America - Babylon the Great?

[He giveth more grace]

Is America Babylon the great? Verses 11-17 speak of the great wealth and trade, so who traffic's in wealth and great trade as does the U.S.

I do believe that America will fall before it's all over.

Revelation 18

1And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.

2And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

3For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

4And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

5For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

6Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.

7How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

8Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

9And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

10Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

11And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

12The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,

13And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

14And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.

15The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,

16And saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!

17For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,

18And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!

19And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

20Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.

21And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

22And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;

23And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. 24And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Edited December 28, 2006 by Monarchy

[Christ's Free Servant]

There have been many discussions on this topic on the Prophecy forum. Some of us believe that America is the great prostitute, others do not. You might want to read some of those discussions. I believe the destruction of Mystery Babylon occurs prior to the tribulation or at least at the onset of it, and Revelation 14 appears to support this. It talks about how after this that whoever dies in Christ... well, here it is:

Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth

[Arthur Durnan]

With the Islamic Monster spreading its heinous & violent grasp on a global scale underscoring its reputation as The Religion of The Sword, America can hardly be fitted iinto anyone's quite vivid imagination as the "Babylon" of Revelation 17 & 18! Try the already-forming "World Council of Churches & Mosques" featuring united Muslims, Unitarians, Episcopalians, Unitarians, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Communists, Oprah-style "New-Agers," Hellyweirdo-types of the Silver Screen all led perhaps by a Bishop Spong or the Chief Imam of Baghdad! And I wouldn't overlook the R.C. Pope as heading things up either. Isn't he doing quite nicely already what with his recent Istanbul prayer-to-Mecca & humblest apology?

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

http://arthurdurnan.freeyellow.com

[mrcorey]

I agree with Butero. Exactly how I see things.

[He giveth more grace]

I do not believe America to be mystery Babylon. My personal opinion is that Iraq will grow to be a place of commerce as a result of the new government, and that the mystery Babylon spoken of will be located there. I admit that this is only an opinion, but I think it fits better than to say it is America. This is one issue where I don't think anyone knows the answer for sure.

As a matter of fact, The natural or real Babylon is located in Iraq, But, I don't think at all that the Mystery Babylon is held to that location.

Thanks all, for the replies and input, there seems to be no authority on this issue.

Love and Peace

[kenod]

Thanks all, for the replies and input, there seems to be no authority on this issue.

Love and Peace

Well, of course, the authority is the Bible - especially Rev 17.

It is interesting to go through and itemise each of the characteristics of "Babylon".

Here's a start:

great whore = mystery Babylon = city on seven hills

"arrayed in purple and scarlet"

"drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus"

"the waters ... where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues"

[Guest shiloh357]

Thanks all, for the replies and input, there seems to be no authority on this issue.

Love and Peace

Well, of course, the authority is the Bible - especially Rev 17.

It is interesting to go through and itemise each of the characteristics of "Babylon".

Here's a start:

great whore = mystery Babylon = city on seven hills

"arrayed in purple and scarlet"

"drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus"

"the waters ... where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues"

7 Hills

1.) Mount Gared; 2.) Mount Goath; 3.) Mount Acra; 4.) Mount Bezetha; 5.) Mount Moriah; 6.) Mount Ophel; 7.) Mount Zion.

Drunken with blood of saints and martyrs.

Matthew 23

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Finely Clothed

Ezekiel 16

10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.

11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.

12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.

13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.

14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.

A Great Whore

Ezekiel 16

15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.

16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.

17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,

If you read Ezekiel 16 there is much more. It even goes into their doings with other nations (multitudes, nations and tongues).

What a load of crap. Apparently you don't know the difference between hills and mountains. I'm not surprised, though. We can always count on you and your sloppy and incompetent handling of Scripture and your equally low-browed, racist "theology."

For the record Israel has more than seven mountains and Jerusalem does not sit on seven mountains. It sits on only one of them (in case anyone else's geography is just as screwed up).

[Guest shiloh357]

And I can always count on you to respond in a markedly unchristian manner.

I didn't write the scriptures and everyone can look up the hills for themselves.

For the record, Israel has more than seven mountains and Jerusalem does not sit on seven mountains. It sits on only one of them (in case anyone else's geography is just as screwed up). That disqualifies it from being "Babylon."

Your theology is racist,and there is nothing "unChristian" about saying so.

[Guest shiloh357]

Yes Israel has more than 7 mountains. I am talking about Jerusalem.

Even the airlines in Israel knows that Jerusalem is built on 7 hills.

Are they racist too?

http://www.israirairlines.com/guide.asp?id...amp;menu_id=254

Holy Sites in Jerusalem

Throughout the history of Jerusalem, the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths have treasured the sacredness of the Holy Land and its Holy City Jerusalem. From the uniqueness of this City built on Seven Hills, each faith has flourished.

What a crock. That is based on the "Book of Legends," not upon the Scripture. It goes back to post-biblical midrashic literature that dates to just before the Medieval period. The "hills" are actually summits such as Scopious, Nob, a ridge between the Trytopean valley and the Kidron Valley and other places of similar ilk. They are not literally "hills." Jerusalem sits on Mt. Moriah, which is really more of a mountain range than a single mountain. Jerusalem is surrounded by ridges, summits and valleys, not separate "hills."

[kenod]

Please don't speak to a woman in that way, Shiloh - as an older man, I find it very upsetting.

I don't agree with KatyAnn's interpretation either, but let's get the basics right first: decent Christian behaviour.