Jeremiah Part 2
Lesson 8
When God’s Judgment Finally Comes
Babylon Versus Jerusalem
Kay Arthur
INTRODUCTION. God’s purposes stand. This is what we see in this final week in these final three
chapters of Jeremiah. God’s purposes stand and He is to be the habitation of our righteousness. He is
the habitation of righteousness. And what you see as you do this lesson is you see that because God is
God—there is a time, there is a day, there is an hour when His purposes stand—when finally they are
executed—when finally we see that what He ordained before the foundation of the world—what He
planned—what He laid out—finally comes to pass. And I think that if any book shows us this—it’s
Jeremiah because Jeremiah is there when God fulfills His Word—His Word that has been laid out for us
since the beginning and since the first five books of Moses. So never forget—never forget—that God
purposes and God performs those purposes.
AS GOD HAS PURPOSED—SO IT WILL STAND. Those of you who studied Isaiah with us, saw it very
clearly in Isaiah 14 and I want you to go to Isaiah 14. And it is very appropriate because in Isaiah 13 and
14 what we have is we have the oracle concerning Babylon—the oracle concerning Babylon. And as we
look at this oracle concerning Babylon, you can know that the future of Babylon in the Old Testament is
pretty much told to us in the Book of Isaiah and in the Book of Jeremiah. Very little is said in the Book of
Ezekiel about the future of Babylon. I want us to focus on Babylon and then on Jerusalem because these
three chapters are about Babylon and they are about Jerusalem.
 Well, let’s look at Isaiah 14:22. It says, 22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of hosts,
“and will cut off from Babylon name and survivors, offspring and posterity,” declares the LORD. Now
watch this next verse. This is a good verse to memorize. This is a good verse to store in your mind
and heart and even you kids so that you remember this as you go through life. 24 The Lord of hosts—
now the Lord of hosts is Jehovah Saboath and it means that He is the Commander—He is the
Commander of the armies of heaven—He is the Commander of the inhabitants of the earth. 24 The
LORD of hosts has sworn saying, “Surely, just as I have intended so it has (what?) happened, (I have
purposed and I have performed.) So just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have
planned so it will stand, (so whatever you discover that God says about the future, or God says
about Israel, or God says about Jerusalem, or God says about Babylon, or any of the nations—As
God has purposed—so it will stand. What He has said will not be altered.) Then He says, 25 to break
Assyria in My land, and I will trample him on My mountains. Then his yoke will be removed from
them (from Israel) and his burden removed from their shoulder. 26 “This is the plan (now watch what
He says) devised against the whole earth; (Now we have looked at Scriptures in Jeremiah in chapters
where he tells us the future of the whole earth.) And then he says, and this is the hand that is
stretched out against (what?) all the nations. If it’s the whole earth y’all and if it’s all the nations
then it has to do with us and the nation of the USA. 27 “For the LORD of hosts has planned, and who
can (what?) frustrate it? God has set it out—God has laid it out—who can frustrate it? Who can stop
it?
 As Daniel 4:34-35 says, God does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the
inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off (stay) His hand (in other words none can frustrate it)
And none can turn around and lift their puny human fists and say to God, “What are you doing?”
Because God has purposed and His purposes stand.
 So, Isaiah 14:27, “who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?”
TWO CITIES—BABYLON AND JERUSALEM—BOTH WILL BE JUDGED. Now because of this—because of
this—because God has a plan and because God is the habitation of righteousness—because He is
righteous—then what God has purposed against Babylon will come to pass. And what God has purposed
Jeremiah Part 2
Lesson 8
against Judah, will come to pass. And what we see in these final three chapters—50, 51, and 52 of
Jeremiah—and it’s not by accident—God has laid out this book and what He closes this book with is this
dramatic thing of saying, “Listen, Babylon will be judged and Jerusalem will be judged. There are two
primary cities in the word of God and those two primary cities in the Word of God is the city of Babylon
and the city of Jerusalem. And the Bible opens up with it in the Torah—in the first five books of the
Law—and it closes with it in the Book of Revelation. And in Revelation what you see is you see Babylon
and you see Jerusalem.
