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| | Chapters 17-19 |
 | | Those nations, the kings of the earth, the merchants who grew rich from her excessive luxuries, are all the activities of a nation, not a church, so the modern idea that Babylon is the Roman Catholic Church or any other church just doesn't stand up. |
 | | The great prostitute in v2, Babylon in v5, the references to Christian persecutions in v6, the seven hills in v9 (Rome sits on seven hills, Jerusalem also being excluded from being Babylon as she sits on only two hills,) all would clearly refer to Roman oppression. |
 | | It is my view that the original readers would understand the images in chapter seventeen to represent not the Roman Catholic Church, or any other church, but the Roman Empire, with some images alluding to Rome, others to the Emperor. |
| www.cpuinc.net /~rcjhicks/ch17-19.html (573 words) |
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