Is "Babylon the Great" a Contemporary Country?
[First, read the description of Babylon the Great in the Bible, beginning with Revelation chapter 17, verse 3:]
I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast ... 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written:
MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.
7 But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman ...
18 The woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.”
[Then switching to Revelation chapter 18, let’s continue with verse 1:]
After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. 2 And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! 3 For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.”
4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. 5 For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6 Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. 7 In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ 8 Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.
9 “The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, 10 standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’
11 “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: 12 merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; 13 and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men. 14 The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all. 15 The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 16 and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! 17 For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.’ Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance 18 and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’
19 “They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate.’
20 “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!”
21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore. 22 The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore. 23 The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.”
[The Lord tells us above that we are depart from this place known spiritually as Babylon the Great: “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.”]
[Note below that God Himself has put it in the hearts of other countries to hate Babylon the Great and “burn her with Fire:]
Revelation 17:16: And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.
[Does anyone have any thoughts on the identity of this BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH?]
GM
For example, with the events of recent days in the United States, including the Covid-19 pandemic, the wildfires and other natural disasters, the invasion of the Capitol building etc, not to speak of how the World at large has “marveled” at all these huge disruptions, one could be tempted to wonder if the US is synonymous with Babylon the Great/The Whore in some way. That is, to take a verse like “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore” [And wonder if this applies to the disrupted trade through sanctions and other circumstances] and/or that they “stand at a distance for fear of her torment” [and apply this to the travel bans dues to Covid-19] etc. etc.
In the 1970s there was an extremely popular book titled “The Late Great Planet Earth” which allegedly interpreted the Book of Revelation. Among the things found in this book was the idea that Revelation was speaking about such things as the Soviet Union, nuclear attacks between the USSR and the US, etc. When Mikhail Gorbachov became president of Russia, individuals who followed the “Planet Earth” type of interpretation stated that Gorbachov was the antichrist, citing the references in Revelation to the “mark of the beast”—666—as proof of this. (Gorbachov, if you recall, had a rather large birth mark on his forehead.) Of course, the Soviet Union collapsed, as did the communist system, and Gorbachov was in fact rejected by his own people and retired into a quiet life.
The Orthodox Church belief is that The Harlot is the former Roman Empire. (Not the Roman Catholic Church, which did not exist at that time.) The Protestant Reformers related the Whore of Babylon to the Catholic Church, whereas The Seventh-day Adventists believe it to represent the fallen state of traditional Christianity. TFI believed the Whore of Babylon, aka Babylon the Great, was the United States.
Well, believers trying to interpret the scripture in this way has been going on for centuries! In fact, ever since the Book of Revelation was first chosen (among many apocalyptic books of the time) to be added to the New Testament, there has been many interpretations thereof throughout the ages, generally always pointing to some form of ruling power or institution during that person’s lifetime.
In fact, during the 16th century Protestant Reformation, there were many doubts expressed about the Book of Revelation by the major Church leaders: Martin Luther called Revelation "neither apostolic nor prophetic" in the 1522 preface to his translation of the New Testament (he revised his position with a much more favorable assessment in 1530); Huldrych Zwingli labelled it "not a book of the Bible"; it was the only New Testament book on which John Calvin did not write a commentary.
All this to say, there has been a fair amount of controversy about the Book of Revelation over the centuries, not to speak of trying to unravel the mystery as to the interpretation of Babylon the Great!
We might therefore conclude: It is unlikely that we today will be given a more reliable interpretation than the many erroneously defended by scholars throughout millennia, but speculation will no doubt continue!
Jon
Ha! I have a feeling there could be a variety of opinions on this one. I thought I would step out on the waters and offer a few opinions. Her name is MYSTERY Babylon. God loves a mystery; it is His Glory to conceal a matter. (Proverbs 25:1) At the best in our attempt to identify who is this Babylon the Great, we may be like the blind men trying to describe an elephant, and only see our limited view. We may think we are seeing who Babylon is, but perhaps we may be just seeing one of her fully grown adulterous daughters, as Babylon is “the mother of harlots.” The passage in Revelation about Babylon the Great was written two thousand years ago, and Babylon’s daughters have grown and spread their adulteries throughout all the earth, causing “all nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”
Does Babylon have her beginnings in Genesis 10:10 with Nimrod? “The beginning of his kingdom was Babel…. the land of Shinar,” which may have been the forerunner of the city of Babylon, which was founded some 4000 years ago. The very next chapter in Genesis is about the tower of Babel, which may describe the spirit of Babylon, “let us make a name.” That could be a foundational principle of the Babylonian spirit, that we prioritize making a name for ourselves, being self-centered, instead of living the God centered life.
