Tower of Babel

[Gen. 11:1] And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
[11:9] Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
The whole earth was of one language. The descendants of Noah, united by the strong bond of a common language, had not separated, and notwithstanding the divine command to replenish the earth, were unwilling to separate. The more pious and well-disposed would of course obey the divine will; but a numerous body, seemingly the aggressive horde mentioned 10:10, determined to please themselves by occupying the fairest region they came to.
It was not built to reach the Father in heaven but to their idols. Seven layers, each layer a different color; and a top layer for a chapel.
1. Layer was black and called Saturn. Saturn is the most beautiful planet through a telescope and it is the 6th planet from earth, the number 6 being the number of man. A combination of 6’s represented satan. On this layer they worship chiefly the idol called Rephan which the Hebrews called an abomination. They were to carry small images on their journeys and into war of the idol.
2. Layer was orange and called Jupiter represented the light of the sky, worshiping Zeus that was represented as a thunder bolt. Garlands of flowers were place on the horns of animals used for sacrifices.
Jupiter’s father was Saturn, which he over throw and his sons were Pluto and Neptune. His family was known as Olympics, he was handsome, bearded man that was accompanied by an eagle.
In Acts 14:12-13 they thought Barabbas was Jupiter coming to pay them a visit, because he was a large, aged, bearded man.
3. Layer was red and called Mars which was represented by war.
4. Layer was golden and called the Sun this is where Marduk was worshiped who was a form of the sun-god who carried people to heaven. The main festival for him was at the new year.
5. Layer was yellow and called Venus which was known as the morning star because they worship the stars and astrology.
6. Layer was dark blue and called Mercury who the son of Jupiter and father of Pan. He wore a wing cap and winged sandals, known as the swift messenger, carrying a short sword. Is interest was the purse, merchandize. They thought Paul was Mercury because he was a small, young man with eloquent speech like Mercury.
7. Layer was silver and called Moon that worship deity was Ishtar who also was also known as Astarte to the Greeks, and Ashtoreth to the Jews, Iris to the Egyptians,, Aphrodite to the Grecians, and Venus to the Romans. Ishtar was a goddess of war as well as love, and was connected to both prostitutes’ and mothers. She was represented as a bearded Bi-sexual deity, and at other times a nude female. Her worshippers called her ‘the virgin,’ and ‘virgin mother’, not because she was pure; but simply meaning she was free from wedlock.
The top layer held the chapel that was for cult prostitution. There was a shrine containing a golden image 40 feet high accompanied by a golden table 40 feet long and 15 feet wide with 2 smaller images at its side.
Every woman in the country must take her seat in the shrine once in her life to have sex with a stranger…and only when she has been with him and done her service to the idol is she allowed to go home, if you were ugly you may had to wait your turn for 3-4 years. Offerings were divided among the prostitutes’ and the temple.
The earliest Mosaic Laws protected the Israelites against this practice by destroying the high places used for idolatry, and requiring the sacrifices to be made only at the door of the Tabernacle.
Babylon exercised greater influence upon religion ideas than Canaan or Egypt.
The daily life in Babylon and Assyria was perpetually overshadowed by the fear of many demons that took various strange forms. The only relief from these beliefs was obtained through the priest who specialized in these exorcism procedures. And there were at least 3 types of priest:
1. The priest who specialized in assisting the sick was the exorcist.
2. The priest who was in charge of divination was though to be able to interpret or predict the will of the idols. This determination was generally done by examining the liver of animals. Another form of divination was astrology base on the movements of the stars. Today we have many tables of astronomical data, which shows that these ancient people had advanced knowledge and accuracy in measuring the movements of the sun, moon and stars and could accurately predict the eclipses seven centuries before the time of the Messiah. (The Myam are known for this.) The names which they give the constellations were later used by the Greeks. The Babylonian knowledge of astronomy provided the basis for the calendar and formed the 12 lunar month. This all shows their knowledge of mathematics even before the time of Abraham.
3. The priest was charged with carrying out the funeral ceremonies and singing of dirges.
The city was laid out in the form of a square occupying both sides of the Euphrates River. It was surrounded by an astonishing brick wall 300 feet high, 85 feet wide, and 40-60 miles long. This wall included 200 square miles of territory and had a moat that ran along its outside. The mud from the moat was used to make the may brick used in the building program. This wall was guarded by 250 towers and was broad enough to allow for horse charts to turn around on top of it. With a fortress this complete it is not hard to understand why the L-rd sent the Medes and Persians under the city though the dried water tunnels to capture the city from within without an outward attack in Daniel 5.
A wall ran along each side of the Euphrates River with 25 brass gates on each wall totaling 100 brass gates in all. Wharfs were built from the gates to the water and ferry boats crossed the river form wharf to wharf. A roofed bridge of masonry crossed the Euphrates on stone piers and joined the center parts of the city. Babylon was defended by a royal palace at each end. The westernmost wall appeared t rise directly out of the Euphrates and provided both a defense against invading armies, and formed a water break to protect the city against floods. Above this western wall soared the Tower of Babel, and below it was one of the world’s oldest masonry bridges some 400 feet long providing access to the river’s opposite bank.
