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Babylon
is Fallen
The
word Babylon means confusion, and that is exactly what Babylon will be.
Who or what and how do we identify this entity. Chapter 13 is
continuation of the story in chapter 12. The story continues
uninterrupted.
Revelation
13:1 And I (John) saw a beast coming up out the sea, having ten
horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems,
and on his heads were blasphemous names. This is an hideous thing
isn't it! And furthermore what it does is even more terrifying. Who is
the beast coming out of the sea?
THE
BEAST IDENTIFIED
The sea
symbolizes peoples, multitudes or nations.
In
chapter 12 this beast having 7 heads and ten horns is identified as the
dragon. And another sign appeared in heaven; and behold, a great
dragon having seven heads and ten horns and on his heads
were seven diadems. Revelation 12:3 And the great dragon
was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan,
who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his
angels were thrown down with him.( Revelation 12:9) Revelation 12
and 13 are one story. We see the dragon is none other than Satan. We can
follow this beast by his continuous description through the scriptures
in Revelation. We can always know him and what he is doing. Notice too,
that in there are seven diadems on the heads and in chapter 12, then the
diadems have been transferred to the horns in chapter 13. There are now
ten diadems. The diadem is the crown of authority. In chapter 12 the
authority was exercised through the religious sector. Jesus was killed
by the Jewish religious authorities. In chapter 13 the authority will
come through civil authority.
This
beast not only resembles the dragon, but it also resembles a leopard,
bear and a lion.
The
seven headed, ten horned beast in Revelation 12, 13 and 17 follow a
progression.
In 12
the dragon is the devil himself. In 13 he is the dragon-like beast, but
in 17 it is the devil's one-world church-state.
Revelation
13:2-5 And the beast which I saw was like a leopard,
and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the
mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his
throne and great authority. And I saw on one of his heads as if it had
been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth
was amazed and followed after the beast; and they worshipped the dragon,
because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the
beast, saying "Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war
with him?" And there was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant
words and blasphemies and authority to act for forty-two months. If
one head is of a religious nature then all the heads must be the same
and this beast will persecute for 42 literal months. The day for a year
principle does not apply here. We see the leopard, bear
and lion in Daniel 7. These beasts were represented to
Daniel as the world empires. Daniel was told, "As for the rest
of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life
was granted to them for an appointed period of time. (Daniel 7:12) In
other words their descendants would remain until an appointed time. This
beast is comprised of the descendants of all the world empires.
One
of the heads has been wounded and that wound will be healed. Most
expositors agree that the fatal wound was the first Christian church,
the papacy. We now call this the Catholic church. In 1798
Napoleon captured the pope and put an end to the control and persecution
of the church to the political and religious entities of the world at
that time. The Roman Catholic church is again rising to power. It is
politically and religiously powerful. It will lead out the confederation
of all the world religions. This will come into effect over the
devastation of the trumpets. The destruction will clearly be recognized
as acts of God. "How can we appease God and stop all this
devastation coming upon this earth," the people will be asking. "As
it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet
we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our
iniquity and giving attention to Thy truth." Daniel 9:13
We
can further identify these heads in Revelation 17, verses 9-11"Here
is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains
(or hills) on which the woman sits, and there are seven kings; five
have fallen (exposed, or brought down), one is, the other
has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.
And the beast which was (visible) and is not (visible), is himself also
an eight and is one of the seven, and he goes to
destruction."
MOUNTAINS
ARE PLACES OF WORSHIP
In
John's day mountains were considered to be places where deity dwelled.
(Zephaniah 3:11 - Joel 3:17 - Joel 2:1) We have already
identified one of the heads as the Papacy. If one of the heads is of a
religious nature then all the heads must be the same and each had a
blasphemous name. There were seven kings, and kings have subjects who
look up to them. Do not most look up to the authority of their churches
beliefs. Do they even know where their beliefs originated. They are
accepted because the pastor knows more than we do. He has after all been
to the seminary and studied. But, does he even know where his beliefs
came from or does he question them. Each denomination has brought in
their own beliefs and down through the years they have been passed on
until the true gospel has all but been almost forgotten. Just as if we
did not celebrate the 4th of July this year and not speak of
it, it would only be a short time before it was totally forgotten. No
one would even see any importance to it. Very few ever research or study
what the Bible truly says. They only listen to the pulpit and accept
what ever is said to them.
FIVE
HAVE FALLEN
With
the birth of Jesus, He exposed five religions to be false.
Heathenism-
man creates his own gods
Atheism-
denies the existence of God
Judaism-
rejects that Jesus is the Messiah, seeking salvation through obedience
Eastern
Mysticism- man can become God
Islam
(Arabic faith)- denies Jesus being the Son of God
ONE
IS
In
John's day the religious system was Christianity, what we now call
Catholicism. Satan gained control of Christianity and it rose and fell
and was proven false.
AND
ONE IS YET TO COME
Protestantism
was next on the scene. And comparatively speaking it is quite young. All
the other religious systems are 20 or more centuries old. We have
numerous denominations, all with their own beliefs and down through the
years they too have been passed on until the true gospel has been lost
and the church divided.
