Babylon in Jeremiah

Jeremiah 50

50:1 The word that the LORD spake against Babylon

and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah

the prophet.

50:2 Declare ye among the nations, and publish,

and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not:

say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded,

Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are

confounded, her images are broken in pieces.

50:3 For out of the north there cometh up a

nation against her, which shall make her land

desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they

shall remove, they shall depart, both man and

beast.

50:4 In those days, and in that time, saith the

LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and

the children of Judah together, going and

weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their

G-d.

50:5 They shall ask the way to Zion with their

faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join

ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant

that shall not be forgotten.

50:6 My people hath been lost sheep: their

shepherds have caused them to go astray, they

have turned them away on the mountains: they

have gone from mountain to hill, they have

forgotten their restingplace.

50:7 All that found them have devoured them: and

their adversaries said, We offend not, because

they have sinned against the LORD, the

habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of

their fathers.


Isaiah 65

65:17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new

earth: and the former shall not be remembered,

nor come into mind.

65:18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that

which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a

rejoicing, and her people a joy.

65:19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in

my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no

more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.


In the latter chapters of the book of Isaiah, the

subject turns to the restoration of Israel, and a

'reign in righteousness'. This is a prophetic

reference to the inevitable passing of the

kingdom of man and the arrival of the millennial

kingdom ruled by Jesus, followed by the eternal

glory of the city of Zion, coincident with the

creation of new heavens and earth. As I

interpret the idea of the new heaven and earth,

the idea emerges that the present heaven and

earth are defiled by the character of sin and

rebellion. They have been scarred by the

consequence of sin, both the rebellion of Lucifer

in heaven, from where he was thrown out, and the

rebellion of man on earth, which was already once

renovated during the flood of Noah. It leaves me

with the conclusion that what we see now, is only

a dim reflection of the glory that will radiate

from the new heavens and earth, that is

unaffected by sin. This is what I see as the

restoration and 'reign in righteousness',

something that is impossible to even imagine,

based on what we see in the fallen creation

around us.


Yesterday, I had the pleasure of spending an

afternoon at the lake. It is still an area that

hasn't been covered by condos and pavement.

There is a certain pleasure that I find in

hearing, and watching the birds, the wind in the

trees and the kids at the beach. And I'm often

left with the impression that man's efforts to

make improvements are of questionable visual

appeal. At some point, I began to wonder what

the original creation was like, given that what

we see around us is flawed. On the one hand, I

know that all we see is destined to pass, on the

other, I try to imagine just what a perfect

creation would look like. If you go to an art

museum, I guess you will see right away that

everyone has their own vision of the elements

that define beauty. It's all part of the present

fact that there just isn't even an ability to

recognize the basic elements of perfection. Yet,

like eternity, G-d has placed that longing in

each heart and mind. It's there, and it's

visible at times, because that's the way we were

created and if you think about it, these are

ideas that find no reason in the doctrine of

evolution. They only have meaning in the context

of design, and you would have to be blind to say

that it isn't so. A day at the lake. So simple

on the surface of things. And so complex if you

wish to look a little beyond the surface of

things, and complexity only serves to enhance the

pleasure. But everyone still got a little

sunburned.


Another thought that crosses my mind is to think

if there were an Isaiah alive today. You know, a

genuine prophet, What would he say to our

generation? Probably, not much different than

what he said, whatever it was, 2500 years ago.

And people's response? Probably not much

different than it was 2500 years ago. We are

stuck in the present without much interest in

what may or may not occur in the days ahead, or

in times past.


Jeremiah's message was alot like Isaiah's. He

wrote of the judgement of G-d against idolatry

and warned the people that it was not in their

best interest to ignore the benefits of the

covenant that had provided for them the many

blessings of the past. Again, there is reference

to Babylon as a literal and a symbolic kingdom of

man, a kingdom that has no future. Jeremiah was

able to see the literal fulfillment of these

prophetic messages when the Babylonians destroyed

the city of Jerusalem. I don't know if he was

around to see the literal destruction of the city

of Babylon, but the historic record shows that it

came to pass. For modern times, we are left with

a vivid example, and a remaining prophetic

fulfillment, of the final overthrow of the

kingdom of man, and complete restoration of all

things new, in the kingdom of righteousness.


There's still alot more in the book of Isaiah

that mentions the city of Babylon. I'm not sure

I need to go over every verse right now. The

message and its interpretation is always the

same. Babylon represents the kingdom of man and

its days are numbered, just as it was portrayed

in the book of Daniel. The thing that I always

take away from these passages is not the demise

of the kingdom of man, but rather the hope of a

better and eternal future in the kingdom of G-d.