Mystery Babylon: The Myths & Errors of Interpretation

[Ephesians2-8]

Anyone else here ever notice how controversial the subject of Mystery Babylon is on discussion forums? Ever notice how often people make false statements and misrepresent the facts on that subject?

I just came across a very good commentary on common errors and misunderstandings concerning the controversial subject of "Mystery Babylon." It is a Free E-book entitled "Mystery Babylon: Myths and Errors of Interpetation" by R.A. Coombes.

He also has another Free E-book for download entitled "The Mystery Babylon Debate Handbook" which looks at all the various identity theories for the subject of Mystery Babylon and points out the strengths and weaknesses of each theory.

I particularly find interesting the fact that one error is in referring to the subject as "Mystery Babylon" as opposed to merely Babylon... the author makes a point of noting why the term "Mystery Babylon" is wrong and provides extensive grammatical documentation to back it up.

Another one I find interesting is that Dave Hunt and others refer to the woman of Revelation 17 as riding the beast, but as Coombes' points out, nowhere in scripture does it say the woman "rides" the beast or that the beast is even moving. Instead she is simply "sitting" on the beast. It might seem like a fine point of hair splitting but it may have enormous implications in the interpretation.

So much of what this guy writes seems to be eye-popping and perhaps unbelievable at first, but he backs up everything with extensive documentation especially on the subject of Babylon. Also his FREE E-book commentaries on First and Second Thessalonians are an equally a great resource for Bible studies.

Here is a link to the page for the free e-book downloads and no, there is no catch they're totally free.

http://www.aoreport.com/mag/index.php?opti...9&Itemid=67

You may also want to catch his entire Prophecy News and Studies website too - http://www.aoreport.com

Have you come across other myths and errors concerning the subject of "Mystery Babylon?" If so, take a moment to share.

[JesusisGod2]

I try to stay out of these subjects any more because most people try to make more out of it than what it is.

Here is the passage :

Revelation 17:5

And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Note that the harolt is not called Mystery Babylon but Mystery, (note the comma) Babylon The Great, there are 4 things written on her forhead

1) Mystery

2) Babylon The Great

3) The Mother Of Harlots

4) Abominations Of The Earth.

Now what the mystery is, I dont know, but what I do see is that it is not a reference to Babylon but to the harlot herself, however, the way I read it Babylon The Great is a reference To Babylon, not a Mystery Babylon, but Babylon. One needs to read what is written and not try to fit something in there that is just not there.

I find it odd that in light of this verse that today Iraq is the center of focus in this world right now.

[Celt]

I don't agree that we should simply bypass discussion about the identity of Revelation reference to Babylon, but I do agree we should stay with the Biblical context and symbolic references on it as much as possible.

As for the word "MYSTERY" ('musterion' in the Greek) in context there, it can point to a secret revealed through initiation into religious rites.

Greek musterion is also the word "mysteries" which our Lord used in answer to His disciples of why He always spoke in parable to the multitudes (Matt.13). He said to His that they were given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but for others it was not given. A question is, how was that imparted to His disciples? Not through initiation into religious rites.

As the devil first rebelled because he wanted to be God, he tries to copy everything that is of God. He has his fake copy of the true mysteries of the kingdom of heaven also. If one researches those old 'beast' kingdoms of Daniel, they'll find all those systems had a religious order of initiation into religious rites imparting what they called the 'mysteries'.

Those kind of groups still exist today that claim to have been handed the 'mysteries' from ancient Egypt, Babylon, Greece, and the Far East. In ancient times the priests were trained in what was called "mystery schools". Today there are many initiatic orders that have memberships in every nation on earth, some simply branches or offshoots of larger and more ancient initiatic orders. Some of those are so powerful and well entrenched in society today that the majority of people are scared to even talk about them, including the media. They have even made society scough and fear when someone mentions that they form a great 'conspiracy' on this earth.

