Bible Discussion Thread

 

    This comment thread is locked. Please enter a new comment to start a new comment thread.

    Enter new comment
     

  • Takirid on Revelation 17 - 11 years ago
    IT IS the hour of God�s judgment! Listen, then, to the divine message: �And another, a second angel, followed, saying: �She has fallen! Babylon the Great has fallen, she who made all the nations drink of the wine of the anger of her fornication!�� ( Revelation 14:8) For the first time, but not the last, Revelation focuses attention on Babylon the Great. Later, chapter�17 will describe her as a voluptuous harlot. Who is she? As we shall see, she is a global empire, she is religious, and she is Satan�s counterfeit system that he uses in fighting against the seed of God�s woman. ( Revelation 12:17) Babylon the Great is the entire world empire of false religion. She includes all religions that preserve the religious teachings and practices of ancient Babylon and that manifest her spirit.
    It was at Babylon, more than 4,000 years ago, that Jehovah confused the tongues of the would-be builders of the Tower of Babel. The different language groups were scattered to the ends of the earth, taking with them the apostate beliefs and practices that are the basis of most religions to this day. ( Genesis 11:1-9) Babylon the Great is the religious part of Satan�s organization. (Compare John 8:43-47.) Her most prominent segment today is apostate Christendom, which emerged as a powerful, lawless organization in the fourth century after Christ, with creeds and formalisms derived, not from the Bible, but largely from Babylonish religion.�2�Thessalonians 2:3-12.
    . John is struck with wonderment at what he next hears and sees: �And one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying: �Come, I will show you the judgment upon the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, whereas those who inhabit the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.��� Revelation 17:1,�2.
    2 �The great harlot�! Why so shocking a designation? Who is she? Some have identified this symbolic harlot with ancient Rome. But Rome was a political power. This harlot commits fornication with the kings of the earth, and this evidently includes the kings of Rome. Besides, after her destruction, �the kings of the earth� are said to mourn her passing. Therefore, she cannot be a political power. ( Revelation 18:9,�10) Additionally, since she is mourned also by the world�s merchants, she could not picture big business. ( Revelation 18:15,�16) We read, however, that �by her spiritistic practice all the nations were misled.� ( Revelation 18:23) This makes it clear that the great harlot must be a worldwide religious entity.
    Which religious entity? Is she the Roman Catholic Church, as some have maintained? Or is she all of Christendom? No, she must be even larger than these if she is to mislead all the nations. She is, in fact, the entire world empire of false religion. Her origin in the mysteries of Babylon is shown in that many Babylonish doctrines and practices are common to religions around the earth. For example, belief in the inherent immortality of the human soul, in a hell of torment, and in a trinity of gods is to be found in most Oriental religions as well as in the sects of Christendom. False religion, spawned more than 4,000 years ago in the ancient city of Babylon, has developed into the modern monstrosity that is called, appropriately, Babylon the Great. Why, though, is she described by the repugnant term �the great harlot�?



This comment thread is locked. Please enter a new comment below to start a new comment thread.

Note: Comment threads older than a month are automatically locked.
 

Do you have a Bible comment or question?


Please Sign In or Register to post comments...