Ziggurat: pyramidal, stepped temple tower that is an architectural and religious structure characteristic of the major cities of Mesopotamia (now in Iraq) from about 2200 until 500 BC. The ziggurat was always built with a core of mud brick and an exterior covered with baked brick. It had no internal chambers and was usually square or rectangular, averaging either 170 feet square or 125 170 feet (40 50 metres) at the base. Approximately 25 ziggurats are known, being equally divided in number among Sumer, Babylonia, and Assyria.
No ziggurat is preserved to its original height. Ascent was by an exterior triple stairway or by a spiral ramp, but for almost half of the known ziggurats, no means of ascent has been discovered. The sloping sides and terraces were often landscaped with trees and shrubs (hence the Hanging Gardens of Babylon). The best-preserved ziggurat is at Ur (modern Tall al-Muqayyar; see photograph). The largest, at Chogha Zanbil in Elam, is 335 feet (102 m) square and 80 feet (24 m) high and stands at less than half its estimated original height. The legendary Tower of Babel has been popularly associated with the ziggurat of the great temple of Marduk in Babylon.
Here is what the American Heritage Dictionary says:
zig·gu·rat (zg-rt)
n.
A temple tower of the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories.
And here is a description of the Tower of Babel, by the historian Herodotus: In the middle of the precinct there was a tower of solid masonry, a furlong in length and breadth, upon which was raised a second tower, and on that a third, and so on up to eight. The ascent to the top is on the outside, by a path which winds round all the towers. When one is about half-way up, one finds a resting-place and seats, where persons are wont to sit some time on their way to the summit. On the topmost tower there is a spacious temple, and inside the temple stands a couch of unusual size, richly adorned, with a golden table by its side. There is no statue of any kind set up in the place, nor is the chamber occupied of nights by any one but a single native woman, who, as the Chaldaeans, the priests of this god, affirm, is chosen for himself by the deity out of all the women of the land.
They also declare- but I for my part do not credit it- that the god comes down in person into this chamber, and sleeps upon the couch. This is like the story told by the Egyptians of what takes place in their city of Thebes, where a woman always passes the night in the temple of the Theban Jupiter. In each case the woman is said to be debarred all intercourse with men. It is also like the custom of Patara, in Lycia, where the priestess who delivers the oracles, during the time that she is so employed- for at Patara there is not always an oracle- is shut up in the temple every night.
MSN Encarta: Ziggurat, a temple-tower, the principal form of religious edifice in ancient Mesopotamia. Ziggurats were built from the 4th millennium BC to 600BC. Constructed of mud brick and often faced with glazed brick, they rose in stepped stages to a small temple or sanctuary at the peak. The most famous of the ziggurats was the temple-tower of Etemenanki (popularly associated with the Tower of Babel) at the temple of Marduk in Babylon, rebuilt by King Nabopolassar (reigned 625-605BC) and his son Nebuchadnezzar II. The largest ruins are those of the Elamite ziggurat at Choga Zambil (Dur Untash, Iran; 13th century BC), which is 102 m (335 ft) square at its base. The best preserved ruins are those of the ziggurat of Nanna at Ur built by Ur-Nammu (reigned 2113-2095BC), the first king of the 3rd Dynasty of Ur, and his son Shulgi (reigned 2095-2047BC) and entirely remodeled by Nabonidus (reigned 556-539BC), the last Babylonian king before the Persian conquest of Mesopotamia.
"The Marduk ziggurat was set within the vast sacred precinct on the southern end of the town of Babylon, surrounded by the river, a canal, a double wall and a processional way. Its Sumerian name was Etemenanki "The Foundation of Heaven and Earth." It was probably built by Hammurabi. Archaeologists discovered a core consisting of the ruins of previous ziggurats which had been leveled and enlarged several times, before Nebuchadnezzar added a casing of burnt brick 15 m thick. Of this structure only the ground plan and traces of the three stairs leading up to it have been preserved. A tablet giving measurements and the eye-witness account of the Greek historian Herodotos describe it as having had seven stages of different colors with a temple at its top."
