Does Babylon represents a single entity? Like many symbols used by God, Babylon has more than one meaning.
Babylon
Revelation 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Rev 16 shows us there are 3 parts to Babylon. Additional information is supplied in Rev 17.
Revelation 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
The 3 parts are, Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. Each of these has a spiritual meaning. Two are easily found by studying the key words in Revelation 17:5. Studying the word Babylon will also identify the physical aspects of the three entities.
The first part of Babylon to study is the mystery.
Ezekiel 21:21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his
Babylon and spiritualism
arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver.
Daniel 2:2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
One aspect of physical Babylon represents spiritualism. Babylon could not answer a number of mysteries. Two were Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams. The third was the hand writing on the wall. To answer these questions physical Babylon first turned to spiritualists of the day, astrologers, and sorcerers.
Revelation 16:13-14 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. (14) For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Spiritual Babylon makes use of spiritualism to deceive people. Babylon will use forms of spiritualism to provide answers to the mysteries in the last days.
The mystery of Babylon is spiritualism.
The next aspect of Babylon to identify is the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.
2 Kings 25:13 And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of 
the LORD, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon.
Daniel 1:2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.
Physical Babylon carried off parts of the temple. Some of these were from the original Tabernacle built by Moses. Other items were introduced by pagans. Study the history of the temple in Kings. All of these items were added, or mixed in with the items from the pagan nations Babylon conquered. This shows a mixture of truth and error on a religious level.
Revelation 13:5-8 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. (6) And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. (7) And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. (8) And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Spiritual Babylon will be a mixture of true worship, and false worship against God.
The mother of harlots and abominations of the earth represents a religious part of Babylon.
The third part to study is Babylon the great. This is the most difficult to identify. What was it that made physical Babylon great, and what are the connections to spiritual Babylon?
2 Kings 24:10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.
Physical Babylon surrounded the physical city of Jerusalem.
Revelation 20:7-9 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, (8) And shall go out to deceive
Whore of Babylon
the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. (9) And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Spiritual Babylon will surround God’s city, the New Jerusalem.
Daniel 2:37-38 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. (38) And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
Physical Babylon was a world power.
Revelation 17:18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
Spiritual Babylon will appear to be a world power.
2 Kings 25:22 And as for the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler.
Jeremiah 41:18 Because of the Chaldeans: for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor in the land.
Physical Babylon appointed rulers over a number of kingdoms.
Revelation 17:2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
Spiritual Babylon will appear to have the same power.
2 Kings 20:17 Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD.
Physical Babylon carried away the riches of Jerusalem.
Revelation 18:10-11 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in
Babylon defeats Jerusalem
one hour is thy judgment come. (11) And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
Revelation 18:16-17 And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! (17) For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
Spiritual Babylon will control the riches of the world in the last days. One part of spiritual Babylon is connected to the physical economy of the world.
Daniel 5:4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
Physical Babylon worshipped gold, silver, and other items representing worldly wealth.
Revelation 18:11-15 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: (12) The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, (13) And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. (14) And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. (15) The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
Spiritual Babylon will also worship material items.
Jeremiah 51:53 Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD.
Additional details of physical Babylon mounting up to Heaven are found in Genesis.
Genesis 11:3-6 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and
Tower of Babel
slime had they for morter. (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.
Daniel 1:4 Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.
Just as physical Babylon had one language, spiritual Babylon will have one language.
When we put all these aspects together we can clearly identify the great Babylon, and see why it is described as great.
It is a world power.
It establishes kingdoms and appoints leaders.
It is centered around silver, gold, etc.
It has ties to the merchents of the world.
It does business using one universal language.
There is only one establishment fitting these descriptions, the world banking system. Revelation 18 makes it clear one part of the spiritual Babylon is centered around the economy.
Babylon the great represents the world economy. Does Babylon the great represent the central banking system, which controls the world economy?
April 2, 2011 at 2:35 pm
The city was divided into three divisions and here is the dragon which is what? Paganism. The beast is Catholicism and the last one is apostate Protestantism, the false prophet. False Protestants. In these three divisions paganism is idolatry. It is worshiping something else other than the living God. In paganism is collected all the religions of the world bar two. Catholicism is a mixture between pagan worship and Christianity. It is a blending of the two. The false prophet is the Christian faith that has gone into apostasy. These three segments incorporate the whole world. Everyone comes into one of these segments. The world is divided. There are Muslims against Christians and vice versa. The minority is united, not divided. They have one faith, one Lord and one baptism. We will look at these two classes in a different way. Today living on this earth there is only two classes.
http://sabbathsermons.com/2009/10/17/in-the-church-but-still-in-babylon/
Babylon was divided into three parts and in those parts the cities of the nations fell.
Revelation 16:13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs [come] out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Here are three segments – the dragon the beast and the false prophet. These express the three parts into which Babylon was divided. It was still Babylon but three parts;
The dragon – Paganism. They don’t believe in Jesus
The beast – Roman Catholicism
The false prophet – Apostate Protestantism
Does this not incorporate the whole world? Babylon incorporates the whole word and in Revelation we see three parts. Read carefully now because of these three parts how much traffic Babylon controls.
Revelation 18:12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, 18:13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
Shall we consider the traffic that isn’t in her control?
http://sabbathsermons.com/2009/08/23/what-was-babylon-2/
April 2, 2011 at 10:05 pm
Those may be points to consider. I feel it is always best to look at every word of God with an open mind until He feels it is time to provide written text to reveal the answer to every point.
There are dozens of other texts providing greater detail in each segment of Babylon. I’ve learned to keep the studies short. This also give the reader a better chance to comment on specific details.
November 6, 2011 at 9:25 pm
These are transcripts of sermons I type which I believe provide real answers today not guess work. we need answers today to get ready. The research into the word of God is not a short paragraph or a quick glance. It takes time to understand and read line upon line
November 6, 2011 at 12:30 pm
Need to study more indepth, but what I see and know is that Babylon is a spiritual city; it is the seat of deception, sorcery and the mystery of iniquity. The whore sits on many waters (deceptions) pouring through many avenues: tongues, people’s, nations, etc. She has a cup full of mixture and when one drinks it, they are slain. It is the whoreish women found in Proverbs 5, 7 and 21. Paul said we are to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh AND SPIRIT. When one drinks of the wine, they start to offer insense to Baal and God: there is mixture. The bible actually says that there is a cup of mixture in God’s hands: He is the one that sits on top of the flood; He is the one that has the nations sifted and tested. The key is to remain humble, pure in spirit and to guard are heart with all diligence: for out of it are the issues of life. They that know their God shall be strong and do exploits.
November 6, 2011 at 9:12 pm
http://sabbathsermons.com/2009/08/23/what-was-babylon-2/