Revelation 17-18

Bible study with Dr. Chuck Missler
http://www.god.tv/node/2608

BACKGROUND

Euphrates
- The cradle and grave of man’s civilization (Zechariah 10:11; Isaiah 11:15-16
- Eastern boundary of Israel and the Roman Empire (Genesis 15:18)

Spiritual Babylon
- All form of occult practices have had their origins in the original city of Babylon (Isaiah 47)
- Tammuz, the son of Nimrod and his queen, Semiramis, was identified with the Babylonian Sun God and worshiped following the winter solstice: ~ Dec. 22-23
- As Babylon was conquered by subsequent empires, this entire religious system was transplanted, first to Pergamos, and then to Rome (Revelation 2:12-17) – The priests always followed the money!
- As Christianity was established as the official state religion of Rome, many of the religious traditions and practices of the earlier pagan worship were adapted and incorporated, including: Many of our traditions surrounding Christmas; the Babylonian worship of Ishtar, the Golden Egg of Astarte, and the fertility rites of spring gives us Easter
- The calendar year, for certain ancient cultures, ended on October 31, and its associated occult rituals, gave us our Halloween; this was related to worship of Baal (Mars) and may have been stimulated by the perturbations of the orbit of the earth associated with the planet Mars.

The Two Women

Israel (Revelation 12)
- In Heaven
- Mother of Man-Child
- Clothes with sun
- Identified with the Sun, Moon, and Stars
- Enemy is the dragon
- Hated by the world
- Sustained by the wings of heaven
- Has a headdress of Crown of 12 Stars
- Is said to be widowed, divorced
- Final destination is New Jerusalem

The Women riding Beast (Revelation 17)
- The Beast is the world system
- Located upon many waters
- Mother of harlots
- Clothed with purple, scarlet, gold
- Identified with reign over kings of the earth
- Enemy of 10 Kings
- Caressed by the world
- Sustained by the Dragon
- Has a headdress of Mystery Babylon the Great
- She says, “I am no widow” (Revelation 18:7)
- Final location is habitation of demons


MYSTERY BABYLON

The Great Whore (Revelation 17)
- Rides the Beast with 7 heads, 10 horns
- Mother of Harlots and Abominations: She is the ROOT of ALL false doctrines!
- Drunk with the blood of the saints

Babylon the Great City (Revelation 18)
3 groups of people that will be very upset when this city gets its final judgment
- Kings
- Merchants
- Those that trade by sea

JOHN WAS SURPRISED AT THE SIGHT OF MYSTERY BABYLON (Revelation 17:6)

John was surprised at seeing the Woman who was drunk with the blood of saints. Why?

If the Woman was pagan Rome of John's day, John would not have been surprised – Pagan Rome has always been the enemy of the Church, severely persecuting Christians. 

However, today, many Roman Catholics consider themselves Christians (though some Catholics separate themselves from Christians). To have a particular group of Christians be the Woman – That IS surprising! (I realize this is oversimplifying the implications of the assumptions that I have voiced here. I will make it clear these ARE assumptions. There is compelling evidence that suggest the Roman Catholic Church will be the Woman -- This is addressed below -- However, there is no solid proof, so do your own research and come to your own conclusions. Going along with this assumption, it's important to note that this doesn't mean Roman Catholic individuals will be a part of this system -- It just means that Satan will use the Roman Catholic Church as his vehicle. This is the same concept of how the nation of Israel as a whole remains blind to Jesus as their Messiah until the end of days. However, there are hundreds of Jews converting to Christians today. Each individual still have the choice to stick with Jesus or follow Satan, regardless of the fate of the church or the nation.)

The Revived Roman Empire 
Revelation 17:8 describes the revived Roman Empire. No one nation conquered the Roman Empire – It fell into pieces on its own.

"Hill/Mountain" (Revelation 17:9) is symbolism for God’s government.


