It Is Written

Codeword Babylon

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr. John Bradshaw

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Series Code: IIW

Program Code: IIW001204


00:07 It has stood the test of time.
00:12 God's book.
00:13 The Bible.
00:17 Still relevant in today's complex world.
00:21 It is written sharing hope around the globe.
00:37 The city of Rome has long been shrouded in mystery.
00:42 Its origin has been explained with a legend: two brothers,
00:45 Romulus and Remus are said to have built the city.
00:49 They were the children of Mars, the god of war, and they were
00:52 raised by a she -wolf.
00:55 When they built their legendary city, an argument broke out over
00:59 whose name the city should bear - so Romulus stood on one hill,
01:03 and Remus on another.
01:06 A flock of birds descended on Romulus, signifying that the
01:10 gods preferred him as the king, and Romulus murdered his brother
01:15 with a shovel.
01:16 Of course, that delicate story is just a legend, even though
01:20 it's highly possible that men by the names of Romulus and Remus
01:23 actually existed.
01:25 And regardless of how the city got started, nobody can argue
01:28 the fact that Rome has proven to be one of the most powerful
01:32 cities on the planet.
01:36 [Chanting in the background] The names of her emperors are
02:04 familiar to just about everybody: Julius - Augustus -
02:07 Nero.
02:08 Her poets have become required reading for almost every college
02:12 student: men like Horace and Virgil.
02:15 And traces of her system of government, which had executive,
02:18 legislative and judicial functions, and featured
02:22 institutions like the Senate, can still be found in modern
02:25 civilization.
02:26 Even though many centuries have passed since her collapse,
02:30 there's no question that her fingerprints have not been wiped
02:33 away.
02:35 And the story of Rome has become especially pivotal for one group
02:39 of people in particular: the followers of a Galilean
02:43 carpenter known as Jesus of Nazareth.
02:47 For the most part, the Romans were very tolerant when it came
02:51 to religion - their conquered subjects were allowed to worship
02:55 whoever or whatever they wanted, as long as the Caesar in Rome
02:59 was added to the line-up of deities.
03:02 Now that posed a special problem for Jews and Christians, of
03:05 course, because they were monotheists: people who
03:07 worshiped just one God.
03:09 To add other deities--even minor ones--was completely out of the
03:13 question.
03:15 When Nero burned the city to the ground and found his move highly
03:19 unpopular with the citizens of Rome, he needed a scapegoat.
03:22 So he suggested the Christians must have torched the city on
03:26 purpose, and the Christians were rounded up and murdered in
03:29 unbelievably inhumane rituals.
03:33 So intense was Roman persecution of the early church that the
03:37 Christians began to use codewords to describe the city.
03:41 Peter finishes his first letter, with a cryptic greeting to his
03:44 audience from a mysterious Christian church.
03:48 You read about it in, 1 Peter 5:12,13 By Silvanus, our
03:53 faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you
03:57 briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true
04:01 grace of God in which you stand.
04:04 She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you;
04:11 and so does Mark my son.
04:14 1 Peter 5:12,13 NKJV Who, exactly, were the
04:17 "elect of Babylon?"
04:18 We know it wasn't a church in the literal city of Babylon,
04:21 because that city had been laying in ruins since the days
04:24 of Alexander the Great.
04:26 Check the scholarly footnotes of almost any edition of the Bible,
04:29 and you'll find that most every scholar agrees: Babylon is code
04:35 for the city of Rome...
04:38 which, of course, sheds great light on the use of the word
04:41 "Babylon" in other New Testament writings.
04:44 For example, when John wrote the book of Revelation some years
04:48 after Peter wrote his letters, Roman persecution against the
04:52 church was still burning hot.
04:54 After a botched execution attempt, John was exiled to the
04:58 Island of Patmos, during which exile the material for the Book
05:02 of Revelation was born.
05:03 In the 17th chapter of Revelation, he makes reference
05:07 to a woman with a mysterious inscription on her forehead: And
05:12 on her forehead was a name written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE
05:17 GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE
05:21 EARTH.
05:22 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the
05:25 blood of the martyrs of Jesus.
05:27 And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.
05:33 Revelation 17:5,6 But John didn't marvel for long, because
05:36 an angel quickly explains what the imagery means down in verse
05:40 nine: Revelation 17:9 Here is the mind which has wisdom: the
05:43 seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.
