Babylon, Jerusalem, and the Day of the Lord
The Bible was written over the course of some 3,500 years, but it describes the last 6,000 years, from the creation to our present day. The End Time prophecies of the Bible have brought us from the first century to the present day.
Ancient ancestors interacted with the Creator to bring us their testimony. Beginning with Moses and the Torah, we have the words and actions of many before us as to the purpose and principle for what we call life today.
But rather than a plain history book with colorful commentary, we have a written treatise that is filled with knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. It is the testimony of a living God, who inspired the writing of the scrolls over the span of hundreds of generations and thousands of years.
While some would dismiss the books of the Bible as archaic literature with few classic themes, the wise ones of many generations have the wisdom and understanding beyond foolish men to see the life lessons contained within it.
One of the more interesting elements of the Bible is how it uses long-past events to tell us of the future. It also does this in a cyclical nature, repeating the elements from several past events.
In trying to understand the Bible’s presentation and the prophetic patterns in it, one must come to terms with the cyclical nature of the writing and set aside linear-natured thinking. The linear nature sees the world as one event leading to another, in a line going forward in time. The cyclical nature sees events repeating themselves and recycling in a pattern.
Creation itself is one day after another, one week after another, one month after another, etc. The same is presented in prophecy. Simply said, history is prophecy not yet fulfilled, and prophecy is history not yet fulfilled.
An excellent example of this is the Exodus from Egypt. The Passover Lamb that led to the salvation and deliverance of the Hebrew people from Egypt is the prophecy of the Messiah coming as the Passover Lamb, providing salvation and redemption for us. He inaugurated the redemption on a Passover memorial.
Still further, we see the Exodus from Egypt memorialized in the Feast of Booths by dwelling in Sukkot (tents and tabernacles) (Leviticus 23:42–43). It is a memorial that prophesies of a Greater Exodus at the end of the ages for the tribulation saints. Jeremiah 16:14–15 and 23:7–8, and the other prophets of Israel, also speak of this Greater Exodus.
Just as the promise of Abraham for a Lamb to be provided by God (Genesis 22:8) became the lamb of redemption for Israel leaving Egypt (Exodus 12:2), the pattern cycled to the Messiah’s sacrifice as the Lamb of God for our redemption (John 1:29). The children of Israel, exiting from Egypt by dwelling in tents, will become the future pattern of the tribulation saints (1 Corinthians 10:11) escaping the world, surviving and enduring until the coming of the Lord, and entering the Promised Land (His Kingdom).
But let us address another powerful pattern that the Bible has given us, which deals with God’s judgment that will come upon the world at the end of the ages—the Day of the Lord.
This end-time pattern is presented with three subjects: Babylon, Jerusalem, and the Day of the Lord.
Babylon is a central topic in the Bible. From Jeremiah prophesying to Jerusalem of God’s judgment coming upon Israel, including the Temple, to Ezekiel, a prophet in Babylon, giving several visions about the judgment upon Jerusalem, but ending with a prophecy of the restoration of Israel at the end of the ages. The Book of Revelation emphatically includes the subject of Babylon in bringing the world to the Day of the Lord.
Chapters 17 and 18 in Revelation specifically address the subject of Babylon and its connection to the Day of the Lord. In Chapter 17, there is the description of the Beast with seven heads and 10 horns, and the woman, “who is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth” (17:18). The woman is “drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Yeshua” (17:6). Chapter 18 describes the destruction that will befall the great city of Babylon, with an angel announcing, “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great” and “another voice saying, ‘Come out of her my people!’” (18:4). Then in verse 10, the kings of the earth mourn her destruction, saying, “...in one hour your destruction has come.”
Listen to the prophet Isaiah tie Babylon to the Day of the Lord:
The pronouncement concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw:
Lift up a flag on the bare hill,
Raise your voice to them,
Wave the hand that they may enter the doors of the nobles.
I have commanded My consecrated ones,
I have also called for My warriors
Who boast in My eminence,
To execute My anger.
A sound of a roar on the mountains,
Like that of many people!
