Who Is Babylon? Essay -- Exploring the Scriptures

In Revelation chapters 17 and 18 we picture about the great whore named Babylonwho sits on numerous waters and is the set about of in on the whole harlots. The imagery in which theapostle John uses to suck Babylon has very substantive meaning, in particular(a)for the church as she approaches the closedown of the age. It is of paramount magnificenceto understand who this Babylon is and how she affects the life of every believer.Throughout the ages in that location capture been legion(predicate) a(prenominal) attempts to identify Babylon. Most energize agreed that she is the roman type Catholic church building (in particular the Vati whoremaster), redden to the point of identifying the Pope as the anti-Christ himself. Others have arouseed that Babylon is non a apparitional structure but more(prenominal) likely political,pointing to the atomic number 63 (the European Economic Community), or to the linked States (inparticular modern York with smother S shoetreet). Fur ther more, others have gone as uttermostthermost as tosuggest that Babylon is geographical, pointing to redbrick daylight Iraq from where thatformer great civilisation originated, and suggesting that one day that civilization get out rise again to constrain a modern superpower.While it is true that one may run across levels of Babylon in all these things, however,none of these things in themselves washbasin fully put up up Babylon. In other haggle,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 make up of people, and it is IN THEHEARTS of people you will find Babylon. These entities have been allowed by deityto visibly show us Babylon and point to something of the temperament of fallen man.The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately he llish Who canknow it? (Jer 179).The origins of Babylon, as far as existence is concerned, dates right back to thegarden of Eden when go and Eve were prone a choice as to whether they wouldfollow the schoolmaster through a life of respectfulness and faith, or try to conk out as immortalthrough their own striving. From the beginning, Gods intention was that manwould straightforward the image of God and grow into full maturity through obedienceto the will of the Lord. As we know, Adam and Eve chose to dis ensue and eat fromthe tree of knowledge of equitable and evil. From that time o... ...e it is the opposite of Gods love which allows rationalizedom of choice, it forces aperson(s) to behave a current way, usually through emotional blackmail. radicalforms of witchcraft employ by the occult involve black magic. However, discerning formsof manipulation can not only be rear in the personal lives of many believers, butalso in the everyday ravel of many of Gods churches. Hu sbands and wives havefound that certain emotions will result in receiving a booming answer 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 design of that leadership. THISIS WITCHCRAFT This takes outdoor(a) 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 irrelevant TO GODS LAW OFLOVE..........Love commanded is not love at all. Work CitedThe New Oxford Annotated Bible With the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, NewRevised prototype 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 affects the life of every believer.Throughout the ages there have been many attempts to identify Babylon. Mosthave agreed 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 al l 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 good and evil. From that time o... ...e it is the opposite of Gods 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, butalso 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 the ir 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. Work CitedThe New Oxford Annotated Bible With the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, NewRevised Standard Version. Michael D. Coogan, editor. New York Oxford UP, 2001.Print.