Justme said:
Hi Forum,
It all boils down to this.
At the timeframe of Rev chapter 17 this is one thing that should be clear.
18The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth."
What city is ruling over kings, plural' today? Nobody will answer that, but if they did we would get a multitude of answers and Rome probably wouldn't even be one of them. New York maybe or Washington, some might guess Bagdad, but all that would indicate is that there really isn't any city ruling over 'kings' today. What that means is that we are not in any last days and not in any connection with the Book of Revelation at this time. Anybody can climb up on a box and beller out that it is 35 years from now, but it would be as meaningless as those who said the same about 35 years ago.
Last days............hogwash. Now we can move on to the trampling of some city because that don't fit the present times either.
Justme
Solomon comes to mind as reigning over the kings of the "earth" because of his massive wealth that he used to buy all things for the temple and palace to be built. Did he literally REIGN over the "kings"?
Since the whole bible is about Israel and Jerusalem, it would appear "logical" that the book of revelation is also about Jerusalem and Israel.
Jerusalem reigning over the kings simply implies her wealth and status and the "kings" became rich through her "luxuries", at least this appears to be what revelation is saying.
I am sure I can come up with more verses, but why bother.
2 chron 9:
25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem.
26 So he reigned over all the kings from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. 27 The king made silver [as common] in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which [are] in the lowland.
reve 18:
9 "
The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning,
10 "standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, 'Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.'
14 "The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all.
15 "The merchants of these things, who
became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,