The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Panorama City, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed from the tape, GC 70-13, titled "Bible Questions and Answers."  A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE. Copyright 1992 by John MacArthur Jr., All Rights Reserved.

Question

We have read quite a few commentaries about this and I had a dear pastor tell me that the Bible casts a lot of light on the commentaries. But, I still have a question I need to ask you. Who or what is Babylon the Great, as listed in the seventeenth chapter of Revelation?

Answer

I think Babylon the Great represents a worldwide religious system. In chapter 17, a restoration of the original, anti-God paganism that was associated with the Tower of Babel in Genesis, and thus it bears the same name. But, I think it’s a worldwide religious system, and it appears to me, if you read carefully through chapter 17, it centers itself in a city with seven hills, which isn’t too hard to figure out: Rome. It seems to me too that it’s bigger than Rome because it’s drunk with the blood of all the martyrs, which means it takes all false religion that has massacred the true church throughout all the centuries--and masses all of that in one final, great, massive, religious, false system. The antichrist, along with the false prophet, allow this system to exist for a while, and then consume that false religious system when the antichrist establishes himself as the only one to be worshipped. That sets up the final Babylon, which is more of a secular world-economics situation, that you see in chapter 18.

But, I see it as a conglomerate system of false religion worldwide that is centered in the city of Rome and has, as its titular head, very likely the Pope, whom some believe would even be the kind of person that could serve as antichrist or the false prophet. So, I see it as a world religious system, sort of centered in Rome. 

Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "MacArthur’s Questions and Answers" by:

Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
Box 119
Columbus, New Jersey, USA, 08022
Websites: www.biblebb.com and www.gospelgems.com
Email: tony@biblebb.com
Online since 1986