Isaiah 13: Oracle Against Babylon: Chapter 1: Babylon’s Downfall

In Isaiah 13-24 the prophet declares a series of oracles against the nations: Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, Moab, Damascus, Ethiopia, Egypt, Tyre, and finally the whole earth. These prophecies were fulfilled, at least partially, in the past, with the exception of the destruction of Damascus, which has yet to be fulfilled. All of the old empires have long gone, with new nations rising in their place. Chapter 24 is a more general prophecy of destruction upon the whole earth, that is, all nations.

Prophecy, however, is often fulfilled in unexpected ways. Those who focus too much on the destruction through divine judgment are those who fail to comprehend the underlying purpose of divine law, which is not merely to punish but also to purify and ultimately save and restore. Isaiah gives many hints of this, but for the most part only those who understand the New Covenant are able to see the positive side of divine judgment.

The section climaxes in chapter 25 with strange statements like, “Cities of ruthless nations will revere You” (Isaiah 25:3), proving that this destruction results in the fear of the Lord, that is, in respecting and acknowledging Christ as King. Again, the prophet says in Isaiah 25:6, “The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain,” i.e., upon this kingdom.

Further, the prophet tells us that the veil, which Paul identifies in 2 Cor. 3:14 as the Old Covenant, will be removed, not only from Jews but from “all nations” (Isaiah 25:7). Likewise, He “will wipe tears away from all faces,” a verse quoted in Rev. 21:4.

The point is that although Isaiah prophesied in the time of the Old Covenant, he was a New Covenant prophet, showing the people the heart of God and giving hope to the whole earth. The prophet’s name means “salvation,” making him a type of Christ, and so it should not be surprising to find him giving statements showing the universal scope of salvation.

In studying these chapters on divine judgment upon the nations, it is important to study with the proper New Covenant mindset, seeing beyond the destruction, knowing that God’s intent is to restore the earth and to bless all nations. The outcome is seen also in the final chapters of Revelation, where we read in Rev. 21:23, 24,

²³ And the City has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.

Again, John tells us that the nations will sing the Song of Moses. Rev. 15:4 says,

⁴ Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; for all the nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.

Not only John and Isaiah, but David also devoted an entire psalm to this. Psalm 67:1-4 says,

¹ God be gracious to us and bless us and cause His face to shine upon us—Selah, ² That your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation [Yeshua] among all nations. ³ Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. ⁴ let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You will judge the peoples with uprightness and guide the nations on the earth…

The nations will rejoice when Christ rules, because He judges with uprightness. By contrast, those nations with the heart of a beast rule with self-interest, oppression, and injustice. They consume others.

The Oracle against Babylon

Isaiah 13:1 begins,

¹ The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.

In the time of Isaiah, Assyria—not Babylon—was the dominant empire. The prophet will deal with Assyria in Isaiah 14:24-28, but, strangely enough, he begins with Babylon. It is as if he saw the future, where later prophets would refer to the worldwide empire as Babylon and as Mystery Babylon—scarcely giving credit to Assyria.

Though Assyria deported the House of Israel, and America’s founding was timed accordingly on the “seven times” principle, it was actually Babylon’s capture of Jerusalem that established the timing of the great tribulation. Hence, in any study of prophetic timing, Babylon seems to dominate prophesied events, and John refers to its final phase of world domination as Mystery Babylon, not Mystery Assyria.

Both, of course, must be blended to get a complete prophetic picture and to see how they interrelate. The end of the “seven times” for the House of Israel saw America’s Declaration of Independence in 1776. The “seven times” judgment from the fall of Samaria, Israel’s capital, in 721 B.C. ended with the construction of America’s capital, Washington D.C. in 1800.

But the end of the “seven times” for the House of Judah and Jerusalem ended in 1917 with General Allenby’s capture of Jerusalem toward the end of World War 1. This endpoint must be modified, however, because Jerusalem had been independent of the Grecian “beast” (leopard) for a century (163-63 B.C.), so the beast systems as a whole were given back this lost century from 1917 to 2017.

