Isaías 13

Tony Garland · Citado em PreceptAustin

Isaías 13

Garland addresses the question of whether the prophecy of Babylon's destruction is was complete (as complete as Sodom and Gomorrah) or whether Babylon might one day be rebuilt.... When one examines the historical record concerning the fall of the city of Babylon in 539 B.C. to Persia (Da 5:30, 31), it is clear that the term “destruction” is much too strong a word to describe what actually transpired. Babylon has never been destroyed at the hands of a catastrophic attack as prophesied in the OT (see Babylon’s Predicted Destruction. On the night that Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain and the city came under the control of Darius the Mede, it “fell” politically, but not physically. There was no large-scale attack upon the city. In fact, many within the city were not even aware for quite some time afterwards that the city had been taken. The city was taken by diverting the waters of the Euphrates. This allowed armed forces to wade under her defenses without much of a fight: The city fell by complete surprise. Half of the metropolis was captured before the rest of it was “aware” of the fact, according to Herodotus. Cyrus diverted the waters of the Euphrates and by night entered the city through the dried up channel (Da 5:30, 31). 1 Rather than being physically overthrown, as predicted by Isaiah (Isa. 13, 14, 47) and Jeremiah (Jer 50, 51), the city and its occupants were treated with considerable respect: On...Oct. 29, 539 B.C., sixteen days after the capitulation, Cyrus himself entered the city amid much public acclaim, ending the Chaldean dynasty as predicted by the Hebrew prophets (Isa. 13:21; Jer. 50f). Cyrus treated the city with great respect, returning to their own shrines the statues of the deities brought in from other cities. The Jews were sent home with compensatory assistance. He appointed new governors, so ensuring peace and stable conditions essential to the proper maintenance of the religious centers.2 Babylon generally flourished under the Persians, although there is record of a revolt against Xerxes I which resulted in a harsh response: Under the Persians, Babylon retained most of its institutions, became capital of the richest satrapy in the empire, and, according to Herodotus, the world’s most splendid city. A revolt against Xerxes I (482) led to destruction of its fortifications and temples and the melting down of the golden image of Marduk.3 In subsequent campaigns which took control of Babylon, rather than being violently overthrown, the city slowly decayed due to competition and neglect: On October 12, 539 B.C., Babylon fell to Cyrus of Persia, and from that time on the decay of the city began. Xerxes plundered it. Alexander the Great thought to restore its great temple, in ruins in his day, but was deterred by the prohibitive cost. During the period of Alexander’s successors the area decayed rapidly and soon became a desert. From the days of Seleucus Nicator (312-280 B.C.), who built the rival city of Seleucia on the Tigris, queenly Babylon never revived.4 Even when Greece, the great leopard beast of Daniel’s night vision (Dan. 7:6) came calling in the person and empire of Alexander the Great, the city was not destroyed: [On] Oct. 1, 331 B.C., Alexander marched to Babylon, where the Macedonian was triumphantly acclaimed, the Persian garrison offering no opposition. He offered sacrifices to Marduk, ordered the rebuilding of temples that Xerxes allegedly had destroyed, and then a month later moved on to Susa.5 Alexander subsequently returned to Babylon with great construction plans to make it his capital, but these were interrupted by his death in 323 B.C. After Alexander, the city was ruled by a series of kings including Seleucus I (323-250) during which Babylon’s economic—but not religious importance—declined sharply due to competition with the establishment by Antiochus I of a new capital at Seleucia on the Tigris (274 B.C.). Later, the city remained a center of Hellenism, supporting Jews in Palestine who opposed Herod.6 After the destruction of the Second Temple by Rome in A.D. 70, many Jews left Jerusalem for the area of Babylon. This trend increased after the Bar Kokhba war.7 The region of Babylon became an important center for Jewry outside Israel: After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E., and especially after the war of Bar Kokhba (132-35 C.E.), some scholars went down from Palestine to Babylon. The arrival of “Abba the Tall,” Rab, in approximately 219, brought about a period of prosperity in the study of the Law in Babylon. Rab in Sura and Shmuel in Nehardea gave public instruction in the Law and trained many pupils. In this period academies were established, and they continued to exert an influence on Jews, not only in Babylon but throughout all the lands of their dispersion, as late as the 12th century.8 Although the city still stood when Roman emperor Trajan entered it in A.D. 115, by about A.D. 200 the site of