Bible Prophecy Revealed Articles

Fallen, Fallen, is Babylon the Great (rewritten)

March 21, 2010 – 5:01 pm

Here is a chapter from my book The Approaching Apocalypse, it has been 90% rewritten (5-14-10), and may still have a few improvements done to it in the next few days.

Chapter 14
Babylon the Great

(1) Who is Babylon the Great?

In Revelation 17 and 18 we are given information about a great harlot that has the title “Mystery Babylon the Great.” As we shall see, the harlot is not easy to understand; she sits on seven mountains, many waters, nations, and languages; she has connections with rulers of nations, rides the beast, is a prostitute and is the mother of prostitutes, and makes the world’s merchants wealthy. Therefore, her interpretation must be multi-layered.

Some Bible teachers claim that the harlot represents the false religion of the Antichrist, which makes no sense because the beast will attack and burn Babylon the Great. Why would the Antichrist try to destroy his own religious system which he will supposedly set up for people to worship him? This is illogical nonsense! A woman does not always refer to a religion in the Bible, but also to nations such as Israel. In this case it refers to nether a religion nor a single nation, but to an ideology which is held by many people and nations.

Many Bible commentaries say something like, “it is obvious that it refers to Rome.” The reason it says “MYSTERY” is because it is not obvious! That word is telling us that her interpretation will be difficult to figure out. It is actually much like a riddle or hidden code. But it does not refer to the Roman Empire or the Roman Catholic Church because the most significant description of the harlot is the large amount of global trade she engages in, as seen in Rev. 18:

3 “The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.” . . .11 "The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more–12 cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; 13 cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men.” (Rev. 18:11-13)

This detailed list of trade-goods is there for a reason. Nowhere in Revelation 17 and 18 is “worship” connected in any way to the harlot, only that she is very wealthy, has agreements with the world’s rulers, and makes merchants wealthy through global trade.

Babylon the Great (BTG) represents global Capitalism. The twice fallen, “Fallen! Fallen! Is Babylon the Great,” which is mentioned in Revelation chapters 14 and 18, refers to two falls of the stock market. The first occurred in 1929, the second will happen in 2010. She will recover but will finally be destroyed by fire during Armageddon and the Day of Judgment.
To fully understand this harlot, let’s take a look at the first passage in Rev. 17 and the last verse of Rev. 18:

I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. . . .(Rev. 17:6)

“In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s people, of all who have been slaughtered on the earth.” (Rev. 18:24)

How could any system, organization, or philosophy be responsible for the death of every righteous person who has ever been killed unjustly, and also be responsible for making the world’s merchants wealthy? Greed is the root of all evil; greed for power and gold caused Rome to invade her neighbors, sell some of them as slaves, and plunder and tax the survivors. Several nations of Europe have done the same thing in past centuries, and today some modern nations continue to exert their power and influence on other countries in any way they can, for their own profit. Greed rules most of the modern world; how? Through Capitalism. Let’s take a look at what Revelation 17 says about this extremely wealthy harlot.

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. 2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”
3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. 5 This title was written on her forehead: MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. 7 Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. (Revelation 17:1-7)

Notice that she wears jewels and pearls and gold, and holds a golden cup in her hand, which shows that she must be very wealthy. The woman as described in Rev. 17 and 18 represents greed, which is a form of idolatry. The most dominant form of greed is expressed most clearly today through Capitalism, but not only Capitalism. Here is what the Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary says Babylon the Great and Jeremiah’s call for people to come out of a future Babylon:

"Come out of her, my people" forms the burden of Jeremiah’s refrain concerning Babylon. . . . Even in its OT setting, this was no mere warning to leave the actual city of Babylon, much less here in Revelation. John is burdened to exhort the churches to shun the charms and ensnarements of the queen prostitute (v.7) as her qualities are manifest in the world they live in. Wherever there are idolatry, prostitution, self-glorification, self-sufficiency, pride, complacency, reliance on luxury and wealth, avoidance of suffering, violence against life (v.24) there is Babylon. Christians are to separate themselves ideologically and physically from all forms of Babylon. …(Vol. 2, p. 1210)

Wherever there is excess, greed, lust, captivity, and aggression, there is Babylon the Great (BTW). I could present a history of Capitalism showing its many abuses but it would fill several books. We recently saw an example of the greed and excess of Babylon the Great in the economic crisis of 2007-2009 caused the mortgage loan scam that was organized by Wall Street traders and bankers.

