Back to Rev. 17:9..The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. Here’s something else to think about. Your average atlas names seven mountain ranges across the continental United States. They are, from east to west, the Appalachians, Allegheny, Ozarks, The Rockies, The Bitter Root, Sierra Nevada and the Cascades. Now we have other minor mountain ranges like the Green Mountains of Vermont, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Sierra Madre of the southwest but these seven are the major ones listed. In my opinion, Rome would be way too obvious and to say that it calls for mind with wisdom to recognize that fact is questionable.
In verse 15 we have this phrase...
"The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages." It doesn’t take much of a stretch to connect this with America being known as a refuge for all countries, so much so, that we are called the "melting pot" of the world. Verse 18 is the clincher, "The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth." There is no other nation that could even come close to being considered as ruling over the world at this time other than America. Granted, Rome has much influence over many people but it doesn’t "rule" over the leaders of them. Babylon in Iraq rules over nothing, nor will it ever acquire what is needed in the future to do so. Revelations 18 gives us some further clues to its identity. Rev. 18: 1-3 echoes the prophecy of Jer. 51:6-7. Rev. 18:3 says, “For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries."
How anyone could ever think that Iraq will take over world domination is beyond me. Even if they nuked America and threatened the stability of the rest of the world, Russia, China or Europe would never let them get so big and to the point that they would become a major buyer and seller of the world’s produce. It would take decades, but America now and in the near future does fit the bill nicely. Rev. 18:11 - "The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more-- 12cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; 13cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men."
America is the world’s largest importer of foreign made products. Rev. 18:17... "Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, 'Was there ever a city like this great city?' 19They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out: " 'Woe! Woe, O great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth!"
If they were speaking of Jerusalem, most of the world would celebrate, not bemoan their end but the nations have always been jealous of America’s greatness. The Babylon of Iraq has never been nor ever will be a great importer/exporter of various products by sea. The only thing they ever ship by sea is oil and this is talking about much more than that because they are most certainly not the holder of the world’s oil reserves. But look how the little worker’s strike on the west coast of America years ago brought fear to the world’s exporters and importers and has already greatly influenced the international stock markets.
Look at this description of the future Babylon in Jer. 51:13. “You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come, the time for you to be cut off“. There is just no way the residents of Babylon of Iraq or Jerusalem could be described as "living by many waters", it is a desert country! In all the news reports and photo footage of Iraq or Israel, do you ever remember seeing many, lakes, ponds or rivers or even trees for that matter? How about Jer. 51:42-43 -"The sea will rise over Babylon; its roaring waves will cover her. 43 Her towns will be desolate, a dry and desert land, a land where no one lives, through which no man travels."
Iraq already is a dry and desert land. Sure, you’ll find a couple of lakes in the atlas but certainly not enough for it to be considered a "land of many waters" God must be describing a place where dry and desert is the opposite of what it was before judgment.
The woman of Rev. 17 is described as whore which doesn’t mean she has sex with men but is used figuratively to describe her as an idolater. An idolater is someone who worships someone or something other than God. What does America worship? Money, Self, Hollywood personalities, Rock and other music stars, Sports heroes, now Fire fighters and Police officers, Military men, National Pride, our things (tv’s, cars, stereos, etc.), Sex and Pornography and other things as well. For most of America, the God of the bible is way down on the list and it will only get worse as time goes on and the individuals who will turn this nation into the Babylon of Revelations come into power.
In verse 15 we have this phrase...
"The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages." It doesn’t take much of a stretch to connect this with America being known as a refuge for all countries, so much so, that we are called the "melting pot" of the world. Verse 18 is the clincher, "The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth." There is no other nation that could even come close to being considered as ruling over the world at this time other than America. Granted, Rome has much influence over many people but it doesn’t "rule" over the leaders of them. Babylon in Iraq rules over nothing, nor will it ever acquire what is needed in the future to do so. Revelations 18 gives us some further clues to its identity. Rev. 18: 1-3 echoes the prophecy of Jer. 51:6-7. Rev. 18:3 says, “For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries."
How anyone could ever think that Iraq will take over world domination is beyond me. Even if they nuked America and threatened the stability of the rest of the world, Russia, China or Europe would never let them get so big and to the point that they would become a major buyer and seller of the world’s produce. It would take decades, but America now and in the near future does fit the bill nicely. Rev. 18:11 - "The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more-- 12cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; 13cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men."
America is the world’s largest importer of foreign made products. Rev. 18:17... "Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, 'Was there ever a city like this great city?' 19They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out: " 'Woe! Woe, O great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth!"
If they were speaking of Jerusalem, most of the world would celebrate, not bemoan their end but the nations have always been jealous of America’s greatness. The Babylon of Iraq has never been nor ever will be a great importer/exporter of various products by sea. The only thing they ever ship by sea is oil and this is talking about much more than that because they are most certainly not the holder of the world’s oil reserves. But look how the little worker’s strike on the west coast of America years ago brought fear to the world’s exporters and importers and has already greatly influenced the international stock markets.
Look at this description of the future Babylon in Jer. 51:13. “You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come, the time for you to be cut off“. There is just no way the residents of Babylon of Iraq or Jerusalem could be described as "living by many waters", it is a desert country! In all the news reports and photo footage of Iraq or Israel, do you ever remember seeing many, lakes, ponds or rivers or even trees for that matter? How about Jer. 51:42-43 -"The sea will rise over Babylon; its roaring waves will cover her. 43 Her towns will be desolate, a dry and desert land, a land where no one lives, through which no man travels."
Iraq already is a dry and desert land. Sure, you’ll find a couple of lakes in the atlas but certainly not enough for it to be considered a "land of many waters" God must be describing a place where dry and desert is the opposite of what it was before judgment.
The woman of Rev. 17 is described as whore which doesn’t mean she has sex with men but is used figuratively to describe her as an idolater. An idolater is someone who worships someone or something other than God. What does America worship? Money, Self, Hollywood personalities, Rock and other music stars, Sports heroes, now Fire fighters and Police officers, Military men, National Pride, our things (tv’s, cars, stereos, etc.), Sex and Pornography and other things as well. For most of America, the God of the bible is way down on the list and it will only get worse as time goes on and the individuals who will turn this nation into the Babylon of Revelations come into power.
