Babylon

The prophet Jeremiah gave this message to Seraiah son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah, a staff officer, when Seraiah went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah. This was during the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign. Jeremiah had recorded on a scroll all the terrible disasters that would soon come upon Babylon—all the words written here. He said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, read aloud everything on this scroll. Then say, ‘LORD, you have said that you will destroy Babylon so that neither people nor animals will remain here. She will lie empty and abandoned forever.’ When you have finished reading the scroll, tie it to a stone and throw it into the Euphrates River. Then say, ‘In this same way Babylon and her people will sink, never again to rise, because of the disasters I will bring upon her.’” [Jeremiah 51.59-64]

A person doesn't have to understand everything about the prophecies in the Bible to understand this prophecy about Babylon. Jeremiah made clear that Babylon would fall never to rise again.

Fast forward to today...

Some time ago, I began calling out the nations of the world in prayer on a daily basis. There are, I think, about 197 nations on my list. Babylon is not on that list.

Of interest to the student of the Bible is the fact that "Babylon" is very much a subject of the Book of Revelation. Is this some sort of contradiction?

While all this may seem confusing, it occurs to me that "Babylon" indeed serves an allegorical purpose in modern times as much as it served a literal purpose in ancient history. Babylon represents the commerce and ways of the world. In other words, all one needs to do is "follow the money" today and Babylon will be found.

With the above-mentioned statement in mind, one should remain mindful of God's attitude and warnings about succumbing to the control of the world and its commerce. God's view on the topic of materialism is made most clear by Jesus Christ:

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. [Matthew 6.19-21]

It suffices today to say that we should be paying attention to the allegory of Babylon. Again, it is a significant factor in end times.

Father, help me to understand more about Babylon and how it factors in to the days ahead...