Charles Dickens' novel, A Tale of Two Cities, told an enduring story of events and characters caught in the tumultuous aftermath of the French Revolution. Paris and London, the two cities of the title, were at the center of the world stage during the 18th and 19th centuries. Their roles have diminished somewhat today and we find two other cities in the news during the year 2000. One has sought to enslave mankind with chains of spiritual darkness. The other represents freedom, dignity and eternal life in the Kingdom of God. What happens in these other two cities will play a pivotal role in the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. God's people need to understand.

Jerusalem

Let's look at the first of the two cities, Jerusalem. Bible prophecy shows several key events taking place in this city. In Revelation 11:2, we are told that gentiles "will tread the holy city underfoot." Verse 8 says, "And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified."

Jerusalem is called both a holy city and a type of Sodom and Egypt. This is quite a contrast for a city revered by three major faiths. Here also is a description of the death of the two witnesses after they have finished their testimony before the beast. Jerusalem is the stage for these end-time events.

What is taking place in Jerusalem today?

Mideast peace talks

The recent peace talks at Camp David came to a futile conclusion when it was clear that the Israelis and the Palestinians could not come to an agreement over the status of Jerusalem.

According to a piece in the New York Times of May 21, 2000, "Jerusalem is rarely publicly discussed by Israeli or Palestinian leaders in anything but black-and-white terms. It is the 'eternal, undivided capital' of Israel, on the one hand, and the future capital of the Palestinian state on the other: seemingly irreconcilable concepts that have led many intelligent politicians to recommend that the issue be left unresolved in the current, supposedly final, peace talks."

Indeed Jerusalem's status has not been resolved and threatens to be a major stumbling block in any effort to achieve a major peace accord. The prophet Zechariah accurately predicted the central position and troublesome nature of the city in end-time geopolitics. "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it" (Zechariah 12:2-3).

When it comes to Jerusalem, today's leaders seem to be "drunk" with greed over control of the city. The most hotly contested part of the city is the area called the Temple Mount. Here are two sacred Islamic shrines as well as the Wailing Wall, important to the Jews. The Palestinians wish to erect their flag over this site and claim a significant victory in the long-standing struggle between Arab and Jew.

A brief history

The history of Jerusalem has been a succession of changes, revolutions, sieges, surrenders and famines-each followed by restorations and rebuilding. Its time of greatest glory was under David and his son Solomon. It was the latter who built the fabulous temple described in the books of the Kings.

Over the centuries, the city has been the scene of much contention. Christians and Muslims have alternately slaughtered each other in battles to control the city. Multiple thousands of people have died under the banner of the cross and the crescent within the walls and gates of Jerusalem.

From 1948 to 1967, the city was divided between the Jews and the Arabs. Israel gained control and united the city during the Six Day War. Since then, the Israelis have guaranteed all the major faiths access to all the holy sites. The push to achieve a settlement of the Palestinian homeland issue has again highlighted the emotional pull of the city.

Today, tension continues over the Temple Mount area. Undoubtedly, this site will become a flash point in the future.

What lies ahead?

Prophecy shows us that Jerusalem will be the focal point of key events prior to the return of Christ. Notice what Christ revealed, "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains" (Matthew 24:15-16). The reference is to Daniel's 70 weeks prophecy found in Daniel 9. Within this detailed prophecy of the coming of the Messiah, Daniel describes "one who makes desolate" (verse 27). Here, in this major prophecy, God reveals a future conflict involving a covenant (agreements, treaties or accords?) and sacrifice.

Jerusalem's future will see strife between conflicting ideas. As in every war, many people will suffer hardship. Notice what Christ said in His Olivet prophecy: "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled" (Luke 21:20-24).

The second city

What will bring this scene to this climax? To answer, let's look at the other city of our story.

In Revelation 17, the apostle John describes a woman with a name upon her forehead, "Babylon the great." What does this woman symbolize? "And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth" (Revelation 17:18).

Here in prophecy is described a great city called Babylon that will sit astride an end-time combine of nations described figuratively as the beast. Will this be a literal revival of the ancient city of Babylon, or, are we to look for another city to fulfill this prophecy? Let's first understand the history of Babylon.

