The Babylon Code, Pt. 1 of 2

The Book of Revelation is quite graphic in its description of the Fall of Babylon. This city boasts a long history and notorious reputation. Originally founded by Nimrod (Gen. 10:8,10), it soon became the focal point of men's celebration of their own accomplishments. Bad idea! God intervened and the city was branded with a fitting designation: Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth (Gen. 11:9).

Despite this setback, Babel refused to go away nor mend its ways. Notably, Babylon (same city) was the destroyer of Jerusalem and the Temple in 586 BC. In her historic heyday, power, wealth, commerce, and wisdom were hers. The OT prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah would describe her as idolatrous, wicked, arrogant, self-confident, covetous, cruel, and domineering. Babylon is less than a shadow of her former self today, so it is curious that she is presented once more in Revelation 17-18 as the global focal point of man centered religion.

Bible students differ in their identification of "Babylon" in Revelation. It would seem straightforward to identify it with a rebuilt city on the Euphrates river (see image above). The vast gap between the current state of affairs (quite humble) and the future state of Babylon (grand and impressive) suggests the merit of finding another interpretive option. So some have proposed that "Babylon" is a code word for some other physical city (Rome or Jerusalem are often suggested), an institution or entity (the "apostate church" or papacy are often proposed), or a "Babylonian ideology" that gains a global hold on men's thinking.

We need to remember that this is a problem of biblical interpretation. If the text is clearly discussing a rebuilt city of Babylon on the Euphrates in Iraq, then we must choose to believe what Scripture says will happen MORE than we believe our own perceptions of what could be. Yes, I have difficulty imagining a world class city like the one described in Revelation 17-18 coming into such wealth and prominence out of the current political, military, and economic milieu. But I must not allow the limits of my imagination to dismiss out of hand what the text might clearly be saying. Bottom line: I am open to all the options.

All views which propose that "Babylon" is a code word or symbol face a serious difficulty. They lack a decoder. There are 29 phrases or terms used in Revelation that are clearly symbolic. And all 29 of them are identified as symbols by the use of a key term or phrase which connects the symbol to what it represents. The first of these code-breaker phrases in the Book of Revelation appear in 1:20: “As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches (Rev. 1:20). (I have highlighted the code-breakers in blue.) No such code-breakers are used with the term "Babylon" to indicate it represents something else. In fact, the exact opposite occurs. A woman sitting on a scarlet beast is clearly identified as code or a symbol of the great city of Babylon (Rev. 17:3-5). Babylon is not the symbol but the reality behind the symbol (which is a harlot in scarlet and purple).

The view that this is the actual city of Babylon on the Euphrates at the apex of a future "greatness" is the conclusion of a plain sense reading of the text. In Rev. 2-3, John clearly intends the mention of a city name to be taken literally. In the one place in the prophecy where he employs a code name for an actual city, he provides a clear code-breaker: And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified (Rev. 11:8).

Several descriptive details add to the impression that the actual city of Babylon is targeted in Rev. 17-18: The fact that the Euphrates River is specifically named in 9:14 and 16:12 marks out a geographical area connected to Babylon as a key focus of coming judgment. The suggestion that Babylon has access to the sea is a detail that fits with Babylon on the Euphrates which is navigable to the Persian Gulf. The descriptive phrase "which sits on many waters," itself a code phrase for the city's global dominance (17:15), recalls Jeremiah's use of this language to describe Babylon (Jer. 51:13), a city of canals, waterways, and marshes. The position of the city "in the wilderness" (Rev. 17:3) is a detail that would also fit Babylon on the Euphrates, although it is not clear if this phrase indicates the city's location prior to or after her judgment.

I find the view that this is the actual city of Babylon on the Euphrates to be more persuasive. Of course, this raises some other questions: Does this mean that the events described in Revelation are "a long ways off" since it would take years for such a city to become a reality? And, does the urgent appeal for saints to "come out of her [Babylon]" (Rev. 18:4) have no relevance to saints living today since this Babylon does not yet exist?

Good questions! What do you think?

Comments

[Jeff]

Help me if this doesn't make sense...

People were attracted to building the Tower of Babel. Whatever the reason they had, enough people were attracted to the idea of building a tower that, to them, put Man and God on the same level, even putting Man above God. It seems reasonable to me that people would be attracted to that idea and the representation of that idea and would help build up that representation.

