The Christ in Prophecy Journal

Hitchcock Discusses the US in Revelation 18

Mark Hitchcock

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Can the United States of America be found in Revelation 18?

Dr. David Reagan and I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Mark Hitchcock on the show Christ in Prophecy. Mark is a leading Bible prophecy expert, prolific author who has penned over 20 books on the end times, senior pastor of Faith Bible Church located in Oklahoma, and adjunct faculty member of the Dallas Theological Seminary. He is also a much in demand speaker at Bible prophecy conferences all over the nation.

Dr. Hitchcock was invited to answer questions based on his book The Late Great United States. The subtitle of Mark’s fascinating book — What Bible Prophecy Reveals About America’s Last Days — states the purpose. The book digs deep into the Bible, mining for any textual nugget that might reveal some value as to the United States’ future as an end time player.

The US in Revelation 18?

Nathan Jones: What about Revelation 18? Some people when they read “Babylon” they’ll say that it is New York City, or it the United States as a whole. Is Babylon, which will be destroyed in an hour, be the nation of the United States?

Dr. Hitchcock: I would say this is the most popular claim that the Bible is talking about the United States today.

Dr. Reagan: It is. Almost every day I get a message from somebody saying it’s got to be the United States because this chapter talks about a nation that controls the world and economy and everything, and so it has got to be the U.S.

Dr. Hitchcock: That’s right. This view became even more popular after the events of 9/11 took place.

There are several clues in the book of Revelation as to what this means. Revelation 17:18 tells us that Babylon is “the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” The verse tells us very clearly that it is a city. Now, what city is it? When you go back to the beginning of the passage it says that whatever this Babylon is, it is the mother of all harlotry and spiritual rebellion against God. Well, there is only one city that I know of that qualifies as the fountainhead of all of this, and it was Ancient Babylon.

The book of Revelation is called the “Apocalypse” because it is the unveiling. It is not a hiding of truth.

The word “Babylon” occurs about 300 times in the Bible. All the other times that Babylon occurs, with maybe one exception in 1 Peter 5, it refers to Ancient Babylon. It would seem very strange to me for the Bible to refer to Babylon over and over and over again as the literal Babylon and then we come to the very end of the Bible and all of a sudden it would change. Babylon is the most talked about topic in the book of Revelation. There are 44 of the 404 verses in the book of Revelation concerning Babylon, and so 11% of the book of Revelation is about Babylon.

Whatever Babylon is, it is very important to see Babylon as the literal city over in Iraq, but also the false system the Antichrist will develop around that city that will exist in the end times.

Dr. Reagan: That is the point I would make whether it would be Babylon, Rome or whatever — Babylon is going to be the empire of the Antichrist, and that empire is not going to be the United States of America. It is going to arise out of the European Union — the Revived Roman Empire. And so, whether it is Rome, Babylon, or whatever it is going to be, Revelation 18 is talking about the worldwide kingdom of the Antichrist which is going to be a much greater kingdom than the United States of America because it is going to include the whole world.

Dr. Hitchcock: Right, and Bible prophecy focuses on that part of the world as well. I take it as literal Babylon and others take it as Rome, but it is not going to be New York City or the United States. It just simply doesn’t fit.

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Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

18 CommentsLeave a Comment

  • whether it is babylon or rome i donno, there is sufficient evidence on both sides so i simply dont know but i dont think it`s america. the reference to 1peter is rome not babylon.

  • Firstly 'Babylon' represents the fallen world’s political/financial power that A/c will take over. (Like Sean Osbourne I cannot accept the Bible teaches a rebuild of ancient Babylon).

    Secondly there is 'Mystery Babylon' that represents the world’s false religious system that the False Prophet will control. imo

  • I agree- the bible says that Babylon will never be rebuilt. I believe the book of Revelation deals strictly with a spiritual Babylon, which represents a form of false worship during the reign of the antichrist.
    Katie

  • Jeremiah 51:26: No stone shall be taken from you for a corner and no stone for a foundation, but you shall be a perpetual waste, says the Lord. – New Revised Standard Version.

    As of right now, Babylon has been partially rebuilt from the original stones. So that means this prophecy is unfulfilled as of yet, which leaves it wide open for AC to come along and rebuild at some point. And, personally, I think it will be literally rebuilt. Babylon was the original home of the anti-Christ government and religion dating back to Nimrod, and I think it will move back there.

