Babylon

TODAY’S BABYLON

Ch. 3

THE PROSTITUTE

One of the most obvious attributes which we use to identify a prostitute is promiscuous, frequent sex. Babylon is not only a prostitute but a “great” one (Rev 17:1). Therefore, we would expect to see that the society of Babylon would be preoccupied with sex. She would be obsessed with the subject. Perhaps the media of that location is full of all kinds of suggestive photographs, seamy articles and lewd films. She is probably always looking for more and more stimulation in the area of sex.
Therefore, pornography, nudity and immorality of every type and description should be very common within her borders. We might expect that those who have influence in the entertainment industries such as cinema, music and print would be constantly pushing the envelope to see how much raw filth they can spew out.
Before her judgment comes, Babylon will probably be as bad or worse than Sodom and Gomorrah. She will most likely be just as perverse as the inhabitants of the earth were in the days of Noah. Her appetite for luxury will only be rivaled by her lust for sex of every kind. We may speculate that one feature of this obsession will be public nudity and even public sex acts.
We know, for example, from the story of Lot and his escape from Sodom that the citizens of that city gathered at his door demanding him to turn over what seemed to be two men. They wanted them so that they could vent their perverted lust upon them in plain view of everyone. We can imagine that Babylon also, before her judgment comes, will abandon every shred of conscience or shame.
Unbridled sex breeds violence. I’m not sure why, but these two things, unrestrained sex and violence, go hand in hand. In Noah’s day, not only was immorality of every kind rampant, but “the earth was filled with violence” (Gen 6:11). So we can expect that before the end of this age, we will see not only an increasing emphasis on nudity and sex, but an upswing in shocking and uncontrolled violence.
Eventually Babylon becomes so filled with filth, perversion and unrestrained lust that a host of demons and foul spirits are attracted to her. When her depravity is in full bloom she becomes “a habitation of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird” (Rev 18:2). Undoubtedly these malignant spirits swarm there, like flies to a dead carcass, to participate in and stimulate her evil appetites more and more.
For many years as I read this passage, I thought that Babylon’s condition of being saturated with demons was something which happened after her destruction. But today, a careful reading shows something different. Here we see that this is her condition before she is judged. It is her fallen, decadent state which attracts every kind of evil spirit and demon. This infestation of evil spirits apparently accelerates her moral decay which then leads to her judgment.
No one of us knows how far we are from the end of this age. Anyone who claims that they do is deceived and should not be listened to. Therefore we might assume that, although Babylon will eventually reach a great zenith in the areas of self-indulgence, unbridled sex and violence, she probably has not yet arrived at these great heights (or depths). In fact, there is no location on the earth today which could really fulfill this description completely.
Consequently, we must conclude that Babylon has not yet arrived at this condition but that she is merely well on the way. We read in Revelation 18:2 that “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen.” Here we learn that Babylon did not begin at this degraded moral state. Evidently she was once better than this but then fell further and further until she was twice fallen. So, when we are seeking to identify Babylon today, we should look for a wealthy, self-indulgent “city” which is in the evident process of a steep moral decline.

THE WINE OF HER FORNICATION

In the hand of the great prostitute is a golden cup which is brimming over with something. That something is the “abominations and the filthiness of her fornication” (Rev 17:4). This cup contains a mixture of her unbridled lust for riches, comfort, pleasure and sex, including perversion of every form. Her cup is full – that is her sinfulness has reached the saturation point. But is she repentant? Is she seeking forgiveness and freedom from her degraded situation? No! Instead she is busy trying to seduce others to drink from the same cup. Using all her power, she is enticing others into the same shameful state as herself. And she is succeeding. The Bible says that the “inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication” (Rev 17:2). Not only is she “reigning” over and manipulating other nations to suit her will, but she is using her prominence to spread her filthy, immoral way of living all over the globe.
But how does she accomplish this? The scriptures do not say, but we can perhaps speculate a little. It may be that through the media: the film producers, the magazine publishers and the music industry, Babylon is publicly displaying her whorish ways and luring others to act as she does. It could be that the movies and television shows she produces are full of all kinds of dirty jokes, sexual immorality, ever increasing nudity and an emphasis on perversion.
It is possible that the entertainers and singers of Babylon glorify, through their art forms, every kind of satanic lust, sexual impurity and rebellion against the laws of God. It is just conceivable that instead of being ashamed, she glorifies her immorality and unrestrained lust for pleasure in an attempt to draw others into it.
Sadly, she is succeeding. All over the world, people are drinking this wine. They are hearing, reading about and seeing from many sources the shameful behavior of the prostitute. Instead of being appalled, they are heedlessly running after her. Yes, the nations are drunk with the wine of her fornication. They are striving to be like her. There is one place in the world today which the nations envy and are ambitious to emulate. When we identify this location, then we also identify Babylon.
Everywhere you go, in most of the nations of this world, men and women are intoxicated with the idea of being just as prosperous and successful as this one place – Babylon. They admire her well-integrated infrastructure. They like how well her society seems to work. They are yearning to achieve the same standard of living. They are jealous of the apparent sense of security and well-being she expresses.
All that luxury, ease, wealth and yes, immorality seem very attractive to the average inhabitant of this world. They are drinking deeply at the thought of being just like her. Without a doubt, some nations are envious and pretend to look down their nose at her, but deep inside they all wish that they had what Babylon has. They want to be as rich, powerful, comfortable and sinful as the prostitute.
It is in this way that Babylon is giving birth to daughters. She is reproducing herself all over the globe. So she becomes known as “the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth” (Rev 17:5). This is the name which God gives her. She is doing her utmost to bring everyone she can down to her level, drinking of and wallowing in her filth with her. Do you know any place like this?
If you have never traveled to other countries, perhaps you have never noticed this intoxication of other nations to be like Babylon. But if and when you do visit other parts of the world, you will soon realize that there is one place, just one nation, which all the others want to be like or to which they want to move. Many will insist that they despise her, but in their hearts they yearn to be like her. Truly the nations are drunk with the wine of her fornication.