| Home | Author Bio | Order | Excerpts | War | TOC | Reviews | The Gift | Fict Scenario |

What's Inside America, The Babylon?

The following are brief excerpts from key chapters in Volume 1 and Volume 2

| Exerpt #1 | Exerpt #2 | Exerpt #3 | Exerpt #4 |

Chapter 4 – A Future Babylon in the Old Testament

Babylon as a city and nation is perhaps the most mentioned gentile city/state/nation in the Bible. Only those cities in Israel, such as Jerusalem receive greater mention. There are approximately 359 direct references to the name Babylon in the Old Testament. Of these references, many are simply tied to historical accounts of events in past history. However, the 2 major prophets of the Old Testament, Isaiah and Jeremiah received from God information about a future Babylon yet to come. This future Babylon is separate and distinct from the Babylon of their day.

The message of the prophets is that a latter-day Babylon would arise that would carry on the ‘spirit’ of the old Babylon. Hence, these two prophets present significant data concerning the identity of the future Babylon and its destiny. The prophets explain what will happen to this later Babylon along with data on who will be involved, where it will take place, when and how, along with why it takes place. These two prophets account for more than 80 direct references to this future city/state/nation. 64 of those are found in 2 chapters of Jeremiah. Those chapters are chapters 50 and 51. Isaiah accounts for 2 dozen more in chapters 13, 14, 18 and 47.

These chapters provide a substantial insight into what happens to this latter-day Babylon of the future. There are "identification markers" to identify this city/state/nation. For us today, it is hard to realize that 2,500 years ago society was organized differently. In those days, society developed around the notion of city/state/nations. A major city controlled a region around itself thereby making the city a capital for that region. If the city was powerful enough, it might also make other nearby cities subject to its power and control thereby creating pseudo-colonies or vassal states so to speak. It was rare for a major city to become so dominant that it controlled whole continents or large regions of continents. But the city was the dominant feature in the way society organized. It was the capital of an ‘empire’ and seldom did it contain cities of rival size or power. Today, things are different. Nations in general have several if not many cities, especially large countries.

In this chapter we will explore the significant details surrounding this latter-day Babylon. We will explore the data to help us discover its identity, who are the antagonists, the events themselves, the results, and also why God causes these events to occur.

Jeremiah and Isaiah both report many characteristics that help us to recognize who this new Babylon is, if indeed we are living in the latter days of the prophetic timetable. In this chapter we will refer to these identifying characteristics as identification markers…(I.D. markers) and I.D. data points. We will focus on determining what nation of today fits the descriptions given by Isaiah and Jeremiah. We will also show linkage to the Apostle John’s description of this same Babylon in two chapters of his Revelation…Chapters 17 & 18.

In addition to determining the identity, we will attempt to identify who is involved in causing the destruction of this future Babylon. We will also explore the events themselves, and the descriptions of those events. We will also examine the results and present to you the facts as to why God orders the destruction of this future Babylon. As you read on, I believe you will find the results to be shocking and sobering all at the same time.

The future-Babylon prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah have over the centuries been misunderstood and misapplied. Until recently, many comment- ators considered many of the prophecies to have already occurred. It does seem that some of the predicted results do apply to the ancient Babylon. Those results speak of Babylon becoming a desert, where desert animals live and no man resides there. In reality, ancient Babylon—the city, has been deserted for nearly a thousand years. It did NOT occur in the manner described in the future prophecies! Furthermore, the old national empire of Babylon has remained inhabited by man, yet the prophecies speak of no habitation for the nation/state as well as the city. Additionally, the events in question indicate that the demise of this Babylon will occur in … one…that’s 1…1 hour. Yes, that is 60 minutes of time…for complete annihilation of not just a city but also a city/state/nation. That never occurred for ancient Babylon. She just slowly dissolved into nothingness. Therefore, the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah are indeed still for the future and we will explain in detail just why this is so.

In addition to the mistaken view that the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah were fulfilled already against ancient Babylon, there are those that believe that ancient Babylon will be rebuilt and receive final destruction as described by the prophets. This has been a recent popular theory. For a while many conservative prophecy scholars agreed on this…as Iraq and Saddam Hussein seemed to grow into a military power in the days before Desert Storm. How ironic it is that perhaps ancient Babylon’s attempted resurgence was stopped by the future Babylon, during the war in 1991. There are many problems with those views about a rebuilt Babylon. The biggest stumbling block that is so obvious, is that in future Babylon, most of the world’s Jews will be residing there. At the close of this century, and with the dawn of a new millenium just around the corner, a rebuilt Iraq is not going to be a logical place for most of the world’s Jews to immigrate to on their own. The Jewish aspect invalidates this recent popular theory still held by some conservative scholars. There are many more elements that destroy the notion of a rebuilt Babylon, but as you will see by the end of this book, Iraq could not fit most of the requirements for being the future Babylon.

... ... ... ... ...

Jeremiah (Jer.) 50

verses 1-2: The announcement of destruction

verse 3: The details begin

verses 4-5: The timing for this future event in the prophetic timetable

verses 4-8: Regarding Jewish settlers in Babylon

verse 9: God’s announcement of judgment on Babylon

verses 9-10: More details

verse 11: Reasons for the judgment

verses 12-13: Results of the judgment

verses 14-16: Description of the destruction—the attack

verses 17-18: Prior Divine Judgments on Israel

verse 19: Israel restored to God’s favor

verse 20: Timing details again

verses 21-43: Babylon I.D. markers amid the descriptions

verses 44-46: Aftermath of Babylon’s demise

verses 1-5: God’s announcement of judgment against Babylon

verse 6: Warning to Jews in Babylon to evacuate that city/nation

verse 7: Reason for God’s indictment and judgment on Babylon

verse 8: Mercy is suggested and divine healing?

verse 9: Babylon rejects mercy and healing!

verses 9-10: Judgment reaffirmed

verse 11: Divine summons to go to war against Babylon

verses 12-58: Details of the judgment

v. 45…key phrase spoken by God… "Come out her, My people."

see also Revelation chapter 18:4; also Isaiah 48:20, Jer. 51:6

along with Jer. 50:8 & 28

v. 49…Babylon is determined to be responsible for Israel’s casualties

v. 53…key phrase… "even though Babylon should ascend into the heavens"

verses 59-64: Conclusion

Isaiah Chapter 13: Oracle against Babylon

verses 1-2: Announcement & Timing of Event

verse 3: The Executioners of Divine Judgment: "My Righteous Ones"

verses 4-22: Details of the Judgment

verses 4 - 8… The battle

verses 9 - 16… Resulting effects

verses 17 - 22… More effects

Isaiah Chapter 14: Israel Reacts to Babylon’s Demise

verses 4-21…give the details of the results/and reactions

Isaiah Chapter 18: The Timing of the Destruction

verses 1, 2, 3, & 7: I.D. Markers about Babylon

verses 1-15: I.D. markers about Babylon’s identity

Isaiah Chapter 48: God’s advisory to Israel

verses 14 – 22: Warning to Jews

verse 20: Specific warning to Jews to "flee" or evacuate.

End of Excerpt #1.

New Excerpt #2.

From Volume 2

One of the most popular theories regarding the identity of "Mystery Babylon" in Biblical Prophecy is the one that concludes that the Roman Catholic Church is the Harlot-Woman of Revelation 17. Some theorists claim that the Roman Catholic Church is the "Mystery Babylon of both Revelation 17 and 18. Now that latter view is full of obvious and blatant flaws. Revelation 18 makes it quite clear that it is a city/state/nation. This city then is an economic engine that powers the world's economy. These character traits in chapter 18 are so obvious that very few thoughtful, conservative, prophecy researchers take such a theory seriously. Revelation 18 makes it obvious that the entity called "Mystery Babylon" is indeed a city. The chapter 18 character traits of the city (called a "mega-city" in the Greek) reveal a city that can not be matched to the traits of Vatican City nor to Rome itself. For more information on the issue of Rome as Babylon see the next chapter in this book: Why Rome Can't Be Mystery Babylon.

