Part 3 to "The OVERNIGHT Reemergence of Babylon the "GREAT CITY"
MUST BABYLON be a SUPER-LARGE CITY
to be the "GREAT CITY"?
3. Revelation's title "Babylon the Great City" does not require Babylon to be a Super-Large city.
Babylon is "Great"--not because of Great Size--but because of its Great Authority
derived from its status as the throne-room City of the Antichrist.
This whole 7-part series is Original Research using primary and secondary sources. copyright bibleprophecyaswritten 2020
"the kings of the earth...saying ... ' the great city, Babylon, the strong city! ... such great wealth '
... all the nations were deceived by your sorcery." (Revelation 18:9-10, 17, 23)
How Big does the "Great City" have to be?
Where does the "Great City" get its Power, Authority, Influence, Riches, Control?
How does the "Great City" lay claim to its immense riches, wealth and goods?
The “GREAT CITY”—SUMMARY descriptions of Babylon—Rev 18
Babylon the Great (2
a dwelling place of demons. (2
glorified herself...[boasted] will never see mourning (7
strong city (10
merchants of the earth (11; from many nations
clothed in fine linen... purple ... scarlet... gold... precious stones... pearls (16
such great wealth (17
shipmaster...passenger...sailor...as many as make their living by the sea (17
'What city is like the great city?' (18
all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth (19
harpists... musicians...flute-players...trumpeters ... craftsman...sound of a mill (22
... light of a lamp...voice of the bridegroom and bride (23
your merchants were the great men of the earth (23; from many nations
in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints (24
Part 4 will discuss Babylons' "great Wealth"
SUMMARY relationships of NATIONS, KINGS, & MERCHANTS to Babylon--Rev 18
NATIONS
have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality (3
were deceived by your sorcery (23
KINGS
have committed acts of immorality with her (3
lived sensuously with her (9
MERCHANTS
have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality ( 3
no one buys their cargoes any more (11
became rich from her (15
merchants were the great men of the earth (23; from many nations
Must Babylon be among the LARGEST cities?
The Bible does NOT require that the “Great city” have Great SIZE —but rather Great AUTHORITY.
There are two (2) "Great" cities named in Revelation. The second one is Babylon (18:10). But the first one is Jerusalem (11:8). If "Great" requires a city to be "Great-Big", it would have to apply to both cities. Yet there is not indication in Scripture that Jerusalem will ascend to the status of a giant skyscraper city—a world metropolis prior to the Return of Christ. And today there are 397 cites LARGER than Jerusalem!
Today’s most powerful city (see below) is no where near the world’s LARGEST CITY!
The Strength of “the Great City, the STRONG CITY” (Rev 18:10) is not in its SIZE, but in its Chief Resident!
—THE KEY—
—Wherever the Antichrist resides, there his Authority resides—
Do today's Largest Cities include the Most Powerful City?
Babylon the Great—
“the kings of the earth…saying…the great city…the strong city!’ “ Rev 18:9-10
Consider the Graphic on the RIGHT⇒
What does “Great” mean?
Great-Big?... as in Super-sized Skyscraper City?... Mega-Metropolis?...or something else…?
LONDON’S BBC (London, among the world's "Megacities") makes these references to
"The USA's international influence...
the world's most powerful military, a huge economy…global dominance of the USA…
…produces around one quarter of the world's wealth...Militarily, the US remains the world’s only superpower."
Precisely because of the USA's Global Power, another London media outlet calls Wash DC...
"Washington: The most powerful city on earth." London based “Independent Digital News”
Again, we read...
"WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL CITY
Washington, the small city with a population of 650,000 that many argue still rules the world."
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2220956/Washington-DC-The-worlds-powerful-city-coolest.html
"Washington, D.C. is the world's most powerful city."
CNN Travel 7-17-18
https://www.facebook.com/cnntravel/posts/washington-dc-is-the-worlds-most-powerful-city-but-how-did-that-happen/10156780095285166/
"Washington, D.C... has something unsurpassed by any other city in the world.
Power."
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/washington-dc-most-powerful-city/index.html
Wash DC is NOT "the Great City" (Rev 18:10)— the point of this graph is to show the relationship between
1. the “GREAT” (or small) SIZE of a city, and
2. the POWER & AUTHORITY of that city
Still, TODAY, Washington D.C. is the world’s most
powerful city
Note that the world's most powerful city, Washington DC, is NOT among the World's 38-BIGGEST Cities.
