REVELATION SIMPLIFIED

 

CHAPTER 17.5a

Gleanings from the Book of Revelation:

A Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series

 

The

REVELATION TO JOHN

 

Chapter Seventeen

The Great Tribulation

Parenthesis

Mystery Babylon

 

 

Forward

In the preceding study, mentioned was the fact that an evil prostitute is in view when explaining the apostate religious system during the Great Tribulation. Her extravagant jeweled garb was indicative of her profession. Also, common amongst the harlotry, a circlet was worn against the forehead with an identification name inscribed alluding to her character. Similar biblical references may include:

1. High Priests of the Old Testament had on their miters a gold plate with the inscription, “Holiness (Holy) to the Lord.” (cf. Exodus 28:36)

 

2. During Jeremiah’s time, in a parabolic manner analogous to Israel returning to Jehovah, he chastised those who espoused false deities, “And thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.” (cf. Jeremiah 3:3)

 

 

3. God promises His name, and also, a new name was given by God to be written upon the Philadelphian overcomers (cf. Revelation 3:12)

 

Then in an amazing moment, the identity of the great whorish woman is revealed to John…

(Verse 5)

 

And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH

.

 

Babylon is the object of this passage. Three questions immediately come to mind:

1. Why is she called a mystery?

 

2. Why is Babylon singled out above all other great cities of the world?

 

 

3. Why is she identified as the mother of the harlots of the earth and the mother of the abominations of the earth?

 

Over this and the following study, answers to the above questions will be elaborated upon.

 

Mystery

In the New Testament, the Greek word for mystery is mustērion (μυστήριον), meaning a mysterious name that was outside the realm of natural apprehension, i.e., a secret rite concerning religion, hidden through the ages and only revealed by divine revelation. For instance:

A. The true Church was a mystery of the Old Testament but revealed in the New (cf. Ephesians 3:1-9)

 

B. The false apostate church emerging in Tribulation is identified as the mystery of iniquity (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:7)

 

Historical Babylon

Rise of an Empire

The early beginnings of Babylon were not very significant, at best Babel was unimportant as were its sister polyglot villages Erech, Accad, and Calneth, in the land of Shinar (cf. Genesis 10:10). After the Antediluvian Period, two of four major rivers remained.  At the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates, which flows into the Arabian Sea or the Persian Gulf, are tributaries forming an ecoregion of lakes, swamps, and marshes. Floods in this area are commonly violent and unpredictable.

 

Originally forming the Fertile Crescent, modern-day Iraq was once referred to as ancient Babylonia (the land of Shinar) and later called Mesopotamia (the land between the rivers). Fast forward: At the height of the Babylonian Empire's opulence and power, Israel was led into seventy years of captivity under the reign of the notorious ruler Nebuchadnezzar II.

 

Early in the book of Daniel, Daniel interpreted one of Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams in which he saw a giant 90-foot-high by 9-foot-wide statue, representing the head of gold of Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom (cf. Daniel 2:31-33). This prophetic image established the prophetic fate of historic Babylon’s succeeding empires.

 

Fall of an Empire

Daniel Chapter 5 sets the stage for the fall of one of the greatest empires on the Asian continent. A succession of kings ruled over numerous dynasties for about three millennia, circa 625 B.C. The city was rebuilt by Nabopolassar, the father of Nebuchadnezzar, who with his stupendous building projects, transformed Babylon into its greatness during the fifth and sixth centuries before Christ. Its Hanging Gardens are listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

 

Following Nebuchadnezzar’s rule and after a few years of palace intrigue son-in-law Nabonidus, who while fighting in military campaigns, appointed his 36-year-old son Belshazzar (great-grandson of Nebuchadnezzar) as co-regent to the throne.

 

Proud and boastful Belshazzar gloated over the impregnability of Babylon namely because:

1. The city had a 54 – 56-mile double wall around the city

2. The city’s outer wall was 311 feet high, 87 to 90 feet wide

3. The city had a 30-foot moat alongside the outer wall

4. The city’s walls contained 100 gates of solid brass

5. The city had 250 watchtowers 400 feet high

6. The city had 196 square miles of swamps and marshes in its surroundings

7. The city had ample food and water supply because the Euphrates River bisected it under its walls

 

In a blatant act of defiance, Belshazzar, while the Medes and Persian armies surrounded Babylon, decided to throw a Grande Feast (known as Belshazzar’s Ball for the VIPs in its great banquet hall. * He used the golden vessels taken from the destroyed Temple and had everyone drink wine from them to praise and honor the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and stone (cf. Daniel 5:4).

