Isaías 13

Isaías 13

Henry wrote... Babylon...should be wholly destroyed. None shall dwell there. It shall be a haunt for wild beasts. All this is fulfilled. (ED: NO THAT IS NOT TRUE!) To the contrary these prophecies (and similar prophecies by Jeremiah) have not been fulfilled! (1). Capture of the city by the Medes (Isa 13:17) did not result in a destruction similar to that of Sodom and Gomorrah (Ge 19:24, 25, 26, 27, 28) (2). The city was not uninhabited forever (Isa. 13:20, 21, 22. Babylon was first defeated by the Medes (Isaiah 13:17) around 539 B.C. (Daniel 5:30,31), some 175 years after Isaiah's prophecy. However, Babylon continued as a city until well after the time of Christ. (3). The destruction was not accomplished by a nation from the north—Medo-Persia was to the east—(Jer. 50:3); (4). The destruction of Babylon did not result in Israel or more than a remnant of Judah seeking the Lord or returning to Zion (Jer. 50:4, 5); (5). The destruction of Babylon did not involve the breaking of the walls and burning of the gates (Jer. 51:58). Isaiah 13:20 It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there, nor will shepherds make their flocks lie down there.: Isa 14:23 Jer 50:3,13,21,39,45 51:25,29,43,62-64 Rev 18:21-23 BABYLON WILL NEVER BE INHABITED AGAIN It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation - Babylon has been inhabited since ancient times. To be sure, it has not been a major city for centuries. Suffice it to say, this prophecy has yet to be fulfilled and will not be fulfilled until the end times city of Babylon is rebuilt and then destroyed (See Rev 18:8-23-see commentary, especially Rev 18:8, Rev 18:21, 22, 23). MacArthur makes the point that "Though nothing like its glorious past, the site of Babylon has never been void of inhabitants. A city or town of one type or another has always existed there, so this prophecy must point toward a yet future desolation." (Borrow MacArthur Study Bible page 956) See Dr Charles Dyer's excellent analysis of Babylon - The Identity of Babylon in Revelation 17-18 - Part 1; - 13 pages The Identity of Babylon in Revelation 17-18 - Part 2 - 18 pages Revelation - Part 4 - Lecture 7 Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there, nor will shepherds make their flocks lie down there - This indicates Babylon will be so destroyed that it will be unfit for any human habitation. There are still tents and flocks in the area of modern day Babylon, so this prophecy has not been fulfilled. And here is the point -- when will it be fulfilled? The answer is when the 7th Bowl is poured out on (rebuilt) Babylon in Rev 16:19+. Dr Andy Woods adds "Isaiah says something extremely interesting in verse 20. Look at Isaiah 13:20. It says, “It” Babylon, “will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation;” watch this now, “Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there,” I mean the fall is going to be so cataclysmic and final that the Arabs will not pitch their tent there. We have a problem because there’s a picture of Arabs pitching their tent in Babylon today, taken from a picture around 1899-1908. What am I getting at? I’m getting at a very simple point that the prophecies of Isaiah have never been fulfilled in human history. And so if you don’t have a destruction of literal Babylon in the future you have no place in history for Isaiah’s prophecies to be fulfilled. We know that God says what He means and He means what He says. God cannot lie! And if God’s Word means anything Babylon has to be rebuilt for the simple purpose of it being destroyed the way Isaiah predicts in bowl judgment number seven. (Source - see more information on Babylon) Oswalt writes that "The point is that humanity cannot sustain itself by itself. It cannot expect in its own strength to produce more and more of everything until it fills the earth. There has come the day, again and again, in war, in famine, or in pestilence when a self-sufficient portion of humanity has been brought face to face with its insufficiency. Thus far, in his mercy, God has allowed the torch to be passed to other civilizations, but as we move more and more toward a global society, Babylon’s burden becomes more and more the word addressed to the entire earth. Goďs glory will fill the earth, not humanity’s. If we will not learn that voluntarily, we must learn it involuntarily. Isaiah 13:21 But desert creatures will lie down there, and their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches also will live there, and shaggy goats will frolic there. Isa 34:11-15 Rev 18:2 Related Passage: Revelation 18:2+ And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison (phulake) of every unclean spirit, and a prison (phulake) of every unclean and hateful bird. COMMENT - In context Rev 18:1-3 is a prophecy BEFORE the fall which was summarized in Rev 16:19. Recall that Revelation 17-18 are added to expand on the details of Babylon's fall when the 7th Bowl is poured out. That said, the words "Fallen, fallen" are what is referred to as a prophetic aorist, describing the event as so certain to occur that it is spoken of in the past tense. The same rule applies to the verb "has become," which describes the "fallout" (so to speak) of Babylon's fall. In short, it will then be a prison for demons and unclean spirits, and presumably this imprisonment will last for the duration of the 1000 year Messianic Kingdom which begins immediately after the fall of Babylon.Demons imprisoned for 1000 years would correlate perfectly with Satan himself being bound for 1000 years and at the end released from prison (the same Greek word phulake used in Rev 18:2 of the prison of the demons). The fate of the demons imprisoned is not clearly stated but presumably they will also be cast into the Lake of Fire like their leader at the end of the 1000 years in Rev 20:10. THE FALL OF BABYLON WILL LEAVE IT DESERTED OF MEN Babylon will be a dismal, desolate, deserted place inhabited by animals that gravitate toward dark and lonely settings! Owls - Various English versions translate as "owls" (e.g., NAB, NASB), "wild dogs" (NCV); "jackals" (NIV); "howling creatures" (NRSV, NLT). Ostriches - Unclean birds which is fitting given Babylon's uncleanness (Rev 18:2+). Shaggy goats - This same Hebrew word is translated "goat demons" in Lev 17:7. The KJV translates this as satyrs. A satyr is "Mentioned in Greek mythology as a creature composed of a man and a goat, supposed to inhabit wild and desolate regions." (E B Dictionary) Isaiah 13:22 Hyenas will howl in their fortified towers and jackals in their luxurious palaces. Her fateful time also will soon come and her days will not be prolonged. Fortified towers: Isa 35:7 Her fateful time: Dt 32:35 Jer 51:33 Eze 7:7-10 Hab 2:3 2Pe 2:3 3:9,10 FURTHER DESCRIPTION OF UTTER DESOLATION OF BABYLON Motyer - The absence of human inhabitant (Isa 13:20) and the replacement of humankind by beasts (Isa 13:21–22) emphasize the finality of the overthrow. (Ibid) Note the irony - Babylon which was once filled with the noise of godless humanity bustling carelessly around will one day be filled with the howls of hyenas! The once mighty city is silent except for the cries of night dwellers! Her fateful time - "not a calendar date but a season appropriate to an event. Assyria destroyed Babylon in 689BC (see Isa 21) but it recovered; likewise it was intact after Cyrus captured it (539BC) but its continued nuisance-value provoked Darius Hystapes to desolate it in 518BC, and so it has remained." (Motyer) ESV Study Bible - This eerie scene contrasts with the “splendor and pomp” of Isa. 13:19 and the messianic paradise of Isaiah 11:6-8 (cf. similar imagery in 34:11-15; Jer. 50:39; 51:37; Zeph. 2:14-15; Rev. 18:2).