It was certainly one of Nebuchadnezzar’s sins some millennia later as he walked through the halls of the Babylonian palace, boasting “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house for the kingdom by the might of MY POWER, and for the honor of MY MAJESTY.”
There are some fascinating verses that would indicate that Babylon is “spirit” so I am not sure if we can identify Babylon as one specific country or location. Zechariah had an interesting vision of a wicked “Woman in a Basket” in the fifth chapter of his prophetic book. Two angels (described as storks) carry a woman, described as wickedness, in a basket and place her in the land of Shinar (Babylon). See Zechariah Chapter 5, verses 5 through 11. The Spirit of Babylon may be very similar to Satan himself in the fact that his location on earth can change. Satan was once in the Garden of Eden itself, and some scholars equate Satan with the Prince of Tyrus in Ezekiel chapter 28, centuries later Satan possesses Judas, and then later again in Revelation, you find his seat in Asia Minor.
If Babylon is a wicked spiritual entity that was placed in the land of Babylon during the time of Zachariah, perhaps it has changed its location over the years. Babylon may have been a destructive spirit permitted by God to pollute nations / kingdoms throughout history who have rejected God, as it seems that all nations who partake of this materialistic spirit, end up dying in their wealth that puts them in a stupor, as was the case of Belshazzar partying the night his kingdom fell, Nero fiddling while Rome burnt, or so many Americans today so interested in trivial things while the foundation of their country crumbles.
Europe of the Middle Ages was certainly like Babylon as described in Revelation 17, drunken with the blood of the saints, persecuting the true believers in Jesus and terrorizing the native populations of the world as they colonized their lands for material wealth. In recent times, there are more and more websites and preachers now wondering if the USA is the final and ultimate fulfillment of Babylon the Great and you can certainly see why. Especially, you can see and feel the growing “hatred of the whore” described in Revelation Chapter 17 if America is indeed Babylon the Great.
America has fulfilled certain other verses about Babylon outside of the book of Revelation, such as being “the hammer of the whole earth” as described in Jeremiah 50:23. The USA was founded by the slaughter of 90% of the native population, enslaved the negro, fought countless wars, slaughtering many believing Christians in the process. A strong argument can be made for the case that many American wars were often fought to maintain their materialistic lifestyle. Also, the US involvement in the sales of weapons throughout the world has lead to the slaughter of millions of innocents.
Recently I did a short study on the Korean war, and found out that Pyongyang was once called the “Jerusalem of the East” as it was such a Christian stronghold. What I read horrified me. US bombers destroyed every means of communications and every installation, factory, city, and village in North Korea. US carpet bombing of North Korea included napalm, incendiary and fragmentation bombs that killed and maimed by the thousands and left cities, towns, villages and countryside in scorched and shattered ruins. In the North’s capital Pyongyang, only around 50,000 people out of a prewar population of 500,000 remained. It seems like both the bestial communistic systems and the whorish materialistic systems are equally drunk with the blood of God’s holy people.
A case can be made that if Jesus does not return in the next twenty years or so, that China can be the new “Babylon the Great,” or perhaps her leading Asian daughter. China, like the USA, is a great land on many waters, and has many ports (as described in Revelation 18, the cargoes of wealth and the sea captains.) China is building new ports all over the world so all can benefit of her materialistic wealth. But for right now, in the 2020’s, I would still say America is the leading contender to be where this Babylonian spirt is headquartered.
The verses, “the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication, and all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication (Revelations 17:2, 18:3) remind me of the influence of American materialism on the world. In my travels around the world, I have seen Indonesians in remote islands absorbed by the latest American music videos, shops in India selling all the latest films from Hollywood. Now working with the Syrian refugees, I see kids who seem so clean cut. They have such a love for life, a light in their eyes. In Syria, they did not have tablets, or mobile phones. Yet, even these precious children now are starting to drink of the “wine of her fornication.”
More and more, I am meeting refugee children addicted to their tablets and phones. It is heartbreaking to see, as these children who once were obedient to their parents adopting this attitude of rebellion against parental authority and any type of rules, which you find so often portrayed in online entertainment. Interestingly, a lot of the content is produced in the USA, yet the tablets and phones are made in Chinese factories. Truly the bestial kings of all the earth are committing fornication with the American materialistic version of Babylon, and the inhabitants of the earth are quiet intoxicated!
