A short course in Isaiah, chapter 14 verse 3-23. A taunt against the king of Babylon.

If you recall, this all started with a video I reposted on Facebook. In that video, the Pope was portrayed as having used this passage about someone. I realize this is very vague, but so is my memory, and I don't feel like looking up the video to be precise. I, as usual, had re-posted that video without fact checking. But, here is the clincher as far as I am concerned. A response came, from an acquaintance who has a Masters degree in Theology, and he attempted to excoriate me,by telling me that the Prophet Isaiah was quoting a mythological tale about a mythological Babylonian king, and therefore has no reference to Lucifer/Satan the enemy of God, Jesus, and the church.

So what did I do? I looked at the 45 commentaries I have collected to see what they say, and many agree with what the acquaintance said. However, they added something he failed to mention; there is no factual, or written evidence to validate their claims, and the boldest, like IVPBBC, will tell you that.

There is another problem with this twisted interpretation that the subject is someone other than Lucifer/Satan. In pitching your case, you are asking me to believe that the Prophet Isaiah would stoop so low as to quote mythology, effectively adapting the worship of the gods of the Gentiles, and pass it off as from the Lord. I don't think so!

Maybe we would have more respect for Isaiah and his words if we knew a little more about him. Much of the following comes from the IVPBBC.

• Isaiah, the son of Amoz, ministered in and around Jerusalem as a prophet to Judah during the reigns of four kings of Judah: Uzziah (called "Azariah" in 2 Kin.), Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (Isa_1:1), from c. 739-686 B.C.
• He evidently came from a family of some rank, because he had easy access to the king (Isa_7:3)
• His writing style has no rival in its versatility of expression, brilliance of imagery, and richness of vocabulary. The early church father Jerome likened him to Demosthenes, the legendary Greek orator. His writing features a range of 2,186 different words, compared to 1,535 in Ezekiel, 1,653 in Jeremiah, and 2,170 in the Psalms.
• Second Chronicles 2Ch_32:32 records that he wrote a biography of King Hezekiah
• The prophet lived until at least 681 B.C. when he penned the account of Sennacherib's death (cf. Isa_37:38).
• Tradition has it that he met his death under King Manasseh (c. 695-642 B.C.) by being cut in two with a wooden saw (cf. Heb_11:37).
• Isaiah is quoted directly in the NT over sixty-five times, far more than any other OT prophet, and mentioned by name over twenty times.
• According to Gill's commentary, “it stands first of all the prophets; though the order of the prophets, according to the Jews (a), is, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and the twelve. But it is here placed first, not because Isaiah prophesied before the other prophets; for Joel, Jonah, Hosea, and Amos, begun before him, namely, in or before the days of Jeroboam the Second; but because of the excellency of the matter contained in it.”Last

That is quite the resume, and, it could have included much more. There isn't a single thing here that promotes the idea that Isaiah would have pursued such a foolish idea, one that slaps God in the face by using an undefined mythological character.

So, that being said, let's dissect this thoughtfully. Sorry if I repeat things previously covered in posts, but that was several months ago. I will try to be concise (like that is going to happen.)

Isaiah 14:3-23 MKJV

3) And it shall be in the day that Jehovah shall give you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear, and from the hard bondage which was pressed on you,

• “Jehovah shall give you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear, and from the hard bondage which was pressed on you,”

Has that day come? Some might say, looking at the narrow view and saying, sure, when Israel was released from Babylonian captivity. Sadly, that was not the end of it, and, as you know, Israel was not a nation again until when, “On May 14, 1948, in Tel Aviv, Jewish Agency Chairman David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the State of Israel, establishing the first Jewish state in 2,000 years.”

Now, just because they became a nation, did all fear and sorrow end? Hardly. Even though Israel has only grown stronger since their inception, they have been in a continuous state of flux, violence, and threats. One of the most recent has come from Iran.

I am surprised, but I shouldn't be, as Pastor John MacArthur succinctly states, The future earthly kingdom of Messiah is in view. Cf. Act_3:19-21.

“and send you the Messiah he prepared for you, namely, Jesus. For the time being, he must remain out of sight in heaven until everything is restored to order again just the way God, through the preaching of his holy prophets of old, said it would be.” Acts 3:20-21 MSG)

4) you shall take up this song against the king of Babylon and say, How the exacter, the gold gatherer has ceased!

