The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.
The Lord vindicates His people by bringing their righteous cause to light in the overthrow of Babylon, and they recognize His act and call one another to proclaim His work in Zion. It was spoken as gracious warning to ancient Babylon when it had filled the cup of its iniquity, foretelling long beforehand its capture, its conquerors and the circumstances of its fall, and it was fulfilled when the Persians entered the river-bed in the night of revelry, slew Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans, and Darius the Median took the kingdom. The prophecy is double, referring not to the ancient city and empire alone but to antitypical Babylon the great, so its typical fulfillment in the humbling of ancient Babylon by the Medes and Persians passes suddenly to the day of the Lord and finds its emphatic fulfillment in the fall of modern Babylon described in Revelation 18. The work to be declared in Zion is God's own work planned and directed by Him, the proclamation of the gospel and all involved in making it known and applying it to sinners, and making it known requires spiritual understanding that human wisdom without God cannot supply. When Babylon as a whole was beyond healing and doomed, God still brought forth forgiveness and refuge for the few individuals who would listen and flee out, and the first angel's Advent message was the means intended to heal modern Babylon, freeing those who received it from sectarian division while the churches that rejected it remained unhealed.
Judgment on Ancient Babylon
The verse is part of the divine message sent through Jeremiah to ancient Babylon when it had filled the cup of its iniquity, a message of impending judgment, gracious warning, and proffered mercy recorded in Jeremiah 50 and 51, which was slighted and went unheeded. It belongs to the great burden of prophecy against Babylon spoken many years before its fall, foretelling the overthrow of Babylon as the head of gold before the Persian silver empire takes its place in succession. The chapter contains predictions about Babylon's capture, the people who would accomplish it, and the circumstances surrounding its fall. Their fulfillment is shown by the dispassionate testimony of heathen historians who did not know the prophecy and had no design to show its fulfillment.
The prophecy includes not merely the fall of the city but the sudden fall of the empire itself in the midst of the security felt by Belshazzar and his lords. It was fulfilled in the capture of Babylon in the night Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans was slain, when the Persians watched the sinking water where the Euphrates entered and left the walls, entered the deep river-bed and seized the undefended river-gates without alarm amid revel and riot, raised the war-shout and took the city at one end, slew the king in his palace, and Darius the Median being about threescore and two years old took the kingdom. The prophecy was not fulfilled in its entirety when the Persians overthrew Babylon, for the city later declined and became desolate, fulfilling the prophecy over time.
The ruins of Babylon beside the Euphrates stand as historical witness to the truth of the prophecies of its doom in Jeremiah 51. The chapter presents Babylon's character and God's opposition to its religious system, showing God defending His people and judging Babylon. Babylon's kingdom is judged and destroyed because of its error and opposition to God, while God's truth stands.
Type of End-Time Babylon
Jeremiah 51:10 belongs to a double prophecy that refers not alone to the ancient city and empire but to antitypical Babylon, the great apostate harlot system ruling over the nations of the earth, which alone is the Babylon of Revelation. Literal Babylon there is a type of Babylon the great prophesied in Revelation, so the verse reveals the fate of mystical Babylon in the present day. It stands within Jeremiah's prophecies concerning Babylon in chapters 50-51, part of the prophecies from chapter 46 onward pronouncing the doom of the kingdoms surrounding Israel.
Its typical fulfillment was in ancient Babylon humbled by the Medes and Persians, and then the prophecy makes a sudden transition from type to antitype to the day of the Lord in which modern Babylon and all sinners shall be punished. Its emphatic fulfillment is therefore in the fall of modern Babylon described in Revelation 18. The final destruction of ancient Babylon set forth in Jeremiah 50 and 51 vividly portrays the destruction to be visited upon modern Babylon in the day when God finally and forever closes up all earthly accounts.
