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210 Though it may tarry, wait for it; For it will surely come— For its appointed time it will not be delayed. HABAKKUK 2: 2-3 (The “appointed time,” as we shall see, arrived precisely fifty years thereafter.) The forty-three years of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign (605-562 B.C.E.) are considered a period of a dominant “‘Neo-Babylo- nian” empire, a period marked by decisive actions and fast moves, for there was no time to lose—the nearing Return was now Babylon’s prize! To prepare Babylon for the expected Return, massive ren- ovation and construction works were quickly undertaken. Their focal point was the sacred precinct, where the Esagil temple of Marduk (now simply called Bel/Ba‘al, “The Lord”) was renovated and rebuilt, its seven-stage ziggurat readied for viewing from it the starry skies (Fig. 93)—just as had been done in Uruk when Anu had visited circa 4000 B.c.E. A new Processional Way leading to the sacred precinct through a massive new gate was erected; their walls were decorated and covered from top to bottom with artful glazed bricks that THE END OF DAYS FIGURE 93