Do Jw's still believe that Babylon the Great is the Empire of False Religion? Inquiring minds want to know
Estephan
Babylon the Great
by Godlyman 121 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Bartolomeo
at the moment the interpretation on BTG has not changed, however a small detail in the comment of an illustration on a recent magazine opened up the possibility that in the future there may be a revision on the identity of the beast she rides, historically identified with the UN
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2022401"The beast today represents the United Nations..."
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smiddy3
Maybe they should have also said ,the prostitute riding the wild beast TODAY represents the world empire of false religion .
Who knows what they will say tomorrow ?
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BluesBrother
They definitely do identify B the G as “ false religion “ still. However they do no carry on about it so much these days .They have a new image of cosy warmth and holding out a carrot of material pleasure in a New World . So there is no more calling down fire and brimstone on the Catholic Church …. No more “clergy bashing “ , My old school dub relatives miss that…..
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waton
since 1918-19, when wt proclaimed that Babylon T,G, had "a fall", because wt officers were released from captivity, their horizon was been expanded for them to see billions of Muslims, State worshippers staring them down. They could see from Columbia Height, the power of these faiths, in the twin tower collapse.
Wisdom is in silence. They do not want to be the 3rd tower to fall.
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smiddy3
They have a new image of cosy warmth and holding out a carrot of material pleasure in a New World . So there is no more calling down fire and brimstone on the Catholic Church
Geeeze, that is a big change to what I can remember back in the day I was in.
They used to love bashing the Catholic church and I used to have some long discussions with my BIL who is a catholic over these issues .?
Of course he is still a Catholic and I`m now an Atheist.
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Fisherman
Just had a wt article some months ago reaffirming JW beliefs such as 1914, Babylon the Great,etc. If you’ve ever been in NYC and driven on the old FDR, the FDR passes in front of the UN. I remember that in front of the UN on a tiny Island on the East River there is some sort of a church that is devastated and in ruins. and its surroundings. Spooky and so ironic. I don’t know if things are the same at this point in time.
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TonusOH
I'm more interested to know if they are back to bashing the UN, now that they don't have access to their library as an affiliated NGO.
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Jeffro
Yes, they still teach that totally wrong interpretation. The Watch Tower Society began using the expression “world empire of false religion” in 1963 (in “Babylon the Great Has Fallen!”, God’s Kingdom Rules!). Prior to that, it associated “Babylon the Great” with ‘Christendom’, further contradicting the claim that special ‘enlightenment’ was provided to them in 1919.
“Babylon the Great” in Revelation represents ancient Rome, which has been understood for many centuries, and Christians could readily identify “Babylon the Great” as Rome when Revelation was first written. Revelation 17:9 guides the reader to the actual identity of “Babylon the Great”, with its statement that the “seven heads” of the ‘beast’ she rides represent “seven mountains”—the ‘seven hills of Rome’. (Coins minted during the reign of Vespasian depict Roma—a female deity who personified Rome—seated on seven hills.) This would be an obvious clue to 1st-century Christians, who were well aware of Rome as an enemy of Christianity. Additionally, the reference to “disgusting things” at Revelation 17:4 and 5 is reminiscent of the earlier warning to flee Jerusalem before the Roman attack in 70 CE (Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14).
The Roman Empire oversaw various subordinate client kingdoms, each with its own ‘king’. Judea was itself one such client kingdom, under the jurisdiction of Herod, who is described as a king at Matthew 2:3 and Mark 6:14 using the same Greek term as at Revelation 17:2 (basileus, βασιλεύς, Strong’s G935). Revelation 17:18 accurately describes “Babylon the Great”—that is, ancient Rome—as a city with a kingdom over other kings.
No mystery, no nonsense.
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DesirousOfChange
As far as I am aware, that is still "current light".
What I have NOT seen is any recent bashing of the UN as the "Image" of the Wild Beast.