There's a poem and hymn by a man I consider a prophet of this age. William Blake.
And did those feet in ancient time walk upon England's mountains green.
And was the Holy Lamb of God, on England's pleasant pastures seen.
And did the countenance divine shine forth upon those clouded hills.
And was Jerusalem builded here, Among those dark satanic mills.
Bring me my bow of burning gold
Bring me my arrows of desire,
Bring me my spear O clouds unfold
Bring me my chariot of fire.
I shall not cease from mental fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land.
Old Jerusalem is as fallen as Babylon the Great and ancient Rome, as prophecied by Jesus, in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 10, I believe. But Babylon, or Rome continue in their attributes in new places with new names.
New Jerusalem is a city of the imagination. It is a way of being, as is Babylon. So not forgetting Jerusalem means not forgetting that it is your struggle as a Christian to help build the Kingdom of God. (as we pray in the Lord's prayer, that the kingdom of God will come on earth,)
"Jerusalem is builded as a city that is at unity in itself."
Which sounds most unlike the city in Israel, divided into many quarters and argued over by many religions.
Onto Babylon. Here's what we know about Babylon.
Babylon was a great city, her merchandise was of gold and silver, of precious stones of pearls and fine linen. Of purple, silk, and scarlet; All manner vessels of ivory, all manner vessels of most precious wood; Of brass, iron, and marble, cinnamon, odours and ointment. Of frankincense, wine, and oil, fine flour, wheat, sheep, horse, beasts, chariots, Slaves, And the Souls of Men.
So Babylon is identified as a commercial centre that trades everything, to whom profit is more important than people.
This is its essence. By the time Revelation was written, Old Babylon was long gone, but Rome now was the commercial centre of the world. Of course, if you openly wrote of Rome as the enemy, they were likely to crucify you, so you used the code word Babylon, which would be understood by anyone who knew the Old Testament, to mean Rome.
Rome itself is long gone, "Those who live by the sword, die by the sword." But it continues in essence. The foremost military power of the world, the ruler of the world, the trading centre of the world, awash with money, trading in everything, even the souls of men.
"O daughter of Babylon, who -ought- to be destroyed. Happy shall he be that taketh thy children and dasheth them against a stone. For with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down. And shall be found no more at all."
"Now the Kings of the earth Lament, and the merchants of the earth, weep and wail, and rend their raiment. They cry aloud, Alas, that great City, In One Hour, Is Her Judgement Come."
And did those feet in ancient time walk upon England's mountains green.
And was the Holy Lamb of God, on England's pleasant pastures seen.
And did the countenance divine shine forth upon those clouded hills.
And was Jerusalem builded here, Among those dark satanic mills.
Bring me my bow of burning gold
Bring me my arrows of desire,
Bring me my spear O clouds unfold
Bring me my chariot of fire.
I shall not cease from mental fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land.
Old Jerusalem is as fallen as Babylon the Great and ancient Rome, as prophecied by Jesus, in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 10, I believe. But Babylon, or Rome continue in their attributes in new places with new names.
New Jerusalem is a city of the imagination. It is a way of being, as is Babylon. So not forgetting Jerusalem means not forgetting that it is your struggle as a Christian to help build the Kingdom of God. (as we pray in the Lord's prayer, that the kingdom of God will come on earth,)
"Jerusalem is builded as a city that is at unity in itself."
Which sounds most unlike the city in Israel, divided into many quarters and argued over by many religions.
Onto Babylon. Here's what we know about Babylon.
Babylon was a great city, her merchandise was of gold and silver, of precious stones of pearls and fine linen. Of purple, silk, and scarlet; All manner vessels of ivory, all manner vessels of most precious wood; Of brass, iron, and marble, cinnamon, odours and ointment. Of frankincense, wine, and oil, fine flour, wheat, sheep, horse, beasts, chariots, Slaves, And the Souls of Men.
So Babylon is identified as a commercial centre that trades everything, to whom profit is more important than people.
This is its essence. By the time Revelation was written, Old Babylon was long gone, but Rome now was the commercial centre of the world. Of course, if you openly wrote of Rome as the enemy, they were likely to crucify you, so you used the code word Babylon, which would be understood by anyone who knew the Old Testament, to mean Rome.
Rome itself is long gone, "Those who live by the sword, die by the sword." But it continues in essence. The foremost military power of the world, the ruler of the world, the trading centre of the world, awash with money, trading in everything, even the souls of men.
"O daughter of Babylon, who -ought- to be destroyed. Happy shall he be that taketh thy children and dasheth them against a stone. For with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down. And shall be found no more at all."
"Now the Kings of the earth Lament, and the merchants of the earth, weep and wail, and rend their raiment. They cry aloud, Alas, that great City, In One Hour, Is Her Judgement Come."
