Who Is Mystery Babylon The Great Mother of Prostitutes?
WHO IS THE WHORE OF BABYLON?
Revelation 17:5
This title was written on her forehead: MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
In response to those who claim that Jerusalem is the “Whore of Babylon,” The Great Mother of Prostitutes, a number of issues comes to mind that perhaps you should consider.
The first issue is that of the location of the city.
Revelation 17:9
"This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits.”
The seven hills are universally associated with Rome not Jerusalem. Rome is called Urbs Septicollis, "the city of seven hills."
Revelation 18:18
"Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, 'Was there ever a city like this great city?'
Rome lies on both banks of the Tiber River that feeds into the Mediterranean Sea. Jerusalem sits on a mountain. Sailors sail on rivers and seas.
The second issue is the title, "Mother of Harlots":
This city was the birthplace of "spiritual prostitution" -- idolatry. Ancient Babylon, the location of the Tower of Babel is the birthplace of the Babylonian Mystery Religion. The harlot gave birth to many children when the worship of the heavenly hosts spread to every gentile nation after God confounded the language and the people spread over the earth. On the other hand, Jerusalem is the center of worship of the One and Only God.
Rome is called "Babylon." Ancient Jews understood this because the First Temple was destroyed on the 9th of Av in 586 BC by Babylon while the Second Temple was destroyed on the 9th of AV in AD 70 by Rome. They viewed their current pagan oppressors who destroyed the Second Temple with the same disdain as their past oppressors who destroyed the Temple built under the reign of Solomon. In fact, Peter writing from Rome wrote the following:
1 Peter 5:13
She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark.
In the symbolic and spiritual sense that Mark was a “son in the Lord” and not his biological or natural son, Rome was called “Babylon” because of its spiritual and symbolic significance.
A third consideration is that Christian Replacement Theologists identify Jerusalem as the Whore of Babylon to justify that the church has now replaced Israel.
Conclusion:
The Bible focuses on two great cities -- Babylon and Jerusalem. These cities represent the capitals of two kingdoms in opposition -- The Kingdom of darkness and The Kingdom of the Son.
Revelation 18:21
Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: "With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.
The destruction of the city of Babylon is so great that the city will never be reestablished (SEE - Revelation 18: 21-24). On the other hand, Jerusalem is split by a great earthquake but is not destroyed forever as is Babylon. In fact, it becomes the center of the Millennial Kingdom. Christ will rule and reign over the nations from His throne in the Holy of Holies in Jerusalem!
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