Ancient and Modern-Day Babylon Comparison

(updated June 29, 2023; July 12th, 2023)

Why Both Ancient and
Modern-Day Babylon?

For simplicity's sake, one might consider that the Babylon mentioned within the Old Testament strictly refers to ancient Babylon, whereas the one discussed in the New Testament is restricted for the modern one. If the Bible could be treated like a secular book and there were no prophecies within its covers, that might hold true; but this is just not the case.

Complicating matters, there are a few instances within the books of Matthew, Acts and Peter, which make mention of ancient Babylon.

For the most part, modern Babylon is reserved for the book of Revelation, yes; however, there are so many parallels between the two, that in order to understand modern Babylon, the ancient one must be studied first.

One of the great parallels between ancient and modern Babylon, is that while the Jewish people lived within the borders of Ancient Babylon, they also live within the modern one. Since their experiences with ancient-Babylon are revealed to us in the Old Testament, this is where we begin. 

Babylon's Geographical Area

Ancient Babylon was contained within a geographical area of southwestern Asia which was the first cradle of civilization. This cradle is referred to as Mesopotamia.

Ancient Mesopotamia became densely populated and housed people of different nationalities and languages. Its geological features around its perimeter, such as mountain ranges and seas formed the walls of its cradle. There was the Mediterranean Sea to the west, the Black Sea to the north, and the Caspian Sea to the north-east. Just past their large desert-covered area, was the Persian Gulf to the south-east.

The core of the Mesopotamia population (and likewise Babylon) tended to remain close to the Euphrates and Tigris fertile river basin amongst its network of rivers and streams. Due to the trading of goods up and down its waterways, it became a very prosperous area.

Nearing the end of Babylon's existence, Mesopotamia in general became quite over crowded. Beyond its borders (cradle) other lands were difficult to reach, and were still wilderness-like and unexplored. Due to the prosperity within the Mesopotamia area, and having no ships yet capable of navigating the high seas... its citizens tended to stay put. Regardless of the fact, that many were being mistreated.

Once navigating the high-seas and the exploration of foreign lands became popular, others felt comfortable enough to venture away from the over-crowded Mesopotamian (Babylonian) area.

Let's now fast forward approximately 2,500 years to modern Babylon.

Today, all of the earth's land has been claimed by either one country or another. There are no new lands left for people groups to explore and claim as their own. So, if people are not being treated well within their native country, there's no place left to go and no new lands left to explore. That's one of the reasons why immigration has been such a hot topic as of late.

It's not like the world has become over-populated, as there's much real-estate left to be had. Its merely the fact that all of the land has already been claimed by another country. This is the primary reason why there are two Babylons. It has to do with population density and the mixing of various cultures and languages.

This is why the ancient Romans were not actually considered Babylonian like. Since the Roman Empire was scattered around the Mediterranean, its citizens could migrate between its colonies or vacate the empire completely if they wished to do so.

Notwithstanding, since the Romans evolved later in mankind's history, there were ships capable of navigating the high seas. People could scamper across the Mediterranean Sea or move further inland if they felt like they were too restricted.

What the Romans and Babylonians did have in common however, was their mix of various cultures and languages. I hear that Romans had no issue with assimilating people of different language and culture, so long as they were loyal to the Roman Empire.

The Tower of Babble

Prior to the people dispersing around the globe, the Babylonians began building a large tower at its center. They decided to build themselves a tower in order to artificially (meaning not spiritually) reach the heavens. They didn’t use natural stones to build the tower, but manufactured their own bricks. Tar was used to hold the bricks together.

In order to punish these people from trying to raise themselves up onto the heavens, as well slow down their progress - God confused their speech. This was the point in mankind's history when the variety of human languages came to be.

Once people could no longer understand their neighbour, they began to disperse and roam across the earth. Note that God made mankind to fill the earth and subdue it (Genesis 1:28). I don't believe we were ever created to subdue the heavens.

Ancient Babylon's History

Years after the tower of Babble was built and people of various languages dispersed from one other, the city of Babylon grew and thrived once more. After this second great revival of Babylon, the city and its associated territory had varying stages of growth and demise through a number of centuries.

The Babylonians were known for their scholars and scientific endeavors. They studied the movements of the sun, moon, and stars. Consequently, they created the world's first horoscopes.

Much of Babylon's wealth was acquired through "world" trade. The rivers Tigris and Euphrates, combined with many of their man-made canals, brought in merchants from far-off lands.

Once this Neo-Babylonian empire was defeated by King Cyrus of the Achaemenid Empire (biblically Media-Persia), its influence and culture gradually declined. Other than for archeological purposes, the city of Babylon hasn’t been inhabited for a number of centuries, and is earmarked as a heritage site.

Within the Bible, it talks of desert creatures that will inhabit Babylon after it's destroyed, and Babylon will never again be inhabited by consecutive generations. Since it's described as such, I believe it strictly pertains to ancient-Babylon and its original location, not the modern one.

