Isaiah chapters 13 – 24 outline Adonai’s judgment against the nations. This starts with Babylon. Thereafter these chapters deal with Assyria, Philistia, Moab, Syria, Edom, Jerusalem and Tyre. Finally in chapter 24, there is the judgment on the whole earth.
In chapter 13 vv1 – 5, we see the assembling of the army of the Lord of hosts to impose judgment on Babylon.
In verses 6 – 13, we have the announcement of the “Day of the Lord” and the horrors that this will involve. These verses elaborate on the first purpose of the Tribulation; to make an end to wickedness and the wicked ones.
In verses 14 –22, we see the mass exodus from Babylon and its destruction.
There are some difficulties in considering the prophecies concerning the destruction of Babylon. At one time, Isaiah may be seeing Babylon’s defeat at the hands of the Assyrians in 689 BC. Or it may be Babylon being conquered by the Medes and Persians in 539 BC. It may be that Isaiah is seeing the destruction of the rebuilt city in the end times. Figuratively, he may be describing the collapse of the system of idolatry which was for centuries based in Babylon. In many instances it is the pattern of events rather than the details of any prediction which is important.
For example, the final destruction of Babylon leaves it unfit for human habitation and occupied by wild animals or perhaps demons. But this cannot refer to the capture of the city by the Medes as it did not result in the kind of destruction seen in Sodom and Gomorrah. It did not leave the city uninhabitable for ever (vv20and 21). And the capture was not accomplished by a nation of the North; the Medes and the Persians came from the East (Jeremiah 50:41). The success of the Medes did not result in Israel (or more than a remnant) seeking the Lord and returning to Zion (Jeremiah 50: 4,5) and did not involve the breaking of the walls or burning of the gates (Jeremiah 51:58). These events come later.
Clearly then, all Isaiah’s prophecies concerning Babylon cannot be explained by reference to the capture of the city by the Medes and Persians. Not all prophecies have been fulfilled. The pattern is important but for final clarity we will have to wait for the Tribulation period.
The ultimate fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecies will come in conjunction with the rebuilding of Babylon and its utter destruction when the Lord returns. Unlike other nations, at the end of the Tribulation, there will be no remnant in Babylon.
The same prophecies made by Isaiah concerning the nations are found in Jeremiah Chapters 46 – 51, and in Ezekiel Chapters 25 – 32.
Although Babylon was not yet a world power when these prophecies were written by Isaiah, they foresaw the time when Babylon would overthrow the current dominant force in the world, Assyria, and itself be an international powerhouse.
Chapter 13 Verse 1.
“The burden against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.”
The term “burden” is used here in the sense of Isaiah having a heavy weight of responsibility to deliver the message. The Hebrew word comes from a root meaning “to lift up” or “to beat”. It is as though the prophet was heavily laden with a message from Adonai that he must deliver because of its sheer weight.
Babylon was the jewel in the crown of the Assyrian empire, until it eventually eclipsed Assyria itself.
The message which Isaiah is to deliver may well refer to the conquering of the city by the Medes and Persians in 539 BC. Babylon was the centre of pagan religion in the Middle East. Thus, this oracle can be seen in a sense to be an oracle against all nations, including Assyria, which was the main threat to Judah in Isaiah’s lifetime. And of course, in Revelation 14 and 18 we see the term “Babylon” used in relation to false religions and all enemies of Adonai.
Verse 2.
“Lift up a banner on the high mountain, raise your voice to them; wave your hand, that they may enter the gates of the nobles.”
As we have said these first verses describe the assembling of the army of the Lord of Hosts.
This may be the Medes and Persians summonsed to conquer Babylon. We saw this in Chapter 5:26.
“He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar, and will whistle to them from the end of the earth; surely they will come with speed, swiftly”.
Or is Isaiah seeing the sudden attack on Babylon in the end times during the military campaign which commences after the gathering of the forces of Antichrist (“the beast”/ “the prince who is to come”) in the Valley of Jezreel? Was the gathering which Isaiah saw, the gathering of forces who were against Babylon and the Antichrist? Was this a distant fulfilment following the same pattern?
Verse 3.
“I have commanded My sanctified ones; I have also commanded My Mighty ones for My anger – those who rejoice in My exaltation.”
So, who are these “sanctified ones”?
If Isaiah was seeing the defeat of Babylon at the time of the exile of the Judeans, they would be the Medes and Persians. There can be victorious armies on the earth “who rejoice” in the Lord’s exaltation, whether they have done it wittingly or unwittingly. These armies were used to bring down Babylon when Adonai’s anger had turn to Babylon and away from Judah. The triumph of these forces is to the honour of Adonai.