In Genesis 11, we see a tower being built at a place called Babel. This tower, built under the direction of Nimrod, becomes the symbol of human culture without the revealed knowledge of God at its core. Man begins building a society apart from, and in defiance of, God. It is something that God cannot allow to continue, lest civilization progress too rapidly for His plan. So He confounds the languages and scatters the people.

Babylon was later built on the ruins of this site. The city becomes the antithesis of God's purpose and the ancient scourge of God's people. Babylon, derived from a root word meaning, "to confound," is symbolic of the system of spiritual confusion that overlays the entire world. A modern city labeled "Babylon the great" will, like ancient Babylon, set the cultural and religious standards for the end-time political-religious empire of the "beast" of Revelation.

The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible explains the biblical implications of this Babylonian heritage: "As the realm of the devil…Babylon is…understood as the arch-typical head of all entrenched worldly resistance to God. Babylon is an age long reality including idolatrous kingdoms as diverse as Sodom, Gomorrah, Egypt, Tyre, Nineveh, and Rome.… Babylon, the mother of all harlots, is the great source and reservoir of enmity to God, as well as the objectified product of the 'one mind' [Revelation 17:13, 17] which gives power and authority to false gods. As such, she is the antithesis of the virgin bride of Christ, the holy city, the new Jerusalem, the kingdom of God" (p. 338, "Babylon").

Will this city be a revival of the literal city of Babylon, or is the Bible speaking symbolically? The idea that the ancient city of Babylon will be rebuilt has been popularized in a series of books by Tim LaHaye called Left Behind. In these books, the seat of the New World Order and the antichrist is found in Babylon, located in modern day Iraq. But is this where we should look?

The "woman" John describes is a worldwide religious system based in a city (verse 18), but its roots are ancient Babel and Babylon. Only one religion and only one city matches that description today. That city is Rome, within which is Vatican City, the seat of the Roman Catholic Church. Let's look at what John says under the inspiration of God's Spirit.

In Revelation 17, John says that the woman is a "harlot" (verse 1), and that kings have "committed fornication" with her (verse 2). The reference to fornication between "the woman" [the Babylon system] and "kings" [the nations] is spiritual symbolism.

This city is spiritually unfaithful to God. It must therefore claim a relationship to God which He now repudiates before all the world. For hundreds of years the Roman Catholic Church has claimed to be the "mother" church of Christianity. Its popes have historically claimed to be the Vicar of Christ. This belief is well documented through history.

Vatican takes center stage

This dogma has been restated recently by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. On September 5, 2000, a 36-page paper titled "Dominus Iesus" was released, which says: "Only in the Catholic Church does Christ's Church subsist in all her fullness. Nonetheless, outside the Catholic Church 'elements of truth and sanctification' exist that are of the Church.... Consequently, there exists only one Church (which subsists in the Catholic Church) and at the same time there exist true particular Churches that are non-Catholic." (Press Release, Vatican Press Office, September 5, 2000).

Specifically the document reiterates long-held Catholic teaching that salvation is possible only through Christian revelation. Non-Christian teaching may contain elements of truth but are deficient spiritually. The same applies to other Christian faiths. Catholics are told to uphold the teaching that the sole path to spiritual salvation is through the Catholic Church. Religious relativism, the idea that all faiths are valid and equal, is denied. "This truth of faith does not lessen the sincere respect that the [Catholic] Church has for the religions of the world, but it rules out, in a radical way, that mentality of indifferentism [that] leads to the belief that one religion is as good as another" (ibid.).

Official Catholic dogma states that full salvation is possible only through its rites and teachings. All other faiths, "…suffer from defects" (ibid.).

A cup and colors

Another piece of evidence is given in verse 4. "The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication."