In order to comprehend the entire issue of identifying "Mystery Babylon" one should understand some of the basic background regarding ancient Babylon. Some of this information will be found in the accompanying section 2 on "De-Mystifying Mystery Babylon." That section provides background depth concerning the ancient mystical religion of the Babylonian goddess ISHTAR. When we understand the proven and documented facts provided by archaeological discoveries of the Royal Records found in the cities of Babylonia/Chaldea we find that our prior understanding of the myths and legends of Babylonian religions (like that of Ishtar) are very inaccurate. Our prior misunderstanding of what Ishtar worship was all about has prevented us from correctly understanding what Revelation 17 is trying to tell us.

Too many researchers of the past, such as Alexander Hislop have been shown to be in error in their assumptions about ancient Babylon's religions. Hislop himself lived and died before any of the Royal Records were ever found. Furthermore, Hislop has been exposed by one of his staunchest modern-day supporters, Ralph Woodrow. Woodrow had written the definitive book supporting Hislop's research. It remained a bastion of support for Hislop's research until someone began showing Woodrow reasons to question Hislop's data. Woodrow then spent considerable time at the U.S. Library of Congress poring over old archives and researching the actual documents, and archaeological records. Woodrow found that Hislop's research was at best, sloppy and frequently made giant leaps of logic with no supporting data whatsoever. Hislop apparently also badly misquoted sources. Some have felt that Hislop committed intellectual "fraud" upon Christian theology. I don't know that I would go that far but Woodrow followed up with a book that now thoroughly exposes and refutes Hislop's work. Unfortunately, most of conservative Christianity has either rejected or neglected Woodrow's important expose of Hislop.

For those interested in the entire Hislop research (found in his book "The Two Babylons: A Tale of Two Cities") and the expose of it by Ralph Woodrow, you can order the book entitled:

ISBN: 0916938174

If you are interested in a little further background on the book you can go to the book's webpage at Amazon.com and find the author's comments and admissions about Hislop. To Woodrow's credit, he bought back all of the outstanding bookstore inventories of his old book that supported Hislop. This must have been a financial hardship, but Woodrow had the integrity to pursue such a course of action at his own expense.

Revelation 17 has been thought to be referring to the Church gone astray. This is an assumption that has prevailed historically in the church for many centuries. At the time of Christ, the "mystery religions" of Rome, Greece and Egypt were thought to be nationalized versions of Ishtar worship. We now have many documents from Babylon that date well back past the 2^nd Millenium BC and may extend well back into the 3^rd Millenium BC. These writings tell a different story regarding the original doctrines of Ishtar, the chief goddess of Babylon. These much older writings portray a goddess who is virtually identical to the woman of Revelation 17.

Ishtar, goddess of Babylon had many names and titles associated with her even at the very beginning. She was referred to as the "Mother of Temple Prostitutes" because it was her religion that introduced the whole concept of religious prostitution. She introduced the idea of "holy sex". It was a religious rite in which a person engaged in sexual relations for the purpose of purification, or the removal of sin! This is what Revelation 17: 5 is referring to when it says:

This verse repeats the title assigned to Ishtar nearly 3,000 years earlier. It is not saying that she was the literal mother of prostitutes. This title implies a role more like that of an overseer of an operation as in a house of ill repute. Now, Chapter 17 and verse 2 describes her relationship with the kings of the earth. It describes it in a manner of a sexual relationship. This occurred with the kings (or leaders) of the earth in a philosophical or spiritual manner.

Now, the actual ancient writings of Babylon speak of a special ritual that Ishtar engaged in once a year with the King. Zechariah Sitchin is a researcher of the ancient Babylonian writings and one of only a handful of people who can read and translate these cuneiform tablets. Sitchin has written several books presenting his decades of research into the translations. He describes in his book Divine Encounters (published by Avon Books, 1995) this ritual in which once a year the king was required to meet with Ishtar. She would come down from outer space in a crescent-shaped object. She was thought to come (like all the other Anunnaki 'gods') from the Pleiades star system, more specifically Sirius. She was also associated with the planet Venus. She would take refuge in a special honeymoon-like "chamber" called the "gigunu" (or chamber of nighttime pleasures).

It was the duty of the king to engage in sexual relations with her. Failure to perform would result in dire consequences. This activity occurred only at the New Year Festival. This "sacred" ceremony was called "The Sacred Marriage". It lasted all night. If the King emerged alive to the people he was allowed to remain in power for one more year. Sitchin documents this material in Divine Encounters on pages 161 through 182, but especially on this particular rite on pages 174-176.

Sitchin's research casts special insight into these very ancient doctrines. As one reads this recently published material from the archaeological finds one realizes that this material parallels precisely with what is described in the 17^th chapter of Revelation. If one reads verse 4 and then reads the descriptions in the Royal records concerning what Ishtar looked like and how she dressed one realizes that we see this description matches that description found in verse 4. Ishtar would appear with either a golden cup in her outstretched hand or with a 'torch'. She would also be decked-out in jewels and gold along with royal robes of purple and scarlet. Many times she would wear a crown befitting her title as "Queen of Heaven."

We also know that Ishtar was called the goddess of personal freedom and liberty. She was also referred to as a warrior goddess as she would fight for freedom. She was also of course called the goddess of love. She was also called the "mother of immigrants" because she was thought to answer even the personal appeals of immigrants seeking freedom in Babylon. One of the traits that endeared her to the common peoples was that she was thought to be a personal goddess who heard and answered prayers of the average person. This trait also endeared her to the massive population of Babylon that consisted of immigrants to the nation. (This was a unique trait among the gods of Babylon). She was also a goddess who engaged in occult practices and promoted occult activities among the human population.

We also know from the recently found writings from ancient Babylon that Ishtar never actually "married". She also never actual gave physical birth to a child. So she was not a "mother" goddess to an infant son. Instead, she was a wanton woman who promoted not only heterosexual promiscuity but also homosexuality, as well as other perversions like incest and even bestiality and many other "sick" sexual perversions. She is credited for actually introducing the concept of homosexuality to the human race. Her motto was similar to the "If it feels good, do it" slogan of our 1960s baby boom generation. But that was nothing new, Ishtar introduced it to humanity perhaps as much as 4,00 to 5,000 years earlier.

Perhaps now you can recognize that all of these traits more closely match the description of Revelation 17. Those who felt that the Roman Catholic Church was the focus of this chapter based this view upon unbiblical and false doctrines. This being especially true regarding the doctrines and practices related to the Virgin Mary. These proponents felt that the Virgin Mary concept originated from Ishtar worship. They point to the research of Alexander Hislop and his book "The Two Babylons".

Hislop lived and wrote during the 1800s. His work predated the archaeological discoveries of ancient Babylon. He was unaware of the Royal Records of Babylon that have been discovered by modern archaeologists and translated by a handful of linguists. This new data proves that Hislop substantially erred in making certain assumptions. His oldest data sources were at least 1500 years after the facts recorded in those Royal Records of the libraries in ancient Babylonian cities. Therefore, Hislop's conclusions that the Roman Catholic Church was the "Mystery Babylon" of Revelation are erroneous.

The proponents of the theory that Mystery Babylon is the Roman Catholic Church will also claim that Revelation 17 is references not only the Virgin Mary as the Harlot, but also they point to Revelation 17:9. This verse, or so these theorists would claim proves that the city of Rome is being referred to. They then of course remind us that Rome is the location of the Vatican. In the next chapter we show that this verse 9 does not refer to Rome.

Revelation 17: 9 says: "And here is the mind, which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth."

