Hi Cliff,
The issue is that people fail to see that Revelation 17 is speaking of a religious system headquartered in one city, that is destroyed in the middle of the Tribulation. On the other hand Revelation 18 is about a city of commerce located in literal Babylon, destroyed at a latter time in the Tribulation, which will bring complete fulfillment to many partially fulfilled OT prophecies.
The Babylon in Revelation 18 does not have the word "mystery" tied to it as does the religious system, which is obviously the mystic Babylonian system that has continued on through history under different veneers. Many believe this religious system is the location of the "throne of Satan" (Revelation 2:13), which moved from Babylon, to Pergamos and many believe it currently resides in Rome.
From my Pre-Trib rapture study:
The Babylonian religion will rise:
The supernatural signs and wonders will not only be deceptive, but they will also give rise to a global cult. I believe the supernatural war of Ezekiel 38-39 will occur soon after the rapture and possibly at the beginning of the Tribulation. (Check out my study on the "Gog and Magog War" and its timing). There will be no such thing as an atheist after this supernatural war.
Based on the members of the confederacy of this War, followers of Islam will be severely judged and a majority will be killed. If the timing of this war occurs near the beginning of the Tribulation, those left after the rapture that claim Christianity and the survivors that are Muslim will be clamoring for answers as they reconsider what they had believed. We find that a multitude will find their answers in the Truth (Revelation 7:9-17), but many more will be swept away and deceived by the signs and wonders, as we saw in the last section.
Revelation 17 describes the first half of the Tribulation as being ruled by a harlot called "Mystery Babylon". Throughout the Old Testament, we see that someone was called a "harlot" when they sought after foreign gods instead of the One True God. So the harlot in Revelation 17 is a religious system that will follow after a false god or gods. To further understand what this religious system is, we need to go back to Genesis 10, where we are introduced to a mighty hunter named Nimrod who built and ruled over the city of Babel.
Turning over to Genesis 11, we see that the people of this city tried to build a tower to the heavens. We are told in verse 4 that the reason for building this tower was because they wanted to make a name for themselves. God had commanded them to spread out and fill the earth back in Genesis 9:1, but they decided instead, to stay in one area. By making a name for themselves with the tower, they were shaking their fists at God in rebellion. This original Babylonian system was simply the gathering of the people under the leadership of Nimrod to do their own will, rather than that of God. To stop this, God confused their language and forced them to scatter over the earth, as He had commanded them to do in the first place.
Historical accounts tell us that Nimrod's wife, Semiramis, believed that after Nimrod died he should be worshipped as a god. When her son Tammuz came along, she claimed that he was supernaturally conceived and purported that he was the Messiah promised back in Genesis 3:15. Out of this came the mother/son worship. We see this theme resonate in many of the ancient religions of the past and even still today for many in the Catholic Church. Mary has been made more prominent than Jesus by being prayed to or even worshiped by some Catholics. Interestingly, even the Muslims have a special reverence for Mary as they believe Jesus was a prophet. There are also many new age and cultic groups that worship the earth as a goddess.
The point here is, that the Babylonian system that was started under Nimrod, will come full circle as the religious system that Satan uses to deceive the masses at the beginning of the Tribulation. What is left of those that claim Christianity after the rapture and those left of Islam after the war in Ezekiel 38-39, will readily buy into a religious system that already has a flavor of what they've always believed. In other words, most of the world religions could be brought together with the beliefs that many of them already have in common: a savior or prophet born of a virgin or a goddess.
Revelation 17:6 tells us that the harlot is drunk with the blood of the saints and the martyrs of Jesus. Apparently, anyone that doesn't buy into the Mystery Babylon religion will be seen as a traitor or infidel worthy of death. The Muslims already believe that, but Christianity has also had an ugly history of killing people that didn't convert to their religion. There will certainly have to be a strong delusion at the beginning of the Tribulation that would bring all faiths together and be so adamant that all should convert or die.
Amazingly, many of the faiths of the world are already trying to find common ground for peace and understanding. They believe that there can't be world peace without peace between all religions first. Interfaith conferences and events are rapidly on the rise. Churches or other religious groups that refuse to be a part of these activities have been accused of being intolerant, extreme or hateful. Ironically, the religious system that will rise out of this growing movement at the beginning of the Tribulation will be all of those things.
http://www.trackingbibleprophecy.org/rapture2.php#babylonian
Abomination of desolation - The end of Mystery Babylon:As we have seen, the Tribulation will begin with a covenant brokered between the antichrist and Israel. In the same verse in Daniel, we find that this covenant will later be broken by the antichrist by what is called the "abomination of desolation".
