Prophecy Sign #15:  Mystery Babylon Revealed and Destroyed

See Prophecy Sign #16

Who is Mystery Babylon?

In Revelation 17 & 18 John gives us clues as to the identity of Babylon the Great;   Mystery Babylon is symbolized by a "mystical woman" who will be guilty of committing heinous spiritual adulteries and abominations against God during Daniel's 70^th week. Her acts are identified as "adulterous" because she has broken her original relationship with God to pursue other "lovers" or idols. In the beginning of Daniel's 70^th week, the Antichrist and his beast kingdom will find it necessary to temporarily align with this power-house nation while he develops his own 10-nation end-times empire and gains control of the world.  

Mystery Babylon is symbolized by a "great city." This city is the most wealthy, God-forsaking super power on the face of the earth during the end times. Tragically, she did not begin this way. She was once a "gold cup in the Lord's hand." But over time she has become exceedingly arrogant, woefully independent of God and self-indulgent.   She is so powerful, she is convinced that she will never fall and views herself as "the queen" of the world.

At some point in Daniel's 70 the week, Mystery Babylon will be destroyed by the Antichrist, but not before God calls his saints out of this mystery city. Her complete destruction by fire will occur in a single day.  Revelation 17 and 18, along with Jeremiah 50 and 51 describe the destruction of Babylon at "the day of the Lord."

Biblically, a mystery is a truth that is only known by divine revelation. The identity of Mystery Babylon is a mystery that needs to be solved. We will refer frequently to Jeremiah 50 and 51 which reveals helpful information concerning the identity of Prophetic Babylon and additional clues regarding this key end-times city/nation that rules over the kings of the earth. I believe Mystery Babylon is a super power nation that will exist at the time of Daniel's 70^th week and helps pave the way for Antichrist's rise to world power.

Mystery Babylon Clue List

Babylon's future written in its ruins

U.S. TO HELP REBUILD CITY OF BABYLON IN IRAQ

In the News... Joel Rosenberg's Weblog.  By Joel Rosenberg.  February 14, 2009. 

Largely overlooked by the Western news media over the past few weeks was an enormously significant story. The government of Iraq is moving forward with plans to protect the archaeological remains of the ancient City of Babylon, in preparation for building a modern city of Babylon. The project, originally started by the late Saddam Hussein, is aimed eventually at attracting scores of "cultural tourists" from all over the world to see the glories of Mesopotamia's most famous city. What's more, the Obama Administration is contributing $700,000 towards "The Future of Babylon Project," through the State Department's budget...

In my non-fiction book, Epicenter 2.0, I wrote about the Bible prophecies in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Revelation that indicate the ancient city of Babylon in Iraq will, in fact, be rebuilt in the "last days" of history and become the wealthiest and most powerful city on the face of the planet. Read More

Donnie's Remarks...

There are many mysteries in the Bible: There is the mystery of Israel's blindness (Rom 11:25), the mystery of Christ (Eph 3:4), the mystery of the Church (Eph. 5:32), the mystery of iniquity (2 Th. 2:7), and the mystery regarding the time of the rapture (1 Cor. 15:51). A biblical mystery is something which has been hidden from us.  God conceals these secrets in the Old Testament and then progressively reveals them in the New Testament.  Another fascinating mystery is revealed to us in the book of Revelation; It is the mystery of Babylon the Great.
 Revelation 17:3-5 (NASB)
³ And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.
⁴ And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality, ⁵ and upon her forehead a name was written, a mystery, "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
 
Who is this woman? She is a mystery. She is Babylon the Great. She is the mother of harlots. She is the mother of abominations of the earth. This alone should be enough to get our attention, but there is so much more to help us identify her and define what role she will play in the end times. I think it will be abundantly clear exactly who Mystery Babylon the Great is, the closer we get to the beginning of Daniel's 70^th week. In the meantime, we are forced to use our spiritual imagination. I have developed a "Mystery Babylon Clue List" to help keep us on track.

U.S. spends $700,000 to save Babylon

Babylon Ruins Reopen in Iraq, to Controversy 

In the News...

The New York Times.  By STEVEN LEE MYERS.  Published: May 3, 2009

BABYLON, Iraq - After decades of dictatorship and disrepair, Iraq is celebrating its renewed sovereignty over the Babylon archaeological site - the "liberation" of it and other archeological sites, as one official put it - by fighting over the place, over its past and future and, of course, over its spoils. Time long ago eroded the sun-dried bricks that shaped ancient Babylon, the city of Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar, where Daniel read the writing on the wall and Alexander the Great died.

Mohammed Taher, an archaeologist and former director of the ruins who opposes reopening Babylon, said what was being done now was little better than what had been done before. "I would like to rebuild Babylon again for scientific research, not like Saddam," he said as he guided visitors through the remains of Ishtar Gate with bas reliefs of Babylon's gods; the Temple of Ninmakh; the Processional Way, with brick paving stones mortared with bitumen; and a symbol of Iraq itself, the Lion of Babylon, a 2,600-year-old sculpture.
What was clear during his tour was that nothing had been done to prepare the place for its official opening, now scheduled for June 1. No gates or fences prevent rambunctious tourists from rambling over ruins that can crumble like sand. Its shops, cafe and a museum remain abandoned, shuttered and dusty.  Read More
 Babylon audio slide show

Donnie's Remarks...

Is it me or are there more and more news articles, with direct prophetic significance, popping up on the front pages these days?   But this is exactly what we should expect as we get closer and closer to the end times.  Jesus warned us that once things begin to start up, they will gain momentum and occur with great rapidity.

Revelation 22:7 (NASB77)
[7] "And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book."

'Quickly' comes from the Greek word 'tachy'.  We get our word 'tachometer' from it.  Think RPMs.  So, when the 'end times engine' starts, things will begin to 'rev up' very quickly.

This news story may help us to answer a critical question about Babylon.  From a prophetic point of view it is difficult to know whether Mystery Babylon is a metaphor that represents some kind of evil system, or if it refers to the rebuilding of the literal city of Babylon.   Interestingly, the prophet Isaiah calls the Antichrist, the King of Babylon. 

Isaiah 14:3-4 (NIV)
[3] On the day the LORD gives you relief from suffering and turmoil and cruel bondage,
[4] you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has come to an end! How his fury has ended! 

Will Antichrist come to rule Iraq some day soon?   Could it be that the Antichrist will get involved in the restoration of literal Babylon and make it one of his capital cities/thrones as he rises to power?   I am beginning to think Babylon is the literal city in Iraq.  Let's keep watching!