Babylon in Bible Prophecy

     Many of us are understandably concerned about the war we are
fighting with Iraq.  Only a short time ago in the beginning of 1990 we
were so optimistic.  The iron curtain was coming down and we were
expecting to have a peace dividend.  Now we are at war, and spending
lives and money to do it.

     What does the Bible have to say about the prospects for peace in
the mid-east?  This question will be addressed below, both in terms of
what we are now experiencing and what the future may bring.

     In the Biblical book of Daniel four kingdoms are listed as having
world domination.  The following passage is from Daniel chapter 7.

     1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a
dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream,
[and] told the sum of the matters.  2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in
my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove
upon the great sea.  3 And four great beasts came up from the sea,
diverse one from another.  4 The first [was] like a lion, and had
eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was
lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a
man's heart was given to it.  5 And behold another beast, a second,
like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and [it had] three
ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus
unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.  6 After this I beheld, and lo
another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a
fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.  7
After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast,
dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron
teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with
the feet of it: and it [was] diverse from all the beasts that [were]
before it; and it had ten horns.  8 I considered the horns, and,
behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there
were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in
this horn [were] eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great
things.  9  I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient
of days did sit, whose garment [was] white as snow, and the hair of his
head like the pure wool: his throne [was like] the fiery flame, [and]
his wheels [as] burning fire.

     This dream of Daniel's was not an ordinary dream such as we have
but a vision given by God for his purpose.  One of the purposes of
Daniel's dreams was to humble the kings who Daniel was serving.  During
his life Daniel served two kings, or rather kingdoms.  When he was
first taken into captivity by an expedition from Babylon he served
Nebuchadrezzer. Babylon was an Arab nation centered in what is now
Iraq.  When Daniel was taken prisoner the power of Babylon was already
at it's height.  Daniel was a young man when taken prisoner, he
actually outlived the Babylon empire.

     The second kingdom that he served was that of the Medes and
Persians.  Two kings are mentioned, the first is Darius who was a
Mede.  The second king mentioned is Cyrus, a Persian.  There is no
account in secular histories of Darius, we can only assume that he was
an official who was "king" over perhaps a limited area such a a
governor of a province.  Cyrus is of course a well known historical
leader.

     Babylon began it's raise to power in about 625 BC.  It conquered
the Kingdom of Judah in about 580 BC.  Therefore the first part of the
events in the book of Daniel would have been at this time.  In about
540 BC Babylon fell to Cyrus the Persian.

     Looking specifically at the dream the first part is "four winds of
heaven blowing on a great sea".  The winds are the power of heaven that
sets the nations in motion.  The sea is not the Mediterranean or any
large body of water but rather symbolizes humanity.  From this we see
that it is God's plan that their will always be changing situations,
and not one endless power controlling the world.  This sure fits the
experiences of history as well as events today.

     Daniel sees four beasts rise out of the sea.  These are four
leaders or kingdoms.  The first is described as a lion, with the wings
of an eagle.  We know this because of how other Biblical accounts of
the fall of Judah are described.  (See Jerimiah 4:7; 49:19, Habbakuk
1:8, and Ezekial 17:3).

     The second kingdom is represented by a bear.  This is believed to
be the kingdom of Media-Persia.  These people captured the city (and
kingdom) of Babylon by the year 540 BC.  This is the second kingdom
which Daniel served, and indeed he was serving them at the time of this
dream.  Daniel states in Dan 6:28 that he prospered during this time. 
This would tell us that he still had a position of power in the
leadership, and that the revelations he received from God were held in
high estimation by the rulers that he served.

     The third beast is a leoperd with four wings and four heads.  This
beast represents the Greek empire, the largest "horn" is thought to
represent Alexander the Great.  (See Dan 8:20-21)  This kingdom, as had
those before it grew through conquest.  Each devoured the kingdom
before it, and are therefore sequential in nature.  The events in this
part, and the rest of the dream happened after Daniel had died.  The
Persians where defeated by the Greeks in 485 BC.  In 325 Alexander the
Great defeated Darius III.

     The fourth "beast" is introduced differently than the others.  It
is not described in terms of an animal, but rather as being diverse and
very powerful.  This kingdom is that of the Roman empire.  The Romans
conquered nation after nation, leaving soldiers behind to enforce
submission.  Two of the things that differentiate the Roman empire from
those before it are that it exerted a higher degree of control over
it's conquests, and that the conquests were more extensive than the
empires before.  We can think of the devouring in terms of the Roman
practice of carrying off large numbers of slaves.  The Roman empire
began to expand about 260 BC when Carthage is destroyed.

     Now we apparently have a problem.  Daniel's dream proceeds from
the rise in power of the Roman empire to the coming of Christ (The
Ancient of Days) to rule on earth.  The Roman empire has ended a long
time ago and yet we are here and Christ isn't (in a physical way). 
What has happened.  Daniel also had trouble understanding his dream. 
In Dan 7:15 he tells us that he was anxious about it.

     There are two reasons to be worried about what is said.  The first
is that we want to know how it will affect us.  The second is that we
are curious as to when these events will happen.

     Opinions vary on both questions.  No-one knows precisely how the
events foretold by Daniel will affect us or the church of Christ.  Take
a look at the passage below.  It's not really very full of good news,
although it seems things end ok.

     Dan 7:21-23  21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the
saints, and prevailed against them; 22 Until the Ancient of days came,
and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time
came that the saints possessed the kingdom.  23 Thus he said, The
fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be
diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall
tread it down, and break it in pieces.

     Verse 21 says that for a time the beast will prevail upon the
saints.  This tells me, that for at least a while, the Christian Church
will suffer under the beast.  The time of trouble will end when Christ
comes.  The Ancient of Days is another name for Christ.  Before this
happens though, the forth beast or kingdom must devour the whole
earth.

