Thank you all for your responses. I apologize I have not taken the time to return sooner. And since I have had so many replies, I find myself hard pressed to reply to everyone individually in this thread on this topic.
So to reply to everyone who peruses the thread and see this. Firstly, I respect your viewpoints, and understand how many of you come to the conclusions you do.
Now we know that Revelation was written by John in exile on the island of Patmos for preaching about the Christ, near the end of the first century, long after Jesus had died and shortly before John dies. And he said he was given this revelation or apocalypse, for things that must shortly take place, referring to the future, and indeed Revelation is not about Rome as some of you propound, or a polemic about ancient history.
The very name of the book explains what it is about. In Greek the word apocalypse means an unveiling, or revealing, that is why it is translated Revelation in English. So it is not just a polemic about the past. Jesus himself said to John in the revelation that it was for the future. Actually it sums up many things in the Bible.
I wanted to be brief in my response, but realize that I should be a little more through than I wanted to be, which may be off-putting, and some may not find the time or desire to read my entire reply. I apologize about that.
Going back to the theme of the OP about heeding a warning of imminent danger, seeing the "signs of the times," if you will. Just as there were warning signs that Mt Saint Helens was about to errupt. And then heeding the warning message to "get out of her," get off the mountain!
When Revelation was written Rome was the ruling power. In the Revelation John is given a vision of a fearsome wild beast with 7 heads that represent world powers. These world powers are not all of the world powers that have ruled throughout history, but ones that have had direct influence on God's people. These world powers have always been in opposition to God and his servants.
In the Bible times it was mainly the Jews, but after Jesus came to the earth it has been true Christianity. Now John said that 5 world powers had came and went when he was alive. And the fifth was "is" that is the Roman Empire, the 6th world empire of that prophecy. And one is to be in the future. So we know right here that he is not referring to the past but the future, that is our times.
Jehovah's Witnesses have discerned that the seventh head of the wild beast, is the Anglo-American world empire. It is also represent as a two-horned wild beast that has the horns of a lamb but is fierce. It's appearance is sheeplike, that is peaceful, but it in reality is fearsome and warlike. It is the final world empire in Revelation before the end. Thus the United States will remain the dominant world power up to Armageddon. Here is the prophecy:
"The seven heads mean seven mountains, where the woman sits on top. And there are seven kings: Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet arrived; but when he does arrive, he must remain a short while."-Revelation 17:19-20.
In order the 7 world rulers here are: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece...the world power that is - "one is" - at the time John was alive is Rome, and the final one is Britain and the United States.
During the time of the end just before Armageddon an imagine of the wild beast with the seven heads turns upon the prostitute called "Babylon the great" in Revelation 17, 18.
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All the kings of the earth give their power to the wild beast that is a representation of all governmental rule at that time. They turn upon the prostitute, expose her destroy her and burn her with fire. The voice from heaven is warning to GET OUT OF HER if you are in her.
If you study the vision in Revelation 17 and 18 you see that she is not a political power. The kings of the earth destroy her, and she commits sexual immorality with all the kings of the earth. And the kings of the earth stand at a distance in shock and horror after she is destroyed. So she is not a political power. She is not a commercial entity. The commercial element of mankind weeps over her demise because they lose a lot of money at her destruction.
We are told she holds an empire over the entire earth, over the waters, that is the peoples:
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Come, I will show you the judgment on the great prostitute who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality, and earth’s inhabitants were made drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality.”-Revelation 17:1-2.
That this is symbolic as is much of Revelation and what it means is reveled further on:
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The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is sitting, mean peoples and crowds and nations and tongues."-Revelation 17:15.
Babylon is the birthplace of false religion. It is where Nimrod first made a name rebelling against God. It was called Babel when God confused the nations of the earth and scattered them. From Babylon these people all took with them core false religions teachings, such as Immortality of the soul, Hellfire, the Trinity, mother-son worship. As the people scattered time and tradition changed these teachings somewhat but all false religion keep the basic core tenants of the false religious teachings founded in Babylon of old.
So Babylon the great, the one who commits sexual immorality with the kings of the earth is a spiritual entity. Just as Israel committed adultery by mixing with and putting trust in the nations around them, religion, especially those that claim to represent the God of the Bible but who get involved with politics and warfare have prostituted themselves to the kings of the earth.
Thus the prostitute, Babylon the great, is the world-wide empire of false religion. God says that found in her is the blood of everyone shed, especially of the holy ones.
Now not one religion on earth will tell you what the prostitute represents, because it represents them. But Jehovah's people will tell you, and thus it is from God that this message goes out to everyone in her: Get out of her.
Several replies said they would need to see signs like the ones that appeared before the eruption of Mount St Helens, the smoke, the tremors. Jesus gave us a composite sign that we are in the last days in Matthew 24:
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Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?”-Matthew 24:3.
Some here say that it has always been the way it is. But that is not true. If you read this composite sign, never in history have all of them been fulfilled at the same time, as it is today. In fact the final sign is this:
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And this good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."-Matthew 24:14.
There is a world-wide preaching work that has never been done before in human history that is being done now along with the fulfillment of all the other signs found there in Matthew 24. We have the signs we need to see the end is imminent.
This is where discernment and real study is important. It means your life.
There are those who have studied the Bible and have convinced themselves that it is true. That it is reliable. And they see proof of many prophecies in it being fulfilled right now. And like the person in the OP who sees the apartment on fire and people in it that are unaware they see the impending danger and are warning the occupants to "get out of her."
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Jesus said during that time there will be a "great tribulation" that has never occurred up to that time and will never occur again and everyone calling on the name of Jehovah will get away safe!
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And I will give portents in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun itself will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and fear-inspiring day of Jehovah. And it must occur that everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will get away safe."-Joel 2:30-32.