Now as we state in the next chapter, that word "mountain" which we see in the King James Version and the New American Standard Version refers to the original Greek word "hora". The most scholarly of Greek lexicons tell us that the word in its most basic form refers to a large landmass. It usually was used for mountains. But it could also refer to a desert. Now, remember deserts are flat. So you might ask what does this have to do with the idea that Rome is being referred to? The answer is that most other newer English translations use the word "hill". Why these new versions choose to use the word "hill" is something of a mystery to me. Strong's Concordance dictionary does mention it in passing because elsewhere the KJV sometimes uses "hill" in reference to that Greek word "hora".

What we do know is that there was a different word in the Greek language that was generally used for "hill". It was the word "bounos". This word was actually a word of Roman origination. The Romans used this word exclusively for the 7 hills of Rome. The Greeks simply had borrowed this word from the Romans. Thus in the first century AD, anyone who was writing in the Greek and referred to Rome's 7 hills would use the word "bounos". To use any other word, like "hora" would be inaccurate. The Greeks and Romans both used the word "bounos" exclusively in referring to the 7 hills of Rome. Therefore, the question arises "why would the Holy Spirit choose the word 'hora' instead of bounos if He were referring to Rome?" The obvious answer was that the Holy Spirit was NOT referring to Rome. He was referring to something completely different than the city of Rome. Thus, we find a major flaw exposed in the theory of not only Rome as Mystery Babylon, but also it is a flaw for those proponents contending that Mystery Babylon (whether of just chapter 17 or of 17/18) is the Roman Catholic Church.

Now the real problem with the theory that Revelation 17 is the Roman Catholic Church or any other church or organization is the word structure of Revelation 17:18. Here we find that the grammatical structure does not allow the woman to be separated from the city. How do we know this? Look at the verse structure.

Note the word "IS". That word "is" connotes an "=" sign. Therefore we could diagram the verse this way.

"The woman… = … the great city…" or the woman IS the great city. It doesn't say she is 'like' the great city. It simply says she IS the great city. This means that the woman is the outward "symbol" of the city. Now verse 18 then becomes the verse that links chapter 17 and 18 together. Why? Until now the woman is not linked to anything. Verse 18 does make the first link between her and the city. Chapter 18 then goes on to describe her as a city/state/nation. Repeatedly we see character traits that describe more than just a city. Rather we see it described as a nation. It is a nation that has a woman as its national symbol. The woman is actually Ishtar, goddess of Babylon, known as the goddess of personal freedom. She is the goddess of immigrants. This is what Revelation 17: 1 and 15 is referring to as we see the woman connected to the many ethnic groups of immigrants. Note that this symbolism of water also links to the concept of immigrants. Can you think of anything in the world today, which has the symbol of a woman connected to immigrants and immigration and is also closely connected to water? I can. Can you think of any symbol? Did the Statue of Liberty come to your mind?

All of this is further underscored by recognizing that there are at least 21 character traits of this Mystery Babylon that do NOT match up to the concept of Mystery Babylon being the Vatican or the Roman Catholic Church. Here's a list of those 21 traits. (These same traits and more are provided in the next chapter and are extensively discussed including all of the scripture passages. In the interest of brevity we have simply chosen to show the simplicity of these traits without all of the accompanying sources to allow the reader to obtain the full impact without the distractions of the locations.

Rest assured the locations and much more are discussed in the next Chapter that more clearly focuses just on the Rome = Babylon theory. And now your simple list of traits that the Vatican/RCC cannot match up to:

#1. The Jewish Population Issue

#2. The chief city of Mystery Babylon is a "DEEP WATER PORT CITY"!!!

#18. Where the world’s leaders "stream" to meet (Jer 51:44 -- where they all come at once to get together on a regular basis... also Rev. 17:18)

Finally, we've not really included it but you notice the references to "Defenses that 'mount up' into the heavens (or space). Plus the notes about Her Navy performing "showing the flag" exercises. Then of course there are the references to her armies and soldiers. The Vatican has no standing Armies. Yet just another of the many aspects that rule out the theory that the Roman Catholic Church is "Mystery Babylon."

In the next section we present much more evidence showing the background and heritage of the Statue of Liberty. We present the ironclad proof that the sculptor of this statue designed her to be his rendering of the goddess Ishtar, known as the goddess of freedom and liberty. We will assert that Revelation 17: 9 is speaking specifically of the Statue and her crown of 7 spikes. Those 7 spikes flash the occult enlightenment of the sun god Utu upon each of the 7 "hora"… or large landmasses… which is what the root word of "hora" actually means and not mountains. You will want to read that chapter carefully because the behind-the-scenes facts of the Statue of Liberty will just amaze you and leave you shaking your head. After all, the sculptor was a Freemason and he was very much caught up in the masonic world incorporated from the "mystery" religious doctrines of Ishtar.

End of Excerpt #2

Excerpt #3

From Volume 2

Chapter 3

The most popular and prevalent theory floating in conservative Christian theological circles today regarding the identity of "Mystery Babylon" is the view that Rome must be "Mystery Babylon." This notion has a long and rich history that dates back to the early church era, just after John wrote the Revelation. The reasoning in the early church was quite simple. Rome had seemed as though it would always be the World Empire. Rome had reigned as the World Empire effectively for nearly 300 years and showed no signs of losing its grip. Therefore, it seemed only logical to conclude that the descriptions of this "Mystery Babylon" must indeed be referring to Rome. After all, many times Rome was referred to as "Babylon"…because it had incorporated so much of Babylonian religion and thought into its culture. This view continued to exist until the collapse of the Roman Empire and the rise of the Catholic Church.

The view that Rome was Babylon died out after Christianity became the dominant power in world affairs. It saw a rebirth during the Reformation, when some Protestant theologians thought the Catholic Church was the Harlot of Revelation chapter 17. Some saw the city of chapter 18 as either the church or a rebuilt Roman Empire. This view rose to greater promise with each successive attempt to restore the old Roman Empire by the likes of Napoleon and other European leaders.

American Protestants (from the 1800s up to the present time) felt that the evil Roman Catholic Church in particular must be the Harlot of chapter 17. The debate over whether Revelation 18 was the Roman City itself or a rebuilt empire remained a hot issue for nearly two centuries. The research by Dr. Hislop and his book, "The Two Babylons" only served to underscore the theory that Rome and the Catholic Church were the focus of Revelation 17 & 18. In the 1970s the debate was shifted by some conservative Protestant scholars more towards the notion that it was simply Rome that was "Mystery Babylon"…but most would not rule out the Catholic Church as the entity being described in Revelation 18.

During much of this time, the notion that the Old Testament prophecies of a future Babylon were pretty much dismissed as having already been fulfilled because the ancient site of Babylon was unknown. Some liberal scholars claimed Babylon was just a myth and a legend. By the end of the 19^th century archaeologists had discovered the ruins of ancient Babylon. Most scholars though still thought the prophecies of Isaiah 13, 14, 18, 21, 47, 48, and also Jeremiah 50, 51 had already been fulfilled. Yet a careful analysis shows that those prophecies still remain unfulfilled to this day. Meanwhile, Hislop’s research pointed to the Catholic Church as the Harlot of chapter 17 and either the Vatican City or Rome as the "mega-city" of Rev. ch. 18. This remained as the predominant of all conservative Christian views.

The reasons for these views rest on 3 key misconceptions. They are:

#1. The goddess of Babylon, Ishtar is thought to be the Mother-goddess with an

infant that posed striking similarities with the Virgin Mary concept of Catholicism. Hislop spends a great deal of time on this matter in an effort to show that there indeed was/is a connection between the two concepts and therefore linked the Roman Catholic Church as "the Harlot" of Revelation 17. Thus, in this view some would say that "Mystery Babylon" is Rome because it is the seat of the Catholic Church.

