In the Bible, fornication encompasses all sexual sins — adultery is one of those sins. When the Bible says Babylon fornicates, it means spiritual fornication: Babylon claims to belong to one lover, yet she has another lover. We saw in the previous article, “Babylon in the Book of Revelation 1: The Fallen Churches,” that Babylon can only refer to Christian churches.
Here, with this other characteristic Jesus gives us, we find further proof that Babylon represents Christian churches. Pagan religions never claimed to belong to Jesus and to Satan at the same time — pagan religions have never been of God. As their very names imply, they worship pagan deities, foreign to the true God.
Revelation 17:1-5 — “And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.”
Fornication in the Bible
Fornication in the Bible does not always mean that a person has two lovers in the literal sense. All sins classified as fornication are found in Leviticus chapters 15 through 18. In the same way God explains to us which animals we may eat — the clean and unclean animals of Leviticus 11 — He explains to us in Leviticus 15-18 all the sins that are called fornication.
Leviticus 11:2 — “Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.” In this chapter, God identifies which animals we may eat, and which we may not. In the same way, in Leviticus 15-18, God identifies all the sins called fornication.
In the case of Babylon, one of her sins is that she claims to belong to one lover, Jesus, while having another lover, Satan. In this, Babylon also lies. How can Christian churches support Satan and advance his kingdom while still calling themselves Christian? They do so because Satan deceives them, teaching his beliefs while making them think they are Christian teachings. One example is Christmas, or penance, or asking a priest to forgive sins, or the pagan-derived vestments worn by Catholic priests.
Satan could never get a Christian to knowingly teach his doctrines if they recognized them as his — so Satan must deceive them into believing these are biblical teachings. Note: a Christian who teaches doctrines of demons is responsible for teaching doctrines of demons. Paul warned that many Christians would teach doctrines of demons. Babylon, in the book of Revelation, teaches the wine of false doctrines and advances Satan’s kingdom.
2 Peter 2:1 — “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” Here Paul says that those who believe false doctrines bear responsibility, since no one forced them to believe a lie. Every person is responsible to study carefully what the Bible says before believing something.
Paul says clearly that God would punish all Christians who teach false doctrines — he says they bring swift destruction upon themselves. No wonder John says in Revelation that God’s wrath will fall on Babylon, because she fills the world with false teachings from Satan, all while claiming these are Christian teachings.
Acts 20:29-30 — “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.”
Most Christians will, in the end, believe these teachings are Christian when they are actually pagan in origin — because the churches have been preaching these doctrines, inherited from the priests of Babylon, for so long that they are regarded as Christian teachings with no biblical foundation whatsoever.
After Paul’s death, he warned, false teachers would come into the churches teaching perverse things. After Paul died, around the third century, the Catholic Church formed as people began teaching pagan beliefs disguised as Christian doctrine.
Which Are the False Beliefs, or the Wine, Taught by Christians?
- Sunday worship
- Eternal hell
- Immortality of the soul
- The secret rapture
- Speaking in tongues
- No law
- Once saved, always saved
Sunday Worship
The Bible clearly teaches that Saturday is the day of worship. When someone goes to church on the same day every week, they sanctify that day as holy. The apostles kept the Sabbath even after Jesus died. Jesus died on Friday; they rested on Saturday; on Sunday they went to work, and later returned to see Jesus.
Luke 23:54-56 — “And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on. And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.” All the apostles kept the Sabbath even after Jesus died. Sunday worship is one of the teachings of Babylon in the book of Revelation.
Eternal Hell
The Bible teaches that at the end of the millennium, God sends fire upon the wicked, and they are destroyed to ashes.
Revelation 20:9 — “And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.”
Malachi 4:1-3 — “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.” Believing that hell burns forever is one of the teachings of Babylon in the book of Revelation. The Bible teaches that the wicked will be destroyed to ashes — not tormented eternally.
Immortality of the Soul
The Bible never teaches that people go to heaven the moment they die. People are mortal; only God is immortal.
John 11:13-15 — “Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.”
1 Timothy 6:16 — “Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.”
The Secret Rapture
Babylon, in the book of Revelation, teaches that people go to heaven the moment they die.
Revelation 22:12 — “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” The rewards of heaven are given when Jesus returns visibly — not before, through some secret coming.
Revelation 1:7 — “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.”
This teaching resembles ideas found in spiritualist movies, and it too is a doctrine of demons. Babylon advances Satan’s kingdom by preaching doctrines that were taught by the priests of ancient Babylon and paganism, yet when people attend church, they believe these teachings come straight from the Bible. Babylon fornicates: Sunday-keeping Christian churches speak of Jesus, yet preach the very same beliefs once taught by pagan priests in ancient Babylon. Truly fascinating, and truly deceptive.
