History and Prophecy
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has never since been equaled—fitly represented in the Scriptures by
the inspired symbol, a “head of gold.”
Daniel 2:38
.
But the king failed of recognizing the power that had exalted him.
Nebuchadnezzar in the pride of his heart said: “Is not this great Baby-
lon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my
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power, and for the honor of my majesty?”
Daniel 4:30
.
Instead of being a protector of men, Babylon became a proud and
cruel oppressor. The words of Inspiration picturing the cruelty and
greed of rulers in Israel reveal the secret of Babylon’s fall and of the
fall of many another kingdom since the world began: “Ye eat the fat,
and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed
not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye
healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was
broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away,
neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with
cruelty have ye ruled them.”
Ezekiel 34:3, 4
.
To the ruler of Babylon came the sentence of the divine Watcher:
O king, “to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.”
Daniel 4:31
.
“Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of
Babylon,
Sit on the ground: there is no throne....
Sit thou silent,
And get thee into darkness, O daughter of the
Chaldeans;
For thou shalt no more be called, The lady of king-
doms.”
Isaiah 47:1-5
.
“O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in
treasures,
Thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetous-
ness,”
“Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,
The beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency,
Shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.”