Modern Babylon-study (Prophecy)

                                      Modern Babylon

What city is mentioned in the last day message of Revelation?

Revelation14.8 Babylon is fallen is fallen, that great city

Isaiah 21.9 chariots of man, with a couple of horsemen, Babylon is fallen

Jeremiah 51.7-9 We would have healed Babylon but she is not healed for her sakes

Revelation 18.1-12 Babylon the great become habitation of devils

Revelation 11.8 the great city which spiritually is called Sodom, Egypt, Christ crucified

Note-That Babylon holds a prominent place in revelation symbolism, the intended meaning of this symbolism cannot be uncovered without understanding the prominent part of the ancient city played in the history of God’s Old Testament people .It was during the days of such prophets as Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah and Jeremiah that the kingdom of Babylon and in particular its capital city [also named Babylon] superimposed its influence upon the Jews god’s people at that time. In their rapid rise to world power the Babylonians swept through Palestine with their armies, demolished the Jewish nation and carried off the majority of god’s people to Babylon as slaves

Note—SDA Bible Commentary.pp,979-982-A Loyal Company–The churches have become as described in the eighteenth chapter of Revelation. Why are the messages of Revelation fourteen given? Because the principles of the churches have become corrupted. . . . [Revelation 14:6-10 quoted.] Apparently the whole world is guilty of receiving the mark of the beast. But the prophet sees a company who are not worshiping the beast, and who have not received his mark in their foreheads or in their hands. “Here is the patience of the saints,” he declares; “here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (MS 92, 1904). 

Large Numbers Accept the Truth.–The time of God’s destructive judgments is the time of mercy for those who have no opportunity to learn what is truth. Tenderly will the Lord look upon them. His heart of mercy is touched; His hand is still stretched out to save, while the door is closed to those who would not enter. Large numbers will be admitted who in these last days hear the truth for the first time (RH July 5, 1906). 

Giving Glory to God.–To give glory to God is to reveal His character in our own, and thus make Him known. And in whatever way we make known the Father or the Son; we glorify God (MS 16, 1890). (Daniel 7:25; 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4; Revelation 18:1-5).

World Drunk with Wine of Babylon.–God denounces Babylon “because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” This means that she has disregarded the only commandment which points out the true God, and has torn down the Sabbath, God’s memorial of creation.  God made the world in six days and rested on the seventh, sanctifying this day, and setting it apart from all others as holy to Himself, to be observed by His people throughout their generations. 

 But the man of sin, exalting himself above God, sitting in the temple of God, and showing himself to be God, thought to change times and laws. This power, thinking to prove that it was not only equal to God, but above God, changed the rest day, placing the first day of the week where the seventh should be. And the Protestant world has taken this child of the papacy to be regarded as sacred. In the Word of God this is called her fornication. God has a controversy with the churches of today. They are fulfilling the prophecy of John. “All nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” They have divorced themselves from God by refusing to receive His sign. They have not the spirit of God’s true commandment-keeping people. And the people of the world, in giving their sanction to a false sabbath, and in trampling under their feet the Sabbath of the Lord, have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication (Letter 98, 1900).   9-12 (ch. 13:11-17; chs. 12:17; 18:1; Isaiah 58:12-14).

The Real Issue in the Final Conflict.–[Revelation 14:9, 10 quoted.] It is for the interest of all to understand what the mark of the beast is, and how they may escape the dread threatenings of God. Why men are not interested to know what constitutes the mark of the beast and his image? It is in direct contrast with the mark of God. [Exodus 31:12-17 quoted]. The Sabbath question will be the issue in the great conflict in which all the world will act a part. [Revelation 13:4-10 quoted.] This entire chapter is a revelation of what will surely take place [Revelation 13:11, 15-17 quoted] (MS 88, 1897). 

What Is the Mark of the Beast?–John was called to behold a people distinct from those who worship the beast and his image by keeping the first day of the week. The observance of this day is the mark of the beast (Letter 31, 1898). (Ch. 13:16, 17.)

Warning Against Mark of the Beast.–The third angel’s message has been sent forth to the world, warning men against receiving the mark of the beast or of his image in their foreheads or in their hands. To receive this mark means to come to the same decision as the beast has done, and to advocate the same ideas, in direct opposition to the Word of God. Of all who receive this mark, God says, “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.” If the light of truth has been presented to you, revealing the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and showing that there is no foundation in the Word of God for Sunday observance, and yet you still cling to the false sabbath, refusing to keep holy the Sabbath which God calls “My holy day,” you receive the mark of the beast. When does this take place? When you obey the decree that commands you to cease from labor on Sunday and worship God, while you know that there is not a word in the Bible showing Sunday to be other than a common working day, you consent to receive the mark of the beast, and refuse the seal of God.  If we receive this mark in our foreheads or in our hands, the judgments pronounced against the disobedient must fall upon us. But the seal of the living God is placed upon those who conscientiously keep the Sabbath of the Lord (RH July 13, 1897). 

 A Life and Death Question.–This message embraces the two preceding messages. It is represented as being given with a loud voice; that is, with the power of the Holy Spirit. Everything is now at stake. The third angel’s message is to be regarded as of the highest importance. It is a life and death question. The impression made by this message will be proportionate to the earnestness and solemnity with which it is proclaimed (MS 16, 1900). (Verse 1-4.)

Not a Visible Mark.–In the issue of the great contest two parties are developed, those who “worship the beast and his image,” and receive his mark, and those who receive “the seal of the living God,” who have the “Father’s name written in their foreheads.” This is not a visible mark (ST Nov. 1, 1899). (Ch. 18:1-18; 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12.) Guard Against Mystery of Iniquity.–The third angel’s message increases in importance as we near the close of this earth’s history. God has presented to me the dangers that are threatening those who have been given the sacred work of proclaiming the third angel’s message. They are to remember that this message is of the utmost consequence to the whole world. They need to search the Scriptures diligently, that they may learn how to guard against the mystery of iniquity, which plays so large a part in the closing scenes of this earth’s history. There will be more and still more external parade by worldly powers. Under different symbols, God presented to John the wicked character and seductive influence of those who have been distinguished for their persecution of His people. The eighteenth chapter of Revelation speaks of mystic Babylon, fallen from her high estate to become a persecuting power. Those who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus are the object of the wrath of this power [Revelation 18:1-8 quoted] (MS 135, 1902).   

The Time of Test Makes the Issue Clear.–The work of the Holy Spirit is to convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. The world can only be warned by seeing those who believe the truth sanctified through the truth, acting upon high and holy principles, showing in a high, elevated sense, the line of demarcation between those who keep the commandments of God and whose who trample them under their feet. The sanctification of the Spirit signalizes the difference between those who have the seal of God and those who keep a spurious rest day. When the test comes, it will be clearly shown what the mark of the beast is. It is the keeping of Sunday. Those who, after having heard the truth, continue to regard this day as holy bear the signature of the man of sin, who thought to change times and laws (Letter 12, 1900). 

 The Last Act in the Drama.–The substitution of the false for the true is the last act in the drama. When this substitution becomes universal, God will reveal Himself. When the laws of men are exalted above the laws of God, when the powers of this earth try to force men to keep the first day of the week, know that the time has come for God to work. He will arise in His majesty, and will shake terribly the earth. He will come out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the world for their iniquity (RH April 23, 1901]. (Verse 1-4; chs. 7:2, 3; 13:13, 16; Exodus 31:13-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4.) The Mark of Distinction.–We are nearing the close of this earth’s history. Satan is making desperate efforts to make himself god, to speak and act like God, to appear as one who has a right to control the consciences of men. He strives with all his power to place a human institution in the position of God’s holy rest day. Under the jurisdiction of the man of sin, men have exalted a false standard in complete opposition to God’s enactment. Each Sabbath institution bears the name of its author, an ineffaceable mark showing the authority of each. The first day of the week has not one particle of sanctity. It is the production of the man of sin, who strives in this way to counterwork God’s purposes.  God has designated the seventh day as His Sabbath. [Exodus 31:13, 17, 16 quoted.]       Thus the distinction is drawn between the loyal and the disloyal. Those who desire to have the seal of God in their foreheads must keep the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Thus they are distinguished from the disloyal, who have accepted a manmade institution in place of the true Sabbath. The observance of God’s rest day is a mark of distinction between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not (RH April 23, 1901). 

Genesis 6:17; Matthew 27:21, 22, 29.God’s Denominated People.–Who are these? God’s denominated people–those who on this earth have witnessed to their loyalty.Who are they? Those who have kept the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ; those who have owned the Crucified One as their Saviour (MS 132, 1903). (Exodus 31:13-17.) What Is God’s Sign?–The sign of obedience is the observance of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. If men keep the fourth commandment, they will keep all the rest (Letter 31, 1898). (Ch. 7:2, 3; Ezekiel 9:4.)

 The Mark of the Holy Sabbath.–There is to be a mark placed upon God’s people, and that mark is the keeping of His holy Sabbath (HS 217).

Loyal to Whom?–God has declared that it means much to discard the Word of the living God, and accept the assertions of those who seek to change times and laws. [Exodus 31:12-17 quoted.]       Those who in the face of these specifications refuse to repent of their transgressions will realize the result of disobedience. Individually we need to inquire, In observing a day of rest, have I drawn my faith from the Scriptures, or from a spurious representation of truth? Every soul who fastens himself to the divine, everlasting covenant, made and presented to us as a sign and mark of God’s government, fastens himself to the golden chain of obedience, every link of which is a promise. He shows that he regards God’s Word as above the word of man, God’s love as preferable to the love of man. And those who repent of transgression, and return to their loyalty by accepting God’s mark, show themselves to be true subjects, ready to do His will, to obey His commandments. True observance of the Sabbath is the sign of loyalty to God (MS 63, 1899). 

