In Hebrew, whether its the tower, the city, the empire, and its meaning in prophecy down to the close of human history and Christs return, are all the same Hebrew word babel , Babylon. Babel is Babylon and Babel is confusion.
The name Babylon is derived from BAB-ILU which was “gate of the gods” or "the portal of the gods", and in a sense it thus portrays a means of access to the gods that is contrary to God's prescribed plan of salvation. Access is granted through the system and not by faith in Jesus Christ. It is a system where salvation by works replaces salvation by faith and the Protestant Reformers realized it and the system behind it.
The Babylonian system of worship has ever been a snare to God's people, as it is more in tune with human nature to rely on salvation by works than on salvation by grace. From the very beginning, these two systems of worship have been in confrontation with each other. The story of Cain and Abel illustrates this point. Abel listened to the divine directive and brought a lamb without blemish as an offering, but Cain brought the fruits of his labor. When the offering of Abel was accepted by God, the anger of Cain was aroused and ever since, this first confrontation between these two systems of worship, has been in conflict on this planet.
Ancient Babylon serves as a type of a much greater end-time confederacy of religious apostasy and intolerance that would seek to control conscience before the close of earth's history, and yet it will meet its end. We see in Revelation 14:8...
"And there followed another angel saying, 'Babylon is fallen is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.'" Revelation 14:8
The Bible warns against Babylon, and urge God's people to come out of Babylon, and we see it also reflecting the spiritual decay of the system...
"And he cried mightily with a strong voice saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." Revelation 18:2
The unclean and hateful birds appears to reference a counterfeit Holy Spirit that would power the system and lead people to believe that they are working with the power of God when it is a deception masquerading as truth. In verse 4, we see it with a warning..
"Come out of her My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Revelation 18:4
God would not urge His people to come out of Babylon if it were impossible for them to identify Babylon. During the early Christian centuries, Jewish and Christian literature referred to the city of Rome as Babylon. 1 Peter 5:13 also refers to Rome as Babylon, as Peter wrote these words whilst in Rome, and literal Babylon no longer existed....
"The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son." 1 Peter 5:13
In Revelation 17, John is invited to witness the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters, seductively deceiving the inhabitants of the earth. This woman is subsequently identified as “ ‘Babylon the great, the mother of harlots’ ”. In the scriptures, a prostitute symbolically refers to God’s people in their apostasy. The portrayal of the prostitute in Revelation 17 shows that she represents an entity that was once faithful to God before aligning herself with the end-time opponent of God and His faithful remnant. Babylon is thus a corporate name for an end-time apostate entity.
The Protestants of the Reformation knew who it was and referred to it as spiritual Babylon, the antichrist entity and enemy of God's people. The woman that rides the beast in Revelation 17 also has all the identifying features which make it easier to find...
"1 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: 2 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." Revelation 17:1-2.
The woman is first referenced to as sitting on “many waters” and according to Revelation 17:5, the waters upon which the prostitute was seen symbolize the civil, secular, and political powers of the world. Just as the ancient Babylon depended on the Euphrates River for its existence, so will the end-time Babylon depend on the civil, secular, and political powers of the world to enforce its plans and purposes.
"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." Revelation 17:4-5.
In the Bible the symbol of a woman represents the church. Isaiah the prophet extends the symbol of a woman to that of a bride. The pure bride represents the pure church..
"As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee." Isaiah 62:5.
We find in the New Testament the same symbolism is employed...
"...for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." 2 Corinthians 11:2.
Babylon is described in Revelation 17:5 as the "mother of harlots" an apostate religious systems or church, "Mystery" and the "abominations of the earth". Obviously if God's people are the chaste woman faithful to her husband, then Babylon is the opposite of this symbol or that system of worship which is unfaithful to God, and has a mystery religion and teaches and practices abominations.
Its not hard to figure out who persecuted the saints, and brought in the paganism and abominable practices into the church...