#2. Revelation 17:9 is a reference to the 7 hills of Rome. Therefore, chapter 17 and also Chapter 18 refers to Rome as Babylon.

#3. Revelation 17:18 refers to the "present tense" and therefore is a reference to the Rome of the first century AD, not to some future time when the actions are in present tense in some future point of time. Also the verse is ignored in its grammatical aspects regarding present and future tense time frames in order to make this theoretical point valid.

Those are the three misconceptions that the proponents of the Rome = Babylon theory do not realize. Why do we say that these ideas are misconceptions? Let's look at each of the three points in detail.

Misconception #1: Babylon's goddess Ishtar = the Virgin Mary concept. Noted researchers like John Heise have posted some of their Sumerian (Babylonian) archaeological research data on the Internet. For our purposes relating to Ishtar the reader may want to visit this link at John's website:

http://www.sron.ruu.nl/~jheise/akkadian/mesopotamia.html

Also go to his Main index page to realize the extent of this man's research and qualifications as a Sumerologist (a scholarly researcher specializing in archaeology and language of Sumer or Babylonia, the land of Babylon). Here's the link:

http://www.sron.ruu.nl/~jheise/akkadian/index.html

As you will see this man is one of the few people in the world who can read the cuneiform tablets of Sumer/Babylonia. His website gives a primer to readers for learning how to read the cuneiform tablets. Only a handful of men are considered to really be able to read and understand for translation the writing on those ancient clay tablets called cuneiform tablets. This man is one among the handful.

What the theorists don't realize is that Alexander Hislop lived before the time when the key Babylonian tablets were found and translated.

Hislop had no knowledge of what was to be later found by archaeological discoveries, namely the Royal Library Records of ancient Babylon, including the governmental archives and writings pertaining to the religions of Babylon. In fact, after these discoveries most of the tablets went untranslated because no one knew the language. Only a few scholars have been able to learn it sufficiently to translate those tablets. Therefore, Hislop himself in his book refers to the fact that his entire thesis might be incorrect because his source data of information about the Babylonian religion did not go back to Babylon, but rather the succeeding empires that came later.

Hislop's sources are only as old as about the middle of the first millenium BC. So Hislop had no first-hand source material for his assertions. His primary sources were mostly historians living no earlier than 400 BC. Most of his earliest material is extremely fragmentary so thus he relied upon later Greek and Roman historians as well as Church historians from the 3^rd thru the 5^th Centuries AD.

The cuneiform tablets of the Royal Libraries of Babylonia tell us much more about Ishtar, especially those documents from her Temple. These tablets give us a much more reliable picture than what Hislop presents. These ancient cuneiform tablets are direct first-hand sources from Babylon. They tell us that Ishtar was the chief goddess of Babylon. Among the details, we find that Ishtar never gave physical birth to a child. She was however considered a Mother of her Temple Prostitutes. It was one of her titles…"Mother of Prostitutes". She promoted the whole idea of sexual freedom because she was known as the goddess of personal freedom and liberty…including sexual freedom. This certainly matches the Revelation 17:5 passage that actually calls Ishtar by her idiomatic name…"mother of Harlots" which was a slur in the Biblical sense but a phrase of honor in Babylon.

The entire character of Ishtar and her doctrines is far different from that portrayed by Hislop. He had confused Ishtar with the 'myth of Semiramis'. Semiramis, according to Hislop and the Greek historians of the late 1^st millenium BC was the wife of Nimrod. However, we find no records of Nimrod's wife anywhere in the Royal Libraries. We also do not find the name Semiramis in any of the Royal Records. Semiramis was no doubt a fictional creation. She was a genuine 'myth' that grew up more than 3,000 years after the Tower of Babel. Hislop had contended that Ishtar was Semiramis, therefore this linked the ancient goddess to the same doctrines practiced by the Greek's and the Romans as having come unaltered from Ishtar. The closest possibility is an Assyrian (not Babylonian) queen named Sammu-ramat who lived around 800 BC or about 1,500 to 2,000 years after Nimrod. Now that is quite an age difference!

We find however that clay tablets tell a different story and thus Hislop's work is in complete error. He wrote in his book that this might be so because he didn't have the source documentation to back up what he admitted was a theory. A theory that seemed valid at the time he wrote the book. Thus, the Rome = Babylon theorists hang their hats (in part) upon the errant theories of Hislop. Theories that have now been proven to be false by the actual source documents from Babylon, and not by word of mouth some 3,000 years later.

So the notion that the woman of Rev 17 is Ishtar, the Virgin Mary …and symbol of the Catholic Church has a serious and fatal flaw. Yes, the woman or harlot is Ishtar, but it's not the Virgin Mary. Neither are the original mystical doctrines of Ishtar anything quite like the doctrines that were practiced 3,000 years later upon which these theorists now wish to rest their case for Rome = Babylon.

Misconception #2. That Revelation 17:9 is a reference to Rome as being the city called Babylon. The basis for that claim is made primarily on the basis that some translations use the English word "hill" in verse 9. However, the KJV does not use the term "hill". Neither does the New American Standard Bible. Both of those versions use the term "mountain". Most other modern translations use the term "hill." Why is this important to the notion that Rome is Babylon? Look at the Verse: 9

"And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth."

The Rome = Babylon theorists will point to the verse and claim this verse is referring to the 7 'hills' of Rome. They overlook the 2 more reliable of all English versions which say "mountains". The typical R=B theorist will not be dissuaded by such a minor technicality…by claiming that whether it is "mountains" or "hills" its still the same thing. Still, others will look at the Greek text to see what the actual Greek word is and what it means.

The Greek word used here is the word "hora". (not "ora" as some have alluded). There is a rough breathing mark before the letters o-r-a. That rough breathing mark means that an 'h' sound must be pronounced first, thus the word is pronounced "hora". Now, for those who are familiar with Strong's concordance numbering system the number is = #3735. Dr. Strong himself ascribed the meaning as being 'mountain' in primary usage. He does cite a minority opinion that sometimes it might be used in referring to a hill. That is a debatable issue.

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon does not even mention hill as a possible definition. Perhaps that is because of Luke 3:5 where we find the word "hora" is translated as "mountain". The word in that verse for "hill" is the word "bounos". Now that is significant because we see that "hill" is connected to a word other than "hora" for which the non-Greek researcher would not realize the difference. Regarding the meaning of "hora"… to fully comprehend this word we should turn to the esteemed work of Moulton & Milligan's Vocabulary of the Greek Testament.

Moulton & Milligan's work is unlike most lexicons because it is providing definitions based upon a rendering of all koine writings that have been found by archaelogists in odd places like "trash dumps" among other places. Using all sorts of written documents even if partially or mostly destroyed, many times a linguist and translator can get a feel for the true meaning of how a word was used and not simply what the dictionary definitions state. Thus, it is interesting that Moulton & Milligan cite that the word 'hora' was often used for the desert. Yes, that's right … a desert. Now deserts tend to be flat, not hilly nor mountainous. They go on to indicate that the typical normal usage of the word was "mountain" but not hill. Hmmm. Why would that be? There is a different word for "hill" in the Greek. It is the word we mentioned earlier that is also found in Luke 3:5 as it sits almost side by side with the word "hora". Now this word for hill that we see in Luke 3:5 is the word "bounos".

"Bounos" is the key to Revelation 17:9 because "bounos" is NOT…. I repeat bounos IS NOT USED nor found in Revelation 17:9. It is the word for hill. BUT…BUT…BUT…BUT…. (Do I have your attention, now?) Please note this next statement. The word "bounos" was actually a word the Greeks borrowed from the Romans who used the word exclusively to refer to the 7 hills of Rome. That's right. The word "bounos" is the grammatically correct word to use if you were to refer to the 7 hills of Rome.