THEME: GOD IS THE HABITATION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. So the other thing I want you to see if you’ll go
to Jeremiah now—finally I’m going to get you there but if you will go to Jeremiah 50 you will see in
Jeremiah 50 that God is the habitation of righteousness. In Jeremiah 50:7 and it says, 7 “All who came
upon them have devoured them; (and he’s talking about Israel) 7 “All who came upon them—(7 “All who
came upon the apple of His eye—the pupil of His eye) have devoured them; And their adversaries have
said, ‘We are not guilty, (We are not guilty) Inasmuch as they have sinned against the LORD (It’s not our
fault—Israel and Judah) have sinned against the LORD against the LORD who is (what? What does it say?)
who is the habitation of (what?) righteousness, (Do you want to find righteousness? Do you want to see
where righteousness dwells? Do you want to know righteousness? Know God! He is just and He is
righteous in all of His ways. There is no injustice in Him. There is no unrighteousness in Him. So if you
want to know what’s right—if you want to know what’s true—then you look at God—because God is the
habitation of righteousness. And this is going to be our application all the way through this lesson. And
I’m telling you this because I don’t want you to miss it. Do you want to live righteously? You live abiding
in God—abiding in the vine as a Christian—With Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27)
remembering that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you (1 Cor. 6:19). And that you and
I have been united with Christ. We have been declared righteous, but we have also by the Spirit been
enabled to walk in righteousness. He’s the habitation of righteousness. And then He defines the
habitation of righteousness.) Even the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’ So we should make Him our
habitation—we should live righteously.
THE BEGINNING OF THE NATIONS. So what we see in chapter 50 and 51 is we have God’s Word that
Jeremiah was told to deliver to the nations. Now before this he’s delivered words to other nations and
we looked at those last week and we looked at what he said about the various nations. We looked at
what he said about Moab and about the Ammonites and the Edomites and all of that. But now he comes
to the final nation because the final nation—Babylon—is on the final stage of what God has purposed
for all mankind. And what God has purposed for the nation of Israel. So he holds Babylon until the end.
And then at the very end, he takes us back to Jerusalem. Now what we learn about Jerusalem isn’t very
nice because what we see is we see the destruction of Jerusalem. We’ve had it defined earlier in
Jeremiah but now he is defining it again. In Jeremiah 39 he tells us about the destruction of Jerusalem
but then in Jeremiah 52 he tells us again and he gives us more details. And when he talks to us again in
this final chapter he talks to us more about the temple, doesn’t he? He tells us about the destruction of
the temple. He tells us what happens to the treasures of the temple. Now watch. Where are the
treasures of the temple taken? Where are the pillars taken? They are taken from Jerusalem—now
watch—They are taken from Jerusalem to (where?) to Babylon. And it looks like Babylon is the winner.
But God wants you to know Babylon is not the winner. So in Jeremiah 50 and 51 what He does is He lays
out the fate of Babylon. And what’s the fate of Babylon? It is total destruction. It is the fact that Babylon
will never again be inhabited. And what is God’s Word to His people that are taken to Babylon and that
are living in Babylon? It’s GET OUT! Not now. But I’m going to tell you that there is a time for you to
come out of Babylon and you’re to come out of Babylon because there is a Jerusalem and it is the
Jerusalem that triumphs. And so this is what I want us to look at.
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Jeremiah Part 2
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THE FLOOD—JUDGMENT. I want us to go back to Genesis 6:5. Now, where am I taking you? What
event am I taking you to? I always teach people that Genesis is about four events and it’s about
four characters. The four events if you will look up here real quick are: Creation, God spoke—the
world was formed by His words—it’s Creation—it’s the Fall—the Fall of Man—it’s the (what?) the
Flood—so Genesis 6 is about the Flood. Why the Flood? Genesis 6:5 5 Then the LORD saw that the
wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was
only (what?) evil continually. Is He seeing that today? Does that describe the mass of mankind on
the face of this earth? Yes, we are like the days of the Flood. And it says, 6 The LORD was sorry that
He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 The LORD said, “I will blot out man
whom I have created, (verse 8) 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. So God has Noah build
an ark and we know that when Noah built that ark that he was testifying to the world of the fact
that (listen) that God was their habitation of righteousness. That if they would believe God, if they
would come into the ark—and it says that Noah was a preacher of righteousness—and all those that
came into the ark survived—the judgment fell on the ark, but those inside the ark were safe. On the
cross, the judgment fell on Christ, but those that are in Christ—united in Christ—are safe—they are
declared righteous. They are given the Spirit of God so that they can live righteously because God is
their habitation of righteousness.
