NOTICE OF THE COMING “CALAMITY” SERVED

19, 20. (a) Before the world calamity, upon whom must notice be served? (b) How did Jehovah illustrate this serving of notice in Jeremiah’s day?

¹⁹ World calamity is just ahead! Notice of this has to be served upon that world-dominating figure, Babylon the Great. This serving of notice upon her was illustrated away back in the prophet Jeremiah’s day, yes, back in 614 B.C.E. Of this, he tells us:

²⁰ “The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah the son of Mahseiah when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his being king; and Seraiah was the quartermaster. And Jeremiah proceeded to write in one book all the calamity that would come upon Babylon, even all these words written against Babylon. Furthermore, Jeremiah said to Seraiah: ‘As soon as you come to Babylon and actually see her, you must also read aloud all these words. And you must say, “O Jehovah, you yourself have spoken against this place, in order to cut it off so that there may come to be in it no inhabitant, either man or even domestic animal, but that she may become mere desolate wastes to time indefinite.” And it must occur that when you will have completed reading this book, you will tie to it a stone, and you must pitch it into the midst of the Euphrates. And you must say, “This is how Babylon must sink down and never rise up because of the calamity that I am bringing in upon her; and they will certainly tire themselves out.”’”​—Jer. 51:59-64.

21, 22. How was that action of Seraiah imitated prophetically in the book of Revelation, and with what accompanying words?

²¹ What Seraiah, the brother of Baruch, the son of Neriah, was commanded to do in order to illustrate the overthrow of ancient Babylon was copied in the book of Revelation. The writer, the Christian apostle John, first describes the destruction of the international religious “harlot,” Babylon the Great, and then he goes on to say:

²² “And a strong angel lifted up a stone like a great millstone and hurled it into the sea, saying: ‘Thus with a swift pitch will Babylon the great city be hurled down, and she will never be found again. . . . no voice of a bridegroom and of a bride will ever be heard in you again; because your traveling merchants were the top-ranking men of the earth, for by your spiritistic practice all the nations were misled. Yes, in her was found the blood of prophets and of holy ones and of all those who have been slaughtered on the earth.’”​—Rev. 18:21-24.

²² “And a strong angel lifted up a stone like a great millstone and hurled it into the sea, saying: ‘Thus with a swift pitch will Babylon the great city be hurled down, and she will never be found again. . . .