Vintage

Ever since the nation of Israel was established under the auspices of the United Nations in 1947, the status of Jerusalem has been debated. The city was divided until the 6-Day War in 1967, when the Israeli armed forces took control. The Palestinians have subsequently demanded the return of at least what they regard as their section, East Jerusalem. They would prefer the whole city to be under their control.

International proposals for Jerusalem to be an independent city, a 'corpus separatum', similar to the Vatican, have been steadily growing.

The daily news from various news agencies in Israel report on discussions that are looming regarding the status of Jerusalem in the forthcoming "peace" negotiations in Moscow, Russia.

Jerusalem has been a political problem ever since the state of Israel was proposed by the United Nations and established in 1948. It is still a problem, and prophecy shows us that it will always be a problem until the ‘times of the gentiles' have been fulfilled.

Luke 21:20-28 "And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations:

and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."

No matter what other things are happening in the world, our redemption (the Lord Jesus Christ) will not draw nigh until Jerusalem has been liberated from gentile domination.

We have to watch Jerusalem!

The Whore of Babylon

For years I have puzzled over the identity of Babylon in Revelation chapters 17 and 18, and I am now convinced that the harlot city called ‘Babylon' is modern Jerusalem.

I know that this theory runs counter to everything that Protestants have believed for 500 years, but the more I look into this matter the more convinced I am. Some writers have linked "Babylon" with the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, but not with latter day Jerusalem. (a common thesis is that most of Revelation was fulfilled in AD 70, and the Book was written before then.)

Ancient Jerusalem is described as a harlot several times in the Bible:

Isaiah 1:21 "How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers."

Jeremiah chapter 3, Ezekiel chapters 16 and 23 detail the history of Judah and Jerusalem as harlots.

Ezekiel 23:59-63 "For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant. Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD."

The everlasting covenant has still not been established, as Jerusalem is still full of abominations.

The Beast and the Seven Mountains

The heart of the matter in Revelation is that the harlot is a city riding on a beast. The harlot is not a religious system. The interpretation is in the chapter. It's not negotiable.

Revelation 17:18 "And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth."

This city rides on a beast that has seven heads:

Revelation 17: 9 "And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth."

That beast is the 4th beast of Daniel chapter 7, which can be identified with the Roman empire. It has both political and religious elements of Rome and Greece.

The 7 heads of the beast are described as ‘mountains' in the Greek text, ("oros" Strong's No.3735) and most English versions of the Bible translate them as ‘mountains'. Among the few versions that translate the Greek word as ‘hill' are the NIV and Amplified, both of which are regarded by scholars as paraphrased interpretations rather than accurate translations.

Geographically ancient "Babylon" in Mesopotamia was not located on 7 mountains. Therefore the "Babylon" in Revelation is not the literal ancient Babylon revived.

The vast majority of Protestants have assumed that Babylon is a symbolic title for Rome. Many commentators have repeatedly written about Rome being built on 7 hills, and that is partly true. Ancient Rome was built on seven low hills, but modern Rome is far greater than that. Significantly, the Vatican is located in a different area of Rome, on the other side of the river Tiber from the ‘7 hills' area. The Vatican City is about 3 miles from ancient Rome.

In July I visited both Jerusalem and Rome, so that I could compare the geography of the two cities. I took a guided tour of the ‘seven hills of Rome'. Afterwards we went to the Vatican, which was not part of the 7 hills tour. I took photos of all the hills, and in all honesty they can hardly even be described as hills. Rome as a city is no more hilly than central London. It's flat! Geologically the city of Rome was a low plateau that was divided by rivers. There are many web sites today that show the locations of the Seven Hills, and none include the Vatican as one of the Seven Hills.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_hills_of_Rome
http://www.musesrealm.net/rome/sevenhills.html
http://www.roman-emperors.org/staticR.htm
http://sights.seindal.dk/sight/1247_The_Seven_Hills_of_Rome.html

Jean and I visited Jerusalem which is a far different city from what the early writers imagined Jerusalem to be. It has now spread over a great area (49 square miles!), and includes several mountains that are actually called Mountains, e.g. the Mount of Olives, Mount Scopus, Mount Herzl, Mount Moriah and Mount Zion. The Old City which existed in the late 19^th Century would have had a population of about 15,000 people, whereas modern Jerusalem currently has 730,000 people.

Modern Jerusalem is a fantastic city, mixing the main religions of the world, but she is not a holy city. Jerusalem is based on tourism and trade, and has a criminal population just like any other major capital city. The true worship of God is not there. Her ‘sacred' sites are all under the auspices of various false religions. Even modern Jewish and Islamic beliefs do not recognize the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

Jerusalem and the United Nations

Part of the description of the harlot city is that she "reigneth over the kings of the earth". This facet is one reason Protestants have associated Rome with the harlot city. They have equated the religious power of the Roman Catholic church with the city. But the RC church of today, though powerful and influential, is not the same as that of 160 years ago. It works through political organizations like the European Parliament, European Union and the United Nations.

However, if the United Nations makes Jerusalem a ‘Corpus Separatum" (their name), a separate city state like the Vatican, as was proposed in 1947, and is still part of the negotiations, the city of Jerusalem will become a separate country from Israel, and the captial city for several world religions, including Christendom, Judaism and Islam. Her power will expand greatly.

Revelation 17:1 “One of the seven angels...talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgement of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:”

Revelation 17: 15 “And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.”

In 2006 during the 60th Assembly of the United Nations in New York, President Chavez of Venezuela called for the United Nations to leave the USA, because the USA had not respected the UN, and relocate to Jerusalem. Shimon Peres (currently President of Israel) suggested in 2003 that the UN take over complete control of Jerusalem, with the head of the UN becoming the Mayor of Jerusalem.

For more details, see our sections on Jerusalem News, and the UN Resolution details.

The Souls of Men

Yet another reason that Protestants believe that the harlot city is Rome is because of the city's trade (Revelation 18:13) in "souls of men." They liken this to the RC practice of the sale of Indulgences.

However, a new trade has developed in Jerusalem in recent years which few Protestants would have any knowledge of. Stem Cell research on embryos is a growth industry in Jerusalem, because the Jewish religion allows experimentation on embryos. Israel and China are among the few countries in the world where such research is allowed legally. The Greek word for "soul" is "psuche" (Strong's No. 5590), which can also be translated as ‘life' . Stem Cell research is all about ‘life'.

The Blood of the Prophets

Finally, although I could have written much more, Jerusalem fills another criterion for the harlot city

Revelation 18: 24 "And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth."

This of course links back to

Matthew 23: 37-39 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."

Luke 13: 33-35 "Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."

No prophet ever died in Rome.

The Future of Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the ‘great city' in the Bible, and I believe that she has a great future, before and after Armageddon. I believe that the current city, which is full of abominations, will be destroyed in the earthquake when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to the Mount of Olives, and that New Jerusalem will be built on the new mountain of the LORD that arises from where modern Jerusalem is.

Isaiah 2:1-4 "The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. "

Ellen Reid, October 2007

Email me your comments: ellen@biblenews.org