The Destruction of Babylon (Apostate Church)

[reddogs]

In Revelation 18, Babylon is described in detail and the call made to come out of her before her coming destruction, and the warning given that "God hath remembered her iniquities."

Revelation 18:1-5
1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

Judgment on Babylon is God’s way of liberating His people. Babylon’s fall is an opportunity to “come out.” It’s the time to leave an entity that once dazzled the world by its power and dominance, but rejected God.

Babylon’s adulterous relationship with the kings of the earth points to religious syncretism, a system creating its own way of salvation. The Babylonian system of worship has deceived many of God's people, as it looks and relies on salvation by works than on salvation by grace.

Moreover, the description given in the book of Revelation clearly identifies the attributes of Babylon. Most Protestants of the Reformation and Post Reformation era referred to it as spiritual Babylon, the great enemy of God's people. The woman that rides the beast in Revelation 17 also has all the identifying features :
Revelation 17:4-5
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.

In the Bible the symbol of a woman represents the church.
Jeremiah 6:2
I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman.

Isaiah the prophet extends the symbol of a woman to that of a bride. The pure bride represents the pure church:
Isaiah 62:5
For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.

Turning to the New Testament the same symbolism is employed:

...for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:2

Babylon is described in Revelation 17:5 as the "mother of harlots" (apostate religious systems or churches), "Mystery" and the "abominations of the earth". Obviously if God's people are the chaste woman faithful to her husband, then Babylon is the opposite of this symbol or that system of worship which is unfaithful to God, and has a mystery religion and teaches and practices abominations.

When Peter wrote his first epistle, he concluded by saying, "The church that is in Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you" (1 Peter 5:13, KJV). In the Roman Catholic Douay Version of the Bible, the footnote to this verse says, 'Babylon. Figuratively Rome.' During the Protestant Reformation all leaders taught essentially the same, from Luther onward that Babylon was Rome, the apostate church. We see the rise of the woman on the scarlet-colored beast which is Babylon, clearly the Papacy, the doomed spiritual entity that Gods people must come out of. We see its ultimate literal destruction...

Revelation 18:6-21
6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
16 And saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

 

[reddogs]

“Babylon” is another name for the woman that rides the beast, which symbolizes the corrupt church that set itself up in the seat of the Roman Empire. So basically Babylon is another name for the Roman Catholic Church.

The second angel’s message is not that literal Babylon, the Mesopotamian city, has fallen in John’s day, so this was known. The message is that the false and corrupt church, spiritual Babylon, that would take over pagan Rome’s seat was heading ultimately toward destruction. When John wrote Revelation, that corrupt church was yet in the future, but prophetically as we see in what John wrote, it had already fallen.

The prophetic message is that spiritual Babylon is full of false religious doctrines, beliefs and teachings, and these had made their way to Rome, and were about to be incorporated into the fallen, corrupt church that was to take the seat of pagan Rome. Papal Rome was took over, and it did not let go of the false doctrines of pagan origin and the false rituals and idolatry from paganism. We see in Revelation 17 where it describes Babylon dressed in high priest attire.
Revelation 17:4
And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

This woman is claiming to be God's true church and here she mimics the high priest attire. But two things are different, there is no blue on her as there was on the high priest, a symbol of faithfulness, and a addition of riches as shown by the pearls, that was not on the high priest attire, to say nothing of the golden cup in her hand. But, Babylon is also a city and she claims to be the gate to God, but in truth it is what leads to "confusion", and many have been deceived by her wine or doctrines, and they must come out of her (the false system of worship of Rome) or face the wrath of God at the end.

Here is a explanation..."the people of God are called upon to come out of Babylon. According to this scripture, many of God’s people must still be in Babylon.

And in what religious bodies are the greater part of the followers of Christ now to be found? Without doubt, in the various churches professing the Protestant faith. At the time of their rise these churches took a noble stand for God and the truth, and His blessing was with them. . . .

[But] many of the Protestant churches are following Rome’s example of iniquitous connection with “the kings of the earth”—the state churches, by their relation to secular governments; and other denominations, by seeking the favor of the world. And the term “Babylon”—confusion—may be appropriately applied to these bodies, all professing to derive their doctrines from the Bible, yet divided into almost innumerable sects, with widely conflicting creeds and theories.

Besides a sinful union with the world, the churches that separated from Rome present other of her characteristics.. .

The great sin charged against Babylon is that she “made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” This cup of intoxication which she presents to the world represents the false doctrines that she has accepted as the result of her unlawful connection with the great ones of the earth. Friendship with the world corrupts her faith, and in her turn she exerts a corrupting influence upon the world by teaching doctrines which are opposed to the plainest statements of Holy Writ.

Rome withheld the Bible from the people and required all men to accept her teachings in its place. It was the work of the Reformation to restore to men the Word of God; but is it not too true that in the churches of our time [men and women] are taught to rest their faith upon their creed and the teachings of their church rather than on the Scriptures?...

Revelation 18 points to the time when, as the result of rejecting the threefold warning of Revelation 14:6-12, the church will have fully reached the condition foretold by the second angel, and the people of God still in Babylon will be called upon to separate from her communion.

This message is the last that will ever be given to the world; and it will accomplish its work. When those that “believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:12), shall be left to receive strong delusion and to believe a lie, then the light of truth will shine upon all whose hearts are open to receive it, and all the children of the Lord that remain in Babylon will heed the call: “Come out of her, my people” (Revelation 18:4)."