From fear and fascination to faith and facts
My first encounter with the book of Revelation was fear. Who didn’t get some chills from the number 666, the “mark of the beast”, the seven plagues and this dramatic depiction of the end time? That fear kept me from wanting to know more about this book, even though I was drawn to it.
Then I stumbled across a study that took a clever versus fanciful media hype approach to the book. He approached it as a coded message, but written for the first century church that was part of its history and time. That evidence centered on the date of the book. He posed and answered the question, was it written before or after AD 70?
Third, an investigation of internal evidence and alignment with other texts as commentary overturned the temptation to rely on imagination and media. This was one of the most enlightening and satisfying decisions in my quest to understand the message of Revelation. What follows are some keys that convinced me.
What is a mystery?
A mystery is not something that cannot be known, but simply that which is not known until it is revealed. The seven points in this article are now a mystery, but if you keep reading, they will manifest to you.
In Revelation, “Babylon” is a code word for the mysterious city. The book is not about ancient Babylon or modern Iraq. Babylon was used as a sign to disguise the identity of the city in a military code. Because? It is because this city was marked for destruction. The political climate of the time made it extremely dangerous to talk openly about destroying this city (Acts 6:14), especially by Christians, who were seen as their main enemies. The preaching of the imminent destruction of Jerusalem led to the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7).
Its connection to ancient Babylon was its moral decadence and idolatry. The fall of ancient Babylon was precipitated by their pride and disrespect for God, the persecution of God’s people, and the desecration of the sacred vessels of the temple. Thus, Belshazzar’s party led to the disappearance of his kingdom. hence the term Mystery Babylon.
1. “The Great City, –Where the Lord Was Crucified)
additional identification Mystery Babylon ace the big city (Revelation 17:18; 18:10), brings us to clue number one. The great city of Revelation is identified as the city spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.” (Revelation 11:8)
Other than the actual city, there is only one city in the Bible referred to as Sodom. It is Jerusalem, (Deuteronomy 32:32; Isaiah 1:10). The description, where also our Lord was crucified there is strong evidence pointing to Jerusalem. Furthermore, it cannot be that a prophet dies outside of Jerusalem, Luke 13:33. Jerusalem was called the city of the great King. (Matthew 5:35) For the Jews it was the greatest city in the world.
2. The Golden Cup of Abominations
The image of the cup full of iniquity indicates that God’s period of longsuffering had come to an end. Genesis 15:16 shows why God drove the Amorites out of the land so that Israel could inherit Canaan. The reason why he didn’t do it right away was because the the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet complete. His cup of sin still had room for more and did not run its course until the time of the Exodus.
Jesus spoke to the people of Jerusalem warning them that they would fill up the measure of their father’s guilt by killing the prophets. See point #3. Paul says that they had filled up the measure of their sins and would experience the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 2:14-16).
3. God would avenge all the righteous blood shed on earth by Jerusalem.
Mystery Babylon was guilty of shedding the blood of the apostles and prophets, (Revelation 18:20). However, God avenged the blood of the apostles and prophets. Not only was his blood avenged, but God avenged all the blood shed on the earth in Mystery Babylon, (v. 24).
Jesus predicted the same for Jerusalem. In Matthew 23:34-37, Jerusalem is charged with the guilty blood of all the righteous blood shed on earth up to that time. Jesus would send more wise men, scribes, and prophets whom he said they would flog in their synagogues and pursue from city to city until Jerusalem was destroyed. So it perfectly matches this description.
4. The “Mystery Babylon” was once a queen.
This identifies the city as having a covenant relationship with God. Neither ancient Rome nor any other modern city could properly be called the wife of God. Through the Old Covenant, God married Jerusalem (Jeremiah 2:14). Because of her infidelity, God threatens a divorce. While Mystery Babylon claims to be a queen, she is a widow. (Revelation 18:7)
5. The antithesis of the two cities
The contrast of the two cities in Revelation is a strong clue to the identity of Mystery Babylon. After the big city Mystery Babylon is destroyed, God blesses a New Jerusalem. That implies an ancient Jerusalem. This is the same antithesis found throughout the New Testament expressed in covenantal terms. (See Galatians 4:24-26; Hebrews 8:6-13; 12:18-23). The new Jerusalem, however, is not an earthly city but one that descends from heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband (Revelation 21: 1-3).
Paul writes that the church is the bride of Christ, 1 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:23-31, Hebrews 12:22, 23). The new holy city of Jerusalem takes the position of bride while the adulterous ex-wife is put to death by fire.
6. Come out of Her My People
The call to the people of God to leave mystery Babylon” (Revelation 18:4) is further aligned with the ancient city of Jerusalem. Before its destruction, Jesus warned that his disciples should flee the city to avoid its plagues of destruction, famine, and death. (Matthew 24:15 -17; Luke 21:20-22).
7. Trampled by the Gentiles
In Luke 21:24, Jesus comments that Jerusalem would be trodden down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles were fulfilled. Unfortunately, many today believe that Gentiles rule over God’s people. This is impossible since that period ended in AD 70 when Rome destroyed Jerusalem. It was the time when all things written were fulfilled, before that generation passed away (Luke 21:22, 32). Since ancient Jerusalem was once called the holy and faithful city, John prophesied that it was measured for destruction (Revelation 11:2).
Old Jerusalem is a perfect match
Everything that is said of Jerusalem in the Gospels is described symbolically to Mystery Babylon in the book of Revelation. There are more contrasts and parallels, but these should at least make you think.
Fanciful and colorful graphics such as those presented by John Hagee and others will always fail to properly identify the Mystery Babylon as long as they point to the future and to some city or nation that is not antithetical to ancient Jerusalem. Furthermore, a modern or actual Jerusalem does not come down from heaven and can never be the holy city of Revelation 21.
The message and meaning of Revelation seems better and easier to understand when one appreciates the soon to pass, time is at hand time parameter of the message by keeping it within a contemporary historical context of its first century listeners (Revelation 1:1, 3). victory over the forces of evil.
