Filthy City Babylon – Witnessing in Greenwich Village - Chapter 9

 

Filthy City Babylon – Witnessing in Greenwich Village

Another part of the training program was the witnessing adventures into New York City, especially Greenwich Village, a gathering place for hippies and beatniks. After a few weeks of intense classes, inspiration and Scripture memorization, it was time to share my new-found faith with others. I was roaring to go in spite of my natural shyness. Friday afternoon rolled in the “Prophet Bus,” an old converted school bus with red sack cloth as curtains on the windows and red carpeted floor. “Maybe they are communists after all,” I thought again. Nevertheless, I piled into the bus with the other students and got ready for my next adventure: witnessing for Jesus. 

We traveled down the one hundred miles to the George Washington Bridge. One of the teachers pulled out his guitar and started singing a song called “Filthy City Babylon,” with illusions to chapters seventeen and eighteen in the book of Revelation. The bridge and the city were decked out with all manner of lights. After the song, another teacher read verses right from the book of Revelation:

And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY; BABYLON THE GREAT 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. And the angel said unto me, wherefore did thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and the beast that carries her, and has the seven heads and ten horns.[1] 

And the woman which thou saw is that great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.[2]

Here we were entering that “great city,” New York City, which truly reigned economically over the kings of the earth through her banking system and commerce. The teacher kept on reading.

And the angel cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird; For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. 

And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues; For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.[3]

For thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.[4]

Surely this was a picture of the American Empire with its financial capital in New York City, which uses its great financial power to suck the natural resources and wealth from the nations of the earth. And yet all the nations wanted to sell their merchandise here in America where they could make good money. They would close their eyes to America's sins of war and oppression of the poor nations, as long as they were making money and filling their own pockets. 

We entered into New York City and over to Greenwich Village. It was great to be able to share my new faith with others. But not many were really interested. Most people were into their own trip and could not be bothered. Nevertheless, there always was someone searching and looking for they knew-not-what, and they were ready to hear my story and meet my Lord. Are you?

For more than forty years, I have been sharing my faith with others in such places as: Canada, England, Germany, France, Spain, Japan, Taiwan, Portugal, Mozambique, Bosnia, Algeria, and South Africa. I have found the heart of man is the same the world over. His search and desire for love, happiness, peace and freedom are not unique to one group or nation of people, but are common to all men everywhere.

But how can I so rapidly come to the above conclusion that America is the modern day fulfillment of Babylon the Whore of the book of Revelation? Let’s get back into our study of the Bible as a book of prophecy to see how. Let us “rightly divide the word of truth”[5] to see if these things are so. First we will go into a little Bible history to see if we can actually trust the Bible as an accurate book of prophecy. Here we go.

Notes:

[1] Revelation 17:4-7

[2] Revelation 17:18

[3] Revelation 18:2-5

[4] Revelation 18:23

[5] 2Timothy 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a work man that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

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