That portrayal reaches to the restoration under Christ, in which the faithful remnant of literal Israel typifies Israel under the new covenant. The prophecy will not be fulfilled by a rebuilding of old Babylon on the Euphrates followed by sudden destruction. It includes not merely the fall of the city but the sudden fall of the empire itself in the midst of the security felt by Belshazzar and his lords.
Vindication Proclaimed in Zion
The Lord vindicates His people and brings forth their righteousness by the capture of Babylon, and His people recognize what He has done and call one another to proclaim it in Zion. That vindication belongs to Jeremiah's lament over Babylon's oppression and stands as testimony to the persecution associated with pagan Babylon. It was seen when Babylon was taken in the night Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans was slain, when the Persians watched the sinking water where the Euphrates entered and left the walls, entered the deep river-bed and seized the undefended river-gates without alarm amid revel and riot, raised the war-shout and took the city at one end, slew the king in his palace, and Darius the Median, being about threescore and two years old, took the kingdom.
The work of the Lord to be declared in Zion is God's own work, planned and directed by Him, with people cooperating in carrying it forward. It is the proclamation of the gospel and all that is involved in making it known and applying it to sinners. The call is to recognize and declare God's work, including His judgment on Babylon and His work and vengeance. Declaring this message requires spiritual understanding, since human wisdom and speculation that ignore God cannot interpret His will or make His message known.
When Babylon as a whole was beyond healing and doomed to destruction, God still made His deliverance known for the few individuals who would listen and flee out of her. He brought forth forgiveness and love as healing for moral disease and made Himself their refuge from coming vengeance. The same deliverance through the everlasting gospel still saves individuals out of the doomed world for a very little while before the offer of mercy ends forever. In its application to the refusal of Babylon to be healed, the first angel's Advent message was the means intended to heal Babylon, but the churches rejected it, while those who received it united around the Advent hope and were freed from sectarian divisions.
Babylon's fate teaches a lesson about God's judgment that warns later cities that forget and defy God. That warning is to cities including New York and Chicago, that they must heed the warning rather than ignore it.
The Lord vindicates His people by bringing their righteous cause to light in the overthrow of Babylon, and they recognize His act and call one another to proclaim His work in Zion. It was spoken as gracious warning to ancient Babylon when it had filled the cup of its iniquity, foretelling long beforehand its capture, its conquerors and the circumstances of its fall, and it was fulfilled when the Persians entered the river-bed in the night of revelry, slew Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans, and Darius the Median took the kingdom. The prophecy is double, referring not to the ancient city and empire alone but to antitypical Babylon the great, so its typical fulfillment in the humbling of ancient Babylon by the Medes and Persians passes suddenly to the day of the Lord and finds its emphatic fulfillment in the fall of modern Babylon described in Revelation 18. The work to be declared in Zion is God's own work planned and directed by Him, the proclamation of the gospel and all involved in making it known and applying it to sinners, and making it known requires spiritual understanding that human wisdom without God cannot supply. When Babylon as a whole was beyond healing and doomed, God still brought forth forgiveness and refuge for the few individuals who would listen and flee out, and the first angel's Advent message was the means intended to heal modern Babylon, freeing those who received it from sectarian division while the churches that rejected it remained unhealed.
Judgment on Ancient Babylon
The verse is part of the divine message sent through Jeremiah to ancient Babylon when it had filled the cup of its iniquity, a message of impending judgment, gracious warning, and proffered mercy recorded in Jeremiah 50 and 51, which was slighted and went unheeded. It belongs to the great burden of prophecy against Babylon spoken many years before its fall, foretelling the overthrow of Babylon as the head of gold before the Persian silver empire takes its place in succession. The chapter contains predictions about Babylon's capture, the people who would accomplish it, and the circumstances surrounding its fall. Their fulfillment is shown by the dispassionate testimony of heathen historians who did not know the prophecy and had no design to show its fulfillment.
