A Tale Of Two Cities
(Mystery Babylon & The New Jerusalem)
Rev 17:3-5
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. (KJV)
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: (KJV)
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. (KJV)
Rev 21:1-3
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. (KJV)
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (KJV)
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. (KJV)
This study will be centered upon two cities, with two histories that are intricately connected to each other. Never in the history of the world have two cities of two peoples been so woven together in a story of war and dominion, slavery and desolation, blessings and cursings. The Bible gives us a historical account of the two cities from ancient days of Genesis to the New Testament days of Jesus and the early church.
This study will be used to gain a familiarity of the natural history of these two dominions and also a revelation of their spiritual typology used throughout the scriptures. They are so closely related, it would not be prudent to study one without studying the other. They are so perfectly opposite to each other, they have a mirror-image relationship. Fire and ice, coal and diamond, night and day, all so extreme to each other, yet they offer an insight to the other one through their antithesis affiliation. If you know about fire and you want to know about ice, just look to the farthest opposite spectrum and you will find it. The same is true with Babylon and Jerusalem.
They are like twin sisters, one evil, the other good, one puffed up with arrogant pride in her beauty and popularity, the other one being tested and tried in her history of failed affairs and self-abuse. The one sister is domineering and will do anything to gain the favor of her suitors. She knows no loyalties and has no morals in her relationships, just the lust for control and power over her lovers. The other sister is bound to one suitor, a Prince of Peace, who has promised her He will return and make her His bride. She has at times grown weary with her waiting, and has tried to take on other suitors, only to be left alone and forsaken. She has, at times, been her own worst enemy. In her younger years she was spoiled, and behaved like a brattish child, treating her promised One with disdain and running off with other gods at the drop of a bible, only to come back, ravaged and tom, looking for the forgiveness of her Love. But that was before the marriage and the change of her name from desolate and forsaken, to Hephzibah (My delight is in her) and Beulah (married).
Babylon lives only for the now, with no thought of right from wrong, and the consequences of either one, being conscious only of the demand of her nature hungering for pleasure and drunkenness, giving herself over to divinations and potions that hypnotize all that come into her bedchambers. Her power is intoxicating, her lust overwhelming. Many have tried to teach her a lesson, purposing to tease with her affections in hopes of breaking her heart as she has broken the heart of so many. All have been brought down to hell and to ruin. Such is the way of the great whore.
God has created each city, just as He has created both night and day, sorrow and joy, death and life. Each has a specific purpose in the plan of God. They are hopelessly locked into their opposite roles, at various times changing positions of blessings and judgements. Both are mentioned as the friend of God and the enemy of God. His hand has been for and against each one at various times. In the end, Babylon is revealed as a mystery of iniquity, used to press Israel to repentance, and Jerusalem is revealed as the city of God, upon whose throne the King of kings and the Lord of lords will reign throughout the eons. In the end, destiny has its way. The one is destined for a fall, the other is destined for redemption.
Both cities have an
ancient history that is recorded in the bible, and also a modern history. I
would like for us to look at the natural chronicle of their existence so that we
can have a better grasp of their beginnings, despite the limitations of our
knowledge of them, and how each one went through a preparation for their
eventual destiny in the plan and purpose of God.
As you study the histories of the two cities, you will find that both are filled with revolutions, divisions, good kings, evil kings, risings and fallings, victories and defeats, grandeur and ruins. If you believe in the sovereignty of God as I do, then you will know that kingdoms and kings rise and fall according to the will of God. It is He who sets up thrones and dominions and it is He that overthrows the same. To do this, God uses men and women of great diversities of background. God will use evil vessels to accomplish His plan just as readily as His righteous vessels. Both are unknowingly at His beck and call.
Even in our own great U.S.A. there is a destiny involved in who gets the presidency. I am not insinuating that it is useless and ungodly to vote! I try to vote each term and exercise my given right to have a voice in any election. I have my own likes and dislikes of each candidate and have a system of political correctness in my mind that I try to follow when choosing between which candidates to vote for. I must say, that I find myself voting more for candidates belonging to one party than I do for another one, although I believe in putting the right man or woman in office that I think will do the best job of representing my values regardless of political orientation.
