Revelation 15 – 17: Babylon = Rome?

Revelation 15 – The Last 7 Plagues

John goes to a new vision: 7 angels with the last 7 plagues (filled with the wrath of God) appear. He sees a sea (floor?) of glass mingled with fire (red glass?) and standing on this sea those who defeated the 2nd beast, with harps, singing a song of Moses, a song of the Lamb. The 7 Angels with the 7 Plagues exit the temple, they are dressed in white linen with gold girdles. 1 of the (unspecified) 4 beasts gives the golden vials of the wrath of God) to the 7 angels, and the temple fills with smoke, making it uninhabitable until the 7 plagues were fulfilled.

Revelation 16 – The Last 7 Plagues Poured

The 7 angels are instructed to go out and pour their vials of the “wrath of God” on the earth.

• Angel #1: men with the mark of the 2nd beast were given a “noisome” (loud?) and grievous sore
• Angel #2: the “sea” becomes as blood of a dead man (Purple Sea? Red Sea?) and every soul in the sea dies. Poisoned sea.
• Angel #3: rivers and waters become blood as revenge for those who killed the “saints and prophets” (16:6) and now they have to drink blood
• Angel #4: the Sun now can scorch men, who blaspheme God, and didn’t reepent
• Angel #5: vial poured on the seat of the Beast (which one? 1st or 2nd?) which darkened his kingdom, and those of the kingdom “gnawed their tongues for pain” (16:10) and also blasphemed against God.
• Angel #6: dries up the Euphrates river, so that the “kings of the east” will be prepared (to cross?)
  • John sees 3 unclean spirits “like frogs” come out of the mouth of: 1) the Dragon 2) the Beast 3) the False prophet
  • These spirits performed miracles that brought kings of the earth to “the battle of that great day of God Almighty”

NEW CONCEPT: When did Jesus ever speak of the “battle of the great day of God Almighty?” This sounds more Old Testament like, which means the author (or John) has decided to mix New and Old, despite the fact that Jesus was very specific about what was to happen after his resurrection. Hence, my idea that a new prophecy is being introduced because the timeline of Jesus’ prophecy is rapidly coming to an end without being fulfilled gains strength. We have another new concept.

• These kings of earth are gathered in the location called Armageddon (so Armageddon is not an event, but a geographical location).
• Angel #7: vial is poured into the AIR and a voice from the temple cries out “It is Done” and voices, thunders, lightnings, earthquakes appear
  • The great city (Jerusalem?) is split into three, island and mountains flee
  • A great hail falls on earth and men blaspheme God

Revelation 17 – Mystery, Babylon NOT Mystery Babylon (KJV)

After all 7 vials were poured out, one of the angels tells John to follow him so he can see the judgement of “the great whore that sitteth upon many waters” (17:1) This should be a good indication of either the wounded head, the 2nd beast, or which “nation” was revived to be reviled in the time of John. The angel brings John to a vision of a woman in purple and scarlet, with a cup full of abominations, sitting on a beast full of names of blasphemy with 7 heads and 10 horns (PART OF THE FIRST BEAST).

17:5 – And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Note: So Babylon sits among many waters, is a “whore” in the eyes of John and/or the Jew/lost house of Israel author. Who fornicated with “the inhabitants of the earth”. MY THEORY: This Babylon, whether it is actually Babylon of the Old Testament or a NEW Babylon in name only is some sort of kingdom/nation that has upended the economic, financial, if not religious basis of the Jews/lost house of Israel. THEY were supposed to be the center of the world after the “day of the Lord”. THEY were supposed to be rich as the Lord collected the monies of the nation into his house. THEY were promised to rule over all the other nations. WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Under the thumb of Rome. Thus their distress and hatred for a kingdom or nation that now has the power they were promised by their god so long ago. It’s probably a “mystery” to them. Thus, their new prophecies foretell the fall of this nation/kingdom when their god returns, which they still wait for. Could it be Rome? The empire that became so large and vast that it sat on many waters and many nations “fornicated” (traded?) with her?