As part of ancient-Babylon’s character, it seemed to always climb to power by stripping neighbouring tribes and nations of their wealth. Under Babylonian rule, these tribes and nations became provinces under Babylon's greater territory.

The city of Babylon including its associated provinces is often referred to as Babylonia. As a consequence of Babylonia's sprawling empire - Babylonian kings always ruled over people of various languages and cultures.

Babylonian kings would assign governors (referred to as satraps) over its many provinces. In most cases, the conquered people groups within these provinces were still allowed to live and work on their native soil, so long as they paid homage to the king. Basically, they were stripped of their wealth and resources while they served the king.

When Judah was conquered by Babylonia, those who held promise were dragged off to Babylon to serve within the king's court. Judah's "peasant workers" were allowed to remain and till the land.

As a young man, the prophet Daniel was one of those Jews who was carried off to Babylon. While there, he rose to prominence and became the wisest man to serve within the king's court.

Overthrow of Neo-Babylonia

The Ancient city of Babylon was built within a water basin, and straddled the Euphrates River. Man-made canals were built to harness its flow, and route excessive water around the city. During seasons of flood and drought, the success of the city and its famous hanging-gardens relied upon maintaining appropriate water levels.

As the story goes, it's believed that King Cyrus manipulated the water flow in order to drain the river which ran through the center of Babylon. Strategically, Cyrus and his men marched through the then shallow riverbed, and stormed directly into the center of Babylon. It's believed that Cyrus conquered Babylon with barely a struggle.

This was likely easy pickings for Cyrus and his army, due to the disdain that the Babylonian people had towards their foolish king. I can envision Cyrus and his men marching through the river-bed while its citizens merely watched in amazement, and couldn't be bothered to lift a finger or warn their king.

Cyrus overtaking Babylon in 539 BC without a struggle, is supported by script on the famous Cyrus Cylinder. This artifact was discovered in 1879 by a British expedition beneath the Babylonian ruins.

Ancient/Modern Babylonia Comparisons

Changing Times and Laws

It took a while for me to clue in on the significance of this, but one of the common threads between ancient and modern Babylonians, is that they continually try to change times and laws.

In Daniel chapter-three, King Nebuchadnezzar setup a golden statue that he wanted everyone to immediately worship whenever they heard music. Whoever refused, would be thrown into a blazing furnace. 

Years later, and during the reign of King-Darius - his officials tricked him into issuing a decree stating that whoever prays to a God or someone other than the king himself within the next thirty days, will be thrown into the den of Lions.

Daniel kept doing what he had done in the past, regardless of the recent decree. Now, the king liked Daniel the prophet, and was quite distressed on this matter. He could not rescind his decree because it went against the laws of the Medes and the Persians. The king's officials reminded him of this fact, so he had to order Daniel to be thrown into the Lion's den (Dan.6:13-16).

This time in history, King Darius ruled over Babylon under the direction of Cyrus. Cyrus ruled the Achaemenid Empire which was essentially the combined empire of the Medes and the Persians.

Darius followed the law of the Medes and Persians, as he didn't rescind his decree. This was a noble gesture on his part, compared to the Babylonian kings which preceded him.

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The point here, is that prior to King Darius Babylon's rulers had no qualms with changing laws or times on a whim.

Now, recall for a moment as to what occurred recently through the COVID era. As governments around the world were continually changing times and laws, were we not living in modern-day Babylon? By continually changing laws and times, it crushes a cultures spirit.

From the Lord's point of view (as he's  made me well aware), that as a nation is formed and its constitutional papers are hand-signed and witnessed, these few papers hold more weight than a whole mountain of photocopied paperwork.

The expression of "times and laws"  used previously, was taken from the following verse of Daniel during the era of the four beasts.

Trading of Goods

If we reflect upon how our modern-world trades goods, it’s not difficult to conclude that it functions as if it were one large city; similar to Neo-Babylonia.

Today, it’s effortless to order something from across the world and have it show up at our doorstep in short order. We're all members of the world-stage and all linked together through the internet. Consequently, we’re living in modern Babylon.

Communications

Prior to Babylon overtaking ancient Assyria, Assyria had a highly established method of quickly sending messages across its vast territory. It worked like an ancient pony-express for relaying messages and news.

The Assyrians had a network of outposts across their vast territory, each always having a fresh horse and rider. By using these horses and skilled-riders, they would ride as fast as they could until they reached the next outpost. Awaiting them, was a fresh horse and rider who could then relay the message along to the next outpost.

This setup would have been a huge advantage in order to quickly garner troops and ward off an attack. Since Babylon overtook Assyria, I can only assume that they inherited this same pony-express like capability.

In a similar manner, as the internet evolved it helped to keep the competition at bay. This fact alone put modern Babylonia ahead of many of its competitors, and warded off potential threats from other countries.

