God Has used this ancient tower of Babylon and it's people as symbolism in the Revelation prophecy.
Let us read Rev.18:1-5
"And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and the cage of every unclean bird. 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. and I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities."
John was given this vision in the book of Revelation...
Let us read Rev.17:3-7
"So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names and blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carried her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns."
The inspired writings of the Apostle Paul gave this insight into these very events...
In 2 Thess. 2:3-5, He wrote: "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there be a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposseth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was with you, I told you these things.
 
Let us look again to the...
"More sure Word of prophecy"
We read in Rev. 13:12-17
"And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And he deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast, which had the wound by the sword, and did live. And he had power to give life to the image of the beast, that the image should both speak, and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he caused all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or name of the beast, or the number of his name." 
Let us receive God's understanding of "buying and selling" as it is spoken of here in this prophecy. It is written in Proverbs 23:23..."Buy the truth and sell it not; also wisdom, and understanding."
These scriptures are speaking of "spiritual" things! Not of earthly things such as bread, milk or butter! We are instructed to "BUY THE TRUTH." The truth comes from Jesus Christ. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Jesus declared , "The WORDS that I speak unto you, they are SPIRIT and they are LIFE. These "Beast's religions" are not selling the truths of BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY. They are selling their own traditional doctrines.
These prophetic truths are NOW being revealed by God to His dear children who have been held captive by their loyalty in Babylon's confused Kingdom of Religion.
Will you..."Hear what the Spirit and the Word" saith to the TRUE church of God?
Will you? Be one of His obedient children and..."Come out of her and be not a partaker of her sins."
As you hear this prophetic hope of God's "End Time Restoration"LET YOUR ALLEGIANCE BE TO CHRIST
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was the first Kingdom to exist on the earth. Nimrod was the Pagan King who reigned supreme over the people of this Kingdom. We read this record about Babylon from the book Genesis..."Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the desert, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to one another, "Come let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the earth." But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, "Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they purpose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth." (Genesis 11:1-9)
The apostle Paul warned the infant church of the impending danger that was to come. He wrote these things: "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." (Acts 20:29-30)
According to the Revelation symbols and the verification by the historical events that took place, this did happen. Men did arise speaking perverse things! By the end of the 2nd. Century, these men had usurped a strong leadership authority and deviated from the simple gospel. These self exalted leaders of the early church elevated themselves to a so-called "Priesthood." The 3rd century brought an acceptance by the Emperor Constantine of this now popular religion. He declared Christianity as the State religion. Many Pagan people were inducted into the church. They "joined" the church by a baptismal ceremony rather than being born again of God. These unconverted pagan people languished in the absence of their pagan rituals from the idolatry they had left.
The church leadership began to accept many Pagan ideologies and ceremonies as portions of their worship services in order to appease them. The Praying on beads; sprinkling of holy water; burning of incense; lighting of candles to ward of evil spirits; a so-called "Mass" was instituted whereby the Priest's were the only ones worthy to administer the so-called sacraments to the people. The body of Christ was to be offered up in a "Bloody sacrifice" every time this Mass was repeated. According to the scriptures Christ was offered ONCE to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. It is written that Christ has washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made EVERY TRUE BELIEVER a king and a Priest unto God and His Father. (Rev. 1:5-6)
The early Christians expected Christ to return momentarily. This is why Paul said, Let no man deceive you, for that day of the Lord's return shall not come EXCEPT there be a falling away. The "falling away" that the Apostle Paul forewarned the early Christians of did come. The "Man of sin" was revealed as he exalted himself above God. The Popes obtained their authority by degrees. In A.D.445 the Emperor Valentinian III confered upon Leo the tittle "Bishop of all the Churches."
Pope Leo the Great, as he was called, showed himself to be God as he adulterated the Word of God proclaiming the edicts of Rome. This period of time when the fully developed Apostasy of the Roman Catholic Church was in power is termed "The Dark Ages" by historians. Why is that? It is because the Bible was taken away from the common man. Darkness and superstition prevailed! People lived in "spiritual poverty" and were tyrannized by the reigning Emperors and Popes.
The true church of God, that is the true believers in Jesus Christ, are pictured as the "Woman in the wilderness." (Rev.12:6) The true church is symbolically pictured like this because She was a persecuted church! Yes! During this period of over 1,000 years of Apostasy, any person who would not bow down to the Pope's authority was branded an heretic! Foxes book of Martyrs records that over ten million men, women and children were murdered in heinous ways and burned at the stake! Now, we may see more clearly what John saw in his vision. This "Woman" sitting on the scarlet colored beast is none other than the false Apostate Church of Rome. She is seen as WEALTHY, clothed in purple, and decked with gold, precious stones and pearls. During the Dark Age period, the Popes were known to confiscate houses and lands after they had branded someone an heretic. The Popes all lived in kingly elegance, at the expense of the people whom they tyrannized.
