Who Is Babylon?

The scriptures used to answer this question are Jeremiah chapters 50, 51 which is the single longest prophecy in the bible and Revelation 18. These two sections cover all the detail found in other passages. The first real help to pinpoint Babylon’s identity is to first see who she is not. That can quickly be determined by ascertaining the timing of the fall of Babylon. This is going to be critical because so much else will follow on from the outcome. The popular assumption is the beast and his empire is Babylon.

Is Babylon the Beast?

When the scriptures are carefully checked this conclusion won’t stand up. There are three lines of reasoning, any one of which is sufficient. God has made sure we have more than enough to demonstrate that the Babylon of Rev 18 is not the beast power and must be someone else active in a different time frame to the beast. These three lines of reasoning are:

Trading details given for Babylon.

‘Come out of her My people’.

Armies from the North.

Armies from the North.

The beast power is destroyed and its leaders captured by Christ and the saints at His return.
And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. Rev 19:19
In clear detail Christ lets us know how the beast power is rounded up and with him the armies of the world and their kings. This is the beast and his empire fully intact and united with many other nations waging war against Christ at the very end. Christ returns and deals with those that resist Him at Armageddon. The false prophet is there also. Both are fully active throughout the whole of the end time right up to Christ’s return.

The details for Babylon’s downfall are completely different.
For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain. Jer 50:9
Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. 42 They shall hold the bow and the lance: they are cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, every one put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon. 43 The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail. Jer 50:41

There are many references to Babylon being defeated by nations. God has left no room for any doubt that the nations of the world are responsible for defeating Babylon and taking her into captivity for some time. This presents a contradiction that cannot be ignored. (There are many references in Jeremiah 50, 51 that tie it strictly to the time period of the return of Christ; these are mentioned later in this and other articles on this site).

The trading details for Babylon
In Rev 18 we have a whole chapter giving very specific detail on what is being traded and who is trading. The goods listed are normal every day-to-day goods. Spices, ointments, food, luxury cloth, jewellery, wheat, fine flour and ‘all goodly and dainty things’. (verses12 to 14)
However, during the years of the tribulation, the world has suffered the most devastating warfare. The 2nd World War unfortunately, is not even a comparison. The scale of casualties is hundreds of times greater. None of the goods being traded would be available for general usage and could not be transported without the conditions needed for normal trade. After years of the worst time possibly imaginable, no one would be hearing the voice of harpers and musicians and concert venues. No one is planning marriages and families. No one is getting rich from the abundance of prosperity and a rising stock market. What people are doing is wish they could die. All they want is for life to end to escape the misery.
And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. Rev 9:6
There is no food; there is no wheat or fine flour to trade. They all ran out years before when thousands of millions died from starvation and warfare during the first four seals of Revelation. The Great Tribulation is yet to occur!

The account in Rev 18 shows that at the time of the fall of Babylon, (complete and utter fall) not only Babylon but also the whole world was enjoying relative prosperity. Ships were plying the oceans delivering day-to-day goods and life was for all intents and purposes very normal. This is definitely not a description of the last seven years of the end time. You cannot sail the seven seas selling pearl necklaces and packets of nutmeg at the same time meteorites are plunging into the oceans destroying all shipping and sea life. Rev 8:8

In case we forget what conditions are like once ‘peace is taken from the earth’, listen to some quotes concerning shipping and trading circumstances during World War Two.

“Food supplies were low due to the tactical bombing of food carrying merchant vessels across the sea. The war effort, as it was so named, saw women making coats out of blankets”.

“1942 was the most successful year in U-Boat history, with 1,200 Allied ships sunk. Other sources count 1,664 ships sunk, 1,097 of them in the North Atlantic.

“President Franklin Delano Roosevelt: A Message to the Congress Asking Power to Requisition Idle Foreign Ships in American Waters. April 10, 1941 To the Congress: There are now in our ports a large number of foreign merchant vessels which have been here for considerable periods of time and which because of war conditions have not seen fit to depart. Public Law 101 [H.R. 4466] June 6, 1941 AN ACT To authorize the acquisition by the United States of title to or the use of domestic or foreign merchant vessels for urgent needs of commerce and national defense, and for other purposes.”