It’s fitting that Babylon is used to symbolically represent the capitalist world today because Babylon had one of the best examples of Capitalism in the world before modern times. Ezekiel 17:4 referred to Babylon as "a land of merchants" and a “city of traders." Thousands of Cuneiform tablets detail merchant activity in ancient Babylon, showing that free enterprise and private capital investment flourished. Businessmen made money transporting rurally grown produce to cities, some loaned money to others which allowed them to start businesses, such as a tavern.

The example of the Babylonian businessmen (and women) shows that there was a good deal of flexibility in the social fabric which allowed a whole range of people from different backgrounds to make a living and even considerably enrich themselves by providing a range of services — managerial, administrative and financial — by acting as middlemen between different institutions and private persons. (The Babylonians, by Gwendolyn Leick, page 9)

This show that they had a form of Capitalism. They even had factories that produced pottery and textiles.

Woollen textiles though were one of the most important products of Babylonia. Already during the time of the Third Dynasty of Ur, there were textile workshops attached to the great institutions; ration lists for the workforce consisting mainly of women and children have survived. … In later periods too, Babylonian textiles, including fully finished garments, were highly prized luxury items throughout the Near East. (Ibid, page 135-136)

Notice that BTG is called a prostitute. A prostitute is the quintessential expression of easy money, and quick profit, and it shows that people will do just about anything for money. Investors on Wall Street are out to make quick, easy, money, and they are willing to sell their souls in the process. Anything for a dollar. The stock market is the driving force of Capitalism.
When a corporation sells stocks, it sells a small piece of itself, like a prostitute; this is done to raise money. So the selling of millions of shares of stock will raise millions of dollars, enabling the company to buy new machinery, thus allowing the company to make more money.
But she is more than just a prostitute, she is called "the Mother of Prostitutes," the mother of many corporations which all sell pieces of themselves. The New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street is where the stocks of the world’s corporations are bought and sold. Without a stock exchange that buys and sells stocks, corporations could not raise capital. The buying or selling of stocks is what made modern Capitalism and the industrial revolution possible.

Babylon was a great nation of merchants, so Babylon the Great is the ultimate merchant, buying and selling stocks in merchant companies. This is another way in which the woman rules over many peoples, nations, and languages, because some form of Capitalism is in most nations of the world. New York City is the capital of Capitalism, and the New York Stock Exchange is the heart of that capital. The World Trade Center was located at the end of Wall Street. A book about Wall Street has this to say about it:

Slaves– those staples of seventeenth and eighteenth-century commerce– were the first commodity to be regularly traded on Wall Street, in a market located at Wall and Pearl Streets, where the shoreline then was, before landfill pushed it three blocks farther east. (Gordon, J. S.)

Notice that the first commodity to be traded was slaves! Could anything have a worse beginning? Its very foundation is exploitation for profit, because of greed. And is it just a coincidence that it was located at the corner of Pearl Street? The above quote was taken from a book called, The Scarlet Woman of Wall Street, published in New York by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1988. Notice that even those who work in the heart of Capitalism refers to Wall Street as the Scarlet Woman because they know its true nature.

9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. . . . (Rev. 17:9)

Some people point out that the city of Rome was built on seven hills, but the Greek says mountains, not hills. The seven mountains refer to the seven continents of the world, thus signifying her global power. The officially recognized continents are: North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica. It does not mean that she rules the world, but merely that she has power and influence over all other nations, which Capitalism has. Neither Rome nor Constantinople had power and influence over the entire planet, like the end time harlot does.

Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.” (Rev. 17:15)

This is another passage that shows Babylon the Great with global influence. Revelation 17 continues:

(2) The Beast Hates the Harlot

The harlot is seen riding the beast with seven heads and ten horns, showing that she has existed in some form throughout history. But the scarlet beast is the eighth head of the empire beast of Rev. 13; therefore, the harlot, as she exists today, only rides the eighth head, not all previous empires. She is now riding the nations that will make up the ten horns even before they come to power as a unified empire.

