Mystery Babylon the Great

[Truth Files]

Revelation
17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

17:2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

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:

17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abpminations of the earth.


The symbolic meaning of Mystery Babylon the Great is revealed for the first time from the Lord's comprehensive point of view in Revelation 17 and 18. This adultrous [unfaithful] "woman" represents the prevailing condition of lost humanity estranged from Him on a global scale.

This historical and end time view of the Lord is revealed regarding His evaluation of the same and His ultimate intent to bring the rule of earth by a lost civilization to an abrupt ending. [Psalms 2; Daniel 2:31-45; 1Thessalonians 5:1-6; 2Thessalonians 2:1-17; Revelation 6:12-17]

The term Babylon is used symbolically to describe human organizational behavior apart from His providence and direction. Humans began to organize shortly after the flood for the purpose escaping the Lord's intervention and control. [Genesis 10:10; 11:1-9]

They did this by grouping collectively and developing political, social, and false religious systems, etc.; and building cities and related infrastructures.

Post flood inhabitants living in the Tigris and Euphrates river valley believed they could become self-sufficient and create survival measures which would prohibit the Lord's intervention so that they could control their own destiny.

One essential requirement for the accomplishment of their ambitions was a common language which they had. This feature coupled with human intelligence allowed for great potential to move in the direction of self-determination.

The Lord observed their activities, warned them of the consequences, and as a deterrent He confused their language so that they could not understand one another. [Genesis 11:1-9]

This had the temporary effect of halting the building projects and dispersing the people. His action was His way of getting attention and making a point which was soon ignored. Many cities and their collective habitations were eventually constructed in the river valley and beyond.

Some of them became city/states with their own king, government, offensive and defensive military, false religions, culture, and economic trading systems. These then grew into larger dominions, and then into empires by forming alliances and by conquest.

The name Babylon, which is derived from the word "Babel" [confused languages], was the name of the first major city of the ancient Sumerian civilization in the land of Shinar [southern Iraq].

This was also the name of the greater neo-Babylonian Empire which ruled most of the Middle East in the 6th century B.C.. This model of advanced human organizational structure has been repeated many times through out history and exists today as a connected worldwide integration.

The name "Babylon" has been used in scripture to define other cities like Jerusalem because of its intransigence and likeness to the ancient city of Babylon. Jerusalem is defined as a "great city" in the book of Revelation [Revelation 11], but different from the "great city" part of Mystery Babylon the Great [Revelation 17 and 18].

The concept and process of human organization is not the problem. It is the fallen condition of humanity that becomes amplified by the environment created by human interactions and intransigence against the Lord.

Humans have lived in a fallen state of existence since Adam and Eve decided not to trust the Lord's providence and direction [Genesis 3:16-24]. Post-flood populations decided to do the same thing and continued on without regard for His presence. [Genesis 11:1-9]

His warning to Adam and Eve was that they would die physically and spiritually, and would eventually cease to exist if they refused to trust Him and then to separate themselves from Him.

We are all in this same condition and must turn, seek His forgiveness and grace, and receive His gift of eternal life by accepting Him as our Lord and savior. [Romans 1:16-32; 2:1-8]

Mystery Babylon the Great has been and is influenced and controlled by satan who is called the god of this world and of the kingdoms of the nations.

He knows that humans have been created for eventual eternal life and his objective is to deceive them and turn them away from the Lord. All of Mystery Babylon's attributes are vulnerable to satan's manipulations.

The woman in Revelation 17 is Mystery Babylon the Great and she is shown sitting on the heads [dominions, kingdoms] of the beast indicating a connection with the heads.

These heads symbolize successive and specific human kingdoms [dominions] and related king positions; and these dominions contain the lost human civilizations represented by the symbol of the unfaithful "woman".

Satan rules over the seven specific kingdoms presented in the scope of the visions through his beast Abaddon-Apollyon who is another fallen angelic, and they symbolize seven successive dominions which have and will exist in the Middle East. [Revelatyion 13:1, 17:8]

Each of them has a human king "position" that rules the dominion, or kingdom, which represents the geographical extent of the king's influence control.

The woman is unsaved organized humanity existing within the domain [kingdom]. Babylon is used symbolically to describe her. She is the prevailing condition of lost humanity over time.

She also has and does exist in other parts of the world outside of the Middle East, but these dominions are not seen in the scope of the visions recorded in the Bible [many known civilizations of the past are not recorded in the visions].

The exception is her "great city" part [possibly a great nation] seen in the book of Revelation which will be located outside of the Middle East at the time of the end of this present age. [Revelation 17, 18]

This core great city part of lost humanity is seen dominating all of the other nations, their kings, and their cities in the world with specific reference to worldwide economic influence and control.

Abaddon-Apollyon is a fallen angelic prince who influences and rules over all of the seven human king positions and their dominions of the Middle East for satan. His presence is revealed with specific connection to the earth and world of humans centered in the Middle East. [Psalms 83; Ezekiel 38; Micah 5:5; Revelation 9:11; 11:7; 17:8]