Mystery Babylon
Identifying the mysterious end-times nation described by five biblical prophets
In the Bible there is a futuristic, mysterious nation that is referred to by several different names:
"MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT"
"THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH"
"THE GREAT HARLOT"
"THE GREAT CITY BABYLON!"
"THE DAUGHTER OF BABYLON"
and even mockingly called "THE VIRGIN DAUGHTER OF BABYLON"
Five Prophets Speak of This Nation
Five prophets mention this nation: John, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, and a nameless Psalmist who was held as a captive in Babylon.
Four of the prophets call her the "daughter of Babylon," expressly distinguishing this nation from ancient Babylon.
The Daughter of Babylon
O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed,
Happy the one who repays you as you have served us!
— Psalm 137:8
"Come down and sit in the dust,
O virgin daughter of Babylon;
Sit on the ground without a throne,"
— Isaiah 47:1
"Up, Zion! Escape, you who dwell
with the daughter of Babylon."
— Zechariah 2:7
They shall hold the bow and the lance; They
are cruel and shall not show mercy. Their
voice shall roar like the sea; They shall ride
on horses, Set in array, like a man for the battle,
Against you, O daughter of Babylon.
— Jeremiah 50:42
For thus says YEHOVAH of hosts, the God of
Israel: "The daughter of Babylon is like a
threshing floor When it is time to thresh her;
Yet a little while And the time of her harvest
will come."
— Jeremiah 51:33
A Nation Sitting on Many Waters
In the Bible, there are FOUR prophecies from THREE different prophets about this amazing nation located in a very distinctive land which has MANY WATERS. These people are fierce and powerful, as well as rich. However, the main distinguishing point about these people is that their land has MANY WATERS!
"Come, I will show you
THE JUDGMENT
of The GREAT HARLOT
who sits on MANY WATERS
. . . with whom the kings of the
earth committed fornication,"
— Revelation 17:1–2
Isaiah described this unique feature twice, in two different verses, repeating these exact same words both times!
"A people terrible from their
beginning onward,
A NATION powerful
and treading down,
Whose LAND
THE RIVERS DIVIDE."
— Isaiah 18:2, 7
Notice that Isaiah uses the word NATION (Hebrew: #1471 gowy)! So, we are DEFINITELY talking about a NATION here, not a "religious system" or "spiritual structure." Mystery Babylon is a NATION! That is why Revelation 17:2 says "with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication" — Kings are leaders of nations! And nations always deal with other nations and their kings.
Many times, people try to paint Mystery Babylon as just a "religious system" or a "global control structure." The failure to identify Mystery Babylon as a distinct nation will throw you off course and blind you to discerning the end times.
And this NATION has the distinct characteristic that it is DIVIDED by rivers!
Abundant in Treasures
Let's look at the FOURTH verse about "Many Waters" from the prophet Jeremiah:
"O You who dwell by
MANY WATERS,
Abundant in treasures,
YOUR END HAS COME,
The measure of your
covetousness."
— Jeremiah 51:13
America — The Land of Many Waters
The United States of America possesses more commercially navigable inland waterways than any other nation on earth — over 19,300 kilometers of rivers and channels that divide the land from coast to coast. The Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Arkansas, Columbia, Colorado, and hundreds more carve through the nation exactly as the prophets described.
No other nation in history matches this prophetic description.
America — 19,300 km of commercially usable waterways — more than any other nation
The prophetic scriptures are clear: Mystery Babylon is a powerful, wealthy nation whose land is divided by many waters. The evidence points unmistakably to a real nation — not a vague spiritual concept — and the prophets have given us the identifying marks to recognize her in the last days.
"Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues."
— Revelation 18:4