If that day is the day that Jesus returns physically to earth, it will be at the end of horrendous tumult and death, not only at God's hands but from the violence of man as well. When Jesus comes, he comes conquering. If we could assume that the enemy is Islam with ISIS as its front man, then it would easy to see Jesus slaughtering all of them, but that is not the case, as He only kills off those who choose to fight against him.

Anyone who watches the less than prime time news, knows that Islam happily trains children as young as age seven to handle an AK47. Fortunately for us, Jesus is the judge, and He judges in a perfect way.

All that being said, there will be peace and those established by God will be the peacekeepers. With the advent of the Messiah, judges set up to rule, and the end of wars for a thousand years, this would be the point at which Israel, at least the remnant thereof, will take up this song against the king of Babylon.

Apply a little logic here. Has there been a king of Babylon lately? NO, unless you want claim Saddam Hussein might have been held this title.

5) Jehovah has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers 6) who struck peoples in wrath, a blow without turning away, ruling the nations in anger, a persecution without restraint.

Jeremiah 25:33 "Those slain by the LORD on that day will be from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be lamented, gathered or buried; they will be like dung on the face of the ground.

Jeremiah 39:17 "But I will deliver you on that day," declares the LORD, "and you will not be given into the hand of the men whom you dread.

7) All the earth is at rest and is quiet; they break out into singing.

There is only one point in time in which this can happen. We see an example of that in Revelation 19 where Jesus comes riding back to earth upon a white horse. The land will be ruled by judges that God sets up, and there will be peace for a thousand years.

Verse 8 is where is the passage gets personal.

8) Yea, the fir trees rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since you have fallen, no woodcutter will come up against us.

• "the fir trees rejoice at you,"

  To whom are the fir trees speaking? That will become apparent momentarily, and since we have no known written references to this mythological character we will have to go with what we can ascertain, perceive, and understand by letting scripture interpret scripture.

• "Since you have fallen,"

  In Luke 10:18 Jesus told the disciples that He beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

  There is another, somewhat cryptic description, in Revelation 9:1, as it describes a star falling from heaven. “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.” Since we understand that Jesus stripped the keys to death, hell, and the grave, from Satan, then it is possible that Satan and this star are one in the same. Since a star gives light, and verse 12 of Isaiah 45 also speaks of the "shining star of the morning," then we are probably on the right track.

9) Hell from below is moved for you, to meet you at your coming. It stirs up the dead for you, all the he-goats of the earth. It has raised from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

The statements I made concerning verse 8 can also apply here.

10) All of them shall speak and say to you, Are you also as weak as we? Are you like us?

• "all the kings of the nations."

  These are the ones doing the talking here. They do not make these comments until Jesus returns to earth as the Messiah and shows Satan for who he is. (As a side note; the angels are enormous and powerful, so I do not think we are talking about size here. Consider how we love to portray Satan as a red horned monster when he is probably just the opposite.)

• "Are you also as weak as we? Are you like us?"

  Since they - "the kings of the the nations," are allowed to see what happens to Satan and how he is taken captive and made a prisoner, then perhaps this speaks to their fate.

11) Your pride is brought down to the grave, and the noise of your harps. The maggot is spread under you, and the worms cover you.

• Pride – runs the gamut of expression: exaltation: - arrogance (3), eminence (1), excellence (1), glory (1), majestic (1), majesty.

How could it be that Satan could be both arrogant and filled with an excellence and majesty? It can't, unless at one time he held a position of supremacy once, but no longer.

12) How you are fallen from the heavens, O shining star, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!

We gained a little more clarity when we use another translation. Isaiah 14:12 KJV “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!”

• “O Lucifer, son of the morning!”
  Lucifer is from the Hebrew word helel and means a shining one: - star of the morning. Based on this alone I can understand verse 11 better. However, the word helel is a derivative of the word, hâlal / pronounced haw-lal', meaning to be clear (originally of sound, but usually of color)
  • hâlal is where we get our word hallelujah.
  • So, Lucifer was not only the shining one but the angel of praise.

13) For you have said in your heart, I will go up to the heavens; I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.

If you were to have doubts as to what caused Satan's fall, here it is.

14) I will go up above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.

