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Author	: Bill Kochman
Publish	: Feb. 28, 1998
Update	: May 28, 2025
Parts	: 12

Synopsis:



Continuing our discussion from part eight, if the previous sets of verses regarding the description of the tabernacle and the high priest's garments still aren't enough to fully convince you that Babylon the Great was in fact the secret code name for Jerusalem, and by extension, the temple and the Jewish religious leaders which reigned over the common people of ancient Israel, then perhaps you'll consider the following additional information. As some of my readers will already know, there has been talk of a third temple being built on Mount Moriah in East Jerusalem, at least since the late 1960s. I remember reading about such plans decades ago. If I recall correctly, not only did the Jews have blueprints for the actual temple, but they also had prefabricated stone blocks stored in warehouses in Jerusalem. I am not sure, but I may have possibly read this information in the now defunct "Look" magazine.

In more recent years, the Orthodox Jews -- such as the Temple Mount Faithful -- also known as the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement -- the Temple Institute, and similar groups have been even more adamant about constructing a third temple on the summit of Mount Moriah, where the Muslim Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque now stand. In fact, if you visit the website of the former, you will find the following notice plainly posted on their home page:

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"The goal of the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement is the building of the Third Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in our lifetime in accordance with the Word of G-d and all the Hebrew prophets and the liberation of the Temple Mount from Arab (Islamic) occupation so that it may be consecrated to the Name of G-d."

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On a related note, I recall that a number of years ago, a group of radical American Zionist Christians made plans to blow up the Dome of the Rock, so that the temple could be built on top of Mount Moriah -- which is also known as the Temple Mount to the Jews, and as the Noble Sanctuary to the Muslims. As I recall, those misguided people were caught before they could actually carry out their plan, and the Dome of the Rock was spared any damage. However, imagine if they had been successful. It would have surely resulted in immediate war with all of the Arab nations which surround Israel.

As you may already know, these radical Orthodox Jews are not just stating their intentions. They're in fact in the process of making physical preparations for what they are convinced will eventually occur in the land of Israel: the construction of a third temple. For example, a number of years ago, I can recall reading how attempts were made to transport the temple foundation stone to Mount Moriah, which, had they succeeded in doing so, would have clearly resulted in a new eruption of violence on the part of the Muslims. But that is not all. In addition, attempts have been made to breed a pure red heifer, the ashes of which are used in the ritual of purification.

In addition to this, at latest report, the Orthodox Jews have already constructed the sacrificial altar for the courtyard, made the various furnishings for the interior of the temple, created the sacred vessels that will be used in actual temple services, completed making the priestly garments according to the Old Testament specifications, trained hundreds of Jewish men -- who are supposedly descended from the tribe of Levi -- to serve as priests in the newly-constructed temple, and I am not sure what else. According to what I've read, these items are on display at the Treasures of the Temple exhibition in Jerusalem. So as I said, the Orthodox Jews are very serious about this, and are just waiting for the right time when they will be able to carry out their plans.

Returning to the connection between the description of Babylon the Great in the Book of Revelation, and the description of the tabernacle and the priestly garments in the Book of Exodus, you will discover that these very same colors have been used in the new priestly garments which are currently stored in Jerusalem. Below is a list of links which will confirm everything I have just shared with you. Please note that I cannot guarantee that they will still be available at the time you read this series. They were last checked on May 28, 2025:

https://www.jpost.com/jewish-world/jewish-news/third-temple-preparations-begin-with-priestly-garb

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2014/04/third-temple-jerusalem-priest-offering-rituals-al-aqsa.html

https://free.messianicbible.com/feature/the-temple-vessels-are-ready-for-the-rebuilding-of-jerusalems-third-temple/

https://free.messianicbible.com/feature/the-red-heifer-and-the-third-temple-in-end-time-prophecy/

https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3564897,00.html

https://templeinstitute.org/priestly-garments/

https://templeinstitute.org/priestly-garments-2/

While I have now shared considerable Biblical evidence which clearly points to first century Jerusalem being Babylon the Great, there is still more compelling information. If you're already familiar with the debate surrounding the identity of Babylon the Great, then you may possibly know that another factor which the Seventh Day Adventists and other Christians use to validate their claim that Babylon the Great represents the modern-day Roman Catholic Church, is that topographically speaking, the city of Rome sits upon seven hills. It is for that reason that it is also referred to as "The City of Seven Hills".

According to the information I've read, the original ancient city of Romulus sat upon the Palatine Hill. The names of all seven hills are as follows: Palatine, Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, and Aventine. Romulus served as the capital of the Roman Kingdom which preceded the advent of both the Roman Republic, as well as the later Roman Empire.

