History shows that every single one of these prophecies remains unfulfilled. In the Bible, it was named "Mistress of Kingdoms" and was the capital of the third world power of Bible history. Babylon, the iconic ancient city, is once again rising from the ashes, just as Bible prophecy predicts - here is the latest Skeptics and cynics abound, but there is growing evidence the Iraqi government is serious about rebuilding this ancient wonder of the world Share this article by Joel C. Rosenberg | February 11, 2022 Copyright 2018 NPR. On a recent weekend, Ahmed Juwad and his college friends stopped to take selfies as they strolled down the processional way, where Babylonian kings paraded statues of their gods and goddesses. Verse Concepts. The biblical exegesis you did was clear, systematic, comprehensive and captivating doctrinally sound", Mike Gendron, Proclaiming The Gospel Ministries, June 4, 2019, Will the literal city of Babylon, in modern Iraq, be Rebuilt? Jesus will come at the end of this 7 years to claim His throne and begin His 1000 year millennial reign. Desolate Desert (no greenery; trees, gardens, groves) 5. When Headlines Seem To Conflict With Prophecy, Peace & Safety Occurs at Death of 2 Witnesses. Will people one day say of Babylon a city that didnt exist for much of the past 2,000 years Where is there another city as great as this? as John predicts in Revelation 18:18? UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Foreign language spoken). Now, he said, its difficult to stop even clearly illegal building. During the reign of Saddam Hussein, major reconstruction was carried out at Babylon and an opulent palace was built on a hill overlooking the ancient city, parts of which were reconstructed. Therefore, Babylon of Chaldea, Iraq, must Rise Up to meet that Final Destruction. War. ALLEN: Basically, we tried to initially subtract a lot of the modern additions that were on the site. Construction, too, has taken a toll over the years. Meanwhile at the temple of Ninmakhthe Sumerian goddess said to have created man from a mixture of mud and the blood of a murdered godurgent repairs are underway to secure damaged walls before the next winter rains cause them to collapse. The ancient city of Babylon plays a major role in the Bible, representing a rejection of the One True God. The Bible says that at its FINAL FALL Babylon will be "Utterly Destroyed" as Sodom. Today, there are many countries or groups of countries (e.g. Since Babylon reopened in 2009, tourist numbers have fluctuated, said Alice Fordham. Now Iraqi officials are hoping to get back to the ambitious construction and investment plans they were hoping to pursue soon after the country was liberated from Saddam Hussein in the spring of. NOT YET! With support from the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Embassy Baghdad,, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, the Annenberg Foundation, and the J. M. Kaplan Fund. Is Babylon still being rebuilt? His empire collapsed and Babylon was eventually abandoned. Theproject, originally started by the late Saddam Hussein, is aimed eventually at attracting scores of cultural tourists from all over the world to see the glories of Mesopotamias most famous city. Therefore, Babylon's FINAL FALL is yet to happen in the Future. High poverty. Your IP: US soldiers take pictures of the Ishtar Gate in the ancient city of Babylon, on September 28, 2003. Should we believe him when he describes Babylon as one of the worlds great commercial hubs, where the merchants of the world come to trade great quantities of gold, silver, jewels, and pearls, along with all kinds of other expensive goods and services that entice the kings of the world and draw ships from everywhere on the planet (Revelation 18:9-12)? Since the liberation of Iraq in 2003, however, a great deal has happened. I should acknowledge up front that those who reject the teachings of the Bible understandably have a difficult time imagining a season of peace and prosperity emerging in Iraq. 3. Unfortunately it has no Scriptural validity and contradicts the plain statements of God's Word. 2022World Monuments Fund. When we say "Whaaaaaaaaat"!, that is not what my eyes see", we're told "not to believe our lying eyes". Not only did this famous king successfully conquer or forge alliances with Babylon's fiercest enemies during his 43-year reign, but he also built Babylon (which comprised southern Mesopotamia and part of Assyria, now northern Iraq) into a showplace for innovations in engineering and criminal justice. That new 'Tower of Babel' now exists in the form of the UN, but once again, the God of Creation has been excluded. On the Date that Babylon is Finally Destroyed, for ever-after there will be no more Photographs at Babylon of Inhabitants, Arab Dwellers, Recycled Stones, Trees and Gardens, Shepherds and Sheep, or Visitors. The Book Of Revelation, apocalyptic and foreboding, is actually "FRAMED" by the GOSPEL OF SALVATION in Jesus Christ. No. Although some of the recreations were damaged during the prolonged occupations of the Iraq War (2003-11), many of the gaudily painted buildings remain and are open to the public, including Saddam's Babylonian palace. Paw prints of a dog that wandered onto the drying clay more than 2,000 years ago obscure part of the cuneiform inscription a reminder that these ruins were once a living city. At ancient Babylon's Ishtar Gate -- workers labour with a heavy saw, hammers, a chisel and . Widely known for its legendary Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Babylon today is home to national treasures such as Ishtar Gate and the Lion of Babylon. On weekends the site is filled with Iraqi tourists from all over the country. It has a rich past. But today, with renewed internal and foreign tourism and funding from the US embassy and other international donors, Babylon is coming back to life. Over the last decade, oil revenues have accounted for more than 99% of [Iraqs] exports, 85% of the governments budget, and 