BABYLON THE GREAT IS FALLEN
In Revelation chapters 17 and 18 we read about the great whore named Babylon
who sits on many waters and is the mother of all harlots. The imagery in which the
apostle John uses to describe Babylon has very significant meaning, in particular
for the church as she approaches the end of the age. It is of paramount importance
to understand who this Babylon is and how she affects the life of every believer.
Throughout the ages there have been many attempts to identify Babylon. Most
have agreed that she is the Roman Catholic Church (in particular the Vatican),
even to the point of identifying the Pope as the anti-Christ himself. Others have
suggested that Babylon is not a religious structure but more likely political,
pointing to the EEC (the common European market), or to the United States (in
particular New York with Wall Street). Further more, others have gone as far as to
suggest that Babylon is geographical, pointing to modern day Iraq from where that
former great civilisation originated, and suggesting that one day that civilisation
will rise again to become a modern superpower.
While it is true that one may find levels of Babylon in all these things, however,
none of these things in themselves can fully make up Babylon. In other words,
Babylon may, and does exist in these things, but no one can point to any one of
these things and say, "This is Babylon". The reality is, that all these (ie. the
European Union, United States with its "big business", the Vatican, and other
political and religious institutions) are made up of people, and it is IN THE
HEARTS of people you will find Babylon. These entities have been allowed by God
to visibly show us Babylon and point to ...