“THE DOOM OF BABYLON”–“CHRISTENDOM” continued

“In symbolic prophecy a “city” signifies a religious government backed by power and influence. Thus, for instance, the “holy city, the new Jerusalem,” is the symbol used to represent the established Kingdom of God, the over-comers of the Gospel Church exalted and reigning in glory. The Church is also, and in the same connection, represented as a woman, “the bride, the Lamb’s wife,” in power and glory, and backed by the power and authority of Christ, her husband.

“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.” Rev 21:9, 10

This same method of interpretation applies to mystical Babylon, the great ecclesiastical kingdom, “that great city” (Rev. 17:1-6 Compare with Rev 18:10), which is described as a harlot, a fallen woman (an apostate church–for the true Church is a virgin), exalted to power and dominion, and backed, to a considerable degree, by the kings of the earth, the civil powers, which are all more or less intoxicated with her spirit and doctrine.

The apostate church lost her virgin purity. Instead of waiting, as an espoused and chaste virgin, for exaltation with the heavenly Bridegroom, she associated herself with the kings of the earth and prostituted her virgin purity –both of doctrine and character–to suit the world’s ideas; and in return she received, and now to some extent exercises, a present dominion, in large measure by their support, direct and indirect. This unfaithfulness to the Lord, whose name she claims, and to her high privilege to be the “chaste virgin” espoused to Christ, is the occasion of the symbolic appellation, “HARLOT,” while her influence as a sacerdotal (priestly) empire, full of inconsistency and confusion, is symbolically represented under the name Babylon, which, in its widest sense, as symbolized by the Babylonian empire, we promptly recognize to be Christendom; (the so-called Christian nations of the world) while in its more restricted sense, as symbolized by the ancient city Babylon, we recognize to be the NOMINAL Christian Church.

The fact that Christendom does not accept the Bible term “Babylon,” and its significance, confusion, as applicable to her, is no proof that it is not so. Neither did ancient Babylon claim the Bible significance–confusion. Ancient Babylon presumed to be the very “gate of God“; but God labeled it Confusion (Gen. 11:9); and so, it is with her antitype today. She calls herself Christendom, the gateway to God and everlasting life, while God calls her Babylon– confusion.

It has been very generally and very properly claimed by Protestants that the name “Babylon” and the prophetic description are applicable to Papacy, though recently a more compromising disposition is less inclined so to apply it. On the contrary, every effort is now made on the part of the sects of Protestantism to conciliate and imitate the Church of Rome, and to affiliate and cooperate with her. In so doing they become part and parcel with her, while they justify her course and fill up the measure of her iniquities, just as surely as did the scribes and Pharisees fill up the measure of their fathers who killed the prophets. (Matt. 23:31,32)

All this, of course, neither Protestants nor Papists are ready to admit, because in so doing they would be condemning themselves. And this fact is recognized by the Revelator, who shows that all who would get a true view of Babylon must, in spirit, take their position with the true people of God “in the wilderness“–in the condition of separation from the world and worldly ideas and mere forms of godliness, and in the condition of entire consecration and faithfulness to and dependence upon God alone.

“So, he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness; AND I SAW a woman, …Babylon. Rev. 17:1-5

From his vantage point in the wilderness (outside of Babylon) John was able to perceive the woman, perceive Babylon for what it truly is. Something which most Christians are unable to do because they reside in Babylon.

And since the kingdoms of the civilized world have submitted to be largely dominated by the influence of the great ecclesiastical systems, especially Papacy, accepting from them the appellation “Christian nations” and “Christendom,” and accepting on their authority the doctrine of the divine right of kings, etc., they also link themselves in with great Babylon, and become part of it, so that, as in the type, the name Babylon applied, not only to the city, but also to the whole empire, here also the symbolic term “Babylon” applies, not only to the great religious organizations, Papal and Protestant, but also, in its widest sense, to all Christendom.

Hence this day of judgment upon mystic Babylon is the day of judgment upon all the nations of Christendom; its calamities will involve the entire structure–civil, social and religious; and individuals will be affected by it to the extent of their interest in, and dependence upon, its various organizations and arrangements.

The nations beyond Christendom will also feel the weight of the heavy hand of recompense in that they also are to some extent bound in with the nations of Christendom by various interests, commercial and others; and justly, too, in that they also have failed to appreciate what light they have seen, and have loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Thus, as the Prophet declared, “All the earth [society] shall be devoured with the fire of God’s jealousy” (Zeph. 3:8); but against Babylon, Christendom, because of her greater responsibility and misuse of favors received, will burn the fierceness of his wrath and indignation. (Jer. 51:49) “At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth [society] is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.” Jer. 50:46 (D25-28)

In our next post we will take a closer look at Babylon, the mother and daughters.