THE TWO BABYLONS IN REVELATION
PART THREE
DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN THE TWO BABYLONS
DISTINCTION (1)
Vatican City is a religious city, but it is not a commercial hub of the world, as would seem to be the case with the city of Babylon that is mentioned in Revelation 18.
We are told in Revelation 18 that …“the merchants of these things were made rich by her” [ the "these things" that made them rich being the long list of luxury import items mentioned in Revelation 18:12-13 that were being imported and purchased by Antichrist and his ten nation confederacy in the city of Babylon]. --This implies that this "great city of Babylon" named in Revelation 18 is the “One World Commercial Headquarters” of Antichrist. It is a city of luxurious imports (Revelation 18:12-13), and Vatican City is not a “One World Commercial Headquarters”, it is a “One World Apostate Religion Headquarters”.
But think about this . . . a rebuilt ancient Babylon, together with the modern day city of Babylon (Hillah) Iraq, could easily become the “One World Commercial Headquarters” of Antichrist just by the amount of ‘OIL’ [black gold] that is exported from Iraq to other nations of the world. – The following quotes help to clarify this point.
[BEGIN QUOTE] - Did you … know that in Kuwait at the head of the Persian Gulf, we have one of the greatest concentrations of oil that we have in the world? Did you know that right around the Persian Gulf, the top of the Persian Gulf which was in ancient Babylonia, that we have forty percent of the world’s supply of oil? Did you know that in Iraq, there were three great [oil] fields? One of them is by the border of Persia [Iran}, one of them is in the headwaters of the Tigris River, and the other is on the Euphrates River. Did you know that Arnold Toynbee, in his book, Civilization on Trial, said that from his study of history, he had become convinced that the civilization of the future would be built up in the vicinity of ancient Babylon? [END QUOTE] [1]
The following quote reveals that the area around the Persian Gulf in Iraq is the center for oil export in the world…
BEGIN QUOTE] - BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy includes this map (below) of global trade flows of oil. One key point here is that some countries you don’t think of as major oil exporters — Brazil, for example — are actually playing an important role in the global supply chain.
Another is that contrary to a lot of simplistic political rhetoric, the United States doesn’t actually import much oil from Saudi Arabia or other Persian Gulf countries. We have a fair amount of domestic oil production, Canada and Mexico both export oil, and both the North Sea and western Africa are closer to us than is the Persian Gulf. The [Persian] Gulf nonetheless matters to the United States, because its oil supplies matter so much to Europe, China, Japan, and India. Oil can be shipped pretty far and wide, so disruption to any major supplier-consumer relationship pushes up the global price of oil and puts a major damper on the living standards of highly oil-dependent societies such as ours. [END QUOTE] [2]
WORLD OIL IMPORT/EXPORT MAP
The map ABOVE is an “Oil Import/Export Map" and it clearly shows that the Persian Gulf area [including the Babylon, Iraq area] is the center of oil trade in the world! I believe Antichrist will most probably want to cash in on the wealth that is available there through the export of oil … plus import all of the luxury items that are listed as import items in Revelation 18:12-13.
DISTINCTION (2)
The Babylon in Revelation 17 is destroyed (burned with fire) by Antichrist and the support of his ten king confederacy in Revelation 17:16-17 ...
"And the ten horns [kings] which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore [the religious city], and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. (17) For 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."
The Babylon in Revelation 18 is divided into three parts by a "great earthquake" [an act of God Himself in Revelation 16:19] … and then the city is ransacked, burned and destroyed by the Medes [the modern day Kurds of Kurdistan] …
Isaiah 13:13 - "Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
Isaiah 13:17 - "Behold, I will stir up the Medes [the Kurds] against them [the modern day Babylonians]."
Revelation 18:20-21 - "Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. (21) And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all."
Revelation 16:18-19 - "And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great (19) And the great city [Babylon] was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations [around the world] fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath [His harsh judgement upon her.]"
The verses in Revelation 16:18-19 occur when the seventh bowl [vial] judgment is poured out upon the earth by the last angel towards the close of the second 3-1/2 years of Seven Year Tribulation Period [Armageddon].
Please note that there is still a Babylon in existence at the time of the Seventh Bowl Judgment! – This proves that the Babylon in Revelation 17 can not possibly be the Babylon in Revelation 18! – Why? -- Because Antichrist and his ten-king confederation that supports him will have destroyed the “One-World Apostate Religious Babylon” (at about the middle of the Seven Year Tribulation Period). He must destroy the Babylon in Revelation 17 so that he can institute the “worship of himself” all throughout the world during the second 3-1/2 years of the Seven Year Tribulation Period (also called the “Great Tribulation”).
How will Antichrist bring about the worship of himself? -- Antichrist will bring about ‘world-wide worship of himself’ through his control of commerce (no buying or selling without the “666 Mark of the Beast”).
The destruction that will happen to the Babylon in Revelation 17 (Vatican City, Rome) by Antichrist, and the ten kings that support him, will not happen to the Babylon in Revelation 18. -- Why? -- Because Antichrist and his ten nation confederacy are not going to destroy their very own "One World Commercial Headquarters" that will be in Babylon, Iraq. – God will use an earthquake and the modern day Medes (the Kurds) to destroy the Babylon in Revelation 18 as per Isaiah 13:17 and Revelation 16:18-19.
DISTINCTION (3)
A second reason that a Babylon must be in existence at the time of the Seventh Bowl Judgement, is to fulfill the many unfulfilled Old Testament prophecies concerning Babylon in the Bible.
The unfulfilled O.T. prophecies concerning Babylon make the Babylon in Revelation 18 distinct from the Babylon in Revelation 17. – Why? – Because all the unfulfilled O.T. prophecies concerning Babylon cannot possibly be applied to the Babylon in Revelation 17 (Vatican City, Rome) … therefore they must apply to the Babylon in Revelation 18. I will discuss these unfulfilled Old Testament prophecies concerning Babylon in the next article.
END NOTES
[1] SLJ INSTITUTE, “The Woman in the Ephah”, Accessed November 3, 2024, Web: https://sljinstitute.net/the-prophets/zechariah/the-woman-in-the-ephah/
[2] BP STATISTICAL REVIEW OF WORLD ENERGY 2013, “BP Statistical Review of World Energy Map 2012”, Accessed October 10, 2024, Web: http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2013/ph240/lim1/docs/bpreview.