Page 44 - Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible Christianity. Based on the King James Bible

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BAAL. [See Idolatry, Witchcraft.] the Euphrates River. Babylon was first built by Nimrod
BAALAH (mistress). Jos. 15:9-10. after the great flood of Noah’s day (Ge. 10:10). The
BAALATH-BEER (mistress of the well). 1 Ch. 4:33. Tower of Babel was built there (compare Ge. 11:2,9).
BAAL-BERITH. [See Idolatry.] Thus, the city of Babylon has always been associated
with evil and rebellion against God. God used the nation
BAAL-GAD (lord of fortune). Jos. 11:17. of Babylon to judge Israel in the days of the kings.
BAAL-HAMON (lord of a multitude). Song 8:11. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, carried the Jews
BAAL-HANON (the lord is gracious). Ge. 36:38. away captive and destroyed the walls and temple of
BAAL-HAZOR (lord of a village). 2 Sa. 13:23. Jerusalem (2 Ki. 24-25; 2 Ch. 36; Je. 52). After the
BAAL-HERMON (lord of Hermon). Ju. 3:3. seventy-year captivity, God destroyed Babylon (Je.
50-52; Is. 13:17-22; Da. 5).
BAALI (my master). Ho. 2:16. “Babylon is repeatedly used by the prophets in a
BAALIM. The plural of Baal. [See Idolatry.] symbolic sense. Two Babylons are to be distinguished in
BAAL-PEOR (lord of Peor). A form of Baal worship the Revelation: ecclesiastical Babylon, which is apostate
practiced by the Moabites. (Nu. 25:1-9). [See Idolatry.] Christendom, headed up under the Papacy; and political
BAAL-PERAZIM (lord of breaches). 2 Sa. 5:18-20. Babylon, which is the Beast’s confederated empire, the
BAAL-TAMAR (lord of the palm). Ju. 20:33. last form of Gentile world-dominion. Ecclesiastical
BAAL-ZEBUB (lord of the fly). [See Idolatry.] Babylon is “the great whore” (Re. 17:1), and is
BAAL-ZEPHON (lord of the watchtower). Ex. 14:2,9. destroyed by political Babylon (Re. 17:15-18), that the
beast may alone be the object of worship (2 Th. 2:3-4;
BAASEIAH (work of Jehovah). 1 Ch. 6:40. Re. 13:15). The power of political Babylon is destroyed
BAASHA (boldness). A king of Israel (1 Ki. 15:27— by the return of the Lord in glory” (Scofield).
16:6). BABYLON IN 1 PETER 5:13 — The Roman Catholic
BABEL - TOWER OF (confusion, gate of God). The Church claims that Babylon in 1 Peter 5:13 is symbolic
tower built by men after the flood of Noah’s day. Babel for Rome. The following summary for rejecting this view
occurred about 1750 years after creation and about 105 is from Barnes Notes on the New Testament:
years after the Flood. Nimrod was the founder of the “Others have supposed that Rome is intended by the
Babel kingdom (Ge. 10:8-10). Men were in rebellion name Babylon. This was the opinion of many of the
against God, and God stopped the work by creating the Fathers, and also of Bede, Valesius, Grotius, Cave,
different languages (Ge. 10:10; 11:1-9). The purposes Whitby, and Lardner. The principal reasons for this are,
of the Tower of Babel: (1) Pride. The Tower was built as that such is the testimony of Papias, Eusebius, and
an attempt to glorify man (Ge. 11:4). (2) Rebellion. Jerome; and that at that time Babylon on the
God had commanded the sons of Noah to “replenish the Euphrates was destroyed. But the objections to this
earth” (Ge. 9:1, 7). This means to fill, which would opinion seem to me to be insuperable. (a) There is no
involve scattering throughout the earth. Instead, the evidence that at that early period the name Babylon
was given to Rome, nor were there any existing
Babel builders defied God’s command and established a reasons why it should be. The name is generally
centralized headquarters. (3) Man-made unity. The supposed to have been applied to it by John, in the
Tower of Babel was an attempt to unify mankind and to book of Revelation, (chap. xvi. 19; xvii. 5; xviii. 10,21;)
establish a one-world government (“let us,” Ge. 11:3-4). but this was probably long after this epistle was
(4) Idolatry. This was the beginning of idolatrous written, and for reasons which did not exist in the time
religions. The desire to build a tower to heaven had a of Peter. There is no evidence that it was given
religious meaning associated with the worship of the familiarly to it in the time of Peter, or even at all until
sun, moon, and stars. What happened at Babel is after his death. Certain it is, that it was not given so
described in Romans 1:21-23. Revelation 17:5 says that familiarly to it that when the name Babylon was
Babylon is the mother of false religion. Ancient Babel mentioned it would be generally understood that Rome
was intended. But the only reason which Peter could
typifies the end-time Babylon or one-world religion (Re. have had for mentioning the name Babylon at all, was
17). [See Babylon, Church, Prophecy, Roman Catholic to convey some definite and certain information to
Church, Separation, Timothy, Unity.] those to whom he wrote. (b) As has been already
BABYLON (confusion). The city Babylon was the observed, the apostles, when they sent an epistle to the
capital of the kingdom of Babylon and was located on churches, and mentioned a place as the one where the

44 Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible & Christianity