 Fidelity Grows With the Emergency.– In revelation 14 John beholds another scene. He sees a people whose fidelity and loyalty to the laws of God’s kingdom, grow with the emergency. The contempt placed upon the law of God only makes them reveal more decidedly their love for that law. It increases with the contempt that is placed upon it (MS 163, 1897]. (Psalm 119:126, 127; Malachi 3:18.)

 It Is Time to Fight!–Let no one yield to temptation and become less fervent in his attachment to God’s law because of the contempt placed upon it; for that is the very thing that should make us pray with all our heart and soul and voice, “It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law.” Therefore, because of the universal contempt, I will not turn traitor when God will be most glorified and most honored by my loyalty.       What! shall Christian relax their devotedness when all their capabilities and powers should be placed on the Lord’s side; when an unflinching testimony, noble and uplifting, should come from their lips? “Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.”   When the law of God is most derided and brought into the most contempt, then it is time for every true follower of Christ, for those whose hearts have been given to God, and who are fixed to obey God, to stand unflinchingly for the faith once delivered to the saints. “Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” It is time to fight when champions are most needed (RH June 8, 1897). (2 Timothy 4:7, 8). God Honors the Faithful Aged.–There are living upon our earth men who have passed the age of fourscore and ten. The natural results of old age are seen in their feebleness. But they believe God, and God loves them. The seal of God is upon them, and they will be among the number of whom the Lord has said, “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.” With Paul they can say, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished by course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also which love his appearing.” There are many whose grey hairs God honors because they have fought a good fight and kept the faith (Letter 207, 1899). 

Note—SDA Bible Commentary.pp,949-Vol7– John 14:15; Romans 3:31.6; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Revelation 14:4).—

Walking as Christ Walked. –Those who walk even as Christ walked, who are patient, gentle, kind, meek and lowly in heart, those who yoke up with Christ and lift His burdens, who yearn for souls as He yearned for them–these will enter into the joy of their Lord. They will see with Christ the travail of His soul, and be satisfied. Heaven will triumph, for the vacancies made in heaven by the fall of Satan and his angels will be filled by the redeemed of the Lord (RH May 29, 1900). The Imitation of Christ.–True religion is the imitation of Christ. Those who follow Christ will deny self, take up the cross, and walk in His footsteps. Following Christ means obedience to all His commandments. No soldier can be said to follow his commander unless he obeys orders. Christ is our model. To copy Jesus, full of love and tenderness and compassion, will require that we draw near to Him daily. O how God has been dishonored by His professed representatives (Letter 31a, 1894)!

Between the Soul and Jesus.–Those who are ever pressing a little closer to the world, and becoming more like them in feelings, in plans, in ideas, have left a space between them and the Saviour, and Satan has pressed his way into this space, and low, worldly-tainted, selfish plans become interwoven with their experience (RH June 7, 1887

 Not the Golden Currency of Heaven.–As the lovers of the world make religion subservient to the world, God requires His worshipers to subordinate the world to religion. The things of the world, that perish with the using, are not to be made the first consideration; these are not the golden currency of heaven. God has not stamped upon them His image and superscription (MS 16, 1890).        (Daniel 12:13; Revelation 14:6-12).

 Meaning of Antichrist to Be Understood.–Those who become confused in their understanding of the Word, who fails to see the meaning of antichrist, will surely place themselves on the side of antichrist. There is no time now for us to assimilate with the world. Daniel is standing in his lot and in his place. The prophecies of Daniel and of John are to be understood. They interpret each other. They give to the world truths which every one should understand. These prophecies are to be witnesses in the world. By their fulfillment in these last days they will explain themselves.       The Lord is about to punish the world for its iniquity. He is about to punish religious bodies for their rejection of the light and truth which has been given them. The great message, combining the first, second, and third angels’ messages, is to be given to the world. This is to be the burden of our work. Those who truly believe in Christ will openly conform to the law of Jehovah. The Sabbath is the sign between God and His people; and we are to make visible our conformity to the law of God by observing the Sabbath. It is to be the mark of distinction between God’s chosen people and the world (MS 10, 1900). (2 Thessalonians 2:3-10; Revelation 13:16, 17; 18:3-7.)

 Society Ranging Into Two Classes.–All society is ranging into two great classes, the obedient and the disobedient. Among which class shall we be found? Those who keep God’s commandments, those who live not by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, compose the church of the living God. Those who choose to follow antichrist are subjects of the great apostate. Ranged under the banner of Satan, they break God’s law and lead others to break it. They endeavor so to frame the laws of nations that men shall show their loyalty to earthly governments by trampling upon the laws of God’s kingdom. Satan is diverting minds with unimportant questions, in order that they shall not with clear and distinct vision see matters of vast importance. The enemy is planning to ensnare the world. The so-called Christian world is to be the theater of great and decisive actions. Men in authority will enact laws controlling the conscience, after the example of the papacy. Babylon will make all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Every nation will be involved. . . [Revelation 18:3-7 quoted] (MS 24, 1891.

 All Heaven on Christ’s Side.–The determination of Antichrist to carry out the rebellion he began in heaven will continue to work in the children of disobedience. Their envy and hatred against those who obey the fourth commandment will wax more and more bitter. But the people of God are not to hide their banner. They are not to ignore the commandments of God, and in order to have an easy time, go with the multitude to do evil.

The greater man’s influence for good, under the control of the Spirit of God, the more determined will be the enemy to indulge his envy and jealousy toward him by religious persecution. But all heaven is on the side of Christ, not of Antichrist. Those who love God and are willing to be partakers with Christ in His sufferings, God will honor. Antichrist, meaning all who exalt themselves against the will and work of God, will at the appointed time feel the wrath of Him who gave Himself that they might not perish but have eternal life. All who persevere in obedience, all who will not sell their souls for money or for the favor of men, God will register in the book of life (MS 9, 1900).  (Colossians 2:8; 1 Timothy 6:20.) Human Reason vs. God’s Wisdom.–Many exalt human reason, idolize human wisdom, and set the opinions of men above the revealed wisdom of God. This affords opportunity for the working of Satan, and the spirit of Antichrist is far more widespread than any of us imagine. The maxims of the world, that know not God, have been worked into the theories of the church. In the eyes of men, vain philosophy and science, falsely so-called, are of more value than the Word of God. The sentiment prevails to a large extent that the divine Mediator is not essential to the salvation of man. A variety of theories advanced by the so-called worldly-wise men for man’s elevation, are believed and trusted in more than is the truth of God, as taught by Christ and His apostles. The lying spirit that enticed Eve in Eden, finds acceptance with the majority of earth’s inhabitants today. Even the Christian world refuses to be converted by the Spirit of God, but listens to the prince of darkness, as he comes to them in the garb of an angel of light. The spirit of Antichrist is prevailing in the world to a far greater extent than it has ever prevailed before. The day of test and purification is just upon us. Signs of a most startling character appear, in floods, in hurricanes, in tornadoes, in cloudbursts, in casualties by land and by sea, that proclaim the approach of the end of all things. The judgments of God are falling on the world, that men may be awakened to the fact that Christ will come speedily (RH Nov. 8, 1892). 

 (John 3:16; 2 Peter 1:10, 11; 1 John 4:7, 8). Welcomed as a Child.–The plan of redemption is not merely a way of escape from the penalty of transgression, but through it the sinner is forgiven his sins, and will be finally received into heaven–not as a forgiven culprit pardoned and released from captivity, yet looked upon with suspicion and not admitted to friendship and trust; but welcomed as a child, and taken back into fullest confidence. The sacrifice of our Saviour has made ample provision for every repenting, believing soul. We are saved because God loves the purchase of the blood of Christ; and not only will He pardon the repentant sinner, not only will He permit him to enter heaven, but He, the Father of mercies, will wait at the very gates of heaven to welcome us, to give us an abundant entrance to the mansions of the blest. Oh, what love, what wondrous love the Father has shown in the gift of His beloved Son for this fallen race! And this Sacrifice is a channel for the outflow of His infinite love, that all who believe on Jesus Christ may, like the prodigal son, receive full and free restoration to the favor of Heaven. 21; 1 Peter 1:22; Revelation 7:2, 3.3-6 (1 Peter 1:22).

 Power to Keep Us in Temptation.–“And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” Does this text mean that the human agent can remove one stain of sin from his soul? No. Then what does it mean to purify himself? It means to look upon the Lord’s great moral standard of righteousness, the holy law of God, and see that he is a sinner in the light of that law. “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin It is through faith in Jesus Christ that the truth is accepted in the heart, and the human agent is purified and cleansed. . . . He has an abiding principle in the soul that enables him to overcome temptation. “Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not.” God has power to keep the soul that is in Christ who is under temptation. . . .   A mere profession of godliness is worthless. It is he that abideth in Christ that is a Christian. . . . Unless the mind of God becomes the mind of men, every effort to purify himself will be useless; for it is impossible to elevate man except through a knowledge of God. The outward gloss may be put on, and men may be as were the Pharisees whom Jesus describes as “whited sepulchers” full of corruption and dead men’s bones. But all the deformity of the soul is open to Him who judgeth righteously, and unless the truth is planted in the heart, it cannot control the life. Cleansing the outside of the cup will never make the vessel pure within. A nominal acceptance of truth is good as far as it goes, and the ability to give a reason for our faith is a good accomplishment, but if the truth does not go deeper than this, the soul will never be saved. The heart must be purified from all moral defilement (Letter 13, 1893). (Romans 3:20; Galatians 3:24-26; Ephesians 2:14-16).

Only Definition of Sin– is the transgression of the law.” This is the only definition of sin. Without the law there can be no transgression. “By the law is the knowledge of sin.” The standard of righteousness is exceeding broad, prohibiting every evil thing (MS 27, 1899).  4, 5.