This woman is “drunk with the blood of the saints” (Rome). The angel begins to explain some symbolism. The beast that came out of the bottomless pit (the amalgamation) “was, but is not” and will come out of the bottomless pit, be lost, but will be seen by men on earth. The 7 heads of the beast are 7 MOUNTAINS that the woman sits on. Ok, this woman is really starting to sound like ROME (look up the 7 hills of Rome), which could very well be the new Babylon. 7 kings of Rome will exist, 5 are past, 1 is present, and 1 is in the future. The Beast comes during the 8th king, also of the 7, and will be lost. The 10 horns of the beast are 10 kings “which have received no kingdom as of yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast” (17:12)

We seem to be talking about Roman kings, not worldly kings. This can change the context of the entirety of Revelation.

These Roman (?) kings will make war with the Lamb (Jesus and his followers) but Jesus will defeat them. 10 horns on the beast, however, will act as instruments of God and “hate” the whore, and ally their kingdoms with God.

17:18 – And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

So the woman is the city that reigns over the kings of the earth. This is sounding like a desperate plea to pull the Jews/lost house of Israel out of the stranglehold of Rome through further prophecy. Prophecy that post-dates the prophecies of the coming of the kingdom of heaven that Jesus laid out. A promise to the believers to “not give up” or “don’t worship the beast/Rome”. A call to continue defiance, revolt, resistance, and to not give up the many promises they were given by their god and prophets from time immemorial. This is like a newer version of the prophecies of Daniel which dealt with Persian occupation, now we are simply dealing with Roman occupation so the prophecies have to flex to match up. This DOES NOT sound like something meant for the future in 2020 or beyond. This really is a cry out by Jew/lost house of Israel writers to regather their brethren, identity, in the hopes of unity despite yet another occupation by an imperial power that is NOT their god.

Romans 1 – 3: Interesting Verses and Paul/Jesus Contradictions

Briefly looking at alternative/non-christian sources, it seems I’m not the only one that see a problem with Paul as he fit into the system Jesus had established while on this earth. In fact I see it with all the disciples because they are not preparing for the tribulation, as Jesus instructed them in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but also the polar opposite of Jesus instructions when they start gathering Gentiles and Greeks into their fold, when in Matthew 10:5 Jesus was absolute on who needed to be preached to.

Romans 1

Romans 1 finds us with Paul sending a message to the “called to be saints” (1:7) in Rome. Rather than analyze his every intention and message, I’m just going to point out the odd, unusual, and high context verses as they appear, especially as the contradict the teachings of Jesus (if these contradictions exist), and anything else from the Gospels, which Paul was NOT part of.

• Paul wishes to go to Rome to preach. He begins to speak of men who “knew” God but didn’t “glorify him” (Who is he speaking of?)
  • Contradiction: Jesus said “if ye know me then ye know the Father” is Paul speaking of the other Disciples that knew Jesus?! Interesting
• Verse 26: These same men Paul speaks of God punished with “vile affections” including homosexuality. (Is he speaking of men in Rome?)
• Paul lays out a list of descriptions of these men, summary: wicked

Romans 2

• Paul speaks of the judgement by God in general, NOT speaking to the kingdom of Heaven and the Judgement that Jesus said, in his own words while he was on earth, which was coming “now”.
  • Contradiction: Jesus said judgement would come after the kingdom of Heaven was established on earth
• Paul is speaking of the “law” and Jews and Gentiles and their works
• Paul seems to begin speaking to the Romans now, who seem to not be instructing the converted Gentiles well: “For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written” (2:24)
• Paul redefines the identity and concept of who is a Jew now: “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit, but not in the letter…” (2:9)

So now: A man is not a Jew who is circumcised, descended from Abraham and David, but a Jew based on what is inside the person, in his heart and spirit. Ok then. Paul really changing up the system established by Jesus. And now it seems the longer it takes for the kingdom of heaven to show up the MORE of these changes Paul and possibly the other disciples make.

