Where Is Babylon, Really?

Q

I know you have answered this in the past but one again the “America is Babylon” scenario is being offered up. I’ve been pretty much on board with your thinking that America is not Babylon the Great Nevertheless, there are some valid points to consider especially about the seeming lack of time to build it along with all the infrastructure that needs to be put in place. It seems to be less and less plausible the nearer we get to the rapture. Do you still hold to your position?

A

The articles I’ve read that propose the Babylon of Rev. 18 as someplace other than actual Babylon base their cases on man made arguments, not Biblical evidence. Therefore, they’re giving us an unsupported personal opinion, not a Bible study. I’ve also noticed that almost all these opinions are offered by Americans proposing America as the “real” Babylon. To me it’s a twist on the “Where is America in Bible prophecy” issue, something that only seems to concern Americans.

But the Bible traces the movement of Babylon through history as going from the plains of Shinar to Pergamus, to Rome, and back to the plains of Shinar. In Zechariah 5:5-11 this final movement is described as being accomplished supernaturally, which makes all the human centered constraints like time, infrastructure, etc. irrelevant.

Also I’ve shown that preparing Babylon might not take as much time and effort as we suppose. Consider this information from my answer to a recent question:

“If you take a close look at the dimensions and capabilities of the new US embassy in Baghdad you will see how easily it could be prepared to house a world governmental headquarters. At 104 acres, it is the largest and most expensive embassy in the world, and is nearly as large as Vatican City. Babylon is only about an hour away by car.
In addition, one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces overlooks ancient Babylon and has been completely restored as a hotel and tourist destination. It could easily house the anti-Christ and his entourage. Finally, there are several large military installations nearby as well.”

In short, preparing Babylon to become the capitol of the world might not take anywhere near as long as some people think.

So, am I still holding to my position? Yes, and I will until someone offers some Biblical evidence in support of another location.