Simply: Look, Israel, here are men who will obey men. But you will not obey God!

The Lord also promised to bless this family from that day on. Obedience is a good thing. God’s heart is hurt when we will not obey Him.

2. Jeremiah 45. What has happened to Jeremiah’s scribe, Baruch?

Something seems to have gone to Baruch’s head in the midst of all these heroic actions of the prophet and himself. Jeremiah warns him strictly here not to seek great things for himself! A serious warning to all would-be servants of the Lord.

3. Jeremiah 47-49. What is to be the fate of Egypt, Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, Hazor, and Elam? Have all these prophecies been fulfilled?

Egypt will be conquered decisively by Nebuchadnezzar. Pharaoh Neco is indeed overthrown by the Babylonians at the famed battle of Carchemish, 605 B.C. But 40 years later, Egypt was free from Babylon’s control, yet never did it come back to its full glory. Prophecy fulfilled.

Philistia is to be conquered by Egypt (happened 587 B.C.), then, it seems, re-conquered by Babylon (587-586 B.C., near the time of Judah’s fall.) Prophecy fulfilled.

Moab is to end altogether because of its abominable pride. But allowance is made for a restoration of Moab in the “latter days”? All but the latter days prophecy has been fulfilled. Moab is no more, nor has she existed all these centuries.

Ammon will fall to the Babylonian scourge (in about 582 B.C. ) But Ammon also is to have a later revival, either via the Cyrus return policy (fulfilled) or as Moab, in the Millennial days. Fulfilled, except for the days we await. Ammon is the name given today to the capital of Jordan. The people that dwell there are not the descendants of the Ammonites, who have basically left history as have the Moabites and Edomites.

Edom, formerly south of Israel, is to be desolate. So it has been since its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar in about the same time as Judah was conquered, 586 B.C. Prophecy fulfilled.

Damascus is not promised eternal night, but judgment is certainly is coming to this capital of Syria. Nebuchadnezzar’s armies did this work in 605 B.C. Prophecy fulfilled.

Kedar and Hazor were located in what is now Arabia. Nebuchadnezzar in 599 B.C. conquered this region, as God had promised. And the rest of the promise was that this portion of land would be a desert, a desolation, forever. Behold Saudi Arabia to this day. Prophecy fulfilled.

Elam was an ancient Kingdom located between Assyria and the Persian Gulf. Babylon brought it down in 596, and later Cyrus of Persia came and re-conquered it, adding it to his Persian Empire that later brought Babylon down. The capital of Elam, Susa, became the capital of Persia under Darius. The Elamites were promised a scattering, yet also, as certain other nations, a return. Note that Elamites were present on the Day of Pentecost! Prophecy fulfilled.

(Information for above comments furnished by Macarthur Bible Commentary.)

4.Jeremiah 50-51. What is radically different about the prophecy concerning Babylon, when compared to the ones spoken over the other nations?

Though we certainly can see local and immediate fulfillment to this prophecy, and most are content to say that it has been totally fulfilled, I am not so sure. Once more look with me at clues that point to an end-time scenario:

• 50:13. “she will not be inhabited.” Well, it does not say “forever”, so perhaps we can pass this by. Fact is, Babylon was inhabited for a long time after Persia took it over. It was a prize for kings and conquerors for centuries, in fact!
• 50:17-20. In the midst of all of this turmoil in Babylon, Israel is promised forgiveness of all her sins, and a home of peace in her own land. Is this the return under Cyrus, or the final return of Israel because of direct contact with Messiah?
• 50:39. Now she will “never again be inhabited,” or dwelt in from generation to generation. Though this has finally happened, it did not happen in connection with Persia’s attacks.
• 50:46. “Babylon has been seized” is the outcry that shakes the earth. Sounds more like Revelation. In John’s day there was still a Babylon, inhabited by people, but not by any means a great world power. Babylon returns.
• 51:7. Babylon is a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, intoxicating the earth. Why, is this not what John saw in Revelation 17:1-5?
• 51:25. Babylon, situated on a plain, is called a destroying mountain that destroys the whole earth! The Babylonian Empire was vast, but not covering the entire earth, for sure.
• 51:26. No stone will be used to start another building or city. Yet is it not true that the new “Babylon” attempted by Saddam Hussein did indeed use stones from the original?
• 51:34. The scene switches back to Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon, and the punishment it deserves. Truly the judgment on this place is long-lasting!
• 51:48. Heaven and earth will shout for joy over Babylon’s demise. See Revelation 19:1-2, and realize that John’s prophecy is written 600 years after Jeremiah, yet Babylon has not, even today, suffered the catastrophe seen by these two prophets!
• Jeremiah’s last word about this enemy of Israel and God is to order a scroll to be read, tied to a stone, and sunk in the Euphrates River, a picture of the final fall of the great Babylon. This parallels exactly the activity of Revelation 18, where an angel throws a millstone into the sea saying that Babylon will be thrown down in the same way, with violence, and not be found any longer.

Friends, Babylon was arounds for a LONG time after the initial prophecy was given, and even lasted awhile after the second prophecy by John. Babylon never fell violently. Never went out of existence. Even now there is a would-be amusement park that the last dictator of Iraq tried to put in place, believing he was the new Nebuchadnezzar. It’s not hard to imagine Babylon slowly rising from the dust of Iraq and terrorizing the world again.

Rome too seems to be hanging on by a thread. The Roman Empire never was shut down entirely, but rather it was reorganized and its leadership repopulated. Rome can easily rise in the form of the United States of Europe, or the Common Market, or the conglomeration that exists today.

Herein is a huge mystery. The prophecy of Jeremiah is only in part fulfilled. Jeremiah was carried away to imagery that can only picture the final state of world affairs, where a world power known as “Babylon”, or will it be “Rome”, or both (?) will rule our world, hate God’s people, and cry out for final judgment.

5.Jeremiah 52. Why is the end of Judah recorded four times in your Bible?

The Lord wants to impress upon His people that disobedience to the God of Heaven is a serious matter. He wants us to read and meditate and be sure our life is in order, lest we be removed from what seems to be our standing before Him.