Romans 3

• Paul continues the Jew/circumcision system discussion and how it relates to judgement
• “… for then how shall God judge the world?” (3:6) Why does it matter?! Jesus already established the kingdom of heaven judgement and who would be judged, what they should be doing, and where they would go after judgement. Paul is speaking in general terms, as if the promised kingdom Jesus stated was coming, isn’t.
• John says both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin (3:9)
• “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” (3:10)
  • Contradiction: Then who was Jesus talking about when he said this? 9:13 – But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Even Jesus himself, in his own words, acknowledged the existence of the “righteous”. In fact he mentions them a few times (though not too highly). What verse is Paul quoting because he sure is NOT quoting Jesus
• Paul continues to discuss the law, and trying to affirm his viewpoint by bringing up old establishment prophets
• I see Christians arguing with this verse all the time so I am going to quote it hoping I get some more context later: “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (3:28). Wasn’t the law so important to Jesus that he said the “heavens and earth” would fall before a tittle of the law would? So Paul is basically saying it’s all about faith now.
• “Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also” (3:29)
  • Contradiction: “God” of the bible is the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as many, including Jesus himself have stated. The Israelites. When did Yahweh/Jehovah ever claim to be the god of the Canaanitess/Gentiles in the Old Testament? Would he reign over them? Sure. He might’ve even accepted some into his post-day of the Lord system. He NEVER said he was their God. Let’s ask Jesus:
  • Samaritan/Gentile woman to Jesus: “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” (John 4:20)… Jesus to the Gentile woman: “Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.” (4:22). Even Jesus distinguishes the Jews from the Gentiles. Paul does not.

Paul seems to be trying to both accuse the Romans, from a distance, of screwing things up, as well as trying to justify his inclusion of the Gentiles into the fold, which, of course, starts exposing contradictions from the words of Jesus. Interesting.

Matthew 27: The Death of Jesus. The Triptych Enigma.

The morning comes, and the chief priests who took Jesus prisoner move on to the next stage, delivering him to the governor Pontius Pilate (I think there is code in his name, but will pursue later). Judas, seeing all that has happened, repents, and attempts to return the 30 pieces of silver to those that hired him. They refuse, and he throws the silver down and hangs himself. (Now we are down to 11, was this supposed to happen? Remember, Jesus promised the 12 they’d be sitting on each side of him “judging” over the 12 tribes of Israel in the kingdom of Heaven. This story seems to be falling apart the way Jehovah’s covenant did with the earlier 12 tribes of Israel.)

The text and phrasing changes up a bit when Jesus meets with Pontius Pilate, who doesn’t ask him if he is the Son of God, but rather “The king of the Jews” and much like he answered the 1st question to the Pharisees, he answers the 2nd to to Pilate with “Thou sayest.” (27:11) In other words, you said it, not me. Jesus responds with silence from accusations from the chief priests and further questions from Pilate.

Matthew 27:15 – Now at the feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.

NOW WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD THE GOVERNOR DO THAT?!? That makes no sense. Release a potential criminal, or better yet, rebel or insurrectionist against Rome because of a “custom of a Passover feast”? YEAH, NOT BUYING THE STORY.

Sounds fake, but convenient, right? So (I can’t believe I’m going along with this) Pilate seems to only have TWO prisoners, Barabas and Jesus, and he asks the crowd (seriously?!) which one to release. Apparently because Jesus was captive, Pilate’s own wife was having “dreams” (interesting) because of Jesus. The crowd calls for Barabas to be released. Pilate asks the crowd (seriously?!) what should be done with Jesus, and they demand execution.

Sorry, if someone expect me to believe this is a factual story, I just can’t. Especially when it comes to the Romans and Roman Rule over Judea. The same people that used the coliseum to entertain themselves with lion vs human battles are going to let prisoners free at the behest of a crowd of people who are pretty much in open rebellion against them? NOPE, not buying it.

In an interesting scene, Pilate symbolically washes his hands of the blood about to be spilled, and the crowd demanding Jesus’ execution accept that blood and put it on them and their own children.

Wow, they hated him that bad! They couldn’t just throw him out? Throw him in jail for life? They put the blood of the innocent on them AND their own children? A bit of exaggeration from the New Authors there. They couldn’t wait for their god to exact judgement and punish Jesus?

