Prophecy Daily

May 9, 2023|abortion, antichrist, Dough Hamp, gap theory, gog, higher criticisim, Islam, israel, jerusalem, Joel Richardson, levitical priesthood, Liberal World Order, magog, mark of the beast, Mecca, messianic, miriam, Mystery Babylon, Neom, pre-trib rapture, prophecy, rapture, Rav Shlomo Yehuda, red heifer, replacement theology, roe vs wade, russia, supersessionism, theistic evolution, torah, two witnesses, water of purification, Yahwist Source, yeshua

  “Review of Joel Richardson/Fai Studios “The Book of Revelation/Mystery Babylon” YouTube Series”

… “How do you reconcile those things…I don’t know…What is the answer to the identity of the Woman (Mystery Babylon)? I’m not really sure.” (Joel Richardson)

This is a review of Joel Richardson’s YouTube series, “The Book of Revelation”, in regard to his analysis of Mystery Babylon, which takes up about 11 episodes and 11 hours of the series. I wish I had something better to say than what I am about to say about those 11 episodes, but I thought it was really important that someone cover his analysis of the Mystery Babylon topic as there are a number of logical issues that Joel Richardson repeatedly runs into and fails to reconcile.

For those of you who may not recall, Joel Richardson is the author of the books, “The Islamic Antichrist” and “Mystery Babylon: Unlocking the Bible’s Greatest Prophetic Mystery”. The Mystery Babylon book came out in 2017, and his most recent YouTube series on the topic has been trickling out over the past several months. I can’t claim to be a fan of Joel’s but at the same time I am looking for logical analysis of the topic of Mystery Babylon. I don’t know him personally and have never talked with him, so my review is going strictly off his commentary on the topic of Mystery Babylon in this series. 

Any critique I present is not meant to be an attack on his personality, but simply on his logic and analysis. In fact, Joel starts many of these episodes by saying that he is friends with many teachers that he disagrees with…and sometimes follows that comment up with the fact that they are teaching an idea “…that is straight from the pit of hell…”. I hope he remembers that contradiction when he reads my friendly analysis of some of his logic on the topic of “Mystery Babylon…who is she?”.

Joel proceeds to work through various possibilities of who Mystery Babylon could be and why the glove might or might not fit. He works his way through the likely candidates starting with Jerusalem, the USA, New York City, the Vatican (Rome/Catholic Church), the Illuminati, Nineveh, and Saudi Arabia/Mecca/Islam/Neom & Jeddah. FYI… for those “friends” who believe it is Jerusalem, Joel is saying you are “teaching something straight from the pit of hell”. We will examine his logic and if he is accurately or inaccurately using scripture that underpins his theory or if he is trying to emotionally color the issue instead of dealing with the scriptures and their logical analysis. 

Those claiming it is Rome, Joel gives an emotional defense of Catholics with little else. Since we are looking for purely an analytical review of facts, this portion of the video series might be a little difficult for those who are not moved by emotional displays and the pointed usage of lower tones and discussions about love. 

Those who think it is the illuminati should be ready to be categorized and grouped with the Nephilim/UFO fringe conspiracy theorist crowd and criticism about your ability to stay on track with the gospel and Joel’s questioning if some of you are even Christians. 

I found Joel’s comments about Nineveh and some scriptural analysis from the Minor Prophets to be interesting. He failed to identify any connections to a modern-day city in this section or why Nineveh is held in such contempt by God in the modern day. I had some of my own personal thoughts on the matter and I will go through them shortly. 

Joel then moves on to Saudi Arabia, Mecca, Islam, Neom, and Jeddah as the final candidate. He spends much of this episode talking out of both sides of his mouth on this issue contending that there are many good and bad scriptures about this region. I don’t know if that is because he seriously can’t figure it out or he is afraid of being arrested by the Saudi King the next time he goes to Mt. Sinai. But here is how he concludes that episode. “I don’t want prophecy to taint me so that I hate something or be suspicious of something…I want my heart to imitate God’s heart. How do I reconcile those things? I don’t know…What is the answer to the identity of the woman (Mystery Babylon)? I’m not really sure…”.  

Wow… that was really anti-climactic given that I had watched him for about 11 hours on this topic. What happened to the subtitle of his book? “Mystery Babylon: Unlocking the Bible’s Greatest Prophetic Mystery”. Did he forget that he already unlocked the mystery in 2017? 