However, what the SDA church -- and those other Christians -- may not realize, is that Vatican City does NOT actually sit on any of those seven hills. It is actually situated on a SEPARATE hill called Vatican Hill, which is located across the Tiber River from the traditional seven hills of Rome. If you doubt that this is so, you can confirm it for yourself simply by conducting some quick online research. At any rate, in describing the location of Babylon the Great, the Book of Revelation states the following in chapter seventeen:

"And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth."


Now, as far as the Seventh Day Adventist church and certain other Christians are concerned -- which may also include the Jehovah Witnesses as well -- Revelation 17:9 is indisputable proof that John is referring to the city of Rome, and thus to the Roman Catholic Church, even though Vatican City itself does NOT sit on any of those seven hills -- as I have already explained to you -- and even though the Roman Catholic Church did NOT yet exist at the time that John was given his visions and prophecies. Remember again that John was told that these were "things which must shortly come to pass" -- Revelation 1:1 and Revelation 22:6. His revelations were NOT far future prophecies, as these misguided Christians wish to believe.

Furthermore, there is something else which is very important, which these Futurists are overlooking. In fact, to be honest, before I discovered the information I'll now be sharing with you -- this was when I still embraced a heavily Futuristic interpretation of the Book of Revelation -- I also considered the possibility that the city of Rome might be represented by Babylon the Great in the Apocalypse. So whether it is due to their own ignorance or due to intentional omission of certain historical facts on their part as a means to strengthen their own argument, I honestly do not know. All I can tell you is that the information I will now be sharing with you totally changes Revelation's prophetic picture, in my opinion. I hope you will agree.

Let me remind you again that in order to truly understand the prophetic passages which we find in the Bible -- which of course includes the Book of Revelation -- rather than rely on the doctrines and interpretations of fallible men, we need to look to the Scriptures themselves for the truth. We need to compare Scripture with Scripture, and allow the Bible to interpret itself as much as possible.

As I first mentioned to you in part one of this series, in addition to this, we also need to read the Scriptures in the proper context in which they are written. In this particular case, that means that we need to take into consideration the historical, political, religious and social conditions of the First Century, and how they directly relate to the prophecies which were given to John. We also need to consider who he was writing to, when he wrote to them, and what their attitudes were. Lastly, we also need to take note of the geographical and topographical factors that existed at that time.

So what does all of this have to do with Babylon the Great, and how does it relate to Babylon sitting upon seven hills? Well, the first thing you need to realize is that the Jews who reject Christ as the Messiah have had about two thousand years to bury the truth. As I mention in a number of other articles, from the moment that Jesus rose from the dead, the unbelieving Jews sought to destroy the evidence, and pervert the truth. As some of you will already know, this they began to do when they denied Jesus' Resurrection, and even bribed the soldiers who guarded His tomb, so that they would begin to spread a false narrative. Matthew tells us as much in the following set of verses:

"Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governors ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day."


From that point forward -- and even before -- they began to fight against the new-found faith as much as they possibly could. As you may know, those unbelieving devils constantly mocked, harassed, persecuted, tortured, jailed and killed the followers of Jesus Christ. They spread false narratives, tried to place new Disciples under the bondage of the Mosaic Law, worked to sow division amongst the First Century Church, and I suspect wrote false gospels as well to confuse the new Disciples. In short, they did everything within their power to slow down the propagation of the Gospel. As I shared with you in part seven, Paul exposed their wicked machinations in his first Epistle to the Thessalonian brethren when he wrote the following:

"For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost."


Considering what we know about these Jewish antichrists, is it difficult for us to believe that they have continued doing these things down through the centuries? Is it possible that there is a hidden truth regarding the identity of Babylon the Great of which most people are simply not aware, because it has intentionally been hidden or purposely buried? With the information I am going to share with you now, I will let you be the judge.

You see, as it turns out, thousands of years ago, when the city of Jerusalem was first mentioned in the Bible, it was referred to as belonging to the Jebusites, and was actually known as Jebus, as we can determine by the following group of verses:

"And the border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom unto the south side of the Jebusite; THE SAME IS JERUSALEM: and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lieth before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the valley of the giants northward:"


"And Zelah, Eleph, and Jebusi, WHICH IS JERUSALEM, Gibeath, and Kirjath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families."


"But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus, WHICH IS JERUSALEM; and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine also was with him. And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it."