It was Satan's intent to assert himself above God. How would you do that without first stripping God of his authority? You don't, however, this is what you see in the fall of man, deception with the intent of stripping the man of his dominion over the earth, as well as the rights to the earth. If this sounds far-fetched, then consider the how and why of Satan offering Jesus all the power, riches, and kingdoms of the earth. Satan seized control of them all through deception, for God had given it all over to the man and told him so.

15 ) "Yet you shall be brought down to hell, to the sides of the Pit."

I believe we have established that this is Lucifer, thrown down from heaven, but we have some problems that may affect our understanding.

• Does what Jesus said in Luke's gospel, indicate that Satan was thrown into the pit, where he is incapable of moving about or causing us any trouble?

  At this point, NO! I believe that what Jesus expressed either represents Satan being removed from his place, or it is speaking of a time to come.

  Because Satan was trying to offer Jesus the kingdoms of this world, then it proves that Satan had control over them. Was there a time when Satan was stripped of his authority? YES, and that happened during the time Jesus body was in the tomb. We see God, in Hebrews chapter 1, restoring all power to the Son, and more. Since Jesus stripped Satan of the keys to death, hell, and the grave, then we can safely conclude that ALL power has been restored.

• The other point of contention arises when we see Satan, before the seat of God, mixed in among the other sons of God.

  This is only a problem because we have improperly taught that Satan was exposed of immediately. His day will come soon, but not yet.

16) "Those who see you shall stare and closely watch you, saying, Is this the man who made the earth to tremble; who shook kingdoms; 17) who made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed its cities; who did not open the house for his prisoners?"

Again, tradition and expectation, cause us to think that Satan looks like this.

In reality, he stills retains his original form and quite probably his beauty. Considering that the damage (our propensity to miss the mark that we love to call sin,) seems to be built into us likes to center itself upon lustful, selfish desires. And, how the majority of those wants are extremely attractive, wouldn't it make sense if Satan, formerly Lucifer, the bearer of light and the song leader of heaven, was beautiful also?

Another reason we might be surprised is the overwhelming destruction he has caused.

Isaiah 14:16-17 MSG People will stare and muse: "Can this be the one Who terrorized earth and its kingdoms, 17) turned earth to a moonscape, Wasted its cities, shut up his prisoners to a living death?"

18. All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, everyone in his own house. 19) But you are cast out of your grave like a hateful branch, and like the clothing of those who are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; like a dead body trampled under foot. 20) You shall not be joined with them in burial, because you ruined your land and killed your people; the seed of evildoers shall never be famous.

    Eugene Peterson's, "The Message" translates this segment in this manner: "Other kings get a decent burial, honored with eulogies and placed in a tomb. But you're dumped in a ditch unburied, like a stray dog or cat, Covered with rotting bodies, murdered and indigent corpses. Your dead body desecrated, mutilated-- no state funeral for you! You've left your land in ruins, left a legacy of massacre. The progeny of your evil life will never be named. Oblivion!”

At this point it appears that Christ has forcefully taken Satan captive and apparently held him up for all to see.

21) Prepare slaughter for his sons, because of the iniquity of their fathers, so that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.

• " Prepare slaughter for his sons,"

  Why are we the children of God? Because we engrafted ourselves through acceptance of Jesus Christ, the Son. In contrast to our being accepted into the kingdom and life with the Father, Satan's followers have a slaughter prepared for them. In a strange way, this can be equated to the Walking Dead, and these are the zombies that cannot die. Humans are all created/born with an eternal spirit. One can attach that spirit to God, or to Satan. God, on the one hand, says He will never leave you nor forsake, while Satan, it seems, could care less. I suppose some would choose not to believe that, but there is nothing he will do to save you or protect you from what is to come. Since you will not die, then you will spend eternity following the leader of your choosing.

22) For I will rise up against them, says Jehovah of Hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name and remnant, and son, and grandson, says Jehovah. 23) I will also make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water; and I will sweep it with the broom of ruin, says Jehovah of Hosts.

• "For I will rise up against them, says Jehovah of Hosts,"
  • Whom will Christ rise up against?
    The sons of iniquity, otherwise known as followers of Satan.
• " and cut off from Babylon the name and remnant, and son, and grandson, says Jehovah."
  • What does that mean?
    Perhaps another translation will help.

Isaiah 14:22-23 MSG "I will confront them"--Decree of GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies-- "and strip Babylon of name and survivors, children and grandchildren. 23) " GOD's Decree. "I'll make it a worthless swamp and give it as a prize to the hedgehog. And then I'll bulldoze it out of existence." Decree of GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies.

