Babylon – The Great City
Part 8 of the Harlot of Babylon Series
We started with one city, Babel. The mother. At the end of the age, we have all the cities. The great city. Seven times, in the book of Revelation, the harlot of Babylon is called the great city. When she is judged, the cities of the nations fall. At the end of the age, the harlot will have corrupted most, if not all, the cities of the nations. She will have turned them against God. She will rule over them. Global, corporate, rebellion. The first city came together to war against God. So will the final city, the great city, the cities of the nations, come together to war against God.
Let’s look at the seven times the harlot is called the great city.
Rev 16:17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.” 18 And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. 19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.
Rev 17:18 The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.”
Rev 18:20 standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’
Rev 18:16 saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls.
Rev 18:18 and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What city is like the great city?’
Rev 18:19 And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!’
Rev 18:21 Then a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer.
There are two cities in the Bible. One city is demonic. She is created to war against God. She is in rebellion against God. She is carried by the beast. She is the dwelling place of abominations. She is Satan’s city. She is the harlot. She is called the great city.
The other city is the holy city. The city of truth. She is the only city where God said He would put His name. She is the city of God. She is the dwelling place of God. She is God’s holy city. She is called Jerusalem. The harlot of Babylon is always, always, called the great city. Jerusalem is always, always, called the holy city. They are opposites. One is of Satan. The other is of God. The great city is never, ever, called the holy city. Jerusalem is never, ever, called the great city. This may sound simple, but it is one of the most misunderstood truths in the book of Revelation. Understanding this opens the door to understanding who the two witnesses are and what the harlot of Babylon is.
There is one more mention of the great city in the book of Revelation. It is in chapter eleven.
Rev 11:7 When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9 Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. 10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
The two-witness company, the overcomers, torment the harlot’s people for three and a half years. This is the second woe. They are the Christians from the church of Philadelphia who have kept the word of His perseverance and have not denied His name. They testify of the truth in all the cities of the nations all over the earth. Their corporate testimony is one witness and the works that the Holy Spirit does through them is the second witness. Just as Jesus testifying of Himself was one witness and the works that the Father did through Him was the second witness. This is the foundation of understanding the two-witness ministry in the last days which I detail in my first book.
The overcomers in the church of Philadelphia are kept from the hour of testing that is coming upon the whole earth. They are granted power and authority. They testify and prophesy for three and a half years, the great tribulation period. When they are done with their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will overpower them and kill them. Their bodies lie in the street of the great city. As we have seen, the great city is Babylon the great or the harlot of Babylon.
After the two witnesses are killed, those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days. This is not one nation or city or church. People all over the earth, every race, every language, every nation, will look at them. Verse ten says the two prophets torment those who dwell on the earth. Revelation 17:15 says, the waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. This is global!
As the people all over the earth look at their dead bodies, they rejoice and celebrate and send gifts to one another! You must see the picture here. The whole earth has been tormented for three and a half years by the two-witness company of overcomers. If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes out of their mouths and consumes them! They have the power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the days of their prophesying. They have the power to turn the waters into blood. They strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire. No wonder the whole earth celebrates and send gifts to one another when they are dead! This is a global celebration. All over the earth. Those who dwell on the earth.
Let’s look at verse eight again.
Rev 11:8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
Their dead bodies lie in the street of the great city. Nearly every Bible prophecy teacher will tell you that their dead bodies lie in the street of Jerusalem. Is the great city Jerusalem? If you say that the great city in verse eight is Jerusalem, then you are saying Jerusalem is the harlot of Babylon.
When the harlot of Babylon is judged, the cities of the nations fall. Is that Jerusalem? When the harlot is judged she is burned with fire and cast into the sea, never to be found again. Jerusalem? Where is that in the prophecies? All the nations have become drunk on the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality. Jerusalem? Really? Do the Bible prophecy teachers have her confused with Los Angeles, the porn capital of the world? Or maybe San Francisco, the gay capital of the world?
Is the blood of all those who have been slain in the earth on Jerusalem? Nonsense. Is the beast carrying the harlot of Babylon or Jerusalem?
We are told to come out of her, my people, so that we will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues. Her sins are piled up as high as heaven. Are the Christians supposed to come out of Jerusalem or come out of the harlot?
When the harlot is judged, there is a great celebration in heaven. A great multitude shout, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.” Is there a great celebration in heaven because Jerusalem is burning? Serious?
I have been to Jerusalem over a dozen times. I stay two weeks each time just outside the Old City or in the Old City. I have many friends there. I can tell you straight out! She is not the harlot of Babylon! Once again, time to throw out what we have been taught!
The bodies of the two witnesses lie in the street of the harlot, not Jerusalem. Now let’s find out why the Bible prophecy teachers say it is Jerusalem.