 What Is the Justice of God?–The transgression of God’s law in a single instance, in the smallest particular, is sin. And the nonexecution of the penalty of that sin would be a crime in the divine administration. God is a judge, the avenger of justice, which is the habitation and foundation of His throne. He cannot dispense with His law, He cannot do away with its smallest item in order to meet and pardon sin. The rectitude and justice and moral excellence of the law must be maintained and vindicated before the heavenly universe and the worlds unfallen.  What is the justice of God? It is the holiness of God in relation to sin. Christ bore the sins of the world in man’s behalf that the sinner might have another trial, with all the divine opportunities and advantages which God has provided in man’s behalf (MS 145, 1897). Genesis 6:3). Simple Godliness Not Shallowness.–John bears testimony of Christ, the giver of the Word, saying, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” In the simplest language John sets before us true practical godliness. This simplicity does not show shallowness, but depth. John is speaking to real men and women, and the Holy Spirit directed him to write in such a way that they would be brought in contact with a real, living God. He shows us what God is doing, and what man must do to meet God’s requirements. John does not present the truth hesitatingly, but in a decided manner. He speaks positively [1 John 1:1-7 quoted] (ST Jan. 11, 1899). (Isaiah 8:20; Matthew 7:15, 16; 24:11, 23, 24; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21; 1 Timothy 4:1; Colossians 2:8; Revelation 1:1, 2).

Beware of False Prophets.– In these days of peril we are not to accept everything that men bring to us as truth. As professed teachers from God come to us declaring that they have a message from God, it is proper to inquire carefully, How do we know that this is truth? Jesus has told us that “false prophets shall arise and shall deceive many.” But we need not be deceived; for the Word of God gives us a test whereby we may know what is truth. The prophet says, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”       From this statement it is evident that it becomes us to be diligent Bible students that we may know what is according to the law and the testimony. We are safe in no other course of action. Jesus says, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.Ye shall know them by their fruits” (RH Feb. 23, 1892). In these days of delusion, every one who is established in the truth will have to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. Every variety of error will be brought out in the mysterious working of Satan, which would, if it were possible, deceive the very elect, and turn them from the truth. There will be false dreams and false visions, which have some truth, but lead away from the original faith. The Lord has given men a rule by which to detect them: “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” If they belittle the law of God, if they pay no heed to His will as revealed in the testimonies of His Spirit, they are deceivers. They are controlled by impulse and impressions which they believe to be from the Holy Spirit and consider more reliable than the Inspired Word. They claim that every thought and feeling is an impression of the Spirit; and when they are reasoned with out of the Scriptures, they declare that they have something more reliable. But while they think that they are led by the Spirit of God, they are in reality following an imagination wrought upon by Satan (BE Sept., 1886). (Acts 20:30, 31.) I would say to our dear brethren who have been so eager to accept everything that came in the form of visions and dreams, Beware that you be not ensnared. Read the warnings that have been given by the world’s Redeemer to His disciples to be given again by them to the world. The Word of God is solid rock, and we may plant our feet securely upon it. Every soul must needs be tested, every faith and doctrine must needs be tried by the law and the testimony. Take heed that no man deceive you. The warnings of Christ on this matter are needed at this time; for delusions and deceptions will come in among us, and will multiply as we near the end.”Of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them? Therefore watch, and remember. Bear in mind that trials of this character are to come upon us, not only from without, but from within our own ranks. Our individual safety is in entire consecration to God (MS 27, 1894). 7, 8 (1 Peter 1:22). Working With Love.–Pure love is simple in its operations, and separate from every other principle of action. When combined with earthly motives and selfish interests, it ceases to be pure. God considers more with how much love we work, than the amount we do. Love is a heavenly attribute. The natural heart cannot originate it. This heavenly plant only flourishes where Christ reigns supreme. Where love exists, there is power and truth in the life. Love does good and nothing but good. Those who have love bear fruit unto holiness, and in the end everlasting life (YI Jan. 13, 1898).                                             -After the literal city of Babylon would be destroyed, what was predicted about it being inhabited again?

Isaiah 13.19-22 the Babylon, the glory of kingdom the beauty of the Chaldees

Genesis 19.24 the Lord rained fire and brimstone from heaven

Isaiah 14.3,4,22,23 Cut of Babylon the name and remnant and son and nephew

Deuteronomy 29.23-27 the whole land thereof is brimstone and salt

Jeremiah 50.40-46   At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved

Amos 4.11-13 I Have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom

Note-This prophecy picture the destruction of the ancient city of Babylon as being final. It would never again be rebuild for  habitation .That  prophecy  has been in effect  until this very day the account ruins of that city, still visible in the southern part of the modern country of  Iraqi  today , stand as  a silent testimony to the ‘’sure word of prophecy , this prophecy  lead us to the logical conclusion that the reference in revelation about the of  Babylon in  the and time are not talking about a literal  city in the middle east but are referring  to a symbolic or mystic Babylon most  scholars  agree that Babylon “in revelation pictures a religious  entity rather than a literal  geographical city in existence near the  close  of time. There are many element in the description  of  modern Babylon that lead us to conclude it is symbolizing  apostate  Christianity that has wandered  far from god’s will  and word in the last days . Let us examine some things revelation says about this modern Babylon that lead us this conclusion.

Note-Education.pp175-184–An illustration of this truth is found in the history of ancient Babylon. To Nebuchadnezzar the king the true object of national government was represented under the figure of a great tree, whose height “reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth: the leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all;” under its shadow the beasts of the field dwelt, and among its branches the birds of the air had their habitation. Daniel 4:11, 12. This representation shows the character of a government that fulfills God’s purpose–a government that protects and up builds the nation. God exalted Babylon that it might fulfill this purpose. Prosperity attended the nation until it reached a height of wealth and power that has never since been equaled–fitly represented in the Scriptures by the inspired symbol, a “head of gold.” Daniel 2:38. But the king failed of recognizing the power that had exalted him. Nebuchadnezzar in the pride of his heart said: “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the

 house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?” Daniel 4:30. Instead of being a protector of men, Babylon became a proud and cruel oppressor. The words of Inspiration picturing the cruelty and greed of rulers in Israel reveal the secret of Babylon’s fall and of the fall of many another kingdom since the world began: “Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.” Ezekiel 34:3, 4.  To the ruler of Babylon came the sentence of the divine Watcher: O king, “to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.” Daniel 4:31.

“Come down, and sit in the dust,

O virgin daughter of Babylon,

 Sit on the ground: there is no throne. . . .

 Sit thou silent,

And get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans;

 For thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms.” Isaiah 47:1-5.

“O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures,

Thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness,”

“Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,

The beauty of the Chaldees’ Excellency,

 Shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.”I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.” Jeremiah 51:13; Isaiah 13:19; 14:23.  {Ed 176.3}

Every nation that has come upon the stage of action has been permitted to occupy its place on the earth, that it might be seen whether it would fulfill the purpose of “the Watcher and the Holy One.” Prophecy has traced the rise and fall of the world’s great empires–Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. With each of these, as with nations of less power, history repeated itself. Each had its period of test, each failed, its glory faded, its power departed, and its place was occupied by another. While the nations rejected God’s principles, and in this rejection wrought their own ruin, it was still manifest that the divine, overruling purpose was working through all their movements. This lesson is taught in a wonderful symbolic representation given to the prophet Ezekiel during his exile in the land of the Chaldeans. The vision was given at a time when Ezekiel was weighed down with sorrowful memories and troubled forebodings. The land of his fathers was desolate. Jerusalem was depopulated. The prophet himself was a stranger in a land where ambition and cruelty reigned supreme. As on every hand he beheld tyranny and wrong, his soul was distressed, and he mourned day and night. But the symbols presented to him revealed a power above that of earthly rulers.  {Ed      Upon the banks of the river Chebar, Ezekiel beheld a whirlwind seeming to come from the north, “a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the color of amber.” A number of wheels, intersecting one another, were moved by four living beings. High above all these “was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.” “And there appeared in the cherubims the form of a man’s hand under their wings.” Ezekiel 1:4, 26; 10:8. The wheels were so complicated in arrangement that at first sight they appeared to be in confusion; but they moved in perfect harmony. Heavenly beings, sustained and guided by the hand beneath the wings of the cherubim, were impelling these wheels; above them, upon the sapphire throne, was the Eternal One; and round about the throne a rainbow, the emblem of divine mercy. As the wheel like complications were under the guidance of the hand beneath the wings of the cherubim, so the complicated play of human events is under divine control. Amidst the strife and tumult of nations, He that sitteth above the cherubim still guides the affairs of the earth.  The history of nations that one after another have occupied their allotted time and place, unconsciously witnessing to the truth of which they themselves knew not the meaning, speaks to us. To every nation and to every individual of today God has assigned a place in His great plan. Today men and nations are being measured by the plummet in the hand of Him who makes no mistake. All are by their own choice deciding their destiny, and God is overruling all for the accomplishment of His purposes. The history which the great I AM has marked out in His word, uniting link after link in the prophetic chain, from eternity in the past to eternity in the future, tells us where we are today in the procession of the ages, and what may be expected in the time to come. All that prophecy has foretold as coming to pass, until the present time, has been traced on the pages of history, and we may be assured that all which is yet to come will be fulfilled in its order.