However, if Isaiah’s vision takes him beyond the actions of the Medes and Persians, we would be looking at the final destruction of Babylon at the close of the Tribulation. The gathering may be of opponents of Antichrist such as the Gentile believers (Matthew 25:31 – 40), “his sheep” who provided for the Jews during the very dangerous time of the Great Tribulation. They may previously have provided food, clothing, shelter, prison visits and other forms of kindness. They will populate the Gentile nations in the Messianic kingdom having destroyed Babylon whilst the armies of the Antichrist were gathered in the Valley of Jezreel.
Verse 4.
“The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like that of many people! A tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together! The Lord of hosts musters the army for battle.”
Isaiah uses the term “the Lord of hosts” or a similar title for Adonai some sixty times. It pictures Adonai as a mighty warrior, capable of conquering all Israel’s enemies. These “many people” seem to represent many nations. They will be instruments in the hands of Adonai to judge sinful nations.
This verse does seem to point to the end-time return of the Lord to crush the final Babylon, to defeat His enemies and to establish His kingdom over all nations.
Revelation 19:15.
“Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron.”
Verse 5.
“They come from a far country, from the end of Heaven – The Lord and His weapons of indignation, to destroy the whole land.”
It may be that this army is drawn from the whole earth. They are tools in the hand of Adonai (“His weapons of Indignation”) which He will use to vent HIs wrath against Babylon.
This again suggests an end-time event. The Medes and Persians did conquer Babylon, but they did not destroy “the whole land”. The fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians was merely a short-term glimpse of the fall of the final Babylon at the hands of the universal forces of the Lord.
Revelation 18:2.
“Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!”
Verse 6.
“Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
Verses 6 – 13, look beyond the triumph of the Medes and Persians to the day of the Lord which will impact the whole world and involve cataclysmic events in the heavens. These verses elaborate on the first purpose of the Tribulation; to make an end to wickedness and the wicked ones.
The “day of the Lord” can refer to any time of unusual activity by Adonai in the lives of His people; either for mercy or for judgment. But clearly judgment and destruction are threatened here; and it is “at hand” i.e., not in the distant future.
The prophecy in these verses looks beyond the immediate conquest of the city by the Medes, to the greater day of the Lord and anticipates the final destruction of Babylon by the personal intervention of Messiah.
Verses 7 and 8.
“Therefore all hands will be limp, every man’s heart will melt, and they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; they will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; they will be amazed at one another; their faces will be like flames.”
These verses describe the depth of the people’s fears; they will be stupefied and aghast. The comparison with labour pains (“as a woman in childbirth”) is often used in scripture to describe human sufferings.
Hosea:13: 12 and 13.
“The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is stored up. The sorrows of a woman in childbirth shall come upon him.”
Verse 9.
“Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He will destroy its sinners from it.”
The phrase “cruel with both wrath and fierce anger”, reminds us of chapter 2 v21 “… go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the crags of the rugged rocks, from the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily.”
As we said to “destroy sinners” is the first purpose of the Tribulation.
Malachi 4:1.
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming will burn them up,” says the Lord of hosts, “that will leave them neither root nor branch.”
Isaiah is seeing the final Babylon which is destroyed with all its inhabitants. Other nations will be left a remnant – but not so Babylon. Here we see Messiah’s return in judgment on all remaining alive on the earth.
Verse 10.
“For the stars of the heaven and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine.”
We can see elsewhere in scripture cosmic upheaval associated with the period of Tribulation before the Lord returns.
Revelation 6:12,13.
“I looked when he opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became as black as the sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.”
Matthew 24:29.
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”
We could also refer to Isaiah 24: 23, Ezekiel 32:7 and Joel 2:31.
Verse 11.
“I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.”
Concerning the “evil” and “iniquity” of the wicked, here we see the boasting of violent and ruthless men. The common element of these evils is pride. Pride led to the judgment on Israel (5:21; 9:9) and will cause the downfall of Babylon (47:5 – 8; Revelation 18:7).
Isaiah 2:11,12.
“The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, the haughtiness of man shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up – and it shall be brought low.”
Isaiah 26:21.
“For behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of earth for their iniquity; the earth will also disclose her blood, and will no more cover her slain.”
Concerning Babylon, we read in Revelation 18:7, “In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, “I sit as a queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.”
Verse 12.
“I will make mortal man rarer than pure gold, a man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.”
The Hebrew word translated “mortal” speaks of the inherent weakness and vulnerability of man. In the day of the Lord there will be a horrendous reduction in the human population. Because of this visitation by Adonai human mortality will be very high; but not total. Adonai will spare the faithful remnant.
The gold of Ophir (1 Chronicles 29:4) was procured by King David and used by Solomon to adorn the temple. Ophir was a region of Arabia, near the Red Sea.
Verse 13.
