Why Study the Book of Revelation?

I received a comment from a reader who noted how seemingly difficult it is to comprehend the verses found in the Book of Revelation and who wondered how much value the book has to our daily lives. The reader’s comment got me thinking…

Why should people study the Book of Revelation? What value does it have in our daily lives? How should I study the Book of Revelation? I explain why it is important to study the Book of Revelation and how you should study the Book of Revelation in this article.

Value to Our Daily Lives

The Book of Revelation is very valuable to me because I am very interested in trying to gain a complete understanding of Bible prophecy. However, I recognize that most people do not carry the same level of interest in the Book of Revelation and Bible prophecy as I do. Therefore, I will try to relate my answer to why the Book of Revelation has value in our daily lives to people who have little interest in Bible prophecy.

The Book of Revelation is a reminder to us that world events happen for a reason and that God has a plan. The book provides reminders that God is still in control no matter how bleak things become on Earth. For instance, Revelation 17:16-17 tells us that God’s Will is being executed when ten kings destroy the evil harlot city that will encourage the persecution of the saints during the end times:

“(16) And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. (17) For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.” (Revelation 17:16-17)

Similarly, the Book of Revelation provides us a sense that world events are moving us to final clash between good and evil. The Book of Revelation describes the ascension of Satan’s representative the Antichrist, the tyrannical world ruler of the end times, and the Antichrist’s eventual defeat by Christ. It even describes the eventual defeat of Satan (the devil):

“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10)

The Book of Revelation provides us a sense of what things are possible and what things are impossible. For instance, Revelation refutes the notion that a one-world government, religion, economic system, etc. organized by man will bring us Heaven on Earth. Revelation suggests that those conditions are associated with the reign of a brutal ruler (Antichrist) who will make the lives of those who resist him very difficult. We can perhaps work to make the world a better place to some degree, but mankind cannot create Heaven on Earth on its own.

The Book of Revelation also provides us a sense of the rewards we will receive if we remain faithful to Christ and overcome the difficulties/obstacles we face in life to stay faithful to Him.

Gaining an understanding of the Book of Revelation can help to protect you personally and spiritually against misinformation/false teachings provided by people who claim to “understand” what the Bible says concerning current and future events.

Finally, a time will come when a large portion of Bible prophecy will be fulfilled. The Book of Revelation is available to help people gain an understanding of the future before those prophecies are fulfilled. People are not forced to look at Revelation, but there may be a point in time in the future when many people will regret not looking at it when they had the opportunity.

Understanding the Book of Revelation

One reason why people avoid learning about the Book of Revelation is that they believe it is too difficult to understand. A major reason why some struggle or see the Book of Revelation as too difficult to comprehend is they try to understand the Book of Revelation in isolation.

  • I made this mistake when I read the entire book for the first time at Age 15. I had no idea what the prophecies in Revelation meant because I read the book without looking at prophecies elsewhere in the Bible.

The Book of Revelation should not be looked at in isolation. The book is only 22 chapters long, which is not a lot of text to provide a detailed description of all end time events. However, the book compensates for its relative brevity by referring to many descriptive prophecies of the Old Testament and the New Testament.

  • For instance, Revelation 17 and Revelation 18’s details concerning Babylon the Great City allude to Isaiah 47, Jeremiah 50, and Jeremiah 51 while Revelation 13’s beast of the sea prophecy alludes to Daniel 7.
  • In addition, the reference to the mystery of God’s completion in Revelation 10:7 alludes to a topic that Paul wrote about in the New Testament.

Therefore, gaining a good understanding of the topics referenced in the Book of Revelation requires going back to other books, chapters, and verses in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

I’ve used the analogy before that Bible prophecy is the ultimate puzzle which requires the piecing of every puzzle piece to gain a full understanding of the future. I would equate the Book of Revelation to the outer edge pieces of the puzzle much like Christ’s discourse on the end of the age found in New Testament chapters like Matthew 24:

  • The Book of Revelation often helps to organize several Bible prophecy verses and chapters throughout the Bible in a chronological order.
  • The Book of Revelation fills in some details about events that will take place in the End Times and helps us to identify the subject matter of some Bible prophecy verses and chapters found throughout the Bible.
  • I cannot imagine what it would be like trying to understand all the Bible prophecy chapters in the Old Testament and New Testament without the Book of Revelation there to provide some structure and some details relating to end time events.

