yes, i believe it.
Matthew 23:34-37
On account of this, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!
Sigh, you don't "understand" what the Lord talks about. You do not even know what generation the Lord talked about. Clearly! Here is a biblical lesson for anyone with ear to hear on who is actual responsible for the blood of ALL Saints, including the heathens:
Revelation 17:5
- "And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
God calls her that "great city", not that great earth or world. Here in this verse God calls her the mother of harlots and abominations
of the earth, "not" the earth itself. That great city and a Harlot is the exact same words God called "
His congregation" Israel
because of their
spiritual unfaithfulness. Again, Scripture interprets Scripture.
As for Cain being the one who slew Abel,
Genesis 4:9-11
- "And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
- And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
- And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;"
The message is not that Cain would can drink blood literally, or that the world is responsible for Abel's blood, but that "
Cain" is. Listen, the blood Cain spilled on the ground in symbolism is a witness against him. God saying the earth is drinking it is a metaphor, not a declaration that the world is responsible.
When God says "now you are cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood
from thy hand." He is simply saying that because you spilled blood on the earth, the earth will not yield to him its increase as before. It is as a "testimony" to his sin, not that the earth is responsible for Abel's murder. This also confirmed in the very next verse, 12.
The portrait painted here is that
Cain is the first unbeliever of God's people, the first
"brother" to rise up in the family against the Lord's chosen and slay him. God is talking about professed believers just like professed Christians today. Cain is the
first of the generation (or
family)
of evil, the first of the line of those who hate and are offended by the Lord's servants. There would be many more after him. This is also illustrated in Israel when Christ called those of His people a
family of evil. If we consider the mystery wisely, Christ tells us who Babylon really is and why all the blood from Abel to his time is required of
her.
Matthew 23:31-35
- "Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
- Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
- Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
- Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
- That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
- Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation."
Christ didn't claim that all the blood from Abel to Zechariah would be upon the whole world! Christ didn't say that the world were the seed, the family, the generation of them that killed the prophets. Christ didn't say the world was responsible for killing, persecuting, crucifying and scourging the prophets in their synagogues,
Christ said perfectly clearly that it was these people, yes "His people," who were responsible for this, and who did all these things, and who the blood of Abel was upon. Not the world,
them--the unfaithful of His own very congregation. The children of those who slew the prophets. Yes, THAT generation or family of evil! They are "spiritually" Babylon. The professed believers! Hello!
Now, how were "they" responsible for the blood of Abel? Just as Christ explained, they were the children (family) of those who killed the prophets. Even though they may protested that they would never do such a thing, Christ knew they had the exact
same murderous, wicked heart of their father the devil. And that congregation is measured the same as their fathers, and would become a cage of devils. This was all proven of course as they ended up having Christ crucified, fulfilling Christ's Words. They were of that "same" evil generation or family that Cain was of. The
whole unfaithful family of Gods congregation (not the world) were the ones killing God's prophets. Read Bible history, it's all right there illustrating that the major antagonists of God's servants were
God's own people. The rebellion was brother against brother, Israel against Israel, Kingdom against kingdom, nation against nation, the Jews against their God. These verses 34 and 35 could have been taken right out of the text of God concerning Babylon, because they are nearly identical. Get this, Babylon is the unfaithful congregation, the harlot, "the great whore" which God called Israel again and again. Scripture interprets Scripture. Babylon is a contradiction if it represents the world, certain city, or empire.
Luke 11:47-51
- "Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
- Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.
- Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
- That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
- From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation."
So the Jews living in the first century were personally responsible for
all the blood shed since the foundation of the world? Of course not! My point is that “this generation” identifies a
spiritual lineage: the generation of vipers, the evil and adulterous generation. “Adulterous” points to covenant unfaithfulness—people who profess allegiance to God while betraying Him.
These are children of the devil dwelling among the Lord’s servants within the congregation and persecuting them.
The warning concerns enemies within the professing congregation.
That is why the church must examine what is happening within its own walls. Pointing at Russia, Rome, or some worldly government will not expose false prophets standing in the pulpit. In this interpretation, the faithful witnesses are silenced by the very religious community that claims to speak for God.
That unfaithful congregation is spiritual Babylon.
And why does her identity remain a “mystery” to so many Christians? Because they keep looking everywhere else! Jerusalem, America, Iraq, Rome, the world system, Mecca, even the Royal Bank of Scotland—the list keeps growing. Meanwhile, the possibility of an unfaithful church escapes their scrutiny!!
Calling a place “Babylon” does not establish its identity from Scripture. My argument rests on the biblical picture of spiritual adultery: a covenant people becoming unfaithful to the God they profess to serve.
Consider the pattern. Among the Old Testament congregation, corrupt religious leaders and their followers persecuted the prophets and delivered Christ to be crucified. Likewise, false prophets and false christs arise among professing believers, deceiving people and opposing the faithful. This is how they will kill the two witnesses as the silencing of the faithful elect’s testimony.
Different centuries, but the same spiritual family:
professing allegiance to God while opposing His truth and persecuting His servants. That is the continuity has been running since CAIN! It did not begun and end in Jerusalem in the first century!
Before pointing to another city or nation, consider whether the warning reaches the congregation claiming to represent God—including your own.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Selah!