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4 M YST E RY B ABYLO Nat the time.1 Tertullian, Irenæus, and Jerome all used the term“Babylon” to refer to the Roman Empire.2 But with the steady declineof pagan Rome, this view begin to lose favor among Christians. Bythe sixth century, Andrew of Caesarea openly expressed his doubtconcerning Lactantius’s view, stating, “For old Rome lost its powerof dominion a long time ago, and we do not suppose that ancientstatus will return to it.” Rather than pointing to any particular cityof his day, Andrew contended that Mystery Babylon represents a citythat will arise in the last days and hold sway over much of the earth.3ISLAMA thousand years later, after Islam had arisen and swept much ofthe world under its control, many Christians began to wonder ifit was the solution to the mystery of the great harlot. We find thisview expressed in the writings Nicholas of Lyra, a French Franciscanmonk often referred to as the greatest exegete of the fourteenthcentury. As was common for European Christian writers from thelater medieval era, Nicholas often referred to Muslims either as “thesaracens,” a generic term used for Muslims during this era, or simplyas “the Turks,” who ruled much of the Muslim world at the time.Nicholas referred to Islam as “Great Babylon, that is the Saracensect, which is called Babylon.”4 He said that John the apostle usedthe term “Mystery Babylon” to “show that he is not speaking of thecity Babylon, but more concerning the Saracen sect in relation to theTurks, [who have] drawn the eastern peoples into the error of theirsect.”5 Although Lyra’s views were highly influential during the latermedieval period, they soon fell out of favor during the Reformation,when Protestants shifted much of their focus back to Rome.THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCHAs the great division between Roman Catholics and Protestantsswept across Europe, the Reformers dusted off the earlier, Romeas-Babylon view, modified it, and began pointing to the Roman

The H istory of the Mystery 5Catholic Church. In 1522, Martin Luther’s good friend Lucas Cranach created the now-famous woodcut images that Luther woulduse so effectively in his propaganda war against the Vatican. Lucas’swoodcuts portrayed the pope as the great harlot riding the sevenheaded beast. This new view—namely, that Roman Catholicism isthe great harlot—quickly became almost universally accepted amongProtestants. William Tyndale, the famous Reformation scholar andtranslator, would declare that Catholics had “set up that great idol,the Whore of Babylon, antichrist of Rome, whom they call thepope.”6 For the next five hundred years, such views defined howProtestants would relate to the Catholic Church. Since that time,numerous men have breathed fresh life into this perspective.Foremost among these champions was a Scottish minister namedAlexander Hislop, author of a nineteenth-century book titled TheTwo Babylons: The Papal Worship Proved to Be the Worship of Nimrodand His Wife. It is difficult to overstate the impact that Hislop’s workhas had on popular Protestant thinking concerning the RomanCatholic Church. Hislop argued that the ancient Babylonian religionof Tammuz worship eventually crept into and permeated virtuallyevery aspect of the Roman Catholic liturgy. According to Hislop, ifan ancient Babylonian priest, or even Belshazzar himself, were to“enter St. Peter’s [Basilica] at Rome and see the Pope in his pontificals,in all his pomp and glory . . . surely he would conclude that he hadonly entered one of his own well-known temples, and that all thingscontinued as they were at Babylon.”7 Later we’ll take a whole chapterto discuss Hislop’s work (as well as its countless problems).Another champion of the view that Roman Catholicism is theharlot (along with every other Protestant group that worships onSunday) was Ellen G. White, founder of the Seventh-day Adventistmovement. To this day, based on White’s prophecies, many traditionalist Adventists are convinced the day is coming when the popewill suddenly enforce global “Sunday laws,” and behead everyonewho does not conform to his authority.The Scofield Reference Bible, published in 1917 but still very

