1 And after these things, I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power: and the earth was enlightened with his glory. 2 And he cried out with a strong voice, saying: Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen; and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every unclean spirit, and the hold of every unclean and hateful bird: 3 Because all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication; and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her; and the merchants of the earth have been made rich by the power of her delicacies.
Verses 1 and 2 hearken to Isaiah chapter 21
7 And he saw a chariot with two horsemen, a rider upon an ass, and a rider upon a camel: and he beheld them diligently with much heed. 8 And a lion cried out: I am upon the watchtower of the Lord, standing continually by day: and I am upon my ward, standing whole nights. 9 Behold this man cometh, the rider upon the chariot with two horsemen, and he answered, and said: Babylon is fallen, she is fallen, and all the graven gods thereof are broken unto the ground.
Pretty tough not to see the imagery of the Lion crying out and the rider upon an ass as pointing towards Jesus. As you know, He rode an ass on His entry into Jerusalem. This is very important because it directly links the warning of the fall of Babylon with Jesus. Jesus' warnings about Jerusalem's demise were stark.
In Matthew's Gospel, chapter 24, verses 1 and 2, Jesus predicts the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, exclaiming that not one stone (Lithos meaning little pebble) will be left upon another. In verse 34, He predicts correctly that it will happen within one generation (40 years).
In verses 15-22, He gives His famous warning that those in Judea should flee to the mountains. This dire warning is echoed in Mark's and Luke's Gospels.
Luke 21
20 And when you shall see Jerusalem compassed about with an army; then know that the desolation thereof is at hand. 21 Then let those who are in Judea, flee to the mountains; and those who are in the midst thereof, depart out: and those who are in the countries, not enter into it. 22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things may be fulfilled, that are written. 23 But woe to them that are with child, and give suck in those days; for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. 24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword; and shall be led away captives into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the Gentiles; till the times of the nations be fulfilled. 25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea and of the waves; 26 Men withering away for fear, and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world. For the powers of heaven shall be moved;
The imminence of these warnings and their urgency cannot be overstated and John repeats them even more urgently in verses 4-8 of Chapter 18 of Revelation.
4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying: Go out from her, my people; that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues. 5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and the Lord hath remembered her iniquities. 6 Render to her as she also hath rendered to you; and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup wherein she hath mingled, mingle ye double unto her. 7 As much as she hath glorified herself, and lived in delicacies, so much torment and sorrow give ye to her; because she saith in her heart: I sit a queen, and am no widow; and sorrow I shall not see. 8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine, and she shall be burnt with the fire; because God is strong, who shall judge her.
These are yet more verses that anticatholics use falsely against us. Once again, every sentence proves the sins are past, the judgement is current, and the wrath is imminent. John is literally conveying the angel's message to get out now! This is not a warning for centuries down the road.
9 And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and were wanton with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning; 10 they will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,
“Alas! alas! thou great city, Thou mighty city, Babylon! In one hour has thy judgment come.”
11 And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo any more, 12 cargo of gold, silver, jewels and pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet, all kinds of scented wood, all articles of ivory, all articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, 13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.
14 “The fruit for which thy soul longed has gone from Thee, and all thy dainties and thy splendor are lost to thee, never to be found again!”
15 The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,
16 “Alas, alas, for the great city that was clothed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, bedecked with gold, with jewels, and with pearls! 17 In one hour all this wealth has been laid waste.”
And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off 18 and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning,
“What city was like the great city?”
19 And they threw dust on their heads, as they wept and mourned, crying out,
“Alas, alas, for the great citywhere all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth!In one hour she has been laid waste.20 Rejoice over her, O heaven,O saints and apostles and prophets,for God has given judgment for you against her!”
Those who have tried to juxtapose the whore of Babylon on the Catholic church apparently missed these verses. Never has Vatican city even approached the riches that were Jerusalem's. The annual tribute paid to King Solomon for example was 666 talents of gold (1 Kings 10:14). The number is not a coincidence. By today's standard, that is just shy of $3 Billion dollars in annual tribute.
What is even harder to fit with the Vatican, and easy to fit with Jerusalem, is that the whore is a large import/export city dealing with the Kings, merchants and sailors of the earth.
Considering it's proximity on the Mediterranean, it's vast wealth and the specific products associated with this area, Jerusalem is the only fit of John's time.
21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
“So shall Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and shall be found no more;22 and the sound of harpers and minstrels, of flute players and trumpeters, shall be heard in thee no more;and a craftsman of any craft shall be found in thee no more;and the sound of the millstone shall be heard in thee no more;23 and the light of a lamp shall shine in thee no more; and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall be heard in thee no more;for thy merchants were the great men of the earth, and all nations were deceived by thy sorcery.24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth.”
I alluded to this earlier. Though anti-catholics can falsely claim that the Roman Catholic church has the blood of saints inside her, even they cannot argue that it can be said the Catholic church is guilty of the blood of the prophets nor of the blood of all who have been slain upon the earth, up to at least the time of John. Remember, anticatholics claim the Roman Catholic church did not even exist at that point.
So, what city can be held to account for the blood of the prophets? What city can be held to account for all those slain on earth? I will let Jesus answer for you in His own words.
Luke 13
33 Nevertheless I must walk to day and to morrow, and the day following, because it cannot be that a prophet perish, out of Jerusalem. 34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent to thee, how often would I have gathered thy children as the bird doth her brood under her wings, and thou wouldest not? 35 Behold your house shall be left to you desolate. And I say to you, that you shall not see me till the time come, when you shall say: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Matthew 23
31 Wherefore you are witnesses against yourselves, that you are the sons of them that killed the prophets. 32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, generation of vipers, how will you flee from the judgment of hell? 34 Therefore behold I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them you will put to death and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city:
Verse 35 exactly parallels Revelation 18:24 and proves that all of this occurs to Jerusalem in 70 AD
35 That upon you may come all the just blood that hath been shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the just, even unto the blood of Zacharias the son of Barachias, whom you killed between the temple and the altar. 36 Amen I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation.
Revelation 18: 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
The case I just made is impenetrable. You now know the truth. God will not hold you blameless if you continue to persist in this slander. The whore of Babylon is Jerusalem. Period. Full stop.
Join us next time for Part 19
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