Either Joel is not being forthcoming and candid with his audience or he has figured out that he might be wrong that his 2017 book claimed Mystery Babylon is Islam/Mecca. 

“As I stated at the beginning of this book, my most sincere hope was that this work would contribute to the larger discussion concerning the great harlot. Having both carefully assessed the prophecy and considered the primary interpretations that have been offered, I believe I have sufficiently demonstrated that Mecca/Saudi Arabia seems to fulfill all of the scriptural requirements of the harlot Babylon. To be clear, this is not to say that another option, a new city entirely, could not emerge in the future. For now, however, the view that Mecca is the last-days Babylon is not only a very legitimate view, but it would also seem to be the best option. Of course, even if the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not the ultimate last-days Babylon, it is clearly one of the greatest fulfillments in human history, and the greatest “Babylon” of this present time.” (Page 270 Mystery Babylon, Joel Richardson)

Let’s evaluate some critical issues that I found in his recent analysis on this topic. Now I’ll freely admit Joel could be right; what I have a problem with is some of the “facts” that he presented and if they were actually facts and if he handled them with logic and scriptural accuracy or not. Given the fact that I have also recently published a book on this topic, “Babylon vs the Restrainer: The Restrainer Revealed! (Restoring Truth Book 3)”  and come to a different conclusion, I have no illusions that there is a reason why Mystery Babylon is a Mystery. What I can tell you though is that the Martyrs under the Altar have no doubt who Mystery Babylon is and God begins the Tribulation because of their complaint that God has not yet punished her.

Revelation 6:9, And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

This should tell you several things. The Tribulation and Wrath of God has not started as of the Fifth Seal. It begins when God responds to the Martyrs’ prayer. It should tell you that these souls were killed prior to the End-time, as God has told them to rest a season longer until Mystery Babylon can kill more of their brethren. That means Babylon has been slaughtering the saints for a very long time before its end-time persecution of believers. Hence Babylon does not suddenly rise up in the end.

It should tell you that we are not waiting for an end-time rise of Mystery Babylon killing the saints, as the martyrs claim she has been murdering saints for too long. Sorry Joel…these martyrs hate Mystery Babylon and want God to kill her…not save her…not love her…not hope for her repentance.

Revelation 19:1, And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: 2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 3 And again they said, Alleluia And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.

This should tell you several things: The tribulation is kicked off by God in response to the Martyrs that were historically killed by Mystery Babylon. You are not looking for Mystery Babylon to arise suddenly in the end. As Paul says, “the mystery of iniquity doth already work…” (2 Thessalonians 2:7). This was roughly 2,000 years ago that you can see Mystery Babylon at work. Why do these teachers keep putting Mystery Babylon as “yet to come”? They don’t want to face the fact that their theories do not fit historical and scriptural reality. Those slaughters of the saints precede Islam, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and definitely Neom by hundreds and hundreds of years.

God’s response to the martyrs is ok…but this Mystery Babylon needs to kill more of you… The start of the tribulation happens because of their complaint and ends with their rejoicing over Mystery Babylon’s demise. Why? It is full of the blood of the saints…then and in the end. Sorry Islam…you were not responsible for the Babylon martyrs in the first several hundred years of the Church. This is one reason why Joel attempts to make this a Babylon yet to come. You can’t have Mystery Babylon killing martyrs prior to Islam and have Islam be Mystery Babylon. His claim is that the Harlot and the Beast are both scarlet in color and therefore are of the same religion.

Please keep in mind the Beast kills the woman riding the Beast…then Jesus (Yeshua) returns and puts the final “fallen” in the Mystery Babylon that the Antichrist (False Prophet) has taken over. This is where Joel, in my opinion, keeps confusing the judgement of the Antichrist and Edom with the judgement of Babylon and its destruction by the Beast.

Now let’s go over several blind spots that I think Joel doesn’t see. Again, I’ve never met the man and I hope he gives me the same generosity he claims to gives others that he is critiquing. The end goal is truth…not love. Love of the Truth will set you free. Love of a lie will condemn you. As Joel pointed out, many Muslims love their families and children. I would contest loving your flesh will not save you.

1. Joel contends that Mystery Babylon’s destruction is observable from the Red Sea. 

Jeremiah 49:21, Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them. 21 The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea.