A sound of an uproar of kingdoms,
Of nations gathered together!
The LORD of armies is mustering the army for battle.
They are coming from a distant country,
From the farthest horizons,
The LORD and the weapons of His indignation,
To destroy the whole land.
Wail, for the day of the LORD is near!
It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
Therefore all hands will fall limp,
And every human heart will melt.
They will be terrified,
Pains and anguish will take hold of them;
They will writhe like a woman in labor,
They will look at one another in astonishment,
Their faces aflame.
Behold, the day of the LORD is coming,
Cruel, with fury and burning anger,
To make the land a desolation;
And He will exterminate its sinners from it.
For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not flash their light;
The sun will be dark when it rises
And the moon will not shed its light.
So I will punish the world for its evil
And the wicked for their wrongdoing;
I will also put an end to the audacity of the proud
And humiliate the arrogance of the tyrants.
I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold
And mankind than the gold of Ophir.Isaiah 13:1–12
Babylon and the Babylonian captivity for Judah did not end in the Day of the Lordand the destruction of the world with all of its inhabitants. So, what is the prophet saying?
Apparently, we have another prophetic pattern pronouncement connecting Babylon, Jerusalem, and the Day of the Lord.
History has already spoken many times of Babylon and Jerusalem, but the Day of the Lord is in the future. And as a result, it is not well understood, or in many cases, not believed!
There is one prophet who focuses on this subject, who almost specializes in the topic. That prophet is Zephaniah.
He prophesied in the days of King Josiah, the same as Isaiah. But adding to his resume, he is the great-grandson of King Hezekiah.
Zephaniah does not mince words about the topic of the Day of the Lord.
“I will completely remove all things From the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.
“I will remove human and animal life;
I will remove the birds of the sky
And the fish of the sea,
And the ruins along with the wicked;
And I will eliminate mankind from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.
“So I will stretch out My hand against Judah
And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And I will eliminate the remnant of Baal from this place,
And the names of the idolatrous priests along with the other priests.
“And those who bow down on the housetops to the heavenly lights,
And those who bow down and swear to the LORD, but also swear by Milcom,
And those who have turned back from following the LORD,
And those who have not sought the LORD nor inquired of Him.Zephaniah 1:2–6
The prophet is warning that the Day of the Lord will be the ultimate judgment on the earth, to include all persons opposed to Him in Judah and Jerusalem.
Be silent before the Lord GOD!
For the day of the LORD is near,
Because the LORD has prepared a sacrifice,
He has consecrated His guests.
“Then it will come about on the day of the LORD’S sacrifice
That I will punish the princes, the king’s sons,
And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments.
“And on that day I will punish all who leap on the temple threshold,
Who fill the house of their Lord with violence and deceit.
“And on that day,” declares the LORD,
“There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate,
Wailing from the Second Quarter,
And a loud crash from the hills.
“Wail, you inhabitants of the Mortar,
Because all the people of Canaan will be destroyed;
All who weigh out silver will be eliminated.”
And it will come about at that time
That I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
And I will punish the people
Who are stagnant in spirit,
Who say in their hearts,
‘The LORD will not do good nor harm!’
“Their wealth will become plunder,
And their houses desolate;
Yes, they will build houses but not inhabit them,
And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.”Zephaniah 1:7–13
Zephaniah is being very specific about where in Jerusalem God’s judgment will begin. The Fish Gate, the second quarter, and something called the Mortar.
The Fish Gate is just a little bit east of the Damascus Gate, where fishermen from the Galilee would bring their product for sale. The second quarter is today the Muslim Quarter in Jerusalem, which is the northeast part. It includes the Damascus Gate, the Lion’s Gate, and the Eastern Gate. The Dome of the Rock and Temple Mount are part of that quarter as well.
The streets that lead into the city from the Damascus Gate and the Eastern Gate intersect in the second quarter. That intersection is called the Mortar; it is the merchant district in the old city.
Zephaniah is saying the first cry of alarm concerning the Day of the Lord will be heard there. This description of inside the city of Jerusalem is the very center of the city, with the exception of the Temple and the Temple Mount.