Now, Revelation 17:9 does not have the word "bounos" in the text. It is the word "hora". So that, IF the Holy Spirit, who guided John's hand and mind in writing the Revelation, were referring in verse 9 (and really all of chapters 17 and 18)… then why did the Holy Spirit make an ERROR in the Greek Language???? I DID NOT REALIZE THAT GOD COULD SIN !!!!!! I DID NOT REALIZE THAT GOD COULD MAKE AN ERROR…even if it was in language? Why did God, the Holy Spirit make the Greek Grammatical error of using "hora" to describe the 7 Hills of Rome when HE should have used the word "bounos"??????? The answer is, of course, that He didn’t make an error because He was not referring to nor speaking of Rome. He was speaking of a nation and its chief city and IF it were Rome, the Lord would have used the correct word for the 7 hills of Rome…the word "Bounos"… which is actually a Roman word the Greek's borrowed from the Romans. See Moulton & Milligan's research on this word in "Vocabulary of the Greek Testament".

Now, all languages borrow words from other languages. We borrow a lot of words from the French and Spanish languages. We have even borrowed from the Japanese (like sayonara). If we were at a bullfight in Mexico would we use the term 'ole or "hurray" when cheering? Yes. IF, I were to say to you that I visited the Italian city of Pisa and saw the leaning skyscraper, would I be accurate? No, because the Leaning Tower of Pisa is actually the bell tower for a cathedral not a skyscraper. If I were to have referred to it as an office building would I have been correct? No. So too, with the usage of the word "hora" to describe the 7 hills of Rome. I would only be correct if I used the term "bounos."

Herein lies the death knell for any "Rome = Babylon" theorist that wants to use Revelation 17:9 as a proof text for his theory. He must explain this incorrect usage by the Lord in order to use this verse properly as a proof for his theory of Rome. It cannot be adequately explained. This author knows because this author started out to use that verse to prove that Rome was Babylon. I couldn't do it honestly or fairly. I had to abandon it as a proof as painful as that was. It was only one of the many, painful, abandonments that I endured as I spent several years of research trying to prove the "Rome = Babylon" theory was indeed correct.

It took me 3 years to begin to surrender from that position, by virtue of the overwhelming evidence that piled up against that view. So too with all the other theories except for the America = Babylon theory.

The America = Babylon theory is the only one I can't shoot down. In fact, I couldn't shoot down one single character trait of all the dozens that are found in the scriptures that help us to identify "Mystery Babylon". It took me 4 years to accept that I'd been wrong about Rome or the Catholic Church or Iraq or anyone else as Mystery Babylon. The last thing I wanted to do was to believe that America was the Babylon of future Prophecy. When I realized that I couldn't use the Revelation 17:9 passage as proof the whole theory just seemed to crumble. Then the discovery that Hislop's assumptions and data conclusions were in complete error only underscored the problem. But those were only 2 of the three key linchpins that held the Rome as Babylon theory together.

Misconception #3. Revelation 17:18 is the key passage for this misconception.

"And the woman which thou sawest is that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth."

This verse is used to claim that it must be referring to Rome because of, (in part

Verse 9 -- and the false notion/assumption that "hora" means the 7 hills of Rome)

the verb "is" happens to be in a "present" tense. Therefore it must be referring to a city in existence at the time John wrote his visions down. Now, there is a problem with that notion because, the whole book is future!!! It has not occurred yet. So, the question becomes whether or not the verb "is" ("estin" is the Greek word) refers to a "present" tense of 90 AD or "present" tense at the time John saw it. You should note that he saw it in the future? So, which is correct?

The most respected of the Greek Lexicons of the New Testament is called the "Bauer-Arndt, Gingrich and Danker Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian Literature" It is heavily cited by the most scholarly conservative Christian exegetes of the Greek New Testament. It is well respected. (It is referred to in abbreviations as BAGD or B-A-G-D). BAGD cites the usage of "estin" in cases like Revelation 17:18. [This subject is covered extensively in the book: "America, The Babylon" Vol. 1 on pages 231-234 where BAGD is cited. It shows conclusively that the word "estin" is referring to a present tense at a future point in time to the writing not referring to a present tense at the time of the writing because contextually the context is future.] The other references to Babylon in both chapters 17 and 18 are future tense. The context of verse 18 is that the word "estin" functions as an equal's sign. Thus if we were to present it like a mathematical equation it would look like:

"And the woman = the mega-city"

Or

the woman = the city

Or

the woman IS the city

This is the heart of the context of the verse. The overall context is a present tense at that time in the future. Thus, we lose the ability to claim that this verse is referring to 90 AD and thus Rome. Once we've realized that the grammatical rules won't support a 90 AD time frame without a violation of the rules of grammar we then move out of a state of confusion. We come to a realization that the verse is focusing on the notion that the woman IS the city … not that: "the woman is the mega-city which reigns over the kings of the earth." The last clause is secondary to the main issue of the verse. The main issue is … woman = city.

Now, let us look at all of the key character traits found in the various applied prophecies of this future Babylon. The following is a list of those traits that describe and therefore help us to understand and recognize this future Babylon that do NOT fit the theory of Rome as being this future Babylon.

#1. The Jewish Population Issue Jeremiah 50:8, 25; Jeremiah 51: 6, 45; Isaiah 48:20 and also Revelation 18:4 … are all references to Jewish people living in this future mystery Babylon. In the ancient Babylon, from the 6^th Century BC till well into the early Church Age, the majority of the Jewish population lived in ancient Babylon. It was the home to most of the world’s Jews even in the time of Christ. Today, the largest population of Jewish people is found in the United States. The next two nations … Israel (home to the 2^nd largest Jewish population) and Russia (home to the 3^rd largest Jewish population) combined do not equal the population of Jewish people living in America. Rome on the other hand has some Jews living in its borders but not enough, nor prominent enough to match the criteria. Therefore, this trait alone disqualifies the theory of Rome = Mystery Babylon.

 #2. The chief city of Mystery Babylon is a "DEEP WATER PORT CITY"!!! Revelation 18: 17-19. This passage tells us that merchant ships are standing off the shoreline of Babylon. These ships have either just unloaded in the port city of Mystery Babylon, or are waiting to dock when the fiery judgment hits. These ship captains, crew and passengers are witnesses to the destruction. Question? Why would these folks be standing on deck of merchant ships unless there were Port facilities in this city? Answer. The city is a port city. In this day and age, especially by virtue of the list of commodities that are traded in "mystery Babylon"… see Revelation 18:11-13… one thing can be noted… this city, to have this kind of merchandise coming in by ships…must be a DEEP WATER SEAPORT CITY. Why? For ships of today to bring such merchandise requires the ships to be large commercial freighters. These ships require deep-water port facilities to dock and unload/load. They must have a harbor with large depths.

Now here is the problem for the "Rome = Babylon" theorists. Rome is NOT a deepwater seaport, period!!! Ancient Rome, we are told must be the only literal interpretation. However, Ancient Rome was not a Seaport either. Rome is landlocked.

#3. It is the KEY Commercial Nation and Engine of Wealth for the World’s Economy. Isaiah 47:15. Revelation 17:2; Revelation 18: 3, 9, 11-13, 15, 16, 17-19, 22, 23, & 19:2. Here in these passages we see just what relationship Babylon enjoys with the rest of the world. Here she is clearly the critical factor in the world economy. When she goes down in flames…what is the lament?? "What was like unto this mega city?" "Who will buy our goods now that she is gone"?? The answer is that no one will be able to buy the products of the world’s merchants. What does this tell us??? It should be a clear warning indicator that whoever this nation is… the rest of the world depends on her for buying their merchandise. With her destruction, there is no one left to buy their goods. That tells us just how vital this nation is. That means that this nation is the engine of wealth for the world.

