n Zechariah chapter 5, there are a series of profound prophetic utterances that are rarely understood. On one level, the mysterious passages deal with the economic order of our time, but on another layer they describe, with an eerie accuracy, the devastating tribulational events that are just about to unfold. These prophecies are centered on a "woman" that is sitting in a large basket:

"Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. And I said, what is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth. And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead on the mouth thereof.

Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the Ephah? And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set their upon her own base."     - Zechariah 5:5-10

The first item that is seen is something called an ephah. This item is mentioned about 20 times in the Bible, so it's easy to see it was a term describing a measurement of merchandise. In Leviticus, we find an offering for sin was "a tenth part of an ephah of fine flour" (Leviticus 5:11). In Numbers, another gift to the priesthood was said to be "the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal" (Numbers 5:15). Ephahs of corn are also mentioned, so the term was apparently used to describe a particular measure of a mercantile item - in these 3 cases flour, barley, and corn.

In modern times, we might see terms like a bushel, a barrel, or a peck. Furthermore, an ephah was apparently large enough for a woman to sit in, so the picture is one of a rather large container - perhaps not dissimilar to a large barrel.

Then in a setting of commerce (the ephah), the vision shows us that a woman is "sitting in the midst of" the ephah - a representation of the system of mercantile exchange. In example after example of prophecy, a woman represents religion, or a particular religious order.

In the Old Testament, Jezebel is very definitely a "type" or symbolic representation of an apostate church. Frequently, Israel is seen as the "wife" of Jehovah that has committed spiritual adultery as she "went a whoring after other gods" (Judges 2:17, I Chronicles 5:25). Although there are many examples of women as religion, perhaps the ultimate example is the picture of "Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth" seen in Revelation 17:5.

Indeed, the flavor of the prophetic language in Zechariah resembles that of Revelation. For instance, when the harlot is seen, the text tells us there are 7 mountains "on which the woman sitteth" (Zechariah 17:9). This is strikingly reminiscent of how the woman "sitteth" in the ephah. Even as the Zecharian vision likens the imagery to "wickedness" (verse 8), Revelation uses words like "abominations" and phrases referring to "the filthiness of her fornications" (Revelation 17:5,4). The idea of her intimate association with commerce is also found in both passages - in Revelation, when she is judged, the merchants of the earth are the ones that bewail her burning.

In Zechariah, she is found to be immersed "in the midst" of the ephah. This speaks of the interior of the unit of measurement of trade - where one would not expect to find a religious component. This mixture of religion and commerce is also analogous to the money changers that had found their way into the temple in the time of Jesus (Matthew 21:13) - to say nothing of how Revelation tells us how organized religion has "committed fornication" with "the kings [governments] of the earth" (Revelation 17:2).

After we see the woman in the ephah, the angel seems to refer to another item - one that is not clearly articulated in the vision - an unseen aspect of the vision of which he says "this is wickedness" (Zechariah 5:8). It's implied the "wickedness" is a separate item, because while the woman is already in the basket, "he cast it into the midst of the ephah" and then closed it up with the lead covering. It's as though there was a great measure of evil that is to be shut in the ephah with the woman - forming the totality of the whole system that is now comprised of commerce, religion, and wickedness.

Next, we see two women that could fly because they had "wings like the wings of a stork" pick up the ephah and transport it elsewhere. The stork was an unclean bird, and so the ceremonial consistency of evil is maintained in the vision. Furthermore, if we view the woman as the central religion that is seen to be "Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots" we would expect the other two women to also be religions that are aiding in the establishing of the unholy system that Zechariah is describing.

The two associated women are going to assist the primary harlot in the setting up of the unholy order of the apostate church - and they are empowered in the pursuit of that ungodly goal by the wings of an unclean animal.

While it is apparent that the specific identity of Mystery Babylon will help to pinpoint who the other two religions are, it is clear that there are a total three major world religions laying claim to Jerusalem and subsequently world religious dominion - Catholicism, Islam, and Judaism. All three are seen as symbolically unclean in this vision.

At the conclusion of the vision, Zechariah asks the angel where the flying women were taking the ephah. The angel replied "To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and there set upon her own base" (Zechariah 5:11).

This name Shinar is found in scripture as the plain where the tower of Babel was built - and that location became known as Babylon. Thus, the vision completes the system with a future relocation of the wicked economic-religious construct to a place that is cryptically identified as Babylon.

The scope of this vision is astonishing, for it speaks of a future alliance between a vast commercial order and the three dominant religious constructs of the world - all to be made operational after the entire system is "set upon her own base" (Zechariah 5:11).

While many Bible teachers continue to seek to claim that the literal city of Babylon is to be rebuilt and will become the new economic center of the world, these "prophets" are embarrassingly blind as a bat. For example, an associate professor at Dallas Theological Seminary named Dr. Charles Dyer categorically states that in the end times, a great leader will "establish and lead an international power paralleling the glory of ancient Babylon" (The Rise of Babylon, Dyer, page 16). Dyer, and others at the Rapture Cult, claim "The Bible says that ancient Babylon - the mightiest and wickedest city of the ancient world - will be rebuilt before the world's final battle at Armageddon" (Rise of Babylon, back cover).

