Lessons From Babylon: God Is Still in Charge

The ancient city of Babylon provides a reminder that men's flawed systems and governments will give way to God's mastery of world events.

The ruins of the ancient city of Babylon are located inside the borders of the modern nation of Iraq. They are an enduring testament to God's ultimate mastery of world events, and of the inexorable unfolding of His plan for mankind. And it was in Babylon that God revealed Himself to the ancient world as the Most High God.

More than 500 years before the birth of Christ, God sent the armies of Babylon to punish the nation of Judah. Daniel and his three friends were taken as captives to serve in the royal court of Babylon. God was at work in all of this. He orchestrated events to reveal Himself and show how He works in history.

An Impressive Dream

God gave King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon an impressive dream, and imbued him with a deep suspicion of his advisors; such that the king demanded that his advisors tell him both what he had dreamed and what it meant. King Nebuchadnezzar knew that anyone could spin a pretty story out of a dream—but only someone in touch with genuine supernatural power could reveal what he had dreamed and its true meaning.

God used this challenge to expose the astrologers and soothsayers of Babylon as frauds, and to reveal Himself and to show who His true servants were. God gave Daniel the knowledge both of the dream and what it meant. Daniel told the king that it was the God of heaven who had given the king rulership over the great realm of Babylon, and that God was revealing an outline of history through the dream. God predicted a series of world-ruling kingdoms of progressively baser character, which would all, in the end, be swept away and replaced by a divinely established kingdom that would rule the world forever (Daniel 2:28-45 [28] But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
[29] As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.
[30] But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
[31] Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.
[32] This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,
[33] His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
[34] Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
[35] Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
[36] This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
[37] Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
[38] And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
[39] And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
[40] And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
[41] And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
[42] And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
[43] And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
[44] And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
[45] Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

See All...).

As Daniel reminded King Belshazzar, his ancester Nebuchadnezzar quickly forgot this object lesson, and continued on his path of turning into an egotistical tyrant (Daniel 5:18-21 [18] O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:
[19] And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.
[20] But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:
[21] And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.

See All...). God gave him another vision to urge him to repentance (Daniel 4:27Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.
See All...) and to drive home the point that it is the Most High God who rules over the kingdoms of men (Daniel 4:17This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.
See All...). Nebuchadnezzar's descendants also held the God of Abraham in contempt, and so God handed down judgment and overthrew the kingdom of Babylon (Daniel 5:22-31 [22] And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;
[23] But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
[24] Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.
[25] And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
[26] This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
[27] TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
[28] PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
[29] Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
[30] In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.
[31] And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.

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God gave Daniel a vision (Daniel 7) in which Daniel was shown the same sequence of world-ruling kingdoms, and was shown that in the end God will once again sit in judgment of these great governments. God will sweep them away and turn over rulership of the world to His servants (Daniel 7:13-14 [13] I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
[14] And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

See All..., 18, 27). We can see that not only is God in charge of world events, He is working to a specific plan.

In this present evil age (Galatians 1:4Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
See All...), "the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one" (1 John 5:19And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
See All...). Satan sways almost everyone in this age by virtue of having deceived the whole world into following him. Thankfully, God is in charge and limits what Satan can do (Job chapters 1 and 2).

Peace Will Fill the World

We live in a world of satanically deceived nations. It simply isn't in our power to establish lasting peace and justice. God promises that He will take care of it—and only He can do it.

The day is coming when God will send an angel to drag Satan off to prison and turn rulership of the world over to Christ and the saints (Revelation 20:1-6 [1] And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
[2] And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
[3] And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
[4] And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
[5] But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
[6] Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

See All...). That is when the kingdoms of this world will come under the rule of the Kingdom of God (Revelation 11:15And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
See All...), and justice and peace will fill the world. For now, it is our part to prepare to be part of God's government, and to comfort the victims of the injustice in this world. And we ought to be praying, "Thy kingdom come!" UN