SATAN’S SEVEN SUPER-KINGDOMS

“Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads.” (Revelation 12:3)
- Egypt 
- Assyria 
- Babylon 
- Persia 
- Greece 
- Ancient Rome 
- Rome II that has yet to come and has 10 horns + The 11th horn (aka, the Little Horn) (Daniel 2:31-35, 40-45; 7:7-8, 19-25; Revelation 13:1-2; 17:3, 7, 12-18)

Daniel’s 4+1
Babylon
Persia
Greece
Rome + Rome II

Daniel described Rome + Rome II as one.

“They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while.” (Revelation 17:10)

7 Kings
Egypt
Assyria
Babylon
Persia
Greece
Rome
Rome II

5 kingdoms had fallen during John’s day
Egypt
Assyria
Babylon
Persia

“One is,” aka, the kingdom that stood during John’s day
Rome

“The other has not yet come”
Rome II (for the lack of a better name)

“The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.” (Revelation 17:11)
The beast is the eight king, the Little Horn. He is the Little Horn that arises out of the 7th kingdom. He is to come out of the seven previous empires. Which one(s)? Well, which one fits the description, one that “once was, and now is not”? Assyria (Micah 5:5-6; Isaiah 10:5).

“And he will be their peace. When the Assyrian invades our land and marches through our fortresses, we will raise against him seven shepherds, even eight leaders of men. They will rule the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod with drawn sword. He will deliver us from the Assyrian when he invades our land and marches into our borders.” (Micah 5:5-6)
Isaiah 10:5, 12, 24 share similar statements. Iraq and Syria now occupy land that once ruled by the Assryians.

The 10 kings will be revealed when they are revealed (Revelation 17:12)
The 10 kings will be given kingdoms that have never existed before – So, don’t bother speculating who these 10 kings will be. We won’t know until they are revealed!

"Water" (Revelation 17:15) = unrest among people; the lack of peace, the lack of calm

Rome ruled during John's day (Revelation 17:18)
That city IS… -- Present tense by John: What city ruled during John’s time? Rome.


SUMMARY OF REVELATION 17
- The prostitute is not the beast but rides the beast. She initially exploits the beast but is eventually destroyed by him (Revelation 17:16-17).
- Mystery Babylon as a false religious system has been identified with the city of Rome from the early centuries to this day.


TEN CLUES THAT ROME IS MYSTERY BABYLON
- She’s a prostitute: promiscuous, unfaithful
- Has universal influence, all over the world
- Seated upon the beast (steers and dominates the beast)
- Wears purple, scarlet, gold, and jewels (Roman Catholic church)
- The Golden cup is precious yet a counterfeit, filled with abominable things
- Mystery, Babylon the Great has been linked with Babylon of Nimrod (Revelation 11:8)
- Mother of Prostitutes has spiritual offspring; not alone – This is not a single system; it’s the FOUNTAIN of MANY systems
- Prosecutor of Christians, revels in their blood (Cf. David Hunt’s research)
- Seven hills: Rome was built on seven hills (Aventine, Caelian, Capitoline, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinal, and Viminal)
- The Great City that rules over the kings of the Earth – In John’s days, it could only be Rome


BABYLON THE GREAT IS DESTROYED (Revelation 18)

The Kings, the merchants, and those that trade by sea will be affected by the fall the most. Revelation 18:11-13 details the goods that will be affected by the fall.


The chapter is pretty straight forward, so I will just direct readers to check out the chapter yourselves.


THE RISE, FALL, AND DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON

Babylon
- Mentioned over 300 times in the Bible
- Alluded to 3 times in Christ’s genealogy
- Capital of the 1st world dictator and the last world dictator
- The rebuilding of Babylon is a litmus test for the literal view

The Origin of Babylon
- The first world dictator: Nimrod (whose name means, “We will rebel”) – He was a mighty hunter in defiance of the Lord (Genesis 10:9).
- The final global dictator (the Antichrist) will be an Assyrian (Micah 5:5-6; Isaiah 10) 
- Babel = Gateway to the gods (Bav = gate; El = God) – This was the beginning of Babylon

The Conquest of Babylon
- On October 12, 539 BC, Cyrus’s general captured Babylon without a battle.
- The Persians diverted the River Euphrates into a canal upriver so that the water level dropped “to the height of the middle of a man’s thigh” (Herodotus), which rendered the flood defenses useless and enabled the invaders to march through the river bed to enter by night.