42% of GDP, notesthe World Bank. Its hanging gardens were said to be one of the seven wonders of the world. What my eyes do see--literally-- in both photographs and historical accounts, is human habitation and vibrant life far removed from Isaiah's description of post-'Final-Fall' Babylon. Because of Nebuchadnezzar's imperialist cruelty and penchant for golden shrines to pagan gods, Babylon appears as shorthand for everything ungodly in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Iraqi leaders hope that eventually millions of tourists will come to visit, and real progress is being made. If you look at a picture of Babylon today, it is abandoned and in ruin, no one lives there, but why? As part of its work at Ishtar Gate and Ninmakh Temple, WMF continues to train locally employed technicians and conservators and to conduct outreach to craftspeople in nearby communities to facilitate their involvement in the preservation process. But the glory days of Babylon were short-lived. . The north faade of the Ishtar Gate, similar to the one pictured here in Babylon, was smuggled out of Iraq and is now housed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin Photo: Hadani Ditmars. The antiquities are beautiful, said Mr. Juwad, 23, an art student. Ancient sources attributed the Garden to King Nebuchadnezzar II in the 6th century BC as a gift to his wife, Amytis. It has been ransacked, looted, torn up, paved over, neglected and roughly occupied. Does the "King of the North" Prophecy CHANGE with the TIMES ? 1. Yes, there are certainly rumblings. A story that will confound atheists and agnostics. Ancient Babylonian Tablet May Show Early Trigonometry, But Some Experts Are Dubious, U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class Arlo K. Abrahamson, Special Offer on Antivirus Software From HowStuffWorks and TotalAV Security, 300 miles (482 kilometers) away in Nineveh. Its a sense of pride to have Babylon a World Heritage Site, and during that process the state board for heritage was able to get people to behave better, Mr. Allen said. Babylon must be Rebuilt so these six (6) prophecies can be literally fulfilled. The 4,000-year-old city, mentioned hundreds of times in the Bible, became the capitol of the ancient Babylonian empire and was considered the largest city in the world. Today, what's visible is the top of some of the city walls. No, but the site was once again open to tourists in 2009. Several empires rose and fell and rose again over the millennia on the same coveted soil between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Shepherds 6. But many of the bricks are crumbling, and as the water table rises, entire walls are in danger of falling. ( Isaiah 47:5) Like the Egyptian and . World Monuments Fund safeguards cultural heritage around the globe, ensuring our treasured places are preserved for present and future generations. Site proudly built by Amazee Labs. Some of the walls, with their 2,500-year-old clay reliefs of dragons and bulls associated with the gods still stand. Tracking news and events in the Middle East and North Africa for the worlds 600 million Evangelicals launching on September 1st! These cookies do not store any personal information. The Code of Hammurabi, one of the earliest recorded laws and punishment, came from Babylon. Isaiah prophesied that when Babylon is destroyed by the Medes it will become as Sodom and Gomorrah, never to be rebuilt again. Babylon of Chaldea has not been "REPLACED" by another "Babylon". The current WMF work at the Ishtar Gatethe eighth and most elaborate gate to the inner city of Babylon, whose north facade was reconstructed and displayed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin in1930is addressing issues around changing groundwater levels and its impact on masonry humidity. According to legend, it may also have been home to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (see sidebar), and a hubristic sky-scraping temple that some historians believe inspired the biblical Tower of Babel. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. But conservation isn't taught in universities here. . Most of Babylon was rebuilt by Saddam Hussein on its old foundations, but pictured here is the original Ishtar gate Credit: Getty - Contributor 10 The Palace, which is adjacent to the remains. 2. Iraq is making a new effort this year. Because Babylon is being promoted as being the city of the future, and of the most advanced technology, wicked corporations & individuals such as . Rev 16:19 - The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. There is no place on earth today where stands the largest structure in the world, used for a religious purpose, all worshipping in one tongue regardless of their mother tongue, and is holy to more than 1.5 billion people on earth that is called Mount Babel, except the one in Mecca overlooking the Ka'ba. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were sometimes referred to as the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis after the semi-legendary and semi-divine female Assyrian ruler thought by the Greeks to have extensively rebuilt Babylon in the 9th century BCE. So, terribly low oil revenues along with COVID-related lockdowns and travel restrictions flatlined economic growth and caused unemployment to spike. We can only guess how deep it could be, said Dr. Pedersen, one of the worlds leading experts on the archaeology of Babylon. It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there Isaiah 13:20DID THAT HAPPEN? In the 1920s, the British ran train tracks through the archaeological site as part of a Baghdad to Basra railway. Construction on their second corporate headquarters is expected to begin next year and when completed in 2025 at a cost of $2.5 billion. But if Babylon of Chaldea (Iraq) has already met its prophesied Final Fall, then it would be impossible to take a photograph of any inhabitants since that "Fall". A century ago, German archaeologists carted off the most significant parts of the city. 2. since the Bible says there will never again be Inhabitants at Babylon of Chaldea after its Final Fall. By the beginning of the 21st century, the site of the Hanging Gardens had not yet been conclusively established. . Verse Concepts. Jeremiah 51:12. 