• “I will also make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water; and I will sweep it with the broom of ruin, says Jehovah of Hosts."

  Again, another translation and another passage bring clarity.

Jeremiah 51:37 NET. Babylon will become a heap of ruins. Jackals will make their home there. It will become an object of horror and of hissing scorn, a place where no one lives.

Let's end this here. We are not talking about a mythological person who has no written evidence to validate using him as an argument, but a fallen angel who had his name changed. It is evident that Lucifer/Satan has had an adverse impact on the world. Something that caught my attention, and I have never heard a teaching that includes this detail, is that this descriptive of Satan transitions into Babylon. Isaiah 14:21 tells us that God considers the followers of Satan to be his sons and they will be punished along with Satan. While Babylon carries a number of meanings, the one that impacts us, the church, is the “spiritual” one that overshadows all the ruling bodies of the world. In the book of Daniel, it is referred to as a fourth kingdom, different from all the rest. See Daniel 7:23. As my girlfriend stated, there must be a shadow government that runs our government, that, and all the other governments of the world.

As my girlfriend stated, there must be a shadow government that runs our government, that, and all the other governments of the world. Theory/assumption was proven today 10/21/2016, as WikiLeaks published President Obama's personal email, which talked about former President Bush speaking to now President Obama, establishing that he would become the current President. This has nothing to do with a single man, but an organized, upper echelon group of people who actually are trying to run the world. Scripture describes these people and their modes of operation as Babylon and the Harlot that rides the beast, in the book of Revelation. 

It is time to wake, but it may be to late for many.

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• Message From 'The Book Of Isaiah'
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Once again he'll choose Israel. A short course in Isaiah. Chapter 14:1

This series of blogs is called, A Short Course in the Book of Isaiah, specifically because of these passages:

Isaiah 14:12-14 NASB "How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! 13) "But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. 14) 'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'

As a believer, I have come to understand that the passage above refers to Satan/Lucifer. I came to this conclusion based on my ability to read; my understanding of context; my allowance for scripture to interpret scripture; my openness to scholarly information, and a spiritual ear tuned to the what the Holy Spirit is saying to my heart.

The refutation of my understanding was based on the belief that: “Most modern interpreters believe that Isaiah is using a well-known mythological tale as an analogy to the failure and consequences of the king of Babylon's rebellion and arrogance, but no known literature matches the details of Helel's rebellion.” The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament; Copyright © 2000 by John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews, and Mark W. Chavalas

The person who accosted me over this restated this assertion in this manner: “Modern interpreters believe that Isaiah is using a well-known mythological tale as an analogy to the failure and consequences of the king of Babylon's rebellion and arrogance!”While he may not have been quoting from the IVP commentary, I can guarantee that Fuller Seminary pounded this into his thinking. If you can restate something like this without hesitation, even though it says, “Most modern interpreters”, and, “no known literature matches the details of Helel's rebellion.” then you have been adequately indoctrinated, perhaps even brainwashed (if I can take my liberties) and therefore graduate.

So my short course envelops what the Holy Spirit says about Lucifer, a fallen angel, and the context surrounding what we see in Isaiah 14. If you read my blogs, then you know that chapter 13 opens with, “This is a message about Babylon that God revealed to Isaiah, son of Amoz.” That statement alone has captured me more than any other.

Today, 08/30/16, I came across a video from a preacher friend who read from Revelation 18:1-5.

“After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory. 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 of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. 3) "For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality." 4) I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; 5) for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.” Revelation 18:1-5 NASB

He then asked the question, how does one come out of Babylon, especially when we do not know what Babylon is, nor do we want to believe what Babylon is?

Isn't it odd that Isaiah chapter 13 opens with, “This is a message about Babylon.”? Isn't it odd that no one at your church dares to try to define it for you? Maybe because they do not know, or it is no longer politically correct to speak of these things.

Do you think God has been trying to tell us something?

And so we dive into chapter fourteen.

---

Isaiah 14:1 MSG 

"But not so with Jacob. GOD will have compassion on Jacob. Once again he'll choose Israel. He'll establish them in their country. Outsiders will be attracted and throw their lot in with Jacob."

