I know that it is a lot of material to read. It may or it may not make a lot of sense to you. If you are confused about current world events please take the time to read this material. Right now, in the time which we are living, religion is being blamed for many of the world's problems. Including terrorism. People being killed in the name of some god is nothing new. Religion often separates mankind instead of uniting them. Like our political system, there is much deception and misinformation that is spread around by the prominent religious leaders of today. There is so much deception in this world that it is difficult to separate what is truth from falsehood.

I do not follow the worldly form of Christianity that exists today but I do believe in the Bible, God the Father and his son Jesus Christ. I study the Bible and listen to its insspired message in order to learn new things and compare different viewpoints. Here is something based on scripture but it looks at everything from a different perspective than what mainstream worldly Christianity teaches.
I have reason to believe that this information is 100% accurate otherwise I would not be posting this for you to read.

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MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT (Revelation 17 and 18)

Bible prophecy foretells governments turning on religion

Among John’s visions recorded in the book of Revelation appear pronouncements of judgment against "Babylon the Great," as well as a description of her and of her downfall.—Re 14:8; 16:19; chaps 17, 18; 19:1-3.

In Revelation 17:3-5, Babylon the Great is described as a woman arrayed in purple and scarlet, richly adorned, and sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast having seven heads and ten horns. Upon her forehead a name is written, "a mystery: ‘Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots and of the disgusting things of the earth.’" She is also depicted as sitting on "many waters" representing "peoples and multitudes and nations and languages."—Re 17:1-15.

The luxury and the dominion attributed to Babylon the Great do not allow for simply equating her with the literal city of Babylon in Mesopotamia. After ancient Babylon fell to Cyrus the Persian in 539 B.C., it lost its position as a dominant world power, its captives, including the Jews, being freed. Although the city continued to exist even beyond the days of the apostles, and hence existed in John’s day, it was no longer a city of world importance, and it eventually fell into decay and utter ruin. Thus, Babylon the Great must be viewed as a symbolic city, one of which the literal city of Babylon was the prototype. Because the ancient city gives the mystic city its name, it is helpful to consider briefly the outstanding features of Babylon on the Euphrates, features that provide clues as to the identity of the symbolic city of John’s vision.

Characteristics of Ancient Babylon. The founding of the city of Babylon on the Plains of Shinar was concurrent with the attempt at building the Tower of Babel. (Ge 11:2-9) The popular cause to be advanced by the tower and city construction was, not the exaltation of God’s name, but that the builders might "make a name" for themselves. The ziggurat towers uncovered not only in the ruins of ancient Babylon but elsewhere in Mesopotamia would seem to confirm the essentially religious nature of the original tower, whatever its form or style. The decisive action taken by God to overthrow the temple construction clearly condemns it as of a false religious origin. Whereas the Hebrew name given the city, Babel, means "Confusion," the Sumerian name (Ka-dingir-ra) and the Akkadian name (Bab-ilu) both mean "Gate of God." Thus the remaining inhabitants of the city altered the form of its name to avoid the original condemnatory sense, but the new or substitute form still identified the city with religion.

The Bible lists Babel first when giving the ‘beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom.’ (Ge 10:8-10) Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures the ancient city of Babylon is featured prominently as the longtime enemy of God and his people.

Though Babylon became the capital of a political empire in the seventh and sixth centuries B.C., it was outstandingly prominent during its entire history as a religious center from which religious influence radiated in many directions.

Professor Morris Jastrow, Jr., in his work The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria (1898, pp. 699-701), says regarding this: "In the ancient world, prior to the rise of Christianity, Egypt, Persia, and Greece felt the influence of the Babylonian religion. . . . In Persia, the Mithra cult reveals the unmistakable influence of Babylonian conceptions; and if it be recalled what a degree of importance the mysteries connected with this cult acquired among the Romans, another link will be added connecting the ramifications of ancient culture with the civilization of the Euphrates Valley." In conclusion he refers to "the profound impression made upon the ancient world by the remarkable manifestations of religious thought in Babylonia and by the religious activity that prevailed in that region."

Babylon’s religious influence is traced eastward to India in the book New Light on the Most Ancient East, by archaeologist V. Childe (1957, p. 185). Among other points he states: "The swastika and the cross, common on stamps and plaques, were religious or magical symbols as in Babylonia and Elam in the earliest prehistoric period, but preserve that character also in modern India as elsewhere." Thus, ancient Babylon’s religious influence spread out to many peoples and nations, much farther and with greater potency and endurance than did her political strength.

