"Babylon"

[ANM29]

Friday, August 7, 2009

BABYLON

Joseph Herrin
(08-07-09)

I recently read a book by Benjamin Baruch that had been given me by a brother in Christ while I was traveling across the country. The book is titled The Day of the Lord is at Hand. The book contained some excellent sections, and made it well worth the reading. I shared it with my friend Randy Simmons, and he has also been very impressed with much of it.

As Christians we are to examine all things carefully. We must always seek to exercise discernment to recognize the difference between those things that arise from the Spirit and those things that arise from the soul. This requires a sensitivity to the voice of the Spirit, as well as a great carefulness in examining those things we read and hear. Oftentimes I have been led to in depth study and prayer to discern a matter that I had questions about. We should all be careful, especially in this hour when deception is everywhere about us, to test all things,asking the Father to ever guide us into truth.

There were some things in Benjamin's book that the Spirit did not bear witness to. I was put off by the date setting in the book, some of which have already come and gone without the anticipated events occurring. Also, there was a tendency toward too much literalness in some sections. For example, Benjamin spoke of America being Babylon, and he counseled people to leave America, equating this to fleeing from Babylon. He mentioned his own plans of going to Israel, as some do who take the Scriptural prophesies about returning to Zion very literally. He spoke of Christians fleeing to the area known as Petra where they could find refuge in the rocks and caves and surrounding wilderness areas.

I am convinced that Babylon, Zion and Petra should all be understood in a more spiritual sense. Petra of course, means rock. As Christians we do have a Rock of refuge, that being Christ. As we find our habitation in this Rock we will indeed find safety and peace.

The remainder of today's post consists of a chapter taken from a book I wrote some years ago titled The Road from Babylon to Zion. It defines what Babylon and Zion truly are. These two cities throughout Scriptures represent two opposing kingdoms. Babylon typifies the kingdom of Satan, while Zion is a figure of the kingdom of God.

Our entrance into either kingdom is not based upon physical location, anymore than being "IN CHRIST" is a physical location. I do not have to dwell in Jerusalem on Zion's hill to be "IN CHRIST." Neither is our citizenship in Babylon or Zion determined by outward measures.

I have often declared of late that America is Babylonian in her character. This is very true, but it has nothing to do with her location. It has to do with the spirit fromwhich she operates.

In this hour, the Spirit of Christ is calling forth to His people to come out of Babylon. I pray that as you read the words that follow that you might discern precisely what this means.

Babylon

It is necessary at the beginning of this book to identify what Babylon is and what she is not. There is much confusion over the identification of Babylon, yet her identification is a very important matter. If Yahweh God is calling His people out of Babylon in this hour, (and He is), then His people must understand what they are being called out from.

Some have supposed that Babylon represents a country or nation of the earth that fits some characteristic attributed to her in scripture. For example, Babylon is spoken of as a land of trade where “the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality" (Revelation 18:3). She is further described in this way:

Revelation 18:11-13
"And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more - cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble, and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives... saying, "Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls; for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!' And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance, and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, "What city is like the great city?'”

Some have supposed that America must represent Babylon since it is the greatest consumer nation in the world. Yet others have argued that Babylon is New York City due to the scripture’s repeated use of the word “city.” If this were true, then coming out of Babylon would mean that the people of God who reside in either America or New York City must depart from these places. If Babylon were merely describing a physical location then simply changing one’s place of residence would fulfill the command to “come out of her, My people” (Revelation 18:4).

It is true that there is much in America and New York City that are typical of Babylon, and undoubtedly there is a judgment, and plagues reserved, for all such places who have been given great light and have chosen instead to walk in darkness. But Babylon is not referring specifically to America, nor to her “queen city.”

