Babylon Rising

Is Babylon merely a symbolic representation of the conspicuous consumption for the United States or perhaps the "World System" based on capitalism? In the Book of Revelation, was John speaking in purely spiritual terms, or is this Babylon a physical kingdom just like the ancient kingdom of Daniel's day? What do all the other kingdoms mentioned in Daniel, Revelation, and by other prophets tell us about the end times? What is going to happen when the LORD returns? We all want to know what the future holds. As believers, we gravitate to biblical prophecy to find the answers to these questions frequently trying to impose our present day situation, leader, and nations on the biblical descriptions. But what is the biblical approach to prophecy? What is the purpose of biblical prophecy? Is it to foretell the future in explicit detail, or is it to point us to signs and markers, guiding us on our pathway through our walk and new life in Yeshua? More importantly, does it call us to repent and return to God, or is it a convenient vehicle to explain what is going on in the world and then just forget? Also, do we look at biblical prophecy from our modern Western mindset, or do we strive to understand it in its historic and cultural context, reflected in the time it was written? These are the major questions that we will strive to answer as we look at Babylon from a biblical perspective.