Like mystic Babylon, the ancient city of Babylon, in effect, sat on the waters, located, as it was, astride the Euphrates River and having various canals and water-filled moats. (Jer 51:1, 13; Re 17:1, 15) These waters served as a defense to the city, and they provided the thoroughfares upon which ships brought wealth and luxuries from many sources. Notably, the water of the Euphrates is depicted as drying up prior to Babylon the Great’s experiencing the wrath of divine judgment.—Re 16:12, 19.

Distinguishing Features of Mystic Babylon. The symbolic woman bearing the name Babylon the Great is "the great city that has a kingdom over the kings of the earth," a kingdom that allows her, in effect, to sit on "peoples and multitudes and nations and languages." (Re 17:1, 15, 18) A kingdom over other kingdoms and nations is what is defined as an "empire." Babylon the Great places herself above earthly kings, exercising power and influence over them. She rides the symbolic seven-headed beast, beasts being used elsewhere in the Bible as symbols of political world powers. see Daniel chapters 7 and 8.

Some scholars assume that Babylon the Great is a political empire, either Babylon or Rome. We have already seen that Babylon as a political empire had long since ceased to exist when John received his prophetic vision. As to Rome, the nature of its political rule does not harmonize with the description of Babylon the Great’s course and her methods of dominating. She is a harlot, committing fornication with the kings of the earth, making them drunk with the wine of her fornication, misleading the nations by her "sorceries." (Re 17:1, 2; 18:3, 23) Rome’s dominion, by contrast, was gained and maintained by its ironlike military might and its firm application of Roman law among its provinces and colonies. Recognizing this fact, The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible says: "It is not sufficient to identify Rome and Babylon. Babylon embraces more than one empire or culture. It is defined rather by dominant idolatries than by geographical or temporal boundaries. Babylon is coextensive with the kingdom of that beast which has corrupted and enslaved mankind, and whom the Lamb must conquer (Rev. 17:14) if mankind is to be freed."—Edited by G. Buttrick, 1962, Vol. 1, p. 338.

The symbol of a harlot or a fornicatrix is used frequently in the Hebrew Scriptures. The nation of Israel was warned against entering into covenant relations with the nations of Canaan because this would lead them to commit "immoral intercourse ["play the harlot," RS] with their gods." (Ex 34:12-16) Both Israel and Judah apostatized from the true worship of God and were condemned by him as having engaged in harlotry, prostituting themselves to the political nations and their gods. (Isa 1:21; Jer 3:6-10, 13; Eze 16:15-17, 28, 29, 38; Ho 6:10; 7:11; 8:9, 10) It may be noted here that God was not viewing Israel or Judah as mere political entities entering into relations with other political governments. Instead God reprimanded them on the basis of their being in a sacred covenant with him, hence responsible to be a holy people devoted to him and his pure worship.—Jer 2:1-3, 17-21.

A similar usage of this figure is found in the Christian Greek Scriptures. The Christian congregation is likened to a virgin espoused to Christ as her Head and King. (2Co 11:2; Eph 5:22-27) The disciple James warned Christians against committing spiritual adultery through friendship with the world. (Jas 4:4; compare Joh 15:19.) The fornications of Babylon the Great and her "daughters" are of a similar nature and not some unique exception. (The term "daughters" at times is employed in the Bible to refer to the suburbs or surrounding towns of a city or metropolis, as the "dependent towns" [literally, "daughters" in Hebrew] of Samaria and Sodom; see Eze 16:46-48.)

An additional significant factor is that when Babylon the Great goes down under the devastating attack of the ten horns of the symbolic beast, her fall is mourned by her companions in fornication, the kings of the earth, and also by the merchants and shippers who dealt with her in supplying luxurious commodities and gorgeous fineries. While these political and commercial representatives survive her desolation, notably no religious representatives are depicted as still on the scene to share in mourning her downfall. (Re 17:16, 17; 18:9-19) The kings of the earth are shown as having judgment executed upon them sometime after mystic Babylon’s annihilation, and their destruction comes, not from the "ten horns," but from the sword of the King of kings, the Word of God.—Re 19:1, 2, 11-18.

