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The Babylon the Great uses the universal
entertainment industry based in the United States.
One of the seven angels who had the
seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the
punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.
With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the
inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her
adulteries (Rev 17:1,2).
The many waters on which she sits are the
people and nations of the world (Rev 17:15). They are intoxicated
with her adulteries. The American music, television and film
industries are shaping the culture all over the world. Their
influence on culture is so strong that young people in central
Africa are now wearing Chicago Bulls caps and T-shirts saying
"Just do it". The movies, music and film that come out
of the United States have "intoxicated" the world.
American entertainment media currently
shape the thinking of the world, determining what is good and
evil. Once the media takes sides on an issue, anyone opposing
their view is relentless attacked and mocked. For example, the
media have made abortion and euthanasia to be good and faith to be
dangerous and evil. The great irony is that John Winthrop, when
sailing out to establish a new colony in Massachusetts, said that
America would be a "city on a hill" that shows the world
how to live in obedience to God. Now it is the great city teaching
the world how to sin and do evil.
Babylon the Great is the city that rules
the rulers of the world.
The woman you saw is the great city that
rules over the kings of the earth (Rev 17:18).
The power of the news media is so great
that politicians now win elections on the basis of the media image
rather than good policies. They have committed adultery with
Babylon the Great to get and hold political power. Their most
important advisors are the "spin doctors" who manage
their media image. These "spin doctors" are the new
palace magicians.
Filth and Abominations
Babylon the Great is portrayed in
Revelation 17 as a beautiful woman.
The woman was dressed in purple and
scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and
pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with
abominable things and the filth of her adulteries (Rev 17:4).
It is interesting that the bannerhead of
Columbia Movies is a goddess standing above the waters and holding
a lamp (see Rev 18:23). Columbia is a traditional name for
America.
The television industry has filled the
living rooms of people all over the world with filth and
abominable things that would not have been allowed near our houses
in earlier generations. Blasphemy has become common place. The
names of God and Jesus have become the most common expletives.
The entertainment media have been very
hostile to Christianity.
I saw that the woman was drunk with the
blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to
Jesus (Rev 17:6).
Christians on film and television are
portrayed as slightly feeble and out of touch with life. Most
young people only know about Christianity through the media, where
they see them being mocked. The best known Christian in the world
is now Ned Flanders of "The Simpsons".
While watching television and listing to
music, people have invited demons in their houses and into their
lives.
She has become a home for demons
and a haunt for every evil spirit,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird (Rev 18:2).
Wealth and Luxury
The entertainment industry has been good
for American business (the Virtual Beast). By exporting American
culture, they have created a demand for American products all over
the world.
For all the nations have drunk the
maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth
committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew
rich from her excessive luxuries."
The merchants of the earth will weep and
mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more--
cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen,
purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and
articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron
and marble; cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and
frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat;
cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of
men. "They will say, 'The fruit you longed for is gone from
you. All your riches and splendor have vanished, never to be
recovered.' The merchants who sold these things and gained their
wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment
(Rev 18:3,11-15).
Babylon the Great creates an enormous
demand for wealth and luxury. This demand has been an important
driver of the American economy.
The American entertainment industry has
played an important role in the globalisation of trade.
Every sea captain, and all who travel by
ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea,
will stand far off. When they see the smoke of her burning, they
will exclaim, 'Was there ever a city like this great city?' They
will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning
cry out: "Woe! Woe, O great city, where all who had ships
on the sea became rich through her wealth!" (Rev 18:17-19).
Babylon the Great created a great
expansion of trade. This has been enhanced by the advance of
American culture. (In Ezekiel 16:29, Babylon is called a land of
merchants).
Information Technology
Skilled workers benefited from Babylon the
Great.
No workman of any trade will ever be
found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard
in you again (Rev 18:22).
This is probably a reference to the
information technology and communication industry, which has
strengthened the entertainment industry and made great expansion
possible through improved communications. The media created the
Dotcom bubble and allowed many to make fortunes out of the
industry.
The music industry is part of this complex
of power. Musicians are the philosophers of the current age, who
create the new patterns of thinking that undergirds the entire
movement.
The music of harpists and musicians,
flute players and trumpeters,
will never be heard in you again (Rev 18:22).
Since the 1960s, young people have been
wealthy enough to pay for their own music. This has enabled the
music industry to imbibe them with values that are hostile to
their parents. The result has been an enormous shift in values in
the last few decades.
Television weddings have become a very
popular form of entertainment.
The light of a lamp will never shine in
you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride
will never be heard in you again (Rev 18:23).
Television had done more than any media to
shape the nature of marriage in the western world. It has been
changed from a covenant under God to a relationship of
convenience.
Self Glory
John criticises Babylon the Great for
giving glory to herself.
Give her as much torture and grief as
the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts,
'I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never mourn (Rev
18:7).
The entertainment industries are unique in
their endless procession of Oscars and other awards, where people
in the industry congratulate and honour themselves and each other.
No other industry glorifies in it own success in this way.
The spirit of Babylon is described in
Isaiah 47. The key features are:
- luxury
- nakedness
- wanton immorality
- lounging in comfort (armchair
critics)
- sorcery and magic
- so-called wise counsel
These are the values of the television and
film industries.
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