6 M YST E RY B ABYLO Npopular today, has also contributed greatly toward preserving thepopularity of the view that the Roman Catholic Church is the lastdays Babylon.8 Other books, such as the late prophecy teacher DaveHunt’s 1991 work, A Woman Rides the Beast: The Roman CatholicChurch and the Last Days, continue to have a great impact amongmany Protestant students of prophecy.Although the belief that the Roman Catholic Church is thegreat harlot has lost some ground among many Protestants today,the shockwaves of this interpretation continue to affect the popularProtestant consciousness in many profound ways. Just skim throughthe comment section that follows nearly any Internet article or anysocial media post that refers to the pope or Roman Catholicism,and the legacy of this view will be quite apparent.Already, we can see why having a proper understanding of thispassage is so critical for Christians. No doubt, Protestants andCatholics continue to have many significant differences. Thesedisagreements, however, are matters that can generally be discussedbetween two reasonable adults. It is one thing, though, to say, “Letus discuss our disagreements, that perhaps we might understandeach other better,” and another thing entirely to say, “You are thegreat whore!” When one party views the other as a willful participantin a religious organization that is the actual embodiment of Satanon the earth, then even simple dialogue becomes impossible. Thisdynamic has often plagued the relationship of Roman Catholics andProtestants for the past five hundred years. This is just one reason,albeit a rather important one, why gaining a proper understandingof this passage is a deeply relevant matter for Christians.NEW YORK CITY / UNITED STATESIn more modern times, another position that has gained tremendouspopularity is the view that the United States of America, or NewYork City, specifically, is harlot Babylon. In their book The FinalBabylon: America and the Coming of Antichrist, coauthors Kreiger,

The H istory of the Mystery 7McGriff, and Woodward claim that identifying Mystery Babylon“requires only a minute amount of analytical skills. Indeed it is onlythe United States of America that can muster the money and themight to be THE FINAL BABYLON of Revelation 18.”9 In recentyears there has actually been an explosion of popular prophecy booksthat champion this view. The titles are almost impossible to distinguish one from another: The End of America; The Fall of AmericaBabylon the Great; The Judgment of Babylon: The Fall of America; andAmerica Will Burn, for example. All of these titles tell a very similarstory. As a result of many embracing this new interpretation, therehas actually developed a growing movement of Christians who arefleeing—or seeking to flee—the United States for safety from thecoming judgment and destruction that await her. A few of the aforementioned titles even offer detailed escape plans for those seekingto get out. As I travel and speak to congregations all over NorthAmerica, concerns and questions about this matter are broughtup quite frequently. I recently spoke with a Canadian pastor whohas received several inquiries from Americans considering movingto Canada in the hope of escaping the coming destruction of theUnited States. Needless to say, if America is indeed the last-daysBabylon, the very real-world implications are profound. Once morewe see why a proper interpretation of these two chapters in the bookof Revelation is so important.MODERN APOSTATE JERUSALEMAnother, less popular interpretation holds that this passage refersto Jerusalem. Most who espouse this view are preterists, meaningthey believe this prophecy is already long past, having been fulfilledwhen Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70.10 The mostinfluential voice who supports this view today is New Testamentscholar N. T. Wright. Wright explains his interpretation of Revelation 17–18 thus:

8 M YST E RY B ABYLO NIt is from Jerusalem that the true Israel must now flee, lest theypartake in her destruction. It is Jerusalem whose destructionwill be the sign that the God whom Jesus has proclaimed is nowindeed manifestly the king of the whole earth . . . Jerusalemand its hierarchy have taken on the role of Babylon, Edom andAntiochus Epiphanes. They are the city whose fall spells thevindication of the true people of Israel’s God. The prophecies ofrescue from the tyrant have come true in and for Jesus and inhis people. When this city falls they must leave quickly; this istheir moment of salvation and vindication.11Though rare, there are also some who believe the harlot represents a future last-days judgment on apostate Israel. One bookpromoting this perspective declares, “The Bible tells us exactly whichcity will be the capital city of the Antichrist in the last days, it tellsus the city that will promote the Antichrists [sic] worship to the restof the world and the city in which the Antichrist will institute thegreatest persecution of all time. That city is Jerusalem.”12 We willdiscuss some of the problems with this view as we move forward.LITERAL BABYLONAnother interpretation is that the literal city of Babylon (the remnants of which are located fifty-three miles south of Baghdad, Iraq,in a town called Hillah) will be rebuilt in the last days. Althoughthe ruins of this once magnificent city are little more than a touristattraction today, those who hold this view believe that, in the daysto come, a reconstructed Babylon will far surpass the ancient city’sformer glory. They argue that this is the most straightforward andliteral of all the various options. This view has been espoused by ahandful of notables throughout the past two hundred years. Amongthem were classic commentators E. W. Bullinger, B.W. Newton,and Joseph Augustus Seiss in the early nineteenth century. In thetwentieth century, such well-respected commentators as G. H. Lang,Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Robert Thomas, Pastor Mark Hitchcock,

