Babylon---World Civilization
By J. H. Parsons
IN Revelation 17 and 18, a “great city” is mentioned, “which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” The name of that city is “Babylon,” which “is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” Rev. 18:2. “For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.” “The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner of vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odors, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots [includes automobiles], and slaves, and souls of men.” Rev. 18:3, 12, 13. Past and Present Civilization
Whatever prophetic and spiritual relation this city may have to the fallen church of which it is also a type, this description covers the past and present civilization as graphically as only Scripture can. The chief sins of this city are covetousness, which is idolatry, and self-exaltation; for, “they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.” Isa. 2:8. Their sins originated in the “prince of this world”—Satan—who has deceived mankind from the beginning. His spirit, using man as agent, formed the old pagan world. This, undergoing various transformations, became the religio-political combination known as the Papacy, which received the “deadly wound” that “was healed; and all the world wondered after the beast.” Rev. 13:3. The writer wishes just now to deal only with the material side of this prophecy; namely, “that great city” which is made up of “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” Rev. 17:15. All the Cities in One View
To find a material city that now “reigneth over the kings of the earth,” it is necessary to combine in one view all the leading cities of the world under that title, which is not in any way inconsistent in this day and age, as they are all governed by the same spirit, united by commercialism, and consolidated by telegraphy. A financial disturbance in any of the great business centers would immediately affect every other center, and in the course of a few hours be felt to the confines of the earth. It is said of this city, that it “is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” Rev. 18:2. A thousand newspapers attest to these facts in their daily issues; and it may be said, the half has never been told. Like its prototype—the great Babylon of old—its chief idol is a golden image, to which all bow down in obedience to the spirit of covetousness; “for the wicked . . . blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth.” Ps. 10:3. Its destruction is certain, and will be absolute; for “when the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed forever.” Ps. 92:7. We are told in the prophetic language of Scripture: “For in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more.” Rev. 18:10, 11. One of the chief forces in the creation of this great city will also be one of the main factors in its destruction. This force—capital and labor combined—builds up every city in this present civilization. And this force, when permanently divided in its final, deadly conflict, will help to tear down the patient work of generations, in one prophetic hour. A remarkable feature of this prophecy is that “as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, . . . saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.” Rev. 18:17, 19. Naturally, they will stand afar off; for they will know that all organization has broken down, so that no ship could land in any port, and moreover the cities will be on fire. No righteous will be found in her, for they will have heeded the injunction, “Come out of her, My people.” Rev. 18:4. In fact, the force of circumstances will have driven the righteous from the cities; for this great city will have become a persecuting power in the final end, as “no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Rev. 13:17. Other prophets, speaking of the same time, say: “The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net [or scheme]. That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.” Micah 7:2, 3. “And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity can not enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey.” Isa. 59:14, 15. Such Conditions Can Not Continue
It is unthinkable that divine justice can stand for such a state of affairs for any length of time. History is one long vista of civilization after civilization that has arisen to a zenith of corruption, only to be swept off the earth. When the antediluvians reached the point where “the thoughts” of their hearts were “only evil continually,” the few remaining righteous were gathered in the ark, and the rest perished. “Pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness,” was the sin of Sodom. Eze. 16:49. Yet the day that the angel hurried the one righteous man and his family out of Sodom, the Lord “overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities.” Gen. 19:25. Israel was “as the apple of God’s eye,” and Jerusalem was His holy city; and the Christ wept over it, yet it perished in a just retribution for its sins. All these are held to be types of the final destruction that is to come upon that great city; for “strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.” There was no fixed day for the destruction of the world by a flood, there was no fixed day for the destruction of Sodom by fire, nor was there any fixed day for the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman army; but there were fixed conditions, and when those conditions were fully ripe, then the end came. There is one ark of safety, and only one; and every righteous man will have chosen that ark before the end. It is the Word. “Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” Ps. 119:11.