One of the great mysteries of the Bible is how the prophecies about Babylon are to be fulfilled. The major prophecies about Babylon are found in Isaiah 13-14 & 47, Jeremiah 50-51 and Revelation 17-18. Most just focus on the Revelation prophecies and ignore the Old Testament prophecies about Babylon. Even so, any prophecies that have not already been fulfilled about Babylon in the OT still must be literally fulfilled.

If you study all the prophecies about Babylon, you should see the parallel in Revelation to what is said in the OT. The OT prophets make it abundantly clear that Babylon is a literal city located on the plains of Shinar. It is the land of the Chaldeans and it is located by the Euphrates River. The Revelation 17-18 prophecy also says that Babylon is a city. Those that think Babylon is the United States, Rome, Islam or some other identity are ignoring obvious facts.

Many will say Revelation is talking about Mystery Babylon, as if Mystery Babylon is different than literal Babylon. The problem with that view is there is no biblical support for any Mystery Babylon. The King James version in Revelation 17 is misleading. “Mystery” is not part of the title written on the woman’s forehead. The mystery revealed in Revelation 17 is the woman and the beast she is riding. The secret or “mystery” is not a mysterious location or allegorical fulfillment. The angel even then tells John the mystery of the woman riding the beast so that would be clear.

John is told three time that the beast was and is not and yet is and says the beast will ascend out of the bottomless pit (Rev 17:8). This could not be talking about Rome because Rome existed at the time of John. The angel also tells John the beast is the eighth head but is of the seven heads (kings and kingdoms). Five of those seven kingdoms had already fallen and the Roman existed at the time of John.

Daniel should make it clear to prophecy students that the last beast before God’s kingdom is the Roman and the last phase of Roman is the ten toes representing ten kings. Revelation says these ten kings give their power to the beast. Therefore, from the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation we learn that the seventh beast is a revived Roman Empire and the eight occurs when the Beast carrying the woman arises out of the abyss and takes over the body of the seventh king.

The beast that had been running the earth but that is being restrained during the time of the Church age is the Dragon (the Devil). If you believe that to be a strange interpretation of the king that was, and is not, but will come out of the Abysis, understand that 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2 tells us the Son of Perdition is the one being restrained in the abyss until He that restrains is taken out of the way. We also need to understand that Revelation Chapter 12 tells us the same beast of Revelation Chapter 17 having seven heads and ten horns is the Dragon, the Devil and Satan. All of the seven Gentile world kingdoms oppressing Israel were controlled by Satan and so will be the final beast kingdom.

This becomes clearer when we realize the only thing preventing God from dealing with Israel for her final week of years (Jacob’s trouble), is the taking out of a Bride for His Christ. After the Church is completed, the Lord comes for his Bride and Satan will become unrestrained on earth. The Son of Perdition then rises out of the Abyss and takes over the body of the seventh king receiving the deadly head wound (Re 13:3).

He will then become the leader of the eighth kingdom called the Beast. It will be a satanic counterfeit kingdom that Revelation calls Babylon the Great. The Son of Perdition probably will claim to be the Christ and possibly Apollo or Zeus. The woman riding the Beast is pagan based religion that first appeared at Babylon. In place of Jerusalem, Babylon was and will be the headquarters of the Satanic counterfeit religion and kingdom.

Some will suggest that Peter allegorized Babylon in 1 Peter 5:13 when he “wrote from Rome”. The problems with that view is that Rome does not fit the OT prophecies about Babylon and there is no proof that Peter was ever in Rome. More likely, Peter wrote that letter from literal Babylon where there was a large Jewish contingent at the time. Rome certainly is a daughter of Babylon because many Babylonian influences have become rooted there, but Rome cannot fulfill all the OT prophecies about Babylon.

The Isaiah, Jeremiah and Revelation prophecies about Babylon can only be fully and literally fulfilled some time after Babylon rises again to become the leading city of the world. Nothing that occurred in the past can fulfill all the Babylon prophecies. For example, the prophecies clearly indicate that nobody will ever live there again, and that the whole Shinar plain will become a perpetual desert wasteland only occupied by unclean animals.

When ancient Babylon was taken over by the Medes and Persians in OT days, they did not totally destroy the city as the prophets indicated. Babylon was never suddenly destroyed and never became totally devoid of people. The city of Babylon actually disintegrated over a very long period of time. Therefore, a new Babylon must be  built somewhere on the plains of Shinar (Somewhere between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers) to fulfill the prophecy. Babylon was a city, a province, an empire, and a satanic religious and economic system so we also need to keep that in mind.

Babylon also represents all the Gentile world kingdoms oppressing Israel and under Satan’s authority. That would include the satanic world religious systems and its predatory covetous economic systems. Satan’s false kingdom is based on political tyranny and economic practices contrary to God’s commandments. This is why we are told not to love the things of the world. We will be able to love the world system after Jesus sets up His Kingdom on it.

