SOME PRELIMINARY NOTES
1. The tracing of Babylon turns out to be the study of the human race, with its obvious and not so obvious byways and lanes that, after awhile, tend to overwhelm rather than edify. After months of plodding through these paths, I finally must force myself to stop and turn over the rest of this project to my readers.
2. When you have completed this study, please exercise caution about sharing it with others. To the unsaved world we preach Christ crucified and risen again. Edification is reserved for believers. In this series of books there is some of both, but its message is delicate enough to demand prayer about those to whom you will pass it on. It might be especially helpful for the person who wonders why he does not feel at home any longer in Romanism, or Orthodoxy, or even quite a number of "Protestant" churches...
3. For all true believers, though, I offer the following reasons for a careful study of this subject.
a. If one has any doubt that the Babylonian system is dead, there will be a temptation to avoid confrontation with Babylon's modern adherents, thinking they are safe.
b. Such a study will produce compassion for all persons bound by religious systems, a growing hatred for the enemy of our souls, and a stronger discernment of good and evil.
c. The times continue to worsen; knowing what is to come upon us, and the sources of those circumstances, cannot help but be beneficial to the end-time saint. God has not called us to walk in darkness, and thus gave us the glorious light of his Word, upon which the following study is built.
4. I have attempted to speak the truth in love, and humbly point out the truths I have discovered. At times, though, it was difficult to be reserved and calm, looking into the face of this evil.
We are warned, and I tried to heed the warning, that wheat and weeds will be mixed in this world. They are often so close. Ultimate judgment belongs to God, and yes, the Church must stop destroying all with whom she does not agree. But we must discern. And if Christ is not in what we are observing, we must warn. And as the Lord leads, we must also "come out from among them, and be separate."
September 1, 1992
FOREWORD
To the reader:
As a Hebrew Christian I have been confronted many times by fellow Jews, and accused of being converted to Catholicism, a Roman religion that they know to have been responsible for the beating and murder of millions of victims, Jew and Gentile alike.
Of course, their accusations are correct, as far as Romanism is concerned. The historical evidence of crimes and atrocities committed against my people in the name of Christ, is well documented. The Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the Nazi Holocaust, are examples.
I had a tough time convincing them that my personal faith in the Messiah, Jesus, had nothing to do with Catholicism, and that I had not suddenly become a Roman Catholic. I knew, of course, that their own confusion did not originate from the teachings of Jesus, but was brought about by the anti-Semitic actions of a people, both Catholic and Protestant, who, throughout history, claimed to be Christians but in fact were not.
This study has increased my faith by opening my eyes to a clearer understanding of this false religious system, steeped in deception that has plagued mankind from the beginning of time.
My prayer is that this book will help end your confusion, too.
Ron K.
Jewish believer
Chicago
PART ONE: BABYLON IN BIBLE DAYS
B.C. 4000 to A.D. 100
INTRODUCTION
Three things will help you in the study of this lesson:
1. What Isaiah calls a "garment of praise" (Isaiah 61:3), to combat the inevitable "spirit of heaviness" that comes when dealing with the things of Satan.
2. An open Bible, to check for yourself that the account I give is a true one.
3. A heart hungry for God and open only to Truth.
There is a trail of scarlet that wends its way through the pages of God's Word, and history.
There is, for example, the scarlet cord that Rahab was asked to hang from her window, so she could be saved by Joshua at his return.(Joshua 2:17-18)
A scarlet thread was to be interwoven throughout the garments of Israel's priests.(Exodus 39:1)
Red is the color of wine, as in the new wine promised by Jesus. (Matthew 9:17)
And above all there is the stream of blood that flows from our greater Joshua, our great High Priest, the One called Jesus.
Prostitution, the royal priesthood, the blood. Scarlet threads somehow woven into the fabric of the plans of God.
And the father of lies, the source of all of which this book speaks, has, we assume, his own set of scarlet threads, strikingly similar to that of the Lord God. From the dawn of history to this present age can be traced the story of a bloodthirsty, regal prostitute, in whose hand is a cup of abominable wine with which she drugs the nations. She is symbolized in Scripture by that same hue.
Blood, whoredom, wine, kings and priests are at the heart of the story I tell, the story of Babylon. Babylon in its ancient days, and the Babylon of today. Even glimpses of the Babylon still to come. For as you read these words, it seems that the spirits of demons hover over this planet, calling it to bring forth the new world for which they work so diligently. This action itself, as would be typical of them, counterfeits the beginning of all things, when the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. But I digress...
In addition to the pagan religions of antiquity, Rome and the institution centered there features largely in this narrative. No intention is made to offend, or to single out one religious organization as being all that the Enemy is doing on planet earth. Absolutely not! Protestantism must be dealt with also, and later in the story you will find such dealings. But history is history, and true believers are being called out of all that is not created by the Father. There is nothing but danger ahead in institutions of men that claim to be institutions of God.
My own involvements in modern-day Babylon were many, and years ago. I will later explain them in detail. They were not the reason for my writing now.
That reason is that, in the early summer of 1992, I was reading again the 17th and 18th chapters of Revelation, and came under a deep impression that it was time to study the "Babylon" mentioned by John. For the following weeks, I could do little else. I prayed, received counsel, devoured dozens of books, searched the Scriptures, and began to write.
In my studies I found several threads intertwining through the events of mankind, traceable in every generation:
• Babylonian-style religion intermingled with the current political structure.
• Syncretism, the close mixture of true and false.
• Desire for world dominion.
• Anti-Jewish and anti-Christian (as in born-again) prejudice.
• A constant calling out of God's people.
Threads running through Scripture and through my own history brought everything into even sharper focus. And all those threads seemed to me to be tied in one knot from whence they emanate:
MYSTERY BABYLON, the mother of ALL abominations...
(Revelation 17:5)
Doing one study will not be enough for those who are called to research this issue. For such people I have collected a short library of resource materials and a list of contacts. (To be found at the end of Part Five.) For, the things of which I speak are not hidden, except to the one who does not look.
As you study, you will become keenly aware that I have not always quoted Christian sources. In some cases I have used the quotes of men who deny the Lord I love. Others are devout churchmen of various denominations, with many of whom you and I both would differ on a host of issues. Others are solid fundamentalists, who might disagree with each other. Still others are Roman Catholic.
But all, the atheist to the fundamentalist, have agreed that there is a spiritual-political force in the world today that is destructive and needs to be exposed, And a host of believers affirm that God's people must come out of her.
Please note that I say "exposed" and not "brought down." Students of Scripture especially will readily recognize that "Babylon," though scheduled for ultimate failure, will be a strong power until that time. The thrust of this book is not to attack, but to call out from that structure those few who will hear and be saved, and to confirm to those who already have come out, that their departure was wise.
In speaking of non-Christian witnesses, it is sad to note that, had they known the real Christ of the real Church, they might not have stayed non-Christian. It is in that spirit that I bring them to the stand to testify.
Be all of the above as it may, it is time for us to begin our walk together. Walk with me on a journey that will begin when the planet was young, and will end in days perhaps not unlike our own. It is a walk which will cause us both to shudder, for the pathway will be strewn with corpses and blood. Our eyes and ears will be filled with violence, and the lust for unbridled power of man at his worst.
As we walk, it will become clear that we are uncovering a portion of the "mystery of iniquity" spoken of by Paul the apostle, and the plot of him who has waged war against our God and God's people from the beginning. We will see him.
But we will also see her, the one named "Babylon, mother of harlots..." (Revelation 17:5-6). And when we see her, we will marvel, as did John, with great amazement.
