Who Is Babylon? Essay -- Exploring the Scriptures

In Revelation chapters 17 and 18 we read about the owing(p) whore named Babylonwho sits on many waters and is the m otherwisewise of all harlots. The physical bodyry in which theapostle John uses to describe Babylon has very significant meaning, in particularfor the perform as she approaches the end of the age. It is of paramount importanceto understand who this Babylon is and how she affects the life of every believer.Throughout the ages there have been many attempts to identify Babylon. Mosthave concord that she is the Roman Catholic Church (in particular the Vatican),even to the point of identifying the Pope as the anti-Christ himself. Others havesuggested that Babylon is not a religious structure but more than than likely political,pointing to the EEC (the European Economic Community), or to the United States (inparticular New York with Wall Street). Further more, others have gone as far as tosuggest that Babylon is geographical, pointing to mod day Iraq from where thatf ormer great civilization originated, and suggesting that one day that civilizationwill rise again to become a new superpower.While it is true that one may find levels of Babylon in all these things, however,none of these things in themselves can fully make up Babylon. In other words,Babylon may, and does exist in these things, but no one can point to any one ofthese things and say, This is Babylon. The reality is, that all these (ie. theEuropean Union, United States with its big line of descent, the Vatican, and otherpolitical and religious institutions) are made up of people, and it is IN THEHEARTS of people you will find Babylon. These entities have been allowed by Godto visibly show us Babylon and point to something of the nature of fallen man.The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked Who canknow it? (Jer 179).The origins of Babylon, as far as mankind is concerned, dates right back to thegarden of Eden when Adam and Eve were given a choice as to whether t hey wouldfollow the headmaster through a life of obedience and faith, or try to become as Godthrough their own striving. From the beginning, Gods intention was that manwould manifest the compute of God and grow into full maturity through obedienceto the will of the nobleman. As we know, Adam and Eve chose to disobey and eat fromthe tree of knowledge of sound and evil. From that time o... ...e it is the opposite of Gods love which allows forgodom of choice, it forces aperson(s) to behave a certain way, usually through emotional blackmail. Extremeforms of witchcraft used by the occult involve black magic. However, subtle formsof manipulation can not only be found in the personal lives of many believers, butto a fault in the everyday running of many of Gods churches. Husbands and wives havefound that certain emotions will result in receiving a favourable response fromtheir spouse. Likewise, church leading have found that certain words said in aparticular manner, or maybe a tear at the right time, or even a certain physicalgesture, is able to move the congregation towards the goal of that leadershiphip. THISIS WITCHCRAFT This takes away a persons ability to make a fire choice to obeyby FORCING their emotions to make a favourable response towards the onedisplaying these emotions. THIS RUNS CONTRARY TO GODS LAW OFLOVE..........Love commanded is not love at all. hit CitedThe New Oxford Annotated Bible With the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, NewRevised Standard Version. Michael D. Coogan, editor. New York Oxford UP, 2001.Print. Who Is Babylon? Essay -- Exploring the ScripturesIn Revelation chapters 17 and 18 we read about the great whore named Babylonwho sits on many waters and is the mother of all harlots. The imagery in which theapostle John uses to describe Babylon has very significant meaning, in particularfor the church as she approaches the end of the age. It is of paramount importanceto understand who this Babylon is and how she a ffects the life of every believer.Throughout the ages there have been many attempts to identify Babylon. Mosthave concur that she is the Roman Catholic Church (in particular the Vatican),even to the point of identifying the Pope as the anti-Christ himself. Others havesuggested that Babylon is not a religious structure but more likely political,pointing to the EEC (the European Economic Community), or to the United States (inparticular New York with Wall Street). Further more, others have gone as far as tosuggest that Babylon is geographical, pointing to modern day Iraq from where thatformer great civilization originated, and suggesting that one day that civilizationwill rise again to become a modern superpower.While it is true that one may find levels of Babylon in all these things, however,none of these things in themselves can fully make up Babylon. In other words,Babylon may, and does exist in these things, but no one can point to any one ofthese things and say, This is Babylon. The reality is, that all these (ie. theEuropean Union, United States with its big business, the Vatican, and otherpolitical and religious institutions) are made up of people, and it is IN THEHEARTS of people you will find Babylon. These entities have been allowed by Godto visibly show us Babylon and point to something of the nature of fallen man.The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked Who canknow it? (Jer 179).The origins of Babylon, as far as mankind is concerned, dates right back to thegarden of Eden when Adam and Eve were given a choice as to whether they wouldfollow the Lord through a life of obedience and faith, or try to become as Godthrough their own striving. From the beginning, Gods intention was that manwould manifest the image of God and grow into full maturity through obedienceto the will of the Lord. As we know, Adam and Eve chose to disobey and eat fromthe tree of knowledge of peachy and evil. From that time o... ...e it is the opposite of Go ds love which allows freedom of choice, it forces aperson(s) to behave a certain way, usually through emotional blackmail. Extremeforms of witchcraft used by the occult involve black magic. However, subtle formsof manipulation can not only be found in the personal lives of many believers, but as well as in the everyday running of many of Gods churches. Husbands and wives havefound that certain emotions will result in receiving a favourable response fromtheir spouse. Likewise, church leaders have found that certain words said in aparticular manner, or maybe a tear at the right time, or even a certain physicalgesture, is able to move the congregation towards the goal of that leadership. THISIS WITCHCRAFT This takes away a persons ability to make a free choice to obeyby FORCING their emotions to make a favourable response towards the onedisplaying these emotions. THIS RUNS CONTRARY TO GODS LAW OFLOVE..........Love commanded is not love at all. encounter CitedThe New Oxford Annotated B ible With the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, NewRevised Standard Version. Michael D. Coogan, editor. New York Oxford UP, 2001.Print.