Wait a minute; you can't just jump into the middle of someone's conversation and expect to understand what they are talking about and that is exactly what we are doing here. So, we have to back up to chapter 13 and reestablish where we are and what is going on.

Isaiah 13:9-20 MSG "Watch now. GOD's Judgment Day comes. Cruel it is, a day of wrath and anger, A day to waste the earth and clean out all the sinners. 10) The stars in the sky, the great parade of constellations, will be nothing but black holes. The sun will come up as a black disk, and the moon a blank nothing. 11) I'll put a full stop to the evil on earth, terminate the dark acts of the wicked. I'll gag all braggarts and boasters--not a peep anymore from them-- and trip strutting tyrants, leave them flat on their faces. 12) Proud humanity will disappear from the earth. I'll make mortals rarer than hens' teeth. 13) And yes, I'll even make the sky shake, and the earth quake to its roots Under the wrath of GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies, the Judgment Day of his raging anger. 14) Like a hunted white-tailed deer, like lost sheep with no shepherd, People will huddle with a few of their own kind, run off to some makeshift shelter. 15) But tough luck to stragglers--they'll be killed on the spot, throats cut, bellies ripped open, 16) Babies smashed on the rocks while mothers and fathers watch, Houses looted, wives raped. 17) "And now watch this: Against Babylon, I'm inciting the Medes, A ruthless bunch indifferent to bribes, the kind of brutality that no one can blunt. 18) They massacre the young, wantonly kick and kill even babies. 19) And Babylon, most glorious of all kingdoms, the pride and joy of Chaldeans, Will end up smoking and stinking like Sodom, and, yes, like Gomorrah, when God had finished with them. 20) No one will live there anymore, generation after generation a ghost town. Not even Bedouins will pitch tents there. Shepherds will give it a wide berth.

A majority of the translations say “Behold,” in contrast the Message's translation "Watch now." They both convey the same thing, however, the Complete Jewish Bible puts it this way, “Here comes the Day of Adonai, full of cruelty, rage, and hot fury, to desolate the earth and destroy the sinners in it.”

Alright, I get it.

• God's judgment day has come in this scenario.
• Cruel it is, a day of wrath and anger,
• With the purpose of “waste the earth and clean out all the sinners.”

How will this happen?

• “The stars in the sky, the great parade of constellations, will be nothing but black holes. The sun will come up as a black disk, and the moon a blank nothing.”
• “Proud humanity will disappear from the earth. I'll make mortals rarer than hens' teeth.”

  Hens, by the way, do not have teeth.

• “ I'll even make the sky shake, and the earth quake to its roots.”

What will it look like for man during this time?

• Verse 11 from the JPS says, “And I will visit upon the world their evil, and upon the wicked their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the tyrants.”
  I am sure the purists would try to tell me that the Jews would not be included in this because verse 9 says “to make the earth a desolation, and to destroy the sinners thereof out of it.” The assumption is that there would be nothing left in the land at this time but sinners, all worthy of a horrendous death. That logic falls apart when I consider that God loved the world when it was effectively hopeless. We see this in John 3:16. But ask yourself a question. While an honest look into scripture points out that the Hebrews were God's chosen, it certainly does not make them righteous.  

  Hebrews 9:13-14 NIV The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14) How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

  Sacrifices were made, continually, and all a sacrifice could do was give you a temporary sense of external purity. The blood of Christ, once, for all, provides an internal cleanliness to those who accept it. The problem Israel, and more specifically the self-righteous Jews had is their arrogance. The particular phrase is, “the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the tyrants.” Why this could apply to anybody. I used to sit with an eighty-year-old man, a former preacher, and mail order graduate of theology school, who, in spite of our complaints about one particular teacher, that opens every study with a bogus statement about how he only preaches the strict word of God. No sooner does he finish that claim, does he begin shoving his opinion down your throat. My preacher acquaintance does the same thing. So, arrogance is not limited to active religious leaders, but by the same token, the semi-retired are not excluded.
•  Under the old covenant in an attempt to gain a momentary righteousness.
• “like lost sheep with no shepherd, People will huddle with a few of their own kind, run off to some makeshift shelter.”

The intensity of the described destruction makes me think no one would survive, but they do. Surprisingly, there will be those still bent on killing others; primarily followers of Christ, the Messiah. Because of the usage of the phrase “like lost sheep with no shepherd,” there is a definite implication that Jews are included in this group.

