The Figurative Babylon

By Arno Froese
Midnight Call Ministries, Columbia, South Carolina

The word Babylon may mean confusion or the gate of God. During the building of the tower at Babel, God confused the language, thus the definition of confusion is fitting.

The other meaning of Babylon, gate of God, suggests self-redemption. Even after Babylon no longer existed, the Bible speaks about Babylon in Revelation 17 as an entity to propel the antiChrist to power. Will ancient Babylon be rebuilt and become the center of the world’s economy, finances and religion? The Bible mentions, “Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the Earth,” Revelation 17.5. This verse does not refer to Babylon literally, but figuratively. This Babylon is a different identity than the one mentioned in Jeremiah 27.6.

While a literal Babylon no longer exists, the spirit of Babylon, characterized by rebellion and confusion, continues. Babylon is a symbol of rebellion against God. The symbol of rebellion then passed to Media-Persia, then to Greece and finally to Rome. The spirit of Babylonian rebellion and licentiousness continues today and will climax in the great confrontation between light and darkness at the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Therefore, many assume ancient Babylon will play no significant role in the development of end-time events. It is not the Mystery Babylon of Revelation 17, which is pictured as a woman “drunken with the blood of Saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus,” Revelation 17.6. The literal ancient city of Babylon would not be responsible for the death of the Christian martyrs mentioned.

Another reason the literal city of Babylon is not the Babylon mentioned in Revelation 17 is the seven heads of the beast in Revelation are described as seven mountains in verse 9, most likely describing the terrain of this region. The literal city of Babylon was established on the plain of Shinar, a virtual desert with no mountains nearby.

Who then, is this drunken woman, Mystery Babylon pictured in Revelation 17 which drank the blood of the martyrs of Jesus and continues to commit spiritual fornication with the political power structure of the world? Rome is the only city in the world which appears to meet the criteria the Bible uses in describing Mystery Babylon. The Roman Empire was the originator of democracy and a symbol of economic prosperity. I believe no other city on earth is recognized simultaneously as a religious and political entity. However, some Bible scholars believe a rebuilt Babylon under the antiChrist may be suggested in Revelation 18.

We need not belabor the point regarding the world’s current global financial system, where economics ignore sovereign borders. Nor do we need much imagination to see a one-world religion is already in the formative stages. Under the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, the empire was commanded to worship an idol or suffer the consequences, Daniel 3. This persecution of those unwilling to bow before a false deity is viewed by many to be typical of the final persecution of Israel and Christian converts led by the antiChrist during the Tribulation.

Only Mystery Babylon will finalize the work of the Tower of Babel builders and King Nebuchadnezzar, a global system under the philosophy of political democracy, free enterprise, unified financial systems and ultimately a one-world religious faith. You may ask, “Why?” Because the father of lies, Satan, must imitate that which is promised to take place when Jesus comes, Philippians 2.10-11.

Editor’s Note; As of February 1990, more than 60 million bricks had been laid in the reconstruction of Nebuchadnezzar's fabled city of Babylon. Saddam Hussein has ignored the objections of archaeologists who consider it a crime to build over ancient ruins. On the exact site of ancient Babylon, Saddam has reconstructed the Southern Palace of Nebuchadnezzar, including the Procession Street, a Greek theater, many temples, what was once Nebuchadnezzar's throne room, and a half-scale model of the Ishtar Gate." (Charles Dyer, The Rise of Babylon, p. 27)

US Marines in front of the rebuilt ruins of Babylon (2003)

From Wikipedia:

In 1985, Saddam Hussein started rebuilding the city on top of the old ruins, using millions on part restoration, part new construction, to the dismay of archaeologists, with his name inscribed on many of the bricks, in imitation of Nebuchadnezzar. One frequent inscription reads: "This was built by Saddam Hussein, son of Nebuchadnezzar, to glorify Iraq". This recalls the ziggurat at Ur, where each individual brick was stamped with "Ur-Nammu, king of Ur, who built the temple of Nanna". These bricks became sought after as collectors' items after the downfall of Saddam, and the ruins are no longer being restored to their original state. He also installed a huge portrait of himself and Nebuchadnezzar at the entrance to the ruins. He also shored up Processional Way, a big boulevard of ancient stones, and the Lion of Babylon, a black rock sculpture about 2,500 years old.

When the first Gulf War ended, Saddam wanted to build a modern palace, also over some old ruins; it was made in the pyramidal style of a Sumerian ziggurat. He named it Saddam Hill. In 2003, he was ready to begin the construction of a cable car line over Babylon when the invasion began and halted the project.

Interestingly, an article published in The New York Times in July 2006 stated UN officials and the Iraqi administration have plans for restoring Babylon, making it a gem of a new Iraq as a cultural center complete with shopping malls, hotels, and maybe even a theme park.