I would suggest that very simply the noise is heard in the Red Sea…the scripture does not state that the ships in the Red Sea see her fall. The assumption that Joel is making is that Mystery Babylon is a port city is a flawed statement. I agree those that there are merchants who are made rich by her and there are ships that witness her demise (in this case audibly). It doesn’t mean she is a port city. And the fact that she is described as sitting on many waters, the Bible clearly states these many waters are “peoples, tongues, multitudes”. Also, the fact that she is cast down as a mill stone in the water is describing the violence and completeness of her destruction, not the fact that she is a port city. So again, letting the Bible interpret itself is critical. Using logical leaps to make your theory fit is never a good idea.

2. Joel describes Saudi Arabia’s money influence as being natural and more than any Jewish influence in current time. Hence it is more likely that Mystery Babylon is Mecca and not Jerusalem. He then says it is natural for them to do so.

I would suggest that Joel once again is trying to tag Mystery Babylon to the final end times to avoid the history of the past 2,000 years and ignore the true religion of Mystery Babylon is Trade and Violence. Joel’s attempt to put Mystery Babylon to “yet to come” makes it easier to say that Islam has been martyring believers in Yeshua in far greater quantities than anybody else. He ignores the Crusades and the history of the martyrs since the founding of Israel in the land.

Matthew 23:37, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

3. Joel describes Mystery Babylon as being the Mother (biggest) of Harlots. I found his explanation to be completely unscriptural and bound up in colloquialism. He claims that saying something “is the mother of all…” is used in the middle east and globally to describe the size of something and therefore making it the “greatest”. He states that Islam is the biggest religion in the world. 

The scripture is clear and literal. She is a harlot mother that makes harlots in her image.

Revelation 17:5, And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.

She is described as being the mother of harlots of her religion and it takes that scripture literally.

4. Joel describes the woman riding the beast as being the same color and nature as the beast, hence the same religion.

I would contend that the woman is in exile with the Beasts. We must remember that she has the Beast yoked and is controlling it. The Beast hates her for this fact…and destroys her because of it. This is the age-old conflict between Esau and Jacob.

Genesis 27:38, And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. 39 And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; 40 And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck. 41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.

We cannot help but observe that this very circumstance led to Jacob’s exile into the nations and being hidden from his father and mother. Jacob has Esau (red garment-Genesis 25:25) yoked from that time until the end, when Esau will break free. Remember that Jacob is described as dwelling in tents where Esau is described as being a “man (male) of the field”. Israel is frequently typified as a female.

Genesis 25:27, And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

Tell me…where else do you have a description of yoking? Aside from the instruction to not be “unequally yoked” …between male and female (2 Corinthians 6:14)? This is clearly a replay of Adam and Eve and the events that transpired since the fall. God says he will tell the end from the beginning. Revelation ends with a conflict between Esau and Jacob…just as Genesis begins with it. Just as Jacob won over Esau and yoked him with a lie, so also will the Antichrist win over Israel with a lie. Islam will throw Israel’s yoke off her Beast. The question Joel should be asking himself is if he is confusing the judgement of Edom and Esau with the destruction of Mystery Babylon by the Antichrist. If you don’t use careful Exegesis you will end up doing a lot of Eisegesis. Joel is very critical of that and rightfully so. The ability to see your own flawed paradigm and let scriptural data in so you can draw accurate conclusions is always difficult.

5. Joel spends some time talking about Neom, indicating possibly that this is the city that the Merchants of the Earth are made rich by.

I would suggest that a careful reading of the scripture would lead you to realize that the Merchants of the Earth have already been made rich. Also, Neom and its development at this point is merely a hole in the ground and would require several decades at minimum to make anybody rich. These several decades would likely put us outside the bounds of the 6,000-year plan of God. Now if Joel can account for a lost century or two…he might convince me. This also appears to be the reason why he insists that the rise of Mystery Babylon must be a future event. To do otherwise is to make his theory impossible.

6. Joel contends God loves everyone.

I hate to tell you an adult truth. God does not love everyone. He is longsuffering, but no, He does not love Mystery Babylon. In fact, God hates Esau.

Romans 9:13, As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

My suggestion to Joel is to stick to the scriptures and let them speak. Any conflict Joel has regarding pleasing any individual or government could keep him from giving an accurate testimony to the world. I have no such obstacle.

7. Joel spends some time serving as a Saudi Arabia apologist.

Joel needs to decide if he is going to preach from the scriptures or his pocket book. My theory is that Saudi Arabia is not Mystery Babylon, so I have no conflict of interest. So, if Joel’s book from 2017 says Saudi Arabia and Mecca are Mystery Babylon and heaven and the saints rejoice over her destruction why would Joel feel a need act as an apologist for this region? His comments are downright contradictory and confounding.