Some have supposed that Babylon refers to the actual Babylon of the Old Testament. The ancient city lies in the country of Iraq, and although it has been an uninhabited ruin for centuries, some have advanced the notion that Saddam Hussein is having Babylon rebuilt and that it will be populated once again. (Note: This was written prior to Saddam Hussein's fall from power.) The ancient city is the site of much excavation and archaeological work today. But it will not be inhabited, nor will it rise to a glorious position such as she once knew in the world. The climate has changed. Bodies of water have dried up. What was once a fertile region is now a barren wasteland due to the judgment of Yahweh. Furthermore, we have Yahweh’s word that the ancient city of Babylon will never be inhabited again.

Jeremiah 51:36, 37, 41-43, 61-64
Therefore thus says Yahweh, "Behold, I am going to plead your case And exact full vengeance for you; And I will dry up her sea and make her fountain dry. Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants... How Sheshak has been captured, and the praise of the whole earth been seized! How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations! The sea has come up over Babylon; She has been engulfed with its tumultuous waves. Her cities have become an object of horror, a parched land and a desert, a land in which no man lives and through which no son of man passes... Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, "As soon as you come to Babylon, then see that you read all these words aloud, and say, "You, O Yahweh, have promised concerning this place to cut it off, so that there will be nothing dwelling in it, whether man or beast, but it will be a perpetual desolation.' And as soon as you finish reading this scroll, you will tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates, and say, "Just so shall Babylon sink down and not rise again because of the calamity that I am going to bring upon her; and they will become exhausted.'" Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

People imagine many vain things, but these scriptures should be sufficient to let all know that the ancient city of Babylon will not rise again as some mystical phoenix from the desert to once more ascend to glory. Yahweh’s judgment on ancient Babylon is final. Her ruins stand now as a somber warning against spiritual Babylon and her impending judgments and plagues. She too will be broken beyond remedy, never to rise again. We must conclude that the Babylon of Revelation is not speaking of the ancient city being rebuilt.

Others have supposed that Babylon represents Rome and the Roman Catholic Church, and there is much to support this argument. The following scripture reveals more about the character of Mystery Babylon.

Revelation 17:5, 6, 9
And on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Yahshua. Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits...”

Untold numbers of saints have been martyred at the hands of Rome and the Catholic Church. Through Rome’s influence many heresies and pagan practices have been mixed in with the worship of God until Christendom has become a corrupt mixture. Rome also sits on seven hills.

Many books and a myriad of sermons have gone forth proclaiming the Roman Catholic Church to be Babylon. Without a doubt there is a connection between Babylon and Rome, yet the Babylon of Revelation is more than the Roman Catholic Church. It is noted in the preceding scripture that Babylon is “the mother of harlots.” Babylon has many daughters, and each one of these daughters is also Babylon. Some have argued quite convincingly that these daughters are the various denominations that populate Christendom today. Even within the denominations that have protested against the Roman Catholic Church (the Protestants), there is much of Rome left in them.

Entire books have been written to expose the false pagan practices that have become part and parcel of Christian practice today, both inside and outside of Rome. It is not just the Catholics that celebrate the Christ Mass on the historic date of the pagan festivals of Sol Invictus and Saturnalia. It is not just the Catholics that have kept the name and the date of the Spring fertility festival held in honor of the goddess Ishtar (Eostre, Astarte, Ashtoreth) which we know as Easter. It is not just the Catholics that have brought such devastation to the body of Christ by instituting the false divisions of clergy and laity. All of these things, and many more, are as typical of the harlot’s daughters as they are true of the Great Harlot.

If we try to identify Babylon by her false practices, however, we will fail. These things are merely symptoms, and the outward trappings of Babylon. We must discover the root and the heart of Babylon to know how to truly come out of her. The saint could identify every false practice and every pagan influence of Babylon, and separate themselves from all such things, and still not have come out of her.

We are getting much closer to the center of things in looking at Mystery Babylon’s association to the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant denominationalism. If these entities represent Babylon, the Great Harlot, and her daughters, then the call to come out of Babylon is a call to flee from Catholicism and all denominationalism. Yet there are those who have come out of these and they are not yet free of Babylon, for Babylon at its heart represents a spiritual principle.