There are a variety of methods people use to interpret the Book of Revelation. Each interpretation method can lead to a different understanding of what Revelation says than another interpretation method. Consequently, there are a variety of conflicting views out there about what Revelation says. Here is what I recommend to people who want to study the Book of Revelation:

  • I believe it is best to understand the Book of Revelation by comparing the verses found in Revelation with the verses found in the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Book of Revelation references the Old Testament and the New Testament a lot so I see no reason to ignore the prophecies found in the Old Testament and the New Testament when trying to understand Revelation.
  • I also believe it is best to view the verses found in the Book of Revelation at face value/literally as much as possible because when people begin to rely heavily on interpreting verses allegorically/symbolically the understanding they derive from the book can become subject to human error since humans often see things differently and have their own biases.

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Wayne Croley
Wayne Croley

Hi! I’ve studied and written about Bible prophecy since I was a teenager. My goal is to make Bible prophecy easy for you to understand while avoiding the sensationalism seen elsewhere. I am the author of several end time books, including Prophecy Proof Insights on the End Times, a comprehensive book about the end times. I hold an M.B.A. and degrees in Managerial Economics and Political Science.

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  1. The Book of Revelation, like in a movie, is the last part. It is where everything will be made clear. The double blessing are finally knowing the Truth about God’s Salvation, Grace, Mercy, and Justice to His creation; The completion of his Covenant; The Truth about who will belong to Him in eternity and who will be completely destroyed in the Lake of Fire; about who will only sleep to be awakened and raptured at the coming of Christ and the dead who will be tormented with weeping and gnashing of teeth at the outer darkness while awaiting for the Great White Throne Judgement to happen; the Truth that every eye will see and every knee will bow down to the Lord, be they are righteous or wicked, and anyone who call on the name of the Lord will be saved, at the Mercy Seat of Christ (Ark of the Covenant; White Throne Judgement); the Truth about our final dwelling place; and so much more that all the doctrines of men (OSAS, Exclusivism, Dispensationalism, etc.) will be destroyed.

  2. Thanks for the pointers and analysis. Saves a good deal of effort. Perhaps I can reciprocate re: Rev. 17 & 18.

    1. Seal 1 (6:01-02) ~ (17:01-07) ~ Mt. 24:05
    2. Seal 2 (6:03-04) ~ (17:08-13) ~ Mt. 24:06
    4. Seal 3 (6:05-06) ~ (17:15-18) ~ Mt. 24:07
    3. Seal 4 (6:07-08) ~ (18:01-08) ~ Mt. 24:09
    5. Seal 5 (6:09-11) ~ (18:11-13) ~ Mt. 24:22
    6. Seal 6 (6:12-17) ~ (18:14-21) ~ Mt. 24:29
    7. Seal 7 (8:01-07) ~ (18:22-23) ~ Mt. 24:30

    1. rider with bow ~ woman on beast ~ many come as Christ to deceive
    2. take peace from earth ~ beast is the 8th ~ wars and rumors of wars
    3. measure of wheat ~ woman is that great city ~ beginning of sorrows
    4. hunger + death ~ death + famine ~ delivered to affliction + shall kill you
    5. souls slain ~ souls of men sold ~ great tribulation
    6. sun  black ~ great millstone cast into see ~ sun darkened
    7. silence in heaven ~ “shall be heard no more” (x3) ~ sign of the Son of Man in heaven

  3. One theory I’ve seen is that the “Babylon” is a megalopolis which has multiple suburbs/towns. Interestingly, the word “great” in Greek is “mega” and the word “city” in Greek is “polis” in Revelation 17 and Revelation 18. This may relate to the theory that you advocate since you’ve discussed the possibility of a network of cities spanning the planet.

    Another related theory is that Babylon is a country like the U.S. or Iraq. If Babylon represents a country it would encompass multiple cities, but would not cover the entire Earth. Under this scenario, the country would be the most important country in the world.

    A third theory is that the phrase “great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth” describes the position/power of the city. “Great City” may be a way to say that Babylon is the capital city of the world. Under this scenario, the “Great City” would have local towns or villages that are connected to it.