Now, Rome (nor Italy) does NOT and can not fit that role…at least not in the next 30 years, unless the rest of the world is wiped out first. Rome and Italy have nearly gone broke several times. They have the shakiest economy in all of Europe, save for other communist bloc nations. Once again, we see a character trait that Rome does not exemplify in anyway, shape nor form.

#4-#21… These are 18 commodities in a list that are the chief trading products as cited in Rev 18:11-13 for which the merchants and sailors later lament that no one will buy their products anymore! Rev 18:12-13 provides a list of Gold, Silver and Copper. Now on these items alone… there is more Gold traded in New York City on the COMEX in one day than in all the rest of the world, combined !!! The same is true for Silver and Copper also. It is true for Crude Oil. In fact, the volumes of trade are so heavy that in one day alone, there is more gold traded in one day than had been traded in all of human history up until 1974 when Gold trading was allowed to be done on a futures contractual basis. That is how massive and how dominant the USA and NYC are in the commodities trading markets. Revelation 18: 12 & 13, lists many other commodities as well… including grains and livestock.

Now, Chicago is the host city for such record trading in that arena. (It too is a port city on Lake Michigan). The fact of the matter is this… Rome/Italy has one of the shakiest economies in Europe… It has no ability to be the economic engine of wealth for the whole world. If Rome vanished from the face of the earth today…it would not even cause a ripple in the World’s economy. However, if the USA vanished today… it would decimate the world’s economy and bankrupt every nation on earth, instantly. In essence, there would be no one left to buy the foreigner’s goods. That’s because no one else wants to import goods…they only want to export. The USA was the big promoter of international trade and promoted imports. Iraq plays no such role in the world economy. She is too poor to do so.

#22. Leading center of imports and consumption. Revelation 18: 11, 17-19. These passages tell us the economic picture of this nation. Note that this nation is not only involved in the trade of these products, but that she is also the leading importer… because when she is destroyed…"no one buys"… their merchandise anymore. The folks lamenting are the international merchants who export goods to this mystery Babylon. Therefore, she is the leading import nation. She also then is by virtue of her importer status… the chief consuming nation. This also is not a description of Rome or Italy. Rome/Italy has no such status in the world today or for tomorrow or the foreseeable future! It is this aspect which negates the Rome = Babylon theory…because the contention is that we are living in the "last days" and the fulfillment of the end-times prophecies are at hand. IF this is true, and I assert that it indeed is true…then how can Rome, Italy or even Iraq match these character traits in so short a span of time??? Answer: she can’t. She is not the nation being described. There is one nation that does fit all of these traits, and then many more traits that are also listed. That nation is the United States of America.

#23. She is also a manufacturing nation. Revelation 18: 22. This passage tells us about her manufacturing no longer being found in her after the judgment. This tells us she was a manufacturing nation before the judgment. Rome/Italy is not a nation noted for being a world leader in manufacturing. How many folks do you know drive an Italian car here in the United States? There aren't that many Europeans driving Italian cars either as a relative percentage.

#24. Center for Merchandising and Marketing. Revelation 18: 3, 23; 19:2. Her merchants were the mega-merchants of the earth. This again does not fit the character traits of Rome or Italy. It does fit the picture of America.

#25. Known as the World’s "policeman". Jeremiah 50:23 gives us a Hebrew idiom, "hammer of the whole earth". It had been used at one time to describe the way the empires of Persia, Greece and Rome had applied their power to keep the world at peace. Today, after the decline and fall of the Iron Curtain, major news media referred to America as the world’s policeman, in the same kind of role that the Hebrew idiom references. Rome or Italy does not fit this role.

#26. Known for "showing the flag" or "gunboat diplomacy". Isaiah 18:1-2 Here again, 2 Hebrew idioms for the idea of a nation’s navy showing its power. The phrase in verse 1 relates to the idea of "air travel". The first phrase of verse 2…"that sends ambassadors by the sea" another Hebrew idiom for when ancient naval powers would send warships to "show the flag" of friendship or threaten war to unfriendly nations or cities. Today, one nation engages in such actions. The USA does send out naval units usually as aircraft carrier battle groups. The notion of verse 1 with air travel combined with verse 2 and the naval aspect, thus combines to send a notion of naval and air power … or suggesting aircraft carriers!!! Rome has no military of any kind. Italy has very limited military power. Her naval power is especially limited to Home waters.

#27. Noted for its elegant luxurious lifestyles, refined, rich lifestyles. Isaiah 47: 1-8; Revelation 17: 4-5; 18: 2 –24, This does not match up with Rome. Rome is not capable of reaching such levels of wealthy living standards in our lifetime. It's always fighting perpetual rounds of inflation bordering at times near hyperinflation levels.

#28. Extremely Wealthy Jeremiah 51:13 Revelation 18: 2-19. Rome isn't that wealthy.

#29. Sensual, Materialistic lifestyle. Isaiah 47: 8; Revelation 18:14. Now this one might be open to debate.

#30. The Highest Living Standards Isaiah 47:1 Revelation 18: 14. Italy does not enjoy any standard near the levels of the US or most other nations of Europe.

#31. Intoxicating high-society lifestyle as a world example to emulate

Revelation 17:2; Revelation 18: 3, 14, 23. Again, this might be debatable.

#32. Elegant, Sumptuous lifestyle. Revelation 18: 14, 23. Again debatable as to whether Rome and Italy might be said to have this feature. But not really on the basis of the average citizen.

#33. Noted for its bright gaudy-colored lights and nightlife with round the-clock partying. Revelation 18:14. Note the words "dainty" and "goodly". Dainty is a word in Greek that connotes to 24-hour parties and is connoted with orgies and debauchery. The word for "goodly" is the Greek word "lampra" from which we get the English word for lamp. In this case it carries the idea of bright, gaudy-colored lights, with idea of "glitzy" lights. The bright lights of Broadway or Times Square?? Or perhaps even Las Vegas?? While Rome might have some lights, its not reached the levels of New York City or Las Vegas, etc.

#34. Noted for its Drugs and Drug use. Isaiah 47: 9, 12. Revelation 18:23 Do we even need to comment on this one???? I think not… the text clearly speaks for itself on this one. This should be a "no-brainer". Even the Italian Mafia is no longer the big kingpin in the drug world. That belongs to other cultures now.

#35. Noted for its culture. Revelation 18:14, 22 Okay, some might want to debate that…but you don't see a lot of Italian movies winning Oscars, or its music dominating radio stations around the world, or its TV programs in syndication around the world. It's not world leader in developing new art. Yes, it does dominate the world of opera, but the world does not pay much attention to opera.

#36. Noted for being Wasteful, Extravagant. Rev 18: 3, 7, 9, 14, 15;

implied in Rev 17: 2. Here again, we've got another "no-brainer." Texas alone matches most nations and that would probably include Italy and Rome.

#37. Massive Population. Rev. 18:15. And Revelation 17: 1, 15. Again another "no-brainer." The text doesn't claim that Babylon has the most. It simply notes that she is 'big'… or mega in size including population.

#38. A land of immigrants Jeremiah 50:16; 51:13; Rev. 17:1, 15. Well, with the Statue of Liberty as a symbol… there is no nation that has more appeal for immigration. Not many line up to want to immigrate to Italy.

#39. Unique and awe-inspiring beginning in its birth & right up to its demise. Isaiah 18: 2 While many nations have an interesting beginning, none have the kind of beginning that America had.

#40. Remarkably different heritage. Isaiah 18:2 See #39 above.

#41. Respected-envied and yet HATED by the whole world also. Isa. 18:2 No nation has this status within the family of nations other than the USA. "Yankee go home"… does that ring a bell? Yet, remember most of the world envies and respects the USA.

