Solving the Mystery of Babylon the Great from the Bible
How can we go about solving the mystery of Babylon the Great? In ancient times, Babylon was the city built by Nimrod. The Bible tells us that this city had a tower built against God’s will, intended to protect its people from God. God then confounded their language, and the people were scattered over the earth. This Babylon movement stood in opposition to God. The Babylonian system was built on the worship of men rather than God. Let us now look at how we can go about solving the mystery of Babylon the Great.
Solving the Mystery of Babylon the Great: Who Is Babylon?
This power, Babylon, appears throughout prophecy, most prominently in the book of Revelation. Many do not realize that Babylon has different names — the antichrist, the little-horn power, the man of sin. These are simply other ways of referring to Babylon.
This gives us a broader path of research as we work toward solving the mystery of Babylon the Great. Who is the antichrist, the man of sin? To identify this power, we look primarily to Daniel chapter 7. This chapter is remarkable, giving us many points that identify, without the shadow of a doubt, who the antichrist, or Babylon, truly is.
Before going further, here is one reason the antichrist and Babylon are one and the same: Revelation describes this power as clothed in purple and scarlet, seated upon a city of seven hills, and its leader bears a name whose number is 666. This aligns with Daniel chapter 7, where the little-horn power, or antichrist, emerges from the fourth beast, which represents Rome.
The best starting point for understanding all prophecy is Daniel chapter 2. Once you grasp this foundation, all other prophecy becomes clearer. Daniel 2 describes a statue made of four metals: gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar, “You are the head of gold” — representing the Babylonian empire. This is followed, as we know, by Medo-Persia, then Greece, then Rome.
Daniel 7 is the same prophecy, but it gives further detail on the power that arises from the fourth beast, Rome. It describes a little horn that:
- Uproots three of the pagan tribes of Europe
- Speaks great words, or blasphemies, against God
- Persecutes Christians
- Changes the law and the appointed times
- Lasts 1,260 years, or 42 months, or “a time, times, and half a time”
This, too, is easy to identify as we work toward solving the mystery of Babylon the Great. Which power lasted 1,260 years, had a man who claimed to be God and claimed to forgive sins? Who persecuted Christians for that 1,260-year period? Who changed the timing within the Ten Commandments — the Sabbath? When we add to this that the power sits on a city of seven hills, that its clergy wear purple and scarlet, and that its leader’s name can be counted as 666 — the answer becomes clear.
How many powers on earth could fulfill this prophecy? Only one lasted 1,260 years, killed millions of Christians, changed the Sabbath, and sits on a city of seven hills: the Catholic Church. Yes, many Catholic members are loving and kind — often even more so than many Protestants. But here the Bible exposes a system that stands against God, one that many ordinary Catholic members are entirely unaware of.
Solving the Mystery of Babylon the Great: What Does Babylon Stand For?
What are the beliefs of Babylon? Babylon represents a mixture of Christianity and paganism. This is why it “babbles” — it is confusion. God calls us to stand for Him, not to follow the world or false beliefs. When we follow false beliefs, we become defiled, for it is the truth that sets us free. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Everyone is responsible to search for truth and to accept it. No one is forced to believe lies.
We will each be personally responsible before God to account for why we believed certain things. All honest people will accept truth; all dishonest people will reject it. In solving the mystery of Babylon the Great, we find that its beliefs are not rooted in the Bible. Many Babylonian teachings have pagan origins.
Babylon, or the Catholic Church, has become so influential that these beliefs have woven themselves into society and taken such deep root in people’s hearts that many assume they are of Christian origin — Sunday worship, for instance, has pagan roots; the doctrine of an eternally burning hell is pagan; Christmas is not biblical (nowhere does the Bible instruct us to keep a feast on December 25th); the idea that people go to heaven immediately upon death is not found in Scripture. The convent system, the practice of confession, and various other customs within the Catholic Church are, in large part, of pagan origin.