It is in Joshua chapter ten that we learn that Adonizedek‭, the king of Jerusalem, is beginning to fear Joshua and the Israelites, because the Israelites are conquering one place after the other. In fact, the great city of Gibeon had chosen to make peace with the Israelites, rather than fight against them. As a result, Adonizedek made a confederacy with four other kings, in the hope of defeating Gibeon. However, the Israelites came to the aid of Gibeon; and not only were the armies of the five kings defeated, but the five kings -- who had hidden in a cave -- were slain by the Israelites as well. Consider the following verses which confirm these points:

"Now it came to pass, when Adonizedek king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them; That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty."


‭"Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave. And they did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them. And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight. And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening. And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the caves mouth, which remain until this very day."


"And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side Jordan on the west, from Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon even unto the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir; which Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their divisions . . . The king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one;"


While Judges 1:8 informs us that the Israelites had taken the city of Jerusalem militarily and set it on fire, according to the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, the Israelites had only taken the Lower City, and not the Upper City, which was much better fortified. It was for that reason that centuries later, when King David fought against Jebus, the Jebusites were quite confident that they could hold back the Israelites. How wrong they were! Consider the following group of verses:

"Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire."


"And the king [David] and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither. Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David. And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of Davids soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house. So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward. And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him."


"‭And David said, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. So Joab the son of Zeruiah went first up, and was chief. And David dwelt in the castle; therefore they called it the city of David. And he built the city round about, even from Millo round about: and Joab repaired the rest of the city. So David waxed greater and greater: for the LORD of hosts was with him."


As you can see, King David began to build up Jerusalem; and eventually, Jerusalem proper came to occupy SEVEN HILLS, or mounts, just like ancient Rome. In fact, as you may know, the city of Jerusalem both shrank and expanded in physical size at different times during its history, and eventually stretched beyond its original retaining walls. This is NOT just a crazy, wild conspiracy theory. Jerusalem sitting on seven mounts is both historical and documented fact. There are in fact maps of ancient Jerusalem which show all seven of these mounts, which I will be sharing with you shortly. These seven hills were named as follows, based on online sources, as well as on information that is found in the Bible itself:

Mount Acra - a.k.a Akra, "the citadel"
Mount Bezetha
Mount Gareb - a.k.a. Giv'at Garev, Gibeat Gareb, Leper's Hill
Mount Goath - a.k.a. Gibeat Goath, Hill of Death, Golgotha
Mount Moriah
Mount Ophel
Mount Zion

As both the Bible and historical documents confirm, over the decades and centuries, some of these mounts were lowered or raised in height, enclosed in walls at different times, and the areas between some of these mounts were even filled in, as a way to create better construction sites by the various forces which controlled Jerusalem. These forces included the Israelites themselves, the Seleucids, the Romans, etc. Some of them, such as Mount Acra and Mount Moriah, had fortresses built on their summits. Again, this is all verifiable fact.

The main point I want you to consider here is that all seven of these hills pertained to the city of Jerusalem. They were all partially or completely located within the confines of Jerusalem during the First Century which, as we know, is when the Apostle John wrote the Book of Revelation. As such, in my view, this is yet more strong, historical evidence that John was talking about Jerusalem, and NOT about the city of Rome, and much less about the Roman Catholic Church, which did not even exist back then. So again, I am convinced that Babylon the Great was a code name for the whorish Jerusalem who had forsaken her true God.

Regarding whorish Jerusalem, that's another very clear reason regarding why Rome cannot possibly be Babylon the Great. You see, as we've already amply discussed earlier in this series, the reason why God accuses Jerusalem of being a whore and a harlot is because at one time she had been His faithful bride until she abandoned Him. In contrast, absolutely nowhere in the Scriptures is Rome ever referred to as God's bride and wife. Therefore, she cannot possibly be the bride who turned against Him in marital infidelity, thus becoming a whore. At any rate, returning to our discussion concerning the seven hills or mountains, even the Psalmist -- meaning King David -- talks about these same mountains. Consider the following verse that is found in Psalm 125:

"As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever."


Directly related to this issue is the fact that while Rome is referred to as "The City of Seven Hills", in Revelation 17:9, we are clearly told that Babylon the Great sits upon seven MOUNTAINS, just as Psalm 125:2 indicates. While I was researching this same issue, I was led to look up the word "mountains" in Thayer's Greek English Lexicon. Upon doing so, I discovered that "mountains" is derived from the Greek work "oros", which it defines as "a mountain". In fact, in the sixty-five times that this Koine Greek word is used in the KJV New Testament, it is translated forty-one times as "mountain", twenty-one times as "mount", and only three times as "hill". Furthermore, in the three places where it is translated as "hill", it is not even talking about the city of Jerusalem.

