DiggingforTruth

 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

 

The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Mark Acts 12.12, 25 ; 13.13 ; 15.37-39 · Col. 4.10 · Phlm. 24.1  my son. 1 Peter 5:13

And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.  Revelation 14:8

But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore.

Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood,

inflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks?

Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou hast offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these?

Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.

Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it.

And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.

Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved.    Isaiah 57:3-10

And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters; Jer. 51.13

with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. Jer. 51.7

So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. Rev. 13.1

And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup Jer. 51.7in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

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

And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.
And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. Revelation 17:1-6

Verse 8 – those that wonder after the beast do not have their names written in the Book of Life.

Verse 9 – seven heads = seven mountains. Rome “is famous for its seven hills.” (Wikipedia: article on “Rome”

Verses 10-14 – 7 kings + 1 king. This is a reference to the succession of imperial powers that have straddled the civilized world that have reference in biblical prophecy as well. (It should be noted that there are several historicist interpretations of who these empires or kingdoms are. The following outline seems the most defensible and to make the most sense in the humble opinion of the author of these notes. More on this can be read in the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, 1955, 1980, vol. 7, p. 856.)

·        Babylon

·        Medo-Persia

·        Greece

·        Rome

·        Papal Rome of the Middle Ages

·        United States of America

·        One World Government

The 8^th king (Ref. 2 Corinthians 11:14; 2 Thessalonians 2:8; The Great Controversy pp. 623-625)

·        Impersonation of Christ by Satan at the end of the world. 
 

This scripture points forward to a time when the announcement of the fall of Babylon, as made by the second angel of Revelation 14 (verse 8), is to be repeated, with the additional mention of the corruptions which have been entering the various organizations that constitute Babylon, since that message was first given, in the summer of 1844.  A terrible condition of the religious world is here described.  With every rejection of truth the minds of the people will become darker, their hearts more stubborn, until they are entrenched in an infidel hardihood.  In defiance of the warnings which God has given, they will continue to trample upon one of the precepts of the Decalogue, until they are led to persecute those who hold it sacred.  Christ is set at nought in the contempt placed upon His word and His people.  As the teachings of spiritualism are accepted by the churches, the restraint imposed upon the carnal heart is removed, and the profession of religion will become a cloak to conceal the basest iniquity.  A belief in spiritual manifestations opens the door to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, and thus the influence of evil angels will be felt in the churches.
 

Of Babylon, at the time brought to view in this prophecy, it is declared:  “Her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.” Revelation 18:5.  She has filled up the measure of her guilt, and destruction is about to fall upon her.  But God still has a people in Babylon; and before the visitation of His judgments these faithful ones must be called out, that they partake not of her sins and “receive not of her plagues.”  Hence the movement symbolized by the angel coming down from heaven, lightening the earth with his glory and crying mightily with a strong voice, announcing the sins of Babylon.  In connection with his message the call is heard:  “Come out of her, My people.”  These announcements, uniting with the third angel's message, constitute the final warning to be given to the inhabitants of the earth. – The Great Controversy. pp. 603-604