(read on to the RIGHT ABOVE...
ABOVE: the 5 cites in Red are depicted BELOW in a magnified INSET.
continued from LEFT ... Wash DC is about 4-million-people smaller than Nagoya, Japan, the least of the 38-Largest Cities (this graph above is based on 'urban population' size).
Note in the "38 Megacites" graph above these 4 THINGS (see numbers 1-4 in red circles)...
#1— One might expect the "world's most powerful city" to be among the 38 Super-Large cites!
#2—But instead, Wash DC is the world's most powerful city, yet it is no where close to being the Largest city, ranking well below those "Megacites" shown by the green bars on the graph.
#3—Just as surprisingly the base cities of the world's 2 Largest Religions (Islam & Christianity) —Mecca & Rome respectively —rank 'size-wise' far below the "Megacites".
#4—The only 2 cities called "the GREAT CITY" in the Book of Revelation are Jerusalem (11:8) & Babylon (18:10). What makes them "GREAT"? Today, Jerusalem is barely pushing a million people. Look at the "38-Megacities" shown by the green bars on the graph above. Then look at Jerusalem in red near the bottom. Do we expect that Jerusalem will have to grow its current population of 942,554 by 1086 per-cent larger to even reach the size of Nagoya, Japan, the smallest of the world's "38-Megacities" ? Yet Jerusalem would still be 27, 000,000 (million) people smaller than the BIGGEST of the "38-Megacities" above— that is, Tokyo!
CLEARLY, "GREAT CITY" is not determined by "BIG CITY"!
Here is what makes Jerusalem & Babylon the 2 "GREAT CITIES" in Rev 11:8 & 18:10...
The world’s 2 “Great" Cities at the End Time
Jerusalem Babylon
1. Size? No. “Great” Big “Great” Big
2. Authority? Yes “Great Authority” Mat 28:18 “Great Authority” Rev 13:2, 7
3. A King? Yes “City of the Great King” Mat 5:35 City of the Great Imposter Isa 14:4
4. Who? Jesus Christ Antichrist
...continued from ABOVE RIGHT
Correlate the numbers 1-5 RIGHT & BELOW...
1. Is today’s Most Powerful City among the world's Largest Cities? No!
2. Washington DC is today’s Most Powerful City.
3. Mecca & Rome are the Authoritative-cities of today's 2 Largest Religions.
4. Jerusalem, in Bible Prophecy, is the "Great City". So is Babylon; thus, 2 "Great" Cities.
5. Note in our daily news how "smallish" Wash DC influences—even enforces— its political will upon the world's "Megacities" through economic and the potential of military power.
Washington DC
Mecca
Rome
Jerusalem
Babylon-Hilla
NONE is among the 397 LARGEST CITIES in the world.
BABYLON LARGE OR SMALL ?
1. Babylon of Chaldea could be a Small city and still be Babylon the GREAT.
2. A LARGE city cannot be Babylon the GREAT if it is not Babylon of Chaldea.
THE POWER OF PRIMEVAL ROOTS
1. Primordial History
2. Apocalyptic Legend
3. Primal “Religion”
These are the powerful spiritual opiates of
the FABLED CITY OF BABYLON
BELOW: More confirmation that a City of GREAT AUTHORITY doesn't automatically flow from a City of GREAT SIZE. Babylon "the GREAT CITY" (Rev 18:10) doesn't require Babylon "the GREAT BIG CITY".
All of the 'City-size' rankings—whether it be by urban, population, area, etc.—bear this out.
The 1,000 LARGEST CITIES in the WORLD
As can be expected, their is some variance in the listing of the world's Largest cities. Are they to be ranked by city population, urban-area population, area in square miles, population density, etc.?
But for our purposes, the 'relationships' of the various sizes remain approximately the same. We have chosen to use Mongabay's Urban Area Rank because of the breath and explanatory power of their ranking system. It is dated to 2002.
RIGHT: A cutout of their actual ranking of the Top Ten Largest Cities in the World. (They have an amazing 1000 ranked)
Mongabay, World's Largest Urban Areas [Ranked by Urban Area Population]; Copyright Rhett Butler 2003
https://data.mongabay.com/cities_urgan_01.htm
Note above that the U. S. has 2 cities in the top 10. Tokyo is the world's largest city.
