Tuesday, November 14, 2017

eschatology, the Fall of Babylon (Is.13-23)

The next several chapters of Isaiah. beginning at chapter 13, are messages of consequences to all the countries who had persecuted Israel.  I'm only going to zero in on the scriptures regarding Babylon, as these are twofold prophecies.  For the more immediate prophecy, this chapter describes how Babylon was going to be destroyed in stages, so that by 20 BC, it would be a wasteland.  This would all begin in 539 BC, when Medes (the Persians) overthrew the Babylonian empire - chapter 13:3-5.

For the prophecies regarding the end times, I will highlight all the terms and specific poignant events that are used throughout the Bible (the ones that I'm aware of) and put at least one correlating scripture in parenthesis after each highlighted section...

(Isaiah 13:1-13)  The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
Lift up a standard on the bare hill,
Raise your voice to them,
Wave the hand that they may enter the doors of the nobles.
I have commanded My consecrated ones,
I have even called My mighty warriors,
My proudly exulting ones,
To execute My anger. (ie. Rev.16:1)
sound of tumult on the mountains,
Like that of many people!
A sound of the uproar of kingdoms,
Of nations gathered together!  (Rev.19-:19)
The Lord of hosts is mustering the army for battle.
They are coming from a far country,
From the farthest horizons,
The Lord and His instruments of indignation,
To destroy the whole land.  (Rev.19:14)
Wail, for the day of the Lord is near! (Zeph.1:14-18)
It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
Therefore all hands will fall limp,
And every man’s heart will melt.
They will be terrified,
Pains and anguish will take hold of them; (Rev.9:5-6)
They will writhe like a woman in labor (Matt.24:8)
They will look at one another in astonishment,
Their faces aflame.
Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, (Zeph.1:14-18)
Cruel, with fury and burning anger,
To make the land a desolation; (Dan.9:27)
And He will exterminate its sinners from it. (Rev.19:20-21)
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not flash forth their light;
The sun will be dark when it rises 

And the moon will not shed its light(Rev.6:12-13)
11 Thus I will punish the world for its evil (Rev.16:1, 19)
And the wicked for their iniquity;
I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud
And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless.
12 I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold
And mankind than the gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,
And the earth will be shaken from its place  (Rev.16:18)
At the fury of the Lord of hosts
In the day of His burning anger.

In chapter 21, Isaiah returns to the topic of Babylon to give them a stern warning, because the vision that he has seen sickens him and it is disrupting his sleep, as described in the first portion of the following scripture...

(Isaiah 21:1-10)  The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.
As windstorms in the Negev sweep on,
It comes from the wilderness, from a terrifying land.
harsh vision has been shown to me;
The treacherous one still deals treacherously, and the destroyer still destroys.
Go up, Elam, lay siege, Media;
I have made an end of all the groaning she has caused.
For this reason my loins are full of anguish;
Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in labor.
I am so bewildered I cannot hear, so terrified I cannot see.
My mind reels, horror overwhelms me;
The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling.
They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink;
“Rise up, captains, oil the shields,”
For thus the Lord says to me,
“Go, station the lookout, let him report what he sees.
“When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,
A train of donkeys, a train of camels,
Let him pay close attention, very close attention.”
Then the lookout called,
O Lord, I stand continually by day on the watchtower,
And I am stationed every night at my guard post.
“Now behold, here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in pairs.”
And one said, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; (Rev.14:8, 18:1-2)
And all the images of her gods are shattered on the ground.”
10 O my threshed people
and my afflicted of the threshing floor! (Rev.14:19-20, 19:15)
What I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
The God of Israel, I make known to you.

Again, the following is a twofold prophecy.  Regarding the end times: Babylon will fall, and God will have the victory!  The Israelites and other people who become Christians/believers in the Tribulation will enter the Millennium and experience peace...

(Isaiah 14:1-7)  When the Lord will have compassion on Jacob and again choose Israel, and settle them in their own land, then strangers will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob. The peoples will take them along and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them as an inheritance in the land of the Lord as male servants and female servants; and they will take their captors captive and will rule over their oppressors.  And it will be in the day when the Lord gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and harsh service in which you have been enslaved, that you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon, and say,
“How the oppressor has ceased,
And how fury has ceased!
“The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked,
The scepter of rulers
Which used to strike the peoples in fury with unceasing strokes,
Which subdued the nations in anger with unrestrained persecution.
The whole earth is at rest and is quiet;
They break forth into shouts of joy..."

Today's takeaway:  God in His infinite wisdom named the future end times' empire "Babylon" - which will "rise again" in the Tribulation and will rule over the entire earth.  Will it be the actual Babylon or will it be a symbolic "nation" which begins with a group of people who are led by the Beast?  We do not know.  And we do not NEED to know!

If God had given a prophecy with the exact nation's name, we would have a very very difficult time being gracious to that particular race of people.  Consider how people love to call anyone they hate - "the Beast" or "the Antichrist".  I have heard some Christians say stuff like, "Oh, I'm thinking this person is the Antichrist!"  Not only is this impossible to know right now, but it is not at all Christian.  First of all, we should only fear God - we are not to fear anything or anyone.  Second of all, we are to love everyone.  Instead of spreading hate, let us work on spreading God's love...

(Matthew 5:44-48)  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?  48 Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.


(Luke 6:27-38)  “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. 31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over.  For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

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