The hanging gardens of Babylon were considered one of the ancient wonders of the world. They had trees and flowers planted on terraces, one upon the other some 150 feet high. There was a special device built just for the purpose of watering these elevated gardens.
During the time of the excavations, the only structure that was even partially standing was the immense ceremonial gateway which guarded the main entrance to the city of Babylon. This gateway was built so solidly that it even survived the destruction of the city by Persians in the sixth century. This gate was dedicated to the goddess Ishtar and consisted of two portals, one behind the other, each flanked by massive towers that were built with bricks and cemented with pitch. These bricks were covered with a beautiful rock hard outer shell of enameled brick that was embellished with brilliantly colored artwork of bulls and dragons.
The broadway leading up to the Ishtar Gate was used for processions in the honor of the idol Marduk. This broadway was nearly 80 feet wide and was paved with slabs of limestone and pink marble. It ran between the two wall decorated with the colorful enameled figures of lions.
Because the temperatures in Babylon sometimes reached 130 degrees during the hot summer days, Nebuchadnezzar’s throng room was insulated against the heat by an elaborate frontage built 10 feet thick. Its three arched entrances faced the north so the direct sunlight rarely penetrated the white washing interior that was faced with a creamy-white plaster and colorful friezes of enameled brick.
The Tower of Babel, which was considered by some to have been the greatest architectural wonder of its day, was a huge many-leveled ziggurat with a chapel on top, each store of the tower was slightly smaller than the one below creating a step-like appearance. It was thought to have soared at least 300 feet above the countryside and rested on a courtyard a quarter of a mile square that was enclosed by storehouses and apartments for the priest. The original Tower of Babel, mentioned in Genies, was built hundreds of years before the reign of Nebuchadnezzar; through the centuries it was destroyed and rebuilt several times.
Remember this was a curse city that was to be destroyed and never again be rebuilt according to Jeremiah 20. There is much discussion among different scholars where this last rebuilding has already taken place or is the in the future. Babylon appears to be a literal city that will not be standing in the millennium (Rev. 14:8, 16:19, 18:1-24). Babylon will deceive all nations at the end of time and the orders for the martyrdom of saints will come from Babylon at the end of time. It will be destroyed by G-d’s supernatural intervention, including an earthquake with some reference to the method He used on Sodom, and it will be destroyed in one hour.
Whenever the final destruction happens, it is to NEVER be inhabited again, not even by the Arabs or the shepherds’. Today (1978) there is a city called Hillah of well over 300,000 population built just south of the old site of ancient Babylon. The soil in the area is still quite rich and engineers estimate that the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers could irrigate more than 7,000,000 acres in the winter and 3,000,000 in the summer to provide for a commercial city of Babylon again with the whole area rich in oil and other minerals.
Alexander the Great, who occupied the area of Babylon in 331 B.E. planned to rebuild it as a monument to his success, but estimated the cost would be too great. He calculated it would take 10,000 men 1 months just to clear the debris.
In 1987 from September 22 to October 22 Saddam Hussein held a Babylon International Festival featuring the similarities between Saddam Hussein and King Nebuchadnezzar. For this festival Saddam rebuilt the walls of to Procession Street leading to the Ishtar Gate. He also erected a half-size reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate, rebuilding the southern palace of King Nebuchadnezzar, and had his soldiers march on the Procession Street as Nebuchadnezzar’s warriors did in authentic Babylonian costume. Saddam reconstructed the Ninmach Temple, rebuilt the Greek Theater sitting 4,000 people, located his Saddam Hussein Guest House in the center of Babylon, and requested that the rock singer ‘Madonna’ be the ‘Queen of the Festival.” In ancient times Nimrod’s wife held the title ‘My Lady’ in Latin, which in Italian is the well known ‘Madonna’. The musical festival in 1987 was also held in accordance with the ancient musicians that prophecy predicts will one day ‘be heard no more in Babylon’ (Rev. 18:22).
The streets of Babylon were named after various idols. There was a Murduck Street and a Zababa Street on the left bank of the river. One inscription reads: ‘There were 53 temples to the chief idols, 55 chapels to Marduk, 300 chapels for earthly deities, 600 chapels for heavenly deities, 180 altars for the goddess Ishtar, 180 altars for the idols Nergal and Adad and 12 other altars for different idols.
The king of Babylon was limited in power by the law and by the priest. The king was really not king until he was invested with the royal authority of the priest or as they put it ‘took the hands of Baal.’ Taxation was in the name of the idols and the money went into temple treasuries. An official census of the idols of Babylon was taken in the 9th century before the Messiah and the count was 6500.