What country do you think most fits this description?

[The Straight Story]

Revelation 18

1After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 2With a mighty voice he shouted:
"Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!
She has become a home for demons
and a haunt for every evil spirit,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.
3For all the nations have drunk
the maddening wine of her adulteries.
The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,
and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries."

4Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
"Come out of her, my people,
so that you will not share in her sins,
so that you will not receive any of her plagues;
5 for her sins are piled up to heaven,
and God has remembered her crimes.
6Give back to her as she has given;
pay her back double for what she has done.
Mix her a double portion from her own cup.
7Give her as much torture and grief
as the glory and luxury she gave herself.
In her heart she boasts,
'I sit as queen; I am not a widow,
and I will never mourn.'
8Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her:
death, mourning and famine.
She will be consumed by fire,
for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.

9"When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. 10Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry:
" 'Woe! Woe, O great city,
O Babylon, city of power!
In one hour your doom has come!'

11"The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more— 12cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; 13cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men.

14"They will say, 'The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your riches and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.' 15The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn 16and cry out:
" 'Woe! Woe, O great city,
dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet,
and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!
17In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!'

"Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. 18When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, 'Was there ever a city like this great city?' 19They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out:
" 'Woe! Woe, O great city,
where all who had ships on the sea
became rich through her wealth!
In one hour she has been brought to ruin!
20Rejoice over her, O heaven!
Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets!
God has judged her for the way she treated you.' "

21Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said:
"With such violence
the great city of Babylon will be thrown down,
never to be found again.
22The music of harpists and musicians, flute players and trumpeters,
will never be heard in you again.
No workman of any trade
will ever be found in you again.
The sound of a millstone
will never be heard in you again.
23The light of a lamp will never shine in you again.
The voice of bridegroom and bride
will never be heard in you again.
Your merchants were the world's great men.
By your magic spell all the nations were led astray.
24In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints,
and of all who have been killed on the earth."


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Of late in this world, it sounds more and more like the good ole US.

Maybe some fundies are correct - that the US churches will abandon their teachings (liberal, helping others, compassion) and that corruption spreads to our government, creating the whore of babylon.

The fundies feared it was the left corrupting the church and the country, but they have been in power for many years and the fruit of their tree is rotten.

Wars and rumors of war (iran).

[happyslug]

1. History often repeats itself, especially in regards to Empires

Thus a lot of what is in Revelations relate to what has happened to the PAST. When the Persian Empire Fell to Alexander the Great, its great City (Persianoplis) was abandoned and burned. The city had attracted traders from around the world, and then nothing. Babylon was going through a Similar transformation when it was replaced by Cestiphon when the Parthians established they new Empire as the retreat of the Selucia Empire.

Since Revelations we have seen the Fall of the Western Empire and the abandonment of Rome (Through Rome was not abandoned till the 500s during the Wars to retake Italy from the Goths). Constantinople suffered a similar fate after it was sacked during the Fourth Crusade (1204 AD). The same fate came to Baghdad after it was taken by the Mongols in 1258 AD (Through all three cities came back centuries later).

My Point Revelations is a good guide to what happens to ALL Empire as they collapse, for the Collapse is NEVER easy and is hard on the city's inhabitants. Rome went from a City of over a Million People to nothing in less then 100 years (Approximately 476-570 AD). Constantinople and Baghdad never recovered from they lacking in the 13th Century till after WWI when the affect of the Industrial Revolution hit Turkey and Iraq. Rome was a small city population less than 50,000 till the Industrial Revolution hit Italy after 1800 (and only in the last 20 years exceeded Milan as Italy's largest city).

Thus these Cities are NOT really the Cities they were at their Medieval Heights, 600 years of abandonment is more than enough time to cover up the Ancient city beneath the modern one.

The point of St John was NOT to tell people that Rome will Fall, but to remind them ALL EMPIRES AND THEIR CAPITALS FALL. That is History, a fact the US is NOT exempt from.

[bumblebee1]

2. Fruit of their tree is rotten?

The whole tree is rotten, starting with the root.