THE NATIONS THAT CAME FROM THE FLOOD. So in Genesis 10 this is what we have. We have the
nations—so it’s four events in Genesis. Watch again: Creation, Fall, Flood and the Nations. Now
watch me. Shem, Ham, and Japeth. Shem, Ham, and Japeth are the descendents of Noah. They are
the sons of Noah—the three sons of Noah. And from those three sons will come the nations. Now
what has Jeremiah been prophesying about? In Jeremiah 1 what is he told? I have made you a
prophet to the (what?) to the nations. He tells what’s going to happen. What God has planned—
what God has purposed—will (what?) stand. He will perform it. So we come back to the forming of
the nations.
o SHEM—ABRAHAM. And in Genesis 10:1 it says, 1 Now these are the records of the generations
of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah; and sons were born to them after the flood. Now
come down to verse 6. Shem by the way—So from Shem is going to come Abraham.
o HAM—CANAAN—NIMROD—BABEL—MOTHER OF BABYLON—ASSYRIA—LAND OF SHINAR.
From Ham who is going to come? Well in Genesis 10:6 6 The sons of Ham were Cush and Mizraim
and Put and Canaan. Now drop down to verse 8. 8 Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he
(Nimrod) became (or was) a mighty one on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD;
therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.” And some get the impression
that okay, he can subdue this animal kingdom—he can subdue the animal kingdom. He’s the
mighty hunter before the Lord. Some think it means he’s a mighty hunter against the Lord. But
watch what it goes on to say. 10 The beginning of his kingdom was Babel—The beginning of his
kingdom was Babel. Now watch. Here is the mother—here is the mother of Babylon as we are
going to see her. Here is the beginning—here is the root of Babylon as we are going to know it.
So where does it start? It starts with Shem? No. it starts with (what?) Ham. And from Ham
comes (who?) Cush. And from Cush comes Nimrod. And it says 10 The beginning of his kingdom
was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of (what?) Shinar. Where is Shinar? It’s
south of Bagdad. It is south of Bagdad. And it is the plain and the plain of the Tigris and the
Euphrates. Now watch. The Tigris and the Euphrates—we’re close to the Garden of Eden. We’re
close to the Ur of the Chaldeans. If you look at your map—that’s what you see there. Now watch
what it says. 11 From that land he went forth into (what?) Assyria, and he built (what?) Nineveh.
Now how do the Assyrians—now watch—here’s Shem. From Shem is going to come Abraham—
from Abraham is going to come Isaac—from Isaac is going to come Jacob—from Jacob is going
to come his twelve sons that are given an everlasting possession—the one that was given to
Abraham and reaffirmed to Isaac by covenant and reaffirmed to Jacob by covenant—and that is
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Jeremiah Part 2
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the land of Canaan. So who’s going to be their enemies? What did we see in Isaiah 14—it’s
Assyria, right? Assyria. But what God has purposed against Assyria will come to pass—so just
watch the names of these and you’ll begin to appreciate all this—all this detail. But if you’ll just
look—see the Ur? See Elam? And many people believe that’s Iran. Here’s Babylonian and this is
all present day Iraq. Here’s the Tigris River. Here’s the Euphrates River—so we’re right in this
area—that’s the land of Shinar. So it’s taking us into something that is very real to us today
because America is in Iraq right now. Verse 11, 11 From that land he went forth into Assyria, and
he built Nineveh (And remember Nineveh was the one that Jonah went to and told them to
repent.)
PHILISTINES. Look at verse 14. 14 Pathrusim and Casluhim (from which came the [what?] the
Philistines) What were the Philistines? Enemies against God. What did we see? We saw
prophecies last week about the Philistines.
THE “ITES” AND THE “HAM” SIN. Verse 15. 15 Canaan became the father of Sidon, his firstborn,
and Heth 16 and the Jebusite and the Amorite and the Girgashite 17 and the Hivite and all that—
those “ites” were all enemies of Israel. And you come down to verse 20. 20 These are the sons of
Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, by their nations.
Now what’s so bad about Ham? What is it about Ham? Ham sees his father drunk. The two
other boys cover themselves. Ham—Ham comes out and says, “Our father is naked—our
father’s drunk.” So in a sense you see so to speak in his genes—rebellion. When you get to
Nimrod the word sounds a lot like the Hebrew word which means “rebel.” So what you have is
you have Nimrod and you have him—the beginning of his kingdom being Babel.
