Who Is Babylon?

By Steve Lumbley

Babylon as described in scripture represents several things. It is a religious system. It is an economic system. It is a military power, and it is a political system. All of these things were true of original Babel under Nimrod. He incorporated a false religious system into his political and military kingdom. This false religious system was spread throughout the earth when God confounded the language and scattered the people at the tower of Babel.

The next incarnation of Babylon was under Nebuchadnezzar. Under him Babylon was the most powerful kingdom on the earth. God used Babylon to take his apostate people captive during the time of Daniel. After 70 years, Babylon was conquered by Cyrus the Great of Persia. Cyrus then allowed a remnant of God's people to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and ultimately the city.

There have been many incarnations of Babylon throughout history. Some have been greater types and some lesser. All kingdoms that have ruled or sought to rule the world have been types and shadows of Babylon. Some of these kingdoms would include the ancient Roman Empire and the British Empire of the 18th and 19th centuries. Hitler's short lived Third Reich was a lesser type of Babylon. And there is today a kingdom in the earth that embodies the traits of Babylon in virtually every way.

Jeremiah prophesied that Babylon would be destroyed and would be desolate forever. Many believe this prophecy was fulfilled when the Mede-Persian Empire under Cyrus defeated Babylon but that is not entirely true. Geographic Babylon has never been completely desolate. Even today the land (modern day Iraq) is inhabited and upon the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon the United States is currently building a large military base.

In the broadest sense Babylon is a type of the whole world which lies outside the kingdom of God. It represents the world's system or man's way of doing things. But there is also a lesser type of Babylon in the world today.

Let's go a little further here and see if we can identify the city/nation that is end times Babylon. Let's start with Revelation 18:17 - Babylon has a deep water port.

And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!

Geographic Babylon (modern day Iraq) has no deep water port, so this Babylon in Revelation must be different from ancient Babylon. Babylon has God's people within it (Isaiah 47:6). But...

God's heritage has been destroyed (Jeremiah 50:11)
God's people have been led astray by false shepherds (Jeremiah 50:6)
God's people are swallowed up in a false religious system (Jeremiah 51:44)

Geographically Babylon sits upon "many waters" and is abundant in natural resources (Jeremiah 51:3)

The people of Babylon are a mingled people (Jeremiah 51:53)
They are a proud people (Jeremiah 50:31, 32)
They feel they are invincible (Isaiah 47:8)
They are a people of seemingly great wisdom & knowledge (Isaiah 47:10)
They are filled with graven images and idols (Jeremiah 50:38)
They have many astrologers, sorcerers, and monthly prognosticators (Isaiah 47:13)

Babylon is described as "the hammer of the whole earth" (Jeremiah 50:23)
Babylon uses the eagle as a national symbol (Daniel 7:4; Ezekiel 17:3, 12)
Babylon's mother was the lion [England] (Jeremiah 51:38)
Babylon is a "destroying mountain" (Jeremiah 51:25)
It is full of "mighty men" & men of war (Jeremiah 51:30, 32)
Babylon even has a "space program" (Jeremiah 51:53)

Babylon is the greatest merchant nation on the earth (Revelation 18:3)
All the nations of the earth do business with her (Revelation 18:11)
Babylon trades in every type of commodity (Revelation 18:12, 13)

At the time of her destruction:
Babylon's people are drunken and asleep (Jeremiah 51:39, 57)
She is filled with traitors (Jeremiah 51:2, 14)
They dwell without care (Isaiah 47:8)
They don't realize they are Babylon (Jeremiah 50:24; Isaiah 47:8)

Babylon has oppressed Israel (Jeremiah 50:33)
Babylon has caused the slain of Israel to fall (Jeremiah 15:49)

Would anyone like to guess which modern day nation fits this description in every way - politically, economically, geographically, militarily, religiously?