March 13 - Babylon

March 13 - Babylon - Isaiah 13:1-14:23

We are going to tear through a large chunk of Isaiah today. Warren Weirsbe says in "Be Comforted" that Babylon represents the world system man has built in defiance of God. Babylon means "gateway to a god." In contrast, Jerusalem is the chosen city of God. That these two cities continually come into conflict in Scripture and in the world symbolizes the ongoing battle between God and man's fallen nature.

This battle is played out in Revelation 19:11-21, but throughout the Revelation, Babylon is attacked (Rev. 14:8; 16:19; 17–18). This battle will be an awful thing, can you imagine destruction from the Almighty? (Isaiah 13:6) Isaiah can barely describe it (Isaiah 13:1-8).

But the day of the Lord is coming! Isaiah tells us that it is a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger. In fact, so many will be killed in that battle that man will be scarcer than pure gold. (Isaiah 13:9-13)

The horrors that he speaks of are unbelievable and while he talks of Babylon far in the distant future, he also proclaims a future that isn't that far away. Babylon was destroyed several years later (689 BC), rebuilt and though it wasn't then fully destroyed, it did slowly die away and was never rebuilt to its former glory. (Isaiah 13:14-22)

Isaiah spends much of Chapter 14 speaking of a mighty Babylonian ruler who was destroyed because of his pride. Darius the Mede conquered Babylon and brought down Belshazzar (Daniel 5). This king ended up in Sheol where other kings were there to welcome him to the grave. (Isaiah 14:4-23).

The morning star was there - Lucifer. His star shone in the darkness of night, but Jesus is the bright and morning star (Rev. 22:16) and with the rising of the sun, the Lucifer's star faded to nothingness. Isaiah saw more than just the battle for Babylon, he saw further out into the battle between Satan and God. Lucifer wanted the worship that is God's (Matthew 4:8-10). The comparison between the king of Babylon and Lucifer is plain ... both will be defeated in the end ... both will be brought down because of their pride.