In this page I will show why I believe the first beast of Daniel 7 and "Babylon the Great" from Revelation are both describing the USA (with Babylon being specifically the city of New York).
Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
"The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.
Daniel 7:3-4
The lion with eagle's wings described by Daniel is commonly identified with Ancient Babylon, the Neo-Babylonian empire. This is partly because of the similarity of Daniel 7 with Daniel 2 (Nebuchadnezzar's dream), where the first empire, a head of gold, also relates to Babylon. It is also a common image in Babylonian mythology, for example Anzu or Mushussu.
However, while this beast from Daniel 7 is clearly linked to Babylon, it cannot be Ancient Babylon, since at the judgment described in Daniel 7:9-12, this beast is stripped of its authority but allowed to live, and in Daniel 7:13-14 it describes the Return of Jesus, so this occurs long after Ancient Babylon was destroyed. Below I quote some passages from the Bible that show Ancient Babylon, in present-day Iraq, will never be rebuilt:
"But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt," declares the LORD, "and will make it desolate forever..."
Jeremiah 25:12
"It will never again be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation..."
Jeremiah 50:39
She will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations; ...
Isaiah 13:20
When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates. Then say, "So will Babylon sink to rise no more because of the disaster I will bring on her. And her people will fall."
Jeremiah 51:64
The above passages are a sample of what Isaiah and Jeremiah have to say about Ancient Babylon, before Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar took the Israelites into captivity. They are both very clear that Babylon was to be destroyed and would not be rebuilt. Ancient Babylon, in Iraq, still lies in ruins today, as Isaiah and Jeremiah foretold.
So since this first beast of Daniel 7 is linked to Babylon, but cannot be the ancient Babylon ruled by Nebuchadnezzar, I think that means it must be "Babylon the Great" described in Revelation. I will look at that Babylon next:
A second angel followed and said, " 'Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,' which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries."
Revelation 14:8
The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath.
Revelation 16:19
The name written on her forehead was a mystery:
BABYLON THE GREAT
THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Revelation 17:5
Despite sharing a name with Ancient Babylon, in modern-day Iraq, this prophecy is not about that city. I have already shown above that Ancient Babylon will never be rebuilt, whereas Babylon the Great must exist during the modern day period covered by Revelation.
In addition, Babylon the Great, from Revelation, is a port city by the sea (Revelation 18:17-19), whereas Ancient Babylon in Iraq is several hundred miles inland. So despite the same name, they clearly do not refer to the same place.
So why is a modern city called Babylon the Great in Revelation if it does not refer to the site of Ancient Babylon? To me, this indicates that the new Babylon will share many similar characteristics to Ancient Babylon. I will explore these in the next section:
Here is a list of the top characteristics of Ancient Babylon, which are shared by New York/USA:
1. Babylon was named after the tower of Babel (Genesis 11). This tower was built up to the heavens by men after the flood, so that "we may make a name for ourselves". New York is also famous for its towers, having the tallest building, or skyscraper, in the world for most of the last 150 years, including the Empire State Building, and the World Trade Center (before 9/11).
2. Babylon was the political capital of the world at that time. New York is in a similar position, as it hosts the headquarters for the United Nations.
3. Babylon was the economic capital of the world at that time. It was famed for its wealth, the "head of gold" in Daniel 2. Economically the USA is the largest country in the world today, and controls the US dollar, the main currency of the world. New York hosts by far the two largest stock exchanges: the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq, between them representing over half the market capitalization of publicly traded shares worldwide.
4. Babylon was famous for having a large Jewish population, exiled from Israel by Nebuchadnezzar. New York is also famous for having a large Jewish population, the largest Jewish population outside Israel.
No other world city today comes close to matching so exactly the characteristics of Ancient Babylon which led the Bible to label this modern city with the same name. (New York even has a town called Babylon).