The great day of the LORD is near,
Near and coming very quickly;
Listen, the day of the LORD!
In it the warrior cries out bitterly.
That day is a day of anger,
A day of trouble and distress,
A day of destruction and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
A day of trumpet and battle cry
Against the fortified cities
And the high corner towers.
I will bring distress on mankind
So that they will walk like those who are blind,
Because they have sinned against the LORD;
And their blood will be poured out like dust,
And their flesh like dung.
Neither their silver nor their gold
Will be able to save them
On the day of the LORD’S anger;
And all the earth will be devoured
By the fire of His jealousy,
For He will make a complete end,
Indeed a horrifying one,
Of all the inhabitants of the earth.Zephaniah 1:14–18
This description of the Day of the Lord uses absolute terminology to explain God’s judgment at the end. It fits well with the Book of Revelation, as it describes the combination of the sixth seal, seventh trumpet, and seventh plague to describe the Day of the Lord.
The Sixth Seal
And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the eminent people, and the commanders and the wealthy and the strong, and every slave and free person hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the sight of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
Revelation 6:12–17
The Seventh Trumpet
Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” “And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bondservants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder, and an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.
Revelation 11:15–19
The Seventh Plague
Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.” And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since mankind came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. And every island fled, and no mountains were found. And huge hailstones, weighing about a talent each, came down from heaven upon people; and people blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because the hailstone plague was extremely severe.
Revelation 16:17–21
Zephaniah, of course, is not the only prophet that spoke of this day. Consider these descriptions.
The Prophet Joel
Blow a trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the day of the LORD is coming;
Indeed, it is near,
A day of darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness.
As dawn is spread over the mountains,
So there is a great and mighty people;
There has never been anything like it,
Nor will there be again after it
To the years of many generations.
A fire consumes before them,
And behind them a flame devours.
The land is like the Garden of Eden before them,
But a desolate wilderness behind them,
And nothing at all escapes them.Joel 2:1–3
The LORD utters His voice before His army;
His camp is indeed very great,
For mighty is one who carries out His word.
The day of the LORD is indeed great and very awesome,
And who can endure it?Joel 2:11
“The sun will be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.Joel 2:31
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
The sun and moon have become dark,
And the stars have lost their brightness.
The LORD roars from Zion
And utters His voice from Jerusalem,
And the heavens and the earth quake.
But the LORD is a refuge for His people,
And a stronghold for the sons of Israel.Joel 3:14–16
The Prophet Isaiah
The proud look of humanity will be brought low,
And the arrogance of people will be humbled;
And the LORD alone will be exalted on that day.
For the LORD of armies will have a day of reckoning
Against everyone who is arrogant and haughty,
And against everyone who is lifted up,
That he may be brought low.
And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up,
Against all the oaks of Bashan,
Against all the lofty mountains,
Against all the hills that are lifted up,
Against every high tower,
Against every fortified wall,
Against all the ships of Tarshish
And against all the delightful ships.
And the pride of humanity will be humbled
And the arrogance of people will be brought low;
And the LORD alone will be exalted on that day,
And the idols will completely vanish.
People will go into caves of the rocks
And into holes in the ground
Away from the terror of the LORD
And the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises to terrify the earth.
On that day people will throw away to the moles and the bats
Their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
Which they made for themselves to worship,
In order to go into the clefts of the rocks and the crannies of the cliffs
Before the terror of the LORD and the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises to terrify the earth.Isaiah 2:11–21
For the LORD has a day of vengeance,
A year of retribution for the cause of Zion.Isaiah 34:8
The Prophet Jeremiah
“For this is what the LORD says:
‘I have heard a sound of terror,
Of fear, and there is no peace.
‘ Ask now, and see
If a male can give birth.
Why do I see every man
With his hands on his waist, as a woman in childbirth?
And why have all faces turned pale?
‘Woe, for that day is great,
There is none like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s distress,
Yet he will be saved from it.Jeremiah 30:5–7
Jeremiah is describing the Great Tribulation that leads to the Day of the Lord.