     Now this could not have happened yet.  We are clearly not living
in the kingdom of Christ, or of the saints!  At the time of the birth
of Christ it seemed as if the Roman empire controlled the whole earth,
and yet what they controlled at the time was only the part of the earth
that they knew about.  The area they controlled never extended beyond
the middle east, northern Africa, southern and central europe, the
British isles, and a small part of Asia.

     If we are to understand the chronology we need to look at both the
prophecy of the seventy sevens, which follows in Daniel 9 as well as
know what "age" we are in.

     Daniel 9:24-27  24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people
and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end
of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in
everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and
to anoint the most Holy.  25 Know therefore and understand, [that] from
the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem
unto the Messiah the Prince [shall be] seven weeks, and threescore and
two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in
troublous times.  26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah
be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that
shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end
thereof [shall be] with a flood, and for himself: and the people of the
prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and
the end thereof [shall be] with a flood, and unto the end of the war
desolations are determined.  27 And he shall confirm the covenant with
many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the
sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of
abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation,
and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

     In verse 24 the word that is usually translated "weeks" means in
this context "sevens".  So the verse begins "(70 x 7 = 490) years" are
decreed to be the time for the restoration of Daniel's people to the
city of Jerusalem.  This is also the period in which the Messiah is to
come.

     In the same way verse 26 says "((3 x 20 + 2) x 7) = 434 years". 
In 540 BC Cyrus, a Persian defeated Babylon, so it was after 540 that
Daniel had this dream.  Look at II Chronicles 36:22, it says that in
the first year of Cyrus king of Persia the Lord stirred up the spirit
in his heart to fulfill the word of Jerimiah.  He sent out a
proclamation through out his kingdom telling everyone that he was going
to build God a house in Jerusalem.  So when Daniel had his dream the
time of foreign captivity was almost over for the Jewish nation.  They
were allowed to return to Judah and rebuild their city.  The person
whom God used to do this was Nehemiah.  Three companies of Jews
departed from Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem, the first led by Zerubbabel
left shortly after the proclamation was issued.  The second lead by
Ezra left about 80 years after the first, they rebuilt the Temple.  The
third, and most successful group was that led Nehemiah went to Judah 13
years after Ezra's group.  This group rebuilt the city itself.

     Lets look at the math for a second.  Cyrus makes proclamation (540
BC) - 80 years (Ezra's group leaves to rebuild temple - 490 years
(Daniel's dream says Messiah comes) = -30 years (30 AD)  We know that
Christ died on the cross in about AD33.  If you give Ezra 3 years to
travel to Judah and complete the temple you have a remarkably accurate
prediction

     Verse 26 says that the Anointed one will be cut off, this of
course is Christ's death.  After this time we are told to expect war
until the end, which seems like a safe bet.  Chapter 11 is a more
detailed account of the kingdoms to follow after the one of the
Persians.

     Many interpret the vision in different ways, however most agree
that the age of man ended with the death of Christ.  When Christ died
for our sin He ushered in the age of the Church.  This age will run for
an indeterminable time.  We know however that the pivotal events that
preceded the end times will happen in the mid-east.  We will now jump
forward to the book of Revelations.  It does not tell us in years when
the end will come, but it does tell us some events that will precede
the end.

     A power will arise that will seek to control the whole world. 
Some of it's characteristics are listed in Revelation 13:5-7 below. 
The descriptions are very similar to those of the Roman empire given in
Daniel.

     Revelation 13:5-7  5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking
great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue
forty [and] two months. And there was given unto him a mouth speaking
great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue
forty [and] two months.  6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against
God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in
heaven.  7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and
to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and
tongues, and nations.

     The kingdom that will attack Israel is described in Ezekiel (Ezek
36:15, 38:6, 15 ; 39:2).  We are told that the final battle will be
fought in a certain place.  (Rev 16:16)  The battle will be fought at
Armageddon (Hebrew Har Megiddo or hill of Megiddo) north east of Mount
Carmel.  It is located between Damascus Syria and the Gaza in what is
now Syria.

     The fighting that we are now engaged in is in the right area of
the world.  This leads evidence that the end times could be near. 
However every major war in the region has been thought by some to be a
sign of the "end".  The Antichrist has been described as many of our
enemies, including Hitler, as well as Saddam Hussein.  We can always
look back in 20/20 hindsight and see why past conflicts were not as
they appear, and therefore didn't lead to the end of the world.

     What can we be sure of then?  We can be sure that Christ has died
for all of mankind.  We have 2000 years of Biblical testimony and
changed lives to support this fact.  The individual does not have to
live in darkness concerning his future.

     What you need to do is accept that you fall short of the glory of
God. This you already know about yourself.  You know that your own
efforts at spiritual growth fall short of your need.  God, through His
Son Jesus Christ paid for your sin 2000 years ago.  It is available for
the asking as a free gift.  The gift will enable you to live a full
life now and forever.

     Those of you who are believers now need to share your faith with
others.  We truely don't know what the future will bring.  There is a
saying that there is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole.  That is
probably true, but how many of us realise that we are all in a foxhole.
It is not necessary to go to Saudi Arabia, or be a soldier to have the
unexpected, or unpleasant happen to you.

     What to do?  Accept that you are a sinner and are sorry by
repenting to God and asking His forgiveness.  Accept the atoning death
of Christ as payment to God for your sin.  Accept in the resurrection
of Christ the new life that He has given to you.  Seek to follow Christ
by following Him as Lord.  Find a Church where you can grow in
knowledge and life.  Share your faith with others.




Bible text is from the King James or Authorized Version of the Holy
Bible.  Bible text is in italic print if you have an original copy of
this.