Let us examine one more example of that which people are identifying as Babylon in this day. This last example is also related to Rome and her heresies. Many are identifying Babylon today by outward measures, by forms of worship, forms of assembly, practices and traditions. Many are looking back to the manner and practice of the apostles and how things have deviated since those first meetings of the early saints. Certainly there is value in discerning these matters, but returning to a “New Testament form” does not insure one’s departure from Babylon, nor does holding to what is considered a deviation from the original pattern mean that one is still in Babylon.

By way of illustrating what I am speaking about, some say that home churches are the model that was portrayed in the New Testament and that large gatherings and meetings in buildings dedicated to the gathering of the saints (church buildings) are a Babylonian device and should be avoided. The truth, however, is that there are saints meeting in homes who are indistinguishable from those who meet in church buildings. The only difference is one of form. The true distinction between Babylon and Zion is one of the heart, and it cannot be measured, or quantified, or described and set forth by examining traditions, practices, or forms.

This is not to say that these things are unimportant, but leaving a fellowship of believers who meet in a church building to join others who meet in someone’s home is not to be mistaken as journeying from Babylon to Zion. Neither is leaving a church that has pastors and deacons to go to a church that has a five-fold ministry of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Nor is leaving a body that meets on Sunday to join a group that meets on the traditional Sabbath which began at sundown on Friday. Nor is leaving a group that uses the names and titles God, Lord and Jesus to join a group that uses the names and titles Elohim, Yahweh, and Yahshua.

All of these matters should be examined, and we should ask the Father to grant us wisdom and understanding in them all, but these things do not mark the boundaries of Babylon and Zion. The Pharisees sought to conform to the letter of the Law and they had an appearance of righteousness, but Yahshua testified of them that inwardly they were full of dead men’s bones. Even so, we can faithfully reproduce New Testament forms to the best of our understanding and still be considered citizens of Babylon. We should consider our Savior’s words:

Matthew 7:21-23
"Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'”

In this scripture we see a people who confess Yahshua as Lord and they are doing the very same activities that He did. Yahshua prophesied and so did they. Yahshua cast out demons and so did they. Yahshua performed miracles and so did they. Yet we have Yahshua’s very pointed pronouncement, “Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”

 

[ANM29]

..continued..

It is not enough to conform to Christ in form, or even in action. We must have an internal conformity. Yahshua lived to do the will of the Father, and so must we. Yahshua never performed any of the activities mentioned of His own initiative. He only did what the Father commanded Him to do. Yahshua never walked in lawlessness, He was every moment surrendered to the governmental will of His Father in heaven.

There are many home churches today that are doing much of their own initiative. There are many fellowships that eschew pagan practices and that name the name of Yahweh and Yahshua, yet they are full of their own plans and ambitions. There are many local bodies of believers that have five-fold ministers and who seek to pattern themselves after New Testament forms, but they are still living out of the soul of man and making decisions apart from the Spirit of God.

Leaving Babylon requires much more than simply changing forms and practices that are outwardly observable. Undoubtedly, the people of Zion will stand out from the citizens of Babylon in numerous external ways, but the real difference is inward. To leave Babylon one must be circumcised in the heart. Babylon must be removed from one’s desires and passions before one can journey out from Babylon.

Babylon and Zion have actually existed side by side throughout the entire history of the Scriptures. We see Babylon and Zion in the two brothers Cain and Abel. Both men brought an offering to Yahweh. Cain brought of the fruit of the earth, while Abel brought forth of the firstlings of his flock with their fat portions. We are told that God had regard for Abel’s offering, but not for Cain’s.

What was the difference between Cain’s offering and Abel’s that God would regard one and not the other? I have heard many vain things preached regarding this story. Many have suggested that Cain did not bring the best of the fruit of the ground while Abel brought the best of the flock. But the scriptures do not say that Cain brought less than the best of what he had grown. I believe that he did indeed bring the very best of his produce from the ground. Why then did God despise Cain’s offering?