The final overthrow of all earthly dominions is plainly foretold in the word of truth. In the prophecy uttered when sentence from God was pronounced upon the last king of Israel is given the message:  “Thus saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: . . . exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it Him.” Ezekiel 21:26, 27. The crown removed from Israel passed successively to the kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. God says, “It shall be no more, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it Him.” That time is at hand. Today the signs of the times declare that we are standing on the threshold of great and solemn events. Everything in our world is in agitation. Before our eyes is fulfilling the Saviour’s prophecy of the events to precede His coming: “Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. . . . Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” Matthew 24:6, 7.   The present is a time of overwhelming interest to all living. Rulers and statesmen, men who occupy positions of trust and authority, thinking men and women of all classes, have their attention fixed upon the events taking place about us. They are watching the strained, restless relations that exist among the nations. They observe the intensity that is taking possession of every earthly element, and they recognize that something great and decisive is about to take place–that the world is on the verge of a stupendous crisis. Angels are now restraining the winds of strife, that they may not blow until the world shall be warned of its coming doom; but a storm is gathering, ready to burst upon the earth; and when God shall bid His angels loose the winds, there will be such a scene of strife as no pen can picture. 

The Bible, and the Bible only, gives a correct view of these things. Here are revealed the great final scenes in the history of our world, events that already are casting their shadows before, the sound of their approach causing the earth to tremble and men’s hearts to fail them for fear.       “Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. . . . They have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate. . . . The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.” Isaiah 24:1-18. “Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. . . . The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered. How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.” “The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.” Joel 1:15-18, 12.       “I am pained at my very heart; . . . I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled.”  I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down.” Jeremiah 4:19, 20, 23-26. “Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.” Jeremiah 30:7.       “Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpass.” Isaiah 26:20.

“Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge,

Even the Most High, thy habitation;

 There shall no evil befall thee,

  Neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.”

 Psalm 91:9, 10.

 

“The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken,

 And called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.

Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence.”  “He shall call to the heavens above,

And to the earth, that He may judge His people. . . And the heavens shall declare His righteousness;  For God is judge Himself.” Psalm 50:1-3; 50:4-6, R.V.

      “O daughter of Zion . . . the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies. Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they His counsel.” “Because they call thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after,” “I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord.” “I will bring again the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have mercy on his dwelling places.” Micah 4:10-12; Jeremiah 30:17, 18.

“He will swallow up death in victory; . . . and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.” Isaiah 25:9, 8. 

 “Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down. . . . For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king.” Isaiah 33:20-22. 

“With righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.” Isaiah 11:4. Then will the purpose of God be fulfilled; the principles of His kingdom will be honored by all beneath the sun.

 “Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, Wasting nor destruction within thy borders;

 But thou shalt call thy walls Salvation,

 And thy gates Praise.”

 “In righteousness shalt thou be established:

Thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear:  And from terror; for it shall not come near thee.” Isaiah 60:18; 54:14.

Prophets to whom these great scenes were revealed longed to understand their import. They “inquired and searched diligently: . . . searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify. . . . Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you; . . . which things the angels desire to look into.” 1 Peter 1:10-12. To us who are standing on the very verge of their fulfillment, of what deep moment, what living interest, are these delineations of the things to come–events for which, since our first parents turned their steps from Eden, God’s children have watched and waited, longed and prayed!  At this time, before the great final crisis, as before the world’s first destruction, men are absorbed in the pleasures and the pursuits of sense. Engrossed with the seen and transitory, they have lost sight of the unseen and eternal. For the things that perish with the using, they are sacrificing imperishable riches. Their minds need to be uplifted, their views of life to be broadened. They need to be aroused from the lethargy of worldly dreaming. From the rise and fall of nations as made plain in the pages of Holy Writ, they need to learn how worthless is mere outward and worldly glory. Babylon, with all its power and its magnificence, the like of which our world has never since beheld,–power and magnificence which to the people of that day seemed so stable and enduring,–how completely has it passed away! As “the flower of the grass” it has perished. So perishes all that has not God for its foundation. Only that which is bound up with His purpose and expresses His character can endure. His principles are the only steadfast things our world knows. It is these great truths that old and young need to learn. We need to study the working out of God’s purpose in the history of nations and in the revelation of things to come, that we may estimate at their true value things seen and things unseen; that we may learn what is the true aim of life; that, viewing the things of time in the light of eternity, we may put them to their truest and noblest use. Thus, learning here the principles of His kingdom and becoming its subjects and citizens, we may be prepared at His coming to enter with Him into its possession .The day is at hand. For the lessons to be learned, the work to be done, the transformation of character to be effected, the time remaining is but too brief a span. “Behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off. Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; There shall none of My words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord God.” Ezekiel 12:27, 28.

 

Modern Babylon a corrupted Christianity

What does a mighty angel announce about Babylon?

Revelation 17.1-2 The judgment of the great where, that sitteth mystery Babylon

Ezekiel 43.1-10   I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came

Note- after announcing the fall of Babylon, the passage goes on in verse 4 to indicate there are still people in it. Evidently the fall of Babylon was not its destruction but a moral fall-a corruption   of spiritual standards and a forsaking of moral values. Since god’s word and in particular, God’s Ten Commandments lay out God’s purpose for Christians, this fall ‘of Babylon is a giving up of those scriptural principles

Note-The Great Controversy 382–n the New Testament, language very similar is addressed to professed Christians who seek the friendship of the world above the favor of God. Says the apostle James: “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”  The woman (Babylon) of Revelation 17 is described as “arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness:…and upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots.” Says the prophet: “I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.” Babylon is further declared to be “that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” Revelation 17:4-6, 18. The power that for so many centuries maintained despotic sway over the monarchs of Christendom is Rome. The purple and scarlet color, the gold and precious stones and pearls, vividly picture the magnificence and more than kingly pomp affected by the haughty see of Rome. And no other power could be so truly declared “drunken with the blood of the saints” as that church which has so cruelly persecuted the followers of Christ. Babylon is also charged with the sin of unlawful connection with “the kings of the earth.” It was by departure from the Lord, and alliance with the heathen, that the Jewish church became a harlot; and Rome, corrupting herself in like manner by seeking the support of worldly powers, receives a like condemnation.  Babylon is said to be “the mother of harlots.” By her daughters must be symbolized churches that cling to her doctrines and traditions, and follow her example of sacrificing

The truth and the approval of God, in order to form an unlawful alliance with the world. The message of Revelation 14, announcing the fall of Babylon must apply to religious bodies that were once pure and have become corrupt. Since this message follows the warning of the judgment, it must be given in the last days; therefore it cannot refer to the Roman Church alone, for that church has been in a fallen condition for many centuries. Furthermore, in the eighteenth chapter of the Revelation the people of God are called upon to come out of Babylon. According to this scripture, many of God’s people must still be in Babylon. And in what religious bodies are the greater part of the followers of Christ now to be found? Without doubt, in the various churches professing the Protestant faith. At the time of their rise these churches took a noble stand for God and the truth, and His blessing was with them. Even the unbelieving world was constrained to acknowledge the beneficent results that followed an acceptance of the principles of the gospel. In the words of the prophet to Israel: “Thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through My comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God.” But they fell by the same desire which was the curse and ruin of Israel–the desire of imitating the practices and courting the friendship of the ungodly. “Thou didst trust in thine own beauty and playedst the harlot because of thy renown.” Ezekiel 16:14, 15.   Many of the Protestant churches are following Rome’s example of iniquitous connection with “the kings of the earth”–the state churches, by their relation to secular governments; and other denominations, by seeking the favor of the world. And the term “Babylon”–confusion–may be appropriately applied to these bodies, all professing to derive their doctrines from the Bible, yet divided into almost innumerable sects, with widely conflicting creeds and theories.   Besides a sinful union with the world, the churches that separated from Rome present other of her characteristics.                                                                          

A Roman Catholic work argues that “if the Church of Rome were ever guilty of idolatry in relation to the saints, her daughter, the Church of England, stands guilty of the same, which has ten churches dedicated to Mary for one dedicated to Christ.”–Richard Challoner, the Catholic Christian Instructed, Preface, pages 21, 22.  And Dr. Hopkins, in “A Treatise on the Millennium,” declares: “There is no reason to consider the antichristian spirit and practices to be confined to that which is now called the Church of Rome. The Protestant churches have much of antichrist in them, and are far from being wholly reformed from . . . corruptions and wickedness.”–Samuel Hopkins, Works, vol. 2, p. 328. Concerning the separation of the Presbyterian Church from Rome, Dr. Guthrie writes: “Three hundred years ago, our church, with an open Bible on her banner, and this motto, ‘Search the Scriptures,’ on her scroll, marched out from the gates of Rome.” Then he asks the significant question: “Did they come clean out of Babylon?”–Thomas Guthrie, The Gospel in Ezekiel, page 237. “The Church of England,” says Spurgeon, “seems to be eaten through and through with sacramentarianism; but nonconformity appears to be almost as badly riddled with philosophical infidelity. Those of whom we thought better things are turning aside one by one from the fundamentals of the faith. Through and through, I believe, the very heart of England is honeycombed with a damnable infidelity which dares still go into the pulpit and call itself Christian. What was the origin of the great apostasy? How did the church first depart from the simplicity of the gospel?

