Babylon

Mystery Babylon The Great

Interpretation of Revelation the 17th Chapter

The Identity of Mystery Babylon and Her Harlot Daughters.

Revelation 17: 5 " And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. "

Described for us in the Book of Revelation is a great prostitute called Mystery Babylon the Great. This is symbolism naturally. We can know who Mystery Babylon is by simply putting all the pieces from the Bible together and see who it points to in our world.

	So we have a woman, who is a prostitute, and who commits fornication with the Kings of the earth.
	She has given birth to daughters, who are also harlots.
	She is Mystery Babylon the Great and she is very rich and powerful - Babylon The Great.
	She sits on and controls a scarlet colored Beast.
	The woman is drunken on the blood of the martyrs of Jesus that she has killed.
	She sits upon many waters, which are symbolic of peoples speaking different languages and nations.
	She has a golden goblet in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication.
	The inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
	And the woman is that great city which reigns over the Kings of the earth.
	This city where she lives is built in, or around or among seven hills, or mountains.

Revelation Chapter 17

Revelation 17:1 " And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: "

Revelation 17:2 " With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. "

Revelation 17:3 " So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. "

Revelation 17:4 " And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

Revelation 17:5 " And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."

Revelation 17:6 " And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. "

Revelation 17:7 " And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. "

Revelation 17:8 " The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. "

Revelation 17:9 " And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. "

Revelation 17:10 " And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. "

Revelation 17:11 " And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. "

Revelation 17:12 " And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

Revelation 17:13 " These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

Revelation 17:14 " These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him [are] called, and chosen, and faithful.

Revelation 17:15 " And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

Revelation 17:16 " And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

Revelation 17:17 " For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

Revelation 17:18 " And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. "

So let us look in our world today and see who, or what fits the description of Mystery Babylon the Great.

1. Mystery Babylon described in Revelation the 17th chapter is a church.
Rev.13:11 " And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. "

First of all we have to look for a church. God's true church is described as a woman (Revelation 12th Chapter). However, the true church is pure and faithful to Christ, and is described as the wife of Jesus Christ. She is arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, which symbolizes righteousness (Revelation 19:7-9).

Mystery Babylon is also a woman or church, but she is not faithful to Christ. Instead she has prostituted herself out to the Kings of the earth. She commits fornication with the Kings (governments) of the earth. In other words she is heavily involved in politics.

So you look for a church which is heavily involved in politics.

2. She is a great church (Mystery Babylon The Great). Big, powerful, rich and with many members. This is not some little flock.

Revelation 17:1-5 " And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. "

Revelation 17:4 " And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: "

Okay, so we are looking for a great church, which is rich and powerful materially, and which is heavily involved in politics.

3. She has been and will be for a short period before Christ returns, in control of a group of nations on the earth, or in control of an Empire. This is a church that has existed for a very long time, and who has controlled governments and kingdoms in the past.

Revelation 17:3 " So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns."

Revelation 17:7-10 " And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. "

The Beast or Kingdom upon which the prostitute sits existed before, but it died. It will rise up once more, but will go into perdition - which means eternal destruction.

4.The Kings, or governments of the earth go to bed with her. She is heavily involved in politics.

Revelation 17:2 " With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. "

So what we have so far is a church, which is rich and powerful, and deeply involved in politics. In fact this church has existed for a long time and has controlled governments or a empire in the past. This church sits on and controls a scarlet coloured beast. She has been in control of some sort of Kingdom or government or empire here on earth, and will do so again.

5. She is described as that " great city. " This is a city. A church and a city too. This great city has and will rule over the Kings of the earth, which mean governments.

Revelation 17:18 " And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. "

Revelation 14:8 " And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. "

Okay, so we look for a great and powerful church, which is also a city, and which has ruled over a Kingdom or Empire in the past.

6. The city where she lives is built in, or around or among seven hills, or mountains.

Revelation 17:9 " And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. "

From the Living Bible Revelation 17:9 " And now think hard: his seven heads represent a certain city built on seven hills where this woman has her residence. "

So it should be clear who Mystery Babylon is by now. Here is a great city and a huge powerful great church - both together in one, which has ruled over a Kingdom or Empire in the past. She is heavily involved in politics.

7. The nations, or Empire she has and will control are made up of many different people's, who speak different languages.