Barabas is released. Jesus is whipped. He is mockingly dressed with a kingly robe and a crown of thorns to be mocked and beaten as the “king of the Jews.” Conveniently, there just happened to be a CROSS nearby (really??) and Simon of Cyrene was given the task to carry it for Jesus to Golgotha (the place of the skull. Insert intense esoteric symbolism and translation here.)

Jesus is crucified. Whoever was there (c’mon author) split his clothes and cast lots for them. As he was crucified a sign was placed over him that said “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS”. Jesus is crucified between 2 thieves, so now we have THREE crosses.

27:40 – And they that passed reviled him, wagging their heads, and saying, Thou that destroyeth the temple, and buildest it in 3 days, save thyself…

There’s the 3 pattern, part of what is often called the “triptych enigma”. We had the 3 kings with 3 gifts, the 3 prayers, the cock crowing 3 times, the 3 men on the cross, the 3 parts of God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), 3 days in the belly of a fish, 3 days to resurrect,etc. I’m sure I missed some 3’s but you get the point. I think it has way more meaning than we think.

3 on the cross

Arc D’Triumph (I spelled that wrong I’m sure)

The 3 kings of Orion?

Can you see it?

Darkness falls from the 6th (3 doubled) to the 9th hour (3 tripled.) Jesus calls out to his god “Why hast thou forsaken me?” begins to die. Some believe he is calling out for Elisha and wait to see him appear. One person runs to him to give him vinegar to drink. Jesus cries out one more time and dies. The veil of the temple splits in half, a large earthquake hits, graves were opened, “bodies of the saints that slept arose”, being resurrected and going to the city and appearing to others. Those near, including a centurion, see all that happens and admit to themselves that Jesus was truly the son of God. THREE (3) mothers are there to minister to him. A rich man named Joseph of Arimathaea asked for the body of Jesus, who wrapped it in a clean cloth and placed it in his tomb.

The next day, the chief priests and Pharisees ask Pilate to fasten to stone covering Jesus’ (they call him the “deceiver”) tomb so that it can’t be opened and Jesus promise to return in 3 days fulfilled by his disciples who would steal his body and claim the prophecy true.

Wow, what a chapter!

Isaiah 14 – The king of Babylon = Lucifer. NOT Satan/Devil

Isaiah 14 – The Burden of the king of Babylon aka LUCIFER (yeah I said it, and will show the verses to prove it)

Isaiah 14 continues the speech from chapter 13, saying that “Jacob” will be shown mercy, and the “strangers” (the Babylonians) will join Jacob, but not as equals, but as servants, captives, and handmaids. SLAVES. To be honest, verses 1 – 3 could have been placed in Isaiah 13 or its own chapter, because the context suddenly changes:

I believe this is one of the most IMPORTANT verses of the Old Testament thus far, because it establishes the subject and direct object of the speech (aka proverb) we are about to read:

Isaiah 14:4 – That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say…

Isaiah will be speaking the words of Jehovah to the king of Babylon (reminder, we need to go ALL THE WAY BACK to find out who the king of Babylon is at this time: Nebuchadnezzar. Isaiah/Jehovah’s speech to Nebuchadnezzar begins halfway through verse 4 and continues to verse 28. What will be made CLEAR is that this entire message is for the king of Babylon.

Within verses 4-28, we see Jehovah blaming the king of Babylon for all the woes of the land, so much that once he is defeated and persecuted, the “whole earth will become at rest”, even the oft referred to and revered “cedars of Lebanon” will sing. Hell/Sheol will be moved to meet the king, and he will meet other dead kings. The subject of *who* is speaking has changed (it is now the kings in Hell/Sheol) but the direct object has stayed the same (the king of Babylon):

14:10 – All they (kings in hell) shall speak, and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?