But which one is the world's MOST POWERFUL CITY? ...that is, today's equivalent to Revelation 18's "GREAT CITY"? If it is not in the top 10, maybe the top 20? 50? 100???
RIGHT: Rome, the "GREAT CITY"?
We begin with our opening question: Must Babylon be a Super-Large City to be the "GREAT CITY"?
We choose Rome as our opening city for consideration because it has been a centuries-old favorite to replace literal Babylon as "Babylon the Great". But, as is apparent, how could Rome be "Great" if "Great" means GREAT BIG— Great in Size— a Super-Large City? There are 84 cities somewhere in the world that are larger than Rome! Tokyo is 10-times larger.
Let's look at the world's MOST POWERFUL CITY... WASHINGTON DC
The WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL CITY
Beginning in World War 2
WASHINGTON DC became the "Command Center" for all Allied Forces in World War 2.
"At Roosevelt’s insistence, Churchill agreed that a single command center in Washington ... would coordinate the war effort.“
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/darkest-days-world-war-ii-winston-churchills-visit-white-house-brought-hope-washington-180961798/
From this point on, we know what happened. The Allied nations defeated Hitler's Nazis under the leadership of Washington DC's "coordinated war effort", and saved Europe from total collapse.
RIGHT: In World War 2 Washington DC was 2% the size of New York City. But the Power was in Washington.
The POWER of Washington DC in World War 2
"World War II (1939-1945) was the largest international event of the twentieth century and one of the major turning points in U.S. and world history.“
https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ww2/ww2bib.html
Washington DC, the Little, "Great"-Big City
The power and influence of Washington DC among the Monster-Cities of the world has remained from World War 2 until today.
The key to Washington DC's Power?
AUTHORITY. Washington had, and still has, Authority over America and its many much larger cities. In many ways this power extends throughout the world. Today, for example, which city imposes Tariffs and Sanctions that tilt international policy in America's direction? New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Tokyo, etc., are much larger cities, but it is relatively ordinary-sized Washington DC with the power.
MUST “The Great City” be ...the BIGGEST City?
"Washington, the small city …that many argue still rules the world..."...Washington DC: … the world's most powerful city..."
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2220956/Washington-DC-The-worlds-powerful-city-coolest.html
RIGHT: Washington DC, the world's MOST POWERFUL city, has more influence and control over world affairs than 700 LARGER CITIES !
Both in the Bible and in daily life, "Great" does not always refer to "Size". By illustration, suppose we visit a convention of Sumo Wrestlers. Across the hall is another convention — Midget-Millionaires. The Sumo Wrestlers have Great-Size. The Midget-Millionaires have Great-Authority. The ones with Authority have the power, and ultimately the control. They rented their convention room at ten-times the size, decor, and amenities as the crowded room housing the behemoth-size wrestlers across the hallway. It's true that if one of the 500-pound Sumo giants cornered the millionaire-midget on the elevator, it would be scary for the little guy, except for one thing — he has the Great Authority and Power and Control to hire himself a Sumo- bodyguard.
GREAT AUTHORITY trumps GREAT SIZE.
"Washington DC: The master plan that created the world's most powerful city
Washington, D.C... has something unsurpassed by any other city in the world.
POWER.
Power pulses through the veins of this city... the White House and the Capitol are DC's main power centers... the world's superpower."
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/washington-dc-most-powerful-city/index.html (CNN), Richard Quest and Joe Minihane, CNN • Updated 16th July 2018
RIGHT: 700 world cities are LARGER than the world's MOST POWERFUL CITY!
"...the most powerful city on Earth."
https://www.downtowndc.org/go/1776/
"...the most powerful city in the world..."
http://esaontherise.com/about/events-dc/
The Two "GREAT CITIES" of the End Time
The "GREAT CITY" Babylon
" the great city, Babylon, the strong city!"
... all the nations were deceived by your sorcery." (Revelation 18:9-10)
1. Babylon “the Great” is Great ...
2. not because of its Great SIZE ...
3. but because of its Great AUTHORITY ...
