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RUSSELL SANDERS
5-22-2023
MYSTERY BABYLON – PART 1
Scholars and many other people have often speculated about the “Mystery Babylon” which is spoken of in Revelation 17:5 where it says, “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth,” and is identified with the beast that arises from the bottomless pit.
Many have thought of a physical location for this Babylon in the present time and the end times. Some say that Babylon will be rebuilt at its original site in present-day Iraq (the ancient Babylon). Some have said it is America, and New York City in particular,
since it is the main economic driving force of the world. However, in my opinion it is not a physical city or location. It is a mystery, which is something neither seen with physical eyes, nor by natural eyes of human perception.
To help with understanding, let us go back to Genesis to see the origin of the original Babylon. This is necessary since everything in the New Testament and the fulfillment of prophecies are rooted in the Old Testament.
The story unfolds with Nimrod in Genesis 10:8-12 and with the Tower of Babel led by Nimrod in Genesis 11:1-9.
Genesis 10:8-9 calls Nimrod “a mighty (powerful) one in the earth” (vs. 8) and “a mighty hunter before the LORD” (vs. 9), meaning that God saw Nimrod as a mighty hunter, not as one for the LORD.
Who really was Nimrod? He was the great grandson of Noah, grandson of Ham, and Son of Cush. But he became the most powerful man on earth for his generation.
How did that come about? During the years after the great flood, men forgot God again and began to live by their own devices. Nimrod was godless as a mighty man. He built a kingdom that encompassed the whole of mankind.
We shall dig into that tomorrow as we seek to understand more about Babylon, so stay tuned.
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