In ancient Rome, scarlet and purple were reserved as the colors of the Roman Caesars. It was the symbol of royalty. The Roman soldiers mockingly placed these colors on Christ at His crucifixion (Matthew 27:28). The purple and scarlet colors of today's Catholic bishops and cardinals were inherited from the Empire. Notice this comment from historian Will Durant. "When Christianity conquered Rome, the ecclesiastical structure of the pagan church, the title and vestments of the pontifex maximus… passed like maternal blood into the new religion, and captive Rome captured her conqueror. The reins and skills of government were handed down by a dying empire to a virile papacy…" (The Story of Civilization, Vol. 3, "Caesar and Christ," 1944, pp. 671-672, emphasis added).

Within the Catholic Mass, no vessel is more important than the chalice. Tradition calls for it to be of gold. Or if it is made of silver, then the inside lining must be of gold.

A history of persecution

In Revelation 17:6, John describes, "the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement."

Earlier this year, Pope John Paul II made a historic apology for the past record of persecutions by those acting on behalf of the church. Though the apology was careful not to say that the church had erred, it still brought attention to the long record of death and injustice inflicted on those who dared to oppose or differ with the doctrine of the Catholic Church.

It is said that Christian Rome killed far more Jews than did pagan Rome. On July 15, 1099, soldiers of the first Crusade sacked Jerusalem, killing all the Muslims of the city. All the Jews were herded into a synagogue and burned alive. For many, their last scene in this mortal life was the sword and cross-emblazoned shield of their executioner. Millions died in the Inquisition.

Reigning over the kings of the earth

One other piece of internal evidence needs our attention. "And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth" (Revelation 17:18).

Throughout history, the papacy has crowned and deposed kings. Pope Leo III on Christmas day 800 crowned Charlemagne, the great Frankish king. Henry IV's struggle with Pope Gregory VII included an excommunication. When a repentant Henry stood barefoot in the snow outside the papal residence, the spiritual power of the church was clearly demonstrated.

Pope Clement IV had the power to "sell" millions of his fellow Italians to a French king in return for an annual fee. The pope threatened excommunication if the annual payment was not met. It would be a stretch to imagine that Pope John Paul II would try to do something like this today. However, the articles of faith that allow this are still on the books within the church. This is a little known fact among those who know only the benign face of today's Catholic Church.

One other point should be made. In the last decade of the first century, when John received the book of Revelation, there was only one city he, and the Church of God, would have identified as "Babylon"—Rome. Rome had sacked Jerusalem and burned the temple. Rome had killed Paul and other Christians. Rome was responsible for John's exile to the island of Patmos. For the past 15 centuries, "Rome," through the Catholic Church, has been ruling through its pagan-derived rituals, traditions and teachings. No other city in history meets the exact criteria described by John in Revelation 17 and 18.

The situation today

In the meantime, the issue of Jerusalem's status in the current peace talks awaits a resolution. Could the Vatican and papacy offer its good services to break through the Gordian knot that prevents a peace?

In July, while the Israeli and Palestinian leaders were meeting at Camp David with President Clinton, the pope urged that Jerusalem be governed under international protection. "…I want to ask all the parties not to neglect the importance of the spiritual dimension of the city of Jerusalem, with its sacred places and the community of three monotheistic religions that surround them" (Sydney Daily Telegraph, July 24, 2000).

The lesson for God's people

This tale of two cities will come to a climax with the return of Christ and the time of judgment upon the nations. Bible prophecy indicates "Babylon" and Jerusalem are destined to touch every human life in the great upheaval at the end of this human age. God's elect need to discern between the two and have the wisdom to choose correctly. When it comes to what these two cities offer, God does not give His people the choice of "blending" or blurring the lines. Revelation shows there are two ways of life offered by these cities. One is a way that enslaves the "bodies and souls of men" (Revelation 18:13). This city and its culture of deception and death will impact the whole earth, then come crashing down. God warns His servants to "come out of her" before it is too late (Revelation 18:1-5).

We are told to seek after the heavenly Jerusalem, our mother (Galatians 4:26), a city of light, truth and glory, which will liberate all mankind from the age-long deception of the great false city (Revelation 21:9-11).

Out of the worst of times, in tribulation and the Day of the Lord, will ultimately come the best of times in the light and life of the New Jerusalem. WNP