Monday, March 7, 2016

Isaiah 21: Fallen Is Babylon

"Then he responded, 'Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the images of her gods lie shattered on the ground'" (vs. 9).
The cry of "Fallen, fallen is Babylon!" is heard not only in Isaiah, but also in the New Testament Book of Revelation.  Revelation 14:8 and 18:2 both contain the announcement that Babylon's judgment is at hand.  For her sins of idolatry and immorality, she will be thrown to the ground.  

While the "Babylon the Great" described in Revelation appears to signify Rome or some other vast worldly power, the original "Babylon" in Isaiah 21:9 means Babylon itself.  In Isaiah's day, Babylon was a city located in modern-day Iraq which was growing to become an empire which would one day threaten and eventually overwhelm God's people.  Under Nebuchadnezzar, the cruel Babylonians became Jerusalem's conquerors in 586 B.C. and carried the nobles off in exile.  

But Isaiah knew that would not be the end of the story.  Babylon herself would face a day of judgment, and the verdict is that she would be "fallen" for her crimes.  That remains the fate of the great worldly power which will set itself against God and His people in the end-times.

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