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 rchaeologists
have been reporting for
about 10 years that Saddam Hussein of Iraq had been rebuilding
the ancient city of Babylon. Books have been published
and stories have been written. Now as a result of the
recent war in Iraq, news reporters have been providing
the world with pictures of the partially restored ancient
city. Here is an excerpt from an article written by Bassem
Mroue, Associated Press.
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This
4,300-year-old town -- now mainly an
archaeological ruin and two important
museums -- knows political and military
upheaval well. Dynasties have risen and
have fallen here since the earliest days
of settled human civilization . . . Still,
more than 10,600 U.S. Marines, sailors,
soldiers, aid workers and journalists
have passed through ancient Babylon since
April 26, Marrero said. Those who visit
the ruin in the years to come will be
reading the name of Saddam, stamped into
the bricks used in reconstructing Nebuchadnezzer’s
Southern Palace, the seat of the king’s
ancient empire. When reconstruction began,
the palace walls had crumbled to a fourth
of their original height. On Saddam’s
orders the walls were reconstructed between
1982 and 1987. Some of the mud bricks
in the original wall carried the seal
of Nebuchadnezzar. The bricks used in
the Saddam reconstruction, not to be
outdone by the likes of the ancient king,
read: “The City of Babylon was
reconstructed during the era of the victorious
Saddam Hussein, President of the Republic,
protector of the great Iraq, the modernizer
of its renaissance and builder of its
civilization.” - Copyright 2003
by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
July 27, 2003 |
When
the U.S.
Marines entered ancient Babylon, they found
dozens of vendors, museums, souvenir shops, a restaurant
and a police station. People are living there now. What
is the future of this ancient city? The answer is found
in this study.
Past
Prophecies. We have discovered in our studies of Revelation that
the origin of all false religions began in the ancient city of Babylon and spread
throughout the world (Genesis 11:1-9). The Antichrist will destroy all false
religion; and when he does, he will require the world to worship him as the only
god.
Nebuchadnezzar
and his army invaded, defeated, and deported the Israelites in 605 B.C. to the
ancient city of Babylon. As a result, it became a symbol of the hated Babylonian
Empire to the Jews. The city of Babylon is not just a symbol of false religion,
but also of evil government.
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