    If you are going to look at Isaiah for references or potential references to Babylon, make sure you check out Isaiah 13, Isaiah 14, Isaiah 21, and Isaiah 47. In addition, Isaiah 24-26 is also worth checking out. Outside of Isaiah, Habakkuk 1 & Habakkuk 2 and Zechariah 2 & Zechariah 5 may also worth be checking out.

  4. Gotta say, I found much more about the first destruction and ongoing desolation of ancient Babylon than anything prophetic in Jeremiah 50 & 51. I’ll review the corresponding sections of Isaiah before making full reply.

    I found verse 50:43 quite notable — referring to Babylon, “Her cities are a desolation…”

    Jeremiah 50

    42 The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
    43 Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.
    44 And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.

    If this is about ancient Babylon then there’s warrant for Babylon being composed of multiple cities. If this is about future Babylon, there’s also warrant for the Great City to be composed of multiple cities.

    Do y’all see any other possibility? For instance, can you apply that to the “march or empires” theory?

  5. You’ll want to include Jer. 51 also, as well as some passages in Isaiah.  As for the other, sorry for the lack of clarification.  Rev.21 says that God creates a brand new heaven and earth after the Great White Throne Judgment (in chapter 20).  That is after the millennium, so the world during the millennium is still the same earth as was the case after the Flood. In other words the same actual planet, just completely different in every way having been cleaned up and renovated having been purged by the fires of the asteroid, star, nukes and whatever, just as the Flood purged by water. The reason for keeping the same planet would be that there will be people that will survive the Day of the Lord (just as Noah’s family survived the Flood) and will go into the millennium.  They will rebuild Jerusalem and the land of Israel (as well as the rest of the world except Babylon), as God promised the land of Israel to the Hebrews and He will keep His promise. The earth won’t be done away with completely to be replaced until after the last judgment when everyone will finally end up in one place or the other (with God or the Lake of Fire) according to the chronology of Revelation.  During the millennium, people will still be able to choose God or reject Him.  Death, pain, crying, etc. will still exist during the millennium, therefore it is not the new heavens and earth yet, as those things do not exist in the new world. The millennium isn’t the eternal state yet.

  6. I want to study the references you gave more, in particular all of Jer. 50.

    In the interim, and in light of Rev. 21, you may want to clarify the point about:

    “However it was still the same heavens and same earth, just washed
    clean.  In the same way the fires of the Day of the Lord will purge and
    clean the world and just as new vegetation grows back after a fire, so
    will the earth again be reborn and inhabited.”

    Rev. 21
    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. [the first implies there is a distinct second]

    4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. [passed away means not present]

    5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. [new could mean renewed]

    8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. [points to the Lake of Fire as being the final and permanent location of the enemy, including those that made up Great Babylon.]

    As heaven (and the heavens) can be described as another dimension, it’s possible that hell (and the Lake of Fire) are likewise in their own dimension — outside the gates (possibly portals). 

    Rev. 22
    14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
    15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. [and their worm dies not]