So
our heads are exposed. We now know who they are. These are the false
religious systems of our world and the Papacy will bring these systems
together in response to the devastation of the trumpets. "We must
appease God, so he will stop these judgments." As you can see, the
consolidation of all these religions will be confusing to say the least.
This is why it is called Babylon. The Papacy will take the lead in
establishing this union and it will make laws that will be severe in
order to give honor to God. When Satan arrives on the scene he will
merge these 7 systems into one great image. Revelation 13:14 And
he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it
was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who
dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of
the sword and has come to life. And there was given to him to give
breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast might even
speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be
killed. It is called an image because it is only a copy of the
real thing. This image of Revelation 13 is the bride of Satan,
the harlot, the whore because she has sold her virtues to survive. The
saints will be severely persecuted during this time. They will need to
completely submit their lives to our Lord and Savior. GOBEDO
SATAN
IS THE EIGHTH KING
Satan,
the dragon is the eighth king. He will rule over the 7 heads, Babylon.
He will claim that he is God. "Let no one deceive you, for it
will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of
lawlessness (Satan) is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and
exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that
he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
This
is the only beast (eighth king) that does not arise from the sea
(people). This beast who was and is not (visible) comes
from out of the earth.
"
And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had
two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. And he exercises
all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he make the
earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal
would was healed. And he performs great signs, so that he even makes
fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men."
Revelation 13:11-13 Satan has not been visible, as he has
been confined to the spiritual realm. He worked through agents, just as
he did in the dark ages, using the papacy to do his destruction. He used
Herod to kill Jesus. He persecuted the saints by using religion. But he
will become visible in the physical body of a man, just as Jesus
did. He is like the lamb, an impersonator of the King of Kings. He
performs miracles, so to deceive. He is the hand inside the puppet
(Babylon).
10
HORNS REPRESENT KINGS
In
prophecy horns symbolize kings. In Daniel 2 these 10 kings are
represented as the 10 toes. Along with Satan these will unite to form
the one-world religion and government. The world will be divided into 10
sectors with one of the 10 kings to manage the political affairs of
each. They will conquer the world. Many will believe their leader is
God. He will persecute God's people because they refuse to go along with
his government. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because
of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to
the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And there
was given to him to give breath to the image (one world order) of the
beast, that the image of the beast might even speak and cause as many as
do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. Revelation
13:14-15 The image of Revelation 13 is the bride of Satan, the
harlot or whore in Revelation 17:1 , for she has sold her virtues. The
image is a copy of something that already exists. It is a world wide
consolidation.
FURTHER
IDENTIFICATION
And
the angel said to me, "Why do you wonder? I shall tell you the
mystery of the woman and the beast that carries her, which has the
seven heads and the ten horns. The beast that you saw was and is not
(visible), and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go to
destruction. And those who dwell on the earth will wonder, whose name
has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the
world, when they see the
beast, that he was and is not (visible) and will come.
Here is the mind which has wisdom. Revelation 17:7-8
10
KINGS RULE WITH SATAN FOR ONE HOUR
"And
the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who have not
yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the
beast for one hour. These have one purpose and they give their
power and authority to the beast. " Revelation 13:12-13 One
hour does not mean 60 minutes. In the Greek there are 3 kinds of time. A
type of time, a duration of time and a genitive of time. Just as we
would say, "This is the hour of decision." This does not mean
60 minutes, but meaning a short time.
THE
IMAGE OF THE BEAST
When
Satan has enough power after his deceptions of miracle working, he will
have the people of earth set up an image to Babylon. Those who refuse to
worship the image are to be killed. Babylon has 7 heads and 10 horns.
This image is a confederation of all religions and political powers. He
wants a one-world government of which he is king ( the eighth king).
This body will create laws and those not obeying these laws will be
dealt with severely. People will not be able to buy or sell who do not
obey these laws. Most of the world will accept this mark in order to
survive. But God will provide for His people in amazing ways! And he
performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven
to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on
the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the
presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an
image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life..
And there was given to him to give breath to the image (one world order)
of the beast, that the image of the beast might even speak and cause as
many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And
he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and
the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand, or
on their forehead. Revelation 13:13-16 The image of Revelation 13 is
the bride of Satan, the harlot or whore in Revelation 17:1, for she has
sold her religious virtues for the temporal The image is a copy of
something that already exists. It is a world wide consolidation. It will
be more powerful than Babylon.
HOW
WILL ALL THIS BE IMPLEMENTED
Satan
will arrive during the 5th trumpet. The world will have
already been suffering the effects of the first 4 trumpets. He will seem
to be the answer of prayer for many. He is the author of deception. He
will set himself up to be God. He will appear all over the world. But
remember, Jesus never touches the earth when He returns. If you see his
feet on the ground, then you are not seeing the Savior.
BABYLON
WON'T LAST FOREVER
"Fallen,
fallen is Babylon the great? And she has become a dwelling place of
demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every
unclean and hateful bird. Revelation 18:2
Verse
4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her,
my people, that you may not participate in her sins and that you may not
receive of her plagues, for her sins have piled up as high as heaven,
and God has remembered her iniquities.
Verse
10 Woe, Woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour
(short time) your judgment has come.
All
the players are in place! We await the catalyst that set everything in
motion.
"Come
out of her my people"
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