Isaiah 13

CHAPTER 13THEME: Destruction in the Day of the Lord and in the immediate futureChapter 13 brings us to an altogether different section. The tone changes immediately. Chapters 13-23 contain “burdens” imposed on nine surrounding nations. A burden is something that you bear, and these burdens are judgments of God upon these nine nations. You could substitute the word judgment for “burden” and it would be just as accurate. This is a remarkable passage of Scripture, because most of the prophetic judgments have already been fulfilled. They are now facts of history. Each of these nations had some contact with Israel, and most of them were contiguous to her borders or not very far away. Israel suffered at the hands of some of themand is suffering todayand will suffer again in the future. You will find some names in this chapter that are strangely familiar. Egypt is one of them. While some of these judgments will take place in the future, the chief characteristic of this section is that much has been fulfilled and stands today as an evidence of fulfilled prophecy. All of this adds singular interest and importance to these eleven chapters. In this section the Assyrian is no longer the oppressor; another set of nations headed by Babylon takes his place. It was not pleasant to the prophet to deliver this type of message. This was not the way to win friends and influence people. But God’s prophets were not in a popularity contest. Babylon is the subject of the first burden. It is suggestive of many things to the reverent student of Scripture. First of all, the literal city of Babylon is the primary consideration. This is indeed remarkable, as Babylon in Isaiah’s day was an insignificant place. It was not until a century later that Babylon became a world power. God pronounced judgment upon Babylon before it became a nation! This section does not end with the “burdens” on nine surrounding nations but extends through six woes in chapters 28-33 and concludes with the calm and blessing after the storm in chapters 34 and 35. These last two chapters again give us a millennial picture. In chapter 13 we will see the punishment of Babylon in the Day of the Lord. I believe this looks forward to the Great Tribulation period for its final fulfillment.

Isaiah 13:1

PUNISHMENT OF BABYLON IN THE DAY OF THE LORDThe literal city of Babylon in history is in view in this chapter and also in chapter 14. It became one of the great cities of the ancient world. In fact, it became the first great world power and is so recognized in Daniel’s prophecy. Nebuchadnezzar was the “head of gold” of Babylon. He was the king of the first great world power. The city of Babylon will be rebuilt in the future. Babylon is the symbol of united rebellion against God, which began at the Tower of Babel and will end in Revelation 17 and 18 where we will see religious Babylon and political Babylon ruling the world. During the Great Tribulation period Babylon will go down by a great judgment from God. This possibly is the first mention of it in Scripture.

Isaiah 13:3

In this verse the word sanctified means “set apart for a specific use by some agency.” God says, “I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger.” God has “sanctified” or raised up Babylon for a specific purpose. He did the same thing with Assyria. In Isa_10:5 God said through the prophet Isaiah, “O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.” God used Assyria to punish His people, and then He judged Assyria. This is what He is going to do with Babylon. Anything can be sanctified if it is set apart for God. Assyria and Babylon were set aside to punish Israel. They were instruments in His hands for a specific purpose.

Isaiah 13:4

This verse explains what we mean by “sanctified ones.” Babylon will come against the southern kingdom of Judah (as Assyria did against the ten northern tribes of Israel) and take it into captivity.

Isaiah 13:5

The Babylonians will be the “weapons of his indignation.”

Isaiah 13:6

This prophecy looks beyond anything that now is in history and projects into the Great Tribulation.

Isaiah 13:7

During the Great Tribulation God will again use the power (called Babylon here) to judge these people, just as He did in the past. The Tribulation is spoken of as a time of travail, with men in travail. The Day of the Lord opens with this time of travail. Now this identifies it as the Great Tribulation:

Isaiah 13:10

This is prophesied again by the Lord Jesus in Mat_24:29: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.” Rev_8:12 tells us, “And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.”

Isaiah 13:11

“I will punish the world for their evil"We are living in a world today that is moving toward judgment.

Isaiah 13:12

When Christ died for you and me on the cross, that added value to us. Verses Isa_13:13-16 go on to tell us that the Tribulation will be a time of worldwide destruction when no “flesh would survive” except for the fact that God will preserve a remnant for Himself.

Isaiah 13:17

DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON IN THE DAY OF MANWho are the Medes? Media and Persia became a dual nation and a mighty empire that conquered Babylon. Isaiah is speaking of that which was going to take place in the immediate future. He identifies those who will destroy Babylon: “the Medes.”

Isaiah 13:19

This prophecy has been fulfilled. Babylon was the greatest kingdom that has ever existed upon this earth. The Macedonian Empire was great; the Egyptian Empire was great, as was the Roman Empire. At one time Great Britain could have been named a great nation, but I don’t think anything can compare to the glory of Babylon. God’s Word calls it “the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency,” and that excellency God overthrew as He did Sodom and Gomorrah. All you have to do is to look at the ruins of ancient Babylon to recognize that that has happened. It was a great city that was never rebuilt. Other great cities have been rebuilt. This is especially true of Jerusalem. Rome was destroyed and rebuilt. Cities in Germany were bombed outabsolutely obliteratedand were rebuilt. Frankfurt, Germany, was leveled, and it arose out of the ashes a great city. But Babylon did not arise. God said that it would never again be inhabited. It is true that Babylon will be rebuilt in the future, but not on the ancient site of Babylon. It will be built in a different place. Babylon represents confusion, and the future Babylon will be a great commercial center, a great religious center, a great political center, a power center, and the educational center of the world again.

Isaiah 13:20

How can Babylon be destroyed and yet appear in the last days as a literal city again? Already the ancient site of the ancient Babylon is seven to nine miles from the Euphrates River. The river ran in a canal right through the ancient city of Babylon. The ancient site will never be rebuilt, but Babylon will be rebuilt on another site. The ruins of ancient Babylon stand as a monument to the accuracy of fulfilled prophecy. Several archaeologists of the past who have excavated Babylon say that they were never able to get the Arabians to stay in the camp beside the ruins. The Arabians would always go outside the area and stay. They were superstitious. It is interesting that God said they would not pitch their tents in Babylon.

Isaiah 13:21

“Wild beasts of the desert shall lie there.” Lions have been found making their homes amid the ruins. “Satyrs shall dance there.” Satyrs are demons. Satyrs shall dance in Babylon. If you want to go to the dance of the demons, Babylon is the place to go. I hear of folk here in Southern California who worship Satan. One young fellow who claims to belong to a church that worships Satan came to me after a meeting and attacked me in a very vitriolic manner. He insisted that demons are real, and he worshiped them.

I agreed that demons are real, but I cautioned him about worshiping them. Then I asked him if he had ever danced with the demons. He looked at me with amazement and said, “No!” So I told him where their dance hall is. I told him that demons dance in the ruins of Babylon. I said to him facetiously, “Why don’t you go over there? Brother, if you are going to go halfway, go all the way.” Babylon was the headquarters for idolatry in the ancient world.

Apparently demons have this spot as a rallying place. The future Babylon will become a great center on earth. The Man of Sin, the willful king, called the Antichrist, will reign in that place. It will be destroyed just as the ancient Babylon was destroyed. Babylon is a memorial to the fact of the accuracy of fulfilled prophecy and a testimony to the fact that God will also judge the future Babylon.