the city was deserted.9 Thereafter, the city was mostly forgotten until the 1800s when archaeological expeditions began to investigate the site. In the mid-1960s, the Iraqi Department of Antiquities carried out further work at the site. “The Ishtar gateway . . . was partially restored together with the Procession Way . . . The Ninmah temple was reconstructed, and a museum and rest house built on the site, which is also partially covered by the village of Jumjummah.”10 PLAN OF BABYLON (1944) In more recent times (Ed: See also quote below from Joel Rosenberg), Saddam Hussein built himself a palace on a man-made hill beside the footprint of the original city. Then, in 1987, he ordered construction of a replica of Nebuchadnezzar’s vast palace on the original site. Museums were also built. But since his fall from power in 2003, his private palace was ransacked by mobs and two museums at the site were looted. During almost this entire time, there have been people occupying the site or living nearby—in stark contrast to the predictions of Scripture concerning the uninhabitable wasteland it is predicted to one day become.12 (Babylon’s Historic Fall - included citations) I fully agree with Garland's summary statement that in the book of the Revelation... Babylon simply means...Babylon! The only problem with taking Babylon in its literal sense is one of timing and faith. Because the modern site of Babylon in no way resembles what is described in the book of Revelation, there is opportunity for doubt concerning what God has said. This is nothing new: “Has God indeed said...?” (Ge 3:1). What is the explanation for this reluctance to believe that John meant Babylon when he wrote “Babylon”? Even at the time John was writing, Babylon was still a viable city, with a substantial colony of Jews (the famous Babylonian Talmud originated in or near there, about 500 years after the time of Christ) and there was a significant Christian church there as well (1Peter 5:13). At the very least, it would be confusing to John’s first century readers, as well as to later generations, for him to write so much about Babylon when he really meant Rome...or “the false church.” (Henry

Isaías 13

Garland comments... As has often been the case in the past, the nations will be led of God to participate in the campaign which leads to their ultimate demise. Believing themselves to be shrewd, they will be deceived by unclean spirits—all the more effective since they themselves are deceived—to walk straight into God’s trap which He has prepared for them. In a similar way to how Cyrus and Gog, neither of whom knew God, were instruments of His will (Isa. 44:28; Eze. 38:16; 39:2), so too will the rebellious kings of the end be mere puppets in their own destruction.... In this passage set within the context of The Day of the Lord (Joel 2:2, 31), Joel indicates all nations will be gathered to the Valley of Jehoshaphat (a compound from Hebrew Yahweh and shaphat, meaning “Jehovah has judged”) where He will enter into judgment with them. For what reason will God gather the nations at this time—yet future to our day? “On account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up My land.” [emphasis added] This point is extremely important to understand: this passage is not talking about the Church! God is not talking about defending the faithful in general—in terms of some sort of “spiritual land” which the nations have trespassed! No, He is talking about His heritage Israel (cf. Jer. 50:11)! Notice that there will already be a gathering of Israel back into the land, but God is furious with all nations on account of their opposition to Israel’s God-given right to His land! We can hardly overemphasize the importance of understanding the issues surrounding possession of the land which God gave Israel. Our modern age is moving rapidly to embrace the mindset of Babylon of the end...Even evangelical Christians, who should know better, embrace such a view. Many stand opposed to Israel’s struggle for her Promised Land. They see Israel’s rejection of her Messiah, Jesus Christ, to warrant her implacable opposition by God and as justification for their own latent anti-Semitism. They believe all her promises have passed or been forfeited (Ed: To the "church") and the secular state she is now is to be opposed. But Almighty God says otherwise: “For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, by his God, the Lord of hosts, though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel” (Jer. 51:5).... The nations will assemble with their own agenda. Being ignorant of the Scriptures, and rebellious in any case, they will not be aware that they have already begun to drink from the cup of God’s wrath. They are already intoxicated and on their way to fulfill their own destruction. (A Testimony of Jesus Christ - The Preparation) Isaiah 13:5 They are coming from a far country, from the farthest horizons, the LORD and His instruments of indignation, to destroy the whole land.: from a far: Isa 13:17 Jer 