The H istory of the Mystery 9and Joel C. Rosenberg have promoted this view. We will discuss theviability of this interpretation in part 2 of this book.APOSTATE CHRISTENDOM OR INTERFAITH ECUMENISMAnother perspective holds that all segments of apostate Christianitywill someday join together in the last days to form some kind oforganized ecumenical body. The World Council of Churches, at leastsince its founding in 1975, has been the most common candidate—or culprit—that is expected to bring all of these apostate bodiestogether. John Walvoord, former president of Dallas TheologicalSeminary, specifically believed that the harlot “system” would indeedbe an apostate form of ecumenism. Walvoord declared of the harlot:The woman symbolizing the apostate religious system, was drunkwith the blood of the saints. This makes it clear that the apostatereligious system of the first half of the last seven years leading upto Christ’s second coming will be completely devoid of any trueChristians. As a matter of fact the apostate church will attemptto kill all those who follow the true faith.13Others are awaiting an even more broadly defined ecumenism,one that will combine all religions and beliefs together under a yetlarger umbrella. In this imagined scenario, it is the United Nationsthat is often looked to as the perfect vehicle for the Antichrist toassume control of the whole world.THE ILLUMINATIFor some, no umbrella is big enough unless it recognizes a fullblown, pan-historical, transnational conspiracy of exceedingly secretive, occult globalists, power brokers, and bankers whose wickedtentacles extend into every nook and cranny of the entire planet.This is a conspiracy so all-encompassing that it is somehow able tobring together such diverse bodies as the Roman Catholic Church,the World Council of Churches, the United Nations, a global

1 0 M YST E RY BABYLO Nbody of Jewish Zionists, the Illuminati, and just about every othergroup we might imagine. For those who hold this position, it is notmerely an interpretation of these two chapters in Revelation; rather,it is a complete worldview, complete with a way of understandingnearly every event that occurs in the news. It is a conspiracy so farreaching, in fact, that even I am apparently deeply involved. “JoelRichardson is also an Illuminati agent, who works for the Zionistagenda,”14 one Internet writer warned. Ironically, my involvement ina secret satanic conspiracy is proven by the fact that I’ve appeared onmany Christian television programs, which, as everyone apparentlyshould know, “is the mind-control central for the Illuminati. . . .And these facts are undeniable evidence of him being one of them,NO DOUBT.”15 Appearing in any form of visible media seems tobe a common concern among these conspiracists, as another writerhas similarly warned:Richardson projects a convincing Christian jargon and appearsto be well-schooled in the Bible. But the first alert my spirit hadre: Joel, was his overwhelming acceptance by powerful peopleand the media. That was a red flag right there. I often wonder ifhe is part of what I call “white propaganda.”16Yet another conspiracy theorist mirrored similar sentiments, thistime casting the blame primarily on a Jewish-Zionist conspiracy: “Itdoesn’t take a conspiracy theorist to see that Jewry has long beenrunning serious psyops.”17 In the early 1990s I spent several monthsbackpacking around the Middle East, getting to know the peopleand the region, and praying about moving there as a missionary. Butaccording to this particular individual, my time there was actually“really intense training at the Mossad Institute.” The proof is clear.“I mean, look at the guy—he looks seriously Jewy.”18 But beyondmy physical features, the crowning proof of my involvement in theglobal Babylonian system is that, according to the first conspiracistjust cited, “I have seen him shapeshift.”19