By conforming to the practices of paganism, to facilitate the acceptance of Christianity by the heathen. The apostle Paul declared, even in his day, “The mystery of iniquity doth already work.” 2 Thessalonians 2:7. During the lives of the apostles the church remained comparatively pure. But “toward the latter end of the second century most of the churches assumed a new form; the first simplicity disappeared, and insensibly, as the old disciples retired to their graves, their children, along with new converts, . . . came forward and new-modeled the cause.”–Robert Robinson, Ecclesiastical Researches, ch. 6, par. 17, p. 51. To secure converts, the exalted standard of the Christian faith was lowered, and as the result “a pagan flood, flowing into the church, carried with it its customs, practices, and idols.” –Gavazzi, Lectures, page 278. As the Christian religion secured the favor and support of secular rulers, it was nominally accepted by multitudes; but while in appearance Christians, many “remained in substance pagans, especially worshiping in secret their idols.”–Ibid., page 278.  Has not the same process been repeated in nearly every church calling itself Protestant? As the founders, those who possessed the true spirit of reform, pass away, their descendants come forward and “new-model the cause.” While blindly clinging to the creed of their fathers and refusing to accept any truth in advance of what they saw, the children of the reformers depart widely from their example of humility, self-denial, and renunciation of the world. Thus “the first simplicity disappears.” A worldly flood, flowing into the church, carries “with it its customs, practices, and idols.” Alas, to what a fearful extent is that friendship of the world which is “enmity with God,” now cherished among the professed followers of Christ! How widely have the popular churches throughout Christendom departed from the Bible standard of humility, self-denial, simplicity, and godliness!Said John Wesley, in speaking of the right use of money: “Do not waste any part of so precious a talent, merely in gratifying the desire of the eye, by superfluous or expensive apparel, or by needless ornaments. Waste no part of it in curiously adorning your houses; in superfluous or expensive furniture; in costly pictures, painting, gilding. . . . Lay out nothing to gratify the pride of life, to gain the admiration or praise of men. . . . ‘So long as thou doest well unto thyself, men will speak good of thee.’ So long as thou art ‘clothed in purple and fine linen,’ and farest ‘sumptuously

 Every day,’ no doubt many will applaud thy elegance of taste, thy generosity and hospitality. But do not buy their applause so dear. Rather be content with the honor that cometh from God.”–Wesley, Works, Sermon 50, “The Use of Money.” But in many churches of our time such teaching is disregarded. A profession of religion has become popular with the world. Rulers, politicians, lawyers, doctors, merchants, join the church as a means of securing the respect and confidence of society, and advancing their own worldly interests. Thus they seek to cover all their unrighteous transactions under a profession of Christianity. The various religious bodies, re-enforced by the wealth and influence of these baptized worldlings, make a still higher bid for popularity and patronage. Splendid churches, embellished in the most extravagant manner, are erected on popular avenues. The worshipers array themselves in costly and fashionable attire. A high salary is paid for a talented minister to entertain and attract the people. His sermons must not touch popular sins, but be made smooth and pleasing for fashionable ears. Thus fashionable sinners are enrolled on the church records, and fashionable sins are concealed under a pretense of godliness.  Commenting on the present attitude of professed Christians toward the world, a leading secular journal says:  “Insensibly the church has yielded to the spirit of the age, and adapted its forms of worship to modern wants.” “All things, indeed, that help to make religion attractive, the church now employs as its instruments.” And a writer in the New York Independent speaks thus concerning Methodism as it is: “The line of separation between the godly and the irreligious fades out into a kind of penumbra, and zealous men on both sides are toiling to obliterate all difference between their modes of action and enjoyment.” “The popularity of religion tends vastly to increase the number of those who would secure its benefits without squarely meeting its duties.”

  Says Howard Crosby: “It is a matter of deep concern that we find Christ’s church so little fulfilling the designs of its Lord. Just as the ancient Jews let a familiar intercourse with the idolatrous nations steal away their hearts from God, . . . so the church of Jesus now is, by its false partnerships with an unbelieving world, giving up the divine methods of its true life, and yielding itself to the pernicious, though often plausible, habits of a Christless society, using the arguments and reaching the conclusions which are foreign to the revelation of God, and directly antagonistic to all growth in grace.”–The Healthy Christian: An Appeal to the Church, pages 141, 142. In this tide of worldliness and pleasure seeking, self-denial and self-sacrifice for Christ’s sake are almost wholly lost. “Some of the men and women now in active life in our churches were educated, when children, to make sacrifices in order to be able to give or do something for Christ.” But “if funds are wanted now, nobody must be called on to give. Oh, no! have a fair, tableau, mock trial, antiquarian supper, or something to eat–anything to amuse the people.  Governor Washburn of Wisconsin in his annual message, January 9, 1873, declared: “Some law seems to be required to break up the schools where gamblers are made. These are everywhere. Even the church (unwittingly, no doubt) is sometimes found doing the work of the devil. Gift concerts, gift enterprises and raffles, sometimes in aid of religious or charitable objects, but often for less worthy purposes, lotteries, prize packages, etc., are all devices to obtain money without value received. Nothing is so demoralizing or intoxicating, particularly to the young, as the acquisition of money or property without labor. Respectable people engaging in these chance enterprises, and easing their consciences with the reflection that the money is to go to a good object, it is not strange that the youth of the state should so often fall into the habits which the excitement of games of hazard is almost certain to engender.”  The spirit of worldly conformity is invading the churches throughout Christendom. Robert Atkins, in a sermon preached in London, draws a dark picture of the spiritual declension that prevails in England: “The truly righteous are diminished from the earth, and no man layeth it to heart. The professors of religion of the present day, in every church, are lovers of the world, conformers to the world, lovers of creature comfort, and aspirers after respectability. They are called to suffer with Christ, but they shrink from even reproach…. Apostasy, apostasy, apostasy, is engraven on the very front of every church; and did they know it, and did they feel it, there might be hope; but, alas! they cry, ‘We are rich, and increased in goods, and stand in need of nothing.'” –Second Advent Library, tract No. 39.  The great sin charged against Babylon is that she “made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” This cup of intoxication which she presents to the world represents the false doctrines that she has accepted as the result of her unlawful connection with the great ones of the earth. Friendship with the world corrupts her faith, and in her turn she exerts a corrupting influence upon the world by teaching doctrines which are opposed to the plainest statements of Holy Writ.  Rome withheld the Bible from the people and required all men to accept her teachings in its place. It was the work of the Reformation to restore to men the word of God; but is it not too true that in the churches of our time men are taught to rest their faith upon their creed and the teachings of their church rather than on the Scriptures? Said Charles Beecher, speaking of the Protestant churches: “They shrink from any rude word against creeds with the same sensitiveness with which those holy fathers would have shrunk from a rude word against the rising veneration of saints and martyrs which they were fostering. . . . The Protestant evangelical denominations have so tied up one another’s hands, and their own, that, between them all, a man cannot become a preacher at all, anywhere, without accepting some book besides the

Bible…. There is nothing imaginary in the statement that the creed power is now beginning to prohibit the Bible as really as Rome did, though in a subtler way.”–Sermon on “The Bible a Sufficient Creed,” delivered at Fort Wayne, Indiana, Feb. 22, 1846.  When faithful teachers expound the word of God, there arise men of learning, ministers professing to understand the Scriptures, who denounce sound doctrine as heresy, and thus turn away inquirers after truth. Were it not that the world is hopelessly intoxicated with the wine of Babylon, multitudes would be convicted and converted by the plain, cutting truths of the word of God. But religious faith appears so confused and discordant that the people know not what to believe as truth. The sin of the world’s impenitence lies at the door of the church.  The second angel’s message of Revelation 14 was first preached in the summer of 1844, and it then had a more direct application to the churches of the United States, where the warning of the judgment had been most widely proclaimed and most generally rejected, and where the declension in the churches had been most rapid. But the message of the second angel did not reach its complete fulfillment in 1844. The churches then experienced a moral fall, in consequence of their refusal of the light of the advent message; but that fall was not complete. As they have continued to reject the special truths for this time they have fallen lower and lower. Not yet, however, can it be said that “Babylon is fallen,… because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” She has not yet made all nations do this. The spirit of world conforming and indifference to the testing truths for our time exists and has been gaining ground in churches of the Protestant faith in all the countries of Christendom; and these churches are included in the solemn and terrible denunciation of the second angel. But the work of apostasy has not yet reached its culmination.   The Bible declares that before the coming of the Lord, Satan will work “with all power and signs and lying wonders,

and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness;” and they that “received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved,” will be left to receive “strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11. Not until this condition shall be reached, and the union of the church with the world shall be fully accomplished throughout Christendom, will the fall of Babylon be complete. The change is a progressive one, and the perfect fulfillment of Revelation 14:8 is yet future. Notwithstanding the spiritual darkness and alienation from God that exist in the churches which constitute Babylon, the great body of Christ’s true followers are still to be found in their communion. There are many of these who have never seen the special truths for this time. Not a few are dissatisfied with their present condition and are longing for clearer light. They look in vain for the image of Christ in the churches with which they are connected. As these bodies depart further and further from the truth, and ally themselves more closely with the world, the difference between the two classes will widen, and it will finally result in separation. The time will come when those who love God supremely can no longer remain in connection with such as are “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” Revelation 18 points to the time when, as the result of rejecting the threefold warning of Revelation 14:6-12, the church will have fully reached the condition foretold by the second angel, and the people of God still in Babylon will be called upon to separate from her communion. This message is the last that will ever be given to the world; and it will accomplish its work. When those that “believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:12), shall be left to receive strong delusion and to believe a lie, then the light of truth will shine upon all whose hearts are open to receive it, and all the children of the Lord that remain in Babylon will heed the call: “Come out of her, My people” (Revelation 18:4). 

What did Paul say would first happen, preparing the way for the rise of the antichrist?

2 Thessalonians 2.3-4  let no man deceive you, come falling away first, man sin revealed

Matthew 24.4-5 Take heed that no men deceive you, many come in my name saying I am Christ

Jeremiah 14.14-17   the lord said unto me, the prophets’ prophecy lies

John5.43 I am come in my father’s name, they receive me not

Matthew 24. 11 many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many

1 timothy 4.1-2 in the latter time days some depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits

John 16.13-15 the spirit of truth is come he will guide you

2 timothy 3.1-5   in the last day perilous times shall come 2peter 3.3-9 there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking their own lusts

Jude 1:4,18  They told you there  should  be mockers in last days

2 timothy 3.13-14 Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse

Revelation 16.13   the spirit of devils, working miracles

Daniel 11.35-39   He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above God

Note—SDA Bible Commentary.pp,977–Men in Authority to Hear.–God is going to bring around a condition of things where the good men and the men in authority will have an opportunity to know what is truth indeed. And because a people will not bow the knee to the image, and receive the mark of the beast in the hand or the forehead, but will stand to the truth because it is truth, there will be oppression, and an attempt to compel the conscience; but those who have known the truth will be afraid to yield to the powers of darkness. God has a people who will not receive the mark of the beast in their right hand or in their forehead. . .  Not a move has been made in exalting the idol Sabbath, in bringing around Sunday observance through legislation, but Satan has been behind it, and has been the chief worker; but the conscience should not be compelled even for the observance of the genuine Sabbath, for God will accept only willing service (RH April 15, 1890).