Now, it is unclear who is speaking in verse 11 and on, HOWEVER, the direct object is STILL the king of Babylon. The speaker (doesn’t matter who really) continues on:

14:11 – (KJV) Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. 12 How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

Either the kings in Sheol, or Jehovah, are calling the king of Babylon “Lucifer” and “son of the morning”. This is the KJV translation. Rather than compare ALL the translated versions, I’m going straight to the original Hebrew interlinear:

14:11 – (Hebrew) How you are fallen, from the sky/heaven, O’ “Shining One”, son of the dawn (ben-sahar)! You are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations (goyim).

There could be some serious astrological references here, not only to the actual Sun, but more importantly Venus, who often appears at either sunset and “falls” into darkness (below the horizon), OR who can appear at dawn and fade into the daylight as the sun rises.

One thing is clear: the use of “Shining One” and/or “Lucifer” DOES NOT refer to Satan, especially the Satan of Job who walks “up and down and to and fro the earth” accusing man in front of Jehovah. So what gives, why is the name Lucifer demonized so much? The scripture clearly shows the message (whoever was speaking it) was for the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. He was directly called LUCIFER.

What, am I to think halfway through the “proverb to the king of Babylon” that Jehovah was going to call out Satan, out of nowhere? Not anymore. It’s clear who he is speaking to. Nebuchadnezzar = Lucifer (KJV) or the Shining One (Hebrew).

So all this Luciferian nonsense referring to Satan/the Devil, is a farce. Sure it’s semantics, the concept is there, but it can’t be attributed to Lucifer aka the king of Babylon. Thanks to the words of Jehovah, Isaiah, and the kings now in hell/Sheol found in Isaiah 14.

These are the words attributed to the king of Babylon:

14:13 – For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of El (singular god): I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like El*yown (most High).

Who has a throne at this point: Satan, or the king of Babylon? The king of Babylon. So is this where we are SUPPOSED to discover the first reference to Satan “falling”, when in fact it’s not Satan but Nebuchnadezzar, the king of Babylon, who exalted himself and his throne high in the heavens and “fell”?

Is Satan, or the name Lucifer, referencing the king of Babylon during Roman times of the New Testament and Revelation? A figurative term used to describe the Emperor of Rome during the Roman captivity of the Jews, rather than a direct calling out of the emperor which would likely result in countless executions for insurrection? This is what I’m thinking now! Thanks to Isaiah 14! Something to keep in mind when we get to the book of Revelation.

We get verification that this message is still for the king of Babylon (not the Devil/Satan) in 14:22 when Jehovah promises to cut off the “wicked ones” from Babylon. More verification, verse 9 was clearly directed to king of Babylon before any Lucifer reference:

14:9 – Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirrreth up the dead for thee…

Lucifer is mentioned in verse 11. Remember who hell was moved for in verse 9 (king of Babylon)

14:15 – Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Subject: still the king of Babylon aka Lucifer (not the Devil). Now, it’s said that Satan/the Devil is a fallen angel right?

14:16 – They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the *man* that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms…?

If this verse is meant towards Satan/Devil aka the fallen angel, then why does it not say “Is this the angel?” It uses the word *man*, clearly referring to the king of Babylon, because by his actions Jehovah made the “earth tremble”.

Broken Chapter – Assyria

Suddenly, in verse 25 context shifts, Jehovah drops reference to Babylon and Lucifer aka the king of Babylon and begins speaking to the captivity of the kingdom of Israel by promising to break the yoke of Assyria off of the people.

Are people still thinking all these burdens are yet to come? That they are future prophecy to be possibly fulfilled in 2020 or beyond? Let the author and bible speak:

14:28 – In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.

There it is, proof from the book itself. Not the “prophecy” of the burden, but the actual fulfillment of the burden verified in verse 28, clear as day.

Broken Chapter – Philistia

At this point we jump into a “burden” of Philistia. To be honest this really should’ve started a new chapter, much like the verse about Assyria, but the collators of the modern bible, already knee deep in manipulation, have decided to start this accusation against the Philistines at the end of Isaiah 14. In my opinion, intended confusion. Especially if/when the reader starts to wonder why Lucifer (who they think is the Devil) is found halfway through a proverb to the king of Babylon.