A further distinguishing characteristic of Babylon the Great is her drunkenness, she being pictured as "drunk with the blood of the holy ones and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus." (Re 17:4, 6; 18:24; 19:1, 2) She thus is the spiritual counterpart of the ancient city of Babylon, expressing the same enmity toward the true people of God. Significantly, it was to the charge of religious leaders that Jesus laid the responsibility for "all the righteous blood spilled on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah." While those words were addressed to religious leaders from among Jesus’ own race, the Jewish nation, and while persecution against Jesus’ followers was particularly intense from that sector for a time, history shows that thereafter the opposition to genuine Christianity came from other sources (the Jews themselves suffering considerable persecution).—Mt 23:29-35.

All the above factors are significant, and they must all be considered in arriving at a true picture of symbolic Babylon the Great and what it represents.

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"Another, a second angel, succeeded him, saying: ‘She has fallen! Babylon the Great has fallen, she who made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication’" (Revelation 14:8) For the first time, but not the last, Revelation focuses attention on Babylon the Great. Later, chapter 17 will describe her as a voluptuous harlot. Who is she? As we shall see, she is global, she is religious, and she is Satan’s counterfeit system that he uses in fighting against the seed of God’s woman. (Revelation 12:17) Babylon the Great is the global system of false religion. She includes all religions that preserve the religious teachings and practices of ancient Babylon and that manifest her spirit.

It was at Babylon, more than 4,000 years ago, that Yahweh confused the tongues of the would-be builders of the Tower of Babel. The different language groups were scattered to the ends of the earth, taking with them the apostate beliefs and practices that are the basis of most religions to this day. (Genesis 11:1-9) Babylon the Great is the religious part of Satan’s organization. (Compare John 8:43-47.) Her most prominent segment today is apostate Christendom, which emerged as a powerful, lawless organization in the fourth century after Christ, with creeds and formalisms derived, not from the Bible, but largely from pagan Babylonish religion.—2 Thessalonians 2:3-12.

You may ask, ‘Since religion still exercises great influence in the earth, why does the angel announce that Babylon the Great has fallen?’ Well, what resulted in 539 B.C. when ancient Babylon fell? Why, Israel was freed to return to its homeland and restore true worship there! So the restoration of spiritual Israel to a radiant spiritual prosperity, which continues and expands to this day, stands as evidence that Babylon the Great has fallen. No longer does she have power of restraint over God’s people. Moreover, she has come into deep trouble within her own ranks. Her corruption, dishonesty, and immorality have been widely exposed. In most of Europe, few people go to church anymore, and in many socialistic countries, religion is regarded as "the opium of the people." Disgraced in the eyes of all lovers of God’s Word of truth, Babylon the Great now waits on death row, as it were, for the execution of God’s righteous judgment on her.

Babylon’s Disgraceful Fall

Let us examine in more detail the circumstances surrounding the disgraceful fall of Babylon the Great. The angel here tells us that "Babylon the Great . . . made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." What does this mean? It relates to conquest. For example, Yahweh told Jeremiah: "Take this cup of the wine of fury out of my hand, and you must cause all the nations to whom I am sending you drink it. And they shall drink and shake back and forth and act like crazed men because of the sword that I am sending among them." (Jeremiah 25:15, 16) In the sixth and seventh centuries B.C., Yahweh used ancient Babylon to pour out a symbolic cup of tribulation for many nations to drink, including apostate Judah, so that even his own people were taken into exile. Then, in her turn, Babylon fell because her king exalted himself against Yahweh, "the Lord of the heavens."—Daniel 5:23.

Babylon the Great has also made conquests, but for the most part, these have been more subtle. She has "made all the nations drink" by using the wiles of a prostitute, committing religious fornication with them. She has enticed political rulers into alliances and friendships with her. Through religious allurements, she has schemed political, commercial, and economic oppression. She has fomented religious persecution and religious wars and crusades, as well as national wars, for purely political and commercial reasons. And she has sanctified these wars by saying they are God’s will.

Religion’s involvement in the wars and politics of the 20th and 21st century is common knowledge—as in Shinto Japan, Hindu India, Buddhist Vietnam, "Christian" Northern Ireland and Latin America, as well as others—not to overlook the army chaplains’ part on both sides of the two world wars in urging young men to slaughter one another. A classic example of the philandering of Babylon the Great is the share she had in the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, in which at least 600,000 people were killed. This bloodspilling was provoked by supporters of the Catholic clergy and their allies, in part because the wealth and position of the church was threatened by Spain’s legal government.