The Law of God Made Void.–A time is coming when the law of God is, in a special sense, to be made void in our land. The rulers of our nation will, by legislative enactments, enforce the Sunday law, and thus God’s people be brought into great peril. When our nation, in its legislative councils, shall enact laws to bind the consciences of men in regard to their religious privileges, enforcing Sunday observance, and bringing oppressive power to bear against those who keep the seventh-day Sabbath, the law of God will, to all intents and purposes, be made void in our land; and national apostasy will be followed by national ruin (RH Dec. 18, 1888).   

Contempt for the Great Lawgiver.–The sins of the world will have reached unto heaven when the law of God is made void; when the Sabbath of the Lord is trampled in the dust, and men are compelled to accept in its stead an institution of the papacy through the strong hand of the law of the land. In exalting an institution of man above the institution ordained of God, they show contempt for the great Lawgiver, and refuse His sign or seal (RH Nov. 5, 1889.

Prepared for Injustice.–As Christ was hated without cause, so will His people be hated because they are obedient to the commandments of God? If He who was pure, holy, and undefiled, who did good and only good in our world, was treated as a base criminal and condemned to death, His disciples must expect but similar treatment, however faultless may be their life and blameless their character.  Human enactments, laws manufactured by satanic agencies under a plea of goodness and restriction of evil, will be exalted, while God’s holy commandments are despised and trampled underfoot. And all who prove their loyalty by obedience to the law of Jehovah must be prepared to be arrested, to be brought before councils that have not for their standard the high and holy law of God (RH Dec. 26, 1899).  2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4.) Living in a Momentous Period.–We are living in a momentous period of this earth’s history. The great conflict is just before us. We see the world corrupted under the inhabitants thereof. The man of sin has worked with a marvelous perseverance to exalt the spurious sabbath, and the disloyal Protestant world has wondered after the beast, and has called obedience to the Sabbath instituted by Jehovah disloyalty to the laws of the nations. Kingdoms have confederated to sustain a false Sabbath institution, which has not a word of authority in the oracles of God (RH Feb. 6, 1900).  (Ch. 7:2, 3). The Question before Us Now.–The Sabbath question is to be the issue in the great final conflict, in which all the world will act a part. Men have honored Satan’s principles above the principles that rule in the heavens. They have accepted the spurious Sabbath, which Satan has exalted as the sign of his authority. But God has set His seal upon His royal requirement. Each Sabbath institution, both true and false, bears the name of its author, an ineffaceable mark that shows the authority of each.  The great decision now to be made by every one is, whether he will receive the mark of the beast and his image, or the seal of the living and true God (ST March 22, 1910)   Mark of Beast Not Yet Applied.–Sunday keeping is not yet the mark of the beast, and will not be until the decree goes forth causing men to worship this idol Sabbath. The time will come when this day will be the test, but that time has not come yet (MS 118, 1899).

Matthew 7.15.16 Beware of false prophets

2peter 2.3-5 Thou therefore endure hardness, as good soldiers

Ephesians 4.18-19 the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness to their hearts

Daniel 7.25 He shall speak great words against the most high

Daniel 8.24-25 He shall destroy wonderfully and shall prosper, shall destroy the ….holy people 

Revelation 13.5-6 It was given unto him a mouth speaking great blasphemies

Revelation 17.6 the woman was drunken with the blood of the saints

Revelation 13.7-9 Make war with the saints and to overcame them

Note- In verses  10-12  Paul  emphasizes the  vitalness  of believing and holding onto the truth. Babylon has fallen away from the truth of  God accepting  and  espousing  human  traditions  in its  place.

Note-pp, 975-976- 1, 2, 11.ch. 12:3-6, 13-17. chs. 3:5; 20:12-15; Hebrews 9:11-14, 22.      

A Unique Symbol.–Here is a striking figure of the rise and growth of our own nation. And the lamblike horns, emblems of innocence and gentleness, well represent the character of our government, as expressed in its two fundamental principles, republicanism and Protestantism (4SP 277). 

Shield of Omnipotence over America.–The United States is a land that has been under the special shield of the Omnipotent One. God has done great things for this country, but in the transgression of His law, men have been doing a work originated by the man of sin. Satan is working out his designs to involve the human family in disloyalty (MS 17, 1906).   The Prospect before Us.–Prophecy represents Protestantism as having lamblike horns, but speaking like a dragon. Already we are beginning to hear the voice of the dragon. There is a satanic force propelling the Sunday movement, but it is concealed. Even the men who are engaged in the work, are themselves blinded to the results which will follow their movement. 

Let not the commandment-keeping people of God be silent at this time, as though we gracefully accepted the situation. There is the prospect before us of waging a continuous war, at the risk of imprisonment, of losing property and even life itself, to defend the law of God, which is being made void by the laws of men (RH Jan. 1, 1889).       11-17 (ch. 14:9-12; Daniel 7:25; 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4; Revelation 17:13, 14; 18:1-5). Persecuting Hand of the Enemy.–[Revelation 13:11-13 quoted.] Religious powers, allied to heaven by profession and claiming to have the characteristics of a lamb, will show by their acts that they have the heart of a dragon, and that they are instigated and controlled by Satan. The time is coming when God’s people will feel the hand of persecution because they keep holy the seventh day. Satan has caused the change of the Sabbath in the hope of carrying out his purpose for the defeat of God’s plans. He seeks to make the commands of God of less force in the world than human laws. The man of sin, who thought to change times and laws, and who has always oppressed the people of God, will cause laws to be made enforcing the observance of the first day of the week. But God’s people are to stand firm for Him. And the Lord will work in their behalf, showing plainly that He is the God of gods (MS 135, 1902).

Church and the World in Corrupt Harmony.–The Word of God plainly declares that His law is to be scorned, trampled upon, by the world; there will be an extraordinary prevalence of iniquity. The professed Protestant world will form a confederacy with the man of sin, and the church and the world will be in corrupt harmony.  Here the great crisis is coming upon the world. The Scriptures teach that popery is to regain its lost supremacy, and that the fires of persecution will be rekindled through the timeserving concessions of the so-called Protestant world (GCB April 13, 1891). 13, 14 (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12; ch. 16:13-16; Matthew 7:21-23).

 Miracles Performed in Our Sight.–The time is at hand when Satan will work miracles to confirm minds in the belief that he is God. All the people of God are now to stand on the platform of truth as it has been given in the third angel’s message. All the pleasant pictures, all the miracles wrought, will be presented in order that, if possible, the very elect will be deceived. The only hope for anyone is to hold fast the evidences that have confirmed the truth in righteousness (RH Aug. 9, 1906).       Miracles Wrought Under Supervision of the Enemy.–[Matthew 7:21-23 quoted.] These may profess to be followers of Christ, but they have lost sight of their Leader. They may say, “Lord, Lord”; they may point to the sick who are healed through them, and to other marvelous works, and claim that they have more of the Spirit and power of God than is manifested by those who keep His law. But their works are done under the supervision of the enemy of righteousness, whose aim it is to deceive souls, and are designed to lead away from obedience, truth, and duty. In the near future there will be still more marked manifestations of this miracle-working power; for it is said of him, “And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men” (ST Feb. 26, 1885).

 Preparing for the Image of the Beast.–Already preparations are advancing, and movements are in progress, which will result in making an image to the beast. Events will be brought about in the earth’s history that will fulfill the predictions of prophecy for these last days (RH April 23, 1889).       14-17 (ch. 14:9-12).

Tested by the Image.–The Lord has shown me clearly that the image of the beast will be formed before probation closes; for it is to be the great test for the people of God, by which their eternal destiny will be decided. . . . [Revelation 13:11-17 quoted.] . . .This is the test that the people of God must have before they are sealed. All who proved their loyalty to God by observing His law, and refusing to accept a spurious Sabbath, will rank under the banner of the Lord God Jehovah, and will receive the seal of the living God. Those who yield the truth of heavenly origin and accept the Sunday sabbath, will receive the mark of the beast (Letter 11, 1890).

 Apostasy and National Ruin.–When the Protestant churches shall unite with the secular power to sustain a false religion, for opposing which their ancestors endured the fiercest persecution; when the state shall use its power to enforce the decrees and sustain the institutions of the church–then will Protestant America have formed an image to the papacy, and there will be a national apostasy which will end only in national ruin (ST March 22, 1910).

 The Mark of Apostasy and God’s Patience.–There are many who have never had the light. They are deceived by their teachers, and they have not received the mark of the beast. The Lord is working with them; He has not left them to their own ways. Until they shall be convicted of the truth and trample upon the evidence given to enlighten them, the Lord will not withdraw His grace from them (Letter 7, 1895).  15-17

2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4). Perfecting the Device of Satan.–When the legislature frames laws which exalt the first day of the week, and put it in the place of the seventh day, the device of Satan will be perfected (RH April 15, 1890).  16, 17 (Daniel 3:1-18; 1 John 2:18).

