Revelation 16:10-11 and Leviticus 26:18 Reconciled

PRETERIST BIBLE COMMENTARY Forums Forum Revelation 16:10-11 and Leviticus 26:18 Reconciled

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    In Leviticus 26:18 God promises to punish Israel seven times over for its sin: “‘If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over.”  This threat is fulfilled in the seven seals, bowls and trumpets of Revelation.  If this is true and Israel was to be afflicted seven times over for its sins, how is it that the beast representing Rome is afflicted by the fifth bowl of Revelation 16:10-11?  Most preterists would argue that Babylon in Revelation signifies Jerusalem, and this is certainly true.  However, most preterists are not fully aware that Babylon was an Israelite nickname for Rome dating back at least to the first century B.C. according to 1QpHab of the Dead Sea Scrolls: “For behold, I rouse the Chaldeans [Babylonians], that [bitter and hasty] nation (i.6a).  Interpreted, this concerns the Kittim [Romans] [who are] quick and valiant in war, causing many to perish.” Jerusalem acquires this nickname as a consequence of the adulterous affair depicted in Revelation 17 which pictures Jerusalem, the Whore of Babylon, sitting on the beast as though in the physical act of adultery with Rome.  As a result of this illicit sexual union, the two kingdoms are fused into one flesh as indicated in 1 Corinthians 6:16: “[T]he one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her[.] For He says, “The two shall become one flesh.”  It is because of this adulterous affair that Jerusalem is called the Whore of Babylon (i.e. Rome) in Revelation and it is also why she acquires the nickname “Babylon” (Rome) in Revelation since these two kingdoms had become one flesh.  This unification between Israel and Rome is also depicted in the legs and feet of iron and clay in the statue of Daniel 2.  The iron of the feet represents Rome just like all the other metals signify Gentile empires that ruled over Israel.  The clay symbolizes Israel as implied by the connection between Daniel 2:31-35 and Matthew 21:42-45.  Clay is also a symbol of Israel as exemplified in Isaiah 64:8 and Jeremiah 18:6.  I believe this fusion or mixture of iron and clay is meant to point to the fact that Israel (especially Jerusalem) and Rome had become one unit in the Apocalypse which is why Jerusalem acquires Rome’ s nickname, Babylon.  This fusion due to adultery has its root in the crucifixion in which the religious elites seeking to avoid a costly war with Rome (John 11:50) killed Jesus and shouted, “”We have no king but Caesar” during Jesus’ crucifixion.  The execution of Israel’s spiritual husband and king (and the saints thereafter) in favor of Caesar, the beast, is how first-century Jerusalem committed adultery against God with Rome and thus became one flesh with Rome, her lover.  So if Israel and Rome became one flesh so much so that Jerusalem acquires the spiritual name of Babylon (Rome) if Rome is afflicted by the fifth plague of Revelation in a way so is Israel since they are inextricably fused into one flesh in Daniel and Revelation.  See Revelation 17: A Preterist Commentary and Daniel 2:31-45 Commentary: The 4th and 5th Kingdoms Explained!.

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