One Torah For All

One Torah shall be to him that is home-born, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.
Exodus 12:49

"Behold,
I have told you in advance."

Appendix A:
Coming Out of Babylon

Coming out of Babylon is a concept that is not heard in many quarters in this day and age. However, there are two aspects of coming out of Babylon that will be looked into here: namely, coming out spiritually and coming out physically. The reader would be wise to note that the coming out of Babylon must be done in that order; complete spiritual separation first, then the physical separation.

Avraham is the first Biblical example recorded of a person hearing and obeying the call to come out of Babylon. Here was a man who lived in the very land that founded the Babylonian system. Not only was this the spiritual birth place of all organized false worship, but he also lived in the very land itself. Not too long after the founding of this false system of worship Avraham came onto the scene. There was still enough truth in the land that he was able to follow YHWH in what he knew. That probably consisted of keeping the Shabbat, among other things. For even in Avraham’s day, the worshippers of the false system worshipped on the first day of the week, not the seventh day as YHWH had so instructed His creation from the very beginning.

Therefore, Avraham began to separate himself from the false system, first by observing the true ordinances of the one true Elohim. As a result of this, YHWH sent forth the call to Avraham to come out of Babylon. Avraham obeyed. He packed up with Sarah, his wife, and Terah, his father, whom Scripture says was an idolater (Joshua 24:2). Therefore, while Avraham had made an effort to be peculiar unto YHWH, Terah had not. In Avraham’s journey he did not know where it was he was going, only that he must go in obedience to YHWH.

This is what YHWH wants from each person, to hear the call to come out of Babylon, and then to obey Him. Each person hearing His Voice needs to obey His word to the fullest degree possible. Each person then needs to get out of the midst of the land of Babylon. This brings up the question of, “Where is the Babylon of this age?” “Where is the Babylon of the last days?” It is the express opinion of this writer that the United States of America is the Babylon of prophecy in Scripture; i.e., in the book of Revelation and other Scriptures that are dealing with the last days. Space is limited here, so only a few reasons will be given as to why this writer believes this to be true, and to point the reader in the right direction so that he may find the truth in Scripture through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

First, it is important for the reader realize that Babylon is not only a place, but also a system. It is the system that Satan set up, which is the very antithesis of the Patriarchal system; i.e., the Kingdom of Heaven. Point for point, Babylon as a system, has a perversion of each and every thing that is true of YHWH’s kingdom. This can make it difficult for the unsuspecting to know which is which. Is it any wonder that Yeshua taught His disciples that unless those days would be shortened, that even the elect might be deceived if possible (Matthew 24:22)?

The Babylonian system is the worship of Nimrod, who is the founder and builder of Babylon; i.e., the Tower of Babel. And it is also the worship of his wife, Semiramis, whom the Scripture refers to as the “Queen of heaven” (see Jeremiah 44:19, 25).[42] And every such mention in Scripture is a reference to idolatry. It has been reported that a group of men, went to Iraq, which is the modern day nation of ancient Babylon, to intercede during the Gulf War. They were taken to a mosque just outside the city of Nineveh, which is named for Nimrod.[43] In the lowest level of this building stood a statue of Ishtar (pronounced easter), which is one of the many names of Semiramis, and this statue was an almost exact replica of the Statue of Liberty in the USA, the United States of America. This statue of Ishtar was holding up a torch with one hand while the other was holding a book (tablet). She also wore a spiked crown.[44] This statue bore the inscription: “Ishtar, Daughter of Babylon.”

In addition to this, also standing in New York City in Central Park is an Egyptian obelisk, which was placed there in 1880. These obelisks where originally erected in Egypt about 3500 years ago in the worship of the Egyptian goddess, Isis. It has been shown by other writers that Isis was patterned after Semiramis, the wife of Nimrod of Babylon. So the worship of Semiramis is represented again here in this obelisk in the midst of New York City. The Washington monument is patterned after these obelisks as well.[45]

In Ezra’s, day after Israel had been taken captive by Babylon, and the people where beginning to come back into the Land, Ezra records that only a small fraction returned, 42,000[46] came back (see Ezra 2:64). Since most of the Jews did not return, but stayed in Babylon, one can learn from this and apply it to today. While the United States has never forcibly taken the nation of Israel into captivity, still more Jews live in the United States than in Israel, and the largest group of those is in New York City. Moreover, just as in the days of old, they are free to return to their land if they so choose. Here then is one more indicator of the present location of Babylon; i.e., where the majority of the Jewish people live in the world today - the United States.