“But the number of merchant marine ships still available had become much too small for a successful continuation of the war. And crews for them were being rapidly exhausted, incapacitated or killed. There was as yet no effective system of replacement for either ships or men. This was the tremendous problem of the Battle of the Atlantic”.

“The Battle of the Atlantic was not what one usually thinks of as a “battle,” since it did not take place in one location over a limited period, such as the Battle of the Bulge. It was a Battle for CONTROL over shipping in the Atlantic and lasted from September 1939 until May 1945. Germany’s submarines (U-Boats) tried to sink merchant ships faster than the Allies could build them. Starting in 1940, through the middle of 1942, U-Boats were very successful - they sank more ships than were built”.

“One way to understand the Second World War is to appreciate the critical role of merchant shipping... the availability or non-availability of merchant shipping determined what the Allies could or could not do militarily.... “

This is the bottom line: Once war breaks out on the scale of the first four seals in Revelation which claims a quarter of the earths population, there are no ships available for trade. They are all requisitioned for the war effort. The scarcity of food and essentials that was the third seal (Rev 6:5) leaves nothing left that can be traded. For this reason we need to be very clear that once the end time has started and war breaks out there is no ‘trade’. However, since world trade is clearly shown to be normal and prospering at the time of Babylon’s very sudden destruction, this event must have occurred prior to the outbreak of end time events. Once the end time starts, it only gets worse.

Come out of her My People

Very briefly, at the time of the sudden destruction of Babylon God’s people are still there. That is obvious since they are told to come out in order not to be caught up in its ‘plagues’.
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues… Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. Rev 18:4,8.
This warning to come out of Babylon occurs fourteen times in the bible and is not a one-off obscure statement. See article: Come Out of Babylon My People.
The instruction to ‘come out’ is phrased in such a way that it is clear they are not under duress or being persecuted, quite the opposite. The warning is to not get tangled up in being part of Babylon, not to enjoy being in Babylon.
If Babylon were the beast’s empire and we are thinking of this in terms of the ‘destruction’ occurring when Christ arrives, this situation would be impossible. For one reason, the resurrection has occurred; secondly Satan for the last three and a half years specifically and relentlessly seeks those that were not in the resurrection:
And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Rev 12:17
The reality is once the end time starts, for the next seven years anyone at all that follows God’s instructions will be severely persecuted. The more they stand up for Christ, the more they will be persecuted. There would be no ‘choice’ available to come out and no freedom of travel to do so.

We can formulate a short summary:
A). The beast is captured and destroyed by Christ at the very end of the end time. Years of war and deprivation have seen his followers in such a stressful state they wish they could die. God’s people have been resurrected years beforehand (or killed by the beast if within his reach). See: When is the Resurrection.
All shipping has been virtually destroyed during the last three and a half years of the seventh seal.
B). At the time of the sudden, unexpected, inexplicable fall of Babylon: The entire world is enjoying prosperity and peaceful times. Trading conditions are such that it is ‘full steam ahead’ for all business. Food and daily staples are in plentiful supply.
C). God’s people are still in Babylon and free to come and go as they please. They are in fact being urged to leave Babylon indicating they are under no pressure.
Life at this point in time as shown by God’s word is in one word, normal.

This Babylon in Rev 18 is not the beast power at the return of Christ. The destruction of Babylon marks the turning point from ‘normal time’ into the ‘end time’. This ‘sudden destruction’ is the first (physical) event of the end time. Babylon is destroyed at the very beginning of the end time.

If the ‘beast’ and his empire of ten kings is not Babylon, who is?

At this point we need to step back from the question of who is Babylon and ask the other really important identity question: Who is Israel?

(NB: This section of the article is an excerpt from one of our printed publications and is being discussed from various points of view).

Who is Israel?

There are several reasons to study the subject of Israel. It keeps popping up wherever you go. In both the Old and New Testament repeatedly Israel is mentioned. It is a subject you cannot get away from.
The ‘historicist and ‘preterist’ argument on the one hand see a national Israel as a past entity. Whereas David Pawson on the other hand sees the Jewish state formed in 1948 as being a critical factor in how prophetical events will transpire from here on.

It is essential to resolve this issue.

The best way is just to gather the evidence and look at the facts as God has given them. What we will see is how intense, passionate and methodical God is on this subject.

Our particular interest is where and how Israel fits into our picture in the ‘last days’.