Since Babylon the Great is the religious part of Satan’s seed, she has always made God’s "woman," "Jerusalem above," her main target. In the first century, the congregation of anointed Christians was clearly identified as the woman’s seed. (Genesis 3:15; Galatians 3:29; 4:26) Babylon the Great tried hard to conquer that chaste congregation by seducing it into committing religious fornication. The apostles Paul and Peter warned that many would succumb and a great apostasy would result. (Acts 20:29, 30; 2 Peter 2:1-3) Jesus’ messages to the seven congregations indicated that toward the end of John’s life, Babylon the Great was making some progress in her efforts to corrupt. (Revelation 2:6, 14, 15, 20-23) But Jesus had already shown how far she would be permitted to go.

The Wheat and the Tares

In his parable of the wheat and the tares or weeds, Jesus spoke of a man who sowed fine seed in a field. But "while men were sleeping," an enemy came and oversowed tares. Hence, the wheat came to be obscured by the tares. Jesus explained his parable in these words: "The sower of the fine seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; as for the fine seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; but the tares are the sons of the wicked one, and the enemy that sowed them is the Devil." He then showed that the wheat and the tares would be allowed to grow together until "the conclusion of the age," when the angels would "collect out" the symbolic tares.—Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43.

What Jesus and the apostles Paul and Peter warned about happened. "While men were sleeping," either after the apostles fell asleep in death or when Christian overseers became drowsy in guarding the flock of God, Babylonish apostasy sprouted right inside the congregation. (Acts 20:31) Soon the tares greatly outnumbered the wheat and hid it from view. For a number of centuries, it might have appeared that the seed of the woman had been completely engulfed by the voluminous skirts of Babylon the Great.

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The Great Apostasy Develops

"ONE Lord, one faith." (Eph. 4:5) When the apostle Paul under inspiration penned those words (about 60-61 A.D.), there was but one Christian faith. Yet, today we see a profusion of denominations, sects, and cults that CLAIM to be Christian, though they teach conflicting doctrines and hold to different standards of conduct. What a far cry from the one united Christian congregation that started on Pentecost 33 A.D.! How did these divisions come about? For the answer, we must go back to the first century of our Christian Era.

From the very beginning, the Adversary, Satan, tried to silence the testimony of the Christians by bringing upon them persecution from those outside the congregation. (1 Pet. 5:8) First it came from the Jews and then from the Gentile Roman Empire. The early Christians successfully endured all manner of opposition. (Compare Revelation 1:9; 2:3, 19.) But the Adversary did not give up. If he could not silence them by pressure from those on the outside, why not corrupt them from within? While the Christian congregation was still in its infancy, its very existence was threatened by an internal enemy—apostasy.

Apostasy, however, did not creep into the congregation unannounced. As Head of the congregation, Christ saw to it that his followers were warned in advance.—Col. 1:18.

"There Will . . . Be False Teachers Among You"

"Be on the watch," cautioned Jesus, "for the false prophets that come to you in sheep’s clothing." (Matt. 7:15) Jesus knew that Satan would try to divide and corrupt His followers. So from early in his ministry, he warned them about false teachers.

From where would these false teachers come? "From among you yourselves," said the apostle Paul about 56 A.D., when speaking to overseers of Ephesus. Yes, from within the congregation, men would "rise and speak distorted things to draw away the disciples after themselves." (Acts 20:29, 30) Such self-seeking apostates would not be content to make their own disciples; they would endeavor "to draw away the disciples," that is, Christ’s disciples.

The apostle Peter (about 64 A.D.) also foretold internal corruption and even described the way such apostates would operate: "There will . . . be false teachers among you. These very ones will quietly bring in destructive sects . . . With covetousness they will exploit you with feigned words." (2 Pet. 2:1, 3) Like spies or traitors in an enemy’s camp, the false teachers, though arising from within the congregation, would infiltrate their corrupting views in a secret or camouflaged way.

These warnings of Jesus and his apostles were not in vain. Internal opposition had small beginnings, but it surfaced early in the Christian congregation.

"Already at Work"

Less than 20 years after Jesus’ death, the apostle Paul indicated that efforts of Satan to cause division and turn men away from the true faith were "already at work." (2 Thess. 2:7) As early as about 49 A.D.., in a letter sent out to the congregations, it was noted: "We have heard that some who came out there from among us have caused you trouble with words, trying to subvert your souls, although we did not give them any such commandments." (Acts 15:24) So some within the congregation were vocal about their opposing viewpoint—in this case evidently over the issue of whether Gentile Christians needed to get circumcised and observe the Mosaic Law.—Acts 15:1, 5.

