Who is Modern Babylon? There are more verses of Scripture (over 2. Babylons than of any other city or nation on Earth, except for Jerusalem and Israel. Entire chapters of the Bible devoted to Babylon include: Isaiah 1. Jeremiah 5. 0, 5. Revelation 1. 7 and 1. Each Babylon is not only identified by a “great city,” but by the land, nation or empire in which its great city is located (cf. Jeremiah 5. 0: 8, 1. Israel. Two entire chapters plus other passages of the book of Revelation are devoted to modern Babylon. The Modern History Sourcebook now works as follows: This Main Index page has been much extended to show all sections and sub sections. The great exultation of the redeemed of the Lord before He returns to establish His kingdom on Earth is because of the final (second) destruction of modern Babylon (Revelation 1. So, modern Babylon will be the most important city- state/nation/empire on Earth, other than Israel, during the seven- year period of tribulation and the Wrath of Yahuah (. If you are interested in really understanding the events, players, and plot of the book of Revelation, realize that a main key to unlocking that understanding is knowing the identity, activities, and destiny of modern, prophesied Babylon. So, brace yourself, put on your face- up- to- reality hat and let us first take a look at ancient, historical Babylon to see what clues about modern Babylon we can gather. Ancient Babylon. Actually, there were three ancient Babylons: Babylon the religious center of the Akkadian Empire, Babylon the capital of the first Babylonian Empire, and Babylon the capital of the neo- Babylonian Empire. His powers certainly were not from the one true God Yahuah, because he practiced a totally idolatrous religious system and attempted to build a tower to heaven - the infamous . The title “mighty hunter,” spiritually speaking, may mean one who hunts for and destroys the souls of men. So, virtually all translations (from Hebrew) of the Genesis 1. Nimrod's Babylon are incorrect, and all expositions and teachings based on those translations are incorrect. Revelation 1. 3: 8; 1. Jeremiah 5. 0: 2. Incidentally, it was about 2. Akkadian Empire, about 1. BCE, that Abram (renamed Abraham) left Ur, the ancient capital of Sumer, located in southern Mesopotamia, and moved to Haran, a city in the north. Later, Abraham left Haran and migrated into the land of Canaan (modern- day Israel) under Yahuah's promise that he would become the father of a great nation (cf. Genesis 1. 2). The second phase of Babylon, when it became a great city- state/kingdom, was ruled by the Amorite dynasty. The most famous Amorite King over Babylonia was Hammurapi (sometimes spelled Hammurabi), who ruled from approximately 1. BCE. Hammurapi is most famous for his legal judgments, which evolved into the “Code of Hammurapi,” from which many of our modern, western laws are derived. The Babylonians had numerous gods which were assimilated from the earlier Sumerian/Akkadian culture which the Babylonians and Assyrians displaced. In fact, basically the same Sumerian religious system with the same gods was in place in Hammurapi’s Babylon as during Nimrod’s rule hundreds of years earlier. Their chief male god was Marduk the sun god or the god of life and death (whose earlier name was Tammuz). But in Babylon, males and females were seen as equals, and, in fact, the main Babylonian deity, and the god most pertinent to our study, was still the . The gods (particularly the goddess Inanna/Ishtar) of Canaan, Egypt, Assyria, Greece, Rome, and, yes, modern Babylon are the same as those of ancient Babylon, just with different names. The Assyrian takeover of the Babylonian Empire also has clear prophetic implications for modern Babylon, as will be explained below. Under him and his son, Nebuchanezzar, who took over as King in 6. BCE, the neo- Babylonian empire became one of the greatest city- state- empires in world history. And it is this third phase of Babylon with which Scripture is most concerned, because it was the Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar, starting even before he officially became king, that took the Israelites (the descendants of Abraham), primarily of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, into 7. BCE when Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah and other members of the royal family of Judah and other children of Israel's southern kingdom (the other ten tribes having been dispersed and many taken captive by the Assyrians about 1. Babylon. So, to help us understand the many Biblical prophecies concerning both ancient and modern Babylon, let us take a closer look at some of the features of ancient Babylon. Government and Religion. The Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar and its few other kings who reigned from 6. BCE, when it fell to Cyrus, King of Persia (and Media, which was conquered by Persia), was an absolute monarchy. Although Babylon worshiped the same gods as always (Marduk, Ishtar, and others), its religion became very eclectic as it added gods from other parts of the world to its already diversified pantheon. Various forms of the occult - witchcraft, divination, sorcery, necromancy, and so forth - as well as eastern mysticism were practiced. And Nebuchadnezzar was a ruthless tyrant who demanded that he also be worshiped. Remember the story of Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who refused to worship Babylon’s gods or bow down to an image of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3)? Although they