babylon - past present and future

8/13/2019 Babylon - Past Present and Future

1/22

r) Mru UI rr rr rl

' ' , { l,&

&.B

s

{i:;v

a

f

s.s


2/22

INTRODUCTIONTlteGateof God'" hen we think of the places wherethe events of the Bible took place, weusually picture Bethlehem, Nazareth,Galilee, maybe Egypt, and of courseJerusalem.Butmuch of the Bible took place in a land hundreds ofmiles away from these places. It is known as Meso-potamia, "the land between the rivers." It is alsoknown as the "cradle of civilization."Today, much of ancientMesopotamiaies within the

bordersof the Republicof Iraq. Baghdads the capital,a bustling modern city with more than 4.5 millioninhabitants. Most would consider it an old city, since it wasestabl ished n e.o. 762by the Caliph al-Mansur.But Baghdadis a relative newcomer to the Mesopotamian plain. To thenorth and south are scores of other cities, whose historystretches back long before the birth of Jesus, long beforeMoses, nd someevenbefore he wondersof ancientEgypt.Theygo back to the very beginning of recorded ime. They includecities ike Ninevehand Nimrud to the north and, o the south,Urand Eridu. And the most famousof them all, Babylon.Babylon means "gate of god" and it was once one of the most

^'w.

ISHIARGAIE

MAP OFMESOPOIAMIAelaborate and influential cit ies inthe world. Inside its great defen-sive walls, which enclosed thelargest ci ty of i ts t ime, werepalaces, emples and the HangingGardens that were listed amongthe v'onders of the ancient world.Thev are gone now. Babylon isin ruins. A small section has beenexcavated by archaeologists and apan of that is being restored as anarchaeological park by the IraqDepartment of Ant iqui t ies. But

most of the ancient city is st i l lburied beneath the sand. Even theriver that once flowed throughthis magnif icent cin'has changedits course.But Babylon lives on in a different way. Like Jerusalem and Rome,Babylon is more than just a geographical location. The name Babylon hascome to symbolize utter confusion and mankind's resistance to God.Twice in the past-and once more in the ft16s1s-Q6d has interveneddramatically in mankind's attempts to build a "Babylon."For this reason, the story of Babylon, as recorded in history andprophecy, holds an important lesson for all mankind.

l

l, t ' , .' ,Nineven:..

/ 'lIediterraneanSea i' ( 'I . yerusatem"' ".:..t 't tEGYFT }

",*iif I i.l" .ti" i'f i," 't,'li. ,t

tNimrud',4 ,',s.4,;-(a aBaghdadeLun

Babylon .

ii ,:,?i?,' . q"


3/22

CHAPTERNFromMento BabeTo understand the significance of Babylonfor us today, w must go back in time to

the beginning of human civilizatiort.n one sense, he story of Babylonbeginlong before there was a city by tha

name. It begins with the founding of human civilization on earth, when somewhere in th"land between the rivers" God prepared a gardeand created the first human beings.The Bible tells us that the Creator shaped mafrom the dust of the ground, and breathed into hinostrils the first breath of physical ife "and manbecama living being" (Genesis 2:7, New King JamesVersiothroughout unless otherwise noted). This first humabeing was different from anything that had been prevously created. WhereasGod had madeall other forms olife after heir own kind, he said,"Let Usmake man n Ouimage, according to Our likeness" (Genesis 1225, italicadded)Since man was made after God's image, and according tGod's likeness, there w,as a vast difference-a qualitativenot just quantitative differenc-between animals and humabeings. Animals do not have the abiliry to question whatmorally acceptable or what is right and wrong. They do noquestion the greater meaning of existence of search for immonality. People do, and that is what sets them apart. Huma

ANCIENTTREE FLIFE'' YMBOL

2


4/22

beings E'ere created with "mindsof their oEn." and God wanted toknos' how they would use thoseminds.The Forbidden Frult

Many people are familiar withthe story ofAdam and Eve and theforbidden fruit tree in the Gardenof Eden. But very few have reallyunderstood its significance. TheGarden of Eden was a carefullyplanned habitat. As Adam and Evelooked after the garden, theywould learn. in the familiar wordsof the King James Version, how to"dress and to keep" the environ-ment (Genesis2:15).God focused their attention ontwo trees in the garden. He gaveAdam and Eve the right to eatfrom the "tree of life." This treerepresented God's ultimate pur-pose for creating man-1h11 hsshould have LIFE Not iust a tem-porary monal existence but eter-nal life.The other tree in the gardenwas the "tree of the knowledge ofgood and evil," but God placed itvery firmly "off limits." Therewere some aspecm of creation thatlay outside the human ability tounderstand or control. In some ar-eas, God knew best and mankindneeded to take his word for it. "Inthe day that you eat of it [the treeof the knowledge of good andevill you shall surely die," hewarned (Genesis 2:16-17).But would man heed?The answer to the question de-termined the direction that hu-man progress would take. $/ouldthis newly created species, madein the image of God himself,choose to remain under the au-thoriry of God? Or would the manand the woman choose to go theirown way, deciding for themselveswhat was right and what waswrong? It was a crucial moment inhuman history.Enter the Devil

At this stage Satan, in the formof a serpent, entered the picture.He sowed the seeds of doubt inEve's mind. The tree was beauti-ful; the fruit looked good to eat. Ifthe tree represented the authorityor power to decide what was good

WhereWas heGarden f Eden?TI he location f the GardenofEdenhas beena topic ofdiscussion nd debate orcenturies.During he MiddleAges,manypeoplebelievedit still existedand couldberediscovered. omeSpanishexplorers earchedor thegardenparadisen the NewWorld,but withoutsuccess.Wherewas the garden?The Bibledoesnotdefinitivelyix the site.We're old simply hat "theLord God planteda gardeneastwardn Eden,and thereHe put the man whomHehad ormed"(Genesis :8).Oneadditional lue sprovided: Now a riverwentout of Eden o water hegarden,and from there tpartedand becameourriverheads"verse10).Since wo of those ourrivernamesare thoseofthe Tigris ancientHiddekel)and the Euphratesseeverse14),manyhave eltthe gardenwas in Babyloniaor southernMesopotamia(in modern raq),whereancientSumerianegendsplacea similar arden.Deposits f silt haveradically ltered he entireconfiguration f lowerBabylonia ver he millennia.Moreover,he Tigrisand {Euphrates aveshifted heirriverbedsseveral imes hroughhistory.Archaeologicaltudieshave ndicatedhat about40008.c.,a riverof southernraq"braided"or divided nto anumberof separate treams thefctur iverheads f Genesis ?)beforeenteringwhat s nowcalled he Persian r ArabianGulf.Othersuggestedocations orthe gardenhave ncludedArmenia, ear he headwaters fthe Tigrisand Euphrates; ilmun

\\\

(modernBahrain n the Pers ianGulf);or sites n southwestPersia.SouthernBabylonia,however, emains he generallyacceptedocale. f so, the book

of Genesis hus places hebeginning f human ife in thovery region hat modernarchae-ologyhas shown o be the"cradleof civilization,"heoriginal omeof the racesofmen.Where s Eden oday? t'sgone Adamwas ordered odressand to keep he garden.Hesinnedand was drivenout.Thegardenbecame vergrown ndwent o ruin as wouldany gardenwithouthumancare.