A. The Early Promises, The Future of Israel

It all started when God changed Jacob’s name to Israel and promises were made concerning the future of his descendants.

And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. 11 And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; 12 And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. Gen 35:10

In Genesis 49 Israel gathered his family together before he died. Verse 1: “that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days”.
And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. 2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father. Gen 49:1

Jacob then gives an analysis of the different characteristics of his sons and how the personal nature of each will influence the outcome of their descendants.
However in the preceding chapter, Gen 48, Jacob had met with his long lost son Joseph previously sold as a slave to Egypt in his youth. Jacob was entering his final days, so Joseph took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim to meet their grandfather.

And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
v8 And Israel [Jacob] beheld Joseph’s sons, and said, Who are these? And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.
v16 The angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. Gen 48:5

Israel then placed his hands on the boys’ heads and gave them his blessing. Ephraim, the younger son had the right hand placed on his head giving him the greater blessing. Manasseh would be a great people:

but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. v19

A quick summary so far: (1) Nations (plural) and Kings are going to descend from Jacobs’s family. (2) In particular the descendants of Joseph are going to evolve into a great nation and a multitude of nations. It is Joseph that receives the greatest blessing.

In determining who and what Israel is in the ‘last days’, according to these scriptures we are looking for many nations.

B. The Biblical History of The Two Nations.

After David’s death, Solomon his son reigned. In turn Solomon’s son Rehoboam succeeded the throne. Under his rule the kingdom split in two. To the north, ten of the tribes, the bulk of the population, became independent under their own king. The other two tribes (Judah and Benjamin, 1 Kings 12:21) remained in Jerusalem. This southern nation was known as Judah, the northern tribes retained the name of Israel. Soon rivalry between the alternate kings erupted into civil war. The nation of Israel was at war with the nation of Judah.

The new nation of Israel became based in Samaria, north of Jerusalem. In 720 BC Shalmaneser from the Assyrian empire to the north invaded and captured the nation of Israel. They were carried off to an area adjacent to the Black Sea and after that appeared to have vanished from history, hence the expression ‘the lost ten tribes’. Judah would have suffered the same fate, however the Assyrians in turn were being invaded and had to suddenly retire their troops from the area to defend their capital. The nation of Judah would be spared defeat from invasion for another 120 years until Nebuchadnezzar succeeded.

With this background, that the nation of Israel and Judah were two separate nations, and that other nations of Israel in the ‘last days’ are being referred to, means great care is needed in reading biblical contexts to distinguish which one is being referred to.

This issue of two nations forming Israel’s makeup is such an important topic, we will take a little extra time and check to see how Stephen Sizer handles it from the Historicist perspective.

MGN Conference. Dr. Stephen Sizer. Seminar Three.

“All was lost, however, when the kingdom was divided (1 Kings 11:31-39) and then first, in 722 BC, the northern tribes are taken captive to Assyria (2 Kings 17) and then beginning in 605 BC, the remnant of Judah are exiled to Babylon (2 Kings 25). During this time, God inspired Jeremiah to write a letter to the exiles in which he instructed them to settle down in Babylon and make it their home. Indeed, they are told to work and pray for Babylon’s peace and prosperity (Jeremiah 29:4-7).”

“Then he promised, after 70 years, ‘I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave to their forefathers to possess.’ (Jeremiah 30:3).
The return of the exiles under Ezra and Nehemiah, while demonstrating God’s faithfulness, never matched the glory of the Kingdom under David or Solomon (Ezra 9:8-15; Nehemiah 9:28-37). And yet, while the second Exodus may have been more subdued, Jeremiah describes it as far more significant than the first.
“So then, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ but they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.” (Jeremiah 23:7-8)
Probably the greatest contrast between the two, however, concerns how the people living in the land were to be treated. These are the instructions God gave to the returning exiles:
You are to distribute this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. You are to allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who have settled among you and who have children. You are to consider them as native-born Israelites; along with you they are to be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. In whatever tribe the alien settles, there you are to give him his inheritance,” declares the Sovereign LORD. (Ezekiel 47:21-23) So in the second Exodus the Israelites are commanded to share the land with the ‘aliens’ and treat them as equals – as ‘native-born Israelites. This return was to be peaceful and conciliatory. Although radical, this was entirely consistent with the instructions given in the Law (Leviticus 19:33-34. See also Isaiah 56:3-8). The ‘Promised Land’ under the Old Covenant was to be shared and inclusive. This is the biblical model many Palestinians who favour the One State solution, long to see applied by the modern State of Israel.”