05:47 And again, in verse 18: Revelation 17:18 And the woman
05:52 whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of
05:55 the earth.
05:58 The woman, according to the Bible itself, is a city that
06:01 sits on seven hills that reigns over the kings of the earth.
06:05 Now in all of human history, there is only one city that
06:08 matches that description and that's the city of Rome, the
06:12 city of seven hills.
06:14 Writing some time in the second century AD, the Christian
06:18 apologist Tertullian confirms what the early Christians
06:21 understood by the codeword "Babylon."
06:24 "So, again, Babylon, in our own John, is a figure of the city
06:29 Rome, as being equally great and proud of her sway, and
06:35 triumphant over the saints."1 So if Babylon is a codeword for
06:40 "Rome", that's got to raise some interesting questions.
06:44 We'll look at those in just a moment.
07:04 Here's today's Bible question.
07:05 I've often wondered - where in the world did Cain get his wife?
07:11 Hmmm...
07:13 Listen very carefully to this.
07:15 As distasteful as this might sound, there is no escaping the
07:19 fact that Cain married his sister.
07:21 Adam and Eve had many children.
07:23 Genesis 5:4 makes that clear when it says, "And the days of
07:27 Adam after he had begotten Seth, were 800 years.
07:31 And he begat sons and daughters."
07:34 And if a couple are going to live to be older than 900 years
07:37 old, there's the potential for them to be having a lot of kids.
07:40 Now, I don't think we have to believe Cain married a girl
07:42 whose pigtails he pulled and who he complained at about using his
07:45 tennis racket when she wasn't supposed to.
07:48 It is conceivable Cain hardly knew her that well when he met
07:51 her, that is if he left home as an adult and then came back home
07:55 in later years and met the young woman he married.
07:58 This shouldn't shock anyone, really.
08:01 Even Abraham married his half sister, and Moses' father
08:04 married an aunt.
08:06 It was a different world then.
08:08 And way back then we didn't have the same issues that we have to
08:10 worry about today concerning birth defects and so forth, so
08:14 certain dangers we face today were not issues back then.
08:17 Now the time did come when God strictly forbade the marrying of
08:21 close relatives.
08:23 It had been necessary for that kind of marriage to exist in the
08:27 first place, but when the population grew to a certain
08:30 level it was necessary no longer.
08:33 Even though the Egyptians still did so, God's people were not to
08:35 do so any longer.
08:37 I'm glad to receive your questions.
08:39 To get a question to me, please go to ItIsWritten.com and click
08:42 on the questions tab.
08:44 Submit your questions there and I'll do my best to answer your
08:48 Bible question.
08:50 If you have a Bible question for Pastor John Bradshaw, please
08:52 write to It Is Written, Box O, Thousand Oaks, CA 91359 or visit
08:57 our website itiswritten.com and send us your questions on-line.
09:05 If "Babylon" was a codeword for "Rome" among the early
09:08 Christians, it raises some interesting questions, because
09:09 the descriptions of "Babylon" given in the book of Revelation
09:11 are very detailed.
09:19 It goes way beyond the obvious identifying marks, like seven
09:22 hills and world-wide rule.
09:23 John's first mention of Babylon comes in Revelation chapter
09:26 fourteen.
09:27 In Revelation 14:8, we read this: And another angel
09:30 followed, saying, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great
09:36 city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the
09:40 wrath of her fornication."
09:45 NKJV When the word "Babylon" is first introduced to the reader,
09:49 it's not a flattering description.
09:51 She stands against the Creator, in opposition to the God of
09:55 heaven.
09:56 She is a fornicator - meaning she is engaged in spiritual
09:59 infidelity - and her influence is felt, and her example
10:04 followed, all over the planet.
10:06 In Revelation 17, she is the great prostitute, with the words
10:10 "Mystery Babylon" written on her forehead.
10:14 According to the Apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesians, the
10:17 church is the bride of Christ, and in a key passage found in
10:22 the writings of the prophet Ezekiel, the nation of Israel
10:25 was also considered to be God's wife.
10:28 "When I found you," God says to Israel (Eze.
10:36 16), "you were a wretched little nation that nobody cared about,
10:39 but I took you in, and when you were fully grown, I married
10:42 you."
10:44 A woman, in Bible prophecy, represents God's people.