  7. It is true that this world will not last forever, but the new heavens and earth are not created until after the White Throne Judgment in Rev. 21:1. The fires that destroy the earth at the Day of the Lord will operate on the same level as the Flood of Noah.  In essence the world was destroyed as every living thing died except what was in the ark, and the world after the Flood did not resemble the antediluvian world at all.  However it was still the same heavens and same earth, just washed clean.  In the same way the fires of the Day of the Lord will purge and clean the world and just as new vegetation grows back after a fire, so will the earth again be reborn and inhabited.  However Babylon will continue to burn and be uninhabited forever (Rev. 19:3, Jer. 50:13,39) which would seem to preclude it being a great amount of the earth and impossible for it to be Jerusalem under that stipulation, as Jerusalem will most definitely be inhabited.   In Jeremiah, Babylon is said to be the hindermost of the nations.  It is identified as one nation, and it is the hindermost or in Hebrew “achariyth” meaning the last great nation.  Again that would seem to eliminate Jerusalem as a candidate, as Jerusalem has been around a long time, as have many of the other nations, so even a network would not seem to fit.  Of course the argument might be that she is the New World Order which will be the last great political entity, however that is antichrist’s domain, not hers. Babylon is also more than a Satanic religious ideology. She is an actual spirit (whether fallen angel or demon I don’t know) and has existed since the tower of Babel coming down through the ages as the queen of the mystery religion of the nations she has reigned over.  Yes, Nebuchadnezzar’s statue was a part of her legacy, but she began before that.  The seven mountains or nations that she inhabited all had something in common.  First, they were world or conquering empires, and second they persecuted God’s chosen people.  The seven that fall into  this category are Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, and Nazi Germany.  All of them had at their heart the Babylonian Mystery religion which began with Nimrod. Hitler was very big on the occult.  Babylon the Whore is also being punished in connection with having had something to do with the destruction of the temple. Jer. 50:28.  Also she is made desolate among or in the midst of the other nations, not along with them. Jer. 50:23.  She is identified in that same verse as being the hammer of the whole earth. Babylon has always been a nation (in her various incarnations) that has hammered at the rest of the earth.  It must also be recognized that Babylon and the New World Order of antichrist are not the same entities.  While ultimately any religion that does not worship God is worship of Satan, I think his “religion” which will be forced worldwide and her “religion” are not the same “religion”, nor are they the same political entity. I think that is part of the animosity between the two and why he destroys her. As I can’t see these scriptures I have mentioned and the description given above as fitting what you have outlined, I have some problems agreeing with some of the things you have said, however you are most certainly entitled to your own interpretation of these things.

  8. It’s safe to say that this earth won’t last in it’s present form forever. So the issue is whether major areas will be desolate. We can reference both Peter and Christ….

    2 Pt. 3
    10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

    11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

    Rev. 11
    18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.  [note the earth is destroyed]

    Other New Earth passages: Rev. 21:1, Isa. 65:17, Isa. 66:20

    If by empires you mean those of Nebuchadnezzer’s Dream, (gold, silver, brass, iron, iron+clay) … how do those match 7 empires?

    If you mean matched to the 7 churches in Rev. 2-3, there are passages that refer to great tribulation and the hour of temptation that come on the world, and ruling the nations with a rod of iron etc. that seem clearly aimed at the end time — event though those churches were before the hereafter period that starts in Rev. 4:01. Similarly, the Church at Philadelphia seems to have done everything right. I can’t point to a corresponding age in reference to Great Babylon.

    I’m not opposed to a time phased analysis. I’d expect to find a reflection or foreshadowing, such as the spirit of antichrist being in the world in St. John’s day. Since then there have been many antichrists short of the final main antichrist figure — the beast. Compare also with Passover. We know that the primary instance of Passover was Christ’s crucifixion as the Passover, though there was foreshadowing in the Passover that started the Exodus, and a reflection in the Passover that saves the manchild from the great dragon in Rev. 12. We could treat Pentecost similarly, with the Acts event the primary instance, and all others either foreshadowing or reflections (or harmonics, or holographic sections, or fractal).

    More to the point, tares look like wheat till mature. I’d expect Great Babylon as the ultimate instance of mystery religion to have:

    1. false saviors
    2. false prophets
    3. false pastors
    4. false teachers
    5. false apostles
    6. false deacons
    7. false elders

    Since the gifts and callings are poured out on all mankind, the ones that reject Christ are the waters that make up the mountains which are the nations (and tongues, tribes, and peoples) on which mystery babylon sits. Essentially though, mystery babylon is the “foolish woman” of the Proverbs in contrast to Wisdom.

    And Wisdom is one of the 7 Spirits of God, which are the 7 horns and 7 eyes of the Lamb. Wisdom can be represented as the lampstand in the tabernacle or Pentecost in the holy days. 

    So while we can likely find time phased reflections, the spatial reflections (or categories…) should not be discounted. Meaning that the 7 mountains also exist all at the same time.

    Incidentally, I’d easily agree that mystery babylon’s first instance is there in the exchange between Eve and the serpent, when she was fooled into thinking that the fruit was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desired to make one wise. It’s like seeking wisdom by taking drugs or by whatever other sorcery….

    If I ramble on too much just say so and I’ll be more pointed.

