Parallel Babylon’s – Ancient and Modern

The leopard-like beast is called Babylon six times in the book of Revelation because there are many parallels between the ancient empire of Babylon and the modern empire of Babylon. Consider these parallels: Ancient Babylon was a world empire and modern Babylon will be a world empire. Ancient Babylon worshiped false gods and modern Babylon will worship false gods. The prophets and gods of the ancient Babylonians were shown to be grossly inferior to the true prophets of God and the same thing will happen to modern Babylon. Ancient Babylon captured and persecuted God’s people. Modern Babylon will capture and persecute God’s people. The king of ancient Babylon set up an image that everyone was required to worship. Anyone refusing to worship the image was to be killed. The king of Modern Babylon will do the same thing. The king of ancient Babylon did not recognize the sovereign authority of the Most High God. The king of modern Babylon will do the same. Ancient Babylon was defiant and insulting to God and modern Babylon will be the same. Modern Babylon will experience the same fate as ancient Babylon. 

The king of modern Babylon (Lucifer) will prove to be more blasphemous than the king of ancient Babylon. Remember the ego and vanity of King Nebuchadnezzar. “[H]e [King Nebuchadnezzar] said, ‘Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?’ The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, ‘This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you.’” (Daniel 4:30,31, insertion and italics mine) After being warned about his exceeding arrogance and pride (Daniel 4:4-27), Nebuchadnezzar continued to ignore the warning that the Most High God had given him. The king vainly reasoned that Babylon was the product of his genius and of his great power. One day after speaking boastful words (Daniel 4:29,30), God instantly turned Nebuchadnezzar into a raving madman. The king was driven away from his residence in the city to live among the wild beasts of the field for seven years. (Daniel 4:31-33) At the end of his sentence, God not only restored the king’s mind, but he restored the king to his throne. (Daniel 4:34,35) Nebuchadnezzar confessed to his empire that indeed, there is a Sovereign God who rules over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone He wishes. (Daniel 4:36,37) It is ironic that Nebuchadnezzar could not bring himself to tell the empire that the Sovereign God of the universe, who restored his good fortune, was not the God of the Jews. God rarely gets the credit He deserves. Unfortunately, Nebuchadnezzar’s offspring did not learn from his experience or testimony. A few years after Nebuchadnezzar died, Belshazzar became king, and after insulting the God of Heaven one too many times, God destroyed him. (Daniel 5) The fate of Belshazzar, king of ancient Babylon, and Lucifer, king of modern Babylon, will be the same.

Babylon – A Hand Puppet of the Devil   

The great red dragon (the devil) has an anatomy that is similar to the leopard-like beast (Babylon). There is a good reason for this. When the time comes, the great red dragon will enter the leopard-like beast similar to the way a hand is inserted into a latex glove.

The Bible says, “The dragon gave the [leopard-like] beast his power and his throne and great authority.” (Revelation 13:2, insertion mine)  Babylon will become the hand puppet of the devil. Remember, Babylon’s mandate will be simple: Appease God so that His judgments will cease. People will think the solution will be to eliminate decadent and degenerate behavior. Therefore, Babylon will create many “sin-less” laws that civil authorities will enforce. Notice this profound point: If a person obeys the laws of Babylon, he actually worships the leopard-like beast because the biblical meaning of the word “worship” is submission. Today, we usually interpret the word “worship” to mean a religious celebration, a church service, or a religious gathering, but the Greek word for “worship” is proskuneo that means to surrender obedience, to prostrate oneself, or to kiss with submission.” (Remember Judas’ kiss. Matthew 26:49) When Abel worshiped God, he killed the sacrificial lamb as God demanded. On the other hand, Cain did not worship God, but instead presumed to worship God by putting fruit on the altar. Obeying the laws of Babylon means worshiping the devil. The Bible cannot make it any clearer. “Men worshiped [obeyed] the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped [obeyed] the [leopard-like] beast and asked, ‘Who is like the [leopard-like] beast? Who can make war [resist his authority and argue] against him [without being punished]?’” (Revelation 13:4, insertions mine)

Babylon will be a “monster-sized” church-state empowered by the devil. Remember, the devil’s focus is a specific group of people – the remnant of the woman. He tried to kill Jesus at birth and failed. He tried to keep his seat in God’s government, but Jesus cast him out on Resurrection Sunday. He chased the woman for 1,260 years and failed to destroy her in the wilderness. Therefore, this ancient scholar of Scripture knows full well this will be his last chance, and he is determined to totally destroy God’s people. “Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring – those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” (Revelation 12:17) The devil has a plan and Babylon will be the perfect tool for executing it. The devil will manipulate Babylon’s leaders. He will dictate laws through them, and the governments of the world will enforce these laws – thinking that they are appeasing God. Ultimately, Lucifer will persecute billions of people through Babylon’s blind leaders. (Luke 6:39)