As it is, we've got people who will live their lives in response to something that sparks their emotions and imagination. We don't need to look past Elvis Week to see that around here.

So basically, add to that a society that has the financial ability to support that imagination and I could see people becoming attracted to the central location that symbolizes rebellion against God in droves to try to make themselves equal to or greater than God.

I may not be correct, but if memory serves, Babylon isn't mentioned till the end of the book. Sure, it means that the city isn't a factor till the end, but could it also mean that the city was not built up to the prominence it will have at the end? We know that there's at least a 3 1/2 year timetable before the end, and I know that they would be building through (and in spite of) the seals being broken. But if they'd be anything like I am, when I'm in rebel against God mode, it doesn't matter how much pain I'm in, all I want to do is keep doing whatever would go against God, as often and as quickly as possible. Given enough people and enough rebellion, I can see a city becoming splendorous within a pretty short amount of time. I know it's speculation so I wouldn't die on this hill, but it seems reasonable to me.

This does actually bring up another question: we discussed on Sunday that we are wealthy in relation to the world. In light of that, what wouldn't Memphis (for instance) look grand and impressive to the world as well? And how much more so to John? So when talking about how great Babylon is, are we to put our perceptions on what grand and impressive is? Or do we need to put our minds into a different mode, thinking in terms from other areas of the world or in terms of first generation Christians, to define "grand" and "impressive"? I ask because if it's the latter, I'd think that the bar would be lowered for what grand and impressive is.

[Jim]

As to your first point, right on! As noted in The Babylon Code, Part 2, the philosophy that animates Babylon is with us NOW, even though the city has not yet been built. It definitely seems reasonable that Babylon will be built on the foundation of this pre-existent philosophy. On balance, the establishment of Babylon will take this philosophy to a whole new level. Think of it as "The Babylon Code, Extreme Edition."

As to your second point, I suspect that whatever John was looking at when seeing Babylon, it was something that all men would be impressed by no matter when and where they lived. I have been to the Acropolis in Athens - it is very impressive. It was so for the people of ancient Greece - it is so for we moderns. Future Babylon will have this kind of effect - for those who have not been washed in Lamb's blood, they will be in awe of what they see in the city. Modern man will be VERY impressed.

[Floyd]

There is another website that will help in explaining what and where Babylon is. Below is the introductory overview of the site. If it's okay, I'll give the link at the end. There's too much detail to show it here.

INTRODUCTION

The two main articles of this site are “The Final Empire” and “Understanding the Revelation” The Final Empire details the prophecies of Daniel concerning all of the empires that would come into power from the time of the Empire of Babylon to the final empire that would rise up in the end time. It is important to realize that what Daniel was being told is that these empires are all of the empires that would ever be before Christ returns for the second time. This article then identifies these empires and correlates them with the book of Revelation. The second article, “Understanding the Revelation”, refers back to the information revealed in this article, so it is important to read it first in order to follow what is being said.
The second article, “Understanding the Revelation”, with historical references, shows the timeline, that is, the year of the beginning of the events in Revelation and when it was first given to John by Christ on the Isle of Patmos. It also explains how the Revelation itself is broken down into three different sections with viewpoints each of which shows a different perspective and adds details which the other two viewpoints lack for completeness and clarity. When the points of each view are correlated with the other two, the order of the events become more clear. This does not mean, however, that all of the events themselves are completely understood. There are some things in Revelation that are to be taken literally while some are symbolic in nature. But when the order of the events in question and the time when these events will begin to occur are made clear, then understanding the rest becomes much simpler.
The first of the three viewpoints given covers from chapter 6 through chapter 11, the second is from chapter 12 through chapter 16, and the third view is given from chapter 17 through chapter 19. The central point around which these three views revolves is the return of the Messiah. In the first view Christ makes his appearance at the end of chapter 6, in the 6th seal after the apocalyptic four horsemen. In the second view, Christ appears in chapter 14 after the dreaded beast of chapter 13 and the mark of the beast are given, and in the last view Christ appears in chapter 19 after the angel’s descriptive explanation of the beast is given in chapters 17 & 18. All three views are followed with the punishment of the beast and those who have taken part in his system.