Aside from Jerusalem, there is more said about Babylon in the Bible than there is about any other city or power in the world! In history, it occupies a large place, but in the prophecies, A MUCH LARGER place. … So, why does God continually point us back to Babylon and its fall, especially in the book of Revelation? We will see that, although the physical city no longer exits, its ways do and its fall in ancient time has VERY SIGNIFICANT lessons for our day – we MUST understand them!

It is not possible, in this study, to give a thorough view of the GREATNESS of the Babylonian empire, but Scripture gives us a glimpse when it calls her, “the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency,” “the lady of kingdoms” (Isaiah 13:19; Isaiah 47:5). In the vision of Daniel 2 we find that the head of gold represented her, and that all other earthly kingdoms would be inferior (Dan. 2:38,39)! All of this gives us an idea of the illustriousness of this ancient world empire. And yet, as great as Babylon was, the Lord said she would end up “as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah” (Isaiah 13:19).

History and the Bible tell us that, under King Nebuchadnezzar’s rule, Babylon flourished to heights unequalled. Historians say that if it were not for Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon would have had no place in history! In fact, Nebuchadnezzar was so loved by his subjects that, when he completely lost his mind for 7 years and spent his days as a beast out in the fields, not even then did anyone venture to take his throne! However, after his death, the empire declined rapidly, never to rise again (Jer. 51:63,64; Isaiah 13:19). What was the cause of her fall? We will have to go back in time a little further to get the fuller picture– about 100 years before Daniel.

Babylon First Mentioned in Prophecy: The prophecies concerning the fall and final ruin of Babylon are many and REMARKABLE! The subject is fascinating. The first mention of Babylon in prophecy is found in Isaiah 39:1-7. You HAVE to read it!

As the story goes, Hezekiah, the king of Judah, became very sick. Isaiah the prophet came bearing the terrible tidings – Hezekiah would die. Hezekiah was devastated by the news and in agony cried out to God. The Lord granted him fifteen more years, and Hezekiah asked for a sign so that he could be sure that the Lord would really heal him. Isaiah prayed, and in response, God told him that the sundial would go back ten degrees, which was his sign (Isaiah 38:7,8)! Meanwhile, in a far off country, people who were known for being GREAT astronomers, noticed this solar phenomenon! They learned that it was done in response to a healing and sent their ambassadors with gifts to inquire about this AMAZING wonder! … Here is Hezekiah’s opportunity to give glory to the God of heaven; to share saving truths with those in spiritual darkness! In fact, Scripture tells us that God used the situation to test Hezekiah and show him all that was in his own heart too!

“Howbeit in [the business of] the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to inquire of the wonder that was [done] in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all [that was] in his heart.” 2 Chronicles 32:31

When these Babylonian ambassadors arrived, instead of giving God the glory, Hezekiah ended up showing them EVERYTHING he had! All the treasures, the weapon houses… absolutely everything!

“²And Hezekiah was glad of them, and showed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not. ³Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, [even] from Babylon. ⁴Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that [is] in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not showed them.” Isaiah 39:2-4

Isaiah then announces the prophecy:

“⁶Behold, the days come, that all that [is] in thine house, and [that] which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. ⁷And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” Isaiah 39:6,7

The ambassadors returned to Babylon, not with news of the greatness of the God of Israel, but with the GREATNESS of their possessions and an understanding of EXACTLY where their treasures were! Hezekiah failed to give God the glory and instead exalted self. The results were tragic. And really, that is the story of Israel and her fall. Interestingly, Hezekiah accepts his failure, and the results are kept from falling during his time! Read 2 Chronicles 32:25,26… but back to Babylon…

The Reason for Babylon’s Fall:  The reason for the fall of “Babylon the Great” of the Chaldeans is plainly laid out in the Bible and is not a mystery: the rejection of the Gospel message and the failure to give glory to God. Now, this is extremely important for us to understand, and although we looked at it in part 5, we will recap briefly…

The Gospel had been presented powerfully to King Nebuchadnezzar, particularly on three distinct occasions, where God revealed Himself and His saving power in an incredible manner (Dan.2, 3 and 4). Nebuchadnezzar’s acceptance of these revelations caused him to call all his people to give glory to the God of Daniel, the true God, and the ultimate result was Nebuchadnezzar’s complete conversion! Belshazzar, (Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson), knew all of this and yet he lifted himself up against God and did not glorify Him.

^“22And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; ²³But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; … and the God in whose hand thy breath [is], and whose [are] all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:” Daniel 5:22,23

Belshazzar was even reminded of how his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had lost his position at one point!

“But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:” Daniel 5:20

So, in refusing to give God the glory due, and not acknowledging Him as the true God, Belshazzar deprived himself of that glory and honor with which God crowns His faithful people. Therefore, no longer having the power of a ruler, he lost his kingdom!

“²⁶…God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. ²⁷… Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. ²⁸… Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Daniel 5:26-28

This was not an arbitrary decree on the part of God. There are ETERNAL PRINCIPLES of truth and righteousness that constitute the very essence of the character of God Himself! Our Creator is our only life-source, and spiritual connection with Him is the means by which we receive that life. To give glory to God is to draw attention to Him as our Creator and life-source. To refuse to give Him glory is to draw attention to oneself instead; and a human cannot give life or sustain life. Therefore, they reject Him who is their only source of life. In the Gospel these principles are shown, and provision has even been made through the gift of Jesus Christ, that these principles should be worked out in the characters of men (Ephesians 2:10). This glorifies God and naturally results in eternal salvation for man. But listen up… when these principles are willfully rejected (and God, who alone knows the heart of man, knows exactly when that moment comes), there is no further hope and the sentence of destruction is written. This is what happened in Babylon. Belshazzar’s rejection of the Gospel was final, and God simply made known to him the result of his choice. So judgments are not arbitrary, but based on the choices of individuals. The stability of the kingdom depended on the character of the men in the kingdom, and when their conduct revealed that they had fallen beyond any hope of recovery, even God Himself could not save them and their kingdom without denying His own character! The city fell because the men inside the walls had already fallen after persistently rejecting the only power that could hold them up!

The gods that Belshazzar praised were a complete falsehood! “They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not; they have ears, but they hear not…” (Psalm 115:5,6). Belshazzar “exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever” (Romans 1:25). So we see that Babylon fell because man put himself in the place of God, a lie in the place of the truth, and glory was not given to God.

The story of Nebuchadnezzar and the fall of ancient Babylon should be made known to all the people of the earth today since we are living in the time when the history of Babylon is being repeated, and Scripture reveals that all kingdoms fall in the same way. The fall of ancient Babylon is full of lessons, and we will see that they are lessons that indicate exactly the things that will be at the end of the world.