8. Joel claims this Mystery Babylon sits in a desert and fails to quote the actual verses. 

I have to admit when I heard this portion of his teaching, I was really distressed by what felt like a bait and switch tactic. 

Strong’s Concordance:

erémos: solitary, desolate

Original Word: ἔρημος, ον

Part of Speech: Adjective

Transliteration: erémos

Phonetic Spelling: (er’-ay-mos)

Definition: solitary, desolate

Usage: as an adj: deserted, desolate, waste; hence: the desert, to the east and south of Palestine; of a person: deserted, abandoned, desolate.

HELPS Word-studies

2048 érēmos – properly, an uncultivated, unpopulated place; a desolate (deserted) area; (figuratively) a barren, solitary place that also provides needed quiet (freedom from disturbance).

In Scripture, a “desert” (2048 /érēmos) is ironically also where God richly grants His presence and provision for those seeking Him. The limitless Lord shows Himself strong in the “limiting” (difficult) scenes of life.

[2048 (érēmos) in the strict sense expresses a lack of population (not merely “sparse vegetation”). This root (erēmo-) does “not suggest absolute barrenness but unappropriated territory affording free range for shepherds and their flocks. Hepworth Dixon (The Holy Land) says, ‘Even in the wilderness nature is not so stern as man. Here and there, in clefts and basins, and on the hillsides, grade on grade, you observe a patch of corn, a clump of olives, a single palm’ ” (WS, 22).]

Joel is clearly saying that this city…Mystery Babylon dwells in a desert. The scriptures he uses say no such thing. He gives the scripture chapter and verse…then doesn’t quote either of them…but says both scriptures indicate this city is in the desert. This is completely unscriptural and appears to rely on the reader not doing his homework and picturing a city sitting like Lawrence of Arabia on a camel in the sand dunes of the desert of Saudi Arabia. So, if you aren’t picturing Neom or Mecca in the sandy desert…you don’t have the imagery in mind that you should have. Most reliable translations actually use the word, “wilderness”, not “desert”. Here are the two verses he uses.

Revelation 17:3, So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

Revelation 21:10, And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

Joel is contrasting these cities…and claiming the wilderness is the desert…hence Mecca or Neom. I would remind him of one point. Israel and earthly Jerusalem have their beginning in…. the “desert” (wilderness of Mt. Sinai) and because of her whoredoms ends up in the wilderness again. Should we be picturing a sand dune (Mecca) or a mountain in the wilderness like Mt. Sinai.

Hosea 1:2, The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord….Hosea 2:2, Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts; 3 Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst. 4 And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms.

God is literally describing Israel as the Mother of harlots set in the wilderness (for Joel’s sake…desert). Now before anyone accuses me of hating Israel…read my books. I am pro-Israel and pro-written Torah and pro-repentant Israel. So, before Joel growls his accusation that this is a teaching straight from the pit of hell…I tell you… I love Israel and I am not deceived. I repeat the accusation of Yeshua the Messiah from 2,000 years ago. 

Matthew 23:39, For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Do not forget the comparison of Mt. Sinai…

Galatians 4:22, For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. 28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. 29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. 

What is Joel missing here? One is bound (yoked) and one is free. One is of the earth (fleshly) and one is of the spirit (heavenly). One is in bondage to earthly Jerusalem. There are two in conflict: one is the fallen and corruptible flesh (of the earth) … earthly Jerusalem that must be consumed with fire and replaced with the heavenly Jerusalem (the spirit). The earthly Jerusalem yokes people. The heavenly Jerusalem frees people. The analogy of Sarah and Hagar teach the conflict of the fallen corruptible flesh and the spirit. Now…in this time the flesh is trying to throw the yoke of the spirit off of itself so that it can cause death (antichrist). The principal goal of Mystery Babylon is to cause death (martyrs). Our goal has never been the earthly Jerusalem, but the heavenly Jerusalem.

Hebrews 11:6, But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

We’d like to think that God’s conflict is solely with Esau/Edom/Islam/Mecca. But scripturally, Edom is only a metaphor for the Earthly Jerusalem (Mt. Sinai in the Wilderness) that brings death and bondage and is eventually replaced by the Heavenly Jerusalem. 

