Plucking the Eagle's Wings

Plucking the Eagle's Wings

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. And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. 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." (Revelation 17:1, 2, 5, 6) John's imagery portrays a prostitute riding a beast. In the Bible, a prostitute signifies unfaithfulness to God, or a false religion. Those who see America here compare the Statue of Liberty to the woman on the beast. The woman in Revelation has a gold cup, but Lady Liberty has a torch. The Statue of Liberty stands, yet the harlot rides. Ten kings rule the harlot, yet fifty sovereign states joined together in a federal head rule America. The woman was responsible for killing the saints and was guilty of the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. America did not exist at the time of Christ's crucifixion and America has protected religious freedom. In John's day, the Roman Empire was guilty of crucifying Christ and murdering thousands of early Christians. We could continue on, but one verse in Revelation 17:18 gives us the ultimate clue as to the identity of the woman who rides the beast: "And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." (Revelation 17:18) Rome reigned in John's day. After the decline of Rome, the Roman church continued to set up kings in Europe and literally controlled European politics along with parts of the Middle East. Furthermore, it was clearly Romans who persecuted and executed early Christians, becoming "drunken with the blood of the martyrs." In John's time, apocalyptic writers referred to Rome as Babylon. They did this to avoid Roman persecution for predicting God's judgment against Rome. Babylon and Rome invaded Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and captured the Jews and enslaved them. The destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem occurred on the 9th of Av, at the time of the Babylonian and Roman invasions.

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