“Therefore I shall shake the heavens, and the earth will move out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts and in the day of His fierce anger.”
We have already seen in verse 10 and in Revelation 6, cosmic disturbances accompanying Adonai’s intervention. The shaking of the cosmos including the sun, moon and the stars symbolises the overthrow of all those objects that unbelieving humans exalted over Adonai in pagan worship. Pagan worship exalted the sun, moon and stars over the One who created them.
Haggai 2:6.
“For thus says the Lord of hosts: “Once more (it is a little time) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and the dry land; and I will shake all nations …”
The day of the Lord will effect the whole earth and will involve cataclysmic events in the heavens.
Verse 14.
“It shall be as a hunted gazelle, and as a sheep that no man takes up; every man will turn to his own people, and everyone will flee to his own land.
Verses 14 – 22 cover the mass exodus from Babylon. We see the same description of events in Jeremiah 50:16.
“Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him who handles the sickle at harvest time. For fear of the oppressing sword everyone shall turn to his own people, and everyone shall flee to his own land.”
Every foreign worker In Babylon will flee to his own land and his own people; scattering like a hunted gazelle or sheep without a shepherd. This is the impact of the attack by the Medes and Persians.
Verses 15 and 16.
“Everyone who is found shall be thrust through, and everyone who is captured will fall by the sword. Their children also will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses plundered and their wives ravished.”
Those who do not flee Babylon will suffer unspeakable cruelty. The brutality of warfare will extend to everyone irrespective of age, gender or station in life.
Psalm 137:8 and 9.
“O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed, happy the one who repays you as you have served us! Happy the one who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock!”
The Medes and Persians will commit these atrocities in the capture of Babylon.
Verse 17.
“Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who will not regard silver; and as for gold, they will not delight in it.”
The Medes who lived in what is now north-west Iran, conquered Babylon in 539 BC. This was prophesied by Daniel.
Daniel 5:28.
“Your kingdom (Belshazzar) has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” This is confirmed in verses 30 and 31.
The Medes will not be bought off with silver or gold or any such bribe. Babylon took treasures from the temple in Jerusalem, and this is the Lord’s revenge.
Jeremiah 51:11.
“Make the arrows bright! Gather the shields! The Lord has raised up the spirits of the kings of the Medes. For His plan is against Babylon to destroy it, because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance for His temple.”
Verse 18.
“Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces, and they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb, their eye will not spare children.”
The defeat of the fighting youth of Babylon will have disastrous consequences for all, even the youngest. This is the fate of the children we saw in verse 16.
Isaiah 47: 9.
“But these two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day; the loss of children, and widowhood. They shall come upon you in their fullness because of the multitude of your sorceries, for the great abundance of your enchantments.”
The anger of Adonai against Babylon also concerns their occult practices.
Verse 19.
“And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans pride, will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.”
It is quite appropriate to talk of the beauty of the city of Babylon. At its zenith it was quite spectacular. In Revelation 18, it is spoken of as “that mighty city”. And King Nebuchadnezzar also claimed in Daniel 4:30, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honour of my majesty?”
But the fall of Babylon is to play a prominent role in the Tribulation period. Before the Second Coming of Messiah, all the prophecies concerning the destruction of Babylon will be fulfilled.
Genesis 19:24 – 25.
“Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground”.
There will be similar total destruction for Babylon. Revelation 18:8, “And she will be utterly burned with fire…”
Verse 20.
“It will never be inhabited, nor will it be settled from generation to generation; nor will the Arabian pitch tents there, nor will the shepherds make their sheepfolds there.”
Though nothing like its former glory, the site of Babylon has never been devoid of inhabitants. A city or a town of some description has always existed there. Therefore, the prophecy points to things still to come.
No one will want to live there; not even the desert people will want to pitch a tent. Even places famed as great attractions will become desolate.
Jeremiah 50:3.
“For out of the north a nation comes against her, which will make her land desolate, and no one shall dwell therein. They shall move, they shall depart, both man and beast.”
Verses 21 and 22.
“But wild beast of the desert will lie there, and their houses will be full of owls; ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will caper there. The hyenas will howl in their citadels, and jackals in their pleasant palaces. Her time is near to come, and her days will not be prolonged.”
The animals represented here are unclean, unholy, uncivilised and unsettled. The godly people of Israel would have no association with such animals. The wild goats are dancing around like demons. Is there a reason for this? (see Revelation 18:2).
Isaiah 34:13 – 15 has a similar picture of destruction.
“And thorns shall come up in their palaces, nettles and brambles in their fortresses; it shall be a habitation of jackals, a courtyard for ostriches. The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the jackals, and the wild goat shall bleat to its companion; also the night creature will rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.”
Babylon has had her zenith. But her days are numbered; there is no escape.