REBELLION/DISOBEDIENCE—CITY AND TOWER OF BABEL—BABYLON PICTURE OF REBELLION. Now go
to Genesis 11. 1 Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. 2 It came about as
they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. (So you know where
it is—we showed it to you on the map—you know where Shinar is and we showed it to you. It’s in
modern day (what?) in modern day Iraq—and this is where they settle. Now they are not to settle—they
are told they are to be scattered across the earth and that they are to multiply—they are to fill the
earth, but instead they are coming together.) 3 They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and
burn them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. 4 They said, “Come,
let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for
ourselves (what?) a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” (So
they are in disobedience to God. They are in rebellion to God. The city that they are going to build is a
city that is going to be called Babel which is indicative of a rebellious city against the Word of God—the
purpose of God—the plan of God.) So 5 The LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons
of men had built. (Verse 6 and this is the verse that keeps coming to me.) 6 The LORD said, “Behold, they
are one people, and they all have the same language. (Now listen—if we all speak the same language
and we’ve got people over here that are good at let’s say math—and here you’re good at languages—
and here’s your good at scientific things—and here you’re good at literature—and we have all these—
and some of you are inventive—others of you know how to take what somebody conceives in their mind
and engineer it and everything. What is He saying? They are of the same language and because they are
of the same language and because they are all together nothing that they propose to do will be
impossible for them because man was made in the image of God. But the problem is they went on the
ark sinners—they got off the ark sinners—and they are walking their own way. The character of man
was not changed. The roots of sin from the Fall was not changed or not altered. So he says, in verse 6,
The LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they
began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. 7 “Come, let Us go
down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the
LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the
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city. (Man purposed in his heart not to obey God—not to make God the habitation of his
righteousness. So they band together and build a city—now listen—they are going to build another
city—Babylon—Babylon the Great—the mystery of harlots—it’s all in Revelation 17 and 18 and you can
see it there. The destruction of Babylon that is talked about in Jeremiah as you saw and as you studied is
not talking about just—it talks about the destruction from the Meads and the Persians but it takes it far
beyond and it takes us clear to the end of the days. And it shows us here is man in rebellion. Babylon is
a picture of man in rebellion against God—man that’s going to be his own god—man that is going to
make a tower—now watch—whose top reaches into heaven. It’s going to connect earth and heaven
together (listen) in the ability of man instead of in the weakness of man. When Jesus was at His weakest
on the cross, He saved us and that’s what 1 Corinthians 1 tells us. 1 Corinthians 1 tells us Jesus’
weakness. So Jesus’ dying is taking us to Jerusalem—Man’s plot against God and rebellion against God
has headed them for Babylon. And so you move on down through the Scriptures.
TWO CITIES—BABYLON AND JERUSALEM—THE BEGINNINGS.
 Go to Jeremiah 51:53. And this is what it says, 53 “Though Babylon should ascend to the heavens,
And though she should fortify her lofty stronghold, From Me destroyers will come to her,” declares
the LORD. (Man can propose and man can plan and man can plot and man can refuse the Lord and
refuse to recognize Him as the habitation of righteousness and they can go along and try to establish
their own righteousness—or say this is what is right and this is what is wrong—but listen, God says 53
“Though Babylon should ascend to the heavens, (that was the tower!) And though she should fortify
her lofty stronghold, From Me destroyers will come to her,” declares the LORD.
 So then you move to Abraham in Genesis 12. God calls Abraham out of the Ur of the Chaldeans. And
when He calls Abraham out of the Ur of Chaldeans, He promises him a land, right? And He tells him
about this land and that this land is going to be his forever.
 Then we come to Genesis 14. And we have the kings fighting—fighting against the kings of that land.
And the kings that come in Genesis 14:1 is Amraphel king of Shinar from Babylon. Arioch king of
Ellasar, which is 10 miles north of Ur. And then you have the main king and he is shown to be main
in this chapter—who is the king of Elam (Chedorlaomer king of Elam [Iran]), and Tidal king of Goiim,
of the tribes. So you have all these kings now coming into Abraham’s territory that God has given
him. You have those kings fighting against Abraham eventually and stealing his nephew Lot and he
(Abraham) goes to get him. And what do you have in verse 17? 17 Then after his return (Abram’s
return) from the defeat of Chedorlaomer (king of Elam) and the kings who were with him, the king of
Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 And Melchizedek
king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. Now watch.
