"As we have already shown there are two cities and two women presented in the book of Revelation. One of the cities is the holy city, New Jerusalem. The other is called Mystery Babylon. They are symbols and symbols are not what they are called, therefore neither of the two cities is a literal city somewhere on earth. If they are not cities, what are they? They are symbols of something else. If they were real cities, as many commentators suppose, they would not be among all the beautiful symbols of the book of Revelation, which is entirely a book of symbols. Most of the preachers today have the first city confused with other things. The vast majority think that New Jerusalem is a description of heaven; therefore they talk about the city as heaven, having golden streets and mansions over the hill-top. But New Jerusalem cannot be heaven because John sees it coming down from God out of heaven! Church theology today has the Holy City, Heaven, and the Kingdom of God all mixed up and confused. Confused -- oh, yes, that is the mark of Babylon! It is obvious they do not know what the New Jerusalem is, nor what Heaven is, nor what the Kingdom of God is!"
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"This point is illustrated by the following little story. Jackie Gleason told a story of a man who would ride his little blue bicycle through a customs checkpoint. Every day at the same time he rode up. Every time his bicycle basket held three jars: one filled with sand, one filled with water, and one filled with nuts and bolts. The customs agents were suspicious that this man was smuggling, so they would often open up the jars -- but the sand was just sand, the water was just water, the nuts and bolts were just nuts and bolts. Sometimes they would frisk the man himself, and on a few occasions they even took the bicycle itself apart. No contraband was ever found. Yet since this man came through their checkpoint every single day, and no one ever saw him riding back, they just knew he had to be smuggling something. Several years later one of the customs agents stopped the man on the little blue bicycle and said: "Today is my last day. I'm going to retire. I have no desire to catch you but for the sake of my peace of mind, could you tell me what you've been smuggling all these years? The man replied, "I've been smuggling little blue bicycles." Ah -- Revelation is a spiritual book, the Revelation of Jesus Christ! People miss it because they are focusing on something other than that. Like the customs agent who focused on the three jars of sand, water, and nuts and bolts, they focus on world events, history, outward nations, political rulers, national armies, world wars, government conspiracies, etc. -- and MISS THE OBVIOUS! They miss that which is obviously spiritual!"
"There was no literal, geographical city of Babylon on earth in John's day, and there is not one now, nor will there be again, despite the curious interpretations and prophetists who foretell Babylon must be rebuilt over in Iraq for the purpose of being destroyed again. Babylon is ever with us, it was already a reality in John's day and it has been present through all the decades, centuries, and millenniums since John's day. The blessed truth is that the two women and the two cities in the Revelation picture two church systems which have existed side by side throughout the church age. Believers have had a choice to make between the two all of this time."