If we break down Sizer’s synopsis: The kingdom becomes divided, the northern tribes were taken captive, the remnant of Judah is exiled to Babylon. Then after 70 years God brings both Judah and Israel back to the land of their forefathers. Of this return (the second Exodus) after the seventy years people would be speaking about it in terms of how spectacular it was compared to the first coming out of Egypt. When they did return to their own land they were to share it peaceably with the local inhabitants and it is this aspect that the current Palestinians desire.
Lets see how closely the scriptures which Sizer himself quotes actually agree with this version.

1Kings 11:
And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD. v6
Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. 12 Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father’s sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. 13 Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen. v11-13

And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: 32 (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) v31

But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. 36 And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there. 37 And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. v35

2 Kings 17:
Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. 6 ¶ In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. v5

Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only. v18

For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them; 23 Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day. v 22

2 Kings 25:
And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land.
We will have a pause here and reflect on some specifics. God is responsible for the way in which the kingdom is divided. Ten tribes are separated from Judah. The ten tribes are now referred to as Israel. For the rest of the bible Judah is referred to as Judah. Where “all Israel” or the “whole house of Israel” are mentioned then it refers to both Israel and Judah.
The northern nation of Israel includes the house of Joseph, Ephraim and Manesseh who will become a great nation and a ‘company of nations’. However for the time being once the nation of Israel is carried off to North Western Assyria they disappear from history hence the expression ‘the lost ten tribes’. Approximately 120 years passes until the nation of Judah is defeated and carried captive to Babylon.

Now we come to look at who came back from Babylon. Only Judah was taken there so only Judah is available to come back. The nation of Israel had disappeared from history almost two hundred years previously.

The next subject to be looked at is King David has an extraordinary promise or covenant made to him by God.

When you analyze how forcefully God words this promise it would not be unreasonable to say that the whole bible, even the very existence of God stands or falls on this one promise. God makes that plain Himself.

C. The Specific Promises Made To David

To be absolutely certain that there are separate and active nations of Israel (plural) in the end time, God gave us one of the most pivotal sets of scriptures possible to emphasize this point. Either we believe what He says or we do not believe there is a God as we understand it from the bible.

For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel; 18 Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually. 19 And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying, 20 Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; 21 Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. 22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me. 23 Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 24 Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them. 25 Thus saith the LORD; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; 26 Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them. Jer 33:17

God is stating, ‘such is My promise that if anything at all can stop the sun in its orbit, or stop the moon shining, then you can stop this event from happening’.
This covenant is completely unconditional.
He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: 15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. 16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. 2 Sam 7:13

His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. 30 If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; 31 If they breake my statutes, and keep not my commandments; 32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. 33 Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. 34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. 35 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. 36 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. 37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah. Psalm 89:29

Howbeit the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever. 2 Chron 21:7

Let’s pause and take stock of our situation so far. We have several nations, one a great nation and the other a group of nations. Somewhere amongst these nations is one that has had an unbroken line of kings and queens sitting on a throne descended from David throughout history. In addition these scriptures tell us that God is going to take action to ensure they stay following His commands. Therefore this nation in the end time, with a king or queen on its throne would by default be a Christian nation.
If they drift away from God He will visit them with ‘the rod’ and ‘stripes’ until they come back. Nevertheless, He will never leave or forsake them.

D. A Closer Look At Scripture That Show The ‘Two Nations’

Where the bible speaks prophetically of ‘the whole house of Israel’, it refers literally to the descendant nations of all the twelve tribes. Where it speaks of Judah in the end time, it does refer to the modern nation of Israel in the Middle East. When prophecies speak of Ephraim and Manesseh, or the collective term for the two ‘the house of Joseph’ these are referring to other large powerful nations of this world now.