  • thunder
    i`m not certain if i agree with you or to what point. IF….and thats a big IF it`s to be rebuilt it would be just one of its capitols. AC clearly comes from rome(europe) if babylon is rebuilt it would be his commercial capitol rome his political capitol and jerusalem his military headquarters (during the 2nd 42 months)

  • Son of Thunder

    It depends upon the interpretation of events. What is called a rebuild is already crumbling and 'wasting', the foundations were not touched, they cemented brand new bricks on top of the old broken walls. This is poor patching, just like an old wineskin will tear and leak if a new skin is patched onto it. The foundations are weakened just like the chassis of a car after a collision, its weak and dangerous.

    There is God's curse on those who try to do this. e.g. Alex.the Great and Saddam Hussein and sons. Early and nasty deaths.

    What they call the new city of Babylon is some distance from the original Tel. Sean Osbourne has a new article on his blog.

    Like everything else, we shall see my bro. 🙂

  • Thunder…
    We'll be able to see it all just fine…ring-side seats! Huge mega-stadium with the globe in the mid-field… zoom-in, slo-mo, and rewind features! Heard they got some really plush theatre seats…lazy-boy style, swivel recliners with built-in massagers…

    Babylon is fallen, is fallen… Not only is "fallen" repeated twice, but the phrase is repeated twice, Revelation 14:8, and Revelation 18:2. — Why?

    God doesn't waste words [I think He's Conservative at heart…], and many Bible scholars believe that the repetition of "fallen" x2 means that it is the original Babylon that must be destroyed a 2nd, and final time that fulfills the utter desolation that is currently unfulfilled in the OT prophecies.

    I have seen a number of financial articles over the past few yrs where there are mega-bucks and construction projects that are flowing into that area at a frenzied pace… Who knows?

    I bought into the 2x theory back in the 70s… I almost got nudged outta my seat at 9-11, but it just doesn't seem to fit.

    I'll stick with the original, new, improved, extra-strength Babylon.

  • Pretrib Rapture Trivia

    Who's the "Protector of the Principality of Pretribulatia"?
    Edward Irving? John Darby? C. I. Scofield? Tim LaHaye? Someone else?
    Media figure Joe Ortiz knows the answer. It's in his "End Times Passover" blog. The one dated Dec. 29, 2009.
    If you're Calvinist, you're predestined to see his blog. If you're Arminian, you can choose to see it.
    If you find out you already knew the answer before seeing Joe's blog, you have a chance to win the grand prize which includes:
    Sixty pounds of plaster for each family member.
    An umbrella stand made from a stuffed python.
    And 3000 yards of used dental floss.
    Whew. What you miss if you're not computer savvy!

  • Pretrib-u-latia?!?

    Nathan!

    Marylee said… "Media figure Joe Ortiz knows the answer."

    This totally smacks of another one of those "Abigael-Kim Clement" style Web-Troll-Bots

    Axe-to-the-root!, Axe-to-the-root!, Hoo-Raaah!!!

  • Sorry, In my haste, I forgot to include the qualifying Scripture…

    "And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire."
    Matthew 3:10

    Axe-to-the-root!, Axe-to-the-root!, Hooooooo-Raaaah!!!

  • Joe Ortiz! I once came across his blog by accident – well I certainly wouldn’t have done so on purpose. It was just like a car crash, that’s left the poor bloke ‘prophetically disabled’, not content to agree with any of the usual views; he has made up his own view made out of bits and pieces of other views and created a monster.

    Anyone who disagrees with him he is manically aggressive toward while using the word’s ‘love and peace’as he gives them a verbal bashing. I think he is supposed to be famous; well at least he acts as if he is a VIP? A VERY strange man that I wouldn’t like to meet on a dark street. His minions like to emulate the style of their role model.

    I agree with DrNofog – axe to the root quick sharp, he needs no advertising

  • Yep, Marylee has been getting around. Has anyone seen Irv around lately? Seen that name at the end of a troll hit a few hundred times.

  • DrNoFog said: We'll be able to see it all just fine…ring-side seats! Huge mega-stadium with the globe in the mid-field… zoom-in, slo-mo, and rewind features! Heard they got some really plush theatre seats…lazy-boy style, swivel recliners with built-in massagers…

    That may be so, but will we care? Maybe we'll be so enthralled with being with the Lord that, as the song says, the things of earth will grow strangely dim.

  • with the martyrs in heaven crying out (rev 6:9) the silence in heaven for 1/2 hr as the seventh seal is open (rev ch7) cuz all heaven (including rapture saints) in awe of whats about to culminate on earth, plus the church witnessing the opening of the seals (rev ch5) and the command to rejoice heaven and all who dwell in them those passages are clear indications we will witness whats going on here on earth. is that correct nathan, or anyone who knows?

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