Are We Building Babylon

From the time that the Romans razed the city of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and started dispersing the Jews to other lands, and the nation of Israel ceased to exist as a country; up to 1946 when Israel again took possession of the land that God had promised them, there has been a Scriptural assurance that they would indeed one day dwell in their own land yet again. And, even though the Jewish temple has not existed for nearly two thousand years, we can be equally certain that it will be built again and that the daily sacrifice will be re-instituted in the City of David. Jerusalem must have a temple for the prophecies of the Bible to come to pass, and it will.

By the same token, the City of Babylon will have to be rebuilt and coexist in the Middle East once more with Jerusalem and the nation of Israel. Why is that, you say? Because the Book of Revelation tells us so. Revelation 17 and 18 in particular foretell of the very literal destruction of Babylon by the forces of the anti-Christ. Before that can happen the city must be rebuilt. The question is who is going to rebuild it and where?

Let’s consider the second part of that question first. Where will it be built? Will ancient Babylon rise up from the rubble and become a flourishing city again? Not likely. Saddam Hussein put much effort into excavating and rebuilding ancient Babylon. He did, after all, see himself as the second coming of Nebuchadnezzar and the hope of the Arab world. His war with Iran and the overthrow of Kuwait were first steps in his attempt to be the builder of a new Babylonian Empire which stretches from North Africa, all the way through the Middle East and right up to the backdoor of India. Regardless of all of that, ancient Babylon is unlikely to ever be anything more than a tourist attraction.

However, a new Babylon right next to the old one would greatly increase tourism to both the ancient city and the Babylon of the future. Ancient Babylon is also within hours of other ancient cities such as Sumer which is as old or older than Babylon, and Ur where Abraham was born. Imagine a tour package which included a first stop at Ancient Babylon to experience the cradle of civilization and the place where God confused the languages and then spread the people throughout the earth according to their languages to form the nations. And then to Ur where Christians, Muslims and Jews can peacefully mix among the ruins of the city where Abraham, the patriarch of all three religions, was born. (That may be a stretch, but it could happen.) After visiting a few lesser sights, its back to new Babylon to do a little shopping in the most decadent trade city in the world before boarding the cruise ship for departure.

If that all sounds far fetched then at least consider what Revelation 18 has to say about it. It tells us that the merchants of the earth will “grow rich through the abundance of her delicacies.” The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. That’s a pretty impressive shopping list. Any type of luxurious item that your heart might lust after and slaves to carry your merchandise home for you.

Revelation 18 goes on to describe new Babylon as a great port city that will likely make the ports of Hong Kong, Singapore and New York look like strip malls in the countryside. It informs us that when the city is finally destroyed by those ten kings who follow the anti-Christ “the merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,” saying, ”Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.”

Alexander the Great, among others, desired to dredge the Euphrates River for the entire three hundred plus miles from the Persian Gulf all the way to the location of Ancient Babylon. That task has never been accomplished, but that could change real soon. And, that brings us to the first part of our question. Who will build the Babylon of Revelation 18?

Before the smoke of U.S. bombs had ever cleared the air, the world was preparing for a feeding frenzy in Iraq. Everyone wants a slice of this pie. In fact, the nations that opposed the war in the first place, opposed it simply because they were using the U.N. as a giant coverup. They were already in there selling out the entire human race, by supplying Saddam Hussein with all the military technology and hardware that he could ever think to include on his wish list of human destruction. And that, despite the U.N. sanctions that they all agreed to in the first place. They were using the U.N. to conceal and protect their capitalistic malfeasance. Now they are tripping all over each other in a rush to “rebuild Iraq.”

If the Army Corp. of Engineers decides to dredge up river and build a new port to facilitate the enormous amount of trade that rebuilding Baghdad with the money that Iraqi oil will generate, then the Euphrates River may be chosen over the Tigris because it is less congested with development, and a port near Ancient Babylon would be only a stones throw away from Baghdad anyway. If that happens the prophetic city of Babylon won’t be far behind. Busy ports spawn development.

Whether the U.S. led coalition remains in the drivers seat, or the Iraqi people politely throw them out on their hind-parts because they can, after all, take care of themselves, or the den of thieves we call the United Nations steps in to take charge, the outcome will remain the same. Babylon will be built. It will be built for the good of the Iraqi people. And, eventually, it will become a place of such wealth that the souls of men will be bought and sold as they rush in to get a piece of the action.

We are not at the end of the world yet, but the rebirth of Israel certainly put us on the doorstep. If Babylon is built again in Iraq, then that is going to throw the door wide-open to where we can clearly see what is on the other side. What we see is going to be a bit unsettling, because what we see will be the rapid approach of the promised end of this corrupt world. To many, the end is a welcome site, but getting from where we are now to that blissful place beyond the end is going to be nothing short of horrifying.

RS.com

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