Revelation 21:10, And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God…

Mecca is not replaced by Jerusalem…Jerusalem is replaced by the Heavenly Jerusalem. Don’t forget that fact. No doubt Edom/Esau and the Antichrist (Beast Empire) are prepared for Mystery Babylon’s destruction. Let’s not confuse the two over a lack of discipline in following who the scriptures are talking about. I would agree those in the Red Sea will hear Edom’s destruction. That doesn’t mean that Edom is Mystery Babylon. It could be after the Antichrist destroys Mystery Babylon…then Edom’s destruction is heard in the Red Sea.

9. Joel seems to describe Teman and Dedan as being Mystery Babylon or coming up in question of the Beast’s intent in coming down to seek a spoil. He is rather unclear on this point as at one time he seems to indicate this area is a part of Mystery Babylon or making statements in defense of Mystery Babylon. 

Why is this important? This territory scripturally can’t be both Mystery Babylon and making statements in defense of Mystery Babylon and then later be in alliance with Israel in the Millennium. Mystery Babylon is either destroyed or it is not.

10. Joel makes the same assertions about Isaiah 34.

Isaiah 34: 8, For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion. 9 And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch 10 It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.

Joel seems to indicate that this is the destruction of Mystery Babylon. I would contend that this is what it says it is…. earlier in the chapter. 

Isaiah 34:5, For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. 6 The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.

Again, Joel seems to be indicating this is the destruction of Mystery Babylon. I would suggest the possibility that this is exactly what it says it is: a judgment upon Bozrah and Idumea. It would appear that scripturally Mystery Babylon falls twice… “Babylon is fallen is fallen…” (Revelation 18:2). Perhaps this destruction of Bozrah and Idumea is what happens to the Antichrist’s empire at Yeshua’s return. Remember, Mystery Babylon is destroyed first by the Beast and then is taken over by the Beast. Then Yeshua destroys the Beast and Mystery Babylon at the end of the Tribulation at Jerusalem. Perhaps Joel keeps confusing the Beast Empire’s conquest of Babylon and subsequent destruction by Yeshua with the Beast’s destruction of Mystery Babylon during the Tribulation.

What do we know for certain? Mystery Babylon is not destroyed in the first half of the Tribulation…as far as we can tell. The tale of Mystery Babylon being destroyed appears midway through the book of Revelation and then seems to occur again in the end of the book. Once it is destroyed by the Beast of Revelation 13, then by Yeshua in Revelation 18. It could be that the scriptures don’t detail two destructions, but simply that the Beast takes over Babylon peacefully and then its identities are merged and the Beast’s and Babylon’s destruction occur together in Revelation 18. I would contend that the Beast doesn’t take Babylon over peacefully, but with great violence. Then once the Beast has taken over Babylon…the Beast’s Empire is destroyed by Yeshua at the end of Daniel’s final week with complete destruction.

Those who propose that Jerusalem is Mystery Babylon do so from the scriptural standpoint that earthly Jerusalem is typified as an unfaithful wife that is condemned by God for committing harlotry with all the nations. Hosea and the Minor Prophets seem to bear this out. Joel Richardson typifies “Israel as the apple of God’s eye…don’t dare criticize her…God will handle it…”. That is a difficult choice since scripture after scripture highlights the spiritual harlotry of Israel and their need to repent. 

Joel seems to be saying you need to be silent on those scriptures and just accept that they can’t be called into question for the reason they have been in exile for 2,000 years. But you can say it is the conflict between Esau and Jacob. This I don’t deny, I simply scripturally observe that traditional and scriptural Esau appears to be associated with the Beast of Revelation 13…not with Babylon. If that is not the case, I would challenge Joel or anyone to show from the book of Daniel where the Beast or the Antichrist destroy Mystery Babylon in the midst of all the other of events of Daniel’s prophecy of the end time. I however can clearly show you where the book of Daniel shows Jerusalem conquered (fallen) twice…once by the Beast and then again by Messiah.

Daniel 11:15, So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand. 16 But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed…45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

Revelation 14:18, And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. 19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

This city that the Antichrist and the Beast are destroyed outside of is nowhere but Jerusalem. 

Remember, the Beast destroys and takes over Mystery Babylon. The Beast meets his judgement in the same place where Mystery Babylon is judged by Yeshua. The contrast is never between Heavenly Jerusalem and Mystery Babylon. The Contrast is between Heavenly (free) Jerusalem and Earthly (in bondage) Jerusalem. The Earthly Jerusalem is replaced by the Heavenly Jerusalem. 