Cyrus was prophesied to allow the Jews to rebuild their Temple (Isaiah 44:27-28; 45:1-5)
- Cyrus, because of these passages found in Isaiah, freed the Jewish captives and returned the vessels that had been plundered from the Temple 70 years earlier.
- Cyrus even gave them incentives to return to their homeland and rebuild their temple (2 Chronicles 36:22; Ezra 1:1-4)
- The Cylinder of Cyrus: “… without any battle, he entered the town, sparing any calamity; … I returned to sacred cities on the other side of the Tigris, the sanctuaries of which have been ruins for a long time… and established for them permanent sanctuaries. I also gathered all their former inhabitants and returned to them their habitations” (British Museum, London)

The Decline of Babylon
- Cyrus claimed the title “King of Babylon.” He made his son Cambyses as his viceroy in Babylon in 538 BC. Things remained faithful until his death in 522 BC.
- Darius II (521-486 BC)
- Nidintu-Bel (Nebuchadnezzar III): 522 BC
- Araka (Nebuchadnezzar IV): 521 BC
- In the 4th year of Xerxes (485-465 BC), the Babylonians made another attempt to gain their independence. Bel-shimanni and Shamash-eriba claimed the throne in 482 BC, and this revolt was suppressed with much cruelty and damage to Babylon. However, in 460 BC, Herodutus visited and reported that the city was virtually intact.

The Rise of Greece
- In 331 BC, Alexander III, the Great, was welcomed by the Babylonians when he entered the city after his victory over the Medes at Gaugamela. He was acclaimed king and made Babylon his capital. Nine years later, he even planned extensive renovations and a port for 1000 warships.
- Alexander the Great died on June 13, 323 BC. His career is detailed in advance (Daniel 8), and his successors were also detailed in advance (Daniel 11).

The Greek Empire
Alexander the Great was succeeded by his 4 generals:
- Cassander: Macedonia and Greece
- Lysimacus: Thrace, Bithynia, most of Asia Minor
- Ptolemy: Egypt, Cyrene, Arabia; they sponsored the Septuagint Translation (LXX) in 270 BC
- Seleucus: Syria and East to India; Antiochus Epiphanes (The “Little Horn” – Daniel 8)
- The “Silent Years” are profiled in advance (Daniel 11)

Babylon atrophies and decays
- A new rival capital city, Selucia, on the River Tigris, expedited the decline of the ancient metropolis of Babylon.
- Up to 75 AD, merchants continued to trade in Babylon.
Trajan visited Babylon in 115 AD
- Septimus Severus reported that Babylon was deserted in 199 AD and gradually becomes a ruin.
- In the 1800s, 10,000 inhabitants were found still living on site. Robert Kodewey, a German archeologist, even hired Babylonian locals to help with his work.

The Fall of Babylon (539 BC – That is, it’s already happened)
- Without a battle
- Became Alexander’s capital
- Atrophied over the centrueis
- Presently being rebuilt

The Destruction of Babylon (Isaiah 13-14; Jeremiah 50-51 – That is, this has not yet been fulfilled)
- “Never to be inhabited”
- “Building materials never reused”
- “Like Sodom and Gomorrah”

Mystery Babylon (Revelation 17-18 – Again, this has not yet been fulfilled)
- The Woman in the Ephah is the Harlot (Zechariah 5:5-11)
- Ephah: A woman called “Wickedness” was sealed inside a basket measuring an ephah with a talent of lead
- The basket was carried by two women with wings of a stork (an unclean bird) between Earth and Heaven.
- The plan was “to build it a house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base,” aka, Babylon.

To fully understand prophecies revealed in the Book of Revelation, read also the Book of Daniel. My notes on that can be found here:
http://aletheia-seekers.blogspot.com/search/label/Daniel