II \.i l t


5/22

TheGodof ThisWorldIIt is impossibleo reallyappreciatehe significance fBabylon n historyand prophecywithoutalso understandingherole of Satan he devil.The conceptof a malevolentspirit hat is the embodimentfall evil sounds arfetched ndsuperstitiousoday.But the Bibleshows hat there s a devilwhohasplayed n invisible,utsignificantole n the historyofmankind.t tells us that he wasoncea powerful ngel,Lucifer,the "lightbringer" olding highpositionat first at God's hroneand ateron earth.He becamewarped hroughealousy ndprideand ultimatelyed one thirdof the angelsn a rebellionagainstGod.Thus Lucifer heangelof lightbecameSatan headversary nd the leaderof thepowersof darkness.Satanworksbehind hescenes, uietly nd nsidiously.He often appearsas abenefactor, friendand servantof mankind. he apostlePaulwarns hat Satan transformshimselfntoan angelof light.Thereforet is nogreat hing f hisminis-tersalso ransformthemselves ntomin isters ofr ighteous-ness" ( l lCor in th ians11:14-15).Much of whatis done hroughhis in f luencemayappear o begoodat first. ts trueintent is not exposeduntil t is too late. t is im-portant o understandhls if weare to fullyunderstandhelessonof Babylon,The Bible evealsSatanas theAncientcoin, minted in Tyre, ea-tures coiled serpent, familiarsymbol of Satanthe devil.

"god of thisworld"or age(l lCorinthians :4, KJV), the princeof the powerof the air, the spiritwho now works n the sons ofdisobedience"Ephesians:2)."Resist he devil. nd he will leefromyou," advised he apostleJames James :7). We are notignorant f his devices," au lreminded s (ll Corinthians:11).Hisdevices re o temptusthrough ur human ustsas hemanipulatesur attitudes,eelingsandmoods.He ooks or thenegative motionsike vanity,pride,greed, ust,hurt eelingsand envy.He fans he embers fdiscontentnto lamesof hatredand s always eady o coax hefirst stirrings f temptationnto hereality f sin.That s what he didto Eveand hat s whathe will ryto do to everyone ho descendedfrom her. No wonder, hn, hatJesus aught isdiscipleso pray,"Deliver s from he evil one"(Matthew :13).The Westernworld sexperiencing resurgence finterest n devilworshipand theoccult. his s dangerous,ut t isevenmore dangerousobelieve hat Satan'sinfluences onlylimitedo thosewho seektrendy"enlightenment"or involvementwith gruesomepractices.Satan'sinfluencespotentially

universal. e canaffect thepowerful nd strongaseasily s the nsignificantndinsecure.We will see this as weunderstandhe story of Babylon.Satanmay not appearoftenonstage,but he is always here nthe wings,waiting or thosemoments hena man,a woman,or a nationcan be tempted odeclare ndependencerom God.

4

and what was evil, why did Godnot want Adam and Eve to have it?Because, explained Satan, Godknew that "in the day you eat ofit your eyes will be opened, andyou will be [as gods-KJVl, know-ing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5).And, Satan suggested, didn't theyu)ant to be like that?It was indeed tempting. FirstEye, then Adam succumbed. Godhad learned what he wanted toknow. These new creatures, madewith minds that could think andchoose, could and uould chooseto disobey. That was a seriousmatter. It has always been God'sintent ion that human beings,made in his image, would eventu-ally become eYen more like God.But not until they had learned tobebaue like God.Since they had chosen not toobey, Adam and Eve and their de-scendants would have to learn theconsequences of that decision.Otherwise, it would mean eYer-lasting confusion, dispute, argu-ment, and frustration, and lifeeternal would not be worth livingAnd so God banished Adam andEve from the garden. He did notabandon them entirely, but bydenying them access to the treethat provided spir i tual under-standing, man would eventuallybe forced to learn through hard,cold experience that obedience toGod was the only wav to go. AsAdam and Eve left the Garden ofEden behind them. the humanrace took its first steps in the di-rection of Babl'lon.

The Tower of BabelIt took more than 17 centuriesfor mankind to get from the inno-cence of Eden to its first attemptto build Babl'lon.The Bible record shows us thatthis w'as a violent period in his-tory. It began when Cain slew hisbrother Abel, and culminated inthe great Flood in which humanlife, except for the family ofNoah, perished.As the flood waters drainedaway, God brought Noah and hisfamily from the ark. He instructedthem to begin again, living in har-mony with creation and eachother.


6/22

It rn'as the opportunity for afresh stan. Some heeded, but thedesire to be self-reliant and inde-pendent was a strong temptation.The old attitudes quickly sprungup again as men and womenthought they knew better thanGod. A few score years after theFlood a group of travelers wan-dered into Mesopotamia. As theyjourneyed "they found aplain in the land of Shinar,and they dwelt there" (Gene-sis 11 2).They needed a base, a cen-tral rallying point. The plainof Shinar seemed l ike anideal locat ion. There theyfound resources and materi-als to build a substantial city.But it wouldn't be just anycity. "Thev had brick forstone, and they had asphaltfor mortar. And thel' said,'Come, let us build ourselvesa city, and a tower whose topis in the heavens"' (Genesisrr:J-4).According o the Jewishhis-torian Josephus, he leader ofthese people was Nimrod, agrandsonof Noah's son Ham.The Bible tells us that hegained the reputation for be-ing a "mighty hunter beforethe Lord" (Genesis10:9), anexpression hat implies oppo-sition to God.There have been manyartist's impressions of whatthe Tower of Babel may havelooked like . Most are fanciful,some ridiculous. The tower wasalmost certainly a far less ambi-tious building. The plain of Shinaris generally flat, and even today abuilding a hundred or so feet highcan be seen for miles around. Atower that "reached to heaven"would not haYe had to be anyhigher to be a landmark in thisregion. The att i tude of thebuilders was "let us make a namefor ourselueg lest we be scatteredabroad over the face of the wholeearth" (Gene s is l l :4 , i ta l icsadded).This was not what God had in-tended. The earth had to be re-populated, and the human racedivers i f ied. God al lowed thebuilders to continue to work on

the tower for a while (Sumeriantradition has it for two years), buteventually he decided to inter-vene . "But the Lord came down tosee the city and the tower whichthe sons of men had built" (Gen-esis 11:5).The little, baked brick tower,protruding impudently out of theplain posed no threat to God, but

wrong direction.So as God reviewed the progressat Babel, he knew what had to bedone. He would not prevent hu-mans from following their chosencours, but he would slow themdown.Genesis tells us what happened."And the Lord said, 'Indeed thepeople are one and they all have

it was a symbol of defiance and anexpression of the self-confident,independent attitude that had got-ten Adam and Eve and their de-scendants in trouble. God couldnot a l low i t to cont inue un-checked.The Tongues Are Confused

The Bible tells us that at thistime mankind shared a commonlanguage (Genesis I 1 1). Otherlanguages existed before theFlood, but it is quite logical thatthe first few generations of thedescendants of Noah would haveshared a common family tongue.It should have been a great advan-tage, but this fledgling civiliza-tion was cleady developing in the

one language, and this is whatthey begin to do; now nothingthat they propose to do will bewithheld from them. Come, let Usgo down and there confuse theirlanguage, that they may not un-derstand one anothef's speech"'(Genesis Ll:5-7).The builders were unable tocommunicate cleady with eachother, and so the building of theTower of Babel came to a halt.Families went their separate ways,to be scattered over the face ofthe earth and eventually to be-come tribes and nations.It was the first time that Godintervened in the development ofa "Babylon," but it would not bethe last.

