I will add to the interpretation that the Mystery Babylon to begin with the Roman emp. in John's day; it broadened to include the Roman Cath, ch. later on. and I'm sure the liberal churches in Rome have a part of this wicked persecution of Christians. But Rome definitely fits the description of Rev. 17-18. Love to all Hoffco
i realize that it's difficult for some to actually read what the Bible says.
it could be laziness; use of non-biblical sources; don't know.
a previous poster said the woman was covered with names of blasphemies. really? is that what Rev 17 says?
and you are certain Rev 17 is about Rome...and eventually Papal Rome and Harlot Christian Churches.
how is it you just
can not, will not read what it says?
why?
is there really that much at stake in your local church fellowship, or have you repeated your unbiblical version so many times you're willing to carry on regardless of the consequences?
are you really so in love with futurist scenario cocktails you are actually
willing to completely ignore History and the Bible's consistent, inspired internal witness to the events of the First Century when Jesus Christ came and fulfilled EXACTLY what was foretold by every single prophet ISRAEL was given - including Daniel?
this chapter is about: 1st century
Apostate Jerusalem, and 1st century
Pagan Rome under Caesars
Jerusalem was the Woman and Rome was the Beast.
have you not read Daniel at all either? just paperback books or the Scofield footnotes???
Daniel 2
31Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. 32This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 33His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 34Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
the 4th beast was ROME (Not the Vatican - Imperial Rome under Caesars)
the stone was cut out without hands was Jesus.
and what was the GEOGRAPHICAL AND THEOCRATIC LOCATION where all this was said to take place?
did Jesus LEAVE Israel and walk around in Iraq or Italy?
what's this Iron mixed with miry clay?
huh? any idea what that is about? it's pretty important to know. is it about Catholics and the Reformation? is it about Auschwitz or 8th century Anglo-Saxons or the Franks or the United Nations?
or does the Bible's internal narrative tell us exactly what the Iron Mixed with clay is?
how can you read the Gospels and NOT understand this?
Daniel 2
40And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 41And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
44And
in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
IN THE DAYS OF THOSE KINGS.
the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people.
are you one of these so-called Christians who doesn't think Jesus is The King of kings and Lord of lords
TODAY?
is Jesus the Stone cut without hands whose Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and will NEVER be destroyed, and will NOT be left to another people?
or are you one of these people who think Jesus FAILED when SOME jews rejected Him and God had to switch plans and call gentiles for a few thousand years instead of what he really wanted which was no Cross - just happy jews and Christ Incarnate as King sitting in the Temple in 1st Century Jerusalem?
....
what does this REALLY SAY?
Revelation 17
The Woman on the Beast
1And 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: 2With 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. 3So 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. 4And 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: 5And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
The Mystery Explained
7And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
8The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. 9And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. 10And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. 11And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. 12And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. 13These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
The Victory of the Lamb
14These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
15And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. 16And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 17For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. 18And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
....
12And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings,
which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. 13These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
why no kingdom as yet?
is it because Daniel was speaking to Babylon's King BEFORE THE ROMAN EMPIRE EXISTED?
this second vision (new vantage point) reveals that the BEAST ROME is driven by SATAN, and the Woman is Jerusalem who has committed the LAST WHOREDOM God ALMIGHTY would endure from her - WHOREDOM WITH ROME, IN CRUCIFYING JESUS CHRIST.
do you know how to read simple history, according to it's flow?
can you identify the Bible's internal witnesses to these events in the Gospels which a FIVE YEAR OLD CAN READ?
18And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
are you one of these who is willing to fight against God Himself who CLEARLY SAID JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED FOLLOWING THE CONSPIRACY BETWEEN ISRAEL'S APOSTATE LEADERS AND THE ROMANS?
and that He was Crucified in that great city JERUSALEM?
or do you wiggle out of the entire series of events by saying "outside the camp" means Jerusalem has nothing to do with it all and was
NOT the object of God's wrath in 70AD? apparently there is no end to Revisionism people are willing to do because the greatest ONTOLOGICAL CRIME IN HISTORY (the killing of Jesus Christ by Jerusalem and Rome) has been cast aside and replaced by Auschwitz or the Inquistion -
NEITHER OF WHICH are in the bible?
if you want to talk about those things, and see how Christianity/Christians/Church may or may not have been involved; or how much Christian Apostasy exists today; or how much killing Mao Zedong or the Bolsheviks did - GO FOR IT. but don't Eisegete it into the Biblical Text because it isn't IN THERE.
Psalm 2
The Reign of the LORD’s Anointed
1 Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”
< HEAVENLY ZION
7 I will tell of the decree:
The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall breakb them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
....
Acts 4
23When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25who through the mouth of our father David, your servant,c said by the Holy Spirit,
“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers were gathered together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed’d—
for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
28to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servantse to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
...
for truly in this city:
Mystery, Babylon the Great Harlot
5On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in
Jerusalem,
6with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family.
7And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”
8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “
Rulers of the people and elders,
9if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed,
10let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well.
11This Jesusa is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.b 12And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
13Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished.
And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
14But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.
15But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another,
16saying, “
What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.”
there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed,
both Herod (CLAY) and Pontius Pilate (IRON), along with the Gentiles (IRON) and the peoples of Israel (CLAY)
................
4th kingdom - Herods in League with ROME
KILLED JESUS
the REMNANT JEWS who became Christians were SAVED and fled
Jerusalem the Harlot BEFORE the decree of desolation was carried out - by TITUS, the 10th HORN (Caesar) and his people in 70AD.
the Roman-Jewish (revolutionary) Wars continued after that - UNTIL BOTH WERE UTTERLY DESTROYED.
Apostate Jerusalem was the Harlot, she rode upon the Scarlet Colored Beast of Imperial Rome until God placed it in the hearts of the Romans to utterly burn her with fire.
WHY DON'T YOU BELIEVE THE BIBLE?