by Halcon 53 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
For believers of God and Christ, it seems that it should be obvious that Babylon the great of Revelation should be all religions and spiritual practices associated with the one true enemy of Christ...the devil, satan, the snake etc.
Essentially any group or individual practicing and promoting witchcraft, sorcery, devil worshipping etc. All things practiced in ancient Babylon (the nation presumably used as the model for the one in Revelation).
Or is this too simple of an explanation?
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons…” (Revelation 18:2)
The identity of Babylon the Great in the Book of Revelation has long intrigued and divided interpreters. To many modern readers, especially those influenced by sensationalist or literalist readings of Revelation, the answer seems obvious: Babylon must be a symbol of all false religions, cults, and explicitly satanic practices, including witchcraft and sorcery. After all, ancient Babylon was a center of idolatry, astrology, and opposition to the God of Israel—so surely, the symbolic "Babylon" must represent the same today?
While this interpretation appears plausible at first glance, Catholic tradition—especially through the lens of amillennialism and partial preterism—offers a richer, more nuanced view rooted in Scripture, history, and theology.
1. What is Amillennialism and Partial Preterism?
Before we answer who or what Babylon the Great truly is, we must first understand the interpretive lens through which the Catholic Church traditionally reads Revelation.
With these two tools, the Catholic interpretation avoids both extreme futurism and superficial literalism, offering instead a theologically grounded and historically conscious reading of Revelation.
2. The Symbolism of Babylon in Revelation
The term Babylon in Revelation is symbolic—not literal. Ancient Babylon had already fallen centuries before John's time, so the use of its name is clearly metaphorical. The Book of Revelation is saturated with Old Testament imagery. Just as ancient Babylon destroyed the first Jerusalem and exiled the people of God, so too Babylon the Great represents a power or system that opposes God’s covenant people in John's own day and beyond.
Key Characteristics of "Babylon the Great" in Revelation:
3. The Catholic View: Babylon as Apostate Jerusalem and Pagan Rome
Catholic biblical scholarship, drawing from early Church tradition and reinforced by contemporary research, identifies Babylon the Great as having multiple layers of meaning, both historical and spiritual.
A. Jerusalem (the Apostate City)
From a partial preterist standpoint, Babylon first points to Jerusalem, the once-holy city that rejected and crucified her Messiah (cf. Luke 13:34). Consider:
Thus, in John's day, Babylon the Great partly represents apostate Judaism, which allied with the Roman Empire to persecute the early Church and reject the Gospel.
B. Rome (the Pagan Empire)
As Revelation progresses, especially by chapters 17–18, the image of Babylon begins to shift toward pagan Rome:
Therefore, Babylon is not merely about religion or sorcery—it is the union of corrupt spiritual authority with political tyranny. It is a symbol of any power—religious or secular—that opposes Christ and persecutes His Church.
4. Beyond the First Century: Babylon as an Ongoing Reality
According to Catholic amillennial theology, the Book of Revelation describes patterns of persecution and apostasy that recur throughout history. Babylon is not confined to ancient Jerusalem or Rome. Rather, she reappears in every age where the powers of this world rebel against God, persecute His saints, and exalt themselves in pride, luxury, and false worship.
Babylon is:
Thus, Babylon may appear as a false religious system, a totalitarian government, or even a decadent civilization. She is the spiritual anti-city to the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21).
5. Not Just Witchcraft and Devil Worship
You asked whether Babylon is simply all forms of sorcery, witchcraft, and devil worship. These are certainly aspects of what Babylon promotes—but reducing her to these fringe phenomena misses the deeper point. Babylon is not merely about occult practices; she is about systemic opposition to the Lamb.
In Revelation, the most dangerous evil is not the obviously demonic—but the beautiful, seductive, politically connected system that makes itself a counterfeit kingdom. Babylon intoxicates the world with her allure, luxury, and apparent power. She mimics the Church, but her foundation is built on rebellion and blood.
6. The Fall of Babylon and the Victory of the Lamb
Revelation 18 describes the sudden and catastrophic fall of Babylon, to the lament of kings and merchants who profited from her.
But in contrast, Revelation 19–22 reveals the wedding of the Lamb and the New Jerusalem—the true Bride of Christ. The faithful Church, purified through suffering, is eternally united with her Lord.
This is the hope of Catholic eschatology: not a future earthly millennium, but a present spiritual reign of Christ, and a future new heaven and new earth, where God will dwell with His people forever (Revelation 21:3-4).