The reason has to do with what the offerings represent. We can easily see that Abel’s offering of the firstlings of his flock was in keeping with the offerings that Yahweh ordained should be brought before Him. The firstlings of the flock represent the Lamb who would be slain for the sins of the world, and we are told that “without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin” (Hebrews 9:22). Abel’s offering found acceptance with God because it looked forward in faith to that spotless Lamb that would one day cleanse the world from all guilt and condemnation. The scriptures reveal that it was because of this faith that Abel’s offering was acceptable in God’s sight.

Hebrews 11:4
By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous...

Cain, however, made an offering based upon his own works that did not look to the future atonement of Yahshua. After Adam sinned, the ground was cursed and produce came forth by the sweat of man’s brow. It was the fruit of his own sweat and labor that Cain presented to God as an offering and God was not impressed. Babylon always seeks to ascend to God through its own works. This is prefigured as mankind sought to build a tower that would reach to the heavens. Babylon seeks by its own works to find acceptance and approval before God. Cain made an offering of the best that he had, and I am certain he was proud of the quality and quantity of the fruit. He thought, “Certainly God will have regard for my offering,” but God did not. By works of the flesh no man will be justified before God. Justification is only by faith in Yahshua and HIS FINISHED WORK.

This is actually the key distinction between Babylon and Zion. Babylon initiates great works and then asks God to bless them. Babylon has the appearance of great industriousness and her progress seems evident to all. But Babylon’s works are the works of man. Babylon may be doing the same kind of works that Yahshua performed, but she is doing them as she sees fit, not by command of God. Babylon is not Spirit directed, she is soul directed.

The soul of man devises many plans that seem noble and right and which find the approval of others. As we saw earlier, some of these activities include prophesying, casting out demons, and performing miracles. These activities also include feeding the hungry, proclaiming the gospel, building ministries with noble sounding purposes, and the list could go on and on.

The majority of the saints have been taught to judge things according to sight. If they observe a man casting out a demon they judge such a one to be righteous and holy and pleasing to God. If they see a person performing an authentic miracle they conclude that this person certainly bears the stamp of God’s approval. If they see a person operating a charity to care for the poor, they will also assume that it must certainly be of God. Yet Yahshua said that “many” would come to Him in the day of judgment and proclaim that they did such things in His name, but He will deny even knowing them.

This is a large part of the trouble of coming out of Babylon: Babylon looks good on the outside. This is the same struggle that those who followed Messiah faced when He said, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and the Pharisees, you can in no wise enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” The Pharisees looked good. They prayed. They fasted. They tithed of all their substance. They meticulously kept the Law... Yet, they were relying on their own works to gain approval before a holy God...

The paradox today is that it is often the most righteous looking people who are the chief citizens of Babylon, for they are working hard to find approval before God. They are striving laboriously to appear righteous. Many a minister has spent his entire life working to find the approval of God and of men, and he has yoked the people who follow him to the same burden of works. They may accomplish many remarkable things, but before God it is all striving and dead works, for they are not born out of faith in the completed work of Christ. As the Galatians who began in faith and then tried to continue in works, such ones have become severed from Christ and He has become altogether worthless to them.

Looking at a church externally, how can you tell which ones are of Babylon and which are of Zion? They may both be performing the same activities, but one body is striving to be judged as righteous, while the other is resting in the knowledge that in Christ, Yahshua the Messiah, they are already righteous. One is seeking to overcome the flesh, the world and the Devil by imitating the works of Christ, the other realizes that Christ has already overcome all and they are in Christ and He is in them. One body is expending their very life to be approved before God, and the other proclaims that they have died and their life has been hidden with God in Christ Jesus, Yahshua the Messiah.

These are things that are not easily quantified and observable, but Babylon is living life from a point of striving to be approved before God and man, while Zion is resting in the life of the Son. Zion is a people of faith...

This is the difference between Babylon and Zion. Babylon is a land of works where man must accomplish every task and fulfill every mandate. Babylon knows nothing of rest and faith. Oh yes, Babylon speaks very much about faith, but it is a faith that is rooted in man’s ability. Babylon’s faith is founded upon man’s ability to envision some end and to see it through. Babylon is built with blueprints, and planning sessions, and organization, and fund drives, and pep rallies, and the sweat of untold men and women. This is why when all is said and done and some project has come to completion, the people of Babylon feel justified to stand and proclaim:

Daniel 4:30
"Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built... by the might of my power...?”