As the first century progressed, divisive thinking spread like gangrene. (Compare 2 Timothy 2:17.) By about 51 A.D., some in Thessalonica were wrongly predicting that "the presence" of the Lord Jesus was imminent. (2 Thess. 2:1, 2) By about 55 A.D., some in Corinth had rejected the clear Christian teaching regarding the resurrection of the dead. (1 Cor. 15:12) About 65 A.D., others said that the resurrection had already taken place, it being of a symbolic kind that living Christians experience.—2 Tim. 2:16-18.

There are no inspired records as to what took place within the Christian congregation during the next 30 years. But by the time the apostle John wrote his letters (about 98 A.D.), there were "many antichrists"—persons who denied that "Jesus is the Christ" and that Jesus is the Son of God who came "in the flesh."—1 John 2:18, 22; 4:2, 3.

For over 60 years, the apostles had ‘acted as a restraint,’ endeavoring to hold back the tide of apostasy. (2 Thess. 2:7; compare 2 John 9, 10.) But as the Christian congregation was about to enter the second century, the last surviving apostle, John, died, about 100 A.D. The apostasy that had slowly begun to creep into the congregation was now ready to burst forth unrestrained, with devastating organizational and doctrinal repercussions.

Clergy and Laity

"All you are brothers," Jesus had said to his disciples. "Your Leader is one, the Christ." (Matt. 23:8, 10) So there was no clergy class within Christian congregations of the first century. As spirit-anointed brothers of Christ, all the early Christians had the prospect of being heavenly priests with Christ. (1 Pet. 1:3, 4; 2:5, 9) As to organization, each congregation was supervised by a body of overseers, or spiritual elders. All the elders had equal authority, and not one of them was authorized to ‘lord it over’ the flock in their care. (Acts 20:17; Phil. 1:1; 1 Pet. 5:2, 3) However, as the apostasy unfolded, things began to change—quickly.

Among the earliest deviations was a separation between the terms "overseer" (Gr., e¡pi´sko¡pos) and "older man," or "elder" (Gr., pre¡sby´te¡ros), so that they were no longer used to refer to the same position of responsibility. Just a decade or so after the death of the apostle John, Ignatius, "bishop" of Antioch, in his letter to the Smyrnaeans, wrote: "See that you all follow the bishop [overseer], as Jesus Christ follows the Father, and the presbytery [body of older men] as if it were the Apostles." Ignatius thus advocated that each congregation be supervised by one bishop, or overseer, who was to be recognized as distinct from, and having greater authority than, the presbyters, or older men.

How, though, did this separation come about? Augustus Neander, in his book The History of the Christian Religion and Church, During the Three First Centuries, explains what happened: "In the second century . . . , the standing office of president of the presbyters must have been formed, to whom, inasmuch as he had especially the oversight of every thing, was the name of [e¡pi´sko¡pos] given, and he was thereby distinguished from the rest of the presbyters."

The groundwork was thus laid for a clergy class gradually to emerge. About a century later, Cyprian, "bishop" of Carthage, North Africa, was a strong advocate of authority of the bishops—as a group separate from the presbyters (later known as priests), the deacons, and the laity. But he did not favor the primacy of one bishop over the others.

As bishops and presbyters ascended the hierarchical ladder, they left below it the rest of the believers in the congregation. This resulted in a separation between clergy (those taking the lead) and laity (the passive body of believers). Explains McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopedia: "From the time of Cyprian [who died about 258 A.D.], the father of the hierarchical system, the distinction of clergy and laity became prominent, and very soon was universally admitted. Indeed, from the third century onward, the term clerus . . . was almost exclusively applied to the ministry to distinguish it from the laity. As the Roman hierarchy was developed, the clergy came to be not merely a distinct order . . . but also to be recognised as the only priesthood."

Thus, within 150 years or so of the death of the last of the apostles, two significant organizational changes found their way into the congregation: first, the separation between the bishop and the presbyters, with the bishop occupying the top rung of the hierarchical ladder; second, the separation between the clergy and the laity. Instead of all spirit-begotten believers forming "a royal priesthood," the clergy were now "recognised as the only priesthood."—1 Pet. 2:9.

