1 Peter 5:12-14 (NET) – Through Silvanus, whom I know to be a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, in order to encourage you and testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. The church in Babylon, chosen together with you, greets you, and so does Mark, my son. Greet one another with a loving kiss. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
From the New English Translation (NET) Bible Study Notes:
“Most scholars understand Babylon here to be a figurative reference to Rome. Although in the OT the city of Babylon in Mesopotamia was the seat of tremendous power (2 Kgs 24-25; Isa 39; Jer 25), by the time of the NT what was left was an insignificant town, and there is no tradition in Christian history that Peter ever visited there.”
“Babylon” is not only the name of a city in ancient Mesopotamia, but it was also a figurative reference meant to describe what life was like where Peter wrote his first epistle. The term Babylon was also used in this same manner in the book of Revelation in order to describe what drives the entire world to operate as it does:
Revelation 14:8b (NET) – …Babylon the great city! She made all the nations drink of the wine of her immoral passion.
Revelation 18:1b-3 (NET) – …Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detested beast. For all the nations have fallen from the wine of her immoral passion, and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have gotten rich from the power of her sensual behavior.
DIS-DELIGHT
The same is still true today, some 2,000 years later. As you read this, you too (along with me) like it or not are in “Babylon.” As much as we might long to instead be in “Eden” (עֵדֶן “delight” in the Hebrew, h5731), we know that we are currently living under the influence of what I would call “non-Eden” or “DIS-DELIGHT.” However, do not be discouraged, because the Bible says that there will come a time when the current state of DIS-DELIGHT will once again be like Eden.
The Old Testament
The prophet Isaiah who lived just prior to Ancient Babylon’s takeover of Zion (Jerusalem) not only warned about Babylon’s eminent take over of them (due to Israel’s corporate sin), but he also encouraged those same inhabitants about how their future would at some point be restored back to a state of delight:
Isaiah 51:3 (NET) – Certainly the LORD will console Zion; he will console all her ruins. He will make her wilderness like Eden, her arid rift valley like the garden of the LORD. Happiness and joy will be restored to her, thanksgiving and the sound of music.
The New Testament
Later, at the end of the New Testament, that same eschatological promise would be repeated in the book of Revelation by describing Babylon’s ultimate fate:
Revelation 18:21 (NET) – Then one powerful angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone, threw it into the sea, and said, “With this kind of sudden violent force Babylon the great city will be thrown down and it will never be found again!”
I have a question for you to consider:
As you now live in DIS-DELIGHT, do you rest in the fact that there will one day be relief, because the Bible says that Babylon will at some future point “never be found again,” or do you simply ignore it?
Encouragement
We believers must always remember that both testaments speak of a time when the current DIS-DELIGHT will “never be found again.” In other words, just as God had promised Zion through Isaiah in the Old Testament that, “He will make her wilderness like Eden…” there is also a future “sudden violent force” described in the New Testament that will bring a final end to Babylon. That force is Jesus Himself:
Revelation 18:21 – 19:16 (NET) – Then one powerful angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone, threw it into the sea, and said, “With this kind of sudden violent force Babylon the great city will be thrown down and it will never be found again! And the sound of the harpists, musicians, flute players, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again. No craftsman who practices any trade will ever be found in you again; the noise of a mill will never be heard in you again. Even the light from a lamp will never shine in you again! The voices of the bridegroom and his bride will never be heard in you again. For your merchants were the tycoons of the world, because all the nations were deceived by your magic spells! The blood of the saints and prophets was found in her, along with the blood of all those who had been killed on the earth.” After these things I heard what sounded like the loud voice of a vast throng in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, because his judgments are true and just. For he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and has avenged the blood of his servants poured out by her own hands!” Then a second time the crowd shouted, “Hallelujah!” The smoke rises from her forever and ever. The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures threw themselves to the ground and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne, saying: “Amen! Hallelujah!” Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God all you his servants, and all you who fear him, both the small and the great!” Then I heard what sounded like the voice of a vast throng, like the roar of many waters and like loud crashes of thunder. They were shouting: “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the All-Powerful, reigns! Let us rejoice and exult and give him glory, because the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. She was permitted to be dressed in bright, clean, fine linen” (for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints). Then the angel said to me, “Write the following: Blessed are those who are invited to the banquet at the wedding celebration of the Lamb!” He also said to me, “These are the true words of God.” So I threw myself down at his feet to worship him, but he said, “Do not do this! I am only a fellow servant with you and your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony about Jesus. Worship God, for the testimony about Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Then I saw heaven opened and here came a white horse! The one riding it was called “Faithful” and “True,” and with justice he judges and goes to war. His eyes are like a fiery flame and there are many diadem crowns on his head. He has a name written that no one knows except himself. He is dressed in clothing dipped in blood, and he is called the Word of God. The armies that are in heaven, dressed in white, clean, fine linen, were following him on white horses. From his mouth extends a sharp sword, so that with it he can strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod, and he stomps the winepress of the furious wrath of God, the All-Powerful. He has a name written on his clothing and on his thigh: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
May we believers find rest in this truth.
Godspeed, to the brethren!
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