Zion, however, is not seeking to build anything of her own will and initiative. Zion is a people of rest. Zion knows that salvation is of the Lord, as is sanctification, and as is glorification. Zion does not labor to build a city, for she seeks a city not built with hands whose builder and maker is not man, but God. Zion does not seek to work for the approval of Yahweh, she works because she is approved by Yahweh.

Zion is a city of rest. This does not mean that those who are of Zion are doing nothing, it means that they are doing nothing of their own initiative. They are doing those works that God prepared beforehand for them. They are not dreaming up their own works, nor are they stretching out their hands to labor in fields to which they have not been sent. Austin Sparks made this very enlightening comment:

Thus it was that we were turned in that dark hour to Romans chapter six, and, almost as though He spoke in audible language, the Lord said: ‘When I died, you died. When I went to the Cross I not only took your sins, but I took you. When I took you, I not only took you as the sinner that you might regard yourself to be, but I took you as being all that you are by nature; your good as your bad; your abilities as well as your disabilities; yes, every resource of yours. I took you as a "worker," a "preacher," an "organizer!" My Cross means that not even for Me can you be or do anything out from yourself, but if there is to be anything at all it must be out from Me, and that means a life of absolute dependence and faith.’

At this point, therefore, we awoke to the fundamental principle of our Lord's own life while here, and it became the law of everything for us from that time. That principle was: "nothing of (out from) Himself," but "all things of (out from) God."

The Son can do nothing of (out from) Himself, but what He seeth the Father doing: for what things soever He doeth, then the Son also doeth in like manner' (John 5:19).

"I can of Myself do nothing: as I hear I judge" (John 5:30).

"My teaching is not Mine, but His that sent Me" (John 7:16).

We saw that this explains so many strange and - naturally - perplexing things in His behavior: acting and refusing to act; going and refusing to go; speaking and refusing to speak. Later, we came to see that this is the whole meaning of life in the Spirit, and that it is an altogether different life from the natural ways of men, even of Christian men. At the time of this seeing, it was a matter of this law becoming basic, absolute, and ultimate, and it was something totally different from what had been in all our ideas and activities in Christian life and work.

Yes, those who are of Zion are to be emptied of self, both that which they consider bad as well as that which they consider good. Zion is not led by some concept that defines the actions which righteous people must do. Zion is lead only by the Spirit. What they see God doing, they do. They do nothing for God of their own initiative. Zion is to live out the words of Paul:

Galatians 2:20
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

Babylon seeks to perform godly works through human industry and effort. Babylon asks the question, “What Would Jesus Do?” and then it tries to perform that action in the power of sinful flesh. Zion, however, sees self as crucified with Christ and Christ now living in and through them. As one brother has stated, Zion says, “Watch What Jesus Does!”

By faith in the work of Messiah, Zion enters into rest. Due to unbelief, Babylon endures ceaseless striving and fails to enter into the sabbath rest of God. Babylon’s works are birthed in the mind, will, and emotions of man. Many of these works appear noble and some are even supernatural in nature. But due to the corrupted source from which they arise, all such works are rejected by God. Many of the works of Babylon are in direct opposition to Zion and her citizens.

Yahshua said the day would come when people would kill His disciples and think they were doing God a favor. Such is the end result of the polluted well that Babylon drinks from. In the name of God and His Christ millions of saints have been martyred in the past 2,000 years. This is the work of Babylon. What a shock is in store for these who will stand before Yahshua and say, “Did we not kill the infidels and heretics in Your name?” He will reply, “When you did it to the least of these My brethren, you did it unto Me.”

