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Why Babylon of Revelation in Bible Prophecy is Not Iraq

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Babylon In Bible Prophecy Is Not Iraq

(Chapter 15)

Copyright © 1998-2009 Atlantis Station - www.tribulation.com - All Rights Reserved

January 24, 2009

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When the Gulf War broke out, many teachers and preachers got on the prophecy bandwagon, and most of them tried to connect the Babylon of the Book of Revelation with Iraq, and Saddam Hussein with the Antichrist.  Let's take a careful look at Babylon in Bible prophecy.

Genesis 10:8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the Earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

Babel was started by Nimrod. The phrase a "mighty hunter before the Lord" carries with it the connotation of an attitude contrary to God. I am a mighty hunter and I don't care what God thinks. Babel continues in Genesis 11 with man's first organized rebellion against God. God had said to fill the Earth. Men decided to build a tower and stay in one place. Some have suggested that their idea may have been that if God sent another flood they could climb out of it on their tower.

Genesis 11:1 KJV And the whole Earth was of one language, and of one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. 4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto Heaven-, and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole Earth. 5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6 And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the Earth: and they left off to build the city. 9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the Earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the Earth.

From man's organized rebellion, the passage about Lucifer in Isaiah 14 is significant. He begins talking to the King of Babylon about 200 years before the Babylonian Empire and moves immediately to Lucifer.

BABYLON IS MAN'S ORGANIZED REBELLION UNDER SATAN AGAINST GOD

Isaiah 14:1 KJV For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. 2 And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors. 3 And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve, 4 That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! 5 The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the scepter of the rulers. 6 He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth. 7 The whole Earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. 8 Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no teller is come up against us. 9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the Earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. 10 All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? 11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. 12 How art thou fallen from Heaven, 0 Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into Heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to Hell, to the sides of the pit.

In Daniel, Chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, has a dream and sees an image like is pictured below. The head is of GOLD, the arms and chest of SILVER, the belly and thighs of BRASS, the legs of IRON and the feet part IRON and part CLAY. He sees a stone cutout without hands hit the image in the feet and the GOLD, SILVER, BRASS, IRON and CLAY are carried away by the wind, and the rock becomes a kingdom which fills all of the Earth. We do not have to wonder what the dream means for it is interpreted in Daniel 2:

26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof? 27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men. the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; 28 But there is a God in Heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these-, 29 As for thee, 0 king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. 30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart- 31 Thou, 0 king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. 32 This image's head was of fine GOLD, his breast and his arms of SILVER, his belly and his thighs of BRASS, 33 His legs of IRON, his feet part of IRON and part of CLAY. 34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of IRON and CLAY, and brake them to pieces. 35 Then was the IRON, the CLAY, the BRASS, the SILVER, and the GOLD, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole Earth. 36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. 37 Thou, 0 king, art a king of kings: for the God of Heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the Heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of GOLD. 39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of BRASS, which shall bear rule over all the Earth, 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as IRON: forasmuch as IRON breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as IRON that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' CLAY, and part of IRON, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the IRON, forasmuch as thou sawest the IRON mixed with miry CLAY. 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of IRON, and part of CLAY, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest IRON mixed with miry CLAY, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as IRON is not mixed with CLAY. 44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the IRON, the BRASS, the CLAY, the SILVER, and the GOLD; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

The kingdoms represented are:

GOLD

BABYLON 625 B.C. TO 539 B.C.

SILVER

MEDO PERSIA 539 B.C. TO 331 B.C.

BRASS

GREECE 331 B.C. TO 323 B.C.

IRON

ROME STARTING ABOUT 160 B.C.

IRON & CLAY 

THE TEN KINGDOM NEW WORLD ORDER

??????

THIS IS A VISION OF THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES

The times of the Gentiles started with Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, the head of GOLD, and will climax when the Great Rock hits the image in the feet. Speaking of the feet, Daniel 2 states in the days of THESE KINGS -- WHICH KINGS? -- THE ONES REPRESENTED BY THE TEN TOES OF THE IMAGE -- SHALL THE GOD OF HEAVEN SET UP A KINGDOM, WHICH SHALL NEVER BE DESTROYED.

Other references to the same period of time and the same 10 kings are:

Revelation 13:1 KJV And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and TEN HORNS and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

TEN HORNS WITH TEN CROWNS

Daniel states:

Daniel 7:7 KJV After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had TEN HORNS.