You’ve got these kings that are coming from this area clear over to the land of Canaan. So they are
coming up by the water and they are coming over to the land of Canaan. Abraham defeats those
and who comes out? Who comes out? Melchizedek. What is he? King of Salem. (Peace—Sa-lem’—
Jeru-Sa-lem) and you have the first mention so to speak—you have in a sense—the mother—the
root—of a city that is to come which is Jerusalem.
 Go to Deuteronomy 12. And in Deuteronomy 12 you have God telling the children of Israel that they
are to go into the land. In verse 1 that God has given you to possess as long as they live on the earth.
And God tells them 2 “You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall
dispossess serve their gods. He says in verse 5, 5 “But you shall seek the LORD at the place which the
LORD your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish (now watch) His name there for His
dwelling, and there you shall come. verse 9. 9 for you have not as yet come to the resting place
(that’s this place) and the inheritance which the LORD your God is giving you. 10 “When you cross the
Jordan and live in the land…verse 11, 11 then it shall come about that the place in which the LORD
your God will choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt
offerings and everything. What is that place? Tell me the name of it. It is Jerusalem. So you have two
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cities. In Jeremiah 50 and 51 you have Babylon and you have the land of Babylon of course—but in
Jeremiah 52 you have Jerusalem.
PURPOSE AND FUTURE OF JERUSALEM. Now, what is the purpose and the future of Jerusalem? Go to
Jeremiah 3. And of course I hope you know that this is summary. Jeremiah 3:11. 11 And the LORD said to
me, “Faithless Israel has proved herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 “Go and proclaim
these words toward the north and say, ‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD; ‘I will not look upon
you in anger. For I am gracious,’ declares the LORD; ‘I will not be angry forever. 13 ‘Only acknowledge your
iniquity, That you have transgressed against the LORD your God And have scattered your favors to the
strangers under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,’ declares the LORD. 14 ‘Return, O
faithless sons,’ declares the LORD; ‘For I am a master to you, And I will take you one from a city and two
from a family, And I will bring you to (where?) to Zion.’ 15 “Then I will give you shepherds after My own
heart, And then He says, “Don’t remember the ark of the covenant. It’s not going to come to mind.”
Now look at verse 17. 17 “At that time they will call Jerusalem (what?) ‘The Throne of the LORD,’ and all
the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the LORD; nor will they walk anymore
after the stubbornness of their (what?) evil heart. Jeremiah 52 ends in the destruction of Jerusalem but
Jeremiah 3 tells us what God has purposed. Return O faithless ones; I will heal your faithlessness. I will
have a city. That city will be The Throne of the LORD,’ and all the nations will be gathered to (what?), to
Jerusalem. That’s what we need to remember. We need to remember that Jerusalem is going to be the
habitation of righteousness.
WHAT ARE THEY TO DO IN RESPECT TO BABYLON? So what are they to do in respect to Babylon? Go to
Jeremiah 50:8. What are the children of Israel to do in respect to Babylon? They have been told and you
know to go there and to settle down—to build houses—to plant gardens, etc. —to pray for Babylon.
 But there is a time when they are to come out. Look at Jeremiah 50:8. 8 “Wander away from the
midst of Babylon And go forth from the land of the Chaldeans; Be also like male goats at the head of
the flock. 9 “For behold, I am going to arouse and bring up against Babylon A horde of great nations
from the land of the north. In other words, there is a day for you to get out of Babylon.
 Look at Zechariah 2:7. 7 “Ho, Zion! Escape, you who are living with the daughter of (what?) Babylon.”
You get out of Babylon. Then He comes down and He says in verse 10, 10 “Sing for joy and be glad, O
daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will (what?) dwell in your midst,” declares the LORD. 11
“Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people. Then I will
dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. 12 “The LORD will
possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose (what?) Jerusalem. So you have
the two cities.
 Jeremiah 51:5. This is what he says, 5 For neither Israel nor Judah has been forsaken By his God, the
LORD of hosts, Although their land is full of guilt Before the Holy One of Israel. 6 Flee from the midst of
Babylon, And each of you (what?) save his life!
