REVELATION 17:5 the mystery of Babylon
Of all the different translations of Revelation 17:5 most agree that the object, Babylon, is a whore. The second portion of the scripture is mostly rendered as abominations although there are a few translations that do not use such a strong word to describe what sort of transactions Babylon specializes in. Attempts to identify the city are endless. Despite the frequency of attempts to identify this place nothing of substance seems to have revealed itself. Babylon is still a mystery.
The methodology most often used to identify Babylon is that of geography. Attention immediately settles upon the hills of Rome. The discussion begins and ends there; endlessly. If endless iteration were a key to understanding truth and lies, then Rome isn't it. You can batter a man into believing a lie if you repeat it often enough, but a repeated lie doesn't make a thing true. The obvious conclusion is to look elsewhere.
If geography hasn't provided a satisfactory answer to the mystery of Babylon then the only other clue provided in scripture is money. Investigative journalists have used the penny principle for years when investigating crime and debauchery at high levels of corporate and government machinations. Following the money is a legitimate path of investigation and very often the method by which great crimes are revealed.
Scripture declares that the great whore would have two great identifying characteristics; built on 7 hills & control of global currency. There are only two major world capitals that fit the first criteria and only one of them that matches both. Rome is not a major player in the global financial cartel in the year 2012. In fact, the Italian economy is in such bad shape their leaders are having to prostitute themselves before the masters of money just to pay the bills to keep their government afloat. The Greeks, as we all know, are faring even worse. I live near Tarpon Springs a major Greek community on the west central coast of Florida. Many Greek families are bringing relatives to Florida to provide for their survival. The whore isn't Rome or its predecessor in history. Follow the money.
I follow current events in the international press as well as the domestic American propaganda that passes as news. All government lie and publish misinformation as a matter of policy. In that regard, America is a player as well as every other nation. The curious thing is that truth has a way of slipping through the cracks at times. Little nuggets and gems of it can be found here and there in even the most censored news. One thing I've learned is that when seeking the truth one subject always pops up; follow the money.
For example, we've been told over and over again that the big problem with Iran is that they are pursuing the development of nuclear weapons. There is no real evidence of it. There never was any evidence of WMDs in Iraq either, but that didn't stop the western alliance from invading the country. There wasn't even an excuse given for the UK, French and US attacks upon Libya either but we went in anyway. The issue is not and never has been about big stick weaponry. Its really about money. When Gaddafi threatened to drop the dollar and the euro in favor of gold based transactions, he sent shockwaves all throughout the western banking system. After the 'liberation' of Libya it was discovered that ten billion dollars worth of gold had also disappeared. Mystery Babylon? Follow the money.
Iran's 'problem', if you will, is that it has announced the desire to trade oil for gold. Thirteen tons of the stuff was shipped from Turkey to Iran last week to pay for the trade. Obama was furious about it despite the fact that Ankara had previously asked and received permission from NATO powers to do so. The fact that Ankara used gold to pay instead of dollars or euros has shaken the western banking interests. Follow the money.
China has also expressed an interest in using some standard other than dollars, pounds or euros to conduct commerce. Meanwhile they are buying oil from Iran to fuel their booming manufacturing economy. Guess what they are using to pay for the crude? If you guessed gold you get a star. Follow the money.
Dr. Ben Bernanke is the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, which is neither an American nor governmental agency. Its private with many sensitive links to European oligarchs. American and European bankers have been collaborating in their mutual financial party for many years. They've enjoyed calling the tune while the rest of the planet has been forced to dance to it. The global economy is changing rapidly, however, and those who provide a much needed product (oil) as well as those who manufacture goods (China) are interested in using a method of exchange that is unrestricted by the American-European profiteers (whores?). Dr. Bernanke was recently quoted as saying that gold isn't really money. Why did he say a thing like that? He's not stupid you know. Is he trying to mask the truth behind American global financial hegemony?
Follow the money.
Rome is built on 7 hills, but it doesn't control world finance. The only other major city on the planet that meets the dual criteria of global financial domination and geographic foundations upon 7 hills is Washington.
Wave your striped flag and be proud for another season or two ye citizens of Babylon. Judgment is coming to test the metal of your character. Will you be found wanting or will you rise to the challenge and throw off the chains that enslave you and the rest of humanity? Chances are that there will be no popular uprising - we are far too proud of the new fascist police state we've constructed. The Almighty will have to do it for us.
but that's just me, hollering from the choir loft...