The truth is, by the time these blind guides figure out that America is Babylon now, it won't be anymore. Common sense should take hold at some point, but unfortunately it completely eludes the liars at the Dallas Seminary. Think for just a moment: in order to run the world's finances, one must have infrastructure. Fiber optics, Internet, international banks, paved streets, transportation and housing are just a tiny portion of the necessary components for a global financial order. Even though Saddam Hussein has undertaken to rebuilt ancient Babylon, it would take him 50 years to do it on the scale that is required.

The prophecy of Zechariah gives us a huge clue about the end times Babylon: the text plainly shows how the system is to be moved at some point. Witness how the prophet asks the angel "Whither [where] do these bear the ephah?" (Zechariah 5:10) - plainly showing the system is going to be moved. Furthermore, the true identity of the woman in the ephah - "Mystery Babylon" - is crucial to the actual locale that will ultimately fulfill the role of Babylon The Great. It is most certainly not to be found in the ruins of a partially rebuilt city deep in an Iraqi desert.

At this juncture, we must point out that while the role of Babylon has shifted on more than one occasion throughout the age, it will ultimately be relocated to a place that is rather mysteriously, if not symbolically, referred to as "the land of Shinar" and it must be placed there in coordination with the location of the woman that "sitteth in the midst" of the global system of COMMERCE that is characterized by the vision of Zechariah.

According to Zechariah's amazing prophecy, the system "shall be established, and set there upon her own base" (Zechariah 5:10)

Thus, when you know who the woman is that is characterized as "the mother of harlots" (Revelation 17:5), you will know where the final Babylon is located. 

This amazing prophecy prefigures the global triumph of the monetary system of exchange that we know as transnational capitalism. What is significant is the fact that the vision also plainly imparts the idea that the common symbolic element in prophetic literature that is used to describe religion (a woman) is seen as completely integrated into the system of commerce - i.e. the woman is inside the basket.

The association of a woman as a symbolic representation of a religious body is almost universal throughout the Bible. In fact, we see both polarities of good and evil represented in feminine images. On one side the Christians are visualized as "the bride of Christ" whereas in Old Testament examples, Israel was seen as the "wife" of Jehovah (Yahweh). The contrast between the two is sharp as the "bride" is seen as a pure and chaste virgin, whereas the Lord repeatedly tells us of Jerusalem's adultery "although I was an husband to them." (Jeremiah 31:32).

The idea of spiritual whoredoms runs throughout the prophets and the law, and so when we see the woman that is characterized with the term "wickedness" in the Zechariah 5 vision, it's difficult not to see this prophetic communication in religious terms. Ultimately, the imagery associating a woman with a religion also is merged into the identification of a city.

When "Mystery, Babylon The Great" rides in on the beast, she is definitively characterized as a religious whore through the additional description of her as "The Mother Of Harlots" (Revelation 17:5). This derogatory description paints her in an apostate religious fashion (as opposed to a corrupt political order) because she is distinctly separate from the military and political beast that she rides in Revelation 17. Another point of identification is the term MYSTERY itself. In the New Testament, the Christian church is said to be a "mystery" (Ephesians 3:9) - thus providing the opposite symmetry for this evil "mystery" to be considered as a religious body. 

On the godly side of the conflict, the imagery is consistent when we see the woman in the wilderness "which brought forth the man child" as she is being persecuted by the great red dragon. This "woman" is obviously an allusion to the collective body we would recognize as the elect of the Lord. Indeed, in the end of the conflict, this blessed "woman" seems to transition from "the bride" who is in attendance at the great wedding supper of the lamb, into "that great city, holy Jerusalem" as it descends from heaven.

The prior passage makes the connection as the angel tells John "Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the lamb's wife" and then proceeds instead to describe the city characterized as "new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" (Revelation 21:2).

The fact that the vision of the "bride" merges with a "city" that is seen as "Having the glory of God; and her light was like a stone most precious..." (Revelation 21:11) continues the motif of the chaste female being joined unto the glorious God within the descriptive context of the heavenly city of New Jerusalem.

Again, the symmetry is precise as the harlot church is also described as "that great city [which] made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." (Revelation 14:8). These cryptic scriptural clues pertaining to the true identity of the final Babylon are abundant as the linguistic usage is consistent within the text.

For instance, in another widely quoted but little understood passage in Revelation, we see a direct reference to JERUSALEM under the symbolic names of Sodom and Egypt. The verse tells us that Jerusalem is "that great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified" (Revelation 11:8).

While it is obvious that Christ was executed in Jerusalem, it is significant that the Spirit of God chooses to allude to that great city with the provocative designations of two places that are renowned for their associations with worldly evil. Sodom is known for the sins of the flesh whereas Egypt is always seen in scripture as a similitude of the ungodly world system the believers are to come out of.

