Thou Art That Head Of Gold

The Kingdom Of Babylon

608 B.C. - 538 B.C.

At a period of his reign not clearly defined, King Nebuchadnezzar began again to think upon the problem of the kingdoms of the world. In the interpretation of the remarkable dream that was given to King Nebuchadnezzar, the Lord had said to him that the head of gold of the great image represented the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar himself; and that after him should rise another kingdom inferior to his, and a third kingdom inferior to this, and yet another, a fourth kingdom, inferior even to this, and after that a condition of things yet further inferior. first there was gold, then silver, next brass, after that iron, and last of all, "iron mixed with miry clay." This dream was given to the king because that while upon his bed, thoughts had come into his mind as to "what should come to pass hereafter." From what came to pass afterward with him, it is evident that his thoughts as to "what should come to pass hereafter," were to the effect that the mighty kingdom which he ruled, this "lady of kingdoms," "Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency," would in its greatness and glory continue on and on indefinitely.

To correct this view, and show him the truth of the matter, the dream of the great image was shown to him. This told him that the golden glory of his kingdom would continue but a little while, and then another would arise, and another, and another, and then there would be division, with all these descending in a regular scale of inferiority, and then at last "the God of heaven" would "set up a kingdom," and this alone would be the kingdom that should stand forever, and not be given to other people. But the king could not accept this view of the subject; and after thinking upon it for a long time, he formulated his own idea in a great image about a hundred feet tall and ten feet broad, all of gold from heat to feet; and "set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon," to be worshiped. This was a positive setting up of his own idea against that of God. This was to declare to all people that his golden kingdom was to endure forever, that there was to be no such thing as another kingdom arising separate from his and inferior to his, -- a kingdom of silver and another of brass, and then one of iron, and after that even descend so low as iron mixed with miry clay. No! there should be only his golden kingdom of Babylon, and that should never be broken nor interrupted. Empires of Prophecy by A. T. Jones, pages 15 and 16.

Nebuchadnezzar was not only a wise ruler and a mighty conqueror, but was one of the greatest builders of any age. To him alone more than all others put together, Babylon owed her greatness of every kind, and still owes her fame. Even in Holy Writ Babylon is described as "the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency," "the golden city," and "the lady of kingdoms." (30) Her great buildings, her wonderful hanging gardens, and her "artificial mountains" of walls, made her the wonder of the world, even to this day. This great city was "enriched with the spoils of foreign conquest. It owed as much to Nebuchadnezzar as Rome owed to Augustus. The buildings and walls with which it was adorned, were worthy of the metropolis of the world." Sayce. Isa. 13:19; 14:4; 47:5. "Ancient Empires of the East"

Of the building of the walls and fortresses of the city, and the length of the wall, Nebuchadnezzar himself wrote, "Imgur-bel and Nivit-bel, the great walls of Babylon, I built them square. ... I repaired, with bitumen and bricks, the sides of the ditches that had been dug. I caused to be put in order the double doors of bronze, and the railings and the gratings, in the great gateways. I enlarged the streets of Babylon so as to make them wonderful. I applied myself to the protection of Babylon and Vale Saggatu (the pyramid), and on the most elevated lands, close to the great gate of Ishtar, I constructed strong fortresses of bitumen and bricks, from the banks of the Euphrates down to the great gate, the whole extent of the streets. I established their foundations below the level of the waters. I fortified these walls with art. I caused Imgur-bel, the great wall of Babylon, the impregnable, such as no king before me had made, to be measured, four thousand mahargagar." "This measurement corresponds exactly with the four hundred and eighty stades [sixty miles] given by Herodotus as the circuit." Lenormant, "Ancient History of the East," book iv, chap. v, See also "Records of the Past," Old Series, Vol. v, p. 127.

