Ziggy,
Bought a book by Paul McGuire "The Babylon Code " pub 2015 as I wanted to know who it was.
This is from pg 50-51 and I quote for those interested...
" In Revelation 18, the apostle John notes that ' Babylon "sets on many waters," a description that doesn't fit Iraq but does fit Saudi Arabia - a country with thousands of kilometers of coast-land that is flanked by both the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia has the largest seaport network in the Middle East with eight major ports and three minor ones. " She trades by sea the oil that every nation drinks," Cioccolanti says. " Second, Babylon is a region that lives in luxury." In Revelation 18:3, the apostle John notes that the " merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury" (NKJV). " The oil-backed opulence that exists in the Middle East cannot be compared to any other nations conspicuous consumption," Cioccolanti says. " From diamond-studded Mercedes to the world's first under-water hotel, the Arabian Peninsula has mind-blowing extravagance...." .

I merely ' throw this out' as " food for thought ' in something I read and made note of...(:

Ziggy,
Bought a book by Paul McGuire "The Babylon Code " pub 2015 as I wanted to know who it was.
This is from pg 50-51 and I quote for those interested...
" In Revelation 18, the apostle John notes that ' Babylon "sets on many waters," a description that doesn't fit Iraq but does fit Saudi Arabia - a country with thousands of kilometers of coast-land that is flanked by both the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia has the largest seaport network in the Middle East with eight major ports and three minor ones. " She trades by sea the oil that every nation drinks," Cioccolanti says. " Second, Babylon is a region that lives in luxury." In Revelation 18:3, the apostle John notes that the " merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury" (NKJV). " The oil-backed opulence that exists in the Middle East cannot be compared to any other nations conspicuous consumption," Cioccolanti says. " From diamond-studded Mercedes to the world's first under-water hotel, the Arabian Peninsula has mind-blowing extravagance...." .

I merely ' throw this out' as " food for thought ' in something I read and made note of...(:

Researched from J. Dwight Pentecost book “Things to Come”
By Pastor Gary Boyd

I have told of the opening of the seven seals that occurs in the first half of the Great Tribulation. Then I have shown you what takes place at the blowing of the seven trumpets and the three woes that take place in the last three. This article will endeavor to show you the knowledge of the judgment of babylon, the description of the harlot and her identity, and what happens to her. So who is this great whore of Babylon?

Revelation 17 outlines the judgment of the great harlot of Babylon, the apostate religious system that exists in the the great tribulation. The system bears the characterization of a harlot Rev. 17:1-2, “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: 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.” It claims to be Christ’s bride but had fallen from its pure position becoming a harlot. Revelation 17: 5 states, “ And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.” Spiritual fornication in scripture has reference to adherence to a false system. Rev. 17:3 says, “ So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.” The system is a leader in political affairs and appears to be controlling the Beast system upon which it rides. The system has become very rich and powerful it tells us in Rev. 17:4, “ And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication.” The system represents a phase of the development of Christendom that was hitherto unrevealed in that it is called a “mystery.” This system has been the great persecutor of the true saints as it states in Rev. 17:6, “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.” This system is a organized religion of worldwide scope in Rev. 17:15 stating, “And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” In Rev. 17:16-17 it says this religious system will be destroyed by the Beast who is the world Antichrist that demands the world worship him as Christ as stated, “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.For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.” So as you hear from God the this false system of religion will be destroyed by the Beast, the head of the Roman coalition, so that his supremacy may not be threatened.

The Identity of the Harlot
I do not believe it too much to say that Mystery Babylon is the Holy Roman Catholic Church whose colors are scarlet & purple that killed millions in the inquisitions both true Christians & Jews stealing their possessions and wealth by calling them heretics. By using false doctrine found within Romanism directly attributed to babylonian paganism combined with Christianity Constantine declared Rome to be a Christian empire.

This Beast, the Antichrist, who was dominated by the religious harlot system directed by the false prophet, the Pope, rises up against her after he declares himself to be Christ completely destroying Rome the city on seven hills. This would give the Antichrist sole claim to be worshiped as God here on earth.