50:3,9 51:11,27,28 Mt 24:31 Instruments: Jer 51:20-46) NLT - They came from countries far away. They are the Lord's weapons; they carry his anger with them and will destroy the whole land. THE NATIONS ARE GOD'S INSTRUMENTS OF INDIGNATION They are coming from a far country - from a remote region. LORD (03068) Jehovah is the self-existent One, "I Am." His instruments of indignation - This once again emphasizes the fact that God is sovereign and in full control of the end time events associated with the Day of the LORD. In full control and full of righteous wrath! The whole land - This phrase takes the prophecy against literal ancient Babylon and expands it to include the "whole earth." As discussed more fully below, Isaiah's prophecy is directed at historic Babylon but also at the future Babylon which the apostle John describes as a literal "great city, Babylon" (Rev 18:10-note, cp Nebuchadnezzar's boast about ancient Babylon - Da 4:30-note). To destroy the whole land - This description was not fulfilled when the Medes defeated Babylon, so it must describe a time yet future when Babylon will indeed be utterly, finally and forever destroyed. (cp the description of destruction in Isa 13:19, 20, 21, 22!) ISAIAH 13 DR CHARLES DYER From Chapter 5, page 119, in the book The Road to Armageddon (borrow this book free on archive.org) -- the entire excellent article on Babylon from Genesis to Revelation begins on page 105 and goes through page 144. It is well worth your time if you want to understand Babylon in the Bible! Charles Dyer comments (page 119) - Look at Isaiah 13:1. This is the nation that starts the list of judgment against the nations. "The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw." Babylon was a second-rate, minor, insignificant power in Isaiah's day. Assyria was the big kid on the block. Assyria was the nation that had threatened Judah. Assyria only makes number two on God's list. The first nation is Babylon. God goes on and describes the destruction against Babylon. I want to look carefully at what He says. We won't read all of it, but let's pick up in verse 4, "Listen, a noise on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations massing together! The LORD Almighty is mustering an army for war. They come from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens--the LORD and the weapons of His wrath to destroy the whole country." God announces, I am bringing nations together to destroy the nation of Babylon. I'm going to wipe out, not only the city of Babylon, but the whole country. Now the questions we have to ask are "What destruction is Isaiah talking about?...in his day?...something future, but something long since passed? Or is he describing something that from our perspective (2022) is still future? The answer has to be found by looking carefully at the text. I notice in verse 6 that Isaiah starts giving a time frame "Wail, for the day of the LORD is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty." Isaiah sets the context of Babylon's destruction in the time he calls the day of the LORD. Now that can be any time God comes to settle accounts, when God intervenes to judge the unrighteous and to rescue the righteous. But does Isaiah have a specific day of the LORD in mind? He picks us his theme again in Isaiah 13:9-13.... Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it. 10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light. 11 Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. 12 I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold And mankind than the gold of Ophir. 13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, And the earth will be shaken from its place At the fury of the LORD of hosts In the day of His burning anger. God says "I'm going to judge Babylon and it's going to be on the day of the LORD." What day of the LORD do you mean, Isaiah? Look for one where you see the sun, and the moon, and the stars darkened. Look for supernatural signs in the heavens, a time when the moon won't give its light. Look for a time when I'm punishing not just Babylon, but, in Isaiah 13:11, "Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless." Look for a time when humanity is going to be "scarcer than pure gold," tremendous loss of human life in this worldwide judgment. Look for a time when the heavens are going to shake and the earth itself is going to be shaken off its foundations. Now if those images sound familiar, you can find them in Joel 2-3 in his description of the Day of the LORD, a day that ends with the coming of Jesus Christ to rule as king over Israel. Or, you may want to go to the book of Revelation, because in Revelation 6-19, these are the very images that are pictured just before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. In essence, Isaiah says God is going to judge Babylon, not just the city, but the whole country, and it's going to happen in the day of the LORD. You'll see supernatural signs in the heavens, destruction on earth, rapid loss of life, all