Good post rjp and I'm in agreement with much of it. I will be back to respond. Don't let the 'follow the money' thing of financial domination be the force that determines the identiy of the beasts. There's much more in scripture that must be in agreement for that idea to be true.
Be back soon. Again.
Godd post!
Syria conducting large-scale military exercises, Lebanon may be attempting to divert water from Israel, Iranian nuclear facilities have produced enough weapons-grade plutonium for at least four to five nuclear weapons, and Russia sending attack helicopters into Syria. It seems to be the stuff a nightmare movie is made of. Yet this is the reality that faces Israel today.
Life in Israel is just like any other nation: People go to work, go home, spend time with their families, go shopping. You can find scenes like this in any other nation on the planet.
However, every other nation on the planet is not named Israel. No other nation on the planet is an outspokenly Jewish nation. Every other nation does not seem to have the entire world wanting them to be destroyed like Israel. Israel is not without allies, but even then it has to be careful. With anti-Semitism on the rise, things can get out of hand quickly.
Take the situation in Syria: Israel and Syria get along about the same as hot oil and water. The same goes for Israel and Lebanon, Jordan, the Palestinians, and now Egypt, since the Muslim Brotherhood won the recent election. With the current civil and political unrest in Syria, all it would take is someone saying that the violence is caused by Israeli saboteurs trying to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad and would do the same to the Syrian resistance army, and they would turn on them.
Lebanon may be about to wage a quiet, but active war against Israel by diverting the water from the Hatzbani River. This appears to stem from the construction of a large tourism center on the Lebanese side of the river near the Israeli town of Metulla. A senior office with the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) Northern Command said that construction of the center needed to be "closely tracked" due to the possibility it would be used to diver water from the Hatzbani, which supplies 25 percent of the Jordan River's waters.
"It has our attention and we are keeping a close eye on what is happening there," the officer said. "Our concerns rage from the diversion of water to the possibility that the tourism center will be used as cover to launch attacks against Israel." Indeed, about two weeks ago Lebanese military troops were standing about 20 meters from the border aiming their weapons, including a rocket-propelled grenade, at Israel's Paratroop Brigade, patrolling near the river, withdrawing only after an Israeli soldier who speaks Arabic heard the Lebanese commander "dividing up targets for his men," called for backup which quickly arrived on the scene.
HOSTILITY AGAINST ISRAEL FROM AFAR
Iran appear to be in active preparation for war against Israel. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, seen by many as the real ruler of Iran, is telling his nation for the first time openly that it "must prepare for war" and "the end of times" while it continues to develop nuclear weapons.
Until now, the Iranian media mostly quoted clerics from seminaries on the issue of the last Islamic messiah, the Imam Mahdi, in order to avoid being seen as messianic. All of that changed Friday as Khamenei's statements received wide publication concerning the controversial figure and Iran's need to "prepare for the end of times as it confronts the West over its illicit nuclear program," a statement that has alarmed Western leaders.
"The issue of Imam Mahdi is of utmost importance, and his reappearance has been clearly stated in our holy religion of Islam," Khamenei said. "We must study and reming ourselves of the end of times and Imam Mahdi's era ... We must prepare the environment for the coming so that the great leader will come."
Shiite theology states that great wars must engulf the earth in which one-third of its population will die in the fighting and another third from "hunger, lawlessness and havoc." It also states that in order for Mahdi, also called the 12th imam, to appear, the nation of Israel must be destroyed. Only then can he kill all the infidels and spread Islam around the world.
On the Russian front, Moscow was accused of "dramatically" escalating the crisis in Syria by sending attack helicopters there last month by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham-Clinton. Already owned by Syria, the refurbishment of the attack helicopters seems to indicate that Russia is in league with Syria concerning the killing of resistance fighters from the air.
Given that Russia has attacked Israel in the past, during the 1967 Six-Day War, and the increased persecution of Jews still in Russia, it may be that the conflict in Syria is being used as a cover-up to hide Russia's true intentions: a military assault on the nation of Israel. Indeed, increased hostility toward Jews worldwide, including in America, would indicate that military conflict is inevitable. If war does break out, only divine intervention from Israel's God would keep Israel from being wiped off the map.
ynetnews.com, jpost.com, and wnd.com contributed to this article.
