And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words;
Jeremiah charged Seraiah when he came to Babylon to see and to read aloud all the words of the burden against Babylon in chapters 50 and 51, and when finished to bind a stone to the roll and cast it into the Euphrates as a sign that Babylon shall sink and not rise from the evil brought upon her. The burden foretold the fall not only of the city but of the empire to the Medes and Persians, coming suddenly while king and city felt secure in feasting and drunkenness, and it was fulfilled that same night Belshazzar feasted and drank from the temple vessels and was weighed and found wanting and Babylon was taken. That overthrow was not its utter end at once, but its complete desolation came gradually afterward until it became heaps without inhabitant, and its long-standing ruins remain as witness that the prophecy was fulfilled. Literal Babylon condemned there was a type of mystical Babylon the great in Revelation, and its foretold destruction portrays the fate and final destruction of end-time Babylon when God closes all earthly accounts. Its unheeded warning is a lesson not for ancient Babylon only but for modern cities and people who forget and defy God, including New York and Chicago.
Historical Setting and Charge
Jeremiah charged Seraiah that when he came to Babylon on the banks of the Euphrates, where the captives sat and wept, he should see and read aloud all these words. The words to be read were the roll of the burden of prophecy against Babylon in chapters 50 and 51, foretelling its utter desolation, that it should become heaps without inhabitant. That roll belongs to the section of Jeremiah containing prophecies against foreign nations, especially Babylon, and forms leading parts of that burden, uttered as a prediction of God many years before its fall.
When he had finished reading he was to tie a stone to the roll and cast it into the Euphrates, declaring in the words of the Lord that Babylon shall sink and shall not rise from the evil brought upon her. The message in chapters 50 and 51 was sent to ancient Babylon when it had filled the cup of its iniquity, as impending judgment with gracious warning and proffered mercy. Babylon slighted that message and left it unheeded.
Prophecy Fulfillment and Type
Jeremiah 51:61 belongs to the prophecy of the fall not only of Babylon's city but of its empire, foretelling utter desolation so that it should become heaps without inhabitant, and foretelling the fall of the head of gold before the silver empire takes its place in succession. It belongs to the leading parts of the great burden of prophecy against Babylon concerning Babylon and its downfall, uttered as a prediction of God many years before its fall, and its meaning is shown by setting these predictions against facts recorded in history to prove their fulfilment. The chapters contain detailed particulars about Babylon's doom, naming the people who would take Babylon and the particular circumstances attending it, and the ruins of Babylon remain as lasting witness and long-standing evidence that those prophecies were fulfilled.
Destruction was to come suddenly upon the city unawares while the king and city felt secure and were given to feasting, drunkenness and revelry in apparent security. The predictions were fulfilled in the reign of Belshazzar, weak, dissolute, riotous, idolatrous and blasphemous, who feasted over Babylon's greatness and drank from the plundered temple vessels to gods of gold and wood and stone. The handwriting announced that God had numbered and finished his kingdom, weighed him and found him wanting, and divided his kingdom and given it to the Medes and Persians, and that same night Babylon was taken on every quarter and fell. This proves that no might or scheme or power or wealth can save a city or nation that sows within herself error, confusion, destruction and death.
The prophecy does not mean utter destruction when the Persians overthrew Babylon, but complete destruction later as the city gradually decayed and became desolate. Its long-term desolation is its literal fulfillment, and the long-standing ruins remain as lasting witness and evidence that the prophecies were fulfilled, a meaning shown by setting these predictions against facts recorded in history. The destruction of the proud city is the final result of its self-exaltation and religious persecution, setting forth the character of Babylon and God's defense of His people. It shows God's open and irreconcilable hostility to the Babylonian system of religion, giving testimony of God's disfavor to the system emanating from Babylon which caused the overthrow of that city and that nation, including the call for the kings of the Medes to destroy Babylon because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of His temple.
The literal Babylon condemned there along with the surrounding kingdoms was a type of mystical Babylon the great in Revelation, the antitypical apostate system that rules over the nations. Its foretold destruction portrays and reveals the fate and final destruction of modern and end-time Babylon when God finally closes all earthly accounts. The account of ancient Babylon's destruction is compared with the final destruction of Babylon, and Jeremiah 51 treats the fate of ancient Babylon and by sudden transition from type to antitype has a double fulfillment in the day of the Lord, when modern Babylon and all sinners shall be punished as described in Revelation 18.
Warning for Today
The chapter to be read at Babylon is a lesson about Babylon's judgment. Its warnings went unheeded until its doom came. That warning applies not only to ancient Babylon but also to modern cities and to people who forget and defy God.
The warning concerning Babylon stands as a lesson for cities that forget and defy God. New York is held up under that warning. Chicago is held up under it as well.