Daniel 9:27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate."
This event will mark the middle of the 7 year Tribulation and the beginning of what Jesus said will be "great tribulation" (Matthew 24:21, Mark 13:19). By this he meant that it will be the darkest time in all of creation. Most of the population of the earth will be killed, as the worst of God's Judgments fall on mankind, at the same time the antichrist is given dominion over the whole world (Revelation 13:7).
To find out what the "abomination of desolation" will be, we need to look at a similar prophecy in Daniel 11, that has already been fulfilled:
Daniel 11:30-31..."So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation.
This prophecy in Daniel 11 was fulfilled in the sixth century B.C. by the Syrian King Antiochus. The "abomination of desolation" was that Antiochus defiled the temple by sacrificing a sow on the altar. He also set up a statue of a Greek god in the holy of holies. The "abomination of desolation" has not happened again since Christ spoke this prophecy in Matthew 24 and Mark 13.
Scriptures show that a Jewish Temple will stand in the last days and the sacrifices will begin again (Daniel 9:27, Daniel 12:8-11, 2 Thessalonians 2:3, Revelation 13:14-15). The Antichrist will fulfill this future prophecy by defiling the Temple and stopping the sacrifices in the middle of the Tribulation. The antichrist will also proclaim himself to be God.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
The antichrist's false prophet, a man who acts as a counterfeit of the Holy Spirit, will have an idol of the antichrist made and he will require everyone to worship it:
Revelation 13:14-15 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
The "abomination of desolation" will mark the point that the antichrist starts to take full reign. Earlier we saw that the Mystery Babylon religion will be the tool Satan uses to bring the world together. The Bible tells us that before the antichrist takes full power, the world will be under the leadership of ten rulers. These ten rulers eventually will destroy the Mystery Babylon religion and hand their power over to the antichrist:
Revelation 17:15-17 Then he said to me, "The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.
I believe that the "abomination of desolation" and the destruction of the Babylonian religion will come after the antichrist is resurrected from the dead (Revelation 17:8). The world will be able to watch this happen via satellite technology or the internet. After they witness this, it is not hard to see how the world would readily accept the antichrist to be their god. It's probable that the ten leaders will kill whoever the religious leader or leaders of the Babylonian religion are at that time, based on the gruesome picture of the Harlot being destroyed that we see in Revelation 17 above.
In spite of other religions being persecuted by the Mystery Babylon religion, the Jewish religion apparently will be protected under the covenant during the first half of the Tribulation. This is because we see that the sacrifices at the Jewish Temple will continue until the antichrist stops them. After the Temple is defiled, anybody that gets caught worshiping any god other than the antichrist will be killed. The false prophet institutes the mark of the beast system to enforce, through vital economic means, the worship of the antichrist (Revelation 13).
When the 5th Seal Judgment is broken early in the Tribulation, believers will widely be martyred for their faith. During the first half of the Tribulation we saw that most of the persecutors will be of the Mystery Babylon religion (Revelation 17:6). However, later when the antichrist is given full control, the Tribulation Saints will then be overcome by the system of the Beast:
Revelation 13:7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.
The Church will not be on Earth during this holocaust of believers. Back to our study of dispensations, the Church cannot be present when Mystery Babylon or the antichrist has dominion over the Saints, because while the Church is on the earth, we will continue to have dominion and prevail over evil (Matthew 16:18-19, Ephesians 6:10-20).
http://www.trackingbibleprophecy.org/rapture3.php#abomination
Maranatha!
Amy Van Gerpen
Cliff Hughes (21 Feb 2012)
"Where Is The The Mystery In Babylon"
Definition Of The Word "Mystery":
(a) anything that is kept secret or remains unexplained or unknown.
(b) obscure, puzzling, or mysterious quality or character
(c) any truth that is unknowable except by divine revelation.
My response: Based on the above definition of mystery, I can't seem to find anything mysterious if the
Babylon of revelation is Iraq. It seem to me it has to be anything other than Iraq, otherwise there is
no puzzle to be solved.