Introduction

Many of you have written in to ask my thoughts on the Islamic terrorist attacks and what all this might mean in light of the Book of Revelations and last days prophecy. One of the positive things that emerged out of this horrific act is that there is now an increased interest in God, prayer, and the end times.

I would first like to offer you a word of caution. In the coming weeks and months you will hear many speeches and sermons from well respected religious and political leaders that in truth compromise the Word of God. You will also read many new books and hear discussions on prophecy from people who know nothing at all about this topic.

Prior to 9-11 the majority of Christians were saying prophecy, Mystery Babylon, and the Book of Revelation are not important. Many spent endless Bible Studies in Romans, forever on scriptural baby milk, and never progressing to the weightier matters in prophecy.

These very same people are claiming visions from God and special prophetic knowledge. To these I say you can't come to an understanding of last days prophecy in two weeks, two months, or even two years.

I have studied prophecy (eschatology) my whole life. But I can honestly say that I have only scratched the surface. The more I study the more I realize how much more there is to learn.

But now we see unqualified people setting themselves up as prophecy experts and declaring revelations from God. Don't get me wrong. These are well intended Christians. But if a prophetic interpretation is wrong it did not come from God.

Armed with a few weeks of study these new converts to prophecy are drawing all the wrong conclusions from the terrorist attacks.

The most prevalent false interpretation of prophecy today is that the attack on New York is somehow the fulfillment of the destruction of Babylon as described in Chapter 17 and 18 of the Book of Revelation.

The following is intended to in part correct these false teachers. Keep in mind that there are no prophets alive today.

While turning the channels recently I came across TBN. The host was introducing a guest as a modern day "prophetess." Don't be fooled by these charlatans.

Miss Cleo can't tell anything about you from a deck of cards. There is no one alive today that can "cross over" and speak to your dead relatives. And this woman did not have the gift of prophecy. Therefore, when you hear someone say, "God told me," you know whatever follows is a complete fabrication.

Scripture says that only God knows the day Christ will return. That means it is impossible to know exactly when the Rapture will come and when the Seventieth Week of Daniel will start.

But the time is close, that much I do know. It is my hope that those who were lukewarm on Christ prior to the attacks will see this as a wakeup call. Now is the time to get born-again into a personal and eternal relationship with the Lord.

New York - Big Apple Not Mystery Babylon

There are many reasons why the Islamic terrorist attack upon New York was not the fulfillment of the destruction of Mystery Babylon talked about in chapters 17 and 18 of the Book of Revelation.

1.   The destruction of Mystery Babylon takes place much later in the prophetic chronological order.

Mystery Babylon will not be destroyed until after the Seven Seals have been opened. That means the destruction of Babylon described in Chapter 18 cannot be fulfilled before the events of Chapters 1-17. The Rapture is the next prophetic event, followed by the appearance of the Antichrist, False Prophet, seven-year treaty with Israel, Mark of the Beast, Image in the Temple, and so on.

2.   Mystery Babylon is a false religious system based in a city on seven hills. Manhattan is flat as a pancake.

For thousands of years Rome has been called the "city on seven hills."

3.   Mystery Babylon will be completely destroyed. New York was not destroyed.

Without minimizing the damage and death in the city, the destruction and loss of life in New York was a tiny fraction of a percent of New York City.

4.   Mystery Babylon will never rise again. The World Trade Towers will be rebuilt.

I have heard people say that "Long Island" is unstable ground therefore the WTC can not be built again. "Manhattan," where the WTC was located, sits on solid bedrock relatively close to ground level. This granite foundation runs all the way from Georgia to New York. That is what makes it possible to build so many skyscrapers in such a small area.

It is true that the ground under the ancient city of Babylon in Iraq has become unstable. That is why Babylon will never rise up again on its' original site.

5.   Mystery Babylon can not be destroyed until its leader the False Prophet has been revealed.

Mystery Babylon is a term used to describe a city that headquarters an evil false religious system. How can that city be destroyed before the leader of that system is revealed?

6.   Mystery Babylon is the "Mother of Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth." The WTC had nothing to do with religion.

Mystery Babylon is said to be, "drunk with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." Revelation 18:24 says, "And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth." That applies to Rome and the inquisitions of Roman Catholicism but not the WTC.