WHAT IS BABYLON? What is Babylon? Go to verse 25 of that same chapter. Jeremiah 51:25. What is
Babylon? Babylon is the intoxication (now watch) and the destroyer of the whole earth. Babylon is the
intoxication and the destroyer of the whole earth. You see intoxication in another place but just listen to
this verse. 25 “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, Who destroys (what?) the whole earth.”
It’s the intoxication if you look at Jeremiah 51:7. 7 Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the
LORD, Intoxicating all the earth. The nations have drunk of her wine; Therefore the nations are going
mad. And then Jeremiah 51:25, 25 “I am against you, O destroying mountain, Who destroys the whole
earth,” declares the LORD, “And I will stretch out My hand against you, And roll you down from the crags,
And I will make you a burnt out mountain. You are going to be destroyed.
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WHAT HAS GOD PURPOSED AGAINST BABYLON? What has God purposed against Babylon? Go to
Jeremiah 51:11-12 and watch the words “purposed.” 11 Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers! The LORD has
aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, Because His purpose (I want you to see the word
“purpose.”) His purpose is against Babylon to destroy it; For it is the vengeance of the LORD, vengeance
for His (what?) temple. Because what happens in Jeremiah 52? Babylon comes and destroys God’s
temple and takes the treasures to Babylon. If you look at the end of verse 12 (Jeremiah 51:12). 12 …For
the LORD has both purposed and performed What He spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon. What
God purposes will surely come to pass. Look at Jeremiah 51:29. 29 So the land quakes and writhes, For
the purposes of the LORD against Babylon stand, To make the land of Babylon A desolation without
inhabitants. When that purpose comes to pass—ultimately He has purposes—He had that purpose—
then He had the Meads and the Persians—that was one purpose. But Babylon has arisen again. Babylon
is a city. Saddam Hussein has rebuilt part—well when he lived—he rebuilt part of Babylon. But when you
look at the Scriptures and you look at what Jeremiah says is going to happen…Look at Jeremiah 51:48.
When the ultimate judgment against Babylon comes—when the ultimate judgment against Babylon
comes what is going to happen in heaven and earth? 48 “Then heaven and earth and all that is in them
Will (what?) shout for joy over Babylon, For the destroyers will come to her from the north,” Declares the
LORD.
DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON. So in the light of that let’s look at the destruction of Babylon in the Book of
Revelation.
 Go to Revelation14:8. And it says, 8 … “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the
nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.” Listen, the nations have played the
harlot against God. The nations have turned their back against God. The nations have come in
rebellion against God. And all of this—all of this—has its focus right back here. Babylon has not
disappeared. It is going to be on the scene. And you’ve seen it in your homework.
 Look at Revelation now and I want you to go to Revelation 16:19. The bowls of wrath have been
poured out on the earth. And 19 The great city was split into three parts, (that’s Jerusalem) and the
cities of the nations fell. (Now watch.) Babylon the great was remembered before God, (God has a
purpose; He is about to perform it.) to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.
 And then you come to Revelation 17 that describes a woman that is a harlot that is sitting on the
beast—the rulers of the earth. There is a political connection and alliance here. Then in Revelation
17:18 he says, 18 “The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over (what?) the kings of
the earth.”
 Revelation 18:2 2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
(This is Jeremiah 51:8. This is Isaiah 21:9.) “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a
dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and
hateful bird. 3 “For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the
kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have
become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.” 4 I heard another voice from heaven, (now watch)
saying, “Come out of her, my people, (“Come out of her, my people—this is man in rebellion to
God—this is man that is saying, “This is what’s right and this is what’s wrong. This is man calling evil
good and good evil as Jeremiah says. This is man in rebellion against God. This is Babylon.) And he
says, “Come out of her, my people so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her
plagues…in verse 7 at the end it says, she says in her heart, ‘I SIT as A QUEEN AND I AM NOT A WIDOW,
and will never see mourning.’ 8 “For this reason in one day her plagues will come, … and she will be
burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong. Verse 10. …‘Woe, woe, the great city,
Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’ Verse 16. ‘Woe, woe, the great
city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious
stones and pearls; 17 for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!’ Verse 19. ‘Woe, woe,
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the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has
been laid waste!’
