In “sunk, never to rise again” Jefferson Vann explains another OT symbol of final punishment.
Jeremiah 51:59-64 (JDV)
Jeremiah 51:59 This is the wording the prophet Jeremiah used when he commanded Seraiah son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, the quartermaster, when he went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign.
Jeremiah 51:60 Jeremiah wrote on one scroll about all the disaster that would come to Babylon; all these words were written against Babylon.
Jeremiah 51:61 Jeremiah told Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud.
Jeremiah 51:62 Say, ‘Yahveh, you have threatened to cut off this place so that no one will live in it – people or animals. Indeed, it will become permanently desolate.’
Jeremiah 51:63 When you have finished reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River.
Jeremiah 51:64 Then say, ‘In the same way, Babylon will sink and never rise again because of the disaster I am bringing on her. They will grow weary.'” Up to this point are the words of Jeremiah.
sunk, never to rise again
We have been looking at Jeremiah’s predictions about Babylon. We have been noticing two things that are true of each of these prophecies. First, each of these predictions came true. The empire is no more, just as God predicted through Jeremiah.
Secondly, each of these prophecies about Babylon reflects an element of the New Testament teaching about the fate of the wicked at the last judgment. This is not a coincidence. The Revelation to John in the New Testament uses Babylon as a symbol of the great conspiracy of all nations against God’s Kingdom and God’s Messiah.
Yesterday’s text focused on two ways of expressing the fate of those who oppose God and his will: fire and permanent sleep. Today’s text introduces another way of expressing that fate. Babylon will be sunk like a great ship, never to rise again.
All three of these descriptions of Babylon’s fate are indicative of the ultimate fate of the lost: permanent destruction.
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For more on the destruction of the wicked in hell, see:
The Bible versus The Traditional View of Hell
My Annihilation , a Non-Event?
Orthodoxy and annihilationism : a response to John Piper
Athanasius, Atonement and Annihilation
From the web this week – Conditional Immortality, Annihilation and Soul Sleep
History of Hell | Hell before Augustine
Life Death and Destiny | THE FINAL STATE (Part 3B)
A Brief History of Conditional Immortality and Answers to Critics Part 2 By David Green BA BD CA
Hell is an apologetics concern
The spirit shall return to God who gave it
A Question For The Bible Answer man: Will You Change Your Mind?
An Overview of Final Judgement in Matthew’s Gospel
men and gods will be destroyed
Anything but the blood of Jesus: How (some) traditionalists downplay the death of Christ
A final punishment bibliography
Classical theology and conditional immortality
In Honour of Edward William Fudge
A Conditional Immortality Bibliography
Justin Martyr and the Immortality of the Soul
Annihilationism and Apologetics
The consequences of separation
Book Review: Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism
The Historical Development of the Immortal Soul
The Immortal Soul is not from the Bible
About Jefferson Vann
Jefferson Vann pastors Piney Grove Advent Christian Church in Delco, North Carolina, USA. He is a teacher, Bible translator, and avid blogger. "My hope is that everyone who reads my writings will have an opportunity to understand the gospel, and will know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior." He has written books on theology and Bible commentary. You can read more of Jeff's writing at Devotions | Jefferson Vann | Commands of Christ | Learning Koine Greek Together
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