5


7/22

Hammurabi'sabylonHammurabi,an Amorite,wasthe sixth king ot the first dynastyof Babylon.He ruled Babylonover a millenniumeforeNebuchadnezzar.houghhe hasbsen sometimes mistakenly)identified ith Amraphel, ingofShinar Genesis 4:1),Hammurabi as contemporarynot with Abrahambut with Jacoband Joseph,Abraham's rand-children ndgreatgrandchildren.Duringhis reign,one ofHammurabi'srsatgstdesireswas to bring all of Mesopotamiaunderone rule.To achieve hisgoal,Hammurabioughtcontrolover the Euphrates.He engagedin conflict with neighboringcity-states,and eventually ainedtotal control.Hammurabi lsodevoted im to constructionprojeclsand internal eforms.Tradeespecially lourishedduringhis reign.Cloves-indigenouso the Moluccas rSpice slandsof farawayIndonesia-wereamong hemanyproducts mported.ButperhapsHammurabis bestknown or his sot of laws hathavebeenpreservedo this day,the famous CodeofHammurabi." ased n oldercollectionsf Sumerian ndAkkadian rdinances,t wasoneof the first law codes n history. t

is inscribed n a polished lackdiorite teleor pillar seephoto)bearinga bas-relief fHammurabieceivingaws romthe sun-godShamash,odofjustice.The stele stands about71h eat (2% meters)highandcarriesmore han 4,000 inesof Akkadian uneiform cript,containing early300 egalprovisions.Hammurabi'sode wasunique n many ospects.Covering usiness, riminal,familyand agricultural atters,the codewas far more

comprehensivend detailedhanwhat any civilizationhadpreviouslyattempted.ts mainprinciplewas that "the strongmay not oppress he weak."In the 12thcenturye.c., hefamousstele was carriedoff aswar booty by the Elamitesotheircapital,Susa. t wasdiscoveredhere n 1902by thearchaeologistean-VincsntScheil.The largestcuneiformdocumentyet discovered, t nowresides n the Louvre n Paris.DuringHammurabi'seignofmorethan four decades,heforgedone of the great butshort-lived mpiresof ancientMesopotamia nd laid th6 basisof the Babylonian ivilization hatwouldcontinue or more than athousandyearsafter his death.Today, ittlof Hammurabi'sBabylon emains. he Babylonvisible o the visitor today islargely hat built byNebuchadnezzar.

Sculptureof Hammurabi neeling nworship left); amousLawCode Ste/eof Hammurabi, n which s inscribedone of the first law codes n history(cente1;detail showing Hammurabstandingbefore hesun-godShamashthegod of justice above).r


8/22

CHAPTERWO'Is {ot T'hisGreatBabylon?'Under Nebuchadnezzar's leadership, Babylonbecame the greatest and most impressivecity of the ancient wodd.T f 7artarc often rocked the cradle ofW.ivilizatron. Mesopoamia was the7 7 sceneof manybattles n the centuriesBabylon as we know it in later history-waxed and waned. Built on the banks ofthe Euphrates River, Babylon was attackedand destroyed several times, but rose fromits ruins even more magnificent than before.Under Hammurabi (see page6) the Babylo-nians controlled an empire that stretchedfrom the Persian Gulf to the upper reachesof the Tigris River. In the mid-secondmil-lennium n.c., this dynasty ell into the handsof enemies and Babylon's power declined.Others now had control over Mesopotamia. or several KING NEBUCHADNEZZARcenturies,Babylon'snfluencewould only play a secondaryrole. But in 612 s.c. the Assyrian apital,Nineveh, ell to acombined force of Babyloniansand Medes.Sevenyears later,the Babylonians (also known by this time as the Chaldeans)defeated the Egypt ian forces of pharaoh Necho at 7

that followed the atremptTower of Babel. The ciW toof build theBabel-or


9/22

Nebuchadnezzar'sBabylont l[J nderNebuchadnezzar,Babylon rew o become hemost mpressive ity of itstime-the largestcity on earth.The GreekhistorianHerodotusdeclaredhat it surpassednsplendor nycity in the knownworld. ts populationmay haveexceeded 00,000.Nebuchadnezzar'sast cityincludedmmenseortifications.Babylonwas the best-protectedcityof ancient imes. t had twowalls, nnerand outer, mpossibleto scaleor breach. hundredgatesof bronzewereset in theimpregnableall,whichwasbuttressed t regular ntervals ydefensiveowers.Nebuchadnezzarlsoundertook vast rebuildingprogram. abylon'smpressivearchitecturalplendors ad noequal n Mesopotamia.he city'scentral eaturewas the greatTemple f Marduk, hiefof theBabylonianods.Just to thenorthwas its associated iggurator temple ower knownasEtemenanki.the house hat sthe foundation f heavenand

earth."The seven-storiedowerwas toppedby a temple nmagnificentlueglaze.From he Temple, he pavedProcessional ay ed northwardto the spectacularshtarGate,decoratedwith magical ullsanddragonsmoldedn relief n thecolorfulglazedbrickwork. heavenue-its wallsdecoratedwithenameledions-continuedthrough he lshtarGateandnorthwardo a templeoutsidethe citywalls.Nebuchadnezzar'smmenseroyalpalace called he SouthernPalace)ay betweenheProcessional ay on the eastand a thicklywalledcitadel othe west.The palace ontainedfive greatcourtyards.Nebuchadnezzar'shroneroom-probably also he site ofBelshazzar'seastandAlexanderthe Great's eath-lay directlyothe southof the centralcourtyard.Greek radition efersto the palace'smagnificentHanging ardens,egarded sone of the SevenWonders ftheAncientWorld.

1", ,Detailof lshtarGate,ornamenteglazed-br ick bul ls and drag(above);bronze head of dragoMarduk, chief god of Babylondetail of bull of Adad, Babylstormgod, from lshtar Gate (be


10/22


11/22

ExcavatingabylonTIt was the German rchitect ndarchaeologistobertKoldewey(1855-1925)ho revealedheBabylon f the Bibleas anhistoricaleality.In 1897,Dr. Koldeweyannounced is intentionouncoverNebuchadnezzar'sBabylon.He mounted maiorexcavation nder he auspices fthe DeutscheOrient-Gesellschaft(GermanOrientSociety).Diggingbegan n March1899amongdesolatemoundsof crumbledmud bricksnear he villageofHilla,southof Baghdad.t wouldcontinueor the next 18 years.Slowlyand painstakingly,old-eweybeganuncoveringhemetropolis f Nebuchad-nezza(.Among Kold-ewey'sirstdiscover-ieswerethsemainsof the city's mas-sivewalls.Ko d ewey'sworkmen-some 200strong-nextcleared he Pro-cessionalWay,the main north-southavenuebi-secting he city.The Way led tothe magnif icentlshtarGate.Severalseasonsofdigging evealedNebuchadnezzar'salacewith ts fivecourtyards. tth northeast ornerofthe palace, ear he lshtarGate,Koldeweydiscovered buildingwith14 archedvaults,andnearbya uniquewell withthree shafts.Hepostulatedhat thefamousHangingGardensof Babylongrew on theroof of this vaultedbuilding.Manymodernarchaeologists,owever,believe he vaultedchambers ervedas awarehouse, s listsof

rations or the Jewishexileswere ound n them.The remains f the greatZiggurat f Babylonwas anotherof Koldewey'sinds.Unfor-tunately, othingwas left but thecrumbling rickwork f the baseof that colossal ower, eputedlybuilton the site of the originalTowerof Babelof biblicalame.An assistantwrote hatKoldeweylived or Babylon ndthought f Babylon.. . ayandnight."The approach f theBritishExpeditionaryorce nMarch1917 orcedhim to closedown he excavations, ith muchof his work unfinished.

DR.R. KOLDEWEY Photographs f early2)th-century Germanexca'vations t Babylon.Dr. RobeftKoldewey'sprecisewayof tracingmud-brickwallsand building foun-dationspioneereda newapproach o excavation.