• “But tough luck to stragglers--they'll be killed on the spot, throats cut, bellies ripped open, and Babies smashed on the rocks while mothers and fathers watch, Houses looted, wives raped.”
  There seem to be two components in this we need to heed. 
• 1. Although the version I used was the Message by Eugene Peterson, the impact is the same as we see stragglers being horrifically murdered. Wait a minute; this is an intensely Jewish book with a profoundly Middle Eastern mentality. With that in mind, to whom is this brutal aspect of the prophecy directed? The immediate answer is Israel or the Jewish community. What then is meant by stragglers?
• These mothers and fathers are not standing here watching because their favorite television is not on; it is because they will be helpless to do anything else. Activity of this kind has been going in the Middle East, Northern African nations, and, the Islands surrounding Indonesia, for some time now. However, we primarily see this level of horror coming from Islamic followers (we like to call them Muslims or ISIS, but they do go by other names, like, Boko Haran.)

Where is the hope in this? It lies in the fact that God will destroy Babylon and all who make it what it is.

• “And now watch this: Against Babylon,”
  Since it all seems to originate with Babylon, it would appear God is going to end it there. The problem for us, regarding understanding, is that we have no reliable, precise definition of what Babylon is anymore. Here, it seems he is talking about the physicality of the place. And yet, in Revelation 18, where we are told to come out of her, Babylon is all around us and almost spiritual.
• “I'm inciting the Medes, A ruthless bunch indifferent to bribes, the kind of brutality that no one can blunt.”
  Daniel, taken into captivity as a young man of marrying age, eventually becomes the head of the Magi, and yet, as I said, he is a captive in Babylon. Oddly, this Babylon, under Nebuchadnezzar's rule, was a good thing for Israel. It is hard to see this aspect of Babylon as a negative. After the death of Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel continued to work for the next “global” leader, Darius, the Mede. Again, I struggle to comprehend such evil when I contrast it against the success of Daniel. This is just one more reason to see Babylon as something more than a physical place.

God, through the mouth of Isaiah, decreed, "Babylon is doomed. It won't be long now." (Isaiah 13:22 MSG). This message must have carried a different meaning to the Hebrews who were in captivity, or not so far removed from it. Imagine a Holocaust survivor hearing a prophetic word that the Nazi regime is doomed. It won't be long now. The message would bring forth hope and thoughts of justice. We are not so different, even if we have not experienced the atrocities of ruthless leaders or religion because our hearts long for hope and cry out for justice.

Isaiah 13:19,20 paint a grim picture for Babylon, the former home of Nimrod and Nebuchadnezzar. The AKJV portrays it in this manner.

• “And Babylon, most glorious of all kingdoms, the pride and joy of Chaldeans, Will end up smoking and stinking like Sodom, and, yes, like Gomorrah, when God had finished with them. 20) No one will live there anymore, generation after generation a ghost town. Not even Bedouins will pitch tents there. Shepherds will give it a wide berth.”

And yet, what of Israel?

Do they live in safety? They may tell you that this is the most peaceful time they have experienced, and yet the threats are greater today, with Islamic calls for knife and rock attacks ongoing. As we read about end times events, we learn that a key element that triggers the beginning of the “years of judgment,” we love to call the Tribulation, begins with an agreement of peace with many. We, within religious circles, seem to think that this treaty is with Israel. Even so, scripture does not say that; it does, however, say that the Antichrist character signs with many.

But what does scripture say “Once again he'll choose Israel. He'll establish them in their own country. Outsiders will be attracted and throw their lot in with Jacob.”

When does that take place? Not during the tribulation years, for it seems everything goes against them, with only minor exceptions. So when can we expect to see God choosing Israel once again (I despise writing this in this manner because far too many have foolishly declared that God tossed Israel aside and substituted us, the church, in their place. It would have to snow in hell for that to happen and you know it will not, so don't go there.) to answer this you have to consider a huge event that takes place – the Rapture or snatching away of the church, for those who like to get technical. Scripture tells us that when that happens God will lift the veil off the eyes of the Jews, and they will come to realize that Yeshua is the Messiah. Sadly, they will come to salvation after the snatching away of the church and will have to endure what is to come – they and an innumerable quantity of others joining them.

Let's ponder something for a minute.

