Doesn’t Babylon have to be re-established as an economic super power before the rapture can occur? The way I understand it, the world will mourn the loss of Babylon when it is destroyed which indicates it would be similar in stature to New York or London. This would indicate the rapture being further out in time versus imminent since building the city into something significant would take many years from this point. I am eager to know what your thoughts are on this.
First, Babylon does not have to be re-established before the rapture can occur. Babylon’s re-emergence will be due to the Anti-Christ’s ascendance to world power. And that won’t happen until after the Church is gone.
Second, 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 won’t take anywhere near as long as most people think.