What is the significance of Babylon in the Bible?

Answer

Ancient Babylon was situated in present-day Iraq. It gained power after breaking free from the Assyrians. The brief era of Babylonian supremacy, which holds biblical importance, is known as the Neo-Babylonian Empire, as Babylon had been influential in an earlier period.

Babylon and King Nebuchadnezzar are prominently featured in the Old Testament. Babylon invaded Judah, razed Jerusalem and its temple, and deported many Jews to Babylon as captives. These occurrences are documented in 2 Kings 17–25 and 2 Chronicles 32–36. Several prophets foretold the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians as God’s punishment on Judah for its sins. Notably, Jeremiah advised submission to the Babylonians in acknowledgment of God’s decree: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are outside the wall besieging you. And I will gather them inside this city. I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm in furious anger and in great wrath. I will strike down those who live in [Jerusalem]—both man and beast—and they will die of a terrible plague. After that, declares the Lord, I will give Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague, sword and famine, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. He will put them to the sword; he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion. . . . This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives. I have determined to do this citBy harm and not good, declares the Lord. It will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire” (Jeremiah 21:4-10).

Daniel was a young man who was taken to Babylon as an exile. He rose to prominence in the administration of King Nebuchadnezzar and his successors (see Daniel 1—6). Babylon was overthrown after only several decades of prominence. The Lord had promised that the Jewish exile was only temporary, and, after the fall of Babylon, the Persian king allowed the exiles to return to Judah to rebuild the city and the temple. These events are recorded in Ezra and Nehemiah.

Because of the awful destruction caused by the Babylonians, Babylon became a symbol for the stereotypical enemies of God and His people. (Sodom and Egypt are also used in this way.) Babylon figures prominently in the book of Revelation as the ultimate enemy of God and persecutor of His people. “Babylon the Great” will be overthrown, but here is how she is described: “Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. The name written on her forehead was a mystery: Babylon the Great, the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth. I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus” (Revelation 17:3-6). Revelation also records the downfall of Babylon, lamented by people of the world (chapter 18), along with the rejoicing of the saints at her demise (chapter 19).

For years, many dispensationalists interpreted Babylon as RSome scholars believe that Babylon mentioned in the Bible refers to Rome, the center of a revived Roman Empire. The rise of Saddam Hussein and the war in Iraq led some to speculate that Babylon could represent a revived Babylonian Empire. Saddam Hussein made efforts to reconstruct Babylon and saw himself as a modern Nebuchadnezzar. However, it became clear over time that Hussein was not the ultimate foe of God and would not succeed in reviving a Babylonian Empire. Interpreting the Bible based on current events can be risky.

In essence, Babylon’s destruction of Jerusalem and the temple made it a symbol of God’s enemies. The book of Revelation uses this symbolism, suggesting that Babylon in Revelation likely symbolizes a national power that will oppress and destroy in a manner reminiscent of the Babylonians. The key distinction is that ancient Babylon destroyed Jerusalem as a consequence of God’s judgment for its unfaithfulness. In the end times, “Babylon” will persecute faithful believers, in contrast to ancient Babylon, and will face divine judgment.