MY DEAR FRIEND AND BROTHER,
FULFILLED prophecy is commonly (and properly) relied on as one of the evidences of the truth of Christianity; for.no one but He who knoweth the end from the beginning could declare with minute precision those events which have been already accomplished, (especially those relating to the sufferings of our Lord,) and which had previously been set forth in the Scriptures of the prophets.
But although much is to be found there written, which has been manifested to have proceeded from the Lord by its literal and definite fulfillment, there yet remains a very large portion either partially or wholly unaccomplished; and the fulfillment of this part ought to be looked for by the Church of God as a thing which shall be equally full, definite, and unambiguous.
Many of those who have written on the evidence which is given by prophecy to the truth of Christianity, have relied much on predictions which have been strikingly fulfilled in some important and in many subordinate particulars; these have been dwelt on, and they have been made the basis of mach argument; whilst at the same time, those particulars which were (perhaps) the most important, are either passed over in silence, or else explained in some figurative manner.
But if any one were to show that these prophecies, supposed to be thus fulfilled, were not accomplished; nay, that in some very striking features they were pointedly discrepant from the supposed. accomplishment; if he were to be able unanswerably to prove that, if the Christian had nothing but this to rely on for the truth and certainty of his faith, he would be trusting to that which so far from affording satisfactory evidence, bears in itself the strongest marks of discrepancy—would it not afford triumph to the infidel? And might it not throw a stumbling block in the way of many? I fully believe that such a statement of facts might be made, as would startle those whose minds have been accustomed to regard prophecy in its main features as being already accomplished; and who deem the present state of various countries, mentioned in the Old Testament Scriptures, to be an incontrovertible evidence of the truth of divine revelation.
I have been led to make these remarks from considering the prophecies concerning BABYLON in the Old Testament—the present state of that city and country—and the supposed fulfillment and exhaustion of the predictions concerning them. I say supposed fulfillment—for I feel fully persuaded, that if these prophetic declarations be accomplished, their fulfillment has in many respects been neither definite, literal, nor exact—and further that in many points there is (as it were) a designed discrepancy which no explanation can remove, as though the Lord Himself had intended not to leave us room for doubt, as to whether that which was in His mind when He gave forth the prophetic word has been fulfilled or not.
Here I would make one remark; I believe that the great subject of prophetic testimony is “the last days,” (2 Peter 3:2,32That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: 3Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, (2 Peter 3:2‑3).) or “the times of the restitution of all things,” of which it is written, (Acts 3:2121Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. (Acts 3:21).) that “God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began:”—i.e. (if I understand the declaration aright) the circumstances and events connected with this time, are THE theme of all the prophets; and thus we might almost suppose a priori that any and every prophetic declaration was in some way or other connected either with the evil of the latter day—the return of our Lord, which will check that evil by destroying judgment—or the blessings which will be the consequences of that advent—those Scriptures which set forth our Lord’s humiliation are also intimately connected with His glory, as it is written, “the sufferings of Christ AND the glory which should follow;” and again, in another place, (Heb. 2:99But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. (Hebrews 2:9).) we read of Jesus “crowned with glory and honor in consequence of the suffering of death.”
Thus the Christian needs not to be in doubt or perplexity on account of the hitherto non-fulfillment of the prophecies concerning Babylon; if he be convinced that they are yet future, he can with confidence say that they will be fulfilled because they are written; and he can say further that they will probably be fulfilled in the latter day, when Gentile dominion shall have risen to its height; and this probability will (I believe) become a certainty when the testimony itself shall have been examined.
I scarcely need more than refer to Babylon as being the, city of human greatness. (Gen. 11:44And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. (Genesis 11:4).) “Let us make us a name.” But God confounded the builders and scattered them, and immediately after we find Abram called; the sacred history then becomes the history of him and his seed, and of the city which God chose to set His name there—Jerusalem. Babylon disappears from our view for fifteen hundred years; until in the unfaithfulness of Jerusalem, the prophetic word went forth that they should go into captivity, even into Babylon. But it was not only declared that Babylon should be the scourge of Judah; but the Lord in His mercy to His people also told them of the utter destruction and entire desolation of Babylon, and of their own final (and therefore even now yet future) deliverance.