Perhaps now you can see more clearly why Zion and Babylon cannot be identified merely by external measurements. Tares and wheat look much alike until they bear fruit. I know some would like to have a rule of thumb to be able to tell Babylon apart from Zion. Such rules are hard to come by, but one indicator I will give. Zion is a people of faith, while Babylon walks by sight and reason...

 

[ANM29]

..continued..

Yes, there are many other things which characterize Babylon: her sensuality, her pride, her idolatry, her love of the world and the things in it; her persecution of the saints; her pagan practices; her heresies; her false forms and traditions, but all of these are the result of her lack of faith in Yahshua and her failure to enter into rest. These things are the fruit of a faith that is soul directed, rather than being submitted to the leading of the Spirit of God in all things.
[End Excerpt]

For those who have read this far, let me conclude by sharing that the persecution of Christians in coming days will largely be accomplished by other professing Christians. Those Babylonian Christians who are led by the counsel of their own soul will believe it to be a righteous thing to persecute and even kill those who are citizens of Zion. This persecution of the children of faith by those offspring who are children of the flesh has continued for many long ages. Are not "carnal Christians" acting as "mere men"? Are they not acting as offspring of the flesh?

A Christian who has been born again of the Spirit of Christ, yet who continues to operate out of the counsel of the soul, is precisely that one whom God speaks of when He says, "Come out of {Babylon] My people." Yes, God's people are in Babylon. The world cannot help but operate out of the soul, for they have not been born again of the Spirit. The tragedy is that many who have received the new birth continue to operate according to the same principle as the world. They have been born again to be citizens of Zion, but they are continuing to dwell in Babylon.

Come out of her, God's people!

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws
Parables Blog: http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

Let us examine one more example of that which people are identifying as Babylon in this day. This last example is also related to Rome and her heresies

Why is it so hard for "you people" (to coin a Jewish term) to understand that every reference to a woman ( The harlot of Babylon) is a reference to the church, whether good or bad?

 

[He put me back together]

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Why is it so hard for "you people" (to coin a Jewish term) to understand that every reference to a woman ( The harlot of Babylon) is a reference to the church, whether good or bad?

Did Ezekiel prophecy to the church?

 

[freeport]

<snip>
As Christians we are to examine all things carefully. We must always seek to exercise discernment to recognize the difference between those things that arise from the Spirit and those things that arise from the soul. This requires a sensitivity to the voice of the Spirit, as well as a great carefulness in examining those things we read and hear.
<snip>

There were some things in Benjamin's book that the Spirit did not bear witness to. I was put off by the date setting in the book, some of which have already come and gone without the anticipated events occurring. Also, there was a tendency toward too much literalness in some sections.

<snip>

I will stop there. You have a critical point, though the terminology there about "soul" and "Spirit" are off. (Watchman Nee used that kind of distinction a lot, so much so, it made his works unreadable to me.)

Hebrews Chapter 4

12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

There is a separation, therefore, between soul and spirit. But, is the soul passive or active?

The terminology I prefer to use is "walking in the flesh" or "not walking in the Spirit". When the Hebrews author is talking about "dividing soul and spirit" are they not talking about dividing between self and Christ within our hearts? That is what we want and what we are and what God wants?


But minor point there: you are correct to dislike date setting, and correct people take too literal of a view of these things, and very correct that people tend to take the symbolism of Revelation and distort it outside of spiritual mindsets.


This, I see, is a critical message.

People are constantly willing to identify "the Beast" or "Babylon" by simple, fleshly thinking. It really gets absurd.


I wish I could come and say, "Oh, let us be gentle about these matters and speak kind words to those who do this", but the error is grievous and each Christian engaging on it feeds on the other. If you speak softly, they continue in the errors. And if you tell the truth: they will reject it and continue in the error of their ways unwilling to take correction.

May God have some open their hearts and see: the truth is not always easy and sometimes means rejecting a great deal of precious "knowledge" people store up.


People are walking in the flesh when they do this. They are turning away from God, turning away from the simple and plain guidance of the Spirit in their hearts, and turning to false teachers and doctrines of demons.