10:47 In the book of Jeremiah, God says, "I have likened the
10:51 daughter of Zion to a lovely and delicate woman."
10:55 (Jeremiah 6:2) The problem with Israel, according to Ezekiel,
11:00 was that she had a wandering eye: Ezekiel 16:14, 15 Your fame
11:05 went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it
11:08 was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you,"
11:11 says the Lord GOD.
11:14 "But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot
11:17 because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone
11:23 passing by who would have it."
11:25 In the prophetic portions of the Bible, harlotry or prostitution
11:28 is used to describe unfaithfulness to God.
11:31 The bride of Christ is fooling around on her husband.
11:35 Of course, that raises a very important question: if "Babylon"
11:40 is codeword for the Roman Empire--as we've seen from the
11:43 writings of the early church fathers and more importantly,
11:46 from the Bible itself--then in what sense could Rome be guilty
11:50 of spiritual adultery?
11:53 How could Rome be the unfaithful bride, if she never was a bride
11:56 in the first place?
11:58 That's an important question--and it leads to some
12:01 rather uncomfortable issues in the history of Christianity
12:04 itself.
12:05 Take another look at the seventeenth chapter of
12:09 Revelation with me.
12:10 Revelation 17:18 And the woman whom you saw is
12:16 that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.
12:21 There's no question about it: the harlot is a great city
12:24 that reigns over the kings of the earth--but she's also a
12:28 woman, and that's an unmistakable symbol for God's
12:31 people.
12:32 So is it possible that when John addresses the issue of Babylon,
12:36 he's not just talking about the pagan Roman Empire?
12:41 There's a fascinating prediction found in Paul's second letter to
12:44 the Thessalonians, chapter two--a prophecy long associated
12:48 with the rise of Antichrist.
12:50 It's 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4.
12:53 Here's what Paul writes: Let no one deceive you by any means;
12:58 for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes
13:02 first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
13:07 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or
13:12 that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of
13:16 God, showing himself that he is God.
13:22 After establishing that the man of sin would make his entrance
13:27 onto the world scene before the Second Coming of Christ, Paul
13:30 provides more details on the timing.
13:32 Listen carefully to what he says: 2 Thessalonians 2:5-7 Do
13:38 you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these
13:42 things?
13:43 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be
13:47 revealed in his own time.
13:49 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who
13:54 now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.
14:01 Something or somebody was standing in the way of the
14:06 lawless man's appearance.
14:08 And some of the early church fathers saw something very
14:13 specific in this.
14:15 "What obstacle is there," wrote Tertullian,2 "but the Roman
14:19 state, the falling away of which, by being scattered into
14:23 ten kingdoms, shall introduce Antichrist upon (its own
14:28 ruins)?"
14:31 3 Building on the prophecies found in the book of Daniel,
14:34 Tertullian predicted that the biggest problems for the
14:37 Christian church wouldn't come from the Roman Empire itself,
14:41 but from something that happened after the Empire collapsed.
14:45 For some reason, he couldn't see the man of sin becoming a
14:49 problem as long as the Roman Empire stood in his way - and
14:55 Paul described the man of sin appearing after a great "falling
14:59 away," a time when the church itself would become unfaithful
15:03 to the teachings of Christ.
15:05 Start putting the pieces together, and you get a
15:08 startling picture.
15:10 As troublesome as the pagan Roman Empire was for the early
15:13 Christian church, there were much worse problems on the
15:17 horizon--distinctly internal problems.
15:22 As long as Rome was persecuting the church, there was little
15:25 chance that the church itself could exert the kind of
15:28 influence needed to produce such colossal problems.
15:32 But take the Roman Empire out of the way, and the church could
15:35 build on her ruins.
15:37 Which, of course, is exactly what happened.
15:43 After the conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine early
15:46 in the fourth century, Christianity shifted away from
15:49 its status a despised, marginalized sect to become the
15:53 official religion of the Roman Empire itself.
15:57 And then, after the empire's collapse at the hands of
16:01 marauding barbarians, the church continued to expand and prosper
16:05 in ways that defied imagination.
16:08 Saint Augustine called the expanding Christian church "the
16:11 City of God," and envisioned the church triumphing over the
16:16 pagans to become a global kingdom for Christ.
16:20 And of course, who's going to argue with a successful
16:22 Christian church?