"Etemenanki [the fabulous ziggurat of Babylon] : The meaning traditionally suggested is "Temple of the seven masters of heaven and earth." This would be logical, it is argued, if each of the seven levels of the ziggurat were (as Rawlinson postulated) dedicated to one of the seven major heavenly bodies"
This picture is an aerial shot of the remains of the Tower of Babel.
(Picture not available)
The ziggurat of the Tower of Babel consisted of 7 levels, sometimes called 8 because of the temple built on the top of the 7th level.
Remember: "A tablet giving measurements and the eye-witness account of the Greek historian Herodotos describe it as having had seven stages of different colors with a temple at its top."
Also, "A prominent place near the center of the city was occupied by Esagila, the temple of Marduk; just to the north of that was Etemenanki (the ziggurat), a seven-storied edifice sometimes linked in popular legend with the Tower of Babel."
Let me draw a simple diagram of the Tower of Babel:
This ziggurat has 7 levels, with a temple on the top.
Historian Brevard S. Childs states that the word "ziggurat" was representative of a mountain, and that the Babylonians compared the ziggurat to a mountain.
The names of other Babylonian ziggurats have been translated to mean "Temple of the Mountain Breeze", and also "Temple of the Exalted Mountain".
Recall that the original word for "hills" in Rev. Chapter 17 (the seven hills the woman sits on) was "mountain".
Seven "mountains" that the woman sits on. Look again at the drawing of the ziggurat. Is it too much of a leap to make the connection between "seven mountains" and the "seven levels" of the Tower of Babylon?
I don't think so.
Recall that in Rev. 17, there was a woman who sat on these seven mountains.
In Babylon, there was a woman who was kept in the temple that was built upon the seventh "mountain". There was a woman there at all times, twenty-four hours a day. In fact, at night, no one was allowed in the temple except the woman. There was a couch kept in the temple, that no one ever sat on, because it was believed that the God Marduk came down at night and slept on it. The woman in the temple was not allowed to have sexual relations with men during the time she stayed there.
In Revelation 17, a woman sits on the seven hills, or mountains. A woman also sat on top of the seven mountains of the temple in Babylon. Too much of a mental jump? I don't think so.
Jeremiah 51:7,8 says: Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD'S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. 8Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed
Keep this in mind as you read Rev. 17:4: The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries
Also, Rev. 17:2: With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries."
It couldn't be clearer that the woman in Revelation 17 is Babylon. She sits on seven mountains. (The Tower of Babel) She holds a golden cup. (Babylon is the golden cup, as described by Jeremiah) The nations have drank her wine and are drunk. (this description in Revelation is confirmed in Jeremiah)
The city of Babylon fits all the prophecies: It once was, now isn't, but will be again; and 666 is the number of its name.
I see no reason to look elsewhere for the name of the city, when Babylon fits it so well.
Remember when Lucifer tried to be higher than God? He said, "I, I, I, I, I, I".
The Babylonians said "We, We, We, We, Us, Us, Us, Us"
History records that the founder of Babylon, Nimrod, called himself God. He ruled all of the known world.
Nebuchadnezzar decreed that everyone must worship him. He ruled all nations. God said in Daniel 2:38, that Nebuchadnezzar was ruler of all the earth. Wherever mankind lived, or wherever the beasts of the field lived, or wherever the birds of the air lived, Nebuchadnezzar was ruler of them all.
Alexander the Great ruled all the known world, and called himself God.
From "Alexander of Macedon", by Frank Green:
Alexander now required that the cities of
the [Greek] league should publicly acknowledge him as a god... Perhaps the best comment came from Damis the Spartan. When the question of divine honours was under debate, he said: 'Since Alexander desires to be a god, let him be a god.'"
Knowing full well that Alexander would probably just raze the town and sell them as slaves if they didn't agree (he had lots of practice, believe me), they decided to officially deify Alexander. Demosthenes grumbled "All right, make him the son of Zeus -- and of Poseidon too, if that's what he wants." Grumpy old men never change, do they?
Deification apparently went to Alexander's head. Perhaps it was all the drinking he did (he drank to such excess that even in those tolerant times, his doctors warned him to stop). But eventually he... well, you'll see. [From a pamphlet written by a contemporary of Alexander's]
"Alexander would wear the sacred clothes of the gods at dinner-parties, sometimes the purple cloak, the slippers and horns of Ammon, sometimes the dress of the goddess Artemis, which he would often wear even on his
chariot... Sometimes, he would also dress as Hermes, especially at parties when he would wear the winged sandals and the broad hat and hold a caduceus in his hand: often he carried a lion-skin and a club, like Heracles."