Judgment of the Beast and His Empire
3 ½ years into the Great Tribulation after he does away with the false prophet and Rome the Beast goes after the tribulation saints who have taken a stand against him and his empire. No one can eat or buy without the mark of the Beast that shows allegiance to his end time system. Revelation 18: 10, 16-18 says it all, “Standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come. And saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.’ Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What is like this great city?’

The destruction of the seat of the Beast’s power is accomplished in a divine visitation by fire in Revelation 18:8, “ Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.”

The fall of Babylon is final, absolute, and happens at the end of revelation. I believe this Babylon is a city here in America called New York City, but that is a story for another day. May God bless for reading this until the end. Maranatha…..

Ziggy,
Bought a book by Paul McGuire "The Babylon Code " pub 2015 as I wanted to know who it was.
This is from pg 50-51 and I quote for those interested...
" In Revelation 18, the apostle John notes that ' Babylon "sets on many waters," a description that doesn't fit Iraq but does fit Saudi Arabia - a country with thousands of kilometers of coast-land that is flanked by both the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia has the largest seaport network in the Middle East with eight major ports and three minor ones. " She trades by sea the oil that every nation drinks," Cioccolanti says. " Second, Babylon is a region that lives in luxury." In Revelation 18:3, the apostle John notes that the " merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury" (NKJV). " The oil-backed opulence that exists in the Middle East cannot be compared to any other nations conspicuous consumption," Cioccolanti says. " From diamond-studded Mercedes to the world's first under-water hotel, the Arabian Peninsula has mind-blowing extravagance...." .

I merely ' throw this out' as " food for thought ' in something I read and made note of...(:

That passage could also refer to any nation that had an abundance of war ships..... Keep in mind the period of time the book of Revelations was written, the Roman Empire and Greece ruled the Mediterranean with their mighty ships. Now keep in mind where John was hanging out.... in a cave at Potmos... that is why he was called John of Patmos being exiled by the Roman Emperor Domitian and was the last living direct or selected disciple of Jesus. Now, reference again to historical events... what else was happening in Greece and the Roman Empire... if you guessed that they were rounding up Christians and forcing them into slave labor before they were executed, you would be spot on. So, one has to ask if the "vision of Babylon" was a reflection of that time and religious persecution coupled with "spiritual messages" .... or a prediction into the future a few thousands of years.

Just more food for thought.

The book of Revelations was written to 70 churches existing in 65AD, those churches no longer exist, it would seem to be arguable that the book was written for those people and pertained to those people. Second, the author, John, said the events would soon take place. That seems to rule out events to take place 2 or 3 thousand years later. Additionally, if you study the Olivet Discourse, it is clear what city is being discussed in Revelations. So, no I do not think the US or Rome, or Greece or Iran, or any modern day nation or city is the Babylon described by John.

If your point is America has declined in benevolence or has become "sinful" then yes, we have. We as a nation have forgotten a clear direction set out in 1 Timothy 5:8 "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." While we have become the penny bank for the world, the defenders of foreign nations, and caretakers of their weak or poor, we have severely neglected our own homes... our elderly, infirmed, hungry and needy and our own security.

So, you do not believe that people are living on the streets, that people are food insecure, and people are not dying from no heat or AC in their homes right here in the USA? Or perhaps you are taking a narrower view and only looking at your own individual household, whereas I see all Americans belonging to a single house, that of the United States.

Now regarding my "logic" and the King James Bible. No part of the bible, in my opinion, is irreverent or or more precisely irrelevant as each word should be studied for wisdom. As for the age of the world, there are many ways to account for time... time from creation, of which no one can really give a definitive date or time from man's realization that there is only one G*d. From the Bible, we can pretty much count the years from generation to generation, by using recorded history in relation to biblical events. Also, keep in mind that the calendars used in modern day is not the same as in the bible. We typically use a 12 month calendar and add a day to February every 4 years (look up Gregorian calendar) which replaced the Julian calendar, which replaced the solar calendar, which replaced the Roman, which replaced Biblical Lunar. Your may be able to use commonsense to figure out that we really do not know what day it is let alone what year. We know, by use of the current method that from 753 BCE, we have been ticking off the days and years on a set time frame going from midnight to midnight for 365 intervals and adding a day as necessary. With this, one can only guess or use carbon dating, using a best guess of C (the period of time after which half of a given sample will have decayed) is about 5,730 years, but there is no way to prove or disprove the decay...in 3,000 years, yes it can be proven but not today, to garner the age of any organic material (inorganic; such as rocks can not be carbon dated, making their age unknown). So, how old is the world... your guess is as good as any scientist.

