Isaiah 13:1

The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see. Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles... Howl ye, for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. (Isaiah 13:1–6)

God is the same yesterday, today, and forever—and the way He judged the nations of old reveals the certainty of the day of the Lord still to come.

Judgment Begins at the House of God

Over the next several weeks, as we continue our study in Isaiah, we will see judgments spoken upon the nations—primarily those considered enemies of Israel some 2,800 years ago during Isaiah's lifetime. But notice that the first twelve chapters of Isaiah also dealt with judgment, and that judgment was directed at God's own people in Judah and Jerusalem.

This reminds us of 1 Peter 4:17: "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end of them that obey not the gospel of God be?" The judgment of God came to His own people first. If God is willing to judge His own people because He is not a respecter of persons, then what does that mean for those who are not His people?

We will see God judge the Babylonians tonight, and afterward the Assyrians, Arabians, Edomites, Egyptians, Ethiopians, Moabites, Philistines, and Syrians—all the nations that stood as enemies of God's people. From chapter 13 to chapter 23, each judgment foreshadows the great judgment God will bring upon the entire world. When we reach Isaiah 24, the attention turns to the whole earth—a judgment yet to come. How do we know it will come? Because God made good on His word against Babylon and Assyria and the rest. As Jesus said, not one jot or tittle will pass away till all be fulfilled. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

The Cities of Refuge and Our Refuge in Christ

We are called priests in a royal generation, God's peculiar people, given the task of proclaiming the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. He has given us refuge in Jesus Christ.

In the law, God established six cities of refuge—three on each side of the Jordan, set about a day's journey from anywhere in the land. Their purpose was for the manslayer, the one who killed someone unintentionally. The example given is a man chopping wood whose axe head flies off and kills his partner. The custom, established in Genesis 9, was an eye for an eye; the next of kin had legal authority to avenge the death. But God gave provision: the accidental killer could flee to a city of refuge, plead his case before the elders, and, if the death was found unintentional, remain safe from the avenger of blood—as long as he stayed in the city, until the death of the high priest.

These cities were maintained by the Levites at great cost, with roads clearly marked. Yet there is little evidence in the Old Testament or in Josephus that they were greatly used. It almost seems like wasted tax revenue. But Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians that all these things were written as examples for us, upon whom the end of the age has come.

The word "refuge" appears many times in the Old Testament, but only once in the New—in Hebrews 7, where it speaks of Christ. Here is the amazing thing: every one of us, without realizing it, is guilty of murder. You may say it was manslaughter—I never intended it. But you and I are guilty of the death of Jesus of Nazareth. Our sin killed Him. And He has a next of kin: a Father who is merciful and just, but holy, who will execute justice. Every one of us, guilty of this manslaughter, has but one place to turn—refuge in Christ. If we do not turn, we abide under the wrath of the Father, and the day of judgment will come.

The Day of the Lord

"Howl ye, for the day of the LORD is at hand." The day of the Lord is a term seen 29 times in the Bible. We first saw it in Isaiah 2:12: "For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty... and he shall be brought low." Every reference to the day of the Lord deals with judgment, destruction, fear, darkness, gloom. Joel speaks of multitudes in the valley of decision; Amos says, "Woe unto those who desire the day of the Lord," because it is a day of great darkness.

The day of the Lord is any time God reaches into the realm of humanity for judgment. Today is the day of man—man does as he pleases. But there comes a time when God says, "No more." In Sodom and Gomorrah, the cry rose up so great that God came down and poured fire from heaven. In Genesis 6, the cry of the whole earth rose up, and God brought the flood. And here in Isaiah 13, the day of the Lord comes upon Babylon.

Babylon: City and Spirit

Babylon is one of the most referenced cities in the Bible—294 times, second only to Jerusalem's more than 800. It is seen as a wicked place. We can point to a literal city in modern-day Iraq, in the fertile crescent of Mesopotamia, in the Valley of Shinar between the Tigris and Euphrates. There, in Genesis 11, Nimrod gathered the men of the world to build a tower into the heavens and make a name for themselves—a satanic ambition.

