Babylon stands across time as a primary symbol of human society organized without God, in defiance of God, and as the very antithesis of the kingdom of God, which is characterized by righteousness, peace, and Spirit-given joy (Romans 14:17). Especially in the book of Revelation, Babylon is presented as the godless world system (see also 1 Peter 5:13 where the apostle sees Rome in his day as a type of Babylon). God's great goal in history is the coming of His kingdom into the fallen world. Jesus says in Matthew 24:14 that the whole point of history is the proclamation of the "gospel of the kingdom" in the entire world. According to Daniel 2:20—21, all national leaders are directly placed in power by God's intentional will, or allowed in power through His permissive will in line with God's kingdom's purpose and plan. Nebuchadnezzar, king of literal Babylon, and Trump, a man from the city many describe as the "modern Babylon," in their similarities, are among the most graphic examples of this "deep history" discussed in Two Men from Babylon. We can only understand national leaders, including Nebuchadnezzar and Trump, in the context of this kingdom plan.