Now your last question. Is the Bible the word of G*d. Yes, with a caveat. Many words where incorrectly translated. .... let us look at Revelations and the "end of the word." The word in particular is “aion” which is Greek, John Wycliffe who did the translation, thought it meant "word" but in actuality it means "age." Wycliffe’s error was copied by Luther and Tyndale and then the scholars who produced the KJV, and the Douay-Rheims. For hundreds of years we have developed end-time or end of the world scenarios that are based on that bad translation. Starting about fifty years ago, the NKJV, the NIV, the ESV, and the NASB all corrected the error; but it is not so easy to retract the futurist end-times dogma that we preached for hundreds of years. This is just one example, and there are thousands.

Simply believing the bible is the word of G*d is not sufficient, this is actually acknowledged in the bible. People are humans, therefore they make mistakes. Eighteenth-century English poet Alexander Pope succinctly noted in “An Essay on Criticism” what every rational person knows all to well—“to err is human” (1709). Even though we may set high standards for ourselves and learn all that we can, and even though we may put as many safeguards in place as is humanly possible, mistakes will be made; ignorance will be revealed; errors will occur. As great of a historian as Herodotus was, he sometimes erred. As brilliant of a man as Aristotle was, he was terribly incorrect at times (see Jackson, 1997). As accomplished a writer as was the eighth-century B.C. Greek poet Homer, sometimes “even good old Homer nods” (Horace, 1.359). It simply is humanly impossible to be correct about everything a person says or writes. “With G*d,” however, “all things are possible” (Mark 10:27).

Jeremiah wrote: “Who is he who speaks, and it comes to pass, when the Lord has not commanded it?” (Lamentations 3:37). The prophet’s point was clear: no one accurately foretells the future unless G*d informs him of it. Therefore, if the Bible accurately predicts the future, we can know that it is from G*d. How many things written in the Bible has come to fruition? Let me give you just a few examples; According to history, the Phoenician city of Tyre stood as one of the most ancient and prosperous cities in history. During a visit to the temple of Heracles in Tyre in the fifth century B.C., the historian Herodotus inquired about the age of the temple, to which the inhabits replied that the temple was as old as “Tyre itself, and that Tyre had already stood for two thousand three hundred years” (Herodotus, 2:44). According to the early 20th-century Hebrew and Greek scholar, Wallace Fleming, in his book The History of Tyre, “As early as 1400 B.C., Tyre was not only a great city but was considered impregnable” (1966, p. 8).

In the early sixth century B.C., however, the prophet Ezekiel mentioned several events that were to occur in Tyre as punishment for the city’s arrogance and merciless actions (26:1-14,19-21). The prophet predicted: (1) Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, would build a siege mound against the city; (2) many nations would come against Tyre; (3) the city would be broken down, scraped like the top of a rock, and the stones, timber, and soil would be thrown in “the midst of the water;” (4) the city would become a “place for spreading nets;” and (5) the city would never be rebuilt.

