Babylon the Great Part I (the wine and location)

There seems to be an abundance of theories on whom the end times Babylon will be. I have heard everything from North America to specifically New York, The Vatican to all of Europe. My goal here is to use bible verses along with historic evidence to show who I believe Babylon the Great is, and why I believe this to be true.

First I would like to point out that I do not believe that the end days Babylon is any of the previously mentioned places and I do not see any biblical truth for it to be so. Next, I am going to share a few verses specifically talking about the end days Babylon.

Revelation 17: 1-2

…“Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”

We know that the many waters are many peoples and nations. So Babylon the great may be a region or an area that covers multiple nations. We see that the rulers of the nations of the world “commit fornication” with this place. In my opinion, that has to be some type of business action that is breaking YHWH’s laws somehow. We then see that the people of the earth are made drunk with the wine of her “fornication”. Again, I see this happening because of the earlier business deal. The people of the earth are making money that in some way is connected back to Babylon.

Revelation 17: 3-6

And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written:

MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.

This passage shows us that the woman is “sitting on” or a part of the first beast mentioned in Revelation 13. I believe this means that Babylon is directly connected to the first beast, and I have already showed why I believe the first beast is the kingdom of the antichrist. That being said, Babylon must be associated with the antichrist in some form.

We also see here that Babylon has plenty of money. The golden cup she holds if full of sin and wickedness that comes from her “fornication”. Finally, we see that Babylon also has a direct connection with those that are killing those that believe in Christ.

Revelation 17: 15-18

Then he said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.”

Again, we see that the water equals multiple people and nations. But, something that stands out to me here is that the association between the first beast and the whore, or the kingdom of the antichrist and Babylon the great is not so good. The kingdom hates Babylon and will destroy it by unknowingly fulfilling YHWH’s desires. We also see that Babylon is a city that holds power over the kings of the entire world.

Zechariah 5: 5-11

Then the angel who talked with me came out and said to me, “Lift your eyes now, and see what this is that goes forth.”  So I asked, “What is it?” And he said, “It is a basket that is going forth.” He also said, “This is their resemblance throughout the earth: Here is a lead disc lifted up, and this is a woman sitting inside the basket”; then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead cover over its mouth. Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were two women, coming with the wind in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven. So I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they carrying the basket?” And he said to me, “To build a house for it in the land of Shinar; when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its base.”

Where is the land of Shinar?

Genesis 11:2

And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.

The land of Shinar is the area that we know as Babylon, the original. This is the very place that the Tower of Babel was built. So the second Babylon will need to be in that same area, considering the first Babylon was already gone by the time Zechariah was prophesying. We also can take away from this that the very area that once was Babylon is full of what YHWH considers wickedness in our world today.

Revelation 18: 2-3

…“Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.”

We see here that the merchants of the earth have become rich THROUGH the abundance of her luxury. What does this mean? I suggest that Babylon the great has something and a lot of it that all the merchants of the earth use in order to make money. What could this luxury be? I would suggest this is oil. Without oil, there would be no transportation of goods. Who is the largest producer and exporter of oil in the world?

Revelation 18: 7-8

… for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.

Babylon calls itself a queen. Later we read that she is destroyed by fire in one day. Not just burned, but rather utterly destroyed with fire. Who destroys Babylon?

Revelation 18: 9-19

“The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’

 “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men. The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.’ Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’

“They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate.’

Ezekiel 27: 30

They will make their voice heard because of you;

They will cry bitterly and cast dust on their heads;

Again we read that Babylon is destroyed with fire. Next we see that the merchants of the earth cry and mourn over this city because without this city, NOONE is able to sell their products anymore. What would the city of Babylon absolutely have to have in order for the entire world’s economy to be shut down when ONE city is destroyed? If you really think about it, there is only one thing that could affect the world like this.

We later read that because of the city being destroyed, a group of people mourn by throwing dust on their heads. This is a Middle Eastern custom. Therefore, it seems to me that Babylon the great must be a Middle Eastern city. Why else would they care so much about a city being destroyed?

I do not believe that anyone from the Middle East would care if New York City was to burn into desolation. I don’t recall anyone from the Middle East caring very much when the world trade towers were destroyed.

Isaiah 21:1, 9

A prophecy against the Desert by the Sea…

Look, here comes a man in a chariot with a team of horses.

And he gives back the answer: ‘Babylon has fallen, has fallen!

All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!’”

This should help us out with finding who the end time Babylon is as well. Isaiah tells us that Babylon is the desert by the sea. First thing we need to do is go to a map and find out where we can find this particular anomaly. In the Middle East, we can find this very thing. The Red Sea sits on the border of Saudi Arabia. Something that I find quite interesting about Saudi is it is the world’s largest producer and exporter of oil. Saudi also holds the largest oil reserves in the world. Granted there are many other countries that produce and export oil, Saudi has significant ties with the western world.

To take the Middle East connection a little further, Isaiah also gives us a list of a few other places that are prophesied against.

Isaiah 21: 11, 13, 16

A prophecy against Dumah

A prophecy against Arabia

This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract would count it, all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end.

Where are all these places? They are all in Saudi Arabia.

Isaiah 19:1

A prophecy against Egypt

Isaiah 17:1

A prophecy against Damascus:

Isaiah 15:1

A prophecy against Moab:

Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night!

Kir in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night!

Here are just a few of the prophecies of specific areas in the end times. Ill get a bit deeper into this area later, but for now, I just wanted to show that all the prophecies are aimed toward the end times.

One final note. I was speaking to a friend of mine. She is of Hebrew decent. She mentioned this to me when we were discussing the book of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 50:23

How broken and shattered is the hammer of the whole earth!

I understand that the majority of the prophecy researchers believe that Babylon will be a strong powerful military nation based on this verse. However, we could also view this in terms of what it looks like. What I mean is this. What does an oil drill look like while it is running? It looks exactly like someone swinging a hammer. As I said before, Saudi Arabia is the largest producer and exporter of oil in the entire world. I believe this could be another explanation of the “hammer”.

Quick wrap up

We know that oil could be the wine in the cup of the whore.  We know that the prophecies point to the countries in the Middle East. And we know that there is some type of woman involved, but she will be the focus of part two.