Jeremiah 50:25

The Bible says in Jeremiah 50:25-29, “The LORD hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for this is the work of the Lord GOD of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.[26] Come against her from the utmost border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left.[27] Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.[28] The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance of his temple.[29] Call together the archers against Babylon: all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the LORD, against the Holy One of Israel.” In these judgments that came against the Babylonians we are told why: why such a total destruction came upon them from the Lord. Learn and beware. It says in verse 29, “for she hath been proud against the LORD.” The wrong type of pride is a kind of arrogance and self-reliance. This kind of pride opposes God. This kind of pride is full of self-will. It says in Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” It also says in Proverbs 6:16-19, “These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:[17] A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,[18] An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,[19] A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.”

To show how much the pride of the Babylonians came into God’s awareness and concern, we see that the pride of the Babylonians is mentioned twice more in the next three verses. It says in Jeremiah 50:30-32, “Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD.[31] Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord GOD of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee.[32] And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him.”

When it comes to spiritual things, we have nothing to be arrogant about because we are sinners. Notice that it says about Babylon in Jeremiah 50:29, “for she hath been proud against the LORD, against the Holy One of Israel.” God is holy and we are not. We have sinned, and are therefore dependent upon the mercy of God. A proud person who holds their face against God is in effect saying, “I do not need the Lord’s forgiveness.” Thank God that Jesus surrendered to the will of the Father, because if we will humble ourselves and turn to Jesus, we can find forgiveness for our sins.

The Bible says in Jeremiah 50:33-34, “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.[34] Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.” God wanted the Israelites to return to Promised-Land. He is a God of second chances, and He was going to give Israel a second chance. God only wanted them to be captives in Babylon for a relatively short time. But Babylon had a problem. “they refused to let them go.” God wanted the leaders of Babylon to grant to the Israelites the freedom to return to their own land. God brought up another nation, the Medio-Persian kingdom, who conquered Babylon and who did allow the Israelites to return to their land. What happens when anyone refuses to do God’s will? God takes away their opportunity and gives it to someone else. Jesus taught that same truth. Jesus said in Matthew 25:14-30, “For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.[15] And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.[16] Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.[17] And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.[18] But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.[19] After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.[20] And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.[21] His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.[22] He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.[23] His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.[24] Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:[25] And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.[26] His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:[27] Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.[28] Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.[29] For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.[30] And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

The Bible says in Jeremiah 50:31-34, “Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord GOD of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee.[32] And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him.[33] Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.[34] Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.” Some people do not like to hear about the judgment of God or the wrath of God, but those who do not repent will eventually face God’s wrath. That is one of the reasons why His love is so wonderful. God is Judge, and God is holy. He must punish sin. Thankfully, He is slow to punish sin because He always gives time for sinners to repent and experience His love and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. But for those who do not repent, a definite judgment awaits them just like it awaited Babylon. God said in Jeremiah 50:31, “thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee.” Here is how God’s timeline works: 1. A person sins. 2. God’s clock starts ticking, and everything marches towards the time of judgment for that person or that nation. 3. God gives a time to repent, and God’s Spirit works in the heart of a person and in the life of a nation in order to wake them up to their need of repentance and their need of the Savior Jesus Christ. 4. If there is no repentance or turning to Christ, that individual or that nation arrives at the appointed time of judgment from the wrath of God. That principle is expressed in Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Exactly what that judgment will be like for those who do not turn to Jesus is found in Revelation 20:11-15, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.[12] And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.[13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.[14] And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.[15] And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

The Bible says in Jeremiah 50:35-40, “A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the LORD, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men.[36] A sword is upon the liars; and they shall dote: a sword is upon her mighty men; and they shall be dismayed.[37] A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed.[38] A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.[39] Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.[40] As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.” The final result of this judgment on the Kingdom of Babylon is made very clear in verse 40. First they are compared to Sodom and Gomorrah, and we know how that turned out: total destruction and the land rendered totally inhabitable in the way that it remains to this very day. And the Lord said at the end of verse 40 about Babylon, “so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.”

Babylon is very prominent in the book of Revelation in the end-times. So the question is: what is this kingdom of Babylon that is mentioned in the book of Revelation? A point that has been made is that the description of “Babylon” in the book of Revelation sounds a lot like Rome as it existed in the first centuries and as it would have been known by the Apostles including John. For example, it describes Babylon as an immoral woman in Revelation 17:5, “And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH,” and then says about the “woman” (Babylon) in Revelation 17:9-13, “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.[10] And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.[11] And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.[12] And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.[13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.” In the first century Rome fit very well into this description. I do agree that it probably will not be a literal Babylon from the same geographical location as traditional “Babylon” in Iraq. But I do not agree that the city of Rome just has to be “Babylon” simply because the city of Rome in the first century most closely matched the description given in Revelation chapter 17.

Trying to identify the Kingdom of Babylon is somewhat like trying to identify the antichrist. Since Jesus can come back at any moment, there must always be someone alive who will be the antichrist revealed once the Rapture takes place. That is why it says in First John 2:18, “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.” The characteristics of what the antichrist will be like is what makes someone an antichrist. The same concept is true about the kingdom of Babylon. The characteristics of what Babylon will be like is what makes a particular country a potential to be the Babylon of the last days. Let’s look at the characteristics of Babylon. Babylon was founded by a man named Nimrod, and he is described in Genesis 10:8-10, “And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.[9] He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.[10] And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.” What did Nimrod hunt, and how did he build Babel? Nimrod was a hunter of human beings, and he built his kingdom by dominating and controlling others. Most of man’s kingdoms and nations have followed that footprint. The Babylon of the last days certainly will also. That is what is meant by Revelation 17:15, “And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” Evidently the Babylon of the last days will be the most dominant nation on the earth in the last days, and will be the nation that most typifies a government that controls and dominates its people. God gives freedom and especially freedom of choice, but the spirit of Babylon controls and takes away choice. Choose the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will escape the destruction that all Babylons are destined for.

$Description: C:\BibleGemsDoc\Image37.gif$

___________________________________________________