Regarding the change from Sabbath to Sunday, here is what the Catholic Church itself has said:
“Most Christians assume that Sunday is the biblically approved day of worship. The Catholic Church protests that it transferred Christian worship from the biblical Sabbath (Saturday) to Sunday, and that to try to argue that the change was made in the Bible is both dishonest and a denial of Catholic authority. If Protestantism wants to base its teachings only on the Bible, it should worship on Saturday.” — Rome’s Challenge
“Is not every Christian obliged to sanctify Sunday and to abstain on that day from unnecessary servile work? Is not the observance of this law among the most prominent of our sacred duties? But you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify.” — James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers (1917 edition), pp. 72–73 (16th Edition, p. 111; 88th Edition, p. 89)
“For example, nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the Apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is the 7th day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman Catholic] Church outside the Bible.” — Catholic Virginian, October 3, 1947, p. 9, “To Tell You the Truth”
“It was the Catholic Church which… has transferred this rest to Sunday in remembrance of the resurrection of our Lord. Therefore the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is a homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic] Church.” — Monsignor Louis Segur, Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today, p. 213
“I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’ The Catholic Church says: ‘No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.’ And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church.” — Father T. Enright, C.S.S.R., Redemptorist College, Kansas City, lecture at Hartford, Kansas, February 18, 1884, printed in History of the Sabbath, p. 802
“Perhaps the boldest thing, the most revolutionary change the Church ever did, happened in the first century. The holy day, the Sabbath, was changed from Saturday to Sunday. ‘The day of the Lord’ was chosen, not from any direction noted in the Scriptures, but from the [Catholic] Church’s sense of its own power… People who think that the Scriptures should be the sole authority should logically become Seventh-day Adventists and keep Saturday holy.” — St. Catherine Church Sentinel, Algonac, Michigan, May 21, 1995
“Question — Which is the Sabbath day? Answer — Saturday is the Sabbath day. Question — Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday? Answer — We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea (A.D. 364), transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.” — Peter Geiermann, C.S.S.R., The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, p. 50, 3rd edition, 1957
“They [the Protestants] deem it their duty to keep the Sunday holy. Why? Because the Catholic Church tells them to do so. They have no other reason… The observance of Sunday thus comes to be an ecclesiastical law entirely distinct from the divine law of Sabbath observance… The author of the Sunday law… is the Catholic Church.” — Ecclesiastical Review, February 1914
“Nowhere in the Bible is it stated that worship should be changed from Saturday to Sunday… Now the Church… instituted, by God’s authority, Sunday as the day of worship. This same Church, by the same divine authority, taught the doctrine of Purgatory long before the Bible was made. We have, therefore, the same authority for Purgatory as we have for Sunday.” — Martin J. Scott, Things Catholics Are Asked About, 1927 edition, p. 136
“It is well to remind the Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and all other Christians, that the Bible does not support them anywhere in their observance of Sunday. Sunday is an institution of the Roman Catholic Church, and those who observe the day observe a commandment of the Catholic Church.” — Priest Brady, address reported in The News, Elizabeth, New Jersey, March 18, 1903
Solving the Mystery of Babylon the Great: Who Are in Babylon?
When we read the book of Revelation, we find that most of the book describes the remnant and its opposer, Babylon the Great. In solving the mystery of Babylon the Great, we discover that God has a remnant — a small group. Paul tells us that the whole world is held captive to Satan’s power, meaning Babylon represents the great body of professed Christians as a whole — both the mother, the papacy, and her daughters, the Protestant churches.
Revelation 1–3 describes the true church and Laodicea, the lukewarm end-time church. Revelation 4–8 describes the seals and the trumpets, which tell the story of the false church set against the true church. Revelation 9 describes a destructive force sent by God to punish Babylon, the antichrist church.
Revelation 10 tells us that an angel instructs John to eat a book — sweet in the mouth, bitter in the belly. This represents the remnant of the three angels’ movement, God’s final movement on earth. At the end of the chapter, God instructs them to prophesy to all nations following a great disappointment. Revelation 11 speaks of the French Revolution, which lasted three and a half years — this, too, connects to Babylon, as this prophecy ties into the 1,260 years of papal persecution.
