And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers:
Read together with the whole sweep of Micah chapters 4 and 5, the promise to cut off witchcrafts and soothsayers belongs to the prophecy of the birth of the man child set forth in Revelation 12. That comparison identifies Babylon as the very beginning of the seven-headed beast power described in Revelation 17. That beast power is combined church-and-state government, rule in which civil kingship and false religious influence are joined. Its beginning is dated from the time the kingdom was taken away from Judah, when Judah went into captivity to Babylon.
Read together with the whole sweep of Micah chapters 4 and 5, the promise to cut off witchcrafts and soothsayers belongs to the prophecy of the birth of the man child set forth in Revelation 12. That comparison identifies Babylon as the very beginning of the seven-headed beast power described in Revelation 17. That beast power is combined church-and-state government, rule in which civil kingship and false religious influence are joined. Its beginning is dated from the time the kingdom was taken away from Judah, when Judah went into captivity to Babylon.