The early verses of Rev. 17 say that the woman sits on the beast, but verse 7 says the woman rides the harlot, the literal Greek says the beast carries her: Here is what Young’s Literal Translation says:

But the angel said to me, "Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. (v.7)(YLT)

LIT says the beast “supporting her.” The Greek is bastazo, and means;

1) to take up with the hands 2) to take up in order to carry or bear, to put upon one’s self . . . 3) to bear, to carry 3a) to carry on one’s person 3b) to sustain, i.e. uphold, support 4) to bear away, carry off.” (Thayer’s Greek Dictionary)

Thus most translations of this verse say that the beast “carries” the harlot. How could the beast possibly carry any Western Capitalist nations, especially the U.S.? Because without the oil the Muslim nations sell us we would tumble to the ground. So the nations that will make up the next head of the beast are carrying our economy and our power. This means that we could be brought to ruin just by having the oil cut off. Our economy could be totally devastated leaving us stripped of wealth, in other words, “naked.” This could be the way the beast will bring us to ruin and leave us naked, but it may also refer to the use of nuclear bombs on several U.S. cities, because there are dozens of terrorist cells in America, most of them in large cities. (move this?)

The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. (17:16)

There are many facets to the prophecy of BTG in Rev. 17 and 18, but they all fit together accurately. It is no secret that Muslims hate America and Western Europe. The beast carries us yet hates us at the same time. Joyce M. Davis interviewed many Muslims for her book, Between Jihad and Salaam: Profiles in Islam:

. . . even those Islamic movements that are peaceful denounce what they see as their leaders’ dependence on Western powers. . . . Many of the Islamic leaders I interviewed were hostile toward the West because of the effects of colonialism on the development of their societies. They were angry at the onslaught of Western culture through television, movies and music. They considered Western mores and culture immoral, and they feared Western influence would undermine the religious values of their own societies. Many devout Muslims, whether politically active or not, were disdainful of people in their own societies who mimicked Western fashion and culture. And they were embittered with their own leaders, whom they accused of being little more than puppets of Western powers.
. . . Most Islamic scholars I met, and especially the youths I interviewed, blamed the West for the state of their world today. (p.xvi-xvii) (underlining is mine)

This shows the hatred Islamic nations have for Western nations, and some of the reasons why they hate us. Even the nations that we do not bully with our foreign policies feel that they are being run over by us because we have so much more power and influence in the world than they do, some European nations even feel that way.

16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God’s words are fulfilled. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” (Rev.17:16-18)

Even though the ten beast nations have not yet officially formed an empire, they already exist and they are already attacking the harlot. The attack upon the World Trade Center in New York in 2001 was calculated, the attackers were hoping to cause a collapse of your economy, i.e., Capitalism. Notice these important words, “eat her flesh.” The only way you can eat a large chunk of meat is one bite at a time; this infers that there will be many small attacks, as opposed to a full scale invasion. There already have been several attacks in the EU and U.S., which will continue as the ten horns take bites out of us with bombs. Some of these small attacks will almost certainly be nuclear.

Muslims have a list of targets they would like to destroy within America; at the top of that list is Las Vegas because it stands out as a shining example of American decadence. Expect a nuclear weapon in the back of a truck to blow up Las Vegas. So, yes, Christians should not remain in Las Vegas, knowing that the beast is going to burn the Great Harlot with fire. Remember the command to come out of her.

This agrees with the previously stated interpretation that America is out of the beast’s reach. The beast will not be able to mount a full-scale invasion of America, though it is possible that a few U.S. cities with large Islamic populations could be taken over by them. It is also possible that a small invasion force will invade a few coastal cities, but that does not compare to the invasion, defeat, and rule of several Christian nations by the first Arabic empire in the 7th century, or the Ottoman Empire.

Since the EU nations are within the serpent’s reach, they will be in greater danger not only from terrorist attacks but also from actual Muslim armies. Some EU nations could be invaded and taken over by Muslims and used as a base for attacking the U.S.

So if you take all this together, it indicates that America will continue to be attacked with terrorist attacks and nuclear weapons, and we will likely continue to buy oil from the Middle East until some point near the time when the beast rises and the oil is cutoff.

But a collapsed economy and a few destroyed cities is not the total devastation of the whole country. The destruction described in Revelation 18 appears to be brought by the hand of God, not the beast. Not one word is said in Revelation 18 about the beast or an army of any kind; it actually says BTG will be destroyed by a large rock being cast into the ocean!

Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: "With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again. (Rev. 18:21)

The rock must be an asteroid that will impact during the time of God’s judgment at the end of the Great Tribulation.

