Page 136 - Eschatology - Masters revised

But Isaiah spoke of her destruction in Isaiah 47. In response to her wickedness, arrogance, self-
indulgence, and brutality towards the people of God, the Lord announced sudden doom:

But evil shall come upon you, which you will not know how to charm away; disaster shall fall upon you,
for which you will not be able to atone; and ruin shall come upon you suddenly, of which you know
nothing. (Isaiah 47:11)

Because of the awful destruction caused by the Babylonians,
Babylon became a symbol for the stereotypical enemies of God and
His people. 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). xlvii

History tells us that the Babylonians were destroyed overnight when the Persians, under Cyrus The
Great broke into the grand city and captured it, bring some of the same brutalities on the Babylonians
that they had inflicted upon the Jews. History informs us that when the city fell, 3000 of the leading
citizens of the city were impaled upon the walls. xlviii

Babylon is mentioned again in the Bible in I Peter 5:13-14. She who is at Babylon, who is likewise
chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son. Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to
all of you who are in Christ. Peter is referencing those resident at Rome which He symbolically refers to
as the New Babylon. Peter is saying that Rome is the new mistress who seduces and subverts the
people of God from Rome.

Finally, we come to Revelation 17: 3-6 and read about a woman who is a whore called the mother of
Babylon:

“a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten
horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls,
holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And
on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s
abominations.” And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of
Jesus.” (ESV)

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