Babylon is described as having her judgment come in “one hour”. 

Revelation 18:10, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

Revelation 18:4, 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.

Similarly, Yeshua gives those in Jerusalem a similar warning.

Matthew 24:15, When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

We have to decide is there a dual fulfillment to this call for God’s people to flee this “Babylon”? Does it happen twice? Once at the mid-tribulation point when the Beast turns on Babylon and then again before the Wrath of God falls at the end on the Beast’s Empire (now Babylon’s Daniel Image with 10 toes). Or is it only one event and this destruction of Babylon is for the end of the Tribulation for the Empire of the Beast who had destroyed Babylon and taken it over? Why do the angels describe Babylon as “fallen…Is fallen”? Does it fall twice? Or is it just for emphasis that the fall is complete and total?

Is Joel trying to propose that the Beast destroys three horns and those are Mystery Babylon? If so, he doesn’t say so. Nor does he describe any event of the Beast destroying Babylon from the Torah or the Tanach or the book of Daniel. This major event seems to be a non-event if you accept Joel’s viewpoint.

Daniel 7:20, And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.

If that is the case…this is a pretty anticlimactic description of the Beast destroying Mystery Babylon. Is there anywhere in the book of Daniel that describes the Beast destroying Mystery Babylon? Joel just doesn’t cover it. It is a necessary blind spot for his theory to be acceptable. Yet there are many scriptures that go into the rational and reasoning for why the Beast conquers Jerusalem, how the Antichrist abides there, and how he meets his end there.

Essentially, the typical historical arguments for overlooking Jerusalem do not seem to be scripturally accurate. Now, I’m not saying Joel is wrong. What I am saying is that his so-called “scriptural reasons” for overlooking Jerusalem may not be scripturally sound and his analysis without bias. Here is a quick list of Joel’s reasons for overlooking Jerusalem.

· The traditional conflict is Jerusalem vs the Gentile Nations. I would suggest that they have a bigger issue in conflicting with God. God then typically uses the nations (gentiles) as a hammer of punishment on Israel.

· Jerusalem is the apple of God’s eye…only God can discipline them. That doesn’t negate the scriptural clarity that they are acting as harlots and as the mother of harlots…and that God does not approve.

· Mystery Babylon is in the desert…when actually it says wilderness and does describe Israel in the Wilderness (like at Sinai). (Revelation 17:3 and Hosea 2:3) 

· Jerusalem is not a port city.  Well… actually the scriptures never say Mystery Babylon is a port city, just that she is cast down like a millstone in the water. Also, it says the merchants who are made wealthy by her mourn over her destruction. This does not imply she is a port city. Furthermore, the merchants and ships stand afar off watching her burning. This also does not indicate that she is a port city. Just those who rely on her for trade realize her demise ends all trade that they are made rich by.

· That the Israel lobby is not nearly as rich as the Saudi lobby…ignoring over 2,000 years of history that would have made the merchants rich by this group that represent Jerusalem…yet for much of that time…not in Jerusalem…starting with Yeshua’s criticism of the Pharisees and their lust for wealth and trade in the temple…and their subsequent exile.

· That Mystery Babylon must be seen destroyed from the Red Sea. While those very same scriptures are talking about Edom and not about Mystery Babylon. Again, Joel could be misapplying the Beast’s destruction with Mystery Babylon.

· That the term “Mother of Harlots” is a strictly quantitative assessment of size of a religion and not truly a mother engendering harlots who then serve her via trade. This analysis was not based in the bible or scripture in any way shape or form.

· That the Beast and the Harlot that rides her are both scarlet in color, and he indicates they must be of the same religion. (Revelation 17:3-4) To be clear the scriptures don’t say they are the same color. The Beast is scarlet and the Harlot is wearing purple and scarlet. Before we run off with this, I would remind Joel that the tabernacle was also of purple and scarlet. 

Revelation 17:3, So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 5 And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.

Exodus 26:1, Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them.

· Note that the priest’s garments are…purple and scarlet.

Exodus 28:4, And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office. 5 And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.

· Scarlet is not necessarily indicative that Mystery Babylon is the same religion as the Beast. 

Numbers 19:2, This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke:..5 And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn: 6 And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer. 7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even.