(3) The Seducer of the World

If BTG represents the religion of the antichrist or of anything religious, how could God’s people be part of it, since it calls for God’s people to leave her before the destruction?

4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues . . . (Rev. 18:4)

Babylon the Great has influence throughout most of the world, but it totally controls Western Europe and North America. In Matthew 13 a the parable of a weeds and wheat that represent both good and bad in the same field. America is called a “great eagle” in Rev. 12, which refers to the good part of America; here Babylon the Great (BTG) is the bad part of America, the part controlled by greed.

This brings to mind a recent development in how people talk about America; they say this or that is brought by “good America” or something undesirable is caused by “bad America.” This is because, globally and locally, America does many things that are very good, but at the same time other elements within America do things that are very bad. I will not go into an argument about which things are good and which things are bad, but merely to point out that there are weeds and wheat growing in the same field of America and that the Great whore only refers to the bad.

I believe that America is the greatest nation that has ever existed, but it’s not perfect. There are lots of great things about America, which is why it is such a rich and powerful nation that God has blessed, but there are also some evil and immoral things about America.
Babylon was the strongest nation for hundreds of miles around, it ruled over as many other nations as it could reach, believing that other nations were better off under Babylonian rule, but it ruled only for its own benefit. Because of its rule over others, it became rich and powerful and lifted up in pride. The same could be said of Rome.

Does this sound like anyone we know? Yes, it describes certain Western nations, but especially the United States. America is the most powerful nation the world has ever known; an economic power with a powerful culture that influences all other nations in the world, but the EU nations are also powerful with similar influence, but America is the most dominate. The U.S. actually has power and influence over European nations. Because America is so much more powerful than other nations, we get most of the bad press.

American music, movies, TV shows, and fast food have invaded the whole world, and this causes many people to love and envy America, but others to hate us. Even some of the EU nations hate us, but their movies and products are also exported throughout the world; but America’s products are the most dominate.

Some nations of the world love us and hate us at the same time. A New York Times article gives the point of view of a German political analyst, Josef Joffe:

Joffe argues that one reason no alliance has formed against America yet is that while resentment with America is rife, particularly among European elites, the attraction of America — its culture, universities, movies, food, clothing and technologies — is just as strong, and today no power in the world can balance it. For every European elitist who resents America for what it is, there are ten Euro-kids who want what America is. "America is both menace and seducer, both monster and model," Joffe says.

America, as both seducer and menace, is a good picture of the Great Harlot that commits adultery with the rulers of the world and rules over people of many nations. Yet at the same time there are many good people inside Babylon the Great, which is why Rev. 18 commands them to come out of her, but that does not mean we have to leave America; BTG exists to some extent throughout most of the world, the U.S. is just the center. Another writer states:

No doubt, the US gives the largest humanitarian aid to the deserving world, but it is not ignorance of this fact that prompts people to negatively view America. Rather, an intimate knowledge of the US’s policies [is what] prompts people to resent the US. . . .
Its grand strategy revolves around acquiring and maintaining overwhelming military, economic, and political preponderance, which is premised on the belief that a smooth running of the world’s political and economic order can’t be ensured without its unquestionable superiority. (What Tarnishes America? by Karamat Khan, The Frontier Post, March 7, 2002)

The description given in Revelation 17 & 18 is just what you would expect to find in prophecies about this present world. Western nations are great and powerful and have seduced the whole world with their culture and economic strength; so we see our economic system / culture / way-of-life portrayed as a great harlot that sits on many peoples, nations, and languages.

You would expect a mention of the world’s most powerful nations in Bible prophecy because it is much easier to recognize them than some small nation in South America, for example. The best way to describe our modern world today is to refer to the most dominate characteristics and system, such as Capitalism and world trade, which is what we find here.

Some Bible interpreters claim that Rev. 17:18 refers to Rome; “The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” The present tense used in the statement does not require that it be in the first century. The angel was merely likening Babylon the Great to Rome. Rome invaded and enslaved other people for profit. Rome did not care what happened to other people as long as Rome benefited. Capitalists have the same attitude. The Capitalists will gladly pay children pennies a day to labor in factories, as long as the Capitalists get rich. The Roman Empire is not going to revive, that is total nonsense! Neither is the city of Babylon going to revive to dominate the world, what a laugh that is.