The reality of it is that when even a semi-secret organization that will not reveal to the public what it teaches in secret to its members gains membership from every class in society, including doctors, lawyers, judges, high officials, tradesmen, teachers, military officials, governers, etc., it most definitely fulfills the components of a conspiracy. The existence of the ultimate aims of the old Bavarian Illuminati order in Europe after the French Revolution revealed what depth of conspiracy it was of. And because of it the nations in Europe then banned it. But the 'mystery' of how such organizations operate is revealed in notions like what its leader said if the aims of the order was discovered, they would then go ten times deeper into hiding to continue to carry out their plans for the overthrow of all governments and Christianity.

Could the goals of Communism have been successful at all without workings in secrecy? No, for that's one of its chief modus operandi. Like the apostle Paul said, we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but spiritual wickedness in high places. Some of those mystical initiatic orders today claim to be in touch with what they call the "hidden masters" that live on some spiritual plane of existence. The Russian mystic Helana Blavatsky even wrote two huge mystic works through automatic writing as given her by one of those hidden masters.

So the idea about the "MYSTERY" as related to endtime Babylon is not difficult to figure out, unless one is too scared to think about what's been going on behind the scenes in secret through the history of those initiatic orders. We cannot say God didn't warn us about their existence, because He gave a prime example of their working on His own people in Ezekiel 8.

Ezek 8:12-18

12 Then said He unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, 'The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.'

13 He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do.

14 Then He brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.

15 Then said He unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.

16 And He brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

17 Then He said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke Me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.

18 Therefore will I also deal in fury: Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in Mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.

(KJV)

In the next chapter of Ezekiel 9, God gives Ezekiel a vision of judgment upon Jerusalem that has never been recorded in history yet. He sends an angel to go put His mark (a Tau, represented by a cross) upon the foreheads of His servants before the angels are loosed to destroy all others without that mark.

Thus the 'MYSTERY' is not that difficult to figure out. The difficulty is with the majority which are too scared to ponder it because of its brainwashing and propadanda in the world.

[Celt]

I was with you right up until you started going on about conspiracy theories. Then you lost me, and not because I don't understand what you are talking about, but because all these endless conspiracy theories put me to sleep real quick, not to mention they are strictly against the T.O.S.

Are you going to incorporate the Illuminati into every thread you participate in?

I might, if it helps get the point accross. If you don't believe the possibility of a grand conspiracy on this earth, then I fail to see how you can believe much of God's Holy Writ, because that's what it's been about by the enemy since Satan's deception in the Garden of Eden. If you don't recognize it for what it is then you won't understand what the Rev.13 beast is when setup over all the earth in the last days.

[Celt]

I know who the woman riding the beast is.

Revelation 17:18 And the woman that thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

So does anyone know which great city rules over the kings of the earth?

Please don't say New York.

Actually it was a question, I have no idea which city it is. Does sound like it is describing New York in Rev 18 but I do not think it is.

It's going to be Jerusalem in a state of false worship (even though some here will disagree, I think the Revelation 11-13 Scripture especially shows why).

Where does the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit appear to kill God's "two witnesses"? In Jerusalem per Rev.11:8.

Rev.13 mentions two 'beasts', the first as a system of ten horns, seven heads, and ten crowns coming from the "sea", and also "another beast" that comes up out of the earth. That second 'beast' that comes up out of the earth is shown to have two horns like a lamb, but will speak as a dragon (another title for Satan per Rev.12:9). He is to exercise all the power of the first beast, and causes all the earth to worship the first beast. He is to do great wonders, making fire come down from heaven to the earth in the sight of men, and will deceive those on earth by those miracles he will work. That second beast parallels the warning Christ gave in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 about a pseudo christ ("false Christs" - pseudochristos in the Greek) in Jerusalem. Christ mentioned the "abomination of desolation" with that from the Book of Daniel. And the Daniel prophecy involving that is about the area of Jerusalem.

In 2 Thess.2, the apostle Paul pointed to a false one coming to set himself up in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. He said Christ will destroy that "Wicked" one with the brightness of Christ's coming. Where does our Lord Jesus return to per Zechariah 14? To the Mount of Olives east of Jerusalem where He ascended to Heaven from per Acts 1.