Herbert Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God offered a booklet in the early 1970s titled The Modern Romans. Unfortunately, although Armstrong flirted with the truth in that booklet, he still ultimately missed the boat (as he and his followers have done with most things of a prophetic nature. In the books of Daniel and Revelation, the Roman Empire became the epitome of human governance during the period of the Second Temple and beyond. Rome was the type of Babylon, the city that ruled over the other kings of that part of the earth! The Romans were militant, wealthy, exploitative, inventive, and ruthless. They erected great works, demanded the loyalty and worship of their subjects, and were obsessed with entertaining themselves and the masses.
Let's notice some of the language in the book of Revelation. We read there: "they worshiped the beast, saying, 'Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?'" (Revelation 13:4) Rome and its army were considered the preeminent military power in the Mediterranean and European world of that time. Continuing, we read that the beast: "opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. Also, it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain." (Revelation 13:6-8) Rome and its Emperor made themselves gods and declared that the state and emperor were worthy of worship. Over time, the Roman Senate became a rubber stamp for the emperors - eventually, willingly ceding all of their power to him. They persecuted Jews and Christians and ridiculed their beliefs and practices.
Likewise, a little later in the same book, we read: "'Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.' And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: 'Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations.' And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." (Revelation 17:1-6) Rome ruled the lands around the Mediterranean and set up client states and allies in many different lands. Indeed, the Roman economic, political, and military system was duplicated in numerous other nations around the world of that time. Coliseums, amphitheaters, baths, aqueducts, and highways were constructed everywhere that Rome ruled. Wealth and excess were the foundation of that society. Continuing, we read: "The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages...And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth." (Revelation 17:15-18)
Now, the readers of John's apocalypse in the First and Second Centuries would have readily recognized this symbolism as applying to the Roman Empire. It would have been crystal clear to them! Likewise, being very familiar with their own history and the book of Daniel, they would have appreciated the comparison of the city of Rome to the city of Babylon, and the Roman Emperor to King Nebuchadnezzar of old. Unfortunately, many Christians are NOT looking for these attributes in any of the nations of the Twenty-first Century, and the real import of the message of the book of Revelation regarding God's evaluation of human systems of governance is often missed or overlooked! In short, do you recognize any modern nations which exhibit the same characteristics.
Are there any nations in 2025 who have built vast empires and accumulated great wealth and military power? Are there any instances where we could justly ask: Who is like this great nation? Who would dare to fight against it? Are there any nations extant in our day who have exerted their economic and military power on a global basis? Is there any nation(s) who has imposed their will on other nations and forced them to adopt copies of their own systems? Is there any nation today who has monopolized the wealth and resources of much of the rest of the world? Is there any nation today who has devoted itself to great public works and spectacles? Is there a nation in our time who has constructed great arenas, theaters, and stadiums to entertain its people? Is there any nation in the 21st Century that has copied Roman and Greek architecture - causing people to admire the classical past? Is there any modern nation who has made its ideology into something worthy of adoration and worship? What do you think?
*The English Standard Version is used throughout this post.
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