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Babylon the Great

Babylon the Great is destined to fall:

▪ Look, here comes a man in a chariot with a team of horses. And he gives back the answer: “Babylon has fallen, has fallen!” (Isaiah 21:9)
▪ A second angel followed and said, “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.” (Revelation 14:8)

The Lord does not want us to share in her sins or receive any of her plagues. Therefore, He calls us to come out from her:

▪ “Flee out of Babylon; leave the land of the Babylonians…” (Jeremiah 50:8)
▪ “Flee from Babylon! Run for your lives! Do not be destroyed because of her sins. It is time for the LORD’s vengeance; he will repay her what she deserves.” (Jeremiah 51:6)
▪ “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.” (Revelation 18:4)

Yet there is a difficulty with this call to “come out of her” — for Babylon the Great is a mystery:

The name written on her forehead was a mystery: BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. (Revelation 17:5)

The very fact that Scripture uses the word “mystery” tells us this is not self-evident — yet it is by no means unknowable. “Mystery” implies something that can be discovered, but requires diligent seeking. If the place were truly indiscernible, what would be the point of calling people to flee? It is precisely because it can be known that the warning carries meaning. It is simply not a truth that lies on the surface, plain for all to see.

Lord, have mercy!

The book of Revelation contains a vision of “the woman who sits on many waters,” and the text itself offers an explanation — yet even with that explanation, it remains difficult to pinpoint with certainty what great city is meant. Nevertheless, since God has explicitly called her “Babylon the Great,” does this not point us directly toward Babylon?

Below I have listed a number of biblical prophecies related to Babylon. May the Lord grant you illumination to see, and strength to be courageous.

Some may argue that the Babylon mentioned in the Old Testament refers only to the historical Babylon, which has long since passed away. That is true — historical Babylon has indeed fallen. But this is often how God’s prophecy works: there is a near fulfillment, and there is also a far fulfillment.

The Characteristics and Power of Babylon

1. Sits on Seven Mountains

“This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits.” (Revelation 17:9)

This calls for a mind with wisdom — which suggests it cannot simply refer to a place with seven literal hills. Could it mean that this entity has a presence on all seven continents?

2. A Land of Many Waters

▪ “A drought on her waters! They will dry up.” (Jeremiah 50:38)
▪ “You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come, the time for you to be destroyed.” (Jeremiah 51:13)
▪ “Then the angel said to me, ‘The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.'” (Revelation 17:15)

Note: Revelation has already explained that the “many waters” represent peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. Yet it is also very likely that this place is literally a land of abundant water and coastline — both layers of meaning may well be simultaneously true.

3. A Land Not Originally Its Own

“I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own.” (Habakkuk 1:6)

4. A Multi-Ethnic, Multi-People Nation

“A sword against her horses and chariots and all the foreigners in her ranks…” (Jeremiah 50:37)

5. Immense Influence Over World Affairs

“The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” (Revelation 17:18)

6. A Relentless Military Hammer

“How broken and shattered is the hammer of the whole earth! How desolate is Babylon among the nations!” (Jeremiah 50:23)

7. A Major Exporter of Ideas, Culture, and Law

▪ “Babylon was a gold cup in the LORD’s hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad.” (Jeremiah 51:7)
▪ “For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her…” (Revelation 18:3)

8. A Great Maritime Trading Nation of Immense Luxury

▪ “Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea…for in one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!” (Revelation 18:17–19)
▪ “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore…” (Revelation 18:11–13)

9. Pride and Arrogance

▪ “You said, ‘I am forever — the eternal queen!’ …You said, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.'” (Isaiah 47:7, 10)
▪ “Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow; I will never mourn.'” (Revelation 18:7)

10. Religious Confusion, Astrology, Mysticism, and Idols on Every Side

▪ “Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you. Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up.” (Isaiah 47:13–14)
▪ “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.” (Revelation 18:2)
▪ “Babylon’s idols are put to shame, her images filled with terror.” (Jeremiah 50:2)

It is worth noting that Isaiah 47 further reveals the depth of her spiritual corruption: she relies on astrology and sorcery rather than on God (47:12–13); her wisdom and knowledge have led her astray, causing her to say in her heart, “I am, and there is none besides me” (47:10). Yet God declares that when judgment comes, none of these arts will be able to avert her disaster (47:11).

11. Ultimately Becomes the Symbol of the Antichrist’s Dominion

▪ “The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” (Revelation 17:18)
▪ Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. (Revelation 17:3)
▪ “And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.” (Revelation 13:1)

The Fall of Babylon — God’s Judgment

Disaster will come upon her suddenly, and she will be overthrown in a single day:

▪ “Both of these will overtake you in a moment, on a single day: loss of children and widowhood…” (Isaiah 47:9)
▪ “Therefore 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.” (Revelation 18:8–10)

Again in Isaiah 47, God makes her end clear: those who sustain their power through astrology and sorcery will be like stubble before the fire of God’s wrath — unable to save themselves from the flame (47:14). All the wisdom, knowledge, and sorcery in which she took such pride will be utterly useless on that day.

God’s Call — Come Out of Her

The mystery of Babylon the Great may appear secure and untouched for now, for her time has not yet come — but God’s judgment will fall upon her suddenly. May God have mercy and grant that we may see light in His light, and come out from that city, for her end is dreadful.

“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!'” (Revelation 18:21)

 

The purpose of this article is not to identify for you where Babylon the Great is. The citations and analysis presented here are therefore limited by that purpose. This is not a theoretical article about the mystery of Babylon the Great. Rather, it is the hope that through all the scriptures listed and the restrained analysis offered, God will continue to add more watchfulness upon the watchful heart He has already given you.

If you have already settled in your heart a firm conviction that a certain place could never be Babylon the Great, this article may have little to offer you. For wherever a person has taken a fixed position ahead of God’s illumination, that is precisely where they have already fallen into darkness.