1. Ezra 1:11 (ESV)
  2. Application

Pilgrimage to the New Jerusalem

Ezra 1:11 (ESV)

11 all the vessels of gold and of silver were 5,400. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.

From Babylon to Jerusalem… How does the Bible end? In Revelation 18:1–24 [we read]: Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! Babylon becomes a symbol for the earthly city, the city of this world, the aspirations of men without God. And the people of God are making their way from the earthly city of Babylon to the heavenly city of Jerusalem… We are making a pilgrimage, you and I, from Babylon to Jerusalem. We are on a journey from the city of the world that offers nothing in the end, to the city of God that promises everything.1

Derek W. H. Thomas