The Egyptian Pharohs were considered Gods, and Hitler nearly ruled the entire world.
My point is that Satan has been trying to form a World Government all through history, and has been proclaiming himself God as often as possible.
But the end of the world will come on God's timetable, not Satan's and God has not yet allowed it to come to pass.
We see in Revelation that the end of the world will see a World Government and a World Leader who proclaims himself to be God. Satan has been trying to fulfill this prophecy ever since Man was created.
Genesis 3:4,5: And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Lastly, I offer you the following text, explaining how Saddam Hussein is even now working to rebuild the city of Babylon.
Saddam Hussein
Modern King of Babylon
By Ken Raggio
The Los Angeles Times, in October 1995 published a story entitled, "Iraqis affirm support of President Hussein." It was a commentary on the public election in Iraq of Saddam Hussein.
The dateline on the article was "Babylon, Iraq." The article detailed the phenomenon of a nation voting for a dictator that had ruled by force for twenty-seven years.
Apparently there were virtually no dissenting votes. Everyone was afraid that a "no" vote would spell calamity for the voter -- loss of food rations, government harassment, and possible jeopardy of life. Of 7.5 million voters, not one dared speak publicly against Hussein.
Who is this infamous, powerful man...
...who brazenly defies all the world, and strikes fear in the hearts of those he rules?
Hamid Youssef Hammadi, the Iraqi information minister is quoted as saying, "Saddam Hussein is a national hero. America had Abraham Lincoln, France had Napoleon and De Gaulle, and Egypt had Nasser. In America, you may not like Saddam, but he is a hero here. Saddam is the centerpiece of a "brazen personality cult."
Modern-day Equivalent of King Nebuchadnezzar
"Nowhere is that more visible than in Babylon, where the Iraqi leader is cast as the modern-day equivalent of King Nebuchadnezzar, the warrior and builder who came to power in 605 BC at the tender age of 25.
Hussein, who helped stage a coup at age 31, has restored part of Nebuchadnezzar's 600-room palace.
Placed atop some of the original bricks, marked with Nebuchadnezzar's name, are others that declare, "In the era of Saddam Hussein, protector of Iraq, who rebuilt the Royal Palace."
A palace tour guide said, "Nebuchadnezzar was a man of war and peace, just as Saddam Hussein is. That's why people love him."
Babylon - Babel revisited
History, both Biblical and secular, record ancient Babylon as the seat of the most powerful empire in the world of its day.
Its famous "Hanging Gardens" were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The western world, due to its Judeo-Christian orientation, remembers Babylon best for its role in capturing and destroying the nation of Israel in the seventh century BC. It was the captive home of Daniel and the three Hebrew children.
Babylon is also famous for being located in the same location as the more ancient Tower of Babel. Bible students equate Babel and Babylon with everything sinful and rebellious against God and His kingdom.
Babylon has been resurrected in our time
Charles Dyer, author of "The Rise of Babylon" documents a fascinating event that took place in 1988 on the actual site of the ancient city of Babylon.
"It is a cloudless September night, and the moon casts its shining image on the banks of the gentle Euphrates River.
Thousands of guests and dignitaries walk by torch light to Babylon's Procession Street and enter the city from the north.
Instructed to line the streets along the massive walls, the guests obediently follow orders.
When the audience is in place, the dark-eyed man in charge nods, and the procession begins.
Rows and rows of soldiers parade in, dressed in Babylonian tunics and carrying swords, spears and shields.
Interspersed among the ranks of soldiers are groups of musicians playing harps, horns and drums.
Clusters of children carry palm branches, and runners bear bowls of incense.
Then come soldiers and still more soldiers in a seemingly endless line of men and weapons.
After the procession, the guests attend a ceremony paying tribute to Ishtar, the mother goddess of Babylon."
The director of that event, the International Babylon Festival, was none other than Saddam Hussein.
He was celebrating the revival of the city from ancient times.
By 1990, over sixty million bricks inscribed with Hussein's name were on top of the very bricks that Nebu