Over the years, one of the more popular choices for Babylon the Great has been Rome. Since the Roman Catholic Church has murdered plenty of Christians throughout its history, it could definitely be considered “drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (Revelation 17:6). Even so, the arguments for Rome just aren’t very strong. Certainly, Rome is known for being a city built on seven hills, and Babylon the Great will sit on seven hills (Revelation 17:9). Some translations say mountains instead of hills, but that’s not the biggest problem with this argument. The seven hills “are also seven kings” (Revelation 17:10). The hills, or mountains, aren’t literal. They represent kings.
In addition, Rome isn’t the world’s financial superpower and that doesn’t look like it’s going to change. It also doesn’t have much of a Jewish population. In all fairness, the Roman Catholic Church isn’t actually in Rome. It’s in Vatican City, and without question, it’s a much wealthier, more powerful place. Still, Vatican City isn’t a port city. It also doesn’t have a Jewish population, because it doesn’t have much of a population at all.
Now, it’s been suggested that Babylon the Great is a religious system led by the False Prophet, but this doesn’t add up. I mean, the False Prophet is going to lead the world to take the Antichrist’s mark and worship his image (Revelation 13:10-18). Why would the Antichrist attack a religious system that worships him? Besides, Babylon the Great is not a religious system. It’s the economic center of the world’s superpower at the time of the end, and the Antichrist will attack it (Revelation 17:16-18; 18:11-18). Since the False Prophet is going to play a major role in the Antichrist’s new financial system, it’s clear the False Prophet isn’t connected to Babylon the Great (Revelation 13:16-18). Quite the opposite, the Antichrist and the False Prophet will be captured and thrown into the Lake of Fire together, which means they won’t betray one another (Revelation 19:20-21; 20:10).