Daniel 7:19 KJV Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; 20 And of THE TEN HORNS that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. 21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; 22 Until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. 23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon Earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole Earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24 And the TEN HORNS OUT OF THIS KINGDOM ARE TEN KINGS WHICH SHALL ARISE: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

THE ROCK hitting the image in the feet is the Battle of Armageddon in Revelation 19 where Jesus returns and defeats the 10 kingdom, NEW WORLD ORDER, CALLED BABYLON IN REVELATION--MAN'S FINAL ORGANIZED REBELLION UNDER SATAN AGAINST GOD.

Revelation 13 and 17 tell about a beast having seven heads and ten horns. If you read Daniel 7, where the same beast is pictured, we are told that the ten horns represent ten kingdoms.

The Books of Revelation and Daniel picture this final effort, and Revelation describes Babylon as having three parts:

POLITICAL BABYLON - The 10 Kingdom NEW WORLD ORDER OF THE ANTICHRIST.

RELIGIOUS BABYLON - The world-wide religious system of THE FALSE PROPHET - THE GREAT WHORE OF REVELATION 17.

COMMERCIAL BABYLON - THE NECESSITY OF BOWING TO THE ANTICHRIST IN ORDER TO BUY OR SELL - THIS WILL BE ADMINISTERED BY THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM - The second beast of Revelation 13 is the False Prophet.

After the announcement, "BABYLON IS FALLEN!" in Revelation 14:8:

RELIGIOUS BABYLON is destroyed in Chapter 17

COMMERCIAL BABYLON is destroyed in Chapter 18

POLITICAL BABYLON is destroyed in Chapter 19 at Armageddon

(Read also Psalm 2 in connection with Armageddon)

So, the Babylon of Bible prophecy has NOTHING to do with the ancient city of Babylon being rebuilt, nor with modern Iraq anymore than with all of the other nations of the world.

One of the main messages of the Bible is the WORLD SYSTEM AGAINST GOD AND HIS PEOPLE. This is typified in the Bible by Egypt, Assyria, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and the Final system.

DOES THE FINAL TEN KINGDOM CONFEDERACY HAVE TO BE THE REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE? This is the discussion of  chapter 16, "The United States, Great Britain and Russia in Biblical Prophecy of the Last Days".

Table of Contents of The Most Often Asked Questions on Sunday Night Alive by Dr. George W. Westlake, Jr.

The Curse on Canaan Alcohol in Our Day Is Speaking in Tongues for Today?
Must Christians Keep the Sabbath? Church, Rapture & Great Tribulation Unconditional Eternal Security
Origin of the Name "Jehovah" Origins of the "Jesus" Fish Symbol What is Song of Solomon About?
Is Jesus God? What about Baptism? The Dead in Christ Shall Rise? Seven-Sealed Book of Revelation
Where Did Cain Get His Wife? What is "Born of Water & Spirit"? Babylon in Prophecy is Not Iraq
USA, England & Russia in Prophecy What is the "Gap Theory"? Christians in Difficult Times
Christians: Grace versus Law The Battleground of the Mind Last Week of the Life of Christ
Is Tithing for Today? Pictures of Jesus in Revelation Do you know Jesus Christ?

The Most Often Asked Questions on Sunday Night Alive

Available for $17.00 ($15.00 + $2.00 s/h - US funds) from:

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(816) 241-4831

Meet the Author

Dr. George W. Westlake, Jr., is Senior Pastor of The Sheffield Family Life Center in Kansas City, Missouri.  He has served in this position for over 24 years.  In addition to hosting "Sunday Night Alive," along with Mrs. Westlake for the past 12 years, he has traveled throughout the world teaching the Bible.

He is a member of the Adjunct Faculty of the Asian Training Center for Evangelism and Missions in Singapore, and Teaches throughout the Far East for Asia Pacific Theological Seminary, in the Philippines.  He has taught the entire Bible, except Psalms, Jeremiah and Lamentations at the College level.  He also teaches Greek, and has taught Hebrew.

In addition to this volume, he has also written the textbook, Daniel and Revelation for the ICI University, which teaches in 88 countries of the world.   The book has been translated into many languages, including Spanish, Russian, French and Finnish.

"Sunday Night Alive" is a question and answer show on the Bible that is broadcast Saturday afternoons, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on KPXE-TV Channel 50 in Kansas City, Missouri.  Call in questions can be made by calling (816) 241-4831 during show hours and a prayer line is available also (816) 241-4313.

The Most Often Asked Questions on Sunday Night Alive - George W. Westlake, Jr.  Kansas City, Missouri: Sheffield Family Life Center, 1998.

Daniel and Revelation - George W. Westlake, Jr.  Kansas City, Missouri: ICI University, 1988.

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