Babylon Stands Against God
C
Athanasius Kircher, Wikimedia
by Darris McNeely
Bible prophecy shows a coming superpower called “Babylon the Great” will rise to dominate global events before Jesus Christ returns. God says to His people, “Come out of her . . . don’t take part in her sins.” What does this mean for you?
ould your religion—your faith—withstand the great deception prophesied to come upon the world? The Bible contains a fascinating and mysterious book of prophecy titled Daniel after its author. In this book we see an outline of history that carries down to our time—today’s world. Through the story of the prophet Daniel, we also see how one person could keep faith toward God in the middle of an ungodly culture and society called Babylon. Our world today resembles this
ancient culture of Babylon more than we realize. By looking at the story of Daniel, we can understand how we can maintain faith in God in the midst of a modern Babylon. Today more than ever we need the lessons of Daniel’s experience to understand the world around us and to live by God’s teachings. Daniel’s story begins with the invasion of the kingdom of Judah and his deportation to Babylon. Babylon was the capital of the world’s most powerful nation. Along with the best minds and talents in Jerusalem, Daniel found himself thrust by God’s will and his own faith into a key position in the
court of Nebuchadnezzar II, one of the most intriguing figures in history. God gave Daniel insight into visions and dreams. Daniel wisely used his gifts to glorify God while not giving in to the temptations of Babylonian culture. Let’s understand what the Bible tells us about this ancient city and the empire called Babylon. We’ll start at the beginning of the story, in Genesis.
The story of a man and his city It begins with a man called Nimrod, who is mentioned in Genesis 10. The Bible tells us only a little about him: “Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be
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January-February 2016
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