"The city stands on a broad plain, and is an exact square, one hundred and twenty furlongs in length each way, so that the entire circuit is four hundred and eighty furlongs. While such is its size, in magnificence there is no other city that approaches to it. It is surrounded, in the first place, by a broad and deep moat, full of water, behind which rises a wall fifty royal cubits in width, and two hundred in height. (The royal cubit is longer by three fingers' breadth than the common cubit.)" It was surrounded by a wall three hundred and fifty feet high and about eighty-five fee thick at the top. On the top of the wall at irregular intervals were built towers to guard the most accessible parts. Of these towers there were two hundred and fifty. The open space on the wall, within the line of these towers, was of sufficient breadth to allow a four-horse chariot to turn with safety. Twenty-five gates pierced the wall on each side, making one hundred gates in all in the outer wall. These were double gates of solid brass, with brazen lintels and posts, and fastened with bars of iron. Around the wall on the outside ran a moat, corresponding in width and depth to the greatness of the wall. Under the wall and diagonally through the city, from corner to corner, so as to obtain the greatest length of water, ran the river Euphrates. On each side of the river, inside of the city, was built a strong wall, each wall being pierced with twenty-five gates opening into the streets that ran from the outer gates. These were also brazen gates like those in the outer wall. The banks of the river were lined throughout with brick laid in bitumen, with sloping landing-places at the gates. Boats were always ready at these landing-places by which to pass from side to side of the river. Over the river about the middle of the city was a drawbridge thirty feet wide, supported on stone piers. At the two ends of the bridge were the two grand palaces of the city. Of course the vast area within the city was not built up solidly with houses, as is a modern city. There were gardens, orchards, and fields interspersed among the houses, and about the palaces and temples. It was expected that if ever the city should be besieged, they could grow sufficient provisions within the walls to support the population, so that they might shut their gates, man the towers, and dwell securely, with no fears of ever being overcome by an besieging force. Such, briefly outlined, was the Babylon of the days of Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel, and largely as it was when Herodotus visited it about a hundred years later. It is safe to say that no city on earth has ever equaled it in greatness and grandeur. In these days of general skepticism, some writers would cast doubt upon the great height and breadth of these walls. But there is no just ground for doubting it, even upon the human records; and when the Scriptures sustain it, as they do in Jer. 51:53, 58, all doubt is sheer skepticism and vanity. For the authorities, see "Rawlinson's Herodotus," book i, chap. clxxviii, and notes; and "Appendix' to book i, essay viii.

"Throughout the empire, at Borsippa, Sippara, Cutha, Chilmad, Duraba, Teredon, and a multitude of other places, he built or rebuilt cities, repaired temples, constructed quays, reservoirs, canals, and aqueducts, on a scale of grandeur and magnificence surpassing everything of the kind recorded in history, unless it be the constructions of one or two of the greatest Egyptian monarchs. It is enough to note in this place that he was great both in peace and in war, but greater in the former. ... It was as the adorner and beautifier of his native land -- as the builder and restorer of almost all her cities and temples -- that this monarch obtained that great reputation which has handed down his name traditionally in the East on a par with those of Nimrod, Solomon, and Alexander, and made it still a familiar term in the mouths of the people. Probably no single man ever left behind him as his memorial upon the earth one half the amount of building that was erected by this king." Mcclintock and Strong. Encyclopedia, art. Nebuchadnezzarand art. Babylonia, History.

"Nebuchadnezzar is the great monarch of the Babylonian Empire, which, lasting only eighty-eight years, -- from B.C. 625 to B.C. 538, -- was for nearly half the time under his sway. Its military glory is due chiefly to him, while the constructive energy, which constitutes its especial characteristic, belongs to it still more markedly through his character and genius. It is scarcely too much to say that but for Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonians would have had no place in history. At any rate, their actual place is owing almost entirely to this prince, who to the military talents of an able general added a grandeur of artistic conception and skill in construction which place him on a par with the greatest builders of antiquity." Rawlinson, "Seven Great Monarchies," Fourth Monarchy, chap. viii, p. 23. Empires of Prophecy, Jones pages 21 -23