  9. So you see vast amounts of areas around the world being completely uninhabitable forever then?  How do you reconcile Jerusalem being a part of this when Jerusalem will be inhabited during the millennium?  And you don’t see the seven mountains as being a history of her empires through the ages, but the future nations who band together to put her in charge, is that correct?

  10. More like a network rather than wall-to-wall city.

    I’d expect only key cities to be involved. And possibly only a portion of those (possibly like embassies). For instance: Jerusalem, Rome, London, NYC, Rio De Janeiro, etc. Whether 7 “world cities” or 70 doesn’t matter much. The issue is their common governance, such as with that of the 10 horns that have “one mind.” St. John was in awe of Great Babylon?

    Rev. 17
    1 And
    there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and
    talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the
    judgment of the great
    whore that sitteth upon many waters: [note “many waters”]

    6 And
    I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the
    blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great
    admiration.
    7 And
    the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee
    the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath
    the seven heads and ten horns.  [note “seven heads”]

    9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
    [note 7 mountains = waters = nations]

    15 And
    he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore
    sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. [note “nations”]

    18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

    The point is that “The Great City” is a counterfeit of “The Kingdom of Heaven” which is world wide also within the hearts of believers. The enemy wants more than hearts.

    Whether right or wrong I’m not sure, but one way that the various prophecies can be reconciled is for Jerusalem, Rome, London, New York City, etc. to be just parts of a larger city network. And frankly I’d expect the worldwide city network to have only 7 major metropolitan areas, the mountains on which GB sits. Collectively then they’d be called “The Great City.”

    It’s a matter of both common identity and common spirit, in this case that of fallen babylon. 

  11. I’m a little confused.  Are you saying that the Great City Babylon is the entire earth?  I understand it that way because you say it is a great city that spans the globe.  Since no actual city spans the globe, I am understanding you to mean that Great Babylon is simply earth.  Is that correct?

  12. I’ll take a closer look at what you’ve described when I have some time (hopefully on Tuesday). I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts on the matter.

  13. “The Great City” called Babylon, that spans the globe would most certainly be destroyed and uninhabitable following the massive Category 10 earthquake that terraforms the globe causing all the cities and towers to fall, the Mt. of Olives to be split, and Tsunamis to engulf what were coastal cities.

    Zech. 14

    4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

    8 And it shall be in that day, that
    living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the
    former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in
    winter shall it be.
    9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.
    10 All
    the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of
    Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from
    Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate,
    and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses.
    11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

    Rev. 16

    18 And
    there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great
    earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an
    earthquake, and so great.
    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.
    20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

    So the earth spanning “Great City” called “Great Babylon” is severed and destroyed and remains uninhabited through the end of the millennium till the earth is dissolved and the new heavens and new earth formed and New Jerusalem descends. 

    Old Jerusalem is likewise a casualty and practically leveled. The Daughter of Jerusalem that’s the dwelling place of the Lord in the millennium is close to old Jerusalem. Zech 14:10 shows the extent of the geographic changes.

    The key point is that Jerusalem that we know now is only part of the “The Great City” that spans the globe called “Great Babylon.” When it’s leveled, not even the Wailing Wall will remain.

    When can call a city built on a tell of rubble from prior cities by the same name. But
    the extensive changes result in rivers flowing out from the Daughter of Jerusalem.

    ref. Ezekiel 47-48 esp.

     35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.

  14. Thanks for taking the time to write the response. A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article about my thoughts about Jerusalem as a possible candidate at the following link in case you have not seen it: http://bit.ly/mgYyrh

    I’m curious about how you view Revelation 18:21 which says:Rev 18:21  And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. Critics of Jerusalem = Babylon the Great theory point to this verse saying that this verse argues against the idea that Jerusalem = Babylon the Great since Jerusalem will be inhabited again.  

  15. How an it all be true?

    I think that Jerusalem at that time is part of “The Great City” that spans the earth as a contrived political and economic entity called “Great Babylon,” which no one can be part of without the 666 name, number, or mark. It’s governed by the 10 horns who have one mind and “come to power for an hour” with the beast, (Rev. 17:12-13).

