Jeremiah 51:52–53 “Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will do judgment upon her graven images: and through all her land the wounded shall groan. Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD.”
I think the wording of the NLT is clearer: “Yes,” says the LORD, “but the time is coming when Babylon’s idols will be destroyed. The groans of her wounded people will be heard throughout the land. Though Babylon reaches as high as the heavens, and though she increases her strength immeasurably, I will send enemies to plunder her,” says the LORD.
I thought the wording of verse 53 was especially interesting in connection with the “spiritual” leader of Babylon, the true king of Babylon, Lucifer.
Isaiah 14:12–13 “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:”
Jeremiah 51:54–58 “A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans: Because the LORD hath spoiled Babylon…. And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.”
The judgment of Babylon is seen as producing a great cry from among its people. I liked the translation from the NLT for the last part of verse 56: “For the LORD is a God who gives just punishment, and he is giving Babylon all she deserves.”
The LORD declares that He will ensure that the leaders of Babylon “sleep a perpetual sleep”; in other words, they will die. It is interesting to note that when Cyrus and his army marched into Babylon, the princes and rulers were drinking and partying. They did not, however, have to destroy the wall of Babylon, nor were the gates burned. In fact, the gates had not even been secured so sure were the Babylonian leaders that the perimeter security would never be breached.
The final destruction of Babylon as prophesied by John will, however, involve fire.
Revelation 18:17–18 “For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!”
Jeremiah 51:59–64 “…. So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon. And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words; Then shalt thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever. And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates: And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.”
As this chapter closes, we are told that Jeremiah gave instructions to Seraiah, who was taken to Babylon with Zedekiah, to deliver this message concerning the fall of Babylon to the captives in Babylon. He is to read the scroll publicly and then weight it with a stone and toss it into the middle of the Euphrates River. He is then to declare that just as surely as you saw the written prophecy concerning Babylon sink to the bottom of the river, so will Babylon sink off the world scene and not recover from God’s judgment upon her. This thought again has its parallel in the words of John’s prophecy.
Revelation 18:21 “And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.”
Admittedly, it is very hard to discern the application as to the fulfillment of prophecies in scripture. We, however, have the privilege of hindsight as well as the words of Jesus and the book of Revelation to provide further guidance in finding understanding. I know that when I get to heaven and am able to look back, all the puzzle pieces will fit perfectly. More important than being able to understand every detail is to see how God’s word has been proven true over and over and over again, and I know that prophecies not yet fulfilled will come to pass just as foretold.
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