 History Will Be Repeated.–History will be repeated. False religion will be exalted. The first day of the week, a common working day, possessing no sanctity whatever, will be set up as was the image at Babylon. All nations and tongues and peoples will be commanded to worship this spurious Sabbath. This is Satan’s plan to make of no account the day instituted by God, and given to the world as a memorial of creation. The decree enforcing the worship of this day is to go forth to all the world. In a limited degree, it has already gone forth. In several places the civil power is speaking with the voice of a dragon, just as the heathen king spoke to the Hebrew captives.       Trial and persecution will come to all who, in obedience to the Word of God, refuse to worship this false Sabbath. Force is the last resort of every false religion. At first it tries attraction, as the king of Babylon tried the power of music and outward show. If these attractions, invented by men inspired by Satan, failed to make men worship the image, the hungry flames of the furnace were ready to consume them. So it will be now. The papacy has exercised her power to compel men to obey her, and she will continue to do so. We need the same spirit that was manifested by God’s servants in the conflict with paganism (ST May 6, 1897). 

What does Babylon do with the kings of the earth?

Revelation 18.3 Make nations drink of wrath of the wine of the wrath of her fornication

Note– The illicit connection between Babylon and secular government is a prominent indictment against Babylon. It is mentioned in Revelation 14.8 as  in Revelation 17.2 and 18.9.It is another indication that Babylon is religious  in nature. If  “Babylon ‘’ were only a political  entity there would be no moral wrong in its associating with  other political entities. But the church is ever to remain separate from the state, God never calls upon secular governments  to help him  enforce  spiritual  matters of his kingdoms .In past history ,whenever the church demanded and received  the sword of the state to get and keep converts ,religious persecution  brought on much cruelty and ruthlessness .In the end time corrupted  Christianity that has lost its spiritual power will seek  for government aid to maintain and extend its religious  ideas. When it does “Babylon is fallen’’ will be announced by heaven.

Note-The apostles and prophets are here called upon to rejoice over great Babylon in her destruction ,as it is in close connection with this destruction that they will be delivered from the power of death and the grave by the first resurrection. Like a great millstone dropped  into the sea, Babylon sinks to rise no more .The various arts and crafts that have been employed in her midst , and have ministered to her desires ,shall be practiced no more. The pompous music that has been heard in her imposing but formal and lifeless service ,dies away forever .The scenes of festivity and gladness ,when the bridegroom and the bride have been led before her altars ,shall be witnessed no more. Her sorceries constitute her leading crime, and sorcery is a practice which is involved in the spiritism of  today . ‘’In her was found the blood of all that were slain upon the earth .’’From this it is evident that ever since the introduction of a false religion into the world, Babylon has existed. In her has been found, all along, opposition to the work of God, and persecution of his people. In reference to the guilt of the last generation, see comments on revelation 16.6. ] Daniel and revelation pg 729]

For whose blood will Babylon be responsible?

Revelation 17.5-6 Babylon for the blood, saints, martyrs of Jesus

Note-in Revelation 12 a pure woman is employed to represent a people or church that is true to God. In Revelation 17 an impure woman is used to represent Babylon or Christianity that is unfaithful to God’s standards .In the New Testament the church is represented as the bride of Christ .He wants his bride to be holy and without blemish see Ephesians 5.25-27. This is true for Christian living in the last also separating ourselves from all worldliness that degrades and all false teachings that mitigate against the word of is essential for last-day Christians.

Note—Bible Commentary Vol7.pp987–Satan Mustering His Forces for Last Battle.–The present is a solemn, fearful time for the church. The angels are already girded, awaiting the mandate of God to pour their vials of wrath upon the world. Destroying angels are taking up the work of vengeance; for the Spirit of God is gradually withdrawing from the world. Satan is also mustering his forces of evil, going forth “unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world,” to gather them under his banner, to be trained for “the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” Satan is to make most powerful efforts for the mastery in the last great conflict. Fundamental principles will be brought out, and decisions made in regard to them. Skepticism is prevailing everywhere. Ungodliness abounds. The faith of individual members of the church will be tested as though there were not another person in the world (MS 1a, 1890). 14-17 (ch. 18:1).

 The Armies of God Take the Field.–We need to study the pouring out of the seventh vial. The powers of evil will not yield up the conflict without a struggle. But Providence has a part to act in the battle of Armageddon. When the earth is lighted with the glory of the angel of Revelation eighteen, the religious elements, good and evil, will awake from slumber, and the armies of the living God will take the field (MS 175, 1899). 

Who are in Babylon and what does God want them to do?

Revelation 18.4-5 Come out of her my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins

Isaiah 48.20-21 Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans

Isaiah 52.11 depart   ye, depart ye go ye out from thence touch no unclean

Jeremiah 50.8-10   Remove out of the midst of Babylon and go

Zechariah 2.6-10 Flee from the land if I have spread you abroad 

Exodus 19.4-6 Ye  seen what  I did unto Egyptians, brought you unto myself 

2 Corinthians 6.16-17  Come out from among them, and be ye separate,

Note-Here is yet another evidence that Babylonian Revelation is apostate Christianity of the last days. If Babylon symbolized some secular government  instead of a religious organization,  verse 4  would not make sense . God has never required anyone to divest himself of citizenship in some nation in order to follow him. There will be some saved from “all nations, and kindred’s and people and tongues [“Revelation 7.9}. When God commands  his people to “come  out of Babylon” He is  requiring  that they give up their connections with religious organizations  that have “fallen and propagate  things contrary  to the truth of God’s word .He is not , in this, requiring  his faithful people  in the last days  to join some  political  party  or take out citizenship in  some secular nation .

Genesis 11.1-9   They confounded the language of the earth, scattered them abroad 

Note-This experience led to the coining  of the name , “Babel” [or Babylon ] God could not have chosen a better symbol from the Old Testament to depict in Revelation the confused teachings of last-days Christianity like the town –builders of old, each church today is claiming to be right ,yet all are saying  something  different .Christianity  originally  was “one faith  today there are as many Christian faith advocated  as there were now languages spoken on that tower long ago.

Am I in Babylon now?

Where did Jesus say some of true sheep are?

John 10.16   Other sheep I have which are of this fold

Isaiah 56.8 The Lord God which gathered the outcast

Ezekiel 37.22-23   Shall they defile themselves any more with their idols

Ephesians 2.14.Broken down middle wall of partition between us

1peter 2.25 Ye were as sheep going astray

Note- A fold was a pen or corral where the shepherd would collect his sheep to protect them at night to do things with them during the day. Jesus affirmed this intention to continue calling his sheep out of the folds where they were until all his followers unite with him in our fold. In this analogy Jesus was making the point that one can be his sheep, but in the wrong fold. This same point is clear from Revelation 18.4. We can be part of Christ’s people, but be in Babylon. Obviously, to settle the question of whether we belong to Christ or not will not automatically answer the question “am I in Babylon?”Revelation says that many of God’s sincere people are in Babylon, however, they need to come out.

If we find ourselves in Babylon, this should not discourage us, making such a discovery about ourselves should never cause us to doubt our past experience with Christ. The only thing that could possibly threaten our present and future relationship with Christ is a decision to remain in Babylon, and not make any effort to follow the light of truth God sends to us to lead us out of Babylon.{ Daniel  revelation seminar.]

At the time of the fall of the Babylonian empire to the Medes and Persians, how did Belshazzar and his court defy the true God?

Daniel 5.34 He brought out the golden vessels, drink wine with concubines

Revelation 9.20 Rest of man, was killed, yet repented not the works

Deuteronomy 31.29 Moses said after his death, they corrupt yourselves, evil befall you

Leviticus 17.7 they shall no more offer their sacrifices of devils

Deuteronomy 32 17-21 they sacrifice unto devils, not of god, to gods whom they know

Psalm 106.37-41 they sacrifice their sons and daughters to devils

1 Corinthians10.20-22 they sacrifice to devils, and not to God

Daniel 5.23-31 Belshazzar, lifted up thy self against the lord of heaven

Note-the gospel of the kingdom was preached in Babylon through Daniel, and Nebuchadnezzar was brought to acknowledge and to worship the true God. But after Nebuchadnezzar’s death, his successors failed to profit by his experience. The climax was reached when Belshazzar used the sacred vessels from the house of God in dedication to his worship, in which to drink the Babylon wine of idolatrous worship. Then came the hand writing on the wall, the fall of ancient Babylon, and the death of Belshazzar [the story of Daniel 5]

Modern   Babylon

In the vision of John what interpretation is given of the impure woman with a golden cup in her hand, seated on a seven – headed beast?

Revelation 17.18   the woman which thou sawest is that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth

Revelation 17.3,4,9    the heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth

Revelation 16.19   the great city was divided, great Babylon came in remembrance  

Revelation 12.4 The woman which was ready to be delivered, her child

The great city which reigned over the kings of the earth in John’s time was Rome ,and that seven hilled city has been given its name to the power which succeeded  to its dominion the organization which is represented by the woman, the church of Rome ruled by the papacy, in the closing days of earth’s history. Babylon the great includes all apostate forms of Christianity.

Note- [Daniel  and  Revelation PG 644]  Babylon is not confined to the Roman  Catholic Church .That this church is a very prominent  component  part of great  Babylon , is not denied . the description  in  revelation  17 seems to apply particularly to “mystery , Babylon the great , the mother of harlots and abominations  of  the earth ,” reveals other family connections. If this church is the mother, who are the daughters? The fact that these daughters are spoken of, shows that there are other religious bodies besides the Roman catholic church which come under this designation. Again, there is to be a call made in connection with this message ,“come out of her ,my people .”  Revelation 18.1-4. As this message is located in the present  generation, it follows , if no other church  but the Roman catholic is  included  in Babylon, that the people of  God are now found in the communion of that  church , and are be called out. But this conclusion, no protestant at least will willing to allow.

Babylon is not the city of Rome. The argument relied  upon to show that the city of Rome is the Babylon of the  Apocalypse runs thus :the angel told John that the woman which he had seen was the great city which reigned over the kings of the earth, and that  the seven heads of the beast  are seven mountains  upon which  the woman sits. Then, by taking  the city and the mountains  to be literal, and finds Rome built upon seven hills, the application is made at once to literal  Rome.