I believe there are demonic entities set over the great stronghold cities and nations of the world—even the church of Satan believes this. Scripture speaks of the Prince of Persia in Daniel 10, who withstood Gabriel for two weeks until Michael helped him. So there is also a Prince of Babylon. When we read about Babylon, our minds rightly go to a literal city, but we must also recognize a spiritual inhabitant—a spiritual king. We will be introduced to him in chapter 14: Lucifer. People do not name their children Lucifer, because we recognize the demonic connotation. This whole world is now under the sway of this wicked one, whose first stronghold was in the Valley of Shinar among that great city that thought it could never be overthrown—and yet it was.

God has already spoken judgment to His own people, who felt exempt from His judgment and as a result rushed headlong into sin. This is a great danger even among Christians who think, "I prayed a prayer, I'm safe, I can do as I please because I'm elect." Very dangerous thinking, for God has made clear in Exodus 34:7 that He will by no means clear the guilty. Yes, He is merciful and gracious, but Paul warns in 1 Corinthians 6 that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom. God judged His own people to show He is not partial—and now He turns first to Babylon, the epitome of evil.

God Musters His Army

Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw this burden, just as he saw visions concerning Judah and Jerusalem. He sees someone standing on the mountaintops, waving a banner, declaring it is Babylon's time for judgment. God says, "I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger." God has set apart an army to destroy the Babylonians. The noise of a multitude comes with great speed; the Lord of hosts musters His host for battle. "Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty." God is intervening in the wickedness of humanity, and His aim is the Babylonians.

Notice the reaction in verse 7: "Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt." This is the proper response to God's move for judgment—but it comes too late if it only comes when judgment has already arrived.

The Right Response at the Wrong Time

Consider Joshua 2. As Israel moved into the promised land to destroy the enemies of God, the first city was Jericho. Joshua sent two spies, taken in by Rahab the harlot. She said, "I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you." Israel was God's instrument to bring a day of the Lord upon the Canaanites, whom He had given 400 years to repent.

Rahab said they were not afraid of the Israelites—they were nothing. "We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea... and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites... our hearts did melt." This heathen woman recognized that the God of Israel was a great God, greatly to be feared. God extended grace to her, but she and her household were safe only as they stayed inside her house, marked by a scarlet cord—one house made a city of refuge. God always offers a way of escape to those who heed His word. As Amos 3 says, the Lord God does nothing without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets. Before He judges, He always tells us why and gives opportunity for repentance.

The Purpose and Reach of the Judgment

"Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it." Now we see the purpose. This speaks specifically of literal Babylon, destroyed by the Persians, but its reach is much further. The text says the land will never be inhabited again—not yet the case for literal Babylon, but pointing to great Babylon that falls in Revelation 18.

Verse 10 is a prophetic landmark—write it in your margin. "The stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light... the moon shall not cause her light to shine." The sun darkened, the moon turned to blood, the stars withdrawn—we see this same indicator of the day of the Lord in Joel 3, Matthew 24, and Revelation.

"And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease." God tells us exactly why He judges: pride, arrogance, haughtiness, evil, wickedness. "I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir." Ophir was famed for the most precious gold. This means men will be very few upon the earth. Revelation indicates God will destroy millions, even billions, in the tribulation. Why would God do such a thing? He already did so in the flood. He is just in His judgment, judging not by the sight of the eyes nor the hearing of the ears, but with righteousness. When that judgment comes, all we will be able to say is "Yea and amen; it is good, it is right, because God is just."

No Escape from the Day of the Lord

"I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place." This is another prophetic landmark, used elsewhere in Matthew 24 and Joel 3. The passage describes people fleeing—but there is no place to flee when God's judgment comes. We see the same in Isaiah 24:18: "He who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare."

Amos 5 says it the same way: "As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him." Different men called by God speak the very same thing. There is no fleeing the day of the Lord. And humility in the face of judgment is too late, as Revelation 6 shows—the kings of the earth hide in caves and cry for the rocks to fall on them, but death flees from them. Their humility comes too late.

The Fall of Babylon to the Medes

Verse 17: "Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it." God says the Medes will not come seeking spoil but for judgment. We see this in history. Babylon fell in September of 539 BC—recorded both by Herodotus and in Daniel 5.

Belshazzar was a wickedly arrogant young king. His grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had shown some humility before the one true God, but Belshazzar was proud. The walls of Babylon were considered impenetrable, so while the Medo-Persians laid siege, he threw a drunken feast lasting many days. In the midst of it, he called for the sanctified golden vessels Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, and used them for his guests. Then a hand appeared and wrote on the wall: "Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin." Belshazzar's knees smote together and his bowels were loosed—he was instantly sober. None of his magicians could interpret it, so Daniel was called, and he declared, "Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting"; that night the kingdom would be taken.

