During the Gulf War, I happened to read in my private devotions the passage in Isaiah that tells of the fall of Babylon. I noticed how many of the verses, which were written thousands of years ago, were descriptive of reports in the newspaper. This sparked an interest in studying all the biblical passages that deal with Babylon and its destruction. Historical records reveal the destruction of Babylon has never happened as described in the Bible. Surprising also, within the context of Babylonian destruction, the Bible consistently describes Israel. God has placed these passages on Israel to tell us they are important within the fall of Babylon. Each verse God has given reveals details involved in the fall and must be included in the study. The various prophecies from the different prophets are in harmony. The Scriptures refer to the fall as a single event. The Scriptures are detailed in giving a literal description of its fall.
This study is not written to explain each detail, but to give a general overview of what the Scriptures say about Babylon’s destruction. The Scriptures refer to the harlot Babylon as a mystery. This mystery will be solved with its destruction. The Scriptures are clear that it will be announced to the whole world. The final destruction of Babylon will not happen with Christ’s return, because the earth will be in darkness at the end of the tribulation, and God’s witnesses will have been silenced. This setting does not fit the way the Scriptures say the fall will be announced to the whole world.
The prophecies throughout the Scriptures have literal fulfillments. We see this pattern from the prophecies that already have been completed. The prophecies, at their completion, are easily understood by ordinary people. Even though God tells of world events ahead of time, the actual processes of the completion are not readily known and many times are a mystery. God leaves no doubt that the prophecies are true and will be literally fulfilled just as He said.
We sense the end times are fast approaching. Some of these events no doubt are already in process. To past generations, the end-time events did not seem possible. We today can understand how they could be possible. Today we need to pay special attention to the prophecies and be aware of their messages, while at the same time taking notice of the news reports coming from that part of the world – the Middle East. What an exciting time to see God’s hand at work. God recorded the prophecies to show His reality. He revealed the prophecies to His followers. As they take place, the faith of His followers will grow even stronger.
The 1901 American Standard Version of the Bible is used throughout this study. This version is considered to be one of the versions that translated the Scriptures as closely as possible, word for word, from the original language to English. I have discovered some of the other, more readable translations have taken what they felt the Scriptures were saying and transferred it to modern day language. When it comes to prophecies, many of the events in the Scriptures are unclear as to the exact details of what will happen because they are still of future events. Thus, the translators sometimes are giving us their interpretation of these verses rather than translating the verses from one language to another. This can lead to possible misunderstandings of events that are still in the future.