The H istory of the Mystery 1 1MECCA / SAUDI ARABIAIn more recent years, with many Christians increasingly embracingthe idea of an Islamic Antichrist leading a Middle Eastern empire,some are now looking at the city of Mecca and the Kingdomof Saudi Arabia as the last-days Babylon. Although this view isgaining considerable traction within the world of popular Bibleprophecy, to date, it has not been explored in a thorough orcomplete manner. Part 3 of this book is devoted exclusively todiscussing this interpretation.CONCLUSIONSome of these positions obviously have far more merit than others. Afew are, at least in my opinion, rather unsupportable. Some are fairlywacky. I will nevertheless examine each of the views and considerall the possibilities. In this sense, this book is unique. Although Iwill argue for one particular position over the others, I will seek tohonestly weigh the strengths and weaknesses of all the options. Aswe all seek to properly understand what the Lord is conveying toHis people through this prophecy, it is imperative that we do soresponsibly, carefully considering all of the various criteria the Lordhas given us, and not just a few select clues, as is too often the case.If you have opened this book with your mind somewhat madeup as to the meaning of this prophecy, I only ask that you also keepboth your Bible and your mind open. I am confident that if we willgive ourselves to understanding this text in a careful, prayerful, andhumble manner, the Lord will bring much-needed clarity and clearaway much of the accumulated confusion that has attached itself tothis truly critical portion of Scripture. Thus, as I always like to do,I would invite you to consider reading this book not simply withan intellectual curiosity, but with much prayer and a truly contriteand trusting heart, believing indeed that the Lord will open up Hissecrets to all “those who fear Him” (Ps. 25:14).

2THE GREAT CIT Yof the great harlot, thefirst thing that needs to be made clear is that she is a literal city.Although the harlot indeed represents an ungodly religious andfinancial system—she is in fact the heart of the system—she is notmerely a system or concept, but is a very real, identifiable geographichub. The Bible not only clearly states that the harlot is a city; it alsogives us some very specific and important details concerning thenature and geography of this city. Let’s jump right in and considerthese descriptions.A S W E S E E K TO U N R AV E L T H E M YS T E RY

The Great City 1 3A REAL CITYWhile our introduction to the great harlot begins with symbolicterms—as a vile, murderous prostitute—the literal interpretationand explanation of what she represents immediately follows. Eighttimes in Revelation 17–18, she is referred to as a “city.” Many commentators, I believe, have overcomplicated the mystery by claimingthat not only are the lurid descriptions of the woman symbolic,but so is the repeated use of the term “city.” This is not, however,a double metaphor. The woman riding the beast, drunk on theblood of the saints—that is the portion of this prophecy that allcommentators agree is metaphorical.1 But first, in Revelation 17:18,and then several more times, we are given the interpretation of themetaphorical woman: “The woman whom you saw is the great city,which reigns over the kings of the earth.” The grotesque, murderousprostitute described throughout the first half of the prophecy is aliteral city on the earth. The city is not, as some commentators haveclaimed, merely a metaphor for conceptual or vague ideas, such asa “seductive world system,” or “apostate Christianity.” We are mostcertainly dealing here with a tangible, definable, and specific city.As we apply ourselves to understanding the mystery of the harlot,we must have confidence that the Lord is not sitting in heaven tryingto confuse us with overly difficult apocalyptic symbolism and metaphors within metaphors. Throughout the apocalyptic portions ofScripture, the pattern is fairly consistent. First there is a revelation,dream, or vision using symbolic imagery. Then that symbolism isexplained in fairly straightforward and literal terms. Quite often, amessenger angel is sent to explain the meaning of the symbolism.This is exactly the ca

—TOM HORN, BESTSELLING AUTHOR AND CEO SKYWATCH TV “Richardson’s new volume is brilliantly researched, Scripturally solid, and fluently written. It is quite evident that ‘MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS’ may no longer be a mystery. This book is must-reading for everyone with