of this as God comes to judge the world for its evil. Isaiah goes on to describe an enemy coming in and even mentions the Medes in Isaiah 13:17, thought what he describes was never fulfilled when Cyrus, king of the Medo-Persian Empire attacked Babylon in 539 B.C. Cyrus didn't destroy anyone, he came in peace. But this group is coming, not caring for silver or gold, but to strike down and kill everyone they find. And then in Isaiah 13:19, my favorite part of this passage, Isaiah writes, "And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah." Now, you have to understand that I love going to Israel. I tell my classes that it is God's will for them to go to Israel...I have thousands of slides from my many trips...but there is one place I have never gotten a single good picture...Sodom or Gomorrah. There's a reason for that. When God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, He destroyed them suddenly, completely, totally, absolutely, and then covered them with the southern third of the Dead Sea for good measure! God says, "You'll know when I'm done with Babylon, because when I'm done it's going to be like Sodom and Gomorrah!" Now that paints a vivid picture in our minds, but God doesn't leave us there just wondering what He means. He adds on to that "It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation." (Isaiah 13:20) Many cities were destroying in the past, only to be rebuilt. Jerusalem was destroyed, but after 70 years people came back. Because the location didn't change, the water supply didn't change, the roads didn't change, and so cities, though hey were destroyed, came back to life. God says, however, when Babylon's destroyed, it's not going to be dwelt in again from generation to generation. Generations will not live there again. That may imply too much. Let's narrow it some more - "Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there.'" (Isaiah 13:20) I love going to Israel because you can still see Bedoin living in tents the way Abraham did nearly 4000 years ago. They pitch their tents in an area, and they'll stay for weeks or months at a time in that area as their flocks graze the surrounding countryside. But eventually when the seasons change, or the grazing land is used up, they'll pack up their tents and move to another area. God says when He's done with Babylon, it will look like Sodom and Gomorrah. No one will live there for generations, no one will even pitch a tent there for a short period of time. And then He says that may even imply too much, let's narrow it some more. "No shepherd will rest his flocks there." As the shepherds leave their camp, they keep moving farther and farther from their base. Eventually the flocks are grazing so far from the fold that they are unable to return home before the sun goes down. So the shepherd looks for a cave, a ruined building, a foundation, something where he can bed the flock down for the evening. the next morning they get up and move on. When Babylon's destroyed, God says, you'll know it! It'll look like Sodom and Gomorrah; no one will live there for generations; no one will pitch a tent for a short period of time; no one will even spend a single night! Could God say it any more directly that when Babylon is destroyed it's not going to be there anymore? BABYLON'S DESTRUCTION WILL BRING ISRAEL'S RESTORATION Now, beginning in Isaiah 14, God even adds one additional piece to the puzzle. When Babylon's destroyed that will be the time when God restores His people Israel. "When the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and again choose Israel, and settle them in their own land, then strangers will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob. The peoples will take them along and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them as an inheritance in the land of the LORD as male servants and female servants; and they will take their captors captive and will rule over their oppressors." (Isaiah 14:1-2) You'll know when Babylon's destroyed, because its destruction signals the restoration of Israel, not just back to the land as a small scattered group, but as a nation that ruling over those nations that once held them in captivity! BABYLON'S FALL IS NOT YET FULFILLED From the day Isaiah penned those words till today, none of this prophecy has ever been fulfilled. A hundred years after Isaiah wrote these words, Babylon was the greatest power on the face of the earth. Nebuchadnezzar was ruling there. Shortly afterward it fell to Cyrus, king of the Medo-Persian Empire, but it wasn't destroyed, it was made one of the capitals for Medo-Persia. Daniel continued living there! Several hundred years later, Alexander the Great died in the city of Babylon while rebuilding it to make it the capital for the eastern portion of his empire. While writing about events that occurred just before the time of Christ, Josephus stated that were 50,000 Jews still living there! In Acts 2, on the Day of Pentecost, some of the Jews who had come to Jerusalem