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America Burningby Phil Maxwell, October 2002...
In the course of describing a great nation that would rise and fall in the end times, John recorded numerous descriptive aliases or metaphors assigned to this nation (I'll explain why I say "nation" shortly), including:
Ref: Rev 11:8, 14:8, 16:19-19:2 Not that I intend to argue against other theories about Babylon's identity, on the point of geography, it seems apparent by the history of manifestations of forerunners to the end time "beast" (e.g. Babel, Egypt, Babylon-Media/Persia, Rome, etc.) that where it is centered isn't what qualifies it for this club. Now, Babylon is not the beast, but they are obviously integrally related. Babylon is the harlot, that is, the people who violate their spiritual obligations through casting their allegiance to an earthly king/government, as the Catholic Church did with Constantine to form the long-lived Holy Roman Empire back in the fourth century A.D. Babylon the harlot is the people who are religiously empowered within the beast, though they are hated by the power-hungry beast that is about to knock her off its back when the vision begins in chapter 17. Could there be any more perfect illustration of the Christian-Right's dominance of the scarlet "red" states in the recent election? The similitude between the rise of political religionist's power in government over the last few decades and the convergence of the Roman Catholic Church's fourth century marriage to Constantine to form the Holy Roman Empire are hard to miss. How utterly fitting that "Bush Country" is adorned in scarlet red on the popularized image of the maps being sold on t-shirts, mugs, and posters since the election!
Daniel 8 talks about a reincarnation of the ancient Greek Empire reaching the pinnacle of its power just before it's power is broken and divided to the four winds. As commentators started discussing practically as soon as Bush was declared the victor, the pinnacle of a presidential administration's power is typically reached early into their second term, before they sink into the fullness of their political "lame duck" status (since re-election is no longer an option). Bush himself was obviously aware of this as he gloated over his newfound "capitol" that he planned on "spending". Then the long-simmering burner under Iran got turned up by this openly "Christian" President re-elected on the foundation of support given to him by the formidably united "Christian Right". This group, though not representing the entirety of those calling themselves Christian, clearly has the upper hand in U.S. politics at present, virtually controlling the presidency and both houses of Congress. Their seemingly diverse religious affiliations all trace directly back to their spiritual mother or grandmother, Roman Catholicism, but again, so do most of Bush's "Christian" dissenters. Thus, based on common spiritual lineage, we have a hard time clearly identifying who is actually included in the harlot Babylon, but that doesn't mean there isn't a way to identify the whore.
Ezekiel actually outlines the whore very clearly in chapter 9, where he records the future release of six "men" with "destroying weapons" (literally weapons that cause total destruction, or, in common vernacular, weapons of mass destruction). Like Passover, those partaking in Babylon's sins include everyone who is not proactively "crying and moaning over the abominations committed within her," and those are the ones, according to Ezekiel, who are marked in their foreheads so as to escape the destruction reaped by these six WMD-bearing "men". I don't think that indicates voting for John Kerry, the "blue" democrats, or anything else likely to perpetuate such horrific sins as the American abortion industry, but each may judge for themselves. This also explains what coming "out of her" in order to escape being soiled with her sins and snared in her judgment. According to Zechariah the prophet, one cannot making something already defiled clean by mixing it with something holy, though you can and will defile what is holy by doing so. God intended His people to be separate, sanctified, and cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, not empowered by through unseemly political machinations. Those who wait for the Lord are the ones who's strength will be renewed, not those who cast their lots in with earthly rulers in pursuit of their own ambitions, like their forefathers the Pharisees. To keep this short, the bottom line is that 'Babylon the great harlot' represents the people of the end time nation who, like Jezebel, commit atrocious sins against the Lord as a representative of the same. (The fact that they won't see it any more than Jeremiah's contemporaries affirms rather than negates this fact.) The American electorate is the analogous 'Jezebel' in this case, that is, all those within her realm of power who don't distinguish themselves from her are a part of her. Just like Israelites who didn't post the blood of the Passover lamb on their doorposts, those will be subject to the destruction that will surely come to Babylon. First of all, however, those who are in Babylon must see where they are, which is what artillery men and bomber crews would call the "impact zone"...the target of their munitions. Aside from what I've already said, a very brief survey of the obvious elements of John's "Babylon the Great" (Rev 17-18) indicates the following identifying attributes:
These points, alluding to the collective religiously based voice of power in Babylon (before her judgment begins) are strongly corroborated by other passages, like Jeremiah 50-51 and Isaiah 13-14, too. All speak plainly that if the United States of America isn’t one and the same as this “Babylon,” it is its twin sister, and the idea of another perfect match arising between now and the beginning of the end, Babylon's fiery demise, is extremely difficult to conceive. (See related "Don't Panic" regarding the beginning of birth pangs.) Events of the last few decades, years, and months have solidified America's position in the world exactly as described in ways that couldn’t have been seen before, the "only" remaining "superpower" by all accounts. Further, current and unfolding events all point the same direction, too, especially as the U.S. brings all its political, military, and economic might to bear in its war against “evildoers.” The United States is effectively declaring what the whole world already recognizes – that it reigns supreme over all other nations. Unfortunately, it is that very national attitude that will provoke Yahweh’s considerable wrath to be unleashed against it: When Jeremiah began warning of Israel’s horrific demise at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon, all he really did was elaborate on what Moses and Joshua had long before declared: Paraphrasing, when they forsook Yahweh who had given them possession of the richest land in the world at the time, He would violently overthrow them. They didn’t deny what was written in Scripture, they just refused to believe that it pertained to them. Like the Pharisees of Yahshua’s day, blindness to their own sin was what sealed their horrific fate, and so it will be to the greatest nation in the world of this day, the United States of America.Revised: 12/1/2004 |