Such changes marked a defection from the Scriptural method of governing the congregations in apostolic days. Organizational changes, though, were not the only consequences of the apostasy.

------- Pagan Teachings Infiltrate the church congregation. ---------

Christ’s pure teachings are a matter of record—they are preserved in the Holy Scriptures. For example, Jesus clearly taught that Yahweh is "the only true God" and that the human soul is mortal. (John 17:3; Matt. 10:28) Yet, with the death of the apostles and the weakening of the organizational structure, such clear teachings were corrupted as pagan doctrines infiltrated Christianity. How could such a thing happen?

A key factor was the subtle influence of Greek philosophy. Explains The New EncyclopĂŚdia Britannica: "From the middle of the 2nd century AD Christians who had some training in Greek philosophy began to feel the need to express their faith in its terms, both for their own intellectual satisfaction and in order to convert educated pagans." Once philosophically minded persons became Christians, it did not take long for Greek philosophy and "Christianity" to become inseparably linked.

As a result of this union, pagan doctrines such as the immortality of the soul seeped into tainted Christianity. These teachings, however, go back much farther than the Greek philosophers. The Greeks actually acquired them from older cultures, for there is evidence of such teachings in ancient Egyptian and Babylonian religions.

As pagan doctrines continued to infiltrate Christianity, other Scriptural teachings were also distorted or abandoned.

Jesus’ disciples were well aware that they had to keep on the watch for Jesus’ promised "presence" and the coming of his Kingdom. In time, it was appreciated that this Kingdom will rule over the earth for a thousand years. (Matt. 24:3; 2 Tim. 4:18; Rev. 20:4, 6) The Christian Bible writers exhorted first-century Christians to keep spiritually awake and to keep separate from the world. (Jas. 1:27; 4:4; 5:7, 8; 1 Pet. 4:7) But once the apostles died, Christian expectation of Christ’s presence and the coming of his Kingdom faded. Why?

One factor was the spiritual contamination caused by the Greek doctrine of the immortality of the soul. As it took hold among Christians, the millennial hope was gradually abandoned. Why? The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology explains: "The doctrine of the immortality of the soul came in to take the place of NT [New Testament] eschatology [the teaching on the "Last Things"] with its hope of the resurrection of the dead and the new creation (Rev. 21 f.), so that the soul receives judgment after death and attains to paradise now thought of as other-worldly." In other words, apostate Christians thought that the soul survived the body at death and that the blessings of Christ’s Millennial Reign must therefore relate to the spirit realm. They thus transferred Paradise from earth to heaven, which, they believed, the saved soul attains at death. There was, then, no need to watch for Christ’s presence and the coming of his Kingdom, since at death they all hoped to join Christ in heaven. Since everyone goes to heaven or hell at death there is no need for a resurrection. (Hebrews 6:1 ,2)

Another factor, though, actually made it seem to be pointless to watch for the coming of Christ’s Kingdom. The New Encyclopædia Britannica explains: "The [apparent] delay of the Parousia resulted in a weakening of the imminent expectation in the early church. In this process of ‘de-eschatologizing’ [weakening of the teaching on the "Last Things"], the institutional church increasingly replaced the expected Kingdom of God. The formation of the Catholic Church as a hierarchical institution is directly connected with the declining of the imminent expectation." (Italics ours.) So not only were millennial blessings transferred from earth to heaven but the Kingdom was shifted from heaven to earth. This "relocation" was completed by Augustine of Hippo (354-430 A.D.). In his famous work The City of God, he stated: "The Church even now is the kingdom of Christ, and the kingdom of heaven."

Meanwhile, in about 313 A.D., during the rule of Roman Emperor Constantine, legal recognition was given to Christianity, much of which by this time had become apostate in its thinking. Religious leaders were willing to be put into the service of the State, and at first the State controlled religious affairs. (Before long, religion would control State affairs.) Thus began Christendom, part of which (the Catholic religion) in time became the official State religion of Rome. Now, the "kingdom" not only was in the world but was part of the world. What a far cry from the Kingdom that Christ preached!—John 18:36.

The Reformation—A Return to True Worship?

Like weeds flourishing in among strangled wheat, the Church of Rome, under its papal ruler, dominated worldly affairs for centuries. (Matt. 13:24-30, 37-43) As it became more and more a part of the world, the church grew further and further away from first-century Christianity. Through the centuries "heretical" sects called for reforms within the church, but the church continued to abuse power and amass wealth. Then, in the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation, a religious revolt, burst forth in all its fury.

