Jeremiah 25 - Are we witnessing the rise of another Nebuchadnezzar?

Bow down your ear, O Lord, from your everlasting throne. Hear my prayer, Lord, today. Decree a verdict my way — I am in a time of need. Tend to my voice graciously. I pray to you all day long, singing and praising with your songs.

O Lord, I lift my voice to you. Examine me, Lord, through and through. I stay my case to you. My petitions are faithful and true. My enemies seek my life, filled with anger and strife. You are gracious, merciful, and true. Save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God, my eternal rock, my forever. I will praise your name.

Lord, I am calling on you. Cast them under your foot. Your eyes are on all the earth, defending all the righteous. You are the sovereign judge. Your verdict has always stood. Show me a sign for good. Lord, show me a sign.

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Shabbat shalom, friends. My name is Chadwick Harvey. You have reached Faithful Performance. Thank you so much for joining us tonight as we explore Jeremiah 25 and the question: are we witnessing the rise of another Nebuchadnezzar at this time in the Middle East?

We are all familiar with Nebuchadnezzar. Those who know biblical prophecy and biblical history recognize King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon as one of the most famous kings in the Bible. Although evil at first, he is one of the most recognizable kings in all of Scripture. He had a tremendous impact on biblical prophecy, and everything connected to his life flows from the standpoint of Babylon. It is very important to recognize what Nebuchadnezzar's role in biblical prophecy is — not only historically, but prophetically as well — in order to understand what will happen at the end of the age.

History repeats itself, and so does the pattern of biblical prophecy. We will see another Nebuchadnezzar rise up at the end of the age. Many believe the Antichrist will fulfill that role — he is the one who destroyed Jerusalem, put the people in captivity, and so forth, as recorded in the book of Jeremiah. Most would say the coming Antichrist is the one who will fill that position again. But as we watch the Middle East unfold with biblical prophecy — just as we discovered in Daniel 10 a couple of nights ago, with the transition between the second and third kingdoms — I believe we can look at Jeremiah 25 to see whether we are already witnessing another Nebuchadnezzar rise up, even before the Antichrist rises at the very end.

This is why it is so important to trace the book of Jeremiah during the time of the end, because his prophecies bleed into the end just as we discovered with the prophecy of the fishermen and the hunters in Jeremiah 16. He speaks about the Babylonian exile and Nebuchadnezzar historically, and then fast-forwards into end-of-the-age prophecy. We should be able to discern whether we have already seen that fulfilled in history or whether we are seeing it unfold right now. Jeremiah 25 works in the same way.

When we read Jeremiah 25, it will be historical at first. We will read about Nebuchadnezzar, the exile, and the authority he had to conquer all of the Middle East. Some people do not realize the full scope of the authority that Almighty God — Elohim — gave King Nebuchadnezzar. We will read that in a moment, and it gives us a thorough understanding of what will come again at the end of the age. Just as in Jeremiah 16, where the text moves from history into second-coming events, we will see the same pattern here, which tells us that this is going to happen again. As we know, history repeats itself — and so does biblical prophecy.

Nebuchadnezzar is essential to understand because all end-time prophecy hinges from the Babylonian Empire. That is why he is the central king raised up in the book of Daniel. When we speak of the four kingdoms of Daniel, Babylon is the first. Medo-Persia is next — what you see today as Iran. Then comes Yavan, which is Turkey. And we are about to witness the transition from the second kingdom to the third kingdom right now. Iran will eventually fall, whether through America, Israel, or — as I believe — Turkey, who will ultimately bring it down. We need to understand these things because they carry deep prophetic weight, and the historical record gives us the information we need to understand the future.

The books of Jeremiah, Daniel, and Isaiah were given by prophets — not historians. They are not called the great historians; they are called the great prophets. Even though events happened a certain way in the past according to Scripture, that same template will happen again at the end of the age. We will try to show you that through Jeremiah 25, just as we have with Daniel 8, Daniel 2, and Daniel 7 — chapters where people tend to treat the content as purely historical, when in fact they bleed into second-coming events as well.

So we will go through Jeremiah 25, examine the historical context, and then consider whether there is a leader in the Middle East today who has already begun doing what Nebuchadnezzar did. What do I mean? When we read Jeremiah 25, the Almighty gave Nebuchadnezzar the authority to conquer all of the Middle East because the nations were out of alignment with Him — including Judah. Remember, the northern kingdom of Israel had already been destroyed by the Assyrian Empire around 732 BC. Then came Nebuchadnezzar, sent to judge the southern kingdom of Judah and the surrounding kingdoms as well.

This truth crept up on me a couple of weeks ago and struck me powerfully: I believe we are seeing another Nebuchadnezzar rise to power, even before the Antichrist rises. With that in mind, let us read Jeremiah 25. We will examine both the historical and prophetic dimensions, and we will also tie in 2 Kings and Jeremiah 46 to support what we are presenting. Then we will look at the Middle East map, covering the geopolitical updates across the Middle East and North Africa — including Iran, and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Jeremiah was the main prophet sent to the kingdom of Judah before judgment fell, giving the people every opportunity to repent and return to the Lord. As we know, they declined, and judgment came — captivity, exile, famine, and the sword. Only Jeremiah and the true prophets were set free while everyone else was taken into captivity or exile. It is vital to connect with the book of Jeremiah in the time of the end, because that pattern is going to repeat, just as it does with the prophet Daniel. Jeremiah's prophecies concerning Nebuchadnezzar will repeat again.

So let us read this prophecy slowly, and we will read it a couple of times to show the transition from historical to prophetic. Jeremiah 25 contains the prophecy of the judgment of Israel, but it also reveals the authority Nebuchadnezzar held over the entire surrounding region — and that is what we are focused on tonight. We are not focused so much on Jerusalem or Israel in isolation, but on the authority that I believe the Almighty has given to a current leader in the Middle East — a leader who has already begun doing what Nebuchadnezzar did, and in the same order that he did it.

Jeremiah 25 begins:

*"The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon — which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: 'From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, this is the twenty-third year in which the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, but you have not listened. And the Lord has sent to you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened, nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, "Repent now, every one of you, from his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, and I will not harm you." Yet you have not listened to me, says the Lord, that you might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.'"*

As we can see, Jeremiah was sent to the people to explain what was coming. He had come to them for twenty-three years at this point, and still they had not listened, had not obeyed, and had not repented — because of all the apostasy they were practicing. This passage sets up the historical foundation: the Lord sent the prophets, the people rejected them, and now judgment is coming. That brings us to verse 8:

*"Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Because you have not heard my words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,' says the Lord, 'and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant. I will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, against these nations all around. And I will utterly destroy them and make them an astonishment and a hissing.'"*