Although the Popes lost their temporal power over the people through the 16th century Protestant Reformation, they still have maintained their "spiritual" tyranny over those who have come under their authority. The Popes have all stepped forward to present themselves as the GREAT POTENTATE who speaks for God. They have all usurped the authority of God by claiming themselves to be the "Vicar of the Son of God." In the Latin language that name is "Vicarius Filii Dei" In the book of Revelation, chapter 13:18, we are instructed to "count the number" of a man whose number is 666. The only way a name can be counted is by using Roman numerals for the letters. If we count the letters in this name, Vicarius Filii Dei, we will find it is the number 666. This identifies the Apostate Kingdom of religion proclaiming itself to be "Christianity." No! She is not Biblical Christianity! God has identified Her as, "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
Our opening text from the 18th chapter of Revelation actually began with the culmination of many historical events. John spoke, "After these things." We have shared briefly those historical events that took place as Christianity was birthed in the earth. The book of Revelation is an historical trace of Biblical Christianity. It is a "Christian dispensational" guidance. Many expositors have misinterpreted this prophetic message. Their speculation and fantasy has placed these events in a supposed "Millennial Age" yet future. This supposition and private interpretation VOIDS the TRUTH that God desires for His people to hear and be blest by.
John said, After these things came to pass, the angel cried with a strong voice, "Babylon the great is fallen." What did that mean? It meant exactly what happened historically to "Babylon." It had fallen so far from the true estate of Biblical Christianity that God said it had become the "habitation" of devils and the hold of every foul spirit. That is a very strong indictment! What does "Babylon" symbolize? It symbolzes The GREAT MOTHER of HARLOTS. This Mother has born daughters who bear Her image. Catholicism has given birth to all of the Protestant sects that exist today. The many varying doctrines and traditional teachings of the denominational systems of men, have come from the errors of the "Mother Church they came out of.
They all failed to go back to the ORIGINAL IMAGE that is shown forth in the Bible. This neglect explains why there is such confusion within the sects calling themselves "Christianity." This is why God has used the term "Babylon" to symbolize this Apostate condition. The Lord had confounded their language, because they have all tried to build their own tower of Babel to reach Heaven their own way! They are all speaking a different "spiritual language." Each sect had a leader who came forth with some truth from the 16th Century Reformation. Martin Luther was known as the "Father" of this 16th Century Reformation. His followers took his name and were called "Lutherans." Each sect identifies itself with it's own particular leader or ecclesiastical system which developed it.
This prophecy identifies the "He" as the Beast that had such power over many people. This Beast symbolizes the kingdom of Protestantism. It is also said that "He" made an "image" to the Beast that was before him. (Rev.13:14) Remember! John is speaking symbolically about religious kingdoms and their potentates here. Protestantism can rightfully be called the second stage of Apostasy. Why is that? It is because of it's copy or image of man-rule. This system of religion also has the forms, rituals, and the exalted ministry, the same as the Catholic religion that existed before it. The exalted ministry of the "Priesthood" of the Roman Church has been copied by the Protestant Churches in exalting their ministry with the tittle of "Reverend." The scriptures refer to God ALONE as Reverend. We do not see this "kingly dignity" and "elegance" as we read the scriptures. The scriptures portray the lowly Nazarene and His chosen twelve walking in humility and servanthood among men. Would the Apostle Paul feel a kindred spirit, if he were to enter into the formalism of the cloned church service of today?
It is written that this "He" caused many people to receive a mark in their foreheads." Jesus said, "The words that I speak unto you they are SPIRIT and they are TRUTH." Hebrews 9:10-13 speaks of this "New covenant" that the Lord has made through His Son. He said, "I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts."
Did He mean He would LITERALLY do that? No! This is a spiritual transaction that God does when we are born again. Now, let us reason together...The Old Testament prophets referred to the "forehead" as the "mind." Protestantism has "marked" their adherents by what they believe in two ways. They receive this mark in the mind, by doctrinal teachings called "catechism." Or, they receive the mark in the hand, through the formality of the "right hand of fellowship" in joining the church of their choice. Thus...each receive a "mark" or a brand name of their chosen religion. They are now called, "Methodists" "Baptists" "Catholics" "Episcopalians" "Presbyterians" "Nazarenes" and 240 other names or "marks." Each have received their "mark" of identity. They now have the "Mark of the Beast whose number is 666."
  
Click on "The Mother of Harlots" picture to visit Pat Marvenko Smith's Web Site. Copy right 1992
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