(4) The Fall of Babylon the Great

The entire chapter of Revelation 18 describes the fall of Babylon the Great. This chapter describes a great and powerful city that has gotten wealthy through world trade; many kings and merchants also get rich by trading with this city. In the last days it can only represent modern Western nations, especially America. Rev. 18 may in fact include a description of two different destructions. It says the fall of Babylon the Great takes place suddenly, on a single day; but in another place it says in one hour. So it could speak of two different attacks. Other things that point to two different attacks will be mentioned later.

After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 2 With a mighty voice he shouted: “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’ She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.

3 For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.” 4 4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; 5 for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. (Revelation 18:1-5)

To some extent, most nations of the modern world fit this description because they all engage in global trade and do things that benefit the rich at the expense of the poor. This is how she sits on many waters and has relations with many kings and peoples. In other words, most of the world. This refers to the greed we see on Wall Street and main street, which is modern Capitalism. Greed rules over the modern world through the pursuit of wealth; it dominates the thoughts, the plans, and the goals of rulers and industrialists. But if one applies the description of BTG to only one nation, it is America; if to only one city, it is New York City; on this point many commentators agree. It has even infected American Christianity as preachers teach that righteous men tend to become wealthy. It is no longer a blessing to have enough, now Christians expect and want to get rich.

The city of Rome does not sit on the coast of Italy, but is located on the Tiber River 15 miles (24 km) inland. New York, on the other hand, actually sits on the shore, is a densely populated city, and contains people from all over the world. (This also described Constantinople.) New York has been called, the "capital of the world." Verse 10 says, “O Babylon, city of power.” New York is certainly that. No other city on Earth today fits the description of Babylon the Great in Rev. like New York City.

Popularly known as the "Big Apple," the "City That Never Sleeps," or the "Capital of the World," the city attracts people from all over the globe who come for New York City’s economic opportunity, culture, and fast-paced cosmopolitan lifestyle. . . . The city is widely regarded as a financial capital of the world . . . New York is often called "the media capital of the world". It is home to several of the largest media conglomerates in the world, including Time Warner, News Corporation, the Hearst Corporation, and Viacom. Three of the "Big Four" record labels have their headquarters in the city. One-third of all independent films in the world are produced in New York. More than 200 newspapers and 350 consumer magazines have an office in the city. The book-publishing industry alone employs about 13,000 people. . . . The city is the national headquarters of the four major American broadcast television networks, ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC. It is also the home of many large cable television channels, including MTV, Fox News, HBO and Comedy Central. (Wikipedia.com)

It is no wonder New York City was a target of the 9-11 hijackers. Notice the statement, “piled up to heaven” in verse 5. The LIT says, “her sins joined together, even up to Heaven.” Some translations say her sins “are piled as high as the sky” or “have reached to the sky.” This could easily describe a skyscraper that is built by joining one floor upon another until it reaches into the sky.

It is very possible that the fall of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City on 9-11 was a prophetic picture of what will happen to BTG, and may actually be seen here in Rev. 18.

6 Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Mix her a double portion from her own cup. 7 Give her as much torture and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never mourn.’8 Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.
9 "When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. 10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: "’Woe! Woe, O great city, O Babylon, city of power! In one hour your doom has come!’ (Rev. 18:6-10)

Take careful notice of the wealth, power, and international trade that is described in this chapter. Rev. 18 can only describe a city or nation of global power and wealth whose fall will be seen and felt around the globe.

11 "The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more–12 cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; 13 cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men. (Rev. 18:11-13)

The above verses describe international trade on a massive scale. This list of goods means BTG will trade in all kinds of goods from all over the world; it is not a definitive list of goods, but only a representative list.

14 "They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your riches and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’ 15 The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn 16 and cry out: "’Woe! Woe, O great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! 17 In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’ "Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. 18 When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ (Rev. 18:14-18)

On 9-11, the south tower literally fell one hour and two minutes after being struck, and the north tower fell about 1.75 hours after being struck. The World Trade Center housed companies that were engaging in all sorts of business ventures, especially world trade, or aided it in some way. The north tower housed companies such as the Bank of Taiwan, China Resource Products USA, American Bureau of Shipping, and Baltic Oil Corporation. The south tower tenants were companies like New York Stock Exchange, Candia Shipping, and Hua Nan Commercial Bank.

