Isaías 13

Isaías 13

Benson observes, the metropolis of the eastern dispersion of the Jews; but as I have said so much on this subject in the preface, I beg leave to refer the reader to that place. It is sad and unfortunate that otherwise respected interpreters should have fallen into the trap of interpreting all the NT uses of Babylon symbolically as a "code word" for Rome and/or Catholicism. In Rev 17:18+ "The woman (Rev 17:3+) whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.” Revelation 18:10+ John describes "Babylon, the strong city" and in Revelation 18:21+ he calls "Babylon, the great city." If these passages are read normally and literally, the interpretation is clear that Babylon is a city! God's holy Word does not ever, not one time, state that Babylon is Rome or that Babylon is Roman Catholicism. To invoke these interpretations is to not be diligent to rightly divide the Word of Truth (2Ti 2:15+), but to be influenced by the opinions of men, especially men who have seminary degrees and scholarly acclaim. The fact that Babylon is currently not a strong, great city at the dawn of the new millennium (2024), in no way gives the interpreter the liberty to interpret "city" as a symbol for a religion or another named city which is not mentioned in the context! The city is named Babylon and still exists (see Wikipedia). Whether one was in favor or opposed to America invading Iraq is unrelated to the fact that this event did occur, and did result in the liberation of one of the most oil rich countries in the world. If God can raise up a nation like Israel in one day (May 14, 1948), it is no problem for Him to see that Babylon is rebuilt into the leading city of the world! Prior to the liberation of Iraq, I had always wondered how God might revive ancient Babylon into a great city (I had always interpreted Babylon in Scripture literally), but now I find that scenario much more likely in view of the rich resources in Iraq (oil and people, historically a very intelligent people). Tony