Wednesday Bible Study Fellowship, February 13, 2008
Babylon: Part 2- The Ending
II. The Ending
A. Isaiah told us that when God destroys Babylon, His people will be restored. Jeremiah told us the exact same thing (Jer.50:4, 5, 20).
B. Question: When will Israel come to a spiritual understanding of Christ- the Messiah?
1. Zechariah 12:10 “They will look on Me, the one they have pierced…”
2. Zechariah 13:1 “I…will remove the spirit of impurity from the land.”
3. Zechariah 14:4 “On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives…”
C. When the Medio-Persian Empire conquered Babylon 50,000 Jews returned home to Israel. Many thought this was the promised restoration of Isaiah & Jeremiah. It wasn’t! God sent Haggai and Zechariah to instruct them (Armageddon, pg.128). During that instruction Zechariah said something about Babylon that had been conquered: (Zech.5:5-11)
1. Zechariah saw a basket full of iniquity.
2. Where was the basket going? The land of Shinar / Babylon (Gen.10 & 11)
3. There is more wickedness to come from Babylon! Remember, “this was the land where men had first united in a universal rebellion against God” (Feinberg, pg.296)
D. The entire prophecy of Zechariah 5 is future! There is no such fulfillment so it has to be future!
1. “God is stating that all wickedness is developing along well-defined lines and in due course it will be headed up in that place which has always stood for defiance against God.” (Feinberg, pg.297)
2. The mention of the house (vs.11) implies a permanent place. “The cycle of wickedness, as it were, is complete. Godlessness in every form has finally come home.” (Ibid)
3. Wickedness will culminate in a specific place: Babylon!
4. “We emphasize that the fulfillment of this prophecy is yet future, to be accomplished in that time when sin shall be rooted out of Israel, when the people have turned to the Lord Jesus as their Messiah, Savior, and King” (Ibid)
E. “God says in Isaiah and Jeremiah and Zechariah that the city of Babylon, the nation of Babylon, the country of Babylon, the place where evil started, is going to be around and judged by God.” (Armageddon, pg.133)
1. Revelation 16:19
a. the great city = Jerusalem
b. the other city = Babylon the Great (Remember the division going back to Genesis?)
2. Revelation 17:18 – Babylon the Great, is a city
3. Revelation 18:10 – Babylon the Great, is a city
F. Now, notice the similarities between these two cities: [Armageddon, pg.134-135]
1. Their names (17:5; 18:2)
2. Their descriptions (17:4; 18:16,17)
3. Their possessions (17:4; 18:6)
4. Their adulteries (17:2; 18:3)
5. Their persecutions (17:6; 18:24)
G. Religious Babylon – chapter 17
1. Called a whore (KJV) / prostitute (NIV). The Greek is porne. The word is a reference to a woman who sells her body.
2. The kings of the earth have committed: fornication (KJV) / adultery (NIV). The Greek is porneuo. The word means “to prostitute one’s body to the lust of another” (BDB/Thayers)
3. The inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her fornication (KJV) / adulteries (NIV). The Greek is porneia. The word has reference to illicit sexual relations.
4. This is a reference to spiritual adultery. A final religious system that is corrupt, defiled and not the least pure (I Tim.4:1, 2; II Tim.4:3, 4). Who is this?
a. “John was talking about Rome.” (Dr. David Jeremiah, pg.191)
b. “I believe God is describing a rebuilt city of Babylon, the city that Saddam Hussein has begun.” (Dr. Dyer, pg.135) [Jer.51:26]
c. “The interpretation that…it refers to a future literal city of Babylon is wrong. The city here according to verse 5 is a mystery, not a literal city.” (Dr. Walvoord, pg.257)
d. “…this verse demonstrates that the woman is the city of Rome…” (Dr. Robertson)
5. We know that the church is becoming weaker. We should watch to see how a new world religious system develops. Possibly in Rome or Babylon or some joint venture. What we know is that this false religion will be the mother of the harlots (pornon) and of the abominations (bdelugmaton) of the earth! The word abomination means “fool, detestable thing.” It comes from bdelusso (abhor/foul) which comes from bdeo meaning “to stink.” Whatever it is and wherever it comes from God says it will stink!
H. Economic Babylon – chapter 18. This is very easy to place in the Middle East with its vast oil wealth.
Conclusion: While we do not have all of the answers we certainly do see that prophecy is being fulfilled in our lifetime. The point of this short look of Babylon was to note that from the beginning there were two paths represented by two cities. God’s way – Jerusalem. The world’s way – Babylon. Are you sure you are on the right path?