The Prophet Ezekiel
“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says:
“Wail, ‘Woe for the day!’
”For the day is near,
Indeed, the day of the LORD is near;
It will be a day of clouds,
A time of doom for the nations.Ezekiel 30:2–3
The Prophet Amos
Woe to you who are longing for the day of the LORD,
For what purpose will the day of the LORD be to you?
It will be darkness and not light;
As when a man flees from a lion
And a bear confronts him,
Or he goes home, leans with his hand against the wall,
And a snake bites him.
Will the day of the LORD not be darkness instead of light,
Even gloom with no brightness in it?Amos 5:18–20
The Prophet Obadiah
“For the day of the LORD is near for all the nations.
Just as you have done, it will be done to you.
Your dealings will return on your own head.Obadiah 1:15
The Apostle Peter
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be discovered.
2 Peter 3:10
Turning back to Zephaniah, he speaks to the role of Babylon and Jerusalem in the prophetic pattern.
Gather yourselves together, yes, join together,
You nation without shame
Before the decree takes effect—
The day passes like chaff—
Before the burning anger of the LORD comes upon you,
Before the day of the LORD’S anger comes upon you.
Seek the LORD,
All you humble of the earth
Who have practiced His ordinances;
Seek righteousness, seek humility.
Perhaps you will remain hidden
On the day of the LORD’S anger.Zephaniah 2:1–3
Zephaniah then speaks to all of Jerusalem’s neighbors: Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ashdod. These are cities on the Mediterranean coastline, including the special group of immigrants that King David hired, called the Cherethites, living where the Philistines lived. He includes the neighbors to the east of Jerusalem, the Moabites. He further includes the Ethiopians to the south and the city of Nineveh to the north. All the surrounding areas of Jerusalem will be affected. The prophetic pattern says the same for all the lands and nations around Jerusalem: they will be affected by the Day of the Lord also.
The reason Jerusalem’s neighbors are all mentioned is because it is a model for the Day of the Lord when all nations will be affected by God’s judgment.
Zephaniah then focuses on Jerusalem.
Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled,
The oppressive city!
She obeyed no voice,
She accepted no discipline.
She did not trust in the LORD,
She did not approach her God.
Her leaders within her are roaring lions,
Her judges are wolves at evening;
They have no bones to gnaw in the morning.
Her prophets are insolent, treacherous men;
Her priests have profaned the sanctuary.
They have done violence to the Law.Zephaniah 3:1–4
Here is Zephaniah’s conclusion about the coming Day of the Lord:
“Therefore wait for Me,” declares the LORD,
“For the day when I rise up as a witness.
Indeed, My decision is to gather nations,
To assemble kingdoms,
To pour out on them My indignation,
All My burning anger;
For all the earth will be devoured
By the fire of My zeal.Zephaniah 3:8
The purpose of the Day of the Lord is to exact justice on God’s enemies and to clear away the earth for us to live in His Kingdom. Zephaniah describes us in God’s Kingdom at that time:
Shout for joy, daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, Israel!
Rejoice and triumph with all your heart,
Daughter of Jerusalem!Zephaniah 3:14
“At that time I will bring you in,
Even at the time when I gather you together;
Indeed, I will make you famous and praiseworthy
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I restore your fortunes before your eyes,”
Says the LORD.Zephaniah 3:20
One of the things that the prophets of Israel do repeatedly after they have spoken of God’s judgment is that they do not end or conclude on a negative stance. Instead, they speak to the future of the remnant and how these judgments will clear the way for God’s people to be in the Kingdom. So, while Babylon represents the nations of the world, there will be those who come from the nations who will come to His Kingdom.
While the judgment on Jerusalem is a picture of judgment upon God’s people, there will be a remnant who make it to the Kingdom. The Day of the Lord will be the day that God removes all of his enemies.
The pattern of Babylon, Jerusalem, and the Day of the Lord will coincide with the Messiah’s final redemption and the Greater Exodus. It will all result in a greater day of singing and dancing for joy. ■
Shalom,
Article written by Monte Judah
* Scripture references from the NASB
