Bible Study Guides – The Time of the Domination of Modern Babylon

August 28, 2004 – September 3, 2004

Memory Verse

“These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him [are] called, and chosen, and faithful.” Revelation 17:14.

Suggested Reading: The Great Controversy, 438, 439; Uriah Smith, Daniel and the Revelation, Southern Publishing Association, Nashville, Tennessee, 1944, 270–299.

Introduction

“The accession of the Roman Church to power marked the beginning of the Dark Ages. As her power increased, the darkness deepened. Faith was transferred from Christ, the true foundation, to the pope of Rome. . . . They [the people] were taught that the pope was their earthly mediator and that none could approach God except through him; and, further, that he stood in the place of God to them and was therefore to be implicitly obeyed. A deviation from his requirements was sufficient cause for the severest punishment to be visited upon the bodies and souls of the offenders.” The Great Controversy, 55.

1 For how long would modern Babylon exercise dominion over God’s people and law? Daniel 7:25.

note: “ ‘Power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.’ And, says the prophet, ‘I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death.’ [Revelation 13:5, 3.] And again: ‘He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword.’ The forty and two months are the same as the ‘time and times and the dividing of time,’ three years and a half, or 1260 days, of Daniel 7—the time during which the papal power was to oppress God’s people. This period, as stated in preceding chapters, began with the supremacy of the papacy,
a.d. 538, and terminated in 1798. At that time the pope was made captive by the French army, the papal power received its deadly wound, and the prediction was fulfilled, ‘He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity.’ ” The Great Controversy, 439.

2 In prophetic time, what is the scale of measurement? Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6.

note: “A day in prophecy stands for a year.” The Desire of Ages, 233.

3 How is this same period of affliction for the church expressed in Revelation 12:14, 6?

note: “In the sixth century the papacy had become firmly established. Its seat of power was fixed in the imperial city, and the bishop of Rome was declared to be the head over the entire church. Paganism had given place to the papacy. The dragon had given to the beast ‘his power, and his seat, and great authority.’ Revelation 13:2. And now began the 1260 years of papal oppression foretold in the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation. Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:5–7. Christians were forced to choose either to yield their integrity and accept the papal ceremonies and worship, or to wear away their lives in dungeons or suffer death by the rack, the fagot, or the headsman’s ax. . . . Persecution opened upon the faithful with greater fury than ever before, and the world became a vast battlefield. For hundreds of years the church of Christ found refuge in seclusion and obscurity.” The Great Controversy, 54, 55.

4 What events mark the beginning of the period when the saints were “given into his hand” (Daniel 7:25)?

note: “ ‘The decree of the emperor Justinian, issued in a.d. 533, recognized the pope as “head of all the holy churches.” (Justinian’s code, book 1, title 1, Baronius’s Annals, a.d. 533.) The overwhelming defeat of the Ostrogoths in the siege of Rome, five years later,
a.d. 538, was a deathblow to the independence of the Arian power then ruling Italy, and was therefore a notable date in the development of papal supremacy. With the period 533–538, then, commences the twelve hundred and sixty years of this prophecy, which would extend to the period 1793–1798. The year 1793 was the year of the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution, and the year when the Roman Catholic religion was set aside in France, and the worship of reason was established in its stead.’ Bible Readings, edition of 1916, page 223.” Sabbath School Lesson Quarterly, Pacific Press Publishing Association, Mountain View, California, April 1918, 25.

5 What events mark the close of this prophetic period? Revelation 13:10.

note: “ ‘As a direct result of the revolt against papal authority in the French Revolution, the French army, under Berthier, entered Rome, and the pope was taken prisoner February 10, 1798, dying in exile at Valence, France, the following year.’ Bible Readings, edition of 1916, page 223.” Sabbath School Lesson Quarterly, Pacific Press Publishing Association, Mountain View, California, April 1918, 25.

6 What does the Revelator say concerning the power of this system over God’s people? Revelation 13:7.

note: “The Roman Church now presents a fair front to the world, covering with apologies her record of horrible cruelties. She has clothed herself in Christlike garments; but she is unchanged. Every principle of the papacy that existed in past ages exists today. The doctrines devised in the darkest ages are still held. Let none deceive themselves. The papacy that Protestants are now so ready to honor is the same that ruled the world in the days of the Reformation, when men of God stood up, at the peril of their lives, to expose her iniquity. She possesses the same pride and arrogant assumption that lorded it over kings and princes, and claimed the prerogatives of God. Her spirit is no less cruel and despotic now than when she crushed out human liberty and slew the saints of the Most High.

“The papacy is just what prophecy declared that she would be, the apostasy of the latter times. 11 Thessalonians 2:3, 4. It is a part of her policy to assume the character which will best accomplish her purpose; but beneath the variable appearance of the chameleon she conceals the invariable venom of the serpent. ‘Faith ought not to be kept with heretics, nor persons suspected of heresy’ (Lenfant, volume 1, page 516), she declares. Shall this power, whose record for a thousand years is written in the blood of the saints, be now acknowledged as a part of the church of Christ?

“It is not without reason that the claim has been put forth in Protestant countries that Catholicism differs less widely from Protestantism than in former times. There has been a change; but the change is not in the papacy. Catholicism indeed resembles much of the Protestantism that now exists, because Protestantism has so greatly degenerated since the days of the Reformers.” The Great Controversy, 571.