Having said all this, I am still convinced that it is a stacked deck! With each candidate spending millions of dollars running campaigns that are fine tuned to get the best logical number of votes possible, wearing certain colors of clothing, changing hair styles at the whim of the drop or rise of the voter polls, dragging out their opponents dirty laundry, accusing their adversary and excusing themselves, hiring campaign managers and teams of experts to turn their campaigns into slick, well-oiled machines designed to make the difference in the final vote, I must still say without doubt of any sorts, the only one that will get that office in the White House is the one that God wants there! Our Heavenly Father is not a democrat or a republican. He is not even an American. He is Lord God Almighty, a King who reigns over all the ends of the earth! "For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him." Colossians 1:16.
With this thought in mind, let us consider the history of Babylon first. The Hebrew word for Babylon in the Strong's Concordance is #894 Babel, which means "confusion". The root for Babel is Balal, which means "to overflow (spec. with oil); by implication, to mix; to fodder, as in cattle feed." As you can see, the very name means a mixture of grains and an overflow or waste of oil. This is very important for us, as this is a trademark of the Babylonian nature, a tendency to mix the word of God with man-made concepts and to feed the people a mixed bag of confusion. The anointing becomes something that is not reverenced and is allowed to overflow upon the ground and become polluted with the earth.
The original name for Babylon is Babel. It is first mentioned in the bible in the book of Genesis.
Gen 10:8-10
8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. (KJV)
9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. (KJV)
10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. (KJV)
Cush is the son of Ham
who is the son of Noah. It is Ham that looked upon the nakedness of Noah and as
a result, Noah cursed Canaan, the son of Ham, and the brother of Cush. The curse
destined Canaan to be a servant to the sons of Shem and Japheth. Cush begat
Nimrod, who is a mighty hunter-warrior-king. Nimrod is an ambitious warrior and
starts to build an empire by bringing a number of cities under his rule. One of
these cities is Babel, later to be called Babylon. Cush is the first king of
Babylon that the bible tells us of. In the next chapter we are told that the
people of that region have become very enchanted with their strength and unity
according to the carnal mind. As is true in every instance involving pride of
the flesh, they make an agreement amongst each other that they will build a
great tower that will reach into heaven. The account reads as follows:
Gen 2: 1-9
1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.
4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. (KJV)
Notice that they want to build a CITY and a tower. The word CITY is an interesting and important term for our study. It differentiates what type of place both the New Jerusalem and Babylon are. The image of a city is a place that has foundations, and upon those foundations are walls which serve to protect the inhabitants. Remember that the Hebrews were a people with a nomadic lifestyle, that is, they lived without walls or foundations under their feet. They were cattlemen and sheepherders and tended their flocks and traveled according to the seasons. They lived in tents with the starry sky over their heads. The earth was their home and wherever they went they always had an eye for what was over the next hill. Abraham led a nomadic life like all of his fathers before him. He was visited by the Lord and had a great promise given to him.
Gen 12:1-4
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. (KJV)
Abram’s whole life and
vision changed that day. He no longer roamed the earth with no purpose. God had
given him a promise of a homeland, but he had to leave his country, kindred, and
father's house. Let us all leave our father's house and strike out to enter into
the life and reality of this mighty Day of light and glory!
Heb 11:8-10
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. (KJV)
We
must look for a city, dear hearts. A city with foundations, a rich heritage in
God, a place where our children and our children's children can learn of the
ways of the Lord without fear and confusion. No more mixture, no more flesh, no
more wanton money grabbing and fleecing, but righteous priests and honorable
kings of the most high God that dispense the riches of His kingdom to all that
are hungry and thirsty. A city with walls upon which the watchmen of the Lord
cry out, "The King is in Jerusalem and all is well!" In Babylon all is
ruined and inwardly corrupt. In Babylon the priests are there for profit and
fame. In Babylon it is business operated by cutthroats and crooks. But I see
another city, the mother of all that are born from above, whose children are
free. We are that city, as we will learn in the coming articles, and God sits on
the throne of our heart. Rein 0 mighty King in Righteousness and Peace!
By Robert D. Torango
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