Icons of the Bible
Babylon and Beyond
The Babylonian exile set certain patterns into motion as to how Jewish history would function. To a great extent those patterns have held true throughout the ages, and they can be seen in our time in many uncanny and parallel ways.
The Ten Tribes had been exiled about 150 years before the destruction of the Temple. In those 150 years, more than a million Jews simply disappeared from the face of the Earth. What happened to them is one of the great historic mysteries.
By contrast, the Jews who were exiled to Babylon after the destruction of Judea established a Jewish community that lasted continuously until modern times, a period of more than 2,500 years. For well over 1,500 of those years the Babylonian Jewish community flourished to the point that, after the destruction of the Second Temple, they even became the undisputed center of Jewish life.
Why was their fate different?
Eleven years before the destruction of the Temple, King Nebuchadnezzar had taken some 10,000 of the elite among the Jews and transplanted them to Babylon in an attempt to weaken Judea and prevent it from rebelling. In so doing, he unwittingly set up the next 2,500 years of Jewish history. In little more than a decade, those 10,000 Jews — which included prophets and sages like Ezekiel,[1] Daniel and Ezra, as well as the entire Sanhedrin – created the foundation of the Jewish future.
As an illustration, Ezekiel established a Torah academy in the Babylonian town of Sura that lasted continually until the year 1001 CE, a period of more than 1,600 consecutive years. To put that in perspective, the oldest running educational institution in the Western world is Oxford University, which is about 900 years old.." from the article: Babylon and Beyond
Map of Ancient Babylonian Empire
The Greatest King of Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar II - Ancient Mesopotamia
Video from History Explained
"Nebuchadnezzar II succeeded in expanding his new empire and restoring Babylon to its former glory. This was the first time in a thousand years, since the reign of Hammurabi, that Babylon had risen to dominate Mesopotamia." from the video introduction
The Tower Of Babel Began The Great Divorce From God For The Nations
Video from Dr. Michael S. Heiser
"We had a fall in Genesis 3. We had a second rebellion in Genesis 6, that was so bad, that permeated humanity so deeply that God sends a flood. After the flood, Noah and his sons emerge from the ark and God repeats the original Edenic mandate; spread out, populate and spread my goodness. So what do they do? They congregate at Babel. And at this point, God has had enough. He divorces humanity. And allot them other members of his council, but they also rebel. God comes to Abraham because he still wants to restore the nations. Babel and the call of Abraham set the stage for the rest of the Old Testament, this is why it's Israel against the nations, and it's Yahweh against the gods." from video introduction
What Christians Need to Know about the Fall of Babylon in End Times
With the current events of this world, evidence of the fall of Babylon in relation to end times is a topic of much conversation for Christians seeking clarity. In the Old Testament, the fall of Babylon is an actual event. In the New Testament, it takes on a symbolic form—as the time when Jesus will return and defeat the evil of our world.
The Bible clearly states, in Matthew 24:36-37, that no one knows when Christ will return. Learning about the fall of Babylon in relation to the end times can not give us a specific date to prepare for; however, it can help us strive to keep our relationship with God holy and on the right path for whenever Christ will return.
Where Is Babylon?
The country of Iraq is present-day Babylon. In the Bible, Babylon is first mentioned in Genesis 11. It was a city on the Euphrates River comprised of the descendants of Shem, one of Noah’s sons.
The city was becoming self-reliant, with one language seeking worldwide power by “making a name” for themselves. Their all-powerful self-reliance showed their lack of faith in God.." from the article: What Christians Need to Know about the Fall of Babylon in End Times
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