Steve,
I have heard discussion claiming that America is Babylon of the Last Days. What are your thoughts on this?
Roger M. Norman
MYREPLY
Roger,
Your question is timely, given what is occurring on Wall Street and in Washington, DC.
Revelation 18 describes “Babylon the Great” in the latter days, and verses 3, 9-11 prophesy that it will be an incestuous relationship/alliance between the “kings of the earth” (the political leaders of the nations) with the “merchants of the earth” (the global, multinational corporations which have developed in recent decades). The fact that biblical prophecy foretold that the “merchants” in the latter days would have a global customer base further supports the fact that the Bible has to be Divinely inspired. The Bible’s many prophecies re: the “latter days” are coming to pass with unerring accuracy (see my article “Are We Living in the Latter Days?”).
“Babylon” in the latter days is an overlapping global economic/political system which is based on the banking/credit system invented in ancient Babylon (see also my article “What Kind of Captivity? for detailed information on its origins and dangers). This end-time system is also prophesied to exercise “insider” control of the global monetary system (Revelation 13:17) and international commerce (Revelation 18:17-19). The fact that Revelation 18 prophesies this system will hold sway over “all nations” (verse 3) indicates that Babylon the Great will be far larger than any one nation. The USA has been the dominant nation within the global structure of “Babylon the Great,” but the USA’s banking/housing/financial system is now a teetering “house of cards” for which a $700 Billion bailout is being sought by Wall Street insiders. This bailout proposal (in biblical, prophetic terms) is an effort by the “merchants of the earth” (Wall Street and the banks) to have the “kings of the earth” (the governmental leaders) transfer the bad debts and investments of the economic insiders to the people of the USA. It is not yet clear, as of this writing, what kind of deal will be done, but the USA’s global dominance in economic matters may be coming to an end due to the prolonged profligacy of recent decades.
Steve
