Lesson #14

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RETURN TO SYLLABUS

ISAIAH 13
Lesson #14
THE BURDEN OF BABYLON

• MEMORY VERSE: ISA 13: 5

• CHAPTER 13 BEGINS A NEW SECTION OF PROPHECIES BY ISAIAH. THE PROPHECIES ARE CALLED “BURDENS”. THE WORD “BURDEN” MEANS IN HEBREW = “TO LIFT UP”. THE IDEA IS THAT THE PROPHET WAS CARRYING A HEAVY WEIGHT, AND HE WOULD LIFT IT UP TO THE LORD. THERE ARE NINE OR TEN BURDENS DEPENDING ON HOW YOU COUNT THEM. YOU CAN SUBSTITUTE THE WORD “JUDGMENT” FOR “BURDEN” AND GET THE GENERAL IDEA.
• ALSO WE FIND A CONCEPT THAT WE OBSERVED BACK IN ISA 10, THAT NATIONS ARE TOOLS IN GOD’S HANDS: TOOLS HE USES TO CHASTIZE THE JEWISH PEOPLE, BUT THAT THEY WILL BE JUDGED FOR THEIR EVIL ACTIONS AGAINST THE JEWS.

• READ ISA 13:1-22 THE BURDEN OF BABYLON (THE CHALDEANS)
• BABYLON IN ISAIAH’S DAY WAS AN INSIGNIFICANT PLACE. IT DID NOT BECOME A GLORIOUS WORLD POWER UNTIL 100 YEARS LATER.

• BACKGROUND:

• BABYLON HOLDS A UNIQUE PLACE IN SCRIPTURE FROM GENESIS TO REVELATION. IT STANDS FOR “RELIGIOUS REBELLION AGAINST GOD”.
• IT BEGAN IN GENESIS 10:8-10; GEN 11:1-9 WITH THE TOWER OF BABEL. “BABEL” MEANS = GATEWAY TO A GOD, BUT IT IS ALSO A PLAY ON WORDS IN HEBREW AND IS VERY CLOSE TO THE WORD “CONFUSION”.
• GOD CONFUSED THEIR LANGUAGE TO PREVENT THEM FROM BECOMING THE ONE-WORLD RELIGION SPOKEN ABOUT IN REVELATION.
• WE DON’T FIND ANY FURTHER MENTION OF BABYLON UNTIL THE BOOK OF ISAIAH. HE TELLS THE PEOPLE THAT WHILE THEY ESCAPED THE ASSYRIANS, THEY WILL NOT ESCAPE CAPTIVITY BY THE BABYLONIANS.
• THE CITY OF BABYLON WAS DESTROYED BY THE ASSYRIANS (KING SENNECHARIB) IN 689 BC. HOWEVER, IT WAS REBUILT BY HIS SON.
• IT IS NOT UNTIL THE BOOK OF DANIEL THAT WE SEE ISAIAH’S PROPHECY FULFILLED. DANIEL WAS A TEENAGER WHEN NEBUCHADNEZZAR BECAME RULER OVER THE BABYLONIAN EMPIRE. HE WAS TAKEN CAPTIVE TO BABYLON WITH HIS PEOPLE.
• DURING THIS TIME BABYLON BECAME A GLORIOUS KINGDOM OF GREAT WEALTH AND PRESTIGE LIKE NONE OTHER ON THE EARTH.
• WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT ALL THE GREAT KINGDOMS THROUGHOUT HISTORY LIKE EGYPT, CHINA, ROME, THE BRITISH EMPIRE, ETC., ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE NONE HAS EVER EQUALED THE BABYLONIAN KINGDOM IN WEALTH AND PRESTIGE.
• IN DANIEL’S INTERPRETATION OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S DREAM (DAN 2-3), NEBUCHADNEZZAR AND HIS KINGDOM WERE DEPICTED AS THE “HEAD OF GOLD”.
• THE BABYLONIAN KINGDOM WAS CONQUERED BY THE MEDES AND THE PERSIANS. THEY DID NOT DESTROY THE CITY OF BABYLON. THEN THE KINGDOM WAS TAKEN OVER BY THE GREEKS UNDER ALEXANDER. AFTER ALEXANDER THE GREAT, THE CITY OF BABYLON FELL INTO RUIN AND WAS NEVER REBUILT UNTIL NOW.
• SADAAM HUSSEIN REBUILT THE CITY OF BABYLON BECAUSE NEBUCHADNEZZAR WAS HIS MODEL.
• BEFORE REVELATION 17 AND 18 CAN BE FULFILLED, THERE MUST BE A REBUILT CITY OF BABYLON.
• DURING THE TRIBULATION PERIOD, THE ANTICHRIST AND THE FALSE PROPHET WILL ESTABLISH A ONE-WORLD RELIGIOUS SYSTEM BASED IN THE CITY OF BABYLON. THIS SATANIC RELIGIOUS SYSTEM PROMOTES THE ANTICHRIST AS THE MESSIAH.
• THIS FALSE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM, ALONG WITH THE ANTICHRIST AND THE FALSE PROPHET, WILL BE DESTROYED AT THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.
• VERSE BY VERSE COMMENTARY:

THE DESTRUCTION OF JUDAH BY BABYLON: THE FIRST FULFILLMENT

• VERSE 3:

“SANCTIFIED ONES” (3) = THE MEDES AND PERSIANS ARE “SET APART” FOR GOD’S SPECIFIC USE. IT DOES NOT MEAN THEY BELIEVED IN GOD, ONLY THAT GOD SET THEM APART FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE: TO PUNISH THE BABYLONIANS FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM.

