THE LAST DAYS BABYLON: HOW THE USA FITS THE BILL

The following post is from my latest book, American Requiem: Why the USA Falls in the Last Days. The analysis here considers the possible fulfillment of Babylon in the last days by the United States.  Is the USA Babylon?  If so, in what sense is it?

I have written extensively on the likelihood that the USA is one major aspect of the final Babylon we witness in the last years leading up to the return of Christ.  My followers will recognize these books:

In this article, I lead up to the specific way in which the United States fits into the picture and why my contention that the USA IS IN BIBLE PROPHECY is plainly true.  AND I AM NOT ALONE. CONSIDER THESE OTHERS WHO CAME BEFORE ME THAT SAID THE SAME.

Authors who published books on the topic and support my view are, are from left to right, John Price, Patrick Heron, J.R. Church, R.A. Coombs, Stanley Montieth, Noah Hutchings and Frank Logsdon.

The Clash of the Titans

The Late Pastor Noah Hutchings, in his book, The USA in Prophecy, cited Lord Byron, whose summary of the descent of civilizations could easily reference the United States: “Civilization goes like this:  First freedom, and then glory, and then wealth, and then vice, and then corruption, and then barbarism, and then collapse.”  Where do we think the United States is in Bryon’s life-cycle of civilizations?

Dr. Hutchings spoke of two great sovereign states, which “will have especially incurred the indignation of the Lord.  The one is ‘the king of the north’ or Russia (Ezekiel 38:22). But prior to this nation’s demise, another of even greater prominence stands slated for the consuming vengeance of the Lord.  This nation is spiritually called ‘Babylon’.”^[1]

Hutchings continued:

Historical Babylon is to eventuate in two imposing branches, viz., religious Babylon, the ultimate of organized religion and prophetical, political Babylon, a powerful but God-forsaking end-time nation.

God will put it into the hearts of Antichrist’s ten kingdoms to utterly eliminate the “woman” or the false church which is religious Babylon (Rev. 17:16-17).  He will also take counsel against prophetical, political Babylon and will cause a great nation to destroy her.

Before this judgment falls, God will call for His people (those saved in the early part of Daniel’s seventieth week) to flee this doomed nation and emigrate to Zion or Israel (Jer. 50:28)

Hutchings lists the characteristics of this Babylon as does Heron, but with a bit more detail.  He supplies the following attributes as clues as to its identity:

1. 1. She is the offspring of a kingdom which will deteriorate from a position of world leadership.
   2. She at one time was a cup of gold in the Lord’s hand—a monetary instrument in the promotion of God’s work.
   3. She has a cosmopolitan population—a “mingled people.”
   4. She is the latest or youngest of nations, said to be “the hindermost.”
   5. She is an exceedingly wealthy country— “abundant in treasures.”
   6. She is the most powerful nation and termed “the hammer of the whole earth.”
   7. Her scientific achievements excel all other nations.
   8. She speaks with an influential voice in the world community.
   9. She has established unprecedented national defenses.
   10. She involves herself in global affairs.
   11. She is singularly and lavishly generous in foreign aid.
   12. She has the highest standard of living, even of an epicurean character.
   13. She becomes a spiritual renegade, lapsing into idolatry and covetousness.
   14. Through unrestrained permissiveness, a moral decadence ensues to the proportions of blatant turpitude.
   15. She develops pride and haughtiness through egotistical bias and claims to “sit a queen,” untouched by defeat and untouchable.
   16. The “unsinkable titanic” of nations is slowly, subtly, and surely stripped of her gold.^[2]

Wanting to remain ever so slightly uncommitted to what is for him a most painful thesis, Dr. Hutchings surmised:

Some end-time nation will answer to these descriptions.  That nation, having been mightily blessed of God, will incur His indignation because of her godlessness.  And when the hour of divine judgment arrives, an alliance of greater nations from the prophetical “north,” possessing devastating, vulnerable weapons in formidable quantities, will strike unexpectedly, suddenly, and decisively.

As the “woman” (the false church) shall be utterly eliminated, even so, the end-time nation, spiritually called Babylon, shall irreparably perish from the earth.  Her beauty and pride shall no more restrain the hand of divine judgment than the impressiveness of Lucifer, the son of the morning, could prevent his fall and ultimate doom when he turned from God and through pride exalted himself.

The Daughter of Babylon

The Bible also uses another name for the city, a nation-state, an empire known as the Daughter of Babylon. This daughter stands destined for a consuming judgment.  In fact there are over 220 verses in the Bible focused on the Daughter of Babylon, and a large subset of those verses dealing with its catastrophic destruction by enemies from the “north.”

In many cases, Babylon and the Daughter of Babylon are considered one and the same.  Listen to these words from the Bible:

• Daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.  (Psalm 137:8)
• Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. (Isaiah 47:1)
• Sit in silence, go into darkness, daughter of the Babylonians; no more will you be called the queen of kingdoms. (Isaiah 47:5)
• And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. (Isaiah 13:19-20a)
• They shall hold the bow and the lance: they are cruel and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, everyone put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.  (Jeremiah 50:42)
• For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor, it is time to thresh her… the time of her harvest shall come.” (Jeremiah 51:33)
• Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.  (Zechariah 2:7)

From the verses above, we note that this stern and incriminating prophecy originates from more than one prophet—at least four different Bible prophets sound the alarm.  This collection of seers indicates the daughter of Babylon constitutes a rich nation that once supported Israel but turns its back on the people of God (not something that Islamic countries could ever be accused of doing).  Zechariah directs the nation he calls Zion to free itself from its alliance (its “dwelling”) with the daughter of Babylon.