In this same prophecy how is this religio-political power, the Roman church, or the papacy designated as the counter part of ancient Babylon.

Revelation 17.5 upon her head mystery Babylon “the great the mother of harlots

2 Thessalonians2.7-12 the mystery of iniquity doth already work

1 John 2.18-24 little children, it the last time, ye have heard anti-Christ

Revelation 18.9 the king of the earth, have commit ted fornication, with her-Babylon

Matthew 22.1-14 the marriage feast, to come

Note-the parallels between the Roman church and ancient Babylon and striking-as we the pagan Babylonian state religion with its wealthy and politically powerful hierarchy its elaborate temple ritual its priestly monopoly of learning, its liturgy performed in an ancient language unknown to common people ,its processions of divine images ; its great springs festival in which mourning it followed by rejoicing its ubiquitous virgin mother goddess who intercedes for her worshipers ,but there is a genuine line of inheritance from Babylon through the Roman empire to the Roman church , of many religious elements. The mighty catholic church was little more than the Roman empire baptized –A:C flick the rise of the mediaeval church [Putnam’s 1909] R148 cardinal Newman lists many example of things admittedly ” of pagan origin” which that church introduced “in order to recommend the now religion to the heathen.The use of temple and these dedicated to particular saints, and ornamented on occasions with branches of tree ,Incense , lamps and candles ,votive  offering on recovery from illness ,holy water, asylums, holy days and seasons, use of calends, processions, blessing on the fields .’sacrerdol vestments the tonsure , the ring in marriage ,turning of the East images at a later date, perhaps the ecclesiastical chart of Christian doctrine [19o2 ed p 373]. Babylon also contributed “the great and ubiquitous cult “of the virgin mother goddess [actually more important than the highest gods Babylonian Ishtar is identified with Astante , Ashtoreth ,persephers ,Artemis [Diana] of Ephesus Venus,  perhaps Isis and other [see S:H Langdon, Semitic  my theology [1931 ed]. PP. 12,13,19,20,24,32,24,108,344,368,369] this multi form goddess was called virgin mother [Ibid 16,18,19]merciful  mother [P.111]. queen of heaven queen of heaven [P.05]. my lady compare Madonna or lady [P. 341], and was offen depicted by mother and infant images [Pp 34,111] or as a mater dolorosa interceding with a wrathful god in behalf or her worshiper [PP-151,188, see also Encyclopedia Britannica [1945 ed]. Vol 2,p858 art . Babylonian and Assyrian religion ‘’] today many local virgin cults are evidently continuations of those of ancient goddesses.[see Gordon J.laing, survivals of Roman Religion[ 1931 ed .pp 92-95, 123,124,129-131,238,241]. The influence of astrological sun worship can be seen in the idea- if not the mode-of purgatory [comet astrology  ,and religion,pp 190,191] the adoption of December 25,the birthday of the invincible sun, and the mithraic Sunday, also orientation of  church building and praying toward the east [ibid pp. 161-163, Laing. Opcitpp 148-153, 190.193] and even the nimbus which crowns pictured saints [Laing op, cit p-246] Laing offers other interesting examples of pagan survivals in Catholicism especially from Isis worship – holy water votive offering elevation of sacred objects, the priest bell, the decking of Images and possibly tonsure – also processions, festivals, prayers for the dead, saints cults, relics, and so forth.

What actions point to this Identification?

Revelations 17.2,4 the king of the earth have committed fornication and Inhabitants

Note –ancient Babylonians religion had immoral feature. but modern Babylon commits  spiritual fornications polluting the church with false  doctrines and pagan practices, and having  Illicit  connection with the  secular  power to enforce her  teachings . And like her ancient name sake, Roman Babylon has made many nations drink impure wine from her –cup.

The  cup  of Christ  and  the  cup of  Babylon

 What cup does Jesus offer in the Lord’s Supper?

Luke 22.20 this cup is the New Testament in my blood which is shed for you.

What is the essential teaching   of the new covenant?

Hebrews 8.10-11 this is the covenant i make with Israel, I will put my law in there heart

2 Corinthians 5.17-21 if any  man be in Christ he is a new creature

When Christ thus ministers the law in the heart, what does it become?

Romans 8.2-4,5   Christ  Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death

John 8.36 if the son therefore shall make you free, ye shall free indeed

What kind of teaching have men substituted for the words which are spirit and life?

Mark 7.6-9   teaching for doctrines the commandments of man,

Note- there are two cups, the cup of the lord and the cup of Babylon. the lord’s cup  contains  the  living truth  as the  truth is in Jesus “the cup of Babylon, her false doctrines –her human tradition  substituted  for the  living word and law  of god ,and her unlawful union with the secular power  upon which she depends  to enforce her teachings   rather than upon the power of god. Thus while maintaining  a  form of godliness she denies  the power there of [2timothy  3.1-5]last bday7 ,lover  pleasure more than god ].the Roman church says of the bible and tradition , through these two divine  streams are in themselves , on account  to their origin ,of equal  sacredness and are both  full of revealed truth ,still  of the two , tradition  is to us more  clear and  safe-Joseph Far 01  Bruno catholic  Belief  [1884ed ] p45.” 2 scripture and tradition of Equal value –since the truth contained in scripture and those handed down by tradition both come from god. Scripture  and tradition both come  from god scripture  and tradition  are of equal value as  source  of faith- both deserve the same reverence and respect. Each alone is sufficient to establish a truth of our holy faith –John lanx . A course in religion for catholic high school an Academies [1936 ed]  vol 1,p,50  Imprimatur Bishop  Francis  w Howard March 25,1932 quoted  with permission  of Benziger Brother ,Inc proprietors of the copyright .

The substitution of the law of the church for the of god ,thus fulfilling  [ Daniel 7.25 he speak  great words  against the  most high ]testifies to the complete  subordination of the word of god to the authority of the church the  world-wide teaching of those doctrines in places of pure gospel has  led the world astray , and has made all nations drinks of the impure wine from her cup the Reformation of the Sixteenth  century ,denying the supremacy of the church’s  authority  and tradition over the bible ,was an effort to return  to the pure truth of god, word.

How do Babylon’s daughters show their mother’s characteristics?

Revelations 17.5 and upon her forehead was name, mystery Babylon the great

Note- the authoritative creed of pope plus Iv says in Article 10. I acknowledge  the holy catholic  Apostolic  church for  the mother and mistress  of all  churches ,” when professed protestant churches  repudiate  the fundamental  principle of  protestation by accepting  human  speculation , tradition ,or political power, in place of authority  and power of god’s word they may be regarded as  daughter of Babylon  their fall  is then included in hers, and  calls for a proclamation of the fall  of modern Babylon. Many representations of  modernist Protestantism  have, in one way or another, rejected fundamental  bible  doctrine  such as  the fall  of man , the bible doctrine of sin , the inspiration of the scriptures  the deity  of Christ ,  his virgin birth ,his resurrection , his vicarious expiatory and propitiatory atonement , his second coming  to establish  the kingdoms of god, salvation by grace through faith  in Christ , regeneration  by the power of the holy spirits, the efficacy of prayer in the name of Jesus , the ministration  of angels  , miracles as  the direct interposition of god’s power . there are many leaders of modern  Protestantism  who  have not adopted the creed of the roman  church , and have not joined  that body . yet who belong to the same class in rejecting god’s word for human authority .there is apostasy in both cases, and both classes must be included  in Babylon and be involved, in  the final analysis in her fall for in the largest  sense Babylon embraces all false religion ,all apostasy

God’s call  to  come  out

What is to be the final fate of modern Babylon?

 Revelation 18.21-24 the angel cast millstone into sea, violence shall that great city Babylon

Jeremiah 51.64 thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from her evil

Revelation 12.8 neither was their place found any more in heaven

What is the song of those who come out of Babylon?

Revelation 19.6-7 Alleluia for lord god omnipotent reigneth.

Note—This Day with God.pp,172– God’s Care for His Church–Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. Romans 16:17.

  In all ages of the world there have been men who think they have a work to do for the Lord, and show no respect for those whom the Lord has been using. They do not make right applications of Scripture, they wrest the Scriptures to sustain their own ideas. Whatever may be the claims of those who draw away from the body to proclaim theories of their own invention, they are in Satan’s service, to get up some new device to divert souls from the truth for this time. Beware of those who arise with a great burden to denounce the church. The chosen ones who are standing and breasting the storm of opposition from the world, and are uplifting the downtrodden commandments of God to exalt them as holy and honorable, are indeed the light of the world. How dare mortal man pass his judgment upon them, and call the church a harlot, Babylon, a den of thieves, a cage of every unclean and hateful bird, the habitation of devils, making the nations drunk with the wine of her fornication, confederating with the kings and great men of the earth, waxing rich through the abundance of her delicacies, and proclaiming that her sins have reached unto heaven and God hath remembered her iniquities? Is this the message we have to bear as Christians I tell you, no! God has given no man any such message. Let these men humble their hearts before God, and in true contrition repent that they have even for a time stood by the side of the accuser of the brethren who accused them before God day and night.  Supposing this spurious message is the one everyone must hear for this time, “Come out of her, my people,” where shall we go? . . . 

  I tell you, my brethren, the Lord has an organized body through whom He will work. There may be more than a score of Judases among them; there may be a rash Peter who will under circumstances of trial deny his Lord; there may be persons represented by John, whom Jesus loved, but he may have a zeal that would destroy men’s lives by calling down fire from heaven upon them to revenge an insult to Christ and to the truth. But the great Teacher seeks to give lessons of instruction to correct these existing evils.–Manuscript 21, June 12, 1893.