What Belshazzar did not realize was that Cyrus had diverted the Euphrates, which flowed under the city walls, so his men could walk through in knee-high water. Gates set into the river were, for some reason, left open—prophetically, God opened them. The Medo-Persians entered beneath the walls and sacked the city; the people did not even know for days. The city was filled with silver and gold, much of it taken from Jerusalem, yet Cyrus released the captive Jews and let them carry their gold and silver home. The Medes did not come for spoil but for judgment—stirred by the Lord, though they likely never knew why.

"And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah." This was a supernatural destruction—the day of the Lord. Secular history credits the military genius of Cyrus, but it had everything to do with the Lord.

Babylon Will Never Be Inhabited Again

"It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation... but wild beasts of the desert shall lie there." When we read that it shall never be inhabited again, we bounce to the far fulfillment. The hanging gardens are gone; the place is desolate. Yet Revelation and other apocalyptic prophecies speak much of Babylon. Many teachers have said this can only mean a spiritual, economic, or religious Babylon, since literal Babylon will never be inhabited again.

But I think it will be—because those same teachers said the same about Jerusalem and Israel, insisting Israel would never be a nation again. Some along the way disagreed. Sir Isaac Newton, whom we usually remember as the father of physics, was in fact a theologian. He spent his last eleven years studying the book of Daniel, and centuries before it happened he said Israel would inhabit the land and Jerusalem again, just before Messiah the Prince comes the second time—and he said it would take place between 1890 and 2060. Right on the money: the modern Zionist movement formed in the late 1890s; Israel became a nation again on May 14, 1948. Isaiah 66 asks who has seen such a thing—a nation born in a day. Ezekiel 36 and 37 speak of the valley of dry bones and the land made fruitful again.

Many teachers in the 1700s and 1800s spiritualized those texts and called the United States the new Jerusalem—yet the literal fulfillment came to pass. And isn't it interesting how many billions are now being given by the wealthiest nations to rebuild what we call Iraq? I would not be surprised if Babylon becomes an economic and political powerhouse again in the last days, only to be destroyed as Revelation 18 declares: "Babylon is fallen, is fallen."

The Lord Will Yet Choose Israel

"For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land." After Babylon's fall in 539 BC, Cyrus overthrew the kingdom and made it a key city of the Medo-Persian empire. Daniel probably brought him the scrolls of Isaiah and Jeremiah, where God named Cyrus by name centuries before his birth (Isaiah 44–45), calling him to set His people free and rebuild Jerusalem. At the beginning of Ezra, Cyrus stands and declares God has called him to do this, and he sends the captives back.

The Lord will have mercy on Jacob, even after judging them at the hands of the Babylonians, because in His very nature He is merciful. He will still choose Israel. How awesome is that. How many times do we fall, defame His name by our foolishness or sin, and yet He still chooses us. I love Jonah 2: "And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time." Married men can identify—my wife has asked, "Would you still choose me?" Yes, dear. And our loving Husband still chooses Israel.

God has done this twice: dispatched from Babylon back to the land in 539 BC, expelled by Titus and the Romans in 70 AD, and returned nearly 2,000 years later in 1948. "Strangers shall be joined to them"—a mixed multitude came out of Babylon, just as Egyptians went up with Israel in Exodus. And the ingathering continues today; Israeli national news reported some 19,000 came back to the land in a single recent year. It is a fulfillment of prophecy and an indicator of the coming day of the Lord.

Set Free from Babylon

"It shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from thy hard bondage." Then His people take up a proverb against the king of Babylon. Think of it both literally—Belshazzar—and spiritually—King Lucifer.

There are many in our world right now under bondage in Babylon. If you have not been set free by Jesus—one of the ministries of Messiah described in Isaiah 61—you are a slave of Babylon today, still under the harsh taskmaster, the prince of Babylon. But you can go free. Jesus has given you the opportunity to return to Zion with everlasting joy. How many of you have experienced rest from sorrow, fear, and bondage in Jesus Christ? He set you free from the sorrow of sin and death, the fear of coming judgment, and the bondage of slavery to sin, giving us a new name and a new land.