4. Centered in its Satanic-King, the Antichrist ! (Isa 14:4-17; Rev 13:2-5
The "GREAT CITY" Jerusalem
And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city
which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt,where also their Lord was crucified. (Revelation 11:8)
1. Jerusalem "the Great" is Great ...
2. not because of its Great SIZE ...
3. but because of its Great AUTHORITY ...
4. Centered in its Righteous King Jesus Christ ! (" Jerusalem…is the city of the Great King. Mat 5:34-35)
BELOW: How can almost 400 CITIES be LARGER than the Bibles' GREATEST CITY--Jerusalem ?
While it does not have GREAT Size, it has GREAT Authority-- because its "Great King" has "all authority ...in heaven and on earth" (Matthew 28:18)
Jerusalem is Great because Jerusalem's King is the KING OF KINGS.
(Jerusalem, in the context of Revelation 11:8 is the earthly Jerusalem in Israel today,
not the New Jerusalem which IS Great-in-size as it comes down from heaven.)
Three Hundred and Ninety Seven (397) LARGER CITIES will bow to Jerusalem. (in today's figures)
None of them is "the great city"... A GREAT CITY IS NOT REQUIRED TO BE A GREAT-BIG CITY.
The CHIEF RESIDENT of Babylon
... And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and
great authority…
[ How much authority?... ]
authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation…Re 13:2, 7
How Do Today's Most Powerful City
and the Two "Great Cities"
Compare to the World's Largest Cities?
1. Washington DC is today’s Most Powerful City.
2. Jerusalem, in Bible Prophecy, is the "Great City".
3. Babylon, in Bible Prophecy, will be a second "Great City".
4. NONE is among the 397 LARGEST CITIES in the world.
Does the title "the Great City" relate to its Great-Size
or to its Great Authority derived from its Chief Resident?
RIGHT: The Outgrowth City of Babylon — Hillah, Iraq
We saw the evidence (considerable), in Part 2 of this Series (the Reemergence Of Babylon and the "Great City") that Hillah is the Extended City Of Babylon, raised up and built from the actual, recycled and redistributed, Stones of Babylon.
The Question: How can it be that a city could ever become — with 798 Larger Cities in the world — the "Great City" of Babylon?
The Answer lies in the word "AUTHORITY", as it is used in various prophecies in the Bible. Authority must have Power to enforce its Will. But that Authority can be 1) acquired, 2) received, or 3) derived. Babylon's Authority is DERIVATIVE! Babylon's Authority is hinged—yea, anchored —to the Authority of the Antichrist !
The SIZE of the City (Babylon) is not what makes it "GREAT". The SIZE (magnitude) of its AUTHORITY is what makes it "GREAT".
1. The GLOBAL AUTHORITY is based in a Man.
2. The Man is based in a city.
3. That city, Large or Small, therefore has Great (derivative) Authority as the Base-City of the Man.
4. Not GREAT-SIZE, but GREAT-AUTHORITY makes it the "Great City".
5. Size may or may not compel or influence Authority. But Authority has the final word.
6. There is nothing that would exclude the extended city of Babylon-Hillah from becoming the "Great City" if the Antichrist — the Man with Global-AUTHORITY — sets his Throne in Babylon-Hillah !
How "Great"— how Global— is the Authority on the Throne Centered in Babylon?
1. “And the dragon gave him
[not the Great City] ….
…GREAT Authority”
Rev 13.2
2. “And the whole earth was amazed and followed after [him]”
[not the Great City] ….
Rev 13.3
3. "and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him”
[not the Great City] ….
Rev 13.7
4. “And all who dwell on the earth will worship him “
[not the Great City] …
Rev 13.8
5. “And [his false prophet]
[not the Great City] ….
exercises all the authority
of [ him] in his presence.” Rev 13.12
1. If the Antichrist is an ORDINARY Leader with ORDINARY Authority...
3. But if the Antichrist has GLOBAL AUTHORITY...
2. ...then, it would require a GIANT City to qualify his City as the GREAT City in Revelation 18.
4. ...then he can set his Throne in an ORDINARY city and that city virtually 'overnight' becomes the GREAT CITY in Revelation 18.
