The Capital City of Evil.

The Book of Genesis attributes the beginning of Babylon as a centre of civilisation to Nimrod some time before 2300 BC.

"…that is why it is said, 'Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.' The first centres of his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh in Shinar." (Genesis 10:9-10).

Because of the godless pride of the inhabitants, God 'confused' their language, causing communication difficulties, which led to the people being scattered abroad throughout the earth, and the city fell into disuse (see Genesis 11:1-9). The city was rebuilt and reoccupied more than once over the centuries, and came to prominence under King Nebuchadnezzar as the capital city of the Chaldean Empire in about 650 BC. The Babylonian people became a powerful nation and Babylon a great city state at the centre of a vast empire. It was famed for its buildings, and for being a centre of learning, particularly science, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, astrology and all forms of magic connected with pagan religion. Babylon is thought to be the source of belief in the immortality of the soul, everlasting rewards in heaven and punishment in hell. Under Nebuchadnezzar the Babylonians conquered Judah, destroyed Jerusalem, and took the people captive. The Empire came to an end when the city was taken by the combined forces of the Medes and Persians under their ruler Cyrus in the year 539 BC.

From that time onwards the city declined from being one of the wonders of the ancient world to an unrecognisable heap of ruins. It may have existed in some form in New Testament times because the apostle Peter sent his first letter "from the church at Babylon". This may be the place referred to in the Old Testament, or it may be a Christian code name for Rome, which was held to have inherited all that was undesirable from the ancient Babylon. In the Book of Revelation, Babylon symbolises all that is opposed to God in this age, and the fall of "that great city Babylon" at the return of Christ is described: "After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. With a mighty voice he shouted: 'Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit….'" (Revelation 18:1-2).

By the 4th century AD the city had re-established itself to some extent as a centre for idolatry. 19th Century archaeologists had difficulty in finding and identifying the ruins of Babylon, but in recent years the excavations have been intensified due to the interest of Saddam Hussein who sees himself as a present day Babylonian Emperor, and the restorer of the former glories of his people.

Baal
Babylon
Baptism
  1. "Baptism for the dead"
  2. Baptism with the Holy Spirit
Barbarians
Beelzebub
Beginning
  1. The Creation of the World
  2. The New Creation in Christ
Begotten
Believe, Belief, Believer
Bible
Bishop
Blasphemy
Blessedness
Blessing
Blood
Body
  1. The physical body
  2. The spiritual body
  3. The body of Christ
  4. "The body of Moses"
  5. "Spiritual bodies"
Born
Bread
Breaking Bread
Brothers and Sisters
Burial