The neo-Babylonian empire established itself as the dominant world empire from 586 – 539 BCE.
There has been a lot of history left out of our Bible studies that gives us important information as to the political, biblical and religious changes that happened as a result of the Babylonian captivity.
Moreso, not understanding these changes that happened during the physical captivity in Babylon has damaged our understanding of the spiritual Babylonian captivity that many are living in today, and that few will heed the warning to “come out of.”
I know that this is hard for many to wrap their minds around, which is why I have felt led to take my time and unpack this as thoroughly as I possibly can. It is really important to understand how this captivity affected the Yahudim (Jews) in all of these ways because the Babylonian captivity was a watershed moment for not only Judaism, but Christianity as well.
And when I say watershed, I mean that this is THE TURNING POINT in which things were never the same after this moment/event in time.
This captivity changed everything for the Hebrew people, and it has influenced the Christian faith today, yet most don’t realize it. This is why I have mentioned before that part of my “plowing season” comes with the intention of pulling the metaphorical weeds from their roots. This is what Yahuah has shown me in what it means to “labor for the harvest.” The weeds have to be pulled before anything can be planted, or else my labor will be in vain.
The other thing that is important to remember is that as we will discuss in upcoming episodes, when the 70-year prophesied captivity ended for the Yahudim, the majority of people did not return to rebuild the Temple.
They did not want to leave Babylon.
They had adapted to being held captive.
It’s very interesting how the spiritual climate in Babylon is similar to the climate in the hearts of Believers today. We don’t want to see Babylon for what it is because we’re comfortable where we’re at. We don’t want to leave; we don’t want to come out of it. Many people are unable to recognize the real spiritual war for our souls because they’ve adjusted to living in it.
However, I believe as we learn and discern the roots of how we got to where we’re at today, many more will realize what has happened and what it means to be in the spiritual captivity of Babylon today, and once they do, they will quite literally flee from it. This was certainly the case for me, and I haven’t looked back since.
I stand in faith and prayer, believing that as we continue to unravel history, it will fill some serious gaps of the lack of understanding and knowledge in the body of Messiah.
The goal is always reconciliation.
Supplemental Documents:
Episode 6 Transcript
"What is God's Name?" E-Book
'The Influence of the Babylonian Captivity on the Religion of the Jews' by Arthur C. Dueker
'History of the Jews' by Solomon Grayzel
Contact me: stephanie@promise-perspective.com
Visit my website: www.promise-perspective.com