12/22

Carchemish, and Babylon oncea;ga.in became the dominantpov/er in the region under theleadership of the brilliant Neb-uchadnezzar.Nebuchadnezzar was an ambi-tious and capable ruler, who hadplanned an extensive buildingprogram of palaces, temples andwaterways for his capital. Underhis rule, Babylon would becomethe most impressive ci ty theworld had ever seen.What Nebuchadnezzar did notrealize was that his rise to powerwas paft of a divine plan. Theproud king saw himself as undis-puted mnster of the world. Godchose this moment to teach him,and all who followed him, whoreally controlled the destiny ofnations. His empire would nowconfront a nation that was not likethe others he had subdued.This nation was Judah, remnantof the kingdom of Israel that hadbeen established by God when hehad led their ancestors out ofEgyptian capdvity more than 800years earlier. They were a chosenpeople, who had entered into acovenant with God. Their destinydepended not on their militarypower, or the strength of theiralliances, but on whether or notthey obeyed God's laws.The Fall ofJudah

There was a moment when bothBabylon andJudah maintained dis-tant but cordial relations whenboth were under Assyrian domina-tion. The Bible tells us how, abouta century earlier, the Babylonianshad sent a goodwill mission toJudah's King Hezekiah to congrat-ulate him on his recovery fromser ious i l lness. Hezekiah hadshown the Babylonian emissarythe ffeasure of the Temple, builtby an earlier king, Solomon. Thisproved to be a costly mistake (seeII Kings 2O:I2-19).The Babylonians' sentiments to-wardJudah changed now that theywere the chief power in the re-gion. Nebuchadnezzar demandedthe subiugation and tribute of thekingdom of Judah, which was nowin serious decline. Several timesthe Babylonians invaded, eachtime taking away captives and trea-

sure. Jerusalem fell and the Tem-ple was destroyed in July 587 n.c.Nebuchadnezzar brought themost intelligent and capable ofhis foreign captives to his court toreceive special training in the lan-guage and l i terature of theChaldeans (Daniel l :3-4).The stage was set for an unusualpartnership between the great Ba-bylonian king and a young Jewishcaptive named Daniel. V'e findthe story of Daniel's relationshipwith the king in the book of theBible that bears his name.What neither Daniel nor Neb-tchadnezzar understood at thistime was that they were living ata landmark moment in history.For nearly a thousand years, Godhad been working with his cho-sen people of Israel and Judah.He had sent them warning afterwarning about what would hap-pen if they did not obey, but theyhad not heeded. So God had al-lowed them to be taken captiveby the hostile nations around.The inhabitants of Samaria. Is-rael's capital, were finally takencaptive, in 721 o.c., by the Assyr-ians. Now Judah had fallen preyto the forces of Nebuchadnezzat.It seemed like the end of the na-tion that God had brought out ofEgypt and establ ished in apromised land. Actually, as onechapter of God's dealing withmankind was ending, another wasabout to begin.In a series of dramatic visions,God began to outline the courseof future events.A Lesson for a Klng

It began with a strange dreamthat Nebuchadnezzat had onenight. None of the magicians andastrologers of his court could in-tefpret his dream. Daniel wassummoned and with God's helpwas able to explairr what thedream meant. You can read theentire story in the second chapterof the book of Daniel.Daniel reminded the king thathe had seen a great image, with ahead of gold, chest and arms ofsilver, belly and thighs of brass,and legs of iron, with feet of ironmixed with clay. He then ex-plained that the image repre-

sented a succession of empiresthat would dominate the woddfrom that time on. Nebuchadnez-zar's Babylon was only the first,represented by the head of gold.Iater it would fall, to be replacedby three others. Eventually, Godwould destroy the last of theseempires and establish his king-dom on earth.This was not what Nebuchad-nezzat wanted to hear. Was he notthe all-powerful "king of kings"?W'asn't he the one who had to beaddressed "O king, live forever"?His Babylon was the greatest citythe wodd had seen. It was un-thinkable that its glory wouldfade. God was giving this king alesson in humility that he was atfirst reluctant to accept. But Godwas using this situation to teachnot just Nebuchadnezzar, but allwho followed him in positions ofleadership, an all-important les-son.In the book of Daniel, chapter4, another dream greatly dis-turbed the king. He saw a gteattree that was cut down to theground until only a stump wasleft. He once again summonedDaniel for an explanation. Danielexplained to the king that thisdream was a warning from God.The proud tree represented Neb-uchadnezztr, who would soon becut down.The king did not heed Daniel'swarning. The fourth chapter ofDaniel tells us what happenednext."At the end of the twelvemonths he [Nebuchadnezzar] waswalking about the royal palace ofBabylon. The king spoke, saying,'Is not this great Babylon, that Ihave built for a royal dwelling bymy mighty power and for thehonor of my maiesty?' Vhile theword was st i l l in the king'smouth, a voice fell from heaven:'King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it isspoken: the kingdom has departedfrom you And they shall drive youfrom men, and your dwell ingshall be with the beasts of thefield. They shall make you eatgrass like oxen; and seven timesshall pass over you, until youknow that the Most High rules inthe kingdom of men, and gives it

44


13/22

to whomever He chooses.' Thatvery hour the word was fulfilledconcerning Nebuchadnezzar"(Daniel 429-33).Nebuchadnezzar's fit of insanitylasted for seven years.At the end ofthat time his mind was restored. Helearned his lesson. He passed t onto posterity, in his own words,recorded in Daniel 4:34-37: "lndat the end of the time I, Nebuchad-nezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven,and my understanding returned tome; and I blessed the Most Highand praised and honored Him wholives forever: for His dominion isan everlasting dominion, and Hiskingdom is from generation to gen-

Nebuchadn ezzar's experienceshould have served as a warningto successive rulers of Babylon.Nebuchadn ezzat was succeededon the throne by his son, the un-popular Amel-Marduk (562-560)- the Evi l -Merodach ofscripture. He, in tufn, was mur-dered and succeeded by hisbrother-in-law Nergal-sharra-usur(Neriglissar) (560 -5 56), a generaland son-in-law of Nebuchadnez-zar. Following Neriglissar's deathunder obscure circumstances, hisyoung son, Labashi-Marduk,reigned for three months beforebeing removed in a rebel l ion.Nabu-na'id (Nabonidus) came to

him safe. In Daniel, chapter 5, weread that he planned a great f.easIn a great show of conceit, heordered the drinks and the meato be served in golden goblets andon plates plundered from th eTemple in Jerusalem.Even as he sat feasting, the partywas stunned into silence as a mysterious hand appeared and beganto write on the wall of the throneroom. None of the king's magicians could understand. Onceagain Daniel was summoned. Heexplained that the writing was amessage from God. God wasbr inging the proud rule oBelshazzar to an end. Babylon wasfinished. The kingdom would bedivided between the Medes andthe Persians, who were even athey spoke entering the ciry.

On that night, in October 539n.c., God intervened in the affairsof Babylon again. What happenedwas a dramatic confirmation oGod's earlier hand in history. Godhad prophesied the end of Babylon, in a detailed prophecy deliv-ered through Isaiah, nearly tutobundred J/ears beforeThe Fall of Babylon

Isaiah prophesied that Godwould make it possible for a king,Cyrus by name, to conquer themany kingdoms that ultimatelywould make up his empire:"Thus says he Lord to Hisanointed, to Cyrus, whoseright hand I have held-tosubdue nations before himand loose the armor of kingsto open before him the double doors [or, two leavedgates], so that the gates willnot be shut" (Isaiah 45 l).The "double doors" tha

would not be shut or locked isa reference to the remarkableway in which Cyrus was ableto capture the city of BabylonlVith its massivehigh walls, Babylon appeared mpregnable fromthe outside. Ifrhen Cyrus' mainarmy encamped around the city,the Babyloniansaughed Awareohis advance, they had stored upprovisions for many years, andcould survive a siege indefinitely.Unknown to the Babylonianshowever, Cyrus was implement-

ft:i 'ittill

t;ii.rri

Painting by Rembrandt depicts Belshazzarand prophetic handwriting on the wall. lnsetshor,vs artially restored hrone room-proba-ble locationof Belshazzar'sbanquetand Neb-uchadnezzar's meetings with Daniel.eration. . . . At the same time myreason returned to me, and for theglory of my kingdom, my honorand splendor returned to me. . . ." 'Now I , Nebuchtdnezzat ,praise and extol and honor theKing of heaven, all of whoseworks are truth, and His ways ius-tice. And those who walk in prideHe is able to abase.' "42

the throne. His son and crownprince was Bel-shar-usur (the bib-lical Belshazzar).Belshazzar was as proud and a*rogant as Nebuchadnezzat oncehad been. Although Babylon atthis time was besieged by ene-mies, Belshazzar temained uncon-cerned, trusting that the city'sformidable defenses would keep


