Rebuilding Babylon
Photo © 2003, Daniel O’Connell, Gunnery Sergeant, USMC
Saddam Hussein, the fifth President of Iraq, served from July 16, 1979 to April 9, 2003. During his more than twenty years in power, Saddam worked toward rebuilding the ancient city of Babylon.
If we look, we can find God in Bible prophecy about rebuilding Babylon.
According to an About.com article titled Saddam Hussein’s Babylonian Palace:
“Saddam Hussein said that Babylon’s great palaces and the legendary hanging gardens of Babylon (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world) would rise from the dust.”
What does history–including that recorded in the Bible–say about Babylon?
Revelation 14:8, 16:19, and chapters 17-18 talk about the fall of Babylon in the End Times. For these prophecies to take place, the literal city of Babylon must again exist in the land of Shinar. The remains of ancient Babylon are found in present-day Iraq about 55 miles south of Baghdad.
Babylon flourished in 1894 BC under the Amorite king Hammurabi who created the short-lived Babylonian Empire, but it quickly dissolved after his death. It rose to power again and was the seat of the Neo-Babylonian Empire from 612 to 539 BC.
Nebuchadnezzar II ruled from 605 BC to 562 BC and, according to the Bible, conquered Judah and Jerusalem and sent the Jews into exile in Babylon. Wikipedia says, “He is credited with the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.”
Flash forward to today in modern-day Iraq:
The About.com article by Jackie Craven,says Saddam’s workers began reconstructing the 600-room palace of King Nebuchadnezzar II in 1982 right on top of the ancient ruins:
“The original bricks, which rise two or three feet from the ground, bear ancient inscriptions praising Nebuchadnezzar. Above these, Saddam Hussein’s workers laid more than 60-million sand-colored bricks inscribed with the words, ‘In the era of Saddam Hussein, protector of Iraq, who rebuilt civilization and rebuilt Babylon.’ The new bricks began to crack after only ten years.
“Adjacent to Nebuchadnezzar’s ancient palace and overlooking the Euphrates River, Saddam Hussein built a new palace for himself…a monstrous hill-top fortress surrounded by miniature palm trees and rose gardens. The four-storey palace extends across an area as large as five football fields.”
Ceilings and walls in the palace depicted 360-degree murals from ancient Babylon, Ur, and the Tower of Babel.
About.com continues:
“When American troops entered Babylon in April, 2003, they found little evidence that the palace had been occupied or used. Saddam’s fall from power brought vandals and looters… During the war, Western troops pitched tents in the vast empty rooms at Saddam Hussein’s Babylonian palace.”
U.S. Marine Daniel O’Connell, Gunnery Sergeant, took photographs of many of these sites in 2003 and you can see 26 of his photos in a photo gallery on About.com.
So what do you think? Is Saddam’s rebuilding of Babylon a sign of the End Times? Will Babylon will be rebuilt to a greater degree and be occupied by the Antichrist? Whatever actually comes about, by looking in the Bible, we will find God in Bible prophecy about rebuilding Babylon.
Here’s a video about the history of Babylon, from Discovery Channel: The Babylon Mystery Part 1.
You can also see on YouTube a video about modern efforts in rebuilding Babylon: The New Babylon – Iraq (lower quality sound).
© Dianne E. Butts. Diane is a regular contributor to Finding God Daily with many interesting articles on Bible prophecy. She is also a book author, recently winning the Christian Small Publisher “Book of the Year” award for her book Deliver Me on unplanned pregnancy. Connect with Dianne at: www.DeliverMeBook.blogspot.com and on Twitter @DianneEButts.