were three of Nebuchadnezzar’s favorite administrators, he was infuriated and had them thrown into the royal incinerator. So, we might say that Babylon’s government was a religious dictatorship in which religion was inextricably intertwined with government. One could be executed for not submitting to the laws of the land, for not practicing the national religion or for not worshiping the king. We will see that in modern, prophesied, “mystery” Babylon, religion is also in bed with the government and finally, just before modern Babylon is destroyed, her citizens will be required to worship the false god of her ruler. Economy, Culture, and Citizenry. Babylon was the trade and cultural center of the world. It was called the “Golden City.” It had the highest standard of living of any nation on the earth. By the standards of the rest of the world, Babylon’s citizens lived in great wealth and luxury. The Christian Science Monitor is an international news organization that delivers thoughtful, global coverage via its website, weekly magazine, daily news briefing. Find out more about the history of Armenian Genocide, including videos, interesting articles, pictures, historical features and more. Get all the facts on. CBN.com with sections on The 700 Club, CBN WorldReach, Operation Blessing International and the News from a Christian perspective. Touch of Modern is the most popular men's fashion site. Leave Boring Behind: Discover Extraordinary Products Now. Guaranteed Lowest Prices. It was the world center for education, the arts, and religion. It was the location of the famous “Hanging Gardens,” which, from a distance looked like a lush, green, tropical paradise. It was dotted by temples and ziggurats (religious towers) built for the worship of Babylon’s many gods, especially for its main gods, Marduk and Ishtar. Babylon was located on the mighty Euphrates River in southern Mesopotamia, which was not an arid, desert area like it is today. In fact, Babylon was located on the alluvial plain drained by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, watered by an amazing system of canals built by the Babylonians - boasting probably the most fertile soil in the world, covered by rich crops and other vegetation. It was called the “beautiful land.” Babylon was the crossroads of trade for that part of the world. Trade routes passed through Babylon from all points north, east, south and west. Boats sailed up and down the Euphrates, which passed right through the middle of the city of Babylon, from the Persian Gulf in the south into Assyria (modern- day Syria and Turkey) in the north. Because Babylon had been occupied by so many peoples down through the centuries, and because people from so many places passed through Babylon, the citizenry of Babylon was very diverse; it was a real “melting pot.” Just like ancient Babylon, modern, prophesied Babylon is the economic, trade, and cultural center of the modern world and also the “melting pot” of the world. As was mentioned above, sex outside of marriage was not only acceptable, but was considered the highest form of religious and spiritual practice. All forms of sexual perversion - homosexuality, bestiality, incest, pedophilia, etc. As was mentioned above, the Euphrates River flowed right through the middle of Babylon. And a system of canals from the river provided plenty of water to the whole city for gardens, drinking water, cleaning, and other purposes. So, if under siege, the city could be sustained with water and food indefinitely. Then, other parts of the city, like the King’s palace, were also partitioned off by similar walls. So, with soldiers constantly manning the watch towers and patrolling the tops of the walls, Babylon was the most impregnable city in history. Unfortunately, the Babylonians got complacent in their “invincibility” and liked to party. So, one night in 5. BCE, when the Babylonians were in drunken revelry, the army of Cyrus, King of Persia, having dammed up the Euphrates River, stealthily entered the city from the river bed, sneaked into the palace, killed the King, and took over the city without a struggle. The next morning, the citizens of Babylon awoke to find themselves conquered! The Bible says that in the same way, modern Babylon, who thinks she is invincible, will be destroyed by a sudden, sneak attack - in just one day (Revelation 1. She controlled every nation from Egypt to the Persian Gulf in the South to the Black and Caspian Seas in the north. In the same way, modern Babylon will, and to a large extent already does, rule the world. CSN, the Christian Satellite Network, is a Christian radio network that shares the Gospel of Jesus Christ through solid Bible teaching and modern praise and worship. Modern, Prophesied Babylon the Great. Of course, modern, prophesied Babylon is not named in the Bible because she was not in existence when the Bible was written. But you probably already know who she is, if you have read the commentary on Revelation Chapters 1. And, if you have read through this page, you are probably starting to get a gnawing feeling that it is obvious, aren’t you? When confronted with plain evidence from history, current events, and the Bible, the identity of modern Babylon is crystal clear, undeniable, and irrefutable. Then, why do very few Americans acknowledge that Babylon is the United States of America? This commentator has often asked himself that question. Citizens of other nations do not seem so blinded to that reality.
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