A City on Seven Hills

...I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads....And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication....And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains [or hills], on which the woman sitteth.Revelation 17:3,4,18,9A woman rides the beast that represents Antichrist and the revived Roman Empire he will rule. She is a city built on seven hills that reigns over the kings of the earth! John equates the readers' acceptance of this revelation with "wisdom." That insight demands our careful and prayerful attention.Many prophecy teachers insist that the woman is the United States. No, the US is a country. It might justifiably be referred to as Sodom, considering the honor now given to homosexuals, but it is not "Mystery Babylon." She is declared to be a city.Nor is the woman ancient Babylon now being rebuilt in Iraq, for it is not built on seven hills. Some other cities are, but only Rome meets all the criteria, including being known as Babylon. Even Catholic apologist Karl Keating confirms that Rome was known as Babylon and cites 1 Peter 5:13.1The Catholic Encyclopedia states, "It is within the city of Rome, called the city of seven hills, that the entire area of Vatican State proper is now confined.