Prophecy about Babylon

I don't usually post about prophecy, mostly because I don't think it's very straightforward. I base this on prophecy in the Old Testament, which, apparently has been fulfilled. Often, such prophecy must have been very difficult, or impossible, to understand for those who heard it. (See point 3 of this post for more on this point.)

But my daily Bible reading for October 26th included the following verse, which seems straightforward enough:
Jeremiah 50:39 “Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon, and ostriches shall dwell in her. She shall never again have people, nor be inhabited for all generations. (ESV. The quotation continues into the next verses.)

The WEB renders that verse thus: Therefore the wild animals of the desert with the wolves shall dwell there, and the ostriches shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited forever; neither shall it be lived in from generation to generation. Verse 35, and the whole chapter, indicates that this is talking about Babylon.


Saddam Hussein tried to bring Babylon back to life. (See Wikipedia article, which, among other things, indicates the man's megalomania.) The article agrees with the prophecy, in that there is no indication that Babylon has been inhabited, for many centuries. The article does say that there are international efforts to restore Babylon, and that it is now opened for tourism.

Perhaps, then, Hussein was overthrown partly because of his desire to bring Babylon back to the glory it had many centuries ago.


Thanks for reading.