of her authority and in agreement with her key teachings. This has led to them becoming fallen themselves and a part of spiritual Babylon. Peter uses the word “fallen” as another term to describe a turning away from truth and choosing to be led by error instead. He contrasts this with growing in grace and the knowledge of Jesus, which means that, ultimately, a fallen church turns her back on Jesus Himself because He is the truth.

What is Babylon guilty of?

James describes spiritual adultery as a union with the world, and Revelation clearly shows that spiritual Babylon develops partnerships with earthly kings and uses the ways of the world (coercion) to win people to her side. We’ve already seen how the papacy united with the state in the Dark Ages to persecute, torture, and kill millions of people. God prohibits such a union because He never uses coercive measures to draw people to Himself; instead, He respectfully knocks at the door of the heart (Revelation 3:20) because He respects freedom of choice and wants people to follow Him out of love. He does not need the state to help bring people into His church; His love alone is powerful enough! The true church is loyal to Jesus only, but the papacy has turned away from her husband, Jesus, and formed illicit relationships with the state instead.

What does this union lead to?

Whenever a church unites with the world, it results in a turning away from Bible truth. In Daniel 8:9-12 the little horn of Daniel 7:8, representing the papacy (see “Who Is the Antichrist?”), is mentioned again, and the text says it casts truth to the ground and prospers. As the papacy replaced Bible truth with its own tradition and pagan teachings, it opened up the way to practices, like the selling of indulgences, that allowed it to acquire incredible wealth. In Revelation 18:11-13 this is confirmed when she’s mentioned as trafficking in the “souls of men” or, in other words, treating people as merchandise. No wonder she is decked with all kinds of expensive jewelry and holds a golden cup in Revelation 17:4. The next chapter then talks about ships in the sea and merchants being made rich because of her—a reference to economic advantages that lead to prosperity through some form of a partnership or alliance with her. Could this apply to large, global corporations, for example?

What other powers are part of Babylon?

There are three powers that come together: the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. Revelation 12:9 tells us the dragon represents Satan working through pagan Rome when it tried to destroy Jesus at His birth (Revelation 12:4). Satan is also called the prince of this world in John 12:31, and his influence expands beyond pagan Rome. He has used ancient Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon to persecute God’s people, and we’ve learned he will use the U.S.A. and the papacy in the future. Because Revelation 13:8 says all the world will worship the beast in the last days, other world governments will be used too, as well as non-Christian religions, such as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, the New Age, etc.

The second power, the beast, represents the papacy (see “Mark of the Beast”) and the false prophet represents the apostate Protestantism of America (see “USA in Bible Prophecy”). And so world governments and non-Christian religions, Roman Catholicism, and apostate Protestantism will form an alliance, called “Babylon the great” in Revelation 18:2, in the final battle against God, His followers, and His law. Note how the three powers of Revelation 16:13 are associated with unclean spirits, and Babylon is said to be the “hold of every foul spirit” in Revelation 18:2.

What will unite these powers?

What the three powers of Revelation 16:13 have in common are the unclean spirits that come out of their mouths, and according to Revelation 16:14, these are spirits of devils working through miracles and sorcery. This is an echo of Christ’s warning about false Christs and false prophets working miracles, which means we can expect a counterfeit religious revival, supported by miracles, sorcery, and spiritism, just before Christ’s coming. Spiritism, a doctrine of Satan first introduced in Eden when he told Eve she would “not surely die” (Genesis 3:4), is the belief that the dead are alive and can contact the living.

Incidentally, Catholicism prays to Mary and other dead saints; apostate Protestantism also believes the dead are not really dead but alive in heaven or hell; and non-Christian religions have a door open to spiritism through practices like “channeling” and spirit worship. And so when Satan and his angels pose as dead loves ones, prophets of old, angels of heaven, or even Christ Himself, while quoting a twisted version of the Scriptures, the deception will be overwhelming to anyone whose faith is not based on the Bible.

What did ancient Babylon believe about death?

