Chapter 15 Empires of the Beast This is a tale of two Babylons, one mystical and one material. Babylon—wealthy, intriguing, and immoral—is mentioned more times in the Bible than any other city, with the exception of Jerusalem. The first great empire of the Gentile world, it was the home of Nebuchadnezzar, the most influential king on earth at that time. Within its hundred-feet-high walls, so thick that four chariots could race abreast atop them, the Jews had languished as captives for seventy years.