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4 That
thou shalt take up [nasa'] this proverb [mashal]
against the king [melek] of Babylon [Babel], and say ['amar], How hath
the oppressor [nagas] ceased [shabath]! the golden city [madhebah]
ceased [shabath]! KJV-Interlinear
4 that you
will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon, and say, "How the
oppressor has ceased, And how fury has ceased! NASB
Babylon is a representation of the city of activity, an empire of human construction, the personification of human ingenuity and achievement. It is a representation of life without God in a secular world, centered around the acquisition of things, of titles, of notoriety, of man impressing man.
As noted in this verse, the golden city, or the city of gold, emphasizes the pursuit of worldly things or wealth, absent any and all regard for God.
Babylon had many gods, which are also representative of many beliefs, many philosophies, many human viewpoints, all of which are false.
And here at the end of the tribulation, after the second advent of Christ, at the beginning of the millennial reign of Christ in God’s kingdom here on earth, a song or a parable or a triumphant saying will erupt among those that have been delivered by Christ, and have formed the initial population of the millennium.
That song is in regard to the fall of Babylon.
It is not of mocking, it is not a criticism, but a statement in the form of a question. Where are you Babylon, the great oppressor, the city of gold, the realm that sought to seize all in total disregard of truth and God?
And of course the answer is spelled out in the next few verses, but the quick answer is that God destroyed it, it was destroyed under the weight of its own evil, it is that example of the complete embodiment of the viewpoint of the world that has rejected God and truth. And, its demise indicates the one and only destiny that is available to anything or anyone that follows its example.
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