The prophecy includes not merely the fall of the city but the sudden fall of the empire itself in the midst of the security felt by Belshazzar and his lords. It was fulfilled in the capture of Babylon in the night Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans was slain, when the Persians watched the sinking water where the Euphrates entered and left the walls, entered the deep river-bed and seized the undefended river-gates without alarm amid revel and riot, raised the war-shout and took the city at one end, slew the king in his palace, and Darius the Median being about threescore and two years old took the kingdom. The prophecy was not fulfilled in its entirety when the Persians overthrew Babylon, for the city later declined and became desolate, fulfilling the prophecy over time.
The ruins of Babylon beside the Euphrates stand as historical witness to the truth of the prophecies of its doom in Jeremiah 51. The chapter presents Babylon's character and God's opposition to its religious system, showing God defending His people and judging Babylon. Babylon's kingdom is judged and destroyed because of its error and opposition to God, while God's truth stands.
Type of End-Time Babylon
Jeremiah 51:10 belongs to a double prophecy that refers not alone to the ancient city and empire but to antitypical Babylon, the great apostate harlot system ruling over the nations of the earth, which alone is the Babylon of Revelation. Literal Babylon there is a type of Babylon the great prophesied in Revelation, so the verse reveals the fate of mystical Babylon in the present day. It stands within Jeremiah's prophecies concerning Babylon in chapters 50-51, part of the prophecies from chapter 46 onward pronouncing the doom of the kingdoms surrounding Israel.
Its typical fulfillment was in ancient Babylon humbled by the Medes and Persians, and then the prophecy makes a sudden transition from type to antitype to the day of the Lord in which modern Babylon and all sinners shall be punished. Its emphatic fulfillment is therefore in the fall of modern Babylon described in Revelation 18. The final destruction of ancient Babylon set forth in Jeremiah 50 and 51 vividly portrays the destruction to be visited upon modern Babylon in the day when God finally and forever closes up all earthly accounts.
That portrayal reaches to the restoration under Christ, in which the faithful remnant of literal Israel typifies Israel under the new covenant. The prophecy will not be fulfilled by a rebuilding of old Babylon on the Euphrates followed by sudden destruction. It includes not merely the fall of the city but the sudden fall of the empire itself in the midst of the security felt by Belshazzar and his lords.
Vindication Proclaimed in Zion
The Lord vindicates His people and brings forth their righteousness by the capture of Babylon, and His people recognize what He has done and call one another to proclaim it in Zion. That vindication belongs to Jeremiah's lament over Babylon's oppression and stands as testimony to the persecution associated with pagan Babylon. It was seen when Babylon was taken in the night Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans was slain, when the Persians watched the sinking water where the Euphrates entered and left the walls, entered the deep river-bed and seized the undefended river-gates without alarm amid revel and riot, raised the war-shout and took the city at one end, slew the king in his palace, and Darius the Median, being about threescore and two years old, took the kingdom.
The work of the Lord to be declared in Zion is God's own work, planned and directed by Him, with people cooperating in carrying it forward. It is the proclamation of the gospel and all that is involved in making it known and applying it to sinners. The call is to recognize and declare God's work, including His judgment on Babylon and His work and vengeance. Declaring this message requires spiritual understanding, since human wisdom and speculation that ignore God cannot interpret His will or make His message known.
When Babylon as a whole was beyond healing and doomed to destruction, God still made His deliverance known for the few individuals who would listen and flee out of her. He brought forth forgiveness and love as healing for moral disease and made Himself their refuge from coming vengeance. The same deliverance through the everlasting gospel still saves individuals out of the doomed world for a very little while before the offer of mercy ends forever. In its application to the refusal of Babylon to be healed, the first angel's Advent message was the means intended to heal Babylon, but the churches rejected it, while those who received it united around the Advent hope and were freed from sectarian divisions.
Babylon's fate teaches a lesson about God's judgment that warns later cities that forget and defy God. That warning is to cities including New York and Chicago, that they must heed the warning rather than ignore it.