Question: In Genesis:11:1-9 [1] And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
[2] And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
[3] And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
[4] And 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.
[5] And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
[6] And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
[7] Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
[8] So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
[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.
See All... Nimrod builds the Tower of Babel in the land of Shinar. In Zechariah:5:5-11 [5] Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth.
[6] And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth.
[7] And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.
[8] And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.
[9] Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.
[10] Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?
[11] And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.
See All..., the city needs to be rebuilt on its base. What keeps that city from being rebuilt now? The river still runs by there to make it a hanging garden city. I know Rome fits the description to many people in some ways, but I wouldn't confine myself to that possibility alone when I read other scriptures that apply to Babylon. Many people believe that the "temple" that the Antichrist will desecrate is the Dome of the Rock. That is not a temple, it's a mosque. What do you think?
Response: The Dome of the Rock could not be desecrated by the Antichrist because it is already an abomination to God, so there is nothing to desecrate—and certainly nothing in Babylon. We are clearly told that Antichrist will "sit in the temple of God..." (2 Thes:2:4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
See All...), and that could only be the Jewish Temple rebuilt on Temple Mount. It must happen. We have shown why the Muslims will want the Dome moved to Medina where it belongs, making way for the Temple. (See Judgment Day )
Could the ruins of Babylon in Iraq (now under reconstruction) become the headquarters for the Antichrist? Anything is possible. It would, however, seem highly unlikely that Antichrist would establish his headquarters in such an inconvenient place. There is not and never will be a deepwater port on the Euphrates next to Babylon. Yet upon her destruction, sailors and ship owners made wealthy by Babylon's demand for goods of all kinds (who are apparently coming and going in and out of her port at the time) can see the smoke of her destruction (Rv 18:17-19).
There were originally no chapter divisions between Revelation 17 and 18. Both concern the same city. Some of the same descriptive elements given in Revelation:17:2With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
See All...,4 are repeated in 18:3,9,16. And the description given in 17 identifies the woman as Rome/Vatican/false worldwide church of the last days-not as a rebuilt Babylon in Iraq. (See TBC Jul/Aug '93 and A Woman Rides The Beast)