“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion…” — Psalm 137:1
The Fall of the Kingdom, Exile, Babylonian Captivity
Israel and Judah fall due to idolatry; Jews exiled to Babylon (2 Kings 25, Jeremiah 52). 23.
In the Old Testament, Babylon was:
- The empire that destroyed Jerusalem, burned the Temple, and exiled the Israelites (6th century BCE).
- A symbol of hubris and idolatry, famously linked to the Tower of Babel—a false unity built by human pride, ending in confusion.
- A kingdom of luxury, cruelty, and false gods.
The prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah) condemned Babylon not just politically, but spiritually. It was the antithesis of Zion—God’s holy order.
Babylon System
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!” —Isaiah 21:9
Babylon represents:
- The corrupt world system: political, economic, religious, and social structures rooted in oppression, materialism, and deceit.
- Spiritual exile: a state of being cut off from Zion, the divine homeland—both literal (Ethiopia, Africa) and mystical (a state of divine alignment).
- Modern Rome: systems that enslave bodies and minds, just as Rome enslaved Israel and ancient Babylon enslaved Judah.
Babylon is the empire of lies, and Zion is the kingdom of truth. Babylon enslaves; Zion liberates.
• The false rulers of this world
• The mental chains placed by schooling, media, and religion
• The beast system that devours souls for profit
“Babylon system is the vampire, Sucking the children day by day…” - Bob Marley, “Babylon System”
Zion is not just a place, it’s a state of return, a spiritual awakening, a living resistance to the machinery of Babylon.
The use of Babylon as a symbol of oppression has ancient roots—scriptural, historical, and prophetic. Its origin lies in the Hebrew Bible, but the seed has grown through African diasporic mysticism, especially within Rastafari, into a cosmic allegory.
The Whore of Babylon
In the Book of Revelation, Babylon the Great becomes a full-blown archetype:
• A “whore” clothed in scarlet, drunk on the blood of saints.
• A worldly empire aligned with the Beast, deceiving nations. Rome for the early Christians, and all empires of corruption thereafter.
Babylon the Great, commonly known as the Whore of Babylon, refers to both a symbolic female figure and a place of malevolence as mentioned in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament. Her full title is stated in Revelation 17:5 as "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth" (Greek: μυστήριον, Βαβυλὼν ἡ μεγάλη, ἡ μήτηρ τῶν πορνῶν καὶ τῶν βδελυγμάτων τῆς γῆς, romanized: mystḗrion, Babylṑn hē megálē, hē mḗtēr tôn pornôn kaì tôn bdelygmátōn tês gês).
She is further identified as a representation of "the great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth" in Revelation 17:18.
Rastafarians, descendants of enslaved Africans, recognized Babylon in the colonial West:
• British rule over Jamaica
• Enforced Christianity, Western education, and economic exploitation
• The erasure of African identity and dignity
“Babylon” was reborn in Babylonian behavior: false authority, systemic violence, spiritual exile.
In contrast, Zion became:
• Ethiopia, the Promised Land
• Haile Selassie, divine emperor
• The spiritual homeland, truth, righteousness, and repatriation
In esoteric and mystical currents, Babylon is:
• The dark counter-force to divine order
• A psychic state: mind enslaved by fear, lust, greed
• A worldly power structure that resists the divine indwelling
Like Egypt, Sodom, or Rome—it is a name of power for the city of man, not God.
Goodbye, Babylon
Why Babylon?
Because it was the original empire of exile—both literal and symbolic.
Because its name became synonymous with confusion, domination, and spiritual seduction.
“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion…”
—Psalm 137:1
We are all still by those rivers.
But Zion is calling.
And Babylon must fall.