Jeremiah 51:64 “Then you shall say, ‘Thus Babylon shall sink and not rise from the catastrophe that I will bring upon her. And they shall be weary.’ Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.”

November 19th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Chapters 50 and 51 of Jeremiah are prophesies of the coming physical destruction of the ancient city of Babylon, which was to take place after God used them to discipline His people and the many other Gentile nations that worshiped false idols. And in 539 BC, Babylon was indeed conquered and destroyed by the Persian King Cyrus, which Isaiah had also prophesied some 150 years earlier (Isaiah 45).

Some have said the Bible is “A Story of Two Cities,” Jerusalem, the City of God, and Babylon, the City of Man. In many ways, all of world history has been about the conflict between these two cities, the most often mentioned in Scripture. And so the destruction prophesied in this chapter is really about much more than just the ancient, physical city of Babylon, and is perhaps even better understood in the light of the New Testament Book of Revelation. In that prophetic book, Babylon represents the great false religion of the world, man’s own flesh, and sin. Its destruction is found in Revelation 18:21: “Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, ‘Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore.'” At this, all of heaven erupts in singing and joyous celebration because the great deception of false religion, man, and sin, will at long last finally be removed from the earth.

All believers grow weary in the battle between good and evil, and look forward to the day when good will finally conquer evil. But until that day comes, we must continually reach out to encourage one another, supporting our fellow pilgrims, as we progress along this journey toward heaven and eternity. In John Bunyan’s work, Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian (the hero) comes to a palace where people clothed in gold are walking along the tops of the walls. Around the entrance to the palace are many men who want to enter but are afraid. At a little distance from the door, sits a man at a table writing in a book the names of those who want to enter. In the doorway, stand many men in armor, waiting to fight against those who wish to enter. Christian watches a stout man approach the entrance and say, “Set down my name, sir.” He then takes out his sword, puts a helmet on his head, and rushes toward the door and the armed men. He fights and cuts his way into the palace. As he does so the voices of those who walk along the top of the palace, cry out words of encouragement: “Come in, come in. Eternal glory thou shalt win.” For believers, we all discover that we must fight our way through to eternal life. That is why the Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians to “put on the whole armor of God” (6:11).

“LORD, help us to fight the good fight today. Walk with us as we endeavor to serve You along the path toward the City of God.”