Jeremiah 51:5
For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel. For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.
The verse stands in the prophecies against foreign nations foretelling the destruction and doom of Babylon, declaring that Israel has not been forsaken nor Judah abandoned by his God, the Lord of hosts, though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel. It was sent as a divine message when Babylon had filled the cup of its iniquity, joining impending judgment with gracious warning and proffered mercy, but she refused to be healed and her sins mounted up to heaven until God's plainly foretold stroke of wrath was visited upon her and she fell to rise no more. The prediction was uttered many years before the fall and is proved by the testimony of heathen historians who did not know it, yet it did not mean utter destruction when the Persians overthrew the city, but its gradual decay into desolation after Alexander died there, so that the ruins by the Euphrates witness to its literal fulfillment. The doom of ancient Babylon is in a peculiar and wonderful way the type of the fate of mystical Babylon in the last days, for the prophecy is double and by sudden transition from type to antitype foretells the day of the Lord in which the great apostate system and all sinners shall be punished, matching the fall of Babylon described in Revelation 18. Its destruction shows that a power built on error and opposition to God is destined for destruction, warning proud and wicked cities and places that forget and defy God that their fate follows their wickedness and ignored warnings may be followed by judgment.
Prophecy Against Ancient Babylon
Jeremiah 51:5 stands in chapters 46 to 51, which are prophecies against foreign nations, especially Babylon. It is part of the prophecy of Babylon's destruction and doom, and the ruins by the Euphrates witness to its fulfillment. It was sent as a divine message to ancient Babylon when it had filled the cup of its iniquity. That message joined impending judgment with gracious warning and proffered mercy, which Babylon slighted and left unheeded.
The prediction was uttered many years before the fall. Its fulfillment is shown by the dispassionate testimony of heathen historians who did not know the prophecy. That testimony proves the fall of the head of gold before the silver empire takes its place in succession onward to the end.
It did not mean Babylon would be utterly destroyed when the Persians overthrew it, but pointed to the city's eventual destruction. After Alexander died there, Babylon gradually fell into decay and became desolate, fulfilling the prophecy literally. It covers not merely the fall of the city but the sudden fall of the empire while Belshazzar and his lords felt secure. This came after Babylon refused to be healed and her sins mounted up to heaven inviting the plainly foretold stroke of wrath, so that God's judgments were visited upon her and she fell to rise no more. The testimony about Babylon's fall shows that a power built on error and opposition to God is destined for destruction.
Promise and Warning for Today
Israel has not been forsaken, nor Judah abandoned by his God, the Lord of hosts, even though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel. This is God's defense of His people set in the midst of His judgment upon Babylon and its religious system.
The doom pronounced upon ancient Babylon is a type of the fate of mystical Babylon. Ancient Babylon was a great world kingdom that in a peculiar and wonderful way typifies the confused religious world of the last days. The chapter is a vivid portrayal of the destruction to be visited upon modern Babylon in the day when God shall finally and forever close up all earthly accounts. That destruction came after she refused to be healed, when her sins mounted up to heaven and invited the plainly foretold stroke of wrath, so that God's judgments were visited upon her and she fell to rise no more.
The prophecy is double, covering not merely the fall of the city of Babylon but the sudden fall of the empire while Belshazzar and his lords felt secure. It applies both to ancient Babylon and to antitypical Babylon, the great apostate harlot-system ruling over the nations of the earth, whereas the prophecy of Revelation concerns apostate Babylon alone. Old Babylon on the Euphrates will therefore not be rebuilt only to be suddenly destroyed. By sudden transition from type to antitype it foretells the day of the Lord in which modern Babylon and all sinners shall be punished, matching the fall of Babylon described in Revelation 18.
Babylon's destruction warns proud, wicked cities and places that forget and defy God. Their fate follows their wickedness, and warnings may be ignored until judgment comes. Ignored warnings may be followed by judgment. The lesson applies not only to San Francisco but also to New York, Chicago, and every other place that defies God.