#43. Powerful and Oppressive Isaiah 18:2 Do we need to talk about all the military adventures the US has engaged in since the end of World War 2? When

did you last hear of Italy or Rome bombing anybody? When was the last time you heard about the Italian Pacific fleet in maneuvers at the same time its Atlantic fleet was conducting exercises? When was the last time Italy engaged in naval exercises or 'gun boat diplomacy'?

#44. Land of Rebels in its birth Jeremiah 51: 1; Isaiah 47: 9.

#45. Cosmopolitan and Urban Jeremiah 50:32

#46. Land of Agriculture. Jeremiah 50: 16 Okay… when was the last time you saw farms in Rome itself? I'd like to know how much wheat, oats, corn, rice, etc that is grown in the city of Rome? I can just see a Wheat combine harvesting all around the Vatican. Uh huh, sure!

#47. An International City. Revelation 17: 18; 18:15. Well there are several cities that could fit that category.

#48. Architecture, buildings and skyline. Isaiah 13:22 Now the Rome theorists might want to argue for Rome's skyline and architecture… so I'll be generous and allow a "tie" on this one…giving it a maybe or maybe not.

#49. Land of Many waters. (fresh waters) Jeremiah 51:13, 36, 42; Isa 18:1,2

Definitely not Rome. This is another city and nation where you don't drink the water… that's why they drink wine so much. The fresh water is poor and limited.

#50. Where the world’s leaders "stream" to meet. Jer. 51:44; Rev. 17:18. Rome is NOT where all the world's leaders meet regularly. The only place that happens is at the UN in New York City, at least once every year. Not Rome, nor anywhere else.

#51. Last of the Super powers. Jeremiah 50:12; Rev 17:18; and in the Revelation 18:18 passage "what city is like the ‘mega’ city"…also verse 19…Rome is definitely NOT a super power. No nation has ever had the power militarily and economically that the USA has had, especially in a percentage relationship to the rest of the world. Only ancient Babylon comes close, (before humanity had spread out) but ancient Babylon, to the best of our knowledge never sent spacecraft or men to the moon.

#52. No Fear of Invasion. Isaiah 47:5, 8; Revelation 18: 7-- Italy is concerned about Libya and Moammar Khaddafy although not as much as 10-12 years ago.

#53. Defenses reach up to Outer Space--Jeremiah 51:53. Since when did Italy or Rome ever have an astronaut program? Or a space program for that matter.

#54. Occult aspects Isaiah 47: 9, 12,13.

the Satanic forces. Revelation 18: 2.

#56. Its national symbol… Robed woman with a cup-like container in one hand that smells like natural gas odors inside the container…and the woman is connected to water and immigration…and is considered to be a mother-figure to spiritual prostitution…a.k.a. Ishtar, the mother of ‘literal’ and ‘physical’ prostitutes within religious worship centers. That is what the Babylonian goddess Ishtar was, the promoter of physical prostitution… salvation by sex… have sex with a temple priest or priestess and you are purified from sin. And of course you pay a ‘gift offering’ for this salvation activity. Ishtar was never a physical ‘mother’… but rather a ‘madam’ over the priestesses. Ishtar was never married and never had a child…but she was called "mother" of the temple priestesses. Kind of like a "house mother."

Now having said all of this… I’m referring to the Statue of Liberty. In my book, "America, The Babylon" I explain the meticulous research involved that shows that the Statue of Liberty is in fact the brain-child of the sculptor Bartholdi’s idea to create an image of the goddess Liberty of Rome. I then show how the Roman goddess was in fact borrowed by the Romans from Babylon…and in reality they worshipped Ishtar the goddess of Babylon but the Romans changed the name to Libertas in Latin, (Liberty, in English). So that, the Statue of Liberty is actually a pagan Idol image of Ishtar, the woman described in Revelation 17. If you don’t believe it…Look at Revelation 17: 4 & 5. Note the word for abomination. Bdelugma is from the root word Bdeoh. The Strong’s Code #946… " a foul thing, detestable, usually of idols…the root word means to "break wind", or to "pass gas"… indicating the odor smells like natural gas.

Well, speaking of natural gas…did you know that the Torch-cup of the Statue of Liberty burns an eternal flame…fueled by smelly natural gas? Also, of course… the Statue is referred to as the Mother of Exiles…an immigrant connection…just as the woman of Rev. 17: 1, 15 is also connected to immigrants. So too was Ishtar… she was the goddess of personal freedom… and an encouragement to immigrants.

AND LAST BUT BY NO MEANS THE LEAST… THE MOST LITERAL OF ALL:

#57. A Populated city named Babylon with a Deepwater Port.

Revelation 17:18; & 18: 11-19… Did you know that when ships coming in to the harbor facilities of New York City make their final approach to the Harbor channel shipping lanes…they have to come in from the south… heading due North straight for a spot on Long Island called … BABYLON !!! That’s right, the city of Babylon, which features a tall water tower that ship captains use to navigate directly into the harbor channel… and they come within 200 to 300 yards of the shore before turning west to head into the port. It is from this vantage point that I believe Revelation 18: 17-19 takes place. From this vantage point…on the deck of a ship…one could quite easily read the letters of the name Babylon on the city water tower!!!

Talk about literal?? Now that is indeed literal. This is something that theorists who promote the Rome = Babylon idea can’t match, because Rome is not a Deepwater seaport…it's so far away from the ocean that it can not possibly fit the description of Revelation 18: 17-19… in no way. But the USA can… and especially its chief city… a seaport named NYC/Babylon. Also, Babylon, Long Island derived its name because of it was founded by immigrant Jews in 1872…and the group’s rabbi’s chose the name almost prophetically, because they believed it would be home to a new diaspora.

Why would they think this? Because rabbinical opinions had held that ancient Babylon’s power would be moved… Zechariah 5: 5-11… and Isaiah 18:1 tells us what direction it would be moving. Isaiah 18:1 says that the spirit of Babylon would move west of the most outermost boundaries of ancient Babylon’s western-most border, beyond the rivers of Ethiopia and Egypt. [That is what is meant by the KJV term "Ethiopia"] By virtue of Isaiah’s point of observation being from Jerusalem…then the direction of movement was westward past Egypt…beyond the most outer of Babylon’s oldest boundaries… meaning… the occultic power that fueled Babylon would move and take up residence west of Egypt and Ethiopia in the end times. Rome is NOT west of Egypt and Ethiopia. Thus, again we have Rome ruled out of the picture by the character traits.

Thus, scripture itself negates the Rome = Babylon theory. Why will our "expert" scholars not accept the scriptural passages on this? Perhaps its pride or ignorance, I would suspect. Clearly, the only literal interpretation for this subject of "Mystery Babylon" from scripture is that it literally cannot be Rome. Why?

See and read again all 57 reasons that are listed above plus the 3 misconceptions that I show to be in error. Also follow up by reading other articles in this magazine issue and read the book, "America, The Babylon." Therefore, the only logical answer to the question: "Who is Mystery Babylon?" … is America? This researcher now believes this to be the case. If you have read Volume 1 of "America, The Babylon" and studied both the material in that book plus continue to study the material in this book, you too will no doubt come to a similar conclusion.

End of Excerpt #3

Excerpt #4

From Volume 2

Satan's Marriage to Babylon

In this section we will explore the empirical data that indicate some sort of physical relationship between America and Satanic supernatural forces. By this we mean that Satanic forces have taken material form and interacted with elements of a shadow government within the U.S. including black operations elements of the U.S. Department of Defense. This seems to involve primarily DoD intelligence and weapons development elements of DoD.

This section will present indicators that explain the rapid advance of technologies of the 20^th Century in primarily military capacities. It will also provide indications that perhaps the U.S. Space program is far more advanced than the public NASA program would indicate. We will also look at numerous reports that suggest the US government has allowed "alien" life forms to establish "bases" of operation within highly secret military compounds in the U.S. such as the infamous "Area 51" at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.