At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD: and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. 18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers. Jer 3:17

And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. Jer 3:8

For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the LORD. Jer 5:11

The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. Isa 11:13

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD. 29 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge. 30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. 31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: Jer 31:27

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. 15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness. Jer33:14

Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them. Jer 33:24

Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas the LORD was there: 11 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee. 12 And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume. 13 Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them. 14 Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate. Ezek 35:10

The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, 16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: 17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. 18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? 19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. 20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. 21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: 22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: Ezek 37:15

Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel. Hos 1:11

In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God. Jer 50:4

For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: Heb 8:8

In answering the question who is Israel, first understand the expanse of time from when God “removed Israel out of His sight” (2 Kings 17:18) and the tribe of Judah returned from Babylon. It is the same period of time from when Napoleon fought the battle of Waterloo until now. Two hundred years had already separated the two nations. Just as America is not part of England today, neither was Israel connected to Judah at that time.

Summary so far: Who Is Israel?

The first consideration: Many of the scriptures concerning ‘Israel’ have no connection to the current geographic nation of Israel and Jerusalem. There is another large powerful nation or nations (plural) in existence needed to fulfil God’s very specific promises. We know who the House of Judah is; we need to identify and find where the House of Joseph fits in the picture. Joseph is often referred to as Israel or Ephraim and or Manasseh.

Two Missing Pieces.

In effect what we have in our overall layout of the end time is two missing pieces. Babylon and Israel. We know who Judah is.
The next section will look at the longest prophecy in the bible found in Jeremiah chapters 50 and 51. This is where the mystery will be solved. Jeremiah 50/51 is not the longest prophecy without reason.

First, here is a verse that needs very special consideration. In the book of Hosea leading up to the verse in question we have and end time context in chapter three: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days. Hos 3:5. Following this the spotlight in chapter 4:15 is now on the three participants Israel, Ephraim and Judah (in the context of the ‘latter days’). God does not approve of their conduct. In chapter five because of their total disregard for God, all three are to be ‘devoured’ within one month of each other. The point that needs special consideration is that never have Israel and Judah and Ephraim all fallen together. Instead of one month, recorded history shows over one hundred years separates the downfalls. For the three of them to fall within one month of each other is an unfulfilled prophecy that only fits with many other scriptures for the end time.

And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them. 6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them. 7 They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions. Hos 5:5

Add to this verse another ‘special consideration’ section of scripture:

The word that the LORD spake against Babylon… 3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate. 4 In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping; they shall go, and seek the LORD their God. 5 They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten. Jer 50:1,4,5.

These verses give us an extraordinary situation. At the same time Babylon falls, Israel and Judah seek the Lord for a ‘perpetual covenant that shall never be broken’. This covenant can only refer to a future one and that is found in Heb 8. To have all three together (Babylon, Israel and Judah) at the time Babylon falls is on the surface a complete anachronism. The answer is the three have something in common.

Next we have a chart of scriptures showing that Babylon and Israel are both in the same place at the same time and in the same trouble. The ‘coincidences’ are two closely allied to be coincidences. The only conclusion that we can come to, the only answer to this question must be they are one and the same identity.
Israel as per habit and recorded time and time again has once more become ‘Babylon’ in God’s eyes.

(NB The format for the chart in the print version has been changed to see it more readily on the web. A PDF version of the original will be available soon for download in the Charts and Timelines page.)

Jeremiah 50, 51.
Overall Time Frame

Jer 50:1,3,4 The word that the LORD spake against Babylon. 3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate. 4 In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping.  ‘In those days, and in that time’ refers to Babylon, Israel and Judah; all three at the same time.

Time setting for downfall of Israel and Babylon
 Israel Amos 6:7 Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive. (Refers to Jacob see v 8 and House of Israel v14)
Babylon see: When Does Babylon Fall

Israel and Babylon are destroyed
Babylon Jer 50:23 how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!  See also: Jer 50:2, 9-16, 23, 29.
 Israel Ezek 5:14 Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by. 15 So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury.

Babylon and Israel are both proud against God
Babylon Jer 50:29 for she hath been proud against the LORD, against the Holy One of Israel.
Israel Hosea 5:5 And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.

Babylon and Israel both are guilty of sin against God
Babylon Jer 50:14 Put yourselves in array against Babylon for she hath sinned against the LORD
 Israel Ezek 37:23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned. (Many other examples)

Babylon and Israel are removed from their homeland.
Babylon Jer 50:3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
 Israel Ezek 6:9 And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me.