14/22

ing an ingenious plan. Some of hismen s'ere busl' upstream divertingthe Euphrates River, which nor-mallr' flon'ed through massive ivergates into the c i ty . They dug achannel to redirect the river intoan old lake. The river level soonsank, permitting the Persians towade under the gates and into Ba-bylon under cover of darkness.Cyrus apparently had also gottena spy into the city, who on the ap-propriate night had unlocked a setof gates-the prophesied "doubledoor"-in the wall that stretchedalong the bank of the r iver.Through these gates, Cyrus' armyswarmed into the metropolis. TheBab_vlonians ere surprised and of-fered no effective resistance.So large was the city that whenthe outer pafts were aheady taken,those living in the center of Baby-lon remained unaware of the city'sdemise Celebrating what may havebeen the New Year Festival, theycontinued their merriment untilthe truth became all too apparent.The greatest ciry of the ancientworld had fallen (Over the nextfew centuries, it slowly declinedand finally crumbled into ruins.)The time of the "head of gold"was over. Now the empire repre-sented by the chest and arms of sil-ver would control the world for aseason. The Medo-Persian Empireruled over Babylon and many coun-tries for just over two centuries,until it fell to the forces ofAlexan-der the Great (the belly and thighsof bronze of Nebuchadnezzar's m-age). Alexander wanted to makeBaby'lon the capital of his empire,but his dreams were thwartedwhen he died of a fever, probablyin the throne room of Nebuchad-laezzar'sold palace.In the 1'ears hat followed, thedesen slos'lv took over. Babylon'spalaces and temples crumbled.Shifting sand buried the parks andwaterways. Even the river shiftedits course. Nebuchadnezz r's oncegreat city was no more.But, in another sense, t was notthe end.The Bible tells us of another Ba-bylon-destined to be the greatestof them all We find it in the lastbook of the Bible-the Apocalypseor book of Revelation.

The'Cyrus egend',t\Wyrus ll-called "theGreat"-was king of Persia romc. 558 o 529 e.c.He broughtthe wholeof the Near East-including ightyBabylon-underhis rule, rom the AegeanSea othe IndusRiver.Significantamonghis deedswas hisgranting f permissiono theJewishcaptivesn Babyloniaoreturn o their homeland.That much s history.But whatis not widely ealized s thatalmost wo centuries etoreCyrus, he prophet saiahrecorded lsaiah44:28)hat aman namedCyruswouldpermitthe exiledJews o rebuildJerusalem nd the Temple-which, n lsaiah's ay,had notyet beendestroyed saiahalsoprophesied yrus'overthrow fBabylonlsaiah 5:1-3).Not only did God call Cyrusbyname ongbeforehe was born,he sawto it that Satan he devilwas preventedrom putting heinfantCyrus o deathandthwarting is plan.Greeksources-Herodotus, enophonand Ctesias-provideconsider-able nformation boutCyrus'early ife. Notice he remarkablestorysurrounding yrus'birthand childhood, ccordingo aversion elatedby Herodotusnhis Hlstory 1.1 7-130):Astyages, ingof the Medes,was overlord f the Persians.

Astyages avehis daughterMandanen marriage o hisvassalCambyses, ing of thePersians.From he marriage f Mandaneand Cambyses, yruswasborn.Astyages, owever, ada dreamthat he babywouldgrowup tooverthrow im.So he ordered isadviser,Harpagus,o person-allykill he nfant.Harpagus,however, ntrustedhe executionto a herdsman amedMitradates.On finding hat his wife hadjust givenbirth o a stillbornchild, he herdsman ubstitutedGyrus,and rearedhim as hisown son. WhenCyruswas 10yearsold,Astyages iscoveredthe deception.n spiteof thedream, he kingwas persuadedto let the boy ive.Whenhe reachedmanhood,Cyrusascendedhe Porsianthrone c.558 a.c.). n 553heled a rebellion gainsthismaternal randfather.n 550Astyagesmarched gainstCyrus,but his armydeserted im andsurrenderedo the Persians.Astyages-the ast ruler ofMedia-was captured nddethroned,houghhe waspermittedo liveout his life inpeace.ThusCyrusbecame ingof the Medesand Persians,firmlyestablished n his throneand poised o fulfillhis amazingprophetic estiny.


15/22

CHAPTER HRE

'Nlystery, ahylonlreGreaBible prophecy reveals that a great military

and economic supefpowea-"Babylon thegreat"-will domitrate the wodd.

he Apocalypse or book of Revelatiois often considered to be one of themost difficult books of the Bible to understand. Its strange magery, peculiar visions ancomplicated language baffle laymen and scholaalike. And yet the book is intended to be a reveladqn-nst an obscuring. It was given by JesusChristo John, the last survivor of the original apostles,sthat the Church would understand the framework oevents that were to occur between their time (the latfirst century ^L.o.)and the return of Christ to earth toestablish the kingdom of God.

The events it describes occur at a time the Bible callthe "end of the xge," in a wodd that is very different towhat we know today. Revelation is set in the future-butnot the distant future. It describes a seriesof events thabring mankind to a crisis point unparalleled in history.Let's pick up the story in chapter 17, at a point whercenturies of greed, violence and mismanagement have finallycaught up with the human race. Vast areas of the earth have beeravaged by war, famine and disease. As civilization is poised othe edge of disaster, the world's affairs are dominated by a strangpower. The Apocalypse describes the situation like this44


16/22

,.And I saw a women sitting ona scadet beast which was full ofnames of blasphemy, having sevenheads and ten horns" (Revelation17:3).Much of the information in thebook of Revelation is revealed insymbols. This pcculiar beast andothers like it are described in sev-eral other places throughout theApocalypse. Other propheciesmake it clear tbat they represent aseries of regimes that have con-trolled the territory once ruled bythe old Roman Empire and itsheirs. The Roman Empire fell int.o. 476, but Rome hada continu-ing influence, particulady on cen-tral Europe. A succession of gov-ernments based on the Romanmodel have ruled the area formost of the time between the fallof the Empire and today. But Rev.elation 17 is describing more thana regional powef.John describes the woman rid-ing on the beastas a"gteat hadotwho sits on many waters, withwhom the kings of the eafth com-mitted fornicatlon, and the inhab.itants of the earth were madedrunk with the wine of her forni.cation" (Revelation 17:1-2). Thisgreat hadot has nfluence that ex-tends far beyond the confines ofthe old Roman Empire. Vho is sheto wield such extraordinarypower? Obviously not a real per-son. Like the beast, she is sym-bolic."And on her forehead a namewAS written: MYSTERY,BABYLONTHE GRBAT, THE MOTHER OF}IARLOTSAND OF THE ABOMINA.TIONS OF THE EARTH. . . 'Andthe woman whom you saw is thatgreat city which reigns over thekingsofthe earth' " (verses , 18).Babylon again Not this timelimited to a city. Babylon is per-sonified as a hadot, a prostitute,who seduces and influences thedestiny of the world. The rest ofRevelation 17 describes a violent,turbulent world, dominated bythe woman on the beast. Togetherthey are preparing the inhabitantsof the earth to fight against thereturning Messiah.This is certainly not the worldwe know today. Ve have ourproblems, but we have not

