Volume 1, Issue 47
12 Jul 2016
 Revelation 11:8 is the first of ten references to “the great city” in the Book of Revelation (11:8; 14:8; 16:19; 17:18; 18:10, 16, 18, 19, 21; 21:10). In Revelation 21:20, “the great city” being referred to is clearly identified as “the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.” In all of the other references, the great city being referred to is “Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth,” which is symbolized by “the woman…which reigns over the kings of the earth.”
Apart from Jerusalem, Babylon is the most talked about city in the Bible. Throughout the Bible, these two cities, Jerusalem and Babylon, are portrayed as antitypes of each other. For instance, consider the following:
- Jerusalem is the city of God; Babylon is the abode of devils and demons.
- Jerusalem is the home and center of true religion; Babylon is the home and center of false religion.
- Jerusalem is the city of righteousness; Babylon is the city of wickedness.
- Jerusalem is the capital of the kingdom of God; Babylon is the capital of the kingdom of man.
- Jerusalem is the bride, the Lamb’s wife; Babylon is the “great whore,” who seduces the whole earth.
To truly understand the scriptural significance of the city of Babylon, we must understand that “Babylon” is used in Scripture to symbolize the Gentile world power of each particular age. For instance, in 1 Peter 5:13, the Apostle Peter wrote, “The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.” Peter was not referring in this verse to ancient Babylon, which had long since been destroyed and was in ruins in Peter’s day. Instead, Peter was referring to Rome, the Babylon of his day.
In Peter’s day, Rome was the great Gentile world power. It served as the ➀ political ➁ economic ➂ cultural, and ➃ religious center of the world. No wonder it was commonly said in Peter’s day that all roads led to Rome.
Not only does the Book of Revelation characterize the end time Gentile world power (Babylon) as “great,” but also as a “mystery” (Revelation 17:5). The Greek word for “mystery” means a “hidden truth.” The biblically predicted superpower of the end time world was hidden from preceding generations. There was simply no way that they could have foreseen its rise to unprecedented world power.
As we all know today, America is the world’s only remaining superpower, not to mention the greatest Gentile world power of all time. Yet, America’s rise to world power was hidden from past generations. After all, the American continent was not discovered until the sixteen hundreds, America was not founded as a nation until the seventeen hundreds, and America did not rise to world supremacy until the last century.
There is no doubt that America, as the world’s only remaining superpower, is the “Babylon” of our modern-day world. It serves as the ➀ political center of the world (United Nations) ➁ economic center of the world (Wall Street) ➂ cultural center of the world (Euro-World, McDonalds and blue jeans), and ➃ religious center of the world (hundreds of religions, cults, sects and denominations).
When Revelation 11:8 says that the “body” of the “overcome” two witnesses (the church) shall “lie in the street of the great city,” it is speaking of the street of the end time Gentile world power. If the church is to be overcome in the end time world, it will have to be overcome in the streets of America, which has served throughout its history as the greatest beacon of Christianity that there has ever been in this dark and dying world.
Not only has our nation been the greatest Christian championing and missionary nation of all time, but its founding was also greatly influenced by the Christian faith. For example, consider the following.
- “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” (Patrick Henry)
- Daniel Webster wrote that the foundations of American government were laid “under the light of the Christian religion.”
- “The Bible is the rock upon which our republic stands.” (Andrew Jackson)
Yet, much to our chagrin, America’s once bright beacon is now flickering and in imminent danger of being extinguished. If you doubt this, just consider our current president’s 2006 boast to the whole world that “we are no longer a Christian nation.” Around the same time, a United States senator from our president’s same political party proudly announced on national television that America is “no longer a nation of traditional values.” In neither of these instances were these national leaders lamenting our country’s abandonment of the Christian faith, but in both instances they were actually celebrating it!
There is absolutely no doubt that the waning of Christianity’s influence in this world must be preceded by the waning of its influence in America. If Christianity is to fall in the streets of the world, it will have to fall in the streets of America first. Unfortunately, this waning of the church’s influence and falling into insignificance in the street has all but been accomplished in present-day America.
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Don Walton
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