Many of the circumstances stated in these prophecies are such as appear clearly to connect them with the coming of the day of the Lord; to those contained in Isa. 13 and 14 I will now refer.—
The coming of “the day of the Lord,” is declared (ver. 6, 9,) the darkening of the sun and moon, and the shaking of the heavens and the earth; (ver. 10, 13.) all which circumstances are such as no one can state to have been definitely fulfilled, and which, from the terms in which they are declared, appear to belong to that which is often spoken of in other Scriptures as “the day of the Lord;” no indefinite expression, but one which is in the word of God used with peculiar and marked precision of meaning. Connected with these signs a destruction of Babylon is foretold—Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, &c. &c. For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel. Was there even a semblance of an accomplishment of this in the deliverance of the Jews from their captivity by Cyrus? Babylon had been taken by Darius and Cyrus, but it was not destroyed; it was not made a desolation; and the deliverance of the Jews (though a consequence) was not the immediate effect of this capture—It is also written, “They shall take them for captives whose captives they were, and they shall rule over their oppressors.” (14:2.) Nothing of this kind has yet been; the restored remnant were entirely dependent, and subject to the Persian Government; and the only semblance of independence they again obtained was during the days of Judas Maccabaeus and his successors; but even they in no way ruled over their oppressors.
After this predicted deliverance of Israel it is said that they shall take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, “How hath the oppressor ceased,” &c. “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most Nigh—Yet shalt thou be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit,” &c. &c.
I do not think that this prophecy can be applied to any king of Babylon hitherto; Nebuchadnezzar was the conqueror of the Jews, but to him it was obviously inappropriate; we do not read of any such enormity of blasphemy being committed by him as is here spoken of, and we also read (Dan. 4:3434And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: (Daniel 4:34).) that in consequence of the corrective chastisement with which the Lord visited him, that he blessed the Most High, and praised and honored Him that liveth forever and ever.
Belshazzar has nothing mentioned concerning him which would connect him personally with Jerusalem, and in no way could this prophecy belong to him.
Thus I am fully justified in regarding this as an unfulfilled prophecy; although comprehending within itself many things which have been fulfilled partially, but which (like many other prophecies) are not exhausted, nor will be until the final fulfillment shall take up the whole, and definitely meet all the terms of the prediction. I say definitely, for surely it will be definite; for nothing less than the most clear and explicit fulfillment can answer that which the Lord has testified concerning the events of these two chapters; (Isa. 13 & 14 to ver. 27.) “The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.”
I will now examine a few passages in Jer. 50 & 51—After speaking of the taking of Babylon, we find this prediction (ver. 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 will reserve.”
This must most plainly be seen to belong to Israel’s future, final deliverance. (see Jer. 31:3434And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:34). and Zech. 3:9; 13:99For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. (Zechariah 3:9)
9And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God. (Zechariah 13:9).) (ver. 40.) “As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and the neighbor cities thereof, saith the Lord, so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.” It is not to be supposed that the Lord would compare together things in themselves totally dissimilar. The destruction of Sodom was sudden in one day, that of Babylon slow and gradual; its decay having occupied a period of more than one thousand years. It was taken by Cyrus but not destroyed; it was taken by Darius Hystaspes, and part of the walls was demolished, but the city itself left undestroyed; it was taken by Alexander the Great, and so far from seeking its destruction, he purposed to make it his metropolis; from his days it gradually became of less and less importance, until about the fifth century (or probably a little later,) it had almost or quite disappeared. Let this slow work of decay be contrasted with the above prophecy, and also with the following passages. “At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.” (50:46.) “I will send against Babylon farmers, and they shall fan her, and shall empty her land.” (51:2.) “Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed, howl for her.” (ver. 8.)
The heaps of ruins which cover the plain of Babylon, furnish the neighboring country with materials for building, as though this marked discrepancy was purposely given lest the Church of God should erringly think this prediction to be fulfilled; for it is written, — “They shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations, but thou shalt be desolate forever saith the Lord.” (51:26.)
The desolation of the plain of Babylon has been often adverted to, as showing the accomplishment of these prophecies; “No man shall abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.” (50:40.) “Every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without an inhabitant.” (51:29) “Her cities are a desolation, a dry land and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.” (51:43.)
In order to show the remarkable non-fulfillment of these prophecies, I must advert to the present state of the plain of Babylon. On each side of the river Euphrates there are large mounds of ruins scattered over a great extent; these are a most mournful desolation, but still the whole of the site of ancient Babylon is not such a waste, for the town of Lillian stands in the very center of the ruins. (See Mr. Rich’s Memoir on the plain of Babylon, or Penny Cyclopaedia, Art: Babylon.) It would be impossible to draw a ground plan of Babylon from a survey of the ruins without including Hillah in the midst, and the very existence of any town in such a situation sufficiently proves the point which I wish to press.
