Jeremiah 51:28, commentary and pictures

Jeremiah 51:28 calls the nations to war against Babylon for its sins, naming the kings of the Medes with their captains and rulers and all their dominion as the army made ready for the siege. The Medes are God's appointed instruments with the Persians under Cyrus to humble proud Babylon, and the word was fulfilled suddenly in one night while Belshazzar feasted in security, when his kingdom was numbered and finished and divided to the Medes and Persians who entered and took the city. Ancient Babylon with its city and empire is a type of mystical modern spiritual Babylon, so the judgment has a double fulfillment, first typically in ancient Babylon and emphatically in Revelation 18 in the final destruction of Babylon the Great and all sinners in the day of the Lord. The verse exposes Babylon as cruel and persecuting toward God's faithful people through self-exaltation and error, declares God's judgment on that character and His defense of His people, and stands as a warning that no might or wealth can save cities like New York and Chicago that forget and defy God.

Prophecy Against Ancient Babylon

Jeremiah 51:28 belongs to the prophecies against foreign nations beginning in Jeremiah 46, and specifically to the burden pronouncing the siege and destruction of Babylon for its sins against the Lord. That destruction was not completed when the Persians overthrew Babylon, for the prophecy pointed to its eventual utter ruin. The doom of Babylon is pronounced in this series concerning the kingdoms surrounding Israel.

The verse summons and prepares the nations for war against Babylon, naming the kings of the Medes with their captains, rulers, commanders, and all the land of their dominion and all the territory under their rule as the forces assembled and called to join in its destruction. It foretells that these nations, led by the kings of the Medes, would be prepared against Babylon to bring about its overthrow. The Medes are God's appointed agents to humble proud Babylon, acting alongside the Persians under Cyrus, with Darius the Mede taking the kingdom when the city fell.

The doom was foretold in detail many years before Babylon fell, as a divine prediction concerning its downfall, giving particulars of the flourishing city and kingdom and even naming its conqueror before his birth. It foretells the fall of Babylon, the head of gold, before the silver empire takes its place in succession. The prediction was fulfilled suddenly in one night while Belshazzar, weak, dissolute, riotous, idolatrous and blasphemous, feasted in security with his lords over Babylon's greatness, drinking to gods of gold and wood and stone from the sacred vessels plundered from the temple at Jerusalem. While he drank, the handwriting Numbered, numbered; Weighed; Divisions announced that God had numbered and finished his kingdom, weighed him and found him wanting, and divided his kingdom and given it to the Medes and Persians, and before he rose Babylon was taken on every quarter with the cry Babylon is fallen, is fallen, the Persians having entered through the exposed river gates.

The overthrow by Persia did not exhaust the prophecy, for Babylon declined over time into heaps, marshes, and burned remains with no inhabitants and became utterly desolate. Its ruins by the Euphrates stand as visible proof and object-lesson of literal fulfillment, established by the dispassionate testimony of heathen historians. As a sign of that irreversible sinking to rise no more, Seraiah read the prophecy, tied a stone to the scroll, and cast it into the Euphrates. The prophecy came as a divine message of impending judgment offering warning and mercy, but Babylon ignored it and was not healed, so judgment fell unheeded.

Type of Mystical Babylon

Jeremiah 51:28 belongs to the burden of prophecy against Babylon, standing within the prophecies from Jeremiah 46 onward concerning the kingdoms surrounding Israel in which the doom of Babylon is pronounced. Ancient Babylon is presented not only as the empire and city of Jeremiah's day but also as a type of mystical Babylon, the great mystical Babylon of the present day. That antitypical Babylon is the apostate harlot system ruling over the nations, whose sudden fall while feeling secure was prefigured when Belshazzar and his lords felt secure. So the judgment announced against literal Babylon reveals the fate of Babylon the Great prophesied in Revelation.

The prophecy moves by an easy transition from type to antitype and has a double fulfillment, first typically in ancient Babylon and emphatically in the last days. God summons the nations and the kings of the Medes with their rulers to prepare against her for the final destruction of ancient Babylon, and that fall portrays the final destruction of modern spiritual Babylon at the end of the world. Revelation 18 gives its antitypical fulfillment in the final destruction of modern Babylon, when modern Babylon and all sinners shall be punished in the day of the Lord, with the account of ancient Babylon's destruction set beside the final destruction of Babylon.

Babylon is the head of gold and the first head in the symbolic sequence of powers, uttered as a divine prediction many years before Babylon fell. The verse commands the nations to prepare for war against Babylon, specifically naming the kings of the Medes with their captains, commanders and rulers, foretelling the fall of Babylon before the silver empire takes its place in succession. Its fulfillment is established by the dispassionate testimony of heathen historians, and its overthrow marks the beginning of the final overthrow of temporal rule at God's earthly center of power.

The verse belongs to the prophecy describing Babylon's character, God's judgment on it, and His defense of His people, calling the nations including the kings, captains and rulers of the Medes to join in her destruction. Pagan Babylon is shown as a persecuting power that oppressed God's faithful people with cruel treatment, and its lamentable record is evidence that paganism bears the marks of Babylon. That judgment was fulfilled in one night under Belshazzar the weak, dissolute, riotous, idolatrous blasphemer who feasted over Babylon's greatness and drank to Babylon's gods of gold and wood and stone from the sacred vessels plundered from the temple at Jerusalem, while the handwriting Numbered, numbered, Weighed, Divisions announced that God had numbered and finished his kingdom, weighed him and found him wanting, and divided his kingdom and given it to the Medes and Persians, and before he rose Babylon was taken on every quarter and the cry went out Babylon is fallen, is fallen. The verse means God's truth abides while Babylon's perverted principles of self-exaltation and error end in confusion and destruction.

Warning to Modern Cities

The summons is to assemble the nations for war against Babylon, naming the kings of the Medes with their military captains and rulers and all the territory under their dominion. That doom was warned of beforehand, yet the warnings went unheeded until judgment fell. Babylon's fate so stands as a lesson for cities and people that forget and defy God. The lesson reaches beyond ancient Babylon to modern cities, including New York and Chicago, for cities that defy God still face judgment.

God's preparing of the nations with the kings of the Medes against Babylon was fulfilled in a single night under Belshazzar, weak, dissolute, riotous, idolatrous and blasphemous. While he feasted over Babylon's greatness he drank to Babylon's gods of gold and wood and stone from the sacred vessels plundered from the temple at Jerusalem. As he drank, the handwriting of Numbered, numbered, Weighed, Divisions announced that God had numbered and finished his kingdom, had weighed him and found him wanting, and had divided his kingdom and given it to the Medes and Persians. Before he rose Babylon was taken on every quarter and the cry went out that Babylon is fallen, is fallen. God's truth abides while Babylon's perverted principles of self-exaltation and error end in confusion and destruction, so no might or scheme or power or wealth can save a city or nation that sows within herself the seeds of error, confusion, destruction and death.