Though the whore will be destroyed by the beast, in the very next chapter, Revelation 19, Jesus wipes out the beast and his armies, ushering in the kingdom of God. What a relief! I have taught the book of Revelations quite a bit over the years, and still find it fascinating, but in the last decade, sort of left it on the shelf, as in my personal life I felt the great need to learn more the simple ‘love of Jesus’ than to understand Bible prophecy, which according to Paul, will one day “cease,” and love, the greatest of all virtues, will remain. (1 Corinthians 13) It is fascinating to see how Christians can read this same passage and draw so many different interpretations, and it is great if we can love each other in spite of our different interpretations of these minor issues, which are not the most important part of our faith.
CH
My question is, if Babylon is an actual country, which it could be, at the end of the day how does God decide whether/how to judge it? I don't understand how a country can be destroyed in a moment without destroying everything and everyone in it. Do the good folks living there get torched along with the others?
Abraham asked God to spare Sodom for only a handful of "righteous" in the whole city--and God only knows how righteous one has to be to qualify--but He agreed that He would. If the US is the Babylon that will be wiped out in a moment, what about all the good people in it, of which there could be millions. It's impossible to give any real estimates, and only the Lord knows everyone's hearts, but with Abraham's request to God in mind, couldn't the same be said for the States, or for any country in the world?
Some have said that China is about as anti-God/anti-Christ as can be and that sounds right in a lot of ways, but from what I've heard home churches there, which are relentlessly persecuted, are on fire and growing in number. Can't this be said/found everywhere in one form or another? Do we risk painting with too broad a brush if we judge Babylon as a physical country, occupied by physical people? Couldn't Babylon be the spirit of a harlot, bearing more little harlots throughout the world "spreading their skirts" to trap any unsuspecting passersby anywhere?--Some of whom, like in Proverbs, go in unto her, or not?
Could that be similar in concept to when Jesus said that at that time two would be in the field working, one taken the other not; or like the wheat and the tares, letting them grow to full fruition together, because it's so difficult for us (though not for God) to distinguish between them, until the day that they are all harvested together and the tares are torched?
I think my bottom line is, whether or not one country is really any better, or worse, than almost any other country, and that people need to be judged differently, one by one by one ... which we are not able to do. How do we apply these cryptic verses and revelations? Don't we go on living our lives, doing the best we can for the Lord day by day and let the Lord sort it all out in His good time and how He knows best for each and all?
PS: What are the harlot's delicacies that so many fall for and partake of? Materials, or materialism? Consumer items. or consumerism? Goods that can be classified as luxuries to some or necessities to others? If her delicacies are the goods she's hawking? How does one not partake? It seems that (hopefully!) I can I use something without it becoming my life or goal, which I want to the best of my ability keep focused on the Lord.
This is an interesting topic, for sure!
Jon
REFLECTIONS ON REVELATION
The book of Revelation has been described as the Book of Daniel of the New Testament, with a zoomed in focus on the fourth beast of Daniel’s visions, the beast “which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful.” (Daniel 7:19) The Book of Daniel and Revelation have similar passages, about beasts, and the three-and-a-half-year period that the final beast will rule on the earth. Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 also speak of a “horn” or “beast” making war against the saints of the Most High and prevailing against them.
Perhaps the reason that some of the great Christian scholars of the Middle Ages questioned whether the Book of Revelation should even be in the Bible or did not even try to write a commentary on the book, was because, the Book of Revelation is similar to the book of Daniel, in the sense that the words of the book of Revelation were “closed up and sealed till the time of the end.” (Daniel 12:9) There was no way those of centuries past could even begin to understand these mysterious prophecies, much like Daniel himself could not understand his own prophecies. It may have been helpful if the book of Revelation had a similar verse as Daniel 12:4: “Seal the book until the time of the End.” Is the meaning and interpretation of the Book of Revelation also closed to our understanding even until the Time of the End?
If people like John Calvin were alive now, perhaps they would now attempt to write a commentary on parts of the Book of Revelation. For sure, chapters two and three, the letters of instruction to the churches, contains such incredible advice and safeguards for Christians throughout the centuries and would be worth commenting on. Chapters 21 and 22, about the glories of the New Heavens and the New Earth give such hope.
Revelation Chapter 13, verses 16 and 17, which prophecies a future day that all the people of the earth will not “be able to buy or sell” without some type of mark would have been unfathomable to the medieval mind. But now, the digital economic system is here for this, set up throughout the entire world.