reached a crisis like this. We maynot have a wodd of peace andplenty for all nations, but theleaders of the wodd's major na-tions are generally sensible, rea-sonable men and women. In spiteof their differences, they haveenough common sense and self-control not to bring down civiliza-tion. In some ways there seems obe more prospect of internationalcooperation and coexistence to-day than at any time since thebeginning of this century.So how does this grim worlddescribed in the Apocalypsecomeabout?Maior changes n the worldsituation don't iust happen. Theyate caused, evenwhile most peo-ple do not recognize what is hap-pening.This is because most of us tendto understand the news in termsof the headline events, ike an as-sassination, a revolution or adeclaration of war. \Fe forget thatthese are only the ultimate effectof pressures hat havebeen build-ing sometimes for decades. Theforces of economics are far more

economic and diplomatic deci-sions made in the yearsfollowingthe First World War.Then for four decades after theSecond ffodd Var, Eastand Westglared at each other across theIron Cunain. It seemed that theprecarious status quo was onlyable to be maintained by an ever-accelerating arms race. But it hasbeen economic pressures,causedby decisions made since the war,that have argely been responsiblefor upsett ing the balance ofpower and breaking the diplo-matic log iam, making possiblethe recent changes n Europe.So even though the wodd de-scribed in the book of Revelationmay seem unlikely now, if welook carefully we may see howthe future could be dominated bya system ike "Babylon the great."Sounding the Alarm

There never has been a timequite like this. Although we haveunprecedented prosperity andprogress, it has been bought at aprice. Ve are now beginning to

WOMANAND BEAST Finfluential in framing the mood ofthe wodd than we rcalize.For example, n the 1920s, ewpeople foresaw the Great Depres-sion, the rise of Nazi Germany,and the Second Vorld War. Butthe roots of those calamitousevents were planted firmly by the

REVETATION7face up to the fact that our civi-lization hassome critical, and per.haps erminal problems. The eanhhas been polluted, poisoned andstripped of resources.Experts may argue over the de-tails, but there is no question thatsomething must be done, if we are

45


17/22

to avert a catastrophe.But what? Industrial nationsmay be waking up to the fact thatthey cannot keep on polluting,but modern technology has as itsby-product a whole range of evermore potent waste material. Thetechnology for conservation isavailable,but it is expensive, andnations choose to afford it late intheir development cycle. Prosper-iry is their priority; taking care ofthe environment can be post-poned. Everyonepays lip serviceto "saving the future," but not i fit meansdoing without nou.But all nations,small and great,rich or poor, ultimately dependon food. water and air for theirsurvival.Waklng Up Is Hard to Do

It hasbeen estimated hat in l0years, 82 percent of the earth'spopulation will be living in devel-oping nations.Newcomers n thetechnological race are beginningto flex their musclesand many areabeady experiencing the firstwave of prosperity. As they grow,they will demandan ever-increas-ing shareof the earth's resources.In this crowded, interdepen-dent world. no nation can solvethe problems even within its ownboundaries on its own. Rich na-tions cannot ust pull up the lad-der of progress after themselvesand self-righteously preach re-straint. Starvingpeople, desperatefor food and fuel, will not sacri-fice today for the sake of tomor-row. Their crisis is now.A worldwide effort is needed,with all nations showing toler-ance,patience,goodwill, generos-ity and common sense.But that isnot the way the world works.t$trhats more likely to happen isthat nations with a common inter-estwill band together to stake outand preserveat leasttheir share ofthe earth's resources-Dtvided We Fall

Already, regional trading blocsand cartels are forming. It is hap-pening between the United Statesand Canada, n East Asia, CentralAmerica and South America, theSouth Pacific, the Caribbean,andsignificantly, in the nations of Eu-46

rope. By 1992, the members ofthe European Economic Commu-nity are planning to dismantle theremaining trade and customs bar-riers among them, creating a vastcommon market of more than 32Omillion people. It will becomethe largest economic communitythe wodd has ever known. Butopen borders uitbin usually meanbarriers against those outside.They needn't , but economicunions usually lead to protection-ism and trade sanctions. Tradesanctions lead to trade wars, andtrade wars are the opening act forhot wars, something that must nothappen in a nuclear-armed world.But this seems to be the direc-tion we are headed. If we do notfind a way to resolve these diffi-culties, we run the risk of losingall the progress of centuries ofcivilization.' {e must discipline ourselves.It will take an iron will-or aniron fistHistory has shown that it doesnot take long for a desperate,frightened world to become evenmore selfish and cruel. In times ofcrisis, even the most freedom-lov-ing people are willing to surren-der some of their rights and free-doms in the interest of preservingtheir lifestyle and values. This canbring to power a form of govern-ment we have come to know asfascism, where all power-mili-tary, economic, political and evenrel ig ious- is gathered in thehands of the state. It is not anattractive way of life to contem-plate, especially while things aregoing well. But modern historyhas shown that in a crisis, peopletufn to a strong party, or a strongman, for leadership.To preserve their prosperity,certain nations or groups of na-tions may look again to a form offascism in the years ahead. Afascist government seems to bringstability and preserve the prosper-ity of those who go along with thesystem, while those who do notcooperate become "enemies ofthe state," to be ruthlessly sup-pressed. Nationalism and religionbecome tools to be manipulatedby the authorities, and history hasshown that patriotism and piety

can be a potent mixture. Ordnary, decent folk are sincerely deceivedand swept along in the current, for the regime seems o bupholding and preserving valueand tradit ions that are beinthreatened. n this paranoid,emotionally supercharged politicaclimate, valuesand loyalties bluand people become intimidatedwilling to betray friends and evefamily members o gain favor or toidentify with the prevailingmoodMost of us have never known time like this, and it may seefarfetched. But this century haseen iust such a tragedy befasome of the most cultured anadvanced nations on earth, anthe Bible tells us that it will happen again. Only this time on terrifying woddwide scale.The End of Freedom

The book of Revelation describeshumanity held in the gripof just such a totalitarian superpower. The hadot woman of theApocalypse represents a systethat dictates the way the woddought to work. Those who goalong with her decisions suryivand even prosper. Shewields heauthority through a military aneconomic superpower-the symbolic "beast." It imposes ts harsregime on the wodd, decidinwho lives, who eats, who starvewho trades. It takes its cue fromrigid regimes of the past. It makethe decisionsoverwho getswhichresources,who canproduce whatand where they can dump theitoxic wastes. It is ruthless and efficient and allows no oppositionIt might not be the ideal, but imay seem to be the only alternative to a complete collapse of thewodd system. So, the Bible tellus, most of the wodd will cooperate with this system, allowing"Babylon" increasing control oall aspects f life-economic, political, military, even religious."And he [the symbolic "beast"causesall, both small and grearich and poor, free and slave, toreceive a mark on their right hanor on their foreheads,and that noone may buy or sell except onewho has the mark or the name othe beast, or the number of hi


18/22

name" (Reveladon 13 16-17).IFho rnill fill these roles in thisnightmare vision of the future?The book of Revelation is like ascreen play. The script has beenwritten, and the main characters'roles established.But the casthasnot been chosen.It is cenainly not the intentionof the reasonable eaders today tolay the foundation of such a mon-strositl-. They are careful archi-tects. diligently drawing up plansfor a peaceful, law-abiding futurethat will ensure peace and pros-periry. But architects cannot al-waysbe sure what will become ofthe buildings they design.These Bible prophecies shouldsend a chilling note of caut ionthrough the corridors of powertoday. The nations of the worldare like animals being herded intoa ffap. They feel the pressuresdriving them in new directions.They may still snarl and snap ateach other, as their old animosi-ties surface. They don't realizethat they arc all being driven tothe brink of ruin.For behind the woman ridingthe beast is another power-theevil genius of Satan.This is hisbest effort to deceive mankind.using a religious, political, eco-nomic and military superpowerby which he can direct the destinyof the wodd to his own end. Hehasbut one goal. In the GardenofEden, he attempted to thwartGod's plan. Once more, in Baby-lon the great, Satan s behind thescenes.He has never been moretempting-or more dangerous,He has succeeded in de-ceiving the whole world(Revelation l2:9).God Steps In

