Babylon

December 26

Daily Bible Reading: Revelation 17

Verse of the Day: Revelation 17:5 – “and upon her forehead a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of the Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth.”

Babylon. The word means confusion. It is first found in the account of the Tower of Babel, It then became a very large and famous city, the residence of the Babylonian kings, situated on both banks of the Euphrates. Cyrus had formerly captured it, but Darius Hystaspis threw down its gates and walls, and Xerxes destroyed the temple of Belis. At length the city was reduced to almost solitude, the population having been drawn off by the neighboring Seleucia, built on the Tigris by Seleucus Nicanor. Allegorically, it speaks of Rome, the most corrupt seat of idolatry and the enemy of Christianity in John’s day. This introduction of the city in today’s reading sets the stage for the destruction we will see tomorrow.

Prayer: The world constantly seeks to go away from You, Gracious Father. It seeks to do all that it’s ruler, Satan, will present to seek to defeat You and Your plan. We know they can’t.