My question centers on Revelation 17:18 where one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls tells John the identity of the harlot who sits on the beast. He tells John that “The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.” At the time of John’s revelation, it is my understanding that the ancient city of Babylon was in ruins or certainly insignificant. The angel is speaking to John in present tense as best as I can determine and the only city that ruled in John’s day was Rome. Add to this the evidence given to John in the earlier portion of chapter 17 indicating that the harlot is sitting on seven heads that are seven mountains. Rome is the city on seven hills (mountains). What is the relationship between Rome and ancient Babylon or am I way off the bench mark?
All of the pagan religions had their origins in Babylon. After Babylon declined, the headquarters of these religions was moved to Pergamus (Pergamum) in modern Turkey. In Rev. 2:13 Jesus called Pergamus the city “where Satan has his throne.” When the Church was merged with these religions Rome became the capitol.
In a cryptic prophecy from Zechariah 5:5-10 we can see that the center for these religions will one day be moved back to Babylon. Many scholars believe this will happen at the end of the age. That’s the connection between Rome and Babylon.