Speaking in Tongues
The Bible says God gave the power to speak in other actual languages. God never said He would give power to speak in confused, babbling utterances. When Paul says:
1 Corinthians 13:1 — “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” Is Paul saying here that he could speak in the tongues of angels? No — Paul is saying that even if such a thing were possible, love would still be greater. Paul is making an extreme comparison for emphasis, not claiming that he or anyone else could literally speak in angelic tongues.
1 Corinthians 14:2 — “For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.” This too reflects another teaching of Babylon in the book of Revelation. In this verse, Paul is illustrating what would happen if, for instance, he spoke Spanish in a church in China — nobody there would understand him.
To them, he would be speaking mysteries, since in a church in China, no one understands Spanish. In that local congregation, he would effectively be speaking only to God, since only God could understand him there. To all the members in that church in China, his words would remain a mystery. Nowhere in this verse does Paul claim to be speaking in ecstatic, supernatural tongues. Babylon, in the book of Revelation, teaches “speaking in unknown tongues” as a supernatural gift, which is not what this passage describes.
1 Corinthians 14:27 — “If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.” In this verse, the word “unknown” was added by the translators. Translators are not the inspired writers of the Bible; they are simply translating it. When a word appears in italics in many older Bible translations, it signals that the translators added that word — it does not exist in the original biblical text.
No Law
This is one of the worst doctrines taught by Babylon in the book of Revelation. The Bible says sin is breaking the law. No law would mean no sin.
1 John 3:4 — “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” If God could simply change or annul the Ten Commandments, why did Jesus need to go to the cross? If the law could be changed, there would have been no need for Jesus to die — the Father could simply have annulled the law so that no one would be sinning, eliminating any need for the cross.
Romans 7:12-22 — “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good… If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good… For I delight in the law of God after the inward man.” These are actually two separate topics: (1) Is the law of God — the Ten Commandments — still binding? And (2) Can I keep the law through my own efforts? The law of God remains binding; yet human beings cannot keep it through their own works alone. Read the articles on righteousness by faith on this blog to understand this topic more fully.
Once Saved, Always Saved
The Bible teaches that many Christians who have believed in Jesus will, in the end, be destroyed. Much of the gospel narrative centers on this very topic. Believing in Jesus is the first step — but if you remain in unrepentant sin when you die, or when Jesus returns, you will not enter heaven. This is a terrible teaching from Babylon in the book of Revelation.
The Bible does not teach that when Jesus returns, He will instantly remove our lying, pride, selfishness, lack of love, or rude and unkind spirit by some miraculous transformation. These things must be removed now, before Jesus returns.
Hebrews 12:14 — “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”
Acts 5:8-10 — “And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.”
Matthew 7:16-17 — “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.”
Did Israel Fornicate in the Old Testament?
No — because Israel’s teaching came from God. The Torah was revealed by God. The people were sometimes wicked, but the teachings themselves came from God. Fornication means the church’s teachings identify with Satan while simultaneously preaching Jesus. This is the essence of fornication: belonging to one lover, Jesus, while carrying on an affair with Satan by preaching his beliefs and doctrines.
The truth comes from God. The people themselves — God does not force people to be good against their will.
The difference with Babylon, in the book of Revelation, is that she is no longer called the church of God. Jesus says she used to be the church of God, and has become a house of demons.
Revelation 18:2 — “And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.”
Ezekiel 14:1-3 — “Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?” Israel was not Babylon, because their teachings came from God. To be Babylon means a church is teaching Jesus and Satan, or doctrines of demons, simultaneously.
Babylon in the Book of Revelation Fornicates by Teaching False Doctrines
Revelation 17:2,5 — “With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication… And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.”
Jesus says that in the end times, there are two women, or two churches: one is the remnant church of Revelation 12, the other is Babylon — the mother, and her daughters. They make all people drink the wine of false doctrines rooted in paganism, while simultaneously teaching about Jesus. Wine confuses; wine prevents clear thinking; wine deceives a person into believing everything is fine. This is exactly what the teachings of Babylon, in the book of Revelation, accomplish. Who is Babylon in the book of Revelation? All Sunday-keeping churches.
The remnant of Revelation 12, the pure church, is the movement that keeps God’s commandments and the Sabbath, faithfully preaching the present truth of the three angels’ messages. Now it is up to you what you will do with this fascinating, life-changing teaching. It is between you and Jesus, whether you will leave Babylon and become part of the remnant. Do you want to be in heaven? Do you want to follow Jesus wherever He leads you?
Repeat after me: Father God, please help me to follow the truth. Help me to leave Babylon, so that I do not receive the plagues and the mark of the beast. Please forgive my sins, in the name of Jesus. Amen.