7.   The Lord will righteously judge Mystery Babylon. Islamic terrorists attacked New York in the name of Baal (Allah) because of American support for Israel.

This is a key point. God will bring Mystery Babylon down because it is Satan's false religious system. The terrorist brought down the WTC because they hate God's people, want God's land Israel, and they are jealous of God's promise to Isaac. These are two totally opposite situations.

8.   Regarding the destruction of Mystery Babylon scripture says, "Her smoke rises up forever and ever!" NYC is recovering from the attacks. The fires are out, smoke has stopped, and the debris is being quickly removed.

There is no way to symbolize and allegorize the smoke from the WTC into the eternal smoke that will rise from Mystery Babylon.

9.   Mystery Babylon has nothing to do with Babylon Village, New York.

Many have pointed out that Babylon Village is a stone's throw from Manhattan on Long Island. So what! There's also a Jerusalem, Alabama, but that doesn't mean the Lord is going to set up His kingdom in Alabama.

10.   Ancient Babylon was destroyed in an hour. And Mystery Babylon will be destroyed at the Lord's coming in one hour. But this has nothing to do with the loss of the WTC.

People say that the WTC was destroyed in an hour as predicted. But as pointed out earlier the WTC is not NYC. The Trade Towers were a symbol but not the soul of New York. New York City is recovering from the loss of a dozen buildings. The stock market is up and running, merchants still sell their goods, and the voices of bridegrooms and brides can still be heard in the Big Apple.

11.   If the WTC were Mystery Babylon then immediately following the destruction we would have seen the Lord coming in the clouds to defeat the Antichrist and his armies gather in Israel.

It didn't happen because the WTC is not Mystery Babylon.

So why are people pushing this false interpretation?

The answer can be found in the fact that most of the proponents of this theory also do not believe in a pre-tribulation Rapture. These people lack any understanding into the correct chronological order of prophetic events. They want to teach prophecy yet they haven't taken the time to fully understand what they are talking about.

Without a doubt the next event on God's prophetic timetable is the Rapture. The destruction of the World Trade Center was not the destruction of Mystery Babylon described in Chapter 18 of the Book of Revelation.

Rome, The True Mystery Babylon

Mystery Babylon is a false religious system that has been around in one form or another for thousands of years. It is part of Satan's fight against the will of God.

It started with a lie in the Garden of Eden that deceived Eve, became a false religious system at the Tower of Babel, as was spread through six successive kingdoms in the Mediterranean; Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome.

In the last days a final kingdom will rise up out of the nations of the old Roman Empire. This ten-nation federation will come under the control of a world leader, the Antichrist.

A False Prophet will support the Antichrist and unite all nations in worshiping the Beast.

Mystery Babylon will be located in Rome. Here we already have a foundation for this one-world religious "Mother of Harlots" with the Roman Empire and Roman Catholicism.

Rome illegally tried our Lord. They falsely convicted a sinless man. Roman soldiers mocked, beat, spat at, scourged, and nailed God to a wooden cross. Then they gambled for the Lord's only earthly possession, the garments on his body. And finally a Roman soldier thrust his spear into God's side.

Rome continued its abominations by murdering prophets, Apostles, and Saints. Christians by the tens of thousands were persecuted by a succession of Caesars.

The Roman Catholic Church followed this with seventeen hundred years of more murder of innocent victims and Saints. If ever a city was "drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus" it is Rome.

The Inquisitions killed millions. The Roman Catholic Church burned Saints at the stake for translating the Holy Bible into a common language so that people could read scripture without a Catholic interpreter.

And when people could read the Bible they saw the false doctrines of a Harlot Church that had prostituted the Word of God for power and wealth. False pagan doctrines such as indulgences, money to the church for future sins, Purgatory, more money to the church to buy relatives into heaven, and "Mary Queen of Heaven."

The Pope and the Roman Catholic Church have been the dominant world power for seventeen centuries. Kingdoms come and go but the Pope continues to influence the affairs of the whole globe. Anyone who says otherwise is ignorant of history.

The Pope has set up Kings and kingdoms. The Vatican has amassed fortunes well beyond that of any nation on earth. The Pope helped Adolph Hitler come to power, and Nazis escape capture and punishment after the WWII. Rome controlled all trade in and around the Mediterranean for thousands of years.

Rome is Mystery Babylon. God is not finished judging this wicked city.

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