    It’s the counterfeit of both the Kingdom of Heaven and New Jerusalem in the sense that its residents are made to believe that they’re citizens of one big city that rules over the rest of the earth. It might be the 7 most influential or the 70 largest across the continents. And it could be the great deception or delusion of the end-time, which would cause many to wonder in awe, as John almost did. That said, there’s also likely a spiritual and a physical side to it.

    The one is Mystery Babylon and the other Babylon the Great. The mystery side is likely “energized” by the fallen angels, including: the prince of grecia, the prince of persia, the angel of death, the mother of harlots and abominations, the destroyer, the great, and the dragon. These may be offices, but they also have names: nimrod? (the beast), balaam (the false prophet), death (hell), jezebel (the harlot), apollyon (the angel of the abyss), baal?/ahab? (the nicolaitanes), and satan. “Energized” as a counterfeit of how the angel of each church serves it in the letters of Rev. 2-3 (cp. Daniel’s prayer answered, etc.) … using demons instead. 

    You may find it worthwhile to review the “Daughter of Jerusalem” passages, Zeph. 3 and Zech. 9:9. The remnant saved out of the end-time corruption (that came out of Great Babylon and exited Jerusalem before Christ splits the mount and the cities fall) will dwell in the Daughter of Jerusalem as Holiness unto the Lord in the millennium.

    All that considered… I place a lot more faith in this:

    The key is “where the prophets were killed.” They were killed again and again through the ages in Jerusalem. Including the Two Witnesses in Rev. 11.

    Rev.11:08 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

    Rev.17:06 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus…

    Rev.18:20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets for God has avenged you on her.

    Luke 13
    33 Nevertheless I must walk to day, and tomorrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.
    34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!
    35 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

    For her “children” compare “Daughters of Jerusalem.” The remnant in each generation that our Lord, Christ Jesus (Yahshua Messiah), has reserved for himself.

    Again, the point is how can all we’ve been given prophetically in the Word be reconciled? I tend to be a good deal more literal than most, whether that’s literally what we’re shown spiritually or literally described physically. When the Word says Great Babylon — it’s not a matter of which one city — not when the great city sits on 7 mountains which are nations and such, (Rev. 17:15).

    I apologize for the length & delay in my response. It’s been a long day.

    • The Spirit of Apostate/Adulterous/Idolatrous Jerusalem, which also has the Spirit of the Pharisees who says they are Jews but they are not, which also has the Spirit of Babylon, had already gone and spread out to so many places (countries) and even in many institutions (banks, religion and churches, sports and entertainment). So where the fake Jews are, there is where the Apostate Jerusalem and Great Babylon. In the end times they will all be gathered in one place Jerusalem to play out a counterfeit regathering of Israel, there will they all be destroyed.

      • there is a conspiracy theory that Islam was an invented religion of the jesuits (they say they are jews but they are not), as their cover to continue with the persecution of the christians. You might wonder that the koran was created with almost similar accounts in the bible. From Islam you can get the counterfeit ten kingdoms (arab confederation, counterfeit armageddon), the counterfeit antichrist mahdi. Radical Islam wants national Israel, the USA, the Vatican(?), and the christians destroyed.

  16. Much like a court case, understanding the Revelation is an excellent exercise in learning to honorably weigh out justice. All sides should be examined. The veracity of the witnesses confirmed. Compromises identified. And expert testimony consulted, such as from other scripture. All with proper appeal to the highest authority, the Almighty himself.

    As for the enemy turning against great babylon… as a whore she’s full of plagues, infections (both spiritual and natural) — which may be passed on to them — unless the city is burned.

    Before occupying the city for the millennial kingdom, old Jerusalem will need to be sanctified. Possibly as Josiah did in 2 Chron. 34. “
    4 And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were
    on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images,
    and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them.
    5 And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.”

    Great studies! Much thanks!!

  17. You forgot to mention one very important point that Christ laid out for us in that book.  It is the only book in the Bible where there is a special blessing for reading, hearing, and keeping or heeding what is written in it.  Most people are aware of the first blessing in chapter one, but there is a second blessing in chapter 22 for keeping the prophecies of the book.  In other words a double blessing. That shows how important this book is supposed to be to us. These prophecies are for us, regardless that some say it is irrelevant to the Church.  It is our guide to surviving the days ahead.  By reading and heeding what is in it, the blessing may be that those who have done so will survive to see the rapture.