Reformers such as Martin Luther (1483-1546), Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531), and John Calvin (1509-64) attacked the church on various issues: Luther on the sale of indulgences, Zwingli on clerical celibacy and Mariolatry, and Calvin on the need for the church to return to the original principles of Christianity. What did such efforts accomplish?

To be sure, the Reformation accomplished some good things, most notably the translation of the Bible into languages of the common people. The free spirit of the Reformation led to more objective Bible research and an increased understanding of Bible languages. The Reformation did not, however, mark a return to true worship and doctrine.

The effects of the apostasy had penetrated deep, to the very foundations of Christendom. Thus, although various Protestant groups broke free from the papal authority of Rome, they carried over some of the basic flaws of the Roman Catholic Church, features that resulted from the abandonment of true Christianity. For example, although the governing of the Protestant churches varied somewhat, the basic division of the church into a dominating clergy class and a subjugated laity was retained. Also retained were unscriptural doctrines such as the immortal soul, and eternal torment after death. And like the Roman Church, the Protestant churches continued to be part of the world, being closely involved with the political systems and the elite ruling classes.

Meanwhile, what about Christian expectation—watching for Jesus’ presence and the coming of his Kingdom? For centuries after the Reformation, the churches—both Catholic and Protestant—were deeply committed to secular power and tended to push off expectations of the coming of Christ’s Kingdom.

In the Christian Scriptures (New Testament), the noun "apostasy" (Gr., a¡po¡sta¡si´a) has the sense of "desertion, abandonment or rebellion." (Acts 21:21, ftn.) There it primarily has reference to religious defection; a withdrawal from or abandonment of true worship.

In the Scriptures the terms "overseer" and "older man," or "elder," refer to the same position. (Acts 20:17, 28; Titus 1:5, 7) "Older man" indicates the mature qualities of the one so appointed, and "overseer" the responsibility inherent in the appointment—watching over the interests of those persons entrusted to one’s care.

The English word "bishop" derives from the Greek term e¡pi´sko¡pos ("overseer") as follows: from Middle English bisshop, from Old English bisceop, from Vulgar Latin biscopus, variant of Late Latin episcopus, from Greek e¡pi´sko¡pos.

The English word "priest" derives from pre¡sby´te¡ros ("older man," or "elder") as follows: from Middle English pre(e)st, from Old English preost, from Vulgar Latin prester, contracted from Late Latin presbyter, from Greek pre¡sby´te¡ros.

In time the bishop of Rome, claiming to be a successor of Peter, was thought of as the supreme bishop and pope.

Interestingly, Dr. Neander observes: "The false conclusion was drawn, that as there had been in the Old Testament a visible priesthood joined to a particular class of men, there must also be the same in the New [Testament] . . . The false comparison of the Christian priesthood with the Jewish furthered again the rise of episcopacy above the office of presbyters."—The History of the Christian Religion and Church, translated by Henry John Rose, Second Edition, New York, 1848, p. 111.

The term "Christendom" refers to professed Christianity (the couterfeit church system which is divided into various church sects and denominations), in contrast with the true Christianity of the Bible

An Appalling Bloodguilt

In conclusion, the strong angel tells why God judges Babylon the Great so severely. “Yes,” says the angel, “in her was found the blood of prophets and of holy ones and of all those who have been slaughtered on the earth.” (Revelation 18:24) When on earth, Jesus told the religious leaders in Jerusalem that they were accountable for “all the righteous blood spilled on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel” onward. Accordingly, that crooked generation was destroyed in 70 A.D. (Matthew 23:35-38) Today, another generation of religionists bears bloodguilt for its persecution of God’s servants.

However, the prophecy says that the blood of “all those who have been slaughtered on the earth” must be charged to Babylon the Great. That has certainly been true in modern times. For example, since Catholic intrigue helped to bring Hitler to power in Germany, the Vatican shares in a terrible bloodguilt with regard to the six million Jews that died in Nazi pogroms. Further, in this 20th century alone, well over a hundred million people have been killed in hundreds of wars. Is false religion to blame in this connection? Yes, in two ways.

