Babylon the Large one at the Witnesses of Jéhovah

For the Pilot of Jéhovah , Babylon Large the , which is mentioned under the features of a prostitute in the book of the Revelation, represents the whole of the religions of the world except theirs. According to their Doctrines, they all will be destroyed by the political elements and the United Nations, which would be represented in the Bible under the features of a wild beast with seven heads and ten horns on which the prostitute had sat before.

Definition

The Témoins of Jéhovah define Babylon thus the Large one: acts of the world empire of false the Religion S, which includes all the religions whose lesson and practices are not harmonizes some with the pure Culte of Jéhovah, only true God. The false worship was born in Babel (known later under the name of Babylon), little time after the Déluge (Gen. 10:8 - 10; 11:4 - 9). Gradually, the beliefs and the practices of the Babylonian Religion were spread in many countries. This is why Babylon the Large one is a name which is appropriate well for the false religions considered in their ensemble.

History

Following the example George Storrs and first Adventistes which influenced it, Charles Taze Russell, the founder of the Students of the Bible (who are the ancestors of the Witnesses of Jéhovah), posted a dislike for the Églises of the Chrétienté which he regarded as being Babylon the Large one. He thought however that it was possible to be generated the Holy Spirit of the true Church and to obtain thus safety while adhering to the one institutions of the Chrétienté (particularly with the Protestantisme).

However, while declaring that one generally did not observe the greatest simplicity of Christ except among the members of the Association of the students of the Bible, Russell thought that it fell on each Christian to leave the Christian confession to which he belongs, in particular after 1881, and to join to the other true Christians, members of the New Creation, namely the Students of the Bible. Towards the end of its life, although it expressed sympathy towards the Juifs and the Sionisme in general, Russell became increasingly critical towards the majority of the religions which it regarded as Babylon the Large one, the mother of the prostitutes. However, at the beginning, the latter related to only the Églises of the Chrétienté, and in particular the Catholic church.

In order to denounce the falseness of Babylon the Large one, the Société Watchtower frequently quoted in its publications the work of D Alexander Hyslop entitled Both Babylones ; according to the Frères of Plymouth which are in the beginning, the Témoins of Jéhovah would be the principal purchasers of this book.

Characteristics

The Témoins of Jéhovah reject the progressive ideas by good number of biblists, according to whom Babylon the Large one would be a political empire, such as Babylon or Rome. They estimate that it cannot be a question of the old town of Babylon, because for them, the book of the Revelation was written at the end of the first century of our era and it describes events which would be prolonged until the contemporary time and beyond. They note that when Babylon the Large one undergoes the attack devastator of the ten horns of the wild beast symbolic system, its fall is deplored by his/her companions of fornication, the kings of the ground, as by the itinerant merchants who provided him luxury items; however, as no religious representative carries out mourning with the others on his fall, the Témoins of Jéhovah conclude from it that Babylon the Large one is a religious empire.

To defend this teaching, the religious movement advances various arguments making it possible to identify Babylon the Large one:

the ancient Babylon was known for the pagan Religion which occurred in its center. The Witnesses quote in this respect profane sources which would show that this ancient city was a high place of the Paganisme.

the Belief S and the religious practices of the ancient Babylon are found in the religions of the whole world, namely its divinities, her use of images, the beliefs relating to the survival of the heart after death, the institution of the priesthood, the practice of the Astrologie, the Divination, the magic and the Sorcellerie. In the same way, they use quotations illustrating their dires.

Babylon the Large one according to the biblical account is compared with a Prostituée which lives in a scandalous luxury, and for them the religious organizations, in particular the Clergé, live in opulence with the detriment of the common people.

While being based on Revelation 18:4, the Témoins of Jéhovah think that it is urgent for each one to leave Babylon the Large one, in other words of leaving its Religion to join theirs.

Criticisms

See also: Critical of the beliefs of the Witnesses of Jéhovah#Exclusivité of the hello and critical of the other religions

The identification of Babylon the Large one, “the mother of the prostitutes”, with all the other religions except theirs was worth with the Témoins of Jéhovah criticisms on behalf of the others Religion S which estimate that those show Intolérance.

See too

Large prostitute
Pilot of Critical Jéhovah
of the beliefs of the Witnesses of Jéhovah
Babylon