"How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked." Consider our adversary, who smites the people with a continual stroke and rules the nations in anger—he will be destroyed, and no one will hinder it. "The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing." When Babylon fell, the earth was at rest, for the Medo-Persians did not take slaves as the Babylonians did. When Lucifer is done away with, the whole world will break forth into singing.

Even creation rejoices: "Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us." Babylon had deforested the surrounding nations, especially Lebanon, to build their city and make a name for themselves. Romans 8 says the creature itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption; the whole creation groans, waiting for the prince of Babylon to be removed. I look forward to what it will sound like when creation rejoices.

Lucifer Brought Down to the Pit

"Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming." Hell is excited to meet Lucifer. We often misunderstand him as the commander of hell, but Matthew tells us hell is a place created for Satan—a place of torment created for him. He has not been there yet; people think he comes and goes and leads the place. Some say, "When I die I'm going to hell with my friends." Your friends may be there, but you won't be partying. Hell is moved at his coming, stirring up the dead like a parade awaiting Satan's arrival—which will not come until the end of Revelation 19, when he is bound in the lake of fire.

The kings of the nations rise from their thrones to say, "Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?" His pomp is brought down to the grave. "The worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee"—a mattress of worms, a sheet of maggots prepared just for him, where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched.

"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!" This is the only place in Scripture we read of Lucifer, son of the morning. Here his sin is revealed in the five "I wills": "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation... I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High."

Ezekiel 28 reveals he was a created being, possibly the highest angelic being, beautiful and excelling many of the other angels—which is why he comes not with a pitchfork and horns but as an angel of light. Joseph Smith claimed an angel of light spoke to him; Muhammad spoke of the same. "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God"—above all the other angels. "I will sit upon the mount of the congregation"—over all humanity. Jewish legend holds that Lucifer resented God's plan to make man a little lower than the angels yet give him dominion, and to redeem fallen man. And "I will be like the most High"—he knew he could not exceed God, but wanted to be like Him. This is the very lie he fed Adam and Eve: "Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."

God answers: "Thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit." Those who see him will look closely and say, "Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness?" When we finally behold Lucifer for what he really is, we will say, "Is this really it?" Imagine what the world looked like under the rule of God, and what it will look like when He restores it—for Lucifer made it a wilderness.

The great kings of this world receive pomp and circumstance at death and lie in glory in their own houses. But "thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch," trodden underfoot. When Lucifer is cast into the pit, it will not be glorious.

God Has Sworn It

"The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand." God has determined Babylon's destruction, and it will come. Then the tone shifts: "I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot"—bringing us back to Isaiah 10 and forward to its fulfillment in Isaiah 36–37. God will remove the yoke and burden of Assyria from His people in Jerusalem.

"This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it?" The judgment on Babylon was purposed upon the whole earth.

Then comes a short judgment against the Philistines, in the year King Ahaz died: "Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken." There are a couple of interpretations. One: do not rejoice that Ahaz is dead, for his son Hezekiah will judge you. Another: do not rejoice that the Assyrian is destroyed, for from the root of the Assyrians will come the Babylonians to destroy you. Either way, God says: do not rejoice because you think you have escaped judgment—judgment is coming.

That word applies in our day. Many continue in sin, thinking God does not care because He has done nothing. But His present silence does not disannul the fact that He will judge later. The reason you have not yet been judged is that God is longsuffering, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Yet if you refuse to repent, the day of the Lord will come—a day of darkness and destruction, when God will avenge Himself of His adversaries (Jeremiah 46:10).

Do not remain an enemy of God. He has given you opportunity to repent and find refuge in Jesus Christ. All these judgments—Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, and next Moab, Egypt, and Ethiopia—are foreshadowings of what God will bring in the last day. So far He has been gracious; there is coming a day of wrath.

Closing Prayer

Father, I thank You for Your word. I thank You that You do nothing without first revealing Your secret to Your servants the prophets, and that You have given us a book filled with prophecy—not just Isaiah but the whole Bible—telling us what will come to pass before it comes to pass, saying, "Remember not the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning." Lord, help us take notice of these things and give us boldness to speak the truth in a nation that so desperately needs Your light. Fill us with Your Spirit, give us understanding of Your word, and be with our lips to speak the truth boldly. Thank You that You have set us free and given us rest from sorrow, from fear, and from hard bondage. Help us to be priests, declaring the praises of You who called us out of darkness into Your marvelous light. We praise You in Jesus' name. Amen.