Season 3 Podcast 94 The Last Days Pt I The Rise of Babylon
The Last Days Pt I: The Rise of Babylon
To the ancient Israelites, the land of Egypt represented all that was evil. They were slaves to the Egyptians for 400 years. One of the great challenges to the Children of Israel was to shake the shackles of slavery imposed by the Egyptians.
To the ancient prophets, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah also became symbols of evil. The children of Israel were warned to avoid the sins of Egypt and the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah.
The modern symbol of evil, however, the city that symbolizes evil in the latter days, is Babylon. Babylon was known for its power and for its opulence. The hanging gardens of Babylon have long been considered one of the seven wonders of the world.
Scripturally, however, In the prophesies of Isaiah and John the Revelator, the ancient city of Babylon represents the world as it will be just prior to the Second Coming of our Lord. It represents the triadic sins of Egypt, Sodom and Gomorrah, and Babylon. In other words, all the accumulated sins of the world are embodied in Babylon.
The parallels between Egypt and Babylon and Sodom and Gomorrah are curious. Lot, nephew to Abraham, was led out of the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. Through Joseph the children of Israel were led into Egypt to avoid the famine. There they lived for hundreds of years. In Joseph’s lifetime they had a privileged position; however, after 400 years of captivity, the Lord called the prophet Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt to the Promised Land. Today we the followers of Christ are called to come out of Babylon.
About 600 years before the birth of Christ, the children of Israel were conquered and carried captive into Babylon. Once again, they were in exile in a foreign land. The famed Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon, made famous in Holy Writ by Daniel. Just as Joseph of Egypt interpreted the dreams of Pharoah, Daniel interpreted the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar.
Now in holy scriptures Babylon represents the world which will be destroyed at the Second Coming of the Messiah. In the Book of Revelation, we read:
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: 2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. 3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 5 And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth. 6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. (Revelation 17:1-6)
As you can see Babylon symbolizes the sins of our modern world. Rather than following the spiritual man, the modern world follows the natural man, feeding on the lusts of the flesh. The color scarlet symbolizes both royalty, referring to worldly power, and sensuality, referring to physical lusts, hence the phrase, “abominations and filthiness of her fornication.”
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