John related well Jesus' words in his version of the Gospel, 'The Spirit will teach you all things', and later John clarified and amplified that in his first letter saying, 'You do not need teachers. I say this because of the false teachers trying to deceive you. You have the anointing and the anointing teaches you all things, and that anointing is real, not counterfeit, just as it has shown you'.


But, let us stick to Babylon for a moment. Were not several of the major and "minor" Prophets speaking of Babylon? Did not Israel get judged by God and God send Babylon to bring her into captivity? And was not Judah - the only remaining element of Israel - brought into that captivity for many decades, and then finally released through the power of God? And did not many of those prophets during that time which God sent speak deeply on all of these matters?

In Revelation you see God saying, 'Come out of Babylon', and you see the same verse repeating in the Prophets.

So, how is it people do not look to the Prophets for guidance on what the Angel of Jesus Christ spoke on Babylon?

Revelation 12:

17Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

And we know that the Beast, the False Prophet, and the Dragon were the three central bad figures in Revelation from that part of the Book -- besides the rest of mankind who did not repent of their deeds and this "mysterious" harlot.

Revelation 13

8A second angel followed and said, "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries."

An angel says this. Is that judgment of God or not? Of course, it is of God. But, notice the word "adulteries". This is the very same word God used constantly with Israel (Judah) with the Prophets regarding Babylon.

Now, though the Harlot rides the beast, look, the wicked powers hate her:

Revelation 16

15Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. 16The 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. 17For 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. 18The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth."

Revelation 17

Revelation 18

1After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 2With a mighty voice he shouted:
"Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!
She has become a home for demons
and a haunt for every evil[a] spirit,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.
3For 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."
4Then 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;
5for her sins are piled up to heaven,
and God has remembered her crimes.
6Give 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.
7Give 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.'
8Therefore 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.

So, you see the beast and the wicked powers hating her -- and also the godly powers of Heaven.

God has focused fire on this Harlot.

This should not cause anyone to wonder: You see this plainly in the Prophets. God used the wicked kings of Babylon and Assyria to accomplish His stated purposes into carrying off Israel and punishing them.

And He also pointed out He would thereafter punish those same vehicles of His wrath for their own uncleanness of heart.

There are many verses on this.


Now, I will not get explicit, then, anymore on "who the Harlot" is, but to further point out that Christians forget they are called to live in Spiritual Israel and be Spiritual Jews. Through the Tribe of Judah, which Jesus was born from. And it was the very Tribe of Judah which was carried off into Babylon.

Many godly people came back from Babylon to help rebuild the Temple, to build the Second Temple, re-fortify the walls, and build up the city. There were wicked Jews there at the time who tried to frustrate God's efforts through His saints in doing so. And they greatly hurt the efforts and delayed them.

And there were Jews who did not initially leave the Babylon captivity to come to Israel.

Zech 3, Zechariah was a prophet of that escape from Babylonian captivity and had strong words of prophecy tying directly and often into Revelation.

In chapter 3 you see the symbolic restoration of the High Priest, Joshua, and this High Priest clearly symbolizes Jesus, as does the King at that time, Zerubbabel. God shows this to Zechariah by saying of Joshua, "you will judge my house" and at another point has Zechariah putting a crown on Joshua's head.

As it is said of Jesus, 'He is King and High priest'.

But, there is this statement there as well:

Zechariah 3

1 Then he showed me Joshua [a] the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan [b] standing at his right side to accuse him. 2 The LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?" 3 Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4 The angel said to those who were standing before him, "Take off his filthy clothes."
Then he said to Joshua, "See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you."
5 Then I said, "Put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the LORD stood by.
6 The angel of the LORD gave this charge to Joshua: 7 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here.
8 " 'Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. 9 See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes [c] on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,' says the LORD Almighty, 'and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.

Sin of this land in a single day? What sin was removed but the error Jesus was put on by being hung on the cross, as Paul pointed out this was a transgression of the Law, for the Law says 'cursed is anyone hung on a tree' and 'He became sin for us, that we might be saved'.