19 They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out: "’Woe! Woe, O great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin! 20 Rejoice over her, O heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets! God has judged her for the way she treated you.’" (Rev. 18:19-20)

Clearly Babylon the Great does not refer to false religion; how could merchants worldwide grow rich because of a false religion! Notice that again we are told the destruction will take place in one hour and the double “woe.” The smoke of the burning towers was seen for many miles out to sea, and there were people from many different countries who died in the towers. Yet, while some people were crying woe, others were rejoicing. Many millions of people in Muslim countries literally danced in the streets when the towers collapse. Ultimately, it speaks of the future collapse of modern Capitalism.

Notice that the woman is clothed in scarlet. New York City is officially called the Big Apple, and most apples are deep red in color. The official flag of New York State shows two women, each with a scarlet colored cloak, a globe between them, and ships on the sea. Verse 7 states, “I sit as queen.” One of the Boroughs of New York City is called Queens. The official flag of Queens shows a red flower. How many cities have a district named Queens? In case you did not read it, verse 7 says the woman calls herself a queen. The official flag of Long Island, another borough or district of NYC, shows a woman sitting on a bridge surrounded by water and ships. The World Trade Center stood just about two blocks from the water’s edge. Rev. 18 continues:

21 Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: "With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again. 22 The music of harpists and musicians, flute players and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again. No workman of any trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again. (Rev. 18:21-22)

Here we have a large angel who takes a stone and throws it into the sea; with this type of violence Babylon the Great will be destroyed. The original Greek says, “like a large millstone,” which is a rock. It does not say the size of a millstone; so it most likely refers to an asteroid. God could bring a lot of destruction to both North America and Western Europe by causing a large asteroid to impact in the Atlantic Ocean. Rev. 16 says God destroys Babylon the Great during the 7th bowl of wrath, therefore that is likely when God will cause the asteroid to land in the ocean during the wrath of God upon the whole world.
Jeremiah 51 is similar to Rev. 18. Some people believe that parts of this chapter refer to the United States:

7 Babylon was a gold cup in the LORD’s hand; she made the whole earth drunk . . . 8 Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken. . . . let us leave her and each go to our own land, for her judgment reaches to the skies, it rises as high as the heavens.’ . . . 45 “Come out of her, my people! Run for your lives! . . . 53 Even if Babylon reaches the sky and fortifies her lofty stronghold, I will send destroyers against her,” . . . 60 Jeremiah had written on a scroll about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon . . . 63 When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates. 64 Then say, ‘So will Babylon sink to rise no more because of the disaster I will bring on her. And her people will fall.’” (Jeremiah 51)

The scroll may at first appear to suggest a manmade object, but the scroll contains the words of God. Notice that a stone is tied to the scroll and thrown into the water. Perhaps it means that God will command the asteroid to land in the Atlantic Ocean and destroy New York City with a huge tsunami. Jeremiah said that Babylon will “sink,” which requires being covered with water.

However, Revelation 18 says Babylon will be destroyed by fire. A very large asteroid impacting offshore will send more than water, it will also send fire because it will explode on impact, even in the ocean. Of course it will also destroy most of the rest of the world as well. So BTG being destroyed by fire may not mean nuclear war but the fire from an exploding asteroid during the wrath of God, or it could be nuked and then covered with water since the 7th bowl of wrath follows shortly after the nuclear war of the Battle of Armageddon.

What about the statement that says Babylon the Great will never be rebuilt and no one will ever live or work in the city again? During World War II, two cities in Japan were turned into ash by nuclear bombs, but those cities were rebuilt. Many other cities also were burned and bombed, but they were rebuilt. What great city or nation could be destroyed today and never rebuilt? Even New Orleans is being rebuilt. But NYC, being on the coast as it is, may well never be rebuilt. It may also be largely covered with water permanently in the future because of rising ocean levels from melting polar ice. Or the huge earthquake of the 7th bowl of wrath may cause most of NYC to sink into the ocean.

Even so, the whole of Babylon the Great or even NYC does not have to be destroyed and never rebuilt for this part of the prophecy to be fulfilled. There were enough people working in the two towers to populate a small city, and no one will ever work in the Twin Towers again because they will not be rebuilt. Even more than that, Capitalism as we know it will cease to exist. There will never again be large multinational corporations that exist only to make its stockholders wealthy while paying its workers small wages. In the future people will own small shops that make whatever is needed; there will never again be corporations that care more about making money than about the people that work there. Never again will there be corporations that are willing to exploit people and even destroy the environment to make as much money as it possibly can. So this could refer to the twin towers, and/or to present-day Capitalism.