• “:MIGHTY ONES” (3) = THE BABYLONIANS
• “THOSE WHO REJOICE IN MY EXALTATION” (3) = BELIEVERS, ANGELS
• VERSE 4:
• T

HE BATTLE IS THAT WHICH CONQUERED THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM OF JUDAH AND TOOK THEM INTO THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY. A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THIS BATTLE IS IN 2KINGS 25.

• VERSE 5:
• T

HE DESTROYED LAND IS JUDAH, THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM AND “THE WEAPONS OF HIS INDIGNATION” ARE THE BABYLONIANS.

• VERSE 6:
• “

THE DAY OF THE LORD”

• REMEMBER THAT THIS PROPHETIC PHRASE MEANS A TIME OF JUDGMENT AND BLESSING (DARKNESS OF NIGHT AND LIGHT OF DAY) THAT REFERS TO THE TRIBULATION PERIOD , THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST, AND THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM.
• THIS IS THE SECOND FULFILLMENT.
• VERSES

7-16

• THESE VERSES WERE NEVER COMPLETELY FULFILLED IN HISTORY. THEY LOOK TOWARD THE TRIBULATION FOR A SECOND FULFILLMENT. NOTICE THAT IT IS MORE THAN JUST BABYLON BEING JUDGED BUT ALL NATIONS. (SEE VS. 11).
• THE SECOND FULFILLMENT:

• READ THE FOLLOWING VERSES AND DECIDE WHICH VERSES IN ISA 13 THEY MATCH.

NEW TESTAMENTCROSS REFERENCES	ISAIAH 13:	EVENT:
MAT 24:29	10, 13	SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
MAT 24:31	5	SECOND COMING OF CHRIST WITH SAINTS
LUK 21:25	10	SECOND COMING CELESTIAL CHANGES
LUK 21:26	7	SECOND COMING CAUSES GREAT FEAR
REV 8:12	10	TRIBULATION PERIOD CHARACTERISTICS
REV 12:9-10	11	MIDDLE OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD
REV 18:2-3	11,20	END OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD
REV 18:9-10	14	END OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD
REV 19:11-14	4	SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
REV 19:19	4	BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON AND THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

• THE HISTORIC DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON BY THE MEDES AND PERSIANS (17-22):

THE FIRST FULFILLMENT

• THE MEDO-PERSIAN KINGDOM WAS A DUAL KINGDOM. THE MEDES WERE THE FIERCE WARRIORS AND THE PERSIANS WERE THE INTELLECTUALS. THE MEDES DID THE CONQUERING AND THE PERSIANS RAN THE GOVERNMENT.
• DANIEL’S PROPHECIES ALSO TALK ABOUT THIS KINGDOM IN DAN 2:39 DAN 7:5; DAN 8:20.
• WE SEE THE FALL OF THE BABYLONIAN KINGDOM IN DAN 5 WHEN THE HANDWRITING APPEARED ON THE WALL.
• VERSES. 20-22 THE UNINHABITED BABYLON
• THE CITY OF BABYLON REMAINED UNINHABITED SINCE JUST BEFORE ALEXANDER THE GREAT UNTIL SADAAM HUSSEIN REBUILT IT.
• THE COMPLETE FULFILLMENT OF VERSE 20 LOOKS TO ITS FINAL DESTRUCTION AT THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. THEN, IT WILL NEVER BE INHABITED EVER AGAIN.
• “SATYRS” IN VS. 21 ARE MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES THAT IN REALITY ARE PROBABLY DEMONS.
• APPLICATION:
• AS NEW TESTAMENT BELIEVERS, WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THIS CHAPTER?
• GOD REMEMBERS THE HISTORY OF A NATION AND THEIR ATTITUDES TOWARD ISRAEL.
• GOD RAISES UP NATIONS AND PUTS DOWN OTHERS TO BRING ABOUT HIS ULTIMATE PURPOSES.
• WE SEE THE BEGINNING OF A SECOND FULFILLMENT IN OUR PRESENT DAY WITH THE REBUILDING OF BABYLON. THEREFORE, WE CAN KNOW WE ARE CLOSE TO THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.

HOMEWORK
ISAIAH 14
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• APPLICATION OF ISA 13:
• IF YOU KNEW FOR SURE THE LORD WAS COMING TODAY, WHAT WOULD YOU NEED TO DO TO GET READY?
• PREPARATION FOR ISA 14:
• READ ISA 14:1-8
• WHAT PERIOD OF TIME IS THIS PROPHECY MEANT TO PORTRAY?
• READ ISA 14:9-11
• “SHEOL” = THE PLACE OF THE DEAD WAITING FOR FINAL JUDGMENT.
• WHO IS BEING SENT TO SHEOL?
• READ ISA 14:12-17
• WE USUALLY SPEAK ABOUT THIS PASSAGE AS THE FALL OF LUCIFER SOMETIME BEFORE THE GARDEN OF EDEN IN GENESIS 3. HOWEVER, THERE IS A DOUBLE FULFILLMENT. WHEN IS THE SECOND FULFILLMENT?
• READ ISA 14:18-23 DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON

MEMORY VERSE: ISAIAH 14:5