“And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. . . . And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.” (Genesis 10:8, 10)

The Bible is a book of history and has been remarkably corroborated by archaeology. There are other “bibles,” to be sure. One of the more famous is the Enuma Elish, a creation story from ancient Babylon written on seven tablets. In it the god Marduk battles the chaos goddess Tiamat and defeats her with super-weapons. Once Marduk becomes the leader of the gods, he makes heaven and Earth out of Tiamat’s body and humanity from Marduk’s blood and bone. Interestingly, Nimrod assumes the name Marduk in his own self-aggrandizing records.

Little wonder God identifies this place and time in history as “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Revelation 17:5). Little wonder that God confounded the language at Babel to prevent worldwide rebellion (Genesis 11:1-9).

God’s purpose in telling us this history is twofold: He has set all nations in motion and controls history for His purposes (Acts 17:26) and has allowed humanity to continue, “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

The hope of mankind lies in the gospel of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 6:17-19). One day, all history from this cursed world will be wrapped up, and everything will function under the perfect holiness and flawless design of the Creator (Zechariah 14:9). HMM III

Adapted from Unlocking the Mysteries of Genesis by Dr. Henry Morris III.