WHAT ARE WE TO DO? And what are we to do? Revelation 18:20. 20 “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and
you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.” Now
watch. What He purposed—what He told us about in Isaiah—what He told us about in Jeremiah—has
come to pass. It is the demise of Babylon—the total destruction.
WHAT HAPPENS IN HEAVEN? So what happens in heaven? In Revelation 19:1 1 After these things I
heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory
and power belong to (what?) our God; (why?) 2 BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has
judged the great harlot (Now watch what she did.) who was corrupting the earth with her immorality,
(She’s been corrupting the earth since the days of Nimrod—since the founding of Babel—the kingdom of
Babel—and it’s come and gone.) And it says, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER.”
(Why? Because many are killed there.) 3 And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! HER SMOKE RISES UP
FOREVER AND EVER.” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God
who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” (Hallelujah is “Praise be to Jehovah!”) 5 … “Give praise
to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.” 6 … “Hallelujah! For
the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. 7 “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the
marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” 8 It was given to her (You! You’re
the bride!) to clothe herself (now listen) to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen
is the (what?) righteous acts of the saints because He is our habitation of righteousness. We rejoice!
What He has purposed against Babylon—man in rebellion against God—saying, “We will build ourselves
a tower. We will connect heaven and earth.” He says, “Oh no, you will not! I will connect earth with
heaven through the blood of My Son the Lord Jesus Christ and I will take those people that are sinners
and I will make them righteous because My Son will be in them and My righteousness is available to
them. And through their righteous deeds they clothe themselves in linen, white, fine and clean, and they
prepare themselves because these are the righteous acts of the saints. As you leave here—as you finish
Jeremiah—just remember this: What God has purposed He will perform. And if He has purposed
judgment upon sin, He will perform that judgment. And if He has purposed that we as faithless people
can return to Him and be healed of our faithlessness, and live forever and ever where the throne of God
is in the new Jerusalem then what He has purposed He will surely bring to pass—no man can thwart it.
Babylon may rise against God, but Babylon will see her demise. But the holy city Jerusalem will be
forever and ever and ever.
NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH. And Revelation 21:1 1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for
the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city,
new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a (what?) bride adorned for her
husband. You and I are to make ourselves ready as a bride for the Bridegroom—the Lord Jesus Christ.
And that will put us in the new Jerusalem that will exist forever and ever and ever. And it says in that
new Jerusalem, Revelation 21:22, 22 I saw no temple in it, (you don’t need the ark of the covenant) for
the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the
moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the (what?) Lamb. 24 The nations
will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring (what?) their glory into it.
APPLICATION. So what is God’s application to you? It’s in 2 Peter 3:9. 9 The Lord is not slow about His
promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to
come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away
with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be
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burned up. 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people (this is you; this is
me) ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of
God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense
heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for (what?) new heavens and a new earth, in which
(what?) righteousness dwells. Make Him the habitation of your righteousness O citizens of God—O
precious students of the word of God who are made clean through the washing of the water of His
Word.
CONCLUSION. Two cities—one of man’s design and one of God’s design. One where man is building him
a tower that will reach to heaven where they can be their own gods—destroyed. Another city chosen by
God—Jerusalem—where God will set up His throne and where we will rule and reign with Him.
PRAYER: Let’s pray. Father, thank you. Thank you for the Book of Jeremiah. Thank you for these dear
people and their patience with me and Father I pray that they would just—if they don’t remember
anything else from today’s lesson—that they might remember Father what You have purposed—and
You have purposed this from the foundation of the world—You purposed Jesus Christ—You purposed
the cross of Jesus Christ—You purposed a city—and what You have purposed You will bring to pass—
You will perform it. And Father, while man has purposed against You another city—the city of Babylon—
we say in faith looking forward to that day—HALLELUJAH! The smoke of her burning rises to the heavens
and we have come out of her. We want no part of her. She is not to be our dwelling place for You O Lord
are the habitation of our righteousness. So may we remember what You have purposed You have
performed. May we remember that there are two cities—representing two different kingdoms—only
one is eternal and that’s Your kingdom and Your city. And we look forward to seeing our Bridegroom.
May He be the habitation of our righteousness and may we be decked out in such grand style by our
works, our deeds of righteousness—our righteousness—our deeds that clothe us—that make us
beautiful in Your sight—a bride adorned for her husband. We thank You Lord. We thank You. Amen.
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