6. “And [his false prophet]
[not the Great City]
causes all… to be given [ his ] mark”
Rev 13.16
7. “and [his false prophet]
[not the Great City]
provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has [ his ] mark…"
Rev 13.7-17
8. “Then [ he ]
[not the Great City] ….
will do as he pleases…” Dan 11.36
9. “But [ he ]
[not the Great City] ….
will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver…” Dan 11.43
10.“… [ he ] exalts himself
[not the Great City] ….
above every…object of worship…” 2 Thes 2.4
The GREAT CITY is in and of itself NOT the Authority, Power and Control…
It only REFLECTS the Authority, Power and Control of the Antichrist— who sets his throne in it as his CHOSEN CITY.
The Antichrist does not receive his “Great Authority” (Re 13.2; 17.13 ) from Babylon. He receives it from Satan and the 10 Kings.
Babylon acquires its mantra as the “Great City” because it is the chosen city of the ONLY MAN on earth with “GREAT AUTHORITY.”
Babylon derives its Authority as the Throne-room and Headquarters of the Man with All Authority. But that's what makes it the GREAT CITY.
1) RIGHT and across
The Antichrist carries his Global AUTHORITY with him wherever he chooses to locate his headquarter-city. His throne-room, whether he chooses it to be in any Super-LARGE City, or in any ORDINARY Smaller City, does not change, but retains its absolute level of Global AUTHORITY.
What DOES Change, is the STATUS of his CHOSEN CITY!
2) RIGHT and across
If the Antichrist chooses to establish his throne and headquarters in any one of the world's Giant Skyscraper Mega-Cities, in a moment that City becomes "The GREAT CITY". It does not inherit, but administers, the Global Authority of the Antichrist.
If that happens, it becomes a REPLACEMENT Babylon; i.e., Rome, New York City, London, Mecca, etc., would replace Babylon as "Daughter-Babylon", or some such.
3) RIGHT and across
BUT— If the Antichrist chooses to establish his throne and headquarters in any one of the world's smaller-ordinary Cities, in a moment that City becomes "The GREAT CITY". It does not inherit, but administers, the Global Authority of the Antichrist.The Bible minces no words: Babylon of Chaldea, in the day of the End-Time Salvation of the Jews (Jer 50:1-5), will be called "GREAT" (Rev 16:19).
How Inclusive is the Authority of the
Throne Centered in Babylon?
THE CENTER OF ALL POWER
The Antichrist will have...
1. Absolute POLITICAL Power
and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him….
2. Absolute RELIGIOUS Power
And all who dwell on the earth will worship him…
3. Absolute MILITARY Power
And he causes all… to be given a mark …
4. Absolute ECONOMIC Power
and he provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark… (Revelation 13:7-17 , all of the above)
Which city apart from the Antichrist has this power?
None—
not even the Biggest! If any city had this power on its own, it would RIVAL THE ANTICHRIST ! The Bible knows of no such Rival — on earth — to the Antichrist.
Wherever the Antichrist sets his Throne—
that city will control the world—
that city will be the “GREAT CITY”.
PICK A CITY to be Babylon "the Great"...
Rome ?
London ?
New York ?
Mecca ?
The Bible picks this one...
What is the Connection Between the Antichrist & Babylon?
The Antichrist is the King of Babylon
1. "I kept looking, and that horn [the Antichrist] was waging war with the saints and overpowering them.” (Daniel 7:21
2. “And it was given to him [the Antichrist] to make war with the saints and to overcome them;” (Revelation 13:7
3. From these two statements above you can conclude that in him (the Antichrist) "was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.“
4. Yet we read that "And in her [the Babylon the Great] was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.“ (Revelation 18:24
5. Therefore, since the Blood of the Saints is CENTERED in both the Antichrist and in Babylon the Great, the Antichrist must be headquartered in Babylon. (Isaiah 14)
6. If the Antichrist were headquartered in another city, then his chosen city would be secondary to Babylon the Great—Yet the Antichrist has no rivals on earth during his reign.
7. Wherever the Antichrists' Headquarters is Centered, that City is the Center Of All Power, and thus it is the "GREAT CITY" —and that "GREAT CITY" is named — BABYLON.
The "Great City": Will it be the Largest City?
Or will it be the Most Powerful City?
No,they are not always the same; a lesson from Americas' 9-11
9-11; The United States President was The CENTER OF ALL POWER
In a national emergency, the president of the United States instantaneously becomes The CENTER OF ALL POWER.