Conclusion
Babylon the Great is not merely a symbol of witchcraft or the occult. It is a multifaceted, prophetic image representing any worldly power—religious, political, or cultural—that exalts itself against God, corrupts the nations, and persecutes the faithful.
The Catholic amillennial and partial preterist perspective offers a profound theological vision: Babylon has already fallen in history, continues to manifest in different ways today, and will finally be judged at the end of the age when Christ returns in glory.
Until then, Christians are called to come out of Babylon (Revelation 18:4)—to resist her seductions, to remain faithful to Christ, and to hope not in earthly empires, but in the heavenly city to come.
“For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” (Hebrews 13:14)
Deo gratias.
Very interesting points.
You asked whether Babylon is simply all forms of sorcery, witchcraft, and devil worship. These are certainly aspects of what Babylon promotes—but reducing her to these fringe phenomena misses the deeper point. Babylon is not merely about occult practices; she is about systemic opposition to the Lamb.
Wouldn't this systemic opposition to the Lamb be as a direct result of absolute intervention of the devil and demons tho?
For example, didn't Augustine in his City of God when referring to the same Rome attribute its actions to the manipulation of demons? In other words, the Romans practiced devil and demon worship when worshiping their pagan gods which led directly to the opposition to the Lamb in its various forms as you described.
Babylon the Great = Christendom, the mother of the harlots, it's not every religious "harlot" in the world.
Christians are then told, "Get out of her MY people...." Just my 2 cents.
If it is a group of religions, can any of them be definitively identified?
If it is a range of practices, can those be identified?
This is important if the description is accurate and true, since it means that there is an organization/religion (or many of them) that is working in direct opposition to God himself and which God advises his followers to flee from. Without knowing who it is, how many might be following the wrong religion and dooming themselves to an eternity of suffering?
Babylon the Great is the end-times chuch. It is called the Laodicean Church in Revelation. After the rapture, this will be whatever is left. The true church of believers have been evacuated to heaven and the Laodicean Church is what is left - the empty husk of the Christian Church after the rapture. We are NOT in the Laodicean Church period just yet. Jesus is still in the churches.
In Revelation, Jesus is walking "among" the churches except for the last one. There, he is seen as outside the church and knocking on the door asking to be let in.
Even during the GT, Jesus is knocking on the door of the church and peoples' heart, asking to be let in.
Tonus-it is a range of practices, can those be identified? This is important if the description is accurate and true, since it means that there is an organization/religion (or many of them) that is working in direct opposition to God himself and which God advises his followers to flee from. Without knowing who it is, how many might be following the wrong religion and dooming themselves to an eternity of suffering?
These are important questions for a Christian for sure. This is why I don't think the practices I mentioned regarding demon worship and witchcraft are a small thing. And they would clearly point to the spirituality that us in direct opposition to Christianity.
I mentioned earlier the work of Augustine, City of God, in which he condemned these practices extensively..meaning he spent a great part of the book referring to these practices (overt and those not so overt) in comparison to the correct way of worshipping God.
Augustine went to the 'core' of the matter..the fact that it's a spiritual battle first and foremost. Any religion practicing sorcery and witchcraft would clearly be in the camp of Babylon the great.
Babulylon the Great as the book of Revelation says is an end time capital of the New World Order. As Babylon of old that was deeply religious so it will be the Babylon the Great. Think of it as Rome the city controlling all kings of Europe in the Middle Ages
In Charles Taze Russell's time he said the "papal system is Babylon the Great."
In Charles Taze Russell's time he said the "papal system is Babylon the Great.
One Christian religion or church pointing to another Christian religion doesn't make much sense. Not when you have blatant non-Christian religions out there.
Babulylon the Great as the book of Revelation says is an end time capital of the New World Order. As Babylon of old that was deeply religious so it will be the Babylon the Great. Think of it as Rome the city controlling all kings of Europe in the Middle Ages.
Deeply religious yes, but which religion? It can't be a Christian church (it has to be an antichristian religion). Not to say that demonic practices are not uncommon amongst even members of Christian churches. I knew people who did tarot 'for fun' in the episcopal church I visited. There are catholics that do yoga. But this is why God says to Christians 'get out of her if you don't want share her fate' referring to Babylon the great and her spiritual practices. Meaning, Babylon the great is not a Christian church.