7 In the final and full destruction of mystic Babylon, who will be the conqueror? Revelation 17:14, first part.

note: “Today, Satan has great power in the world. He has been permitted to have proprietorship of this earth for an appointed time. During this period, when iniquity prevails, men and women are given a chance to take sides. In every possible way, Satan tries to make the broad road attractive and the narrow road grievous, humiliating, and objectionable. He lays ingenious plans to allure men and women to indulge appetite. Cheap, unsatisfying pleasures are made all and in all in this degenerate age. Satan throws his glamour about these amusements, which eclipse eternal things. Many will sell their birthright, as did Esau, for trifling consideration by the indulgence of appetite. Worldly pleasure will appear more desirable to them than the heavenly birthright.

“But Christ has overcome in our behalf. He was the only one who could be a competent Saviour. He had divine wisdom, ability, and power. He could stand before the world as a wonderful Counsellor, the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” The Upward Look, 39.

8 What qualifications have they who share in the victory? Revelation 17:14, last part.

note: “In all ages the Lord has had a people who, while holding communion with God, have by word and character called the attention of their fellow-men to the grand themes that are of eternal interest to humanity. Saints and martyrs of former ages, and the disciples who were privileged to hear the lessons from the lips of Jesus, were holy and self-denying. They were beloved and honoured of God above many who in our day profess to be disciples of Christ and teachers of the people,—not because God is a respecter of persons; not because a clearer, brighter light shone upon them, but because they steadfastly believed the truth, and practiced it in the daily life. These men faithfully improved their talents, and God registered them among His profitable servants. They were acknowledged and honoured by God because they were faithful to the light which shone upon them. To those around them they reflected that light received from the Light of the world. By their close connection with heaven, their pure and holy conversation, they became channels of light and blessing to the world. They walked humbly with their God, rejoicing, not in the favour and praise of men, but in the light of truth. They did not seek ways, nor fashion excuses, whereby they might evade obedience to the commandments of Jehovah. The chosen of God believed His word, rested on His promises, and their steadfast confidence and strong faith made them willing and able to suffer the loss of all things for His dear sake.” The Bible Echo, January 4, 1897.

9 Who is called to rejoice over the downfall of modern Babylon? Revelation 18:20.

note: “The summary desolation of Babylon brings victory and joy to all righteous beings throughout the universe. . . . The inhabitants of heaven are first to rejoice in the triumph of Christ and His church. . . . She had decreed the death of God’s people . . . but now suffers the very fate to which she had consigned them.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 865, 866.

“The world see the very class whom they have mocked and derided, and desired to exterminate, pass unharmed through pestilence, tempest, and earthquake. He who is to the transgressors of His law a devouring fire, is to His people a safe pavilion.” The Great Controversy, 654.

10 How complete will be the destruction of this system? Revelation 18:21–23. Compare Jeremiah 51:64.

note: “When the voice of God turns the captivity of His people, there is a terrible awakening of those who have lost all in the great conflict of life. While probation continued they were blinded by Satan’s deceptions, and they justified their course of sin. The rich prided themselves upon their superiority to those who were less favored; but they had obtained their riches by violation of the law of God. They had neglected to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to deal justly, and to love mercy. They had sought to exalt themselves and to obtain the homage of their fellow creatures. Now they are stripped of all that made them great and are left destitute and defenseless. They look with terror upon the destruction of the idols which they preferred before their Maker. They have sold their souls for earthly riches and enjoyments, and have not sought to become rich toward God. The result is, their lives are a failure; their pleasures are now turned to gall, their treasures to corruption. The gain of a lifetime is swept away in a moment. The rich bemoan the destruction of their grand houses, the scattering of their gold and silver. But their lamentations are silenced by the fear that they themselves are to perish with their idols.

“The wicked are filled with regret, not because of their sinful neglect of God and their fellow men, but because God has conquered. They lament that the result is what it is; but they do not repent of their wickedness. They would leave no means untried to conquer if they could.” The Great Controversy, 654.

11 What does this judgment discover in her? Revelation 18:24.

note: “Those who have once been convicted of the truth, but have resisted the Holy Spirit’s influence, walk and work in co-partnership with Satan, the first apostate. Blinded by the sophistry of him who was once found in the heavenly courts, they join his ranks. The apostle Paul, speaking of this says, ‘Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.’ [1 Timothy 4:1, 2.] Those who have turned away from a plain, ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ will be blinded in a superstitious faith in every kind of apostasy, and will be led into that terrible iniquity which God’s word represents as being drunken with the blood of the saints.” Review and Herald, August 31, 1897.

12 Describe the heavenly rejoicing over Babylon’s downfall. Revelation 19:1–6.

note: “Satan’s work of ruin is forever ended. For six thousand years he has wrought his will, filling the earth with woe and causing grief throughout the universe. The whole creation has groaned and travailed together in pain. Now God’s creatures are forever delivered from his presence and temptations. ‘The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they [the righteous] break forth into singing.’ Isaiah 14:7. And a shout of praise and triumph ascends from the whole loyal universe. ‘The voice of a great multitude,’ ‘as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings,’ is heard, saying: ‘Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.’ Revelation 19:6.” The Great Controversy, 673.

These lessons are adapted from Sabbath School Lesson Quarterly, Pacific Press Publishing Association, Mountain View, California, 1918.