Turn now to the book of Revelation, particularly chapters 17 and 18.

Revelation 17:5
And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Here, notice that Babylon is a mystery and that she is the mother of all idolatry. History teaches that it was at the Tower of Babel, that the perversion of worship was organized by Nimrod and Semiramis. This is probably the main reason YHWH confused their speech. Even then, as now, much of the worship was clothed in secret and mystery and was for only the properly initiated. The Patriarchs of old would not have tolerated such perversions. Indeed, the common people would not have allowed the gross atrocities done by these secret worshippers of Nimrod and Semiramis had they known outright what those men were doing in secret. Nevertheless, as it was, they were gradually indoctrinated into the rituals until they were sacrificing their children to the false gods.

Now in the U.S., people have been led to believe that it is all right to sacrifice their unborn children to the gods of convenience, career, health, prosperity, and personal choice. The number of deaths of children here in this country alone is staggering. Since 1973, somewhere around 30 million children have been sacrificed on these altars. This is appalling! Yet it goes on, and on, and on.

Look now at the physical description of Mystery Babylon in Revelation 18.

Revelation 18:9
And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

The U.S. has the dubious honor of being the pornography capital of the world, in literature, films, and now on the Internet. Some have argued that it is their constitutional right to peddle this trash. These things are not only true for heterosexual sins, but also for the homosexual sins as well. However, YHWH will destroy the modern-day Babylon with all of its trash and filth, and all the kings of the Earth will mourn over her, but only from a distance.

And what other country today would the people, merchants, and kings of the Earth mourn over, to the extent as described in Chapter 18 of the Book of Revelation?

Revelation 18:11-13
And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buys their merchandise any more: the merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all citron wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

The U.S. has more factories, manufacturing facilities, and warehouses than any other nation. The U.S. feeds the world. Without the production of the U.S. farmer, the world would be hungry. The U.S. gives and loans more money to the nations of the world than most nations spend in a ten year period. There is not one nation in this world that would not be adversely affected if, at some time, all that ceased to be. There is no other nation in the world that these things can be said of, or are true of it.

This does not take into account the prophecies of Jeremiah (chapters 50 and 51), in which YHWH tells that there will come a time when Babylon will be destroyed so completely, that not one person will be left alive. Not only that, but also there will never again be a person live in the midst of Babylon. Now history clearly shows that, 1) the ancient city or country of Babylon was never completely destroyed, and 2) there are people living in that land today, which make these prophecies (and related prophecies) all future tense. Surely, no one could conceive that this description could be of modern day Iraq, for who would mourn for its demise?

No, the only nation that fits this description is the United States, which makes the following verse for the citizens of the U.S. quite important.

Revelation 18:4-5
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and YHWH hath remembered her iniquities.

If this writer is correct in his understanding of the Word of YHWH unto him, that this is, in fact, Babylon, then it becomes imperative for every disciple of Messiah Yeshua to obey YHWH’s Word as quickly as possible. For as this verse and others suggest, if a person does not obey in this fashion, then that person will also partake of the plagues that YHWH will pour out in abundance upon Babylon.

Won’t you listen to YHWH through His written Word? Won’t you obey Him and live? Will you be able to put aside all your preconceived ideas, and be able to hear clearly what YHWH is saying to you?

[42] She is also known as the “mother of god.”

[43] One of the many names of Nimrod was Nin; and Veh meaning “city” so you have the “city of Nin” or the “city of Nimrod.”

[44] “Come Out of Her My People” by Boaz Michael; Pub. First Fruits of Zion; pg. 5.

[45] “New Standard Encyclopedia” vol. 9, Obelisk, 1960.

[46] “The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary” by Merrill Unger; Moody Press, 1985; pg. 211, states that there were in excess of 300,000 taken captive, putting the residence of most of the Jewish people after the return in Babylon.