I find the following incidental statement in Mr. Groves’s “Journal of a residence at Bagdad,” and I the rather quote him as an authority, because at the time when he wrote he looked upon Rome as being the “mystical Babylon.”
In speaking of the ravages of the plague Mr. Groves writes— “At Hillah, the modern Babylon, population ten thousand, there is, Seyd Ibrahim told we today, scarce a said left, and the dogs and the wild beasts alone are there feeding on the dead bodies.. . If mystical Babylon is suffering, as the seat of this Archbishopric of the literal Babylon, the times are not far off when the river Euphrates shall be dried up for the kings of the east to pass over.” (page 136) Again, p. 1.54, he speaks thus—“May 15, 16, I have heard today that the French Roman Catholic Archbishop of Babylon has been dead a long time, and two of his priests, and the remaining two fled.” Thus I learn, from this incidental source, that Hillah is the see of the Archbishop of Babylon, appointed by the apostate Church of Rome, whilst I also know (from Mr. Rich’s Memoir) that this very town is the actual occupant of a portion of the site of the ancient metropolis of Chaldea: in other words, that Hillah is Babylon.
Mr. Groves (p. 108.) speaks of Hillah having been seized, to which his Editor adds the following note— “Hillah is a small town on the Euphrates, a little below the ruins of Babylon; it was built in the year 495 of the Hegira, or 1115 of the Christian era, in a district called El Aredh Babel; its population does not exceed between 6 and 7000: consisting of Arabs and Jews, there being no Christians, and only such Turks as are employed in the government. The inhabitants bear a very bad character. The air is salubrious, and the soil extremely fertile, producing great quantities of rice, dates, and grain of different kinds, though it is not cultivated to above half the degree of which it is susceptible.” Now as to the site of this town being below the ruins of Babylon, any one who will examine the plan engraved in the “Penny Cyclopcedia,” will at once see that it is not possible to assign any position for the walls of Babylon which will not include Hillah; and if we follow Mr. Rich as to the probable position of some of the ancient buildings, (for which he assig, us what appear to me to be satisfactory reasons,) Hillah will just occupy the center. Whether the population be 6000 or 10,000, the fact of the non-fulfillment of the prediction of its being waste without inhabitant, is equally established.
It will be of some advantage I believe for me to refer to Mr. Keith’s “Evidence of the truth of the Christian Religion, derived from the literal fulfillment of Prophecy.” So far from weakening what I have been led to see from the Scripture, as to the hitherto non-fulfillment of the prophetic testimony concerning Babylon, these views have been very materially confirmed from seeing what his statements are, and what the literal words of the Scripture testify.
It is to be borne in mind what I have already shown from various authorities to be the present state of Babylon, as to its population, and the extraordinary fertility of its soil.
It is written, (Jer. 51:88Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. (Jeremiah 51:8).) “Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed;” but Mr. Keith says— “According to the most accurate chronologers, 160 years before the foot of an enemy had entered it, the voice of prophecy pronounced the doom of the mighty and unconquered Babylon. A succession of ages brought it gradually to the dust; and the gradation of its fall is marked till it sunk at last into utter desolation.” (p. 248. seventh edition.) “It fell before every hand that was raised against it; yet its greatness did not depart, nor was its glory obscured in one day. Cyrus was not its destroyer; but he sought by wise institutions to perpetuate its preeminence amongst the nations.” (p. 272.) “The golden city thus gradually verged, for centuries towards poverty and desolation.” (p. 278.) Mr. K. speaks of this land having been subjected by “Cyrus and Darius, kings of Persia; Alexander the Great; and Seleucus, king of Assyria; Demetrius and Antiochus the Great; Trajan, Severus, Julian and Heraclius, emperors of Rome; the victorious Omar, the successor of Mahomet; Holagon and Tamerlane.” (p. 270.) There is nothing in all this gradual decline to meet the terms in which the Lord foretold. Babylon’s destruction; this destruction is connected with the deliverance of Israel, as it is written, “for the Lord will yet choose Israel;” but we find it is a thing impossible to fix any precise date when Babylon ceased to be. Thus Mr K. says again— “The progressive and predicted decline of Babylon the great, [but it is to be observed that the predicted fall was NOT a progressive decline,] till it ceased to be a city, has already been briefly detailed. About the beginning of the Christian era, a small portion of it was inhabited, and the far greater part was cultivated. In the second century nothing but the walls remained.” &c. (p, 296.) It would be interesting to inquire how this last statement consists with the fact of the Talmud of Babylon, having been compiled by the Jewish Rabbles there resident about the fifth century.
