Okay, for those who have been visiting this forum for a while, you know that I have a particular interest in Mystery Babylon. I'm not quite sure why, but Revelation 17 is one of my favorite chapters in all of the Bible. (I say that about many chapters I suppose.) Anyway, many traditional prophetical scholars point to Revelation 18:17 and assert that Mystery Babylon, wherever it is, must be a port city:
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...
It is difficult to argue with this logic. I, for one, believe that we fail to take the Bible literally enough all too often - even when interpreting the sometimes strange Book of Revelation. Yet, when evaluating Revelation 17-18 in light of Isaiah 13-14 and Jeremiah 50-51, the literal interpretation seems to point to literal Babylon, though Revelation 17-18 do admittedly seem to point to Rome (which is a port city on seven hills). I won't here hash all of this out, but in the early centuries the pagan priesthood migrated from Babylon to Rome (see Alexander Hislop's Two Babylons). Zechariah 5 seems to indicate that the unclean harlot of the last days will migrate back to Babylon - very possibly from Rome, now the ecumenical and interfaith capital of the world. Interestingly, in Revelation 18:2 the Angel cries:
Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
The repetition of is fallen, is fallen indicates that the matter is settled and already decided - the judgment is final. Yet could the more subtle implication be that two cities are involved here, Rome and Babylon? (I know I'm repeating myself here from previous posts, but stay with me.)
Now to the information I just stumbled upon. Okay, evidently the region in between the Tigris and Euphrates in southern Iraq is largely marshland. Interesting. But then I just found this article from globalsecurity.org stating:
The alluvial plain region begins north of Baghdad and extends to the Persian Gulf. Described as a delta plain interlaced with irrigation canals and intermittent lakes, for years this region was subject to flooding by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. From the late 1960s to the mid70s, government efforts were increasingly devoted to flood control. In southern Iraq, an area (15,600 square kilometers) from Al Qurnah and extending east of the Tigris beyond the Iranian border is predominantly marsh land.
So, this land in southern Iraq is already marshy and pre-disposed to flooding. This is where things get really interesting. According to Chuck Missler, Alexander the Great planned to make Babylon into a port city before he died in 323BC! Remember, it was Alexander the Great who famously built the Isthmus of Tyre (oddly enough, see Ezekiel 28), which "converted the island into a peninsula."
I am reminded of the 2004 Tsunami in which parts of entire Islands were submerged under water (see before and after photos). I also think of New Orleans, below sea level, which took weeks to drain after Katrina. Revelation 6:14 says: And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
So what am I getting at? Could it be that somehow literal Babylon could become a port city, either through earthquakes, intentional flooding, or a combination of the two? Some prophecy teachers (I won't name names) get upset at this idea because they think this means the end is a long way off (because it would take years to do this type of building).
Not necessarily! Look how quickly cities in the Arab Gulf States have been constructed! Also, Satan is going to bring his A-game, all of his supernatural power, all of his technological insight, etc. He will finish what Nimrod and Alexander the Great started. Perhaps the rapidity and the technological genius will be part of what causes the world to marvel.
Furthermore, God will dry up the Euphrates to allow the Kings of the East to cross over on their march to Israel (Revelation 16:12). Did not the Persians of Daniel's day divert the water to overtake the mighty Babylon without a fight (Daniel 5)? Perhaps this time it will be God who diverts the water just prior to the fall of Mystery Babylon! After that, Revelation 18:21 hints that a flood will be a part of Babylon's final judgment:
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.
God says, you want water? I'll give you water! Now, have I gone off the deep end (pun intended), or does this all actually make a lot of sense?!
We were just talking about the Isthmus of Tyre (the mole) in another string.
