There will be a literal rebuilt city of Babylon on the self same site of the one of old where Nebuchadnezzar extolled himself saying Is not this great Babylon which I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? Dan.4:30. Many would have us believe that Rome the is the new Babylon, when the Bible is explicit that it is Babylon that will yet face a future and sudden destruction as described in Revelation 18.
Zechariah 5:5-11.
Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said, moreover, This is their resemblance (appearance) through all the earth. And, behold, there was lifted up a talent (weighty piece) of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Wither do these bear the ephah? And he said unto me, to build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.
(The two interjections were added by B.W.Newton; page 63 Babylon & Egypt Their Future History And Doom).
On this passage of Scripture, Mr Newton remarks, "The Scripture does speak of an event yet unaccomplished of which the scene is to be the land of Babylon. That the event predicted in this remarkable passage remains still unaccomplished, is sufficiently evident from the fact of Zechariah's having prophesied after Babylon had received that blow under which it had gradually waned. Zechariah lived after Babylon had passed into the hands of the Persians, and since that time, it is admitted by all, that declension - not "establishment" - has marked its history. From that hour to the present moment there has been no "preparation of a house," no establishment of anything - much less of an Ephah in the land of Shinar. But an Ephah is to be established there, and a house to be built for it there, and there it is to be set firmly upon its base."
Now, the ephah is the emblem of commerce, "the Hebrew unit of dry measure - 1 bushel,or about 33 litres" according to the British dictionary (Dictionary.com). It cannot have escaped the notice of even the most dilatory Bible student, that the whole world is presently under the sway of trade (i.e. that is buying and selling, profit and loss). The "Ephah" as Mr Newton correctly observes, denotes all that is done under the name of trade; he says "its sovereign influence is to pervade the nations, and to imprint on them a character derived from itself, as the formative power of their institution. In other words commerce is for a season to reign. It will determine the arrangements, and fix the manners of Israel, and of the prophetic earth. The appearance of every nation that falls under its control is to be mercantile." He said, moreover, This is their appearance through all the earth.
Commerce, then is what presently drives the nations. We read daily of trade disputes between the so-called super powers (USA and China) and as it is plainly evident that all nations are desirous of economic growth and prosperity, who would disagree?
Babylon, then is eponymous for what is done under the banner of commerce. It will be the nations that drive the Ephah back to its base as it were; for the Scripture says, Wither do these bear the ephah? And he said unto me, to build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base. Zech.5:10-11.
Let us not forget what was said in Genesis 11:8; they left off to build the city. The reason that they left off to build the city, was because, the same verse tells us that the LORD scattered them from thence upon the face of all the earth.
In these last days (of the present dispensation - that is before the millennium) we will see Babylon restored to a prominence that will far surpass her former glory.
How then does the literal rebuilding of Babylon fit in with the theory of pre-tribulationism? Clearly, it doesn't ! For if the Bible teaches that the rebuilding of a literal city of Babylon must take place before the Lord's Second Coming in glory, then how is it that the any moment rapture could have taken, or will take place?
No comments:
Post a Comment