Mr. Keith makes many quotations to prove the present sterility of the plain of Babylon; wishing thus to show that it is no longer the exuberant spot which it once was: I have remarked on this already, and will only add one of the citations which he makes from Mr. Rich—“The whole country between Bagdad and Hillah is a perfectly flat and (with the exception of a few spots as you approach the latter place) uncultivated waste.” (p. 289.) Thus the vicinity of Babylon stands marked in contradistinction to the surrounding country.
The prediction “They shall not take of thee a stone for a corner,” &c. (Jer. 51:2626And 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. (Jeremiah 51:26).) is applied by Mr. Keith to one large vitrified edifice, which cannot be made available for building with; but if the whole passage in Jeremiah be carefully read, it will be seen that “the destroying mountain” is Babylon, and not any temple or other edifice in it,
I believe that I have said enough to prove that nothing has yet occurred which answers the terms of the prophecies, and therefore I think myself fully justified in regarding these predictions as being yet to be fulfilled on Babylon—the actual, literal city in Chaldea. The Babylon of the Old Testament is (I believe) identical with the Babylon of the New. “The Church that is in Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you.” (1 Peter 5:1313The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son. (1 Peter 5:13)) This has been assumed (why, I know not) to mean Rome; but surely when the Apostle wrote, the ancient city had some existence; and it is remarkable that the Syrian Church (who may at least be supposed to be capable of judging as to the fact of the existence of a city in their own country) ranks Babylon (Hillah) as one of the five patriarchates, or principal Churches founded by Apostles. (See Graham’s Topographical Dictionary of Palestine.)
In Genesis Babylon is the first concentration of Gentile power; in the Revelation it is the last: and the yet future destruction of this will doubtless exhaust the predictions of the Prophets; all matters of detail I now leave, only again adverting to the necessary connection of these judgments with the time of Israel’s blessing.
When I first thought, from reading the prophetic word, that these things were yet unfulfilled, the idea seemed so strange, so entirely contrary to my own pre-conceived opinions, that I was disposed to look on it as an untenable hypothesis: but the more I have searched into the evidence of Scripture, and compared it with incontrovertible acts, the more have I been confirmed in regarding the true arid literal Babylon to be the city on which God’s judgments are yet to be poured out.
In Zech. 5 there is a symbolic prediction indicating a restoration in the land of Shinar; in Rev. 9:1414Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. (Revelation 9:14) four angels bound in the river Euphrates are loosed—these things indicate a change in the state of that country in the time of the end. And would it not give a strong ground to the infidel to triumph, if he were to see Babylon once again a glorious city, while Christians are looking on its destruction as an evidence of the truth of their religion? Surely these things will be thus; the greatness of the lands whose abasement is foretold, will, (I doubt not) before the time of the end, cause the scoffer to exult, and to contemn the testimony of God; and also will cause others to think that the predicted judgments are exhausted, and the time of blessing commenced.
If the “more sure word of prophecy” be “a light shining in a dark place, whereunto we do well to take heed,” it is incumbent on us to add to our faith knowledge, that we may rightly divide the word of truth, and not say “this has been fulfilled” of any portion, when in fact much of it remains in no way accomplished; and in this instance we have yet to look forward to that sudden and total destruction of Babylon (like that of Sodom) which was thus symbolically foreshown— “Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words which are written against Babylon: and Jeremiah said to Seraiah, when thou earnest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words; then shalt thou say, O Lord thou hast spoken against this place to cut it of that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate forever; and it shall be when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates; 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.”
I will thus sum up the facts as to the present state of Babylon—Hillah occupies one portion of its site containing from 6 to 10, 000 inhabitants.
It is the See of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Babylon. It is recognized by the Syrian Church as a Patriarchate.
Its soil is peculiarly fertile, (though not above half cultivated,) and in this respect is a striking contrast to much of the country round.
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Babylon in the Old Testament is the city of man’s greatness—so is it in the Revelation—it is the very concentration of all that is great and goodly in man’s estimate; though it is now depressed for a time yet its principles are in active operation in the world. When Gentile power commenced. there, God called Abram out from among. the Chaldees; and the word to every child of faith is still, “Come out, and be ye separate.”
I remain
Your brother and servant in the Lord,
F.
Tottenham, June 7, 1830.