Understanding the Symbol of Babylon.
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.” – Revelation 14:8 NASB.
Babylon, drinking wine, immorality; what are these symbols? According to Genesis 10:8-10 Babylon was the first city to be built. Babel came to mean ‘confusion’ because it was here that God confused their tongues (languages) following the tower of Babel rebellion. End time Babylon has this same feature. Under king Nebuchadnezzar, the Neo-Babylonian empire reached the height of its glory. Under his grandson, Belshazzar, the city sank to its depths and fell. (Read the story in Daniel 5).
God uses the term “Babylon” symbolically in Revelation to represent a system that opposes His kingdom and people. This verse is expanded in Revelation 17 and 18. The phrase “Babylon is fallen,” is in the past tense, meaning it has already taken place. She has fallen in the eyes of God, but not necessarily in the eyes of man. This verse announces her falling, but the actual destruction does not take place until Revelation 18.
Babylon refers to that spiritual confederacy made up of the dragon (Revelation 12), the sea beast and the land beast or false prophet (Revelation 13) – the trinity of evil.
This worldwide organization will control the world in the end and will deceive men with a mixture of four major beliefs, and all the world will follow. The dragon of Rev 12 is paganism, the sea beast of Rev 13 is papal Rome or Catholicism, and the land beast of Rev 13 is the false prophet, or apostate Protestantism under the American banner. This power creates an image of the first beast. This belief system is the wine that the world will be made to drink. The unholy alliance (sexual immorality) is the nations forming partnerships with her. Combined with the imagery of Revelation 17:2 we see the kings of the earth committing fornication with her, we will see the uniting of church and state, which is the image to the beast, to enforce her beliefs, making the world drunk with her wine. The “wine of her fornication” represents the false teachings that deceive the world; therefore, it must represent something the vast majority of the world believes – something contrary to the teachings of the Bible.
One common belief common to spiritualism, Catholicism and the false prophet is the concept of the immortality of the soul.
While this was the devil’s first lie in Eden – when you die you don’t die – it came to Christianity via Greek mythology. However, the Bible is clear on this “the soul that sins shall die.” Ezekiel 18:4. Only God has immortality Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:15-16. “The dead know nothing” said Solomon in Ecclesiastes 9:5-6. The Bible repeatedly refers to death as a sleep e.g. 1 Corinthians 15:51 and John 11:11-15. In fact, sleep is the most common euphemism for death in the whole Bible. After this sleep, which knows no passing of time, comes the resurrection constantly referred to in scripture e.g., 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 1 Corinthians 15:51-55. The Bible repeatedly teaches soul sleep, then resurrection at the second coming. (You are welcome to request my full study paper on this.)
Closely related to this is the doctrine of eternal punishing, where God is transformed into a monster who will roast and torment people for eternity if they don’t submit to Him. “Believe in me or I will roast you forever!” This doctrine, not taught anywhere in scripture, is one of the abominations invented during the Middle Ages to scare people into submission. It has made many an atheist. God is love! (1John 4:8). The Bible teaches eternal punishment (noun), which is an event, never eternal punishing (verb) which would be unending. God is not going to preserve suffering and misery some place beyond the creation of a new heavens and new earth, where there will no longer be death, sorrow, crying or pain. (see Revelation 21:4). “They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power.” 2 Thessalonians 1:9
Babylon’s wine cup is full of false teachings, and we must compare all of them with scripture to make sure we are not being led astray. The doctrine of salvation by works, or even grace plus works, as opposed to the Biblical teach of salvation by grace alone is another of her false teachings found in every false religion, including false versions of Christianity. Salvation is an unmerited free gift that can never be earned or merited. Some even teach that God’s people, prior to the curtain call of history, will become perfectly sinless, but the Bible knows no such doctrine. It is part of Babylon’s wine of false doctrine.
Sunday sacredness is another belief that comes from paganism, adopted by the Catholic Church and bequeathed to Protestantism. The greatest argument for the sabbath (as apposed to keeping Sunday, the first day of the week holy,) is that there is no argument in the Bible anywhere for the change. The early church debated many things, had Paul or any disciple advocated a change of day there would have been a huge debate; but there is none. The silence on this issue speaks very loudly. That is because the change came a lot later, after the New Testament had been completed.
Jesus said to His first disciples “beware of the leaven of the pharisees,” (Matthew 16:6). In v12 Matthew comments that they came to understand this to be “the teachings of the Pharisees.” I can but say the same to you, beware of the teachings of false systems that have questionable Biblical foundations.
Hi Ross, yes please, I would like your full study on soul sleep then resurrection, thanks
Sent Sue