I told several Syrians about this coming economic system years ago, as many Syrians believe the final great war of the end starts in Syria and therefore we must be close to the “Judgment Day” as the Muslims call it. One Syrian recently testified before a group of friends, that what I had told him years ago, is now starting to be fulfilled, as you need an obligatory electronic code to be able to travel and enter many places here in Turkey. He was thrilled about this and is testifying to others how amazing this Bible prophecy in Revelation 13 is. He clearly sees its future fulfillment.
Rose back in 1997 witnessed to a well known economist, son of the founder of a Turkish bank. We told him all about the economic system of the “mark of the beast,” which I imagine he took with a grain of salt. Twenty years later, he testifies that this is now happening and it won’t be long until we see this system established. He was an ardent atheist, but this prophecy opened up the door for us to teach him more of the teachings of Jesus.
The verses about Babylon the Great being destroyed by fire in one hour of one day were totally incomprehensible in centuries past. We couldn’t imagine something like that five hundred years ago, or even one hundred years ago. Since then, the eschatological potential of nuclear war has been made horrifyingly clear at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In the last ten years, Putin has proclaimed he could not just destroy the USA in one hour, but even in half an hour (https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-said-he-could-destroy-the-us-2015-1). Russia also said it was ready to begin work on its notorious ‘Satan 2’ missile, which can carry 10 thermonuclear warheads, enough to devastate an entire country. The new class of Russian weapons, he said, travel low, stealthily, far and fast—too fast for defenders to react. It is hard to believe countries could be producing such weapons of destruction (https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a19160734/how-russias-new-doomsday-torpedo-works/).
The verse about Babylon being a whore and a city that rules over the “kings of the earth” are also clearer to our modern mind. Cities like London in the past ruled vast empires, reigning over the “kings of the earth.” Other cities like New York have greater economies than entire nations, and the financial giants and technocrats have power to overthrow nations. All that to say, things that John envisioned nearly 2000 years ago, unimaginable in centuries past, are now possible to be fulfilled in our generation.
Concerning the question about the horrific destruction of Babylon the Great, if the good folks living in Babylon get “torched along with the others?” First of all, I don’t think God is just picking only on Babylon during the Endtime days of judgment. It says that “He will judge strong nations afar off.” (Micah 4:3) Babylon is the one that is highlighted in Revelation, perhaps due to it being a major world power at the end, but in the great day of the Lord, many nations will be judged, in order for “the kingdoms of this world to become part of the kingdom of Christ. (Revelation 11:15)
I don’t see the final judgment of Babylon as a secret judgment coming that will hit all the believers by surprise. From what I can understand about the final judgment of Babylon the Great, this event does not happen until the final moments of the Endtime, or perhaps even during the Wrath of God, when the believers in Jesus are already raptured. According to Scripture, it will be fairly obvious to the whole world, or at least to those of understanding, that we are living in the Endtime and that the Antichrist is taking over the world.
In Revelation chapter 16, at the very end of the Wrath of God, it states: 17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl ... and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven ... saying, “It is done!” 18 And there were noises and thunderings … there was a great earthquake ... 19 … and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.
From these verses, you could conclude that the destruction of Babylon is after the Rapture.
Revelation Chapter 14 also places the fall of Babylon towards the very very end. In this chapter it seems to happen shortly before the 2nd coming of Jesus and before the mark of the beast is enforced upon the world: 6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven … 7 saying “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; 8 And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” 9 Then a third angel followed them, saying … “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God … 14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man … and in His hand a sharp sickle. 16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped."
It is not clear to me when the judgment of Babylon will take place, but definitely it seems towards the very end of man’s rule on earth, during the very final days. Daniel Chapter 11 places a great war (atomic?) where many are annihilated right in the very verse before the end of the antichrist, which happens when Jesus returns. Daniel 11: 44 But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many. 45 He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.
My personal belief is that God is being very merciful to the world giving us such clear signs of the end and also being patient with mankind in spite of the evil being done. When I see the evil in the Mideast, I wish He would intervene and judge the warmongers, but I guess their cup of iniquity is not full and in His Love, He wants to somehow win them. “The Lord is ... longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
I think a lot more changes will happen in the world before these earthshaking events. The world will continue moving towards a digital cashless society, there will be great economic upheavals, as the US cannot keep living in debt the way they are without the dollar collapsing. There may be great regional wars as well in the Middle East, before the antichrist arises and the eventual destruction of Babylon.
