The Ever Changing Face of Dispensationalism| Who Is Babylon in Revelation?
Some years ago, I wrote an article entitled “The Loss of Argumentation.” In that article I noted the prophecies of one Dispensationalist after another in setting the time for the end of the age and the coming of the Lord.
Remember Hal Lindsey’s “The 1980s Countdown to Armageddon” debacle?
Jack Van Impe said the end would– without fail– be in 1999.
We were assured that the end was to be in the year 2000 because after all, we were assured, God created heaven and earth in six days, with each day representing 1000 years to the Lord. The earth had stood for 6000 years, so, per those “calculations” the seventh day– i.e. the millennium, was to occur in the year 2000! Remember that? Since then, I have read or heard of extremely few Dispensationalists appealing to the six days of creation argument. They lost that argument.
Saddam Hussein was supposedly the “re-incarnation” of ancient Nebuchadnezzar, and he was busily rebuilding Babylon! The end must be near— or maybe not!
Harold Camping made yet another false prophecy, or two.
Not to be deterred, we were told by some that the Mayan calender predicted the end– which of course– did not come.
Of course, one of the most “current” predictions is that of John Hagee and his prediction of the Four Blood Moons. Be sure to read a bit of my response to Hagee here. He has assured us that the battle of Gog and MaGog will (“guaranteed!”) take place between April, 2014, and September 2015. I almost can’t wait for October of 2015!
With the passing of time, every single prediction made by the Dispensational, so-called prophecy experts is proven false. But, they never give up! All they do is “re-calculate” and say that “this time” they have it figured out. This time, it can’t be wrong!!
The identity of the end time players is constantly shifting, constantly changing in the Dispensational world. Hitler was the Man of Sin. Oh, wait, Nixon was the anti-christ. There are those who now are actually saying that Barak Obama is the anti-christ and that he will sign a peace treaty with Israel before the end of June, 2015! See my YouTube video about this very claim!
A New Definition of Babylon in Revelation!!
Well, hang onto your hat, because there is another change, another “re-calculation” another “re-interpretation” of the end time events! And of course, the time is upon us!
The WorldNet Daily an internet publication, carried the following on May 20, 2014:
“A prominent Bible-prophecy teacher claims the true site of the biblical Tower of Babel is in Saudi Arabia and the concept of “Mystery Babylon” actually refers to Mecca, not the Vatican, as some researchers of Scripture claim.
Walid Shoebat, a former PLO operative, tells fellow Christians they’re looking in the wrong place when trying to understand the identity of the people who make up the worldview outlined in Revelation 17:1-5.” (http://www.wnd.com/2014/05/new-identity-for-mystery-babylon-of-bible/)
Do you catch what Mr. Shoebat has done? He has radically re-defined “Babylon” of Revelation. Babylon is not, as the huge majority of Dispensationalists claim, the literal city of Babylon in Iraq. No, it is in Saudia Arabia and is to be identified as Islam!
“When it comes to Mystery Babylon,” said Shoebat, “the common tendency amongst many Protestant theologians is to liken it to Rome. According to them, Rome is the city of seven hills.”
He said others equate it with Iraq, since it was home to the original Babylon.
“Years ago, many books were written about Saddam Hussein, who was allegedly hard at work, rebuilding Babylon,” Shoebat observed. “Christians gobbled up the books without truly examining the evidence. Saddam was simply rebuilding a tourist attraction where Nineveh once stood.”
The project was later abandoned, he noted, “and Saddam died on the gallows along with the prophecy books that included his name.”
Shoebat contends the Bible’s references to cities point to Arabia.”
To say that this is upsetting to some Dispensationalists is an understatement! In the next installment of this article, we will share some of the responses to Mr. Shoebat’s claims, and we will then examine some of his comments in the light of scripture.
The thing is that Mr. Shoebat’s claims are just another example of the constantly shifting sands of Dispensationalism. Every prophecy they make is falsified by the march of time. This is an embarrassment to the name of Christ.
Stay tuned for our next installment! In the meantime, be sure to get a copy of my book, Who Is This Babylon? for an in-depth study of the identity of Babylon of Revelation. And, it was not Rome. It was not literal Babylon. It is not the Roman Catholic Church. And it is not Mecca in Saudia Arabia!