 

*Archaeological Note: From 1899 to 1917, the German self-trained archaeologist and historian Robert J. Koldewey excavated the ruins of Babylon and proved that Nebuchadnezzar was responsible for the city's greatness as claimed in Daniel 4:30.

 

Koldewey discovered in the remains of the palace of Nebuchadnezzar a great banqueting hall measuring 56 feet wide and 173 feet long, with a niche opposite the main entrance for the royal throne, undoubtedly the setting for Belshazzar’s Feast in Daniel 5.

 

Meanwhile, the fingers of a man’s hand without an arm suddenly emerged and wrote in an unknown language “the handwriting on the wall”, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. After the king’s astrologers, Chaldeans, soothsayers, and the wise men of Babylon (cf. Daniel 5:5) were unable to translate its meaning, King Belshazzar summoned Daniel to have it translated:

Daniel 5:26-28 - This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. [Emphasis added]      

 

The Greek historian Herodotus records Cyrus the Great, leader of the Medes and Persians, was so intent on conquering Babylon that after maneuvering around the city walls for several months realized:

A. He could not scale the walls – They were too high

B. He could not break through the walls – They were too thick

 

So he devised an alternative plan. Noticing the Great Euphrates River ran under the walls through the city he stationed some of his best military men, half at the river's entrance to the city and the other half at the river's exit where the Euphrates River passed a huge swamp area. The stratagem to divert the flow of the Euphrates away from the city was successful!

 

The Greek historian Xenophon scribes that on the sixth day of Tishri 539 B.C. the entrance was made that very night while the Babylonians were partying at the infamous drunken orgy. As the water level began to recede from the front and back entrances, a few men slipped under the city walls, opened the doors of the north and south gates, and allowed the rest of the army to enter. Cyrus, not only captured the city by surprise but also without a battle.  

 

Prophecy

Ironically, the fall of Babylon was predicted some 200 years in advance by the prophets Isaiah, and later Jeremiah:

Isaiah 13:19 - And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

 

Isaiah 21:9 - And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he (the watchman) answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods He hath broken unto the ground.

 

Jeremiah 51:8 - Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

 

The Encyclopedia Britannica records that until the nineteenth century, little knowledge of Babylon was solely based on the Old Testament and a handful of Greek writers.

 

Also, noting the events of this chapter for centuries had been discounted by critics. They labeled it as Fairy-tailed fiction. Not until 1853 that archaeologists founded the Nabonidus Cylinder. It was discovered in the cornerstone of a temple to a pagan god which was built by Nabonidus in the city of Ur of the Chaldees; approximately 211 miles south of Babylon.

Its inscription read as such:

May I, Nabonidus, King of Babylon not sin against thee, and may reverence for thee dwell in the heart of Belshazzar my firstborn, favorite son.

 

Wikipedia notes:

It has been estimated that Babylon was the largest city in the world c. 1770 – c. 1670 BC, and again c. 612 – c. 320 BC. It was perhaps the first city to reach a population above 291,000. Estimates for the maximum extent of the city range from 890 to 900 hectares (2,200 acres).

 

The remains of the city are in modern-day Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 90 kilometers (56 mi) south of Baghdad, comprising a large tell of broken mud-brick buildings and debris.

 

As a result of the Iraq War, world news by the Guardian reported that troops from the US-led forces in Iraq had caused widespread damage and severe contamination to the remains of the ancient city of Babylon (January 2005). Presently, archaeological attempts are in progress as to its restoration.

 

Reference: There is a treasure trove of information regarding historical Babylon existing on the internet, dictionaries, and encyclopedias. Suggested reading may include renowned archaeologists and academic writings: Oates, Dr. Joan. Babylon. London: Thames and Hudson. 1986.

 

In the second study (17.5b) of Mystery Babylon, the importance and significance of religious Babylon’s origins will be deliberated.

 

 

QUESTIONS:

1.   Why is the harlot’s forehead significant?

2.   What does the word mystery mean in this context?

3.   What does the word whore represent in Chapter 17?

4.   Describe the historical beginnings of Babylon.

5.   What book in the Bible is vital to Babylon’s history?

6.   Describe the decline of the Empire after King Belshazzar.

7.   What is most noteworthy about historical Babylon?

 

 

If this study was a blessing to you, make it a blessing to others.

SAVE AND FORWARD THIS LINK

http://breadoflifeministriesassoc.blogspot.com/