Christianity is not of the world. Once the Church is taken out, satanic pagan religion will totally take over Gentile world religion just like in the days of Babylon. Pagan religion with its many false gods started in Babylon and it spread all over the world. It is being restrained in the Church Age for the sake of the Bride. The world economic system also is controlled by Satan but is somewhat restrained while the Church is here doing good works. Shortly after the Rapture, Satan gains full control of everyone on earth with the Mark of the Beast system. Thus, the beast that was, but is being restrained, will exist again. Revelation 17 is showing us the religious aspect, and Revelation 18 the economic aspect of all of Satan’s blasphemous kingdoms on earth. These kingdoms are the same ones that Satan offered Jesus.

The few that are actually teaching on a literal Babylon these days never get into how Babylon rises again to become the leading city of the world in the little time left before the second coming. That oversight makes any literally fulfillment anytime soon seem unbelievable to most. One possibility is that the alignment of nations in the Middle East could change drastically as a result of a war. The present national borders in the Middle East that came about after World War I makes little sense. War and civil war are always brewing because of the tribal divisions.

Iraq is in turmoil as I write because of the Iranian encroachment there. Iran could soon take over Shia southern Iraq. Iran probably already has nuclear weapons, so only the US could rapidly do anything to keep an Iranian encroachment from happening. Even so, the US might be out of the picture for one reason or another at that point. If Shia Iran took over Shia southern Iraq, Sunni Turkey would move into Sunni Northern Iraq and that would end the nation of Iraq. Turkey is a NATO nation, so if Turkey and Iran got into it, all the NATO nations including Sunni nations could join forces to end the Shia Islamic threat. This likely would occur after the Rapture, so the end result could be pagan based pseudo Christianity and Sunni Islam joining forces to form Chrislam to achieve world peace. This coalition of powers could control Europe, the Middle East and Western Asia. The two horns on the False Prophet in Revelation that has the appearance of a Lamb but speaks as a Dragon even suggests these two major religions will speak with one satanic voice.

Revelation and Daniel tell us there will be a Beast arising at the end of the age with ten horns (ten kings). Daniel says the Little Horn will come up among the ten horns and will grow exceeding great toward the South, the East and toward the Holy Land (Da 8:9). So, we need to look Northwest of Israel to see where the military power of the Antichrist comes from. If there is war against the Shia and Iran. A revived Roman Empire could form to fight the war and expand as far as the Southwestern part of Iran. This would also explain the prophetic defeat of Elam by nations from the four winds (Jer 49:36).

Perhaps a little bit later, demonic beings posing as aliens or ascended masters come through the Gate of the Gods (the meaning of “Babylon”) with intentions to rule over the world. Who can make war with the Beast?  At this point the downfall of the US already took place because Christians were removed and the result was civil strife and a failed state. This explains why the UN moves from New York City to what becomes New Babylon as this demonic invasion takes place in the area of ancient Babylon. If the “gods” return at Babylon, The religious and economic center of the world would quickly be moved to Babylon. That could be the fulfillment of Zec 5, 5-11.

Keep in mind, that we are told in the New Testament that risen Christians come back with the Lord to rule and reign with Him. So, nobody should be totally surprised that the false Christ of the counterfeit kingdom would also counterfeit this coming using supernatural beings from out of the Abyss. People on earth are going to be deceived to believe that the gods have come and are setting up the great evolutionary leap forward for mankind from Babylon.

New Babylon quickly gets rich because she will sit on a sea of oil and rule the economy of the world. All the elite of the world will bring their wealth there and quickly build great structures there. Babylon could have hundreds of times the wealth of Dubai and post Rapture it could have many times the influence of the Vatican and Mecca. The world government set up there is likely to tax all people on earth through an electronic transfer fee. People on earth will not be able to buy or sell without having the mark or paying the electronic transfer tax.

Toward the end of the tribulation a great coalition of nations assembles and comes from the North. The kings of the East come with their hordes and a great battle takes place at Babylon. Nuclear weapons will be used and nuclear reactors will melt down so this area becomes radioactive. The radiation is likely the reason nobody ever lives there again. When Babylon falls, all the cities of the world also fall (Rev 16:19). God is not going to start the Lord’s Kingdom with cities and world systems corrupted by Satan. Shortly after Babylon is destroyed, the surviving armies of the world are deceived by demonic forces to head toward Armageddon to try to stop the coming of God’s anointed King. That will mark the end of all satanic forces opposing the promised Jewish Kingdom until the end of the Kingdom age.

It does not all have to happen exactly this way, but Babylon rises again in some manner to represent the end time satanic world system and its pagan based idolatry. This can happen in short order once demonic supernatural forces are set free to set up the counterfeit kingdom on earth. There are a couple of things still preventing this from happening. One is the Bride of Christ, and the other is America. The way things are now going on earth, I think both are about to be taken out of the picture around the same time and it will happen very soon.