• The rapture takes the church off the earth.
  What is the church comprised of? Followers of Christ the Messiah. Is it possible that this number includes many Jews? Absolutely, along with Jehovah Witness, Mormons, etc. Do you get the point? God is the judge of what a follower looks like and his eyesight is considerably better than yours and mine.
• After the rapture of the church who is left?
  • The all-encompassing definition calls them Gentiles. This is anyone outside of a relationship with Christ. Our definition includes everyone from the timid and lost to the depraved and violent. Somewhat narrow-minded I suppose, but that is the way it is. Their status will change to being a follower (one in a relationship) the moment they realize that Christ is the Lord and accept him. I do not know what that will look like for some. Think about the fact that many, faced with accepting Allah or death; numerous amounts will refuse to worship Allah and die. As we have seen, ISIS often presumes most to be infidels and asks no questions. Their treatment seems to be swift and brutal, but then all we see is the dead body with the head lying next to it. Under that kind of immediate pressure, merely screaming out NO may be all God needs to hear. Again, we are not the judge, and I know that some of you want to be, but all that falls into the hands Jesus Christ, and he is merciful beyond your comprehension.
  • I suppose an easy out for identifying this next group is to say they are the evil ones. In truth, they are the followers of the Babylon spirit and money is their god. Those that fall under the deception of the Babylon spirit have the goal of global domination, and, they have openly declared their plans since the time of the kingdoms in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. What do we do when someone points out these declarations and the impact they have had? We laugh at the messenger, thinking the message is preposterous. And yet, even now, August of 2016, Hillary Clinton, continuing on the same stream as President Barack Obama, has spoken openly of the continuing changes she wants to make to America, creating Hillary's America. Look around you, for every member nation of the G20 (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union), that is not a Muslim nation, is being brought to its knees by the purposeful influx of Islamic followers that want to kill the infidel – infidels are anyone outside of Islam.

Can I then assume that because Israel became a nation in 1948 that this prophecy is fulfilled?

I don't think so because, on the whole, Israel still rejects the Messiah God and continues to look for His coming. God told them that if they reject Him, He will reject them, and so no, I do not think this decree on God's part -“Once again he'll choose Israel,” has happened yet.

Here is your other red flag concerning this prophecy of Isaiah 14:1.

• “Outsiders will be attracted and throw their lot in with Jacob.”
  • What is an outsider?
    The AKJV calls them strangers. It is the Hebrew word ger (gare) or geyr and carries the connotation of 1. (properly) a guest. 2. (by implication) a foreigner.
    The word “ger” is derived from the source word guwr (goor) and means to:

1. (properly) to turn aside from the road (for a lodging or any other purpose).
2. to sojourn (as a guest).
3. (also) to shrink, fear (as in a strange place).
4. (also) to gather for hostility (as afraid). [ Strong's concordance.]

So then, I could say that the Jews that felt they could no longer stay safely in France, were strangers/outsiders gathering in Israel because of an increase in hostility due to the influx of Islamic foreigners?

Could an outsider/stranger also mean harm? I could read point four as those that have gathered with the intent of hostility, just as quickly.

The Holcomb Christian Standard Bible translates Isaiah 14:1 like this:

For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will choose Israel again. He will settle them on their land. The foreigner will join them and be united with the house of Jacob.

There remains only one place where I see this happening in scripture, and that is after "the time of wrath" (the time of the great tribulation) where we see Christ return physically to earth, and when the millennial reign begins, and God's appointed judges will reign.

The foreigner's conformity may come in two forms:

1. We see Christ demanding that all nations – foreigners, bow before Him, once in a year, in a week long festival called the feast of booths or tabernacles. Obedience is mandatory for these people. Do you see that God is still giving them the freedom of choice? However, non-compliance is severely punished for the first offense. The second offense brings what seems to be a quick but painful death in the form of a plague upon that nation.

2. The second possibility for acquiescence would be out of a learned respect. Compliance is not demanded. There will be an unfortunate end for many who choose that path, and we see that in the battle of Armageddon - the final battle at the end of the thousand years; but again, that is their choice. Having seen and come to understand that there is only one God, Jehovah, not Allah or whoever else you are serving, and realizing that He is good and has your welfare in mind, you might come to follow him. We will see an innumerable amount of Jews recognizing this fact as well.

Photo of the Book of Isaiah page of the Bible (cropped version) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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