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Not one Pharisee with his abusive tithing system
gave more than the martyrs, but he would travel to the ends of the earth to
gain one proselyte supporting the eye-for-an-eye belief of the past. In the
first century, it was 12 disciples walking with their Master. It expanded to
Rome and became a state religion. It expanded to Europe and became a society.
It then expanded to America and became a franchise. Metaphor of “Babylon the Great” Another
metaphor is “Babylon the Great”. Revelation is about commandment keepers
being persecuted by the world, by Babylon the Great, and about the fall of
Babylon. As in ancient times, she has again captured and enslaved items of
God’s temple, the pillars, the seven candles, the priesthood, the gold and
silver… to provoke God to wrath for their war crimes and to bring her to
justice. Some
commentators view these events as figurative, but, when they come to chapter
16, the 200-million-man army that crosses the Euphrates River is almost
always taken literally. They usually insist the army must be China and are
persuaded the prophecy must be for today, not some time in the past. They say
this army crosses the river for the last battle called Armageddon, but
chapters 17 and 18 are about Babylon the Great coming into focus. Eventually,
an “army”, like Cyrus, crosses the “Euphrates River” dry-shod with 200
million soldiers, enters the water gate into Babylon the Great, and a hand of
an invisible being arriving with the army writes on a wall. This is the
“second woe”. Babylon is
fallen, is fallen. Nations are tried for their atrocities as war criminals
and executed. Eventually, the nations walk in the light of the New Jerusalem
and are healed by the leaves of the tree of life. Metaphor of “Another Exodus” Revelation 12
seems to rely heavily on the exodus of Moses’ from Egypt, when the church
fled to the wilderness. During the intervention, there are seven plagues
(that is, seven times the Pharaoh had refused to let the Israelites leave
Egypt). This is followed by freedom and the song of Moses (Rev 15:3). There
are seven trumpets (much like the seven times the priests had marched around
Jericho). This was followed by the walls falling down. Likewise, “Babylon the
Great is fallen, is fallen (Rev. 18:2).” One greater
than Moses intervenes, overcomes the world, ascends to heaven, is greeted by
his army of angels, and there is war (12:1-8). A third of the angels are cast
down to the earth, and they persecute the church. Revelation is about
commandment keepers being persecuted by the world, by Babylon the Great, and
about the eventual downfall of spiritual Sodom, Egypt, Jericho and “Babylon
the Great”. Overcoming the
World The basic message of the book of Revelation: God sets up kings and puts down the kings, even Babylon the Great (Dan. 5:20-21). The good will, eventually, overcome the evil and bring them to justice. After the final battle, there will be punishment for atrocities and war crimes. The King of Peace is more powerful than the King of War for He is King of Kings. |
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