When the World Trade Center Twin Towers were torpedoed with our own civilian airplanes by Islamic Terrorists on September 11, 2001, Congress and the Supreme Court —two co-equal branches of government — took a backseat to a single indivicual as all emergency decisions and power automatically reverted to president Bush.
Air Force One, the presidential plane, became in reality Air Force One "the GREAT", because its chief occupant was himself America's Center of Power, and America was the world's Super-Power.
Neither America, nor any of its cities, is Babylon. But the lesson here is that, if an airplane can house global apocalyptic power, so can an ancient, legendary, small to mid-size relic city like the Babylon-Hillah Outgrowth City that exist now.
Above: All AUTHORITY and All POWER to act was in the hands of the president on Air Force One. 9-11 sent the U.S. into emergency mode.
BELOW: Air Force One "the GREAT"—Great Authority derived from its chief occupant.
ABOVE: Nobody on the planet had this kind of AUTHORITY. The "Black Suitcase" was on the plane. It contained the apocalyptic Nuclear codes.
BELOW: On Air Force One during the crises. The man with AUTHORITY and his team.
The 9-11 National Emergency: If the CENTER OF ALL POWER can operate out of an airplane, why can't the Man with GLOBAL AUTHORITY operate out of a legendary, Relic-City? The famous Fabled-City of Babylon has an inherent power already, a power rooted in its ancient history and very NAME.
And beyond that, the core of this power is the AUTHORITY granted for a short time to Satan to raise it — and its Antichrist — up for its day of GREAT AUTHORITY ! (Revelation 13:2-5) BELOW: HOW CAN THAT HAPPEN ?
1) RIGHT and across
Revelation 17:12 says that 10 Kings will rule over a single confederated kingdom (the Revived Roman Empire). They share their GLOBAL AUTHORITY with the Antichrist.
Babylon remains a Relic-City at this point. But it has entered its final days of evil, "satanic-glory" as the "Mother-base" of World Religion.
2) RIGHT and across
Revelation 17:13, 17 says that these 10 Kings give their kingdom to the Antichrist. He sets his Throne in Babylon—instantly the GREAT CITY.
You can see in the pictures (right) what this means with its powerful implications of GLOBAL AUTHORITY...
...The INSTANT, OVERNIGHT transfer of Authority and Sovereignty of INTERNATIONAL ASSETS to the NEW “King of Babylon” (Rev 13:7, cmp. 17:6, 15)
In this INSTANT, OVERNIGHT transfer of Authority and Sovereignty of INTERNATIONAL ASSETS to the Antichrist, the 10 Kings
GIVE HIM the KEYS to (using U.S. equivalents)
their Banks
their Pentagon
their CIA
their Internet ...
their Wealth
their Resources
their Defense Dept
their Transport-Dpt. Air, Roads, Seas
their Treasury Dept.
their Seaports
their Borders ...
... their KEYS TO THE KINGDOM !!!
ALL of these Assets, ALL of this Power, ALL of this AUTHORITY becomes immediately centered in the ancient, legendary, relic, satanic City of BABYLON.
Where is the basis for skepticism that an ordinary, small, Relic-City can become the "GREAT CITY"?......and that it can occur literally OVERNIGHT ? I don't find a basis for that in the Bible. Babylon of Chaldea is due for a REPLAY.
MORE in Part 4 with "Must Babylon, the Wealthy City, be a Long-standing, SUPER-RICH City ?"
" The final form of Babylon is the literal city on the Euphrates, rebuilt as Antichrist’s capital of the last days...”
William R. Newell, Revelation, A Complete Commentary, World Bible Publishers, Iowa Falls, Iowa, 1935, 1987, p.272.
NEXT, part 4, "Must Babylon be a city of long-standing wealth"?
NOTES and POSTSCRIPTS: (to be added as they become available)
1. The OVERNIGHT RISE Of The GREAT CITY
COMPLETE SUMMARY STATEMENTS
SUMMARY STATEMENT OF This Entire Series
( Summary of the 7 Propositions listed below, each of which encapsulates a subject of this 7-Part series )
Babylon of Chaldea has Survived, slowly rebuilding for a thousand years, awaiting its destiny as
the Throneroom of the Antichrist, the City Chosen by HIM to enforce HIS Authority and HIS Ownership
of the Global Sovereignty, Wealth, and Trade ceded "Overnight" to HIM by the Nations;
Babylon awaits its destiny as "the Great City"—perishing with its Final Fall at the Return of Christ.
