OVERVIEW:
The judgment of Babylon; the judgment of Assyria; the judgment of Philistia; the judgment of Moab; the judgment of Damascus; the judgment of Ethiopia.
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
As we move into chapter 13 today, we find ourselves in the midst of a transition. Whereas chapters 1–12 dealt with judgments specifically related to Judah and Jerusalem, chapters 13–23 broaden the prophecies of judgment to include the Gentile nations.
Because Babylon was the nation that destroyed Jerusalem and took the people of Judah captive in 586 B.C., it is no coincidence that Babylon is at the top of God’s list of the Gentile nations to receive the execution of His judgment! In 13:1–5, God prophesies concerning those who would actually wield His judgment, saying, “They come from a far country…” In an historical sense, those “from a far country” were the people of Persia, whose nation was positioned approximately 350 miles east of Babylon. In a prophetic sense, those who will “come from a far country” to execute judgment will be none other than the Lord Jesus Christ and the armies of heaven (Revelation 19:11–16) and will take place on this planet, “in that day”; in “the day of the Lord”! (13:6, 9, 13)
Once God has executed His judgment “in that day”, Isaiah says to the nation of Israel in 14:3, “And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve.” Obviously, this is a reference to the peace and rest Israel will experience during the Millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. You just have to love the way God describes what it will be like when His kingdom has finally been established in 14:7: “The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.” Hallelujah! What a day that is going to be! May we all say with the Apostle John, “…Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20)
Just as in Ezekiel 28:11–17, where the Lord was not just speaking to the king of Tyrus, but was also speaking to the power that was working in and through him (none other than Eden’s first “king”, Lucifer himself!), Isaiah 14:8–23 does the same basic thing. The passage has application to the king of Babylon, but is obviously also referring to the satanic power working behind and through that earthly king, and provides us with vital information concerning Lucifer’s fall. Notice in 14:13–14, Lucifer’s infamous five “I wills”:
- “I will ascend into heaven.”
- “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.”
- “I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.”
- “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.”
- “I will be like the most High.”
Each of these blasphemous declarations are tremendously significant and teach us many things about the location of heaven, and the position Lucifer once held. Notice that the presence of our Lord in heaven is way far out in a “northerly” direction (check out Psalms 75:6 and 48:2; Job 26:7 and 37:22), far “above the heights of the clouds”, and “above the stars of God”. Notice also that Lucifer had a “throne”(!!!) and, comparing Isaiah 14:14 with Ezekiel 28:13, that throne just happened to be in “Eden, the garden of God”! Hmmmm.
Of significant importance is Lucifer’s fifth “I will,” because it foreshadows for us what has been Satan’s mode of operation all through the annals of human history. He is, first and foremost, a “deceiver!” Revelation 12:9 even identifies him as the one “which deceiveth the whole world”! Listen to that! He “deceiveth the whole world”! Satan has been successful in his evil campaign, not by presenting himself as Satan so he can turn the world into a bunch of Satan worshippers, or try to get all the inhabitants of the earth to hate God or to set themselves against God. No, what he seeks to do is COUNTERFEIT God by actually POSING to BE GOD, and, through RELIGION, deceive people into thinking that they are actually following God, loving God, and obeying God! We must be very discerning especially in these last days! (1st Timothy 4:1; 1st John 2:18) Don’t ever lose sight of the fact that Satan has always been impassioned to “be LIKE the most High”!
This may sound a little “back-woodsy” to some, but if I had a Bible that didn’t identify “Lucifer” in Isaiah 14:12, I’d get one that did! Satan has done a masterful job of writing himself right out of almost every church history book on the market, and in the past several decades, he’s also written himself out of almost every Bible on the market! Some Bibles refer to him in Isaiah 14:12, not as “Lucifer, son of the morning,” but as the “Morning Star”. Some actually even have cross references in the margin pointing people to 2nd Peter 1:26, and then to Revelation 22:16, where the “Morning Star” is specifically identified as our very Lord Jesus Christ Himself!!! Again, I say, we must be very discerning, and fully acquainted with how the Bible says Satan operates!
Obviously, in the context, Isaiah 14:27 is talking about what God purposed concerning Babylon and Israel. Devotionally, however, it is a tremendous verse that also applies to anything and everything God has promised that is in accordance with His purposes for us as New Testament believers: “For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? And his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?”
In chapters 15 and 16, Isaiah prophesies the destruction of Moab. Though it definitely had an application for what would be happening in the near future in Isaiah’s day, don’t miss the fact that it also has application for what would be happening in the far distant future! Isaiah 16:5 refers to the time when Moab will seek refuge in Judah (16:3–4), and the rescue will come from the Lord Jesus Christ as He rises to his throne at His Second Coming, “judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.” (Compare Isaiah 16:5 with 9:7; 11:4; 28:6; 32:16; 33:5; 42:1,3–4; 51:5). Recognize, also, that though the prophetic application of this verse was in “the far DISTANT FUTURE” for Isaiah and those living in HIS time, its fulfillment will, no doubt, be “in the NEAR FUTURE” for those living in THIS time!
Chapters 17 and 18 prophesy the destruction of both Damascus and Ethiopia, and yet, is filled with verbal “icons”, as it were, that point to the time of Christ’s Second Coming at the end of the Tribulation Period, and the beginning of His Millennial reign. (17:4, 7, 9, 11; 18:4)
SPECIFIC REFERENCES TO “THE DAY OF THE LORD”:
- 13:6 – “the day of the Lord”
- 13:9 – “the day of the Lord”
- 13:13 – “in the day”
- 14:3 – “in the day”
- 17:4 – “in that day”
- 17:7 – “at that day”
- 17:9 – “in that day”
- 17:11 – “in the day”
- 18:4 – “I will take my rest”
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
- As the ONE WHO WILL SIT ON THE THRONE OF DAVID — Isaiah 16:5 (Luke 1:32–33)