Jovial (6 March 2014)
"What are the richest Countries, and who is "Babylon"?"

At http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/feb2014/mathman221.htm , Mathman made a list of the "wherein merchants have become rich because of their abundant treasures" and included only the following:

  • U.S.A.
  • Modern-Day Europe
  • Future Europe

...and then went on to "prove" that the USA was Babylon, based partly on the idea that only countries that made this list could be considered candidates.  One problem, however, is that a lot of countries were left off this list that should have been included. And by the time the Tribulations get here, could new nations/cities outdo the ones at the top now?

At http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten/world-top-ten-richest-countries-map.html is a list of the richest countries in the world.  Neither the USA nor Europe is at the top of this list.  Qatar is at the top of this list, a country in the Mid East.  They became rich through selling oil to the world, certainly, that counts as an "abundant treasure" as I cited in http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/mar2014/jovial34.htm .

Singapore is number 3 on the list and half of that list's top 10 are no where near the USA or Europe.

There's a longer list at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita that includes Tawain, Japan, Israel, South Korea, and several countries in the Mid East as being in the top 25 as well.  And there's no telling who will be at the top when the False Messiah rises to power.  Financial shifts may occur between now and then, and all it would take for China or some of its major cities (since prophecy is about a city , not a entire nation) to bolt ahead of the USA is for them to call in the loans they have made to the USA.

So making a short list of the country you WANT to be Babylon, and not letter richer countries on that list, and allowing only one other country, really is not a valid way to establish the USA as "Babylon".  The USA is not the richest country on the list, and in decline compared to numerous countries.  China is on the rise while the USA is in decline in terms of relative wealth.  "Babylon" is a CITY, not a country.  And it is a city that is IMPRESSIVELY wealthy.  The USA is not impressively wealthy, because our relative wealth is declining, and we are resting on our past performance in many respects.  India and China are on the rise and getting richer.  The USA is getting richer, but losing ground competitively to many nations.  It was at its height in the post-WWII era, in the 1950s and 1960s, when it produced the biggest chunk of the world's wealth.  But that is not the case anymore.  Several countries on the Saudi Penninsula have risen GREATLY in their wealth status since the 1970s through trade and fit the bill better than the USA.  Countries that are near - the ANCIENT BABYLON!  WOW!

Also, if you measure this by CITIES, you'd get a different story.  Many countries look bad on the fore-mentioned list because they are heavily rural.  Wealth is measured by money, but many "poor" farmers don't feel like they need money.  They grow their wealth, and it does not get counted in measurements of wealth like what is at the URL I cited earlier.  Cities like Dubai, Hong Kong, and many others would be far higher on this list if their poor rural areas were not dragging down their standings.

No cityin the USA is impressively wealthy in our current times.  The nation as a whole WAS impressively wealthy at one point in the past.  But it no longer rises above Europe or Japan or several Saudi cities and numerous other places.  I think Babylon will be a place that will make present day USA look poor.