23 The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your merchants were the world’s great men. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray.24 In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth." (Rev.18:23-24)

Notice what it says, "Your merchants were the world’s great men." Even though there were many rich and influential merchants in Rome and Constantinople, the kings and generals were the world’s richest and most powerful men, but today the merchants are the richest and most powerful. There are corporations with larger budgets and larger net-worths than some nations. The Industrial Revolution and Capitalism have brought the greatest amount of material goods, wealth, and knowledge in the history of humanity. That is what we see described in Revelation 18.

God told Israel that if they repent they wound live in safety and peace, but if they refused to repent the king of Babylon would invade and destroy them. Babylon invaded and destroyed the city and took the Israelites captive, and even took righteous people captive, such as the prophet Daniel. So, also, today many good people live or work in Babylon the Great, and are told to come out of her or they will suffer and die along with her. After the planes hit the towers, many thousands of people streamed out of the towers before they collapsed, so they were not killed. Likewise, people must leave the cities that are destined to be destroyed in God’s wrath, such as Las Vegas and San Francisco. Don’t complain to God if you are living in San Francisco when it’s hit by a huge earthquake or tsunami. If God does not destroy Las Vegas and San Francisco he will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.

But what was her crime? The only thing mentioned in the text was her great wealth and luxury, "Give her as much torture and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself" (v.7). She lived in great wealth and luxury while her workers in India or China suffered in poverty. It says nothing about religion; it only connects her with merchants, international trade, and the rulers of nations. What would be the maddening wine of her adulteries? The Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary says:

There is a connection between their adultery with Babylon and their sharing of her luxury, as if sharing her luxury was part of their adultery. (Vol. 2, p. 1211)

The Greek for "adultery" is porneia (4202) and means more than sexual immorality. "Symbolically it stands for idolatry, the forsaking of the true God in order to worship idols" (CWD). In this case it represents greed, which is idolatry, because greed rules the modern world. Greed is at the heart of modern Capitalism, industry, world trade, and consumerism. Greed has led the whole world astray because modern business will do anything for money, even pollute the environment and use and abuse people. Even today there are products sold around the world made by child labor or slaves. In Capitalism, greed is the only creed, and America is the queen of greed.

Note: Is making money wrong? Why would prosperity be so described in the Bible? There is nothing wrong with making money; we should all have enough. Companies should also make enough to make a profit, but “enough” is the key word. Companies are not satisfied with a few million dollars in profit, they want hundreds of millions and some literally make billions each year! If they only made enough, they would pay their employees more money so that both husband and wife don’t have to work to pay bills, and so every member of the family in other countries don’t have to work just to feed themselves.

Women in Asia often have to work 14 hours each day for pennies an hour sewing clothes for stores like Wal-Mart. They are no better off than slaves. But they pay their CERs a king’s ransom [CER stands for Chief Executive Robber]. Capitalist greed almost destroyed the world economy back in 2007-2009, because of high interest mortgages, investment scams, and, well, greed. Greed is what almost destroyed our economy and cost millions of jobs. It was all about greed.

The Roman Empire or the legend of Atlantis is nothing compared to the modern world. Jerusalem was the greatest city during the rule of Solomon; Athens was the greatest Western city in its time; Rome was the greatest city of its time; and Constantinople was the greatest city of its time. But none of those cities or empires can compare to the world we live in today. There are many rich and powerful cities in the world today, thanks to international trade and global Capitalism.

Given all the above information, the fall of Babylon the Great refers to the fall of the Stock Market and global Capitalism; our economy. “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore.” Most of the prosperity in the world today comes from global trade, and most of that is done with the United States and Western Europe. Our consumer driven economy is what allows merchants in Asia to get rich selling us their goods.

Since the destruction comes during the time of God’s wrath, the buildings and the factories and the trucks and the ships and the people will be destroyed; but more importantly, the survivors will never again build an economy dependent upon publicly traded companies that only exist to make the managers and stockholders multimillionaires. Global Capitalism, as we know it today, will be destroyed at the coming of Christ; never to dominate the world again. In the next age we will have small employee owned companies that do not work the employees to death at low wages.