The point is that the “seven times” of the beast nations properly began with the capture of Jerusalem in 604 B.C. and not with the fall of Samaria in 721 B.C.

Though Isaiah prophesied much about the northern House of Israel, he lived in Jerusalem, so perhaps this is why the oracle of Babylon was given to us first. By this, he prepared the way for the prophecies of Daniel a century and a half later.

Who is Commissioned to Overthrow Babylon?

Isaiah 13:2, 3 continues,

² 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. ³ I have commanded My consecrated ones, I have even called My mighty warriors, My proudly exulting ones, to execute My anger.

The prophecy against Babylon is layered, because it has more than one fulfillment. The first fulfillment came when God raised up the Medes and Persians to overthrow Babylon in 537 B.C. But this did not exhaust the prophecy, for the spirit of Babylon has continued to dominate the world to the present time. Hence, a greater destruction of Babylon, known prophetically as Mystery Babylon (Rev. 17:5, KJV), that is, a secret, hidden form of Babylon, was yet to come.

No longer a physical city, Babylon today is a secret government that rules all nations. Its wealthy and powerful rulers remain hidden in the background, controlling the policies of governments, at times creating divisions and wars in order to consolidate power and to gain more wealth through their banks.

Isaiah’s oracle against Babylon covers the present time as well, where we are seeing, even now, divine judgment coming upon the world.

In the original fall of Babylon, Daniel understood by the prophecies of Jeremiah that the people of Judah were to be released from captivity after 70 years (Dan. 9:2). Hence, he knew when the time came to petition the Divine Court for their release. Babylon’s King Belshazzar did not concur with this decree, however, and so God raised up the Medes and Persians to take the city in 537 B.C., which was 70 years after Babylon had solidified its overthrow of Assyria in 607 B.C.

Darius the Mede took control of Babylon (Dan. 5:31) and ruled for three years until Cyrus the Persian returned from other conquests. In the first year of Cyrus, he issued the decree allowing the people of Judah to return to their land (534 B.C.).

A similar pattern is seen today, where the overcomers, like Daniel, have petitioned the Divine Court at the end of the “seven times” of tribulation. The prayers have been answered, and Mystery Babylon is now falling.

Hence, when Isaiah 13:2 says to “lift up a standard,” that standard is Jesus Christ and His righteous law that expresses His divine nature. When Isaiah 13:3 says, “I have commanded My consecrated ones… My mighty warriors,” the prophet was speaking of the overcoming remnant which has engaged in spiritual warfare to overthrow Mystery Babylon. The work of the remnant benefits the people of God, who are set free as the result of their intercession and warfare.

With the overthrow of the beast governments, all nations are blessed as well, for they all leave the oppressive laws of carnally-minded men and come under the law of our righteous God. That is why the nations rejoice, as David prophesied. With their blindness removed, they no longer believe the propaganda coming from their hidden masters that portray the Kingdom of God as oppressive and restrictive. Once set free and once their eyes are healed, they will say, “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name?” In other words, who wouldn’t follow a righteous and loving God such as this?

They will wonder why they had not believed this from the beginning.

The Tumult

Isaiah 13:4, 5 concludes,

⁴ A sound of tumult on the mountains, like that of many people! A sound of the uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathered together! The Lord of hosts is mustering the army for battle. ⁵ They are coming from a far country, from the farthest horizons, the Lord and His instruments of indignation, to destroy the whole land.

In the fall of Babylon, God raised up the Medes and Persians, calling them His army, for they were the unwitting agents of divine judgment. Today, God again uses unbelievers along with believers to overthrow Mystery Babylon, but the real force comes from the overcoming remnant that has won the battle in the heavens ahead of time.

Hence, we look out at the world today (2021) and see the tumult, fear, and confusion that reigns over those who do not know what is happening to their world. Because they have attached themselves to the world and its ways, they perceive that the judgment is directed against them. But those of the overcoming remnant, having cleansed their hearts of Babylonian domination, understand that this judgment is God’s answer to their prayers. They know that it will result in the earth’s emancipation in preparation for the great Sabbath Millennium that is coming.