Revelation 12 tells the story of the remnant from start to finish. Revelation 13 describes Babylon, aided by a second beast, persecuting the remnant. Revelation 14 describes the message God gives to the remnant — the three angels’ movement — known as the three angels’ message. Revelation 15 and 16 describe the seven last plagues, sent upon those who reject the remnant and the three angels’ message. These individuals thus receive the mark of the beast.
Revelation 17 and 18 describe God sending the seven last plagues upon Babylon, because they rejected the three angels’ message. Revelation 19 describes Jesus returning to earth to take the remnant, the three angels’ movement, to heaven, while Babylon is destroyed. Revelation 20 describes the millennium, during which the remnant dwells in heaven while Babylon lies destroyed — yet it is revived at the Second Coming, only to be destroyed forever. Revelation 21 and 22 describe the eternal home of the remnant and the saints.
“Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of Spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of Spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience.” (The Great Controversy, p. 588)
Solving the Mystery of Babylon the Great: What Will Babylon Do to Earth’s Inhabitants?
In fact, this is how earth’s history will conclude. Revelation 13 tells us that the second beast will compel all nations to worship the first beast. Which nation on earth has the power and influence to direct all other nations to worship the papacy? The United States of America — a topic we will study further in a future article.
“And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8)
In solving the mystery of Babylon the Great, we see that this is not a small movement, but a worldwide one — in fact, the whole world is, and will be, in Babylon. Only a rare few make up the remnant.
Solving the Mystery of Babylon the Great: How to Come Out of Babylon
This second beast deceives those on earth into worshiping Babylon, or the papacy. Let us understand that, at this time, many Catholics will have left the papacy to join the remnant — and many who are lukewarm within the remnant’s three angels’ movement will leave to become part of Babylon.
“And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.” (Revelation 13:14)
Babylon, the man of sin, the antichrist, will lead all nations to follow a pagan holiday while convincing people it is biblical. It will deceive people, because the real issue will not be about a day of the week, but about whether you will follow Jesus and the Bible, or follow the world. In solving the mystery of Babylon the Great, we come to understand that Babylon will lead people to receive the mark of the beast — Sunday-keeping. The Catechism itself states that Sunday is the mark of the Church’s authority.
“Sunday IS OUR MARK OF AUTHORITY… THE CHURCH IS ABOVE THE BIBLE, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact.” — Catholic Record of London, Ontario, September 1, 1923
“Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change (Saturday Sabbath to Sunday) was HER ACT… And the ACT IS A MARK OF HER ecclesiastical authority in religious things.” — H. F. Thomas, Chancellor to Cardinal Gibbons
Who Made Sunday Holy?
“Written by the finger of God on two tables of stone, this Divine code (the Ten Commandments) was received from the Almighty by Moses amid the thunders of Mount Sinai… Christ resumed these Commandments in the double precept of charity — love of God and of neighbor; He proclaimed them as binding under the New Law in Matthew 19 and in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5)… The [Catholic] Church, on the other hand, after changing the day of rest from the Jewish Sabbath, or seventh day of the week, to the first, made the Third Commandment refer to Sunday as the day to be kept holy as the Lord’s Day… He (God) claims one day out of the seven as a memorial to Himself, and this must be kept holy…” — The Catholic Encyclopaedia, vol. 4, “The Ten Commandments,” 1908 edition, Robert Appleton Company; 1999 online edition by Kevin Knight, Imprimatur, John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York
I urge you to read these three books:
- The Great Controversy — Ellen G. White
- Daniel and the Revelation — Uriah Smith
- Amazing Facts Bible Studies
They provide much greater detail on this important topic, for which this article is merely the appetizer. Do you love truth? Do you want to follow truth? What would keep you from reading these books to more clearly understand what the Bible says, and to follow Jesus? Repeat after me: Father God, please forgive my sins. Give me Your righteousness. Help me to study these books and to follow the truth. Bless and heal me, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Read more amazing prophecy books — EARTHLASTDAY.COM