One way is that many wars are related to religious differences. For example, the violence in India between Muslims and Hindus in 1946-48 was religiously motivated. Hundreds of thousands of lives were lost. The conflict between Iraq and Iran in the 1980’s is related to sectarian differences, with hundreds of thousands being killed. Violence between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland took thousands of lives. . Surveying this field, columnist C. L. Sulzberger said in 1976: “It is a dismal truth that probably half or more of the wars now being fought around the world are either openly religious conflicts or involved with religious disputes.” Indeed, it has been so throughout the turbulent history of Babylon the Great.

What is the second way? From God’s viewpoint, the world’s religions are bloodguilty because they have not convincingly taught their followers the truth of God's requirements for his servants. They have not convincingly taught people that God’s true worshipers must imitate Jesus Christ and show love toward others regardless of their national origin. (Micah 4:3, 5; John 13:34, 35; Acts 10:34, 35; 1 John 3:10-12) Because the religions making up Babylon the Great have not taught these things, their adherents have been drawn into the vortex of international warfare. How evident this was in the two world wars of the first half of the 20th century, both of which started in Christendom and resulted in fellow religionists’ slaughtering one another! If all who claimed to be Christians had adhered to Bible principles, those wars could never have taken place.

God lays the blame for all this bloodshed at the feet of Babylon the Great. Had the religious leaders, and particularly those in Christendom, taught their people Bible truth, such massive bloodshed would not have occurred. Truly, then, directly or indirectly, Babylon the Great—the great harlot and global system of false religion—must answer to God not only for “the blood of prophets and of holy ones” whom she has persecuted and killed but for the blood “of all those who have been slaughtered on the earth.” Babylon the Great does indeed carry an appalling bloodguilt.

God’s people are not the only objects of the enmity of the ten horns. The angel now draws John’s attention back to the harlot: “And he says to me: ‘The waters that you saw, where the harlot is sitting, mean peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. And the ten horns that you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her devastated and naked, and will eat up her fleshy parts and will completely burn her with fire.’”—Revelation 17:15, 16.

Just as ancient Babylon relied on her watery defenses, Babylon the Great today relies on her huge membership of “peoples and crowds and nations and tongues.” The angel appropriately draws our attention to these before telling of a shocking development: Political governments of this earth will turn violently upon Babylon the Great. What will all those “peoples and crowds and nations and tongues” do then? God’s people are already warning Babylon the Great that the water of the river Euphrates will dry up. (Revelation 16:12) Those waters will finally drain away completely. They will not be able to give the disgusting old harlot any effectual support in her hour of greatest need.—Isaiah 44:27; Jeremiah 50:38; 51:36, 37.

Certainly, the immense material wealth of Babylon the Great will not save her. It may even hasten her destruction, for the vision shows that when the beast and the ten horns vent their hatred on her they will strip off her royal robes and all her jewelry. They will plunder her wealth. They “make her . . . naked,” shamefully exposing her real character. What devastation! Her end is also far from dignified. They destroy her, “eat up her fleshy parts,” reducing her to a lifeless skeleton. Finally, they “completely burn her with fire.” She is burned up like a carrier of the plague, without even a decent burial!

Why would the nations treat their former paramour so outrageously? We have seen in recent history the potential for such a turning against Babylonish religion. Official government opposition has tremendously reduced the influence of religion in lands such as China. In Protestant sectors of Europe, widespread apathy and doubt have emptied the churches, so that religion is practically dead. The vast Catholic empire is torn by rebellion and disagreement, which the pope has been unable to calm. We should not, though, lose sight of the fact that this final, all-out attack on Babylon the Great comes as an expression of God’s unalterable judgment on the great harlot.

------------------------Carrying Out God’s Thought-----------------------

How does God execute this judgment? This may be illustrated by God’s action against his apostate people in ancient times, concerning whom he said: “I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem horrible things, they are committing adultery and walking in falsehood; and they have strengthened the hands of evildoers in order that they should not return, each one from his own wickedness. To me all of them have become like Sodom, and the inhabitants of her like Gomorrah.” (Jeremiah 23:14) In the seventh century B.C. God used Nebuchadnezzar to ‘strip off the garments, take away the beautiful articles, and leave naked and nude’ that spiritually adulterous city. (Ezekiel 23:4, 26, 29) Jerusalem of that time was a pattern of Christendom today, and as John saw in earlier visions, God will administer to Christendom and the rest of false religion a similar punishment. The desolated, uninhabited condition of Jerusalem shows what religious Christendom will look like after being stripped of her wealth and shamefully exposed. And the rest of Babylon the Great will fare no better.