Tamuz was the god of food and vegetation worshiped by the Babylonians, who believed that he died each year when winter arrived but would be resurrected in the spring (immortality of the soul), and so every year his death was mourned. But it wasn’t just Tamuz; they also believed that people went on to exist in another form after death, which led the Babylonians to worship the dead. This teaching, that people continue to live or be conscious after death, has survived and been adopted by spiritual Babylon, and her influence has made it spread to many Christian churches even though the Bible preaches the exact opposite (Ecclesiastes 9:5; Psalm 115:17; see “Are the Dead Really Dead?”).

What else did ancient Babylon believe?

The worship of graven images was also a practice of ancient Babylonians that has been adopted by spiritual Babylon even though God clearly forbids it in the second commandment (Exodus 20:4-6). Ancient Babylonians practiced sun worship too, and it managed to corrupt some of God’s very own people. The practice has been adopted by spiritual Babylon through the keeping of Sunday—the day of the sun—as the day of worship instead of the seventh-day Sabbath as outlined in the fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8-11). Many are unaware of the pagan origin of Sunday-keeping, which is why God has a message for the last days calling people to worship Him according to His commandments (see “God's Rest Day”). Incidentally, the false teaching that the law of God has been changed or repealed is also propogated by spiritual Babylon even though the Bible clearly teaches the law cannot be changed (Luke 16:17; see “God’s Law Changed”).

One other particularly destructive pagan teaching that has caused many people to turn away from God is the belief that sinners burn eternally in hell—an echo of Satan’s original “you shall not surely die” lie in Eden and a contradiction of God’s word (Genesis 2:17; 3:4; see “Is Hell Forever?”).

What is God’s message to people in Babylon?

The false teachings previously mentioned are some of the key doctrines, the wine, through which spiritual Babylon makes all nations of the world drunk (Revelation 17:2; 18:3). This wine disorients, confuses, and leads to spiritual drunkenness. And it’s based on lies, which are a type of abomination in the Bible (Proverbs 12:22). Just like God called Israel out of ancient Babylon, He is calling His people out of spiritual Babylon before it’s destroyed because He knows He has sincere Christians there who have not heard this warning yet. When they hear His call, Jesus says they will heed His voice and follow Him.

How did Jesus unmask Satan’s lies in the wilderness?

Jesus’ answer to every deception Satan threw at Him was to quote the Bible. (Note that Satan quoted the Bible too, but he twisted it for his own purposes.) Studying and memorizing Scripture is the only effective strategy to resist Satan’s deceptions in these last days, because he will twist the Bible again. After all, his persuasive logic managed to deceieve a third of the angels in heaven (Revelation 12:4) and almost the entire population (minus eight people) at the time of the Flood.

How will God unmask Satan’s deceptions in the last days?

In the Bible, angels symbolize messengers or messages. Because God wants everyone to come to the knowledge of the truth so that they can be saved (1 Timothy 2:3, 4), He will have a remnant people, portrayed in the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14:6-14, who will stand for Bible truth and expose the false gospel of Babylon (Galatians 1:8-12), calling people to worship and obey Him, not only in spirit but also in truth. God’s message of truth will be so powerful that it will illuminate the whole world with His glory, so that every person, instead of being deceived, will be well-informed when making a decision regarding who to worship.

Am I lost if I’m currently in Babylon?

Absolutely not. This is made clear in God’s call to “Come out of her, my people,” meaning there are sincere people in Babylon whom God calls His children. Not knowing certain Bible teachings does not mean a person is lost or not a child of God as He does not hold me accountable for truths I don’t know, but once I know the truth, God calls me out of error to stand on the Bible alone.

Can I stay in Babylon in order to reform her?

Babylon has become hopelessly drunk with her false doctrines and traditions, which have resulted in her sinning against God (breaking His law), and Jesus says she’s going to be destroyed, not reformed. There may be pressure from other people to stay in Babylon, but remaining in a system that teaches errors is spiritually dangerous; ultimately, it’s Jesus’ opinion that matters most. When Paul was under immense pressure from religious leaders to compromise with error, He answered, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Though it may seem difficult, it’s the right thing to do. If this is you, ask God for guidance as you seek His will and search the Scriptures (Acts 17:11). Promise Him that you will follow wherever He leads, and His promise to you is He will lead you to the truth (John 7:17), which will set you free (John 17:17). When Jesus has your heart, He will give all the grace you need to follow Him (Philippians 4:13).

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