Complete shock at the downfall of Babylon and Israel
Babylon Jer 51:8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her. Jer 50:13 but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.
 Israel Ezek 5:14 Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by. 15 So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury.

No one passes through Babylon or Israel
Babylon Jer 50:13 Because of the wrath of the LORD it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate. v 39 it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
 Israel Ezek 33:28 For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through.

Babylon and Israel both fear as a woman in travail
Babylon Jer 50:43 The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail. 
Israel Jer 30:4 We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. 6 Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child?

Babylon and Israel’s time of trouble
Babylon Jer 51:2 for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.
 Israel Jer 30:7 it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble.

Babylon and Israel both face their time of visitation
Babylon Jer 50:27 let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.
 Israel Amos 3:14 in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Beth–el: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off

Babylon and Israel both described as a city
Babylon Rev 18:10 Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
 Israel Amos 6:8 I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.

Babylon and Israel both surrounded
Babylon Jer 50:29 Call together the archers against Babylon: all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about; let none thereof escape.
 Israel Amos 6:14 I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness. (The two extremes of the borders of Israel).

Babylon and Israel both restored to greatness
Babylon Dan 4:36 ...excellent majesty was added unto me. 37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven. (The king of Babylon had his kindom restored when he acknowledged God as supreme. Used as an analogy for ‘Babylon’ in the future in a prophetic sense). 
Israel Jer 33:14 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.

Babylon and God’s people both think of themselves as ‘I am’
Babylon Isa 47:8 Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow. (See also Rev 18:7)
Israel Zeph 2:15 This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me. (next verse 3:1 continues context) Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city! 2 She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God. (A city that would not draw near to her LORD and God could only be an Israelite nation)

Conclusion:

All the scriptures used are clearly in an end time context. Jeremiah gives us the lead we are looking for in being able to draw a conclusion. The circumstances of Babylon and Israel are both locked together with God’s words “in those days and in that time” in Jer 50:1-4.  Once again we have very complex circumstances that will fit together in only one way. When the Israelite nations have sunk to the level of becoming Babylon in God’s eyes, it is time for Christ to step back into the picture before they sink permanently below the point of redemption. When the whole house of Israel turns it’s back on God it is time to stand back and wait for the fireworks. The world’s most powerful nation both militarily and financially referred to as Babylon in Rev 18 is the House of Joseph. The USA and Great Britain. Described as Sodom and Gomorrah they have totally lost their spiritual bearings and have gone adrift. This is the world’s richest and most powerful nation brought to its knees and about to go into captivity. Jer 23:14 
The House of Joseph, America, Britain and Judah fall together within one month. Hos 5:5,7

Further thoughts:
When discussing the return of Christ and what information there is available to us, the first consideration is to define the scriptures that are relevant to the end time. We have seen some working examples of that but we will put in one more particularly relevant one here to expand on the principle and test our skills.
Israel has come out of Egypt and has endured forty years of wandering in the desert. They are about to enter the Promised Land. God is giving Israel (all twelve tribes) final instructions and guidance for a successful future:

And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, 2 And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; 3 That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee. 4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: 5 And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. Deut 30:1

In this passage in a very early segment of the bible, we can see God is already speaking about the future. This passage is not relevant to them there and then. They haven’t even got to the Promised Land and God is already talking about bringing them out of captivity from ‘all’ the nations He will disperse them to hundreds of years in advance. How many ‘hundreds’ of years? In the context of the same subject as a whole, we get a further clue back in chapter 4.

When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; 31 (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them. Deut 4:30

This in God’s own words is a reference to the ‘latter days’. How much ‘latter’ is still the question. Several conditions need to be fulfilled. God is referring to all Israel being gathered again from all the nations they have been scattered amongst.They must turn to Him totally without reservation:
And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. Deut 30:6

Also, the context is a new covenant being made not only with Israel but with others that are both present and absent from the proceedings.
Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel… 12 That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day…14 Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath; 15 But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day: Deut 20:10,12,14.

Adding all these circumstances together (with the extra dimension: as of today, the ten tribes of Israel are still unaccounted for i.e. dispersed and not yet rejoined), these conditions have clearly not been met. Therefore it is still a future event. Keep in mind the full and sweeping covenant still yet to be agreed between God and Israel and Judah found in Hebrews chapter 8:
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Heb 8:8

True to our principle of the complex shapes fitting in only one way, by putting the facts together we should have a clear picture of the outcome of this series of events. When Christ returns He will gather the nations of Israel together. Then, after they have agreed to the new covenant they will finally inherit the Promised Land. God keeps His promises.

