Whom or what does Babylon the Great
symbolize? The Bible says that world rulers
have committed fornication with her
and that merchants have traded with her.
(Revelation 18:3) Hence, she cannot represent
politics or big business. But this
leaves the third powerful element in the
world as the only candidate for the title
‘mother of harlots.’ She is none other than
Satan’s world empire of false religion!
Jesus Christ taught that his followers
should love not only their neighbors but
also their enemies. (Matthew 5:43, 44)
Quoting from the Hebrew Scriptures, Paul
spelled out how Christians should treat
their foes. He said: ‘“ If your enemy is
hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him
something to drink; for by doing this you
will heap fiery coals upon his head.’ Do not
let yourself be conquered by the evil, but
keep conquering the evil with the good.”
—Romans 12:20, 21.
Yet, the history of Christendom’s religions
is one of hatred and bloodshed. Ancient
and modern-day crusades involving
pillage, rape, and death have been blessed
and condoned. For instance, Fascist Italy’s
rape of Abyssinia (1935) and Franco’s “crusade”
in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39)
were blessed by dignitaries of the Catholic
Church.
But Babylon the Great consists of more
than the religions of Christendom. All the
major religions of this world share in that
infamous harlot’s bloodguilt. For example,
the Shinto religion of Japan must bear part
of the blame for the fanatical and sadistic
mentality evidenced by the Japanese milltary
in World War II. Historian Paul Johnson
holds that “to fortify themselves in
a stern, competitive world” dominated
by European standards of behavior, they
found it necessary to invent “a state religion
and a ruling morality, known as Shinto
and bushido [the “way of the warrior”].
. . . Regular emperor-worship was established,
especially in the armed forces, and
from the 1920s onwards a national code of
ethics, kokumin dotoku, was taught in all
the schools.” What was the result? By
1941, when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor
and thus entered World War II, “Shinto ...
was transformed from a primitive, obsolescent
and minority cult into an endorsement
of a modern, totalitarian state, and
so by a peculiarly odious irony, religion,
which should have served to resist the secular
horrors of the age, was used to sanctify
them.”
Concerning the partition of India in
1947, in which religious differences were a
factor, historian Johnson says: “Some 5 to
6 million people ran for their lives in each
direction. . . . Estimates of the dead at the
time ranged from 1 to 2 million. More
modern calculations are in the 200,000 to
600,000 range.” To this day, religiously
motivated killing and humiliation take
place in Hindu society. Often Harijans, or
outcasts formerly called untouchables, are
the victims of gang murder organized by
rich landowners.
When we study the history of the worldwide
empire of religion, we can easily see
why the Supreme Judge has a basis for the
execution of Babylon the Great. “Yes, in
her was found the blood of prophets and of
holy ones and of all those who have been
slaughtered on the earth.” (Revelation 18:
24) False religion’s complicity in regional
and world wars has made her guilty in
God’s sight for the blood of “all those who
have been slaughtered on the earth.”
According to the Biblical indictment,
Babylon the Great has been judged worthy
of destruction by reason of her historical
record of spiritual fornication with world
rulers, her bloodguilt in wars, and her spiritistic practices.
Therefore, Jehovah God
has judicially determined that Satan’s
world empire of false religion must be terminated.—Revelation 18:3, 23, 24.
In highly symbolic language, the book
of Revelation describes the destruction of
Babylon the Great. At Revelation 17:16 we
read: “The ten horns that you saw, and the
wild beast, these will hate the harlot and
will make her devastated and naked, and
will eat up her fleshy parts and will completely
burn her with fire.” “The ten horns”
symbolize all the political powers now on
the world scene and that support the
United Nations, the “scarlet-colored wild
beast,” itself the image of the Devil’s bloodstained
political system.—Revelation 16:2;
17:3.*
According to Bible prophecy, the political
powers associated with the United Nations
will turn against the world empire of
false religion and devastate her. All false
religions will be affected. Some political
systems have already shown their impatience
with false religion’s interference in
political and social spheres. Some socialistic
countries have taken a stand for atheism
and have reduced religion to a virtual
nonentity, as in Albania, or to a compliant
handmaiden, as in Russia and China. Elsewhere,
political rulers show strong resentment
for the liberation theology of some
Catholic priests in poorer countries. Yet
others repress religions that get involved
in racial matters. Even in so-called liberal
countries, some politicians resent clerical
meddling in politics and social issues.
It remains to be seen just what further
issues will provoke the political elements
worldwide to act against false religion. But
one thing is certain—the execution of Babylon
the Great
That “one day,” or short time of swift
execution, is now near. In fact, the destruetion
of Babylon the Great ushers in “the
day of vengeance on the part of our God.”
(Isaiah 61:2) Thereafter, God’s just war of
Armageddon will be upon us. All the evidence
of world events since 1914 indicates
that time is running out for Satan’s systern
of things. Therefore, the rule of God’s
Kingdom is at hand.—Luke 21:32-36; Revelation
16:14-16