Across the centuries, Godhas allowed mankind tomake mistakes. But, like awatchful father, he hasnever taken his eyes off us,for he has never lost sightof his purpose for creatingus.Vhen the world groansunder the yoke of Babylonthe great, it will be time forGod to come to the rescue.Mankind, blinded by Satan,

Rebuilding abylon?Ils Babylon eing ebuilt oday?This s important ecausepropheciesn the Biblesay thatBabylonwill neveragainberebuiltas a thriving, nhabitedcity.Forexample,saiah13:19-20tells us: "And Babylon,he gloryof kingdoms,he beautyof theChaldeans' ride,will be aswhenGod overthrewSodomandGomorrah.t will neverbeinhabited. or will it be settledfrom generationo generation;nor will the Arabianpitch entsthere,nor will the shepherdsmake heir sheepfoldshere."

The book of Jeremiah ays"Babylonshall becomea heap,adwelling lace or jackals,anastonishmentnd a hissing,withoutan inhabitant"Jeremiah51:37).Mostof the area hat laywithinBabylon's reatwalls itsthe description.t is a desolatewasteland. othing an be seenof what was once a vast cityexcept he occasional utcropofjagged uins,brokenpotsherdsand brokenbrickswith fragmentsof cuneiformnscriptions.A sectionof the northerncityhas been airl yextensivelyexcavated nd someof it isbeing econstructedy the lraqDpartment f Ant iquities.tincludeshe site of the lshtarGate, he Processional ayand

Nebuchadnezzar'salace.Theyare being estored o somethinglike heiroriginal ppearance.When t is finished,raq will havea worldclass ouristattraction.But Babylon, s a living,vitalcity s not being ebuilt.TheEuphrates iverhas shiftedcourse,and no longer lowsthrough he city. t is as if NewYork hadbeendestroyed, ndfuture.inhabitantsf the NorthAmerican ontinent ad decidedto recreate he EmpireStateBuilding, rooklynBridgeandthe Statue of Liberty o showsomething f what he city hadbeen ike.The reconstructionfthe northern art of old Babylonis both a monumento thegeniusof the ancientpeoplewhobuilt he city, and a testimony othe certainty f tho propheciesthat foretold ts downfall.Scenes f restoration orkbeingcarriedout at Babylonby lraqDepartmentf Antiquities.


19/22

may have thought there was noother choice but to submit to thisoppressive system, in which hu-manity might survive, but free-dom, mercy, love and, trutb can-not.And so, once again, God willintervene in the affairs of Babylon."After these things I saw anotherangel coming down from heaven,having great authority, and theearth was illuminated with hisglory. And he cried mightily witha loud voice, saying, 'Babylon thegreat is fallen, is fallen, and hasbecome a habitation of demons, aprison for every foul spirit, and acage for every unclean and hatedbird For all the nations havedrunk of the wine of the wrath ofher fornication, the kings of theeafth have committed fornicationwith her, and the merchants of theeafth have become rich throughthe abundance of her luxury"'(Revelation 18:1-3).Babylon the great may havebeen ruthless with all those whoopposed her, but she has madethe wodd work for those who goalong with her system. She hasgiven mankind the economic, po-litical and religious fruits of theworld chosen in the Garden ofEden. For those who cannot seethrough her deceit , Babylonseems to be the last hope for pre-serving civilization. God cuts heroff at what seems like the highpoint of her success. It will seemlike a disaster."And the kings of the earrh whocommitted fornication and livedluxuriously with her will weepand lament for her, when they seethe smoke of her burning, stand-ing at a distance for fear of hertorment, saying, 'Alas, alas, thatgreat city Babylon, that mightycity For in one hour your iudg-ment has come"' (Revelationr8:9-10).It will mean the collapse of theworld's economic system. "Andthe merchants of the earth willweep and mourn over her, for noone buys their merchandise any-more" (verse 11). Babylon has or-ganized trade in "merchandise ofgold and silver, precious stonesand peads, fine linen and purple,silk and scarlet, every kind of cit-48

ron wood, every kind of obiect ofivory, every kind of object of mostprecious wood, bronze, iron, andmarble; and cinnamon and in-cense, fragrant oil and frankin-cense, wine and oil. fine flour andwheat, cattle and sheep, horsesand chariots . . ." And more sinis-terly, "bodies and souls of men,"meaning slaves (verses 12-13).International trade in the mod-ern world has become one rrastintricate network. Massive dealsare made at a touch of a button.Foftunes hang in the balance, andmessages go back and forth be-tween computers at the speed oflight. Cargoes are sold, resold, di-verted and diverted again, even asthe great containerships andtankers ply the oceans.Then, in one awful hour, thescreens go blank, the telephonesstop ringing, the telexes no longerclatter, as the intricately bal-anced, carefully controlled, ruth-lessly enforced network of a finalBabylon the great suddenly ceasesto function.No wonder, then, that "the mer-chants of these things, who be-came rich by her, will stand at adistance for fear of her torment.weeping and wailing, and saying.'AIas, alas, that great city that wasclothed in fine linen, purple, andscarlet, and adorned with goldand precious stones and pearlsFor in one hour such great richescame to nothing.'And every ship-master, all who travel by ship,sailors, and as many as trade onthe sea, stood at a distance andcried out when they saw thesmoke of her burning, saying,'What is like this great city?' Andthey threw dust on their headsand cried out, weeping and wail-ing, and saying, 'Alas, alas, thatgreat city, in which all who hadships on the sea became rich byher wealth For in one hour she ismade desolate" ' (Revelat ion18:15-19).Surely, only an enemy ofmankind would want to see allthis destroyed. So when JesusChrist returns to take over thegovernments of the wodd and es-tablish the kingdom of God, hewill not at first be greeted as aliberator. He will seem like a

usurper, another threat to be resisted and suppressed. What is actually the greatest day in historwill be thought of as a calamiryChrist will return to establish new wodd order of peace, lovecoopefation and harmony amonall the nations of the wodd. Buthe dawn of this new era of hopwill seem like the end of thwodd. Satan will have done hiwork well.Babylon's Final Fall

Nothing can be salvaged fromthis greedy, selfish, ruthless, evempire. It is the opposite of athat Jesus Christ stands for-theantithesis of everything he planto accomplish as he rebuilds thworld. The Babylonish systemmust be purged from the eanhonce and for all. So, symbolically"a mighty angel took up a stonlike a great millstone and threw into the sea, saying, 'Thus withviolence the great city Babylonshall be thrown down, and shanot be found anymore"' (Revelat ion l8:21).Babylon as a system will not seasily disappear. It will take timefor its memory to fade for it haproduced a way of life, politicseconomics, religion, and dealingwith problems between nationand individuals that is the opposite to God's way. It is a way olife based on buman reasoningand buman understanding, aidedand abetted by the pervertedthoughts of Satan. It has persistedon the earth from the days of theGarden of Eden and it won't bechanged overnight.Christ cannot build his new society on the foundations of theold. He cannot use its systems, itadministrations, its habits or itcustoms. Those who were deceived into prolonging the oldsystem will need to be reeducated. Christ will have to stafagain, with new administratorswho have learned. over the centuries, to think like he does, anwho have proved they will becompetent and loyal in applyingand enforcing the laws of God.But where will he find suchpeople in a wodd that has been sthoroughly misled by Satan?