16:24 Taking the name of Christ to the world was a good thing - but
16:28 honest Christians will have to admit that along the way, our
16:31 history as a church has included some pretty dark chapters.
16:37 As pagan Rome gave way to a new Christian empire in the west, it
16:41 brought some distinct problems.
16:42 Pagan Rome stopped persecuting Christians, but after a while,
16:50 Christians began to persecute each other over religious
16:54 differences of opinion.
16:58 During the period known as the Dark Ages, something like 50
17:01 million people were put to death over matters of conscience - and
17:07 suddenly, you can see how the symbols described in the book of
17:10 Revelation can be used to describe both a city AND a
17:15 church.
17:16 We go to Revelation 17 and we read verse 6: I saw the woman,
17:22 drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the
17:26 martyrs of Jesus.
17:28 And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.
17:34 John is "amazed" by the sight of the woman, and given the way
17:38 that John himself was persecuted by the emperor Domitian, it
17:42 couldn't have been just the early Roman persecution that he
17:45 witnessed.
17:47 He saw an impure woman--the symbol of an unfaithful
17:51 church--committing the same crimes as the Roman Emperors.
17:56 [Music] So what have Christians stood guilty down through the
18:10 ages?
18:13 What was this Christian against Christian persecution John saw
18:16 going on?
18:17 We are going to take a look at that just ahead.
18:22 In Matthew 4:4 the Word of God says "It is written 'Man shall
18:27 not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from
18:31 the mouth of God'."
18:32 Every Word is a one minute Bible-based daily devotional
18:35 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw and designed especially
18:39 for busy people like you.
18:41 Look for Every Word on selected networks or watch it on-line
18:44 everyday on our website itiswritten.com.
18:48 Receive a daily spiritual boost.
18:50 Watch Every Word.
18:52 You'll be glad you did.
18:53 Here's a sample.
19:03 I read a fascinating article recently titled, Why Do We Let
19:06 Them Dress Like That?
19:08 Author Jennifer Moses asks, "Why do so many of us not only permit
19:13 our teenage daughters to dress like this-like prostitutes, if
19:16 we're being honest with ourselves-but pay for them to do
19:17 it with our AmEx cards?"
19:19 I don't mean to pick on girls, or women, but have you noticed
19:23 that modesty has just about become a thing of the past?
19:26 Maybe God saw what was coming and so urged Paul to write 1
19:31 Timothy 2:9: "In like manner also, that the women adorn
19:33 themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation."
19:37 We're living in the most overtly sexualized generation in
19:39 history.
19:40 Can that be denied when retailers are now selling padded
19:43 bras for eight year olds?
19:46 A commitment to modesty--for everyone--would certainly be in
19:49 line with God's will for His children.
19:52 I'm John Bradshaw.
19:53 Let's live today by every word.
19:55 If Christians care to be honest, it doesn't take a degree in
20:00 history to uncover the atrocities committed by the
20:03 Christian church.
20:05 There were systematic pogroms in Europe--the horrors of the
20:09 Inquisition--shady financial and political deals done in the name
20:12 of Christ...
20:13 over the centuries, some pretty horrible things have been done
20:17 under the banner of Jesus...
20:21 Search the pages of the Bible, and you won't find God
20:23 advocating the use of force by His people to establish a
20:25 kingdom on earth.
20:27 The Inquisition and other atrocities like it were not born
20:30 of the Bible; they were born of Christians who were being
20:35 unfaithful to the teachings of Jesus.
20:37 And the remarkable thing is that Bible prophecy predicted it.
20:40 Today, a lot of the Christian world is looking over the fence
20:42 at other people, trying to figure out where all the trouble
20:45 in the book of Revelation is going to come from.
20:47 Once, the Soviet Union was the spiritual bogey man.
20:50 Today, some look at the European Union, others watch Islamic
20:53 terrorist organizations.
20:56 And while there's no question that all of these things have
20:59 presented important challenges for the Christian church, the
21:02 message of the Bible is clear: we need to be especially
21:06 vigilant of what takes place in the name of Christianity.
21:10 There will come a time, Paul says, when people will have a
21:13 "form of godliness," but they will deny the real power behind
21:17 it.
21:19 The biggest problem we face is not atheism or communism.
21:25 It's a misguided Christianity that presents itself as the real
21:29 thing.