Satellite Communications

While the Ancient Babylonians relied upon science and the stars to navigate around their huge territory, modern Babylon relies upon artificial satellites to navigate the globe. These satellites are used to determine locations of planes, trains, boats, and automobiles.

Earth-bound satellites are often dedicated for use within specific countries. Each satellite has a predetermined orbit, and might serve either a single country or group of countries in the same vicinity.

These earth-bound satellites accurately triangulate positions on the ground, water, and sky, through GNSS (global navigational satellite systems) like the GPS system here in North America. There are currently four complete global GNSS systems, each having their own constellation.

If it wasn’t for satellites, we’d still be dependent upon magnetic compasses and natural stars to sense our location and direction.

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Dedicated satellite constellations are becoming increasingly relied upon for the internet's backbone. Especially for remote areas which don’t have much of a preexisting electrical nor electronic infrastructure. Consider how Elon Musk's Starlink satellite-network was used during the Russian/Ukrainian war.

The internet along with satellites has enabled people of all languages and nationalities to connect and work together quite harmoniously. In essence, the world now functions as one large city. From this perspective, we are living in modern-day BABYLON.

I find it amusing that the governors of Ancient Babylonia were called satraps. To me, this word looks like a combination of the words satellite and traps.

Babylon's Characteristics According to the Bible

Likely the most relevant characteristic of Babylon, is that it wielded its power and authority over the Jews and their diaspora, who were, and still are - God's chosen people. 

A fact that I've come to grips with, is that the technology we've all grown up with has always been included in God's overall plan for mankind. This was certainly however, not God's first choice.

Prior to Adam and Eve having first sinned, God would've needed to have a plan B prepared and ready to go, just in case they decided to disobey his one command. God's "plan B" is the modern society we have today, along with all of the trash and pollution that comes with it. Coincidentally, the word Babylon also starts with a B.

Since God gave us free will and allowed us to sin, he knew that we would eventually want to destroy his creation. This is where biblical prophecy comes into play, as it's all centered around modern technology.

I imagine that once God realized we were going to sin regardless, then at the very least... he would decide when and where each new type of technology was "created". This is a major reason why biblical prophecies align with our modern-day world.

Supporting this line of thought, please read the following verses from the prophet Jeremiah. I believe most, if not all of this passage, relates to both ancient and modern Babylonia.

As we can see from this prior passage, Babylon made the "whole earth drunk", and that it will "suddenly fall and be broken", and her judgment "rises as high as the heavens". This "high as the heavens" statement, may have been included in order to highlight certain Babylonian satellites.

The prior passage states that foreigners have "entered the holy places of the Lord’s house". I believe that a modern Babylonian invasion has already taken place against Zion and the Church.

In verse fifty-three, it states that "even if Babylon ascends to the heavens and fortifies her lofty stronghold, I will send destroyers against her, declares the Lord". Again, this could be referring to certain man-made satellites of modern Babylonia, and high structures (biblical high-places) above the earth.

Emphasizing Babylon's Modern Technology

I've picked out a few verses which describe how Babylon treats the earth, and listed them below. 

The prior verse of Jeremiah 50:23 is speaking of both ancient and modern-day Babylon. I believe the verses from Joel immediately after, are speaking of our modern-day machines and technology that have destroyed the earth's natural environment. A further discussion on these book-of-Joel verses, can be found within a recent June 2023 newsletter.

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Prophetic Meaning of the Cyrus-Cylinder Script

There are a number of parallels which we can pull from the works of Cyrus, and the Cyrus Cylinder, as it relates to our modern day.

As we learned earlier, during the overthrow of Neo-Babylonia: Cyrus drained the river which flowed into Babylon so his soldiers could mark in and conquer it. Due to this historical fact, a common phrase comes to mind which is "drain the swamp".

If you take time to read through the translated text of the Cyrus cylinder, it makes mention of Babylon's great wall and how Cyrus completed it. Here is a quote from the cylinder: "the great wall of Babylon, its de[fen]se, I sought to strengthen" I'm sure you've all heard of a certain someone wanting to "build the wall". Are you beginning to see how this is similar to what's occurring today? I highly suggest that you read the translation of the Cyrus cylinder for yourself.

As we discover through this Cyrus-cylinder script, its writer refers to a God named Marduk. Marduk, was the Babylonian sun god, and was the God above all the other gods. Due to their ignorance, the Babylonian's thought that Marduk was just the God of the sun. Today however, we realize that God is not only the God of the sun, but our whole universe.

Outbound Links

The Cyrus Cylinder

Cyrus Cylinder Translation

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Babylon Definition

The word “babble” was derived from the word Babylon. A couple meanings of “babble” from the Canadian Oxford Dictionary: “talk in an inarticulate or incoherent manner” and “incoherent speech”. Taken from the same dictionary, a definition of Babylon: “any magnificent and decadent city”.

God is Light

First John 1:5 NIV: This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

Revelation 21:23 NIV: The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.