20/22

CHAPTER OUR'ComeOut fHer,My PeopleThe Bible warns us not to become a pafi ofend-time Babylon. How caln we avoid heralluring appeal?,Tl wo women are described in symbolsI in the book of Revelation.One we have

L already met-a corrupt, cunning,treacherousharlot, who sits astride the beast,seduc-ing the governments of the world to follow herways. The other could not be more different. She isa chaste bride, much persecuted but always patientand vinuous, diligently preparing for marriage. Sherepresentshe spiritual people of God that he hascalledfrom every age.They haveovercometheir sins,and havelearned o live in obedienceand harmonywith the lawsof God. The book of Revelation ells us that they will beresurrectedatChrist's return, to live and reign with hima thousand years (Revelation 2O:4).Satanhates this woman. Her very existence is a threat tohim. He persecutes her mercilessly whenever he has theopportunity. As the end approaches, he tries desperately todivert her from her loyalty to her husband-to-be, the Messiahor JesusChrist, and absorb her into his system.Across he centuries, many of those whom God has called tofollow his way of life have died, often violently, for their faith.They are awaiting resurrection at Christ's return, their salvationassured.But manv are alive today, and many more are yet to be 49


21/22

Babylon ndRomeAAside fromsomepassinghistoricaleferencesn the booksof Matthewand Acts, he name"Babylon" s mentionedn twoother booksof the NewTestament-l PeterandRevelation. hesepassages avebeen he sourceof muchdiscussionince he earliestdays of Christianity.A few biblical ommentatorshaveconsideredhe "Babylon"of I Peter5:13 o be a referenceto the literalcity on theEuphrates. he majority fmodern cholarshaveheld t tobe a symbol ic r figurativereferenceo Rome. ewishand

Christian ommunitiesid existin Babylon n the middlehalf ofthe first centuryn.o.whenmerchantsrom Palmyra oundeda tradingcolony here n a.o. 24.Babylonwas abandoned halfcentury aterwhen he colonywas transferredo a newsettlement cross he EuphratesRiver.The "Babylon" assagesnRevelation, owever, re awhollydifferentmatter.ThosepassagesRevelation4:8;16:19;17:5;18:2,10, 21)are widelyrecognizedodayas being n apropheticend-time ontext,referringo a greatworldpoweryet to emergeon the scene.[|[

To earlyChristians, abylonnthosepassages ymbolizedRome-the "city on sevenhills"(compareRevelation 7:9). heJews hadonce beencarriedcaptive o Babylon. hus, hatancientnamecame o stand orany powerhostile o God'speople.PropheticBabylon"clearlydenoted he world-rulingempireof the Caesars-withits falsegods, ts manifold ins,its persecution f Christians.To Christians, ome's amehadbecomea synonym ormoralcorruption nd politicaltyranny-and mustsurelybeintendedn a figurativeense nthe prophetic assages bout"Babylon."When he RomanEmpirebecameChristianizedn thefourthcenturyn.o., t becamedifficult o continue ortrayingRomeas the personificationfevil and symbolof oppositionoGod.Yet a minority fChristians-outsidehe main-streamand criticalof thechurch's lliance ith he secularsphere-persisted n regardingRomeas propheticBabylon.Christians n Rome suffered in-fense persecution by the Em-peror Nero,who had them nailedfo sfakes and set ablaze.

called. Nothing would give Satamore satisfaction in his ages-lonquest to thwan God, than to deceive the end-time spiritual people of God, and make them ^ pafof Babylon the great.So, they will have to face somof the greatest challenges that anof God's people have ever confronted.The Satan we read about in thethird chapter of Genesis is restrained, cunning and persuasiveHe subtly deceived Eve. The Satathat confronts mankind in thebook of Revelation is violent,vengeful and angry, "having greawrath, because he knows that hehas a short t ime" (Revelation12:12). He must work quickly before his opportunities to deceiveare brought to an end. Whilethere are still those on earth whoare loyal to God, and looking tohim for guidance, inspiration andsalvation, he feels there is still chance to thwart God's plan. Is'ould not prevent Christ fromn'inning. but i t would cenainlyspoil his \- icrory.Overr persecut ion tends tostrengthen God's people. Satanbest s-eapon has always been deceit. Hos'. then, could he destroythe end-time people of God? Hecould lure them away from theircal l ing and their commitmentthrough a clever trap.Kill Them Wlth Kindness

During the last few decadesmost of us who live in the developed world have enjoyed a standard of l iving and prosperitygreater than anlthing that has evegone before. t$7hatin earlier timeswould have been considered theheight of luxury we now take forgranted. Yesterday's marvels aretoday's tr inkets. Progress andprosperity are not v/rong of themselves, for it is God's will that webe in health and prosper (III John2). But not if it means compromis-ing with what is right.Babylon the great, as describedin the Apocalypse, will be allur-ing. Those who conform will continue to enjoy the fruits of prosperity. Those who reiect Babylonand her ways will be thrust outleft to fend for themselves, and to


22/22

r isk persecution, slavery, evendsz1tr-fs1 a tota.Iitaian system isruthless in crushing all who op-pose it .Yet those who know the truthmust not compromise. This is thechallenge facing this last genera-tion of the people of God. Theyare a Church built on the founda-tion of the apostles and prophets,called to overcome their sins, Sa-tan and the s'orld. as they prepareto live and reign withJesus Christ.L ike Daniel . who resisted thetemputions of Nebuchadnezzar'sBab-vlon. they must remain faith-ful to their calling and their Godas Bab.vlon the great dominates allaspecrc of life around them.So, as the great harlot sits confi-dently astride her beast, edgingthe world ever closer to disaster,God pleads with his people,"Come out of her, my people, lestyou share in her sins, and lest youreceive of her plagues" (Revela-t ion 18:4) .This may not be so easy for apeople used to prosperity andcomfort. They have come to ex-pect freedom and tolerance, andperhaps even take it for granted.Perhaps they have come to regardtheir high level of material pros-

perity as a blessing from God, thenatural consequence of theirfaithfulness to him.As people around them sell outon their pr inciples and con-science for a few more years ofmaterial ism, wil l this end-timegeneration of the Church have thefaith and the conviction to holdfast? In the face of mounting op-position, will the richest, mostmaterialistic Christians who haveever lived be able to face poYerty,become social outcasts, and en-dure persecution as those whopreceded them in the faith so of-ten had to do?

Jesus Christ has promised tosustain them, to provide for theirneeds, and even to protect themfrom the full horror of end-timeevents. But will they claim tharpromise and endure to the end?"When the Son of Man comes,will He really find faith on theearth?" asked Jesus in Luke 18:8.It depends on the decisions thatare being made even now. Spiri-tual muscles, like physical ones,cannot be built instantly. WhenBabylon the great is unleashed onthis earth, it may be too late tobegin building enduring faith.That is why Jesus Christ tells his

Church to always be in a state ofreadiness, and not to put unduetrust in material possessions.The Bible emphasizes that noone can know the exact day orhour of Jesus Christ's final inter-Yention in the afhirs of mankind,but there are ominous indicationsthat the revival of Babylon maynot be far off .It would be foolishto ignore them.The story of Babylon is a sober-ing one . The old city beneath theMesopotamian plain has come torepresent human society as it de-velops apart from God. It hasbeen both the pinnacle of man'sachievements, and a mil lstonearound his neck. When the angellifts that millstone and symboli-cally casts Babylon the great intothe depths of the sea, a greatweight will have been lifted offhuman civilization.'When Jesus Christ returns, hewill replace it with a kingdomthat the Bible tells us will neverbe destroyed (Daniel 2:44). Un-der his firm but gentle rule, thenations and races of mankind willbegin to work together, in mutualtrust and cooperation, toward thegreat purpose for which we wereall created.

babylon - past present and future

Documents