Pretty insightful post IMO, assuming you are correct about these things. Do you feel Jeremiah 50 and 51 can be of any help to us here? Or do you feel those two chapters are talking about events that have already been entirely fulfilled?
Hello my friend, off the grid and a little under the weather yesterday. Good observation on Jeremiah, I think John used those two chapters to paint a picture of the Visions God showed him in Revelation chapters 17 and 18. Jesus/John encoded Revelation, to know the future you have to understand the past so to speak, not many get this. As per those two chapters we really need to go back to the previous chapter where Elam in verses Jeremiah 49:36-39 speaks of Elam (part of modern day Iran) will be turned back unto God in the latter time. Elam eventually became a part of Persia. So that is an interesting tidbit in today's geopolitical atmosphere.
Jeremiah 50
As per Jeremiah ch. 50, it was of course about Babylon of old, but John used the passage to tell about the Mystical future of Babylon the Great, the City of false gods and the city who chose to serve Bel or Satan, amongst many false Gods whom Jeremiah called out. (Its a Metaphor of Satan's rule of mankind and his Mystical Religions via the Harlot) A few scriptures highlighted from there.
Jer. 50:2 Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say,
Babylon is taken, Bel(Satan or BAAL) is confounded, Merodach(False god) is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.
In verses 1-7 it shows Israel being in bondage in Babylon, looking towards Zion for redemption. Then it shows other nations coming again Babylon, freeing Israel from their captors. Thus its just like Jesus returning and freeing Israel who have repented from their captors in the END TIMES.
8 Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he goats before the flocks.
So Israel is freed from her captivity.
13 Because of the wrath of the Lord it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.
Babylon shall never be Inhabited again. Satan will never have Rule of the earth again after he is defeated at Armageddon and is cast into the bottomless pit.
17
Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones. 18 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel;
Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.
19 And
I will bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and Gilead.
20 In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.
So Israel is scattered, just as they were for the 2000 year Church Age. Israel was brought back and Babylon, the World under Satan, will be punished. The False Religion of Babylon will be cast down and destroyed. Then we will get the 1000 year reign where there will be no sin in the land, that is willful sin.
23 How is the hammer of the
whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations! 24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware:
thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the Lord. 25 The Lord hath opened his armoury,
and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for this is the work of the Lord God of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.
27 Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter:
woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation. 28 The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon,
to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance of his temple.
So in Gods brings His Wrath upon Babylon (Mankind/Satan's Domain).
31 Behold,
I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord God of hosts:
for thy day is come, (Like unto the DAY of the Lord) the
time that I will visit thee. 32 And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and
I will kindle a fire (Babylon Burns, the World BURNS via plagues in Rev.) in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him. 33 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.
34 Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
God is against the proud, today's world are proud and haughty, to many of course there is no God. Then the Day of the Lord shall come upon them, God will burn Babylon (World) with fire, God will save ALL ISRAEL from Babylon. God destroys Babylon and rescues Israel.
38 A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up:
for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols. (False Religion) 39 Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
40 As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein. 46 At the noise of the
taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.
God sees Babylon as the land of
FALSE RELIGION (Graven Images/Idols). God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and he overthrew Babylon and when He overthrows Satan and Satan's Kingdoms on earth He sees it as Babylon being defeated.
(Revelation 16:19)
Jeremiah 51
Jer. 51:1 Thus saith the Lord; Behold,
I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a
destroying wind; 2 And will send unto Babylon
fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.
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.
6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul {Rev. 18 Come out of Babylon my people} be not
cut off in her iniquity; for this is the
time of the Lord's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.
7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the
nations are mad. 8
Babylon is suddenly fallen (Babylon is Fallen, is fallen) and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. 9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.
10 The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God. 11 Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes:
for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple. 13 O thou that
dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures,
thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.
God will fight against Babylon in the "Day of troubles" just like He raised up an Army against Babylon proper back in the day. Israel has not been forsaken, even though there was a 2000 year Church Age. God tells them to flee Babylon, or come out of Babylon
. (Rev. 18) Babylon will fall before God, and Christ will set up a 1000 year reign on earth and rule from Jerusalem. God seems tobe seeking vengeance for both His Domain being taken away and because His Temple has been profaned.
False Governance and False Religion.
24 And
I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea
all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the Lord. 25 Behold,
I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which
destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and
roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain. 26 And
they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the Lord. 29 And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon,
to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.
So God sees Babylon as a
Mountain of POWER !! The Seven Heads are
SEVEN MOUNTAINS which are
also Seven Kings. God says he will destroy the "Mountain" which is destroying all the earth, It
(Satan's Governance) will not be used as a "Cornerstone" for Governance, for the World, the Lord God will set up His own Kingdom and it will be given unto the Saints.
(Dan. ch. 2). Babylon or evil shall be done away with once and for all.
44 And
I will punish Bel in Babylon (Baal/Satan), and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and
the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the
wall of Babylon shall fall. 45
My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord.
46 And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.
47 Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
58 Thus saith the Lord of hosts;
The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary. 64 And thou shalt say,
Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
Both Jeremiah 50 and 51 are of course about the Fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians. But Jesus/John chose to use these two chapters or this passage to paint a picture of what is going to happen unto THIS WORLD at the End Times !! Babylon is the WHOLE WORLD under the Governance of Satan. The False gods/False Religions will be brought down along with Governance under Satan. Its basically God painting us a picture of the future by using and event of the past.
People have to understand the Old Testament to understand the book of Revelation and to understand Rev. chapters 17 and 18 they have to understand these two chapters in Jeremiah. along with Dan. ch. 5.
So as to your question, yes both chapters are about Babylon falling to the Medes and Persians, but God is painting us a picture of an end time event in which He destroys Babylon (Satan's rule over mankind) and all of its False Religions once and for all.