Revelation 17:15 " And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. "

So we have this great church, who has ruled over an empire or kingdom in the past, and this empire has been made up of a vast number of people, comprised of different nations, which speak different languages.

So which group or religious organization fits this description ? We must look for a church, which is also a city - that is built in or among seven hills or mountains. We must look for a church which has existed for a very long time, and which has ruled an empire, or kingdom in the past which has been made up of multitudes of people, of different nations, and peoples speaking different languages.

We must look for a very wealthy church - Mystery Babylon the Great. A church which is heavily involved in politics.

So who in our contemporary world fits that description ? I will give you one more clue.

8. She has given birth to daughter churches, who are also deeply involved in politics.

Revelation 17:5 " And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. "

Here is a great church that has given birth to daughter churches, which like their mother are harlots. So mystery Babylon's daughter churches also go to bed with the governments of the earth.

It should be plain who we are talking about here - none other than the Roman Catholic Church. The Protestant Churches came out of the Catholic Church in Protest - during the Reformation. Martin Luther broke away from the Catholic Church and formed the Lutheran Church. Also emerging from the Roman Catholic Church in protest were the Reformed, Calvinist and Presbyterian Tradition, and the Anabaptist Tradition and the Anglican Tradition. All these various Protestant Churches are daughters of Mystery Babylon, and are themselves prostitutes. They also go to bed with the Kings of the earth. In fact the Monarch (Queen Elizabeth) in England appoints the Archbishop of Canterbury who heads the Anglican Church - the Church of England.

During all this period God's true church continued and continues to exist, but it has been and still is a despised and persecuted church. It still exist today, but God's true church is not like Mystery Babylon the Great and her Harlot Daughters. It is a little flock. It is a spiritual organization consisting of those who have the Holy Spirit living in them.

The seat of the Roman Catholic Church is Vatican City, which is in Rome and which is build close to the Seven Hills of Rome. The names of the seven hills of Rome are: Aventine , Caelian, Capitoline, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinal and Viminal. The Catholic Encyclopedia states: "It is within the city of Rome, called the city of seven hills, that the entire area of Vatican State proper is now confined. " Vatican City is a City State, which has diplomatic and full state to state relations with nations all around the world. Vatican City has a seat as a permanent observer at the United Nations, and if it so wished it could become a full voting member. As a Non-member State Permanent Observer, the Holy See can take part in UN meetings and conferences, and is typically granted full status at these events, including a vote on any question that is put to a vote.

There is one reference in Scripture of Peter writing from " Babylon," which was a name sometimes applied to Rome, found in 1 Peter 5:13.

The Roman Catholic Church sat on and controlled the Holy Roman Empire for almost 1,000 years in central Europe. This was a combination of church and state. The Holy Roman Empire consisted over the ages of a good number of different nations in central Europe, who spoke different languages like present-day Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Liechtenstein and so on.

The Roman Catholic Church is deeply, deeply involved in politics, and indeed is in bed with the governments of the world.

Additionally there were around 1.1 billion Roman Catholics worldwide in 2008, which is just another proof that the Catholic Church is Mystery Babylon the Great. This is not a little flock.

9. Mystery Babylon is rich.

The Roman Catholic Church is perhaps the wealthiest institution on earth. The Vatican's treasure of solid gold has been estimated by the United Nations World Magazine to amount to several billion dollars. The Catholic church, once all her assets have been put together, is the most formidable stockbroker in the world. The Roman Catholic church is likely the biggest financial power and property owner in existence, but naturally much of this wealth is in real estate, which is not liquid - so in that sense they may be capital rich, but cash poor regarding real estate. It is quite likely that the Roman Catholic Church is the greatest possessor of material riches on earth - greater than any other single institution, corporation, bank, giant trust, government or state.

This sure fits in with the prophecy concerning Mystery Babylon and her riches.

10. She herself is drunk, which is symbolic of being confused. She has and will persecute God's servants and even has and will kill some of them. No doubt thinking in her confusion that they are heretics.

Revelation 17:6 " And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. "

The Roman Catholic Church is drunk, which symbolizes confusion. She believes in her confusion that she is the only true church on earth, and therefore has severely persecuted those Christians in the past who did not follow the Roman Catholic Church. She has and will again in the future persecute God's true church, and God's true servants - believing in her confusion they are heretics. The Inquisition comes to mind.

