Comments on Revelation, Chapter 18:The Fall of Babylon

This chapter threatens irreparable destruction to the Great City of "Babylon", which is a centre of banking and trade with worldwide importance. It is also condemned for its immorality that was spread to all the nations.

Generations of Bible scholars have taken it for granted that this city is ancient Rome, since the Christians had every reason to believe so when the Book of Revelation was written. Today we should rethink this interpretation, because final destruction does not fit the history of Rome. The context of the other chapters also suggests a different time.

Like no other city in history London has a combination of the following features recognizable in this prophecy:

1. Centre of business and origin of a destructive ideology which has spread throughout the world: verse 3,

2. Port and centre of sea-trade: verse 17,

3. Centre of music industry: verse 22,

4. Presence of a queen: verse 7,

5. Blue (purple) and red (scarlet) in the national flag: verse 16,

6. Importance of occultism for the culture, presence of evil birds:
   verse 2,

7. Cruel history including persecution for religious reasons: verse 24.

The political and economic system of our world has adapted to the British model in the last 400 years: Capitalism, industrial way of life, parliaments, the gradual dismantling of monarchies and their replacement by the so-called democracy, which is in fact the predominance of a small group through money and corruption. All these are British inventions, which have been adopted by almost every country today.

Consider English as the world language and it becomes obvious: London has the same significance for our age as Rome had for the time 2000 years ago. If Rome was the “Babylon” of the first half of the first millennium, London is the “Babylon” of our time: the second half of the 2^nd millennium and the beginning of the 3^rd.