Many have made much of the Red Heifer being a symbol of the Messiah. Now I won’t debate that the symbols of the Messiah are cast into the midst of the Red Heifer, but that does not make the Red Heifer the Messiah. It could mean that the Red Heifer is symbolic of Israel/Jerusalem and the Messiah’s redemptive symbols are put in the midst of her sacrifice. Notice you have a Red Heifer and a Scarlet thread. 

What I find interesting is that many Rabbis and Torah teachers admit that the Red Heifer sacrifice is a quandary and confusing.

[King] Solomon [said]: “All these [commandments] I have fully understood, but as for the section dealing with the Red Heifer, I have investigated and inquired and examined, but I have been unable to fathom it. [Then] I said [in the Book of Ecclesiastes]: “I will get wisdom, but it was far from me.” [Eccl. 7:23]

Remember at Israel’ pinnacle moment when meeting with Yehova at Mt. Sinai, while Moses is on the mountain for 40 days, Israel commands Aaron to make a replacement for Moses (not God) to lead them on their journey. 

Exodus 32:1, And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

They demand a Golden (Red) Calf to worship. Moses is typical of the Melchizedek priesthood (Heavenly/On the Mountain) that has been gone for 40 days (Jubilees) and the Aaronic priesthood (Levitical/Earthly tabernacle) tries to make a replacement for him. This is Israel’s great controversy at Mt. Sinai when they came out of Egypt and again 2,000 years ago when the Levitical Priesthood (Pharisees and Sadducees-the Sanhedrin) sought to reject the Melchizedek Priesthood sent by God to cleanse their garments. The Messianic symbols had to be combined with their (Red Heifer) sacrifice. But they again refused in the midst of the (creation) week.

This great controversy is trying to replace the Image of God (the Messiah) with a broken idol. This is where Mystery Babylon’s story begins…man’s first collective effort to replace God and ascend without a redeemer.

Genesis 11:1, And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. 4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. 5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6 And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

Their attempt to ascend to become like God, even though all of mankind was still in exile from God, was not permitted. The result: God corrupted their language (image) to cause them to scatter and to restrain them from achieving their goal. What is of great interest is that this is the root of Babylon (Babel), ascending without a redeemer. This is the pattern that Israel attempted. Before doing so the Torah was given by Yehova with great signs.

“Rabbi Yochanan saying, “God’s voice, as it was uttered, split up into seventy voices, in 70 languages, so that all the nations should understand.” The number 70 in Scripture is usually associated with “the nations.”

Just as God’s judgement at Babel confused the languages of the world, God confirmed His covenant with the speaking and understanding of the 70 languages. These two events are connected thematically in their prophetic meaning. We see this same occurrence again after the sacrifice of Yeshua and His resurrection. God confirmed the acceptance of His sacrifice by manifesting the cloven tongues of the Shekinah Glory and the utterance of the 70 languages showing the undoing of the Babylon curse for those in Yeshua.

Acts 2:1, And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

It is my belief that the original Babel and the subsequent judgement of God, the giving of the Torah and the presentation of Moses as the Melchizedek priest (Messiah/True Image of God) serving in conjunction with the Levitical (Aaronic Priest), is the pattern of redemption and ascension which undoes the curse of confused languages and enables ascension (resurrection). 

The Red Heifer shows the conflict of the true image of God with the broken image of mankind (Golden Calf/Mystery Babylon) and how the redeemer and the redeemed come into contact and one makes the other clean and the other makes the other unclean for a time. If this prophetic pattern continues to play out on a grand scale you have to question if Esau and Jacob are the prototypical pattern of Jerusalem vs Edom…or if the real prophetic pattern turns into Earthly Jerusalem vs the Heavenly Jerusalem. Again, I have no debate that Edom, Esau, the “Assyrian” is the Beast. But we should be careful not to ascribe the characteristics and destruction of the Beast with the Harlot who is riding the Beast. Notice God is so put out by the Harlot that He commands the Beast to destroy her. Who does the Beast go after from the very start?

Revelation 13:4, And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

Given the fact that the Beast is speaking against Yehova and His Name and His Tabernacle…it would appear clear that the Beast is attacking Israel…not just Christians globally. At the start of his reign, it is doubtful that his war is global at this point. He is coalescing power in the Middle East. It would appear his target is Israel. Again, I ask if the Beast is Islam and the Harlot riding the Beast is Islam…where does this scripture show the Islamic Beast warring against “non-believers” in Yeshua (Jesus Christ)?  It doesn’t. It shows his 42 months war is against “saints” where the name of Yehova abides and His tabernacle. So having a scarlet Beast and a scarlet and purple harlot does not necessitate they are both Islamic. In fact, the scriptures state quite plainly that Esau is aggrieved over the yoke upon his neck…and that yoke was placed there by his brother Jacob.

Genesis 27:40, And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

Now I freely admit I could be wrong. It is a mystery after all. But if I am wrong, it is hopefully on a sounder scriptural assessment than the analysis that I saw in Joel Richardson’s 11 or so hours of review on this topic. I think it started out well, but often delved into unscriptural assumptions and emotional statements. The amount of actual scriptural assessment Joel conducted could have been done in a one or two hour session.

He concludes the 11 hours with, … “How do you reconcile those things…I don’t know…What is the answer to the identity of the Woman (Mystery Babylon)? I’m not really sure.” (Joel Richardson). To say the least I was shocked by these statements and found them to be either disingenuous or he has realized that his 2017 book is wrong. 

I expected a better conclusion after spending 11 hours of his sometimes personal and less analytical critiques of every other theory. His assessment that Jerusalem being Mystery Babylon was a “teaching from the pit of hell” and subsequently we can only assume anyone who teaches about this possibility is nothing less than demon spawn…left me questioning his ability to do exegesis. I do wonder if he was in the middle of his own eisegesis crisis.

In this series he labels some respected theologians with psychological problems. Whether those statements are historically true or not I do not know, but it seemed hardly appropriate to determine the veracity of a theological position based on what you think of the personality of another person.

Where Joel forbids anyone from talking bad about Jerusalem…because that’s God’s family…he does repeatedly recognize that Jerusalem does fit the scriptural bill theologically for Mystery Babylon. He admits that he cannot (or will not) reconcile the duality of Jerusalem’s characteristics. He does seem able to do it for Saudi Arabia…even though his 2017 book identifies Saudi Arabia and Mecca as being Mystery Babylon. 

This is not the kind of theological analytical consistency I am looking for. I actually expect much more from Joel Richardson. Underneath the thin shine of stated deep research I found much of the 11 hours to be ad hominem attacks and storytelling. To me this issue is much more of a math equation that needs to follow strict rules and depend upon ridged analytical behavior. 

This is the difficulty I suppose of being a popular author. Once you find out you could be wrong, do you have the integrity to own up to the data or do you rigidly defend your castle doctrine that brought you to the limelight? The Bible is clear…you cannot be a Christian and ignore truth.

Now I will freely admit one thing…even though my current scriptural assessment is that earthly Jerusalem is Mystery Babylon. It is entirely possible that the entire Earth is Mystery Babylon. Without going into too much scriptural detail I will highlight why…

Babel, the original great city begins with the collective unification of all tribes under one language in one city with one man made mountain (tower). The complaint of the martyrs is against those “who dwell on the earth”. It is entirely possible that Jerusalem is a type of that prophetic pattern. The Beast turns on Jerusalem by invading it and making it his own trying to establish his own one world government. The final destruction of the Mystery Babylon is the destruction visited upon the whole earth and all its inhabitants that have not ascended in the resurrection pre-wrath. Mystery Babylon is conquered by the Beast mid-tribulation and it becomes his. His identity becomes wrapped in Mystery Babylon and its second “fallen… Is fallen” occurs at the end of the tribulation with the destruction that falls on all those who are left on the earth. 

Both Jerusalem and Babylon have the call for God’s people to leave it behind or be destroyed. Like Noah and his family who ascend on the waters and are saved from the destruction. Those who are left on the earth go through the destruction of Mystery Babylon. Just as you had Noah beholding the destruction of the world from the sea, you see the merchants and ships beholding the destruction of the “great city” from the sea. Have we assumed that these merchants are looking at a single port city, but incorrectly so? Could it be that all global trade is destroyed at this event? 

Revelation 18:11, And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

Revelation 6:10, And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

Revelation 18:24, And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

These scriptures could have a global connotation.

We are only interested in the truth…and someday, God willing, both Joel and I will be given the truth…hopefully without embarrassing ourselves too much. I hope his repeatedly stated friendship for brothers who disagree with him is as deep as he says. Because I think his assessment is wrong… and believe me I hope mine is also. God bless Israel and all believers in Yeshua.

If you would like to read more about Mystery Babylon, please read Ken Mentell’s “Mystery Babylon vs the Restrainer” sold on Amazon.