The second consideration we have already dealt with. That is, once we know which scriptures are the operative ones then we need to ensure that all the pieces are employed to guarantee we have the ‘right’ construction. The proof of the pudding being a working model without pieces left out or having to force extraneous pieces in.

Conclusions
To comply with scripture Israel needs to be a Christian nation. (One that obeys/disobeys her God).

Babylon as seen from the verses that state she is ‘proud against her God’ and ‘sins against her God’ would also need to be a Christian nation.

However we have been able to ascertain that Babylon and Israel in the last days are one and the same identity.  That leaves us with the beast. Who is the beast and where is its empire? The same methods of deduction can be used. The warnings for even the ‘very elect’ are at the highest level. The warnings to not be deceived by the beast and false prophet are loud and long but more importantly in the New Testament they are directed at God’s people.
If we hold our place for a moment and consider one other important element it will take us a step closer in determining who and where the beast’s empire is.
The ‘House of Joseph’; Britain with her commonwealth partners, Australia, New Zealand and others together with the United States and Canada are all part of the sudden and total collapse of Babylon. This is the very first ‘physical’ event of the end time. The beast is not yet in existence. It is because of the sudden collapse of the dollar and with it all normal world-trading patterns that the beast and his empire finally arrives. The swift and drastic measures taken that caused the formation of the beast’s empire was a response to circumstances and a matter of sheer survival for them.

The collapse of Babylon; the US and UK and with them Judah is so thorough, so complete (read God’s descriptions) that they are no longer recognizable as nations. They are at the whim and mercy of any other nation that wishes to plunder them. The bible makes it plain that they are dispersed and taken into captivity away from their respective homelands. This means they are not subject to the ‘mark’ of the beast. The ‘mark’ is something that controls buying and selling. It is part of a system of martial law created to enable as normal a life as possible in a region that has still survived intact.
The ‘House of Joseph’ and Judah no longer have houses or homes to live in. They do not have the opportunity to buy or sell. Therefore the ‘mark’ does not apply to them. They have other problems.
So who does the ‘mark’ apply to? God has taken the necessary action to ensure that the House of Joseph and Judah will turn to Him. If they don’t, they will not survive. However there are more nations that need to be accounted for that make up all the nations of Israel, and God wants them to turn to Him. 
The warnings we mentioned are not to take the mark of the beast; not to deny Christ. No true Christian would look twice at a ‘deception’ that came from China, an Arab nation or Russia. The Beast and the False Prophet will be coming from much closer to our spiritual home. In order to deceive so many they will be as God puts it appearing as ‘angels of light’. They will be from a Christian heritage.
Europe is the only contender left in the picture. The Christian nations of Europe are the sole remaining possibility to be descendents of Israelite tribes.
Whereas Judah and Joseph have a real struggle to survive each day so will the true Christians in Europe. Europe survived the crash of the dollar by having its own separate currency. It will still take the utmost in skilled diplomacy and leadership to steer the more compact EU to safety. As a result the person who does it will be the hero and receive adulation. Naming him as the beast will not be popular.
Divided into ten regions under a totalitarian regime, anyone who does not ‘worship’ the beast and false prophet cannot buy or sell to provide for him or herself. They live in a paranoid Gestapo style state that would delight in sacrificing anyone seen as not supporting the state. The chances of anyone surviving who will not tow-the-line are slim.
All the tribes of Israel one way or another are now in the position where they must make a choice. They will need to turn to Christ in order to survive. This as mentioned before is where there is a critical role for the ministry to fulfill.

We can conclude this section by saying the whole purpose of the End Time is to: (1) Ensure Israel turns to Christ never to turn away again. (2) The world in turn also recognises that there is a God and Christ is their Lord. (3) The resurrected saints return with Christ to rule with Him in this new world. (Remember at the return of Christ the twelve disciples accompany Him to rule over the twelve nations of Israel. Matt 29:8. Luke 22:30. Acts 26:7).

Once an understanding of when Babylon falls, the charts will make a lot more sense.