Jeremiah charged Seraiah when he came to Babylon to see and to read aloud all the words of the burden against Babylon in chapters 50 and 51, and when finished to bind a stone to the roll and cast it into the Euphrates as a sign that Babylon shall sink and not rise from the evil brought upon her. The burden foretold the fall not only of the city but of the empire to the Medes and Persians, coming suddenly while king and city felt secure in feasting and drunkenness, and it was fulfilled that same night Belshazzar feasted and drank from the temple vessels and was weighed and found wanting and Babylon was taken. That overthrow was not its utter end at once, but its complete desolation came gradually afterward until it became heaps without inhabitant, and its long-standing ruins remain as witness that the prophecy was fulfilled. Literal Babylon condemned there was a type of mystical Babylon the great in Revelation, and its foretold destruction portrays the fate and final destruction of end-time Babylon when God closes all earthly accounts. Its unheeded warning is a lesson not for ancient Babylon only but for modern cities and people who forget and defy God, including New York and Chicago.
Historical Setting and Charge
Jeremiah charged Seraiah that when he came to Babylon on the banks of the Euphrates, where the captives sat and wept, he should see and read aloud all these words. The words to be read were the roll of the burden of prophecy against Babylon in chapters 50 and 51, foretelling its utter desolation, that it should become heaps without inhabitant. That roll belongs to the section of Jeremiah containing prophecies against foreign nations, especially Babylon, and forms leading parts of that burden, uttered as a prediction of God many years before its fall.
When he had finished reading he was to tie a stone to the roll and cast it into the Euphrates, declaring in the words of the Lord that Babylon shall sink and shall not rise from the evil brought upon her. The message in chapters 50 and 51 was sent to ancient Babylon when it had filled the cup of its iniquity, as impending judgment with gracious warning and proffered mercy. Babylon slighted that message and left it unheeded.
Prophecy Fulfillment and Type
Jeremiah 51:61 belongs to the prophecy of the fall not only of Babylon's city but of its empire, foretelling utter desolation so that it should become heaps without inhabitant, and foretelling the fall of the head of gold before the silver empire takes its place in succession. It belongs to the leading parts of the great burden of prophecy against Babylon concerning Babylon and its downfall, uttered as a prediction of God many years before its fall, and its meaning is shown by setting these predictions against facts recorded in history to prove their fulfilment. The chapters contain detailed particulars about Babylon's doom, naming the people who would take Babylon and the particular circumstances attending it, and the ruins of Babylon remain as lasting witness and long-standing evidence that those prophecies were fulfilled.
Destruction was to come suddenly upon the city unawares while the king and city felt secure and were given to feasting, drunkenness and revelry in apparent security. The predictions were fulfilled in the reign of Belshazzar, weak, dissolute, riotous, idolatrous and blasphemous, who feasted over Babylon's greatness and drank from the plundered temple vessels to gods of gold and wood and stone. The handwriting announced that God had numbered and finished his kingdom, weighed him and found him wanting, and divided his kingdom and given it to the Medes and Persians, and that same night Babylon was taken on every quarter and fell. This proves that no might or scheme or power or wealth can save a city or nation that sows within herself error, confusion, destruction and death.
The prophecy does not mean utter destruction when the Persians overthrew Babylon, but complete destruction later as the city gradually decayed and became desolate. Its long-term desolation is its literal fulfillment, and the long-standing ruins remain as lasting witness and evidence that the prophecies were fulfilled, a meaning shown by setting these predictions against facts recorded in history. The destruction of the proud city is the final result of its self-exaltation and religious persecution, setting forth the character of Babylon and God's defense of His people. It shows God's open and irreconcilable hostility to the Babylonian system of religion, giving testimony of God's disfavor to the system emanating from Babylon which caused the overthrow of that city and that nation, including the call for the kings of the Medes to destroy Babylon because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of His temple.
The literal Babylon condemned there along with the surrounding kingdoms was a type of mystical Babylon the great in Revelation, the antitypical apostate system that rules over the nations. Its foretold destruction portrays and reveals the fate and final destruction of modern and end-time Babylon when God finally closes all earthly accounts. The account of ancient Babylon's destruction is compared with the final destruction of Babylon, and Jeremiah 51 treats the fate of ancient Babylon and by sudden transition from type to antitype has a double fulfillment in the day of the Lord, when modern Babylon and all sinners shall be punished as described in Revelation 18.
Warning for Today
The chapter to be read at Babylon is a lesson about Babylon's judgment. Its warnings went unheeded until its doom came. That warning applies not only to ancient Babylon but also to modern cities and to people who forget and defy God.
The warning concerning Babylon stands as a lesson for cities that forget and defy God. New York is held up under that warning. Chicago is held up under it as well.