11. She has confused the inhabitants of the earth with her false teachings.

Revelation 17:2 " " With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. "

Provided for you is just a partial list of the false doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church:

False doctrine of the Trinity.
False doctrine - Immortality of the soul.
False doctrine - The Doctrine of Sacred Tradition.
False doctrine - Doctrine of the Magisterium and infallibility of the Pope and Catholic Church in regards to doctrine.
False doctrine - Only the Catholic Church can understand and interpret scripture infallibly.
False doctrine - Adding the Apocryphal books to the Bible, which God did not make part of the Bible.
False doctrine - The claim that the Catholic Church is the only true church.
False doctrine - That Mary is in heaven.
False doctrine - Praying to Mary.
False doctrine - Doctrine of Immaculate Conception.
False doctrine - Mary had no other children except Christ.
False doctrine - Mary is the Mother of the Church.
False doctrine - Mary is forever virgin.
False doctrine - Mary never sinned.
False doctrine - Mary is the spouse of the Holy Spirit.
False doctrine - Belief in purgatory.
False teaching that we go to heaven or hell when we die.
False doctrine - Indulgences
False doctrine - Reciting or chanting the same prayer over and over.
False doctrine - requiring catholic priests and nuns to wear a certain kind of clothes.
Making long prayers in public.
False doctrine - Baptizing children, and sprinkling rather than complete emergence in water during baptism.
False doctrine - Penance or confession - confessing sins to a Catholic Priest, who then takes the place of Jesus as the Mediator between God and man. False doctrine that a catholic priest here on earth has the authority to forgive sins.
False doctrine that Christ was never married.
False doctrine - Observing Sunday as the weekly Sabbath, instead of on the seventh day - Saturday.
False doctrine - The Catholic Church as an ecclesiastical organization getting involved in politics, and where Vatican City have diplomatic relations with governments throughout the earth.
Improper name - the true church is called the Church of God.
False doctrine - Observance of various Catholic Holy Days, which are not Biblical in origins, like Easter, Christmas, Lent, All Saints Day, etc. Failure to observe the true annual Holy Days of God explained to us in Leviticus 23.
False doctrine - That the chief sin is pride.
False doctrine - Requiring priests and nuns to be celibate.
False doctrine - Calling the Catholic Priest Father.
False doctrine - Worshipping images and idols. Bowing before images - like images of Christ. This violates the second of the Ten Commandments.
False doctrine - That the Pope is the head of the church, and a successor of Peter, and the false doctrine that Christ made Peter the head of the church.
False doctrine that Peter was the first Pope.
Falsehood that the Pope is the spiritual head of all Christians. The simple truth is that Jesus Christ is the spiritual head of all Christians. Who gave the Catholic Pope the right to replace Christ as the head of the true Church of God ?
False doctrine where the Pope is called the Holy Father - since that name only belongs to God the Father. It is a sin to call the Pope the Holy Father, since only God is our Holy Father.
False doctrine that when the Pope speaks ex cathedra then he cannot make mistakes.
False doctrine that the Pope has power and authority to create saints.
False doctrine that the Catholic mass or communion has replaced the yearly Passover ceremony.
False doctrine that a Catholic Priest, or Catholic Bishop has the power to forgive sins. This goes against the very clear Biblical teaching that Christ is the Mediator of the New Covenant, and Christ is our High Priest in heaven. Catholic Priests have absolutely no authority to replace Christ as our Priest.

There are quite a few more false doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, but I do not have the time to list them all for you. An attempt will be made over time to list as many false doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church as possible, but I cannot promise when and how thorough this will be. Forty false teaching should be plenty for you to digest for now.

12. She will be in control of this Beast power that will arise in the last days just prior to Christ's return (Rev.17:3). This combination of ten nations will make war against Christ, when He returns (Rev.19:19-21).This Beast power existed before, but died (Rev.17:8). It will arise just once more on earth, but will go into perdition, which means eternal destruction. This woman will work through the Beast to force people to accept the mark of the beast (Rev.13:16).

The Roman Catholic Church is working for the unification of all professing Christianity, under the leadership of the Catholic Church. They also want to unite all the various religions under the banner of the Catholic Church.

They will work with the Beast to set up a world government just prior to Christ's return.

Revelation Chapter 17

Revelation 17:2 " With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. "

Revelation 17:3 " So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. "