Given the global diversity of mankind today, it seems foolish to predict that a time is coming when the whole world will voluntarily submit to one religious authority. A global church-state is unthinkable and impossible right now, but the Bible predicts it will surely occur. The Bible says, “The whole world was astonished [by the first four trumpets and recognizing their need to appease the wrath of Almighty God, the political leaders of the world laid aside their objections] and followed the [demands of the leopard-like] beast.”

(Revelation 13:3, italics and insertions mine)

The leopard-like beast will be man’s solution to God’s wrath. Babylon’s logic will be simple: Appease God by outlawing decadent behavior. Religious leaders will trample on the inalienable rights of human beings and the political structures of all nations. If anyone speaks against Babylon, he will be accused of blasphemy and punished accordingly. (This is why we need to spread the word now – before freedom is lost.)

To make matters worse, the political leaders of the world will yield to Babylon’s demands; more wrath from God will surely fall! In short, the nations of Earth will allow Babylon to rule over them. A horrible world order will be established without firing a single bullet. The devil will rejoice! He will energize false religions and paralyze politicians with fear so that he can persecute the saints. The first four trumpets will remove the political leaders of the world from their exalted posts of duty and the religious leaders of the world will take their place for 890 days. During this time frame, God intends to confront the seven false religions of Earth head on and expose them for what they are. You may recall that God did the same thing with the religious leaders in ancient Babylon. (See Daniel 2.)

The Crowns Are Moved

We have already noticed that the leopard-like beast has seven heads and ten horns just like the great red dragon. However, the crowns are moved from the seven heads on the great red dragon in Revelation 12:3 to the ten horns of the leopard-like beast in Revelation 13:1. This relocation of the crowns indicates a shift in persecuting authority

The Greek language has two words that mean “crown.” The first word is diadema and the second is stephanos.  A diadema is a crown of authority (a king’s crown), whereas a stephanos is a winner’s crown (such as the Miss America Pageant’s crown). The book of Revelation uses and identifies both types of crowns. The woman in Revelation 12:1 wears a winner’s crown (a stephanos) that has twelve stars in it, whereas both beasts wear a diadema – a crown of authority.

The dragon chases the woman into the wilderness for 1,260 years as Revelation 12 begins. The crowns’ placement on the red dragon is important because the diadema are on the heads of this beast. In other words, persecution comes from the religious authorities. Religious authorities persecuted Jesus (and His followers) and religious authorities also persecuted Christians during the Dark Ages. However, when Babylon rises from the sea, the diadema are located on the ten horns. This means the devil will use civil authorities to persecute God’s people. How clever! The devil will speak through Babylon’s clergy. They will create many “sinless” laws designed to appease God. Babylon will then dictate these laws to the nations of Earth and civil authorities in each nation (e.g., national police, security services, armies, etc.) will enforce them. Civil authorities will end up doing the devil’s dirty work! Very clever.

While the mechanics of demon possession are complex, the result is rather easy to understand. A demon-possessed person has a deranged mind. A demon-possessed person cannot control his emotions, thoughts, or impulses, at times. A demon-possessed person has moments of no tolerance or compassion, and a demon-possessed government is no different. Demon possessed leaders like Herod are not concerned about the welfare of their subjects. They are obsessed with exercising and maintaining absolute power and control. They think nothing of imposing suffering and torture on their subjects to accomplish their goals.

After Babylon forms, it will quickly become a demon-possessed government. Babylon will create laws that will become increasingly oppressive as time passes. Penalties for “civil disobedience” will escalate accordingly. This will be a telltale sign that the devil has gained control of Babylon, for there is nothing that brings Lucifer greater joy than to have human beings inflict horrible suffering upon one another. The devil rejoices every time an injustice is done. He rejoices every time a violent act is committed. The devil rejoices to see innocent victims suffer and die. Make no mistake, he also rejoices when the real perpetrators of crime languish in prison or receive due justice. The devil does not care about anyone – the perpetrator or the victim of crime. The dragon wants human beings to suffer because he wants Christ to suffer. Lucifer knows that nothing produces more grief in the heart of Jesus than human suffering.  

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