All the prophecies of Ezekiel are historical facts; Nebuchadnezzar “besieged Tyre for thirteen years in the days of Ithobal, their king” (Josephus, 1.21). The king of Babylon severely damaged the mainland as Ezekiel predicted, but the island city remained primarily unaffected.
Regarding the prediction that “many nations” would come against Tyre, in 392 B.C., “Tyre was involved in the war which arose between the Persians and Evagorus of Cyprus” in which the king of Egypt “took Tyre by assault” (Fleming, p. 52). Sixty years later, in 332, Alexander the Great besieged Tyre and crushed it. In fact, Tyre was contested by so many foreign forces that Fleming wrote: “It seemed ever the fate of the Phoenician cities to be between an upper and a nether millstone” (p. 66). Thus, Ezekiel’s prophecy about “many nations” remains as a historical reality that cannot be successfully gainsaid. By 333 B.C., Ezekiel’s 250-plus-year-old prophecy that Tyre would be destroyed and its building material cast into the midst of the waters had yet to materialize. But that situation was soon altered. Ancient historian Diodorus Siculus, who lived from approximately 80-20 B.C., wrote extensively of Alexander the Great’s dealing with Tyre (see Siculus, 17.40-46). Secular history details Alexander’s destruction of Tyre, which coincides precisely with Ezekiel’s prophecy concerning what would happen to the city’s building materials. As Ezekiel had predicted, the stones, timber, and soil of the mainland city were thrown into the midst of the sea in an unprecedented military maneuver (Fleming, p. 56), which allowed Alexander to create a land bridge upon which his army could come across to defeat the island city of Tyre. For Ezekiel to have accurately “guessed” this situation would be to stretch the law of probability beyond the limits of absurdity. Ultimately, in A.D. 1291, the Sultan Halil massacred the inhabitants of Tyre and subjected the city to utter ruin. “Houses, factories, temples, everything in the city was consigned to the sword, flame and ruin” (Fleming, p. 122). After this major defeat in 1291, Fleming cites several travel logs in which visitors to the city mention that citizens of the area in 1697 were “only a few poor wretches...subsisting chiefly upon fishing” (p. 124). Taking these accounts into consideration, it is obvious that many nations continued to come against the island city, that it was destroyed on numerous occasions, and that it became a place for fishing, fulfilling Ezekiel’s prediction about the spreading of nets. Furthermore, it is evident that the multiple periods of destruction and rebuilding of the city have long since buried the Phoenician city that came under the condemnation of Ezekiel. The Columbia Encyclopedia, under its entry for Tyre, noted: “The principal ruins of the city today are those of buildings erected by the Crusaders. There are some Greco-Roman remains, but any left by the Phoenicians lie underneath the present town” (“Tyre,” 2006).

Another example; The Fall of Babylon and the Rise of Cyrus. In the eighth century B.C., Isaiah vividly described how G*d would destroy the powerful kingdom of Babylon, “the glory of kingdoms” (13:19). Writing as if it had already occurred (commonly known as the “prophetic perfect,” frequently employed in the Old Testament to stress the absolute certainty of fulfillment), Isaiah declared Babylon would fall (21:9). He then prophesied that Babylon would fall to the Medes and Persians (Isaiah 13; 21:1-10). Later, he proclaimed that the “golden city” (Babylon) would be conquered by a man named Cyrus (44:28; 45:1-7). (This prophecy is remarkable, especially since Cyrus was not even born until almost 150 years after Isaiah penned these words.) Not only did Isaiah predict that Cyrus would overthrow Babylon, he also wrote that Cyrus, serving as Jehovah’s “anointed” and “shepherd,” would release the Jews from captivity and assist them in their return to Jerusalem for the purpose of rebuilding the Temple. All of this was written almost two centuries before Cyrus conquered Babylon (539 B.C.).

Amazingly, secular history verifies that all of these events came true. There really was a man named Cyrus who ruled the Medo-Persian Empire. He did conquer Babylon. And just as Isaiah prophesied, he assisted the Jews in their return to Jerusalem and in the rebuilding of the Temple.

Jeremiah also predicted the destruction of Babylon, the most powerful nation in the world at the time the predictions were made (Jeremiah 50-51). He predicted that Babylon’s water would be dried up, and her soldiers would be drunken and sleep a perpetual sleep. The precision of his predictions was remarkably verified when Cyrus redirected the Euphrates River and entered Babylon through the opening where the river usually entered. The entrance was left unattended because the Babylonians were getting drunk during a festival celebration.

I could go on, but I think you get my drift.

I should have known better! (Be careful what you ask for. You might get it!)

1 Corinthians 1:25 Context

22For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 23But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 24But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 25Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: Interesting isn't it? Well played!