A Tale of Two Cities, Babylon and Jerusalem: Is Our Religion Symbolical or Spiritual?

In the days of Nimrod whose kingdom was Babel, men built a tower, saying, “Let us make a name lest we be scattered abroad,” but God said, “let us go down and confound their language...so the LORD scattered them abroad.” Genesis 10:9,10; 11:4,7,8.

It seems significant that even now the Tower of Babel is used as a symbol of the European Union with its poster, “Many Tongues, One Voice” (Google), a symbol of defiance to God and with 5-pointed stars pointing down—the official insignia for the Church of Satan. (Google).

From the beginning, God was trying to spare man an external focus that engenders pride. Babel became Babylon and its king later said, “Is this not great Babylon that I have built?” Daniel 4:30. That meant time out for another lesson as the king lost his mind and ate grass for a 7-year humbling of Babylon.

The impending end-times will test our grasp of Bible truth as Babylon will again be humbled for 7 years. The issues are more subtle now, for we are dealing with spiritual Babylon that has permeated society's systems of medicine, education, welfare, government, correction and religion. Our focus now is religion.

When God liberated Israel from Egypt, He gave them a system of types that foreshadowed spiritual truth. The lamb that they sacrificed represented the lamb in Isaiah 53:5-7, “wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities,” and announced as “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” by a Jewish prophet, John. John 1:29.

They loved Him for the loaves and fishes, but when He made the internal and spiritual nature of His kingdom clear, they rejected Him, saying “Crucify him!”--He thus fulfilled His sacrificial role as a lamb.

The question is, do we learn from those lessons, or are we as Christians trying to make Jerusalem and its external symbols right so we can feel ok, instead of “the kingdom of God is within you”? Luke 17:21.

In the “Tale of Two Cities,” Christians want Jerusalem, not Babylon, but it's looking like Jerusalem will become permeated by spiritual Babylon depicted as a harlot involved with kings, wealthy (gold) and wearing scarlet (color of cardinals), a “mother of harlots” (other false churches) and abominations... drunken with the blood of saints (persecuting church in medieval history) on 7 hills, Revelation 17:2-9.
http://www.chick.com/reading/comics/0114/godfathersindex.asp

The Vatican plans a millennial reign in Jerusalem (Google it) and Bible prophecy unmasks the pope's role to introduce “Jesus” to the world after moving his headquarters there for the end-time, Daniel 11:45; 2Thessalonians 2:3-10.

To answer the question in our title, we must not conclude that we need to see Christian or Jewish symbols or temples in Jerusalem, because in the end, Babylon will use them as it forces everyone to bow as in Daniel 3.

Abraham, the father of the faithful, let Lot have his choice of geography, and Lot picked Sodom. The Bible shows Sodom and Jerusalem as equivalent in Revelation 11:8. So let's not fight over it--it will end as the last chapters show, with Christ coming on the white horse* to deliver His people in Armageddon, represented also in Daniel as the fiery furnace deliverance.

In the end, only the religion that comes from God can lead to God. We must not insist on our own terms, but seek Him on His terms. Now is our opportunity to study the Bible as it reveals a significant part of what modern religions believe as false and no single denomination as having all the truth, Revelation 3:17.

*The white horse in Revelation 19:11 is pre-figured by the white horse in Rev 6:2, a message of truth that helps us decode the enemy's counterfeits so we are not deceived. This article should not be construed as against any sincere Christians, including Catholics who seek a better understanding of Bible truth to explain the incongruities they see in their church and leadership. http://drrichswier.com/2015/05/20/pope-frances-and-politics-what-is-the-...