But the world can change so fast. At this time last year, I hadn’t even heard of Covid-19, now it seems that it is all we read about! It is amazing to me how the WHO and other international bodies have gotten the whole world to act as one, take the mask, and now the vaccination. It is almost as this is a simulation for future global actions. God will make it clear to the believers when it is time to leave Babylon--and who Babylon is, as surely the Lord God will do nothing, except He reveal it to His servants. (Amos 3:7) God will also provide places of safety for the believers in the last days according to Revelation 12.
I surely don't know what gear we are in as we race towards the final days. God in His Love can give us more time so we can win more. But I do look more forward to His return as “when the judgments of the Lord are in the land, then the inhabitants of the earth will (finally) learn righteousness,” (Isaiah 26:9) and we can then truly enjoy His Millennial Kingdom and have war no more!
And I found it fascinating what CH said above: "Do we risk painting with too broad a brush if we judge Babylon as a physical country, occupied by physical people? Couldn't Babylon be the spirit of a harlot, bearing more little harlots throughout the world "spreading their skirts" to trap any unsuspecting passersby anywhere?--Some of whom, like in Proverbs, go in unto her, or not?'' It describes Babylon as the Mother of Harlots, so yes, there must be more little harlots throughout the world, and there seems to be more faith in the USA than Europe? ... Maybe when the mother figure is judged, the others will fear the Lord and learn righteousness as Isaiah 26:9 says.
For me, this is complex to try and figure out, and I think it is our duty to focus on loving the lost, helping the needy, and leave the judgments up to God as "The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether," and are own human judgments are so so limited, clouded and so often wrong. Only the Lord can see the hearts!
GM
Revelation 17:16: And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.
Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. 5 For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6 Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. 7 In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ 8 Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.
9 “The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, 10 standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’
17 For in one hour such great riches came to nothing. 19 ... For in one hour she is made desolate.
***
Interesting how much the Lord stresses the quick destruction of Babylon the Great, in which “she will be utterly burned with fire”, and this will happen “in one day”, and 3 times it’s specified “in one hour”!
I remember years ago when I taught Bible prophecy, we would add additional supporting Bible verses like: Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. (Zechariah 14:12)
I’m of course referring to a gruesome visualization of nuclear war, as per your excellent reference, Jon, which you added: In the last ten years, Vladimir Putin has proclaimed he could not just destroy the USA in one hour, but even in half an hour (https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-said-he-could-destroy-the-us-2015-1).
Russia also said it was ready to begin work on its notorious ‘Satan 2’ missile, which can carry 10 thermonuclear warheads, enough to devastate an entire country. The new class of Russian weapons, he said, travel low, stealthily, far and fast—too fast for defenders to react. It is hard to believe countries could be producing such weapons of destruction (https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a19160734/how-russias-new-doomsday-torpedo-works/).
The followed points that you also added, Jon, provide ample food for thought, IMO: I don’t see the final judgment of Babylon as a secret judgment coming that will hit all the believers by surprise. From what I can understand about the final judgment of Babylon the Great, this event does not happen until the final moments of the Endtime, or perhaps even during the Wrath of God, when the believers in Jesus are already raptured. According to Scripture, it will be fairly obvious to the whole world, or at least to those of understanding, that we are living in the Endtime and that the Antichrist is taking over the world.
In Revelation chapter 16, at the very end of the Wrath of God, it states: 17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl ... and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven ... saying, “It is done!” 18 And there were noises and thunderings … there was a great earthquake ... 19 … and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.
From these verses, you could conclude that the destruction of Babylon is after the Rapture.
Revelation Chapter 14 also places the fall of Babylon towards the very very end. In this chapter it seems to happen shortly before the 2nd coming of Jesus and before the mark of the beast is enforced upon the world: 6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven … 7 saying “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; 8 And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” 9 Then a third angel followed them, saying … “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God … 14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man … and in His hand a sharp sickle. 16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped."
It is not clear when the judgment of Babylon will take place, but definitely it seems towards the very end of man’s rule on earth, during the very final days.
As to the point CH added: "Do we risk painting with too broad a brush if we judge Babylon as a physical country, occupied by physical people? Couldn't Babylon be the spirit of a harlot, bearing more little harlots throughout the world "spreading their skirts" to trap any unsuspecting passersby anywhere?--Some of whom, like in Proverbs, go in unto her, or not?''
Revelation does describe Babylon as the Mother of Harlots, so yes, there must be more little harlots throughout the world, and there seems to be more faith in the USA than Europe? ... Maybe when the mother figure is judged, the others will fear the Lord and learn righteousness as Isaiah 26:9 says.