Isaiah 13

Isaiah 13:1

D. Judgment on the Nations (Chaps. 1324)

1. Judgment on Babylon (13:114:23)13:1-5 The next eleven chapters contain prophecies against Gentile nations. The first is Babylon, the world power that crushed Assyria (about 609 B.C.). In Chapter 13, we see Babylon being conquered by the Medes and Persians (539 B.C.). However, some of the prophecies look beyond that event to the final destruction of Babylon at the close of the Great Tribulation (Rev. 17, 18). God musters the Medo-Persian army (“My sanctified ones”) to enter the gates of the nobles (the City of Babylon) and to destroy the whole land. 13:6-13 The horrors of the disaster are described nextfear and sorrows, terrible celestial disturbances, and an awesome reduction in the population. Some of these verses look beyond the Medo-Persian triumph to the day of the LORD, which will affect the whole world and which will actually involve cataclysms in the heavens. 13:14-22 There will be a mass exit from Babylon, foreigners returning to their own lands. Those who remain will suffer unspeakable cruelty. Verses 19-22 have had a partial fulfillment, but the complete unfolding is future. There are certain difficulties connected with the prophecies of the destruction of Babylon, both the city and the country (Isa_13:6-22; Isa_14:4-23; Isa_21:2-9; Isa_47:1-11; Jer_25:12-14; 50; 51). For example, the capture of the city by the Medes (Isa_13:17) in 539 B.C. did not result in a destruction similar to that of Sodom and Gomorrah (Isa_13:19); did not leave the city uninhabited forever (Isa_13:20-22; was not accomplished by a nation from the northMedo-Persia was to the east(Jer_50:3); did not result in Israel or more than a remnant of Judah seeking the Lord or returning to Zion (Jer_50:4-5); and did not involve the breaking of the walls and burning of the gates (Jer_51:58). When we come to a difficulty like this, how do we handle it? First of all, we reaffirm our utter confidence in the Word of God. If there is any difficulty, it is because of our lack of knowledge. But we remember that the prophets often had a way of merging the immediate future and the distant future without always indicating any time signals. In other words, a prophecy could have a local, partial fulfillment and a remote, complete fulfillment. That is the case with Babylon. Not all the prophecies have been fulfilled. Some are still future. Babylon is slated to play a prominent role in the Tribulation Period. But its doom is already painted in vivid colors in Revelation 17 and 18. Before the Second Advent of Christ, all the prophecies concerning the destruction of Babylon will be fulfilled to a “T.” What is unclear to us today will be crystal clear to those living at that time.