This type of identification is all over the various prophetic texts, and it is not limited to women and cities. For example, in the book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul also utilizes the metaphor of women when he compares the two covenants that God made with Israel. In this wonderful example, he compares the two wives of Abraham (Hagar the Egyptian, and Sara the Hebrew) to the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. 

In Galatians 4, we that that Hagar was the slave girl (symbolizing the law) that was given to Abraham, and her child Ishmael became the father of the Arabs (note the subtle allusion to the forthcoming bondage of Islam). Sara was the promised one that was wed to the great patriarchal figure, and her freeborn status is compared to the freedom found in the New Covenant of Jesus Christ. Paul then moves the analogy to Mount Sinai and Jerusalem - the former as the site of the origination of the law, and the latter as the city of the great king that brings us His grace.  

It's crucial that we see that the same figure can have opposite meanings in different contexts. For instance, in the just cited example in Galatians, we see Jerusalem described as "Jerusalem, which is above, is free..." whereas in Revelation, the same place occupies the negative role in the simile where Jerusalem is seen as Sodom and Egypt in Revelation 11:8. Also, before we leave Galatians, it should be noted that Paul provides us with a profound bit of prophetic information when he informs us that "Jerusalem...is the mother of us all" (Galatians 4:26)

While there are several examples of the various dominions and kingdoms portrayed in scripture as being a "great city," these examples also testify as to the transitory nature of such identifications. As a case in point, we see another great city known as Tyre that has a vivid text relating to the king of Tyre. In the passage, the prophet Ezekiel takes "up a lamentation for the king of Tyre" (Ezekiel 28:12). While the prophet starts out with an adverse description of the pride and riches of this unnamed king, he then states "Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering...Thou are the anointed cherub that covereth...Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou was created, till iniquity was found in thee" (Ezekiel 28:13-15).

Those familiar with scriptural geography know that Tyre was most certainly not in Eden, and no political "king" was ever perfect as we realize the identity of this ruler is smoothly transitioned into Satan himself. Thus, the concept of a shifting identity is hardly foreign to the prophetic texts.

There are actually several texts that tell us the identity of Babylon is to be treated in the same light of progressive revelation. For instance, in the very end of Peter's first Epistle, he writes "the church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you" (I Peter 5:13).

According to the book of The Acts Of the Apostles and other early church documents, there is not much doubt that Peter was never in Babylon. Indeed, it is very clear that Peter was in Rome - and apparently cryptically referred to Rome as Babylon based on the fact that the Romish religion was in his time already departing from the historic Gospel of Jesus Christ (II Thessalonians 2:7).

In our present timeline, we see that the only city that can possibly fit the multi-tiered description of "Babylon" that is found in Revelation would have to be New York City - yet even that great city will not exhaust the prophetic scope of the amazing Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Clearly, Babylon has transitioned through the age from the literal original Babylon, to the present mercantile headquarters that is the financial head of America, and finally to the last "Babylon" that is destined to host the ultimate "king of Babylon." The prophetic texts make it abundantly clear that the ANTICHRIST is the final manifestation of the spiritual entity behind the various titles such as the king of Babylon, the king of Tyre, the Pharaoh, the Assyrian, the Son of Perdition, etc.

Again, the texts are layered with "many antichrists" (I John 2:18), but there is a final manifestation that will ultimately rule from JERUSALEM.

Because the so-called Christian church has overwhelming made "the word of God of none effect through [their] tradition" (Mark 7:13) of the Jews being the "chosen people" in the New Testament era, the truth of the identity of the last Babylon is thoroughly masked because "the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them who believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (II Corinthians 4:4).

The uncomfortable truth is that Jerusalem is scheduled to be the final manifestation of "that great city" that commits fornication with the kings of the earth. 

Again, while many point to Rome and the brazen apostasy of the Papacy, they see what was but one manifestation of the spiritual mystery of Babylon. Others recognize America's New York City as the only "great city" that can fit the vivid description of the burning of Babylon seen in Revelation 18. Still others cling to the absurd notion that ancient Babylon in Iraq will be rebuilt as a future world capital. However, in the endgame that is dead ahead, the only possible identification is JERUSALEM - the place in which Satan is predicted to "plant the tabernacle of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain" (Daniel 11:45).

Come let us reason together. Since "Mystery, Babylon The Great" is plainly said to be "the mother of harlots," how can Catholicism (as in Rome), or Islam (as in literal Babylon) be the "mother" religion?

The simple truth is that Jerusalem becomes the final Babylon when the three primary religious movements converge on that great city. The three religions that lay claim to Jerusalem have all committed an enormous apostasy in order to merge under the global banner of the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and the United Nations construct that is their habitation.

As I have repeatedly prophesied, the United Nations will be relocated to Jerusalem and all of this will occur in the very near future when the Beast of Babylon finally achieves his long desired objective.

The real "king" of Babylon has worked for millennia for this goal and it is now in sight as he will place the capital of his world government and his iniquitous religion in that most prized possession - the city of the great king - Jerusalem.