Babylon the Great
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!” This statement comes via an angel coming down from heaven in a vision of John in Revelation 18. But who is Babylon?
The first mention of Babylon in the Bible comes from 2 Kings 17:24. The Assyrians were in power at the time and had destroyed the northern tribes of Israel. As a method of keeping the land productive and also void of attempts of mutiny, the Assyrians moved people from the middle eastern province of Babylon as well as other lands to settle the land of Israel. At a later time, Babylon as an empire and a city is mentioned in the book of Daniel. For our investigation of the Babylon of Revelation 18, verse 9 of that text specifies the Babylon of focus is a city, not a province, country, or empire.
Narrowing the scope of examination, the city of Babylon was an ancient city dating back to the time frame of 2200 BC as part of the Accadian empire. It at that time was small and relatively insignificant, but by the time of the Chaldean/Babylonian empire of Nebuchadnezzar around 600 BC it was a mighty city, possibly the largest in the world. The pride and immorality of this city is most exemplified by Nebuchadnezzar, and it would be humbled as he was (see the book of Daniel). It was this mighty city that would be crushed by Cyrus the Great of Persia in 539 BC. Is this the Babylon read about in Revelation 18?
The chapter of Revelation under examination gives further insight to the identity of Babylon the Great. She was very sinful influencing kings, nations, and people of the world. All nations were deceived by her. The destiny of this city according to John’s inspired writing was destruction. Verse 24 of the text provides a very specific clue as to who this Babylon is. “And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth.”
Jesus when upon the earth spoke of the coming destruction of Jerusalem. Matthew 23:29-37 is one of the places His words are recorded. Jesus in this context speaks of those He would send to direct the lives of men: prophets, wise men, scribes. He mentions that the Israelites would persecute, flog, crucify, and kill them. Very exactly he states in verse 37, “O JERUSALEM, JERUSALEM, the city that KILLS the prophets and stones those who are sent to it.” He also identifies in verse 35 that “all the righteous blood shed on earth” would come upon Jerusalem. This establishes almost exactly the sentiment of Revelation 18:24. “ALL” the blood of the slain prophets was found in Jerusalem – Babylon the Great!
An additional aid in understanding Jerusalem as the identity of our quest is the term “great city” used five times in Revelation 18. Revelation 11:8 speaking of Jerusalem calls it the “great city” where the Lord was crucified. In fact, it is my assertion every instance of the words “great city” in Revelation reference Jerusalem.
Jerusalem played the harlot with the world. It was arrogant, adulterous, and murderous. That it is compared to the historically immoral city of Babylon should come of no shock. Jerusalem had been called out over centuries for what it was and the behaviors it engaged in. It had also been compared Sodom frequently by the prophets. Jerusalem was a shambles of what it should have been, which was a light upon a hill. Rather, Jerusalem was a plague that polluted and destroyed as did Babylon. Indeed, it became Babylon the Great.