We recognize that this may well be the most controversial part of this book but this author feels it is important to present to you this information for your consideration. The data seems to indicate that such reports, if true would confirm Revelations 18: 2 which in the original Greek text indicates that Babylon has become a 'host' nation for Satanic military scouting operations.

Revelation 18:2b (KJV)

…."and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit and a cage for every unclean bird."

We will further explore these issues in the next chapters of this book.

Planet Earth

Revelation 18: 2b

…"and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird."

This verse describes Babylon before her fall. How do we know this? After all in part A of the verse we see in the KJV "is fallen, is fallen" indicating present tense, right? Actually, what we have here is the impending destruction announced. We also have an aorist tense in the Greek text. The aorist tense word is "egento" and it does not refer to the future. It is translated "is become" in the KJV. The aorist tense aspect indicates an action in a point of time in the past carrying results to the present time frame of the overall action described. So that what proceeds after … "habitation of" and "hold of" and "cage of" represents activity prior to the judgment. This means the Satanic aspects noted in this verse is indicative of activity that had been ongoing for some amount of time prior to the divine judgment and "crash" of Babylon.

Many prophecy students and even some "experts" look at this verse (usually without any understanding of the Greek grammar of the verbs) and think that based upon their understanding of archaic English that the verse is indicating Satanic beings occupy the land only after the judgment. This notion would seem appropriate to such individuals because they also misunderstood Revelation 17:16 in thinking that the Satanic forces destroy Mystery Babylon. That verse however is mistranslated as in reality the text is stating that the Beast and 10 horns are NOT destroying the woman, but rather are observing the destruction that is caused by the fire. The fire is doing the eating and consuming, not the beast and 10 horns. If the beast and 10 horns are doing the destroying then we have to ask why? Because the woman, as we see in 18:2 has already given them military bases of operation. They are already in control of her. So that the notion of taking 17:16 to indicate that she is being destroyed by them doesn't quite mesh with 18:2 which states that they already had everything they needed. Furthermore, we find explicitly stated elsewhere in chapter 18 plus also in Jeremiah and Isaiah that God, Himself will dispatch His "righteous" and "holy" ones to destroy her just as was done with Sodom and Gomorrah. (See Isaiah 13:1-6 --obscure Hebrew idioms indicate it is 'righteous ones' coming from the abode of God; plus Isaiah 13:19; plus Jeremiah 50:40; Revelation 16:17-19; 18:21;19:2 -- all of these indicate direct Divine actions not internal Satanic actions destroy her.)

So that, we see the judgment of the woman comes while Satanic forces have enjoyed bases of operation within her prior to her destruction. How do we know this from Revelation 18:2? By way of understanding a couple of key Greek words in the verse:

1. "dwelling place"
2. "prison"

The word for "dwelling place" is the Greek word "katoikaytayrion"= #2730 = a place of occupation. It is a dwelling place. It is a residence. It carries the idea of a permanent location and not one of simply being very short term.

So that we find it becomes a 'home' for demons in verse 2.

The word for "hold" in the Greek text is the word "Phulake" (the p-h is an "f" sound). You the reader can verify the word by utilizing the Strong's coding #5438. In this instance even the rather limited entries by Strong's dictionary should suffice to give you a fairly good understanding of the definition which is:

3. a guarding or guard. It can be of a person or figurative
4. of a place or condition or the time of day or nite.
5. Or of a cage or prison.

Now the root word is #5442 = phulasso through the idea of isolation! i.e. 'to watch' or to be on guard or by implication to preserve, obey beware of. #5443 = phulay --an offshoot or a race or a clan, a kindred or a tribe.

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon tells us a lot more. The word itself is usually focused more on the idea of keeping a watch or a 'guard.' It connotes the idea of being on the lookout for something. It can also be of a prison. It can also denote time of day. Moulton and Milligan again confirm all of these meanings, as does H.K. Moulton's Analytical Greek-English Lexicon. So too does the Bauer, Arndt, Gingrich & Danker Greek-English Lexicon except that they add another connotation that it can be as a "haunt" i.e. a place frequented. They apply this notion to the usage in Revelation 18:2 by virtue of the usage of #2730 for the demons. In other words, the notion of a prison is contextually incorrect for phulake. In other words, the idea here is that it is a place for frequent watching, i.e. an observation post or guard tower that is frequently used for observations. In other words it is a forward observation post connoting a military sense of the word but not a full-blown defensive position of fortifications. If it were a full-blown fortification the word used would have been "phulakterion."

So what we see here in the word "phulake" is the connotation of a place of frequent observation by unclean spirits and dirty 'birds.' It is unclear as to whether the 'birds' is referencing one of the supernatural classes of beings or if it is referencing the symbol of birds such as 'eagles' or the 'mystical' phoenix bird that is connected with the gods of Egypt and Babylon that rises from the ashes. We suspect that it is referencing perhaps one of the lower classes of beings within the Satanic realm. This would seem to fit the context of the verse better than mere usage of symbolism.

So what are we saying? Revelation 18:2 tells us that there is supernatural, satanic activity within Babylon before the judgment commences. This activity takes physical form apparently as a 'base of operations' for demons and unclean spirits. The operations are apparently more of a nature of observation, or lookout duty, or guarding something. It is apparently of a more permanent nature in a physical sense. It is mentioned in the context of the coming judgment upon Babylon, so the activity is occurring prior to the destruction.

This satanic activity in physical form is of a structure that is intended to be permanent. It strongly suggests here the notion of a quasi-military base of operations for reconnaissance purposes. Now why is this important? It is telling us that physical Satanic activity is involved within Babylon itself! This linkage is also therefore indicating some sort of a relationship between Satan and Babylon. This is further born out by the fact that Isaiah 47 verse 1-15 tells us that the woman is a Queen. (Verse 7: "lady" in Hebrew means "of royalty as in Queen or Princess"). We see it again in Revelation 18:7 ("I sit a Queen").

This aspect of royalty matches with Isaiah 14:4-23. Here we find reference to the "King" of Babylon in verse 4. Later we find out who the King is. Verse 12 tells us it is Lucifer, son of the morning and how he has fallen. He is the King of Babylon. The woman is the Queen of Babylon. Now a King and Queen of Babylon must be married to each other. Is that a valid assumption to make? I think so. So the woman is married to Lucifer. There is a linked relationship. This would then explain Revelation 18:2 as to why we see Satanic forces pulling 'guard duty' within Babylon.

Now the question should arise in your mind: "has this context had any precedence in history regarding interaction between Satanic forces and humanity?" The answer is a most definite 'yes.' We see this occurring in Genesis chapter 6 in which some of the 'beni hahelohim' come down to co-habit with human women. The term beni hahelohim is found in only one other place, the book of Job. 1:9 & 2:1. The term is used as "sons of God" who were coming into the presence of God in heaven and Satan comes with them. The Hebrew context indicates that this was a mandatory check-in meeting of some sort. So that, the Genesis chapter 6 passage is referring to beings of a supernatural caliber and not referring to simply any extra-evil human beings as some critics have contended. We note that these beings had offspring with human women, which produced a 'half-breed' race. Now it is easy to assume that these beings are angelic. Perhaps they are. However, perhaps they are not. Perhaps they are other creation species found elsewhere beyond planet Earth but they have joined the Satanic rebellion. This too is plausible. Perhaps they are angelic in the sense that they are messengers but of a unique version of messengers.

End of Excerpts

This concludes our limited excerpts from both Volumes 1 and 2 of

"America, The Babylon: America's Destiny Foretold In Biblical Prophecy"

To fully understand the research you need to read both books

To order your copy click here

Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006  by  R. A. Coombes

Replication of this material is strictly prohibited without prior written permission