Was this physical Israel the verse was speaking of? Is that "land" physical Israel? Or spiritual Israel? The land of the Kingdom of God?


It is the sin of Christians which the High Priest Joshua removes, those who believe in the real High Priest, Jesus Christ.

Zech 13

1 "On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.

You see, here, again, now not just "land" but also a further statement, "the inhabitants of Jerusalem".




But, have those who live in physical Jerusalem been forgiven their sins by Jesus' sacrifice on the cross? No, of course not.


Only those who have believed on Jesus.


And there was one removal of the sin of the Law put on Jesus, and that sin is removed forever: we know this for He resurrected from the dead on the third day.


So all Christians are not under Law, otherwise we would be. But Jesus has taken up the Law unto Himself, so He 'might judge all God's house'.




It is no one else's place to "judge God's house", as Jesus said, "All judgment is entrusted to the Son". And no one else is the High Priest.




Am I here saying, then, that Babylon is some place, or might someone read that I am pinpointing Babylon as being here or there, physically? Or that the call to "leave Babylon" means literally leave some country?




People, do not think so literally.


Are not there many Christians out there who are of the world when they should not be? Are they not married to Christ, yet committing adultery? Many who say, "I am, and there is no other" and do not truly take the message and life of Jesus seriously, as in, "I am not a widow"?




Contrary to popular teachings: Revelation is not obvious. Jesus spoke 'of that day', saying 'of that day and hour no one knows, not the angels in Heaven, nor even the Son, but only the Father in Heaven'.


And if He was there only speaking of the very moment of His return, why did He use two words: Both 'hour' and 'day'?

 

[mercyreigns]

I liked it. I thought it was good

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

Did Ezekiel prophecy to the church?

Is the harlot of babylon in the church age?

 

[He put me back together]

Is the harlot of babylon in the church age?

Do chickens have lips?



The harlot of Babel is Jerusalem, and the beast upon which she rides is Rome. She was the one who stood above the nations of the earth, and who was built up upon by their finest goods. She was the one who shed the blood of the innocent. Her husbandmen mistreated the servants of the Master of the vineyard, and murdered his son. She is spiritually called Sodom, and Egypt. Jesus came to His own, and was not received by them. As many as did receive Him, He called them out of her--out of Babel, just as He called Abraham out of Babel, Lot out of Sodom, Israel out of Egypt, and Israel out of Babel again. I think that's pretty clear and droningly consistent.

But I'm interested in your view. You said that every *female* in Biblical symbolism is the church, but I think now you're saying that every *female* in Bible symbolism that references the church age is the church. Just trying to understand what you're saying.

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

but I think now you're saying that every *female* in Bible symbolism that references the church age is the church.

Of course not every female references as directly to the church age, but if common sence in bible reading is of any worth to you it would be worthwhile reading from that perspective. It gives a clear view of the church from both angles of the worth and the evil contained in it.(it being the church with the wheats and tares)
on the sidenote and not to get away from what I believe to be a good formula for understanding where God is coming from according to His spouse:

Jerusalem is where God dwells, so correctly also the church.

The harlot of Babel is Jerusalem, and the beast upon which she rides is Rome. She was the one who stood above the nations of the earth, and who was built up upon by their finest goods. She was the one who shed the blood of the innocent. Her husbandmen mistreated the servants of the Master of the vineyard, and murdered his son. She is spiritually called Sodom, and Egypt. Jesus came to His own, and was not received by them. As many as did receive Him, He called them out of her--out of Babel, just as He called Abraham out of Babel, Lot out of Sodom, Israel out of Egypt, and Israel out of Babel again. I think that's pretty clear and droningly consistent.

The beast is Rome of the centre of church activity. Red and scarlett robes couldn't be much else that I can think of. But that does more to prove what I said than anything else.
Come out of her is a consecration to the Lord, also what he expects from the church.

That's just one example of many how the study of females and how their lessons apply to the church and has lessons contained in there. onoh, OT figures could be applied as the wife of God in the OT, but I think it apllies to all with the distinctions made in Galations 4