Indeed, that much we can infer from these selected passages.  But there are many more attributes of the daughter of Babylon that make its identity even easier to determine.  Consider these additional characteristics (Note: there are no less than 30, but here we touch on only the most clear-cut characteristics):

• It is “the hindermost” of nations (youngest and last in a series—Jeremiah 50:12). It appears to be the world’s final empire before the reign of Jesus Christ in His Millennial Kingdom.
• Jeremiah indeed calls it “the hammer of the whole earth.” (Jeremiah 50:23) This nation possesses the most powerful military in the world.
• It is the richest nation in the world (Jeremiah 50:12, 37; Jeremiah 51:13). However, its wealth comes, in part, from its ability to dictate economic terms globally.
• It is composed of a “mingled people.” (Jeremiah 50: 37)   It is not a single race of persons—but a nation known as “a melting pot.”
• It is a nation living on many waters (Jeremiah 51:13).  This likely means it is surrounded by oceans and traversed by large rivers and great lakes of fresh water.
• This nation has “mounted up to the heavens.” (Jeremiah 51:53) Even “the sky is no limit.”  It is known by its program to transcend the atmosphere with its advanced technology.
• The nations of the world “flow unto him… stream unto him.” (Jeremiah 51:44) All the nations of the world meet in this city/nation.
• It was once a golden cup in the hands of the Lord (Jeremiah 51:7) But it is now identified with sin and immorality—a cup of filthiness.
• The people of God are warned several times to “Flee Babylon.” (Jeremiah 50:8, 28, 51:6) This suggests that Babylon contains many Jews. Of course, the United State has a Jewish population about equal to that in Israel. This command may also be intended for God’s new covenant people (Christians) that live in Babylon.
• It has betrayed the people of God and it will collapse as a result. We see this in Jeremiah 51:49 where the prophet contends, “Babylon must fall because of Israel’s slain, just as the slain in all the earth have fallen because of Babylon.”

As this author has argued elsewhere in The Final Babylon, (and many of my colleagues in the eschatology community), clearly, the U.S.A is this nation. This prospect weighs heavily on me that Isaiah and Jeremiah may be predicting how peoples (many peoples) “from the north” will destroy our country. Of course, Russia occupies the northernmost land (excusing Canada from the argument for somewhat obvious reasons). Numerous northern nations (North Korea, China, to name but two) might join Russia. The geopolitical situation changes year-to-year. But the characteristics of an alliance of countries from “the north” is a prominent and consistent testimony of Scripture. A tremendous northern power will destroy the daughter of Babylon.

• Note such consistent and crystal-clear testimony from the verses in Jeremiah 50:9, 12, 13, 22, and 23:

“For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain.” (v.9)

• Could this refer to missiles that hit that targets perfectly?

“Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed: behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.” (v. 12)

• Does this reference England which survives (implied as “she is confounded”), the attack on America? If so, it would appear America is left desolate—but the United Kingdom remains left, perhaps to superintend the final opposition to God’s Kingdom.

“Because of the wrath of the LORD it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: Everyone that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.” (v.13)

• Is this the same as saying that America will be destroyed by fire and brimstone as was Sodom and Gomorrah? (Isaiah 13:19) Is this a reference to nuclear weapons being used on America? Like Isaiah, Jeremiah employs the same analogy (the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah) in predicting what happens to the daughter of Babylon, (Jeremiah 50:40):

“As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities thereof, saith the LORD; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.”

      “A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction.” (v. 22)

• What is happening to Babylon, the daughter of Babylon? Jeremiah tells us it can be nothing other than war and the outcome is total devastation for the daughter of Babylon.

      “How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! How is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!” (v. 23)

(c) S Douglas Woodward – The Three Babylons

A summary of this chart (easier on the eyes) follows:

The chart above demonstrates that while there are many similarities in the Bible’s depiction of Babylon, there are essential differences that lend themselves to distinguishing between the three.

1. The Daughter of Babylon is addressed more as a land than a city. An alliance of nations from the north destroys it, through war, making its land desolate.
2. Mystery Babylon is represented as a religion as well that is drunk with the blood of the saints. Antichrist and his alliance of ten kings obliterate it.
3. Babylon the Great appears to be both a land and a city. It is destroyed by the King of Kings, by the breath of his mouth. Afterward, it becomes desolate and is no longer inhabited (it isn’t clear whether this statement constitutes only a metaphor).

Regarding timing, as discussed in this section, The Daughter of Babylon appears to be destroyed sometime before the seven-year Tribulation period or right at its beginning. Mystery Babylon is destroyed by the Antichrist, likely halfway through the seven years of Tribulation. Finally, the LORD Himself annihilates Babylon the Great, which occurs at the culmination of the Tribulation period. Therefore, proper exegesis—comprehensively carried out— based on their attributes, demonstrates a distinction exists based on who destroys each entity and when. These factors unmistakenly suggest three Babylons exist which have a literal fulfillment.

If you wish to have more information, please purchase the new book, American Requiem.  Click on the link cover of the book below.

NOTES

[1] Hutchings, Dr. Noah, The U.S. in Prophecy, Oklahoma City, Hearthstone Publishing, 2000, pp. 105-6.

[2] Ibid., pp. 106-7.