(Jeremiah 50-51; Revelation 17-18)
(The "Great" in the "Great City" is the result of its status as the base-city
for the "Great Authority" of its chief occupant, the Antichrist)
Below are 7 Summary Statements concluded from the Biblical, archaeological and historical evidence presented in this series. Each of the 7 statements corresponds respectively to the 7 Parts of this series, where we will present the evidence that,
1. Babylon of Chaldea (Iraq) has Survived to fulfill its prophesied date with destiny.
Photographs of Conditions said to be impossible after Babylon's Final Destruction prove Babylon has Survived.
2. Babylon has been rebuilding, inconspicuously, and unnoticed, for centuries.
Beginning in the midst of Babylon's ruins, the Literal Stones of Babylon have for 1000 years been recycled and redistributed to expand and build up the city of Hillah --essentially Rebuilding Babylon.
3. Revelation's title "Babylon the Great City" does not require Babylon to be a Super-Large city.
Babylon is "Great"--not because of Great Size--but because of its Great Authority derived from its status as the throne-room City of the Antichrist.
4. The description "the Wealthy City" does not require Babylon to be a city of long-standing wealth.
Babylon becomes the global icon of extreme Wealth, not from Old-wealth, but from Overnight Wealth, bequeathed and bestowed by the Nations.
5. Babylon "the Great" does not require Babylon to be a massive Seaport City.
Babylon is not itself a Giant Seaport City, but it Controls Global Seaports from a distance across continents and seas.
6. Babylon of Chaldea has not been "Replaced" any more than Israel of Mt. Zion has been Replaced.
Babylon has a Biblical-Chaldean GPS Identification of 32.32º x 44.25º which excludes any other city as a Replacement Babylon.
7. Babylon, Iraq, has a prophetic-time appointment that parallels that of Israel.
Babylon of Chaldea has a Date With Destiny prophetically scheduled to coincide with the New Covenant Salvation of Israel at the End Time. (Jer 5-:1-5
If the evidence sustains these 7 points, where is the need for a metaphorical Replacement to the plain, common sense, literal understanding of the word "Babylon"?
2. BELOW: The major cities of the world, and their relative sizes, from medium-large to Mega-Large. Note that today's most powerful city, Washington DC, and the two "Great" Cities prophesied in the Revelation 11, 16 & 18, (noted to scale by the tiny red tubular graphics) are no where near the size of the Mega-Large Cities graphically portrayed (comparitive scale) on the map. Note the Giant Cities, from New York City, across Europe, and especially the India-Asiatic realm. The numbers beside the 4 city names (map below) refer to their size-ranking among the World's 1000 Largest Cities in the Mongabay charts above.
3. Henry Morris refers to rebuilt Babylon located on the Euphrates River in Iraq as the capital of the Antichrist when he says,
"With all the world's military and economic might as well as its cultural and religious systems centered at Babylon, it does appear to be built for the ages." Henry Morris, The Revelation Record, Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, IL, 1983, p. 359.
4. "But mighty Babylon is not really dead... Suddenly it will arise, as it were, from the grave, and become a 'great city' once again. Under the impact of overwhelming geopolitical needs, it will be authorized and implemented by the unprecedented building program undertaken by the federated
ten-kingdom empire of the west, then pushed to dynamic completion by the beast [Antichrist]. Finally it will be inaugurated as the great world capital of the beast, who will have become king of all the kingdoms of the globe."
Henry Morris, The Revelation Record, Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, IL, 1983, p. 351.
5. For MORE on Hillah through the centuries, see Tim LaHaye, reference below...
“Revelation Illustrated And Made Plain”, revised ed., Zondervan, 1979, page 239-42,; gives an account of Clarence Larkin's account of the history of occupants in Babylon, and continues with info on the dominance of Hillah as an outgrowth of Babylon.
The GOSPEL in Revelation:
The 5th verse from the beginning,
Jesus Christ...To Him who loves us, and released us from our sins by His blood, (Revelation 1:5
The 5th verse from the end,
"... And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost." (Revelation 22:17
The Book Of Revelation, apocalyptic and foreboding, is actually "FRAMED" by the GOSPEL OF SALVATION in Jesus Christ. Here's how you can be saved...