1. The 2,500-year-old dragon relief behind him is related to Marduk, the patron deity of Babylon. An Iraqi worker chiseling out modern concrete that was used in Babylon between the ancient brick and is now damaging it. Some who have presented the case for a rebuilt Babylon seem predisposed to the idea that . It will include 2.8 million square feet of new office space distributed across three 22-story buildings. Within that time, WMF and the SBAH completed a site management plan that addressed issues such as defining site boundaries and areas where future excavations might take place; identifying economic opportunities for local communities; and designing ways to accommodate tourists effectively at the site. But as has so often been the case for Babylon over the years, the biggest threats to the fragile site are human-made. The rebuilding of Babylon by Don Koenig Scripture says Babylon will be completely destroyed and no one will ever live there again. Under the ruthless and ambitious King Nebuchadnezzar II, the sprawling settlement in modern-day Iraq grew into a major city as large as Chicago, and boasted towering temples, ornately tiled palaces and imposing city walls thick enough for two chariots to pass each other side by side. . However, as events unfolded, it became evident that Hussein was not the final enemy of God and that he would not be successful in restoring a Babylonian Empire. 74159-1575. of the RE-use of Babylon's Stones since the First Fall of Babylon of the flourishing of Trees & Greenery (Gardens, Groves) at Babylon YmlibGVwcm9waGVjeWFzd3JpdHRlbkBnbWFpbC5jb20=, The Psalm 83 Prophecy VS the Psalm 83 Theory. The earliest king to unite warring Mesopotamian tribes into a single powerful city-state was the remarkable Hammurabi in the 18th century B.C.E. Jun 29, 2009 #1. This is another key event for everyone to really keep an eye on. Iranian uranium enrichment reportedly dangerously close to nuclear bomb capability The restoration installed heavier modern bricks atop the ancient original ones. In the second century C.E., the Parthians ransacked the city, ending any hope of its revival. Babylon's remains, mounds of mud-brick buildings spread over about 30 square kilometers, are in present-day Iraq, south of Baghdad. Today, the Mecca Clock Tower is the 3rd tallest building in the world. It was great and terrible Nebuchadnezzar II who rebuilt Babylon as a magnificent paean to the creator god Marduk. Is Babylon being rebuilt today? Iraqi Jews are believed to have descended from the Jewish community, taken captive to Babilonia. For more than a decade, WMF has continued to implement the Babylon site management plan, undertaking conservation work at specific sites within the archaeological park such as assisting with the conservation and stabilization of the Lion of Babylon. Its still-eerie, grandiose Hussein-era palaces and guesthouses are filled with international artists invited for the Babylon festival, and thousands of Iraqis flock here every month for parties, weddings and musical boat rides along the Euphrates river. Several tours now run from Baghdad to the scenic marshlands of the south which some scholars say may have been the biblical Garden of Eden where sleek buffalo swim through grasses and people live on islands. But it's extraordinary. How the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World Work. History carving of Hammurabi Though traces of prehistoric settlement exist, Babylon's development as a major city was late by Mesopotamian standards; no mention of it existed before the 23rd century bce. . His projects have stabilized walls, restored the statue of the Lion of Babylon, removed modern buildings built against the ancient walls and dismantled razor wire fences. Husseins interventions, neglect resulting from 12 years of draconian UN sanctions that bankrupted the country, and subsequent damage by military vehicles in the wake of the 2003 invasion all contributed to Babylons demise. As NPR's Jane Arraf reports, archaeologists working in the ruins of Babylon in present-day Iraq are hoping to change that. This is the palace of King Nebuchadnezzar II: Continue Reading 156 3 Bob deWitt In anticipation of the conservation capacity gap that often follows conflict, WMF prioritized training and development, working closely with the SBAH and community members to integrate their needs into its design. Although Saddam Hussein attempted to revive it during the 1970s, he was ultimately unsuccessful due to regional conflicts and wars. Widely known for its legendary Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Babylon today is home to national treasures such as Ishtar Gate and the Lion of Babylon. (Jeremiah 51:43. European Union) advocating for "open borders" which basically says ANYONE can come here to live, work and play. Israel's "Exceedingly Great Army"WHEN? once wracked with unimaginable violence becomes increasingly stable and secure, direct foreign investment is going to flood in, and the region once known as. From its peak as the Neo-Babylonian capital under King Nebuchadnezzar through its heavy-handed 1987 reconstruction by Saddam Hussein to its post-invasion demise when American and Polish troops ran roughshod over its ruins and ISIS threatened its very existence, the ancient city has witnessed empires come and go. They certainly have long had a difficult time imagining the rebuilding of the ancient Iraqi city of Babylon, at least on the scale described in the Left Behindnovels about the End Times (written by Evangelicals Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, and which sold more than 60 million books in the 1990s), or any of my novels or non-fiction books. 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