Babylon Fall In Bible And History Essay

, Research Paper

Comparing the fall of the Historical Babylon and the Babylon of Revelation To

understand the symbolism between the two Babylon’s of the bible, one must first

understand the fall of each and how the two compare. There is a lot to be said

about the events that took place during fall of the Historical Babylon how these

events are related to the fall of the Babylon of Revelation. To begin with I

will describe the fall of the Historical Babylon and then relate this to two

mainstreams of thought regarding the fall of the Babylon of Revelation. These

two ideas are the futuristic and the historical views of Babylon.s fall. The

reason for these two separate views is because there is certainly no book in the

Bible that has given more difficulty to interpreters than the book of

Revelation. Many things about it continue to puzzle the serious Bible student,

and many points remain obscure.(ref.# 4, p.220) Ancient Babylon Babylon was an

enormous city and thought by its inhabitants to be impregnable. Some estimates

put the area of the city at as much as 200 square miles, with many fields and

orchards within the city walls (ref.# 2, p320). The river Euphrates flowed

through the city, entering in under the city walls. The walls of Babylon are

believed to have been around 80 feet thick, with some area being over 120 feet

thick (ref.# 7, p.68). 100 gates of bronze gave entry to the city. In 604 B.C.

Nebuchadnezzar led an invasion of Jerusalem, taking many Jews captive and

beginning the captivity and seven times punishment that had previously been

prophesied. At this time Babylon was the greatest empire on earth, but a new

force was emerging. The Medes and Persians were becoming a mighty empire. In the

time of Belshazzar, grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, war was raging between the two

empires. The Babylonians, which were not caring about the enemy who were even

then at the gates of the city, engaged in a huge, drunken party. During this

feast the golden vessels, taken from the temple at Jerusalem and reserved for

pure service to God, were abused at the command of the king. The judgment of God

was revealed by the "writing on the wall". That night the city was

invaded, and the Medes and Persians under Darius and Cyrus were victorious

(ref.#1 p.431) During the night of the drunken feast, the river and its

tributaries that ran under the city walls were blocked and the water diverted

into canals and ponds dug by the Medes and Persians for that purpose. The result

was that the army of the Medes and Persians could literally walk in under the

wall. The army entered Babylon at one end and rapidly moved through the city,

meeting little resistance from the defenders, who were caught completely

off-guard. The city of Babylon was utterly destroyed (ref.#7). Babylon had a

warning of their judgment for over 100 years, a warning given by God Himself.

The warning was scorned and ignored by a Godless people. This foolish rejection

of the Word of God led to total destruction. The promise of the return of

Christ, signaling the end of the world, as we know it, has been scorned by

mankind, just as the prophecy of the fall of the Babylonian Empire. This is why

the book of Revelation relates the fall of Babylon with the modern day world.

Men and women today would rather indulge in a drunken party than seek the Lord.

The need to have a spirit-filled-soul, and to remain "in the Spirit" -

grows more urgent every day. Jesus said, "Watch, for you know not when your

Lord may come!" Babylon of Revelation This Babylon is of course a symbolic

figure representing the evil on earth that distracts God’s children from their

commitment to Him. Babylon is called the "great harlot" in Revelation.

This indicates a Babylon that allures, tempts, seduces, and draws people away

from God. The literal Babylon of Biblical times reminded one of the

pleasure-mad, arrogant, anti-God cultures that put pleasure ahead of all else.

Babylon of old was described as of the "lust of the flesh, the lust of the

eyes, and the pride of life," (1 John 2:16). In Revelation 18 John writes,

"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my

people, that you may not participate in her sins and that you may not receive of

her plagues." Here John is talking about Babylon (see verse 2). Christians

are to live in the world, but they are not to be of the world. Paul writes in 2

Cor. 6:17, "Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,"

says the Lord. "and do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome

you." Babylon is the world, the seduction of the world, at any moment of

history, which would draw away a Christian from God. In John’s day Babylon would

have been represented by the Roman Empire. Today, it would be represented by all

cultures that

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