21:31 Just listen to the daunting words of Jesus found in Matthew
21:33 24: Matthew 24:24-25 For false christs and false prophets will
21:42 rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible,
21:43 even the elect.
21:45 See, I have told you beforehand.
21:53 Before the consummation of history, the Bible predicts an
21:56 overwhelming religious deception--so overwhelming that
22:02 God's own people might just fall for it.
22:06 And of course, that would create a situation where God's
22:08 "woman"--the church--has become unfaithful.
22:20 We know from history that it's already happened.
22:22 Daniel, John and Paul were absolutely right: on of the
22:23 ashes of the Roman Empire was built a tainted Christianity,
22:24 one answering precisely to the description given in the book of
22:26 Revelation.
22:26 You know, there's no better word than "Babylon" to describe the
22:34 spiritual problems in this world, and you might say in the
22:37 Christian church.
22:38 The root of the word Babylon is "Babel," from the tower built in
22:41 defiance against God--and the word itself means "confusion."
22:47 Babylon is inhabited by people who think they're right--but
22:52 they're drunk, and they have no concept of reality.
22:56 There's a self-centered religion where people convince themselves
22:59 they're still living within the boundaries of God's will, when
23:03 they're doing anything but.
23:05 But that sort of religion is bound to ultimately fall.
23:09 The Bible says so.
23:12 Revelation 18 we read, in verses 2, 3 and 4: And he cried
23:19 mightily with a loud voice, saying, "Babylon the great is
23:23 fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of
23:27 demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every
23:30 unclean and hated bird!
23:33 For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her
23:36 fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication
23:43 with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich
23:45 through the abundance of her luxury."
23:46 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her,
23:51 my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of
23:56 her plagues."
24:00 The prophetic message of the Bible is clear: there's only one
24:03 safe place to stand, and that's right here, on God's Word.
24:09 Anything else is confusion - it's Babylon, and right now, God
24:14 is calling you out of Babylon.
24:18 So in these moments, just before Jesus comes, where are you going
24:21 to stand?
24:23 Will you stand on a man-made religion or will you stand on
24:28 the Word of God?
24:30 I want to stand with Jesus, and I want to live by His Word.
24:33 If that's your desire too, let's tell him that right now.
24:38 Would you pray with me?
24:39 Father in heaven, we thank you that you are God enough to speak
24:44 to us very directly and to tell us that down here in the last
24:47 days of the earth's history a huge challenge, the most
24:52 pressing challenge, is going to come from within Christianity
24:56 itself, from Christians who have concocted, who have put together
25:02 a form of religion that doesn't square with the Bible.
25:04 Lord, teach us please to be biblical.
25:07 Help us to be faithful.
25:09 Let us live by every Word that proceeds from out of your mouth.
25:11 Give us that grace today and Lord grant that we would trust
25:16 in Jesus fully.
25:18 This we pray in Jesus' name, amen.
25:48 An ancient city rises ...
25:56 the most wicked city on earth.
26:04 The prophets said it would be destroyed.
26:10 They were right.
26:16 It has never been rebuilt yet the ancient prophets saw her
26:22 rising and then the world ends.
26:26 Babylon rising.
26:41 Do you know what's coming?
26:46 Babylon Rising is a dynamic book by Pastor John Bradshaw that
26:49 describes the significance of Babylon in Bible Prophecy Right
26:53 now, this powerful book is available free from It Is
26:57 Written.
26:58 Just call 1-800-253-3000, ask for the book: BABYLON RISING.
26:59 Or write to It Is Written, Box O, Thousand Oaks, CA 91359, and
27:07 we will mail a copy to your address in North America.
27:10 Please note: This free book is limited to the supply on hand.
27:13 For even faster access, you can download a FREE electronic
27:18 version of the book Babylon Rising from our website.
27:20 Babylon Rising is also a four-part seminar presented by
27:23 John Bradshaw.
27:24 For details, please visit our website: itiswritten.com and
27:27 discover more about Babylon Rising, and many other
27:31 inspirational resources.
27:31 It Is Written is a faith-based outreach made possible by
27:33 viewers like you.
27:36 Thank you for yore continued support.
27:38 Our toll-free number is: 1-800-253-3000.
27:41 And our web address: itiswritten.com Thanks for
27:48 joining me today.
27:49 And remember--It Is Written: man shall not live by bread alone,
27:53 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.


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Revised 2015-02-06