Mystery Babylon - Jerusalem, The City of Antichrist, page 1

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Even among dedicated Bible scholars and teachers, there is a wide range of views about the identity of Mystery Babylon, ranging from very allegorical to literal.

The angel in Rev 17:18 while interpreting John’s vision mentions that the woman is a city.

“And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” - Rev 17:18

Mystery Babylon is referred to as a city eight times in Revelation, and many of the things that happen to it in the narrative seem to be talking about a literal city. For instance, the city is burned down, the smoke can be seen from the nearby sea, merchants sell items to it, and many other factors which we will soon see cause many to believe that it is in fact talking about a literal city.

There are many candidates proposed for the identity of the Mystery Babylon by Bible scholars including:

1. Rome or Vatican City. Many early reformers saw it as Rome. Somewhat ironically, the Catholic church also teaches that it is Rome on the Vatican website[1], though it is referring to ancient pagan Rome, where the protestant reformers would say that it was the Rome of the Catholic church.

2. Some suggest it is the actual city of Babylon in Iraq. In this scenario, they say Babylon will be rebuilt in the future.

3. Mecca or some other Arab cities have been proposed. This view has been especially popular very recently.

4. Jerusalem is also suggested, this is the oldest recorded view of Christians, and is held by many different groups.

5. There is a long list of other less popular candidates, New York being one example.

Some other very popular viewpoints assert that the Bible is metaphorical, and say it’s not referring to an actual city, but is symbolic of something else entirely, possibly, a world pagan religious system, and/or a world financial system.

In counting the characteristics given to Mystery Babylon, I have found over ninety characteristics. In this study, I will show that there are explicit Biblical interpretations of most, if not all, of these ninety characteristics, and that by comparing scripture with scripture, we can come to a more biblical identification of Mystery Babylon.

I believe Mystery Babylon is the eschatological city of Jerusalem. I chose my words very carefully in this description. In other words, I believe it is the Jerusalem of the end times, where, according to Daniel 11:45, the Anti-Christ sets up his end-times world government and end-times world religion headquarters .

The city and its habitants will promote the Anti-Christ as their Messiah, and as the one true God, thereby committing the ultimate abomination, the ultimate harlotry. Not only that, but they will promote him and entice the world to follow them in their worship of the Man of Sin.

We know that the Anti-Christ will choose Jerusalem as the place to declare himself to be god ( 2Thes 2:4, Mat 24:15, Dan 11:31-32 ) We know that the greatest religious killing of all time will happen in the city of Jerusalem according to Matt. 24:15-21.

Too often people look at the “Woman who Rides the Beast” and try to define her in terms of what we have already seen in history, as opposed to what Scripture says we will see in the future. That is the primary reason people miss this. As we will see, it is not because of a lack of Biblical support.
For instance, Rev. 18:24 says: “And in her was found the blood of prophets…”
We don’t even have to speculate as to what city the prophets were killed in, as Jesus says it is impossible for a prophet to be killed anywhere except Jerusalem:

“The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, ‘Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.’ And he said unto them, ‘Go ye, and tell that fox, behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless I must walk today, and tomorrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!’” Luke 13:31-34

This idea is repeated by the Lord in other places, as well. For instance, He tells them that their fathers killed the prophets and they hypocritically built their tombs. (Luke 11:47) In Matthew 23, He names Zechariah as such an example who He mentions was killed near the temple. He also says that they will be held accountable and judged for this blood on their hands.

If the blood of the prophets is found in the mystery Babylon city, it is strong evidence in favor of it referring to Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is specifically called a harlot hundreds of times in Scripture and always in spiritual context – the harlotry of following false gods and killing prophets, etc.

Just a small sampling of this is in Isaiah 1:21:
“How is the faithful city become an harlot! It was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.” - Isaiah 1:21

Ezekiel 16 is entirely about this subject, and it starts out by saying:

“Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations...” - Eze 16:1-2

He spends the whole chapter saying things like:

“But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was. And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.” – Eze 16:15-16

Jerusalem is constantly warned in Scripture that if they do not turn from their “harlotries” they will be judged. As we go through Revelation 17-18, we will find that the specific judgments Mystery Babylon gets are the exact same as the ones promised to Jerusalem because of her spiritual harlotry.
Here is one example:

“They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords. And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more. Therefore, I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord GOD: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations. Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.” - Eze 16:40-43

This idea that Jerusalem is as a harlot, and also has children or inhabitants that are harlots, is what is meant when Revelation says that the “Woman” is the mother of harlots – the harlots are the inhabitants and Jerusalem is the mother.

I think that much of the confusion comes from the fact commentators want to put in the word ALL – “the mother of ALL harlots,” as if it was the source of all bad things from the history of the world. But that’s not what the texts says Mystery Babylon is – it simply says that the city is the mother of harlots, those harlots are simply the inhabitants of the city. Jesus uses the same analogy in the following passage:

“But Jesus, turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselv