Judging the Infamous Harlot - Sitting on Many Waters

Ancient Babylon sat on many waters-the Euphrates River and numerous canals. These were a protection for her as well as a source of comerce producing wealth, until they dried up in one night.  (Jeremiah  50:38; 51:9, 12, 13)  Babylon the Great also looks to "many waters" to protect ad enrich her. These symbolic waters are "peoples and crowds and nations and tongues," that is all the thousands of milions of humans over whom she has dominated and from whom she had drawn material support. But these waters are also drying up, or withdrawing support.  REVELATION 17:15; compare PSALM 18:4; ISAIAH 8:7.

Further, Babylon of old was described as "golden cup  in the hand of Jehovah, she making all the earth drunk."  (Jeremiah 51:7)   Ancient Babylon forced neighboring nations to swallow expressions of Jehovah's anger when she conquered them militaril, making them  weak as drunken men. In that respect, she was was Jehovah's instrument. Babylon the Great, too, has made conquests  to the point of beoming a worldwide empire. But she is certainly not God's intstrument. Rather, she has served "the kings of the earth"with whom she commits religious fornication. She has gratified these kings by using her lying doctrines and enslaving practices to keep the masses of people, those who inabit the earth,"weak as drunken men, passively  subservient  to their rulers. 

Shinto Japan provides a notable example of this.  The indoctrinated Japanese soldier regarded it as the highest  honor to give his live for the emeror-the supreme Shinto god.  During World War II, some 1,5000, 0-00  Japanese soldiers died in battle; almost to a man, they looked at surrencer as dishonorable.  But as a consequence of Japan's defeat, Emperor Hirohito was compelled  to renounce his claim to divinity,  This resulted in a notable  withdrawing of the "waters" supporting the Shinto segment of Babylon the Great-alas, after Shintoism    had sanctioned the shedding of buckets of blood in the Pacific war theater!  This weakening of Shinto influence also opened the way in recent years for more than 200,000 Japanese the great majority of who were formerly Shintoist and Buddhits, to become dedicated, baptized ministes of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

Next time: Juding the Infamous Harlot - The Harlot Rides a Beast

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