What does 'Babylon the Great' in Revelation 18 refer to?
Babylon the Great in Revelation 18 refers to the entire global system—the worldwide political, economic, and religious order that is becoming increasingly intertwined. Scripture calls this unified world system by one word, Babylon, and speaks of it as one city. It will never be rebuilt, just as Scripture says.
Les teaches that the Babylon of the book of Revelation is the whole global system, not merely a literal city. He notes that the word 'global' now means the same thing to everybody—politically, economically, and religiously—and that the whole world system is getting so intertwined that Scripture is absolutely true in calling it one word, Babylon, and speaking of it as one city. He illustrates the certainty of this by comparing it to the Eastern Gate, which remains shut because Scripture said it would be, and says Babylon will never be rebuilt.