for the Day of Pentecost were from Mesopotamia. These are descendants of those who had been taken into captivity in Babylon. The scene closes temporarily as the NT ends. But about the year 1000 a Jewish traveler, Benjamin of Tudela traveled to the Near East. He left a written account that was preserved, so we know where he visited. He records having visited Babylon. We know he did because he names another town he visited, Hilla, that is seven miles away. He also records that there were 7000 Jews still living in Babylon, and he worshipped at the Synagogue of Daniel, still on the site. The veil drops again until the beginning of this century. The German archeologist, Robert Koldewey, excavated Babylon and he records that inside the ancient walls were still three villages. He lived in one as he excavated. Babylon declined in importance, but it has never been destroyed the way God said it would be destroyed: in the day of the LORD, when God's judging the world for its sin, totally wiped out, supernatural signs in the heavens, destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah so no one will live there for generations, or for a few months, or for a single night. And it will be destroyed when God brings His people back to the land to rule over the nations. Babylon's destruction awaits events that are still future, events associated with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Isaiah 13:6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.: Wail: Isa 14:31 23:1 52:5 65:14 Jer 25:34 49:3 51:8 Eze 21:12 30:2 Joe 1:5,11,13 Zep 1:14 Jas 5:1 Rev 18:10 Day of the LORD: Isa 13:9 34:8 Eze 30:3 Joe 2:11,31 Am 5:18 Zep 1:7 2:2,3 Mal 4:5 1Th 5:2,3 As destruction: Job 31:23 Joe 1:15) THE DAY OF THE LORD Wail for the Day of the LORD is near - To wail (see also below) is to howl, to lament, to weep loudly, to mourn sorrowfully, to utter a prolonged high-pitched cry of grief or misery. Why? Because the day of God's judgment draws nigh. It is an awful day, a day when God pours out His righteous wrath without restraint. It will include a seven year time of Tribulation culminating in what Jesus termed the Great Tribulation. Wail (03213 - יָלַל) (yalal) is a verb that means to howl with loud crying and shrill shouting sounds of sorrow. To howl with a wailing tone. This verb is found only in the prophets and most often in the context of divine judgment, especially the coming Day of the Lord. Thus it is not surprising that this verb is often used as an expression of mourning, distress or dismay! Yahal is frequently paired with the verb za'aq (02199 - זָעַק) (Isa 14:31, Jer 25:34, 47:2, 48:20, 31, Ezek 21:12, Hos 7:14) which means "cry out" and denotes a cry for help out of deep distress or because of some unbearable circumstance; Yalal is frequently translated in the Septuagint with the verb hololuzo (Isa 13:6, 14:31, 15:2, 3, 16:7, 23:1, 14, 52:5, 65:14, Jer 48:20, 31, Ezek 21:12, Hos 7:14, Amos 8:3, Zech 11:2), an onomatopoetic word that describes making a loud and inarticulate cry of either jubilation or terror, especially as a reaction to desperate circumstances. The lone NT use by James describes a vivid warning to the rich "Come now, you rich, weep (aorist imperative) and howl (hololuzo - imperative sense) for your miseries which are coming upon you." (James 5:1) Webster says howl describes a long, loud, doleful cry uttered by an animal such as a dog or wolf. Wail describes a prolonged high-pitched cry of pain, grief, or anger. Yalal - uses below in red = imperative or command. Yalal 32x in 29v Isaiah 13:6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Isaiah 14:31 "Wail, O gate; cry, O city; Melt away, O Philistia, all of you; For smoke comes from the north, And there is no straggler in his ranks. Isaiah 15:2 They have gone up to the temple and to Dibon, even to the high places to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba; Everyone's head is bald and every beard is cut off (cutting hair = sign of humiliation). 3 In their streets they have girded themselves with sackcloth; On their housetops and in their squares Everyone is wailing, dissolved in tears. 8 For the cry of distress has gone around the territory of Moab, Its wail goes as far as Eglaim and its wailing even to Beer-elim. (Their punishment was deserved! Recall that Moabites worshipped Chemosh and Baal Peor, to whom they offered human sacrifices and practiced a sexual cult!) Isaiah 16:7 Therefore Moab will wail; everyone of Moab will wail. You will moan for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth as those who are utterly stricken. Isaiah 23:1 The oracle concerning Tyre. Wail, O ships of Tarshish, For Tyre is destroyed, without house or harbor; It is reported to them from the land of Cyprus. 6 Pass over to Tarshish; Wail, O inhabitants of the coastland. 14 Wail, O ships of Tarshish, For your stronghold is destroyed. Ryrie = One of the most famous cities of the ancient world. Her mariners were the explorers and merchants of the world - 1 Kings 10:11, 22)