What is particularly interesting about this is the fact that there is a word in the Koine Greek language for "hill". It is the word "bounos". John was probably aware of this word, and he could have used it. That is, if he meant to say hills. But he didn't. Is it possible that he used "oros" instead because he wanted his readers to know that Babylon the Great sits on mountains, or mounts, and NOT just on hills? So in my view, this may very well be just more coded language being used by John, because he wanted his readers to know he was actually referring to Jerusalem.

For the sake of transparency, allow me to inform you that as of this writing, I have not been able to find Mount Acra or Mount Bezetha specifically mentioned by name in the accepted canon of the KJV Bible. I am not sure why this is. However, the fact that I have found specific mention of the other five hills -- meaning Mount Gareb, Mount Goath, Mount Ophel, Mount Moriah and Mount Zion -- is sufficient evidence for me, and likewise a confirmation, that John is speaking of Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation.

In fact, I have also discovered that while providing readers with a description of Jerusalem, Jewish historian Flavius Josephus referred to Bezetha as the "New City", and to Acra as the "Lower City", in Book 5 Chapter 4 of "The Wars of the Jews", as we see by the following excerpts:

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"Of these hills, that which contains the upper city is much higher, and in length more direct. Accordingly it was called the "Citadel", by king David; he was the father of that Solomon who built this temple at the first; but it is by us called the "Upper Market-place". But the other hill, which was called "Acra", and sustains the lower city, is of the shape of a moon when she is horned; over against this there was a third hill, but naturally lower than Acra, and parted formerly from the other by a broad valley. However, in those times, when the Asamoneans reigned, they filled up that valley with earth, and had a mind to join the city to the temple. They then took off part of the height of Acra, and reduced it to a less elevation than it was before, that the temple might be superior to it. Now the valley of the Cheesemongers, as it was called, and was that which we told you before distinguished the hill of the upper city from that of the lower, extended as far as Siloam; for that is the name of a fountain which hath sweet water in it, and this in great plenty also. But on the out-sides, these hills are surrounded by deep valleys, and by reason of the precipices to them belonging, on both sides they are everywhere impassable.

It was Agrippa who encompassed the parts added to the old city with this wall, which had been all naked before; for as the city grew more populous, it gradually crept beyond its old limits, and those parts of it that stood northward of the temple, and joined that hill to the city, made it considerably larger, and occasioned that hill which is in number the fourth, and is called "Bezetha", to be inhabited also. It lies over against the tower Antonia, but is divided from it by a deep valley, which was dug on purpose, and that in order to hinder the foundations of the tower of Antonia from joining to this hill, and thereby affording an opportunity for getting to it with ease, and hindering the security that arose from its superior elevation, for which reason also that depth of the ditch made the elevation of the towers more remarkable. This new built part of the city was called "Bezetha", in our language, which if interpreted in the Grecian language, may be called "The New City"."

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Also in Book 5 Chapter 5 of "The Wars of the Jews", where he describes the temple, Josephus again mentions Bezetha, as we see by the following excerpt:

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"There was also a peculiar fortress belonging to the upper city, which was Herod's palace; but, for the hill Bezetha, it was divided from the tower of Antonia, as we have already told you; and as that hill on which the tower of Antonia stood, was the highest of these three, so did it adjoin to the new city, and was the only place that hindered the sight of the temple on the north."

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In Book 6 Chapter 2 of "The Wars of the Jews", I also found a small footnote pertaining to the Mount of Olives which is interesting in that it provides us with a comparison between the different heights of five of these seven mountains. It reads as follows:

----- Begin Quote -----

"The Mount of Olives, or Mount Olivet, is the ridge facing the Temple Mount at Jerusalem on the east and separated from it by the deep ravine called Kedron. It rises to a height of 2682 feet, surpassing in altitude Zion, 2529 feet, Bezetha, 2527 feet, Mount Moriah, 2440 feet, and Acra, 2179 feet."

----- End Quote -----

Concerning Acra, being as it was a fortress which was built on the summit of one of Jerusalem's seven hills, there are some theologians who remain convinced that when the first book of the Maccabees uses the phrase "the citadel", it is actually referring to Mount Acra, as we see by the following group of verses:

"Then they fortified the city of David with a great strong wall and strong towers, and it became THEIR CITADEL. And they stationed there a sinful people, lawless men. These strengthened their position;"


"Jerusalem was uninhabited like a wilderness; not one of her children went in or out. The sanctuary was trampled down, and the sons of aliens held THE CITADEL; it was a lodging place for the Gentiles. Joy was taken from Jacob; the flute and the harp ceased to play."

"And Simon decreed that every year they should celebrate this day with rejoicing. He strengthened the fortifications of the temple hill alongside THE CITADEL, and he and his men dwelt there."


Please go to part ten for the continuation of this series.

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